miR-133a-3p promotes apoptosis and induces cell cycle arrest by targeting CREB1 in retinoblastoma

Advancements in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a prevalent primitive intraocular malignancy in children, particularly in those younger than age 3 years. RB is caused by mutations in the RB1 gene. In developing countries, mortality rates for this type of cancer are still high, whereas industrialized countries have achieved a survival rate of >95%-98%. Untreated, the condition can be fatal, underscoring the importance of early diagnosis. The existing treatments primarily consist of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The detrimental effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs have been documented as factors that contribute to increased mortality rates and negatively affect the quality of life for patients. MicroRNA (miRNA), a type of noncoding RNA, exerts a substantial influence on RB development and the emergence of treatment resistance by regulating diverse cellular processes. This review highlights recent developments in the involvement of miRNAs in RB. This encompasses the clinical significance of miRNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of RB. Additionally, this paper examines the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in RB and explores potential therapeutic interventions. This paper provides an overview of the current and emerging treatment options for RB, focusing on recent studies investigating the application of different types of nanoparticles for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

Proteomic analysis reveals that cigarette smoke exposure diminishes ovarian reserve in mice by disrupting the CREB1-mediated ovarian granulosa cell proliferation-apoptosis balance

Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) adversely affects ovarian health and it is currently unknown how CS exposure causes ovarian injury. This study compared the differences in proteomics between CS exposure and healthy control groups using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry quantitative proteomics to further understand the molecular mechanism of ovarian cell injury in mice exposed to CS. Furthermore, western blotting and qPCR were carried out to validate the proteomic analysis outcomes. CREB1 was selected from the differentially expressed proteins, and then the down-regulation of CREB1 and phosphorylated CREB1(Ser133) expressions were confirmed in mice ovarian tissue and human ovarian granulosa cells (KGN cells) after CS exposure. In addition, the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins BCL-2 and BCL-XL were downregulated, and BAX expression was up-regulated. Moreover, the results of cellular immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that cigarette smoke extract (CSE) efficiently stimulated the production of reactive oxygen species, apoptosis, G1 phase arrest, mitochondrial membrane potential decreases, and ultrastructural changes in KGN cells. KG-501 (CREB inhibitor) aggravated CSE-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis-proliferation imbalance in KGN cells mediated by down-regulated CREB1/BCL-2 axis. In addition, CREB1 over-expression partially restores mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis-proliferation imbalance of KGN cells induced by CSE. The results suggested that CSE diminished ovarian reserve in mice by disrupting the CREB1-mediated ovarian granulosa cell (GCs) proliferation-apoptosis balance and provided possible therapeutic targets for the clinical intervention of premature ovarian failure (POI) caused by CS exposure.

Role of non-coding RNAs and exosomal non-coding RNAs in retinoblastoma progression

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare aggressive intraocular malignancy of childhood that has the potential to affect vision, and can even be fatal in some children. While the tumor can be controlled efficiently at early stages, metastatic tumors lead to high mortality. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are implicated in a number of physiological cellular process, including differentiation, proliferation, migration, and invasion, The deregulation of ncRNAs is correlated with several diseases, particularly cancer. ncRNAs are categorized into two main groups based on their length, i.e. short and long ncRNAs. Moreover, ncRNA deregulation has been demonstrated to play a role in the pathogenesis and development of RB. Several ncRNAs, such as miR-491-3p, miR-613,and SUSD2 have been found to act as tumor suppressor genes in RB, but other ncRNAs, such as circ-E2F3, NEAT1, and TUG1 act as tumor promoter genes. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms of ncRNAs can provide new opportunities for RB therapy. In the present review, we discuss the functional roles of the most important ncRNAs in RB, their interaction with the genes responsible for RB initiation and progression, and possible future clinical applications as diagnostic and prognostic tools or as therapeutic targets.

miR-125b-5p upregulation by TRIM28 induces cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer through CREB1 inhibition

OBJECTIVE

miR-125b-5p plays an important role in the development of cancer and drug resistance. However, in cisplatin resistance of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the function and potential mechanism of miR-125b-5p is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role and molecular mechanism of miR-125b-5p in cisplatin resistance of NSCLC.

METHODS

A GEO dataset (GSE168707) was analyzed to find high miR-125b-5p levels were associated with DDP resistance. miR-125b-5p expression levels were detected in A549 and A549/DDP cells via real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Luciferase reporter assays, western blots and mouse model xenografted were performed to identify CREB1 as a direct target gene of miR-125b-5p. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were also performed to identify whether miR-125b-5p upregulation by TRIM28 induces DDP resistance in NSCLC through CREB1 inhibition.

RESULTS

In A549/DDP cells, miR-125b-5p expression was upregulated compared to A549 cells. Then miR-125b-5p was found to increase DDP resistance in NSCLC in vivo and in vitro by increasing cell proliferation and suppressing cell apoptosis. Bioinformatic analyses were used to search for gene which miR-125b-5p can target. We identified miR-125b-5p can regulate CREB1 via luciferase reporter assays, qRT-PCR and western blots. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were also performed to confirm miR-125b-5p could impact on CREB1 and induce the DDP resistance in NSCLC. Additionally, we used bioinformatic analyses to find tripartite motif-containing 28 (TRIM28) as a transcriptional enhance factor of miR-125b-5p. The expression of TRIM28 was upregulated in A549/DDP cells compared with that in A549 cells by qRT-PCR. Finally, we found TRIM28 could mediate DDP resistance through miR-125b-5p/CREB1 axis via cell proliferation, western blot and apoptosis assay.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our findings demonstrated novel functions and mechanisms underlying DDP resistance in NSCLC through the TRIM28/miR-125b-5p/CREB1 axis. These may serve as novel therapeutic targets to improve the treatment efficacy using DDP for NSCLC in the future.

Identification of Potential miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network Associated with Pig Growth Performance in the Pituitaries of Bama Minipigs and Landrace Pigs

Pig growth performance is one of the criteria for judging pork production and is influenced by genotype and external environmental factors such as feeding conditions. The growth performance of miniature pigs, such as Bama minipigs, differs considerably from that of the larger body size pigs, such as Landrace pigs, and can be regarded as good models in pig growth studies. In this research, we identified differentially expressed genes in the pituitary gland of Bama minipigs and Landrace pigs. Through the pathway enrichment analysis, we screened the growth-related pathways and the genes enriched in the pathways and established the protein-protein interaction network. The RNAHybrid algorithm was used to predict the interaction between differentially expressed microRNAs and differentially expressed mRNAs. Four regulatory pathways (Y-82-ULK1/CDKN1A, miR-4334-5p-STAT3/PIK3R1/RPS6KA3/CAB39L, miR-4331-SCR/BCL2L1, and miR-133a-3p-BCL2L1) were identified via quantitative real-time PCR to detect the expression and correlation of candidate miRNAs and mRNAs. In conclusion, we revealed potential miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks associated with pig growth performance in the pituitary glands of Bama minipigs and Landrace pigs, which may help to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of growth differences in pigs of different body sizes.

Differential expression of miRNA in histological subtype of Wilms tumor

INTRODUCTION

Wilms tumor is the most common renal malignancy in children and difficult to differentiate from other paediatric abdominal tumors radiologically, necessitating an invasive procedure for diagnosis. Previous studies have shown the potential role of miRNA as biomarkers for diagnosis, histological subtyping and prognosis. In this study, we are exploring the role of miRNA in the histological subtyping of Wilms tumor in the Indian population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 15 cases of Wilms tumor were evaluated for global miRNA expression analysis by microarray. Total RNA was extracted from fresh frozen tumor and miRNA expression analysis was performed using Agilent platform. Unsupervised clustering was done to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Using unpaired student T test, top 10 significantly differentially expressed miRNA were selected which could differentiate among different histological subtypes by unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis. The presence of necrosis, heterologous differentiation led to change in miRNA expression profile and led to a distinct cluster formation.

CONCLUSIONS

A panel of 5 miRNAs (miR1, 133b, 299-3p, 499a-5p, 491-3p) could differentiate among different histological subtypes of Wilms tumor, thus avoiding an invasive procedure in children, however, further confirmation using real time PCR analysis will be needed.

SPOCD1 regulated by miR-133a-3p promotes hepatocellular carcinoma invasion and metastasis

Objective

To investigate the tumorigenic role of spen paralogue and orthologue C-terminal domain-containing 1 (SPOCD1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identify the upstream regulatory mechanism.

Methods

We analyzed SPOCD1 and miR-133-3p expression in normal and HCC tissues from the Cancer Genome Atlas and UALCAN databases, and in normal hepatocytes and HCC cell lines by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot. We identified the miR-133a-3p-binding site on the SPOCD1 3ʹ-untranslated region using TargetScan. Hierarchical regulation was confirmed by luciferase assay and miR-133a-3p overexpression/silencing. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation were assessed by MTT, scratch, transwell, and clonogenic assays, respectively.

Results

SPOCD1 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and cell lines, while miR-133a-3p expression was significantly downregulated. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that high SPOCD1 expression was significantly associated with poor survival. TargetScan and luciferase reporter assay revealed that SPOCD1 was the downstream target of miR-133a-3p. Overexpression of miR-133a-3p significantly inhibited the expression of SPOCD1, while miR-133a-3p knockdown significantly increased SPOCD1 expression.

Conclusion

SPOCD1, regulated by miR-133a-3p, promotes HCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation. This study provides the first evidence for the role of the miR-133a-3p/SPOCD1 axis in HCC tumorigenesis.

CircRNA_002178 as a ceRNA promotes the development of colorectal cancer by regulating miR-542-3p/CREB1

OBJECTIVE

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant tumor commonly found in the digestive tract. This study aimed to explore the effect of circRNA_002178 as a competing endogenous RNA in the development of CRC by regulating the miR-542-3p/cAMP response element binding protein 1 (CREB1) axis and its molecular mechanism.

METHODS

The relative expressions of circ_002178, miR-542-3p, and CREB1 in patients' cell lines and CRC tissues were measured using Western blot and qRT-PCR. The localization and expression of circ_002178 were determined using fluorescence in situ hybridization and nucleocytoplasmic separation tests. The targeting relationships among circ_002178, miR-542-3p, and CREB1 were validated using RNA immunoprecipitation and dual luciferase reporter assays. The cells' proliferation, invasion, and colony forming ability were tested using CCK8, Transwell, and Clone formation assays, respectively. The cellular glucose consumption, lactification, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production were measured using glucose uptake colorimetric assay kits, lactate colorimetric assay kits and ATP assay kits, respectively.

RESULTS

The circ_002178 and CREB1 expressions were up-regulated in the CRC cells and tissues, and the miR-542-3p expression was down-regulated (all P<0.05). The circ_002178 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, invasion, colony formation, and glycolysis of the CRC cells in vitro, but the overexpression of circ_002178 induced the opposite result (both P<0.05). Our molecular mechanism study revealed that circ_002178, as the molecular sponge of miR-542-3p, promotes CREB1 expression. The downregulation of miR-542-3p or the overexpression of CREB1 is able to partly weaken the inhibition of CRC cells through the circ_002178 knockdown.

CONCLUSION

circ_002178 promotes the invasion, proliferation, colony formation, and glycolysis of CRC cells by regulating the miR-542-3p/CREB1 axis, thus driving the development of CRC.

MicroRNA-133a-3p inhibits cell proliferation, migration and invasion in colorectal cancer by targeting AQP1

Recently, miR-133a-3p has been identified as a marker for human colorectal cancer (CRC) and the association between miR-133a-3p and aquaporin 1 (AQP1) has been described in endothelial cells. However, the regulatory functions of the miR-133a-3p/AQP1 axis remain unclear in CRC. The present study analyzed the expression of miR-133a-3p and AQP1 in CRC tissues (n=56) and cell lines using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. The χ2 test was used to assess the associations between miR-133a-3p/AQP1 and clinicopathological features of patients with CRC. Next, the functional role of miR-133a-3p/AQP1 in CRC was evaluated in vitro by performing Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays. Moreover, the online software tool TargetScan7.1 was used to predict AQP1 as the target gene of miR-133a-3p, followed by validation using a luciferase reporter assay. The results showed that miR-133a-3p was significantly downregulated, while AQP1 was upregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines compared with corresponding controls. Clinically, it was demonstrated that miR-133a-3p/AQP1 expression was significantly associated with tumor TNM stage (P=0.020). Functional experiments indicated that miR-133a-3p-overexpression remarkably suppressed, while knockdown promoted, cell proliferation, migration and invasion in CRC cells. Mechanically, AQP1 was identified and validated as a target gene of miR-133a-3p in CRC cells. The expression level of AQP1 mRNA was not correlated with miR-133a-3p expression in CRC tissues. Furthermore, AQP1-knockdown induced, while overexpression reversed, the suppressive effects of miR-133a-3p on CRC cells. Taken together, these findings suggested that miR-133a-3p might be a tumor suppressor by suppressing cell proliferation, migration and invasion via targeting AQP1.

Mechanism underlying the regulation of lncRNA ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 by absorbing miRNA-532-5p as ceRNA in the development of ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

To explore the mechanism underlying the regulation of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 as a ceRNA of miR-532-5p in the progression of ovarian cancer (OC).

METHODS

A qRT-PCR assay was carried out for analyzing the expression changes of ACTA2-AS1, miR-532-5p, as well as CXCL2 in OC tissues and corresponding healthy paracancerous tissues HOSEpiC (human ovarian epithelial cells), and OC cells. OC cells were grouped and transfected, and the fluorescent in situ hybridization was adopted for evaluating ACTA2-AS1 in the cells. Additionally, a dual luciferase reporter (DLR) assay was carried out for verifying the correlation of ACTA2-AS1 with miR-532-5p and of miR-532-5p with CXCL2. Cells were transfected with si-ACTA2-AS1, miR-532-5p, or CXCL2 overexpression plasmids, and then the cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were determined using MTT, Transwell, and flow cytometry assays, respectively.

RESULTS

Compared with paracancerous tissues and HOSEpiC cells, OC tissues and cells showed increased ACTA2-AS1 and CXCL2 expression and decreased miR-532-5p expression (all P<0.05). ACTA2-AS1 acted as ceRNA in OC by negatively regulating miR-532-5p. Additionally, upregulating ACTA2-AS1 intensified the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells and suppressed their apoptosis (all P<0.05), and inhibition of it resulted in opposite results. In contrast, overexpressing miR-532-5p suppressed the proliferation, invasion, and clone formation of the cells and promoted their apoptosis (all P<0.05). The effect of ACTA2-AS1 on OC cells can be partially reversed by overexpressing miR-532-5p. Moreover, CXCL2, positively correlated with ACTA2-AS1 in expression (P<0.0001, r=0.7385), was the target of miR-532-5p, and its overexpression could partially offset the influence of miR-532-5p on OC cells.

CONCLUSION

LncRNA ACTA2-AS1 can act as a tumor promoter in OC by absorbing miR-532-5p as ceRNA and regulating CXCL2, and ACTA2-AS1 inhibitor is expected to play a role in targeted therapy of OC.

LncRNA RUSC1-AS1 contributes to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by modulating miR-340-5p/CREB1 axis

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have proven that there is a relationship between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and malignant tumor hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the function of RUSC1-AS1 and its relative regulators in HCC remains unknown.

METHODS

In vitro studies, CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, transwell assays, and wound healing tests were carried out to evaluate the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. The correlation between RUSC1-AS1 expression with tumor size or weight was studied in nude mice. Bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase, quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR), and Western blot analysis aimed to discover the relevance between miR-340-5p and RUSC1-AS1 or cAMP responsive element binding protein 1 (CREB1).

RESULTS

When compared with normal groups, RUSC1-AS1 expression in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines was higher. We also found that knockdown of RUSC1-AS1 inhibited HCC cell progression, including proliferation, migration, and invasion, and suppressed tumorigenesis in vivo. Further studies demonstrated that the expression of RUSC1-AS1 negatively correlated with miR-340-5p expression in HCC cells. In addition, miR-340-5p was identified as a direct target of RUSC1-AS1 and tightly associated with the prevention of tumor progression. Moreover, miR-340-5p bound directly to CREB1. CREB1 overexpression reversed the impact of miR-340-5p on HCC cells. Together, lncRNA RUSC1-AS1 plays a regulatory role in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in HCC cells.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated that lncRNA RUSC1-AS1 influenced HCC cell progression by modulating its downstream target miR-340-5p/CREB1 axis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which may be a potential prognostic and therapeutic target for treating HCC.

The Role of Non-Coding RNAs in Controlling Cell Cycle Related Proteins in Cancer Cells

Cell cycle is regulated by a number of proteins namely cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their associated cyclins which bind with and activate CDKs in a phase specific manner. Additionally, several transcription factors (TFs) such as E2F and p53 and numerous signaling pathways regulate cell cycle progression. Recent studies have accentuated the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of cell cycle. Both lncRNAs and miRNAs interact with TFs participating in the regulation of cell cycle transition. Dysregulation of cell cycle regulatory miRNAs and lncRNAs results in human disorders particularly cancers. Understanding the role of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and TFs in the regulation of cell cycle would pave the way for design of anticancer therapies which intervene with the cell cycle progression. In the current review, we describe the role of lncRNAs and miRNAs in the regulation of cell cycle and their association with human malignancies.