MiRNA-409-5p dysregulation promotes imatinib resistance and disease progression in children with chronic myeloid leukemia

Role of miRNAs to control the progression of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia by their expression levels

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder distinguished by a specific genetic anomaly known as a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22. This translocation causes fusion between the BCR and ABL regions. Consequently, BCR::ABL oncoprotein is formed, which plays a significant role in driving CML progression. Imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), became the first line of drugs against CML. However, with continuous treatment, patients developed resistance against it. Indeed, to address this challenge, microRNA-based therapy emerges as a promising approach. miRNAs are 20-25 nucleotides long and hold great significance in various cellular processes, including cell differentiation, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. In several malignancies, it has been reported that miRNAs might help to promote or prevent tumourigenesis and abnormal expression because they could act as both oncogenes/tumor suppressors. Recently, because of their vital regulatory function in maintaining cell homeostasis, miRNAs might be used to control CML progression and in developing new therapies for TKI-resistant patients. They might also act as potential prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic biomarkers based on their expression profiles. Various annotation tools and microarray-based expression profiles can be used to predict dysregulated miRNAs and their target genes. The main purpose of this review is to provide brief insights into the role of dysregulated miRNAs in CML pathogenesis and to emphasize their clinical relevance, such as their significant potential as therapeutics against CML. Utilizing these miRNAs as a therapeutic approach by inhibition or amplification of their activity could unlock new doors for the therapy of CML.

A Systematic Review of Candidate miRNAs, Its Targeted Genes and Pathways in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia-An Integrated Bioinformatical Analysis

Chronic myeloid leukaemia is blood cancer due to a reciprocal translocation, resulting in a BCR-ABL1 oncogene. Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been successfully used to treat CML, there are still cases of resistance. The resistance occurred mainly due to the mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain of the BCR-ABL1 gene. However, there are still many cases with unknown causes of resistance as the etiopathology of CML are not fully understood. Thus, it is crucial to figure out the complete pathogenesis of CML, and miRNA can be one of the essential pathogeneses. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on miRNAs that were differentially expressed in CML cases. Their target genes and downstream genes were also explored. An electronic search was performed via PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOhost MEDLINE, and Science Direct. The following MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) terms were used: chronic myeloid leukaemia, genes and microRNAs in the title or abstract. From 806 studies retrieved from the search, only clinical studies with in-vitro experimental evidence on the target genes of the studied miRNAs in CML cells were included. Two independent reviewers independently scrutinised the titles and abstracts before examining the eligibility of studies that met the inclusion criteria. Study design, sample size, sampling type, and the molecular method used were identified for each study. The pooled miRNAs were analysed using DIANA tools, and target genes were analysed with DAVID, STRING and Cytoscape MCODE. Fourteen original research articles on miRNAs in CML were included, 26 validated downstream genes and 187 predicted target genes were analysed and clustered into 7 clusters. Through GO analysis, miRNAs’ target genes were localised throughout the cells, including the extracellular region, cytosol, and nucleus. Those genes are involved in various pathways that regulate genomic instability, proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, differentiation, and migration of CML cells.

Contribution of BCR-ABL molecular variants and leukemic stem cells in response and resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a review

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm generated by reciprocal chromosomal translocation, t (9; 22) (q34; q11) in the transformed hematopoietic stem cell. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) target the mature proliferating BCR-ABL cells, the major CML driver, and increase overall and disease-free survival. However, mutant clones, pre-existing or due to therapy, develop resistance against TKIs. BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein activates various molecular pathways including the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, JAK2/STAT pathway, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Stimulation of these pathways in TKI resistant CML patients, make them a new target. Moreover, a small proportion of CML cells, leukemic stem cells (LSCs), persist during the TKI therapy and sustain the disease in the patient. Engraftment of LSCs in the bone marrow niche and dysregulation of miRNA participate greatly in the TKI resistance. Current efforts are needed for determining the reason behind TKI resistance, identification, and elimination of CML LSC might be of great need for cancer cure.

Contribution of BCR-ABL molecular variants and leukemic stem cells in response and resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a review

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm generated by reciprocal chromosomal translocation, t (9; 22) (q34; q11) in the transformed hematopoietic stem cell. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) target the mature proliferating BCR-ABL cells, the major CML driver, and increase overall and disease-free survival. However, mutant clones, pre-existing or due to therapy, develop resistance against TKIs. BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein activates various molecular pathways including the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, JAK2/STAT pathway, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Stimulation of these pathways in TKI resistant CML patients, make them a new target. Moreover, a small proportion of CML cells, leukemic stem cells (LSCs), persist during the TKI therapy and sustain the disease in the patient. Engraftment of LSCs in the bone marrow niche and dysregulation of miRNA participate greatly in the TKI resistance. Current efforts are needed for determining the reason behind TKI resistance, identification, and elimination of CML LSC might be of great need for cancer cure.

Identification of a novel glycolysis-related signature to predict the prognosis of patients with breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer (BC) has a high incidence and mortality rate in females. Its conventional clinical characteristics are far from accurate for the prediction of individual outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to develop a novel signature to predict the survival of patients with BC.

Methods

We analyzed the data of a training cohort from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and a validation cohort from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After the applications of Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Cox regression analyses, a glycolysis-related signature for predicting the survival of patients with BC was developed; the signature contained AK3, CACNA1H, IL13RA1, NUP43, PGK1, and SDC1. Furthermore, on the basis of expression levels of the six-gene signature, we constructed a risk score formula to classify the patients into high- and low-risk groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the Kaplan-Meier curve were used to assess the predicted capacity of the model. Later, a nomogram was developed to predict the outcomes of patients with risk score and clinical features over a period of 1, 3, and 5 years. We further used Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database to validate the expressions of the six biomarkers in tumor and sample tissues, which were taken as control.

Results

We constructed a six-gene signature to predict the outcomes of patients with BC. The patients in the high-risk group showed poor prognosis than those in the low-risk group. The area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.719 and 0.702, showing that the prediction performance of the signature is acceptable. Additionally, Cox regression analysis revealed that these biomarkers could independently predict the prognosis of BC patients with BC without being affected by clinical factors. The expression levels of all six biomarkers in BC tissues were higher than that in normal tissues; however, AK3 was an exception.

Conclusion

We developed a six-gene signature to predict the prognosis of patients with BC. Our signature has been proved to have the ability to make an accurate prediction and might be useful in expanding the hypothesis in clinical research.

A Novel Glycolysis-Related Four-mRNA Signature for Predicting the Survival of Patients With Breast Cancer

Background: Glycolysis is critical in the occurrence and development of tumors. Owing to the biological and clinical heterogeneity of patients with BRCA, the traditional predictive classification system is far from satisfactory. Survival and prognosis biomarkers related to glycolysis have broad application prospects for assessing the risk of patients and guiding their individualized treatment.

Methods: The mRNA expression profiles and clinical information of patients with BRCA were obtained from TCGA database, and glycolysis-related genes were obtained by GSEA. Patients with BRCA were randomly divided into the training cohort and testing cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to establish and validate a new mRNA signature for predicting the prognosis of patients with BRCA.

Results: We established a four-gene breast cancer prediction signature that included PGK1, SDHC, PFKL, and NUP43. The patients with BRCA in the training cohort and testing cohort were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the signature. The AUC values were 0.74 (training cohort), 0.806 (testing cohort) and 0.769 (entire cohort), thereby showing that the prediction performance of the signature is acceptable. Additionally, Cox regression analysis revealed that four-gene signature could independently predict the prognosis of BRCA patients without being affected by clinical factors.

Conclusion: We constructed a four-gene signature to predict the prognosis of patients with BRCA. This signature will aid in the early diagnosis and personalized treatment of breast cancer, but the specific associated biological mechanism requires further study.

Long Non-Coding RNA NCK1-AS1 Serves an Oncogenic Role in Gastric Cancer by Regulating miR-137/NUP43 Axis

Introduction

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) NCK1-AS1 could regulate multiple cancer progression. However, little is known regarding the roles and acting mechanisms of NCK-AS1 in gastric cancer (GC) progression. This work was aimed to explore the relationship between NCK1-AS1 and GC progression to illustrate the mechanisms of NCK1-AS1.

Methods

NCK1-AS1 expression level in GC tissues and cells was measured with a quantitative real-time PCR method. In vitro experiments including cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation assay, wound-healing assay, and transwell invasion assay were employed to detect biological roles of NCK1-AS1 in GC progression. In vivo experiments were performed to analyze the roles of NCK1-AS1 on GC malignant phenotype. Moreover, mechanisms behind the biological roles of NCK1-AS1 in GC were investigated using bioinformatic analysis, luciferase activity reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation assay, and rescue experiments.

Results

NCK1-AS1 was found to have elevated expression in GC tissues and cells in comparison with normal counterparts. Loss-of-function experiments showed knockdown of NCK1-AS1 refrained GC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Animal experiments showed silence of NCK1-AS1 suppresses tumor growth in vivo. Functionally, NCK1-AS1 serves as a sponge for microRNA-137 (miR-137) to upregulate nucleoporin 43 (NUP43) expression in GC. Rescue experiments proved the carcinogenic role of NCK1-AS1/miR-137/NUP43 axis in GC progression.

Discussion

In conclusion, the NCK1-AS1/miR-137/NUP43 axis was identified that could contribute to GC malignancy behaviors.