scholarly journals DNMT1-induced miR-378a-3p silencing promotes angiogenesis via the NF-κB signaling pathway by targeting TRAF1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Author(s):  
Bin Zhu ◽  
Jun-Jie Chen ◽  
Ying Feng ◽  
Jun-Ling Yang ◽  
Hua Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Angiogenesis plays an important role in the occurrence, development and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to previous studies, miR-378a participates in tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis, but its exact role in HCC angiogenesis remains poorly understood. Methods qRT-PCR was used to investigate the expression of miR-378a-3p in HCC tissues and cell lines. The effects of miR-378a-3p on HCC in vitro and in vivo were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell, tube formation and Matrigel plug assays, RNA sequencing, bioinformatics, luciferase reporter, immunofluorescence and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were used to detect the molecular mechanism by which miR-378a-3p inhibits angiogenesis. Results We confirmed that miR-378a-3p expression was significantly downregulated and associated with higher microvascular density (MVD) in HCC; miR-378a-3p downregulation indicated a short survival time in HCC patients. miR-378a-3p knockdown led to a significant increase in angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. We found that miR-378a-3p directly targeted TNF receptor associated factor 1 (TRAF1) to attenuate NF-κB signaling, and then downregulated secreted vascular endothelial growth factor. DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-mediated hypermethylation of miR-378a-3p was responsible for downregulating miR-378a-3p. Moreover, a series of investigations indicated that p65 initiated a positive feedback loop that could upregulate DNMT1 to promote hypermethylation of the miR-378a-3p promoter. Conclusion Our study indicates a novel DNMT1/miR-378a-3p/TRAF1/NF-κB positive feedback loop in HCC cells, which may become a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Zhu ◽  
Jun-Jie Chen ◽  
Ying Feng ◽  
Jun-Ling Yang ◽  
Hua Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Angiogenesis plays an important role in the occurrence, development and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). miR-378a-3p participates in tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis according to previous studies, yet the exact role it plays in HCC angiogenesis remains poorly understood.Methods: qRT-PCR was used to investigate the expression of miR-378a-3p in HCC tissues and cell lines. The effects of miR-378a-3p on HCC in vitro and in vivo were examined by CCK-8, transwell assay, tube formation and matrigel plug assay. RNA sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, immunofluorescence assay and ChIP assay were used to detected the molecular mechanism of miR-378a-3p-induced inhibition of angiogenesis. Results: We confirmed that the expression of miR-378a-3p was significantly downregulated and was associated with microvascular density (MVD) in HCC, which indicated a short survival time of HCC patients, and reducing miR-378a-3p expression led to a significant increase in angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. miR-378a-3p directly targeted TNF receptor associated factor 1 (TRAF1) to attenuate NF-κB signaling, and then decreases secreted vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) mediated hypermethylation of miR-378a-3p was responsible for downregulating of miR-378a-3p. Moreover, a series of investigation indicated that p65 initiated a positive feedback loop, which could up-regulate DNMT1 to promote hypermethylation of the miR-133a-3p promoter.Conclusion: Our study indicates that a novel DNMT1/miR-378a-3p/TRAF1/ NF-κB positive feedback loop in HCC cells, which may become a potential therapeutic target for HCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Guo ◽  
Defeng Liu ◽  
Shihao Peng ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Yangyang Li

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor with high metastatic and recurrent rates. This study probes the effect and mechanism of long non-coding RNA MIR31HG on the progression of CRC cells.Materials and MethodsQuantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the expression of MIR31HG and miR-361-3p in CRC tissues and normal tissues. Gain- or loss-of-function assays were conducted to examine the roles of MIR31HG, miR-361-3p and YY1 transcription factor (YY1) in the CRC progression. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and colony formation experiment were conducted to test CRC cell proliferation. CRC cell invasion was determined by Transwell assay. The glucose detection kit and lactic acid detection kit were utilized to monitor the levels of glucose and lactate in CRC cells. The glycolysis level in CRC cells was examined by the glycolytic stress experiment. Western blot was performed to compare the expression of glycolysis-related proteins (PKM2, GLUT1 and HK2) and angiogenesis-related proteins (including VEGFA, ANGPT1, HIF1A and TIMP1) in HUVECs. The binding relationships between MIR31HG and miR-361-3p, miR-361-3p and YY1 were evaluated by the dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP).ResultsMIR31HG was up-regulated in CRC tissues and was associated with poorer prognosis of CRC patients. The in-vitro and in-vivo experiments confirmed that overexpressing MIR31HG heightened the proliferation, growth, invasion, glycolysis and lung metastasis of CRC cells as well as the angiogenesis of HUVECs. In addition, MIR3HG overexpression promoted YY1 mRNA and protein level, and forced overexpression of YY1 enhanced MIR31HG level. Overexpressing YY1 reversed the tumor-suppressive effect mediated by MIR31HG knockdown. miR-361-3p, which was inhibited by MIR31HG overexpression, repressed the malignant behaviors of CRC cells. miR-361-3p-mediated anti-tumor effects were mostly reversed by upregulating MIR31HG. Further mechanism studies illustrated that miR-361-3p targeted and negatively regulated the expression of YY1.ConclusionThis study reveals that MIR31HG functions as an oncogenic gene in CRC via forming a positive feedback loop of MIR31HG-miR-361-3p-YY1.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouping Xu ◽  
Lin Wan ◽  
Qin Wang ◽  
Huizi Yin ◽  
Kun Qiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The oncogenic lncRNA based strategies for combating cancer may usher in a new and promising paradigm in cancer therapy. However, few studies have been performed to solve such a critical issue. The complex traits and molecular mechanism of such lncRNAs in tumorigenesis and their relationship with sensitivity of gefitinib in human cancer have not been investigated.Methods: We aimed to identify and validate such a novel oncogenic LINC00036 using transcriptome sequencing approach and a large number of tissue samples of different types of cancer from the our cancer center cohort and public data cohorts from the Cancer Genome Atlas,Gene Expression Omnibus and Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia. Moreover, series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to examine its roles in tumorigenesis and the sensitivity of gefitinib in different types of cancer cells. Special nanoparticle via a more potent delivery system was developed to investigate the feasibility of targeting LINC00036 in vivo. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing, ChIP, actinomycin D assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation were performed were developed to uncover the molecular mechanism.Results: LINC00036 that associated with poor prognosis is significantly upregulated in human cancer tissues. Series of in vitro and in vivo experiments reveal that LINC00036 promotes tumorigenesis and decreases the sensitivity of gefitinib in different types of cancer cells. LINC00036 targeting nanoparticle markedly reduced the growth of human cancer xenografts. Mechanistically, LINC00036 is a direct transcriptional target of c-MYC and a positive feedback loop of the c-MYC-LINC00036-EGFR axis exists in human cancer. LINC00036 acts as an EGFR mRNA stabilizer via RNA-protein and RNA-RNA interactions, inducing the hyper-activation of the downstream AKT and MAPK signaling pathways, which in turn decreases the sensitivity of gefitinib in human cancer.Conclusions: LINC00036, a c-MYC inducible onco-lncRNA, acts an oncogene in human cancer and decreases the sensitivity of gefitinib through positive feedback loop of the c-MYC-LINC00036-EGFR axis. Overall, this study broadens knowledge regarding novel onco-lncRNAs and will assist in developing feasible onco-lncRNAs based-targeted therapeutic strategies to improve the sensitivity of gefitinib in human cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Liu ◽  
Kun Qiao ◽  
Kaiyuan Zhu ◽  
Xianglan Li ◽  
Chunbo Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In recent years, a growing number of studies have reported that long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) play crucial roles in breast cancer (BC) progression and metastasis. Another study group of our research center reported that LncRNA HCG18 was one of the 30 upregulated lncRNAs in BC tissues related to normal tissues in TCGA database. However, the exactly biological roles of HCG18 in BC remains unclear. Method: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression profile of HCG18 in BC tissues and cell lines. In vitro assays were used to evaluate the pro-tumor function of HCG18 in BC cells. Animal study were used to explore the role of HCG18 in vivo. Bioinformatic analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were used to investigate the regulatory relationship of HCG18, miR-103a-3p, UBE2O in BC. Results: HCG18 was upregulated in BC tissues and cells, and BC patients with high HCG18 expression tended to have poor prognosis. HCG18 could promote BC cells proliferation, invasion and provided BC cells with tumor stemness properties (CSPs) in vitro and facilitate tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. In terms of mechanism, HCG18 functioned as a miRNA sponge which positively regulated the expression of Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2O (UBE2O) by sponging miR-103a-3p and our previous research achievement have already verified UBE2O could promote malignant phenotypes of BC cells through UBE2O/AMPKα2/mTORC1 axis. Furthermore, as a downstream target of HCG18/miR-103a-3p/UBE2O/mTORC1 axis, HIF-1α transcriptionally promoted HCG18 expression and then formed a positive feedback loop in BC. Conclusion: HCG18 played an oncogenic role in BC and it might serve as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment.


Author(s):  
Zehua Bian ◽  
Mingyue Zhou ◽  
Kaisa Cui ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Yulin Cao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Small nucleolar RNA host gene (SNHG) long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are frequently dysregulated in human cancers and involved in tumorigenesis and progression. SNHG17 has been reported as a candidate oncogene in several cancer types, however, its regulatory role in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. Methods SNHG17 expression in multiple CRC cohorts was assessed by RT-qPCR or bioinformatic analyses. Cell viability was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays. Cell mobility and invasiveness were assessed by Transwell assays. Tumor xenograft and metastasis models were applied to confirm the effects of SNHG17 on CRC tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to measure protein expression in cancer tissues. RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and dual luciferase assays were used to investigate the molecular mechanism of SNHG17 in CRC. Results Using multiple cohorts, we confirmed that SNHG17 is aberrantly upregulated in CRC and correlated with poor survival. In vitro and in vivo functional assays indicated that SNHG17 facilitates CRC proliferation and metastasis. SNHG17 impedes PES1 degradation by inhibiting Trim23-mediated ubiquitination of PES1. SNHG17 upregulates FOSL2 by sponging miR-339-5p, and FOSL2 transcription activates SNHG17 expression, uncovering a SNHG17-miR-339-5p-FOSL2-SNHG17 positive feedback loop. Conclusions We identified SNHG17 as an oncogenic lncRNA in CRC and identified abnormal upregulation of SNHG17 as a prognostic risk factor for CRC. Our mechanistic investigations demonstrated, for the first time, that SNHG17 promotes tumor growth and metastasis through two different regulatory mechanisms, SNHG17-Trim23-PES1 axis and SNHG17-miR-339-5p-FOSL2-SNHG17 positive feedback loop, which may be exploited for CRC therapy.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siming Qu ◽  
Li Jin ◽  
Hanfei Huang ◽  
Jie Lin ◽  
Weiwu Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) contributes to liver carcinogenesis via various epigenetic mechanisms. The newly defined epigenetics, epitranscriptomics regulation, has been reported to involve in multiple cancers including Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Our previous study found that HBx, HBV encodes X protein, mediated H3K4me3 modification in WDR5-dependent manner to involve in HBV infection and contribute to oncogene expression. AlkB Homolog 5 (ALKBH5), one of epitranscriptomics enzymes, has been identified to be associated with various cancers. However, whether and how ALKBH5 is dysregulated in HBV-related HCC remains unclear yet. This study aims to investigate ALKBH5 function, clinical significance and mechanism in HBV related HCC (HBV-HCC) patients derived from Chinese people. Methods The expression pattern of ALKBH5 was evaluated by RT-qPCR, Western blot, data mining and immunohistochemistry in total of 373 HBV-HCC tissues and four HCC cell lines. Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK8) assay, Transwell and nude mouse model were performed to assess ALKBH5 function by both small interference RNAs and lentiviral particles. The regulation mechanism of ALKBH5 was determined in HBx and WDR5 knockdown cells by CHIP-qPCR. The role of ALKBH5 in HBx mRNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification was further evaluated by MeRIP-qPCR and Actinomycin D inhibitor experiment in HBV-driven cells and HBx overexpression cells. Result ALKBH5 increased in tumor tissues and predicts a poor prognosis of HBV-HCC. Mechanically, the highly expressed ALKBH5 is induced by HBx-mediated H3K4me3 modification of ALKBH5 gene promoter in a WDR5-dependent manner after HBV infection. The increased ALKBH5 protein catalyzes the m6A demethylation of HBx mRNA, thus stabilizing and favoring a higher HBx expression level. Furthermore, there are positive correlations between HBx and ALKBH5 in HBV-HCC tissues, and depletion of ALKBH5 significantly inhibits HBV-driven tumor cells’ growth and migration in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions HBx-ALKBH5 may form a positive-feedback loop to involve in the HBV-induced liver carcinogenesis, and targeting the loop at ALKBH5 may provide a potential way for HBV-HCC treatment.


Author(s):  
Jin-Chun Qi ◽  
Zhan Yang ◽  
Tao Lin ◽  
Long Ma ◽  
Ya-Xuan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Both E2F transcription factor and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which increase or decrease E2F activity by phosphorylating E2F or its partner, are involved in the control of cell proliferation, and some circRNAs and miRNAs regulate the expression of E2F and CDKs. However, little is known about whether dysregulation among E2Fs, CDKs, circRNAs and miRNAs occurs in human PCa. Methods The expression levels of CDK13 in PCa tissues and different cell lines were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. In vitro and in vivo assays were preformed to explore the biological effects of CDK13 in PCa cells. Co-immunoprecipitation anlysis coupled with mass spectrometry was used to identify E2F5 interaction with CDK13. A CRISPR-Cas9 complex was used to activate endogenous CDK13 and circCDK13 expression. Furthermore, the mechanism of circCDK13 was investigated by using loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays in vitro and in vivo. Results Here we show that CDK13 is significantly upregulated in human PCa tissues. CDK13 depletion and overexpression in PCa cells decrease and increase, respectively, cell proliferation, and the pro-proliferation effect of CDK13 is strengthened by its interaction with E2F5. Mechanistically, transcriptional activation of endogenous CDK13, but not the forced expression of CDK13 by its expression vector, remarkably promotes E2F5 protein expression by facilitating circCDK13 formation. Further, the upregulation of E2F5 enhances CDK13 transcription and promotes circCDK13 biogenesis, which in turn sponges miR-212-5p/449a and thus relieves their repression of the E2F5 expression, subsequently leading to the upregulation of E2F5 expression and PCa cell proliferation. Conclusions These findings suggest that CDK13 upregulation-induced formation of the positive feedback loop among circCDK13, miR-212-5p/miR-449a and E2F5 is responsible for PCa development. Targeting this newly identified regulatory axis may provide therapeutic benefit against PCa progression and drug resistance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Yeon Byun ◽  
Young-So Youn ◽  
Ye-Ji Lee ◽  
Youn-Hee Choi ◽  
So-Yeon Woo ◽  
...  

Recognition of apoptotic cells by macrophages is crucial for resolution of inflammation, immune tolerance, and tissue repair. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) play important roles in the tissue repair process. We investigated the characteristics of macrophage COX-2 and PGE2expression mediated by apoptotic cells and then determined how macrophages exposed to apoptotic cellsin vitroandin vivoorchestrate the interaction between COX-2/PGE2and HGF signaling pathways. Exposure of RAW 264.7 cells and primary peritoneal macrophages to apoptotic cells resulted in induction of COX-2 and PGE2. The COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 suppressed apoptotic cell-induced PGE2production. Both NS-398 and COX-2-siRNA, as well as the PGE2receptor EP2 antagonist, blocked HGF expression in response to apoptotic cells. In addition, the HGF receptor antagonist suppressed increases in COX-2 and PGE2induction. Thein vivorelevance of the interaction between the COX-2/PGE2and HGF pathways through a positive feedback loop was shown in cultured alveolar macrophages followingin vivoexposure of bleomycin-stimulated lungs to apoptotic cells. Our results demonstrate that upregulation of the COX-2/PGE2and HGF in macrophages following exposure to apoptotic cells represents a mechanism for mediating the anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic consequences of apoptotic cell recognition.


Author(s):  
Xu Liu ◽  
Kun Qiao ◽  
Kaiyuan Zhu ◽  
Xianglan Li ◽  
Chunbo Zhao ◽  
...  

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in breast cancer (BC) progression and metastasis. Another study group of our research center reported that lncRNA HCG18 was one of the 30 upregulated lncRNAs in BC tissues compared with normal tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. However, the exact biological roles of HCG18 in BC remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that HCG18 is significantly upregulated in BC tissues and cells and that BC patients with high HCG18 expression tend to have poor prognosis. In vitro assays indicated that HCG18 promotes BC cell proliferation and invasion and endows BC cells with cancer stemness properties. In vivo assays revealed that reducing HCG18 expression in the BC cell line MDA-MB-231 markedly decreased tumor growth and lung metastasis in xenograft mouse models. In terms of mechanism, we found that HCG18 positively regulated the expression of BC-related ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2O (UBE2O) by sponging miR-103a-3p, and our previous research verified that UBE2O could promote the malignant phenotypes of BC cells through the UBE2O/AMPKα2/mTORC1 axis. Furthermore, as a downstream target of the HCG18/miR-103a-3p/UBE2O/mTORC1 axis, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α transcriptionally promoted HCG18 expression and then formed a positive feedback loop in BC. Taken together, these results confirm that HCG18 plays an oncogenic role in BC and might serve as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment.


Author(s):  
Cong Cao ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Guangzhi Li ◽  
Gaoyu Hu ◽  
Zhihua Deng ◽  
...  

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have a considerable regulatory influence on multiple biological processes. Nevertheless, the role of TMEM220-AS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze the differentially expressed lncRNAs. qRT-PCR was used to verify the results for a large population. The in vitro effects of TMEM220-AS1 on HCC cells were determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EdU), flow cytometry, and Transwell assays in HCC cells. We used qRT-PCR and western blotting to identify the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Moreover, we performed bioinformatics analysis, western blotting, dual luciferase reporter gene assay, RNA pull-down, and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of TMEM220-AS1 function. Finally, the function of TMEM220-AS1 was verified in vivo. The results showed that TMEM220-AS1 was expressed at considerably low levels in HCC. It was demonstrated that malignant phenotypes and EMT of HCC cells were promoted by the knock down of TMEM220-AS1 both in vivo and in vitro. TMEM220-AS1, which was detected primarily in the cytoplasm, functioned as an miRNA sponge to bind miR-484 and promote the level of membrane-associated guanylate kinase, WW, and PDZ domain containing 1 (MAGI1), thereby curbing the malignant phenotypes of HCC cells. In conclusion, low levels of TMEM220-AS1 promote proliferation and metastasis through the miR-484/MAGI1 axis in HCC.


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