Four plasma miRNAs act as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer

Unveiling Cas12j Trans-Cleavage Activity for CRISPR Diagnostics: Application to miRNA Detection in Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Cas12j, a hypercompact and efficient Cas protein, has potential for use in CRISPR diagnostics, but has not yet been used because the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12j is veiled. Here, the trans-cleavage behavior of Cas12j1, 2, and 3 variants and evaluate their suitability for nucleic acid detection is unveiled. The target preferences and mismatch specificities of the Cas12j variants are precisely investigated and the optimal Cas12j reaction conditions are determined. As a result, the EXP-J assay for miRNA detection by harnessing the robust trans-cleavage activity of Cas12j on short ssDNA is developed. The EXP-J method demonstrates exceptional detection capabilities for miRNAs, proving that Cas12j can be a pivotal component in molecular diagnostics. Furthermore, the translational potential of the EXP-J assay is validated by detecting oncogenic miRNAs in plasma samples from lung cancer patients. This investigation not only elucidates the trans-cleavage characteristics of Cas12j variants, but also advances the Cas12j-based diagnostic toolkit.

Increased oxygen stimulation promotes chemoresistance and phenotype shifting through PLCB1 in gliomas

Gliomas, the most common CNS (central nerve system) tumors, face poor survival due to severe chemoresistance exacerbated by hypoxia. However, studies on whether altered hypoxic conditions benefit for chemo-sensitivity and how gliomas react to increased oxygen stimulation are limited. In this study, we demonstrated that increased oxygen stimulation promotes glioma growth and chemoresistance. Mechanically, increased oxygen stimulation upregulates miR-1290 levels. miR-1290, in turn, downregulates PLCB1, while PLCB1 facilitates the proteasomal degradation of β-catenin and active-β-catenin by increasing the proportion of ubiquitinated β-catenin in a destruction complex-independent mechanism. This process inhibits PLCB1 expression, leads to the accumulation of active-β-catenin, boosting Wnt signaling through an independent mechanism and ultimately promoting chemoresistance in glioma cells. Pharmacological inhibition of Wnt by WNT974 could partially inhibit glioma volume growth and prolong the shortened survival caused by increased oxygen stimulation in a glioma-bearing mouse model. Moreover, PLCB1, a key molecule regulated by increased oxygen stimulation, shows promising predictive power in survival analysis and has great potential to be a biomarker for grading and prognosis in glioma patients. These results provide preliminary insights into clinical scenarios associated with altered hypoxic conditions in gliomas, and introduce a novel perspective on the role of the hypoxic microenvironment in glioma progression. Furthermore, the outcomes reveal the potential risks of utilizing hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) in glioma patients, particularly when considering HBOT as a standalone option to ameliorate neuro-dysfunctions or when combining HBOT with a single chemotherapy agent without radiotherapy.

Medical Relevance, State-of-the-Art and Perspectives of "Sweet Metacode" in Liquid Biopsy Approaches

This review briefly introduces readers to an area where glycomics meets modern oncodiagnostics with a focus on the analysis of sialic acid (Neu5Ac)-terminated structures. We present the biochemical perspective of aberrant sialylation during tumourigenesis and its significance, as well as an analytical perspective on the detection of these structures using different approaches for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. We also provide a comparison to other established liquid biopsy approaches, and we mathematically define an early-stage cancer based on the overall prognosis and effect of these approaches on the patient's quality of life. Finally, some barriers including regulations and quality of clinical validations data are discussed, and a perspective and major challenges in this area are summarised.

Extracellular circulating miRNAs as potential non-invasive biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer patients

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises 85% of all lung cancers and is a malignant condition resistant to advanced-stage treatment. Despite the advancement in detection and treatment techniques, the disease is taking a deadly toll worldwide, being the leading cause of cancer death every year. Current diagnostic methods do not ensure the detection of the disease at an early stage, nor can they predict the risk of its development. There is an urgent need to identify biomarkers that can help predict an individual's risk of developing NSCLC, distinguish NSCLC subtype, allow monitor disease and treatment progression which can improve patient survival. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) represent the class of small and non-coding RNAs involved in gene expression regulation, influencing many biological processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. Research reports significant differences in miRNA profiles between healthy and neoplastic tissues in NSCLC. Its abundant presence in biofluids, such as serum, blood, urine, and saliva, makes them easily detectable and does not require invasive collection techniques. Many studies support miRNAs' importance in detecting, predicting, and prognosis of NSCLC, indicating their utility as a promising biomarker. In this work, we reviewed up-to-date research focusing on biofluid miRNAs' role as a diagnostic tool in NSCLC cases. We also discussed the limitations of applying miRNAs as biomarkers and highlighted future areas of interest.

Mir-21 and Mir-125b as theranostic biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer in Tunisian women

Background

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the third most common cancer in women and the leading cause of death associated with gynecologic tumors. Because this disease is asymptomatic in the early stages, most patients are not diagnosed until the late stages. This highlights the need for the development of diagnostic biomarkers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, are currently being explored as potential biomarkers for the early detection of various malignancies in humans. However, their expression and diagnostic value in OC have not been well studied.

Materials and Methods

the plasma levels of miR-21, miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-205 and miR-125b were determined in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients and healthy controls by Reverse Transcription Quantitative Realtime Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). The expression levels of the deregulated microRNAs were analysed according to clinical characteristics.

Results

It was found that miR-21 and miR-125b were upregulated in EOC compared with healthy controls. Moreover, decreased miR-125b was associated with resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that miR-21 and miR-125b in plasma may serve as potential circulating biomarkers for the early detection of EOC. MiR-125b may also be useful for predicting chemosensitivity in EOC patients.

The clinical diagnostic value of plasma miR-592 and miR-217-3p levels in retinoblastoma

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to investigate the abnormal expression of plasma miR-592 and miR-217-3p in retinoblastoma (Rb) and explore the clinical diagnostic value of their expression levels for Rb.

METHODS

The 100 Rb patients who came to Nanchang Hongdu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2018 to January 2019 were selected as the Rb group, and 100 healthy patients who came to the physical examination centre during the same period were selected as the control group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of plasma miR-592 and miR-217-3p in all subjects; analyse the relationship between plasma miR-592 and miR-217-3p levels and the clinicopathological characteristics of Rb. Pearson correlation analysis evaluated the relationship between plasma miR-592 and miR-217-3p levels and overall survival.

RESULTS

Plasma levels of miR-592 and miR-217-3p in the Rb group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.0001), and the expression of miR-592 was significantly correlated with family genetic history (p 0.0001), tumour bias (p=0.0081), lymph node metastasis (p=0.0048) and pathological grade (p=0.0025), and the expression of miR-217-3p was significantly related to family genetic history (p 0.0001), optic nerve infiltration (p 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (p=0.0090), and pathological grade (p 0.0001). The high expression of miR-592 and miR-217-3p presents a more serious pathological manifestation of Rb, and the overall survival of patients is significantly shortened with the increase of miR-592 (r=-0.2276, p=0.0052) and miR-217-3p levels (r=-0.6461, p 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

and miR-217-3p are highly expressed in the plasma of Rb patients, and their elevated levels present severe pathological manifestations of Rb and shortened overall survival, which is expected to become biomarkers for clinical diagnosis of Rb.

A systematic review of miRNAs as biomarkers for chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients reveals potentially clinically informative panels as well as key challenges in miRNA research

Breast cancer patients are at a particularly high risk of cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy having a detrimental effect on quality-of-life parameters and increasing the risk of mortality. Prognostic biomarkers would allow the management of therapies to mitigate the risks of cardiotoxicity in vulnerable patients and a key potential candidate for such biomarkers are microRNAs (miRNA). miRNAs are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression which can also be released into the circulatory system and have been associated with the progression of many chronic diseases including many types of cancer. In this review, the evidence for the potential application of miRNAs as biomarkers for chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity (CIC) in breast cancer patientsis evaluated and a simple meta-analysis is performed to confirm the replication status of each reported miRNA. Further selection of miRNAs is performed by reviewing the reported associations of each miRNA with other cardiovascular conditions. Based on this research, the most representative panels targeting specific chemotherapy agents and treatment regimens are suggested, that contain several informative miRNAs, including both general markers of cardiac damage as well as those for the specific cancer treatments.

A Cross-Comparison of High-Throughput Platforms for Circulating MicroRNA Quantification, Agreement in Risk Classification, and Biomarker Discovery in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background

Circulating microRNAs (ct-miRs) are promising cancer biomarkers. This study focuses on platform comparison to assess performance variability, agreement in the assignment of a miR signature classifier (MSC), and concordance for the identification of cancer-associated miRs in plasma samples from non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods

A plasma cohort of 10 NSCLC patients and 10 healthy donors matched for clinical features and MSC risk level was profiled for miR expression using two sequencing-based and three quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qPCR)-based platforms. Intra- and inter-platform variations were examined by correlation and concordance analysis. The MSC risk levels were compared with those estimated using a reference method. Differentially expressed ct-miRs were identified among NSCLC patients and donors, and the diagnostic value of those dysregulated in patients was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The downregulation of miR-150-5p was verified by qPCR. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) lung carcinoma dataset was used for validation at the tissue level.

Results

The intra-platform reproducibility was consistent, whereas the highest values of inter-platform correlations were among qPCR-based platforms. MSC classification concordance was &gt;80% for four platforms. The dysregulation and discriminatory power of miR-150-5p and miR-210-3p were documented. Both were significantly dysregulated also on TCGA tissue-originated profiles from lung cell carcinoma in comparison with normal samples.

Conclusion

Overall, our studies provide a large performance analysis between five different platforms for miR quantification, indicate the solidity of MSC classifier, and identify two noninvasive biomarkers for NSCLC.

MiRNAs in Lung Cancer: Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Potential

Lung cancer is the dominant emerging factor in cancer-related mortality around the globe. Therapeutic interventions for lung cancer are not up to par, mainly due to reoccurrence/relapse, chemoresistance, and late diagnosis. People are currently interested in miRNAs, which are small double-stranded (20–24 ribonucleotides) structures that regulate molecular targets (tumor suppressors, oncogenes) involved in tumorigeneses such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis via post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA. Many studies suggest the emerging role of miRNAs in lung cancer diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics. Therefore, it is necessary to intensely explore the miRNOME expression of lung tumors and the development of anti-cancer strategies. The current review focuses on the therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic potential of numerous miRNAs in lung cancer.

miRNAs in Cancer (Review of Literature)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, noncoding, single-stranded RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by binding to mRNAs. miRNAs affect the course of processes of fundamental importance for the proper functioning of the organism. These processes include cell division, proliferation, differentiation, cell apoptosis and the formation of blood vessels. Altered expression of individual miRNAs has been shown in numerous cancers, which may indicate the oncogenic or suppressor potential of the molecules in question. This paper discusses the current knowledge about the possibility of using miRNA as a diagnostic marker and a potential target in modern anticancer therapies.

Onco-miR-21 Promotes Stat3-Dependent Gastric Cancer Progression

MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) is a small, non-coding RNA overexpressed in gastric cancer and many other solid malignancies, where it exhibits both pro-and anti-tumourigenic properties. However, the pathways regulating miR-21 and the consequences of its inhibition in gastric cancer remain incompletely understood. By exploiting the spontaneous Stat3-dependent formation of inflammation-associated gastric tumors in Gp130^F/F mice, we functionally established miR-21 as a Stat3-controlled driver of tumor growth and progression. We reconciled our discoveries by identifying several conserved Stat3 binding motifs upstream of the miR-21 gene promoter, and showed that the systemic administration of a miR-21-specific antisense oligonucleotide antagomir reduced the established gastric tumor burden in Gp130^F/F mice. We molecularly delineated the therapeutic benefits of miR-21 inhibition with the functional restoration of PTEN in vitro and in vivo, alongside an attenuated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and the extracellular matrix remodeling phenotype of tumors. We corroborated our preclinical findings by correlating high STAT3 and miR-21 expression with the reduced survival probability of gastric cancer patients. Collectively, our results provide a molecular framework by which miR-21 mediates inflammation-associated gastric cancer progression, and establish miR-21 as a robust therapeutic target for solid malignancies characterized by excessive Stat3 activity.

miR-150-5p-Containing Extracellular Vesicles Are a New Immunoregulator That Favor the Progression of Lung Cancer in Hypoxic Microenvironments by Altering the Phenotype of NK Cells

Natural killer (NKs) cells are cytotoxic effector cells, which can modulate tumor metastasis according to their function; however, the role of NK cells in lung cancer has not been extensively investigated. In this study, we determined the functional profiles of NK cells in a hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME) of lung cancer. We revealed CD226 downregulation and functional repression of NK cells after hypoxic lung cancer priming and we then investigated their interaction with extracellular vesicles (EVs) and miR-150-5p. We also found that NK cells from lung cancer patients had lower expression of CD226 on their surface and exhibited a pro-inflammatory, pro-angiogenic and tumorigenesis phenotype by expressing VEGF, CXCL1, CXCL8, S100A8 and MMPs. Moreover, inhibition of miR-150 improved tumor surveillance by reversing CD226 expression and subsequently reinstating cytotoxic NK cell activity in an animal model. Our study introduces a new scenario for the pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic activities of NK cells in the hypoxic TME in lung cancer.