microRNA-195 suppresses osteosarcoma cell invasion and migration in vitro by targeting FASN

Ubiquitination in lipid metabolism reprogramming: implications for pediatric solid tumors

Pediatric solid tumors represent a significant subset of childhood cancers, accounting for approximately 60% of new diagnoses. Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies, survival rates remain markedly disparate between high-income and resource-limited settings, underscoring the urgent need for novel and effective treatments. Lipid metabolic reprogramming is a fundamental hallmark of cancer, driving tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, and immune evasion through enhanced fatty acid uptake, increased de novo lipid synthesis, and activated fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO). Ubiquitination, a dynamic post-translational modification mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), plays a crucial role in regulating lipid metabolism by modulating the stability and activity of key metabolic enzymes and transporters involved in cholesterol and fatty acid pathways. This review comprehensively examines the complex interplay between ubiquitination and lipid metabolic reprogramming in pediatric solid tumors. It delineates the mechanisms by which ubiquitination influences cholesterol biosynthesis, uptake, efflux, and fatty acid synthesis and oxidation, thereby facilitating tumor growth and survival. Furthermore, the review identifies potential UPS-mediated therapeutic targets and explores the feasibility of integrating ubiquitination-based strategies with existing treatments. By targeting the UPS to disrupt lipid metabolism pathways, novel therapeutic avenues may emerge to enhance treatment efficacy and overcome resistance in pediatric oncology. This synthesis of current knowledge aims to provide a foundation for the development of innovative, precision medicine approaches to improve clinical outcomes for children afflicted with solid tumors.

The promising roles of exosomal microRNAs in osteosarcoma: A new insight into the clinical therapy

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone sarcoma in children. Chemotherapy drugs resistance significantly hinders the overall survival of patients. Due to high biocompatibility and immunocompatibility, exosomes have been explored extensively. Multiple parent cells can actively secrete numerous exosomes, and the membrane structure of exosomes can protect miRNAs from degradation. Based on these characteristics, exosomal miRNAs play an important role in the occurrence, development, drug resistance. Therefore, in-depth exploration of exosome biogenesis and role of exosomal miRNAs will provide new strategies and targets for understanding the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma and overcoming chemotherapy drug resistance. Moreover, advancing evidences have showed that engineering modification could attribute stronger targeting to exosomes to deliver cargos to recipient cells more effectively. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms of exosomal miRNAs on the occurrence and development of osteosarcoma and the potential to function as tumor biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis prediction. In addition, we also summarize recent advances in the clinical application values of engineering exosomes to provide novel ideas and directions for overcoming the chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma.

Non-coding RNAs in metabolic reprogramming of bone and soft tissue sarcoma: Fundamental mechanism and clinical implication

Sarcomas, comprising approximately 1% of human malignancies, show a poor response to treatment and easy recurrence. Metabolic reprogramming play an important role in tumor development in sarcomas. Accumulating evidence shows that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) participate in regulating the cellular metabolism of sarcomas, which improves the understanding of the development of therapy-resistant tumors. This review addresses the regulatory roles of metabolism-related ncRNAs and their implications for sarcoma initiation and progression. Dysregulation of metabolism-related ncRNAs is common in sarcomas and is associated with poor survival. Emerging studies show that abnormal expression of metabolism-related ncRNAs affects cellular metabolism, including glucose, lipid, and mitochondrial metabolism, and leads to the development of aggressive sarcomas. This review summarizes recent advances in the roles of dysregulated metabolism-related ncRNAs in sarcoma development and stemness and describes their potential to serve as biological biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis prediction, as well as therapeutic targets for treating refractory sarcomas.

Non-coding RNAs as Genetic Biomarkers for the Diagnosis, Prognosis, Radiosensitivity, and Histopathologic Grade of Meningioma

Meningioma is considered the most common primary benign brain tumor. It originates from the arachnoid cells of the leptomeninges surrounding the brain. The mainstay treatment of meningiomas is microsurgical resection. Meningioma prognosis depends on tumor grade, location, and patient age. Recently, using non-coding RNA as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker for many tumors became a trend. Herein, we demonstrate the importance of non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs and lncRNAs in meningioma and their potential role in meningioma's early diagnosis, prognosis, histological grade, and radiosensitivity. In this review, many microRNAs were found to be upregulated in radioresistant meningioma cells such as microRNA-221, microRNA-222, microRNA-4286, microRNA-4695-5p, microRNA-6732-5p, microRNA-6855-5p, microRNA-7977, microRNA-6765-3p, and microRNA-6787-5p. Moreover, there are many microRNAs downregulated in radioresistant meningioma cells such as microRNA-1275, microRNA-30c-1-3p, microRNA-4449, microRNA-4539, microRNA-4684-3p, microRNA-6129, and microRNA-6891-5p. Also, we highlight the possible use of non-coding RNAs as serum non-invasive biomarkers and their potential role as therapeutic targets to treat high-grade meningiomas. Recent studies show that microRNA-497, microRNA-195, microRNA-18a, microRNA-197, and microRNA-224 are downregulated in the serum of patients with meningiomas. Additionally, microRNA-106a-5p, microRNA-219-5p, microRNA-375, and microRNA-409-3p are found to be upregulated in the serum of patients with meningioma. We also found that there are many deregulated microRNAs in meningioma cells that can be used as potential biomarkers for meningioma diagnosis, prognosis, and histopathologic grade, such as microRNA-17-5p, microRNA-199a, microRNA-190a, microRNA-186-5p, microRNA155-5p, microRNA-22-3p, microRNA-24-3p, microRNA-26-5p, microRNA-27a-3p, microRNA-27b-3p, microRNA-96-5p, microRNA-146a-5p, microRNA-29c-3p, microRNA-219-5p, microRNA-335, microRNA-200a, microRNA-21, microRNA-107, microRNA-224, microRNA-195, microRNA-34a-3p, and microRNA-let-7d. Of interest, we found fewer studies discussing deregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in meningioma cells. LncRNAs work as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by binding to oncogenic or anti-oncogenic microRNAs. We found that lncRNA- NUP210, lncRNA-SPIRE2, lncRNA-SLC7A1, lncRNA-DMTN, lncRNA-LINC00702, and lncRNA-LINC00460 are upregulated in meningioma cells. In contrast, lncRNA-MALAT1 was found to be downregulated in meningioma cells.

A novel regulatory facet for hypertriglyceridemia: The role of microRNAs in the regulation of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein biosynthesis

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one of the major leading global causes of death. Genetic and epidemiological studies strongly support the causal association between triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins (TAGRL) and atherogenesis, even in statin-treated patients. Recent genetic evidence has clarified that variants in several key genes implicated in TAGRL metabolism are strongly linked to the increased ASCVD risk. There are several triacylglycerol-lowering agents; however, new therapeutic options are in development, among which are miRNA-based therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18-25 nucleotides) that negatively modulate gene expression through translational repression or degradation of target mRNAs, thereby reducing the levels of functional genes. MiRNAs play a crucial role in the development of hypertriglyceridemia as several miRNAs are dysregulated in both synthesis and clearance of TAGRL particles. MiRNA-based therapies in ASCVD have not yet been applied in human trials but are attractive. This review provides a concise overview of current interventions for hypertriglyceridemia and the development of novel miRNA and siRNA-based drugs. We summarize the miRNAs involved in the regulation of key genes in the TAGRLs synthesis pathway, which has gained attention as a novel target for therapeutic applications in CVD.

Identification and Functional Verification Reveals that miR-195 Inhibiting THRSP to Affect Fat Deposition in Xinyang Buffalo

The buffalo population is extensive in China, but its meat quality is relatively inferior. Therefore, improving meat quality should be one of the breeding goals. microRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential regulatory role in the post-transcriptional expression of genes. Some studies have reported their function regulating genes related to fat deposition and adipocyte differentiation in cattle, but there is limited reports in buffalo. We performed small RNA transcriptome sequencing of Xinyang buffalo adipose tissue between calves and adults in this study. As a result, 282 mature miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed, and co-expression analysis showed that 454 miRNAs were significantly associated with developmental stages. Target gene identification, GO (gene ontology) annotation, and KEGG analysis of miRNAs showed that miR-195, miR-192, and miR-24-3p could target key genes for lipogenesis and thus regulate adipose deposition and differentiation. Among them, miR-195 was significantly upregulated in adipose tissue and induced adipocytes of adult buffaloes, and its overexpression significantly inhibited lipid accumulation in primary adipocytes. Dual-luciferase reporter gene analysis showed that miR-195 reduced the expression of thyroid hormone response protein (THRSP) by targeting its 3′ untranslated terminal region, suggesting that miR-195 may inhibit lipid accumulation in adipocytes by regulating THRSP. The results confirmed the reliability of predictive screening of miRNAs and provided theoretical support for buffalo fattening.

Osteosarcoma and Metastasis

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy in adolescents. Its high propensity to metastasize is the leading cause for treatment failure and poor prognosis. Although the research of osteosarcoma has greatly expanded in the past decades, the knowledge and new therapy strategies targeting metastatic progression remain sparse. The prognosis of patients with metastasis is still unsatisfactory. There is resonating urgency for a thorough and deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma to develop innovative therapies targeting metastasis. Toward the goal of elaborating the characteristics and biological behavior of metastatic osteosarcoma, it is essential to combine the diverse investigations that are performed at molecular, cellular, and animal levels from basic research to clinical translation spanning chemical, physical sciences, and biology. This review focuses on the metastatic process, regulatory networks involving key molecules and signaling pathways, the role of microenvironment, osteoclast, angiogenesis, metabolism, immunity, and noncoding RNAs in osteosarcoma metastasis. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current research advances, with the hope to discovery druggable targets and promising therapy strategies for osteosarcoma metastasis and thus to overcome this clinical impasse.

miRNA identification by nuclease digestion in ELISA for diagnosis of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer formed by the cells of the bone. Children, young adults, and teens are highly affected by osteosarcoma. Early identification of osteosarcoma is mandatory to improve the treatment and increase the lifespan of the patients. MicroRNA-195 (miR-195) was shown to be a suitable biomarker for osteosarcoma, and the present study describes a sensitive method of miR-195 identification by nuclease digestion in ELISA to detect and quantify the level of miR-195. S1 nuclease catalyzed endo- and exonucleolytic digestion of single-stranded (ss) RNA and DNA on ELISA polystyrene substrate, which helped to identify duplexed miR-195. This method selectively and specifically identified miR-195 without any biofouling interactions and reached the limit of detection at 10 fM within the range from 10 fM to 10 nM. Due to complete digestion of ssDNA, single- and triple-mismatched sequences failed to increase the ELISA signal, indicating specific miRNA detection. Furthermore, human serum spiked with miR-195 did not interfere with the detection, confirming selective identification. This method identified miR-195 at a lower level and will help to diagnose earlier stages of osteosarcoma.

Colorimetric identification of miRNA-195 sequence for diagnosing osteosarcoma

Improving biosensing performance is mandatory for biomolecular recognition and disease identification. Gold nanoparticle (GNP)-based colorimetric assay is the easy and cost-effective identification method by a naked eye detection. In this research, osteosarcoma biomarker (miRNA-195) was identified by citrate-capped GNP-colorimetric assay. As salt-induced aggregation was used to observe the color changes of GNP, sodium chloride (NaCl) and capture DNA were optimized as 50 mM and ∼20 pmol, respectively. The capture DNA only on GNP could not stabilize under high NaCl, and the color of GNP turned into purple. At the same time, when capture DNA was hybridized with target, the condition can stabilize the GNP under higher NaCl, which retains the GNP color as red. This simple assay reaches the limit of detection of target miRNA-195 as ∼40 fmol. Control experiments with noncomplementary DNA turned the solution into purple, indicating the specific detection of target. The mixture of target in diluted serum retains the color of the GNP solution to be red, indicating the selective detection of target DNA. This simple assay helps to quantify the level of miRNA-195 target DNA and to diagnose the osteosarcoma.

Hypoxia-induced miR-27 and miR-195 regulate ATP consumption, viability, and metabolism of rat cardiomyocytes by targeting PPARγ and FASN expression

This study examined whether hypoxia-induced microRNA (miRNA) upregulation was related to the inhibition of chondriosome aliphatic acid oxidation in myocardial cells under anoxia. We showed that anoxia induced high expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1-alpha, muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, and vascular endothelial growth factor in cardiomyocytes. Meanwhile, miR-27 and miR-195 were also upregulated in hypoxia-induced cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, hypoxia induction led to reductions in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consumption rate and oxidative metabolism as well as an increase in cardiomyocyte glycolysis. Metabolic reprogramming was reduced by hypoxia, as evidenced by the downregulation of sirtuin 1, forkhead box protein O1, sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c, ATP citrate lyase, acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase 2, adiponutrin, adipose triglyceride lipase, and glucose transporter type 4, while miR-27 and miR-195 inhibition partially recovered the expression of these transcription factors. In addition, hypoxia induction reduced cell viability and survival by triggering apoptosis; however, miR-27 and miR-195 inhibition partially increased cell viability. Moreover, miR-27 and miR-195 targeted the 3’untranslated regions of two key lipid-associated metabolic players, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and fatty acid synthase. In conclusion, miR-27 and miR-195 are related to hypoxia-mediated ATP levels, glycolysis, oxidation, cell survival, and a cascade of transcription factors that control metabolism in cardiomyocytes.

CircDDX42 Accelerates the Development of Pancreatic Cancer via miR-613/ID4/PI3K/AKT Axis

Background

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the fatal cancers globally. CircDEAD-box helicase 42 (circDDX42) has been reported to play an oncogenic role in many cancers. The purpose of our study was to explore the relationship between circDDX42 and PC development and the potential mechanism by which circDDX42 modulating the progression of PC.

Methods

The enrichment of circDDX42, miR-613 and inhibitor of DNA binding 4 (ID4) was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in PC tissues and cells. The proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis of PC cells were examined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), Western blot, flow cytometry and transwell migration and invasion assays, respectively. The binding sites between miR-613 and circDDX42 or ID4 were predicted by Starbase bioinformatic software, and dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to verify the combination between miR-613 and circDDX42 or ID4. Western blot was carried out to detect the abundance of ID4, p-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K), PI3K, p-AKT serine/threonine kinase (p-AKT) and AKT in PC cells. The in vivo role of circDDX42 was verified through using murine xenograft model.

Results

The level of circDDX42 was enhanced in PC tissues and cells compared with that in matching normal tissues and HPDE cells. CircDDX42 promoted the proliferation and metastasis and suppressed the apoptosis of PC cells. CircDDX42 could sponge miR-613, and miR-613 was negatively regulated by circDDX42 in PC cells. MiR-613 suppressed the progression of PC. ID4 was a direct target of miR-613. ID4 was inversely modulated by miR-613 and positively regulated by circDDX42 in PC cells. ID4 played an oncogenic role in the tumorigenesis of PC. CircDDX42/miR-613/ID4 axis regulated the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway in PC cells. ID4 facilitated the progression of PC via activating PI3K/AKT signal pathway. CircDDX42 promoted the tumor growth of PC in vivo.

Conclusion

CircDDX42 accelerated the proliferation and metastasis while impeded the apoptosis of PC cells via circDDX42/miR-613/ID4/PI3K/AKT axis. This axis might be a promising target for PC therapy.

Non-Coding and Regulatory RNAs as Epigenetic Remodelers of Fatty Acid Homeostasis in Cancer

Cancer cells commonly display metabolic fluctuations. Together with the Warburg effect and the increased glutaminolysis, alterations in lipid metabolism homeostasis have been recognized as a hallmark of cancer. Highly proliferative cancer cells upregulate de novo synthesis of fatty acids (FAs) which are required to support tumor progression by exerting multiple roles including structural cell membrane composition, regulators of the intracellular redox homeostasis, ATP synthesis, intracellular cell signaling molecules, and extracellular mediators of the tumor microenvironment. Epigenetic modifications have been shown to play a crucial role in human development, but also in the initiation and progression of complex diseases. The study of epigenetic processes could help to design new integral strategies for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders including cancer. Herein, we first describe the main altered intracellular fatty acid processes to support cancer initiation and progression. Next, we focus on the most important regulatory and non-coding RNAs (small noncoding RNA-sncRNAs-long non-coding RNAs-lncRNAs-and other regulatory RNAs) which may target the altered fatty acids pathway in cancer.

MicroRNA-195 controls MICU1 expression and tumor growth in ovarian cancer

MICU1 is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein that inhibits mitochondrial calcium entry; elevated MICU1 expression is characteristic of many cancers, including ovarian cancer. MICU1 induces both glycolysis and chemoresistance and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, there are currently no available interventions to normalize aberrant MICU1 expression. Here, we demonstrate that microRNA-195-5p (miR-195) directly targets the 3' UTR of the MICU1 mRNA and represses MICU1 expression. Additionally, miR-195 is under-expressed in ovarian cancer cell lines, and restoring miR-195 expression reestablishes native MICU1 levels and the associated phenotypes. Stable expression of miR-195 in a human xenograft model of ovarian cancer significantly reduces tumor growth, increases tumor doubling times, and enhances overall survival. In conclusion, miR-195 controls MICU1 levels in ovarian cancer and could be exploited to normalize aberrant MICU1 expression, thus reversing both glycolysis and chemoresistance and consequently improving patient outcomes.

Identification of the Key Factors Related to Bladder Cancer by lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Three-Layer Network

Bladder cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the urinary system, and it has high incidence, high degree of malignancy, and easy recurrence after surgery. The etiology and pathogenesis of bladder cancer are not fully understood, but more and more studies have shown that its development may be regulated by some core molecules. To identify key molecules in bladder cancer, we constructed a three-layer network by merging lncRNA-miRNA regulatory network, miRNA-mRNA regulatory network, and lncRNA-mRNA coexpression network, and further analyzed the topology attributes of the network including the degree, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality of nodes. We found that miRNA-93 and miRNA-195 are controllers for a three-layer network and regulators of numerous target genes associated with bladder cancer. Functional enrichment analysis of their target mRNAs revealed that miRNA-93 and miRNA-195 may be closely related to bladder cancer by disturbing the homeostasis of the cell cycle or HTLV-I infection. In addition, since E2F1 and E2F2 are enriched in various KEGG signaling pathways, we conclude that they are important target genes of miRNA-93, and participate in the apoptotic process by forming a complex with a certain protein or transcription factor activity, sequence-specific DNA binding in bladder cancer. Similarly, AKT3 is an important target gene of miRNA-195, its expression is associated with PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway and AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway. Therefore, we speculate that AKT3 may participate in proliferation and apoptosis of bladder cancer cells through these pathways, and ultimately affect the biological behavior of tumor cells. Furthermore, through survival analysis, we found that miRNA-195 and miRNA-93 are associated with poor prognosis of bladder cancer. And the Kaplan-Meier curve showed that 24 mRNAs and nine lncRNAs are closely related to overall survival of bladder cancer.

MicroRNA-195 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor by Directly Targeting Fatty Acid Synthase in Malignant Meningioma

OBJECTIVE

Meningiomas are among the most common primary intracranial tumors. Up to 20% of cases will show increased malignancy at histological examination (World Health Organization grade II or III). Effective pharmacotherapy, except for radiotherapy, is lacking. Therefore, it is necessary to study the pathogenesis of malignant meningioma to provide more treatment strategies.

METHODS

RNA sequencing and micro-RNA (miRNA) microarray detection were applied to identify differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and miRNAs in benign and malignant meningioma. The miRDB and TargetScan databases were used to predict the potential interaction between miRNAs and mRNAs. A proliferation assay was used to evaluate the cell growth. A wound healing assay and Transwell assay were performed to assess the cell migration and invasion abilities, respectively. The interaction between miRNA and mRNA was identified using a luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS

We found fatty acid synthase (FASN) was significantly upregulated in malignant meningioma compared with benign meningioma. Knockdown of FASN significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of IOMM-Lee cells. Moreover, miR-195 was verified to directly target FASN using a luciferase reporter assay. Upregulation of miR-195 also significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of IOMM-Lee cells. Furthermore, we performed bioinformatics analysis to predict the competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and found that NUP210, SPIRE2, SLC7A1, and DMTN might function as ceRNAs of FASN by sponging miR-195 in meningioma.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results have suggested a tumor suppressive role for miR-195 in the tumorigenesis and progression of malignant meningioma by targeting FASN. In addition, NUP210, SPIRE2, SLC7A1, and DMTN might act as ceRNAs to regulate FASN expression by sponging miR-195.

miRNA signatures in childhood sarcomas and their clinical implications

Progresses in multimodal treatments have significantly improved the outcomes for childhood cancer. Nonetheless, for about one-third of patients with Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, or osteosarcoma steady remission has remained intangible. Thus, new biomarkers to improve early diagnosis and the development of precision-targeted medicine remain imperative. Over the last decade, remarkable progress has been made in the basic understanding of miRNAs function and in interpreting the contribution of their dysregulation to cancer development and progression. On this basis, this review focuses on what has been learned about the pivotal roles of miRNAs in the regulation of key genes implicated in childhood sarcomas.

The miR-195 Axis Regulates Chemoresistance through TUBB and Lung Cancer Progression through BIRC5

Chemoresistance and metastasis are the major reasons for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment failure and patient deaths. We and others have shown that miR-195 regulates the sensitivity of NSCLC to microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) in vitro and in vivo and that miR-195 represses the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro. However, the relationship between miR-195 and microtubule structure and function and whether miR-195 represses NSCLC metastasis in vivo remain unknown. We assessed the correlation between tumor levels of TUBB and patient survival, the effect of TUBB on drug response, and the effect of miR-195 on migration, invasion, and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. We found that miR-195 directly targets TUBB; knockdown of TUBB sensitizes cells to MTAs, while overexpression confers resistance; high expression of TUBB is correlated with worse survival of lung adenocarcinoma; TUBB is also regulated by CHEK1, which has been shown to regulate chemoresistance; and miR-195 targets BIRC5 to repress migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo. Our findings highlight the relevance of the miR-195/TUBB axis in regulating the response of NSCLC to MTAs and the importance of the miR-195/BIRC5 axis in regulating NSCLC metastasis.

MicroRNA-106b serves as a prognostic biomarker and is associated with cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in osteosarcoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be involved in tumor progression of various human malignancies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression patterns and prognostic value of microRNA-106b (miR-106b) in osteosarcoma (OS) and to examine its functional role in OS progression. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to estimate the expression of miR-106b in OS tissues and cells. The prognostic value of miR-106b in OS was evaluated by plotting Kaplan-Meier survival curves and performing Cox analyses. Cell experiments were carried out to examine the effects of miR-106b on OS cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The expression of miR-106b was elevated in both OS tissues and cells compared with the expression in normal control tissues and cells (P<0.001). miR-106b expression was associated with metastasis (P=0.028) and Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (P=0.017). Patients with high miR-106b expression levels had a poorer overall survival rate compared with those with low miR-106b expression levels (log-rank P=0.001). Multivariate Cox analyses indicated that miR-106b expression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with OS (hazard ratio=2.769; 95% confidence interval=1.369-5.599; P=0.005). The results of cell experiments implied that the upregulation of miR-106b could promote OS cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas the downregulation of miR-106b could suppress these functions (P<0.05). Taken together, this study's results indicated that the overexpression of miR-106b is associated with a poor prognosis for patients with OS and that overexpression promotes OS cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study may provide a novel prognostic biomarker and a candidate therapeutic target for OS treatment.

lncRNA SNHG1 cooperated with miR-497/miR-195-5p to modify epithelial-mesenchymal transition underlying colorectal cancer exacerbation

Our study was intended to provide evidence for whether long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG1 would accelerate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) course intrinsic in colorectal cancer (CRC) by sponging downstream miR-497-5p and miR-195-5p. We altogether collected 338 pairs of CRC and noncancerous tissues, and meanwhile purchased five CRC cell lines (i.e., SW480, HCT116, Lovo, CaCO-2, and HT29) and human embryo intestinal mucosal tissue-sourced cell line (i.e., CCC-HIE-2). The CRC cells as mentioned above were appraised regarding their potencies in proliferation, migration, and invasion, after being transfected with pcDNA3.1-SNHG1, si-SNHG1, miR-195-5p mimic/inhibitor, and miR-497-5p mimic/inhibitor. Eventually, we depended on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to assess SNHG1, miR-497-5p, and miR-195-5p expressions, and the protein levels of EMT-specific molecules were determined on the strength of western blotting. It seemed that there was a high potential for highly expressed SNHG1 and lowly expressed miR-497/miR-195 to symbolize CRC patients' unfavorable prognosis (p < .05). Concurrently, CRC cells were detected with higher SNHG1 expression and lower miR-497/miR-195 expression than CCC-HIE-2 cells (p < .05). In addition, the EMT process of CRC cells was facilitated markedly against the contexts of overexpressed SNHG1 and underexpressed miR-497-5p/miR-195-5p. Intriguingly, the strength of miR-195-5p collaborating with miR-497-5p in affecting the activity of CRC cells seemed to overweigh that of miR-497/miR-195-5p alone. Besides, both miR-195-5p and miR-497-5p were subjected to in vivo and in vitro modification of SNHG1 (p < .05). Conclusively, application of lncRNA SNHG1 for treating CRC might be promising, given its dual modulation of miR-497 and miR-195 underlying CRC pathogenesis.

Role of microRNA-15a-5p in the atherosclerotic inflammatory response and arterial injury improvement of diabetic by targeting FASN

The present study aims to investigate the mechanism of miR-15a-5p in the atherosclerotic (AS) inflammatory response and arterial injury improvement in diabetic rats by regulating fatty acid synthase (FASN). Initially, bioinformatics tools were applied to evaluate miRNAs and genes correlating with AS, and the target relation between miRNAs and FASN was measured using the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay. Subsequently the diabetic AS rat model was established and the surviving rats were divided into: negative control (NC), miR-15a-5p mimic, miR-15a-5p inhibitor, sh-FASN and miR-15a-5p + sh-FASN groups. Then a series of experiments were performed to examine the degree of AS in each group. The results revealed that compared with the NC group, the expressions of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) in rat arterial tissue, as well as the levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood glucose (BG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and Homocysteine (Hcy) in rat serum, were increased after inhibiting miR-15a-5p, while the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was decreased and the fat storage area was enlarged after this treatment (P<0.05). In the miR-15a-5p mimic and sh-FASN groups, serum HDL-C levels were increased and the fat storage areas in arteries were reduced. The levels of CRP, IL-6, ICAM1 in rat arterial tissue, along with the levels of LDL-C, BG, TG, TC and Hcy in rat serum, were decreased (P<0.05). Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed AS lesions to be apparent in the arteries of rats in both the NC and miR-15a-5p inhibitor groups, but that in miR-15a-5p and sh-FASN group were improved, the miR-15a-5p mimic + sh-FASN group showed the most obvious improvement. Taken together, miR-15a-5p alleviates the inflammation response and arterial injury in diabetic AS rats by targeting FASN.

Non-coding RNAs derailed: The many influences on the fatty acid reprogramming of cancer

Non-coding RNAs (NcRNAs), a family of functional RNA molecules that cannot translate into proteins but control specific gene expression programs, have been shown to be implicated in various biological processes, including fatty acid metabolism. Fast-growing tumor cells rewire their fatty acid metabolic circuitry in order to meet the needs of energy storage, membrane proliferation, and the generation of signaling molecules, which is achieved by regulating a variety of key enzymes along with related signaling pathways in fatty acid metabolism. This review presents an update of our knowledge about the regulatory network of ncRNAs-specifically, microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs)-in this metabolic shift and discusses the possibility of ncRNA-based therapeutics being applied to the restoration of cancer-related fatty acid metabolism.

MicroRNA-613 induces the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to cisplatin through targeting SOX9 expression

Increasing evidences have suggested that deregulated miRNAs may involve in drug chemoresistance in a lot of human cancers. However, the role of miR-613 in drug chemoresistance of GC cell is still unknown. The expression of miR-613 and Sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box 9 (SOX9) in GC tissues and cell lines was detected by using qRT-PCR. Cell migration and viability were measured by the wound healing assay and CCK-8 assays. Western blot and dual-luciferase reporter were done to identify the target gene of miR-613. We showed that miR-613 expression was downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-613 increased the sensitivity of GC cells to cisplatin. Overexpression of miR-613 suppressed GC cell proliferation, cycle and migration. In addition, we identified SOX9 was a direct target gene of miR-613 in GC cell. We showed that SOX9 expression was upregulated in gastric cancer samples. Moreover, the expression of SOX9 was negatively correlated with miR-613 expression in GC tissues. Furthermore, elevated expression of miR-613 increased the sensitivity of GC cells to cisplatin and suppressed GC cell proliferation and migration by targeting SOX9. These data suggested that miR-613 might function as a chemoresistant suppressor in GC.

The microRNAs miR-449a and miR-424 suppress osteosarcoma by targeting cyclin A2 expression

MicroRNAs of the miR-16 and miR-34 families have been reported to inhibit cell cycle progression, and their loss has been linked to oncogenic transformation. Utilizing a high-throughput, genome-wide screen for miRNAs and mRNAs that are differentially regulated in osteosarcoma (OS) cell lines, we report that miR-449a and miR-424, belonging to the miR-34 and miR-16 families, respectively, target the major S/G₂ phase cyclin, cyclin A2 (CCNA2), in a bipartite manner. We found that the 3'-UTR of CCNA2 is recognized by miR-449a, whereas the CCNA2 coding region is targeted by miR-424. Of note, we observed loss of both miR-449a and miR-424 in OS, resulting in derepression of CCNA2 and appearance of aggressive cancer phenotypes. Ectopic expression of miR-449a and miR-424 significantly decreased cyclin A2 levels and inhibited proliferation rate, migratory potential, and colony-forming ability of OS cells. To further probe the roles of miR-449a and miR-424 in OS, we developed an OS mouse model by intraosseous injection of U2OS cells into the tibia bone of NOD-scid mice, which indicated that miR-449a and miR-424 co-expression suppresses tumor growth. On the basis of this discovery, we analyzed the gene expression of human OS biopsy samples, revealing that miR-449a and miR-424 are both down-regulated, whereas cyclin A2 is significantly up-regulated in these OS samples. In summary, the findings in our study highlight that cyclin A2 repression by miRNAs of the miR-16 and miR-34 families is lost in aggressive OS.

microRNA-Mediated Tumor-Microbiota Metabolic Interactions in Colorectal Cancer

Worldwide, colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have shown that the gut microbiota may have a major influence on human health, including CRC. Nonetheless, how the gut microbiota interacts with tumor cells in CRC patients is largely unknown. Studies have shown that the microbiota fills in a variety of niche metabolic pathways that the host does not possess. For example, the microbiota produces butyrate, which provides the colon's epithelial cells with about 70% of their energy needs. The typically fast proliferation of tumor cells in CRC patients drastically alters the tumor's nutrient microenvironment. Those alterations correspond to the microbiota composition and functional changes. In tumor cells, a central mediator of metabolic changes is the aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs). In this study, we explored recent insights into metabolic interactions between the microbiota and tumor cells in CRC pathobiology, focusing on the role of miRNAs. These observations support our view that miRNAs may also serve as mediators of the metabolites' effects.

Blood-borne biomarkers of osteosarcoma: A systematic review

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary malignant bone tumor in children and young adults. Development of clinically useful biomarkers has the potential to improve treatments. The aim of this review was to investigate the recent literature assessing the utility of biomarkers for osteosarcoma. A detailed literature search was performed, with hand searches for related research publications. The search was limited to publications in English between January 2007 and February 2017. Of 286 studies identified, 24 met the inclusion criteria. There is a wide range of osteosarcoma biomarkers identified which act as clinical prognostic factors in patient outcome.

Let-7a inhibits osteosarcoma cell growth and lung metastasis by targeting Aurora-B

Purpose

Accumulating studies showed that the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) was dysregulated in osteosarcoma (OS). In this study, we sought to investigate the effect of let-7a on OS progression and its potential molecular mechanism.

Patients and methods

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to evaluate the expression level of let-7a and Aurora-B (AURKB) in OS tissues and cells. The OS cells were treated with let-7a mimic, let7a inhibitor, negative mimic and Lv-AURKB combined with let-7a. The ability of cell proliferation, migration and invasion was measured using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and wound-healing and transwell invasion assays. The protein of AURKB, NF-κβp65, MMP2 and MMP9 was measured by Western blot analysis. Xenograft model was performed to investigate the effects of let-7a on tumor growth and metastasis. The lung metastasis was measured by counting the metastatic node using H&E staining.

Results

Let-7a expression was significantly underexpressed in OS cell lines and tissues compared with human osteoblast cell lines, hFOB1.19, and adjacent normal bone tissues. Exogenous let-7a inhibited the viability, migratory and invasive ability of OS cells in vitro. In addition, the overexpression of AURKB in OS cells could partly rescue let-7a-mediated tumor inhibition. Also, the overexpression of let-7a inhibited OS cell growth and lung metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, the results showed that let-7a could decrease the expression of NF-κβp65, MMP2 and MMP9 proteins by targeting AURKB in OS cells.

Conclusion

Let-7a inhibits the malignant phenotype of OS cells by targeting AURKB at least partially. Targeting let-7a and AURKB/NF-κβ may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of OS.

Protein expression profile and microRNA expression signature in estrogen receptor-positive and -negative breast cancers: report of two cases

Background

Identification of the proteins that are associated with estrogen receptor (ER) status is a first step in selecting drugs against hormone-dependent breast cancer. Recently, the proteins associated with ER status were reported using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry, and microRNA (miRNA) profiling of breast cancer subtype was demonstrated using real-time-PCR.

Methods

We present herein two cases with differential protein expression and miRNA profiling in ER-positive and -negative breast cancer.

Results

Proteins associated with fatty acid metabolism were uniquely detected in ER-positive breast cancer. The level of miR-181a expression in ER-positive cancer was higher than that in ER-negative cancer, while the expression of miR-27a, miR-107, and miR-195 was lower in ER-positive compared with ER-negative cancer.

Conclusion

These cases suggest that fatty acid synthase (FAS) and FAS-related miRNAs are important in ER-positive breast cancer.

MicroRNA-195: a review of its role in cancers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small and highly conserved noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level by binding to the 3′-UTR of target mRNAs. Recently, increasing evidence has highlighted their profound roles in various pathological processes, including human cancers. Deregulated miRNAs function as either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in multiple cancer types. Among them, miR-195 has been reported to significantly impact oncogenicity in various neoplasms by binding to critical genes and signaling pathways, enhancing or inhibiting the progression of cancers. In this review, we focus on the expression of miR-195 in regulatory mechanisms and tumor biological processes and discuss the future potential therapeutic implications of diverse types of human malignancies.

Regulatory effect of miR-195 in the placental dysfunction of preeclampsia

Purpose: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy specific disease soon after 20 weeks of gestation where major symptoms are hypertension and proteinuria. The underlying pathology is believed to be abnormal placentation. Epigenetic and genetic factors have significant roles in abnormal placental development. MicroRNA's (miRNAs), being one of the most important epigenetic regulators, take part in abnormal placentation. Hsa-miR-195 is a molecule associated with abnormal placental growth mechanisms such as impaired cellular proliferation, inadequate trophoblastic invasion causing defective spiral artery remodeling, and apoptosis. We aimed to evaluate miRNA functions, namely miR-195 expression profile, in order to divulge PE pathogenesis.Methods: In this study, we extracted circulating miRNAs from maternal plasma and placenta from 20 PE patients and 20 normotensive pregnant women. miR-195 was quantified using quantitative real time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). The target genes of miR-195 were predicted by Diana Tools-mirPath, TargetScan, and miRDB databases.Results: We found that miR-195 levels were downregulated (3.83-fold decrease, p < .05) in preeclamptic placenta samples, however miR-195 were undetected in preeclamptic and normotensive plasma samples. The steep down-regulation of miR-195 points to its importance of PE pathogenesis.Conclusion: miR-195 is suggested to regulate PE via its target genes manipulating biological processes such as placental proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. We propose that detection of decreased miR-195 levels in preeclamptic placentas could be used to enlighten the pathophysiology of PE.

miRNA-1284, a regulator of HMGB1, inhibits cell proliferation and migration in osteosarcoma

Previous literatures have reported the role of human micro RNA-1284 (hsa-miR-1284, in short miR-1284) in diverse cancers. However, its biological function in osteosarcoma pathogenesis remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of miR-1284 in osteosarcoma. Expression of miR-1284 and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) were examined in 80 tissues obtained from 40 patients. MiR-1284 level was measured in five osteosarcoma cell lines. Relative luciferase activity and HMGB1 expression were examined in MG-63 and U2OS cells transfected with wild-type or mutant 3′-UTR of HMGB1 in the presence of miR-1284 mimics or miR-NC. Cell viability, colony formation, and cell migration were measured in MG-63, U2OS and hFOB 1.19 cells, which were transfected with miR-1284 mimics or miR-NC. In the rescue experiments, recombinant HMGB1 plasmid was transfected into MG-63 and U2OS cells, and cell viability and migration were determined again. Our results indicated that relative level of miR-1284 was lower in tumor tissues compared with its adjacent tissues and it was found suppressed at lower levels in MG-63 and U2OS cell lines. Expression of HMGB1 is significantly elevated in tumor tissues and negatively correlated with miR-1284 expression. MiR-1284 exerted its function by directly binding to 3′-UTR of HMGB1 and regulates expression of HMGB1. The overexpression of miR-1284 inhibited the cell proliferation and migration, and altered the protein expression of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated genes (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail), which was reversed by HMGB1 overexpression. In conclusion, miR-1284 can function as a new regulator to inhibit osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration by targeting HMGB1.

Long non-coding RNA PVT1 promotes osteosarcoma development by acting as a molecular sponge to regulate miR-195

A growing body of evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) during oncogenesis. In this study, the qRT-PCR results indicated that the lncRNA PVT1 is overexpressed in osteosarcoma and decreased the survival rate of osteosarcoma patients. MTT and clonal colony formation assays were used to detect the effect of PVT1 on proliferation, and flow cytometry was performed to assess apoptosis and the cell cycle. A Transwell assay was used to analyze migration and invasion. The results revealed that silencing PVT1 by siRNA inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, a gene microarray was used to screen differentially expressed miRNAs associated with PVT1. The interaction between PVT1 and miRNAs was then analyzed by qRT-PCR and luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that PVT1 negatively regulated miR-195 in osteosarcoma cells. Simultaneously, we found that silencing PVT1 by siRNA suppressed proliferation, migration and invasion and promoted cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via miR-195 in osteosarcoma cells. Moreover, silencing PVT1 by siRNA inhibited BCL2, CCND1, and FASN protein expression via miR-195 in osteosarcoma cells, and BCL2 inhibited the si-PVT1#1-induced apoptosis of U2OS cells. CCND1 inhibited the cell cycle arrest of U2OS cells induced by si-PVT1#1. FASN promoted the invasiveness U2OS cells, which was inhibited by si-PVT1#1. Therefore, our study demonstrated that PVT1 may be a therapeutic target for treatment of osteosarcoma.

Fatty acid synthase is a primary target of MiR-15a and MiR-16-1 in breast cancer

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is upregulated in breast cancer and correlates with poor prognosis. FASN contributes to mammary oncogenesis and serves as a bona fide target in cancer therapies. MicroRNAs inhibit gene expression through blocking mRNA translation or promoting mRNA degradation by targeting their 3'-UTRs. We identified four microRNAs in two microRNA clusters miR-15a-16-1 and miR-497-195 that share a common seed sequence to target the 3'-UTR of the FASN mRNA. In reporter assays, both of these microRNA clusters inhibited the expression of a reporter construct containing the FASN 3'-UTR. However, only ectopic miR-15a-16-1, but not miR-497-195, markedly reduced the levels of endogenous FASN in breast cancer cells. Both miR-15a and miR-16-1 contributes to inhibiting FASN expression and breast cancer cell proliferation. Consistently, a sponge construct consisting of eight repeats of the FASN 3'-UTR region targeted by these microRNAs could markedly increase endogenous FASN levels in mammary cells. When FASN expression was restored by ectopic expression in breast cancer cells, retarded cell proliferation caused by miR-15a-16-1 was partially rescued. In conclusion, we demonstrated that FASN expression is primarily downregulated by miR-15a and miR-16-1 in mammary cells and FASN is one of the major targets of these two tumor suppressive microRNAs.

miR-195 targets cyclin D3 and survivin to modulate the tumorigenesis of non-small cell lung cancer

miR-195 has recently been reported to function as a tumor suppressor in various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the mechanisms by which miR-195 represses the tumorigenesis of NSCLC cells are not fully understood. We performed a high-throughput screen using an miRNA mimic library and confirmed the identification of miR-195 as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC. We demonstrated that overexpression or induced expression of miR-195 in lung tumors slows tumor growth and that repression of miR-195 accelerates tumor growth. In addition, we found that knockout of miR-195 promotes cancer cell growth. We demonstrated that miR-195 targets cyclin D3 to cause cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and that miR-195 targets survivin to induce apoptosis and senescence in NSCLC cells. Overexpression of cyclin D3 or survivin reverses the effects of miR-195 in NSCLC cells. Through the analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we confirmed that the expression of miR-195 is lower in tumors than in adjacent normal tissues and that low expression of miR-195 is associated with poor survival in both lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma patients. Specifically, we found that BIRC5, which codes for survivin, is upregulated in both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma tissues and that high expression of BIRC5 is associated with poor survival in adenocarcinoma, but not squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, the ratio of miR-195 level to BIRC5 level is associated with both recurrence-free and overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma. Our results suggest that the miR-195/BIRC5 axis is a potential target for treatment of lung adenocarcinoma specifically, and NSCLC in general.

MicroRNA-195 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by targeting the fatty acid synthase/Wnt signaling pathway

Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs are critical regulators of cancer development and progression. MicroRNA-195 has been reported as a cancer-related microRNA in many human cancers. However, the role of microRNA-195 in pancreatic cancer remains largely unknown. Here, we show that microRNA-195 is downregulated in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell line. Also, we show that overexpression of microRNA-195 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells, whereas suppression of microRNA-195 promotes proliferation and invasion. We show that microRNA-195 directly targets the fatty acid synthase enzyme and negatively regulates the expression of fatty acid synthase. Also, we show that fatty acid synthase expression is inversely correlated with microRNA-195 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues. Moreover, our results show that microRNA-195 inhibits Wnt signaling in pancreatic cancer cells. By restoring fatty acid synthase expression, we were able to reverse the antitumor effects of microRNA-195 in pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, our findings show that microRNA-195 inhibits pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion by regulating the fatty acid synthase/Wnt signaling pathway, suggesting a tumor suppressive role for microRNA-195 in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. Thus, inhibiting fatty acid synthase by microRNA-195 may serve as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

MicroRNAs with prognostic significance in osteosarcoma: a systemic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic value of microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with osteosarcoma.

Materials and Methods

Studies were recruited by searching PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang data-bases (final search update conducted January 2017). Eligible studies were identified and the quality was assessed using multiple search strategies.

Results

A total of 55 articles that investigated the correlation between miRNA expression and either patient survival or disease recurrence in osteosarcoma was initially identified. Among these, 30 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results of our meta-analysis revealed that elevated levels of miR-21, miR-214, miR-29, miR-9 and miR-148a were associated with poor prognosis in osteosarcoma. Additionally, downregulated miR-382, miR26a, miR-126, miR-195 and miR-124 expression indicated poor prognosis in osteosarcoma.

Conclusions

miRNAs may act as independent prognostic factors in patients with osteosarcoma and are useful in stratifying risk.

Coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 promotes cell growth and is targeted by microRNA-195-5p in human colorectal cancer

The pathogenesis of colorectal cancer remains poorly understood. Here, we show that coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 is frequently upregulated in colorectal cancer tissues and promotes cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Using bioinformatics-based prediction and luciferase reporter system, we found that coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 is post-transcriptionally targeted by microRNA-195-5p in colorectal cancer. Ectopic expression of microRNA-195-5p led to the suppression of the coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 3'-untranslated regions activity and downregulation of the endogenous coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 protein in colorectal cancer cells. Expression analysis verified that microRNA-195-5p was markedly downregulated in human colorectal cancer tissues, which was negatively correlated with the elevated levels of coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 protein. Enhanced levels of microRNA-195-5p in colorectal cancer cells resulted in a sharp reduction of cell proliferative and colony-formative capacities in vitro. Remarkably, restoration of coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 in microRNA-195-5p-transfected colorectal cancer cells partially abrogated the inhibition of cell proliferation and colony formation mediated through microRNA-195-5p. These data confirm that microRNA-195-5p might function as an anti-tumor microRNA in colorectal cancer exerting critical control over coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 expression. The newly identified microRNA-195-5p/coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 axis may act as a novel promising therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment.

Identification of miR‑195‑3p as an oncogene in RCC

There is increasing evidence that the deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs; miRs) contributes to tumorigenesis. Previous studies have shown that miR‑195 is downregulated in various types of cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the function and expression levels of miR‑125b. Results of qPCR revealed that miR‑195‑3p, the mature sequence of miR‑195, was upregulated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues and cell lines (786‑O, 769P and ACHN). This indicated that the function and role of miR‑195‑3p may differ in different types of tumor. To assess the function of miR‑195‑3p in RCC cell lines, cell proliferation was examined using MTT and CCK‑8 assays, mobility was assessed using a cell scratch assay, Transwell migration assay and invasion assay, and apoptosis was examined using flow cytometry. These assessments were also performed in cells with upregulated or downregulated miR‑195‑3p via transfection with synthesized miR‑195‑3p mimic or inhibitor. The results revealed that the overexpression of miR‑195‑3p promoted 786‑O and ACHN RCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis, whereas the downregulation of miR‑195‑3p suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis. These results indicated that miR‑195‑3p was associated with the tumorigenesis of RCC, with further investigations to focus on the pathway and use of miR‑195‑3p as a clinical biomarker for RCC.

Downregulation of microRNA-497 is associated with upregulation of synuclein γ in patients with osteosarcoma

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of microRNA (miRNA/miR)-497 expression levels on the expression levels of synuclein γ (SNCG) in serum samples, as well as osteosarcoma and lung-metastatic tissue samples, from patients with osteosarcoma. Between December 2010 and August 2013, fasting peripheral blood was collected from 36 patients with osteosarcoma for serum separation. In addition, osteosarcoma and lung metastatic tissues were resected from 15 osteosarcoma patients with lung metastasis by surgery. Bioinformatics was employed to predict the amount miRNA that binds to SNCG. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression levels of SNCG and miR-497, and western blotting was performed to determine protein expression levels. It was observed that SNCG mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues (P<0.01). Additionally, SNCG mRNA (P<0.01) and protein (P<0.05) expression levels were significantly upregulated in the blood of patients with osteosarcoma. SNCG mRNA and protein expression levels were also significantly upregulated in lung metastatic tissues (P<0.01). miR-497 was significantly downregulated in all three samples; therefore downregulation of miR-497 may lead to the occurrence, development and metastasis of osteosarcoma through the upregulation of SNCG mRNA. In summary, the upregulation of SNCG in blood, osteosarcoma tissue and lung metastatic tissue samples is associated with the dowregulation of miR-497, suggesting that miR-497 may be a potential marker and therapeutic target for the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Serum miR-300 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in osteosarcoma

In order to determine whether microRNA (miR)-300 is a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in osteosarcoma, the miR-300 levels in serum of 114 osteosarcoma patients and 114 healthy controls were compared, followed by serum analysis of the differences between the pre-operative and post-operative sera of these osteosarcoma patients. It was observed that the concentration levels of miR-300 in the serum of osteosarcoma patients was significantly higher than those in the serum of healthy controls (P<0.01). Furthermore, the concentration levels of miR-300 in the post-operative serum were significantly reduced when compared with the pre-operative serum levels (P<0.001). High miR-300 levels in serum correlated significantly with clinical stage, distant metastasis and poor survival of osteosarcoma patients. Notably, serum miR-300 was an independent prognostic marker for osteosarcoma. In conclusion, our results suggested that serum miR-300 may be a potential and useful noninvasive biomarker for the early detection of osteosarcoma.

miRNAs Related to Skeletal Diseases

miRNAs as non-coding, short, double-stranded RNA segments are important for cellular biological functions, such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. miRNAs mainly contribute to the inhibition of important protein translations through their cleavage or direct repression of target messenger RNAs expressions. In the last decade, miRNAs got in the focus of interest with new publications on miRNAs in the context of different diseases. For many types of cancer or myocardial damage, typical signatures of local or systemically circulating miRNAs have already been described. However, little is known about miRNA expressions and their molecular effect in skeletal diseases. An overview of published studies reporting miRNAs detection linked with skeletal diseases was conducted. All regulated miRNAs were summarized and their molecular interactions were illustrated. This review summarizes the involvement and interaction of miRNAs in different skeletal diseases. Thereby, 59 miRNAs were described to be deregulated in tissue, cells, or in the circulation of osteoarthritis (OA), 23 miRNAs deregulated in osteoporosis, and 107 miRNAs deregulated in osteosarcoma (OS). The molecular influences of miRNAs regarding OA, osteoporosis, and OS were illustrated. Specific miRNA signatures for skeletal diseases are described in the literature. Some overlapped, but also unique ones for each disease exist. These miRNAs may present useful targets for the development of new therapeutic approaches and are candidates for diagnostic evaluations.

MicroRNA-320 was downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer and inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting fatty acid synthase

The expression and functions of microRNA (miR)-320 have been previously investigated in various types of cancer. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated miR-320 in human lung cancer. The current study determined the expression, biological functions and molecular mechanisms of miR‑320 in human lung cancer. The expression level of miR‑320 in human non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and normal adjacent tissue samples (NATs), NSCLC cell lines and non‑tumorigenic bronchial epithelial cells was measured by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Following transfection with miR‑320 mimics, 3‑(4,5‑dimethylthiazol‑2‑yl)‑2,5‑diphenyltetrazolium bromide, cell migration and cell invasion assays, western blot analysis and luciferase assay were performed in human NSCLC cell lines. The results demonstrated that miR‑320 was significantly downregulated in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines compared with NATs and a control cell line, respectively. Statistical analysis demonstrated that expression of miR‑320 was significantly associated with the TNM classification and metastasis. It was also observed that miR‑320 inhibited cell growth, migration and invasion in NSCLC cells. Additionally, the present study provided evidence that miR‑320 may directly target fatty acid synthase. These results suggest that miR‑320 may serve as a therapeutic biomarker of NSCLC in the future.

MicroRNA-603 functions as an oncogene by suppressing BRCC2 protein translation in osteosarcoma

The present study was conducted to investigate the expression of miR-603 in osteosarcoma cells, and the effect of miR-603 on the biological behavior and expression of breast cancer cell 2 (BRCC2) in osteosarcoma cells. In the present study, qRT-PCR was used to measure the levels of miRNA and mRNA. The results showed that miR-603 was significantly upregulated in human osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. MTT and colony formation assays were employed to evaluate the role of miR-603 in the regulation of osteosarcoma cell proliferation. The results showed that overexpression of miR-603 promoted the proliferation of MG-63 and U2OS cells. Furthermore, a nude mouse subcutaneous tumor model indicated that miR-603 promoted osteosarcoma growth in vivo. Moreover, miR-603 expression levels were increased in patients with distant metastasis in comparison with levels in patients without distant metastasis. We discovered that BRCC2 may be a target of miR-603. Our results demonstrated that overexpression of miR-603 suppressed BRCC2 protein expression, and an miR-603 inhibitor enhanced BRCC2 protein expression as determined by western blot assay and immunohistochemical analysis. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that BRCC2 is a direct target of miR-603 in osteosarcoma cells, and the results suggest that miR-603 downregulates BRCC2 expression in osteosarcoma via translational inhibition. Finally, we found that the reduction in BRCC2 expression induced by miR-603 was responsible for the enhanced colony formation and proliferative ability noted in the MG-63 and U2OS cells. In conclusion, miR-603 enhanced osteosarcoma growth by downregulation of BRCC2 expression via translational inhibition.

A panel of microRNAs as a new biomarkers for the detection of deep vein thrombosis

Deep vein thrombosis is one of the common complications of orthopedic surgery, and pulmonary embolism which is one of its lethal complications can lead to mortality. Numerous efforts have been made to identify reliable and predictive biomarkers to detect the early signs of deep vein thrombosis. These studies have, however, not delivered any more informative candidates than the D-dimer that have been available. Cell-free microRNAs are present in a range of body fluids and have recently been shown to be useful biomarkers in many diseases. Therefore, the purpose of present study was to identify potential microRNA biomarkers of deep vein thrombosis that are present in serum. Serum samples were taken from 18 deep vein thrombosis patients and 20 age- and sex-matched controls. TaqMan microRNA array was used for an initial screening. Real-time PCR assay was implemented to confirm the concentrations of candidate microRNAs. We found that the serum levels of miR-582, miR-195 and miR-532 of deep vein thrombosis patients were higher than those of controls. miR-582 yielded an AUC (the areas under the ROC curve) of 0.959, and the other two microRNAs yielded an AUC of 1.000 in discriminating deep vein thrombosis from controls. These data hint that serum miR-582, miR-195 and miR-532 might have potential to be a novel noninvasive biomarkers for detection of DVT. And this is the first study suggesting that serum microNRAs might be used as biomarkers for deep vein thrombosis.

miR-124 Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in Glioblastoma via the Inhibition of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3

MicroRNAs are important regulators of multiple cellular processes, and aberrant miRNA expression has been observed in human glioblastoma (GBM). The present study was to evaluate the level of miR-124 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in GBM tissues and cells. We further investigated the molecular mechanisms of miR-124 and STAT3 in GBM cell lines U87 and U251. Here, we found that miR-124 expression was downregulated in GBM tissues and U87 and U251 cells (all p < 0.001) but not associated with blood routine (RBC, WBC count, etc.) and liver and renal function indicators (all p > 0.05). By contrast, STAT3 was upregulated. Furthermore, the expression of miR-124 was inversely proportional to that of STAT3 mRNA or protein (p = 0.013, p = 0.015, respectively). In vitro studies demonstrated that the overexpression of miR-124 played a suppressor role in the proliferation of U87 and U251 cells and promoted cell apoptosis. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that miR-124 binding to the 3'-UTR regions of STAT3 inhibited the expression of STAT3 in U87 and U251 cells. However, the inhibitor of miR-124 promoted the expression of STAT3 and cell proliferation. In conclusion, our data suggest that miR-124 may have a potential role in treatment of GBM patients and that miR-124 is a novel regulator of invasiveness and tumorigenicity in GBM cells by targeting STAT3. The miR-124/STAT3 pathway may be a useful therapeutic agent in GBM patients.

MiR-195 suppresses non-small cell lung cancer by targeting CHEK1

MiR-195 suppresses tumor growth and is associated with better survival outcomes in several malignancies including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our previous study showed high miR-195 plasma levels associated with favorable overall survival of non-smoking women with lung adenocarcinoma. To further elucidate role of miR-195 in NSCLC, we conducted in vitro experiment as well as clinical studies in a cohort of 299 NSCLC samples. We demonstrated that miR-195 expression was lower in tumor tissues and was associated with poor survival outcome. Overexpression of miR-195 suppressed tumor cell growth, migration and invasion. We discovered that CHEK1 was a direct target of miR-195, which decreased CHEK1 expression in lung cancer cells. High expression of CHEK1 in lung tumors was associated with poor overall survival. Our results suggest that miR-195 suppresses NSCLC and predicts lung cancer prognosis.

miR-195 Inhibits EMT by Targeting FGF2 in Prostate Cancer Cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of deaths in America. The major cause of mortality can be attributed to metastasis. Cancer metastasis involves sequential and interrelated events. miRNAs and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are implicated in this process. miR-195 is downregulated in many human cancers. However, the roles of miR-195 in PCa metastasis and EMT remain unclear. In this study, data from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) prostate cancer database were re-analysed to detect miR-195 expression and its roles in PCa. miR-195 was then overexpressed in castration-resistant PCa cell lines, DU-145 and PC-3. The role of miR-195 in migration and invasion in vitro was also investigated, and common markers in EMT were evaluated through Western blot analysis. A luciferase reporter assay was conducted to confirm the target gene of miR-195; were validated in PCa cells. In MSKCC data re-analyses, miR-195 was poorly expressed in metastatic PCa; miR-195 could be used to diagnose metastatic PCa by measuring the corresponding expression. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was 0.705 (P = 0.017). Low miR-195 expression was characterised with a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) time. miR-195 overexpression suppressed cell migration, invasion and EMT. Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) was confirmed as a direct target of miR-195. FGF2 knockdown also suppressed migration, invasion and EMT; by contrast, increased FGF2 partially reversed the suppressive effect of miR-195. And data from ONCOMINE prostate cancer database showed that PCa patients with high FGF2 expression showed shorter RFS time (P = 0.046). Overall, this study demonstrated that miR-195 suppressed PCa cell metastasis by downregulating FGF2. miR-195 restoration may be considered as a new therapeutic method to treat metastatic PCa.

MicroRNA-195 inhibits proliferation, invasion and metastasis in breast cancer cells by targeting FASN, HMGCR, ACACA and CYP27B1

De novo lipogenesis, a hallmark for cancers is required for cellular transformation. Further it is believed that resistance to apoptosis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition(EMT) facilitates metastasis via over-expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Previously we demonstrated that hsa-miR-195 targets BCL2, induces apoptosis and augmented the effect of etoposide in breast cancer cells. However, the mechanism behind its function remains elusive. Herein gene expression profiling was done in presence/absence of hsa-miR-195 in Breast cancer cells. IPA revealed mitochondrial dysfunction, fatty acid metabolism and xenobiotic metabolism signalling among the top processes being affected. For the first time we herein identified ACACA, FASN (the key enzymes of de novo fatty acid synthesis), HMGCR (the key enzyme of de novo cholesterol synthesis) and CYP27B1 as direct targets of hsa-miR-195. We further showed that ectopic expression of hsa-miR-195 in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells not only altered cellular cholesterol and triglyceride levels significantly but also resulted in reduced proliferation, invasion and migration. We further demonstrated that over expression of hsa-miR-195 decreased the Mesenchymal markers expression and enhanced Epithelial markers. In conclusion we say that hsa-miR-195 targets the genes of de novo lipogenesis, inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion which potentially opens new avenues for the treatment of breast cancer.

MiR-195 inhibits the proliferation of human cervical cancer cells by directly targeting cyclin D1

MicroRNAs are important regulators of multiple cellular processes, and aberrant miRNA expression has been observed in human cervical cancer (CC). The present study was to evaluate the level of miR-195 and cyclin D1 in CC tissues and cells. We further investigated the molecular mechanisms of miR-195 and cyclin D1 in CC cell lines HeLa and SiHa. Here, we found that miR-195 expression was down-regulated in CC tissues, and HeLa and SiHa cells (all p < 0.001). By contrast, cyclin D1 was up-regulated. Furthermore, the expression of miR-195 was inversely proportional to that of cyclin D1 mRNA or protein (p = 0.013, p = 0.015, respectively). In vitro studies demonstrated that the overexpression of miR-195 played a suppressor role in the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells and promoted cell apoptosis. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that miR-195 binding to the 3'-UTR regions of cyclin D1 inhibited the expression of cyclin D1 in HeLa and SiHa cells. However, the inhibitor of miR-195 promoted the expression of cyclin D1 and cell proliferation. In conclusion, our data suggest that miR-195 may have the potential role in treatment of CC patients, as well as miR-195 is a novel regulator of invasiveness and tumorigenicity in CC cells by targeting cyclin D1. MiR-195/cyclin D1 pathway may be a useful therapeutic agent in CC patients.