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Hong ES, Wang SZ, Ponti AK, Hajdari N, Lee J, Mulkearns-Hubert EE, Volovetz J, Kay KE, Lathia JD, Dhawan A. miR-644a is a tumor cell-intrinsic mediator of sex bias in glioblastoma. bioRxiv 2024:2024.03.11.584443. [PMID: 38559056 PMCID: PMC10979950 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.11.584443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Background Biological sex is an important risk factor for glioblastoma (GBM), with males having a higher incidence and poorer prognosis. The mechanisms for this sex bias are thought to be both tumor intrinsic and tumor extrinsic. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, have been previously linked to sex differences in various cell types and diseases, but their role in the sex bias of GBM remains unknown. Methods We leveraged previously published paired miRNA and mRNA sequencing of 39 GBM patients (22 male, 17 female) to identify sex-biased miRNAs. We further interrogated a separate single-cell RNA sequencing dataset of 110 GBM patients to examine whether differences in miRNA target gene expression were tumor cell intrinsic or tumor cell extrinsic. Results were validated in a panel of patient-derived cell models. Results We identified 10 sex-biased miRNAs (adjusted < 0.1), of which 3 were more highly expressed in males and 7 more highly expressed in females. Of these, miR-644a was higher in females, and increased expression of miR-644a target genes was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (HR 1.3, p = 0.02). Furthermore, analysis of an independent single-cell RNA sequencing dataset confirmed sex-specific expression of miR-644a target genes in tumor cells (p < 10-15). Among patient derived models, miR-644a was expressed a median of 4.8-fold higher in females compared to males. Conclusions Our findings implicate miR-644a as a candidate tumor cell-intrinsic regulator of sex-biased gene expression in GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen S. Hong
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Sabrina Z. Wang
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - András K. Ponti
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Nicole Hajdari
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Juyeun Lee
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Erin E. Mulkearns-Hubert
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Josephine Volovetz
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Kristen E. Kay
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Justin D. Lathia
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Andrew Dhawan
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Wang X, He H, Rui W, Xie X, Wang D, Zhu Y. Long Non-Coding RNA BCAR4 Binds to miR-644a and Targets TLX1 to Promote the Progression of Bladder Cancer. Onco Targets Ther 2020; 13:2483-2490. [PMID: 32273720 PMCID: PMC7102885 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s232965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bladder cancer is a serious threat to human health. It is meaningful to study the pathogenesis of bladder cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are reported to promote or inhibit bladder cancer development. However, the role of lncRNA BCAR4 in the regulation of bladder cancer remains unclear. Purpose This study was to explore the role of lncRNA BCAR4 in the progression of bladder cancer cell. Methods RT-PCR was used to examine the expression of BCAR4 and miR-644a. CCK8 assay, colony formation assay, Transwell assay were used to detect the progression of bladder cancer cells after transfecting of indicated plasmids. Results The expression of BCAR4 was higher in bladder cancer cell lines than normal urothelial cell line. Moreover, the expression of BCAR4 was associated with the advanced stage and metastasis of bladder cancer. Through knockdown of BCAR4, we discovered that knockdown of BCAR4 significantly decreased the proliferation, migration and invasive abilities of bladder cancer cells. Mechanically, we showed that BCAR4 can bind to miR-644a directly and targets TLX1. Moreover, we also showed that miR-644a was also highly expressed in bladder cancer cells and inhibition of miR-644a or overexpression of TLX1 can increased the migration abilities of bladder cancer caused by knockdown of BCAR4. Conclusion We showed that BCAR4 sponged miR-644a to modulate the expression of TLX1 and promote bladder cancer development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Wang
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongchao He
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenbin Rui
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Xie
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Dawei Wang
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Zhu
- Department of Urology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
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Liang W, Liao Y, Li Z, Wang Y, Zheng S, Xu X, Ran F, Tang B, Wang Z. MicroRNA-644a promotes apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating the expression of heat shock factor 1. Cell Commun Signal 2018; 16:30. [PMID: 29898735 PMCID: PMC6001142 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-018-0244-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the role of microRNA-644a (miR-644a) in the growth and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. MiR-644a levels were lower in HCC tissues than in adjacent peri-cancerous tissues (n = 135). MiR-644a expression was inversely correlated with heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) expression, tumour diameter and TNM stage. Moreover, HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines showed lower miR-644a expression than normal L-O2 hepatocytes. MiR-644a overexpression in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells increased apoptosis by downregulating HSF1. Dual luciferase reporter assays confirmed the presence of a miR-644a binding site in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of HSF1. Xenograft tumours derived from SMMC-7721 cells transfected with a miR-664a mimic showed less growth than tumours derived from untransfected controls. Protein chip analysis revealed that miR-644a-overexpressing SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells strongly expressed pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins, such as BID, BAD, BIM, SMAC, Apaf-1 and cleaved caspases-3 and -9. These findings suggest miR-644a promotes apoptosis in HCC cells by inhibiting HSF1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjin Liang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Liao
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Zeming Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Siqi Zheng
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaochen Xu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Fulin Ran
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China
| | - Bo Tang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhenran Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Guilin Medical University, Affiliated Hospital, Guilin, Guangxi, 541001, People's Republic of China.
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