miR-1246 Targets CCNG2 to Enhance Cancer Stemness and Chemoresistance in Oral Carcinomas

Gastric adenocarcinoma predictive long intergenic noncoding RNA (GAPLINC) promotes oral cancer stemness by acting as a molecular sponge of miR331-3p

Background/purpose

Accumulating evidence has suggested that treatment failure of cancer therapy can be attributed to cancer stem cells (CSCs). Among numerous regulators of cancer stemness, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have gained significant attention recently. In this study, we examined the role of gastric adenocarcinoma predictive long intergenic noncoding RNA (GAPLINC) in oral CSCs (OCSCs).

Materials and methods

RNA Sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to determine the expression of GAPLINC. Flow cytometry and sphere-forming assay were exploited to isolate OCSCs. Measurement of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) activity, CD44 expressing cells, and various phenotypic assays, such as self-renewal, migration, invasion, and colony-forming abilities, were conducted in CSCs of two types of oral cancer cells (SAS and GNM) following the knockdown of GAPLINC. A luciferase reporter was also carried out to validate the direct interaction between GAPLINC and microRNA (miR)-331-3p.

Results

Our results showed that GAPLINC was overexpressed in OCSCs from patient-derived and oral cancer cell lines. We demonstrated that silencing of GAPLINC in OCSCs downregulated various CSC hallmarks, such as ALDH1 activity, percentage of CD44-expressing cells, self-renewal capacity, and colony-forming ability. Moreover, our results revealed that the effect of GAPLINC on cancer stemness was mediated by direct repression of miR-331-3p.

Conclusion

These data have potential clinical implications in that we unraveled the aberrant upregulation of GAPLINC and demonstrated that suppression of GAPLINC may reduce cancer stemness via sequestering miR-331-3p.

Preliminary study of identified novel susceptibility loci for HAPE risk in a Chinese male Han population

High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. In recent years, association studies have become the main method for identifying HAPE genetic loci. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of HAPE risk-associated loci was performed in Chinese male Han individuals (164 HAPE cases and 189 healthy controls) by the Precision Medicine Diversity Array Chip with 2,771,835 loci (Applied Biosystems Axiom™). Eight overlapping candidate loci in CCNG2, RP11-445O3.2, NUPL1 and WWOX were finally selected. In silico functional analyses displayed the PPI network, functional enrichment and signal pathways related to CCNG2, NUPL1, WWOX and NRXN1. This study provides data supplements for HAPE susceptibility gene loci and new insights into HAPE susceptibility.

Identification of circulating miRNAs as fracture-related biomarkers

Fracture non-unions affect many patients worldwide, however, known risk factors alone do not predict individual risk. The identification of novel biomarkers is crucial for early diagnosis and timely patient treatment. This study focused on the identification of microRNA (miRNA) related to the process of fracture healing. Serum of fracture patients and healthy volunteers was screened by RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed miRNA at various times after injury. The results were correlated to miRNA in the conditioned medium of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) during in vitro osteogenic differentiation. hsa-miR-1246, hsa-miR-335-5p, and miR-193a-5p were identified both in vitro and in fracture patients and their functional role in direct BMSC osteogenic differentiation was assessed. The results showed no influence of the downregulation of the three miRNAs during in vitro osteogenesis. However, miR-1246 may be involved in cell proliferation and recruitment of progenitor cells. Further studies should be performed to assess the role of these miRNA in other processes relevant to fracture healing.

The biomarkers for maintenance Cancer stem cell features can be applicable in precision medicine of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a crucial role in tumor relapse, proliferation, invasion, and drug resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This narrative review aims to synthesize data from articles published between 2019 and 2023 on biomarkers for detecting CSCs in HNSCC and changes in molecular pathways, genetics, epigenetics, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in CSCs relevant to precision medicine approaches in HNSCC management. The search encompassed 41 in vitro studies and 22 clinical studies. CSCs exhibit diverse molecular profiles and unique biomarker expression patterns, offering significant potential for HNSCC diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, thereby enhancing patient survival. Their remarkable self-renewal ability and adaptability are closely linked to tumorigenicity development and maintenance. Assessing biomarkers before and after therapy can aid in identifying various cell types associated with cancer progression and relapse. Screening for CSCs, senescent tumor cells, and cells correlated with the senescence process post-treatment has proven highly beneficial. However, the clinical application of precision medicine in HNSCC management is hindered by the lack of specific and definitive CSC biomarkers. Furthermore, our limited understanding of CSC plasticity, governed by genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic alterations during tumorigenesis, as well as the bidirectional interaction of CSCs with the tumor microenvironment, underscores the need for further research. Well-designed studies involving large patient cohorts are, therefore, essential to establish a standardized protocol and address these unresolved queries.

Exosome-Mediated Paracrine Signaling Unveils miR-1246 as a Driver of Aggressiveness in Fusion-Negative Rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a pediatric cancer associated with aggressiveness and a tendency to develop metastases. Fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma (FN-RMS) is the most commonly occurring subtype of RMS, where metastatic disease can hinder treatment success and decrease survival rates. RMS-derived exosomes were previously demonstrated to be enriched with miRNAs, including miR-1246, possibly contributing to disease aggressiveness. We aimed to decipher the functional impact of exosomal miR-1246 on recipient cells and its role in promoting aggressiveness. Treatment of normal fibroblasts with FN-RMS-derived exosomes resulted in a significant uptake of miR-1246 paired with an increase in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In turn, delivery of miR-1246-mimic lipoplexes promoted fibroblast proliferation, migration, and invasion in a similar manner. Conversely, when silencing miR-1246 in FN-RMS cells, the resulting derived exosomes demonstrated reversed effects on recipient cells' phenotype. Delivery of exosomal miR-1246 targets GSK3β and promotes β-catenin nuclear accumulation, suggesting a deregulation of the Wnt pathway, known to be important in tumor progression. Finally, a pilot clinical study highlighted, for the first time, the presence of high exosomal miR-1246 levels in RMS patients' sera. Altogether, our results demonstrate that exosomal miR-1246 has the potential to alter the tumor microenvironment of FN-RMS cells, suggesting its potential role in promoting oncogenesis.

Exploring miR-155-5p and miR-1246 as Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Oral Squamous cell carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the leading cancers worldwide, significantly impacting developing nations. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic potential of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC in the Indian population, as their comparative roles in this context remain unexplored.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The present cross-sectional study comprised 50 histopathologically confirmed OSCC cases, with adjacent normal mucosa as controls. MiRNA expression was assessed via qRT-PCR and correlated with clinicopathological factors. MiRwalk and miRTargetlink were used for miRNA:mRNA interaction prediction, and gprofiler was employed to analyze validated targets for functional insights.

RESULTS

The expression analysis showed a significant upregulation of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC tissues compared to adjacent controls. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed that miR-1246 exhibited excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.94) compared to miR-155-5p (AUC = 0.69). Higher miRNA levels were associated with age and extracapsular extension while overexpression of miR-1246 was correlated significantly with increased tumor size, tumor grade, TNM staging, and depth of invasion. The analysis for target prediction unveiled a set of validated targets, among which were WNT5A, TP53INP1, STAT3, CTNNB1, PRKAR1A, and NFIB.

CONCLUSION

miR-155-5p and miR-1246 may be used as potential prognostic biomarkers in OSCC, with miR-1246 demonstrating superior diagnostic accuracy.

Unraveling the role of miRNAs in the diagnosis, progression, and drug resistance of oral cancer

Oral cancer (OC) is a widely observed neoplasm on a global scale. Over time, there has been an increase in both its fatality and incidence rates. Oral cancer metastasis is a complex process that involves a number of cellular mechanisms, including invasion, migration, proliferation, and escaping from malignant tissue through either lymphatic or vascular channels. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a crucial class of short non-coding RNAs recognized as significant modulators of diverse cellular processes and exert a pivotal influence on the carcinogenesis pathway, functioning either as tumor suppressors or as oncogenes. It has been shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) have a role in metastasis at several stages, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and colonization. This regulation is achieved by targeting key genes involved in these pathways by miRNAs. This paper aims to give a contemporary analysis of OC, focusing on its molecular genetics. The current literature and emerging advancements in miRNA dysregulation in OC are thoroughly examined. This project would advance OC diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and therapeutic implications.

Decoding the role of miRNAs in oral cancer pathogenesis: A focus on signaling pathways

Oral cancer (OC) is the predominant type originating in the head and neck region. The incidence of OC is mostly associated with behavioral risk factors, including tobacco smoking and excessive alcohol intake. Additionally, there is a lower but still significant association with viral infections such as human papillomaviruses and Epstein-Barr viruses. Furthermore, it has been observed that heritable genetic variables are linked to the risk of OC, in addition to the previously mentioned acquired risk factors. The current absence of biomarkers for OC diagnosis contributes to the frequent occurrence of advanced-stage diagnoses among patients. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, have been observed to exert a significant effect on the transcriptional control of target genes involved in cancer, either through direct or indirect mechanisms. miRNAs are a class of short ncRNAs that play a role in regulating gene expression by enabling mRNA degradation or translational repression at the post-transcriptional phase. miRNAs are known to play a fundamental role in the development of cancer and the regulation of oncogenic cell processes. Notch signaling, PTEN/Akt/mTOR axis, KRAS mutation, JAK/STAT signaling, P53, EGFR, and the VEGFs have all been linked to OC, and miRNAs have been shown to have a role in all of these. The dysregulation of miRNA has been identified in cases of OC and is linked with prognosis.

Cancer stem cells of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; distance towards clinical application; a systematic review of literature

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the major pathological type of head and neck cancer (HNC). The disease ranks sixth among the most common malignancies worldwide, with an increasing incidence rate yearly. Despite the development of therapy, the prognosis of HNSCC remains unsatisfactory, which may be attributed to the resistance to traditional radio-chemotherapy, relapse, and metastasis. To improve the diagnosis and treatment, the targeted therapy for HNSCC may be successful as that for some other tumors. Nanocarriers are the most effective system to deliver the anti-cancerous agent at the site of interest using passive or active targeting approaches. The system enhances the drug concentration in HCN target cells, increases retention, and reduces toxicity to normal cells. Among the different techniques in nanotechnology, quantum dots (QDs) possess multiple fluorescent colors emissions under single-source excitation and size-tunable light emission. Dendrimers are the most attractive nanocarriers, which possess the desired properties of drug retention, release, unaffecting by the immune system, blood circulation time enhancing, and cells or organs specific targeting properties. In this review, we have discussed the up-to-date knowledge of the Cancer Stem Cells of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Although a lot of data is available, still much more efforts remain to be made to improve the treatment of HNSCC.

miRNAs as potential game-changers in head and neck cancer: Future clinical and medicinal uses

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a group of heterogeneous tumors formed most frequently from epithelial cells of the larynx, lips, oropharynx, nasopharynx, and mouth. Numerous epigenetic components, including miRNAs, have been demonstrated to have an impact on HNCs characteristics like progression, angiogenesis, initiation, and resistance to therapeutic interventions. The miRNAs may control the production of numerous genes linked to HNCs pathogenesis. The roles that miRNAs play in angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis are responsible for this impact. The miRNAs also have an impact on crucial HNCs-related mechanistic networks like the WNT/β-catenin signaling, PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway, TGFβ, and KRAS mutations. miRNAs may affect how the HNCs respond to treatments like radiation and chemotherapy in addition to pathophysiology. This review aims to demonstrate the relationship between miRNAs and HNCs with a particular emphasis on how miRNAs impact HNCs signaling networks.

The paradigm of miRNA and siRNA influence in Oral-biome

Short nucleotide sequences like miRNA and siRNA have attracted a lot of interest in Oral-biome investigations. miRNA is a small class of non-coding RNA that regulates gene expression to provide effective regulation of post-transcription. On contrary, siRNA is 21-25 nucleotide dsRNA impairing gene function post-transcriptionally through inhibition of mRNA for homologous dependent gene silencing. This review highlights the application of miRNA in oral biome including oral cancer, dental implants, periodontal diseases, gingival fibroblasts, oral submucous fibrosis, radiation-induced oral mucositis, dental Pulp, and oral lichenoid disease. Moreover, we have also discussed the application of siRNA against the aforementioned disease along with the impact of miRNA and siRNA to the various pathways and molecular effectors pertaining to the dental diseases. The influence of upregulation and downregulation of molecular effector post-treatment with miRNA and siRNA and their impact on the clinical setting has been elucidated. Thus, the mentioned details on application of miRNA and siRNA will provide a novel gateway to the scholars to not only mitigate the long-lasting issue in dentistry but also develop new theragnostic approaches.

The landscape of exosomal non-coding RNAs in breast cancer drug resistance, focusing on underlying molecular mechanisms

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy among women worldwide. Like many other cancers, BC therapy is challenging and sometimes frustrating. In spite of the various therapeutic modalities applied to treat the cancer, drug resistance, also known as, chemoresistance, is very common in almost all BCs. Undesirably, a breast tumor might be resistant to different curative approaches (e.g., chemo- and immunotherapy) at the same period of time. Exosomes, as double membrane-bound extracellular vesicles 1) secreted from different cell species, can considerably transfer cell products and components through the bloodstream. In this context, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including miRNAs, long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), are a chief group of exosomal constituents with amazing abilities to regulate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of BC, such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, migration, and particularly drug resistance. Thereby, exosomal ncRNAs can be considered potential mediators of BC progression and drug resistance. Moreover, as the corresponding exosomal ncRNAs circulate in the bloodstream and are found in different body fluids, they can serve as foremost prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers. The current study aims to comprehensively review the most recent findings on BC-related molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways affected by exosomal miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, with a focus on drug resistance. Also, the potential of the same exosomal ncRNAs in the diagnosis and prognosis of BC will be discussed in detail.

Identification of the Minimum Combination of Serum microRNAs to Predict the Recurrence of Colorectal Cancer Cases

BACKGROUND

Serum microRNAs (miRNAs) have been recognized as potential stable biomarkers for various types of cancer. Considering the clinical applications, there are certain critical requirements, such as minimizing the number of miRNAs, reproducibility in a longitudinal clinical course, and superiority to conventional tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9. This study aimed to identify serum miRNAs that indicate the recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC), surpassing inter-tumor heterogeneity.

METHODS

We conducted an analysis of 434 serum samples from 91 patients with CRC and 71 healthy subjects. miRNAs were obtained from Toray Co., Ltd, and miRNA profiles were analyzed using a three-step approach. miRNAs that were highly expressed in patients with CRC than in the healthy controls in the screening phase, and those that were highly expressed in the preoperative samples than in the 1-month postoperative samples in the discovery phase, were extracted. In the validation phase, the extracted miRNAs were evaluated in 323 perioperative samples, in chronological order.

RESULTS

A total of 12 miRNAs (miR-25-3p, miR-451a, miR-1246, miR-1268b, miR-2392, miR-4480, miR-4648, miR-4732-5p, miR-4736, miR-6131, miR-6776-5p, and miR-6851-5p) were significantly concordant with the clinical findings of tumor recurrence, however their ability to function as biomarkers was comparable with CEA. In contrast, the combination of miR-1246, miR-1268b, and miR-4648 demonstrated a higher area under the curve (AUC) than CEA. These three miRNAs were upregulated in primary CRC tissues.

CONCLUSION

We identified ideal combinatorial miRNAs to predict CRC recurrence.

Integration of TE Induces Cancer Specific Alternative Splicing Events

Alternative splicing of messenger RNA (mRNA) precursors contributes to genetic diversity by generating structurally and functionally distinct transcripts. In a disease state, alternative splicing promotes incidence and development of several cancer types through regulation of cancer-related biological processes. Transposable elements (TEs), having the genetic ability to jump to other regions of the genome, can bring about alternative splicing events in cancer. TEs can integrate into the genome, mostly in the intronic regions, and induce cancer-specific alternative splicing by adjusting various mechanisms, such as exonization, providing splicing donor/acceptor sites, alternative regulatory sequences or stop codons, and driving exon disruption or epigenetic regulation. Moreover, TEs can produce microRNAs (miRNAs) that control the proportion of transcripts by repressing translation or stimulating the degradation of transcripts at the post-transcriptional level. Notably, TE insertion creates a cancer-friendly environment by controlling the overall process of gene expression before and after transcription in cancer cells. This review emphasizes the correlative interaction between alternative splicing by TE integration and cancer-associated biological processes, suggesting a macroscopic mechanism controlling alternative splicing by TE insertion in cancer.

Exosomics in oral cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics - An emergent and imperative non-invasive natural nanoparticle-based approach

Exosomes- the natural nanoparticles belonging to heterogeneous vesicles are released via nearly all sorts of cells, including tumour cells, to oprate intercellular communication. Selective packaging of exosomes amid nucleic acids, phospholipids, and proteins makes them ideal for intercellular communications occurring among different cells. The existence of exosomes has been validated in various biofluids, including saliva. Being non-invasive and in direct contact with oral malignant cells, saliva establishes itself as a preeminent source of early cancer biomarkers. In context, the role and providence of both recipient and donor secreting cells are persuaded through exosomal cargo.Several studies have emphasized the influence of exosomal contents in different stages of cancer development, reconciling interactions between tumour cells and their surrounding niche. More explicitly, a transformation of exosomal contents such as nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins can endorse tumour progression and help ascertain a secluded pre-metastatic niche crammed with substances that errand cancer cell proliferation,angiogenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance. The blooming field of exosomes has directed the evolution of high-end isolation and characterization techniques along with the development of an entirely new field- exosomics that comprises complete analysis of exosomal cargo in various physiological conditions, including oral cancer. Researchers have discovered multiple pathways involved in exosome biogenesis to understand numerous events associated with cancer progression. Tissue-specific packaging of exosomes makes them a novel source of prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. The extent of the current review confers the contemporary perception of the versatile task of exosomes, especially salivary exosomes, as potential biomarkers in the progression and diagnosis as well as therapeutics of oral cancers and their potential employment in clinical applications.

Circulating miR-1246 and miR-485-3p as Promising Biomarkers of Clinical Response and Outcome in Melanoma Patients Treated with Targeted Therapy

Despite the significant improvements in advanced melanoma therapy, there is still a pressing need for biomarkers that can predict patient response and prognosis, and therefore support rational treatment decisions. Here, we investigated whether circulating miRNAs could be biomarkers of clinical outcomes in patients treated with targeted therapy. Using next-generation sequencing, we profiled plasma miRNAs at baseline and at progression in patients treated with BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi) or BRAFi + MEKi. Selected miRNAs associated with response to therapy were subjected to validation by real-time quantitative RT-PCR . Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC), Kaplan–Meier and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed on the validated miR-1246 and miR-485-3p baseline levels. The median baseline levels of miR-1246 and miR-485-3p were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in the group of patients not responding to therapy (NRs) as compared with the group of responding patients (Rs). In Rs, a trend toward an increase in miR-1246 and a decrease in miR-485-3p was observed at progression. Baseline miR-1246 level and the miR-1246/miR-485-3p ratio showed a good ability to discriminate between Rs and NRs. Poorer PFS and OS were observed in patients with unfavorable levels of at least one miRNA. In multivariate analysis, a low level of miR-485-3p and a high miR-1246/miR-485-3p ratio remained independent negative prognostic factors for PFS, while a high miR-1246/miR-485-3p ratio was associated with an increased risk of mortality, although statistical significance was not reached. Evaluation of miR-1246 and miR-485-3p baseline plasma levels might help clinicians to identify melanoma patients most likely to be unresponsive to targeted therapy or at higher risk for short-term PFS and mortality, thus improving their management.

Smart Hairpins@MnO2 Nanosystem Enables Target-Triggered Enzyme-Free Exponential Amplification for Ultrasensitive Imaging of Intracellular MicroRNAs in Living Cells

Sensitive and specific imaging of microRNA (miRNA) in living cells is of great value for disease diagnosis and monitoring. Hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and DNAzyme-based methods have been considered as powerful tools for miRNA detection, with low efficient intracellular delivery and limited amplification efficiency. Herein, we propose a Hairpins@MnO₂ nanosystem for intracellular enzyme-free exponential amplification for miRNA imaging. The enzyme-free exponential amplification is based on the synergistic cross-activation between HCR and DNAzymes. The MnO₂ nanosheets were employed as the carrier of three kinds of hairpin DNA probes and further provided appropriate Mn²⁺ as DNAzyme cofactors in the living cell. Upon entering cells and in the presence of highly expressed glutathione (GSH) in tumors, MnO₂ is reduced to release Mn²⁺ and the three kinds of hairpin DNA probes. In the presence of target miRNA, the released hairpin DNA H1 and H2 probes self-assemble via HCR into the wire-shaped active Mn²⁺-based DNAzymes which further catalyze the cleavage of H3 to generate numerous new triggers to reversely stimulate HCR amplifiers, thus offering tremendously amplified Förster resonance energy transfer readout. The method has a detection limit of 33 fM, which is 2.4 × 10⁴ times lower than that of the traditional HCR system. The developed method also has a high specificity; even miRNAs with a single base difference can be distinguished. Live cell imaging experiments confirmed that this Hairpins@MnO₂ nanosystem allows accurate differentiation of miRNA expression of cancer cells and normal cells. The method holds great potential in biological research of nucleic acids.

MicroRNA-1246 suppresses the metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeting the DYRK1A/PGRN axis to prevent the epithelial-mesenchymal transition

OBJECTIVE

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant and highly heterogeneous tumors in women. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), such as miR-1246, play important roles in various types of malignant cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the biological role of miR-1246 in TNBC has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we studied the role of miR-1246 in the occurrence and development of TNBC and its mechanism of action.

METHODS

Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing, and Transwell assays were performed to observe the effects of miR-1246 on TNBC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, respectively. The expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers was detected by western blotting. Dual luciferase reporter assays were performed to determine whether DYRK1A is a novel target of miR-1246. In addition, an immunoprecipitation experiment was performed to verify the binding of DYRK1A to PGRN. Rescue experiments were performed to determine whether DYRK1A is a novel target of miR-1246 and whether miR-1246 suppresses the metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeting the DYRK1A/PGRN axis to prevent the epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

RESULTS

Our results show that miR‑1246 suppresses the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TNBC cells, DYRK1A is a novel target of miR-1246 and Importin-8 mediated miR-1246 nuclear translocation. MiR‑1246 plays a suppressive role in the regulation of the EMT of TNBC cells by targeting DYRK1A. DYRK1A mediates the metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer via activation of the EMT. We identified PGRN as a novel DYRK1A-interacting protein. Overexpression of PGRN and DYRK1A promoted cell proliferation and migration of TNBC, but this effect was reversed by co-expression of miR-1246 mimics.DYRK1A and PGRN act together to regulate the occurrence and development of breast cancer through miR-1246.

CONCLUSION

MiR-1246 suppresses the metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeting the DYRK1A/PGRN axis and preventing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The MiR-1246/DYRK1A/PGRN axis regulates TNBC progression, suggesting that MiR-1246 could be promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of TNBC.

miRNome Profiling and Functional Analysis Reveal Involvement of hsa-miR-1246 in Colon Adenoma-Carcinoma Transition by Targeting AXIN2 and CFTR

Regulatory changes occurring early in colorectal cancer development remain poorly investigated. Since the majority of cases develop from polyps in the adenoma-carcinoma transition, a search of early molecular features, such as aberrations in miRNA expression occurring prior to cancer development, would enable identification of potentially causal, rather than consequential, candidates in the progression of polyp to cancer. In the current study, by employing small RNA-seq profiling of colon biopsy samples, we described differentially expressed miRNAs and their isoforms in the adenoma-carcinoma transition. Analysis of healthy-adenoma-carcinoma sequence in an independent validation group enabled us to identify early deregulated miRNAs including hsa-miR-1246 and hsa-miR-215-5p, the expressions of which are, respectively, gradually increasing and decreasing. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that inhibition of hsa-miR-1246 lead to reduced cell viability, colony formation, and migration rate, thereby indicating an oncogenic effect of this miRNA in vitro. Subsequent western blot and luciferase reporter assay provided evidence of hsa-miR-1246 being involved in the regulation of target AXIN2 and CFTR genes’ expression. To conclude, the present study revealed possible involvement of hsa-miR-1246 in early colorectal cancer development and regulation of tumor suppressors AXIN2 and CFTR.

A Review on the Role of miR-1246 in the Pathoetiology of Different Cancers

miR-1246 is a microRNA firstly recognized through application of a high throughput sequencing technique in human embryonic stem cells. Subsequent studies have shown the role of this microRNA in the carcinogenesis. miR-1246 has been found to exert oncogenic roles in colorectal, breast, renal, oral, laryngeal, pancreatic and ovarian cancers as well as melanoma and glioma. In lung, cervical and liver cancers, studies have reported contradictory results regarding the role of miR-1246. miR-1246 has been reported to regulate activity of RAF/MEK/ERK, GSK3β, Wnt/β-catenin, JAK/STAT, PI3K/AKT, THBS2/MMP and NOTCH2 pathways. In addition to affecting cell cycle progression and proliferation, miR-1246 can influence stemness and resistance of cancer cells to therapeutics. In the current review, we describe the summary of in vitro and in vivo studies about the influence of miR-1246 in carcinogenesis in addition to studies that measured expression levels of miR-1246 in clinical samples.

Salivary miRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Improved detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is needed, as current detection methods, such as alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasound, suffer from poor sensitivity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate many cellular functions and impact cancer development and progression. Notably, miRNAs are detectable in saliva and have shown potential as non-invasive biomarkers for a number of cancers including breast, oral, and lung cancers. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first report of salivary miRNAs in HCC and compare these findings to patients with cirrhosis, a high-risk cohort for HCC.

METHODS

We performed small RNA sequencing in 20 patients with HCC and 19 with cirrhosis. Eleven patients with HCC had chronic liver disease, and analyses were performed with these samples combined and stratified by the presence of chronic liver disease. P values were adjusted for multiple comparisons using a false discovery rate (FDR) approach and miRNA with FDR P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Differential expression of salivary miRNAs was compared to a previously published report of miRNAs in liver tissue of patients with HCC vs cirrhosis. Support vector machines and leave-one-out cross-validation were performed to determine if salivary miRNAs have predictive potential for detecting HCC.

RESULTS

A total of 4,565 precursor and mature miRNAs were detected in saliva and 365 were significantly different between those with HCC compared to cirrhosis (FDR P < 0.05). Interestingly, 283 of these miRNAs were significantly downregulated in patients with HCC. Machine-learning identified a combination of 10 miRNAs and covariates that accurately classified patients with HCC (AUC = 0.87). In addition, we identified three miRNAs that were differentially expressed in HCC saliva samples and in a previously published study of miRNAs in HCC tissue compared to cirrhotic liver tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates, for the first time, that miRNAs relevant to HCC are detectable in saliva, that salivary miRNA signatures show potential to be highly sensitive and specific non-invasive biomarkers of HCC, and that additional studies utilizing larger cohorts are needed.

Silencing of miR-1246 Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Cisplatin-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells by Promoting ZNF23 Transcription

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most frequent cause of death among patients with gynecologic malignancies. In recent years, the development of cisplatin (DDP) resistance has become an important reason for the poor prognosis of OC patients. Therefore, it is vital to explore the mechanism of DDP resistance in OC. In this study, microRNA-1246 (miR-1246) expression in OC and DDP-resistant OC cells was determined by RT-qPCR, and chemosensitivity to DDP was assessed by the CCK-8 assay. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the interaction between miR-1246 and zinc finger 23 (ZNF23), while changes in ZNF23 expression were monitored by RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, and western blot assays. Moreover, cell proliferation, cycle phase, and apoptosis were determined by EdU staining, flow cytometry, TUNEL staining, and Hoechst staining. Our data showed that miR-1246 was highly expressed in DDP-resistant OVCAR-3 and TOV-112D cells. Functionally, overexpression of miR-1246 markedly enhanced DDP resistance and cell proliferation, and suppressed cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of OC cells. Inhibition of miR-1246 expression significantly attenuated DDP resistance and cell proliferation, and increased cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in DDP-resistant OC cells. Furthermore, ZNF23 was identified as a target gene of miR-1246, and ZNF23 protein expression was notably downregulated in DDP-resistant OC cells. Moreover, overexpression of miR-1246 significantly downregulated the ZNF23 levels in OVCAR-3 and TOV-112D cells, and inhibition of miR-1246 upregulated the ZNF23 levels in the DDP-resistant OVCAR-3 and TOV-112D cells. In conclusion, miR-1246 might be a novel regulator of DDP-resistant OC that functions by regulating ZNF23 expression in DDP-resistant cells, as well as cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis.

MiR-1246 regulates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by targeting PIK3AP1 and inhibits thyroid cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth

One of the most prevalent forms of endocrine malignancies is thyroid cancer. Herein, we explored the mechanisms whereby miR-1246 is involved in thyroid cancer. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase adapter protein 1 (PIK3AP1) was identified as a potential miR-1246 target, with the online Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The binding between miR-1246 and PIK3AP1 and the dynamic role of these two molecules in downstream PI3K/AKT signaling were evaluated. Analysis of GEO data demonstrated significant miR-1246 downregulation in thyroid cancer, and we confirmed that overexpression of miR-1246 can inhibit migratory, invasive, and proliferative activity in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Subsequent studies indicated that miR-1246 overexpression decreased the protein level of PIK3AP1 and the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT, which were reversed by PIK3AP1 overexpression. At the same time, overexpression of PIK3AP1 also reversed the miR-1246 mimics-induced inhibition proliferative, migratory, and invasive activity, while promoting increases in apoptotic death, confirming that miR-1246 function was negatively correlated with that of PIK3AP1. Subsequently, we found that the miR-1246 mimics-induced inhibition of PI3K/AKT phosphorylation was reversed by the PI3K/AKT activator IGF-1. miR-1246 mimics inhibited proliferative, migratory, and invasive activity while promoting increases in apoptotic death, which were reversed by IGF-1. Furthermore, miR-1246 agomir can inhibit tumor growth in vivo. We confirmed that miR-1246 affects the signaling pathway of PI3K/AKT via targeting PIK3AP1 and inhibits the development of thyroid cancer. Thus, miR-1246 is a new therapeutic target for thyroid cancer.

The Molecular Basis and Therapeutic Aspects of Cisplatin Resistance in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a kind of malignant tumors with low survival rate and prone to have early metastasis and recurrence. Cisplatin is an alkylating agent which induces DNA damage through the formation of cisplatin-DNA adducts, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In the management of advanced OSCC, cisplatin-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy has been considered as the first-line treatment. Unfortunately, only a portion of OSCC patients can benefit from cisplatin treatment, both inherent resistance and acquired resistance greatly limit the efficacy of cisplatin and even cause treatment failure. Herein, this review outline the underlying mechanisms of cisplatin resistance in OSCC from the aspects of DNA damage and repair, epigenetic regulation, transport processes, programmed cell death and tumor microenvironment. In addition, this review summarizes the strategies applicable to overcome cisplatin resistance, which can provide new ideas to improve the clinical therapeutic outcome of OSCC.

microRNA-1266-5p directly targets DAB2IP to enhance oncogenicity and metastasis in oral cancer

Background/purpose

Oral cancer has been recognized as one of the most common malignancies worldwide and ranks the fifth leading cause of cancer death in Taiwan. A variety of studies have demonstrated that microRNAs are involved in the regulation of the hallmarks of oral carcinogenesis. Nevertheless, the effect of miR-1266-5p on the tumorigenesis of oral cancer has not been investigated, and not to mention, its functional role in oral cancer.

Materials and methods

The upregulation of miR-1266-5p in SASVO3 and SASM5 cells was identified by RNA-Seq and examined by qRT-PCR analysis. The phenotypic assays including proliferation activity, migration capacity, invasion, wound healing, and colony-forming abilities were conducted in oral cancer cells after knockdown of miR-1266-5p. Luciferase reporter and western blotting were used to validate DAB2IP was a direct target of miR-1266-5p in oral cancer.

Results

We identified that miR-1266-5p was significantly overexpressed in highly tumorigenic SASVO3 cells and metastatic SASM5 cells. qRT-PCR revealed that miR-1266 significantly increased upregulated in oral cancer and lymph node metastatic tissues compared to normal counterparts We found that downregulation of miR-1266-5p inhibited the proliferation and clonogenicity capacities of SASVO3 cells. Knockdown of miR-1266-5p also inhibited migration/invasion and self-renewal abilities in SASM5 cells. Moreover, we validated miR-1266-5p directly bound to the 3′UTR of DAB2IP in oral cancer cells. We found that DAB2IP knockdown reversed the inhibitory effects of self-renewal and migration mediated by silencing of miR-1266-5p.

Conclusion

miR-1266 functions as a biomarker in oral cancer patients, and downregulation of miR-1266 may ameliorate the oncogenic and metastasis potential of oral cancer by targeting DAB2IP.

Upregulation of miR-345-5p suppresses cell growth of lung adenocarcinoma by regulating ras homolog family member A (RhoA) and Rho/Rho associated protein kinase (Rho/ROCK) pathway

BACKGROUND

Microribose nucleic acids (miRNAs) are implicated in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. MicroRNA-345-5p (miR-345-5p) is a recently identified anti-oncogene in some human cancers, but its functional role and possible molecular mechanism in lung adenocarcinoma remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the biological function and underlying mechanism of miR-345-5p in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

METHODS

In this study, lung adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent tissues were collected in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between April 2016 and February 2017. The expression of miR-345-5p and ras homolog family member A (RhoA) in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (A549, H1650, PC-9, and H441) was detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Functional assays including colony formation, flow cytometry analysis, wound healing, and transwell assays were performed to assess the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. In addition, RNA pulldown and luciferase reporter assays were conducted to evaluate the relationship between miR-345-5p and RhoA. Difference between the two groups was analyzed with Student's t test, while that among multiple groups was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance.

RESULTS

MiR-345-5p expression displayed lower level in lung adenocarcinoma tissues (0.241 ± 0.095 vs.1.000 ± 0.233, t = 19.247, P < 0.001) and cell lines (F = 56.992, P < 0.001) than control tissues and cells. Functional experiments demonstrated that upregulation of miR-345-5p inhibited the malignant phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma cells via suppressing cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and facilitating cell apoptosis. Additionally, RhoA was verified to be the downstream target of miR-345-5p. Expression of RhoA was downregulated by overexpression of miR-345-5p in PC-9 (0.321 ± 0.047 vs. 1.000 ± 0.127, t = 8.536, P < 0.001) and H1650 (0.398 ± 0.054 vs. 1.000 ± 0.156, t = 4.429, P = 0.011) cells. Rescue assays revealed that overexpression of RhoA rescued the suppressive effects of miR-345-5p upregulation on proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Further, miR-345-5p was found to regulate the Rho/Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling pathway by downregulation of RhoA in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-345-5p plays a tumor suppressor role in lung adenocarcinoma cells by downregulating RhoA to inactivate the Rho/ROCK pathway.

miR-17-5p drives G2/M-phase accumulation by directly targeting CCNG2 and is related to recurrence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background

The human miR-17-92 polycistron is the first reported and most well-studied onco-miRNA with a cluster of seven miRNAs. miR-17-5p, a member of the miR-17-92 family, plays an important role in tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion. However, few studies have shown the role of miR-17-5p in the cell cycle of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods

RT-qPCR was used to detect miR-17-5p expression levels in 64 HNSCC tissues and 5 cell lines. The relationship between the expression of miR-17-5p in the tissues and the clinical characteristics of the patients was analyzed. HNSCC cells were transfected with an miR-17-5p mimic or inhibitor to evaluate cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry. Cell cycle distribution of cells transfected with target gene was evaluated using flow cytometry. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the regulatory effect of miR-17-5p on target gene expression.

Results

In the present study, we found that miR-17-5p expression in HNSCC tissues and cell lines was remarkably increased, and miR-17-5p is related to recurrence in HNSCC patients. Silencing miR-17-5p blocked HNSCC cells in G2/M phase, whereas its overexpression propelled cell cycle progression. More importantly, we verified that miR-17-5p negatively regulated CCNG2 mRNA and protein expression by directly targeting its 3’UTR.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that miR-17-5p might act as a tumor promoter and prognostic factor for recurrence in HNSCC patients.

The role of non-coding RNAs in drug resistance of oral squamous cell carcinoma and therapeutic potential

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the eighth most prevalent cancer in the world, arises from the interaction of multiple factors including tobacco, alcohol consumption, and betel quid. Chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel have now become the first-line options for OSCC patients. Nevertheless, most OSCC patients eventually acquire drug resistance, leading to poor prognosis. With the discovery and identification of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), the functions of dysregulated ncRNAs in OSCC development and drug resistance are gradually being widely recognized. The mechanisms of drug resistance of OSCC are intricate and involve drug efflux, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA damage repair, and autophagy. At present, strategies to explore the reversal of drug resistance of OSCC need to be urgently developed. Nano-delivery and self-cellular drug delivery platforms are considered as effective strategies to overcome drug resistance due to their tumor targeting, controlled release, and consistent pharmacokinetic profiles. In particular, the combined application of new technologies (including CRISPR systems) opened up new horizons for the treatment of drug resistance of OSCC. Hence, this review explored emerging regulatory functions of ncRNAs in drug resistance of OSCC, elucidated multiple ncRNA-meditated mechanisms of drug resistance of OSCC, and discussed the potential value of drug delivery platforms using nanoparticles and self-cells as carriers in drug resistance of OSCC.

METTL3 promotes the initiation and metastasis of ovarian cancer by inhibiting CCNG2 expression via promoting the maturation of pri-microRNA-1246

Ovarian cancer is a common gynecological malignant tumor with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis. There is inadequate knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer. We examined the expression of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in tumor specimens using RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis, and tested the methylation of METTL3 by MSP. Levels of METTL3, miR-1246, pri-miR-1246 and CCNG2 were then analyzed and their effects on cell biological processes were also investigated, using in vivo assay to validate the in vitro findings. METTL3 showed hypomethylation and high expression in ovarian cancer tissues and cells. Hypomethylation of METTL3 was pronounced in ovarian cancer samples, which was negatively associated with patient survival. Decreased METTL3 inhibited the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells and promoted apoptosis, while METTL3 overexpression exerted opposite effects. Mechanistically, METTL3 aggravated ovarian cancer by targeting miR-1246, while miR-1246 targeted and inhibited CCNG2 expression. High expression of METTL3 downregulated CCNG2, promoted the metabolism and growth of transplanted tumors in nude mice, and inhibited apoptosis. The current study highlights the promoting role of METTL3 in the development of ovarian cancer, and presents new targets for its treatment.

MicroRNA-1246 by Targeting AXIN2 and GSK-3β Overcomes Drug Resistance and Induces Apoptosis in Chemo-resistant Leukemia Cells

Background and objective: Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of leukemia. Multidrug resistance (MDR) induced by chemotherapy always leads to treatment failure and disease recurrence. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been verified as crucial components in carcinogenesis, including chemo-resistance of tumor cells, which has not been fully understood. In this study, we aimed to identify the potential candidate miRNA, miR-1246, and reveal its regulatory role in chemo-resistance of leukemia cells.

Methods: Candidate miRNAs were selected by microarray analysis, screened by bioinformatics tools and verified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Chemo-resistant phenotypes, including cell viability, apoptosis, adriamycin (ADM) efflux and in vivo oncogenicity of leukemia cells following transfected with miR-1246 mimics or inhibitor were checked with or without ADM treatment to make clear the relationship between miR-1246 and chemo-resistance. RT-qPCR, western blot and dual luciferase reporter assay were performed to measure the expression of related genes and address the potential regulatory mechanism of miR-1246 in chemo-resistance.

Results: The expression of miR-1246 was significantly higher in chemo-resistant leukemia K562/ADM cells, HL-60/RS cells and recurrent primary leukemia cells. Loss of miR-1246 inhibited proliferation, induced apoptosis, altered cell cycle distribution, inhibited ADM efflux in chemo-resistant leukemia cells, while overexpression of miR-1246 showed the opposite role in chemo-sensitive leukemia cells. Both bioinformatics prediction and luciferase assay indicated that AXIN2 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β) were the direct targets of miR-1246 in leukemia cells. Inhibition of miR-1246 could up-regulate AXIN2 and GSK-3β and inactivate Wnt/β-catenin pathway, accompanied with inhibiting the expression of β-catenin and further influencing the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the chemo-resistant leukemia cells.

Conclusions: Chemo-resistant ability of MDR leukemia cells is attenuated by loss of miR-1246 via negatively regulating AXIN2 and GSK-3β to inactivate Wnt/β-catenin pathway and suppress P-gp expression, these mean that targeting miR-1246-AXIN2/GSK-3β-Wnt/β-catenin axis may be beneficial to overcome the chemo-resistance in relapse and refractory leukemia patients.

Exosomes derived from hypoxic glioma deliver miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p to normoxic glioma cells to promote migration and invasion

Hypoxia is an important feature of the tumor microenvironment and is associated with glioma progression and patient outcome. Exosomes have been implicated in the intercellular communication in the tumor microenvironment. However, the effects of hypoxic glioma exosomes on glioma migration and invasion and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we found that exosomes derived from hypoxic glioma cells (H-GDEs) promoted normoxic glioma migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Given that exosomes can regulate recipient cell functions by delivering microRNAs, we further revealed miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p were upregulated significantly in H-GDEs and delivered to normoxic glioma cells by H-GDEs. Moreover, we determined the clinical relevance of miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p in glioma patients. Subsequent investigations indicated that miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p markedly induced glioma migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we demonstrated that miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p induced glioma migration and invasion by directly targeting FRK and TFAP2A respectively. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the hypoxic microenvironment stimulates glioma to generate miR-1246- and miR-10b-5p-rich exosomes that are delivered to normoxic glioma cells to promote their migration and invasion; treatment targeting miR-1246 and miR-10b-5p may impair the motility of gliomas, providing a novel direction for the development of antitumor therapy.

Roles of microRNAs in Regulating Cancer Stemness in Head and Neck Cancers

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are epithelial malignancies with 5-year overall survival rates of approximately 40-50%. Emerging evidence indicates that a small population of cells in HNSCC patients, named cancer stem cells (CSCs), play vital roles in the processes of tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, immune evasion, chemo-/radioresistance, and recurrence. The acquisition of stem-like properties of cancer cells further provides cellular plasticity for stress adaptation and contributes to therapeutic resistance, resulting in a worse clinical outcome. Thus, targeting cancer stemness is fundamental for cancer treatment. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to regulate stem cell features in the development and tissue regeneration through a miRNA-target interactive network. In HNSCCs, miRNAs act as tumor suppressors and/or oncogenes to modulate cancer stemness and therapeutic efficacy by regulating the CSC-specific tumor microenvironment (TME) and signaling pathways, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) signaling pathways. Owing to a deeper understanding of disease-relevant miRNAs and advances in in vivo delivery systems, the administration of miRNA-based therapeutics is feasible and safe in humans, with encouraging efficacy results in early-phase clinical trials. In this review, we summarize the present findings to better understand the mechanical actions of miRNAs in maintaining CSCs and acquiring the stem-like features of cancer cells during HNSCC pathogenesis.

Expression profile, molecular functions, and prognostic significance of miRNAs in primary colorectal cancer stem cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to drive the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) via the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs). We studied the miRNA expression profile of primary CSCs isolated from patients with CRC (pCRCSCs). Compared to pCRCSC-derived differentiated cells, 98 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in pCRCSCs. Target genes encoding pCRCSC-related miRNAs were identified using a combination of miRNA target databases and miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks from the same patient. The pCRCSC-related miRNA target genes were associated with pathways contributing to malignant phenotypes, including I-kappa B kinase/NF-kappa B signaling, signal transduction by p53 class mediator, Ras signaling, and cGMP-PKG signaling. The pCRCSC-related miRNA expression signature was independently associated with poor overall survival in both the training and validation cohorts. We have thus identified several pCRCSC-related miRNAs with oncogenic potential that could serve as prognostic biomarkers for CRC.

Long non-coding RNA FGD5-AS1 promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell proliferation through sponging hsa-miR-107 to up-regulate FGFRL1

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) FYVE, RhoGEF and PH domain containing 5 antisense RNA 1 (FGD5-AS1) has been reported as an oncogene in colorectal cancer, promoting its tumorgenesis. The present paper focused on searching the potential function of FGD5-AS1 in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). There are connections between the expression of lncRNA FGD5-AS1 and human NSCLC tumor growth and progression. Also, the relationships between FGD5-AS1, hsa-miR-107 and mRNA fibroblast growth factor receptor like 1 (FGFRL1) are going to test their interaction in NSCLC cell lines, which may cause a series of biological behaviors of NSCLC cells. qRT-PCR analysis was conducted to test the expression of RNAs in different situation. CCK-8 experiment and clone formation assay were performed to assess proliferation of NSCLC cells. Also, connection between FGD5-AS1 and hsa-miR-107 were investigated by luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay. Rescue experiments were performed to verify the modulating relationship between FGD5-AS1, hsa-miR-107 and FGFRL1. High-level expression of FGD5-AS1 was found in NSCLC. FGD5-AS1 may promote the proliferation of NSCLC cells. Also, the combination between hsa-miR-107, FGD5-AS1 and NSCLC have been proved, which means they can play an interaction function in NSCLC cells. Thence, we concluded that lncRNA FGD5-AS1 promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell proliferation through sponging hsa-miR-107 to up-regulate FGFRL1.

Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Chemoresistance in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) remains a cancer with poor prognosis and high recurrence rate. Even with multimodal treatment options available for OSCC, tumor drug resistance is still a persistent problem, leading to increased tumor invasiveness among OSCC patients. An emerging trend of thought proposes that extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in facilitating tumor progression and chemoresistance via signaling between tumor cells. In particular, exosomes and microvesicles are heavily implicated in this process by various studies. Where primary studies into a particular EV-mediated chemoresistance mechanism in OSCC are limited, similar studies on other cancer cell types will be used in the discussion below to provide ideas for a new line of investigation into OSCC chemoresistance. By understanding how EVs are or may be involved in OSCC chemoresistance, novel targeted therapies such as EV inhibition may be an effective alternative to current treatment options in the near future. In this review, the current understandings on OSCC drug mechanisms under the novel context of exosomes and microvesicles were reviewed, including shuttling of miRNA content, drug efflux, alteration of vesicular pH, anti-apoptotic signaling, modulation of DNA damage repair, immunomodulation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and maintenance of tumor by cancer stem cells.

Noncoding RNAs Associated with Therapeutic Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer

Therapeutic resistance is an inevitable impediment towards effective cancer therapies. Evidence accumulated has shown that the signaling pathways and related factors are fundamentally responsible for therapeutic resistance via regulating diverse cellular events, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), stemness, cell survival/apoptosis, autophagy, etcetera. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified as essential cellular components in gene regulation. The expression of ncRNAs is altered in cancer, and dysregulated ncRNAs participate in gene regulatory networks in pathological contexts. An in-depth understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of therapeutic resistance is required to refine therapeutic benefits. This review presents an overview of the recent evidence concerning the role of human ncRNAs in therapeutic resistance, together with the feasibility of ncRNAs as therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.

MicroRNAs as Modulators of Oral Tumorigenesis-A Focused Review

Oral cancers constitute the majority of head and neck tumors, with a relatively high incidence and poor survival rate in developing countries. While the five-year survival rates of the oral cancer patients have increased to 65%, the overall survival for advanced stages has been at 27% for the past ten years, emphasizing the necessity for further understanding the etiology of the disease, diagnosis, and formulating possible novel treatment regimens. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a family of small non-coding RNA, have emerged as master modulators of gene expression in various cellular and biological process. Aberrant expression of these dynamic molecules has been associated with many human diseases, including oral cancers. The deregulated miRNAs have been shown to control various oncogenic processes, including sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death activating invasion and metastasis, and inducing angiogenesis. Hence, the aberrant expression of miRNAs associated with oral cancers, makes them potential candidates for the investigation of functional markers, which will aid in the differential diagnosis, prognosis, and development of novel therapeutic regimens. This review presents a holistic insight into our understanding of the role of miRNAs in regulating various hallmarks of oral tumorigenesis.

MicroRNA-1246 regulates proliferation, invasion, and differentiation in human vascular smooth muscle cells by targeting cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)

MicroRNA (miRNA) plays a key role in the proliferation and invasion of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, the role and underlying mechanism of miRNAs in VSMCs are not fully understood. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the role and mechanism of microRNA-1246 (miR-1246) in VSMCs. VSMCs were cultured, and the proliferation of VSMCs was stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) or 15% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of miR-1246 and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in VSMCs. The CCK-8 assay and transwell assay were used to detect the proliferation and invasion of VSMCs. Target gene prediction and screening and luciferase reporter assays were used to verify downstream target genes of miR-1246. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression levels of PCNA, α-SMA, SM-MHC, Collagen-1, and Cyclin D1 in VSMCs. PDGF-BB and FBS treatment induced VSMCs proliferation and the upregulation of miR-1246 expression. Overexpression of miR-1246 promoted VSMCs proliferation, invasion, and differentiation towards synthetic phenotype, while knockdown of miR-1246 had opposite effects. In addition, CFTR was found to be a direct target for miR-1246, and miR-1246 inhibited the expression of CFTR. Moreover, overexpression of CFTR inhibited VSMC proliferation and synthetic differentiation, while overexpression of miR-1246 partly abolished the effects of CFTR overexpression on VSMCs proliferation and differentiation. Our data suggest that MiR-1246 promotes VSMC proliferation, invasion, and differentiation to synthetic phenotype by regulating CFTR. MiR-1246 may be a potential therapeutic target for atherosclerosis.

Cyclin G2 upregulation impairs migration, invasion, and network formation through RNF123/Dvl2/JNK signaling in the trophoblast cell line HTR8/SVneo, a possible role in preeclampsia

Disruption of extravillous trophoblast (EVT) migration and invasion is considered to be responsible for pathological placentation in preeclampsia (PE). Cyclin G2 (CCNG2) is an atypical cyclin that inhibits cell cycle progression. However, its biological function and underlying molecular mechanism in PE are poorly understood. In this study, clinical data demonstrated that CCNG2 was significantly upregulated in PE placenta and associated with invasive EVT dysfunction. Additionally, Ccng2 knockout led to an attenuation of PE-like symptoms in the PE mouse model produced via treatment with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). In vitro, CCNG2 inhibited the migration, invasion, and endothelial-like network formation of human trophoblast cell line HTR8/SVneo. Mechanically, CCNG2 suppressed JNK-dependent Wnt/PCP signaling and its downstream indicators including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) via promoting the polyubiquitination degradation of dishevelled 2 (Dvl2) protein in HTR8/SVneo cells. We also discovered that the E3 ligase Ring finger protein 123 (RNF123), as a novel CCNG2 target among HTR8/SVneo cells, interacted with Dvl2 and participated in CCNG2-induced polyubiquitination degradation of Dvl2. Moreover, we verified that the treatment of HTR8/SVneo cells with RNF123-specific siRNA improved polyubiquitination-induced degradation of Dvl2 and the activity of Wnt/PCP-JNK signaling mediated by CCNG2. Taken together, our results reveal that the CCNG2/RNF123/Dvl2/JNK axis may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of PE through trophoblastic cell function modulation, thus probably providing us with new therapeutic strategies for PE treatment.

Methylation associated miR-1246 contributes to poor prognosis in gliomas treated with temozolomide

OBJECTIVE

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive type of glioma. In this study, we aimed to investigate the biological functions and the possible mechanisms of miR-1246 in glioma.

METHODS

A miRNA-seq array was conducted in both the tumor tissues and the glioma cell lines treated with 5-Aza to determine the methylation statues of miRNAs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to verify the miR-1246 expressions. We used overall survival (OS) and the progress-free survival (PFS) to investigate the clinical significance of miR-1246 in the prognosis of glioma patients. Additionally, bioinformatic analysis was used for discovering the potential targets of miR-1246. Cell viability, wound-healing assay and protein expression tests were conducted after the transfection or knockdown of miR-1246 and CCNG2, respectively.

RESULTS

We found the reduced expression of miR-1246 in IDH1^MUT tumor tissues and the increased expression in the glioma cell lines treated with 5-Aza. Therefore, miR-1246 was selected as a candidate for further analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the glioma patients with the high level of miR-1246 had the worst survival rate compared to the low level counterparts. Overexpression of miR-1246 promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion in glioma cells. Moreover, the results showed that the downregulation of miR-1246 decreased chemoresistance by targeting CCNG2. In addition, Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that miR-1246 was associated with the regulations of transcription, cell cycle, cell proliferation, cell adhesion and apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

These results indicated that the miR-1246/CCNG2 axis might be a potential target for improving the drug resistance in glioma.

Downregulation of DUSP9 Promotes Tumor Progression and Contributes to Poor Prognosis in Human Colorectal Cancer

Background

Dual-specificity phosphatase 9 (DUSP9) belongs to the dual-specificity protein phosphatase subfamily. Recently, increasing attention has been paid on the role of DUSP9 in a variety of cancers. However, its functional role in tumor development is still unclear, especially in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

The functional role of DUSP9 in inhibiting the progression of CRC was verified using colony formation assay, wound healing assay, nude mice xenograft model, etc. RNA-seq was performed to assess the gene expression profiling in SW480 cells with DUSP9 stable knockdown and shControl cells. Bisulfite sequencing (BSE) was performed to reveal the methylation status of CpG island in the promoter of DUSP9.

Results

DUSP9 was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues compared with peritumor tissues. Mechanistically, the high methylation status of CpG island in the promoter of DUSP9 may lead to the downregulation of DUSP9 in CRC. Clinically, low DUSP9 expression in CRC was closely associated with depth of invasion, metastasis (TNM) stage, and poor survival, indicating that DUSP9 may be involved in the progression of CRC. Functional study revealed that DUSP9 inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition of CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptome profiling studies revealed that Erk signaling was involved in the tumor progression mediated by DUSP9 silencing, which is confirmed by cell experiments and clinical tissue sample staining analysis.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that DUSP9 plays a critical role in the progression of CRC, and therapeutic intervention to increase the expression or activity of DUSP9 may be a potential target for CRC treatment in the future.

The roles of microRNAs in the stemness of oral cancer cells

Oral cancer (OC), which is the most common form of head and neck cancers, has one of the lowest (~50%) overall 5-year survival rates. The main reasons for this high mortality rate are diagnosis of OC in advanced stages in most patients and spread to distant organs via lymph node metastasis. Many studies have shown that a small population of cells within the tumor plays vital roles in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of the tumor, resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, and recurrence. These cells, identified as cancer stem cells (CSCs), are the main reasons for the failure of current treatment modalities. Deregulated expressions of microRNAs are closely related to tumor prognosis, metastasis and drug resistance. In addition, microRNAs play important roles in regulating the functions of CSCs. Until now, the roles of microRNAs in the acquisition and maintenance of OC stemness have not been elucidated in detail yet. Here in this review, we summarized significant findings and the latest literature to better understand the involvement of CSCs in association with dysregulated microRNAs in oral carcinogenesis. Possible roles of these microRNAs in acquisition and maintenance of CSCs features during OC pathogenesis were summarized.

Preclinical investigation of ovatodiolide as a potential inhibitor of colon cancer stem cells via downregulating sphere-derived exosomal β-catenin/STAT3/miR-1246 cargoes

Patients with advanced-stage colon cancer often exhibit resistance against treatment and distant metastasis, both key contributors to poor prognosis. Emerging evidence indicates that cancer stem cells (CSCs), characterized by the enhanced ability to self-renew, resist therapeutics, and promote metastasis, represents a clinical challenge to target. Alternative therapeutic approaches are urgently required. Here, we explored the feasibility of disrupting the intracellular communications between CSCs and the tumor microenvironment by way of exosomes. First, we demonstrated that exosomes secreted by colon tumorspheres (Exo^sp) promoted 5-FU resistance, migration, and tumorsphere formation. Exo^sp also increased the generation of cancer-associated fibroblasts and M2 polarized macrophages in vitro. Oncogenic molecules, including IL-6, p-STAT3, TGF-β1, and β-catenin, were identified as the cargoes of Exo^sp. Furthermore, the public database revealed the high abundance of miR-1246 in serum exosomes from colon cancer patients, and we verified in the Exo^sp from HCT116 and HT29 cells. Therapeutically, we demonstrated the ovatodiolide treatment reduced exosomal cargoes from tumorspheres (Exo^sp_OV). Exo^sp_OV were significantly less capable of promoting 5-FU resistance, migration, and tumorsphere formation when co-cultured with HCT116 and HT29 cells. Notably, Exo^sp_OV was less CAF- and M2 TAM-transformative. Computational docking analysis revealed that OV could bind and significantly reduced β-catenin activity. Finally, mouse xenograft data indicated that ovatodiolide suppressed tumor growth via down-regulating IL-6, STAT3, β-catenin expression, and serum exosomal miR-1246. In conclusion, our findings provided preclinical supports for ovatodiolide as a colon CSC inhibitor by reducing β-catenin/STAT3/miR-1246 signaling conveyed by CSC derived exosomes.

ExoBCD: a comprehensive database for exosomal biomarker discovery in breast cancer

Effective and safe implementation of precision oncology for breast cancer is a vital strategy to improve patient outcomes, which relies on the application of reliable biomarkers. As 'liquid biopsy' and novel resource for biomarkers, exosomes provide a promising avenue for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Although several exosome-related databases have been developed, there is still lacking of an integrated database for exosome-based biomarker discovery. To this end, a comprehensive database ExoBCD (https://exobcd.liumwei.org) was constructed with the combination of robust analysis of four high-throughput datasets, transcriptome validation of 1191 TCGA cases and manual mining of 950 studies. In ExoBCD, approximately 20 900 annotation entries were integrated from 25 external sources and 306 exosomal molecules (49 potential biomarkers and 257 biologically interesting molecules). The latter could be divided into 3 molecule types, including 121 mRNAs, 172 miRNAs and 13 lncRNAs. Thus, the well-linked information about molecular characters, experimental biology, gene expression patterns, overall survival, functional evidence, tumour stage and clinical use were fully integrated. As a data-driven and literature-based paradigm proposed of biomarker discovery, this study also demonstrated the corroborative analysis and identified 36 promising molecules, as well as the most promising prognostic biomarkers, IGF1R and FRS2. Taken together, ExoBCD is the first well-corroborated knowledge base for exosomal studies of breast cancer. It not only lays a foundation for subsequent studies but also strengthens the studies of probing molecular mechanisms, discovering biomarkers and developing meaningful clinical use.

LINC00963 Promotes Cancer Stemness, Metastasis, and Drug Resistance in Head and Neck Carcinomas via ABCB5 Regulation

Accumulating studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are crucial in tumor initiation, metastasis, relapse, and therapy resistance. In the current study, RT-PCR analysis was employed to evaluate the expression of LINC00963 in tumor tissues and oral CSCs. Stemness phenotypes and the expression of CSCs markers in oral cancer cells transfected with sh-LINC00963 were examined. Our results showed that the expression of the lncRNA LINC00963 was up-regulated in oral cancer tissues and CSCs. We found that the downregulation of LINC00963 inhibited CSC hallmarks, such as migration, invasion and colony formation capacity. Moreover, suppression of LINC00963 reduced the activity of stemness marker ALDH1, the percentage of self-renewal, chemoresistance and the expression of multidrug-resistance transporter ABCB5. Most importantly, we demonstrated that knockdown of LINC00963 decreased self-renewal, invasion and colony formation ability via ABCB5. Analysis of TCGA (the Cancer Genome Atlas) datasets suggested that the level of LINC00963 was positively correlated with the expression of the cancer stemness markers (Sox2 and CD44) and drug resistance markers (ABCG2 and ABCB5). Altogether, our results showed that suppression of LINC00963 may be beneficial to inhibit chemoresistance and cancer relapse in oral cancer patients.

Lack of miR-1246 in small extracellular vesicle blunts tumorigenesis of laryngeal carcinoma cells by regulating Cyclin G2

Small extracellular vesicle (sEV) has precise impacts on tumor microenvironment and play vital functions in intercellular interaction. However, the functional role of sEV miRNA on laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is largely unresolved. Here, the expression of miR-1246 in LSCC tissues and plasma sEV was examined. The internalization ability of sEV was determined by uptake assay. Then, the source and purity of sEV were checked through RNase and/or pharmacological inhibitors application. The invasion, migration, proliferation, and cell cycle assays were used to determine the altered abilities of miR-1246 in sEV in LSCC. Finally, target gene of miR-1246, Cyclin G2 (CCNG2), was stained immunohistochemically. In addition, the relationship between CCNG2 and clinicopathological features of patients was analyzed. We found that miR-1246 was higher in LSCC tissues and plasma sEV. MiR-1246 was enriched in sEV rather than soluble form. SEV could be internalized into adjacent cells. Lack of miR-1246 in sEV abrogated the tumorigenesis of LSCC. Furthermore, CCNG2 knockdown arrested the cell cycle and correlated to clinicopathological features and prognosis of LSCC patients. Taken together, we found that the function of sEV miR-1246 by regulating CCNG2 is responsible for LSCC advancement with emphasis on the main source of miR-1246 mainly root in sEV rather than in soluble form.

Upregulation of lncRNA LINC00460 Facilitates GC Progression through Epigenetically Silencing CCNG2 by EZH2/LSD1 and Indicates Poor Outcomes

Non-protein-coding functional elements in the human genome in the postgenomic biology field have been drawing great attention in recent years. Thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to be expressed in various tumors. Yet only a small proportion of these lncRNAs have been well characterized. We have demonstrated that LINC00460 could affect cell proliferation through epigenetic regulation of KLF2 and CUL4A in human colorectal cancer. However, the clinical significance and biological role of LINC00460 in gastric cancer (GC) remain largely unknown. In this research, we discovered that LINC00460 is remarkably upregulated in GC tissues compared to the non-tumor tissues. Additionally, LINC00460 served as an independent prognostic marker in GC. Functionally, proliferation of GC cells could be regulated by LINC00460 both in vitro and in vivo. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis for the whole transcriptome indicated that LINC00460 may serve as a key regulatory factor in the tumorigenesis of GC. What's more, the biological function of LINC00460 was mediated, to certain extent, by the direct interaction with enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and lysine (K)-specific demethylase 1A (LSD1) proteins. Further analyses indicated that LINC00460 promoted GC proliferation at least partly through the downregulation of tumor suppressor-gene Cyclin G2 (CCNG2), which is mediated by EZH2 and LSD1. In conclusion, our results suggested that LINC00460 acted as an oncogene in GC to inhibit the expression of CCNG2 at least partly by binding with EZH2 and LSD1. Our study could provide additional insights into the development of novel target therapeutic methods for GC.

Radiogenomics predicts the expression of microRNA-1246 in the serum of esophageal cancer patients

Radiogenomics is a new field that provides clinically useful prognostic predictions by linking molecular characteristics such as the genetic aberrations of malignant tumors with medical images. The abnormal expression of serum microRNA-1246 (miR-1246) has been reported as a prognostic factor of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). To evaluate the power of the miR-1246 level predicted with radiogenomics techniques as a predictor of the prognosis of ESCC patients. The real miR-1246 expression (miR-1246_real) was measured in 92 ESCC patients. Forty-five image features (IFs) were extracted from tumor regions on contrast-enhanced computed tomography. A prediction model for miR-1246_real was constructed using linear regression with selected features identified in a correlation analysis of miR-1246_real and each IF. A threshold to divide the patients into two groups was defined according to a receiver operating characteristic analysis for miR-1246_real. Survival analyses were performed between two groups. Six IFs were correlated with miR-1246_real and were included in the prediction model. The survival curves of high and low groups of miR-1246_real and miR-1246_pred showed significant differences (p = 0.001 and 0.016). Both miR-1246_real and miR-1246_pred were independent predictors of overall survival (p = 0.030 and 0.035). miR-1246_pred produced by radiogenomics had similar power to miR-1246_real for predicting the prognosis of ESCC.

MicroRNA-1246 Promotes Melanoma Progression Through Targeting FOXA2

Introduction

Recently, the incidence of melanoma has been rising and there is a lack of effective targeted therapies. The regulatory mechanisms of microRNA-1246 (miR-1246) have been found in many cancers, except melanoma. This study focused on the regulatory mechanism of miR-1246 in melanoma development.

Methods

The expression of miR-1246 was assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell viability and metastasis were detected by Transwell and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assays. The protein expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) makers was assessed by Western blot analysis. The target gene of miR-1246 was detected using luciferase reporter assay.

Results

MiR-1246 expression was increased in melanoma tissues and cells. In addition, upregulation of miR-1246 promoted cell viability and metastasis in melanoma. Forkhead box protein A2 (FOXA2) was confirmed to be a direct target of miR-1246. And FOXA2 expression was decreased in melanoma and was suppressed by miR-1246. Importantly, upregulation of FOXA2 restored the carcinogenesis of miR-1246 in melanoma.

Conclusion

MiR-1246 promoted cell viability and metastasis in melanoma by inhibiting FOXA2 expression.