Abnormal Methylation of SF-1 Gene Promoter Region in Endometrial Cancer and Its Mechanism

Abstract We aim to investigate the methylation status, protein expression and clinical significance of the steroidogenic factor-1(SF-1) in endometrial carcinoma (EC), and explore the effect of abnormal methylation of SF-1 on the biological behaviour of EC. Bisulfite sequencing (BSP), western blotting (WB), and immunohistochemical were used to detect the methylation status and protein expression of SF-1 in EC tissues, paracancerous tissues and normal endometrial tissues. DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-CdR were used to treat HEC-1-A cell lines to demethylate SF-1. After treatment, WB and qPCR were used to detect the expression of SF-1 and its downstream target genes. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by the EdU fluorescent labelling method and flow cytometry between the groups. Compared with paracancerous tissues and normal endometrial tissues, the expression of SF-1 protein in EC tissues was significantly increased (P﹤0.05). The percentage of methylated cytosine in the promoter region of the SF-1 gene in EC tissues (8.2%) was significantly lower than that in paracancerous tissues by 40.9% (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, after 5-Aza-CdR treatment, the methylation level of the SF-1 gene was significantly reduced (P﹤0.05), the expressions of SF-1 and its downstream target genes were significantly increased (P <0.05), the cell proliferation was enhanced and the cell apoptosis was significantly reduced (P <0.05). In conclusion, in EC, SF-1 gene was hypomethylated and the expression of SF-1 was increased, which promotes cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis. SF-1 may become a new molecular target for early diagnosis and treatment in EC.

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Metapristone (RU486 derivative) inhibits endometrial cancer cell progress through regulating miR-492/Klf5/Nrf1 axis

10.21203/rs.2.23357/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yue Chang ◽

Min Hao ◽

Ru Jia ◽

Yihui Zhao ◽

Yixuan Cai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endometrial Cancer ◽

Cell Growth ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Target Genes ◽

Cancer Cell Growth ◽

Endometrial Cancer Cell ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Ishikawa Cells

Abstract Background: Endometrial cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women's health. The pathogenesis of endometrial cancer involves many signaling pathways which are related with transcription factors or microRNAs. Recent studies have reported that endometrial cancer is also related with the sexual-mediated hormones. The purpose of this research is to treat the endometrial cancer with the hormone-related drugs, and find out the specific molecular mechanism. Methods: In this study, RL95-2 cells and Ishikawa cells were used as the endometrial cancer cell models. miR-492 was transfected into RL95-2 cells and Ishikawa cells. The miRNA expression was measured by qRT-PCR. The protein expression was measured by western blot. Cell proliferation was monitored using the MTT assay and cell colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was monitored using EdU assay. Results: Firstly, the results indicated that metapristone as a kind of hormone-related drugs could significantly inhibit the endometrial cancer cell growth through regulating cell apoptosis-related gene expression. Meanwhile, miR-492 was detected to be highly expressed in the endometrial cancer cell lines. Overexpression of miR-492 could promote the cell proliferation and inhibit the cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the downstream target genes of miR-492 were Klf5 and Nrf1, which were inhibited by metapristone. At the animal level, metapristone also inhibited the endometrial cancer cell growth through down-regulating the expression of miR-492 and decreasing the protein level of Klf5 and Nrf1. Conclusion: Taken together, this study indicated that metapristone inhibited the endometrial cancer cell growth through regulating the cell apoptosis related signaling pathway and the expression of miR-492 and its downstream target genes (Klf5 and Nrf1), which provided the theoretical basis of endometrial cancer in clinical treatment.

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Metapristone (RU486 derivative) inhibits endometrial cancer cell progress through regulating miR-492/Klf5/Nrf1 axis

10.21203/rs.2.23357/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yue Chang ◽

Min Hao ◽

Ru Jia ◽

Yihui Zhao ◽

Yixuan Cai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endometrial Cancer ◽

Cell Growth ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Target Genes ◽

Cancer Cell Growth ◽

Endometrial Cancer Cell ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Ishikawa Cells

Abstract Background: Endometrial cancer is the prevalent invasive gynecological cancer in the world. The pathogenesis of endometrial cancer involves many signaling pathways which are related with transcription factors or microRNAs. Metapristone is a hormone related drug and widely used in endometrial cancer clinical therapeutics. However, the deep regulatory mechanism of metapristone is not clear. In this research, we aimed to figure out the specific molecular mechanism during the treatment of endometrial cancer with metapristone.Methods: In this study, RL95-2 cells and Ishikawa cells were used as the endometrial cancer cell models. miR-492 was transfected into RL95-2 cells and Ishikawa cells. The miRNA expression was measured by qRT-PCR. Moreover, the mice tumor model was used to confirm the function of metapristone and the regulating process by miR-492/Klf5/Nrf1 axis in vivo. The protein expression was measured by western blot. Cell proliferation and apoptosis was monitored using the MTT assay, cell colony formation assay and EdU assay.Results: Firstly, the results indicated that metapristone as a kind of hormone-related drugs could significantly inhibit the endometrial cancer cell growth through regulating cell apoptosis-related gene expression. Meanwhile, miR-492 was detected to be highly expressed in the endometrial cancer cell lines. Overexpression of miR-492 could promote the cell proliferation and inhibit the cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the downstream target genes of miR-492 were Klf5 and Nrf1, which were inhibited by metapristone. At the animal level, metapristone also inhibited the endometrial cancer cell growth through down-regulating the expression of miR-492 and decreasing the protein level of Klf5 and Nrf1. Conclusion: Taken together, this study indicated that metapristone inhibited the endometrial cancer cell growth through regulating the cell apoptosis related signaling pathway and the expression of miR-492 and its downstream target genes (Klf5 and Nrf1), which provided the theoretical basis of endometrial cancer in clinical treatment.

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Metapristone(RU486 derivative) inhibits endometrial cancer cell progress through regulating miR-492/Klf5/Nrf1 axis

10.21203/rs.2.23357/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yun Liu ◽

Yue Chang ◽

Yixuan Cai

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endometrial Cancer ◽

Cell Growth ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Target Genes ◽

Cancer Cell Growth ◽

Endometrial Cancer Cell ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Ishikawa Cells

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Hh pathway expression in the blood, synovial cells and chondrocytes of different rheumatoid arthritis models

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research ◽

10.4314/tjpr.v18i3.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 499-504

Author(s):

Yingyi Wu ◽

Guangxia Yang ◽

Jing Fei ◽

Yang Huang

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Articular Cartilage ◽

Protein Expression ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Fluorescein Isothiocyanate ◽

Control Group ◽

Cartilage Cell ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Articular Cartilage Cell

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the hedgehog (Hh) pathway inhibitor, cyclopamine, and activator purmorphamine on articular cartilage cell proliferation. Methods: Rats were subjected to AA and CIA models. Secondary paw swelling was measured at 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30 days. The rats were sacrificed on day 30. Tissues from the cartilage and knee joints were collected. Cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay while cell apoptosis was determined by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assay. Protein expression levels of Shh, Ptch1 and Gli1 were determined by Western blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, arthritis index and secondary foot swelling of the adjuvant arthritis (AA) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) groups deteriorated significantly (p < 0.05). MTT data revealed that cyclopamine promoted articular cartilage cell proliferation of the AA and CIA groups. The cell proliferation rates of AA and CIA groups were significantly higher than that of control group (p < 0.05). Flow cytometry showed that the cell apoptosis rates of AA and CIA groups were significantly lower than that of control group (p < 0.05). Compared with control, cyclopamine decreased the protein expression levels of sonic Hh, patched homologue 1 and glioma-associated oncogene homologue, but the effect of purmorphamine was the reverse. Conclusion: Hh pathway inhibitor (cyclopamine) and activator (purmorphamine) affect the expression of Hh pathway. Disruption of the Hh pathway may be of potential therapeutic significance in protecting articular cartilage from rheumatoid arthritis.

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Correlation of methylation status in MTHFR promoter region with recurrent pregnancy loss

Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ◽

10.1186/s43141-021-00147-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mai Mahmoud Shaker ◽

Taghreed Abdelmoniem shalabi ◽

Khalda said Amr

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Promoter Region ◽

Pregnancy Loss ◽

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss ◽

Methylation Status ◽

Control Group ◽

Case Group ◽

Methyl Radical ◽

Fertile Women

Abstract Background DNA methylation is an epigenetic process for modifying transcription factors in various genes. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) stimulates synthesis of methyl radical in the homocysteine cycle and delivers methyl groups needed in DNA methylation. Furthermore, numerous studies have linked gene polymorphisms of this enzyme with a larger risk of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), yet scarce information is available concerning the association between epigenetic deviations in this gene and RPL. Hypermethylation at precise DNA sequences can function as biomarkers for a diversity of diseases. We aimed by this study to evaluate the methylation status of the promoter region of MTHFR gene in women with RPL compared to healthy fertile women. It is a case–control study. Hundred RPL patients and hundred healthy fertile women with no history of RPL as controls were recruited. MTHFR C677T was assessed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Quantitative evaluation of DNA methylation was performed by high-resolution melt analysis by real-time PCR. Results The median of percentage of MTHFR promoter methylation in RPL cases was 6.45 [0.74–100] vs. controls was 4.50 [0.60–91.7], P value < 0.001. In the case group, 57 hypermethylated and 43 normo-methylated among RPL patients vs. 40 hypermethylated and 60 normo-methylated among controls, P< 0.005. Frequency of T allele in C677T MTHFR gene among RPL patients was 29% vs. 23% among the control group; C allele vs. T allele: odds ratio (OR) = 1.367 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.725–2.581). Conclusion Findings suggested a significant association between hypermethylation of the MTHFR promoter region in RPL patients compared to healthy fertile women.

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MiR-206 regulates the progression of osteoporosis via targeting HDAC4

European Journal of Medical Research ◽

10.1186/s40001-021-00480-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Zhiyuan Lu ◽

Dawei Wang ◽

Xuming Wang ◽

Jilong Zou ◽

Jiabing Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Diagnostic Value ◽

Expression Level ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Control Group ◽

Luciferase Reporter Gene ◽

Mineral Density ◽

Gene Assay

Abstract Background More and more studies have confirmed that miRNAs play an important role in maintaining bone remodeling and bone metabolism. This study investigated the expression level of miR-206 in the serum of osteoporosis (OP) patients and explored the effect and mechanism of miR-206 on the occurrence and development of osteoporosis. Methods 120 postmenopausal women were recruited, including 63 cases with OP and 57 women without OP. The levels of miR-206 were determined by qRT-PCR technology. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation of miR-206 with bone mineral density (BMD). An ROC curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-206 in osteoporosis. The effects of miR-206 on cell proliferation and cell apoptosis of hFOBs were measured by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to confirm the interaction of miR-206 and the 3′UTR of HDAC4. Results Serum miR-206 had low expression level in osteoporosis patient group compared with control group. The expression level of serum miR-206 had diagnostic value for osteoporosis, and the serum miR-206 levels were positively correlated with BMD. The down-regulated miR-206 could inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis. Luciferase analysis indicated that HDAC4 was the target gene of miR-206. Conclusions MiR-206 could be used as a new potential diagnostic biomarker for osteoporosis, and in in vitro cell experiments, miR-206 may regulate osteoblast cell proliferation and apoptosis by targeting HDAC4.

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DPP3/CDK1 contributes to the progression of colorectal cancer through regulating cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, and cell migration

Cell Death and Disease ◽

10.1038/s41419-021-03796-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Yixin Tong ◽

Yuan Huang ◽

Yuchao Zhang ◽

Xiangtai Zeng ◽

Mei Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Cell Migration ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Physiological Processes ◽

Mutual Regulation

AbstractAt present, colorectal cancer (CRC) has become a serious threat to human health in the world. Dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3) is a zinc-dependent hydrolase that may be involved in several physiological processes. However, whether DPP3 affects the development and progression of CRC remains a mystery. This study is the first to demonstrate the role of DPP3 in CRC. Firstly, the results of immunohistochemistry analysis showed the upregulation of DPP3 in CRC tissues compared with normal tissues, which is statistically analyzed to be positively correlated with lymphatic metastasis, pathological stage, positive number of lymph nodes. Moreover, the high expression of DPP3 predicts poor prognosis in CRC patients. In addition, the results of cell dysfunction experiments clarified that the downregulation of DPP3 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, cell migration, and promoted apoptosis in vitro. DPP3 depletion could induce cell apoptosis by upregulating the expression of BID, BIM, Caspase3, Caspase8, HSP60, p21, p27, p53, and SMAC. In addition, downregulation of DPP3 can reduce tumorigenicity of CRC cells in vivo. Furthermore, CDK1 is determined to be a downstream target of DPP3-mediated regulation of CRC by RNA-seq, qPCR, and WB. The interaction between DPP3 and CDK1 shows mutual regulation. Specifically, downregulation of DPP3 can accentuate the effects of CDK1 knockdown on the function of CRC cells. Overexpression of CDK1 alleviates the inhibitory effects of DPP3 knockdown in CRC cells. In summary, DPP3 has oncogene-like functions in the development and progression of CRC by targeting CDK1, which may be an effective molecular target for the prognosis and treatment of CRC.

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Methylation status of oestrogen receptor α-A: a predictor of prognosis in leukaemias

Bioscience Reports ◽

10.1042/bsr20090044 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 217-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jie Yao ◽

Xiao-Bing Zhang ◽

Xiao-li Zhang ◽

Wei-Ling Fu

Keyword(s):

Protein Expression ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Thymidine Incorporation ◽

Symptomatic Relief ◽

Methylation Status ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Blue Staining ◽

Chemotherapy Treatment ◽

Propidium Iodide Staining ◽

Epigenetic Biomarker

Many studies have shown that epigenetic regulation of ERs (oestrogen receptors) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of leukaemia. In the present study, it was found that the methylated status of ERα-A might serve as an epigenetic biomarker of leukaemias. In this study, the protein expression and cell apoptosis, cycle, proliferation and viability with and without 5-aza-dC (5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine) were evaluated with Western blotting, 3H-TdR (3H-thymidine) incorporation, propidium iodide staining and Trypan Blue staining respectively. The protein expression of ERα was significantly enhanced in all leukaemic cell lines using treatment with the DNA demethylation reagent 5-aza-dC. However, no obvious change in the protein expression of ERβ takes place with 5-aza-dC. And with 5-aza-dC, cell apoptosis, cell cycle, cell proliferation and viability were all inhibited significantly. We also tracked 40 cases of leukaemias with ERα-A methylation (95%; 38 of 40) to observe the prognosis 1 year after chemotherapy treatment. The patients with ERα-A methylation have no obvious symptomatic relief; however, two patients without ERα-A methylation have obtained effective relief. This result suggested that ERα plays a significant role in leukaemogenesis, and the methylated status of ERα-A not only might serve as an epigenetic biomarker of leukaemias for diagnosis, but also has the potential to serve as a predictor of prognosis in leukaemias.

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Effects of LncRNA HOX Transcript Antisense RNA Targeting miRNA-761 on Cervical Cancer Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis

Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering ◽

10.1166/jbt.2021.2725 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2081-2086

Author(s):

Bin Qiu ◽

Hui Zhong ◽

Shenqiu Ming ◽

Chunxia Zhu

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Control Group ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Cell Clones ◽

Cervical Cancer Cells ◽

Set Up ◽

Cancer Tissues ◽

Lncrna Hotair

Abnormal LncRNA HOTAIR level is correlated with various cancers and miR-761 can inhibit cancers. LncRNA HOTAIR targets miR-761 by StarBase 2.0 analysis. Our study investigated whether LncRNA HOTAIR can affect cervical cancer cells by regulating miR-761. The control group (NC group), LncRNA HOTAIR group and LncRNA HOTAIR + miR-761 Mimics group were set up to measure LncRNA HOTAIR and miR-761 level by qRT-PCR. Dual fluorescein reporter assay assessed whether miR-761 binds LncRNA HOTAIR. Western blot was used to measure Cyclin D1, Bcl-2 and Tubulin expression and clone formation assay was to assess cell proliferation and Annexin VFITC/PI staining was to detect cell apoptosis. Compared with normal tissues, LncRNA HOTAIR level was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues, while miR-761 was lower (P < 0.01). LncRNA HOTAIR targets miR-761. Compared with NC group, CyclinD1 and Bcl-2 in LncRNA HOTAIR group were significantly increased (P < 0.01), which were significantly lower in LncRNA HOTAIR + miR-761 Mimics group (P < 0.05). Compared to NC group, miR-761 in LncRNA HOTAIR group was significantly reduced (P < 0.01) and elevated by miR-761 Mimics. In addition, compared to NC group, the number of cell clones in LncRNA HOTAIR group was increased, cell proliferation was increased, and number of apoptotic cells was decreased, which were all reversed in the LncRNA HOTAIR + miR-761 Mimics group. LncRNA HOTAIR targets miR-761, promotes cell proliferation and reduces cell apoptosis. miR-761 mimics can partially prevent the effects of LncRNA HOTAIR.

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si-SNHG5-FOXF2 inhibits TGF-β1-induced fibrosis in human primary endometrial stromal cells by the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-020-01990-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Limin Liu ◽

Guobin Chen ◽

Taoliang Chen ◽

Wenjuan Shi ◽

Haiyan Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Stromal Cells ◽

Target Genes ◽

Cell Model ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Signalling Pathway ◽

Endometrial Stromal Cells ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Related Proteins ◽

Tgf Β1

Abstract Background Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) are manifestations of endometrial fibrosis characterized by inflammation and fibrinogen aggregation in the extracellular matrix (ECM). The available therapeutic interventions for IUA are insufficiently effective in the clinical setting for postoperative adhesion recurrence and infertility problems. In this study, we investigated whether si-SNHG5-FOXF2 can serve as a molecular mechanism for the inhibition of IUA fibrosis ex vivo. Methods FOXF2, TGF-β1 and collagen expression levels were measured by microarray sequencing analysis in three normal endometrium groups and six IUA patients. We induced primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) into myofibroblasts (MFs) to develop an IUA cell model with various concentrations of TGF-β1 at various times. Downstream target genes of FOXF2 were screened by chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with whole-genome high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq). We investigated ECM formation, cell proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway-related proteins in primary HESCs with FOXF2 downregulation by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC), flow cytometry, ethylenediurea (EdU) and CCK8 assays. We identified long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) SNHG5 as the upstream regulatory gene of FOXF2 through RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), RNA pulldown and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Finally, we examined FOXF2 expression, ECM formation, cell proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway-related proteins in primary HESCs upon FOXF2 downregulation. Results FOXF2 was highly expressed in the endometrium of patients with IUA. Treatment of primary HESCs with 10 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 72 h was found to be most effective for developing an IUA cell model. FOXF2 regulated multiple downstream target genes, including collagen, vimentin (VIM) and cyclin D2/DK4, by ChIP-seq and ChIP-PCR. FOXF2 downregulation inhibited TGF-β1-mediated primary HESC fibrosis, including ECM formation, cell proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway-related protein expression. We identified lncRNA SNHG5 as an upstream gene that directly regulates FOXF2 by RIP-seq, qRT-PCR, WB and FISH. SNHG5 downregulation suppressed FOXF2 expression in the IUA cell model, resulting in synergistic repression of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, thereby altering TGF-β1-mediated ECM aggregation in endometrial stromal cells ex vivo. Conclusions Regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway and ECM formation by si-SNHG5-FOXF2 effectively inhibited the profibrotic effect of TGF-β1 on primary HESCs. This finding can provide a molecular basis for antagonizing TGF-β1-mediated fibrosis in primary HESCs.

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