The β-catenin-LINC00183-miR-371b-5p-Smad2/LEF1 axis promotes adult T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma progression and chemoresistance

Transcriptome reveals the roles and potential mechanisms of lncRNAs in the regulation of albendazole resistance in Haemonchus contortus

BACKGROUND

Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus) is the most common parasitic nematode in ruminants and is prevalent worldwide. H. contortus resistance to albendazole (ABZ) hinders the efficacy of anthelmintic drugs, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate this of drug resistance. Recent research has demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can exert significant influence as pivotal regulators of the emergence of drug resistance.

RESULTS

In this study, transcriptome sequencing was conducted on both albendazole-sensitive (ABZ-sensitive) and albendazole-resistant (ABZ-resistant) H. contortus strains, with three biological replicates for each group. The analysis of lncRNA in the transcriptomic data revealed that there were 276 differentially expressed lncRNA (DElncRNA) between strains with ABZ-sensitive and ABZ-resistant according to the criteria of |log2Foldchange|≥ 1 and FDR < 0.05. Notably, MSTRG.12969.2 and MSTRG.9827.1 exhibited the most significant upregulation and downregulation, respectively, in the resistant strains. The potential roles of the DElncRNAs included catalytic activity, stimulus response, regulation of drug metabolism, and modulation of the immune response. Moreover, we investigated the interactions between DElncRNAs and other RNAs, specifically MSTRG.12741.1, MSTRG.11848.1, MSTRG.5895.1, and MSTRG.14070.1, involved in regulating drug stimulation through cis/trans/antisense/lncRNA‒miRNA-mRNA interaction networks. This regulation leads to a decrease (or increase) in the expression of relevant genes, consequently enhancing the resistance of H. contortus to albendazole. Furthermore, through comprehensive analysis of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) involved in drug resistance-related pathways, such as the mTOR signalling pathway and ABC transporter signalling pathway, the relevance of the MSTRG.2499.1-novel-m0062-3p-HCON_00099610 interaction was identified to mainly involve the regulation of catalytic activity, metabolism, ubiquitination and transcriptional regulation of gene promoters. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validation indicated that the transcription profiles of six DElncRNAs and six DEmRNAs were consistent with those obtained by RNA-seq.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present study allowed us to better understand the changes in the lncRNA expression profile of ABZ-resistant H. contortus. In total, these results suggest that the lncRNAs MSTRG.963.1, MSTRG.12741.1, MSTRG.11848.1 and MSTRG.2499.1 play important roles in the development of ABZ resistance and can serve as promising biomarkers for further study.

Predictors of gastrointestinal complaints in patients on metformin therapy

Although being very effective in the treatment of diabetes and a few other conditions, metformin (MTF) cannot be tolerated by many patients due to gastrointestinal (GI) complaints. A number of risk factors for intolerance were identified, but many are still controversial or uninvestigated. The aim of this study was to further investigate possible risk factors for the occurrence of GI complaints in patients on MTF therapy. A cross-sectional design was used for this multicentric study on adult patients visiting 50 community pharmacies in Montenegro. The patients were surveyed by semi-structured questionnaire after a service of a pharmacist was delivered, and their drugs dispensed. Uni- and multi-variate regression methods were used for processing the data. In total 330 patients participated in the study. A higher body mass index (OR = 1.113, p = 0.003), living at a higher altitude (OR = 1.725, p = 0.000), anaemia (OR = 4.221, p = 0.008), and intestinal infection in the last 3 months (OR = 2.801, p = 0.006) increased the risk of GI complaints in patients on MTF therapy, while the use of statins was protective (OR = 0.204, p = 0.016). Each case of MTF intolerance should be carefully investigated for risk and protective factors, which could be potentially eliminated or augmented, respectively, and MTF withdrawal avoided.

Exosomal long noncoding RNA MLETA1 promotes tumor progression and metastasis by regulating the miR-186-5p/EGFR and miR-497-5p/IGF1R axes in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the most common and deadliest cancer worldwide, and approximately 90% of all lung cancer deaths are caused by tumor metastasis. Tumor-derived exosomes could potentially promote tumor metastasis through the delivery of metastasis-related molecules. However, the function and underlying mechanism of exosomal long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in lung cancer metastasis remain largely unclear.

METHODS

Cell exosomes were purified from conditioned media by differential ultracentrifugation and observed using transmission electron microscopy, and the size distributions were determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis. Exosomal lncRNA sequencing (lncRNA-seq) was used to identify long noncoding RNAs. Cell migration and invasion were determined by wound-healing assays, two-chamber transwell invasion assays and cell mobility tracking. Mice orthotopically and subcutaneously xenografted with human cancer cells were used to evaluate tumor metastasis in vivo. Western blot, qRT‒PCR, RNA-seq, and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to investigate the potential mechanism. The level of exosomal lncRNA in plasma was examined by qRT‒PCR. MS2-tagged RNA affinity purification (MS2-TRAP) assays were performed to verify lncRNA-bound miRNAs.

RESULTS

Exosomes derived from highly metastatic lung cancer cells promoted the migration and invasion of lung cancer cells with low metastatic potential. Using lncRNA-seq, we found that a novel lncRNA, lnc-MLETA1, was upregulated in highly metastatic cells and their secreted exosomes. Overexpression of lnc-MLETA1 augmented cell migration and invasion of lung cancer. Conversely, knockdown of lnc-MLETA1 attenuated the motility and metastasis of lung cancer cells. Interestingly, exosome-transmitted lnc-MLETA1 promoted cell motility and metastasis of lung cancer. Reciprocally, targeting lnc-MLETA1 with an LNA suppressed exosome-induced lung cancer cell motility. Mechanistically, lnc-MLETA1 regulated the expression of EGFR and IGF1R by sponging miR-186-5p and miR-497-5p to facilitate cell motility. The clinical datasets revealed that lnc-MLETA1 is upregulated in tumor tissues and predicts survival in lung cancer patients. Importantly, the levels of exosomal lnc-MLETA1 in plasma were positively correlated with metastasis in lung cancer patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identifies lnc-MLETA1 as a critical exosomal lncRNA that mediates crosstalk in lung cancer cells to promote cancer metastasis and may serve as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Comprehensive scientometrics and visualization study profiles lymphoma metabolism and identifies its significant research signatures

Background

There is a wealth of poorly utilized unstructured data on lymphoma metabolism, and scientometrics and visualization study could serve as a robust tool to address this issue. Hence, it was implemented.

Methods

After strict quality control, numerous data regarding the lymphoma metabolism were mined, quantified, cleaned, fused, and visualized from documents (n = 2925) limited from 2013 to 2022 using R packages, VOSviewer, and GraphPad Prism.

Results

The linear fitting analysis generated functions predicting the annual publication number (y = 31.685x - 63628, R² = 0.93614, Prediction in 2027: 598) and citation number (y = 1363.7x - 2746019, R² = 0.94956, Prediction in 2027: 18201). In the last decade, the most academically performing author, journal, country, and affiliation were Meignan Michel (n = 35), European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (n = 1653), USA (n = 3114), and University of Pennsylvania (n = 86), respectively. The hierarchical clustering based on unsupervised learning further divided research signatures into five clusters, including the basic study cluster (Cluster 1, Total Link Strength [TLS] = 1670, Total Occurrence [TO] = 832) and clinical study cluster (Cluster 3, TLS = 3496, TO = 1328). The timeline distribution indicated that radiomics and artificial intelligence (Cluster 4, Average Publication Year = 2019.39 ± 0.21) is a relatively new research cluster, and more endeavors deserve. Research signature burst and linear regression analysis further confirmed the findings above and revealed additional important results, such as tumor microenvironment (a = 0.6848, R² = 0.5194, p = 0.019) and immunotherapy (a = 1.036, R² = 0.6687, p = 0.004). More interestingly, by performing a "Walktrap" algorithm, the community map indicated that the "apoptosis, metabolism, chemotherapy" (Centrality = 12, Density = 6), "lymphoma, pet/ct, prognosis" (Centrality = 11, Density = 1), and "genotoxicity, mutagenicity" (Centrality = 9, Density = 4) are crucial but still under-explored, illustrating the potentiality of these research signatures in the field of the lymphoma metabolism.

Conclusion

This study comprehensively mines valuable information and offers significant predictions about lymphoma metabolism for its clinical and experimental practice.

SMAD Proteins in TGF-β Signalling Pathway in Cancer: Regulatory Mechanisms and Clinical Applications

Suppressor of mother against decapentaplegic (SMAD) family proteins are central to one of the most versatile cytokine signalling pathways in metazoan biology, the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway. The TGF-β pathway is widely known for its dual role in cancer progression as both an inhibitor of tumour cell growth and an inducer of tumour metastasis. This is mainly mediated through SMAD proteins and their cofactors or regulators. SMAD proteins act as transcription factors, regulating the transcription of a wide range of genes, and their rich post-translational modifications are influenced by a variety of regulators and cofactors. The complex role, mechanisms, and important functions of SMAD proteins in tumours are the hot topics in current oncology research. In this paper, we summarize the recent progress on the effects and mechanisms of SMAD proteins on tumour development, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, and provide clues for subsequent research on SMAD proteins in tumours.

A scientometrics and visualization analysis of oxidative stress modulator Nrf2 in cancer profiles its characteristics and reveals its association with immune response

Background

Nrf2, an essential and fascinating transcription factor, enjoys a dual property in the occurrence and development of inflammation and cancer. For over two decades, numerous studies regarding Nrf2 in cancer have been reported, whereas there is still a lack of a scientometrics and visualization analysis of Nrf2 in cancer. Hence, a scientometric study regarding the oxidative stress modulator Nrf2 was implemented.

Methods

After the quality screening, we defined 7168 relevant studies from 2000 to 2021. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, R software, and GraphPad Prism were used for the following scientometric study and visualization analysis, including field profiles, research hotspots, and future predictions.

Results

The total number of publications and citations are 1058 and 54,690, respectively. After polynomial fitting curve analysis, two prediction functions of the annual publication number (y = 3.3909x² - 13585x + 1 E+07) and citation number (185.45x² - 743669x + 7 E+08) were generated. After scientometric analysis, we found that Biochemistry Molecular Biology correlates with Nrf2 in cancer highly, and Free Radical Biology and Medicine is a good choice for submitting Nrf2-related manuscripts. The current research hotspots of Nrf2 in cancer mainly focus on cancer therapy and its cellular and molecular mechanisms. "antioxidant response element (87.5)", "gene expression (43.98)", "antioxidant responsive element (21.14)", "chemoprevention (20.05)", "carcinogenesis (19.2)", "cancer chemoprevention (18.45)", "free radical (17.15)", "response element (14.17)", and "chemopreventive agent (14.04)" are important for cancer therapy study. In addition, "glutathione-S-transferase (47)", "keap1 (15.39)", and "heme oxygenase 1 gene (24.35)" are important for inflammation and cell fate study. More interestingly, by performing an "InfoMap" algorithm, the thematic map showed that the "immune response" is essential to oxidative stress modulator Nrf2 but not well developed, indicating it deserves further exploration.

Conclusion

This study revealed field profiles, research hotspots, and future directions of oxidative stress modulator Nrf2 in inflammation and cancer research, and our findings will offer a vigorous roadmap for further studies in this field.