ZC3H12A Expression in Different Stages of Colorectal Cancer

From Fruit Waste to Medical Insight: The Comprehensive Role of Watermelon Rind Extract on Renal Adenocarcinoma Cellular and Transcriptomic Dynamics

Cancer researchers are fascinated by the chemistry of diverse natural products that show exciting potential as anticancer agents. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anticancer properties of watermelon rind extract (WRE) by examining its effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, senescence, and global gene expression in human renal cell adenocarcinoma cells (HRAC-769-P) in vitro. Our metabolome data analysis of WRE exhibited untargeted phyto-constituents and targeted citrulline (22.29 µg/mg). HRAC-769-P cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 media and treated with 22.4, 44.8, 67.2, 88.6, 112, 134.4, and 156.8 mg·mL-1 for 24, 48, and 72 h. At 24 h after treatment, (88.6 mg·mL-1 of WRE) cell proliferation significantly reduced, more than 34% compared with the control. Cell viability decreased 48 and 72 h after treatment to 45% and 37%, respectively. We also examined poly caspase, SA-beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal), and wound healing activities using WRE. All treatments induced an early poly caspase response and a significant reduction in cell migration. Further, we analyzed the transcript profile of the cells grown at 44.8 mg·mL-1 of WRE after 6 h using RNA sequencing (RNAseq) analysis. We identified 186 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 149 upregulated genes and 37 downregulated genes, in cells treated with WRE compared with the control. The differentially expressed genes were associated with NF-Kappa B signaling and TNF pathways. Crucial apoptosis-related genes such as BMF, NPTX1, NFKBIA, NFKBIE, and NFKBID might induce intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis. Another possible mechanism is a high quantity of citrulline may lead to induction of apoptosis by the production of increased nitric oxide. Hence, our study suggests the potential anticancer properties of WRE and provides insights into its effects on cellular processes and gene expression in HRAC-769-P cells.

miR-143-3p shuttled by M2 macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles induces progression of colorectal cancer through a ZC3H12A/C/EBPβ axis-dependent mechanism

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) exhibit pivotal functions in cancer via intercellular communication through shuttling microRNA (miRNA) and protein. Therefore, we aim to elucidate the function of EVs containing miR-143-3p derived from M2 macrophages in colorectal cancer (CRC). EVs derived from M2 macrophages were isolated and characterized. Expression changes in miR-143-3p were calculated in the EVs. The effects of M2 macrophage-derived EV carrying miR-143-3p on cell biological processes and in vivo tumorigenic ability concerning ZC3H12A were examined. EVs derived from M2 macrophages could stimulate the aggressive tumor biology of CRC cells. Meanwhile, in vivo results showed that M2 macrophage-derived EVs facilitated tumor growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. M2 macrophage-secreted EVs could transfer miR-143-3p to CRC cells, in which miR-143-3p bound to the 3'UTR of ZC3H12A and inhibited its expression, leading to elevation of the expression of transcription factor C/EBPβ. Overall, M2 macrophage-derived EV miR-143-3p inhibits ZC3H12A gene and increases C/EBPβ expression to facilitate the development of CRC, which provides novel targets for the molecular treatment of CRC.

Oxidative stress genes in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: construction of a novel prognostic signature and characterization of tumor microenvironment infiltration

Background

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the progression of various types of tumors. However, its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has seldom been explored. This study aimed to discover prognostic markers associated with oxidative stress in ESCC to improve the prediction of prognosis and help in the selection of effective immunotherapy for patients.

Results

A consensus cluster was constructed using 14 prognostic differentially expressed oxidative stress-related genes (DEOSGs) that were remarkably related to the prognosis of patients with ESCC. The infiltration levels of neutrophils, plasma cells, and activated mast cells, along with immune score, stromal score, and estimated score, were higher in cluster 1 than in cluster 2. A prognostic signature based on 10 prognostic DEOSGs was devised that could evaluate the prognosis of patients with ESCC. Calculated risk score proved to be an independent clinical prognostic factor in the training, testing, and entire sets. P53 signaling pathway was highly enriched in the high-risk group. The calculated risk score was positively related to the infiltration levels of resting mast cells, memory B cells, and activated natural killer (NK) cells and negatively associated with the infiltration levels of M1 and M2 macrophages. The relationship between clinical characteristics and risk score has not been certified. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for sorafenib and gefitinib were lower for patients in the low-risk group.

Conclusion

Our prognostic signature based on 10 prognostic DEOSGs could predict the disease outcomes of patients with ESCC and had strong clinical value. Our study improves the understanding of oxidative stress in tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and provides insights for developing improved and efficient immunotherapy strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-022-04956-9.

MCPIP1 promotes cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of glioma via VEGFA-mediated ERK pathway

Glioma is the most common primary malignant intracranial tumor in the population, and is often associated with abundant angiogenesis. However, how angiogenesis is regulated during glioma progression is still poorly understood. Data mining of cancer patient database shows that MCPIP1 is positively correlated with VEGFA expression and negatively with survival. In this study, we report that overexpressed MCPIP1 in glioma cells is a boost of angiogenesis. Mechanistically, MCPIP1 upregulates the expression of VEGFA in glioma, and promote the secretion of VEGFA to the surroundings, which could stimulate angiogenesis through ERK pathway. Blocking VEGFA expression and secretion inhibited MCPIP1-mediated angiogenesis and glioma progression in vitro and xenograft models. Collectively, these results identify a critical role for MCPIP1 in angiogenesis and glioma progression by regulating the VEGFA-mediated ERK pathway, suggesting that targeting MCPIP1 may be a potential glioma-selective therapeutic strategy.

Expression levels of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligands CXCL1 and CXCL3 as prognostic biomarkers in rectal adenocarcinoma: evidence from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) analyses

Rectal cancer is a life‑threatening disease worldwide. Chemotherapy resistance is common in rectal adenocarcinoma patients and has unfavorable survival outcomes; however, its related molecular mechanisms remain unknown. To identify genes related to the initiation and progression of rectal adenocarcinoma, three datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. In total, differentially expressed genes were analyzed from 294 tumor and 277 para-carcinoma samples from patients with rectal cancer. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functions were investigated. Cytoscape software and MicroRNA Enrichment Turned Network were applied to construct a protein-protein interaction network of the dependent hub genes and related microRNAs. The Oncomine database was used to identify hub genes. Additionally, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis was applied to determine the RNA expression level. Tumor immune infiltration was assessed using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource database. The expression profiles of hub genes between stages, and their prognostic value, were also evaluated. During this study, data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were utilized. In rectal adenocarcinoma, four hub genes including CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, and GNG4 were highly expressed at the gene and RNA levels. The expression of CXCL1, CXCL2, and CXCL3 was regulated by has-miR-1-3p and had a strong positive correlation with macrophage and neutrophil. CXCL2 and CXCL3 were differentially expressed at different tumor stages. High expression levels of CXCL1 and CXCL3 predicted poor survival. In conclusion, the CXCL1 and CXCL3 genes may have potential for prognosis and molecular targeted therapy of rectal adenocarcinoma.

Proteomic analysis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell extracellular vesicles from healthy donors: implications for proliferation, angiogenesis, Wnt signaling, and the basement membrane

Background

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have shown therapeutic potential in various in vitro and in vivo studies in cutaneous wound healing. Furthermore, there are ubiquitous studies highlighting the pro-regenerative effects of BM-MSC extracellular vesicles (BM-MSC EVs). The similarities and differences in BM-MSC EV cargo among potential healthy donors are not well understood. Variation in EV protein cargo is important to understand, as it may be useful in identifying potential therapeutic applications in clinical trials. We hypothesized that the donors would share both important similarities and differences in cargo relating to cell proliferation, angiogenesis, Wnt signaling, and basement membrane formation—processes shown to be critical for effective cutaneous wound healing.

Methods

We harvested BM-MSC EVs from four healthy human donors who underwent strict screening for whole bone marrow donation and further Good Manufacturing Practices-grade cell culture expansion for candidate usage in clinical trials. BM-MSC EV protein cargo was determined via mass spectrometry and Proteome Discoverer software. Corresponding proteomic networks were analyzed via the UniProt Consortium and STRING consortium databases.

Results

More than 3000 proteins were identified in each of the donors, sharing > 600 proteins among all donors. Despite inter-donor variation in protein identities, there were striking similarities in numbers of proteins per biological functional category. In terms of biologic function, the proteins were most associated with transport of ions and proteins, transcription, and the cell cycle, relating to cell proliferation. The donors shared essential cargo relating to angiogenesis, Wnt signaling, and basement membrane formation—essential processes in modulating cutaneous wound repair.

Conclusions

Healthy donors of BM-MSC EVs contain important similarities and differences among protein cargo that may play important roles in their pro-regenerative functions. Further studies are needed to correlate proteomic signatures to functional outcomes in cutaneous repair.

Elevated linc00936 or silenced microRNA-425-3p inhibits immune escape of gastric cancer cells via elevation of ZC3H12A

OBJECTIVE

Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant tumor originated from gastric mucosa. Without effective therapy, this study was to investigate the mechanism of long intergenic noncoding RNA 00936 (linc00936)/microRNA-425-3p (miR-425-3p)/monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1 (ZC3H12A) axis mediating immune escape of GC cells.

METHODS

Peripheral blood samples, GC tissues and adjacent tissues were collected. The levels of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ in peripheral blood were detected. The expression levels of linc00936, miR-425-3p and ZC3H12A in GC tissues and cells were detected. The correlation between the expression of linc00936 in the tissues and the levels of CD3⁺, CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ in the peripheral blood of GC patients was analyzed. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells were induced, and co-incubated with GC cells. BGC-823 and MKN-45 cells were screened and transfected with linc00936- or miR-425-3p-related oligonucleotides to figure out their roles in immune escape, migration, apoptosis and the cytotoxicity of CIK cells in GC cells.

RESULTS

Elevated miR-425-3p and reduced linc00936, and ZC3H12A expression levels were found in GC tissues and cells. Linc00936 expression was positively correlated with CD3⁺ and CD4⁺, and negatively correlated with CD8⁺ in peripheral blood of patients with GC. Up-regulating linc00936 or down-regulating miR-425-3p inhibited immune escape, migration, promoted apoptosis of GC cells, as well induced CIK cell cytotoxicity to GC cells. Down-regulated linc00936 or elevated miR-425-3p facilitated immune escape, migration, depressed apoptosis of GC cells, and reduced the cytotoxicity of CIK cells to GC cells.

CONCLUSION

The study concludes that up-regulated linc00936 or silenced miR-425-3p inhibits immune escape of GC cells via elevation of ZC3H12A.

M2 macrophage-derived exosomal microRNA-155-5p promotes the immune escape of colon cancer by downregulating ZC3H12B

Previous evidence has highlighted M2 macrophage regulation of cancer cells via exosome shuttling of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs). The current study set out to explore the possible role of M2 macrophage-derived exosomal miR-155-5p in regard to immune escape of colon cancer cells. Experimental data from quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis revealed highly expressed miR-155-5p and interleukin (IL)-6 and poorly expressed ZC3H12B in M2 macrophage-derived exosomes. Additionally, miR-155-5p could be transferred by M2 macrophage-isolated exosomes to colon cancer cells, which targeted ZC3H12B by binding to the 3¢ UTR, as identified by dual luciferase reporter gene. Meanwhile, gain- and loss-of function experimentation on miR-155-5p and ZC3H12B in SW48 and HT29 cells cocultured with M2 macrophage-secreted exosomes demonstrated that miR-155-5p overexpression or ZC3H12B silencing promoted the proliferation and antiapoptosis ability of SW48 and HT29 cells, as well as augmenting the CD3⁺ T cell proliferation and the proportion of interferon (IFN)-γ⁺ T cells. Xenograft models confirmed that M2 macrophage-derived exosomal miR-155-5p reduced the ZC3H12B expression to upregulate IL-6, which consequently induced immune escape and tumor formation. Collectively, our findings indicated that M2 macrophage-derived exosomal miR-155-5p can potentially promote the immune escape of colon cancer by impairing ZC3H12B-mediated IL-6 stability reduction, thereby promoting the occurrence and development of colon cancer.

An Assessment of InP/ZnS as Potential Anti-Cancer Therapy: Quantum Dot Treatment Increases Apoptosis in HeLa Cells

InP/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are an emerging option in QD technologies for uses of fluorescent imaging as well as targeted drug and anticancer therapies based on their customizable properties. In this study we explored effects of InP/ZnS when treated with HeLa cervical cancer cells. We employed XTT viability assays, reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis, and apoptosis analysis to better understand cytotoxicity extents at different concentrations of InP/ZnS. In addition, we compared the transcriptome profile from the QD-treated HeLa cells with that of untreated HeLa cells to identify changes to the transcriptome in response to the QD. RT-qPCR assay was performed to confirm the findings of transcriptome analysis, and the QD mode of action was illustrated. Our study determined both IC50 concentration of 69 µg/mL and MIC concentration of 167 µg/mL of InP/ZnS. It was observed via XTT assay that cell viability was decreased significantly at the MIC. Production of superoxide, measured by ROS assay with flow cytometry, was decreased, whereas levels of nitrogen radicals increased. Using analysis of apoptosis, we found that induced cell death in the QD-treated samples was shown to be significantly increased when compared to untreated cells. We conclude InP/ZnS QD to decrease cell viability by inducing stress via ROS levels, apoptosis induction, and alteration of transcriptome.