Suppression of Tumorigenicity 5 Ameliorates Tumor Characteristics of Invasive Breast Cancer Cells via ERK/JNK Pathway

Epigenetic oncogenesis, biomarkers and emerging chemotherapeutics for breast cancer

Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally and the most prominent among females, yet with limited effective therapeutic options. Most of the current medications are challenged by various factors including low efficacy, incessant resistance, immune evasion and frequent recurrence of the disease. Further understanding of the prognosis and identification of plausible therapeutic channels thus requires multimodal approaches. In this review, epigenetics studies of several pathways to BC oncogenesis via the inducement of oncogenic changes on relevant markers have been overviewed. Similarly, the counter-epigenetic mechanisms to reverse such changes as effective therapeutic strategies were surveyed. The epigenetic oncogenesis occurs through several pathways, notably, DNMT-mediated hypermethylation of DNA, dysregulated expression for ERα, HER2/ERBB and PR, histone modification, overexpression of transcription factors including the CDK9-cyclin T1 complex and suppression of tumour suppressor genes. Scientifically, the regulatory reversal of the mechanisms constitutes effective epigenetic approaches for mitigating BC initiation, progression and metastasis. These were exhibited at various experimental levels by classical chemotherapeutic agents including some repurposable drugs, endocrine inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies and miRNAs, natural products, metal complexes and nanoparticles. Dozens of the potential candidates are currently in clinical trials while others are still at preclinical experimental stages showing promising anti-BC efficacy. The review presents a model for a wider understanding of epigenetic oncogenic pathways to BC and reveals plausible channels for reversing the unpleasant changes through epigenetic modifications. It advances the science of therapeutic designs for ameliorating the global burden of BC upon further translational studies.

Integrated microRNA–mRNA Expression Profiling Identifies Novel Targets and Networks Associated with Autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, with mutations in hundreds of genes contributing to its risk. Herein, we studied lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from children diagnosed with autistic disorder (n = 10) and controls (n = 7) using RNA and miRNA sequencing profiles. The sequencing analysis identified 1700 genes and 102 miRNAs differentially expressed between the ASD and control LCLs (p ≤ 0.05). The top upregulated genes were GABRA4, AUTS2, and IL27, and the top upregulated miRNAs were hsa-miR-6813-3p, hsa-miR-221-5p, and hsa-miR-21-5p. The RT-qPCR analysis confirmed the sequencing results for randomly selected candidates: AUTS2, FMR1, PTEN, hsa-miR-15a-5p, hsa-miR-92a-3p, and hsa-miR-125b-5p. The functional enrichment analysis showed pathways involved in ASD control proliferation of neuronal cells, cell death of immune cells, epilepsy or neurodevelopmental disorders, WNT and PTEN signaling, apoptosis, and cancer. The integration of mRNA and miRNA sequencing profiles by miRWalk2.0 identified correlated changes in miRNAs and their targets’ expression. The integration analysis found significantly dysregulated miRNA–gene pairs in ASD. Overall, these findings suggest that mRNA and miRNA expression profiles in ASD are greatly altered in LCLs and reveal numerous miRNA–gene interactions that regulate critical pathways involved in the proliferation of neuronal cells, cell death of immune cells, and neuronal development.