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Wang ZY, Ge LP, Ouyang Y, Jin X, Jiang YZ. Targeting transposable elements in cancer: developments and opportunities. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2024; 1879:189143. [PMID: 38936517 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2024.189143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs), comprising nearly 50% of the human genome, have transitioned from being perceived as "genomic junk" to key players in cancer progression. Contemporary research links TE regulatory disruptions with cancer development, underscoring their therapeutic potential. Advances in long-read sequencing, computational analytics, single-cell sequencing, proteomics, and CRISPR-Cas9 technologies have enriched our understanding of TEs' clinical implications, notably their impact on genome architecture, gene regulation, and evolutionary processes. In cancer, TEs, including long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1), Alus, and long terminal repeat (LTR) elements, demonstrate altered patterns, influencing both tumorigenic and tumor-suppressive mechanisms. TE-derived nucleic acids and tumor antigens play critical roles in tumor immunity, bridging innate and adaptive responses. Given their central role in oncology, TE-targeted therapies, particularly through reverse transcriptase inhibitors and epigenetic modulators, represent a novel avenue in cancer treatment. Combining these TE-focused strategies with existing chemotherapy or immunotherapy regimens could enhance efficacy and offer a new dimension in cancer treatment. This review delves into recent TE detection advancements, explores their multifaceted roles in tumorigenesis and immune regulation, discusses emerging diagnostic and therapeutic approaches centered on TEs, and anticipates future directions in cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Yu Wang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Li-Ping Ge
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yang Ouyang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Xi Jin
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yi-Zhou Jiang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
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Park J, Nam DH, Kim D, Chung YJ. RPS24 alternative splicing is a marker of cancer progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13246. [PMID: 38853173 PMCID: PMC11162997 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63976-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Although alternative splicing (AS) is a major mechanism that adds diversity to gene expression patterns, its precise role in generating variability in ribosomal proteins, known as ribosomal heterogeneity, remains unclear. The ribosomal protein S24 (RPS24) gene, encoding a ribosomal component, undergoes AS; however, in-depth studies have been challenging because of three microexons between exons 4 and 6. We conducted a detailed analysis of RPS24 AS isoforms using a direct approach to investigate the splicing junctions related to these microexons, focusing on four AS isoforms. Each of these isoforms showed tissue specificity and relative differences in expression among cancer types. Significant differences in the proportions of these RPS24 AS isoforms between cancerous and normal tissues across diverse cancer types were also observed. Our study highlighted a significant correlation between the expression levels of a specific RPS24 AS isoform and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in lung and breast cancers. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing AS of ribosomal protein genes and highlights the biological implications of RPS24 AS isoforms in tissue development and tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiyeon Park
- Precision Medicine Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Da Hae Nam
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dokyeong Kim
- Precision Medicine Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedicine and Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeun-Jun Chung
- Precision Medicine Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Integrated Research Center for Genome Polymorphism, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Matharu N, Zhao J, Sohota A, Deng L, Hung Y, Li Z, Sims J, Rattanasopha S, Meyer J, Carbone L, Kircher M, Ahituv N. Massively parallel jumping assay decodes Alu retrotransposition activity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.16.589814. [PMID: 38659854 PMCID: PMC11042287 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.16.589814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The human genome contains millions of retrotransposons, several of which could become active due to somatic mutations having phenotypic consequences, including disease. However, it is not thoroughly understood how nucleotide changes in retrotransposons affect their jumping activity. Here, we developed a novel massively parallel jumping assay (MPJA) that can test the jumping potential of thousands of transposons en masse. We generated nucleotide variant library of selected four Alu retrotransposons containing 165,087 different haplotypes and tested them for their jumping ability using MPJA. We found 66,821 unique jumping haplotypes, allowing us to pinpoint domains and variants vital for transposition. Mapping these variants to the Alu-RNA secondary structure revealed stem-loop features that contribute to jumping potential. Combined, our work provides a novel high-throughput assay that assesses the ability of retrotransposons to jump and identifies nucleotide changes that have the potential to reactivate them in the human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navneet Matharu
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ajuni Sohota
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Linbei Deng
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yan Hung
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Zizheng Li
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jasmine Sims
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sawitree Rattanasopha
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Josh Meyer
- Department of Medicine, Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lucia Carbone
- Department of Medicine, Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Martin Kircher
- Berlin Institute of Health of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10178, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Phon BWS, Bhuvanendran S, Ayub Q, Radhakrishnan AK, Kamarudin MNA. Identification of Prominent Genes between 3D Glioblastoma Models and Clinical Samples via GEO/TCGA/CGGA Data Analysis. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12050648. [PMID: 37237462 DOI: 10.3390/biology12050648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
A paradigm shift in preclinical evaluations of new anticancer GBM drugs should occur in favour of 3D cultures. This study leveraged the vast genomic data banks to investigate the suitability of 3D cultures as cell-based models for GBM. We hypothesised that correlating genes that are highly upregulated in 3D GBM models will have an impact in GBM patients, which will support 3D cultures as more reliable preclinical models for GBM. Using clinical samples of brain tissue from healthy individuals and GBM patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, several genes related to pathways such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes (CD44, TWIST1, SNAI1, CDH2, FN1, VIM), angiogenesis/migration-related genes (MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, VEGFA), hypoxia-related genes (HIF1A, PLAT), stemness-related genes (SOX2, PROM1, NES, FOS), and genes involved in the Wnt signalling pathway (DKK1, FZD7) were found to be upregulated in brain samples from GBM patients, and the expression of these genes were also enhanced in 3D GBM cells. Additionally, EMT-related genes were upregulated in GBM archetypes (wild-type IDH1R132 ) that historically have poorer treatment responses, with said genes being significant predictors of poorer survival in the TCGA cohort. These findings reinforced the hypothesis that 3D GBM cultures can be used as reliable models to study increased epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions in clinical GBM samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Wee Siang Phon
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
| | - Saatheeyavaane Bhuvanendran
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
| | - Qasim Ayub
- School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
- Monash University Malaysia Genomics Facility, Monash University, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
- Tropical Medicine and Biology Multidisciplinary Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
| | - Ammu Kutty Radhakrishnan
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
| | - Muhamad Noor Alfarizal Kamarudin
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
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Meta-Analysis of RNA-Seq Datasets Identifies Novel Players in Glioblastoma. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14235788. [PMID: 36497269 PMCID: PMC9737249 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14235788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma is a devastating grade IV glioma with poor prognosis. Identification of predictive molecular biomarkers of disease progression would substantially contribute to better disease management. In the current study, we performed a meta-analysis of different RNA-seq datasets to identify differentially expressed protein-coding genes (PCGs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). This meta-analysis aimed to improve power and reproducibility of the individual studies while identifying overlapping disease-relevant pathways. We supplemented the meta-analysis with small RNA-seq on glioblastoma tissue samples to provide an overall transcriptomic view of glioblastoma. Co-expression correlation of filtered differentially expressed PCGs and lncRNAs identified a functionally relevant sub-cluster containing DANCR and SNHG6, with two novel lncRNAs and two novel PCGs. Small RNA-seq of glioblastoma tissues identified five differentially expressed microRNAs of which three interacted with the functionally relevant sub-cluster. Pathway analysis of this sub-cluster identified several glioblastoma-linked pathways, which were also previously associated with the novel cell death pathway, ferroptosis. In conclusion, the current meta-analysis strengthens evidence of an overarching involvement of ferroptosis in glioblastoma pathogenesis and also suggests some candidates for further analyses.
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Emblem Å, Knutsen E, Jørgensen TE, Fure H, Johansen SD, Brekke OL, Mollnes TE, Karlsen BO. Blood Transcriptome Analysis of Septic Patients Reveals a Long Non-Coding Alu-RNA in the Complement C5a Receptor 1 Gene. Noncoding RNA 2022; 8:ncrna8020024. [PMID: 35447887 PMCID: PMC9027897 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna8020024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Many severe inflammation conditions are complement-dependent with the complement component C5a-C5aR1 axis as an important driver. At the RNA level, the blood transcriptome undergoes programmed expression of coding and long non-coding RNAs to combat invading microorganisms. Understanding the expression of long non-coding RNAs containing Alu elements in inflammation is important for reconstructing cell fate trajectories leading to severe disease. We have assembled a pipeline for computation mining of new Alu-containing long non-coding RNAs by intersecting immune genes with known Alu coordinates in the human genome. By applying the pipeline to patient bulk RNA-seq data with sepsis, we found immune genes containing 48 Alu insertion as robust candidates for further study. Interestingly, 1 of the 48 candidates was located within the complement system receptor gene C5aR1 and holds promise as a target for RNA therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Åse Emblem
- Research Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nordland Hospital Trust, 8005 Bodø, Norway; (Å.E.); (H.F.); (O.-L.B.); (T.E.M.)
| | - Erik Knutsen
- Department of Medical Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway;
| | - Tor Erik Jørgensen
- Genomics Division—FBA, Nord University, 8026 Bodø, Norway; (T.E.J.); (S.D.J.)
| | - Hilde Fure
- Research Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nordland Hospital Trust, 8005 Bodø, Norway; (Å.E.); (H.F.); (O.-L.B.); (T.E.M.)
| | | | - Ole-Lars Brekke
- Research Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nordland Hospital Trust, 8005 Bodø, Norway; (Å.E.); (H.F.); (O.-L.B.); (T.E.M.)
- Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
- Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Tom Eirik Mollnes
- Research Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nordland Hospital Trust, 8005 Bodø, Norway; (Å.E.); (H.F.); (O.-L.B.); (T.E.M.)
- Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Bård Ove Karlsen
- Research Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nordland Hospital Trust, 8005 Bodø, Norway; (Å.E.); (H.F.); (O.-L.B.); (T.E.M.)
- Correspondence:
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