scholarly journals miR-139-5p Loss-Mediated WTAP Activation Contributes to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Promoting the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenli Liu ◽  
Xuewei Gao ◽  
Xiaolong Chen ◽  
Na Zhao ◽  
Ying Sun ◽  
...  

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary aggressive gastrointestinal neoplasm that affects patients worldwide. It has been shown that Wilms' tumor 1-associating protein (WTAP) is frequently upregulated in various cancers. However, the potential role of WTAP in HCC remains largely unknown.Methods: The expression levels of WTAP in human HCC tissues were determined by the western blotting and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. A correlation between the WTAP expression, clinicopathological features, and the HCC prognosis was analyzed. The WTAP expression was silenced by short hairpin RNA (shRNA), and effects of the knockdown of WTAP on the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells were assessed. The microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in the regulation of the WTAP expression were identified by a bioinformatics analysis and further confirmed by in vitro assays.Results: The expression levels of WTAP in liver cancer tissues were significantly elevated and compared with those in the adjacent normal tissues and significantly correlated with the clinical stage and prognosis in patients with HCC. Further investigation revealed that the knockdown of WTAP drastically suppressed HCC cell proliferation and invasion abilities. Luciferase reporter assay and validation experiments confirmed that WTAP was a direct target of miR-139-5p. Moreover, the overexpression of WTAP could partly abolish the inhibitory effects of miR-139-5p on the HCC cell growth and invasion. Mechanistically, we revealed that the miR-139-5p/WTAP axis regulated the HCC progression by controlling the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).Conclusions: In summary, the results indicate that WTAP is a potential oncogene in HCC and miR-139-5p negatively regulates the WTAP expression. MiR-139-5p/WTAP can be utilized as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Li ◽  
Jiawei Zhang ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Runling Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractCircRNA mitochondrial tRNA translation optimization 1 (circMTO1) functions as a tumor suppressor usually and is related to the progression of many tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CircMTO1 is downregulated in HCC as compared to adjacent nontumor tissue, which may suppress the HCC progression by certain signal pathways. However, the underlying signal pathway remains largely unknown. The interactions between circMTO1 and miR-541-5p were predicted through bioinformatics analysis and verified using pull-down and dual-luciferase reporter assays. CCK-8, transwell, and apoptosis assays were performed to determine the effect of miR-541-5p on HCC progression. Using bioinformatic analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR, and western blot, ZIC1 was found to be the downstream target gene of miR-541-5p. The regulatory mechanisms of circMTO1, miR-541-5p, and ZIC1 were investigated using in vitro and in vivo rescue experiments. The results depicted that silencing circMTO1 or upregulating miR-541-5p expression facilitated HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibited apoptosis. CircMTO1 silencing upregulated the expression of downstream ZIC1 regulators of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway markers, β-catenin, cyclin D1, c-myc, and the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, Vimentin, and MMP2, while the epithelial marker E-cadherin was downregulated. MiR-541-5p knockdown had the opposite effect and reversed the effect of circMTO1 silencing on the regulation of downstream ZIC1 regulators. Intratumoral injection of miR-541-5p inhibitor suppressed tumor growth and reversed the effect of circMTO1 silencing on the promotion of tumor growth in HCC. These findings indicated that circMTO1 suppressed HCC progression via the circMTO1/ miR-541-5p/ZIC1 axis by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, making it a novel therapeutic target.


Author(s):  
Lili Zhao ◽  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Jiaoxia Liu ◽  
Wei Yin ◽  
Dan Jin ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short endogenous noncoding RNAs that frequently play vital roles in many cancer types. Herein we demonstrated that miR-185 was remarkably downregulated in NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. A lower level of miR-185 was associated with lymph node metastasis. Functional assays showed that upregulation of miR-185 inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion capacities of NSCLC cells in vitro. Furthermore, we found that miR-185 suppressed the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter gene assays revealed that Kruppel-like factor 7 (KLF7) was the target of miR-185. Overexpression of miR-185 reduced the expression of KLF7 in NSCLC cells. Upregulation of KLF7 partly neutralized the inhibitory effects of miR-185 on the proliferation and invasion of NSCLC. Additionally, we confirmed that miR-185 suppressed the tumor growth of NSCLC A549 cells in vivo. Taken together, these results demonstrate that miR-185 acts as a suppressor by targeting KLF7 in NSCLC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarong Guo ◽  
Bao Chai ◽  
Junmei Jia ◽  
Mudan Yang ◽  
Yanjun Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Dysregulation of KLF7 participates in the development of various cancers, but it is unclear whether there is a link between HCC and aberrant expression of KLF7. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of KLF7 in proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods CCK8, colony growth, transwell, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis detection were performed to explore the effect of KLF7, VPS35 and Ccdc85c on cell function in vitro. Xenografted tumor growth was used to assess in vivo role of KLF7. Chip-qPCR and luciferase reporter assays were applied to check whether KLF7 regulated VPS35 at transcriptional manner. Co-IP assay was performed to detect the interaction between VPS35 and Ccdc85c. Immunohistochemical staining and qRT-PCR analysis were performed in human HCC sampels to study the clinical significance of KLF7, VPS35 and β-catenin. Results Firstly, KLF7 was highly expressed in human HCC samples and correlated with patients’ differentiation and metastasis status. KLF7 overexpression contributed to cell proliferation and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. KLF7 transcriptional activation of VPS35 was necessary for HCC tumor growth and metastasis. Further, co-IP studies revealed that VPS35 could interact with Ccdc85c in HCC cells. Rescue assay confirmed that overexpression of VPS35 and knockdown of Ccdc85c abolished the VPS35-medicated promotion effect on cell proliferation and invasion. Finally, KLF7/VPS35 axis regulated Ccdc85c, which involved in activation of β-catenin signaling pathway, confirmed using β-catenin inhibitor, GK974. Functional studies suggested that downregulation of Ccdc85c partly reversed the capacity of cell proliferation and invasion in HCC cells, which was regulated by VPS35 upregulation. Lastly, there was a positive correlation among KLF7, VPS35 and active-β-catenin in human HCC patients. Conclusion We demonstrated that KLF7/VPS35 axis promoted HCC cell progression by activating Ccdc85c-medicated β-catenin pathway. Targeting this signal axis might be a potential treatment strategy for HCC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wentao Li ◽  
Ismatullah Soufiany ◽  
Xiao Lyu ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
Chenfei Lu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Mounting evidences have shown the importance of lncRNAs in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. LBX2-AS1 is an oncogenic lncRNA that has been found abnormally expressed in gastric cancer and lung cancer samples. Nevertheless, the biological function of LBX2-AS1 in glioblastoma (GBM) and potential molecular mechanism are largely unclear. Methods: Relative levels of LBX2-AS1 in GBM samples and cell lines were detected by qRT-PCR and FISH. In vivo and in vitro regulatory effects of LBX2-AS1 on cell proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and angiogenesis in GBM were examined through xenograft models and functional experiments, respectively. The interaction between Sp1 and LBX2-AS1 was assessed by ChIP. Through bioinformatic analyses, dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP and Western blot, the regulation of LBX2-AS1 and miR-491-5p on the target gene leukemia Inhibitory factor (LIF) was identified. Results: LBX2-AS1 was upregulated in GBM samples and cell lines, and its transcription was promoted by binding to the transcription factor Sp1. As a lncRNA mainly distributed in the cytoplasm, LBX2-AS1 upregulated LIF, and activated the LIF/STAT3 signaling by exerting the miRNA sponge effect on miR-491-5p, thus promoting cell proliferation, EMT and angiogenesis in GBM. Besides, LBX2-AS1 was unfavorable to the progression of glioma and the survival. Conclusion: Upregulated by Sp1, LBX2-AS1 promotes the progression of GBM by targeting the miR-491-5p/LIF axis. It is suggested that LBX2-AS1 may be a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target of GBM.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kebin Zheng ◽  
Haipeng Xie ◽  
Xiaosong Wu ◽  
Xichao Wen ◽  
Zhaomu Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundIncreasing studies have revealed that circular RNAs (CircRNAs) make great contribution to regulating tumor progression. Therefore, we intended to explore the expression characteristics, function, and related mechanisms of a novel type of circRNA, PIP5K1A in glioma. MethodsFirstly, RT-PCR was carried out to examine CircPIP5K1A expression in glioma tissues and adjacent normal tissues, and the correlation between CircPIP5K1A level and the clinical pathological indicators of glioma was analyzed. Then, the CircPIP5K1A expression in various glioma cell lines was detected, and a cell model of CircPIP5K1A overexpression and knockdown was constructed. Subsequently, cell proliferation and viability were detected by CCK8 method and BrdU staining, apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and cell invasion was examined by Transwell assay. The expression of TCF12, PI3K/AKT pathway apoptotic related proteins (including Caspase3, Bax and Bcl2) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers (including E-cadherin, Vimentin and N-cadherin) by western blot or RT-PCR. ResultsThe results manifested that CircPIP5K1A was obviously upregulated in glioma tissues (compared with that in normal adjacent tissues), and overexpressed CircPIP5K1A was distinctly related to glioma volume and histopathological grade. Functionally, overexpressing CircPIP5K1A notably elevated the proliferation, invasion, EMT of glioma cells, and inhibited apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Besides, CircPIP5K1A also upregulated TCF12 and PI3K/AKT pathway activation. Bioinformatics analysis testified that miR-515-5p was a common target of CircPIP5K1A and TCF12, while dual luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunocoprecipitation (RIP) experiment further confirmed that CircPIP5K1A targeted miR-515-5p, which bound the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of TCF12. ConclusionsAltogether, the study illustrated that CircPIP5K1A is a potential prognostic marker in glioma and regulates the development of glioma through the modulating miR-515-5p mediated TCF12/PI3K/AKT axis.


Author(s):  
Haitao Xie ◽  
Hui Zhou ◽  
Yan Jiang ◽  
Wenqian Xu ◽  
Leping Zeng ◽  
...  

IntroductionLong non-coding RNA LINC00641 has been reported to regulate tumor progression in several cancers. However, the expression and function of LINC00641 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear.Material and methodsIn this study, we measured the expression of LINC00641 in 79 pairs of HCC and adjacent normal liver tissues. The clinical significance of LINC00641 in HCC was explored. We also investigated the function of LINC00641 in HCC proliferation and invasion.ResultsWe observed that LINC00641 expression was significantly increased in HCC relative to normal tissues (P < 0.0001). High expression of LINC00641 was significantly associated with vascular invasion, advanced TNM stage, and reduced overall survival in HCC patients. Knockdown of LINC00641 inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of HCC cells. In contrast, overexpression of LINC00641 promoted HCC cell growth and invasiveness. In vivo studies confirmed that knockdown of LINC00641 restrained tumorigenesis of HCC cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that LINC00641 inhibited the expression of miR-501-3p, which has been previously reported to act as a tumor suppressor in HCC. Furthermore, luciferase reporter assays validated that LINC00641 harbored a target site for miR-501-3p. Rescue experiments demonstrated that LINC00641-induced proliferation and invasion of HCC cells was reversed by co-expression of miR-501-3p.ConclusionsTaken together, LINC00641 contributes to aggressive phenotype of HCC cells by sponging miR-501-3p and represents a promising therapeutic target for this disease.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 777-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Jun Sun ◽  
Guo-Yong Chen ◽  
Zhan-Tao Xie

Background/Aims: A growing body of evidence supports the notion that MicroRNAs (miRNAs) function as key regulators of tumorigenesis. In the present study, the expression and roles of miRNA-361-5p were explored in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression miR-361-5p in HCC tissues and pair-matched adjacent normal tissues. MTT and BrdU assays were used to identify the role of miR-361-5p in the regulation of proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Using bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assays and Western blots were used to identify the molecular target of miR-361-5p. nude mice were used to detect the anti-tumor role of miR-361-5p in vivo. Results: miR-361-5p was down-regulated in HCC tissues in comparison to adjacent normal tissues, due to hypermethylation at its promoter region. Overexpression of miR-361-5p suppressed proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Chemokine (C-X-C Motif) receptor 6 (CXCR6) was identified as a target of miR-361-5p. Indeed, knockdown of CXCR6 photocopied, while overexpression of CXCR6 largely attenuated the anti-proliferative effect of miR-361-5p. More importantly, in vivo studies demonstrated that forced expression of miR-361-5p significantly inhibited tumor growth in the nude mice. Conclusion: Our results indicate that miR-361-5p acts as a tumor suppressor and might serve as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1319-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Hai Ma ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
Hongchun Yang ◽  
Zhenxing He

Objectives Overexpression of human trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (Trop2) has been observed in many cancers; however, its roles in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the function of Trop2 in HCC. Methods Trop2 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissues. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion were respectively measured by CCK-8, flow cytometry, Transwell, and wound healing assays. Expression levels of epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related proteins and Trop2 protein in HCC cell lines were detected by western blotting after silencing of the TROP2 gene. Results Trop2 protein was highly expressed in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines. Trop2 mRNA and protein expression levels decreased in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells after transfection with Trop2 siRNA. Silencing of the TROP2 gene in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells strongly inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while enhancing cell apoptosis. Investigation of the molecular mechanism revealed that silencing of the TROP2 gene suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition of HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells. Conclusions The results of the present study may improve understanding of the role of Trop2 in regulation of cell proliferation and invasion, and may aid in development of novel therapy for HCC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Wang ◽  
Yingying Zhou ◽  
Siyang Zhang ◽  
Ya Qi ◽  
Min Wang

Abstract Background Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) and pre-mRNA processing factor 6(PRPF6) play vital roles in regulatory mechanisms of multiple cancers, but the mechanisms in ovarian cancer (OC) remains poorly understood. Methods The expression of SNHG16 transcripts-SNHG16-L/S in OC tissues were analyzed by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). The expression of PRPF6 in OC tissues were detected by Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tumorigenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and PTX-resistance were detected by western blot, transwell, CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays and flow cytometry analyses. Molecular interactions were examined by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Results The results indicated the expression of SNHG16-L/S was opposite in chemo-resistance and chemo-sensitivity tissues of OC. And SNHG16-L/S had different effects on the progression and PTX-resistance of OC cells. SNHG16-L inhibited GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3) transcription through CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein b (CEBPB) to further promote tumorigenesis, EMT and PTX-resistance of OC. Moreover, PRPF6 was upregulated in chemo-resistance tissues of OC. PRPF6 promoted tumorigenesis and PTX-resistance in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, PRPF6 induced the alternative splicing of SNHG16 to downregulate SNHG16-L, which further mediated progression and PTX-resistance through upregulating GATA3 in OC. Conclusions Totally, the results demonstrated that PRPF6 promoted progression and PTX-resistance in OC through SNHG16-L/CEBPB/GATA3 axis. Thus, PRPF6 may become a valuable target for OC therapy.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Yang ◽  
Tianxiang Chen ◽  
Bowen Yao ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Runkun Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have obtained growing attention due to their potential effects as novel regulators in various tumors. This study aimed to investigate the expression and roles of lncRNA ZFPM2-AS1 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Transwell was used to determine migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. The lung metastasis mouse model was established to detect tumor metastasis of HCC in vivo. The direct binding of miR-3612 to 3'UTR of DAM15 was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. The expression of ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-3612 in HCC specimens and cell lines were detected by real-time PCR. The correlation among ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-3612 were disclosed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and biotin pull-down assay.Results: In present study, we found that ZFPM2-AS1 was up-regulated in HCC tissues and cells and its upregulation was associated with TNM stage, vascular invasion, and poor prognosis of HCC patients. Functionally, gain- and loss-of-function experiments indicated that ZFPM2-AS1 promoted cell migration, invasion and EMT progress in vitro and in vivo. ZFPM2-AS1 could function as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-3612 in HCC cells. Mechanically, miR-3612 inhibited HCC metastasis and alternation of miR-3612 reversed the promotive effects of ZFPM2-AS1 on HCC cells. In addition, we confirmed that ADAM15 was a direct target of miR-3612 in HCC and mediated the biological effects of miR-3612 and ZFPM2-AS1 in HCC. Curcumin, an active derivative from turmeric, exerts its anticancer effects through ZFPM2-AS1/miR-3612/ADAM15 pathway. Our data identified ZFPM2-AS1 as a novel oncogenic lncRNA and correlated malignant clinical outcomes in HCC patients. Conclusions: ZFPM2-AS1 performed as oncogenic role via targeting miR-3612 and subsequently promoted ADAM15 expression in HCC. Our results revealed that ZFPM2-AS1 could be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.


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