FAM83A as a Potential Biological Marker Is Regulated by miR-206 to Promote Cervical Cancer Progression Through PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway

Diagnostic value of immune-related biomarker FAM83A in differentiating malignant from benign pleural effusion in lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is frequently observed in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Pleural fluid cytology is a less invasive procedure compared to pleural biopsy. Therefore, it is crucial to identify novel effective biomarkers for LUAD-associated pleural fluid cytology.

METHODS

The RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and clinical data of LUAD cases were downloaded from TCGA and OncoSG databases. Differential gene expression analysis, survival analysis and immune cell infiltration analysis were performed on the LUAD datasets. The expression levels of FAM83A, TFF-1, and NapsinA in 94 paired LUAD and adjacent normal tissues, and in the pleural effusion specimens of 40 LUAD and 21 non-neoplastic patients were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

FAM83A expression levels were significantly different between the LUAD and normal tissue datasets, and correlated with overall or disease-free survival, and histological grade of the tumors. Furthermore, the in-situ expression of FAM83A was higher in 89/94 LUAD tissues compared to the paired normal tissues. FAM83A expression was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration, and showed a positive association with macrophage infiltration. In addition, FAM83A staining was positive in 37 LUAD pleural effusion samples, and negative in 20 non-neoplastic pleural effusion samples. The expression pattern of FAM83A in the pleural effusion of LUAD patients was relatively consistent with that of TFF-1 and NapsinA, and even stronger in some specimens that were weakly positive or negative for TTF1/NapsinA.

CONCLUSIONS

FAM83A is a promising immune-related biomarker in LUAD biopsy specimens and pleural fluid, and can distinguish between malignant and benign pleural effusion.

Cross-talk of pyroptosis-based subtypes, the development of a risk classifier and immune responses in cervical cancer

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common gynecology malignancies and has a dismal survival outcome. The prognostic value of pyroptosis and its role in the regulation of immune metabolism in CC remain unclear.

METHODS

Two independent CC cohorts collected from public databases were integrated for unsupervised cluster analysis. All CC cases were assigned to different subsets based on the pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between different subclusters were included in stepwise Cox regression for the risk classifier establishment. Next, single-cell sequencing analysis was conducted to explore the cellular location of each model gene. The CIBERSORT algorithm was applied to estimate immunocytes infiltration. Finally, a series of functional experiments were performed to detect the role of CDH3 in CC.

RESULTS

Based on the 52 PRGs, the combined CC cohort was clustered into two subsets (C1 (n = 259) and C2 (n = 242)). Survival and Cox regression methods were used to create a pyroptosis-based risk classifier including four PRGs (PEG3, FSCN1, CDH3 and SLC2A1). For the immune environment in CC, the high-risk group had a lower infiltration level of B cells, memory-activated CD4 T cells and CD8 T cells and a higher infiltration abundance of neutrophils. The expression pattern of model genes was confirmed in CC cell lines by PCR assay. Furthermore, we observed that knockdown of CDH3 could suppress CC cell proliferation.

CONCLUSION

Our project could offer promising reference for prognosis assessment, immune metabolism prediction and clinical decision-making of patients with CC.

High-risk histological subtype-related FAM83A hijacked FOXM1 transcriptional regulation to promote malignant progression in lung adenocarcinoma

Background

According to the histopathology, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) could be divided into five distinct pathological subtypes, categorized as high-risk (micropapillary and solid) group, intermediate-risk (acinar and papillary) group, and low-risk (lepidic) group. Despite this classification, there is limited knowledge regarding the role of transcription factors (TFs) in the molecular regulation of LUAD histology patterns.

Methods

Publish data was mined to explore the candidate TFs associated with high-risk histopathology in LUAD, which was validated in tissue samples. Colony formation, CCK8, EdU, transwell, and matrigel assays were performed to determine the biological function of FAM83A in vitro. Subcutaneous tumor-bearing in BALB/c nude mice and xenograft perivitelline injection in zebrafish were utilized to unreal the function of FAM83A in vivo. We also performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), dual-luciferase reporter, and rescue assays to uncover the underline mechanism of FAM83A. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to confirm the oncogenic role of FAM83A in clinical LUAD tissues.

Results

Screening the transcriptional expression data from TCGA-LUAD, we focus on the differentially expressed TFs across the divergent pathological subtypes, and identified that the expression of FAM83A is higher in patients with high-risk groups compared with those with intermediate or low-risk groups. The FAM83A expression is positively correlated with worse overall survival, progression-free survival, and advanced stages. Gain- and loss-of-function assays revealed that FAM83A promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and migration of tumor cell lines both in vivo and in vitro. Pathway enrichment analysis shows that FAM83A expression is significantly enriched in cell cycle-related pathways. The ChIP and luciferase reporter assays revealed that FAM83A hijacks the promoter of FOXM1 to progress the malignant LUAD, and the rescue assay uncovered that the function of FAM83A is partly dependent on FOXM1 regulation. Additionally, patients with high FAM83A expression positively correlated with higher IHC scores of Ki-67 and FOXM1, and patients with active FAM83A/FOXM1 axis had poor prognoses in LUAD.

Conclusions

Taken together, our study revealed that the high-risk histological subtype-related FAM83A hijacks FOXM1 transcriptional regulation to promote malignant progression in lung adenocarcinoma, which implies targeting FAM83A/FOXM1 is the therapeutic vulnerability.

MicroRNA-206 in human cancer: Mechanistic and clinical perspectives

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs approximately 20-25 nt in length, play important roles via directly binding to the corresponding 3' UTR of target mRNAs. Recent research has shown that miRNAs cover a wide range of diseases, including several types of cancer. It is interesting to note that miR-206 operates as a tumor suppressor and is downregulated in abundant cancer types, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and so forth. Interestingly, a growing number of studies have also reported that miR-206 could function as an oncogene and promote tumor cell proliferation. Thereby, miR-206 may act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors under certain conditions. In addition, it was widely acknowledged that restoring tumor-suppressor miR-206 has emerged as an unconventional cancer therapy strategy. Therefore, miR-206 might be a newfangled procedure for achieving a more significant treatment outcome for cancer patients. This review summarizes the role of miR-206 in several cancer types and the contributions made between miR-206 and the diagnosis, treatment, and drug resistance of solid tumors.

Pan-cancer analysis of the FAM83 family and its association with prognosis and tumor microenvironment

Family with sequence similarity 83 (FAM83) is a newly identified family of oncogenes whose members play important roles in signaling and cancer progression. However, a thorough understanding of the FAM83 family in tumors is still lacking. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the expression levels of the FAM83 family across cancers and patient prognoses using bioinformatics methods. We found that the expression levels of FAM83 family genes were upregulated in most tumors, and importantly, high expression levels of FAM83 family genes were related to poor prognosis in most tumors. In addition, we analyzed the relationship of FAM83 family genes with immune subtypes and the tumor microenvironment (TME). The results showed that FAM83 family genes were significantly associated with immune infiltrative subtypes and to varying degrees with the level of stromal cell infiltration and tumor stem cells. Finally, our study also showed the relationship between FAM83 family genes and drug sensitivity. Therefore, this pan-cancer analysis demonstrates the critical role of FAM83 family genes in tumor development and provides new clues for therapeutic strategies for cancer.

Construction of a four-mRNA prognostic signature with its ceRNA network in CESC

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) tumorigenesis involves a combination of multiple genetic alteration processes. Constructing a survival-associated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and a multi-mRNA-based prognostic signature model can help us better understand the complexity and genetic characteristics of CESC. In this study, the RNA-seq data and clinical information of CESC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs were identified with the edgeR R package. A four-mRNA prognostic signature was developed by multivariate Cox regression analysis. Kaplan–Meier survival with the log-rank tests was performed to assess survival rates. The relationships between overall survival (OS) and clinical parameters were evaluated by Cox regression analysis. A survival-associated ceRNA network was constructed with the multiMiR package and miRcode database. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis and gene ontology analyses were used to identify the functional role of the ceRNA network in the prognosis of CESC. A total of 298 differentially expressed mRNAs, 8 miRNAs, and 29 lncRNAs were significantly associated with the prognosis of CESC. A prognostic signature model based on 4 mRNAs (OPN3, DAAM2, HENMT1, and CAVIN3) was developed, and the prognostic ability of this signature was indicated by the AUC of 0.726. Patients in the high-risk group exhibited significantly worse OS. The KEGG pathways, TGF-β and Cell adhesion molecules, were significantly enriched. In this study, a CESC-associated ceRNA network was constructed, and a multi-mRNA-based prognostic model for CESC was developed based on the ceRNA network, providing a new perspective for cancer pathogenesis research.

FAM83A has a pro-tumor function in ovarian cancer by affecting the Akt/Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Family with sequence similarity 83, member A (FAM83A) is a tumor-exclusive gene that has a vital role in numerous tumors. However, its role in tumorigenesis remains controversial. This work is dedicated to the study of the role of FAM83A in ovarian cancer. We observed elevated levels of FAM83A in ovarian cancer specimens and cells. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that elevated FAM83A levels predicted a worse overall survival in ovarian cancer patients. The inhibition of FAM83A caused remarkable suppressive effects on the proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer cells, and enhanced their chemosensitivity. On the contrary, the upregulation of FAM83A had opposite effects. Mechanistically, FAM83A had an effect on the Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in ovarian cancer cells. The repression of Akt could cancel the regulatory effect of FAM83A overexpression on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Moreover, reactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway abolished FAM83A-inhibition-evoked antitumor effects. Additionally, FAM83A inhibition weakened the tumorigenic potential of ovarian cancer in vivo. Taken together, this work shows that FAM83A exerts a pro-tumor function in ovarian cancer by affecting the Akt/Wnt/β-catenin pathway and proposes FAM83A as an effective and possible treatment target for ovarian cancer.

Aberrant epigenetic and transcriptional events associated with breast cancer risk

BACKGROUND

Genome-wide association studies have identified several breast cancer susceptibility loci. However, biomarkers for risk assessment are still missing. Here, we investigated cancer-related molecular changes detected in tissues from women at high risk for breast cancer prior to disease manifestation. Disease-free breast tissue cores donated by healthy women (N = 146, median age = 39 years) were processed for both methylome (MethylCap) and transcriptome (Illumina's HiSeq4000) sequencing. Analysis of tissue microarray and primary breast epithelial cells was used to confirm gene expression dysregulation.

RESULTS

Transcriptomic analysis identified 69 differentially expressed genes between women at high and those at average risk of breast cancer (Tyrer-Cuzick model) at FDR < 0.05 and fold change ≥ 2. Majority of the identified genes were involved in DNA damage checkpoint, cell cycle, and cell adhesion. Two genes, FAM83A and NEK2, were overexpressed in tissue sections (FDR < 0.01) and primary epithelial cells (p < 0.05) from high-risk breasts. Moreover, 1698 DNA methylation changes were identified in high-risk breast tissues (FDR < 0.05), partially overlapped with cancer-related signatures, and correlated with transcriptional changes (p < 0.05, r ≤ 0.5). Finally, among the participants, 35 women donated breast biopsies at two time points, and age-related molecular alterations enhanced in high-risk subjects were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Normal breast tissue from women at high risk of breast cancer bears molecular aberrations that may contribute to breast cancer susceptibility. This study is the first molecular characterization of the true normal breast tissues, and provides an opportunity to investigate molecular markers of breast cancer risk, which may lead to new preventive approaches.

FAM83A Promotes the Proliferative and Invasive Abilities of Cervical Cancer Cells via Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and the Wnt Signaling Pathway

The family with sequence similarity 83, member A (FAM83A) gene is associated with the occurrence and development of many malignant tumors. Our aim was to explore the role of FAM83A in cervical cancer. FAM83A was overexpressed or knocked down in cervical cancer cells, and the expressions of FAM83A, key proteins involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and Wnt signaling pathway-related proteins were detected by western blot analysis. Cell proliferative and invasive abilities were also examined using cell proliferation, colony formation, and Matrigel invasion assays. Cells were treated with the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV-939 to determine whether Wnt signaling was necessary for the effect of FAM83A on cervical cancer cells. FAM83A was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and was associated with differentiation, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. Knockdown of FAM83A inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of cervical cancer cells. The opposite results were observed in FAM83A-overexpressing cells, and FAM83A overexpression also promoted EMT and Wnt signaling. XAV-939 reversed the activation of Wnt signaling and EMT induced by FAM83A. In conclusion, FAM83A expression was increased in cervical cancers and correlated with poor prognosis of patients. FAM83A overexpression can activate the Wnt signaling pathway, facilitate EMT, and promote the proliferative and invasive abilities of cervical cancer cells.