MiR-216b regulates the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer by targeting PXN

Progerin Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Melanoma Cells by Regulating the Expression of Paxillin

Objective

Progerin, the underlying cause of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), has been extensively studied for its impact on normal cells and premature aging patients. However, there is a lack of research on its specific effects on tumor cells. Melanoma is one of the most common malignant tumors with high morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to elucidate the potential therapeutic role of progerin in melanoma.

Materials and Methods

We constructed the melanoma A375 cell line and M14 cell line with stable expression of progerin. The expression of progerin, paxillin, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker proteins in each cell group was measured using Western blot. The migration, proliferation, and cell cycle of cancer cells were assessed using the transwell assay, wound healing assay, colony formation assay, CCK 8 assay, and flow cytometry. RT-qPCR technology was used to examine the impact of progerin overexpression on microRNA expression. Finally, we transfected paxillin into the progerin overexpression cell group to verify whether progerin regulates the phenotype of tumor cells through paxillin.

Results

Our study demonstrated that overexpression of progerin leads to decreased expression of paxillin and inhibits cancer cell migration, proliferation, EMT process and cell cycle progression. Additionally, rescue experiments revealed that the migration, proliferation ability, and EMT marker protein expression in progerin overexpressing cancer cells could be partially restored by transfecting a plasmid containing the paxillin gene. Mechanistic investigations further revealed that progerin achieves this inhibition of paxillin expression by upregulating miR-212.

Conclusion

This study reveals that progerin may inhibit the migration and proliferation of melanoma cells through the miR-212/paxillin axis, which provides a new approach for the future treatment of this disease.

The Role of Paxillin Aberrant Expression in Cancer and Its Potential as a Target for Cancer Therapy

Paxillin is a multi-domain adaptor protein. As an important member of focal adhesion (FA) and a participant in regulating cell movement, paxillin plays an important role in physiological processes such as nervous system development, embryonic development, and vascular development. However, increasing evidence suggests that paxillin is aberrantly expressed in many cancers. Many scholars have also recognized that the abnormal expression of paxillin is related to the prognosis, metastases, invasion, survival, angiogenesis, and other aspects of malignant tumors, suggesting that paxillin may be a potential cancer therapeutic target. Therefore, the study of how aberrant paxillin expression affects the process of tumorigenesis and metastasis will help to develop more efficacious antitumor drugs. Herein, we review the structure of paxillin and its function and expression in tumors, paying special attention to the multifaceted effects of paxillin on tumors, the mechanism of tumorigenesis and progression, and its potential role in tumor therapy. We also hope to provide a reference for the clinical prognosis and development of new tumor therapeutic targets.

Identification and comparative analysis of miRNA transcriptomes after allograft and xenograft transplantation in Pinctada fucata martensii

Effective immune regulation after transplantation during pearl production is crucial for the cultivation of high-quality pearls. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in a variety of physiological processes. To understand the regulatory rules of miRNAs after transplantation in Pinctada funcata martensii, we constructed 13 miRNA transcriptomes, including the control group (Con), allograft (Al), and xenograft (Xe) transplantation at six time points (6, 12, and 24 h and 3, 6, and 12 days), in which the xenografted mantle tissue was from Pinctada maxima. We identified 159 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) and found that these DEMs showed high expression at 12 h, 24 h, and 3 days after transplantation. A total of 130 DEMs, such as Let-7, were present in the Al and Xe groups; miR-34 and 16 other DEMs were specifically present in the Al group; miR-216b and 13 other DEMs were specifically present in the Xe group. Compared with the Con group, the target genes of DEMs in the Al group were significantly enriched in protein complex, cytoskeleton, and macromolecular complex, and the Xe group was significantly enriched in ribonucleoside metabolic process, nucleoside binding, and cell division. Compared with the Al group, the target genes in the Xe group were significantly enriched in response to DNA damage stimulation. Overall, multiple pathways associated with cellular activity were enriched in higher numbers of genes in the Xe group than in the Al group. These findings enriched the information on immune regulatory mechanisms at the expression level of miRNAs in P. f. martensii after transplantation.

Identification of m7G Methylation-Related miRNA Signature Associated with Survival and Immune Microenvironment Regulation in Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma

Background. N7-methylguanosine (m7G) has been implicated in the development of cancer. The role of m7G-related miRNAs in the survival prediction of UCEC patients has not been investigated. Current research was the first to construct an m7G-related miRNA model to accurately predict the survival of patients with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) and to explore immune cell infiltration and immune activity in the tumor microenvironment. Methods. RNA-seq data and clinical information of UCEC patients were derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Using the TargetScan online database, we predicted miRNAs linked to the m7G-related genes and identified miRNAs which were significantly associated with the survival in UCEC patients and constructed a risk scoring model. The TCGA-UCEC cases were scored according to the risk model, and the high- and low-risk groups were divided by the median risk value. Gene enrichment analysis and immune cell infiltration and immune function analysis were performed using “clusterProfiler” and “GSVA” packages in R. Results. The survival prediction model consisted of 9 miRNAs, namely, hsa-miR-1301, hsa-miR-940, hsa-miR-592, hsa-miR-3170, hsa-miR-876, hsa-miR-215, hsa-miR-934, hsa-miR-3920, and hsa-miR-216b. Survival of UCEC patients in the high-risk group was worse than that in the low-risk group ( $p<0.001$ ). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the model had good predictive performance, and the area under the curve was 0.800, 0.690, and 0.705 for 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival predictions, respectively. There were differences in the degree of immune cell infiltration and immune activity between the low-risk and high-risk groups. The expression levels of the identified differentially expressed genes correlated with the susceptibility to multiple anticancer drugs. Conclusions. The survival prediction model constructed based on 9 m7G-related miRNAs had good predictive performance.