Knockdown of spindle pole body component 25 homolog inhibits cell proliferation and cycle progression in prostate cancer

Implications of the NDC80 complex on the tumor immune microenvironment and cell growth in pan-cancer

Background: Previous evidence indicates that the NDC80 complex, a conserved spindle microtubule-binding component of the kinetochore, is overexpressed and associated with prognosis in certain cancer types. Herein, we assessed the expression and prognostic value of NDC80 complex components in pan-cancer and interrogated their potential functions in tumor context through multiple databases and software. Results: Our findings showed that the expression of NDC80 complex components was aberrant across almost all cancer types and correlated positively with poor prognosis at the pan-cancer level. Furthermore, the expression levels of NDC80 complex components were positively associated with Th2 cell infiltration in the majority of cancer types. Additionally, higher expression of the NDC80 complex components was associated with increased immune checkpoint gene expression and TP53 mutation in specific cancer types. We also discovered that NDC80 complex components play pivotal roles in cell division, and the cell cycle within the tumor context. Moreover, knockdown of NDC80 significantly suppressed cell growth and inhibited the G1-S phase transition in two breast cancer cell lines. Conclusions: Our study suggests that the NDC80 complex components could serve as reliable biomarkers for cancer detection and prognosis in pan-cancer, in addition to uncovering their role as cancer-promoting genes involved in Th2 cell infiltration, immune checkpoint, cell growth, and TP53 mutation.

Spindle component 25 predicts the prognosis and the immunotherapy response of cancers: a pan-cancer analysis

Spindle component 25 (SPC25) is one of the four proteins that make up the nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) complex, the other three components being Ndc80p, Nuf2p, and spindle component 24. Deregulation of the components of this complex can lead to uncontrolled proliferation and reduced apoptosis. However, the prognostic and immunotherapeutic value of SPC25 in pan-cancer remains unclear. Data from the UCSC Xena, TIMER2.0, and TCGA were analyzed to investigate the overall differential expression of SPC25 across multiple cancer types. The survival prognosis, clinical features, and genetic changes of SPC25 were also evaluated. Finally, the relationship between SPC25 and immunotherapy response was further explored through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, tumor microenvironment, and immune cell infiltration. The transcription and protein expression of SPC25 were significantly increased in most cancer types and had prognostic value for the survival of certain cancer patients such as ACC, CESC, KIRC, KIRP, LIHC, LUAD, MESO, STAD, THYM, and UCEC. In some cancer types, SPC25 expression was also markedly correlated with the TMB, MSI, and clinical characteristics. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis showed that SPC25 was significantly associated with immune-related pathways. In addition, it was also confirmed that the expression level of SPC25 was strongly correlated with immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint genes, immune regulatory genes, Ferroptosis-related genes, Cuproptosis-related genes, and lactate metabolism-related genes. This study comprehensively explored the potential value of SPC25 as a prognostic and immunotherapeutic marker for pan-cancer, providing new direction and evidence for cancer therapy.

Psoralen synergizes with exosome-loaded SPC25 to alleviate senescence of nucleus pulposus cells in intervertebral disc degeneration

OBJECTIVE

To explore the mechanism of psoralen synergized with exosomes (exos)-loaded SPC25 on nucleus pulposus (NP) cell senescence in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD).

METHODS

IVDD cellular models were established on NP cells by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) induction, followed by the treatment of psoralen or/and exos from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transfected with SPC25 overexpression vector (ADSCs-oe-SPC25-Exos). The viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, and senescence of NP cells were examined, accompanied by the expression measurement of aggrecan, COL2A1, Bcl-2, Bax, CDK2, p16, and p21.

RESULTS

After TBHP-induced NP cells were treated with psoralen or ADSCs-oe-SPC25-Exos, cell proliferation and the expression of aggrecan, COL2A1, Bcl-2, and CDK2 were promoted; however, the expression of Bax, p16, p21, and inflammatory factors was decreased, and cell senescence, cycle arrest, and apoptosis were inhibited. Of note, psoralen combined with ADSCs-oe-SPC25-Exos further decelerated NP cell senescence and cycle arrest compared to psoralen or ADSCs-oe-SPC25-Exos alone.

CONCLUSION

Combined treatment of psoralen and ADSCs-oe-SPC25-Exos exerted an alleviating effect on NP cell senescence, which may provide an insightful idea for IVDD treatment.

Identifying hub genes and common biological pathways between COVID-19 and benign prostatic hyperplasia by machine learning algorithms

Background

COVID-19, a serious respiratory disease that has the potential to affect numerous organs, is a serious threat to the health of people around the world. The objective of this article is to investigate the potential biological targets and mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 affects benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and related symptoms.

Methods

We downloaded the COVID-19 datasets (GSE157103 and GSE166253) and the BPH datasets (GSE7307 and GSE132714) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. In GSE157103 and GSE7307, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found using the "Limma" package, and the intersection was utilized to obtain common DEGs. Further analyses followed, including those using Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Potential hub genes were screened using three machine learning methods, and they were later verified using GSE132714 and GSE166253. The CIBERSORT analysis and the identification of transcription factors, miRNAs, and drugs as candidates were among the subsequent analyses.

Results

We identified 97 common DEGs from GSE157103 and GSE7307. According to the GO and KEGG analyses, the primary gene enrichment pathways were immune-related pathways. Machine learning methods were used to identify five hub genes (BIRC5, DNAJC4, DTL, LILRB2, and NDC80). They had good diagnostic properties in the training sets and were validated in the validation sets. According to CIBERSORT analysis, hub genes were closely related to CD4 memory activated of T cells, T cells regulatory and NK cells activated. The top 10 drug candidates (lucanthone, phytoestrogens, etoposide, dasatinib, piroxicam, pyrvinium, rapamycin, niclosamide, genistein, and testosterone) will also be evaluated by the P value, which is expected to be helpful for the treatment of COVID-19-infected patients with BPH.

Conclusion

Our findings reveal common signaling pathways, possible biological targets, and promising small molecule drugs for BPH and COVID-19. This is crucial to understand the potential common pathogenic and susceptibility pathways between them.

Spindle pole body component 25 and platelet-derived growth factor mediate crosstalk between tumor-associated macrophages and prostate cancer cells

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are involved in the growth of prostate cancer (PrC), while the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactive crosstalk between TAM and PrC cells remain largely unknown. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is known to promote mesenchymal stromal cell chemotaxis to the tumor microenvironment. Recently, activation of spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25) has been shown to promote PrC cell proliferation and is associated with PrC stemness. Here, the relationship between SPC25 and PDGF in the crosstalk between TAM and PrC was investigated. Significant increases in both PDGF and SPC25 levels were detected in PrC specimens compared to paired adjacent normal prostate tissues. A significant correlation was detected between PDGF and SPC25 levels in PrC specimens and cell lines. SPC25 increased PDGF production and tumor cell growth in cultured PrC cells and in xenotransplantation. Mechanistically, SPC25 appeared to activate PDGF in PrC likely through Early Growth Response 1 (Egr1), while the secreted PDGF signaled to TAM through PDGFR on macrophages and polarized macrophages, which, in turn, induced the growth of PrC cells likely through their production and secretion of transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1). Thus, our data suggest that SPC25 triggers the crosstalk between TAM and PrC cells via SPC25/PDGF/PDGFR/TGFβ1 receptor signaling to enhance PrC growth.

Role of spindle pole body component 25 in neurodegeneration

Background

Aberrant growth and polarization of microglia are critical for pathological initiation and progression of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the molecular signals that govern the outgrowth of microglia have not yet been fully determined. Spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25) is an important part for forming NDC80 complex, which plays a key role in the assembly of the microtubule-binding domain of kinetochores. Nevertheless, the role of SPC25 in microglial growth during neurodegeneration has not been described before, and was thus addressed in the current study.

Methods

We generated an adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype PHP.B carrying short hairpin RNA (shRNA) for SPC25 (shSPC25) under a microglia-specific TMEM119 promoter (AAV-pTMEM-shSPC25). Serotype PHP.B allowed the virus to cross blood-brain barrier, while TMEM119 promoter allowed specific targeting microglia in vitro and in vivo. We intravenously administrated AAV-pTMEM-shSPC25 to AD-prone APP/PS1 male and female mice and determined this effect on microglia proliferation and mouse behavior.

Results

Depletion of SPC25 did not alter polarization of microglia cell polarization in vitro. On the other hand, AD-prone APP/PS1 mice that had received AAV-pTMEM-shSPC25 significantly decreased SPC25 levels in microglia and attenuated microglia proliferation, resulting in significant improvement of the performance of the mice in behavior tests.

Conclusions

Specific depletion of SPC25 in microglia may prevent AD development through suppression of microglia outgrowth. SPC25 may be a promising novel target for preventing AD through microglia.

Upregulation of CCT3 promotes cervical cancer progression through FN1

The mechanisms underlying cervical cancer progression have not yet been fully elucidated; thus, further investigations are required. Chaperonin containing TCP1 subunit 3 (CCT3) expression was found to be upregulated in several types of human cancer. However, the roles of CCT3 in cervical cancer remain poorly understood. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the roles of CCT3 in the progression of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC). For this purpose, the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis databases were used to analyze the mRNA and protein expression levels of CCT3 in CESC samples. The effects of CCT3 on the proliferation and migration of CESC in vitro were determined using various experiments, including proliferation, Transwell and flow cytometric assays. The results revealed that CCT3 expression was significantly upregulated in CESC, which was associated with a poor prognosis. The silencing of CCT3 suppressed CESC cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness in vitro. Additionally, CCT3-knockdown promoted CESC cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and suppressed fibronectin 1 (FN1) protein expression. Furthermore, rescue assays demonstrated that CCT3 promoted CESC proliferation and migration via FN1. In conclusion, the findings of the present study demonstrated that CCT3 is closely associated with the progression of CESC. Thus, CCT3 may be considered a novel, promising biomarker, and a possible therapeutic target for CESC.

Hub Genes and Key Pathways of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Bioinformatics Analysis and Validation

Objective

To identify significant pathways and genes in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) based on bioinformatics analysis.

Design

The GEO database was used to download the GSE124272 dataset. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using Limma package in R language. Then, gene ontologies (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were used to further identify hub genes. The mRNA expression levels of top six hub genes were verified.

Results

We found 563 DEGs, of which 214 were upregulated and 349 were downregulated. The top 5 GO terms and pathways were shown including immune response, cell cycle, and p53 pathway. Based on the PPI analysis, we verified the mRNA expression levels of 6 hub genes. The mRNA levels of CHEK1, CDCA2, SKA3, and KIF20A were upregulated in degenerative NP tissue than in healthy NP tissue. However, the mRNA level of BUB1 and SPC25 was downregulated.

Conclusions

This study may provide new biomarkers for the IDD and treatments to repair IDD related to CHEK1, CDCA2, SKA3, BUB1, KIF20A, and SPC25.

Increased SPC24 in prostatic diseases and diagnostic value of SPC24 and its interacting partners in prostate cancer

SPC24 is a crucial component of the mitotic checkpoint machinery in tumorigenesis. High levels of SPC24 have been found in various cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, osteosarcoma and thyroid cancer. However, to the best of our knowledge, the impact of SPC24 on prostate cancer (PCa) and other prostate diseases remains unclear. In the present study expression of global SPC24 messenger RNA (mRNA) was assessed in a subset of patients with PCa included in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Increased levels of SPC24 expression were found in PCa patients >60 years old compared to patients <60 and increased SPC24 expression was also associated with higher levels of prostate specific antigen (P<0.05) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Higher levels of SPC24 expression were associated with negative outcomes in PCa patients (P<0.05). Furthermore, in Chinese patients with prostatitis, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and PCa, SPC24 was expressed at significantly higher levels than that in adjacent/normal tissues, as assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. High expression of SPC24 was associated with high Gleason stages (IV and V; P<0.05). Further analysis, based on Gene Ontology and pathway functional enrichment analysis, suggested that nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80), an SPC24 protein interaction partner, and mitotic spindle checkpoint serine/threonine-protein kinase BUB1 (BUB1), a core subunit of the spindle assembly checkpoint, may be associated with SPC24 in PCa development. Finally, using binary logistic regression, algorithms combining the receiver operating characteristic between SPC24 and BUB1 or NDC80 indicated that a combination of these markers may provide better PCa diagnosis ability than other PCa diagnosis markers. Taken together, these findings suggest that SPC24 may be a promising prostate disease biomarker.

Calcium-binding and coiled-coil domain 2 promotes the proliferation and suppresses apoptosis of prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is considered to be one of the most common tumors in men. Calcium-binding and coiled-coil domain 2 (CALCOCO2) is a known important xenophagy receptor, which mediates intracellular bacterial degradation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first to demonstrate that CALCOCO2 functions as an oncogene in PCa. The results of the current study indicated that CALCOCO2 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation and colony formation, whereas it promoted apoptosis of PCa cells. In addition, knockdown of CALCOCO2 in PCa cells reduced cyclin-E1 and increased p53 protein expression. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that CALCOCO2 was associated with 'autophagosome assembly', 'nucleophagy' and 'nucleic acid metabolic process' biological processes and interacted with sequestosome-1, microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3 (MAP1LC3)B, γ-aminobutyric acid receptor-associated protein, IκB kinase subunit γ and MAP1LC3C. Moreover, CALCOCO2 protein levels were indicated to be significantly increased in PCa samples compared with normal prostate tissues. These results suggested that CALCOCO2 may be of value as a diagnostic and therapeutic target in PCa.

SPC25 overexpression promotes tumor proliferation and is prognostic of poor survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: The nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) complex assures proper chromosome segregation during the cell cycle progression. SPC25 is a crucial component of NDC80, and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been explored recently. This study characterized the differential expression of SPC25 in HCC patients of different races and HBV infection status.

Methods: Expression patterns of SPC25 were evaluated in TCGA and Chinese HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis was applied to examine the predictive value of SPC25. In vitro and in vivo functional assays were conducted to explore the role of SPC25 in HCC. Bioinformatics methods were applied to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of SPC25.

Findings: The mRNA levels of SPC25 were up-regulated in HCC. SPC25 has a significantly higher transcriptional level in Asian patients than Caucasian patients. SPC25 promoted HCC cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo by accelerating the cell cycle. We identified transcription factors, miRNAs, and immune cells that may interact with SPC25.

Interpretation: The findings suggest that increased expression of SPC25 is associated with poor prognosis of HCC and enhances the proliferative capacity of HCC cells. SPC25 could serve as a valuable prognostic marker and a novel treatment target for HCC.

Machine-learning-driven biomarker discovery for the discrimination between allergic and irritant contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis tremendously impacts the quality of life of suffering patients. Currently, diagnostic regimes rely on allergy testing, exposure specification, and follow-up visits; however, distinguishing the clinical phenotype of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis remains challenging. Employing integrative transcriptomic analysis and machine-learning approaches, we aimed to decipher disease-related signature genes to find suitable sets of biomarkers. A total of 89 positive patch-test reaction biopsies against four contact allergens and two irritants were analyzed via microarray. Coexpression network analysis and Random Forest classification were used to discover potential biomarkers and selected biomarker models were validated in an independent patient group. Differential gene-expression analysis identified major gene-expression changes depending on the stimulus. Random Forest classification identified CD47, BATF, FASLG, RGS16, SYNPO, SELE, PTPN7, WARS, PRC1, EXO1, RRM2, PBK, RAD54L, KIFC1, SPC25, PKMYT, HISTH1A, TPX2, DLGAP5, TPX2, CH25H, and IL37 as potential biomarkers to distinguish allergic and irritant contact dermatitis in human skin. Validation experiments and prediction performances on external testing datasets demonstrated potential applicability of the identified biomarker models in the clinic. Capitalizing on this knowledge, novel diagnostic tools can be developed to guide clinical diagnosis of contact allergies.

A Combined Systemic Strategy for Overcoming Cisplatin Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer: From Target Identification to Drug Discovery

Simple Summary

The efficiency of cisplatin is limited by drug resistance in head–neck cancer (HNC) patients. In this study, we established a cisplatin resistance (CR) cell model, generated CR related transcriptome profiling, and combined application of bioinformatics methodology to discover a possible way to overcome CR. Analysis of the functional pathway revealed that mitotic division is a novel mechanism significantly contributing to CR. Spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25), a kinetochore protein, was overexpressed in CR cells and significantly correlated with worse HNC patient survival. The silencing of SPC25 increased cisplatin sensitivity and reduced cancer stemness property. Integration of CR transcriptome profiling and drug database discovered a natural extract compound, celastrol, possessing a potent cytotoxic effect in CR cells to reverse CR. Thus, we combined systemic strategies to demonstrated that a novel biological process (mitotic cell division), a hub gene (SPC25), and a natural compound (celastrol) as novel strategies for the treatment of refractory HNC.

Abstract

Cisplatin is the first-line chemotherapy agent for head and neck cancer (HNC), but its therapeutic effects are hampered by its resistance. In this study, we employed systemic strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance (CR) in HNC. CR cells derived from isogenic HNC cell lines were generated. The CR related hub genes, functional mechanisms, and the sensitizing candidates were globally investigated by transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses. Clinically, the prognostic significance was assessed by the Kaplan–Meier method. Cellular and molecular techniques, including cell viability assay, tumorsphere formation assay, RT-qPCR, and immunoblot, were used. Results showed that these CR cells possessed highly invasive and stem-like properties. A total of 647 molecules was identified, and the mitotic division exhibited a novel functional mechanism significantly related to CR. A panel of signature molecules, MSRB3, RHEB, ULBP1, and spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25), was found to correlate with poor prognosis in HNC patients. SPC25 was further shown as a prominent molecule, which markedly suppressed cancer stemness and attenuated CR after silencing. Celastrol, a nature extract compound, was demonstrated to effectively inhibit SPC25 expression and reverse CR phenotype. In conclusion, the development of SPC25 inhibitors, such as the application of celastrol, maybe a novel strategy to sensitize cisplatin for the treatment of refractory HNC.

Diagnostic and prognostic values of upregulated SPC25 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25) plays a vital role in many cellular processes, such as tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance of SPC25 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been investigated. This study aimed to explore the expression patterns of SPC25 in HCC and non-neoplastic tissues and to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic values of SPC25.

Method

The expression of SPC25 was examined in 374 HCC issues and 50 non-neoplastic tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. The diagnostic and prognostic values of SPC25 were analyzed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analyses, respectively. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify the prognostic factors and to establish a nomogram. The diagnostic and prognostic values were further validated in an external cohort from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database.

Results

The expression of SPC25 in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues in both cohorts (all P < 0.001). The ROC curve analysis indicated that SPC25 expression has high diagnostic value in HCC with area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.969 (95% confidence interval [CI] [0.948-0.984]) and 0.945 (95% CI [0.920-0.965]) for TCGA and ICGC cohorts, respectively. Patients with HCC exhibiting high SPC25 expression were associated with worse prognosis than those exhibiting low SPC25 expression in both cohorts (all P < 0.001). SPC25 was independently associated with overall survival in both cohorts (all P < 0.001). The concordance indices of the nomogram for predicting overall survival in TCGA and ICGC cohorts were 0.647 and 0.805, respectively, which were higher than those of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system.

Conclusion

SPC25 was upregulated in HCC and independently predicted poor overall survival of patients with HCC. Therefore, SPC25 is an effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HCC. An SPC25-based nomogram was more accurate and useful than the AJCC staging system to predict prognosis of HCC.

SPC25 may promote proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma via p53

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy with poor prognosis and high mortality. To identify key genes associated with HCC and the underlying mechanisms, we performed weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) of potential key genes of HCC. We identified 17 key genes closely related to HCC by yellow module combined with PPI analysis. Verification of the role of these genes revealed that SPC25 knockdown results in a significant decrease in proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells and increased protein levels of components of the p53 pathway in vitro. In summary, we identified that SPC25 is a potential tumor‐promoting factor in HCC and may act via the p53 pathway.

Spindle pole body component 25 regulates stemness of prostate cancer cells

Spindle pole body component 25 (SPC25) is a component of NDC80 complex that controls spindle assembly checkpoint in the microtubule-binding domain of kinetochores. We recently showed that SPC25 is required for prostate cancer (PrC) cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and here we investigated whether SPC25 may be a Cancer stem cell (CSC) marker in PrC. We found that the levels of SPC25 were higher in PrC samples than paired normal prostate tissue. The overall survival of PrC patients with high SPC25 was poorer than those with low SPC25. PrC cell lines were transduced with two vectors carrying a luciferase reporter and a mCherry fluorescent reporter under a cytomegalovirus promoter and a nuclear green fluorescent protein reporter under the control of a SPC25 promoter, respectively, to allow differentiating SPC25+ from SPC25- PrC cells by flow cytometry. Compared to SPC25- cells, SPC25+ cells formed significantly more tumor spheres in culture, appeared to be more resistant towards docetaxel-induced cell apoptosis, and generated larger tumors with higher frequency after serial adoptive transplantation. Thus, our data suggest that SPC25 may be highly expressed in the CSC-like cells in PrC and could be a promising target for effective treatment of PrC.

Up-regulation of SPC25 promotes breast cancer

In this study, expression of the SPC25 gene was characterized in breast cancer (BC), and its effects on BC development and progression, functions in BC cells, and potential underlying mechanisms were examined. Data from TCGAportal and FIREBROWSE indicated that SPC25 was upregulated in BC tissues compared to normal tissues, and CANCERTOOL indicated that higher SPC25 mRNA levels were associated with increased probability of recurrence and poorer survival in BC patients. BC patients with higher SPC25 expression displayed shorter distant metastasis-free survival, relapse-free survival, and overall survival. Colony formation and CCK-8 experiments confirmed that SPC25 promoted proliferation of BC cells. Single-cell analysis indicated that SPC25 is associated with cell cycle regulation, DNA damage and repair, and BC cell proliferation. SPC25 knockdown suppressed proliferation of BC cells. MiRNAs, circRNAs, RNA-binding proteins, transcription factors, and immune factors that might interact with SPC25 mRNA to promote BC were also identified. These findings suggest that SPC25 levels are higher in more malignant BC subtypes and are associated with poor prognosis in BC patients. In addition, DNA methyltransferase inhibitor and transcription factors inhibitor treatments targeting SPC25 might improve survival in BC patients.

Nuclear division cycle 80 complex is associated with malignancy and predicts poor survival of hepatocellular carcinoma

The NDC80 (nuclear division cycle 80) complex takes part in chromosome segregation by forming an outer kinetochore and providing a platform for the interaction between chromosomes and microtubules, thus impacting the progression of mitosis and the cell cycle. The clinical significance of its components, NDC80, nuf2, spc24, and spc25, were widely explored in various malignancies respectively, yet seldom were they studied from the perspective of a complex. This paper explores the clinical importance of the NDC80 kinetochore complex components in terms of their expression level, prognostic value, and therapeutic potential in HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) patients. With the data from several paired HCC samples from Nanfang Hospital, HCC patients from the TCGA database and other cases from GSE89377, we analyzed the expression levels of the NDC80 complex components, NDC80/nuf2/spc24/spc25, along with the survival data as well as other clinical features using statistical methods and GSEA. The study found that a high expression of NDC80 complex predicts poor survival, and these components have the potential to be used as therapeutic targets.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase 1 Silencing Expedites the Apoptosis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells via Modulating DNA Methylation

BACKGROUND Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85% of all types of lung cancer. Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) is involved in DNA methylation, and DNA methylation is related to tumorigenesis. The role of MTHFD1 in NSCLC was examined in our study. MATERIAL AND METHODS The correlation between the expression of MTHFD1 and the clinicopathological features of patients diagnosed with lung cancer was investigated using the chi-square test. The viability and apoptosis of NCI-H1299 cells was respectively detected using cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry assays. The expression levels of MTHFD1, apoptosis-related factors and DNA methyltransferase-related factors were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot assays. RESULTS We found that MTHFD1 expression in the tumor tissues and cells was higher than that of adjacent normal tissues and cells. The survival time of patients with high MTHFD1 expression was shorter than those with low MTHFD1 expression. The expression level of MTHFD1 was related to tumor size, TNM stage, histologic grade, and metastasis, but not linked to gender and age. Besides, si-MTHFD1 significantly decreased the viability of cells in a time-dependent manner, and increased cell apoptosis. When cells were transfected with MTHFD1-siRNA, the levels of surviving and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) were attenuated, while p53 and Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) levels were enhanced. Moreover, si-MTHFD1 markedly downregulated the expression levels of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), DNMT3a, and DNMT3b. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our results proved that MTHFD1 silencing obviously reduced the proliferation and enhanced the apoptosis of NSCLC via suppressing DNA methylation.