MicroRNA-154/ADAM9 axis inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells

ABERRANT EXPRESSION OF COL14A1, CELRS3, and CTHRC1 IN BREAST CANCER СELLS

BACKGROUND

Collagens, which are the major components of the extracellular matrix involved in the regulation of tumor microenvironment, could be differentially expressed in breast cancer (BC) with different transcriptome profiling.

AIM

To analyze the transcript level expression of COL1A1, COL5A1, COL10A1, COL11A1, COL12A1, COL14A1, CTHRC1, and CELRS3 genes and the clinical relevance of their differential expression in BC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The transcript level expression of the genes was analyzed using the quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) in tumor tissue of 60 BC patients.

RESULTS

Overexpression of COL1A1, COL5A1, COL10A1, COL11A1, COL12A1, CTHRC, and CELRS3 anddown-regulated expression of COL14A1 were observed. COL14A1 down-regulation was associated with aggressive, basal, and Her-2/neu BC subtypes (p = 0.031). Overexpression of CELSR3 was found to be associated with the older age of the patients (> 55 years, p = 0.049). Further analysis with the TCGA BC data set has shown a concordance in the differential expression of the above genes. Furthermore, overexpression of CTHRC1 was associated with poor overall survival (OS), particularly with poor prognosis (p = 0.00042) for the luminal BC subtype. On the other hand, CELSR3 overexpression was associated with mucinous tumors and poor prognosis in post-menopausal women. In silicotarget prediction identified several BC-associated miRNAs and members of miR-154, -515, and -10 families to perform a likely regulatory role in the above ECM genes.

CONCLUSION

The present study shows that the expression of COL14A1 and CTHRC1 may serve as potential biological markers for the detection of basal BC and the prognosis of survival for patients with the luminal subtype of BC.

miR-154 Influences HNSCC Development and Progression through Regulation of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Process and Could Be Used as a Potential Biomarker

MicroRNAs and their role in cancer have been extensively studied for the past decade. Here, we analyzed the biological role and diagnostic potential of miR-154-5p and miR-154-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). miRNA expression analyses were performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data accessed from cBioPortal, UALCAN, Santa Cruz University, and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The expression data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters. The functional enrichment was assessed with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). The immunological profiles were assessed using the ESTIMATE tool and RNAseq data from TCGA. All statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism and Statistica. The study showed that both miR-154-5p and miR-154-3p were downregulated in the HNSCC samples and their expression levels correlated with tumor localization, overall survival, cancer stage, tumor grade, and HPV p16 status. GSEA indicated that individuals with the increased levels of miR-154 had upregulated AKT-MTOR, CYCLIN D1, KRAS, EIF4E, RB, ATM, and EMT gene sets. Finally, the elevated miR-154 expression correlated with better immune response. This study showed that miR-154 is highly involved in HNSCC pathogenesis, invasion, and immune response. The implementation of miR-154 as a biomarker may improve the effectiveness of HNSCC treatment.

TCF21 regulates miR-10a-5p/LIN28B signaling to block the proliferation and invasion of melanoma cells

Background and aim

Some research has suggested that miRNA-10a (miR-10a-5p) had an inhibitory function in proliferation and invasion of cancers. Whereas the role of miR-10a-5p in melanoma has not been fully explored. This study aims to confirm LIN28B as the targeted gene of miR-10a-5p which was explored in melanoma cells. In addition, upstream regulatory molecule of miR-10a-5p was also investigated in melanoma cells.

Methods

Real-time Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was adopted to analyze miR-10a-5p expression level in melanoma and the normal human epidermal melanocyte cells. Several biological assays were performed to evaluate miR-10a-5p influences on cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability in A375 and B16-F10 cells. Gene prediction of miRNA targeting and a dual luciferase assay were applied to assess miR-10a-5p-targeted LIN28B. Western blot assessed the impacts of miR-10a-5p on the protein expression of LIN28B. Western blot analyzed the TCF21 effects on the expression of LIN28B and RT-qPCR assessed the influence of TCF21 on the expression level of miRNA-10a. In addition, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) Assay and JASPAR databases were employed to explore the regulatory relationship between TCF21 and miR-10a-5p.

Results

We discovered that miR-10a-5p expression was lower in melanoma cells and high expression of miR-10a-5p suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of melanoma cells. We also discovered that miR-10a-5p targeted the LIN28B mRNA 3′UTR area and diminished LIN28B protein expression. We found that LIN28B expression was strongly decreased by TCF21 upregulation in the two melanoma cells. The qRT-PCR assay showed that miR-10a-5p expression level was obviously boosted by increased TCF21 expression. The results also demonstrated that TCF21 directly regulated miR-10a-5p at transcript levels.

Conclusion

TCF21 induced miRNA-10a targeting LIN28B could affect the progression and growth of melanoma.

An Overview of ADAM9: Structure, Activation, and Regulation in Human Diseases

ADAM9 (A disintegrin and a metalloprotease 9) is a membrane-anchored protein that participates in a variety of physiological functions, primarily through the disintegrin domain for adhesion and the metalloprotease domain for ectodomain shedding of a wide variety of cell surface proteins. ADAM9 influences the developmental process, inflammation, and degenerative diseases. Recently, increasing evidence has shown that ADAM9 plays an important role in tumor biology. Overexpression of ADAM9 has been found in several cancer types and is correlated with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis. In addition, through either proteolytic or non-proteolytic pathways, ADAM9 promotes tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, and metastasis of cancers. Therefore, comprehensively understanding the mechanism of ADAM9 is crucial for the development of therapeutic anti-cancer strategies. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of ADAM9 in biological function, pathophysiological diseases, and various cancers. Recent advances in therapeutic strategies using ADAM9-related pathways are presented as well.

MicroRNA-154: A Novel Candidate for Diagnosis and Therapy of Human Cancers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding, single-stranded, tiny RNAs with 21–23 nucleotides that regulate several biological functions through binding to target mRNAs and modulating gene expression at post-transcriptional levels. Recent studies have described crucial roles for miRNAs in pathophysiology of numerous human cancers. They can act as an oncogene and promote cancer or as a tumor suppressor and alleviate the disease. Recently discovered microRNA-154 (miR-154) has been proposed to be involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes including cancer. With this aspect, aberrant expression of miR-154 has been demonstrated in variety of human malignancies, suggesting an important role for miR-154 in tumorigenesis. To be specific, it is considered as a tumor suppressor miRNA and exerts its beneficial effects by targeting several genes. This review systematically summarizes the recent advances done on the role of miR-154 in different cancers and discusses its potential prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic values.

Suppression of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase expression by miR-154 reduces the viability of breast cancer cells and increases their susceptibility to doxorubicin

Background

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) enzyme acts as the major enzyme in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) synthesis salvage pathway. Deregulation of NAD could be associated with progression of several cancers such as breast cancer. Here, the consequence of NAMPT inhibition by miR-154 was investigated on breast cancer cells.

Methods

MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines were transfected with the mimic and inhibitors of miR-154-5p and their corresponding negative controls. Consequently, levels of NAMPT and NAD were assayed employing qRT-PCR, Western blotting and enzymatic method, respectively. Subsequently, flow cytometry and colorimetric methods were performed to evaluate apoptosis and cell viability. Bioinformatics analyses as well as luciferase assay were done to investigate whether the 3′-UTR of NAMPT is directly targeted by miR-154.

Results

According to the obtained results, NAMPT was recognized as a target for binding of miR-154 and the levels of this miRNA was inversely associated with both mRNA and protein levels of NAMPT in breast cancer cell lines. Functionally, miR-154 inhibited the NAD salvage pathway leading to a remarkable decrease in cell viability and increased rate of cell death. When breast cancer cells were simultaneously treated with doxorubicin and miR-154 mimic, cell viability was considerably reduced compared to treatment with doxorubicin alone in both cell lines.

Conclusions

It was concluded that the inhibition of NAD production by miR-154 might be introduced as an appropriate therapeutic approach in order to improve breast cancer outcome either alone or in combination with other conventional chemotherapeutic agents.

MicroRNAs Contribute to Breast Cancer Invasiveness

Cancer statistics in 2018 highlight an 8.6 million incidence in female cancers, and 4.2 million cancer deaths globally. Moreover, breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in females and twenty percent of these develop metastasis. This provides only a small chance for successful therapy, and identification of new molecular markers for the diagnosis and prognostic prediction of metastatic disease and development of innovative therapeutic molecules are therefore urgently required. Differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancers cause multiple changes in the expression of the tumorigenesis-promoting genes which have mostly been investigated in breast cancers. Herein, we summarize recent data on breast cancer-specific miRNA expression profiles and their participation in regulating invasive processes, in association with changes in cytoskeletal structure, cell-cell adhesion junctions, cancer cell-extracellular matrix interactions, tumor microenvironments, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions and cancer cell stem abilities. We then focused on the epigenetic regulation of individual miRNAs and their modified interactions with other regulatory genes, and reviewed the function of miRNA isoforms and exosome-mediated miRNA transfer in cancer invasiveness. Although research into miRNA’s function in cancer is still ongoing, results herein contribute to improved metastatic cancer management.

Serum level of miR-142-3p predicts prognostic outcome for colorectal cancer following curative resection

OBJECTIVE

MicroRNA (miR)-142-3p may function as a tumor suppressor in the development of various cancers. In this study, we measured serum levels of miR-142-3p in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of miR-142-3p.

METHODS

Serum samples from 363 consecutive CRC patients and 156 healthy controls were retrospectively collected. Serum miR-142-3p levels were measured using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. All patients were followed up regularly after tumor resection. The correlation between serum miR-142-3p level and survival outcomes was analyzed.

RESULTS

Serum levels of miR-142-3p were significantly lower in CRC patients than in healthy volunteers. A low serum miR-142-3p level was significantly associated with advanced cancer. Survival analysis demonstrated that patients with a low serum miR-142-3p had a lower 5-year overall survival rate than patients with a high serum miR-142-3p level (67.4% vs. 76.9%). Serum miR-142-3p level was also shown to be an independent risk factor for CRC in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval: 1.21-7.95).

CONCLUSIONS

Serum miR-142-3p might serve as a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for CRC.

HOXA1 upregulation is associated with poor prognosis and tumor progression in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality among females worldwide. As a member of the homeobox (HOX) gene family, HOXA1 is involved in tumor progression and prognosis in several types of human cancer. However, the clinical significance and biological functions of HOXA1 in BC remains unknown. The current study assessed the expression of HOXA1 in BC tissues and cells via western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The association between HOXA1 expression and the clinicopathological features of patients with BC was analyzed using the Chi-square test. The overall survival of patients was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and examined using the log-rank test. Cell proliferation was examined via an MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis were analyzed using flow cytometry. The current study demonstrated that HOXA1 mRNA and protein expression was upregulated in BC. In addition, HOXA1 overexpression was associated with poor prognosis and advanced clinicopathological features in patients with BC. Furthermore, knockdown of HOXA1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation by enhancing cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in BC cells, which was accompanied with aberrant expression of cell cycle and apoptosis-associated proteins, cyclin D1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-like protein 4. Taken together, the results suggested that HOXA1 may serve as a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target in BC.

Low Serum Levels of miR-101 Are Associated with Poor Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients After Curative Resection

BACKGROUND Recent studies showed low expression of microRNA (miR)-101 in various malignancies. However, the association of serum miR-101 and colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. We investigated diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum miR-101 in CRC. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 263 consecutive CRC patients and 126 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Serum miR-101 levels were measured using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions. The association between serum miR-101 level and survival outcome was analyzed. RESULTS Serum miR-101 in CRC patients was significantly lower than in healthy volunteers (P<0.001). Low serum miR-101 level was significantly associated with advanced cancer stage. Moreover, survival analysis demonstrated that patients with a low serum miR-101 had poorer 5-year overall survival than patients with a high serum miR-101 level (p=0.041). Serum miR-101 level also were confirmed as an independent risk factor for CRC in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 1.468; 95%CI, 0.981-1.976; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Serum miR-101 level was significantly downregulated in CRC patients and was closely correlated with poor clinical outcome, suggesting that serum miR-101 might be a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for CRC.

The pleiotropic roles of ADAM9 in the biology of solid tumors

A disintegrin and a metalloprotease (ADAM) 9 is a metzincin cell-surface protease involved in several biological processes such as myogenesis, fertilization, cell migration, inflammatory response, proliferation, and cell-cell interactions. ADAM9 has been found over-expressed in several solid tumors entities such as glioma, melanoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, gastric, breast, lung, and liver cancers. Immunohistochemical analyses highlight ADAM9 expression by actual cancer cells and associate its abundant presence with clinicopathological features such as shortened overall survival, poor tumor grade, de-differentiation, therapy resistance, and metastasis formation. In each of these tumors, ADAM9 may contribute to tumor biology via proteolytic or non-proteolytic mechanisms. For example, in liver cancer, ADAM9 has been found to shed MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A, contributing towards the evasion of tumor immunity. ADAM9 may also contribute to tumor biology in non-proteolytic ways probably through interaction with different integrins. For example, in melanoma, the interaction between ADAM9 and β1 integrins facilitates tumor stroma cross talks, which then promotes invasion and metastasis via the activation of MMP1 and MMP2. In breast cancer, the interaction between β1 integrins on endothelial cells and ADAM9 on tumor cells facilitate tumor cell extravasation and invasion to distant sites. This review summarizes the present knowledge on ADAM9 in solid cancers, and the different mechanisms which it employ to drive tumor progression.