A novel cuproptosis-related lncRNAs signature predicts prognostic and immune of bladder urothelial carcinoma

Prognostic value and immune landscapes of disulfidptosis‑related lncRNAs in bladder cancer

Disulfidptosis, which was recently identified, has shown promise as a potential cancer treatment. Nonetheless, the precise role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in this phenomenon is currently unclear. To elucidate their significance in bladder cancer (BLCA), a signature of disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs (DRlncRNAs) was developed and their potential prognostic significance was explored. BLCA sample data were sourced from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A predictive signature comprising DRlncRNAs was formulated and subsequently validated. The combination of this signature with clinical characteristics facilitated the development of a nomogram with practical clinical utility. Additionally, enrichment analysis was conducted, the tumor microenvironment (TME) was assessed, the tumor mutational burden (TMB) was analyzed, and drug sensitivity was explored. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was utilized to quantify lncRNA expression. The results revealed an eight-gene signature based on DRlncRNAs was established, and the predictive accuracy of the nomogram that incorporated the risk score [area under the curve (AUC)=0.733] outperformed the nomogram without it (AUC=0.703). High-risk groups were associated with pathways such as WNT signaling, focal adhesion and cell cycle pathways. The TME study revealed that high-risk patients had increased immune infiltration, whereas the TMB and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion scores in low-risk patients indicated a potentially robust immune response. Drug sensitivity analysis identified appropriate antitumor drugs for each group. RT-qPCR experiments validated significant differences in DRlncRNAs expression between normal and BLCA cell lines. In conclusion, the prognostic risk signature, which includes the eight identified DRlncRNAs, demonstrates promise for predicting prognosis of patients with BLCA and guiding the selection of suitable immunotherapy and chemotherapy strategies.

Chromatin modifiers in human disease: from functional roles to regulatory mechanisms

The field of transcriptional regulation has revealed the vital role of chromatin modifiers in human diseases from the beginning of functional exploration to the process of participating in many types of disease regulatory mechanisms. Chromatin modifiers are a class of enzymes that can catalyze the chemical conversion of pyrimidine residues or amino acid residues, including histone modifiers, DNA methyltransferases, and chromatin remodeling complexes. Chromatin modifiers assist in the formation of transcriptional regulatory circuits between transcription factors, enhancers, and promoters by regulating chromatin accessibility and the ability of transcription factors to acquire DNA. This is achieved by recruiting associated proteins and RNA polymerases. They modify the physical contact between cis-regulatory factor elements, transcription factors, and chromatin DNA to influence transcriptional regulatory processes. Then, abnormal chromatin perturbations can impair the homeostasis of organs, tissues, and cells, leading to diseases. The review offers a comprehensive elucidation on the function and regulatory mechanism of chromatin modifiers, thereby highlighting their indispensability in the development of diseases. Furthermore, this underscores the potential of chromatin modifiers as biomarkers, which may enable early disease diagnosis. With the aid of this paper, a deeper understanding of the role of chromatin modifiers in the pathogenesis of diseases can be gained, which could help in devising effective diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Roles of non-coding RNAs in the metabolism and pathogenesis of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is featured as the second most common malignancy of the urinary tract worldwide with few treatments leading to high incidence and mortality. It stayed a virtually intractable disease, and efforts to identify innovative and effective therapies are urgently needed. At present, more and more evidence shows the importance of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) for disease-related study, diagnosis, and treatment of diverse types of malignancies. Recent evidence suggests that dysregulated functions of ncRNAs are closely associated with the pathogenesis of numerous cancers including BC. The detailed mechanisms underlying the dysregulated role of ncRNAs in cancer progression are still not fully understood. This review mainly summarizes recent findings on regulatory mechanisms of the ncRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, and circular RNAs, in cancer progression or suppression and focuses on the predictive values of ncRNAs-related signatures in BC clinical outcomes. A deeper understanding of the ncRNA interactive network could be compelling framework for developing biomarker-guided clinical trials.