Long non-coding RNA 00960 promoted the aggressiveness of lung adenocarcinoma via the miR-124a/SphK1 axis

Abnormal expression of miR-668-3p in non-small cell lung cancer patients and its correlation with serum-related tumor markers

BACKGROUND

The accuracy and reliability of identified biomarkers in differentiating early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain suboptimal, thereby impeding the timely detection of NSCLC.The objective of this research is to examine the expression level and diagnostic utility of miR-668-3p in individuals with NSCLC, along with its effectiveness and predictive capacity in the combined diagnosis of early-stage NSCLC using serum markers.

METHODS

The research included 117 NSCLC patients and 101 pulmonary nodule patients (controls). Quantitative PCR was employed to assess the expression levels of miR-668-3p in NSCLC patients. The association between miR-668-3p and clinical characteristics and serum biomarker (AFP, CEA, NSE, and CYFRA21-1) levels in NSCLC patients was examined using chi-square tests and Pearson correlation analyses. The ROC curve analysis was conducted to determine the individual and combined diagnostic efficacy of miR-668-3p and serum biomarkers. Additionally, a logistic regression model was utilized to identify risk factors for lung cancer in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

RESULTS

The expression level of miR-668-3p was down-regulated in early-stage NSCLC patients compared with the control group, and showed a significant association with serum biomarkers related with disease progression, tumor staging, and lymph node metastasis. The combined detection of miR-668-3p and serum markers demonstrated robust diagnostic efficacy for early NSCLC and effective predictive capabilities for lung cancer occurrence in individuals with pulmonary nodules.

CONCLUSIONS

The miR-668-3p has the potential to be a promising biomarker for NSCLC and enhance the accuracy of early NSCLC clinical detection.

Long non-coding RNAs-sphingolipid metabolism nexus: Potential targets for cancer treatment

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as pivotal regulators of cancer pathogenesis, influencing various cellular processes and contributing to tumorigenesis. Sphingolipid metabolism has garnered interest as a potential target for cancer therapy owing to its considerable diagnostic and prognostic value. Recent studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs regulate tumor-associated metabolic reprogramming via sphingolipid metabolism. However, the precise nature of the interactions between lncRNAs and sphingolipid metabolism remains unclear. This review summarizes the key roles of lncRNAs and sphingolipid metabolism in tumorigenesis. We emphasize that the interaction between lncRNAs and sphingolipid metabolism influences their impact on both cancer prognosis and drug resistance. These findings suggest that lncRNA-sphingolipid metabolism interaction holds great potential as a newl target for cancer treatment.

Long noncoding RNA profiling unveils LINC00960 as unfavorable prognostic biomarker promoting triple negative breast cancer progression

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in breast cancer pathogenesis, including Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) subtype. Identifying the lncRNA expression patterns across different breast cancer subtypes could provide valuable insights into their potential utilization as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this study, we profiled lncRNA expression in 96 breast cancer cases, revealing significant differences compared to normal breast tissue. Variations across breast cancer subtypes, including Hormone Receptor-positive (HR + ), HER2-positive (HER2 + ), HER2 + HR + , and TNBC, as well as in relation to tumor grade and patients' age at diagnosis were observed. TNBC and HER2+ subtypes showed distinct clustering, while HER2 + HR+ tumors clustered closer to HR+ tumors based on their lncRNA profiles. Our data identified numerous enriched lncRNAs in TNBC, notably the elevated expression of LINC00960, which was subsequently validated in two additional datasets. Analysis of LINC00960 expression in an independent TNBC cohort (n = 360) revealed elevated expression of LINC00960 to correlate with cell movement, invasion, proliferation, and migration functional categories. Depletion of LINC00960 significantly reduced TNBC cell viability, colony formation, migration, and three-dimensional growth, while increasing cell death. Mechanistically, transcriptomic profiling of LINC00960-depleted cells confirmed its tumor-promoting role, likely through sponging of hsa-miR-34a-5p, hsa-miR-16-5p, and hsa-miR-183-5p, leading to the upregulation of cancer-promoting genes including BMI1, KRAS, and AKT3. Our findings highlight the distinct lncRNA expression patterns in breast cancer subtypes and underscore the crucial role for LINC00960 in promoting TNBC pathogenesis, suggesting its potential utilization as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target.

LINC00960 affects osteosarcoma treatment and prognosis by regulating the tumor immune microenvironment

Background

Osteosarcoma (OS), the commonest primary malignant bone tumor, is mainly seen in children and teenagers. LINC00960, a newly discovered long intergenic non-protein coding RNA, has been shown to be important in certain cancers. The objective of this study was to assess LINC00960's prognostic and therapeutic value and analyze its mechanism of action in osteosarcoma.

Methods

With the transcriptome information of 85 osteosarcomas from the TARGET database, the Cox regression analyses, K-M curve, and ROC curve, were conducted for survival and prognostic analysis. The functional analysis was conducted using GO, KEGG, GSEA, and GSVA. The ESTIMATE, ssGSEA, MCP-counter, ImmuCellAI algorithms, and immune checkpoint correlation analysis were performed for immune-related analysis. The single-cell RNA sequencing data of 6 osteosarcoma patients was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion algorithm and the "pRRophetic" R package were performed to predict the response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Results

LINC00960 overexpression is associated with osteosarcoma metastasis and poor prognosis. Based on the LINC00960 expression, the nomogram prediction model was created, which showed good accuracy and precision to predict the overall survival of osteosarcoma. Single-cell and immune-related analysis showed that LINC00960 is mainly highly expressed in the tumor-exhausted CD8 T cells in osteosarcoma. In osteosarcoma, the expression of LIC00960 was favorably connected with immune checkpoint-related genes and negatively correlated with immune infiltration. TIDE analysis indicated that low LINC00960 expression patients might have a better response to immunotherapy. Drug sensitivity analysis showed that high LINC00960 expression patients might have better responses to Bleomycin and Doxorubicin.

Conclusion

LINC00960 has the potential to be a novel biomarker for predicting overall survival in osteosarcoma patients and to guide more individualized treatment and clinical decision-making.

Down-regulation of key regulatory factors in sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway in human lung fibroblasts transfected with selected microRNAs

Sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) is involved in the pathogenesis of asthma by stimulation of the alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression and remodeling of fibroblasts. This study was designed to determine the effects of selected micro RNAs in regulation of S1P and related metabolic pathways in a human lung fibroblast cell line. The fibroblast cell line (CIRC-HLF, C580) was cultured and transfected with individual viral vectors carrying miR124, mi125b, mi133b or mi130a. After 48 hours, expression level of miRNAs and their target genes, sphingosine kinase 1(SPHK1), sphingosine 1-phosphate lyase 1 (SGPL1), sphingosine 1- phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) and sphingosine 1- phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2) were determined. Expression of miRNA and mRNA determined by reverse transcriptionquantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed that the expression level of the miRNAs was significantly higher in human lung fibroblasts following transfection compared to controls (vector backbone without miRNA). The expressions of miRNAs-targeted genes were significantly downregulated in transfected fibroblasts compared to control cells (p<0.05). Data show that miR 124, miR 125b, miR 133b and miR130a by targeting regulatory genes in S1P-pathway can down-regulate key factors such as SPHK1, SGPL1, S1PR1 and S1PR2 genes in lung fibroblasts. The results showed that S1P pathway and key factors are suppressed in lung fibroblasts expressing miR124, miR125b, miR130a or miR133b. It appears that suppression of any of the intermediate factors in S1P by miRNA can affect the regulation of the entire S1P pathway.

MicroRNA‑mediated regulation in lung adenocarcinoma: Signaling pathways and potential therapeutic implications (Review)

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) poses a significant global health burden owing to its high incidence rate and unfavorable prognosis, driven by frequent recurrence and drug resistance. Understanding the biological mechanisms underlying LUAD is imperative to developing advanced therapeutic strategies. Recent research has highlighted the role of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in LUAD progression through diverse signaling pathways, including the Wnt and AKT pathways. Of particular interest is the novel pathological mechanism involving the interaction between competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and miRNAs. This review critically analyzed the impact of aberrant miRNA expression on LUAD development, shedding light on the associated signaling pathways. It also highlighted the emerging significance of ceRNA‑miRNA interactions in LUAD pathogenesis. Elucidating the intricate regulatory networks involving miRNAs and ceRNAs presents a promising avenue for the development of potential therapeutic interventions and diagnostic biomarkers in LUAD. Further research in this area is essential to advance precision medicine approaches and improve patient outcomes.

MiRNAs in Lung Adenocarcinoma: Role, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Therapy

Lung cancer has emerged as a significant public health challenge and remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Among various types of lung malignancies, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) stands as the most prevalent form. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in gene regulation, and their involvement in cancer has been extensively explored. While several reviews have been published on miRNAs and lung cancer, there remains a gap in the review regarding miRNAs specifically in LUAD. In this review, we not only highlight the potential diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of miRNAs in LUAD, but also present an inclusive overview of the extensive research conducted on miRNAs in this particular context.

Metastasis-related long non-coding RNAs AL359220.1, SH3BP5-AS1 and ZF-AS1 are significant for prognostic assessment of lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) severely worsens prognosis. Genetic alteration in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is closely associated with metastasis and other malignant biological properties of LUAD. In this study, we establish a metastasis-related risk model to accurately predict LUAD prognosis.

METHODS

RNA-sequencing profiles and clinical data of LUAD patients including 503 tumor tissues and 54 adjacent normal tissues were collected in TCGA database. Additionally, the paired specimens from 156 LUAD patients were obtained in a single center. The metastatic relevance and clinical significance of metastasis-related long non-coding RNA (MRLNRs) was validated by series of in vitro experiments including western blotting, qPCR and transwell assays.

RESULTS

Six MRLNRs were significantly correlated to prognoses of LUAD patients, of which AL359220.1, SH3BP5-AS1 and ZF-AS1 were further used to establish a metastasis-related risk scoring model (MRRS) due to the close associations with overall survival of LUAD patients. According to the MRRS, patients with higher scores in the high-risk group obtained poorer prognoses and survival outcomes. ZFAS1 expressed highly in tumor tissues and showed the inverse results compared to SH3BP5-AS1 and AL359220.1. In addition, the high expression of ZFAS1 was prominently correlated to the more advanced T-stage and distant metastasis. The reduction of ZFAS1 induced by siRNAs dramatically diminished the migration and invasion abilities of LUAD cells.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present research, we elucidate the metastatic relevance and clinical significance of AL359220.1, SH3BP5-AS1 and ZF-AS1 in LUAD. Moreover, MRRS provide a promising assessing model for clinical decision making and prognosis of LUAD.

lncRNA LINC00960 promotes apoptosis by sponging ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1-targeting miR-183-5p

<p indent="0mm">The ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1/RNF41 promotes the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of multiple important substrates, including BRUCE/BIRC6, a giant ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme inhibiting both apoptosis and autophagy. miR-183-5p is associated with various malignancies potentially by targeting dozens of genes. Here, we show that the lncRNA LINC00960 binds to the Nrdp1-targeting miR-183-5p and promotes apoptosis. Compared to other known miR-183-5p targets, Nrdp1 mRNA is among the few with top scores to complement miR-183-5p. miR-183-5p binds to the <sc>3'UTR</sc> of Nrdp1 mRNA and downregulates Nrdp1 at both the mRNA and protein levels. The miR-183-5p mimics inhibit DNA damage-induced apoptosis probably by upregulating BRUCE level, whereas the miR-183-5p inhibitor suppresses the effects of miR-183-5p. LINC00960 is the noncoding RNA with the highest score to complement miR-183-5p. LINC00960 overexpression reduces, but its knockdown increases, the level of miR-183-5p, whereas LINC00960 overexpression increases, but its knockdown decreases, the level of Nrdp1 and apoptosis. Importantly, the expression of LINC00960, which is associated with multiple types of tumors, positively correlates with that of Nrdp1 in several tumors but inversely correlates with that of miR-183-5p in multiple human tumor cell lines, as analysed by quantitative PCR. Thus, miR-183-5p downregulates Nrdp1 expression and inhibits apoptosis, whereas LINC00960 upregulates Nrdp1 and promotes apoptosis by inhibiting miR-183-5p. These results may provide new ideas for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of apoptosis-related diseases, such as tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. </p>.

LINC00960 regulates cell proliferation and glycolysis in pancreatic cancer through the miR-326-3p/TUFT1/AKT-mTOR axis

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a common malignant cancer characterized by high mortality and poor prognosis. LINC00690 was involved in the occurrence and progression of PC, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation. The goal of this study was to figure out how LINC00960 mediates glycolysis in PC. LINC00960, miR-326-3p, and Tuftelin 1 (TUFT1) expression levels were detected in PC cell lines. LINC00960 and TUFT1 expression levels were increased in PC cells when compared with normal pancreatic cells, whereas miR-326-3p expression levels were decreased. The expression levels of LINC00690 affected glycolysis in PC, and inhibition of LINC00960 inhibited tumor growth in vivo. LINC00690 targeted and suppressed the expression of miR-326-3p. MiR-326-3p bound to TUFT1, and miR-326-3p inhibited AKT-mTOR pathway activation via TUFT1. In conclusion, the depletion of LINC00960 repressed cell proliferation and glycolysis in PC by mediating the miR-326-3p/TUFT1/AKT-mTOR axis. Thus, we present a novel mechanism underlying the progression of PC that suggests LINC00960 is a potential therapeutic target for this cancer.

MicroRNA-122-3p plays as the target of long non-coding RNA LINC00665 in repressing the progress of arthritis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in many diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of miR-122-3p-3p on RA are not distinct and require further investigation. Patients with RA and healthy controls were recruited to analyze the miR-122-3p levels. The MH7A cells were stimulated with interleukin (IL)-1β to mimic the local inflammation of RA. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry were performed to measure the viability and apoptosis of MH7A cells. Diana tools and TargetScan were used to predict the target relationships. Luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the target relationship. miR-122-3p is downregulated in RA patients and IL-1β-stimulated MH7A cells. miR-122-3p suppresses MH7A cell viability and promotes MH7A cell apoptosis. miR-122-3p targets LINC00665. LINC00665 eliminates the inhibitory effect of miR-122-3p on IL-1β-stimulated MH7A cells. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 1 (EIF2AK1) targets miR-122-3p. In addition, EIF2AK1 is highly expressed in patients with RA. In addition, EIF2AK1 activates the mTOR signaling pathway. miR-122-3p represses RA progression by reducing cell viability and increasing synoviocyte apoptosis.

Exosomal microRNA-618 derived from mesenchymal stem cells attenuate the progression of hepatic fibrosis by targeting Smad4

Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a pathological phenomenon that occurs during the process of long-term damage and repair in the liver. This condition will lead to the development of cirrhosis and even liver cancer if untreated. Previous evidence has shown that exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), carrying microRNAs (miRs), can affect the pathogenesis of HF. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify novel exosomal miRs derived from MSCs that play a critical role in the progression of HF. Next, the expression data of differentially expressed miRs (DEMs) of patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy controls were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. DEMs were analyzed using Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Moreover, to further confirm the function of exosomal miR-618 derived from MSCs on the pathogenesis of HF in vivo, a mouse model of HF was established. The results of the present study suggested that a close associated existed between DEMs and HF. Based on the results of the bioinformatics analysis, miR-618 was one of the main downregulated miRs involved in cirrhosis. In addition, miR-618 could be transferred from MSCs to LX-2 cells via exosomes; exosomal miR-618 derived from MSCs inhibited the viability and migration of LX-2 cells that were treated with TGF-β. Furthermore, exosomal miR-618 derived from MSCs attenuated the progression of HF via targeting Smad4. These findings indicated that treatment of exosomal miR-618 derived from MSCs might serve as a new strategy for HF.