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Heydarnia E, Dorostgou Z, Hedayati N, Mousavi V, Yahyazadeh S, Alimohammadi M, Gheibi M, Heidari P, Igder S, Mafi A, Vakili O. Circular RNAs and cervical cancer: friends or foes? A landscape on circRNA-mediated regulation of key signaling pathways involved in the onset and progression of HPV-related cervical neoplasms. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:107. [PMID: 38341592 PMCID: PMC10859032 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-024-01494-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer (CC) is a common gynecologic malignancy, accounting for a significant proportion of women death worldwide. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the major etiological causes leading to CC onset; however, genetic, and epigenetic factors are also responsible for disease expansion. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are known as a particular subset of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) superfamily, with covalently closed loop structures, have been reported to be involved in the progression of diverse diseases, especially neoplasms. In this framework, abnormally expressed circRNAs are in strong correlation with CC pathogenesis through regulating substantial signaling pathways. Also, these RNA molecules can be considered as promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CC diagnosis/prognosis and treatment, respectively. Herein, we first review key molecular mechanisms, including Wnt/β-catenin, MAPK, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways, as well as angiogenesis and metastasis, by which circRNAs interfere with CC development. Then, diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic potentials of these ncRNA molecules will be highlighted in depth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emad Heydarnia
- Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Dorostgou
- Department of Biochemistry, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran
| | - Neda Hedayati
- School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahide Mousavi
- School of Medicine, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
| | - Sheida Yahyazadeh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mina Alimohammadi
- Student Research Committee, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Mobina Gheibi
- Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Parasta Heidari
- School of Medicine, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
| | - Somayeh Igder
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Alireza Mafi
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
- Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
| | - Omid Vakili
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
- Autophagy Research Center, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
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Giang LH, Wu KS, Lee WC, Chu SS, Do AD, Changou CA, Tran HM, Hsieh TH, Chen HH, Hsieh CL, Sung SY, Yu AL, Yen Y, Wong TT, Chang CC. Targeting of RRM2 suppresses DNA damage response and activates apoptosis in atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:346. [PMID: 38124207 PMCID: PMC10731702 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02911-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) is a rare but aggressive malignancy in the central nervous system, predominantly occurring in early childhood. Despite aggressive treatment, the prognosis of ATRT patients remains poor. RRM2, a subunit of ribonucleotide reductase, has been reported as a biomarker for aggressiveness and poor prognostic conditions in several cancers. However, little is known about the role of RRM2 in ATRT. Uncovering the role of RRM2 in ATRT will further promote the development of feasible strategies and effective drugs to treat ATRT. METHODS Expression of RRM2 was evaluated by molecular profiling analysis and was confirmed by IHC in both ATRT patients and PDX tissues. Follow-up in vitro studies used shRNA knockdown RRM2 in three different ATRT cells to elucidate the oncogenic role of RRM2. The efficacy of COH29, an RRM2 inhibitor, was assessed in vitro and in vivo. Western blot and RNA-sequencing were used to determine the mechanisms of RRM2 transcriptional activation in ATRT. RESULTS RRM2 was found to be significantly overexpressed in multiple independent ATRT clinical cohorts through comprehensive bioinformatics and clinical data analysis in this study. The expression level of RRM2 was strongly correlated with poor survival rates in patients. In addition, we employed shRNAs to silence RRM2, which led to significantly decrease in ATRT colony formation, cell proliferation, and migration. In vitro experiments showed that treatment with COH29 resulted in similar but more pronounced inhibitory effect. Therefore, ATRT orthotopic mouse model was utilized to validate this finding, and COH29 treatment showed significant tumor growth suppression and prolong overall survival. Moreover, we provide evidence that COH29 treatment led to genomic instability, suppressed homologous recombinant DNA damage repair, and subsequently induced ATRT cell death through apoptosis in ATRT cells. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our study uncovers the oncogenic functions of RRM2 in ATRT cell lines, and highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting RRM2 in ATRT. The promising effect of COH29 on ATRT suggests its potential suitability for clinical trials as a novel therapeutic approach for ATRT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Hien Giang
- International Ph.D. Program for Translational Science, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
- Department of Biology and Genetics, Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hai Phong, 180000, Vietnam
| | - Kuo-Sheng Wu
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Chung Lee
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Shing-Shung Chu
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Anh Duy Do
- International Ph.D. Program for Translational Science, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
- Department of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Immunology, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam
| | - Chun A Changou
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- The Ph.D. Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Huy Minh Tran
- Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam
| | - Tsung-Han Hsieh
- Joint Biobank, Office of Human Research, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Hung Chen
- Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, 112, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Ling Hsieh
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Development Center for Biotechnology, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Shian-Ying Sung
- International Ph.D. Program for Translational Science, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Alice L Yu
- Institute of Stem Cell and Translational Cancer Research, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Yun Yen
- The Ph.D. Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Tong Wong
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Pediatric Brain Tumor Program, Taipei Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital and Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- Neuroscience Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
- TMU Research Center for Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan
| | - Che-Chang Chang
- International Ph.D. Program for Translational Science, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
- Neuroscience Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
- TMU Research Center for Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, 6F., Education & Research Building, Shuang-Ho Campus, No. 301, Yuantong Rd., Zhonghe Dist., New Taipei City, 23564, Taiwan.
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Luo X, Liu J, Wang X, Wang Y, Yuan J, Zhang Y. Circ_0005615 promotes cervical cancer cell growth and metastasis by modulating the miR-138-5p/KDM2A axis. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 2023; 37:e23410. [PMID: 37393518 DOI: 10.1002/jbt.23410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Cervical cancer (CC) is a highly fatal gynecological malignancy due to its high metastasis and recurrence rate. Circular RNA (circRNA) has been regarded as a regulator of CC. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of circ_0005615 in CC remains unclear. The levels of circ_0005615, miR-138-5p, and lysine demethylase 2A (KDM2A) were measured using qRT-PCR or western blot. Cell proliferation was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, and colony formation experiments. Cell invasion and migration were tested by transwell assay and wound healing assay. Flow cytometry and Caspase-Glo 3/7 Assay kit were used to analyze cell apoptosis. The expression of proliferation-related and apoptosis-related markers was detected by western blot. The binding relationships among circ_0005615, miR-138-5p, and KDM2A were verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay or RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Xenograft assay was applied to detect the effect of circ_0005615 in vivo. Circ_0005615 and KDM2A were upregulated, while miR-138-5p was downregulated in CC tissues and cells. Circ_0005615 knockdown retarded cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while promoting apoptosis. Besides, circ_0005615 sponged miR-138-5p, and miR-138-5p could target KDM2A. miR-138-5p inhibitor reversed the regulation of circ_0005615 knockdown on CC cell growth and metastasis, and KDM2A overexpression also abolished the inhibitory effect of miR-138-5p on CC cell growth and metastasis. In addition, we also discovered that circ_0005615 silencing inhibited CC tumor growth in vivo. Circ_0005615 acted as a tumor promoter in CC by regulating the miR-138-5p/KDM2A pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoning Luo
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
| | - Jiewen Liu
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
| | - Xiangcai Wang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yili Wang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
| | - Jun Yuan
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China
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Bai H, Kawahara M, Takahashi M. Identification of menaquinone-4 (vitamin K2) target genes in bovine endometrial epithelial cells in vitro. Theriogenology 2023; 198:183-193. [PMID: 36592516 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2022.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The effect of vitamin K on bovine endometrial epithelial cells has not been thoroughly investigated. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the biologically active form of vitamin K, menaquinone-4, on gene expression in bovine endometrial epithelial cells. First, we examined the mRNA and protein expression levels of UBIAD1, a menaquinone-4 biosynthetic enzyme. Second, we screened for potential target genes of menaquinone-4 in bovine endometrial epithelial cells using RNA-sequencing. We found 50 differentially expressed genes; 42 were upregulated, and 8 were downregulated. Among them, a dose-dependent response to menaquinone-4 was observed for the top three upregulated (TRIB3, IL6, and TNFAIP3) and downregulated (CDC6, ORC1, and RRM2) genes. It has been suggested that these genes play important roles in reproductive events. In addition, GDF15 and VEGFA, which are important for cellular functions as they are commonly involved in pathways, such as positive regulation of cell communication, cell differentiation, and positive regulation of MAPK cascade, were upregulated in endometrial epithelial cells by menaquinone-4 treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing the expression of UBIAD1 in the bovine uterus. Moreover, the study determined menaquinone-4 target genes in bovine endometrial epithelial cells, which may positively affect pregnancy with alteration of gene expression in cattle uterus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanako Bai
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku Kita 9 Nishi 9, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.
| | - Manabu Kawahara
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku Kita 9 Nishi 9, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.
| | - Masashi Takahashi
- Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku Kita 9 Nishi 9, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan; Global Station for Food, Land and Water Resources, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku Kita 9 Nishi 9, Sapporo, 060-0815, Japan.
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5
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Yu F, Luo F, Zhang X, Huang Q. Circ_0006646 Accelerates the Growth and Metastasis of Cervical Cancer by Elevating RRM2 Through miR-758-3p. Biochem Genet 2022:10.1007/s10528-022-10320-6. [PMID: 36583788 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-022-10320-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women, and circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to regulate CC development. However, the role of circ_0006646 in CC progression is still unclear. The levels of circ_0006646, miR-758-3p, and ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2) were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. Cell proliferation was tested by cell counting kit 8 and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assays. Flow cytometry was used to test cell apoptosis. Migration and invasion were estimated by transwell assay. Western blot assay was performed to examine protein expression. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay, and RNA pull down assay were used to analyze the connection between miR-758-3p and circ_0006646 or RRM2. Tumor growth was detected by in vivo experiments. Exosomes were isolated form CC patients and healthy controls. Circ_0006646 expression was elevated in CC cells, and its knockdown suppressed CC cell growth, migration, and invasion. MiR-758-3p was sponged by circ_0006646, and RRM2 was targeted by miR-758-3p. In addition, the effects of circ_0006646 depletion on CC cell progression were overturned by miR-758-3p inhibitor, and either RRM2 overexpression reversed those effects of miR-758-3p overexpression on CC cell progression. Circ_0006646 was highly expressed in the exosomes of CC patients. Circ_0006646 expedited CC cell growth and metastasis by regulating miR-758-3p/RRM2 axis, and exosomal circ_0006646 might be a potential diagnostic indicator of CC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fen Yu
- Department of Gynecology, Puren Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Benxi Street, Fourth Jianshe Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan, 430080, China
| | - Fang Luo
- Department of Gynecology, Puren Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Benxi Street, Fourth Jianshe Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan, 430080, China
| | - Xuemei Zhang
- Department of Gynecology, Puren Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Benxi Street, Fourth Jianshe Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan, 430080, China
| | - Qin Huang
- Department of Gynecology, Puren Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Benxi Street, Fourth Jianshe Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan, 430080, China.
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Yang M, Yao P, Lang X, Li X, Zhang D. Ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 promotes proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in retinoblastoma. Bioengineered 2021; 12:12800-12811. [PMID: 34895038 PMCID: PMC8809947 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2021.2001241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinoblastoma (RB) is an intraocular malignant tumor that often occurs in children. Along with the improvement of treatment strategies, the cure rate of RB has increased significantly. However, the treatment of advanced and recurrent RB remains as a critical challenge. Therefore, studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of RB is essential for the development of novel and effective therapeutic strategies. Through the analysis of a previously published microarray study, we found that ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 (RRM2) was highly expressed in RB tissues as compared to normal tissues. The purpose of this study is to clarify the role and mechanism of RRM2 in regulating the progression of RB. We first demonstrated that RRM2 expression level in RB tissues and cell lines was significantly higher when compared to that in normal retinal tissue and cell lines, and high RRM2 expression level was associated with a poorer overall survival of patients. In RB cells, RRM2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), while RRM2 silencing suppressed these biological features. Silencing RRM2 reduced the activation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway, and the presence of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway inhibitor INCB attenuated the effect of RRM2 overexpression. Collectively, our data indicate that RRM2 promotes the progression of RB by activating JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Targeting RRM2/JAK2/STAT3 axis lays a theoretical foundation for the formulation of novel RB therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Yang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Panpan Yao
- Department of Ophthalmology Medicine, Wusong Branch, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuqiang Lang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xue Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Dawei Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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7
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Kumar K, Bose S, Chakrabarti S. Identification of Cross-Pathway Connections via Protein-Protein Interactions Linked to Altered States of Metabolic Enzymes in Cervical Cancer. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 8:736495. [PMID: 34790674 PMCID: PMC8591138 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.736495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic reprogramming is one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer cells. Various factors, such as signaling proteins (S), miRNA, and transcription factors (TFs), may play important roles in altering the metabolic status in cancer cells by interacting with metabolic enzymes either directly or via protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Therefore, it is important to understand the coordination among these cellular pathways, which may provide better insight into the molecular mechanism behind metabolic adaptations in cancer cells. In this study, we have designed a cervical cancer-specific supra-interaction network where signaling pathway proteins, TFs, and microRNAs (miRs) are connected to metabolic enzymes via PPIs to investigate novel molecular targets and connections/links/paths regulating the metabolic enzymes. Using publicly available omics data and PPIs, we have developed a Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based mathematical model yielding 94, 236, and 27 probable links/paths connecting signaling pathway proteins, TFs, and miRNAs to metabolic enzymes, respectively, out of which 83 paths connect to six common metabolic enzymes (RRM2, NDUFA11, ENO2, EZH2, AKR1C2, and TYMS). Signaling proteins (e.g., PPARD, BAD, GNB5, CHECK1, PAK2, PLK1, BRCA1, MAML3, and SPP1), TFs (e.g., KAT2B, ING1, MED1, ZEB1, AR, NCOA2, EGR1, TWIST1, E2F1, ID4, RBL1, ESR1, and HSF2), and miR (e.g., mir-147a, mir-593-5p, mir-138-5p, mir-16-5p, and mir-15b-5p) were found to regulate two key metabolic enzymes, EZH2 and AKR1C2, with altered metabolites (L-lysine and tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, THDOC) status in cervical cancer. We believe, the biology-based approach of our system will pave the way for future studies, which could be aimed toward identifying novel signaling, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional regulators of metabolic alterations in cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna Kumar
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics Division, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Sarpita Bose
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics Division, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Saikat Chakrabarti
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics Division, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
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8
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Alcalá-Corona SA, Sandoval-Motta S, Espinal-Enríquez J, Hernández-Lemus E. Modularity in Biological Networks. Front Genet 2021; 12:701331. [PMID: 34594357 PMCID: PMC8477004 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.701331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Network modeling, from the ecological to the molecular scale has become an essential tool for studying the structure, dynamics and complex behavior of living systems. Graph representations of the relationships between biological components open up a wide variety of methods for discovering the mechanistic and functional properties of biological systems. Many biological networks are organized into a modular structure, so methods to discover such modules are essential if we are to understand the biological system as a whole. However, most of the methods used in biology to this end, have a limited applicability, as they are very specific to the system they were developed for. Conversely, from the statistical physics and network science perspective, graph modularity has been theoretically studied and several methods of a very general nature have been developed. It is our perspective that in particular for the modularity detection problem, biology and theoretical physics/network science are less connected than they should. The central goal of this review is to provide the necessary background and present the most applicable and pertinent methods for community detection in a way that motivates their further usage in biological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Antonio Alcalá-Corona
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Santiago Sandoval-Motta
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.,National Council on Science and Technology, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jesús Espinal-Enríquez
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Enrique Hernández-Lemus
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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9
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Thummadi NB, T M, Vindal V, P M. Prioritizing the candidate genes related to cervical cancer using the moment of inertia tensor. Proteins 2021; 90:363-371. [PMID: 34468998 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
It is well known that cervical cancer poses the fourth most malignancy threat to women worldwide among all cancer types. There is a tremendous improvement in realizing the underlying molecular associations in cervical cancer. Several studies reported pieces of evidence for the involvement of various genes in the disease progression. However, with the ever-evolving bioinformatics tools, there has been an upsurge in predicting numerous genes responsible for cervical cancer progression and making it highly complex to target the genes for further evaluation. In this article, we prioritized the candidate genes based on the sequence similarity analysis with known cancer genes. For this purpose, we used the concept of the moment of inertia tensor, which reveals the similarities between the protein sequences more efficiently. Tensor for moment of inertia explores the similarity of the protein sequences based on the physicochemical properties of amino acids. From our analysis, we obtained 14 candidate cervical cancer genes, which are highly similar to known cervical cancer genes. Further, we analyzed the GO terms and prioritized these genes based on the number of hits with biological process, molecular functions, and their involvement in KEGG pathways. We also discussed the evidence-based involvement of the prioritized genes in other cancers and listed the available drugs for those genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neelesh Babu Thummadi
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India
| | - Mallikarjuna T
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India
| | - Vaibhav Vindal
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India
| | - Manimaran P
- School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India
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Hachim MY, Elemam NM, Ramakrishnan RK, Salameh L, Olivenstein R, Hachim IY, Venkatachalam T, Mahboub B, Al Heialy S, Hamid Q, Hamoudi R. Derangement of cell cycle markers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of asthmatic patients as a reliable biomarker for asthma control. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11873. [PMID: 34088958 PMCID: PMC8178351 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91087-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In asthma, most of the identified biomarkers pertain to the Th2 phenotype and no known biomarkers have been verified for severe asthmatics. Therefore, identifying biomarkers using the integrative phenotype-genotype approach in severe asthma is needed. The study aims to identify novel biomarkers as genes or pathways representing the core drivers in asthma development, progression to the severe form, resistance to therapy, and tissue remodeling regardless of the sample cells or tissues examined. Comprehensive reanalysis of publicly available transcriptomic data that later was validated in vitro, and locally recruited patients were used to decipher the molecular basis of asthma. Our in-silicoanalysis revealed a total of 10 genes (GPRC5A, SFN, ABCA1, KRT8, TOP2A, SERPINE1, ANLN, MKI67, NEK2, and RRM2) related to cell cycle and proliferation to be deranged in the severe asthmatic bronchial epithelium and fibroblasts compared to their healthy counterparts. In vitro, RT qPCR results showed that (SERPINE1 and RRM2) were upregulated in severe asthmatic bronchial epithelium and fibroblasts, (SFN, ABCA1, TOP2A, SERPINE1, MKI67, and NEK2) were upregulated in asthmatic bronchial epithelium while (GPRC5A and KRT8) were upregulated only in asthmatic bronchial fibroblasts. Furthermore, MKI76, RRM2, and TOP2A were upregulated in Th2 high epithelium while GPRC5A, SFN, ABCA1 were upregulated in the blood of asthmatic patients. SFN, ABCA1 were higher, while MKI67 was lower in severe asthmatic with wheeze compared to nonasthmatics with wheezes. SERPINE1 and GPRC5A were downregulated in the blood of eosinophilic asthmatics, while RRM2 was upregulated in an acute attack of asthma. Validation of the gene expression in PBMC of locally recruited asthma patients showed that SERPINE1, GPRC5A, SFN, ABCA1, MKI67, and RRM2 were downregulated in severe uncontrolled asthma. We have identified a set of biologically crucial genes to the homeostasis of the lung and in asthma development and progression. This study can help us further understand the complex interplay between the transcriptomic data and the external factors which may deviate our understanding of asthma heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmood Yaseen Hachim
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Center for Genomic Discovery, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Noha Mousaad Elemam
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rakhee K Ramakrishnan
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Laila Salameh
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Ibrahim Yaseen Hachim
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Thenmozhi Venkatachalam
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bassam Mahboub
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Saba Al Heialy
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Qutayba Hamid
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Rifat Hamoudi
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, UCL, London, UK
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García-Cortés D, Hernández-Lemus E, Espinal-Enríquez J. Luminal A Breast Cancer Co-expression Network: Structural and Functional Alterations. Front Genet 2021; 12:629475. [PMID: 33959148 PMCID: PMC8096206 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.629475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Luminal A is the most common breast cancer molecular subtype in women worldwide. These tumors have characteristic yet heterogeneous alterations at the genomic and transcriptomic level. Gene co-expression networks (GCNs) have contributed to better characterize the cancerous phenotype. We have previously shown an imbalance in the proportion of intra-chromosomal (cis-) over inter-chromosomal (trans-) interactions when comparing cancer and healthy tissue GCNs. In particular, for breast cancer molecular subtypes (Luminal A included), the majority of high co-expression interactions connect gene-pairs in the same chromosome, a phenomenon that we have called loss of trans- co-expression. Despite this phenomenon has been described, the functional implication of this specific network topology has not been studied yet. To understand the biological role that communities of co-expressed genes may have, we constructed GCNs for healthy and Luminal A phenotypes. Network modules were obtained based on their connectivity patterns and they were classified according to their chromosomal homophily (proportion of cis-/trans- interactions). A functional overrepresentation analysis was performed on communities in both networks to observe the significantly enriched processes for each community. We also investigated possible mechanisms for which the loss of trans- co-expression emerges in cancer GCN. To this end we evaluated transcription factor binding sites, CTCF binding sites, differential gene expression and copy number alterations (CNAs) in the cancer GCN. We found that trans- communities in Luminal A present more significantly enriched categories than cis- ones. Processes, such as angiogenesis, cell proliferation, or cell adhesion were found in trans- modules. The differential expression analysis showed that FOXM1, CENPA, and CIITA transcription factors, exert a major regulatory role on their communities by regulating expression of their target genes in other chromosomes. Finally, identification of CNAs, displayed a high enrichment of deletion peaks in cis- communities. With this approach, we demonstrate that network topology determine, to at certain extent, the function in Luminal A breast cancer network. Furthermore, several mechanisms seem to be acting together to avoid trans- co-expression. Since this phenomenon has been observed in other cancer tissues, a remaining question is whether the loss of long distance co-expression is a novel hallmark of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana García-Cortés
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Enrique Hernández-Lemus
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jesús Espinal-Enríquez
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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