Exploring the Significance of the Exon 4-Skipping Isoform of the ZNF217 Oncogene in Breast Cancer

In silico identification and in vitro evaluation of MRPS30-DT lncRNA and MRPS30 gene expression in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

It has been reported that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can play important roles in a variety of biological processes and cancer regulatory networks, including breast cancer.

AIMS

This study aimed to identify a novel upregulated lncRNA in breast cancer and its associated gene using bioinformatics analysis, and then evaluate their potential roles in breast cancer.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Extensive in silico studies were performed using various bioinformatics databases and tools to identify a potential upregulated breast cancer-associated lncRNA and its co-expressed gene, and to predict their potential roles, functions, and interactions. The expression level of MRPS30-DT lncRNA and MRPS30 was assessed in both BC tissues and cell lines using qRT-PCR technology. MRPS30-DT lncRNA and MRPS30 were selected as target genes using bioinformatics analysis. We found that MRPS30-DT and MRPS30 were significantly overexpressed in BC tissues compared with normal tissues. Also, MRPS30 showed upregulation in all three BC cell lines compared with HDF. On the other hand, MRPS30-DT significantly increased in MDA-MB-231 compared with HDF. While the expression of MRPS30-DT was significantly dropped in the resistance cell line MCF/MX compared to HDF and MCF7. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis suggested that MRPS30-DT and MRPS30 may play a potential role in BC through their involvement in some cancer signaling pathways and processes, as well as through their interaction with TFs, genes, miRNAs, and proteins related to carcinogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our findings showed the dysregulation of MRPS30-DT lncRNA and MRPS30 may provide clues for exploring new therapeutic targets or molecular biomarkers in BC.

The Intricate Interplay between the ZNF217 Oncogene and Epigenetic Processes Shapes Tumor Progression

The oncogenic transcription factor ZNF217 orchestrates several molecular signaling networks to reprogram integrated circuits governing hallmark capabilities within cancer cells. High levels of ZNF217 expression provide advantages to a specific subset of cancer cells to reprogram tumor progression, drug resistance and cancer cell plasticity. ZNF217 expression level, thus, provides a powerful biomarker of poor prognosis and a predictive biomarker for anticancer therapies. Cancer epigenetic mechanisms are well known to support the acquisition of hallmark characteristics during oncogenesis. However, the complex interactions between ZNF217 and epigenetic processes have been poorly appreciated. Deregulated DNA methylation status at ZNF217 locus or an intricate cross-talk between ZNF217 and noncoding RNA networks could explain aberrant ZNF217 expression levels in a cancer cell context. On the other hand, the ZNF217 protein controls gene expression signatures and molecular signaling for tumor progression by tuning DNA methylation status at key promoters by interfering with noncoding RNAs or by refining the epitranscriptome. Altogether, this review focuses on the recent advances in the understanding of ZNF217 collaboration with epigenetics processes to orchestrate oncogenesis. We also discuss the exciting burgeoning translational medicine and candidate therapeutic strategies emerging from those recent findings connecting ZNF217 to epigenetic deregulation in cancer.

Dysregulation of splicing variants and spliceosome components in breast cancer

The dysregulation of the splicing process has emerged as a novel hallmark of metabolic and tumor pathologies. In breast cancer (BCa), which represents the most diagnosed cancer type among women worldwide, the generation and/or dysregulation of several oncogenic splicing variants have been described. This is the case of the splicing variants of HER2, ER, BRCA1, or the recently identified by our group, In1-ghrelin and SST5TMD4, which exhibit oncogenic roles, increasing the malignancy, poor prognosis, and resistance to treatment of BCa. This altered expression of oncogenic splicing variants has been closely linked with the dysregulation of the elements belonging to the macromolecular machinery that controls the splicing process (spliceosome components and the associated splicing factors). In this review, we compile the current knowledge demonstrating the altered expression of splicing variants and spliceosomal components in BCa, showing the existence of a growing body of evidence supporting the close implication of the alteration in the splicing process in mammary tumorigenesis.