MicroRNA-300 inhibited glioblastoma progression through ROCK1

Implication of non-coding RNA-mediated ROCK1 regulation in various diseases

Rho Associated Coiled-Coil Containing Protein Kinase 1 (ROCK1) is a protein serine/threonine kinase which is activated upon binding with the GTP-bound form of Rho. This protein can modulate actin-myosin contraction and stability. Moreover, it has a crucial role in the regulation of cell polarity. Therefore, it participates in modulation of cell morphology, regulation of expression of genes, cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptotic processes as well as oncogenic processes. Recent studies have highlighted interactions between ROCK1 and several non-coding RNAs, namely microRNAs, circular RNAs and long non-coding RNAs. Such interactions can be a target of medications. In fact, it seems that the interactions are implicated in therapeutic response to several medications. In the current review, we aimed to explain the impact of these interactions in the pathoetiology of cancers as well as non-malignant disorders.

Integrative Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Primary Malignant Gliomas Revealed Different Patterns Between Grades and Somatic Mutations Related to Glioblastoma Prognosis

Background: As reflected in the WHO classification of glioma since 2020, genomic information has been an important criterion in addition to histology for glioma classification. There is a significant intergrade difference as well as intragrade difference of survival probability among glioma patients. Except the molecular criteria used in the WHO classification, few studies have explored other genomic factors that may be underlying these survival differences, especially in Chinese populations. Here, we used integrative genomic approaches to characterize a Chinese glioma cohort to search for potential prognostic biomarkers.

Methods: We recruited 46 Chinese patients with primary malignant glioma. All the patients were analyzed with whole-exome sequencing (WES) and 27 of them were analyzed with RNA-seq. We compared the molecular features between patients in different WHO grades. We classified the glioblastoma (GBM) patients into two groups (good vs poor survival) using six-month progression-free survival (PFS6) status and compared the genomic profiles between the two groups.

Results: We found grade II and grade III patients cluster together (LGG) and they are different from GBM in unsupervised clustering analysis with RNA-seq data. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) comparing GBM and the LGG group suggested that GBM had upregulation of multiple pathways related to genome integrity and immune cell infiltration. Further comparison of somatic mutations between the two groups revealed TOPAZ1 as a novel mutation associated with GBM and prevalence of CNV in multiple genes in GBM. Comparison between PFS6 good and poor GBM patients revealed six genes (TRIML2, ROCK1, PKD1, OBSCN, HECTD4, and ADCY7) were significantly mutated and two genes (NTRK1 and B2M) had more CNV alterations in the poor prognosis group.

Conclusion: Taken together, our molecular data revealed that GBM patient showed distinct characteristics related to individual gene, chromosome integrity, and infiltrating immune cells compared to LGG (grade II/III) patients. We also identified few novel genes with SNV or CNV, which might be the potential markers for clinical outcome of GBM.

miR-218 affects the ECM composition and cell biomechanical properties of glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumour. GBM cells have the ability to infiltrate into the surrounding brain tissue, which results in a significant decrease in the patient’s survival rate. Infiltration is a consequence of the low adhesion and high migration of the tumour cells, two features being associated with the highly remodelled extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we report that ECM composition is partially regulated at the post‐transcriptional level by miRNA. Particularly, we show that miR‐218, a well‐known miRNA suppressor, is involved in the direct regulation of ECM components, tenascin‐C (TN‐C) and syndecan‐2 (SDC‐2). We demonstrated that the overexpression of miR‐218 reduces the mRNA and protein expression levels of TN‐C and SDC‐2, and subsequently influences biomechanical properties of GBM cells. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and real‐time migration analysis revealed that miR‐218 overexpression impairs the migration potential and enhances the adhesive properties of cells. AFM analysis followed by F‐actin staining demonstrated that the expression level of miR‐218 has an impact on cell stiffness and cytoskeletal reorganization. Global gene expression analysis showed deregulation of a number of genes involved in tumour cell motility and adhesion or ECM remodelling upon miR‐218 treatment, suggesting further indirect interactions between the cells and ECM. The results demonstrated a direct impact of miR‐218 reduction in GBM tumours on the qualitative ECM content, leading to changes in the rigidity of the ECM and GBM cells being conducive to increased invasiveness of GBM.

LncRNA RP11-390F4.3 inhibits invasion and migration of glioblastoma cells by downregulating ROCK1

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA RP11-390F4.3 in glioblastoma.

METHODS

The expression levels of RP11-390F4.3, miR-148a and ROCK1 in glioblastoma and nontumor tissues were measured by performing quantitative PCR (qPCR) and data were compared using paired t test. Linear regression analysis was performed to analyze the correlations between RP11-390F4.3 and miR-148a/ROCK1 in glioblastoma tissues. The effects of overexpression of RP11-390F4.3, miR-148a and ROCK1 on U-373 MG cell invasion and migration were analyzed by Transwell assay.

RESULTS

RP11-390F4.3 and ROCK1 were both upregulated in glioblastoma, while miR-148a was downregulated in glioblastoma. In glioblastoma, RP11-390F4.3 was positively correlated with ROCK1 but negatively correlated with miR-148a. In glioblastoma cells, overexpression of RP11-390F4.3 led to upregulated ROCK1 and downregulated miR-148a. Cell invasion and migration analysis showed that overexpression of RP11-390F4.3 and ROCK1 resulted in increased, and overexpression of miR-148a resulted in deceased invasion and migration rates of glioblastoma cells.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, RP11-390F4.3 may upregulate ROCK1 by downregulating miR-148a to promote glioblastoma cell invasion and migration.

Long noncoding RNA HAND2-AS1 reduced the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma via targeting microRNA-300/SOCS5 axis

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent human cancers with high mortality. Long non-coding RNA heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 2 anti-sense 1 (HAND2-AS1) is down-regulated in several cancers including HCC, yet the precise mechanisms how HAND2-AS1 regulates cell survival in HCC remains poorly understood.

METHODS

The expression levels of HAND2-AS1 and miR-300 were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. The protein levels of suppressor of cytokine signaling 5 (SOCS5), Bcl-2, Bax and cleaved caspase-3 were determined by Western blot. Cell viability and cell proliferation were assessed using cell counting kit-8 and clone formation assay, respectively. Cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. The interactions between HAND2-AS1 and miR-300, miR-300 and SOCS5 were validated using luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS

HAND2-AS1 was down-regulated in HCC tissues and cell lines, and the expression level of HAND2-AS1 was positively correlated to patient survival. HAND2-AS1 over-expression reduced viability and proliferation in HCC cells. Elevated HAND2-AS1 level induced apoptosis in HCC cells, accompanied with increased Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels and decreased Bcl-2 level. We also validated that HAND2-AS1 acted as a sponge of miR-300, and there was a negative correlation between expression levels of HAND2-AS1 and miR-300 in HCC tissues. Furthermore, we found that SOCS5 was a downstream target of miR-300. In addition, miR-300 mimics abolished HAND2-AS1-mediated inhibition of cell viability and proliferation. miR-300 mimics also reversed the HAND2-AS1-induced apoptosis in HCC cells.

CONCLUSION

lncRNA HAND2-AS1 inhibits proliferation in HCC through regulating miR-300/SOCS5 axis.

miRNA signature in glioblastoma: Potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are transcripts with sizes of about 22 nucleotides, which are produced through a multistep process in the nucleus and cytoplasm. These transcripts modulate the expression of their target genes through binding with certain target regions, particularly 3' suntranslated regions. They are involved in the pathogenesis of several kinds of cancers, such as glioblastoma. Several miRNAs, including miR-10b, miR-21, miR-17-92-cluster, and miR-93, have been up-regulated in glioblastoma cell lines and clinical samples. On the other hand, expression of miR-7, miR-29b, miR-32, miR-34, miR-181 family members, and a number of other miRNAs have been decreased in this type of cancer. In the current review, we explain the role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of glioblastoma through providing a summary of studies that reported dysregulation of these epigenetic effectors in this kind of brain cancer.

Serum ROCK2, miR-300 and miR-450b-5p levels in two different clinical phenotypes of multiple sclerosis: Relation to patient disability and disease progression

Relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is the most prevalent MS subtype. Years after disease onset, most of RRMS patients show transition into secondary progressive form (SPMS). Currently, no biomarkers are available for tracking disease progression. Here, we observed marked elevation of Rho-associated protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) along with significant downregulation of miRNAs 300 and 450b-5p expressions in the serum of 39 RRMS and 35 SPMS Egyptian patients compared to healthy controls. More pronounced alterations were found in SPMS versus RRMS patients. Our findings also suggest relations between elevated ROCK2 and reduced expression of both miRNAs with the degree of disability and disease progression. Notably, these biomarkers effectively discriminated RRMS from SPMS patients with miR-450b-5p showing the highest prognostic power.

LncRNA EGFR-AS1 Upregulates ROCK1 by Sponging miR-145 to Promote Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Invasion and Migration

Background: EGFR-AS1 has been characterized as an oncogenic lncRNA in many types of cancers, while its roles in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are unknown. Results: Their data showed that EGFR-AS1 and ROCK1 were upregulated in ESCC and positively correlated. Survival analysis showed that high EGFR-AS1 and ROCK1 expression levels predicted poor survival. In ESCC cells, EGFR-AS1 overexpression led to upregulated ROCK1, while miR-145 overexpression led to downregulated ROCK1 and reduced effects of EGFR-AS1 overexpression. Bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-145 may bind EGFR-AS1, while overexpression of EGFR-AS1 and miR-145 did not significantly affect each other. In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells, EGFR-AS1 and ROCK1 overexpression mediated the increased rates of ECSS cell invasion and migration. Overexpression of miR-145 played an opposite role and attenuated the effects of EGFR-AS1 overexpression. Conclusion: Therefore, EGFR-AS1 may upregulate ROCK1 by sponging miR-145 to promote ESCC cell invasion and migration.

MicroRNA-300 inhibits the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating CREPT/Wnt/β-catenin signaling

A number of studies have demonstrated that altered expression levels of microRNA-300 (miR-300) are associated with tumor progression; however, little is understood regarding the role of miR-300 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aimed to investigate the expression, biological function and potential regulatory mechanism of miR-300 in HCC. A miR-300 mimic and miR-300 inhibitor were transfected into liver cancer cells using RNAiMAX reagent. The expression levels of miR and mRNA were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression levels were detected by western blot analysis. Cell growth was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, a colony formation assay and cell cycle assay. miRNA targeting sites were analyzed using bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The results revealed that miR-300 expression was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines. In vitro experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-300 could inhibit cell proliferation, colony formation and cell cycle progression of liver cancer cells. By contrast, inhibition of miR-300 was associated with increased rates of cell proliferation, colony formation and cell cycle progression. Notably, regulation of nuclear pre-mRNA domain-containing protein 1B (CREPT) was identified as a putative target gene of miR-300 by bioinformatics analysis. A luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-300 directly targets the 3′-untranslated region of CREPT. Further data demonstrated that miR-300 can regulate CREPT expression levels in liver cancer cells. Notably, miR-300 was identified to regulate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in liver cancer cells. The restoration of CREPT expression partially reversed the antitumor effect of miR-300. In conclusion, the current results revealed a tumor suppressive role of miR-300 in HCC and indicated that the underlying mechanism was associated with a regulation of CREPT. The present study suggests that miR-300 and CREPT may serve as potential therapeutic targets for liver cancer.

miR-506 regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis by affecting RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the third leading cause of cancer-related death. MicroRNA-506 (miR-506) has been reported to exhibit abnormal expression in HCC; however, the role of miR-506 in HCC and the molecular mechanisms underlying miR-506 in HCC remain unclarified.

METHODS

Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was performed to detect the expression of miR-506 and Rho associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2). Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assays were performed to identify the regulation between miR-506 and ROCK2. Western blot assay was performed to detect the expression of ROCK2, RhoA, and Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1). The tumor growth in vivo was evaluated in a HCC xenograft mice model.

RESULTS

The mRNA levels of ROCK2 were significantly upregulated, while miR-506 levels were significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cells. The expression of ROCK2 was negatively correlated with miR-506 in HCC tissues. In vitro, upregulation of miR-506 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis, and downregulation of miR-506 promoted proliferation and blocked apoptosis in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. ROCK2 was a target gene of miR-506 and miR-506 regulated the expression of ROCK2 in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. Furthermore, downregulation of miR-506 partially attenuated the tumor-suppressive effect of ROCK2 knockout on HepG2 and Hep3B cells, and upregulation of miR-506 partially attenuated the oncogenic effect of ROCK2 overexpression on HepG2 and Hep3B cells; Overexpression of ROCK2 increased and ROCK2 knockdown decreased the expression of Rac1, which were attenuated by upregulation of miR-506 or downregulation of miR-506, respectively. In addition, ROCK2 overexpression or knockdown hadno significant effect on RhoA expression. In vivo, upregulation of miR-506 suppressed tumor growth, while downregulation of miR-506 promoted tumor growth.

CONCLUSION

miR-506 was involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis by affecting RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway in HCC cells. Our results provide a novel mechanism of miR-506-mediated suppressive effects on HCC tumorigenesis.

miR‑300 regulates tumor proliferation and metastasis by targeting lymphoid enhancer‑binding factor 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Accumulating evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) have a critical role in cell proliferation and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the effect of miR-300 on the development and progression of HCC remains unclear. In the present study, it was observed that miRNA (miR)-300 expression was significantly decreased in HCC cell lines compared with normal liver cells. Furthermore, we detected the effects of miR-300 on cell proliferation and apoptosis, cell cycle, migration and invasion by using MTT, colony formation assay, wound healing, Transwell assay and flow cytometry methods, respectively. The results demonstrated that miR-300 overexpression inhibited proliferation, induced apoptosis and G1/S cell cycle arrest, and suppressed migration and invasion in Huh-7 cells, whereas miR-300 silencing promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of Hep3B cells. Mechanistically, the transcription factor lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF-1), which was verified as a direct target gene of miR-300, promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion and mediates the effects of miR-300 on HCC cells. In addition, low expression of miR-300 and high expression of LEF-1 in HCC tissues were found to be associated with poor prognosis of patients with HCC. These findings indicate that miR-300 may be a potential prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for patients with HCC.

MIR-300 in the imprinted DLK1-DIO3 domain suppresses the migration of bladder cancer by regulating the SP1/MMP9 pathway

Emerging research has suggested that miRNAs play a significant role in oncogenesis and tumor progression by regulating multiple molecular pathways. Here, we investigated miR-300, which inhibited bladder cancer (BCa) migration by regulating the SP1/MMP9 pathway. miR-300, belonging to the DLK1-DIO3 miRNA cluster, is frequently expressed at lower levels in BCa tissue than in adjacent normal tissue due to DNA methylation. Reinforced expression of miR-300 significantly suppressed the migration of BCa cells. We carried out a search of online databases to predict potential targets of miR-300. Further studies determined that miR-300 directly targeted SP1 and suppressed its expression by specifically binding to its 3'-untranslated region. Meanwhile, downregulated MMP9 may be the final effector of BCa cell mobility. Small interference RNAs silencing SP1 phenocopied the effects of miR-300 overexpression, while restoration of SP1 expression partially rescued the inhibition of metastasis induced by miR-300 overexpression in BCa cells. In conclusion, we unveiled a miR-300/SP1/MMP9 pathway in BCa. These findings demonstrate that miR-300 is a promising tumor suppressor in BCa.

MicroRNA-133a inhibits gastric cancer cells growth, migration, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by targeting presenilin 1

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies and a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Accumulating evidence reported that microRNA (miR)-133a was involved in GC. This study aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of miR-133a in the development and progression of GC. The expression of miR-133a and presenilin 1 (PSEN1) in two GC cell lines, SGC-7901 and BGC-823, were inhibited and overexpressed by transient transfections. Thereafter, cell viability, migration, and apoptosis were measured by trypan blue exclusion assay, transwell migration assay, and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to verify whether PSEN1 was a direct target of miR-133a. Furthermore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were mainly performed to assess the expression changes of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated proteins, apoptosis-related proteins, and Notch pathway proteins. MiR-133a inhibitor significantly increased cell viability and migration, while miR-133a mimic decreased cell viability, migration, and induced apoptosis. miR-133a suppression accelerated transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induce EMT, as evidenced by upregulation of E-cadherin, and downregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, and Slug. Of contrast, miR-133a overexpression blocked TGF-β1-induce EMT by altering these factors. PSEN1 was a direct target of miR-133a, and suppression of PSEN1 abolished the promoting functions of miR-133 suppression on cell growth and metastasis. Moreover, PSEN1 inhibition decreased Notch 1, Notch 2, and Notch 3 protein expressions. This study demonstrates an antigrowth and antimetastasis role of miR-133a in GC cells. Additionally, miR-133a acts as a tumor suppressor may be via targeting PSEN1.

RETRACTED: MicroRNA-361-5p inhibits papillary thyroid carcinoma progression by targeting ROCK1

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors and Editor-in-Chief. The authors notified the journal and requested retraction of the article, stating: “We recently found that miR-361 did not affect the tumor growth in vivo. All the authors want to retract this paper. Furthermore, we apologize to the readership of the Journal for any inconvenience caused”. The journal was also alerted to an associated PubPeer post, in which images of xenograft tumors within Figure 6B, and images of colony formation assays within Figure 2C, appear to have been published in other articles, as detailed here: https://pubpeer.com/publications/0DA940799BE0D567BAC4659CDAB13F#. The journal requested the corresponding author provide a more detailed explanation to these concerns and associated raw data, but this request was not satisfactorily fulfilled. The Editor-in-Chief assessed the case and decided to retract the article.

miR-202-5p inhibits the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by targeting ROCK1

Many studies have shown that microRNA regulates the development and treatment of osteosarcoma (OS). In many human cancer studies, the expression of microRNA-202 has been shown to be abnormal. The aim of the study was to examine the role of miR-202-5p in the occurrence and formation of OS. miR-202-5p and Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) levels were assessed using RT-qPCR in OS tissues and cell lines. The cell migrating and invasive abilities were detected by the Transwell assay in OS. Moreover, the relationship between miR-202-5p and ROCK1 was verified via luciferase reporter assay. The protein level of ROCK1 was identified by western blot analysis. Downregulation of miR-202-5p was identified in OS tissues and cell lines. In addition, the miR-202-5p overexpression had inhibitory action for cell migration and invasion in OS. Moreover, miR-202-5p directly targeted ROCK1 and negatively regulated its expression. Upregulation of ROCK1 had a carcinogenic effect in OS. Furthermore, the upregulation of ROCK1 restored the suppressive effect of miR-202-5p. miR-202-5p, in turn, weakened the abilities of cell migration and invasion in OS by inhibiting ROCK1 expression. As a result, miR-202-5p may be developed as a potential pathway in the reatment of OS.

miR-300 regulates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been closely correlated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the involvement of miR-300 in the development of HCC remains unknown. This study elucidated the potential molecular mechanisms of miR-300 in the modulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasion of HCC. The expression levels of miR-300 in HCC cells and clinical samples were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization. The in vitro function of miR-300 in HCC was evaluated using a migration/invasion assay. Quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were used to validate the roles of miR-300 and FAK/PI3K/AKT in EMT progression. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the target gene. miR-300 was down-regulated in HCC and significantly correlated with a poor prognosis in HCC patients. The down-regulation of miR-300 increased the invasiveness of the HCC cells, and promoted the EMT in both HCC tissues and HCC cells. In contrast, up-regulation of miR-300 led to the opposite results. Ectopic overexpression of miR-300 reversed TGF-β1-induced EMT in SMMC-7721 cells, and according to a dual-luciferase reporter assay and rescue assay, miR-300 inhibits the EMT-mediated migration and invasion of HCC cells via the targeted modulation of FAK and the downstream PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. miR-300 targeting modulates FAK, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway inhibits the EMT and suppresses the migration and invasion of HCC cells. Thus, miR-300 represents a promising therapeutic target for HCC.

Endothelin-1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human chondrosarcoma cells by repressing miR-300

Chondrosarcoma is a malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin predominantly composed of cartilage-producing cells. This type of bone cancer is extremely resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Surgical resection is the primary treatment, but is often difficult and not always practical for metastatic disease, so more effective treatments are needed. In particular, it would be helpful to identify molecular markers as targets for therapeutic intervention. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor, has been shown to enhance chondrosarcoma angiogenesis and metastasis. We report that ET-1 promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human chondrosarcoma cells. EMT is a key pathological event in cancer progression, during which epithelial cells lose their junctions and apical-basal polarity and adopt an invasive phenotype. Our study verifies that ET-1 induces the EMT phenotype in chondrosarcoma cells via the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. In addition, we show that ET-1 increases EMT by repressing miR-300, which plays an important role in EMT-enhanced tumor metastasis. We also show that miR-300 directly targets Twist, which in turn results in a negative regulation of EMT. We found a highly positive correlation between ET-1 and Twist expression levels as well as tumor stage in chondrosarcoma patient specimens. Therefore, ET-1 may represent a potential novel molecular therapeutic target in chondrosarcoma metastasis.

MicroRNA‑1288 promotes cell proliferation of human glioblastoma cells by repressing ubiquitin carboxyl‑terminal hydrolase CYLD expression

Previous studies have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRs) are important regulators involved in various cancers, including human glioblastoma (GBM). However, the underlying mechanism of miR-1288 remains poorly understood, and its role in GBM has not been reported. The present study confirmed that miR-1288 expression was markedly upregulated in GBM. Ectopic expression of miR-1288 promoted the proliferation, colony formation and anchorage-independent growth of GBM cells. Bioinformatics analysis coupled with western blotting and luciferase report assays also indicated that miR-1288 promoted cell proliferation of GBM by targeting ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase (CYLD). Knockdown of CYLD expression reversed the cell proliferation promotion by miR-1288-in in GBM. These results suggest that the miR-1288/CYLD axis may represent a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of GBM.

miR-300 regulates cellular radiosensitivity through targeting p53 and apaf1 in human lung cancer cells

microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in mediation of the cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IR). Previous studies revealed that miR-300 was involved in the cellular response to IR or chemotherapy drug. However, whether miR-300 could regulate the DNA damage responses induced by extrinsic genotoxic stress in human lung cancer and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. In this study, the expression of miR-300 was examined in lung cancer cells treated with IR, and the effects of miR-300 on DNA damage repair, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence induced by IR were investigated. It was found that IR induced upregulation of endogenous miR-300, and ectopic expression of miR-300 by transfected with miR-300 mimics not only greatly enhanced the cellular DNA damage repair ability but also substantially abrogated the G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by IR. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that p53 and apaf1 were potential targets of miR-300, and the luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-300 significantly suppressed the luciferase activity through binding to the 3'-UTR of p53 or apaf1 mRNA. In addition, overexpression of miR-300 significantly reduced p53/apaf1 and/or IR-induced p53/apaf1 protein expression levels. Flow cytomertry analysis and colony formation assay showed that miR-300 desensitized lung cancer cells to IR by suppressing p53-dependent G2 cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence. These data demonstrate that miR-300 regulates the cellular sensitivity to IR through targeting p53 and apaf1 in lung cancer cells.

MicroRNA-223 alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced PC-12 cells apoptosis and autophagy by targeting RPH1 in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recognized as key regulators in SCI; however, the role of miR-223 in SCI remains unclear. Herein, our study aimed to explore the effect of miR-223 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced injury to PC-12 cells. PC-12 cells were treated with different concentrations of LPS, and then cell viability, apoptosis, apoptosis-related factors and autophagy-related factors were analyzed by CCK-8, flow cytometry and western blot. Subsequently, miR-223 mimic, miR-223 inhibitor, pEX-RPH1, sh-RPH1 and corresponding controls were transfected into PC-12 cells followed by 5 μg/ml of LPS treatment. Cell viability, apoptosis, apoptosis-related and autophagy-related factors were analyzed again. A target gene of miR-223 was validated by dual-luciferase assay. Besides, the main factors expressions of mTOR and NF-κB signal pathways were measured by western blot. LPS reduced cell viability but increased apoptotic cells rate, up-regulated Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-9, LC-II and Beclin-1, and down-regulated Bcl-2 and p62 expressions in a dose-dependent way. Additionally, miR-223 overexpression promoted cell viability but inhibited apoptosis, and autophagy in LPS-stimulated PC-12 cells. RPH1 was a direct target of miR-223, and RPH1 exhibited contrary impacts to miR-223 on LPS-induced cell apoptosis and autophagy. Besides, the promoting effects of miR-223 suppression on cell apoptosis and autophagy were relieved by RPH1 silence. Furthermore, miR-223 blocked LPS-induced mTOR and NF-κB pathways by down-regulation of RPH1. MiR-223 improved cell viability but declined apoptosis and autophagy by targeting RPH1 and blocked mTOR and NF-κB pathways in LPS challenged PC-12 cells.

HCMV-encoded miR-UL112-3p promotes glioblastoma progression via tumour suppressor candidate 3

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent and lethal type of primary malignant brain tumour. Recent studies suggest that the discovery of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) might play a role in the pathogenesis of diseases, including GBM. In this study, we aimed to analyse the expression and function of HCMV-encoded miRNAs in GBM. We found that miR-UL112-3p expression was significantly elevated in GBM, and its expression levels were highly associated with glioma size, differentiation, WHO stage and the overall and disease-free survival of patients. The overexpression of miR-UL112-3p in the GBM cells promoted cell proliferation, clone formation, migration and invasion. In contrast, the down-regulation of miR-UL112-3p exerted an inverse effects. Tumour suppressor candidate 3 (TUSC3), a potential target gene of miR-UL112-3p, was inversely correlated with miR-UL112-3p expression in GBM tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TUSC3 was directly regulated by miR-UL112-3p, and the ectopic expression of TUSC3 reversed the effects of miR-UL112-3p on GBM progression via the AKT signalling pathway. Taken together, these findings collectively demonstrate that miR-UL112-3p exerts its oncogene function by directly targeting TUSC3 in GBM, indicating a potential novel therapeutic target for GBM.

MicroRNA-137 inhibits growth of glioblastoma through EGFR suppression

Aberrant expression of certain microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to contribute to the development of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). However, the involvement of miR-137 in the carcinogenesis of GBM has not been reported. Here, we showed that miR-137 levels in GBM tissues were significantly lower than the paired normal brain tissue in patients' specimens. Moreover, low miR-137 levels in GBM tissue were associated with poor prognosis. In vitro, overexpression of miR-137 decreased GBM cell growth and increased cell apoptosis, while depletion of miR-137 enhanced cell growth and decreased cell apoptosis. Combined bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-137 may target the 3'-UTR of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to reduce its protein translation, resulting in suppression of EGFR signaling in GBM cells. Together, our data suggest that reduction in miR-137 levels in GBM tissues may increase cell growth and decrease cell apoptosis, possibly through suppression of EGFR.

Long non-coding RNA TUG1 promotes cell proliferation and metastasis by negatively regulating miR-300 in gallbladder carcinoma

BACKGROUND

As we all know, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play vital roles in various human cancers. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of lncRNA TUG1 in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) development.

METHODS

Total RNA was extracted from the tissues of thirty GBC patients, four GBC cell lines. We detected the expression levels of TUG1 using quantitative real-time PCR. We performed CCK8, colony formation, transwell invasion and apoptosis assays to study the effects of TUG1 on GBC cell proliferation and invasion. Western blot assay was performed to assess to the expression level of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) treated and TUG1 knockdown GBC cell. Lastly, dual-luciferase reporter assay and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to verify the potential target microRNAs (miRNAs) of TUG1.

RESULTS

TUG1 expression was significantly overexpressed in GBC tissues. Functionally, this study demonstrated that knockdown of TUG1 significantly inhibited GBC cell proliferation, metastasis. Mechanically, we found that TUG1 is upregulated by TGF-β1, and knockdown of TUG1 inhibited GBC cell EMT. Furthermore, we identified that miR-300, which has been reported as a suppressor in other types of cancer, is negatively regulated by TUG1.

CONCLUSIONS

LncRNA TUG1 promotes GBC cell proliferation, metastasis and EMT progression by functioning as a miRNA sponge to abrogate the endogenous effect of miR-300.