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Kwofie KD, Hernandez EP, Anisuzzaman, Kawada H, Koike Y, Sasaki S, Inoue T, Jimbo K, Mikami F, Ladzekpo D, Umemiya-Shirafuji R, Yamaji K, Tanaka T, Matsubayashi M, Alim MA, Dadzie SK, Iwanaga S, Tsuji N, Hatta T. RNA activation in ticks. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9341. [PMID: 37291173 PMCID: PMC10250327 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36523-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA activation (RNAa) is a burgeoning area of research in which double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) or small activating RNAs mediate the upregulation of specific genes by targeting the promoter sequence and/or AU-rich elements in the 3'- untranslated region (3'-UTR) of mRNA molecules. So far, studies on the phenomenon have been limited to mammals, plants, bacteria, Caenorhabditis elegans, and recently, Aedes aegypti. However, it is yet to be applied in other arthropods, including ticks, despite the ubiquitous presence of argonaute 2 protein, which is an indispensable requirement for the formation of RNA-induced transcriptional activation complex to enable a dsRNA-mediated gene activation. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time the possible presence of RNAa phenomenon in the tick vector, Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick). We targeted the 3'-UTR of a novel endochitinase-like gene (HlemCHT) identified previously in H. longicornis eggs for dsRNA-mediated gene activation. Our results showed an increased gene expression in eggs of H. longicornis endochitinase-dsRNA-injected (dsHlemCHT) ticks on day-13 post-oviposition. Furthermore, we observed that eggs of dsHlemCHT ticks exhibited relatively early egg development and hatching, suggesting a dsRNA-mediated activation of the HlemCHT gene in the eggs. This is the first attempt to provide evidence of RNAa in ticks. Although further studies are required to elucidate the detailed mechanism by which RNAa occurs in ticks, the outcome of this study provides new opportunities for the use of RNAa as a gene overexpression tool in future studies on tick biology, to reduce the global burden of ticks and tick-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kofi Dadzie Kwofie
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 581, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Emmanuel Pacia Hernandez
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
- Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, College, 4031, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Anisuzzaman
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
| | - Hayato Kawada
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Yuki Koike
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Sana Sasaki
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Takahiro Inoue
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Kei Jimbo
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Fusako Mikami
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Danielle Ladzekpo
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 581, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan
| | - Rika Umemiya-Shirafuji
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
| | - Kayoko Yamaji
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Center for Medical Entomology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Tanaka
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan
| | - Makoto Matsubayashi
- Department of Veterinary Immunology, Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan University, Izumisano, Osaka, 598-8531, Japan
| | - Md Abdul Alim
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
| | - Samuel Kweku Dadzie
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 581, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Shiroh Iwanaga
- Department of Molecular Protozoology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
- Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research (CIDER), Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Naotoshi Tsuji
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan
| | - Takeshi Hatta
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan.
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan.
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Zhao X, Tian Z, Liu L. circATP2B1 Promotes Aerobic Glycolysis in Gastric Cancer Cells Through Regulation of the miR-326 Gene Cluster. Front Oncol 2021; 11:628624. [PMID: 33996547 PMCID: PMC8120303 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.628624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of circular RNA (circRNA) enormously complimented the repertoire of traditional gene expression theory. As a type of endogenous noncoding RNA, circRNA participates in the occurrence of many kinds of tumors in addition to regulating their development. The Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis is taken with priority for cancer cells instead of oxidative phosphorylation) is one of the most important factors involved in the excessive proliferation of gastric cancer cells. Our data showed that circRNA circATP2B1 (also called hsa_circ_000826) was overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues instead of linear ATP2B1 mRNA, and it promoted aerobic glycolysis in gastric cancer cells. Bioinformatic Gene Ontology analysis showed that the potential downstream targets of circATP2B1 include the microRNA miR-326 gene cluster (miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p), which is functionally focused on cell growth and metabolic processes. The expressions of miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p were downregulated in gastric cancer, and circATP2B1 functionally targeted miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p in an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) dependent manner. Dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was one of the targets of miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p. As a rate-limiting enzyme in the aerobic glycolytic pathway, PKM2 accelerated gastric cancer cells' glucose uptake and increased cell viability. Taken together, circATP2B1 captured miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p and decreased the suppression of PKM2 by miR-326-3p/miR-330-5p, thus aiding the aerobic glycolysis and proliferation of gastric cancer cells. This study identified a novel molecular pathway in gastric cancer that may provide more targets for reversing cancer metabolic reprogramming, as well as a potential strategy for targeted therapy of gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xihe Zhao
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhong Tian
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
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