MicroRNA-26a inhibits cell proliferation and invasion by targeting FAM98A in breast cancer

Deciphering the roles of non-coding RNAs in liposarcoma development: Challenges and opportunities for translational therapeutic advances

Liposarcoma is one of the most prevalent forms of soft tissue sarcoma, and its prognosis is highly dependent on its molecular subtypes. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) like microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can bind various cellular targets to regulate carcinogenesis. By affecting the expressions and activities of their downstream targets post-transcriptionally, dysregulations of miRNAs can alter different oncogenic signalling pathways, mediating liposarcoma progression. On the contrary, lncRNAs can sponge miRNAs to spare their downstream targets from translational repression, indirectly affecting miRNA-regulated oncogenic activities. In the past 15 years, multiple fundamental and clinical research has shown that different ncRNAs play essential roles in modulating liposarcoma development. Yet, there is a lack of an effective review report that could summarize the findings from various studies. To narrow this literature gap, this review article aimed to compare the findings from different studies on the tumour-regulatory roles of ncRNAs in liposarcoma and to understand how ncRNAs control liposarcoma progression mechanistically. Additionally, the reported findings were critically reviewed to evaluate the translational potentials of various ncRNAs in clinical applications, including employing these ncRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers or as therapeutic targets in the management of liposarcoma. Overall, over 15 ncRNAs were reported to play essential roles in modulating different cellular pathways, including apoptosis, WNT/β-catenin, TGF-β/SMAD4, EMT, interleukin, and YAP-associated pathways to influence liposarcoma development. 28 ncRNAs were reported to be upregulated in liposarcoma tissues or circulation, whereas 11 were downregulated, making them potential candidates as liposarcoma diagnostic biomarkers. Among these ncRNAs, measuring the tissues or circulating levels of miR-155 and miR-195 was reported to help detect liposarcoma, differentiate liposarcoma subtypes, and predict the survival and treatment response of liposarcoma patients. Overall, except for a few ncRNAs like miR-155 and miR-195, current evidence to support the use of discussed ncRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in managing liposarcoma is mainly based on a single-center study with relatively small sample sizes or cell-based studies. Hence, more large-scale multi-center studies should be conducted to further confirm the sensitivity, specificity, and safety of ncRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Instead of furthering investigation to confirm the translational values of all the discussed ncRNAs, which can be time- and cost-consuming, it would be more practical to focus on a few ncRNAs, including miR-155 and miR-195, to evaluate if they are sensitive and safe to be used as liposarcoma biomarkers and therapeutic agents or targets.

Disulfidptosis features and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients: unveiling and validating the prognostic signature across cohorts

BACKGROUND

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a significant health concern with a variable global incidence and is linked to regional lifestyle factors and HPV infections. Despite treatment advances, patient prognosis remains variable, necessitating an understanding of its molecular mechanisms and the identification of reliable prognostic biomarkers.

METHODS

We analyzed 959 HNSCC samples and employed batch correction to obtain consistent transcriptomic data across cohorts. We examined 79 disulfidptosis-related genes to determine consensus clusters and utilized high-throughput sequencing to identify genetic heterogeneity within tumors. We established a disulfidptosis prognostic signature (DSPS) using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and developed a prognostic nomogram integrating the DSPS with clinical factors. Personalized chemotherapy prediction was performed using the "pRRophetic" R package.

RESULTS

Batch corrections were used to harmonize gene expression data, revealing two distinct disulfidptosis subtypes, C1 and C2, with differential gene expression and survival outcomes. Subtype C1, characterized by increased expression of the MYH family genes ACTB, ACTN2, and FLNC, had a mortality rate of 48.4%, while subtype C2 had a mortality rate of 38.7% (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.633-0.934, P = 0.008). LASSO regression identified 15 genes that composed the DSPS prognostic model, which independently predicted survival (HR = 2.055, 95% CI: 1.420-2.975, P < 0.001). The prognostic nomogram, which included the DSPS, age, and tumor stage, predicted survival with AUC values of 0.686, 0.704, and 0.789 at 3, 5, and 8 years, respectively, indicating strong predictive capability. In the external validation cohort (cohort B), the DSPS successfully identified patients at greater risk, with worse overall survival outcomes in the high-DSPS subgroup (HR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.17-2.023, P = 0.002) and AUC values of 0.601, 0.644, 0.636, and 0.748 at 3, 5, 8, and 10 years, respectively, confirming the model's robustness.

CONCLUSION

The DSPS provides a robust prognostic tool for HNSCC, underscoring the complexity of this disease and the potential for tailored treatment strategies. This study highlights the importance of molecular signatures in oncology, offering a step toward personalized medicine and improved patient outcomes in HNSCC management.

Gold Nanoparticles Downregulate IL-6 Expression/Production by Upregulating microRNA-26a-5p and Deactivating the RelA and NF-κBp50 Transcription Pathways in Activated Breast Cancer Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the modulation of pathogenic genes by binding to their mRNA sequences' 3' untranslated regions (3'UTR). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is known to promote cancer progression and treatment resistance. In this study, we aimed to explore the therapeutic effects of gold nanoparticles (GNP) against IL-6 overexpression and the modulation of miRNA-26a-5p in breast cancer (BC) cells. GNP were synthesized using the trisodium citrate method and characterized through UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To predict the binding of miR-26a-5p in the IL-6 mRNA's 3'UTR, we utilized bioinformatics algorithms. Luciferase reporter clone assays and anti-miRNA-26a-5p transfection were employed to validate the binding of miR26a-5p in the IL-6 mRNA's 3'UTR. The activity of RelA and NF-κBp50 was assessed and confirmed using Bay 11-7082. The synthesized GNP were spherical with a mean size of 28.3 nm, exhibiting high stability, and were suitable for BC cell treatment. We found that miR-26a-5p directly regulated IL-6 overexpression in MCF-7 cells activated with PMA. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with GNP resulted in the inhibition of IL-6 overexpression and secretion through the increase of miR26a-5p. Furthermore, GNP deactivated NF-κBp65/NF-κBp50 transcription activity. The newly engineered GNP demonstrated safety and showed promise as a therapeutic approach for reducing IL-6 overexpression. The GNP suppressed IL-6 overexpression and secretion by deactivating NF-κBp65/NF-κBp50 transcription activity and upregulating miR-26a-5p expression in activated BC cells. These findings suggest that GNP have potential as a therapeutic intervention for BC by targeting IL-6 expression and associated pathways.

Regulatory role of ceRNA network in B lymphocytes of patients with immune thrombocytopenia

OBJECTIVE

High-throughput sequencing was used to screen expressing differences of miRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA in CD19+ B peripheral blood samples of newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients and healthy controls. The study aimed to explore the regulatory role of ceRNA network in the pathogenesis of dysfunctional CD19 + B lymphocytes of ITP patients.

METHODS

CD19+ B lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood samples of ITP patients and their healthy counterparts. High-throughput sequencing was used to screen for the expression of miRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA of ITP patients and healthy controls, which were analysed by the ceRNA network. Moreover, qPCR was used to verify the differential expression of miRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA in ITP patients and healthy controls. The correlation between differentially expressed miRNA, lncRNA, mRNA, and B lymphocyte subsets was also analysed.

RESULTS

The CD19+ B lymphocytes of 4 newly diagnosed ITP patients and 4 healthy controls were sequenced and analysed. There were 65 differentially expressed lncRNA and 149 mRNA forming a ceRNA network showed that 12 lncRNA and 136 differentially expressed mRNA were closely associated. Similarly, miR-144-3p, miR-374c-3p, and miR-451a were highly expressed in ITP patients, as confirmed by qPCR, which was consistent with the high-throughput sequence results. LOC102724852 and CCL20 were highly expressed in ITP patients, while LOC105378901, LOC112268311, ALAS2, and TBC1D3F were not as compared to healthy controls, which was consistent with the high-throughput sequence results. In addition, the expression of miR-374c-3p, LOC112268311, LOC105378901, and CXCL3 were correlated with the percentage of B lymphocyte subsets.

CONCLUSIONS

The ceRNA network of miRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA in peripheral CD19 + B lymphocytes plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of ITP.

Regulating POLR3G by MicroRNA-26a-5p as a promising therapeutic target of lung cancer stemness and chemosensitivity

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) identified in lung cancer exhibit resistance to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy. Therefore, a technology for controlling CSCs is needed to overcome such resistance to cancer therapy. Various evidences about the association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition related transcriptomic alteration and acquisition of CSC phenotype have been proposed recently. Down-regulated miR-26a-5p is closely related to mesenchymal-like lung cancer cell lines. These findings suggest that miR-26a-5p might be involved in lung cancer stemness. RNA polymerase III subunit G (POLR3G) was selected as a candidate target of miR-26a-5p related to cancer stemness. It was found that miR-26a-5p directly regulates the expression of POLR3G.Overexpression of miR-26a-5p induced a marked reduction of colony formation and sphere formation. Co-treatment of miR-26a-5p and paclitaxel decreased cell growth, suggesting that miR-26a-5p might play a role as a chemotherapy sensitizer. In the cancer genome atlas data, high miR-26a-5p and low POLR3G expression were also related to higher survival rate of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. These results suggest that miR-26a-5p can suppress lung cancer stemness and make cancer cell become sensitive to chemotherapy. This finding provides a novel insight into a potential lung cancer treatment by regulating stemness.

Epigenetic Mechanisms in Breast Adenocarcinoma: Novel DNA Methylation Patterns

Breast adenocarcinoma is a leading cause of death in females worldwide. A broad spectrum of genetic and epigenetic alterations has been already identified and reported in millions of examined cancerous substrates, evidence of a high-level genomic heterogeneity that characterizes these malignancies. Concerning epigenetic changes and imbalances that critically affect progression and prognosis in the corresponding patients, DNA methylation, histone modifications (acetylation), micro-RNAs (miRs) alterations and chromatin re-organization represent the main mechanisms. Referring to DNA methylation, promoter hyper-hypo methylation in critical tumour suppressor and oncogenes is implicated in normal epithelia transformation to their neoplastic and finally malignant cyto-phenotypes. The current review is focused on the different methylation patterns and mechanisms detected in breast adenocarcinoma and their impact on the corresponding groups of patient response to specific chemotherapeutic regimens and life span prognosis.

The emerging role of noncoding RNAs in the Hedgehog signaling pathway in cancer

Hedgehog (HH), a conserved signaling pathway, is involved in embryo development, organogenesis, and other biological functions. Dysregulation and abnormal activation of HH are involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. With the emergence of interest in noncoding RNAs, studies on their involvement in abnormal regulation of biological processes in tumors have been published one after another. In this review, we focus on the crosstalk between noncoding RNAs and the HH pathway in tumors and elaborate the mechanisms by which long noncoding RNAs and microRNAs regulate or are regulated by HH signaling in cancer. We also discuss the interaction between noncoding RNAs and the HH pathway from the perspective of cancer hallmarks, presenting this complex network as concisely as possible and organizing ideas for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

FAM98A promotes resistance to 5-fluorouracil in colorectal cancer by suppressing ferroptosis

BACKGROUND

FAM98A is a microtubule-associated protein involved in cell proliferation and migration, and is frequently dysregulated in epithelial cancers. But its role in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) cancer remains unknown.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to examine the expression of FAM98A in CRC samples. We also investigated the effects of abnormal expression on the biological behavior of colorectal cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation were used to screen FAM98A-related signalling pathways and downstream factors.

RESULTS

FAM98A was upregulated in CRC tissues and CRC cell lines. Overexpression of FAM98A promoted cell proliferation and recovered 5-FU suppressed CRC cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the Enhanced expression of FAM98A inhibited ferroptosis in CRC cells by activating the translation of xCT in stress granules (SGs). Furthermore, we identified that metformin could reverse FAM98A-mediated 5-FU resistance in CRC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results for the first time indicate that FAM98A plays a critical role in promoting CRC progression, which provides a novel target for clinical drug resistance of colorectal cancer. And metformin may sensitize 5-FU in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Identification of key serum biomarkers for the diagnosis and metastatic prediction of osteosarcoma by analysis of immune cell infiltration

Background

The role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in osteosarcoma (OS) development has not been fully elucidated. Further, the contribution of the immune response to OS progression is not well defined. However, it is known that circRNAs and miRNAs can serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of many cancers. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify novel key serum biomarkers for the diagnosis and metastatic prediction of OS by analysis of immune cell infiltration and associated RNA molecules.

Methods

Human OS differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were identified by analysis of microarray data downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Further, characteristic patterns of OS-infiltrating immune cells were analyzed. On this basis, we identified statistically significant transcription factors. Moreover we performed pathway enrichment analysis, constructed protein–protein interaction networks, and devised competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. Biological targets of the ceRNA networks were evaluated and potential OS biomarkers confirmed by RT-qPCR analysis of the patients’ serum.

Results

Seven differentially expressed circRNAs, 166 differentially expressed miRNAs, and 175 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. An evaluation of cellular OS infiltration identified the highest level of infiltration by M0 macrophages, M2 macrophages, and CD8+ T cells, with M0 macrophages and CD8+ T cells as the most prominent. Significant patterns of tumor-infiltrating immune cells were identified by principal component analysis. Moreover, 185 statistically significant transcription factors were associated with OS. Further, in association with immune cell infiltration, hsa-circ-0010220, hsa-miR-326, hsa-miR-338-3p, and FAM98A were identified as potential novel biomarkers for OS diagnosis. Of these, FAM98A had the most promise as a diagnostic marker for OS and OS metastasis. Most importantly, a novel diagnostic model consisting of these four biomarkers (hsa-circ-0010220, hsa-miR-326, hsa-miR-338-3p, and FAM98A) was established with a 0.928 AUC value.

Conclusions

In summary, potential serum biomarkers for OS diagnosis and metastatic prediction were identified based on an analysis of immune cell infiltration. A novel diagnostic model consisting of these four promising serum biomarkers was established. Taken together, the results of this study provide a new perspective by which to understand immunotherapy of OS.

Hepatotoxicity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Compound Intermedine: Comparison with Other Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Its Toxicological Mechanism

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are common secondary plant compounds with hepatotoxicity. The consumption of herbal medicines and herbal teas containing PAs is one of the main causes of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS), a potentially life-threatening condition. The present study aimed to reveal the mechanism underlying the cytotoxicity of intermedine (Im), the main PA in Comfrey. We evaluated the toxicity of the retronecine-type PAs with different structures to cell lines derived from mammalian tissues, including primary mouse hepatocytes, human hepatocytes (HepD), mouse hepatoma-22 (H₂₂) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The cytotoxicity of Im to hepatocyte was evaluated by using cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation experiment, wound healing assay and dead/live fluorescence imaging. In vitro characterization showed that these PAs were cytotoxic and induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. We also demonstrated that Im induced cell apoptosis by generating excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), changing the mitochondrial membrane potential and releasing cytochrome c (Cyt c) before activating the caspase-3 pathway. Importantly, we directly observed the destruction of the cell mitochondrial structure after Im treatment through transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This study provided the first direct evidence of Im inducing hepatotoxicity through mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. These results supplemented the basic toxicity data of PAs and facilitated the comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the toxicity caused by PA compounds.