Cuproptosis-related long non-coding RNAs model that effectively predicts prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Decreased levels of PTCSC3 promote the deterioration of prostate cancer and affect the prognostic outcome of patients through sponge miR-182-5p

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer, characterized by its insidious onset and short overall survival, and has seen a rise in incidence over recent decades. This study aims to investigate the expression and molecular mechanism of lncRNA PTCSC3 (PTCSC3) in prostate cancer in order to develop new prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers.

METHODS

The level of PTCSC3 in serum and cell samples of prostate cancer was quantitatively measured using RT-qPCR assays. The correlation between the variation in PTCSC3 levels and clinical indicators of patients was evaluated. The survival status of the prostate cancer patients included in the study was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curve and multivariable Cox analysis. The impact of PTCSC3 overexpression on cell growth and activity was revealed by CCK-8 and Transwell assays. The targeting relationship between PTCSC3 and miR-182-5p was determined by bioinformatics prediction and luciferase activity.

RESULTS

PTCSC3 was found to be downregulated in prostate cancer, and its low levels were associated with short overall survival in patients. It influenced the progression of prostate cancer by targeting miR-182-5p. Increasing PTCSC3 levels suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion levels of cells, and miR-182-5p mimic counteracted PTCSC3's effects on cells.

CONCLUSIONS

As a potential prognostic biological factor for prostate cancer, PTCSC3 may regulate the progression of prostate cancer by sponging miR-182-5p and affect the prognosis of patients.

Long non-coding RNAs in ferroptosis and cuproptosis impact on prognosis and treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma

Ferroptosis and cuproptosis are recently discovered forms of cell death that have gained interest as potential cancer treatments, particularly for hepatocellular carcinoma. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) influence cancer cell activity by interacting with various nucleic acids and proteins. However, the role of ferroptosis and cuproptosis-related lncRNAs (FCRLs) in cancer remains underexplored. Ferroptosis and cuproptosis scores for each sample were assessed using Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA). Weighted correlation network analysis identified the FCRLs most relevant to our study. A risk model based on FCRLs was developed to categorize patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. We then compared overall survival (OS), tumor immune microenvironment, and clinical characteristics between these groups. The IPS score and ImmuCellAI webpage were used to predict the association between FCRL-related signatures and immunotherapy response. Finally, we validated the accuracy of FCRLs in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines using induction agents (elesclomol and erastin). Patients in different risk subgroups showed significant differences in OS, immune cell infiltration, pathway activity, and clinical characteristics. Cellular assays revealed significant changes in the expression of AC019080.5, AC145207.5, MIR210HG, and LINC01063 in HCC cell lines following the addition of ferroptosis and cuproptosis inducers. We created a signature of four FCRLs that accurately predicted survival in HCC patients, laid the foundation for basic research related to ferroptosis and cuproptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, and provided therapeutic recommendations for HCC patients.

Systematic analysis of cuproptosis abnormalities and functional significance in cancer

BACKGROUND

Cuproptosis is a recently discovered type of cell death, but the role and behavior of cuproptosis-related genes (CuRGs) in cancers remain unclear. This paper aims to address these issues by analyzing the multi-omics characteristics of cancer-related genes (CuRGs) across various types of cancer.

METHOD

To investigate the impact of somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) and DNA methylation on CRG expression, we will analyze the correlation between these factors. We developed a cuproptosis index (CPI) model to measure the level of cuproptosis and investigate its functional roles. Using this model, we assessed the clinical prognosis of colorectal cancer patients and analyzed genetic changes and immune infiltration features in different CPI levels.

RESULTS

The study's findings indicate that the majority of cancer-related genes (CuRGs) were suppressed in tumors and had a positive correlation with somatic copy number alterations (SCNA), while having a negative correlation with DNA methylation. This suggests that both SCNA and DNA methylation have an impact on the expression of CuRGs. The CPI model is a reliable predictor of survival outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer and can serve as an independent prognostic factor. Patients with a higher CPI have a worse prognosis. We conducted a deeper analysis of the genetic alterations and immune infiltration patterns in both CPI positive and negative groups. Our findings revealed significant differences, indicating that CuRGs may play a crucial role in tumor immunity mechanisms. Additionally, we have noticed a positive correlation between CuRGs and various crucial pathways that are linked to the occurrence, progression, and metastasis of tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our study systematically analyzes cuproptosis and its regulatory genes, emphasizing the potential of using cuproptosis as a basis for cancer therapy.

Incorporating Novel Technologies in Precision Oncology for Colorectal Cancer: Advancing Personalized Medicine

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most heterogeneous and deadly diseases, with a global incidence of 1.5 million cases per year. Genomics has revolutionized the clinical management of CRC by enabling comprehensive molecular profiling of cancer. However, a deeper understanding of the molecular factors is needed to identify new prognostic and predictive markers that can assist in designing more effective therapeutic regimens for the improved management of CRC. Recent breakthroughs in single-cell analysis have identified new cell subtypes that play a critical role in tumor progression and could serve as potential therapeutic targets. Spatial analysis of the transcriptome and proteome holds the key to unlocking pathogenic cellular interactions, while liquid biopsy profiling of molecular variables from serum holds great potential for monitoring therapy resistance. Furthermore, gene expression signatures from various pathways have emerged as promising prognostic indicators in colorectal cancer and have the potential to enhance the development of equitable medicine. The advancement of these technologies for identifying new markers, particularly in the domain of predictive and personalized medicine, has the potential to improve the management of patients with CRC. Further investigations utilizing similar methods could uncover molecular subtypes specific to emerging therapies, potentially strengthening the development of personalized medicine for CRC patients.

Immunomodulation of cuproptosis and ferroptosis in liver cancer

According to statistics, the incidence of liver cancer is increasing yearly, and effective treatment of liver cancer is imminent. For early liver cancer, resection surgery is currently the most effective treatment. However, resection does not treat the disease in advanced patients, so finding a method with a better prognosis is necessary. In recent years, ferroptosis and cuproptosis have been gradually defined, and related studies have proved that they show excellent results in the therapy of liver cancer. Cuproptosis is a new form of cell death, and the use of cuproptosis combined with ferroptosis to inhibit the production of hepatocellular carcinoma cells has good development prospects and is worthy of in-depth discussion by researchers. In this review, we summarize the research progress on cuproptosis combined with ferroptosis in treating liver cancer, analyze the value of cuproptosis and ferroptosis in the immune of liver cancer, and propose potential pathways in oncotherapy with the combination of cuproptosis and ferroptosis, which can provide background knowledge for subsequent related research.

Tumor Mutational Burden for Predicting Prognosis and Therapy Outcome of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the primary hepatic malignancy, represents the second-highest cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Many efforts have been devoted to finding novel biomarkers for predicting both patients' survival and the outcome of pharmacological treatments, with a particular focus on immunotherapy. In this regard, recent studies have focused on unravelling the role of tumor mutational burden (TMB), i.e., the total number of mutations per coding area of a tumor genome, to ascertain whether it can be considered a reliable biomarker to be used either for the stratification of HCC patients in subgroups with different responsiveness to immunotherapy, or for the prediction of disease progression, particularly in relation to the different HCC etiologies. In this review, we summarize the recent advances on the study of TMB and TMB-related biomarkers in the HCC landscape, focusing on their feasibility as guides for therapy decisions and/or predictors of clinical outcome.