CircTMTC1 contributes to nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression through targeting miR-495-MET-eIF4G1 translational regulation axis

Prognostic value of TMTC1 in pan-cancer analysis

Background

Transmembrane and tetratricopeptide repeat containing 1 (TMTC1) is a recently discovered enzyme involved in the O-mannosylation of cadherins and protocadherins. It has been implicated in various types of cancer, but the overall prognostic significance of TMTC1 in pan-cancer and its potential as an immunotherapeutic target remain unclear.

Methods

We applied various bioinformatics methods to investigate the potential oncogenic roles of TMTC1 using public databases. This analysis involved examining the expression, prognosis, genetic alterations, immune infiltration, immunotherapy response, drug sensitivity, and regulatory mechanisms of the TMTC1 gene in diverse cancer types.

Results

In this study, we observed that TMTC1 expression is reduced in 19 types of cancer (ACC, BLCA, BRCA, CESC, COAD, ESCA, GBM, KICH, KIRC, KIRP, LAML, LUAD, LUSC, PRAD, READ, STAD, THCA, UCEC, and UCS) compared to normal tissues. Conversely, TMTC1 expression is elevated in OV and PAAD relative to normal tissues. Moreover, our analysis revealed that high expression of TMTC1 was associated with worse overall survival (OS) outcomes in patients with ACC, BLCA, COAD, GBM, KIRP, OV, STAD, and UCEC, but better OS outcomes in patients with CESC, KIRC, LUSC, and PAAD. Notably, patients with TMTC1 mutations or deep deletions demonstrated longer OS, while those with TMTC1 amplification showed shorter OS. There was a significant correlation between the expression level of TMTC1 and the infiltration of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and endothelial cells. Using data from six real-world immunotherapy cohorts of BLCA, SKCM and RCC, we discovered that high TMTC1 expression was associated with better OS or progression-free survival (PFS). Lastly, through TMTC1-related gene enrichment analysis, some biological processes and pathways were found to be significantly enriched, such as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling pathway and ECM-receptor interaction.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates the prognostic significance of TMTC1 in pan-cancer and highlights its potential as an immunotherapeutic target.

RETRACTION: CircRNA EPHB4 modulates stem properties and proliferation of gliomas via sponging miR-637 and up-regulating SOX10

Retraction: C. Jin, J. Zhao, Z-P. Zhang, M. Wu, J. Li, B. Liu, X-B. Liao, Y-X. Liao, and J-P. Liu, "CircRNA EPHB4 modulates stem properties and proliferation of gliomas via sponging miR-637 and up-regulating SOX10," Molecular Oncology 15, no. 2 (2020): 596-622, https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.12830. The above article, version of record published online on 16 December 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Kevin Ryan; FEBS Press; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The journal began an investigation following a report from a third party regarding image duplication in Figure 14H between this article and the following articles: Gong et al. [1] and Zhao, et al. [2]. The authors did not respond to requests by the journal and the publisher for original data and an explanation. The retraction has been agreed because the evidence of image duplication across other articles substantially compromises the conclusions of the article. The authors did not respond to our notice of retraction. References [1] H. Gong, Y. Tao, S. Xiao, X. Li, K. Fang, J. Wen, P. He, and Ming, Z. "LncRNA KIAA0087 suppresses the progression of osteosarcoma by mediating the SOCS1/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway," Experimental & Molecular Medicine 55 (2023): 831-843, https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-023-00972-8. [2] Y. Zhao, C. Li, Y. Zhang, and Z. Li. "CircTMTC1 contributes to nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression through targeting miR-495-MET-eIF4G1 translational regulation axis," Cell Death & Disease 13, no. 250 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-022-04686-z.

MicroRNA-495: a therapeutic and diagnostic tumor marker

Therapeutic and diagnostic progresses have significantly reduced the mortality rate among cancer patients during the last decade. However, there is still a high rate of mortality among cancer patients. One of the important reasons involved in the high mortality rate is the late diagnosis in advanced tumor stages that causes the failure of therapeutic strategies in these patients. Therefore, investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in tumor progression has an important role in introducing the efficient early detection markers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as stable factors in body fluids are always considered as non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic markers. In the present review, we investigated the role of miR-495 in tumor progression. It has been reported that miR-495 has mainly a tumor suppressor function through the regulation of transcription factors and tyrosine kinases as well as cellular processes such as multidrug resistance, chromatin remodeling, and signaling pathways. This review can be an effective step towards introducing the miR-495 as a non-invasive diagnostic/prognostic marker as well as a suitable target in tumor therapy.

LINC02870 facilitates SNAIL translation to promote hepatocellular carcinoma progression

Exploring the roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumorigenesis and metastasis could contribute to the recognition of novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets. LINC02870 is a novel lncRNA, whose role in tumors has not been reported. Herein, we focused on the function and mechanism of LINC02870 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We first carried out a pan-cancer study of LINC02870 expression and its relationship to prognosis, and LINC02870 was determined to be a possible oncogene in HCC. Upregulated expressions of LINC02870 were also found in our HCC samples compared to the para-tumor samples. Moreover, overexpression of LINC02870 promoted the growth, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Subsequently, binding proteins of LINC02870 were identified by a number of in silico analyses, including correlation analysis, signaling network analysis, and survival analysis. Intriguingly, the most promising binding protein of LINC02870 was predicted and confirmed to be eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma 1 (EIF4G1), an important component of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F complex that initiates cap-dependent translation. Further investigation showed that LINC02870 increased the translation of SNAIL to induce malignant phenotypes in HCC cells. Additionally, HCC patients with higher expression levels of LINC02870 and EIF4G1 had shorter survival times than those with lower expression levels. Thus, our findings suggested that LINC02870 induced SNAIL translation and correlated with poor prognosis and tumor progression in HCC.

Predicting AURKA as a novel therapeutic target for NPC: A comprehensive analysis based on bioinformatics and validation

This study comprehensively explored the clinical function of Aurora kinase A (AURKA) gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and analyzed its potential as a therapeutic target in cancer. Data were downloaded from GEO, STRING, GTEx, and CellMiner databases, and subjected to multiple bioinformatic analyses, including differential expression analysis, WCGNA, gene ontology (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), gene set variation analysis (GSVA), miRNA-hub gene regulatory network analysis, immune cell infiltration, and drug sensitivity analysis. In-depth analysis of AURKA gene expression in NPC and its corresponding clinicopathological features was performed to explore its potential as a therapeutic target. Moreover, AURKA gene expression in NPC was validated by qRT-PCR in 21 NPC tissues and 17 normal nasopharyngeal epithelial tissues. AURKA was highly expressed in NPC tissues. Enrichment analysis of AURKA and its co-expressed hub genes indicated their oncogenic role in NPC and their potential involvement in cancer-promoting processes through histone kinase activity and microtubule motility activity, cell cycle, and p53 signaling pathways. AURKA high expression group had greater infiltration of neutrophils, macrophages M2, and dendritic cells resting and less infiltration of T cells CD4⁺ naïve and T cells γδ. Drug susceptibility analysis found that dacarbazine, R-306465, vorinostat, and other antitumor drugs that act on the cell cycle were closely related to AURKA. qRT-PCR verified the high expression of AURKA in NPC tissues (p < 0.05). We confirmed upregulation of AURKA in NPC tissues. Our results support an oncogenic role of AURKA in the context of NPC, and indicate its potential role as a novel therapeutic target.