RP11‑156L14.1 regulates SSR1 expression by competitively binding to miR‑548ao‑3p in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

lncRNA HOXC-AS2 promotes the progression of hypopharyngeal cancer by binding to the P62 protein mediating the autophagy process

Hypopharyngeal carcinoma is the most malignant type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and lncRNAs play an important role in its formation and progression. However, the related specific mechanisms are rarely studied. lncRNAs closely associated with hypopharyngeal cancer were examined by lncRNA sequencing for in-depth exploration of the relationship between HOXC-AS2 and hypopharyngeal cancer pathogenesis. The mRNA expression of HOXC-AS2 and related genes was measured by qRT-PCR, and the biological function of HOXC-AS2 in hypopharyngeal carcinoma was demonstrated by gain- and loss-of-function experiments. RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and gene body truncation experiments and transcriptome sequencing were used to investigate the potential mechanism of HOXC-AS2 and its downstream genes, including P62, NF-KB and HMOX1. Finally, the biological function of HOXC-AS2 was confirmed in animal experiments. HOXC-AS2 and P62 expression was significantly upregulated in hypopharyngeal cancer tissues compared with normal hypopharyngeal tissues, while HMOX1 expression was decreased. Functionally, HOXC-AS2 overexpression can promote the viability, proliferation, migration and invasion of hypopharyngeal cancer cells and facilitate hypopharyngeal cancer progression. It was confirmed that HOXC-AS2 can bind to the P62 protein and activate the NF-KB signaling pathway, thereby affecting HMOX1 expression and regulating autophagy in hypopharyngeal cancer cells, ultimately regulating the formation and progression of hypopharyngeal cancer. In conclusion, our findings suggest that HOXC-AS2 regulates the progression of hypopharyngeal cancer by regulating autophagy and is abnormally highly expressed in hypopharyngeal cancer tissues. HOXC-AS2 may become a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of hypopharyngeal cancer.

Downregulation of RBM17 enhances cisplatin sensitivity and inhibits cell invasion in human hypopharyngeal cancer cells

Most of advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) are resistant to chemotherapy, and there is still lack of effective treatment for HSCC now. The present study aimed to investigate whether downregulation of RNA-binding motif protein 17 (RBM17) could enhance cisplatin sensitivity and inhibit cell invasion in HSCC and the underlying mechanism. We observed that RBM17 was upregulated in tumor tissues and associated with poor progression. Treatment of FaDu cells with cisplatin increased RBM17 expression in mRNA levels. Downregulation of RBM17 enhanced cisplatin-mediated inhibition of FaDu cells. In addition, downregulation of RBM17 effectively suppressed tumor cell migration and invasion through the reversion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, downregulation of RBM17 could significantly slow tumor growth in FaDu xenograft tumor model. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry detection and independent PRM analysis showed that 21 differentially expressed proteins were associated with the downregulation of RBM17. Taken together, our study implied that downregulation of RBM17 could serve as a novel approach to enhance cisplatin sensitivity in HSCC.

Clinical Value for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Signal Sequence Receptor 1 (SSR1) and Its Potential Mechanism in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Study Based on High-Throughput Data Analysis

Objective

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) has the characteristics of high incidence and poor prognosis. However, the underlying mechanism of HCC has not yet been fully elucidated. This study aims to investigate the potential mechanism and clinical significance of signal sequence receptor (SSR1) in HCC through bioinformatics methods.

Methods

Four online (GEPIA, TIMER, TCGA, and GEO) databases were used to explore the expression level of SSR1 in HCC. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) analysis and standardized mean difference (SMD) calculation were performed further to detect its diagnostic ability and expression level. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database was applied to verify the level of SSR1 protein expression. Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were carried out to determine the clinical relevance of SSR1 expression. KM survival analysis, univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses were employed to explore the prognostic impact of SSR1. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were implemented to reveal the underlying mechanism of SSR1. Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (QRT-PCR) was used to verify the expression of SSR1 in HCC.

Results

SSR1 was significantly overexpressed in HCC (SMD=1.25, P=0.03) and had the moderate diagnostic ability (AUC=0.84). SSR1 expression was significantly correlated with T stage, Gender, Pathologic stage (All P<0.05). Patients with high SSR1 expression had shorter overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that high SSR1 expression was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis. KEGG analysis showed that SSR1-related genes were enriched in the cell cycle, DNA replication, and TGF-beta signaling pathway. GSEA analysis also shows that the high expression of SSR1 is related to the activation of the above three signal pathways. qRT-PCR showed that the SSR1 expression in HCC was significantly higher than the Peri-carcinoma tissue (PHCC) and the corresponding normal liver tissue.

Conclusion

SSR1 expression was significantly up-regulated, and it had the potential as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC. It was very likely to participate in the occurrence and development of HCC by regulating the cell cycle. In summary, our study comprehensively analyzed the clinical value of SSR1 and also conducted a preliminary study on its potential mechanism, which will provide inspiration for the in-depth study of SSR1 in HCC.

PBX2-Mediated circTLK1 Activates JAK/STAT Signaling to Promote Gliomagenesis via miR-452-5p/SSR1 Axis

Glioma is considered one of the most lethal brain tumors, as the aggressive blood vessel formation leads to high morbidity and mortality rates. However, the mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of glioma remain unclear. Here, we aimed to reveal the role of circTLK1 in glioma development. Our results revealed that circTLK1 is highly expressed in glioma tumor tissues and glioma cell lines. We then conducted a series of experiments that showed that circTLK1 was involved in the progression of gliomas. Mechanistically, investigation of the factors downstream of circTLK1 revealed that circTLK1 activated JAK/STAT signaling in glioma cells. Furthermore, AGO2-RIP, RNA-pull down, and luciferase reporter gene assays led to the identification of the novel circTLK1/miR-452-5p/SSR1 axis. Moreover, we investigated the upstream regulator of circTLK1 and found that circTLK1 expression in glioma cells could be regulated by the transcriptional factor PBX2. Taken together, our findings show that circTLK1 mediated by PBX2 activates JAK/STAT signaling to promote glioma progression through the miR-452-5p/SSR1 pathway. These results provide new insights into glioma diagnosis and therapy.