Identification of tumorigenesis-related mRNAs associated with RNA-binding protein HuR in thyroid cancer cells

Microbial signatures in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: an in silico study

OBJECTIVES

The oral cavity harbors a plethora of bacterial species. Dysbiosis of oral and gut microbiota is associated with several oral and systemic pathologies, such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and gastrointestinal diseases. Imbalance in the oral-gut microbial axis has been associated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aims to analyze the bacterial profile of HNSCC across various taxonomic units, investigate molecular patterns associated with prevalent bacterial phylum in HNSCC, and compare the bacterial profile in HNSCC and gastrointestinal (GI) carcinoma using computational analysis.

METHODOLOGY

The microbe-host transcriptomic, proteomic, and epigenetic analyses of HNSCC and GI carcinomas were performed using The Cancer Microbiome Atlas (TCMA) database. The differential expression of the host's mRNA transcripts and proteins associated with tumor microbiome were analyzed using The University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer data analysis (UALCAN) and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) websites.

RESULTS

A decrease in Actinobacteria and an enrichment of Flavobacteria at the class level, Neisseriales, Pasteurellales, and Campylobacterales at the order level, Pasteurellaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Campylobacteraceae, and Peptoniphilaceae at the family level, and Hemophilus, Porphyromonas, and Leptotrichia at the genus level were observed in HNSCC compared to the normal mucosa. RICTOR protein, mRNA transcripts (HIST1H2BB, SCARNA11, TBC1D21 gene), and hsa-miR-200a-5p miRNA were significantly correlated with prevalent bacterial species in HNSCC. A major increase in Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Spirochaetes was observed in HNSCC compared to GI carcinoma.

CONCLUSION

The oral-gut microbial dysbiosis, as reflected by the differential abundance of bacterial species in oral and GI carcinomas, suggests the implication of tumor microbiome and their genomic interactions with the host in carcinogenesis.

Roles of Histone H2B, H3 and H4 Variants in Cancer Development and Prognosis

Histone variants are the paralogs of core histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4). They are stably expressed throughout the cell cycle in a replication-independent fashion and are capable of replacing canonical counterparts under different fundamental biological processes. Variants have been shown to take part in multiple processes, including DNA damage repair, transcriptional regulation and X chromosome inactivation, with some of them even specializing in lineage-specific roles like spermatogenesis. Several reports have recently identified some unprecedented variants from different histone families and exploited their prognostic value in distinct types of cancer. Among the four classes of canonical histones, the H2A family has the greatest number of variants known to date, followed by H2B, H3 and H4. In our prior review, we focused on summarizing all 19 mammalian histone H2A variants. Here in this review, we aim to complete the full summary of the roles of mammalian histone variants from the remaining histone H2B, H3, and H4 families, along with an overview of their roles in cancer biology and their prognostic value in a clinical context.

Cyclometalated and NNN Terpyridine Ruthenium Photocatalysts and Their Cytotoxic Activity

The cyclometalated terpyridine complexes [Ru(η2-OAc)(NC-tpy)(PP)] (PP = dppb 1, (R,R)-Skewphos 4, (S,S)-Skewphos 5) are easily obtained from the acetate derivatives [Ru(η2-OAc)2(PP)] (PP = dppb, (R,R)-Skewphos 2, (S,S)-Skewphos 3) and tpy in methanol by elimination of AcOH. The precursors 2, 3 are prepared from [Ru(η2-OAc)2(PPh3)2] and Skewphos in cyclohexane. Conversely, the NNN complexes [Ru(η1-OAc)(NNN-tpy)(PP)]OAc (PP = (R,R)-Skewphos 6, (S,S)-Skewphos 7) are synthesized in a one pot reaction from [Ru(η2-OAc)2(PPh3)2], PP and tpy in methanol. The neutral NC-tpy 1, 4, 5 and cationic NNN-tpy 6, 7 complexes catalyze the transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone (S/C = 1000) in 2-propanol with NaOiPr under light irradiation at 30 °C. Formation of (S)-1-phenylethanol has been observed with 4, 6 in a MeOH/iPrOH mixture, whereas the R-enantiomer is obtained with 5, 7 (50-52% ee). The tpy complexes show cytotoxic activity against the anaplastic thyroid cancer 8505C and SW1736 cell lines (ED50 = 0.31-8.53 µM), with the cationic 7 displaying an ED50 of 0.31 µM, four times lower compared to the enantiomer 6.

Rare germline variants in DNA repair-related genes are accountable for papillary thyroid cancer susceptibility

BACKGROUND

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) proved to be vital not only for diagnostic purposes but also for tailored treatments. Despite the strong evidence of heritability, only a small subset of alterations has been implicated in PTC pathogenesis. To this reason, we used targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify candidate variants implicated in PTC pathogenesis, progression, and invasiveness.

METHODS

A total of 42 primary PTC tissues were investigated using a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel enlisting 47 genes involved in DNA repair and tumor progression.

RESULTS

We identified 57 point mutations in 78.5% of samples (n = 32). Thirty-two somatic mutations were identified exclusively in known thyroid cancer genes (BRAF, KRAS, NRAS, and TERT). Unpredictably, 45% of the all identified mutations (n = 25) resulted to be germline, most affecting DNA repair genes. Interestingly, none of the latter variants was in the main population databases. Following ACMG classification, 20% of pathogenic/likely pathogenic and 68% of variant of unknown significance were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our results support the hypothesis that rare germline variants in DNA repair genes are accountable for PTC susceptibility. More data, including the segregation analysis in affected families, should be collected before definitely annotate these alterations and to establish their potential prognostic and treatment implications.

Dihydrotanshinone exerts antitumor effects and improves the effects of cisplatin in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is the most aggressive type of thyroid cancer and is responsible for 20‑50% of thyroid cancer‑associated deaths. The absence of response to conventional treatments makes the search for novel therapeutics a clinical challenge. In the present study, the effects of 15,16‑dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), a tanshinone extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen), which has previously been shown to possess anticancer activity, were examined in two human ATC cell lines. DHT significantly reduced cell viability, which was coupled with an increase in apoptosis. DHT administration also reduced the colony‑forming ability and proliferation of these cells in soft agar and downregulated the expression of epithelial‑to‑mesenchymal transition‑related genes. In addition, DHT significantly reduced MAD2 expression, a target of HuR with a relevant role in ATC. Finally, cotreatment with cisplatin and DHT has a greater effect on cell viability than each compound alone. In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to demonstrate that DHT exerts antitumor effects on ATC cells by reducing MAD2 expression levels. Moreover, a synergistic effect of DHT with cisplatin was shown. Further in vivo studies are required to assess this phytochemical compound as a potential adjuvant for the treatment of ATC.

RNA Interference and Nanotechnology: A Promising Alliance for Next Generation Cancer Therapeutics

Cancer is a significant health hazard of the 21st century, and GLOBOCAN predicts increasing cancer incidence in the coming decades. Though several conventional treatment modalities exist, most of them end up causing off-target and debilitating effects, and drug resistance acquisition. Advances in our understanding of tumor molecular biology offer alternative strategies for precise, robust, and potentially less toxic treatment paradigms for circumventing the disease at the cellular and molecular level. Several deregulated molecules associated with tumorigenesis have been developed as targets in RNA interference (RNAi) based cancer therapeutics. RNAi, a post-transcriptional gene regulation mechanism, has significantly gained attention because of its precise multi-targeted gene silencing. Although the RNAi approach is favorable, the direct administration of small oligonucleotides has not been fruitful because of their inherent lower half-lives and instability in the biological systems. Moreover, the lack of an appropriate delivery system to the primary site of the tumor that helps determine the potency of the drug and its reach, has limited the effective medical utilization of these bio-drugs. Nanotechnology, with its unique characteristics of enhanced permeation and better tumor-targeting efficiency, offers promising solutions owing to the various possibilities and amenability for modifications of the nanoparticles to augment cancer therapeutics. Nanoparticles could be made multimodal, by designing and synthesizing multiple desired functionalities, often resulting in unique and potentially applicable biological structures. A small number of Phase I clinical trials with systemically administered siRNA molecules conjugated with nanoparticles have been completed and the results are promising, indicating that, these new combinatorial therapies can successfully and safely be used to inhibit target genes in cancer patients to alleviate some of the disease burden. In this review, we highlight different types of nano-based delivery strategies for engineering Nano-RNAi-based bio drugs. Furthermore, we have highlighted the insights gained from current research that are entering the preclinical evaluation and information about initial clinical developments, shaping the future for next generation cancer therapeutics.

A novel histone H4 variant H4G regulates rDNA transcription in breast cancer

Histone variants, present in various cell types and tissues, are known to exhibit different functions. For example, histone H3.3 and H2A.Z are both involved in gene expression regulation, whereas H2A.X is a specific variant that responds to DNA double-strand breaks. In this study, we characterized H4G, a novel hominidae-specific histone H4 variant. We found that H4G is expressed in a variety of human cell lines and exhibit tumor-stage dependent overexpression in tissues from breast cancer patients. We found that H4G localized primarily to the nucleoli of the cell nucleus. This localization was controlled by the interaction of the alpha-helix 3 of the histone fold motif with a histone chaperone, nucleophosmin 1. In addition, we found that modulating H4G expression affects rRNA expression levels, protein synthesis rates and cell-cycle progression. Our data suggest that H4G expression alters nucleolar chromatin in a way that enhances rDNA transcription in breast cancer tissues.

Replication-dependent histone isoforms: a new source of complexity in chromatin structure and function

Replication-dependent histones are expressed in a cell cycle regulated manner and supply the histones necessary to support DNA replication. In mammals, the replication-dependent histones are encoded by a family of genes that are located in several clusters. In humans, these include 16 genes for histone H2A, 22 genes for histone H2B, 14 genes for histone H3, 14 genes for histone H4 and 6 genes for histone H1. While the proteins encoded by these genes are highly similar, they are not identical. For many years, these genes were thought to encode functionally equivalent histone proteins. However, several lines of evidence have emerged that suggest that the replication-dependent histone genes can have specific functions and may constitute a novel layer of chromatin regulation. This Survey and Summary reviews the literature on replication-dependent histone isoforms and discusses potential mechanisms by which the small variations in primary sequence between the isoforms can alter chromatin function. In addition, we summarize the wealth of data implicating altered regulation of histone isoform expression in cancer.

The HuR CMLD-2 inhibitor exhibits antitumor effects via MAD2 downregulation in thyroid cancer cells

Hu antigen R (HuR) is indeed one of the most studied RNA-binding protein (RBP) since its fundamental role both in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. For this reason, downregulation in HuR protein levels or inhibition of HuR biological function are, nowadays, attractive goals in cancer research. Here, we examined the antitumor effects of CMLD-2 in four thyroid cancer cell lines (SW1736, 8505 C, BCPAP and K1). Indeed, CMLD-2 competitively binds HuR protein disrupting its interaction with RNA-targets. 35 μM CLMD-2 produced a significant downregulation in thyroid cancer cell viability, coupled to an increase in apoptosis. Moreover, CMLD-2 treatment hindered both migration and colony formation ability. MAD2 is a microtubules-associated protein known to be greatly overexpressed in cancer and correlating with tumor aggressiveness. Furthermore, MAD2 is known to be a HuR target. CMLD-2 treatment induced a strong MAD2 downregulation and rescue experiments depicted it as a key effector in HuR-mediated in cancer. Altogether, these data contributed to foster HuR inhibition as valid antineoplastic treatment in thyroid cancer, highlighting MAD2 as a novel therapeutic target.

Characterization of circulating miRNA signature in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) during Brucella abortus infection and evaluation as potential biomarkers for non-invasive diagnosis in vaginal fluid

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria from the Brucella genus that can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. Brucellosis also causes financial losses in animal production. Ruminants are highly susceptible to brucellosis, and the causative agent water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) is Brucella abortus. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are cropping up as promising biomarkers for several infectious diseases. The goals of this study were to characterize the serum miRNA signature associated with brucellosis in water buffaloes and investigate the miRNAs’ potential use as biomarkers in vaginal fluids. Next Generation Sequencing was used to assess miRNA expression profiles in Brucella-positive and Brucella-negative blood sera; dysregulated miRNAs in blood serum and vaginal fluids were validated using RT-qPCR. ROC curves were generated to evaluate the diagnostic value of miRNAs for Brucella. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were exploited to investigate the biological functions of dysregulated miRNAs. The results showed that 20 miRNAs were modulated, of which, 12 were upregulated and 8 were downregulated. These findings were corroborated by RT-qPCR, and ROC curves indicated that the miRNAs can serve as potential biomarkers for Brucella. GO and KEGG pathway analyses pointed out that some of these miRNAs are related to immune response and apoptosis. These results provided an overview of miRNA expression profiles and highlighted potential biomarkers for Brucella infection in water buffaloes. We also demonstrated the potential of vaginal fluids in studies involving microRNA detection. Further functional and mechanistic studies of these miRNAs may improve our understanding of the biological processes involved in Brucella infection and host immune response.

The Highly Expressed FAM83F Protein in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Exerts a Pro-Oncogenic Role in Thyroid Follicular Cells

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer with predominant prevalence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) histotype. MAPK signaling genetic alterations are frequent in PTC, affecting more than 80% of cases. These alterations constitutively activate MAPK signaling cross-regulating different pro-oncogenic pathways. However, additional molecular alterations associated with thyroid cancer are not completely understood. In this extent, the new family of proteins named FAM83 (FAMily with sequence similarity 83) was recently identified as mediator of oncogenic signaling in different types of cancer. Here we report FAM83F as a novel highly expressed protein in PTC. We evaluated FAM83F levels in 106 PTC specimens, 34 goiter, and 41 adjacent non-tumoral human thyroid, and observed FAM83F cytoplasmic overexpression in 71% of PTC (76 of 106) while goiter tissues showed nuclear positivity and normal thyroid showed no staining by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, TSH-induced goiter and BRAF ^T1799A -induced PTC animal models also showed FAM83F activation. In vitro, we generated a stable thyroid cell line PCCL3 with FAM83F overexpression and observed that FAM83F deregulates thyroid follicular cell biology leading to loss of thyroid differentiation genes such as Sodium-Iodide Symporter (NIS), reactivation of stem cell markers such as LIN28B and SOX2, induction of cell migration and resistance to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Moreover, FAM83F activates MAPK signaling through interaction with BRAF and RAF while impairs TGFβ antiproliferative signaling transduction. In this study, we showed FAM83F as a new pro-oncogenic protein overexpressed in thyroid cancer that modulates thyroid follicular cell biology and differentiation through cross-regulation of MAPK and TGFβ signaling.

miR18a and miR19a Recruit Specific Proteins for Splicing in Thyroid Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND

Thyroid cancer is one of the most frequent types of endocrine cancers. In most cases, thyroid cancers are caused by deregulated miRNA expression, especially involving the miR17-92 cluster. miR17-92 transcription is altered in several different tumor types including lymphoma, leukemia, and of the breast and thyroid. As an intronic cluster, miR17-92 must be processed during splicing and therefore interaction between microprocessor and spliceosome machineries is of major importance in understanding its expression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We investigated the protein composition of spliceosomes assembled on pre-RNAs containing intronic miR18a and miR19a, components of the miR17-92 cluster, using mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Interestingly, we observed that proteins associated with intronic miR18a and miR19a are cell-specific, and are similar for both miRNAs analyzed. The only exception is the group of heterogeneous nuclear proteins that are commonly recruited by different cells.

CONCLUSION

miRNA processing depends on cell-specific proteins and heterogeneous nuclear proteins have a general role in miRNA processing from introns.

Coming of Age for Autotaxin and Lysophosphatidate Signaling: Clinical Applications for Preventing, Detecting and Targeting Tumor-Promoting Inflammation

A quarter-century after the discovery of autotaxin in cell culture, the autotaxin-lysophosphatidate (LPA)-lipid phosphate phosphatase axis is now a promising clinical target for treating chronic inflammatory conditions, mitigating fibrosis progression, and improving the efficacy of existing cancer chemotherapies and radiotherapy. Nearly half of the literature on this axis has been published during the last five years. In cancer biology, LPA signaling is increasingly being recognized as a central mediator of the progression of chronic inflammation in the establishment of a tumor microenvironment which promotes cancer growth, immune evasion, metastasis, and treatment resistance. In this review, we will summarize recent advances made in understanding LPA signaling with respect to chronic inflammation and cancer. We will also provide perspectives on the applications of inhibitors of LPA signaling in preventing cancer initiation, as adjuncts extending the efficacy of current cancer treatments by blocking inflammation caused by either the cancer or the cancer therapy itself, and by disruption of the tumor microenvironment. Overall, LPA, a simple molecule that mediates a plethora of biological effects, can be targeted at its levels of production by autotaxin, LPA receptors or through LPA degradation by lipid phosphate phosphatases. Drugs for these applications will soon be entering clinical practice.

Clinical Significance and Biological Role of HuR in Head and Neck Carcinomas

Background

Hu-antigen R (HuR) is a posttranscriptional regulator of several target mRNAs, implicated in carcinogenesis. This review aims to present the current evidence regarding the biological role and potential clinical significance of HuR in head and neck carcinomas.

Methods

The existing literature concerning HuR expression and function in head and neck carcinomas is critically presented and summarised.

Results

HuR is expressed in the majority of the examined samples, showing higher cytoplasmic levels in malignant or premalignant cases. Moreover, HuR modulates several genes implicated in biological processes important for malignant transformation, growth, and invasiveness. HuR seems to be an adverse prognosticator in patients with OSCCs, whereas a correlation with a more aggressive phenotype is reported in several types of carcinomas.

Conclusions

A consistent role of HuR in the carcinogenesis and progression of head and neck carcinomas is suggested; nevertheless, further studies are warranted to expand the present information.

Effects of HuR downregulation on anaplastic thyroid cancer cells

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) constitutes one of the most aggressive types of human solid cancer, and is characterized by the absence of thyroid differentiation features and a marked degree of invasiveness. We have previously demonstrated that the RNA-binding protein Hu antigen R (HuR) is overexpressed in thyroid carcinoma; thus, the biological role of this RNA-binding protein was investigated in the present study using the ATC cell lines SW1736 and 8505C. In both cell lines, HuR protein levels were higher compared with in the non-tumorigenic thyroid cell line Nthy-ori-3.1. HuR silencing by RNA interference in both ATC cell lines decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis rates and reduced the capability to form colonies in soft agar. Thus, HuR plays an important role in the proliferation and aggressiveness of ATC cells. The histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) was able to reduce the viability of ATC cells. The results demonstrated that SAHA was able to decrease HuR expression in SW1736 and 8505C cells. Furthermore, since it is known that the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-κB modulates HuR expression, whether SAHA affects the nuclear (active) fraction of NF-κB in ATC cells was investigated. The data suggested that SAHA decreases ATC cell viability by reducing the active form of NF-κB, which, in turn, modulates HuR expression.

Comprehensive characterization of differentially expressed genes in thyroid cancer

AIM

To explore the patterns of gene expression and functionally characterize the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in thyroid cancer.

METHODS

DEGs were determined between 57 paired thyroid cancer and noncancerous tissues using DESeq2. Subsequently, the main functions of the DEGs were studied by a variety of analyses.

RESULTS

We identified a cohort of 752 upregulated and 309 downregulated DEGs in thyroid cancer. Several hub DEGs were found in the protein-protein interaction networks. We also revealed a set of DEGs that were dysmethylated, involved in copy number variations and associated with clinical features in thyroid cancer.

CONCLUSION

These results provide some novel findings on DEGs in thyroid cancer, which will be useful to guide further investigation and target therapy for this disease. [Formula: see text].