lncRNA MIR4435‑2HG promotes the progression of liver cancer by upregulating B3GNT5 expression

MiR-136-5p in cancer: Roles, mechanisms, and chemotherapy resistance

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of gene expression, and the deregulation of their activity has been linked to the onset and progression of a variety of human malignancies. Among these miRNAs, miR-136-5p has attracted significant attention due to its diverse roles in cancer biology. Mostly, miR-136-5p is downregulated in malignancies. It could inhibit viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and promote apoptosis of tumor cells. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of miR-136-5p in different sorts of human cancers: genital tumors, head and neck tumors, tumors from the digestive and urinary systems, skin cancers, neurologic tumors, pulmonary neoplasms and other cancers by discussing its molecular mechanisms, functional roles, and impact in chemotherapies. In conclusion, miR-136-5p could be a promising new biomarker and potential clinical therapeutic target.

Extracellular vesicles derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate chronic liver damage via microRNA-136-5p

Chronic liver damage (CLD) encompasses a spectrum of conditions and poses a significant global health challenge, affecting millions of individuals. Currently, there is a deficiency of clinically validated therapeutics with minimal side effects. Emerging evidence underscores the significant potential of extracellular vesicles derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-EVs) as a promising therapeutic method for CLD. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of BMSC-EVs containing microRNA-136-5p (BMSC-EVs-miR-136-5p) on macrophage polarization during chronic liver injury and elucidate the mechanisms associated with the GNAS/PI3K/ERK/STAT3 axis. Surface markers of BMSCs were detected via Immunofluorescent Staining. Subsequently, EVs were harvested from the BMSC culture medium. In vivo fluorescence imaging was employed to locate the BMSC-EVs. Additionally, fluorescence microscopy was used to visualize the uptake of DIR-labeled BMSC-EVs by RAW264.7 cells. Various methods were employed to assess the impact of BMSC-EVs on the expression levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α), M1/M2 macrophage markers (iNOS and Arg-1), and members of inflammation-related signaling pathways (GNAS, PI3K, ERK, and STAT3) in RAW264.7 cells co-cultured with BMSC-EVs. Loss-of-function approaches targeting miR-136-5p in RAW264.7 cells were subsequently utilized to validate the role of BMSC-EVs-miR-136-5p. The Luciferase Reporter Assay indicates that GNAS was identified to be a target of miR-136-5p, and miR-136-5p demonstrating increased within BMSC-EVs compared to Raw264.7-EVs. BMSC-EVs-miR-136-5p mitigated CCl4-induced liver inflammation and improved liver function by Suppressing the GNAS/STAT3 Signaling. Notably, miR-136-5p suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 cells. BMSC-EVs-miR-136-5p alleviates CLD by activating M2 polarization through the GNAS-mediated PI3K/ERK/STAT3 axis. Accordingly, the members of this axis may serve as therapeutic targets.

Impacts of β-1, 3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (B3GNTs) in human diseases

Glycosylation modification of proteins is a common post-translational modification that exists in various organisms and has rich biological functions. It is usually catalyzed by multiple glycosyltransferases located in the Golgi apparatus. β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (B3GNTs) are members of the glycosyltransferases and have been found to be involved in the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases including autoimmunity diseases, cancers, neurodevelopment, musculoskeletal system, and metabolic diseases. The functions of B3GNTs represent the glycosylation of proteins is a crucial and frequently life-threatening step in progression of most diseases. In this review, we give an overview about the roles of B3GNTs in tumor, nervous system, musculoskeletal and metabolic diseases, describing the recent results about B3GNTs, in order to provide a research direction and exploration value for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.

Genetic variants and haplotype structures of miRNA host genes in cancer and obesity

Cancer and obesity are two important public health problems. This study aimed to investigate the role of genetic variants and haplotypes of miRNA host genes in cancer and obesity. Data from the catalog of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were used to find significant variants (index). Then, 1000-genome phase 3 data were used to find haplotypic variants (proxy) associated with these diseases. The candidate variants and haplotypes were identified from proxy and index variants. Finally, SNP function analysis was performed. All GWAS-significant cancer-associated miRNA host gene variants, including MIR4713HG, MIR663AHG, MIR99AHG and MIR4435-2HG, were also significantly associated with obesity. The rs703764 variant was common between cutaneous melanoma and obesity traits in the European population (P ≤ 5E-8). The rs2414098 variant was associated with endometrial cancer (P ≤ 5E-13), and the rs7173595 variant was associated with waist-hip ratio (P ≤ 5E-13) and new CGGCATCA haplotypic located at MIR4713HG was identified in the European population. In addition, the ATCTTGTT haplotype for rs17041868 in MIR4435-2HG was identified to be associated with obesity traits (waist-hip ratio and BMI) in the European population (P ≤ 5E-8). This study found that rs703764 is a common genetic marker between cancer and obesity. The CGGCATCA haplotype is common between endometrial cancer and waist-hip ratio. Also, ATCTTGTT haplotype is associated with obesity traits. These results indicate that the variants and haplotypes of miRNAs host genes play an important role between cancer and obesity in the European population. It is suggested to investigate the effect of these structures in other populations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Biological Roles and Pathogenic Mechanisms of LncRNA MIR4435-2HG in Cancer: A Comprehensive Review

The long non-coding RNA MIR4435-2HG has been confirmed to play a crucial regulatory role in various types of tumors. As a novel type of non-coding RNA, MIR4435-2HG plays a key role in regulating the expression of tumor-related genes, interfering with cellular signaling pathways, and affecting tumor immune evasion. Its unique structure allows it to regulate the expression of various tumor-related genes through different pathways, participating in the regulation of tumor signaling pathways, such as regulating the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, influencing the biological behaviors of proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis in tumors. Numerous studies have found a high expression of MIR4435-2HG in various tumor tissues, closely related to the clinical pathological characteristics of tumors, such as staging, lymph node metastasis and prognosis. Some studies have discovered that MIR4435-2HG can regulate the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy drugs, affecting tumor cell drug resistance. This provides new insights into overcoming tumor drug resistance by regulating MIR4435-2HG. Therefore, studying its molecular mechanisms, expression regulation, and its relationship with the clinical features of tumors is of great significance for revealing the mechanisms of tumor occurrence and developing new therapeutic targets.

Amino Acid Derivatives of Ginsenoside AD-2 Induce HepG2 Cell Apoptosis by Affecting the Cytoskeleton

AD-2 (20(R)-dammarane-3β, 12β, 20, 25-tetrol, 25-OH-PPD) was structurally modified to introduce additional amino groups, which can better exert its anti-tumor effects in MCF-7, A549, LoVo, HCT-116, HT -29, and U-87 cell lines. We investigated the cellular activity of 15 different AD-2 amino acid derivatives on HepG2 cells and the possible mechanism of action of the superior derivative 6b. An MTT assay was used to detect the cytotoxicity of the derivatives. Western blotting was used to study the signaling pathways. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and ghost pen peptide staining was used to identify the changes in the cytoskeleton. The AD-2 amino acid derivatives have a better cytotoxic effect on the HepG2 cells than AD-2, which may be achieved by promoting the apoptosis of HepG2 cells and influencing the cytoskeleton. The derivative 6b shows obvious anti-HepG2 cells activity through affecting the expression of apoptotic proteins such as MDM2, P-p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase 3, Cleaved Caspase 3, Caspase 8, and NSD2. According to the above findings, the amino acid derivatives of AD-2 may be developed as HepG2 cytotoxic therapeutic drugs.

Integrated analysis of SKA1-related ceRNA network and SKA1 immunoassays in HCC: A study based on bioinformatic

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a global health challenge. Effective biomarkers are required for early diagnosis to improve survival rates of patients with HCC. Spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunits 1 (SKA1) is essential for proper chromosome segregation in the mitotic cell cycle. Previous studies have shown that overexpression of SKA1 is associated with a poor prognosis in various cancers. The expression, prognostic value, and clinical functions of SKA1 in HCC were evaluated with several bioinformatics web portals. Additionally, we identified target long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs by analyzing messenger RNA (mRNA)-miRNA and miRNA-lncRNA interaction data and elucidated the potential competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism associated with SKA1. High SKA1 expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that SKA1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. GO and KEGG analyses showed that SKA1 is related to the cell cycle checkpoints, DNA replication and repair, Rho GTPases signaling, mitotic prometaphase, and kinesins. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that high levels of SKA1 are associated with cancer-promoting pathways. DNA methylation of SKA1 in HCC tissues was lower than that in normal tissues. Ultimately, the following 9 potential ceRNA-based pathways targeting SKA1 were identified: lncRNA: AC026401.3, Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 3 (SNHG3), and AC124798.1-miR-139-5p-SKA1; lncRNA: AC26356.1, Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 16 (SNHG16), and FGD5 Antisense RNA 1-miR-22-3p-SKA1; lncRNA: Cytoskeleton Regulator RNA (CYTOR), MIR4435-2 Host Gene, and differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA-miR-125b-5p-SKA1. SKA1 expression levels significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint genes in the HCC tissues. SKA1 is a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC. This study provides a meaningful direction for research on SKA1-related mechanisms, which will be beneficial for future research on HCC-related molecular biological therapies and targeted immunotherapy.

Comprehensive analysis of FOXM1 immune infiltrates, m6a, glycolysis and ceRNA network in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is a member of the Forkhead box (Fox) transcription factor family. It regulates cell mitosis, cell proliferation, and genome stability. However, the relationship between the expression of FOXM1 and the levels of m6a modification, immune infiltration, glycolysis, and ketone body metabolism in HCC has yet to be fully elucidated.

Methods

Transcriptome and somatic mutation profiles of HCC were downloaded from the TCGA database. Somatic mutations were analyzed by maftools R package and visualized in oncoplots. GO, KEGG and GSEA function enrichment was performed on FOXM1 co-expression using R. We used Cox regression and machine learning algorithms (CIBERSORT, LASSO, random forest, and SVM-RFE) to study the prognostic value of FOXM1 and immune infiltrating characteristic immune cells in HCC. The relationship between FOXM1 and m6A modification, glycolysis, and ketone body metabolism were analyzed by RNA-seq and CHIP-seq. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network construction relies on the multiMiR R package, ENCORI, and miRNET platforms.

Results

FOXM1 is highly expressed in HCC and is associated with a poorer prognosis. At the same time, the expression level of FOXM1 is significantly related to the T, N, and stage. Subsequently, based on the machine learning strategies, we found that the infiltration level of T follicular helper cells (Tfh) was a risk factor affecting the prognosis of HCC patients. The high infiltration of Tfh was significantly related to the poor overall survival rate of HCC. Besides, the CHIP-seq demonstrated that FOXM1 regulates m6a modification by binding to the promoter of IGF2BP3 and affects the glycolytic process by initiating the transcription of HK2 and PKM in HCC. A ceRNA network was successfully obtained, including FOXM1 - has-miR-125-5p - DANCR/MIR4435-2HG ceRNA network related to the prognosis of HCC.

Conclusion

Our study implicates that the aberrant infiltration of Tfh associated with FOXM1 is a crucial prognostic factor for HCC patients. FOXM1 regulates genes related to m6a modification and glycolysis at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, the specific ceRNA network can be used as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Lipidomic Profiling Reveals Biological Differences between Tumors of Self-Identified African Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites with Cancer

In the US, the incidence and mortality of many cancers are disproportionately higher in African Americans (AA). Yet, AA remain poorly represented in molecular studies investigating the roles that biological factors might play in the development, progression, and outcomes of many cancers. Given that sphingolipids, key components of mammalian cellular membranes, have well-established roles in the etiology of cancer progression, malignancy, and responses to therapy, we conducted a robust mass spectrometry analysis of sphingolipids in normal adjacent uninvolved tissues and tumors of self-identified AA and non-Hispanic White (NHW) males with cancers of the lung, colon, liver, and head and neck and of self-identified AA and NHW females with endometrial cancer. In these cancers, AA have worse outcomes than NHW. The goal of our study was to identify biological candidates to be evaluated in future preclinical studies targeting race-specific alterations in the cancers of AA. We have identified that various sphingolipids are altered in race-specific patterns, but more importantly, the ratios of 24- to 16-carbon fatty acyl chain-length ceramides and glucosylceramides are higher in the tumors of AA. As there is evidence that ceramides with 24-carbon fatty acid chain length promote cellular survival and proliferation, whereas 16-carbon chain length promote apoptosis, these results provide important support for future studies tailored to evaluate the potential roles these differences may play in the outcomes of AA with cancer.

LncRNA34977 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibits the apoptosis of canine mammary tumors by regulating the expression of miR-8881/ELAVL4

Long-stranded noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play different roles in various diseases. lncRNA34977 has been shown to play a relevant role the development of canine mammary tumors (CMTs). However, the mechanism of lncRNA34977 in canine mammary tumors has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lncRNA34977 on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of canine mammary tumor (CMT) cells through the regulation of miR-8881/ELAVL4 expression. The apoptosis was detected by an in situ fluorescence assay and flow cytometry. The expression levels were analyzed by RT-qPCR. CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays were used to assess the proliferation, migration, and invasion. The expression of protein was detected by western blot. The siRNA-induced silencing of lncRNA34977 promoted the apoptosis of CHMp cells, and in overexpression of lncRNA34977, the result is the opposite. LncRNA34977 has a direct targeting relationship with miR-8881 and that miR-8881 is correlated with ELAVL4. Transfection of miR-8881 mimics inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and promoted the apoptosis of CHMp cells of CHMp cells. In the transfection with miR-8881 inhibitors, the result is the opposite. Co-transfected with lncRNA34977, miR-8881, or ELAVL4, we found that lncRNA34977 could regulate the expression of miR-8881 or ELAVL4. Our study shows that lncRNA34977 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion and suppresses the apoptosis of CMT cells by regulating the expression of miR-8881/ELAVL4.

PUM2 aggravates the neuroinflammation and brain damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion through the SLC7A11-dependent inhibition of ferroptosis via suppressing the SIRT1

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury occurs due to the restoration of blood perfusion after cerebral ischemia, which results in the damage of the brain structures and functions. Unfortunately, currently there are no effective methods for preventing and treating it. The pumilio 2 (PUM2) is a type of RBPs that has been reported to participate in the progression of several diseases. Ferroptosis is reported to be involved in I/R injury. Whether PUM2 modulated I/R injury through regulating ferroptosis remains to be elucidated. The cerebral I/R models including animal middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) model and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced cortical neuron injury cell model of were established and, respectively. RT-qPCR was applied for evaluating PUM2, SIRT1 and SLC7A11 expression. Western blot was employed for measuring the protein expression levels. The viability of cortical neurons was tested by MTT assay. The histological damage of the brain tissues was assessed by H&E staining. The level of PUM2 was boosted in both the brain tissues of the MCAO model and OGD/R-induced cortical neuron injury model. Silence of PUM2 alleviated MCAO-induced brain injury and decreased the death of PC12 cell exposed to OGD/R. PUM2 also aggravated the accumulation of free iron in MCAO mice and OGD/R-induced cortical neuron injury model. In addition, PUM2 suppressed SLC7A11 via inhibiting expression of SIRT1. Rescue assays unveiled that downregulation of SLC7A11 reversed PUM2 mediated neuroinflammation and brain damage induced by I/R. PUM2 aggravated I/R-induced neuroinflammation and brain damage through the SLC7A11-dependent inhibition of ferroptosis by suppressing SIRT1, highlighting the role of PUM2 in preventing or treating cerebral I/R injury.

DNASE1L3 regulation by transcription factor FOXP2 affects the proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of lung adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is prone to bone metastasis, resulting in poor prognosis. The present study aimed to detect the expression of deoxyribonuclease 1-like 3 (DNASE1L3) and forkhead-box P2 (FOXP2) in LUAD cells to investigate the role of DNASE1L3 in the regulation of proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of LUAD cells and how FOXP2 affects DNASE1L3 expression. The expression of DNASE1L3 and FOXP2 in LUAD cells was analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. The transfection efficiency of DNASE1L3 overexpression plasmids, FOXP2 overexpression or interference plasmids into A549 cells was also confirmed by RT-qPCR and western blotting. The viability, proliferation, migration and invasion and tube formation of LUAD cells following transfection was in turn detected by MTT, EdU staining, wound healing, Transwell and tube formation assay. The expression of proteins associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and tube formation was detected by western blotting. Binding between DNASE1L3 and FOXP2 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis database predicted that underexpression of DNASE1L3 in LUAD was associated with poor prognosis. DNASE1L3 expression was decreased in LUAD cells and overexpression of DNASE1L3 inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of LUAD cells. Transcription factor FOXP2 positively regulated DNASE1L3 transcription in LUAD cells. FOXP2 was also underexpressed in LUAD cells and downregulation of FOXP2 promoted proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of LUAD cells, which was reversed by overexpression of DNASE1L3. In conclusion, DNASE1L3 was positively regulated by transcription factor FOXP2 and overexpression inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of LUAD cells.

The Mutual Relationship between Glycosylation and Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer and Other Physio-Pathological Conditions

Glycosylation, which consists of the enzymatic addition of sugars to proteins and lipids, is one of the most important post-co-synthetic modifications of these molecules, profoundly affecting their activity. Although the presence of carbohydrate chains is crucial for fine-tuning the interactions between cells and molecules, glycosylation is an intrinsically stochastic process regulated by the relative abundance of biosynthetic (glycosyltransferases) and catabolic (glycosidases) enzymes, as well as sugar carriers and other molecules. Non-coding RNAs, which include microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circRNAs, establish a complex network of reciprocally interacting molecules whose final goal is the regulation of mRNA expression. Likewise, these interactions are stochastically regulated by ncRNA abundance. Thus, while protein sequence is deterministically dictated by the DNA/RNA/protein axis, protein abundance and activity are regulated by two stochastic processes acting, respectively, before and after the biosynthesis of the protein axis. Consequently, the worlds of glycosylation and ncRNA are closely interconnected and mutually interacting. In this paper, we will extensively review the many faces of the ncRNA-glycosylation interplay in cancer and other physio-pathological conditions.

Identification of Long Non-Coding RNA MIR4435-2HG as a Prognostic Biomarker in Bladder Cancer

The abnormal expression of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs) is closely related to the prognosis of patients. This finding may indicate a new target for the treatment of malignant tumors. Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is the most common subtype of bladder cancer, and BCG intravesical therapy is the first-line treatment for NMIBC, but about half of NMIBC patients relapse within two years after BCG treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to screen out lncRNAs related to the prognosis and treatment of BGC-resistant patients. Here, we performed differential expression analysis of lncRNAs in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets, and screened MIR4435-2HG as the only BCG-response-related lncRNA. Then, the prognosis value of MIR4435-2HG was validated in several publicly available cohorts, and confirmed its prognostic value in bladder cancer of different stages. In addition, we also analyzed its genetic alterations, clinical relevance, function enrichment, and association with other biomarkers. Further validation of the expression of MIR4435-2HG might be helpful to instruct NMIBC prognosis and treatment.

The tumor suppressor function of hsa_circ_0006282 in gastric cancer through PTEN/AKT pathway

BACKGROUND

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play key roles in carcinogenesis. However, the roles of circRNAs in gastric cancer are largely unknown. The aim of this study is to study the possible roles of hsa_circ_0006282 in gastric cancer.

METHODS

The hsa_circ_0006282 levels in gastric cancer cell lines, 85 gastritis tissues, and 103 paired gastric cancer tissues and non-tumor tissues were first detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RNA interference and hsa_circ_0006282 expression plasmid were further used to manipulate hsa_circ_0006282 expression in gastric cancer. Finally, biological effects of hsa_circ_0006282 were analyzed by real-time cell analysis, flow cytometry, Transwell, cell cloning assay and Western blot analysis.

RESULTS

Hsa_circ_0006282 was down expressed in gastric cancer cells, gastritis tissues, and gastric cancer tissues. The abilities of cell proliferation, cell migration and resistance to apoptosis were enhanced after hsa_circ_0006282 was downregulated, while overexpression of hsa_circ_0006282 got opposite results. Besides, Western blot showed that the levels of protein kinase B (AKT) and cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) were significantly increased and decreased after knockdown and up-regulation of hsa_circ_0006282, respectively, while phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) was significantly opposite regulated. Finally, hsa_circ_0006282 promoted the expression of PTEN by sponging hsa-miR-136-5p.

CONCLUSION

By regulating the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway through competitively binding with hsa-miR-136-5p, hsa_circ_0006282 suppresses the growth of gastric cancer.

An Immune-Related Long Noncoding RNA Pair as a New Biomarker to Predict the Prognosis of Patients in Breast Cancer

Background: Immune-related long non-coding RNAs (irlncRNAs) might remodel the tumor immune microenvironment by changing the inherent properties of tumor cells and the expression of immune genes, which have been used to predict the efficacy of immunotherapy and the prognosis of various tumors. However, the value of irlncRNAs in breast cancer (BRCA) remains unclear.

Materials and Methods: Initially, transcriptome data and immune-related gene sets were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The irlncRNAs were extracted from the Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort) database. Differently expressed irlncRNAs (DEirlncRNAs) were further identified by utilizing the limma R package. Then, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to select the DEirlncRNAs associated with the prognosis of BRCA patients. In addition, the univariate and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the DEirlncRNA pairs with the independent prediction capability of prognosis in BRCA patients. Finally, the chosen DEirlncRNA pair would be evaluated in terms of survival time, clinicopathological characteristics, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune checkpoints (ICs), signaling pathways, and potential small-molecule drugs.

Results: A total of 21 DEirlncRNA pairs were extracted, and among them, lncRNA MIR4435-2HG and lncRNA U62317.1 were chosen to establish a risk signature that served as an independent prognostic biomarker in BRCA patients. Patients in the high-risk group had a worse prognosis than those in the low-risk group, and they also had an abundance of infiltration of CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells to enhance the immune response to tumor cells. Furthermore, the risk signature showed a strong correlation with ICs, signaling pathways, and potential small-molecule drugs.

Conclusion: Our research revealed that the risk signature independent of specific DEirlncRNA pair expression was closely associated with the prognosis and tumor immune microenvironment in BRCA patients and had the potential to function as an independent prognostic biomarker and a predictor of immunotherapy for BRCA patients, which would provide new insights for BRCA accurate treatment.

Glycosyltransferases in Cancer: Prognostic Biomarkers of Survival in Patient Cohorts and Impact on Malignancy in Experimental Models

Background: Glycosylation changes are a main feature of cancer. Some carbohydrate epitopes and expression levels of glycosyltransferases have been used or proposed as prognostic markers, while many experimental works have investigated the role of glycosyltransferases in malignancy. Using the transcriptomic data of the 21 TCGA cohorts, we correlated the expression level of 114 glycosyltransferases with the overall survival of patients. Methods: Using the Oncolnc website, we determined the Kaplan−Meier survival curves for the patients falling in the 15% upper or lower percentile of mRNA expression of each glycosyltransferase. Results: Seventeen glycosyltransferases involved in initial steps of N- or O-glycosylation and of glycolipid biosynthesis, in chain extension and sialylation were unequivocally associated with bad prognosis in a majority of cohorts. Four glycosyltransferases were associated with good prognosis. Other glycosyltransferases displayed an extremely high predictive value in only one or a few cohorts. The top were GALNT3, ALG6 and B3GNT7, which displayed a p < 1 × 10−9 in the low-grade glioma (LGG) cohort. Comparison with published experimental data points to ALG3, GALNT2, B4GALNT1, POFUT1, B4GALT5, B3GNT5 and ST3GAL2 as the most consistently malignancy-associated enzymes. Conclusions: We identified several cancer-associated glycosyltransferases as potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets.