Emerging roles of CircRNA-miRNA networks in cancer development and therapeutic response

Advances in the study of epithelial mesenchymal transition in cancer progression: Role of miRNAs

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been extensively studied for its roles in tumor metastasis, the generation and maintenance of cancer stem cells and treatment resistance. Epithelial mesenchymal plasticity allows cells to switch between various states within the epithelial-mesenchymal spectrum, resulting in a mixed epithelial/mesenchymal phenotypic profile. This plasticity underlies the acquisition of multiple malignant features during cancer progression and poses challenges for EMT in tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the microenvironment affect numerous signaling processes through diverse mechanisms, influencing physiological activities. This paper reviews recent advances in EMT, the role of different hybrid states in tumor progression, and the important role of miRNAs in EMT. Furthermore, it explores the relationship between miRNA-based EMT therapies and their implications for clinical practice, discussing how ongoing developments may enhance therapeutic outcomes.

The SOX gene superfamily in oncogenesis: unraveling links to ncRNAs, key pathways, chemoresistance, and gene editing approaches

While drug resistance remains the leading cause of treatment failure, chemotherapy continues to be a crucial aspect of cancer therapy. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression through various methods, including transcriptional, translational, chromatin remodeling, and epigenetic mechanisms. The SRY-related high mobility group box (HMGB) family contains 20 transcription factors with a well-recognized HMG domain, and an inappropriate regulation of SOX family members is associated with many of the phenotypes of cancer, such as tumor invasion, metastasis, proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stemness, and drug resistance. This association arises because SOX family members can regulate cell fate decisions. While many articles have reported on the functionalities and activities of the SOX family, it is not clear their involvement in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and the seeming contrast they can have on tumors. This study elucidates the relationship between the SOX family and ncRNAs, specifically emphasizing lncRNAs. This review article highlights the potential roles of the SOX family in cancer. It presents new therapeutic options for treating cancer, outlining the physiological roles of the SOX family and the various roles they have in tumors.

Deciphering the role of circular RNAs in cancer progression under hypoxic conditions

Hypoxia, characterized by reduced oxygen levels, plays a pivotal role in cancer progression, profoundly influencing tumor behavior and therapeutic responses. A hallmark of solid tumors, hypoxia drives significant metabolic adaptations in cancer cells, primarily mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a key transcription factor activated in low-oxygen conditions. This hypoxic environment promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), enhancing cancer cell migration, metastasis, and the development of cancer stem cell-like properties, which contribute to therapy resistance. Moreover, hypoxia modulates the expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs), leading to their accumulation in the tumor microenvironment. These hypoxia-responsive circRNAs regulate gene expression and cellular processes critical for cancer progression, making them promising candidates for diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in various cancers. This review delves into the intricate interplay between hypoxic circRNAs, microRNAs, and RNA-binding proteins, emphasizing their role as molecular sponges that modulate gene expression and signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. It also explores the relationship between circRNAs and the tumor microenvironment, particularly how hypoxia influences their expression and functional dynamics. Additionally, the review highlights the potential of circRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic tools, as well as their therapeutic applications in innovative cancer treatments. By consolidating current knowledge, this review underscores the critical role of circRNAs in cancer biology and paves the way for future research aimed at harnessing their unique properties for clinical advancements. Specifically, this review examines the biogenesis, expression patterns, and mechanistic actions of hypoxic circRNAs, focusing on their ability to act as molecular sponges for microRNAs and their interactions with RNA-binding proteins. These interactions impact key signaling pathways related to tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance, offering new insights into the complex regulatory networks governed by circRNAs under hypoxic stress.

The role of circular RNA in immune response to tuberculosis and its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a new type of non-coding RNA that has gained significant attention in recent years, especially in tuberculosis research. Tuberculosis poses a major global public health threat. Its complex pathological mechanisms and worsening drug resistance urgently necessitate new research breakthroughs. The role of circRNA in mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is being gradually revealed, highlighting its importance in regulating gene expression, immune response, and inflammation. Additionally, researchers are interested in circRNA because of its potential for early tuberculosis diagnosis and its role as a biomarker. This article systematically analyzes existing literature to provide new insights into early tuberculosis diagnosis and personalized treatment. We also emphasize the need for future research to enhance the application of circRNA in tuberculosis prevention and control.

Non-coding RNAs in thoracic disease: Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with increasing incidence and poor survival rates, primarily due to late-stage diagnosis. This cancer often develops from Barrett's Esophagus (BE), a precancerous condition linked to chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The transition from BE to EAC is a complex multistep process involving numerous genetic, epigenetic, and molecular changes that lead to the malignant transformation of the esophageal epithelium. Despite advancements in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying EAC, early detection and effective treatment options remain limited, highlighting an urgent need for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Recent research has focused on non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which play crucial roles in regulating gene expression and cellular processes relevant to cancer progression. Various types of ncRNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, have been implicated in the development of BE and EAC by modulating key signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin and NF-κB. Additionally, ncRNAs are stable in biological fluids, presenting opportunities for their use as non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and monitoring of EAC. This review aims to elucidate the involvement of ncRNAs in the progression from BE to EAC, their potential as therapeutic targets, and their emerging roles in intercellular communication. We will also discuss the challenges in translating ncRNA research into clinical applications, emphasizing their promise in revolutionizing early detection and treatment strategies for EAC.

Regulation of immune-mediated chemoresistance in cancer by lncRNAs: an in-depth review of signaling pathways

Resistance to cancer therapies is increasingly recognized as being influenced by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are pivotal in regulating cellular functions and gene expression. Elucidating the intricate relationship between lncRNAs and the mechanisms underlying drug resistance is critical for advancing effective therapeutic strategies. This study offers an in-depth review of the regulatory roles lncRNAs play in various signaling and immunological pathways implicated in cancer chemoresistance. lncRNA-mediated influence on drug resistance-related signaling pathways will be presented, including immune evasion mechanisms and other essential signaling cascades. Furthermore, the interplay between lncRNAs and the immune landscape will be dissected, illustrating their substantial impact on the development of chemoresistance. Overall, the potential of lncRNA-mediated signaling networks as a therapeutic strategy to combat cancer resistance has been highlighted. This review reiterates the fundamental role of lncRNAs in chemoresistance and proposes promising avenues for future research and the development of targeted therapeutic interventions.

Unraveling the mechanisms of glioblastoma's resistance: investigating the influence of tumor suppressor p53 and non-coding RNAs

Glioblastoma (GB) is one of the most fatal CNS malignancies, and its high resistance to therapy and poor outcomes have made it one of the primary challenges in oncology. Resistance to standard therapy, i.e., radio-chemotherapy with temozolomide, is one of the principal causes of the poor prognostic outcomes of GB. Finding the molecular basis of GB resistance to therapy is key to creating effective solution approaches. The general problem of GB resistance is supervised by cancer suppressive protein, p53, and has become a very special interest in molecular research in recent decades. The principal aim of this manuscript is to perform a comprehensive survey on the complex network of interactions developed by p53 with non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) in the context of GB resistance. The present article details the functional aspects of p53 as a cellular stress response protein, including its roles in apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, and DNA repair in glioblastoma (GB), along with the disruption of p53 and its involvement in chemoresistance (CR). It also highlights several classes of ncRNAs, namely microRNAs, long ncRNAs, and circular RNAs, that manipulate p53 signaling in GB-CR. The article likewise explains how disruption in the expression of these ncRNAs can promote GB-CR and how it interacts with essential cellular functions, such as proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA repair. The manuscript also describes the potential of targeting p53 and ncRNAs with their diagnostic and prognostic potential as novel promising therapeutics for GB. Nevertheless, ncRNA-based biomarkers still present challenges for their suitability in GB resistance. However, modern research continues to discover novel prediction targets, potentially enhancing patient outcomes and therapeutic options. Therefore, the neutralization of this intricate regulatory network of GB resistance might have a primary clinical effect in fighting GB resistance therapy and thus might lead to a substantial increase in patient survival and quality of life.

Advancing the next generation of cancer treatment with circular RNAs in CAR-T cell therapy

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, its effectiveness against solid tumors remains constrained by challenges such as T-cell exhaustion, limited persistence, and off-target effects. These challenges highlight critical gaps in current CAR-T cell therapeutic strategies, particularly for solid tumor applications. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a transformative class of non-coding RNAs, known for their exceptional stability and precise regulatory functions, positioning them as promising candidates for enhancing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies. Notably, circRNAs can bridge the gap between preclinical research and clinical application by offering innovative solutions to overcome technical hurdles and improve therapeutic outcomes. Despite their potential, circRNAs remain underexplored in clinical application of CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumors, presenting a significant opportunity for innovation. The mechanisms through which circRNAs modulate CAR-T cell exhaustion, persistence, and tumor specificity are not yet fully understood, and technical challenges, such as achieving efficient and targeted circRNA delivery, which still need to be addressed. This review highlights the importance of integrating circRNAs into CAR-T cell therapy to enhance specificity, minimize off-target effects, and improve therapeutic durability. By emphasizing the innovative potential of circRNAs and identifying key research gaps, this review provides a roadmap for advancing CAR-T cell therapy and setting the stage for the next generation of personalized cancer treatments.

LUCAT1-Mediated Competing Endogenous RNA (ceRNA) Network in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease comprising multiple molecularly distinct subtypes with varied prevalence, prognostics, and treatment strategies. Among them, triple-negative breast cancer, though the least prevalent, is the most aggressive subtype, with limited therapeutic options. Recent emergence of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks has highlighted how long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRs), and mRNA orchestrate a complex interplay meticulously modulating mRNA functionality. Focusing on TNBC, this study aimed to construct a ceRNA network using differentially expressed lncRNAs, miRs, and mRNAs. We queried the differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) between TNBC and luminal samples and found 389 upregulated and 386 downregulated lncRNAs, including novel transcripts in TNBC. DElncRNAs were further evaluated for their clinical, functional, and mechanistic relevance to TNBCs using the lnc2cancer 3.0 database, which presented LUCAT1 (lung cancer-associated transcript 1) as a putative node. Next, the ceRNA network (lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA) of LUCAT1 was established. Several miRNA-mRNA connections of LUCAT1 implicated in regulating stemness (LUCAT1-miR-375-Yap1, LUCAT1-miR181-5p-Wnt, LUCAT1-miR-199a-5p-ZEB1), apoptosis (LUCAT1-miR-181c-5p-Bcl2), drug efflux (LUCAT1-miR-200c-ABCB1, LRP1, MRP5, MDR1), and sheddase activities (LUCAT1-miR-493-5p-ADAM10) were identified, indicating an intricate regulatory mechanism of LUCAT1 in TNBC. Indeed, LUCAT1 silencing led to mitigated cell growth, migration, and stem-like features in TNBC. This work sheds light on the LUCAT1 ceRNA network in TNBC and implies its involvement in TNBC growth and progression.