Linc-ROR has a Potential ceRNA Activity for OCT4A by Sequestering miR-335-5p in the HEK293T Cell Line

Linc-ROR has a regulatory role in reprogramming, and the core stem cell transcription factors, OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG, regulate its expression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are also a critical constituent of pivotal posttranscriptional regulatory pathways. One of such interactions is a competing endogenous RNA interaction that connects small and long non-coding RNAs with coding transcripts. Here, we aimed to investigate the existence of such associations between OCT4A, Linc-ROR, hsa-miR-335-5p, and hsa-miR-544. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to evaluate the expression status of OCT4A, Linc-ROR, miR-335, and miR-544 throughout differentiation as well as in various differentiated cells. The complete lengths of OCT4A and Linc-ROR, and OCT4A 3'-UTR were cloned in the luciferase reporter vector, and the precursors of miR-335 and miR-544 were cloned in expression vectors. Following the overexpression of miR-335 and miR-544 in the 5637 cell line, the endogenous expression of OCT4A and Linc-ROR was evaluated. Afterward, the expression vectors of miRNAs and the reporter vectors of OCT4A/Linc-ROR were co-transfected in the HEK293T cell line. Via the Dual-Luciferase assay, the effect of the overexpression of miRNAs on their two possible targets (Linc-ROR and OCT4A) was investigated. The bioinformatic analysis demonstrated a relatively similar expression pattern for OCT4A and Linc-ROR, while miR-335 showed a different expression status. Both miR-335 and miR-544 inhibited the endogenous expression of OCT4A. The Dual-Luciferase assay likewise confirmed the inhibitory effect of miR-335 and miR-544 on OCT4A expression. In contrast, the miR-335 inhibitory effect was reversed in the presence of Linc-ROR, resulting in the upregulation of OCT4A. Such evidence suggests that Linc-ROR may compete with OCT4A to interact with miR-335.

Alteration of CYP2E1, DBN1, DNMT1, miRNA-335, miRNA-21, c-Fos and Cox-2 gene expression in prefrontal cortex of rats' offspring submitted to prenatal ethanol exposure during their neurodevelopment and the preventive role of nancocurcumin administration: A histological, ultrastructural and molecular study

Ethanol (EtOH) has been linked to neurotoxic effects on the fetus and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has a negative impact on brain neurodevelopment. Therefore, the present study was aimed to focus on the underlying mechanisms of alcohol-induced oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death in addition to shedding the light on the modulatory effect of nanocurcumin in rats' offspring prefrontal cortices. The current study investigated the effects of prenatal maternal exposure to EtOH intragastric (i.g.) administration of 0.015 mL/g of a 10 % v/v ethanol solution throughout gestation and the concomitant use of nanocurcumin, on 21-day-old offspring Wistar rat prefrontal cortex parameters. CYP2E1, DBN1, DNMT1, miRNA-335, miRNA-21, c-Fos and Cox-2 gene expression as well as the accompanying histological and ultrastructural alterations were assessed. The implemented experimental setting has revealed that ethanol exposure caused significant alterations in the above mentioned parameters. Changes observed in nanocurcumin-treated animals were significantly different to the ethanol-treated group when nanocurcumin was concomitantly administered.

Effect of C-phycocyanin on HDAC3 and miRNA-335 in Alzheimer's disease

Background

Amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque deposits and neurofibrillary tangles containing tau proteins are the key pathognomonic manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lack of holistic drugs for AD has reinvigorated enthusiasm in the natural product-based therapies. In this study, our idea to decipher the beneficial effects of C-phycocyanin (CPC) in the management of AD is buoyed by its multifaceted and holistic therapeutic effects.

Methods

We evaluated the effect of CPC treatment on epigenetic factors and inflammatory mediators in a mouse with oligomeric Aβ_1-42-induced AD. Besides, the cognitive function was evaluated by the spatial memory performance on a radial arm maze.

Results

The results showed cognitive deficit in the mice with AD along with upregulated HDAC3 expression and diminished miRNA-335 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expressions. In addition, inflammation was provoked (manifested by increased interleukins (IL)-6 and IL-1β) and neuronal apoptosis was accelerated (indicated by increased Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 along with decreased Bcl2) in the hippocampus of the mice with AD. Interestingly, CPC treatment in the mice with AD improved spatial memory performance and decreased the perturbations in the epigenetic and inflammatory biofactors.

Conclusion

These results underscore that mitigation of inflammation via regulation of epigenetic factors might be the key pathway underlying the ameliorative effect of CPC against the aberrations in AD. Our findings provide the rationale for considering CPC as a viable therapeutic option in the management of AD.

Mapping Active Gene-Regulatory Regions in Human Repopulating Long-Term HSCs

Genes that regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation are tightly controlled by regulatory regions. However, mapping such regions relies on surface markers and immunophenotypic definition of HSCs. Here, we use γ-retroviral integration sites (γRV ISs) from a gene therapy trial for 10 patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome to mark active enhancers and promoters in functionally defined long-term repopulating HSCs. Integration site clusters showed the highest ATAC-seq signals at HSC-specific peaks and strongly correlated with hematopoietic risk variants. Tagged genes were significantly enriched for HSC gene sets. We were able to map over 3,000 HSC regulatory regions in late-contributing HSCs, and we used these data to identify miR-10a and miR-335 as two miRNAs regulating early hematopoiesis. In this study, we show that viral insertion sites can be used as molecular tags to assess chromatin conformation on functionally defined cell populations, thereby providing a genome-wide resource for regulatory regions in human repopulating long-term HSCs.

MicroRNA-335-5p and -3p synergize to inhibit estrogen receptor alpha expression and promote tamoxifen resistance

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression and play critical roles in human malignancies. Next-generation sequencing analysis of the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line overexpressing miR-335-5p and miR-335-3p demonstrated that the miRNA duplex repressed genes involved in the ERα signaling pathway, and enhanced resistance of MCF-7 cells to the growth inhibitory effects of tamoxifen. These data suggest that despite its conventional role in tumor suppression, the miR-335 transcript can also play an oncogenic role in promoting agonistic estrogen signaling in a cancerous setting.