miR-15b, a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target, inhibits oesophageal cancer progression by regulating the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway

Possible role of CNS microRNAs in Human Mpox virus encephalitis-a mini-review

In May 2022, a re-emerging viral pathogen belonging to the Poxviridae was first reported from the UK, and WHO confirmed the outbreak after the prevalence of the disease increased. As of February 15, 2023, more than 85,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in 110 countries. Due to the spread of the virus across multiple countries, WHO declared the mpox outbreak as a public health emergency. Human mpox virus is an enveloped virus with a linear double-stranded DNA that can cause encephalitis with neurological complications such as pharyngitis, fever, anorexia, adenopathy, vesiculopapular rash, and headache. Dysregulation of microRNAs in viral encephalitis has been reported in a variety of documents. In this mini-review, we aim to discuss the possibility of CNS-related microRNA dysregulation in mpox-related encephalitis.

Effects of Two Different School-Based Training on Serum miR15b Expression and Lipid Profile of Adolescents with Obesity

Background

Some circulating microRNAs, such as miR15b, are predictors of diseases associated with adulthood obesity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of two selected school-based and high-intensity interval training (HIT) on miR15b expression and lipid profile of obese adolescents.

Methods

Thirty-eight adolescent males (12 ± 1 years) with obesity (body mass: 74.7 ± 13.2 kg, body mass index (BMI): 26.0 ± 2.3 kg/m², and body fat (BF): 27.2 ± 3.6%) were randomly assigned to the following based on the age-related body mass index: (i) HIT (n = 13), (ii) school-based exercises (SBE, n = 13), and (iii) control (n = 12) groups. Mir15b was extracted using the RT-PCR system, and lipid profile was studied using the enzymatic colorimetric method before and after 12 weeks. Three training sessions were held each week during the course.

Results

Following the exercise interventions, in both training groups, miR15b (HIT: -63.8 vs. SBE: -56. 7%; P = 0.001), cholesterol (HIT: -8.8 vs. SBE: -9.2%; P = 0.025), and low-density lipoproteins levels (SBE: -13.1 vs. -20.8%; P = 0.48) decreased; however, the peak oxygen uptake of subjects increased (HIT: 4.0 vs. SBE: 4.0%; P = 0.003). However, there were no significant differences in triglyceride (HIT: -16.9 vs. SBE: -8.3%; P = 0.134), and high-density lipoprotein (HIT: 3.1 vs. SBE: 4.8%; P = 0.479) levels between both intervention and control groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

The results showed that both types of exercises had almost similar effects on reducing miR15b expression and improving the lipid profile. Hence, based on the difficult nature of HIT for children with obesity, further use of school-based exercises is suggested.

BCSCdb: a database of biomarkers of cancer stem cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small heterogeneous population present within the tumor cells exhibiting self-renewal properties. CSCs have been demonstrated to elicit an important role in cancer recurrence, metastasis and drug resistance. CSCs are distinguished from cancer cell populations based on their molecular profiling or expression of distinct CSC biomarker(s). Recently, a huge amount of omics data have been generated for the characterization of CSCs, which enables distinguishing CSCs in different cancers. Here, we report biomarkers of the Cancer Stem Cells database (BCSCdb), a repository of information about CSC biomarkers. BCSCdb comprises CSC biomarkers collected from PubMed literature where these are identified using high-throughput and low-throughput methods. Each biomarker is provided with two different scores: the first is a confidence score to give confidence to reported CSC biomarkers based on the experimental method of detection in CSCs. The second is the global score to identify the global CSC biomarkers across 10 different types of cancer. This database contains three tables containing information about experimentally validated CSC biomarkers or genes, therapeutic target genes of CSCs and CSC biomarkers interactions. It contains information on three types of markers: high-throughput marker (HTM-8307), high-throughput marker validated by the low-throughput method (283) and low-throughput marker (LTM-525). A total of 171 low-throughput biomarkers were identified in primary tissue referred to as clinical biomarkers. Moreover, it contains 445 target genes for CSC therapeutics, 10 biomarkers targeted by clinical trial drugs in CSCs and 5 different types of interaction data for CSC biomarkers. BCSCdb is an online resource for CSC biomarkers, which will be immensely helpful in the cancer research community and is freely available. Database URL: http://dibresources.jcbose.ac.in/ssaha4/bcscdb.

Genomic and Epigenomic Features of Glioblastoma Multiforme and its Biomarkers

Glioblastoma multiforme is a serious and life-threatening tumor of central nervous system, characterized by aggressive behavior, poor prognosis, and low survival rate. Despite of the availability of aggressive antitumor therapeutic regimen for glioblastoma (radiotherapy followed by chemotherapeutic dose), recovery rate, and patients' survival ratio is attributed to the lack of selectivity of therapeutic drugs and less advancement in cancer therapeutics over last decade. Moreover, tools employed in conventional diagnosis of glioblastoma are more invasive and painful, making the process excruciating for the patients. These challenges urge for the need of novel biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction purpose with less invasiveness and more patient compliance. This article will explore the genetic biomarkers isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation, MGMT mutations, and EGFR that can be deployed as an analytical tool in diagnosis of disease and prognosis of a therapeutic course. The review also highlights the importance of employing novel microRNAs as prognostic biomarkers. Recent clinical advancements to treat GBM and to prevent relapse of the disease are also discussed in this article in the hope of finding a robust and effective method to treat GBM.

The effect of low molecular weight-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons responsive hsa_circ_0039929/hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1/FGF2 circuit on inflammatory response of A549 cells via the PI3K/AKT pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process

Inflammation is widely recognized as an essential inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Meanwhile, competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) has been involved in a variety of disease processes. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore the regulation of ceRNA in the PI3K/AKT pathway and EMT mechanism in inflammatory response caused by low molecular weight-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (LMW-PAHs). The A549 cells were treated with an equal mixture of phenanthrene (Phe) and fluorene (Flu), and total RNA was extracted for transcriptome sequencing. The target regulation of ceRNA hsa_circ_0039929/hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1/FGF2 was further determined for mechanism study. The mixture of Phe and Flu significantly upregulated the expressions of hsa_circ_0039929 and FGF2, down-regulated hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1, activated the PI3K/AKT pathway and promoted EMT. Mechanically, the overexpression of hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1 inhibited the expressions of hsa_circ_0039929 and FGF2, reversed the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by LMW-PAHs, and blocked the occurrence of EMT progression. Furthermore, knockdown of hsa_circ_0039929 could promote the levels of hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1, while inhibit the expression of FGF2. The effects of hsa_circ_0039929 knockdowns on PI3K/AKT pathways and EMT progress resembled the hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1 overexpression. All above suggested that ceRNA hsa_circ_0039929/hsa-miR-15b-3p_R-1/FGF2 played an important role in the inflammation and EMT caused by LMW-PAHs.

Diagnostic value of four serum exosome microRNAs panel for the detection of colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment are currently accepted methods that can effectively improve the efficacy of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Exosomes were demonstrated to be potential tumor molecular markers.

AIM

To evaluate the diagnostic value of CRC by detecting four exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) (miR-15b, miR-16, miR-21, and miR-31) that were demonstrated to have potential diagnostic value in serum.

METHODS

Relative expression levels of miR-15b, miR-16, miR-21, and miR-31 in 123 CRC, 117 colorectal adenoma, and 150 healthy controls were detected, and single and panel models were evaluated. The 2-ΔΔCt method was used to calculate the relative expression of miRNA compared to the internal control (U6). Eighty-one CRC patients, 67 colorectal adenoma patients, and 90 healthy controls were used for validation.

RESULTS

Compared to the healthy control group, the best indicator of the four miRNAs was miR-15b, and the sensitivity and specificity were 81.33% and 91.80%, respectively. For miR-15b, miR-21, and miR-31 individually, the sensitivity and specificity were 91.95% and 97.62%, 95.06% and 94.44%, respectively. Compared to the colorectal adenoma group, miR-15b, miR-16, and miR-21 in the CRC group showed significant differences (P < 0.05). The best single indicator was miR-16, with a sensitivity and specificity of 79.05% and 71.55%. The sensitivity and specificity of a panel that included miR-15b, miR-16, and miR-21 were 81.21% and 81.03%, and 85.19% and 82.09%, respectively, in the validation.

CONCLUSION

We built and validated a diagnostic model containing miR-15b, miR-21, and miR-31 expression levels to discriminate the healthy control group and CRC group, and its sensitivity and specificity were 95.06% and 94.44%, respectively. The miR-15b, miR-16, and miR-21 panel was used to discriminate the colorectal adenoma group and CRC group with a sensitivity and specificity of 85.19% and 82.09%, respectively.