Ring finger protein 19A is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer and mediates p53 ubiquitin-degradation to promote cancer growth

Advances of E3 ligases in lung cancer

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death, and the most common type of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for approximately 85 % of lung cancer diagnoses. Recent studies have revealed that ubiquitination acts as a crucial part of the development and progression of lung cancer. The E1-E2-E3 three-enzyme cascade has a core function in ubiquitination, so targeted adjustments of E3 ligases could be used in lung cancer treatment. Hence, we elucidate research advances in lung cancer-related E3 ligases by briefly describing the structure and categorization of E3 ligases. Here, we provide a detailed review of the mechanisms by which lung cancer-related E3 ligases modify substrate proteins and regulate signaling pathways to facilitate or suppress cancer progression. We hope to show a new perspective on targeted precision therapy for lung cancer.

Prediction of Prognosis and Immunotherapy Response with a Novel Natural Killer Cell Marker Genes Signature in Osteosarcoma

Background: Natural killer (NK) cells are characterized by their antitumor efficacy without previous sensitization, which have attracted attention in tumor immunotherapy. The heterogeneity of osteosarcoma (OS) has hindered therapeutic application of NK cell-based immunotherapy. The authors aimed to construct a novel NK cell-based signature to identify certain OS patients more responsive to immunotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of eight publicly available datasets derived from patients with OS were enrolled in this study. Single-cell RNA sequencing data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed to screen NK cell marker genes. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis was used to construct an NK cell-based prognostic signature in the TARGET-OS dataset. The differences in immune cell infiltration, immune system-related metagenes, and immunotherapy response were evaluated among risk subgroups. Furthermore, this prognostic signature was experimentally validated by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Results: With differentially expressed NK cell marker genes screened out, a five-gene NK cell-based prognostic signature was constructed. The prognostic predictive accuracy of the signature was validated through internal clinical subgroups and external GEO datasets. Low-risk OS patients contained higher abundances of infiltrated immune cells, especially CD8 T cells and naive CD4 T cells, indicating that T cell exhaustion states were present in the high-risk OS patients. As indicated from correlation analysis, immune system-related metagenes displayed a negative correlation with risk scores, suggesting the existence of immunosuppressive microenvironment in OS. In addition, based on responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in two immunotherapy datasets, the signature helped predict the response of OS patients to anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy. RT-qPCR results demonstrated the roughly consistent relationship of these five gene expressions with predicting outcomes. Conclusions: The NK cell-based signature is likely to be available for the survival prediction and the evaluation of immunotherapy response of OS patients, which may shed light on subsequent immunotherapy choices for OS patients. In addition, the authors revealed a potential link between immunosuppressive microenvironment and OS.

PRMT7 Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Gastric Cancer Cells by Suppressing the PI3K/AKT Pathway via PTEN

Protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7) plays a crucial role in tumor occurrence and development; however, its expression pattern, biological function, and specific mechanism in gastric cancer (GC) remain poorly defined. The present study aimed to investigate the role of PRMT7 during GC carcinogenesis and its underlying mechanism. We found that PRMT7 is expressed at low levels in GC tissues, and this low expression is associated with tumor size, differentiation degree, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage. Functionally, PRMT7 inhibits GC cell proliferation and migration. Mechanistically, PRMT7 induces PTEN expression and suppresses the downstream PI3K/AKT signaling cascade. Finally, we confirmed that PRMT7 interacts with PTEN protein and promotes PTEN arginine methylation. Taken together, our findings suggest that PRMT7 can inhibit PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation by regulating PTEN, thereby inhibiting GC cell proliferation and migration. PRMT7 may be a promising therapeutic target for the prevention of GC.

H3K27me3 of Rnf19a promotes neuroinflammatory response during Japanese encephalitis virus infection

Histone methylation is an important epigenetic modification that affects various biological processes, including the inflammatory response. In this study, we found that infection with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) leads to an increase in H3K27me3 in BV2 microglial cell line, primary mouse microglia and mouse brain. Inhibition of H3K27me3 modification through EZH2 knockdown and treatment with EZH2 inhibitor significantly reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines during JEV infection, which suggests that H3K27me3 modification plays a crucial role in the neuroinflammatory response caused by JEV infection. The chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-sequencing) assay revealed an increase in H3K27me3 modification of E3 ubiquitin ligases Rnf19a following JEV infection, which leads to downregulation of Rnf19a expression. Furthermore, the results showed that Rnf19a negatively regulates the neuroinflammatory response induced by JEV. This is achieved through the degradation of RIG-I by mediating its ubiquitination. In conclusion, our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which JEV triggers extensive neuroinflammation from an epigenetic perspective.

Zooming into the structure-function of RING finger proteins for anti-cancer therapeutic applications

Cancer is one of the most common and widely diagnosed diseases worldwide. With an increase in prevalence and incidence, many studies in cancer biology have been looking at the role pro-cancer proteins play. One of these proteins is the Really Interesting New Gene (RING), which has been studied extensively due to its structure and functions such as apoptosis, neddylation, and its role in ubiquitination. The RING domain is a cysteine-rich domain known to bind Cysteine and Histidine residues. It also binds two zinc ions that help stabilize the protein in various patterns, often with a 'cross-brace' topology. Different RING finger proteins have been studied and found to have suitable targets for developing anti-cancer therapeutics. These identified candidate proteins include Parkin, COP1, MDM2, BARD1, BRCA-1, PIRH2, c-CBL, SIAH1, RBX1 and RNF8. Inhibiting these candidate proteins provides opportunities for shutting down pathways associated with tumour development and metastasis.

CRISPR screening reveals gleason score and castration resistance related oncodriver ring finger protein 19 A (RNF19A) in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most lethal causes of cancer-related death in male. It is characterized by chromosomal instability and disturbed signaling transduction. E3 ubiquitin ligases are well-recognized as mediators leading to genomic alterations and malignant phenotypes. There is a lack of systematic study on novel oncodrivers with genomic and clinical significance in PCa. In this study we used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system to screen 656 E3 ubiquitin ligases as oncodrivers or tumor repressors in PCa cells. We identified 51 significantly changed genes, and conducted genomic and clinical analysis on these genes. It was found that the Ring Finger Protein 19 A (RNF19A) was a novel oncodriver in PCa. RNF19A was frequently amplified and highly expressed in PCa and other cancer types. Clinically, higher RNF19A expression correlated with advanced Gleason Score and predicted castration resistance. Mechanistically, transcriptomics, quantitative and ubiquitination proteomic analysis showed that RNF19A ubiquitylated Thyroid Hormone Receptor Interactor 13 (TRIP13) and was transcriptionally activated by androgen receptor (AR) and Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 Subunit Alpha (HIF1A). This study uncovers the genomic and clinical significance of a oncodriver RNF19A in PCa. The results of this study indicate that targeting AR/HIF1A-RNF19A-TRIP13 signaling axis could be an alternative option for PCa diagnosis and therapy.

A Composite Bioinformatic Analysis to Explore Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Related Prognostic Marker and Potential Pathogenic Mechanisms in Glioma by Integrating Multiomics Data

In recent years, abnormal endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) response, as an important regulator of immunity, may play a vital role in the occurrence, development, and treatment of glioma. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) based on six glioma datasets was used to screen eight prognostic-related differentially expressed ERS-related genes (PR-DE-ERSGs) and to construct a prognostic model. BMP2 and HEY2 were identified as protective factors (HR < 1), and NUP107, DRAM1, F2R, PXDN, RNF19A, and SCG5 were identified as risk factors for glioma (HR > 1). QRT-PCR further supported significantly higher DRAM1 and lower SCG5 relative mRNA expression in gliomas. Our model has demonstrated excellent performance in predicting the prognosis of glioma patients from numerous datasets. In addition, the model shows good stability in multiple tests. Our model also shows broad clinical promise in predicting drug treatment effects. More immune cells/processes in the high-risk population with poor prognosis illustrate the importance of the tumor immunosuppressive environment in glioma. The potential role of the HEY2-based competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network in glioma was validated and revealed the possible important role of glycolysis in glioma ERS. IDH1 and TP53 mutations with better prognosis were strongly associated with the risk score and PR-DE-ERSGs expression in the model. mDNAsi was also closely related to the risk score and clinical characteristics.

A Composite Bioinformatic Analysis to Explore Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Related Prognostic Marker and Potential Pathogenic Mechanisms in Glioma by Integrating Multiomics Data

In recent years, abnormal endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) response, as an important regulator of immunity, may play a vital role in the occurrence, development, and treatment of glioma. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) based on six glioma datasets was used to screen eight prognostic-related differentially expressed ERS-related genes (PR-DE-ERSGs) and to construct a prognostic model. BMP2 and HEY2 were identified as protective factors (HR < 1), and NUP107, DRAM1, F2R, PXDN, RNF19A, and SCG5 were identified as risk factors for glioma (HR > 1). QRT-PCR further supported significantly higher DRAM1 and lower SCG5 relative mRNA expression in gliomas. Our model has demonstrated excellent performance in predicting the prognosis of glioma patients from numerous datasets. In addition, the model shows good stability in multiple tests. Our model also shows broad clinical promise in predicting drug treatment effects. More immune cells/processes in the high-risk population with poor prognosis illustrate the importance of the tumor immunosuppressive environment in glioma. The potential role of the HEY2-based competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network in glioma was validated and revealed the possible important role of glycolysis in glioma ERS. IDH1 and TP53 mutations with better prognosis were strongly associated with the risk score and PR-DE-ERSGs expression in the model. mDNAsi was also closely related to the risk score and clinical characteristics.

A Composite Bioinformatic Analysis to Explore Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Related Prognostic Marker and Potential Pathogenic Mechanisms in Glioma by Integrating Multiomics Data

In recent years, abnormal endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) response, as an important regulator of immunity, may play a vital role in the occurrence, development, and treatment of glioma. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) based on six glioma datasets was used to screen eight prognostic-related differentially expressed ERS-related genes (PR-DE-ERSGs) and to construct a prognostic model. BMP2 and HEY2 were identified as protective factors (HR < 1), and NUP107, DRAM1, F2R, PXDN, RNF19A, and SCG5 were identified as risk factors for glioma (HR > 1). QRT-PCR further supported significantly higher DRAM1 and lower SCG5 relative mRNA expression in gliomas. Our model has demonstrated excellent performance in predicting the prognosis of glioma patients from numerous datasets. In addition, the model shows good stability in multiple tests. Our model also shows broad clinical promise in predicting drug treatment effects. More immune cells/processes in the high-risk population with poor prognosis illustrate the importance of the tumor immunosuppressive environment in glioma. The potential role of the HEY2-based competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network in glioma was validated and revealed the possible important role of glycolysis in glioma ERS. IDH1 and TP53 mutations with better prognosis were strongly associated with the risk score and PR-DE-ERSGs expression in the model. mDNAsi was also closely related to the risk score and clinical characteristics.

Identification and Quantification of Iron Metabolism Landscape on Therapy and Prognosis in Bladder Cancer

The morbidity of bladder cancer (BLCA) is high and has gradually elevated in recent years. BLCA is also characterized by high recurrence and high invasiveness. Due to the drug resistance and lack of effective prognostic indicators, the prognosis of patients with BLCA is greatly affected. Iron metabolism is considered to be a pivot of tumor occurrence, progression, and tumor microenvironment (TME) in tumors, but there is little research in BLCA. Herein, we used univariate COX regression analysis to screen 95 prognosis-related iron metabolism-related genes (IMRGs) according to transcription RNA sequencing and prognosis information of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. TCGA-BLCA cohort was clustered into four distinct iron metabolism patterns (C1, C2, C3, and C4) by the non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm. Survival analysis showed that C1 and C3 patterns had a better prognosis. Gene set variant analysis (GSVA) revealed that C2 and C4 patterns were mostly enriched in carcinogenic and immune activation pathways. ESTIMATE and single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) also confirmed the level of immune cell infiltration in C2 and C4 patterns was significantly elevated. Moreover, the immune checkpoint genes in C2 and C4 patterns were observably overexpressed. Studies on somatic mutations showed that the tumor mutation burden (TMB) of C1 and C4 patterns was the lowest. Chemotherapy response assessment revealed that C2 pattern was the most sensitive to chemotherapy, while C3 pattern was the most insensitive. Then we established the IMRG prognosis signature (IMRGscore) by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), including 13 IMRGs (TCIRG1, CTSE, ATP6V0A1, CYP2C8, RNF19A, CYP4Z1, YPEL5, PLOD1, BMP6, CAST, SCD, IFNG, and ASIC3). We confirmed IMRGscore could be utilized as an independent prognostic indicator. Therefore, validation and quantification of iron metabolism landscapes will help us comprehend the formation of the BLCA immunosuppressive microenvironment, guide the selection of chemotherapeutic drugs and immunotherapy, and predict the prognosis of patients.

Ring finger protein 19A is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer and mediates p53 ubiquitin-degradation to promote cancer growth

The expression pattern, biological functions and the related mechanisms of the ring finger protein 19A (RNF19A) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain poorly understood. This study aimed to explore the role of RNF19A, as well as the underlying potential mechanism, in the development of NSCLC. Here, we found that RNF19A was overexpressed in NSCLC tissues, and RNF19A expression in NSCLC tissue samples was associated with NSCLC carcinogenesis and poor outcome. RNF19A promoted the proliferation of NSCLC cells and inhibited apoptosis. RNF19A reduced p53, p21 and BAX expression and induced Cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK6 and BCL2 expression. The inhibitory effect of RNF19A knockdown on proliferation was partially rescued by p53 silencing. RNF19A interacted with p53, shortened p53 half-life and mediated p53 ubiquitin-degradation. Collectively, we suggest that RNF19A plays a critical oncogenic role in lung carcinogenesis by disrupting the function of p53. RNF19A may serve as a new biomarker and/or target for NSCLC management.