LncRNA-MCM3AP-AS1 Promotes the Progression of Infantile Hemangiomas by Increasing miR-138-5p/HIF-1α Axis-Regulated Glycolysis

Dysregulation of EZH2/miR-138-5p Axis Contributes to Radiosensitivity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell by Downregulating Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha (HIF-1α)

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is a histone methyltransferase involved in cell proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role and molecular mechanisms of EZH2 in HCC radiosensitivity remain unclear. Here, we show that EZH2 is upregulated in HCC cells and the aberrantly overexpressed EZH2 is associated with the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Using miRNA databases, we identified miR-138-5p as a regulator of EZH2. We also found that miR-138-5p was suppressed by EZH2-induced H3K27me3 in HCC cell lines. MiR-138-5p overexpression and EZH2 knockdown enhanced cellular radiosensitivity while inhibiting cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Analysis of RNA-seq datasets revealed that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway was the main enrichment pathway for differential genes after miR-138-5p overexpression or EZH2 knockdown. Expression level of HIF-1α was significantly suppressed after miR-138-5p overexpression or silencing of EZH2. HIF-1α silencing mitigated resistance of HCC cells and inhibited EMT. This study establishes the EZH2/miR-138-5p/HIF-1α as a potential therapeutic target for sensitizing HCC to radiotherapy.

Long Non-Coding RNA MCM3AP-AS1: A Crucial Role in Human Malignancies

The incidence of cancer continues to grow and is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) is a group of RNA transcripts greater than 200 nucleotides in length, and although it cannot encode proteins, it can regulate different biological functions by controlling gene expression, transcription factors, etc. LncRNA micro-chromosome maintenance protein 3-associated protein antisense RNA 1 (MCM3AP-AS1) is involved in RNA processing and cell cycle-related functions, and MCM3AP-AS1 is dysregulated in expression in various types of cancers. This biomarker is involved in many processes related to carcinogens, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and migration. In this review, we summarize the roles of MCM3AP-AS1 in different human cancers and its biological functions with a view to providing ideas for future research.

ALKBH5 promotes the progression of infantile hemangioma through regulating the NEAT1/miR-378b/FOSL1 axis

Our work aims to investigate long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification and its role in infantile hemangioma (IH). The mRNA and protein expression levels were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot and immunohistochemistry. Me-RIP assay was performed to evaluate lncRNA NEAT1 m⁶A levels. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were evaluated using cell counting kit-8 assay, transwell migration and invasion assay, respectively. Photo-activatable ribonucleoside-enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation assay was conducted to verify the binding relationship between lncRNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) and ALKBH5 (an RNA demethylase). The binding relationship between lncRNA NEAT1, microRNA (miR)-378b and FOS-like antigen 1 (FOSL1) was verified using dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and/or RNA immunoprecipitation assay. ALKBH5, lncRNA NEAT1 and FOLS1 expression was elevated in IH tissues, while miR-378b was downregulated. ALKBH5 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion of IH cells, while promoting cell apoptosis. ALKBH5 promoted lncRNA NEAT1 expression by reducing the m⁶A modification of lncRNA NEAT1. In addition, miR-378b was the target of lncRNA NEAT1, and its overexpression reversed the promotion effect of lncRNA NEAT1 overexpression on IH cell tumor-like behaviors. Moreover, FOLS1 was the target of miR-378b, and its overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-378b overexpression on IH cell tumor-like behaviors in vitro. ALKBH5 might have great potential as therapeutic target for IH, since ALKBH5 silencing suppressed IH progression by regulation of the NEAT1/miR-378b/FOSL1 axis.