Long non‑coding RNA NR2F1‑AS1 facilitates the osteosarcoma cell malignant phenotype via the miR‑485‑5p/miR‑218‑5p/BIRC5 axis

THUMPD3-AS1 facilitates cell growth and aggressiveness by the miR-218-5p/SKAP1 axis in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant cancer with a high mortality. Accumulating studies have revealed that mRNAs involved in ceRNA (competing endogenous RNA) network are implicated in the tumorigenesis and development of CRC. Here, we aimed to elucidate the ceRNA network involving Src kinase associated phosphoprotein 1 (SKAP1) in the biological characteristics of CRC.

METHODS

Expression levels of genes in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) samples and prognosis of COAD patients were predicted using publicly available online tool. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), clony formation and Transwell assays were conducted to test the biological functions of SKAP1 and THUMPD3 antisense RNA 1 (THUMPD3-AS1) in CRC cells. Western blot was used to measure the protein levels of SKAP1. Gene expression in CRC cells was detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The interaction between miR-218-5p and THUMPD3-AS1 (or SKAP1) was verified by RNA pulldown and luciferase reporter assays.

RESULTS

SKAP1 was upregulated in COAD tissues and CRC cells and it reflected a poor prognosis in patients with COAD. SKAP1 knockdown inhibited CRC (HT-29 and HCT-116) cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Mechanistically, THUMPD3-AS1 acted as a ceRNA to sponge miR-218-5p and subsequently upregulated SKAP1 expression in CRC cells. SKAP1 overexpression reversed the suppressive effect of THUMPD3-AS1 knockdown on proliferation, migration and invision of CRC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

THUMPD3-AS1 promotes CRC cell growth and aggressiveness by regulating the miR-218-5p/SKAP1 axis.

Identification of novel biomarkers in prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common urinary malignancy. The lack of specific and sensitive biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of PCa makes it important to seek alternatives. R software was used to analyze the PCa expression profile from data sets in Gene Expression Omnibus. Core differential genes were identified by String and Cytoscape and further validated by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and The Human Protein Atlas (HPA). Gene Ontology analysis was done in the DIVID database and visualization analysis was conducted by Hiplot. Pathway enrichment was analyzed by IPA. To identify potential competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) networks, the experimentally validated microRNA-target interactions database (miRTarBase), The Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (StarBase), lncBase, and GEPIA were used. The lncLocator was utilized to perform subcellular localization of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Both miRTarBase and StarBase were used to find the binding site of mRNAs-miRNAs and miRNAs-lncRNAs. Visualization of the ceRNA network was performed with Cytoscape. Nine genes closely related to the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa were obtained, including four identified biomarkers by HPA, CENPF, TPX2, TK1, and CCNB1, and five novel PCa biomarkers, RRM2, UBE2C, TOP2A, BIRC5, and ZWINT. Pathway analysis indicated that PCa carcinogenesis was highly correlated with liver fibrosis pathways, ILK signaling, and NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response. Two sets of ceRNA networks, BIRC5/hsa-miR-218-5p/NEAT1 and UBE2C/hsa-miR-483-3p/NEAT1 were found to be novel biomarkers for the identification of PCa. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction results verified that UBE2C, BIRC5, and NEAT1 were upregulated and hsa-miR-218-5p and hsa-miR-483-3p were downregulated in human PCa cells compared with normal prostate epithelial cells. The novel identified biomarkers in this study would be valuable for the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa.

Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA00265 Enhances Cell Viability and Metastasis via Targeting miR-485-5p/USP22 Axis in Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is one of the bone malignancies in children and adolescents. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to participate in osteosarcoma development and progression. Linc00265 has been shown to involve in osteosarcoma oncogenesis; however, the underlying mechanism is largely unclear. In this study, we investigated the function of linc00265 in osteosarcoma cells, including cell viability, migration and invasion. Moreover, we elucidated mechanistically the involvement of linc00265 in osteosarcoma. We found that linc00265 overexpression promoted viability, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. Notably, linc00265 sponged miR-485-5p and increased the expression of USP22, one target of miR-485-5p, in osteosarcoma cells. Strikingly, linc00265 exerted its oncogenic function via regulating miR-485-5p and USP22 in osteosarcoma. Taken together, targeting linc00265 is a promising approach for treating osteosarcoma patients.

MicroRNA-376b-3p targets RGS1 mRNA to inhibit proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis in osteosarcoma

Background

To investigate the role of microRNA-376b-3p (miR-376b-3p) and regulator of G protein signaling 1 (RGS1) in the proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis of osteosarcoma.

Methods

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tumor and normal tissues from GSE14359 and GSE33382 in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) dataset were analyzed with GEO2R online. Similarly, differentially expressed miRNAs from GSE70367 were also analyzed with GEO2R. The interaction between the differentially expressed miRNAs and the shared distal metastasis-related DEGs from the two datasets were analyzed using miRWalk and Cytoscape. RGS1 and miR-376-3p were chosen to verify the prediction. RGS1 stably expressing and silencing cells were established based on the MG63 and U2OS cell lines. The targeting of RGS1 with miR-376b-3p was confirmed with Starbase prediction and luciferase reporter assay. Cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis were characterized in vitro and in xenograft mice.

Results

A total of 10 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated DEGs were characterized as shared metastasis-related DEGs for GSE14359 and GSE33382. Among these DEGs, RGS1 was targeted with miR-376b-3p, a predicted down-regulated miRNA in GSE70367. High expression of RGS1 predicted proliferation, invasion, metastases, and poor prognosis in osteosarcoma. Overexpression of RGS1 promoted proliferation, invasion, mobility, and stemness in MG63 and U2OS cells, while silencing of RGS1 had the opposite effect in both cell lines. High expression of RGS1 promoted tumor growth in xenograft nude mice. RGS1 was targeted with miR-376b-3p; the addition of miR-376b-3p down-regulated RGS1, and suppressed cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Meanwhile, sponging of miR-376b-3p had the opposite effect. The suppressive effects of miR-376b-3p could be abolished with RGS1, as cell proliferation, stemness, metastasis, and invasion were all promoted with RGS1 co-transfection in both cell lines.

Conclusions

Our study indicated that RGS1 is a tumor-promoting gene in osteosarcoma, which could be inhibited with miR-376b-3p.

An Autophagy-Related Gene-Based Prognostic Risk Signature for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Construction and Validation

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent primary liver cancer. Treatment is dramatically difficult due to its high complexity and poor prognosis. Due to the disclosed dual functions of autophagy in cancer development, understanding autophagy-related genes devotes into novel biomarkers for HCC.

METHODS

Differential expression of genes in normal and tumor groups was analyzed to acquire autophagy-related genes in HCC. These genes were subjected to GO and KEGG pathway analyses. Genes were then screened by univariate regression analysis. The screened genes were subjected to multivariate Cox regression analysis to build a prognostic model. The model was validated by the ICGC validation set.

RESULTS

To sum up, 42 differential genes relevant to autophagy were screened by differential expression analysis. Enrichment analysis showed that they were mainly enriched in pathways including regulation of autophagy and cell apoptosis. Genes were screened by univariate analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis to build a prognostic model. The model constituted 6 feature genes: EIF2S1, BIRC5, SQSTM1, ATG7, HDAC1, and FKBP1A. Validation confirmed the accuracy and independence of this model in predicting the HCC patient's prognosis.

CONCLUSION

A total of 6 feature genes were identified to build a prognostic risk model. This model is conducive to investigating interplay between autophagy-related genes and HCC prognosis.

Downregulation of microRNA-605 indicates poor prognosis and promotes the progression of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a type of primary bone tumor, which is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. MicroRNA (miR)-605 has been demonstrated to act as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in various cancers, such as breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, but its function in OS remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of miR-605 in patients with OS by evaluating its expression levels and to explore the biological function of miR-605 in OS progression. For this purpose, tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected from OS patients, and the expression of miR-605 in the collected tissues and OS MG63, U2OS, HOS, and SAOS-2 cell lines was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The prognostic value of miR-605 was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis. The effects of miR-605 on OS cell proliferation, migration and invasion were analyzed by the CCK-8 and transwell assays, respectively. The results of the present study revealed that miR-605 was significantly downregulated in OS tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, which was associated with the clinical stage and distant metastasis of patients. Additionally, the downregulation of miR-605 predicted the poor prognosis of patients with OS and served as an independent prognostic indicator. The downregulation of miR-605 enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS cells, which suggested that miR-605 may be involved in the progression of OS. The findings of the present study provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of patients with OS.