scholarly journals Circular RNA circ_0014717 Suppresses Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumorigenesis Through Regulating miR-668-3p/BTG2 Axis

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxi Ma ◽  
Chunchun Huang ◽  
Qiuhuan Huang ◽  
Guangzhi Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
...  

Recent studies have reported a close association between circRNAs and cancer development. CircRNAs have been recognized to be involved in various biological processes. Up to now, the function of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still poorly known. qRT-PCR was used to test circ_0014717 expression in HCC tissue samples and cells was determined. It was shown that circ_0014717 was significantly decreased in HCC. Then, we observed overexpression of circ_0014717 obviously repressed HCC cell growth, migration and invasion. Next, we predicted circ_0014717 acted as a sponge of miR-668-3p. miR-668-3p has been reported to participate in several diseases. In our work, it was shown miR-668-3p was greatly increased in HCC and the direct binding sites between circ_0014717 and miR-668-3p were validated. In addition, B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) is closely involved in cellular carcinogenic processes. BTG2 was predicted as a target for miR-668-3p. By performing rescue assays, we demonstrated that circ_0014717 repressed HCC progression via inhibiting BTG2 expression and sponging miR-668-3p. It was manifested loss of circ_0014717 induced HCC progression, which was reversed by BTG2 in Hep3B cells. In conclusion, our findings illustrated a novel circ_0014717/miR-668-3p/BTG2 regulatory signaling pathway in HCC.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 718-724
Author(s):  
Jiuwu Zhuo ◽  
Yishan Zheng ◽  
Wanying Hu ◽  
Guoping Yin

Sufentanil is a powerful analgesic that acts on μ-receptors, but there are few studies on sufentanil in cancer. The biological function and underlying mechanisms of sufentanil on the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells were explored in the present study. HCC cells were first treated with different concentrations of sufentanil and the most optimum concentration of sufentanil was determined. The expression of miR-204 in HCC cells was changed by transfected with miR-204 inhibitor and the transfection efficiency was assessed by qRT-PCR. CCK-8, wound-healing and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells, respectively. The level of AKT and PI3K phosphorylation (p-AKT and p-PI3K) were assessed by western blot analysis. Our results demonstrated that sufentanil effectively inhibited cell proliferation,migration and invasion in both Huh7 and Hep3B cells, and significantly decreased the expression of p-AKT and p-PI3K. In addition, miR-204 was upregulated in Huh7 and Hep3B cells treated with sufentanil, and low expression of miR-204 attenuated the damage of sufentanil on the viability of Huh7 and Hep3B cells. Taken together, sufentanil suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells via inhibiting AKT/PI3K signaling pathway by targeting miR-204.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaoyou Weng ◽  
Minjiang Chen ◽  
Maoquan Li ◽  
Yong-Fa Zheng ◽  
Guoliang Shao ◽  
...  

BackgroundIncreasing evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved tumourigenesis and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, progression about its function in HCC is relatively slow. Here, we aimed to investigate whether plasma circRNAs could reflect the tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in HCC tumour tissues and serve as prognosis biomarker for HCC.MethodsTissue samples of patients with HCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry staining against CD8 to examine the TILs. Then, we investigated the expression profile of circRNAs by microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs, and the differentially expressed circRNAs were validated with qRT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software and GraphPad Prism.ResultsWe have demonstrated that patients with HCC with high TILs exhibit a significant better overall survival, suggesting clinical outcome could be predicted by TILs. Global circRNA microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs successfully identified six differentially expressed novel circRNAs. Among them, the expression ofhsa_circ_0064428was significantly reduced in patients with HCC with high TILs but increased in patients with low TILs. Moreover,hsa_circ_0064428was negatively correlated with patient’s survival, tumour size and metastasis.ConclusionThese findings together imply thathsa_circ_0064428could be considered as a potential HCC prognosis biomarker. Future in-depth research is required to further illustrate the involvement ofhsa_circ_0064428in HCC tumourigenesis and metastasis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Miao Chen ◽  
Duo Wang ◽  
Junjie Liu ◽  
Zhizhan Zhou ◽  
Zhanling Ding ◽  
...  

Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most highly aggressive cancer worldwide with an extremely poor prognosis. Evidence has revealed that microRNA-587 (miR-587) is abnormally expressed in a series of cancers. However, its expressions and functions in HCC have not been clearly acknowledged. Methods. We detected the expression level of miR-587 both in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and 86 paired clinical HCC tissues together with paired adjacent normal tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Afterwards, the transfected HCC cell line SMMC-7721 cells were collected for the cell proliferation assay, cell-cycle arrest, cell migration, and invasion assays to explore the roles of miR-587 in regulating cellular function. In addition, bioinformatics analysis, combined with qRT-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays, were performed to confirm whether ribosomal protein SA (RPSA) mRNA was the direct target gene of miR-587. Moreover, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO databases as well as 86 paired clinical HCC tissues were used to verify the negative regulation between miR-587 and RPSA. Results. In the present study, both the GEO database (GSE36915 and GSE74618) analysis and qRT-PCR analysis of 86 paired clinical tissues showed that miR-587 was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues. The overexpression of miR-587 inhibited proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion in SMMC-7721 cells. In addition, miR-587 directly interacted with the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of RPSA. Moreover, miR-587 overexpression directly suppressed RPSA expression, and the two genes were inversely expressed in HCC based on the analyses in TCGA and GEO (GSE36376) databases and qPCR analysis of 86 paired clinical tissues. Conclusion. Our results demonstrate that miR-587 is downexpressed in HCC and regulates the cellular function by targeting RPSA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Chuanwu Fang ◽  
Xiaohong Wang ◽  
Dongliang Guo ◽  
Run Fang ◽  
Ting Zhu

Many studies have shown that there are many circular RNA (circRNA) expression abnormalities in osteosarcoma (OS), and this abnormality is related to the development of osteosarcoma. But at present, it is unclear as to what circITGA7 has in the OS and what it does. In this study, qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of circITGA7, miR-370, and PIM1 mRNA in OS tissues and cells. The CCK-8 assay was used to detect the effect of circITGA7 on cell proliferation. Later, the transwell assay was used to detect cell migration and invasion. The dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed the existence of the targeting relationship between circITGA7 and miR-370, and miR-370 and PIM1. We found that circITGA7 was upregulated in OS tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of circITGA7 weakened the cell’s ability to proliferate and metastasize. Furthermore, we observed that miR-370 was negatively regulated by circITGA7, while PIM1 was positively regulated by it. A functional assay validated that circITGA7 promoted OS progression via suppressing miR-370 and miR-370 affected OS proliferation and migration via PIM6 in OS. In summary, this study shows that circITGA7 promotes OS proliferation and metastasis via miR-370/PIM1.


2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 1349-1356
Author(s):  
Yujin Wang ◽  
Jixiang Wang ◽  
Hongyan Hao ◽  
Xiangxia Luo

It is reported that lncRNA KCNQ1 opposite strand/antisense transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) is oncogenic in many cancers. This work aimed at probing into its expression and biological functions in retinoblastoma (RB) as well as its regulatory effects on miR-153-3p and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). In our study, RB samples in pair were collected, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed for examining the expression levels of KCNQ1OT1, miR-153-3p and HIF-1α. KCNQ1OT1 short hairpin RNAs were transfected into SO-Rb50 and HXO-RB44 cell to inhibit the expression of KCNQ1OT1. The proliferative activity, colony formation ability and apoptosis were examined through cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation assays, Transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively. qRT-PCR and western blot analysis were used for analyzing the changes of miR-153-3p and HIF-1α induced by KCNQ1OT1. The regulatory relationships between miR-153-3p and KCNQ1OT1, miR-153-3p and HIF-1α were examined by dual luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation assay. The results of our study showed that KCNQ1OT1 expression was markedly enhanced in RB tissue samples, and KCNQ1OT1 knockdown had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation, migration, invasion and viability of RB cells. There were two validated binding sties between KCNQ1OT1 and miR-153-3p, and KCNQ1OT1 negatively regulated the expression of miR-153-3p in RB cells. HIF-1α was a target gene of miR-153-3p, and could be positively regulated by KCNQ1OT1. In conclusion, our study indicates that KCNQ1OT1 can increase the malignancy of RB cells via regulating miR-153-3p/HIF-1α axis.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu Xie ◽  
Minjing Li ◽  
Desheng Liu ◽  
Xia Wang ◽  
Peiyuan Wang ◽  
...  

Liver cancer is a very common and significant health problem. Therefore, powerful molecular targeting agents are urgently needed. Previously, we demonstrated that secalonic acid-F (SAF) suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells (HepG2), but the other anticancer biological functions and the underlying mechanism of SAF on HCC are unknown. In this study, we found that SAF, which was isolated from a fungal strain in our lab identified as Aspergillus aculeatus, could inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting MARCH1, which regulates the PI3K/AKT/β-catenin and antiapoptotic Mcl-1/Bcl-2 signaling cascades. First, we confirmed that SAF reduced the proliferation and colony formation of HCC cell lines (HepG2 and Hep3B), promoted cell apoptosis, and inhibited the cell cycle in HepG2 and Hep3B cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the migration and invasion of HepG2 and Hep3B cells treated with SAF were significantly suppressed. Western blot analysis showed that the level of MARCH1 was downregulated by pretreatment with SAF through the regulation of the PI3K/AKT/β-catenin signaling pathways. Moreover, knockdown of MARCH1 by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting MARCH1 also suppressed the proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion as well as increased the apoptotic rate of HepG2 and Hep3B cells. These data confirmed that the downregulation of MARCH1 could inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and that the mechanism may be via PI3K/AKT/β-catenin inactivation as well as the downregulation of the antiapoptotic Mcl-1/Bcl-2. In vivo, the downregulation of MARCH1 by treatment with SAF markedly inhibited tumor growth, suggesting that SAF partly blocks MARCH1 and further regulates the PI3K/AKT/β-catenin and antiapoptosis Mcl-1/Bcl-2 signaling cascade in the HCC nude mouse model. Additionally, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were increased in tumors after SAF treatment in a mouse model. Taken together, our findings suggest that MARCH1 is a potential molecular target for HCC treatment and that SAF is a promising agent targeting MARCH1 to treat liver cancer patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Seon Kim ◽  
Jin Seoub Kim ◽  
Na Ri Park ◽  
Heechul Nam ◽  
Pil Soo Sung ◽  
...  

Background & AimsCancer metastasis is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Exosomal miRNAs have emerged as promising biomarkers for cancer, serving as signaling molecules that can regulate tumor growth and metastasis. This study examined circulating exosomal miRNAs that could predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis.MethodsExosomal miRNA was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in a large set of patients (n = 284). To investigate the role of exosomal miRNA in HCC, we performed a series of in vitro tests, such as exosome labeling, qRT-PCR, reverse transcription PCR, wound healing assay, transwell assay, and Western blot assay.ResultsExosomal miR-125b was drastically downregulated in HCC patients with metastasis than in those without metastasis. In vitro, we observed the uptake of miR-125b by exosome in recipient cells. Exosome-mediated miR-125b significantly inhibited migration and invasion abilities and downregulated the mRNA expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-14 in recipient cells via intercellular communication. Further investigation revealed that miR-125b suppressed SMAD2 protein expression in recipient cells by binding to its 3′ untranslated regions. Exosome-mediated miR-125b transfer also disrupted TGF-β1–induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition and TGF-β1/SMAD signaling pathway in recipient cells by leading to a decrease of SMAD2 protein expression. Moreover, exosomal miR-125b was downregulated after metastasis compared with that at baseline in patients with serial measurements before and after metastasis.ConclusionsThe results imply that exosome-mediated miR-125b exerts anti-metastatic properties in HCC. These findings highlight that circulating exosomal miR-125b might represent a reliable biomarker with diagnostic and therapeutic implications for extrahepatic metastasis from HCC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Wei-qing Qiu ◽  
Hongyi Zhu ◽  
Hua Liu ◽  
Jian-hua Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most leading malignancies. Long noncoding RNA is related to GC. In this study, 11 miRNAs in the exosomes and six lncRNAs in the tissues was examined by qRT-PCR. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between miRNAs in exosome and lncRNAs in the tissues. Four miRNAs level in GC tissues were examined by qRT-PCR. MTT was used to determine cell viability. Flow cytometry was used to quantify the apoptotic cells. Transwell assay was used to examine the migration and invasion capacity. Dual-luciferase assay was used to examine the interaction between HOTAIR and miR-30a or -b. Capillary formation was used to determine the capillary formation capacity. Weak negative correlations were found between HOTAIR and miR-30a or -b in GC tissue samples. Interestingly, strong negative correlations were identified between the HOTAIR level in GC tissue samples and the miR-30a or -b levels in plasma exosomes. HOTAIR knockdown GC cells exhibited decreased migration, invasion, proliferation, and upregulated apoptosis, which released more miR-30a and -b into the exosomes. KRAS was upregulated when co-cultured with exosomes from HOTAIR overexpressed cells, and promoted GC cells proliferation, migration, and invasion. Meanwhile, HUVEC cells expressed increased VEGF-A and formatted more capillaries. Subsequently, we identified a 10mer target site of miR-30a or -b in HOTAIR sequence, and the overexpression of HOTAIR induced the degradation of miR-30a or -b, indicating a ceRNA role of HOTAIR. We report the negative correlation between the plasma miRNAs level and GC tissue HOTAIR expression for the first time and unveiled the ceRNA role of HOTAIR in GC. HOTAIR functions as an onco-lncRNA regulating the level of miR-30a and -b in both GC cells and exosomes. These findings may give insight into understanding the mechanism of GC pathogenesis and provide new biomarkers for clinical diagnosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunrong Song ◽  
Zhong Su ◽  
Jing Guo

Abstract Thymosin β 10 (TMSB10) has been demonstrated to be overexpressed and function as an oncogene in most types of human cancer including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our study, we present more evidence about the clinical significance and biological function of TMSB10 in HCC. First, we observed levels of TMSB10 expression were obviously increased in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues at The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. Furthermore, we confirmed that TMSB10 mRNA and protein levels were also increased in HCC tissue samples compared with normal adjacent normal liver tissue samples. In addition, we found high TMSB10 expression was remarkably associated with the advanced tumor stage, large tumor size, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis, and acted as an independent factor for predicting poor overall survival in HCC patients. Loss-of-function studies suggested silencing of TMSB10 expression dramatically reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC. In conclusion, TMSB10 may hold promise as a tumor biomarker for predicting prognosis and a potential target for developing a novel therapeutic strategy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document