Increased expression of RBMS3 predicts a favorable prognosis in human gallbladder carcinoma

Tumor suppressor function of RBMS3 overexpression in EOC associated with immune cell infiltration

Objectives

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is considered to be a prevalent female malignancy with both high incidence and mortality. It is reported that RNA-binding protein 3 (RBMS3) executives a tumor suppressor function in different cancers. This investigation was designed to examine the expression of RBMS3 in epithelial ovarian cancer, the effects on EOC cells, and its connection to immune cells that infiltrate tumors in the EOC microenvironment.

Methods

The expression levels of RBMS3 in EOC tissues as well as their correlations with immune cell infiltration and clinical outcome were examined using bioinformatics approaches. Western blotting as well as immunohistochemistry were carried out to determine the protein levels in EOC tissues. In addition, qRT-PCR was employed to look at the expression of the mRNA. The role of RBMS3 in EOC cells was investigated, and an RBMS3 lentiviral vector was developed. The effects of RBMS3 on subcutaneous tumor development, the proliferation protein Ki-67, the tumor angiogenesis indicator CD31, and its function in controlling the tumor immune microenvironment were evaluated by in vivo tests.

Results

There was a considerable decrease in RBMS3 expression in EOC tissues, which was linked to a poor prognosis for patients and the infiltration of multiple immune cell. Given immunohistochemical studies, tissues with increased RBMS3 expression had decreased markers of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, regulatory T cells, and M2 macrophages, whereas M1 macrophage markers were elevated. RBMS3 appears to suppress the capabilities of proliferating, invading, and migrating in EOC cells according to in vitro tests, whereas tumors overexpressing RBMS3 developed more slowly in syngeneic mouse models. The overexpression of RBMS3 led to a decline in the levels of Ki-67 protein and CD31. Additionally, it showed a negatively correlation with markers of regulatory T cell, myeloid-derived suppressor cell, and M2 macrophage but a positive correlation with markers of M1 macrophage.

Conclusions

The findings revealed that elevated RBMS3 expression plays a tumor suppressor role in EOC and was connected to patient survival in EOC. The studies conducted in vitro and in vivo demonstrated a link between RBMS3 expression and the infiltration of certain immune cells, indicating a function for RBMS3 in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and its promising efficiency as a novel target for immunotherapy against EOC.

Serum exosomal miR-3662 down-regulates the expression of RBMS3 to promote malignant progression and gemcitabine resistance of breast cancer cells

Breast cancer (BC) is a prevalent malignancy among women worldwide. As an anticancer drug of pyrimidine nucleoside analogs, gemcitabine can be used to treat BC, but its clinical application is restricted due to drug resistance. This study investigated the effect of serum exosomal microRNA-3662 (miR-3662) on gemcitabine resistance in BC cells by targeting RNA-Binding Motif Single-Stranded Interacting Protein 3 (RBMS3) and related molecular mechanisms. We performed the bioinformatics analyses on the differential miRNAs in BC and predicted the downstream regulators. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was conducted to determine miR-3662 and RBMS3 expression, while dual luciferase was conducted to confirme the regulatory relationship between them. Flow cytometry, cell counting kit-8, and transwell assays were applied to assess apoptosis, cell viability, invasion, and migration. The expression of marker proteins (TSG101, CD63, and CD81) in patients' serum exosomes was evaluated through western blot, and exosomes were observed using transmission electron microscopy. miR-3662 expression was significantly upregulated in BC, and miR-3662 knockdown significantly reduced BC cell viability and gemcitabine resistance. As the downstream gene of miR-3662, RBMS3 was significantly downregulated in BC, and dual luciferase assay verified the binding of RBMS3-3'UTR to miR-3662. Rescue experiments revealed that silencing RBMS3 reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-3662 knockdown on BC cells. Besides, we also found that miR-3662 expression was significantly low in serum exosome samples from BC patients and could be transmitted to tumor cells. miR-3662 was upregulated in serum exosomes and promoted BC cell progression and gemcitabine resistance by targeting RBMS3.

RNA-binding proteins in breast cancer: Biological implications and therapeutic opportunities

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) refer to a class of proteins that participate in alternative splicing, RNA stability, polyadenylation, localization and translation of RNAs, thus regulating gene expression in post-transcriptional manner. Dysregulation of RNA-RBP interaction contributes to various diseases, including cancer. In breast cancer, disorders in RBP expression and function influence the biological characteristics of tumor cells. Targeting RBPs has fostered the development of innovative therapies for breast cancer. However, the RBP-related mechanisms in breast cancer are not completely clear. In this review, we summarize the regulatory mechanisms of RBPs and their signaling crosstalk in breast cancer. Specifically, we emphasize the potential of certain RBPs as prognostic factors due to their effects on proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and therapy resistance of breast cancer cells. Most importantly, we present a comprehensive overview of the latest RBP-related therapeutic strategies and novel therapeutic targets that have proven to be useful in the treatment of breast cancer.

RBMS3-induced circHECTD1 encoded a novel protein to suppress the vasculogenic mimicry formation in glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly vascularized malignant cancer of the central nervous system, and the presence of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) severely limits the effectiveness of anti-vascular therapy. In this study, we identified downregulated circHECTD1, which acted as a key VM-suppressed factor in GBM. circHECTD1 elevation significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tube-like structure formation in GBM. RIP assay was used to demonstrate that the flanking intron sequence of circHECTD1 can be specifically bound by RBMS3, thereby inducing circHECTD1 formation to regulate VM formation in GBM. circHECTD1 was confirmed to possess a strong protein-encoding capacity and the encoded functional peptide 463aa was identified by LC-MS/MS. Both circHECTD1 and 463aa significantly inhibited GBM VM formation in vivo and in vitro. Analysis of the 463aa protein sequence revealed that it contained a ubiquitination-related domain and promoted NR2F1 degradation by regulating the ubiquitination of the NR2F1 at K396. ChIP assay verified that NR2F1 could directly bind to the promoter region of MMP2, MMP9 and VE-cadherin, transcriptionally promoting the expression of VM-related proteins, which in turn enhanced VM formation in GBM. In summary, we clarified a novel pathway for RBMS3-induced circHECTD1 encoding functional peptide 463aa to mediate the ubiquitination of NR2F1, which inhibited VM formation in GBM. This study aimed to reveal new mechanisms of GBM progression in order to provide novel approaches and strategies for the anti-vascular therapy of GBM. The schematic illustration showed the inhibitory effect of circHECTD1-463aa in the VM formation in GBM.

RBMS3, a downstream target of AMPK, Exerts Inhibitory Effects on Invasion and Metastasis of Lung Cancer

Background: Lung cancer is a highly malignant disease, primarily due to its propensity for metastasis. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the principal downstream effector of Liver Kinase B1 (LKB1), orchestrates a broad spectrum of molecular targets, thereby constraining tumor invasion and metastasis. In parallel, the RNA-binding protein RBMS3 (RNA-binding motif, single-stranded-interacting protein 3) plays a pivotal role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a pivotal process in tumorigenesis. Therefore, our research aims to clarify the important role of RBMS3 as a mediator in the LKB1/AMPK inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis. Methods: We investigated the expression and correlation between RBMS3 and LKB1 in lung cancer tissues utilizing immunohistochemistry and TCGA-LUAD data, respectively. The relationship between RBMS3 and clinical pathological features and prognosis of lung cancer was also analyzed. The functions of RBMS3 in lung cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration were investigated in real-time in vitro. Additionally, we investigated the effects of AMPK agonists and inhibitors to explore the mediating role of RBMS3 in AMPK-induced inhibition of lung cancer invasion and migration. Results: The IHC and TCGA data both revealed low expression of RBMS3 in lung cancer. Moreover, we found that low expression of RBMS3 was positively associated with lung cancer's histological grade, clinical stage, and N stage. Additionally, low RBMS3 expression was associated with poor overall survival. Cox regression analysis revealed that RBMS3 was an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer patients. In vitro experiments verified that RBMS3 inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Furthermore, our findings suggested that RBMS3 played an essential role in mediating AMPK's inhibitory effect on lung cancer invasion and migration. Conclusion: Our study highlights a novel mechanism by which LKB1/AMPK pathway activation inhibits lung cancer invasion and metastasis by promoting RBMS3 expression, offering insights in developing innovative lung cancer therapies.

Expression of RBMS3 in Breast Cancer Progression

The aim of the study was to evaluate the localization and intensity of RNA-binding motif single-stranded-interacting protein 3 (RBMS3) expression in clinical material using immunohistochemical (IHC) reactions in cases of ductal breast cancer (in vivo), and to determine the level of RBMS3 expression at both the protein and mRNA levels in breast cancer cell lines (in vitro). Moreover, the data obtained in the in vivo and in vitro studies were correlated with the clinicopathological profiles of the patients. Material for the IHC studies comprised 490 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) cases and 26 mastopathy tissues. Western blot and RT-qPCR were performed on four breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, BT-474, SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231) and the HME1-hTERT (Me16C) normal immortalized breast epithelial cell line (control). The Kaplan-Meier plotter tool was employed to analyze the predictive value of overall survival of RBMS3 expression at the mRNA level. Cytoplasmatic RBMS3 IHC expression was observed in breast cancer cells and stromal cells. The statistical analysis revealed a significantly decreased RBMS3 expression in the cancer specimens when compared with the mastopathy tissues (p < 0.001). An increased expression of RBMS3 was corelated with HER2(+) cancer specimens (p < 0.05) and ER(-) cancer specimens (p < 0.05). In addition, a statistically significant higher expression of RBMS3 was observed in cancer stromal cells in comparison to the control and cancer cells (p < 0.0001). The statistical analysis demonstrated a significantly higher expression of RBMS3 mRNA in the SK-BR-3 cell line compared with all other cell lines (p < 0.05). A positive correlation was revealed between the expression of RBMS3, at both the mRNA and protein levels, and longer overall survival. The differences in the expression of RBMS3 in cancer cells (both in vivo and in vitro) and the stroma of breast cancer with regard to the molecular status of the tumor may indicate that RBMS3 could be a potential novel target for the development of personalized methods of treatment. RBMS3 can be an indicator of longer overall survival for potential use in breast cancer diagnostic process.

Long non-coding RNAs as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets in gastric cancer

Aim

This study aimed to find lncRNAs and mRNAs that were expressed differently by combining microarray datasets from different studies. This was done to find important target genes in gastric cancer for anti-cancer therapy.

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most frequent and second-most deadly malignancy worldwide. Thus, genetic diagnosis and treatment should focus on genetic and epigenetic variables. Based on several studies, disordered expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as lncRNAs, regulate gastric cancer invasion and metastasis. Besides, lncRNAs cooperatively regulate gene expression and GC progression.

Methods

We obtained differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) from three GC tissue microarray datasets by meta-analysis and screened genes using the "Limma" package. Then, using the RNAInter database, we allocated DEmRNAs to each DElncRNA. ClusterProfiler and GOplot programs were used to analyze function enrichment pathways and gene ontologies for final DEmRNAs.

Results

A total of 9 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) (5 up-regulated and 4 down-regulated), and 856 DEmRNAs (451 up-regulated and 405 down-regulated) between tumor and adjacent normal samples were found. Finally, 117 differentially expressed mRNAs were predicted as interactors of six DElncRNAs (H19, WT1-AS, EMX2OS, HOTAIR, ZEB1-AS1, and LINC00261).

Conclusion

In order to promote cancer therapeutics and give knowledge on the process of carcinogenesis, our study projected a network of drug-gene interactions for discovered genes and presented relevant prospective biomarkers for the prognosis of patients with stomach cancer.

Role of RBMS3 Novel Potential Regulator of the EMT Phenomenon in Physiological and Pathological Processes

RNA-binding protein 3 (RBMS3) plays a significant role in embryonic development and the pathogenesis of many diseases, especially cancer initiation and progression. The multiple roles of RBMS3 are conditioned by its numerous alternative expression products. It has been proven that the main form of RBMS3 influences the regulation of microRNA expression or stabilization. The absence of RBMS3 activates the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The expression of c-Myc, another target of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, is correlated with the RBMS3 expression. Numerous studies have focused solely on the interaction of RBMS3 with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) protein machinery. EMT plays a vital role in cancer progression, in which RBMS3 is a new potential regulator. It is also significant that RBMS3 may act as a prognostic factor of overall survival (OS) in different types of cancer. This review presents the current state of knowledge about the role of RBMS3 in physiological and pathological processes, with particular emphasis on carcinogenesis. The molecular mechanisms underlying the role of RBMS3 are not fully understood; hence, a broader explanation and understanding is still needed.

RNA binding protein RBMS3 is a common EMT effector that modulates triple-negative breast cancer progression via stabilizing PRRX1 mRNA

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been recognized as a driving force for tumor progression in breast cancer. Recently, our group identified the RNA Binding Motif Single Stranded Interacting Protein 3 (RBMS3) to be significantly associated with an EMT transcriptional program in breast cancer. Additional expression profiling demonstrated that RBMS3 was consistently upregulated by multiple EMT transcription factors and correlated with mesenchymal gene expression in breast cancer cell lines. Functionally, RBMS3 was sufficient to induce EMT in two immortalized mammary epithelial cell lines. In triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) models, RBMS3 was necessary for maintaining the mesenchymal phenotype and invasion and migration in vitro. Loss of RBMS3 significantly impaired both tumor progression and spontaneous metastasis in vivo. Using a genome-wide approach to interrogate mRNA stability, we found that ectopic expression of RBMS3 upregulates many genes that are resistant to degradation following transcriptional blockade by actinomycin D (ACTD). Specifically, RBMS3 was shown to interact with the mRNA of EMT transcription factor PRRX1 and promote PRRX1 mRNA stability. PRRX1 is required for RBMS3-mediated EMT and is partially sufficient to rescue the effect of RBMS3 knockdown in TNBC cell lines. Together, this study identifies RBMS3 as a novel and common effector of EMT, which could be a promising therapeutic target for TNBC treatment.

Identifying Critical States of Complex Diseases by Single-Sample Jensen-Shannon Divergence

MOTIVATION

The evolution of complex diseases can be modeled as a time-dependent nonlinear dynamic system, and its progression can be divided into three states, i.e., the normal state, the pre-disease state and the disease state. The sudden deterioration of the disease can be regarded as the state transition of the dynamic system at the critical state or pre-disease state. How to detect the critical state of an individual before the disease state based on single-sample data has attracted many researchers' attention.

METHODS

In this study, we proposed a novel approach, i.e., single-sample-based Jensen-Shannon Divergence (sJSD) method to detect the early-warning signals of complex diseases before critical transitions based on individual single-sample data. The method aims to construct score index based on sJSD, namely, inconsistency index (ICI).

RESULTS

This method is applied to five real datasets, including prostate cancer, bladder urothelial carcinoma, influenza virus infection, cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The critical states of 5 datasets with their corresponding sJSD signal biomarkers are successfully identified to diagnose and predict each individual sample, and some "dark genes" that without differential expressions but are sensitive to ICI score were revealed. This method is a data-driven and model-free method, which can be applied to not only disease prediction on individuals but also targeted drug design of each disease. At the same time, the identification of sJSD signal biomarkers is also of great significance for studying the molecular mechanism of disease progression from a dynamic perspective.