Overexpression of YES1 is associated with favorable prognosis and increased platinum-sensitivity in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

miR-133a targets YES1 to reduce cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer by regulating cell autophagy

Background

Accumulating evidence has revealed that aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression can affect the development of chemotherapy drug resistance by modulating the expression of relevant target proteins. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that miR-133a participates in the tumorigenesis of various cancers. However, whether miR-133a is associated with cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer remains unclear.

Objective

To investigate the role of miR-133a in the development of cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer.

Methods

MiR-133a expression in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines was assessed by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT–qPCR). A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to evaluate the viability of tumour cells treated with cisplatin in the presence or absence of miR-133a. A luciferase reporter assay was used to analyse the binding of miR-133a with the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of YES proto-oncogene 1 (YES1). The YES1 expression level was analysed using a dataset from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and assessed by RT–qPCR and western blotting in vitro. The roles and mechanisms of YES1 in cell functions were further probed via gain- and loss-of-function analysis.

Results

The expression of miR-133a was significantly decreased in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780-DDP and SKOV3-DDP), and the overexpression of the miR-133a mimic reduced cisplatin resistance in A2780-DDP and SKOV3-DDP cells. Treatment with the miR-133a inhibitor increased cisplatin sensitivity in normal A2780 and SKOV3 cells. MiR-133a binds the 3’UTR of YES1 and downregulates its expression. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that YES1 expression was upregulated in recurrent cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer tissue, and in vitro experiments also verified its upregulation in cisplatin-resistant cell lines. Furthermore, we discovered that miR-133a downregulated the expression of YES1 and thus inhibited cell autophagy to reduce cisplatin resistance. Yes1 knockdown significantly suppressed the cisplatin resistance of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting autophagy in vitro. Xenograft tumour implantation further demonstrated that Yes1 overexpression promoted ovarian tumour development and cisplatin resistance.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the miR-133a/YES1 axis plays a critical role in cisplatin resistance in human ovarian cancer by regulating cell autophagy, which might serve as a promising therapeutic target for ovarian cancer chemotherapy treatment in the future.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02412-x.

An emerging role for BAG3 in gynaecological malignancies

BAG3, a member of the BAG family of co-chaperones, is a multidomain protein with a role in several cellular processes, including the control of apoptosis, autophagy and cytoskeletal dynamics. The expression of bag3 is negligible in most cells but can be induced by stress stimuli or malignant transformation. In some tumours, BAG3 has been reported to promote cell survival and resistance to therapy. The expression of BAG3 has been documented in ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers, and studies have revealed biochemical and functional connections of BAG3 with proteins involved in the survival, invasion and resistance to therapy of these malignancies. BAG3 expression has also been shown to correlate with the grade of dysplasia in squamous intraepithelial lesions of the uterine cervix. Some aspects of BAG3 activity, such as its biochemical and functional interaction with the human papillomavirus proteins, could help in our understanding of the mechanisms of oncogenesis induced by the virus. This review aims to highlight the potential value of BAG3 studies in the field of gynaecological tumours.

A model of seven immune checkpoint-related genes predicting overall survival for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by different molecular subtypes with different prognosis and response to treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to construct reliable gene signatures based on immune checkpoint-related genes to distinguish between subgroups of patients with different risks.

METHODS

We obtained the HNSCC data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) as a training set and the external validation set, respectively. First, differentially expressed immune checkpoint-related genes in tumor tissues and normal tissues were determined, and the potential functions of differential genes were explored through GO function annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Using univariate Cox regression analysis, 20 immune checkpoint-related genes in HNSCC patients were significantly associated with overall survival (OS). Subsequently, seven genes were selected by multivariate Cox regression analysis to create a gene signature. Next, the stability of gene signatures was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Finally, we constructed a nomogram visualization modelled to facilitate subsequent clinical applications.

RESULTS

A total of 80 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained, the GO analysis of these DEGs indicated that they were significantly enriched in positive regulation of cell activation, T cell activation; the KEGG analysis results performed and showed that the DEGs were enriched in the MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K - Akt signaling pathway. 7 genes (PPP2R1B, MYD88, CD86, CD80, MAP2K1, TRIB3 and ICOS) were screened by univariate and multivariate Cox regression, and they were used to construct a prognostic model. In the TCGA and GEO datasets, Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients in the high-risk group have a poor prognosis. The sensitivity and specificity evaluation of prognostic model for 1-, 3-, 5-year OS in TCGA were 0.644, 0.661 and 0.625, respectively; and in GSE41613 were 0.748, 0.719, and 0.727, respectively. The calibration chart curve showed that the nomogram has strong clinical performance in the prognosis prediction of HNSCC patients.

CONCLUSIONS

A novel immune checkpoint-related gene signature can effectively predict and stratify OS in HNSCC patients.