LAT1 and ASCT2 Related microRNAs as Potential New Therapeutic Agents against Colorectal Cancer Progression

Detection of Adenocarcinoma of the Colon on 18 F-Fluciclovine PET/CT

ABSTRACT

An 85-year-old man with prostate cancer and de novo bone metastases was treated with hormonal therapy with resolution of bone lesions, improved primary disease, and improved serum tumor markers. Although on hormonal therapy, biochemical recurrence prompted performance of 18 F-fluciclovine PET/CT. Fluciclovine PET/CT revealed primary prostate cancer progression with incidental note of avid foci in the colon for which colonoscopy was recommended. Colonoscopy with biopsy was performed with pathology revealing primary colon adenocarcinoma. Before reinitiation of prostate cancer therapy, segmental colon resection was performed with pathology positive for additional sites of colon cancer.

Amino Acid Profiles in the Biological Fluids and Tumor Tissue of CRC Patients

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and essential players in pathways such as the citric acid and urea cycle, purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis, and redox cell signaling. Therefore, it is unsurprising that these molecules have a significant role in cancer metabolism and its metabolic plasticity. As one of the most prevalent malign diseases, colorectal cancer needs biomarkers for its early detection, prognostic, and prediction of response to therapy. However, the available biomarkers for this disease must be more powerful and present several drawbacks, such as high costs and complex laboratory procedures. Metabolomics has gathered substantial attention in the past two decades as a screening platform to study new metabolites, partly due to the development of techniques, such as mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography, which have become standard practice in diagnostic procedures for other diseases. Extensive metabolomic studies have been performed in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in the past years, and several exciting results concerning amino acid metabolism have been found. This review aims to gather and present findings concerning alterations in the amino acid plasma pool of colorectal cancer patients.

Energy Substrate Transporters in High-Grade Ovarian Cancer: Gene Expression and Clinical Implications

Ovarian cancer is a non-homogenous malignancy. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common subtype, and its drug resistance mechanisms remain unclear. Despite the advantages of modern pharmacotherapy, high-grade ovarian cancer is associated with a poor prognosis and research into targeted therapies is in progress. The aim of the study was to assess the dominant energy substrate transport mechanism in ovarian cancer cells and to verify whether genomic aberrations could predict clinical outcomes using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Total RNA was extracted from HGSC frozen tissues, and the expression of selected genes was compared to respective controls. GLUT1, FABPpm, MCT4 and SNAT1 genes were significantly overexpressed in carcinomas compared with controls, while expression of CD36/SR-B2, FATP1, FABP4, GLUT4, ASCT2 and LPL was decreased. No differences were found in FATP4, LAT1, MCT1 and FASN. The transcript content of mitochondrial genes such as PGC-1α, TFAM and COX4/1 was similar between groups, while the β-HAD level declined in ovarian cancer. Additionally, the MCT4 level was reduced and PGC-1α was elevated in cancer tissue from patients with ‘small’ primary tumor and omental invasion accompanied by ascites as compared to patients that exhibited greater tendencies to metastasize to lymph nodes with clear omentum. Based on TCGA, higher FABP4 and LPL and lower TFAM expression indicated poorer overall survival in patients with ovarian cancer. In conclusion, the presented data show that there is no exclusive energy substrate in HGSC. However, this study indicates the advantage of glucose and lactate transport over fatty acids, thereby suggesting potential therapeutic intervention targets to impede ovarian cancer growth.

LINC01006 and miR-3199 Serve as Novel Markers of Poor Prognosis in Colon Cancer and Regulate Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion

Purpose

Colon cancer is the most commonly diagnosed gastrointestinal cancer. This research intended to evaluate the prognostic values of LINC01006 and miR-3199 for colon cancer and their effects on cell physiology.

Patients and Methods

LINC01006 and miR-3199 expression levels were determined by RT-qPCR. Patients’ 5-year cumulative survival rate was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier curves with the Log rank test. Chi-square test and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to access the clinical significance. CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, and TUNEL assays were used to monitor the change of cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis.

Results

The expression level of LINC01006 was increased while miR-3199 was decreased in colon tissues and cells compared to normal ones. This dysregulated expression was correlated with T stage (P = 0.002) and N stage (P = 0.009). High LINC01006 level (HR = 4.048, 95%: 1.502–10.911, P = 0.006) or low miR-3199 level (HR = 3.421, 95% CI: 1.254–9.330, P = 0.016) was outstanding for predicting poor prognosis in patients with colon cancer. Downregulation of LINC01006 reduced cell proliferation, invasion, and migration but induced cell apoptosis (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

LINC01006 knockdown showed anti-proliferative, anti-metastatic, and apoptotic-induced effects on colon cancer cells. This study contributes to research on promising prognostic biomarkers of colon cancer and might give way to further investigation of alternative tumor targets.

MicroRNA-1: Diverse role of a small player in multiple cancers

The process of cancer initiation and development is a dynamic and complex mechanism involving multiple genetic and non-genetic variations. With the development of high throughput techniques like next-generation sequencing, the field of cancer biology extended beyond the protein-coding genes. It brought the functional role of noncoding RNAs into cancer-associated pathways. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one such class of noncoding RNAs regulating different cancer development aspects, including progression and metastasis. MicroRNA-1 (miR-1) is a highly conserved miRNA with a functional role in developing skeletal muscle precursor cells and cardiomyocytes and acts as a consistent tumor suppressor gene. In humans, two discrete genes, MIR-1-1 located on 20q13.333 and MIR-1-2 located on 18q11.2 loci encode for a single mature miR-1. Downregulation of miR-1 has been demonstrated in multiple cancers, including lung, breast, liver, prostate, colorectal, pancreatic, medulloblastoma, and gastric cancer. A vast number of studies have shown that miR-1 affects the hallmarks of cancer like proliferation, invasion and metastasis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, chemosensitization, and immune modulation. The potential therapeutic applications of miR-1 in multiple cancer pathways provide a novel platform for developing anticancer therapies. This review focuses on the different antitumorigenic and therapeutic aspects of miR-1, including how it regulates tumor development and associated immunomodulatory functions.