A novel 12-gene signature as independent prognostic model in stage IA and IB lung squamous cell carcinoma patients

STAU1 exhibits oncogenic characteristics and modulates alternative splicing and gene expression in lung adenocarcinoma cells

Staufen double-stranded RNA-binding protein 1 (STAU1) plays a significant role in cancer development and is associated with survival outcomes in patients with lung cancer. However, its specific functions and molecular mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain underexplored. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the role and mechanism of STAU1 in A549 cells via RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and in vitro experiments. STAU1 is highly expressed in A549 cells, and the proliferation, invasion, and migration capabilities of siSTAU1 cells are markedly inhibited, while the level of apoptosis is increased. Through RNA-seq analysis, we identified 197 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 1,362 STAU1-regulated alternative splicing events (ASEs). The DEGs were specifically enriched in cell adhesion pathways, whereas the ASE genes were predominantly associated with cell division and the cell cycle. Furthermore, we validated the expression of several genes related to proliferation, invasion, and migration, as well as the AS patterns. Specifically, the expression levels of CFHR1, KLF2, and RHOB were upregulated in the siSTAU1 samples, whereas the expression of MASTL and STC2 was downregulated. Additionally, the AS patterns of BIN1 and SNHG17 were abnormal, which was corroborated by PCR experiments. Our study suggests that STAU1 has oncogenic characteristics and may modulate these genes to influence the proliferation, invasion, and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells. This research offers new insights that may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of LUAD.

The expression of canopy FGF signaling regulator 2 serves as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator for NSCLC

BACKGROUND

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. The identification of new biomarkers is crucial for enhancing early detection and treatment outcomes. This study explores the role of Canopy FGF Signaling Regulator 2 (CNPY2) in NSCLC progression and its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

METHODS

CNPY2 expression was analyzed in 228 NSCLC tumor samples and adjacent normal tissues using quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA. Serum CNPY2 levels were also measured in 160 healthy controls and NSCLC patients. The relationship between CNPY2 expression and clinicopathological features, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, was assessed. Receiver operator curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic potential of serum CNPY2, while Kaplan-Meier survival analysis assessed its prognostic significance.

RESULTS

CNPY2 levels were significantly elevated in NSCLC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Higher CNPY2 expression was associated with larger tumor size, advanced T stage, and higher N stage. Furthermore, CNPY2 expression was positively correlated with Vimentin and N-cadherin, and negatively correlated with E-cadherin. Elevated serum CNPY2 levels in NSCLC patients demonstrated moderate diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the curve of 0.78. High CNPY2 expression was also linked to reduced overall survival (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

CNPY2 is markedly overexpressed in NSCLC and is associated with increased tumor aggressiveness and EMT. Serum CNPY2 shows promise as a non-invasive biomarker for NSCLC diagnosis, and elevated expression is correlated with a poorer prognosis. Thus, CNPY2 may serve as both a valuable biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.

The role of canopy family proteins: biological mechanism and disease function

Canopy family proteins are highly sequence-conserved proteins with an N-terminal hydrophobic signal sequence, a unique pattern of six cysteine residues characteristic of the saposin-like proteins, and a C-terminal putative endoplasmic reticulum retention signal sequence. At present, the known canopy family proteins are canopy fibroblast growth factor signaling regulator 1 (CNPY1), CNPY2, CNPY3, and CNPY4. Despite similar structures, canopy family proteins regulate complex signal networks to participate in various biological processes. They are involved in a wide range of diseases, including angiogenesis, abnormal immune responses, neurodevelopmental disorders, and the development of tumors. Here, we summarized the biological processes and influence on the disease of every CNPY family protein to elucidate potential biomarkers and point out the direction for future in-depth research.

Involvement of Kindlin-1 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Kindler syndrome (KS) is a rare genodermatosis resulting from loss-of-function mutations in FERMT1, the gene that encodes Kindlin-1. KS patients have a high propensity to develop aggressive and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Here we show in non-KS-associated patients that elevation of FERMT1 expression is increased in actinic keratoses compared to normal skin, with a further increase in cSCC supporting a pro-tumorigenic role in this population. In contrast, we show that loss of Kindlin-1 leads to increased SCC tumor growth in vivo and in 3D spheroids, which was associated with the development of a hypoxic tumor environment and increased glycolysis. The metalloproteinase Mmp13 was upregulated in Kindlin-1-depleted tumors, and increased expression of MMP13 was responsible for driving increased invasion of the Kindlin-1-depleted SCC cells. These results provide evidence that Kindlin-1 loss in SCC can promote invasion through the upregulation of MMP13, and offer novel insights into how Kindlin-1 loss leads to the development of a hypoxic environment that is permissive for tumor growth.

Construction of oxidative phosphorylation-related prognostic risk score model in uveal melanoma

BACKGROUND

Uveal melanoma (UVM) is a malignant intraocular tumor in adults. Targeting genes related to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) may play a role in anti-tumor therapy. However, the clinical significance of oxidative phosphorylation in UVM is unclear.

METHOD

The 134 OXPHOS-related genes were obtained from the KEGG pathway, the TCGA UVM dataset contained 80 samples, served as the training set, while GSE22138 and GSE39717 was used as the validation set. LASSO regression was carried out to identify OXPHOS-related prognostic genes. The coefficients obtained from Cox multivariate regression analysis were used to calculate a risk score, which facilitated the construction of a prognostic model. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, logrank test and ROC curve using the time "timeROC" package were conducted. The immune cell frequency in low- and high-risk group was analyzed through Cibersort tool. The specific genomic alterations were analyzed by "maftools" R package. The differential expressed genes between low- or high-risk group were analyzed and performed Gene Ontology (GO) and GSEA. Finally, we verified the function of CYC1 in UVM by gene silencing in vitro.

RESULTS

A total of 9 OXPHOS-related prognostic genes were identified, including NDUFB1, NDUFB8, ATP12A, NDUFA3, CYC1, COX6B1, ATP6V1G2, ATP4B and NDUFB4. The UVM prognostic risk model was constructed based on the 9 OXPHOS-related prognostic genes. The prognosis of patients in the high-risk group was poorer than low-risk group. Besides, the ROC curve demonstrated that the area under the curve of the model for predicting the 1 to 5-year survival rate of UVM patients were all more than 0.88. External validation in GSE22138 and GSE39717 dataset revealed that these 9 genes could also be utilized to evaluate and predict the overall survival of patients with UVM. The risk score levels related to immune cell frequency and specific genomic alterations. The DEGs between the low- and high- risk group were enriched in tumor OXPHOS and immune related pathway. In vitro experiments, CYC1 silencing significantly inhibited UVM cell proliferation and invasion, induced cell apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

In sum, a prognostic risk score model based on oxidative phosphorylation-related genes in UVM was developed to enhance understanding of the disease. This prognostic risk score model may help to find potential therapeutic targets for UVM patients. CYC1 acts as an oncogene role in UVM.

Expression pattern, prognostic value and potential microRNA silencing of FZD8 in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most widespread types of cancer affecting females, and therefore, early diagnosis is critical. BC is a complex heterogeneous disease affected by several key pathways. Among these, WNT proteins and their frizzled receptors (FZD) have been demonstrated to be crucial in regulating a number of cellular and molecular events in BC tumorigenesis. The role of the WNT receptor, FZD8, in BC has received minimal attention; for that reason, the present study examined the prognostic value of its protein expression pattern in a BC cohort. FZD8 cytoplasmic expression pattern analysis revealed that ~38% of the primary samples presented with a high expression profile, whereas ~63% of the samples had a low expression profile. Overall, ~46% of the malignant tissues in the lymph node-positive samples exhibited an increased FZD8 cytoplasmic expression, whereas 54% exhibited low expression levels. An increased expression of FZD8 was associated with several clinicopathological characteristics of the patients, including a low survival rate, tumor vascular invasion, tumor size and grade, and molecular subtypes. Affymetrix microarray triple-negative BC datasets were analyzed and compared with healthy breast tissues in order to predict the potential interfering microRNAs (miRNAs) in the WNT/FZD8 signaling pathway. A total of 29 miRNAs with the potential to interact with the WNT/FZD8 signaling pathway were identified, eight of which exhibited a significant prediction score. The target genes for each predicted miRNA were identified. On the whole, the findings of the present study suggest that FZD8 is a potential prognostic marker for BC, shedding some light onto the silencing mechanisms involved in the complex BC signaling.

Phosphomimicry on STAU1 Serine 20 Impairs STAU1 Posttranscriptional Functions and Induces Apoptosis in Human Transformed Cells

Staufen 1 (STAU1) is an RNA-binding protein that is essential in untransformed cells. In cancer cells, it is rather STAU1 overexpression that impairs cell proliferation. In this paper, we show that a modest increase in STAU1 expression in cancer cells triggers apoptosis as early as 12 h post-transfection and impairs proliferation in non-apoptotic cells for several days. Interestingly, a mutation that mimics the phosphorylation of STAU1 serine 20 is sufficient to cause these phenotypes, indicating that serine 20 is at the heart of the molecular mechanism leading to apoptosis. Mechanistically, phosphomimicry on serine 20 alters the ability of STAU1 to regulate translation and the decay of STAU1-bound mRNAs, indicating that the posttranscriptional regulation of mRNAs by STAU1 controls the balance between proliferation and apoptosis. Unexpectedly, the expression of RBD2S20D, the N-terminal 88 amino acids with no RNA-binding activity, is sufficient to induce apoptosis via alteration, in trans, of the posttranscriptional functions of endogenous STAU1. These results suggest that STAU1 is a sensor that controls the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis, and, therefore, may be considered as a novel therapeutic target against cancer.