Prediction and prognostic significance of BCAR3 expression in patients with multiple myeloma

BCAR3 and BCAR3-related competing endogenous RNA expression in hepatocellular carcinoma and their prognostic value

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor that has a high incidence and mortality worldwide. Despite extensive studies, the detailed molecular mechanism of HCC development remains unclear. Studies have shown that the occurrence and development of HCC are closely related to abnormal gene expression. BCAR3 has been shown to be overexpressed in a variety of malignant tumors. However, the role of BCAR3 in HCC remains unclear.

AIM

To investigate the expression of BCAR3 and BCAR3-related competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in HCC and their clinical significance, in order to provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

METHODS

The data of HCC were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and The Genotype Tissue Expression, including transcriptome data and clinical information. Multiple common databases, including UALCAN, Timer 2.0, cBioPortal, LinkedOmics, starBase, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, were used to analyse the expression of BCAR3, prognostic value, genetic alteration, co-expressed genes, differentially expressed genes, BCAR3 gene-related ceRNAs and functional enrichment analysis in HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to analyze survival prognosis and the Spearman test was used to measure correlations between BCAR3 and immune functions. And R language package was used to analyze the correlation between BCAR3 and immune invasion of HCC.

RESULTS

Our study indicated that BCAR3 was differentially expressed in various tumor tissues. The over-expression of BCAR3 gene was an unfavorable prognostic indicator for HCC patients, and associated with unfavorable cytogenetic risk and gene mutations. Moreover, most immune cells were positively correlated with BCAR3 (P < 0.05). According to the results of functional enrichment analysis, BCAR3 was involved in the positive regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway and ERBB signaling pathway, and was related to DNA replication and GTPase regulator activity. Finally, our study found that based on RAB30-DT and miR-19b-3p pathways, targeting BCAR3 might promote the occurrence and development of HCC.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, this study indicated that the BCAR3 gene was involved in the occurrence and development of HCC, and it might be a new biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC, but the specific mechanism remains to be further verified.

Deciphering the Role of BCAR3 in Cancer Progression: Gene Regulation, Signal Transduction, and Therapeutic Implications

This review comprehensively explores the gene BCAR3, detailing its regulation at the gene, mRNA, and protein structure levels, and delineating its multifunctional roles in cellular signaling within cancer contexts. The discussion covers BCAR3's involvement in integrin signaling and its impact on cancer cell migration, its capability to induce anti-estrogen resistance, and its significant functions in cell cycle regulation. Further highlighted is BCAR3's modulation of immune responses within the tumor microenvironment, a novel area of interest that holds potential for innovative cancer therapies. Looking forward, this review outlines essential future research directions focusing on transcription factor binding studies, isoform-specific expression profiling, therapeutic targeting of BCAR3, and its role in immune cell function. Each segment builds towards a holistic understanding of BCAR3's operational mechanisms, presenting a critical evaluation of its therapeutic potential in oncology. This synthesis aims to not only extend current knowledge but also catalyze further research that could pivotally influence the development of targeted cancer treatments.

Localized Administration of Bcar3 siRNA via Nano-Self-Assembly to Treat Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis by Disrupting Macrophage-Fibroblast Crosstalk

Background

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severe interstitial lung disease characterized by chronic lung injury leading to macrophage infiltration and fibroblast activation. However, there is no effective therapeutic strategy targeting the crucial crosstalk between macrophages and fibroblasts to halt IPF progression.

Methods

Studies were conducted in IPF patients and fibrotic mice models to elucidate the role of Bcar3 in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. The effect of Bcar3 on macrophage polarization, fibroblast activation, and related signaling pathways were next investigated to unravel the underlying mechanisms.

Results

Our study elucidates a marked increase in Bcar3 expression in lung tissues from IPF patients and fibrotic mice, recording 1.7 and 7.8-fold increases compared to control subjects, respectively. Additionally, Bcar3 was found to significantly enhance macrophage activation and fibroblast differentiation, observable in both in vivo and in vitro settings. Mechanistically, the upregulation of Bcar3 in macrophages was reliant on Stat6, while in fibroblasts, it depended on TGFβR1/Smad3. Furthermore, Bcar3 augmented IL-4/Stat6 pathway in macrophages and TGF-β/Smad3 pathway in fibroblasts, supporting a synergistic activation loop that expedited lung fibrogenesis. Notably, intratracheal injection of liposomes containing Bcar3 siRNA precisely delivered gene therapeutics to lung macrophages and fibroblasts, effectively reducing Bcar3 expression to 59% of baseline levels. Importantly, this intervention protected mice from lung fibrosis induced by either FITC or bleomycin, as well as human precision-cut lung slices against TGF-β1 stimulation.

Conclusion

Our study underscores the pivotal role of Bcar3 in orchestrating the macrophage-fibroblast crosstalk during pulmonary fibrosis progression. Targeting Bcar3 emerges as a novel therapeutic avenue to halt IPF progression and enhance patient prognosis.

Systematic discrimination of the repetitive genome in proximity of ferroptosis genes and a novel prognostic signature correlating with the oncogenic lncRNA CRNDE in multiple myeloma

Emerging insights into iron-dependent form of regulated cell death ferroptosis in cancer have opened a perspective for its use in cancer therapy. Of interest, a systematic profiling of ferroptosis gene signatures as prognostic factors has gained special attention in several cancers. Herein, we sought to investigate the presence of repetitive genomes in the vicinity of ferroptosis genes that may influence their expression and to establish a prognostic gene signature associated with multiple myeloma (MM). Our analysis showed that genes associated with ferroptosis were enriched with the repetitive genome in their vicinity, with a strong predominance of the SINE family, followed by LINE, of which the most significant discriminant values were SINE/Alu and LINE/L1, respectively. In addition, we examined in detail the performance of these genes as a cancer risk prediction model and specified fourteen ferroptosis-related gene signatures, which identified MM high-risk patients with lower immune/stromal scores with higher tumor purity in their immune microenvironment. Of interest, we also found that lncRNA CRNDE correlated with a risk score and was highly associated with the majority of genes comprising the signature. Taken together, we propose to investigate the molecular impact of the repetitive genome we have highlighted on the local transcriptome of ferroptosis genes in cancer. Furthermore, we revealed a genomic signature/biomarker related to ferroptosis that can be used to predict the risk of survival in MM patients.

Identification of a TGF-β signaling-related gene signature for prediction of immunotherapy and targeted therapy for lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling functions importantly in regulating tumor microenvironment (TME). This study developed a prognostic gene signature based on TGF-β signaling-related genes for predicting clinical outcome of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

METHODS

TGF-β signaling-related genes came from The Molecular Signature Database (MSigDB). LUAD prognosis-related genes were screened from all the genes involved in TGF-β signaling using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis and then used to establish a risk score model for LUAD. ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT analyzed infiltration of immune cells in TME. Immunotherapy response was analyzed by the TIDE algorithm.

RESULTS

A LUAD prognostic 5-gene signature was developed based on 54 TGF-β signaling-related genes. Prognosis of high-risk patients was significantly worse than low-risk patients. Both internal validation and external dataset validation confirmed a high precision of the risk model in predicting the clinical outcomes of LUAD patients. Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated the model independence in OS prediction of LUAD. The risk model was significantly related to the infiltration of 9 kinds of immune cells, matrix, and immune components in TME. Low-risk patients tended to respond more actively to anti-PD-1 treatment, while high-risk patients were more sensitive to chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The 5-gene signature based on TGF-β signaling-related genes showed potential for LUAD management.

BCAR3 promotes head and neck cancer growth and is associated with poor prognosis

Breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance protein 3 (BCAR3) is involved in anti-estrogen resistance and other important aspects of breast cancer. However, the role of BCAR3 in other solid tumors remains unclear. The relationship between the clinicopathologic characteristics of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients and BCAR3 was analyzed using the Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test and logistic regression. The association between BCAR3 expression and clinicopathologic features and survival was analyzed using Cox regression and the Kaplan–Meier method. In vivo and in vitro assays were performed to validate the effect of BCAR3 on HNSCC growth. BCAR3-related mRNAs were determined by calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficient based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to predict the potential functions of BCAR3. BCAR3 expression is overexpressed in HNSCC and was shown to be associated with perineural invasion (PNI) and poor survival. BCAR3 silencing significantly attenuated the proliferation of HNSCC cells, whereas BCAR3 depletion inhibited tumor growth in vitro. GO and KEGG functional enrichment analyses, and GSEA showed that BCAR3 expression in HNSCC was associated with biological processes, such as cell adhesion, actin binding, cadherin binding, and angiogenesis. BCAR3, which promotes HNSCC growth, is associated with perineural invasion and may be a potential molecular prognostic marker of poor survival in HNSCC.

A Cas-BCAR3 co-regulatory circuit controls lamellipodia dynamics

Integrin adhesion complexes regulate cytoskeletal dynamics during cell migration. Adhesion activates phosphorylation of integrin-associated signaling proteins, including Cas (p130Cas, BCAR1), by Src-family kinases. Cas regulates leading-edge protrusion and migration in cooperation with its binding partner, BCAR3. However, it has been unclear how Cas and BCAR3 cooperate. Here, using normal epithelial cells, we find that BCAR3 localization to integrin adhesions requires Cas. In return, Cas phosphorylation, as well as lamellipodia dynamics and cell migration, requires BCAR3. These functions require the BCAR3 SH2 domain and a specific phosphorylation site, Tyr 117, that is also required for BCAR3 downregulation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. These findings place BCAR3 in a co-regulatory positive-feedback circuit with Cas, with BCAR3 requiring Cas for localization and Cas requiring BCAR3 for activation and downstream signaling. The use of a single phosphorylation site in BCAR3 for activation and degradation ensures reliable negative feedback by the ubiquitin-proteasome system.

Prognostic Value and Efficacy Evaluation of Novel Drugs for Multiple Myeloma Patients with 1q21 Amplification (Amp1q21) Only: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by chromosomal translocation, deletion, and amplification in plasma cells, resulting in a huge heterogeneity in its outcomes. Of all these cytogenetic abnormalities, Amp1q21 is most commonly detected, which is always associated with significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than normal 1q copy number status. In the era of novel agents such as bortezomib, ixazomib, lenalidomide, a head-to-head comparison of all these agents is still absent, especially in the patients with Amp1q21 alone. So, aiming to explore the optimum therapy to the patients with Amp1q21 only, we conduct this study.

Patients and Methods: We searched the PubMed, the Cochrane Library, PMC and the Embase databases, and we selected all the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in English about MM with Amp1q21 up to April, 2019. A total of 72 papers were full screened and finally 2 literatures can be included in our study.

Results: Of the two studies, the one is about IRd (ixazomib, lenalidomide, dexamethasone) vs. placebo-Rd (HR, 0.781; 95% CI, 0.492-1.240), another is about VAD (vincristine, adriamycin, dexamethasone) vs. PAD (bortezomib, adriamycin, dexamethasone) (3-year survival rate: 59% vs. 83%, p=0.016).

Conclusion: From this review, MM patients with Amp1q21 may somewhat benefit from ixazomib but the evidence is still stuffless. What's more, a head-to-head comparison between ixazomib and other agents among MM patients with Amp1q21 is also absent. So, we sincerely expect this review can attract some attention for the therapy of this special part of patients. This study was registered in https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#recordDetails.

High expression of chaperonin-containing TCP1 subunit 3 may induce dismal prognosis in multiple myeloma

The prognosis role of CCT3 in MM and the possible pathways it involved were studied in our research. By analyzing ten independent datasets (including 48 healthy donors, 2220 MM, 73 MGUS, and 6 PCL), CCT3 was found to express higher in MM than healthy donors, and the expression level was gradually increased from MGUS, SMM, MM to PCL (all P < 0.01). By analyzing three independent datasets (GSE24080, GSE2658, and GSE4204), we found that CCT3 was a significant indicator of poor prognosis (all P < 0.01). KEGG and GSEA analysis showed that CCT3 expression was associated with JAK-STAT3 pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, and WNT signaling pathway. In addition, different expressed genes analysis revealed MYC, which was one of the downstream genes regulated by JAK-STAT3 pathway, was upregulated in MM. This confirms that JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway may promote the progress of disease which was regulated by CCT3 expression. Our study revealed that CCT3 may play a supporting role at the diagnosis of myeloid, and high expression of CCT3 suggested poor prognosis in MM. CCT3 expression may promote the progression of MM mainly by regulating MYC through JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway.

Tanshinol inhibits growth of malignant melanoma cells via regulating miR-1207-5p/CHPF pathway

Tanshinol possesses anti-tumor activity in melanoma both in vitro and in vivo, and miR-1207-5p is involved in tumor progression in melanoma. However, whether miR-1207-5p can be affected by tanshinol treatment in melanoma is not clear. The expression levels of miR-1207-5p were detected by RT-qPCR. The validation of the direct target of miR-1207-5p was through dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blotting assay. The cell viability rate was determined using MTT assay and colony formation assay. The cell mobility was assessed using Transwell migration/invasion assay. Downregulation of miR-1207-5p was found in melanoma cell lines and tissues and was associated with tumor stages, presence of ulceration, lymph node metastasis, and poor overall survival rate of melanoma patients. Tanshinol treatment and miR-1207-5p overexpression suppressed melanoma cell growth and cell mobility. Chondroitin polymerizing factor (CHPF) is a direct target of miR-1207-5p. Tanshinol exerted anti-tumor activity to melanoma through the regulation of miR-1207-5p/CHPF signaling. Our study highlighted the potential therapeutic application of tanshinol and miR-1207-5p as a supplement to enhance the effect of the traditional cancer treatment methods against melanoma.