RNA-Seq Reveals Different Gene Expression in Liver-Specific Prohibitin 1 Knock-Out Mice

LncRNAs as nodes for the cross-talk between autophagy and Wnt signaling in pancreatic cancer drug resistance

Pancreatic cancer is a malignancy with high mortality. In addition to the few symptoms until the disease reaches an advanced stage, the high fatality rate is attributed to its rapid development, drug resistance and lack of appropriate treatment. In the selection and research of therapeutic drugs, gemcitabine is the first-line drug for pancreatic cancer. Solving the problem of gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer will contribute to the progress of pancreatic cancer treatment. Long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides, play vital roles in cellular physiological metabolic activities. Currently, our group and others have found that some lncRNAs are aberrantly expressed in pancreatic cancer cells, which can regulate the process of cancer through autophagy and Wnt/β-catenin pathways simultaneously and affect the sensitivity of cancer cells to therapeutic drugs. This review presents an overview of the recent evidence concerning the node of lncRNA for the cross-talk between autophagy and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in pancreatic cancer, together with the practicability of lncRNAs and the core regulatory factors as targets in therapeutic resistance.

Novel effects of prohibitin 1 expression level on cholesterol and lipid homeostasis

Prohibitin 1 (PHB1) plays an important role in maintaining liver health and function. The PHB1 level is decreased in patients with various liver diseases. In this study, liver cancer was induced in liver-specific Phb1 knock-out mice, which were then subjected to hepatic gene and metabolomic analysis. The reduced expression of mRNA expression level of Phb1 induced down-regulation of cholesterol and lipid metabolism. This result was confirmed in a cell model. The expression of Hmgcr and Srebp2 in normal cells decreased when they were treated with cholesterol. In HepG2 cells in which the expression of Phb1 was lowered using siPhb1, the mRNA expression of Hmgcr and Srebp2 also decreased when the cells were treated with cholesterol. Furthermore, in the Phb1 knock-out group, the expression of Fasn and Srebp1 related to lipid metabolism increased but the expression of Ldlr decreased. The expression of Cat and Gpx in cells increased when the expression of Phb1 decreased. Altogether, a decreased expression of Phb1 induces down-regulation of cholesterol- and lipid metabolism-related genes and cholesterol homeostasis is not achieved, particularly in a cholesterol-rich environment. The decrease in Phb1 expression causes excessive oxidative stress in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. Therefore, maintaining a normal level of PHB1 expression is crucial for maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in the liver. Thus, PHB1 may become an important target for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and lipid metabolism in the future.