MiRNA-142-3P and FUS can be Sponged by Long Noncoding RNA DUBR to Promote Cell Proliferation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Role of MicroRNAs in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

MicroRNA (miRNA), a significant class of regulatory non-coding RNA (ncRNA), can regulate the expression of numerous protein-coding messenger RNAs (mRNAs). miRNA plays an important part in shaping the human transcriptome. So far, in the human genome, about 2500 miRNAs have been found. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) belongs to a malignant clonal disorder of hematopoietic stem cells and is characterized by the uncontrolled clonal proliferation of abnormal progenitor cells in the bone marrow and blood. For the past several years, significant scientific attention has been attracted to the role of miRNAs in AML, since alterations in the expression levels of miRNAs may contribute to AML development. This review describes the main functions of non-coding RNA classes and presents miRNA biogenesis. This study aims to review recent reports about altered microRNA expression and their influence on AML cell survival, cell cycle, and apoptotic potential. Additionally, it summarizes the correlations between miRNAs and their target mRNAs in AML and outlines the role of particular miRNAs in AML subtypes according to ELN recommendations.

DUBR non-coding RNA regulates gene expression by affecting AP-1 enhancer accessibility

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are finely tuned cellular regulators important for human cell growth and cancer progression. DUBR (Dppa2 upstream binding RNA, also known as linc00883) is a nuclear ncRNA first discovered in mice for its role in regulating myoblast differentiation through interactions with chromatin and DNA methyltransferases. High expression levels of this ncRNA are predictive of poor patient outcome in colon adenocarcinoma, suggesting that DUBR may be involved in controlling cancer growth. To elucidate its function, we used RAP-MS and RNA immunoprecipitation techniques which revealed its interaction with epigenetic maintenance proteins in the human colon cancer cell line HCT116. Further, ATAC-seq and RNA-seq were used to address its function in regulating the epigenome and transcriptome of HCT116 cells. Here we report that DUBR is a regulator of human colon cancer cell line HCT116 survival. Additionally, we find that the ncRNA DUBR regulates AP-1 transcription factor binding site accessibility at enhancers of genes involved in differentiation and morphogenesis through interactions with epigenetic proteins such as NuRD complex members HDAC1 and CHD4.

Multifaceted Characterization of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Revealed Amelioration of Acute Liver Injury in NOD-SCID Mice

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are advantaged sources for large-scale and homogeneous mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) generation. However, due to the limitations in high-efficiency procedures for hESC-MSCs induction, the systematic and detailed information of mesengenesis and early MSC development are largely obscure. In this study, we took advantage of the well-established twist-related protein 1 (TWIST1)-overexpressing hESCs and two small molecular cocktails (CHIR99021, decitabine) for high-efficient MSC induction. To assess the multidimensional biological and transcriptomic characteristics, we turned to cellular and molecular methods, such as flow cytometry (FCM), quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), in vitro tri-lineage differentiation, cytokine secretion analysis, in vivo transplantation for acute liver injury (ALI) management, and bioinformatics analyses (eg, gene ontology-biological processes [GO-BP], Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes [KEGG], HeatMap, and principal component analysis [PCA]). By combining TWIST1 overexpression (denoted as T) and the indicated small molecular cocktails (denoted as S), hESCs high-efficiently differentiated into MSCs (denoted as TS-MSCs, induced by T and S combination) within 2 weeks. TS-MSCs satisfied the criteria for MSC definition and revealed comparable tri-lineage differentiation potential and ameliorative efficacy upon ALI mice. According to RNA-sequencing (SEQ) analysis, we originally illuminated the gradual variations in gene expression pattern and the concomitant biofunctions of the programmed hESC-MSCs. Overall, our data indicated the feasibility of high-efficient generation of hESC-MSCs by TWIST1 and cocktail-based programming. The generated hESC-MSCs revealed multifaceted in vivo and in vitro biofunctions as adult BM-MSCs, which collectively suggested promising prospects in ALI management in future.

The tip of the iceberg-The roles of long noncoding RNAs in acute myeloid leukemia

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are traditionally defined as RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that have no protein coding potential. LncRNAs have been identified to be dysregulated in various types of cancer, including the deadly hematopoietic cancer-acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, survival rates for AML have reached a plateau necessitating new therapeutic targets and biomarkers to improve treatment options and survival from the disease. Therefore, the identification of lncRNAs as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AML has major benefits. In this review, we assess the key studies which have recently identified lncRNAs as important molecules in AML and summarize the current knowledge of lncRNAs in AML. We delve into examples of the specific roles of lncRNA action in AML such as driving proliferation, differentiation block and therapy resistance as well as their function as tumor suppressors and utility as biomarkers. This article is categorized under: RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.

miR-125b-5p Suppresses Leukemia Cell Proliferation by Regulating MCL1

Leukemia threatens children's health, and leukemia cell proliferation and apoptosis participate in the regulation of leukemia. The current study aims to probe into the miR-125b-5p biological function in regulating leukemia cell proliferation and apoptosis by myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was conducted to quantify miR-125b-5p expression in leukemia cells. Cell transfection, cell-counting assay 8, Western blot, and flow cytometry assays were applied to assess the miR-125b-5p function in leukemia. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to investigate the mechanism. miR-125b-5p was lessened in leukemia cells, and the increased miR-125b-5p repressed leukemia cell proliferation and boosted apoptosis. Further, miR-125b-5p could bound with the MCL1 3'-untranslated region and regulated its expression. Furthermore, the elevated expression of miR-125b-5p repressed leukemia cell proliferation and boosted apoptosis through downregulating MCL1. miR-125b-5p inhibited leukemia cell proliferation and boosted apoptosis through decreasing MCL1.

Abnormal expression of lncRNA CASC9 in pneumonia children with respiratory failure and its feasible value for the clinical diagnosis of patients

lncRNA CASC9 expression was involved in a variety of diseases and exerted a protective role against inflammation and sepsis-induced injury. However, the role of CASC9 in severe pneumonia remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the potential diagnostic role of lncRNA CASC9 in severe pneumonia. The CASC9 expression levels were measured by RT-qPCR. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was conducted to evaluate the clinical diagnostic value of CASC9 in severe pneumonia. LPS-induced human lung fibroblast MRC-5 was used to establish the pneumonia model and then transfected with CASC9 overexpression vectors to evaluate the influence of CASC9 on cell viability and apoptosis. The inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 levels were detected using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between CASC9 expression and clinical data. The relative expression of CASC9 was downregulated in serum samples of severe pneumonia patients. The low expression of CASC9 in severe pneumonia was negatively correlated with several clinical data. The CASC9 had the relatively high area under ROC curve (AUC) values for distinguishing severe pneumonia from pneumonia children and healthy control. The elevated expression of CASC9 accelerated cell viability and diminished apoptosis in LPS-induced MRC-5 cells. The CASC9 expression was decreased in serum samples of severe pneumonia, and upregulation of CASC9 facilitated LPS-induced cell viability and inhibited apoptosis. In summary, CASC9 might be a diagnostic predictor and might act as a crucial regulatory roles in the progression of severe pneumonia.

DesA Prognostic Risk Model of LncRNAs in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Based on TCGA Data

Purpose: This study aimed to combine the clinical data of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to obtain prognosis-related biomarkers, construct a prognostic risk model using long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in AML and help patients with AML make clinical treatment decisions.

Methods: We analysed the transcriptional group information of 151 patients with AML obtained from TCGA and extracted the expressions of lncRNAs. According to the mutation frequency, the patients were divided into the high mutation group (genomic unstable group, top 25% of mutation frequency) and low mutation group (genomic stable group, 25% after mutation frequency). The ‘limma’ R package was used to analyse the difference in lncRNA expressions between the two groups, and the “survival,” “caret,” and “glmnet” R packages were used to screen lncRNAs that are related to clinical prognosis. Subsequently, a prognosis-related risk model was constructed and verified through different methods.

Results: According to the lncRNA expression data in TCGA, we found that seven lncRNAs (i.e. AL645608.6, LINC01436, AL645608.2, AC073534.2, LINC02593, AL512413.1, and AL645608.4) were highly correlated with the clinical prognosis of patients with AML, so we constructed a prognostic risk model of lncRNAs based on LINC01436, AC073534.2, and LINC02593. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses of differentially expressed lncRNA-related target genes were performed, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created, the applicability of the model in children was assessed using the TARGET database and the model was externally verified using the GEO database. Furthermore, different expression patterns of lncRNAs were validated in various AML cell lines derived from Homo sapiens.

Conclusions: We have established a lncRNA prognostic model that can predict the survival of patients with AML. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that this model distinguished survival differences between patients with high- and low-risk status. The ROC analysis confirmed this finding and showed that the model had high prediction accuracy. The Kaplan-Meier analysis of the clinical subgroups showed that this model can predict prognosis independent of clinicopathological factors. Therefore, the proposed prognostic lncRNA risk model can be used as an independent biomarker of AML.