miR-196a regulates the proliferation, invasion and migration of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells by targeting ANXA1

An overview of the regulatory role of annexin A1 in the tumor microenvironment and its prospective clinical application (Review)

Although annexin A1 (ANXA1), a 37 kDa phospholipid‑binding anti‑inflammatory protein expressed in various tissues and cell types, has been investigated extensively for its regulatory role in cancer biology, studies have mainly focused on its intracellular role. However, cancer cells and stromal cells expressing ANXA1 have the ability to transmit signals within the tumor microenvironment (TME) through autocrine, juxtacrine, or paracrine signaling. This bidirectional crosstalk between cancer cells and their environment is also crucial for cancer progression, contributing to uncontrolled tumor proliferation, invasion, metastasis and resistance to therapy. The present review explored the important role of ANXA1 in regulating the cell‑specific crosstalk between various compartments of the TME and analyzed the guiding significance of the crosstalk effects in promotion or suppressing cancer progression in the development of cancer treatments. The literature shows that ANXA1 is critical for the regulation of the TME, indicating that ANXA1 signaling between cancer cells and the TME is a potential therapeutic target for the development of novel therapeutic approaches for impeding cancer development.

Annexin A1 affects tumor metastasis through epithelial-mesenchymal transition: a narrative review

Background and Objective

Annexin A1 (annexin I, ANXA1), the first discovered member of the annexin superfamily, plays important roles in tumor development, invasion, metastasis, apoptosis and drug resistance based on tumor type-specific patterns of expression. The acquisition of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics is an essential mechanism of metastasis because they increase the mobility and invasiveness of cancer cells. Cancer invasion and metastasis remain major health problems worldwide. Elucidating the role and mechanism of ANXA1 in the occurrence of EMT will help advance the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Hence, this review aims to attract everyone's attention to the important role of ANXA1 in tumors and provide new ideas for clinical tumor treatment.

Methods

The PubMed database was mainly used to search for various English research papers and reviews related to the role of ANXA1 in tumors and EMT published from November 1994 to April 2022. The search terms used mainly include ANXA1, EMT, tumor, cancer, carcinoma, and mechanism.

Key Content and Findings

This article mainly provides a summary of the roles of ANXA1 and EMT in tumor metastasis as well as the various mechanisms via which ANXA1 facilitates the occurrence of EMT, thereby affecting tumor metastasis. In addition, the expression of ANXA1 in different metastatic tumor cell lines and its roles in tumorigenesis and development are also elaborated. This article has found many tumorous therapeutic targets related to ANXA1 and EMT, further confirming that ANXA1 has a huge potential for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of certain cancers.

Conclusions

Both the abnormal expression of ANXA1 and the occurrence of EMT are closely related to the invasion and metastasis of tumors, and more interestingly, ANXA1 can impact EMT directly or indirectly by mediating signaling pathways and adhesion among cells. We need more studies to elucidate the effects of ANXA1 on tumor invasion, migration and metastasis through EMT in vitro and in vivo clearly, and ultimately in patients to identify more therapeutic targets.

Liquid Biopsy in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus and of the Head and Neck

Squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus (ESCC) and of the head and neck (HNSCC) are two neoplasms that share common risk factors and have the same embryological origin, but a very different prognosis, the 5-year survival of HNSCC being almost double (40–50%) compared to the 5-year survival of ESCC (20%). Current guidelines emphasize the importance of screening for ESCC in patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers. A liquid biopsy is a novel tool for diagnosis, prognostic stratification, and personalized therapy. Liquid biopsy biomarkers for these two malignancies could help both their early detection, facilitate residual disease identification, and provide prognosis information. The present systematic review of the literature was aimed at describing the liquid biopsy biomarkers present in these two malignancies, with an emphasis on potential clinical applications.

MiR-196a promotes the proliferation and migration of esophageal cancer via the UHRF2/TET2 axis

The aim of this study was to investigate the functions and molecular mechanism of miR-196a in esophageal cancer (EC). miR-196a as well as UHRF2 and TET2 mRNA and protein levels in EC tissues and cells were detected using quantitative real-time PCR or western blot, respectively. Cell proliferation was evaluated via MTT assay. Transwell assays were used to detect cell migration. In addition, the targeted relationship between miR-196a and UHRF2 was assessed through a dual luciferase reporter assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect the levels of the cytosine intermediates 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). We found increased miR-196a expression in EC tissues and cells but decreased UHRF2 and TET2 expression. Next, functional experiments showed that knockdown of miR-196a or UHRF2 overexpression suppress EC cell proliferation and migration. miR-196a negatively regulates TET2 expression by directly targeting UHRF2. UHRF2 overexpression decreased 5mC levels but increased 5hmC levels. Furthermore, TET2 downregulation reversed the functions of miR-196a inhibition on EC cell proliferation and migration. Collectively, our study suggested that miR-196a was closely related to the progression of EC possibly by regulating the UHRF2/TET2 axis. Thus, miR-196a represents a potential new EC therapeutic target.

Research on Correlations of miR-196a Expression with Progression and Prognosis of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between miR-196a expression and the progression and prognosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Tissue samples and corresponding paracancerous tissue samples from 117 patients with CSCC were collected. The qRT-PCR analysis was used to detect the expression levels of miR-196a. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between miR-196a expression and patients' prognosis. The CCK-8 and transwell assays were used to explore the effects of miR-196a on the abilities of cell proliferation, migration, or invasion.

RESULTS

miR-196a expression was significantly up-regulated in CSCC tissues or cell lines, compared with adjacent normal tissues or cell lines, respectively. High expression of miR-196a was associated with positive lymph node metastasis, high TNM stages, and a lower five-year survival rate. The expression level of miR-196a was up-regulated and the proliferation, migration or invasion ability of cells were significantly increased accordingly.

CONCLUSION

miR-196a is highly expressed in CSCC, thus affecting the occurrence and development of CSCC. More importantly, miR-196a was shown to have potential as a prognostic marker for CSCC.

Cure lies in nature: medicinal plants and endophytic fungi in curbing cancer

Success of targeted cancer treatment modalities has generated an ambience of plausible cure for cancer. However, cancer remains to be the major cause of mortality across the globe. The emergence of chemoresistance, relapse after treatment and associated adverse effects has posed challenges to the present therapeutic regimes. Thus, investigating new therapeutic agents of natural origin and delineating the underlying mechanism of action is necessary. Since ages and still in continuum, the phytochemicals have been the prime source of identifying bioactive agents against cancer. They have been exploited for isolating targeted specific compounds to modulate the key regulating signaling pathways of cancer pathogenesis and progression. Capsaicin (alkaloid compound in chilli), catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (phytochemicals in green tea), lutein (carotenoid found in yellow fruits), Garcinol (phenolic compound present in kokum tree) and many other naturally available compounds are also very valuable to develop the drugs to treat the cancer. An alternate repository of similar chemical diversity exists in the form of endophytic fungi inhabiting the medicinal plants. There is a high diversity of plant associated endophytic fungi in nature which are potent producers of anti-cancer compounds and offers even stronger hope for the discovery of an efficient anti-cancer drug. These fungi provide various bioactive molecules, such as terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, quinines, steroids etc. exhibiting anti-cancerous property. The review discusses the relevance of phytochemicals in chemoprevention and as modulators of miRNA. The perspective advocates the imperative role of anti-cancerous secondary metabolites containing repository of endophytic fungi, as an alternative route of drug discovery.

MicroRNA profile in the squamous cell carcinoma: prognostic and diagnostic roles

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are human malignancies associated with both genetic and environmental factors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as a group of small non-coding RNAs have prominent roles in the development of this kind of cancer. Expressions of several miRNAs have been demonstrated to be increased in HNSCC samples vs. non-malignant tissues. In silico prediction tools and functional analyses have confirmed the function of some miRNAs in the modulation of cancer-associated targets, thus indicating these miRNAs as onco-miRs. Moreover, numerous miRNAs have been down-regulated in HNSCC samples. Their targets mostly enhance cell proliferation or inhibit apoptosis. miRNAs signature has practical implications in the diagnosis, staging, and management of HNSC. Most notably, numerous miRNAs have been shown to alter response of tumor cells to anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin and doxorubicin. Circulating levels of these small transcripts have been suggested as promising biomarkers for diagnosis of HNSCC. In the present manuscript, we sum up the available literature regarding the miRNAs signature in HNSCC and their role as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers.

Overexpression of miR-518b in non-small cell lung cancer serves as a biomarker and facilitates tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion

Several microRNAs (miRNA/miR) have been reported to serve critical roles in tumorigenesis. The present study aimed to investigate miR-518b expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and determine its clinical significance and biological function in this malignancy. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed to assess miR-518b expression in NSCLC. The diagnostic value of miR-518b was determined via a receiver operating characteristic curve, while its prognostic value was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed to determine the functional role of miR-518b in NSCLC progression. The results demonstrated that miR-518b expression was upregulated in NSCLC serum, tissues and cell lines compared with the corresponding normal controls. Furthermore, high miR-518b expression was significantly associated with larger tumor size, lymph node metastasis and advanced TNM stage, as well as poor overall survival in patients with NSCLC. Serum miR-518b expression was identified as a candidate diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC, with sensitivity of 88.1% and specificity of 81.7%. Furthermore, the cell experiments indicated that NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion were enhanced following overexpression of miR-518b; however, these effects were reversed following miR-518b knockdown. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that elevated miR-518b expression in NSCLC serves a potential oncogenic role by facilitating tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and thus may serve as a candidate diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

LncRNA SNHG1 regulates vascular endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis via miR-196a

Inflammatory cytokines are important protagonists in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, triggering effects throughout the atherosclerotic vessels due to the destruction in proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of endothelial cells. In this study, we found SNHG1 is upregulated in TNF-α-treated HUVECs. We silenced SNHG1 and found it inhibited vascular endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis. In the other hand, exogenetic overexpression of SNHG1 promotes proliferation, migration and angiogenesis. Then we demonstrated that SNHG1 may interact directly with miR-196a to act as a miR-196a sponge. Further, MAPK6 were predicted to be the target of miR-196a. So we blocked miR-196a, which increased expression level of MAPK6, enhanced cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis. These data indicated that SNHG1/miR-196a/MAPK6 axis may take a part in autophagy regulation in TNF-α-treated HUVECs. The subsequent rescue experiments come to the results ascertained the specificity of SNHG1/miR-196a/MAPK6 axis in regulating MAPK6. Overall, our findings demonstrate a novel mechanism by which SNHG1 overexpression protects the function of HUVECs, which may delay the progression of AS. SNHG1/miR-196a/MAPK6 axis may be of therapeutic significance in AS.