Protective role of LRRC3B in preventing breast cancer metastasis and recurrence post-bupivacaine

Transcriptome profiling of skeletal muscles from Korean patients with Bethlem myopathy

Bethlem myopathy is one of the collagens VI-related muscular dystrophies caused by mutations in the collagen VI genes. The study was designed to analyze the gene expression profiles in the skeletal muscle of patients with Bethlem myopathy. Six skeletal muscle samples from 3 patients with Bethlem myopathy and 3 control subjects were analyzed by RNA-sequencing. 187 transcripts were significantly differentially expressed, with 157 upregulated and 30 downregulated transcripts in the Bethlem group. Particularly, 1 (microRNA-133b) was considerably upregulated, and 4 long intergenic non-protein coding RNAs, LINC01854, MBNL1-AS1, LINC02609, and LOC728975, were significantly downregulated. We categorized differentially expressed gene using Gene Ontology and showed that Bethlem myopathy is strongly associated with the organization of extracellular matrix (ECM). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment reflected themes with significant enrichment of the ECM-receptor interaction (hsa04512), complement and coagulation cascades (hsa04610), and focal adhesion (hsa04510). We confirmed that Bethlem myopathy is strongly associated with the organization of ECM and the wound healing process. Our results demonstrate transcriptome profiling of Bethlem myopathy, and provide new insights into the path mechanism of Bethlem myopathy associated with non-protein coding RNAs.

LRRC3B Polymorphisms Contributed to Breast Cancer Susceptibility in Chinese Han Population

Purpose

LRRC3B gene, as a tumor suppressor gene was involved in the development and progress of breast cancer (BC). However, the effect of LRRC3B polymorphisms on BC has rarely been reported. In the study, we aimed to evaluate the relation between LRRC3B variants and BC risk.

Methods

Among 563 BC patients and 552 healthy controls, ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in LRRC3B were genotyped by Agena MassARRAY. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using logistic regression model.

Results

Our study demonstrated that rs1907168 polymorphism (heterozygous: OR = 0.71, p = 0.017) was related to the reduced risk of BC in the overall. In stratified analyses by age, rs1907168 was associated with the decreased (heterozygous: OR = 0.53, p = 0.002) while rs78205284 (homozygote: OR = 2.83, p = 0.034) increased BC susceptibility among the population at age ≤51 years. Rs6551122 (recessive: OR = 0.51, p = 0.028) and rs12635768 (homozygote, OR = 0.36, p = 0.023) polymorphisms were related to the smaller BC tumor size (<2 cm). In addition, rs112276562 (heterozygote OR = 0.56, p = 0.002), rs6551122 (heterozygote OR = 0.63, p = 0.016), and rs73150416 (heterozygote OR = 0.57, p = 0.005) variants contributed to the lower incidence of PR-positive BC. Moreover, rs6788033 was associated with a lower expression level of Ki-67 (log-additive: OR = 0.68, p = 0.024). Furthermore, we found an association of ‘GATT’ haplotype with an increased risk for BC. In addition, LRRC3B gene was down-regulated in BC tumor and had a poor prognosis in BC in in silico analysis.

Conclusion

Our study firstly found LRRC3B SNPs contributed to the risk of BC, suggesting LRRC3B variants might help to predict BC progression.

Comprehensive analysis based on DNA methylation and RNA-seq reveals hypermethylation of the up-regulated WT1 gene with potential mechanisms in PAM50 subtypes of breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer (BC), one of the most widespread cancers worldwide, caused the deaths of more than 600,000 women in 2018, accounting for about 15% of all cancer-associated deaths in women that year. In this study, we aimed to discover potential prognostic biomarkers and explore their molecular mechanisms in different BC subtypes using DNA methylation and RNA-seq.

Methods

We downloaded the DNA methylation datasets and the RNA expression profiles of primary tissues of the four BC molecular subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, basal-like, and HER2-enriched), as well as the survival information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The highly expressed and hypermethylated genes across all the four subtypes were screened. We examined the methylation sites and the downstream co-expressed genes of the selected genes and validated their prognostic value using a different dataset (GSE20685). For selected transcription factors, the downstream genes were predicted based on the Gene Transcription Regulation Database (GTRD). The tumor microenvironment was also evaluated based on the TCGA dataset.

Results

We found that Wilms tumor gene 1 (WT1), a transcription factor, was highly expressed and hypermethylated in all the four BC subtypes. All the WT1 methylation sites exhibited hypermethylation. The methylation levels of the TSS200 and 1stExon regions were negatively correlated with WT1 expression in two BC subtypes, while that of the gene body region was positively associated with WT1 expression in three BC subtypes. Patients with low WT1 expression had better overall survival (OS). Five genes including COL11A1, GFAP, FGF5, CD300LG, and IGFL2 were predicted as the downstream genes of WT1. Those five genes were dysregulated in the four BC subtypes. Patients with a favorable 6-gene signature (low expression of WT1 and its five predicted downstream genes) exhibited better OS than that with an unfavorable 6-gene signature. We also found a correlation between WT1 and tamoxifen using STITCH. Higher infiltration rates of CD8 T cells, plasma cells, and monocytes were found in the lower quartile WT1 group and the favorable 6-gene signature group. In conclusion, we demonstrated that WT1 is hypermethylated and up-regulated in the four BC molecular subtypes and a 6-gene signature may predict BC prognosis.

Effects of local anesthetics on cancer cells

Local anesthetics are widely used during clinical cancer surgeries. Studies have suggested that the use and the type of anesthesia affect cancer outcomes. In vivo studies and clinical data show that the use of local anesthetics is potentially beneficial for cancer treatment. However, the effect of the use of local anesthetics on the survival rate of cancer patients following surgery is controversial and, so far, little is known about the direct effects of local anesthetics on cancer cells. This work reviews and summarizes the published literature regarding the preclinical research methods and findings on the influence of local anesthetics on cancer cells. We hope that a thorough understanding of this subject will help to define optimal anesthetic regimens that lead to better outcomes for clinical cancer patients.