E2F transcription factor 1 is involved in the phenotypic modulation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells via microRNA-375

The multifaceted role of Sestrin 3 (SESN3) in oxidative stress, inflammation and tumorigenesis

The pathogenesis of inflammation and tumors is a focal point of scientific inquiry, with oxidative stress often serving as the primary initiator. Within the human genome, the SESN3 gene encodes the SESN3 protein, a crucial antioxidant stress protein. Acting as a regulatory factor, SESN3 intricately modulates cellular oxidative stress, actively participating in cellular protection and repair mechanisms. Its functions span antioxidative, anti-aging, and anti-tumor properties. The expression of SESN3 is closely linked to cellular and oxidative stress, metabolic status, and specific signaling pathways. This review aims to delve into the origins and functions of SESN3, its role within signaling pathways, and its contributions to inflammation and tumorigenesis.

E2F1 and E2F7 regulate gastric cancer cell proliferation, respectively, through transcriptional activation and transcriptional repression of MYBL2

Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common malignant tumor of the digestive tract. However, the molecular pathogenesis is not well understood. Through bioinformatic analysis and analyzing clinical tissue samples, we found that E2F1 and E2F7 as well as their potential downstream target MYBL2 were all upregulated in GC tissues and that their expressions correlated with patient prognosis. While knockdown of E2F1 or MYBL2 inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis, knockdown of E2F7 promoted cell proliferation but had no effects on apoptosis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that MYBL2 was transcriptionally activated and repressed by E2F1 and E2F7, respectively. Importantly, in vitro and ex vivo experiments demonstrated that the effects of E2F1 and E2F7 on GC cell proliferation were significantly attenuated by reversely modulating MYBL2 expression, indicating that MYBL2 is a direct and functionally relevant target of E2F1 and E2F7 in GC cells. Furthermore, the effects of E2F1 and E2F7 on GC cell proliferation through transcriptional regulation of MYBL2 can be mediated by the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Interestingly, we found differential nucleocytoplasmic distribution of E2F7 in GC cells with functional relevance. Taken together, our data suggest that targeted therapies of GC may be achieved from three different angles, E2F1, E2F7, and MYBL2 themselves, E2F1/E2F7 expression balance, and E2F7 nuclear localization.

A Critical Review on microRNAs as Prognostic Biomarkers in Laryngeal Carcinoma

During the past decade, a vast number of studies were dedicated to unravelling the obscurities of non-coding RNAs in all fields of the medical sciences. A great amount of data has been accumulated, and consequently a natural need for organization and classification in all subfields arises. The aim of this review is to summarize all reports on microRNAs that were delineated as prognostic biomarkers in laryngeal carcinoma. Additionally, we attempt to allocate and organize these molecules according to their association with key pathways and oncogenes affected in laryngeal carcinoma. Finally, we critically analyze the common shortcomings and biases of the methodologies in some of the published papers in this area of research. A literature search was performed using the PubMed and MEDLINE databases with the keywords "laryngeal carcinoma" OR "laryngeal cancer" AND "microRNA" OR "miRNA" AND "prognostic marker" OR "prognosis". Only research articles written in English were included, without any specific restrictions on study type. We have found 43 articles that report 39 microRNAs with prognostic value associated with laryngeal carcinoma, and all of them are summarized along with the major characteristics and methodology of the respective studies. A second layer of the review is structural analysis of the outlined microRNAs and their association with oncogenes and pathways connected with the cell cycle (p53, CCND1, CDKN2A/p16, E2F1), RTK/RAS/PI3K cascades (EGFR, PI3K, PTEN), cell differentiation (NOTCH, p63, FAT1), and cell death (FADD, TRAF3). Finally, we critically review common shortcomings in the methodology of the papers and their possible effect on their results.

Establishment and validation of the prognostic risk model based on the anoikis-related genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a malignant condition in humans. Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) are crucial to cancer progression. Therefore, more studies on the relationship between ARGs and ESCC are warranted.

METHODS

The study acquired ESCC-related transcriptome data from TCGA. Differentially expressed ARGs (DE-ARGs) were obtained by differential analysis and candidates were filtered out by survival analysis. Prognostic genes were determined by Cox and LASSO regression. A risk model was constructed based on prognostic gene expressions. An immune infiltration study was done to explain how these genes contribute to ESCC development. The IC50 test was adopted to assess the clinical response of chemotherapy drugs. Single cell analysis was performed on the GSE145370 dataset. Moreover, the prognostic gene expressions were detected by qRT-PCR.

RESULTS

53 DE-ARGs were screened and four candidate genes including PBK, LAMC2, TNFSF10 and KL were obtained. Cox and LASSO regression identified the two prognostic genes, TNFSF10 and PBK. Immuno-infiltration analysis revealed positive associations of PBK with Macrophages M0 cells, and TNFSF10 with Macrophages M1 cells. The IC50 values of predicted drugs, in the case of Tozasertib 1096 and WIKI4 1940, were significantly variant between risk groups. Single cell analysis revealed that TNFSF10 and PBK levels were higher in epithelial cells than in other cells. The prognostic genes expression results by qRT-PCR were compatible with the dataset analysis.

CONCLUSION

The study established an ARG prognosis model of ESCC. It provided a reference for the research of ARGs in ESCC.

Biological roles of SLC16A1-AS1 lncRNA and its clinical impacts in tumors

Recent studies have increasingly highlighted the aberrant expression of SLC16A1-AS1 in a variety of tumor types, where it functions as either an oncogene or a tumor suppressor in the pathogenesis of different cancers. The expression levels of SLC16A1-AS1 have been found to significantly correlate with clinical features and the prognosis of cancer patients. Furthermore, SLC16A1-AS1 modulates a range of cellular functions, including proliferation, migration, and invasion, through its interactions with diverse molecules and signaling pathways. This review examines the latest evidence regarding the role of SLC16A1-AS1 in the progression of various tumors and explores its potential clinical applications as a novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarker. Our comprehensive review aims to deepen the understanding of SLC16A1-AS1's multifaceted role in oncology, underscoring its potential as a significant biomarker and therapeutic target.

A bioinformatics analysis for diagnostic roles of the E2F family in esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the eighth most commonly occurring cancer worldwide and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The therapeutic effect of EC patients is not ideal, and new biomarkers are needed to guide diagnosis and prognosis of EC patients. E2F family transcription factors are among the most important links in the cell cycle regulatory network. E2Fs dysregulation not only promotes the early stages of tumor development but also the progression of benign tumors to malignant tumors. E2F is expected to be a new biomarker. The prognostic significance of the E2F family in EC requires further research.

METHODS

We analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), and GeneMANIA databases to obtain RNA-sequencing data and clinical data. The clinical data included age, gender, race, stage, type, status, etc. The prognosis outcome included overall survival (OS) and progression-free interval (PFI). Subsequently, we conducted further research on gene expressions, enrichment analysis, interaction network, and prognostic values by R software, containing ggplot2, ComplexHeatmap, DESeq2, pROC R package, based on t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, Spearman rank correlation analysis, log-rank test and COX model.

RESULTS

We found that mRNA transcription levels of E2F1, E2F3-8 were more highly expressed in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) tissues than in normal tissues. E2F8 expression was correlated with tumor stage [Pr(>F)=0.00856]. E2F-related genes played a role in development and differentiation, and were prevalent in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, Golgi lumen, and lipoprotein particle, catalyzing translation activities and lipid metabolism. Each gene was found to be related to each other to some degree. The GeneMANIA network analysis revealed links between E2Fs and other genes. We compared the correlations between 24 kinds of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and E2Fs. E2F1 (AUC =0.945, CI: 0.890-1.000) and E2F7 (AUC =0.958, CI: 0.920-0.996) exhibited higher predictive power accuracy. However, only E2F7 was closely related to OS [HR =1.91 (1.16-3.16), P=0.011].

CONCLUSIONS

We discover that E2F7 is a prognostic biomarker. E2F family may take part in the development of EC through lipid metabolism pathways, which is helpful to predict the prognosis of EC patients and guide accurate diagnosis and treatment.

MALAT1-miRNAs network regulate thymidylate synthase and affect 5FU-based chemotherapy

Background

The active metabolite of 5-Fluorouracil (5FU), used in the treatment of several types of cancer, acts by inhibiting the thymidylate synthase encoded by the TYMS gene, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in DNA replication. The major failure of 5FU-based cancer therapy is the development of drug resistance. High levels of TYMS-encoded protein in cancerous tissues are predictive of poor response to 5FU treatment. Expression of TYMS is regulated by various mechanisms, including involving non-coding RNAs, both miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs).

Aim

To delineate the miRNAs and lncRNAs network regulating the level of TYMS-encoded protein.

Main body

Several miRNAs targeting TYMS mRNA have been identified in colon cancers, the levels of which can be regulated to varying degrees by lncRNAs. Due to their regulation by the MALAT1 lncRNA, these miRNAs can be divided into three groups: (1) miR-197-3p, miR-203a-3p, miR-375-3p which are downregulated by MALAT1 as confirmed experimentally and the levels of these miRNAs are actually reduced in colon and gastric cancers; (2) miR-140-3p, miR-330-3p that could potentially interact with MALAT1, but not yet supported by experimental results; (3) miR-192-5p, miR-215-5p whose seed sequences do not recognize complementary response elements within MALAT1. Considering the putative MALAT1-miRNAs interaction network, attention is drawn to the potential positive feedback loop causing increased expression of MALAT1 in colon cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, where YAP1 acts as a transcriptional co-factor which, by binding to the TCF4 transcription factor/ β-catenin complex, may increase the activation of the MALAT1 gene whereas the MALAT1 lncRNA can inhibit miR-375-3p which in turn targets YAP1 mRNA.

Conclusion

The network of non-coding RNAs may reduce the sensitivity of cancer cells to 5FU treatment by upregulating the level of thymidylate synthase.

MicroRNA-148a-3p suppresses cell proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma by targeting CEP55

This study evaluated microRNA-148a-3p in esophageal carcinoma cells. The prediction of bioinformatics analysis revealed that microRNA-148a-3p may target CEP55. qRT-PCR and western blot showed that CEP55 level in esophageal carcinoma cells and tissue was dramatically higher than that of normal cells and tissue, while microRNA-148a-3p was the opposite. Forced expression of microRNA-148a-3p restrained cell malignant behaviors of esophageal carcinoma, and repression of microRNA-148a-3p resulted in the converse results in terms of cell function. Dual-luciferase assay confirmed that microRNA-148a-3p targeted CEP55. CEP55 attenuated the suppressive effect of microRNA-148a-3p on proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma cells, demonstrating that microRNA-148a-3p regulated function of esophageal carcinoma cells via decreasing CEP55 level. Microscopy observation indicated that cell morphology was also affected by the microRNA-148a-3p/CEP55 axis. Furthermore, western blot analysis revealed that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway could be suppressed by activating the microRNA-148a-3p/CEP55 axis. Finally, in vivo experiments confirmed the effects of microRNA-148a-3p on tumorigenesis. Thus, microRNA-148a-3p could act as a repressor in esophageal carcinoma via binding to CEP55.