hsa_circ_0000285 facilitates thyroid cancer progression by regulating miR-127-5p/CDH2

Overexpression of FMOD in Thyroid Carcinoma Triggers M1-Like Tumor-Associated Macrophage Polarization by Targeting Rap1B

Thyroid carcinoma, with limited efficacy of current treatment, influences the lives and health of many people. It is important to explore potential therapeutic targets for thyroid carcinoma. Fibromodulin (FMOD) has been indicated to be connected with the progression of different kinds of tumors, with unknown functions in thyroid carcinoma. In this study, the potential candidate therapeutic targets for thyroid carcinoma were identified by bioinformatics methods, and FMOD was screened out for verification. Cell counting kit-8, wound healing, transwell, and flow cytometry assays were conducted to determine the role of FMOD overexpression in cell viability, migration, invasion, and apoptotic rate of thyroid carcinoma cells, respectively. Subcutaneous tumor growth was monitored in nude mice. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were co-cultured with thyroid carcinoma cells, and the surface marker of M1-like TAMs, CD80, was identified by flow cytometry. Ras-association proximate 1B (Rap1B), the downstream target of FMOD, was predicted by bioinformatic techniques and validated by Rap1B overexpression rescue. FMOD was identified as a tumor suppressor gene in thyroid carcinoma through bioinformatic techniques. FMOD overexpression inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion and stimulated apoptosis of thyroid carcinoma cells. In vivo, FMOD upregulation could suppress the growth of solid tumors. Moreover, FMOD overexpression in thyroid carcinoma cells promoted M1-like TAM polarization. FMOD downregulated Rap1B expression in thyroid carcinoma cells, and Rap1B overexpression rescue reversed the impact of FMOD on tumor progression and TAM polarization. In conclusion, FMOD exhibited an inhibitory effect on thyroid carcinoma by stimulating M1-like TAM polarization via targeting Rap1B.

Expression and Significance of the Circular RNA circ_0001438 in the Development of Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer has become a great challenge to human health in the world. We studied the expression and role of the circular RNA 0001438 (circ_0001438) with the aim of finding a biomarker to assess the prognosis of gastric cancer. Through a polymerase chain reaction, circ_0001438 expression in gastric cancer was detected. Chi-square test, multi-factor Cox regression, and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to determine the association between circ_0001438 and the patients' clinical condition and prognosis. Using the luciferase reporter gene system, the interaction between circ_0001438 and miR-1290 was analyzed, and the regulatory impact of circ_0001438/miR-1290 on the activity of gastric cancer cells was examined flowing the Transwell assay and CCK8 assay. In gastric cancer tissues and cells, circ_0001438 expression was downregulated, and miR-1290 expression was upregulated and the two were negatively correlated. miR-1290 inhibitors were transfected and significantly increased the activity of circ_0001438 luciferase, while miR-1290 mimics decreased the activity. Overexpression of circ_0001438 decreased miR-1290 expression and inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer cells, which was reversed when miR-1290 mimics were transfected. Additionally, there was a correlation between circ_0001438 expression and lymph node metastases, tumor size, and TNM stage of gastric cancer. Low circ_0001438 expression predicts poor prognosis of gastric cancer patients. circ_0001438 is a biomarker for tumor development and clinical prognosis in gastric cancer. It works by downregulating miR-1290 to control the activity of gastric cancer cells.

Emerging roles of circular RNAs in regulating the hallmarks of thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer is a prevalent endocrine malignancy with increasing incidence in recent years. Although most thyroid cancers grow slowly, they can become refractory, leading to a high mortality rate once they exhibit recurrence, metastasis, resistance to radioiodine therapy, or a lack of differentiation. However, the mechanisms underlying these malignant characteristics remain unclear. Circular RNAs, a type of closed-loop non-coding RNAs, play multiple roles in cancer. Several studies have demonstrated that circular RNAs significantly influence the development of thyroid cancers. In this review, we summarize the circular RNAs identified in thyroid cancers over the past decade according to the hallmarks of cancer. We found that eight of the 14 hallmarks of thyroid cancers are regulated by circular RNAs, whereas the other six have not been reported to be correlated with circular RNAs. This review is expected to help us better understand the roles of circular RNAs in thyroid cancers and accelerate research on the mechanisms and cure strategies for thyroid cancers.

Circular RNA_0000285: A novel double-edged sword circular RNA in human malignancies

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that are characterized by their covalently closed structure, which is formed through a process of back splicing of the precursor mRNA. Abnormal expression of circRNAs has been shown to indirectly affect their interaction with microRNAs (miRNAs), thereby modulating gene transcription. One such circRNA, circ_0000285, is known to be dysregulated in various cancers and human diseases. This circRNA is derived from the HIPK3 gene on chromosome 11 and acts as a competing endogenous RNA for several miRNAs, including miR-654-3p, miR-197-3p, miR-1278, miR-582-3p, and miR-599. Notably, circ_0000285 has been linked to poor overall survival and several clinicopathological features in multiple human cancers. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of the oncogenic effect of circ_0000285 in various cancers, drawing on experiment performed on cell lines, animals, and human tissues. Furthermore, we predicted potential miRNAs and RNA-binding proteins that may interact with circ_0000285, thereby providing new insights for further studies.

Using ncRNAs as Tools in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment-The Way towards Personalized Medicine to Improve Patients' Health

Although the first discovery of a non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dates back to 1958, only in recent years has the complexity of the transcriptome started to be elucidated. However, its components are still under investigation and their identification is one of the challenges that scientists are presently facing. In addition, their function is still far from being fully understood. The non-coding portion of the genome is indeed the largest, both quantitatively and qualitatively. A large fraction of these ncRNAs have a regulatory role either in coding mRNAs or in other ncRNAs, creating an intracellular network of crossed interactions (competing endogenous RNA networks, or ceRNET) that fine-tune the gene expression in both health and disease. The alteration of the equilibrium among such interactions can be enough to cause a transition from health to disease, but the opposite is equally true, leading to the possibility of intervening based on these mechanisms to cure human conditions. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on these mechanisms, illustrating how they can be used for disease treatment, the current challenges and pitfalls, and the roles of environmental and lifestyle-related contributing factors, in addition to the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from their (improper) use.