Upregulation of centromere protein H is associated with progression of renal cell carcinoma

CENP-H as a new prognostic biomarker for tumors: a real-world literature review

Centromere protein H (CENP-H) is an important component of a functional centromere. Studies have demonstrated that CENP-H is overexpressed in renal cell, gastric, hypopharyngeal squamous cell, nasopharyngeal, endometrial, lung, cervical, esophageal, liver, colorectal, oral squamous cell, breast, and tongue carcinomas. CENP-H overexpression is positively correlated with a poor prognosis, pathological stage, T stage, and lymph node metastasis in patients with the above carcinomas. CENP-H can promote cancer growth and metastasis through PI3K/AKT, survivin, and mitochondrial apoptosis signaling mechanisms, and it can be regulated by long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1)/miR-612, Sp1, or Sp3. This review aims to summarize the expression of CENP-H, the relationship between CENP-H expression and prognostic features, growth and metastasis of cancer in patients, as well as the mechanism of CENP-H in cancer. It also proposes a new candidate molecule for treating patients with cancer.

Development and validation of disulfidptosis-related genes signature for patients with glioma

BACKGROUND

Disulfidptosis has recently emerged as a novel form of regulated cell death (RCD). Evasion of cell death is a hallmark of cancer, and the resistance of many tumors to apoptosis-inducing therapies has heightened interest in exploring alternative RCD mechanisms.

METHODS

Transcriptomic and clinical data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA). Glioma samples were classified using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). A predictive model was constructed using Lasso regression analysis, and its performance was evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. The relationship between the model and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) as well as treatment sensitivity was also assessed. Finally, we validated the expression of key signature genes in glioma.

RESULTS

Glioma samples were categorized into two distinct subtypes based on disulfidptosis-related genes, showing significant differences in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between the subtypes. A genetic risk score model was then developed using these genes. A nomogram predicting OS was constructed using the risk score and clinical variables. Patients were stratified into low- and high-risk groups based on the median risk score from the TCGA cohort. Low-risk patients had significantly better outcomes compared to high-risk patients (TCGA cohort, OS: p < 0.001; PFS: p < 0.001; CGGA cohort, OS: p < 0.001). The risk score was associated with HLA expression, immune checkpoint genes, immune cell infiltration, immune function, tumor mutation burden, tumor stemness score, and drug sensitivity. Lastly, the expression of 11 signature genes was confirmed in glioma tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

The disulfidptosis-related gene-based risk score model effectively predicted glioma outcomes and highlighted the role of disulfidptosis-related genes in tumor immunity. This study offers potential new avenues for glioma treatment by targeting disulfidptosis.

TFRC-RNA interactions show the regulation of gene expression and alternative splicing associated with IgAN in human renal tubule mesangial cells

Introduction: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerular disease (PGD) which could progress to renal failure and is characterized by aberrant IgA immune complex deposition. Transferrin receptor1 (TFRC), an IgA receptor, is a potential RNA binding protein (RBP) which regulates expression of genes positively associated with the cell cycle and proliferation and is involved in IgAN. Molecular mechanisms by which TFRC affects IgAN development remain unclear. Methods: In this study, TFRC was overexpressed in human renal tubular mesangial cells (HRMCs) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and improved RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (iRIP-seq) were performed. The aim was to identify potential RNA targets of TFRC at transcriptional and alternative splicing (AS) levels. Results: TFRC-regulated AS genes were enriched in mRNA splicing and DNA repair, consistent with global changes due to TFRC overexpression (TFRC-OE). Expression of TFRC-regulated genes potentially associated with IgAN, including CENPH, FOXM1, KIFC1, TOP2A, FABP4, ID1, KIF20A, ATF3, H19, IRF7, and H1-2, and with AS, CYGB, MCM7 and HNRNPH1, were investigated by RT-qPCR and iRIP-seq data analyzed to identify TFRC-bound RNA targets. RCC1 and RPPH1 were found to be TFRC-bound RNA targets involved in cell proliferation. Discussion: In conclusion, molecular TFRC targets were identified in HRMCs and TFRC found to regulate gene transcription and AS. TFRC is considered to have potential as a clinical therapeutic target.

Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals CENPI as a Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Adrenocortical Carcinoma

Background

Centromere protein I (CENPI) has been shown to affect the tumorigenesis of breast and colorectal cancers. However, its biological role and prognostic value in other kinds of cancer, especially adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), remained to be further investigated.

Methods

Various bioinformatics tools were adopted for exploring the significance of differential expression of CENPI in several malignant tumors from databases such as Depmap portal, GTEx, and TCGA. ACC was selected for further analyzed, and information such as clinicopathological features, the prognostic outcome of diverse subgroups, differentially expressed genes (DEGs), co-expression genes, as well as levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIIC), was extracted from multiple databases. To verify the possibility of CENPI as a therapeutic target in ACC, drug sensitivity assay and si-RNA mediate knockdown of CENPI were carried out.

Results

The pan-cancer analyses showed that the CENPI mRNA expression levels differed significantly among most cancer types. Additionally, a high precision in cancer prediction and close relation with cancer survival indicated that CENPI could be a potential candidate biomarker to diagnose and predict cancer prognosis. In ACC, CENPI was closely related to multiple clinical characteristics, such as pathological stage and primary therapy outcome. High CENPI levels predicted poor overall survival (OS), progression-free interval (PFI), and disease-specific survival (DSS) of ACC patients, particularly for different clinical subgroups. Moreover, the expression of CENPI showed positive relationship to Th2 cells but negatively related to most of the TIICs. Furthermore, drug sensitivity assay showed that vorinostat inhibit CENPI expression and ACC cell growth. Additionally, si-RNA mediated knockdown of CENPI inhibited ACC cell growth and invasion and showed synergistic anti-proliferation effect with AURKB inhibitor barasertib.

Conclusion

Pan-cancer analysis demonstrated that CENPI is a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in various cancers as well as an anti-ACC therapeutic target.

HnRNPAB is an independent prognostic factor in non‑small cell lung cancer and is involved in cell proliferation and metastasis

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A/B (hnRNPAB) is an RNA binding protein that is closely associated with the biological function and metabolism of RNA, which is involved in the malignant transformation of various tumor cells. However, the role and mechanisms of hnRNPAB in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are still unclear. In the present study, the expression levels of hnRNPAB in NSCLC and normal tissues were analyzed using the human protein atlas database and UALCAN database. The clinical significance of hnRNPAB was assayed using the data of NSCLC cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Subsequently, two stable NSCLC cell lines with hnRNPAB knockdown were constructed and the effects of hnRNPAB silencing on cell viability, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were identified. Genes associated with hnRNPAB expression in NSCLC were screened using the Linked Omics database and verified by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The database analysis indicated that hnRNPAB was mainly expressed in the nucleus of NSCLC cells. Compared with the normal tissues, hnRNPAB expression was overexpressed in NSCLC tissues and was closely associated with the overall survival, sex, tumor-node-metastases classification, and poor prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Functionally, knockdown of hnRNPAB inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of NSCLC cells and arrested the cell cycle at G1 phase. Mechanistically, the bioinformatics analysis and RT-qPCR verification demonstrated that hnRNPAB knockdown led to a significant expression change of genes associated with tumorigenesis. In conclusion, the present study indicated that hnRNPAB played an important role in the malignant transformation of NSCLC, supporting the significance of hnRNPAB as a novel potential therapeutic target for the early diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC.

A four-gene prognostic signature for predicting the overall survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma

Background

The prognosis of patients for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is known to vary widely; the 5-year overall survival rate is just 63% even for the pathological IA stage. Thus, in order to identify high-risk patients and facilitate clinical decision making, it is vital that we identify new prognostic markers that can be used alongside TNM staging to facilitate risk stratification.

Methods

We used mRNA expression from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort to identify a prognostic gene signature and combined this with clinical data to develop a predictive model for the prognosis of patients for lung adenocarcinoma. Kaplan-Meier curves, Lasso regression, and Cox regression, were used to identify specific prognostic genes. The model was assessed via the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) and validated in an independent dataset (GSE50081) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).

Results

Our analyses identified a four-gene prognostic signature (CENPH, MYLIP, PITX3, and TRAF3IP3) that was associated with the overall survival of patients with T1-4N0-2M0 in the TCGA dataset. Multivariate regression suggested that the total risk score for the four genes represented an independent prognostic factor for the TCGA and GEO cohorts; the hazard ratio (HR) (high risk group vs low risk group) were 2.34 (p < 0.001) and 2.10 (p = 0.017). Immune infiltration estimations, as determined by an online tool (TIMER2.0) showed that CD4+ T cells were in relative abundance in the high risk group compared to the low risk group in both of the two cohorts (both p < 0.001). We established a composite prognostic model for predicting OS, combined with risk-grouping and clinical factors. The AUCs for 1-, 3-, 5- year OS in the training set were 0.750, 0.737, and 0.719; and were 0.645, 0.766, and 0.725 in the validation set. The calibration curves showed a good match between the predicted probabilities and the actual probabilities.

Conclusions

We identified a four-gene predictive signature which represents an independent prognostic factor and can be used to identify high-risk patients from different TNM stages of LUAD. A new prognostic model that combines a prognostic gene signature with clinical features exhibited better discriminatory ability for OS than traditional TNM staging.

Knockdown of CENPK inhibits cell growth and facilitates apoptosis via PTEN-PI3K-AKT signalling pathway in gastric cancer

Previous studies have indicated that centromere protein K (CENPK) is upregulated in several cancers and related to tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, the potential function of CENPK in gastric cancer (GC) remains unknown. Here, we investigated the function of CENPK on oncogenicity and explored its underlying mechanisms in GC. Our results showed that CENPK was dramatically overexpressed in GC and was associated with poor prognosis through bioinformatics analysis. We demonstrated that CENPK is upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, knockdown of CENPK significantly inhibited proliferation in vitro and attenuated the growth of implanted GCs in vivo. In addition, CENPK silencing induced G1 phase cell cycle arrest and facilitated apoptosis of GC cells. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that the PI3K-AKT signalling pathway was considerably enriched. Knockdown of CENPK decreased the expression of PI3K, p-Akt (Ser437) and p-GSK3β (Ser9) in GC cells, and increased the expression of PTEN. In conclusion, this study indicated that CENPK was overexpressed in GC and may promote gastric carcinogenesis through the PTEN-PI3K-AKT signalling pathway. Thus, CENPK may be a potential target for cancer therapeutics in GC.

Bioinformatics Analysis Reveals Centromere Protein K Can Serve as Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Therapeutic Target for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background:

Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of all lung cancer cases, which have been a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Previous studies demonstrated that centromere proteins were dysregulated and involved in regulating the tumorigenesis and development of human cancers. However, the roles of centromere protein family members in NSCLC remained to be further elucidated.

Objective:

The present study aimed to explore the roles of centromere protein family members in NSCLC.

Method:

GEPIA (http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/) was used to analyze the target’s expression between normal and human cancers. We explored the prognostic value of centromere proteins in NSCLC using the Kaplan–Meier plotter (http://kmplot.com). The protein-protein interaction among centromere proteins were determined using GeneMANIA (http://www.genemania.org). TISIDB (http://cis.hku.hk/TISIDB) database was used to detect the relationship between centromere proteins expression and clinical stages, lymphocytes, immunomodulators and chemokines in NSCLC. The DAVID database (https://david.ncifcrf.gov) was used to detect potential roles of CENPK using its co-expressing genes

Results:

The present study for the first time showed that centromere protein family members including CENPA, CENPF, CENPH, CENPI, CENPK, CENPM, CENPN, CENPO, CENPQ, CENPU were dysregulated and correlated to the poor prognosis of patients with LUAD. CENPK showed the greatest correlation with the prognosis of patients with NSCLC. We found that CENPK was significantly highly expressed in LUAD samples and overexpression of CENPK was remarkably correlated to the shorter OS and DFS on patients with different stage NSCLC. Of note, this study for the first time showed that CENPK was significantly correlated to the lymphocytes and immunomodulators using the TISIDB database

Conclusion:

In summary, CENPK can serve as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of patients with NSCLC.

Identification of NUF2 and FAM83D as potential biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. Compared with other subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is easy to metastasize and has a short survival time, less choice of treatment options. Here, we aimed to identify the potential biomarkers to TNBC diagnosis and prognosis.

Material/Methods

Three independent data sets (GSE45827, GSE38959, GSE65194) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The R software packages were used to integrate the gene profiles and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A variety of bioinformatics tools were used to explore the hub genes, including the DAVID database, STRING database and Cytoscape software. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to verify the hub genes in 14 pairs of TNBC paired tissues.

Results

In this study, we screened out 161 DEGs between 222 non-TNBC and 126 TNBC samples, of which 105 genes were up-regulated and 56 were down-regulated. These DEGs were enriched for 27 GO terms and two pathways. GO analysis enriched mainly in “cell division”, “chromosome, centromeric region” and “microtubule motor activity”. KEGG pathway analysis enriched mostly in “Cell cycle” and “Oocyte meiosis”. PPI network was constructed and then 10 top hub genes were screened. According to the analysis results of the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, the expression levels of only NUF2, FAM83D and CENPH were associated with the recurrence-free survival in TNBC samples (P < 0.05). RT-qPCR confirmed that the expression levels of NUF2 and FAM83D in TNBC tissues were indeed up-regulated significantly.

Conclusions

The comprehensive analysis showed that NUF2 and FAM83D could be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of TNBC.

Centromere protein I (CENPI) is a candidate gene for X-linked steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome

BACKGROUND

Individuals with proteinuria in association with hypoalbuminemia, edema, and hyperlipidemia are considered as having nephrotic syndrome (NS). NS is the most common kidney disease seen in the paediatric age group. NS is usually classified into steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) and steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). More than 58 genes have been identified as a monogenic cause of SRNS, however, the genetic architecture of childhood SSNS remains poorly understood.

METHODS

Here in this study, we performed sequencing of 66 NS candidate genes followed by whole genome SNP genotyping and whole exome sequencing in SSNS families with multiple affected individuals.

RESULTS

NS candidate genes sequencing did not identify any pathogenic variant in the known genes. Homozygosity mapping based on an autosomal recessive model failed to detect any shared loss of heterozygosity region in the genome. An unbiased and hypothesis-free exome data analysis identified a missense variant (c.383G>A; p.Arg128Gln) in the CENPI gene. Sanger sequencing of both parents, unaffected and affected individuals confirmed an X-linked inheritance pattern of the variant (c.383G>A) with SSNS phenotype. The variant (c.383G>A) is very rare and is potentially damaging.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, these observations suggest that a specific pathogenic link between SSNS development and alteration in CENPI exists. However, human mutations in CENPI causing SSNS have not been reported hitherto. Identification of genetic defects underlying SSNS will help in understanding the precise aetiology of SSNS and improved management of children with NS.

CENPI is overexpressed in colorectal cancer and regulates cell migration and invasion

Centromere protein I (CENPI),an important member of centromere protein family, has been suggest to serve as a oncogene in breast cancer, but the clinical significance and biological function of CENPI in colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. In our results, we found CENPI was overexpressed in CRC tissues and cells, and associated with clinical stage, tumor depth, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and differentiation in CRC patients. However, there was no significant association between CENPI protein expression and overall survival time in colon cancer patients and rectal cancer patients through analyzing TCGA survival data. Moreover, CENPI mRNA and protein were increased in metastatic lymph nodes compared with primary CRC tissues. Down-regulation of CENPI expression suppresses CRC cell migration, invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transition process. In conclusion, CENPI is overexpressed in CRC and functions as oncogene in modulating CRC cell migration, invasion and EMT process.

CENPH Inhibits Rapamycin Sensitivity by Regulating GOLPH3-dependent mTOR Signaling Pathway in Colorectal Cancer

Background: Centromere protein H (CENPH) is known as a fundamental component of the active centromere complex, and its overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis in various solid tumors. mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has been shown to possess antitumor activity, as well as prevent intestinal tumorigenesis. However, the prognostic value of CENPH in colorectal cancer (CRC) and the role of CENPH in rapamycin sensitivity remain unknown. Materials and methods: The effect of CENPH on the cell proliferation, clonogenicity, and cell response to rapamycin in CRC were evaluated by MTT and/or colony formation assays. For the underlying mechanisms, the interaction between CENPH and GOLPH3 were detected by co-immunoprecipitation, GST pull-down, and His-tag pull-down assays, as well as the laser scanning confocal microscopy. The status of kinases in mTOR signaling was determined by Western blot. Finally, the clinical significance of CENPH was analyzed using public CRC datasets with CENPH transcripts and clinical information. Results: CENPH inhibited CRC malignant phenotypes, conferred reduced sensitivity to rapamycin, and attenuated both mTORC1 and mTORC2 in mTOR signaling pathway through the interaction with golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3), which has been identified as a potential oncogene and modulates the response to rapamycin. Moreover, elevated levels of CENPH were detected in CRC tissues, compared with normal colorectal tissues. High levels of CENPH expression gradually decreased according to CRC tumor stages. Patients with high CENPH expression had favorable survival. Conclusions: Our results suggest that CENPH inhibits rapamycin sensitivity by regulating GOLPH3 dependent mTOR pathway. High CENPH expression is associated with better prognosis in CRC patients. Taken together, CENPH may serve as a potential predictor for rapamycin sensitivity and therapeutic target for CRC patients.

Overexpression of placenta specific 8 is associated with malignant progression and poor prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Placenta specific 8 (PLAC8) plays an important role in many different cellular processes and human diseases, including multiple types of cancer. However, the functional role of PLAC8 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has never been elucidated.

METHODS

PLAC8 mRNA expression was investigated in 31 pairs of fresh ccRCC tumor tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues by RT-qPCR and confirmed by analyzing the TCGA KRCC dataset which contains RNA-seq data of 534 ccRCC and 72 solid normal tissues. Protein level of PLAC8 expression was also investigated using immunohistochemistry in 129 ccRCC samples. Correlations with clinicopathological factors and overall survival were analyzed. To examine its effect on the biological activity, PLAC8 siRNAs were transfected into ccRCC cells. Cell proliferation was assessed by CCK8 cell viability assays, clone formation assays, and EdU incorporation assays. Cell invasion was examined using transwell assays. RNA sequencing was then performed to further elucidate the mechanisms by which PLAC8 regulates the cancer.

RESULTS

PLAC8 expression was positively correlated with tumor size, metastasis, and clinical stage of ccRCC. Additionally, high PLAC8 expression was closely associated with a shorter overall survival time. Knockdown of PLAC8 with siRNAs significantly reduced the proliferation and invasion of RCC cells and increased the sensitivity of RCC cells to cisplatin. RNA-seq analysis revealed that knockdown of PLAC8 down-regulated the expression of a panel of inflammatory mediators, which suggested that PLAC8 is associated with the ccRCC inflammatory microenvironment. Patients with high expression of PLAC8 had a significantly higher number of infiltrative lymphocytes than patients with low expression of PLAC8.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that PLAC8 may be a potential prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for ccRCC.

Downregulation of the long noncoding RNA TUG1 inhibits the proliferation, migration, invasion and promotes apoptosis of renal cell carcinoma

Long non-coding RNAs, a newly discovered category of noncoding genes, play a leading role in various biological processes, including tumorigenesis. In our study, we aimed to examine the TUG1 expression, and explore the influence of TUG1 silencing on cell proliferation and apoptosis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. The TUG1 expression level was detected using quantitative real-time PCR reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 40 paired clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and adjacent paired normal tissues, as well as four RCC cell lines and one normal human proximal tubule epithelial cell line HK-2. Small interfering RNA was applied to suppress the TUG1 expression in RCC cell lines (A489 and A704). In vitro assays were conducted to further deliberate its potential functions in RCC progression. The relative TUG1 expression was significantly higher in ccRCC tissues compared to the adjacent normal renal tissues. In addition, higher TUG1 expression was equally detected in RCC cell lines (particularly in A498 and A704) compared to HK-2. The ccRCC specimens with higher TUG1 expression had a higher Fuhrman grade and larger tumor size than those with lower TUG1 expression. In vitro assays results suggested that knockdown of TUG1 suppressed RCC cells migration, invasion and proliferation, while the apoptosis process was activated. Our results indicate that TUG1 is identified as a novel oncogene in the morbid state of RCC, which potentially acts as a therapeutic target/biomarker in RCC. The graphic abstract of the present work.

Engrailed-2 might play an anti-oncogenic role in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

Our preliminary study indicated that Engrailed-2 (EN2) is downregulated but also ectopically expressed in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC), and the absence of EN2 expression was associated with poor histological grade. However, the specific roles of EN2 in CCRCC have yet to be elucidated. In the present study, we examined the effects of inhibiting EN2 expression by human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) and overexpressing EN2 by human clear-cell renal cells (786-O). Results showed that EN2 inhibition accelerated HK-2 cell proliferation, shortened the cell cycle, reduced apoptosis, and acted more invasively. By contrast, EN2 overexpression in 786-O cells decelerated the proliferative ability of 786-O, increased the percentage of cell apoptosis, and weakened the invasive ability. Overall, the results demonstrated that EN2 might play an anti-oncogenic role in oncogenesis and development of CCRCC, thereby maintaining the normal growth of human renal tubular epithelial cells.