miR-126 Suppresses the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and alters cell sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic drug bleomycin

miR-126-5p suppresses HeLa and Ishikawa cell proliferation and migration via the RICTOR/AKT pathway

OBJECTIVES

Uterine cancer is a leading gynecological malignancy with increasing incidence and mortality rates, particularly in regions such as the United States and China. Despite advancements in treatment, current therapeutic strategies are often limited by tumor heterogeneity, therapy resistance, and a lack of targeted treatment options. These challenges underscore the urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches to improve patient outcomes. This study aims to investigate the role of miR-126-5p in uterine cancer pathogenesis, focusing on its potential as a therapeutic target to address these limitations.

METHOD

The study employed HeLa (cervical cancer) and Ishikawa (endometrial adenocarcinoma) cell lines to evaluate the effects of miR-126-5p on cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. The molecular mechanisms underlying these effects were further explored by examining the involvement of the RICTOR/AKT signaling pathway.

RESULT

miR-126-5p was demonstrated to significantly inhibit cell proliferation and migration while promoting apoptosis in both HeLa and Ishikawa cell lines. These effects were mediated through the RICTOR/AKT signaling pathway, with no involvement of the RICTOR/PCK pathway.

CONCLUSION

The findings reveal miR-126-5p as a critical regulator of uterine cancer progression and a promising therapeutic target. By addressing the limitations of current therapies, this study provides a foundation for the development of miRNA-based treatments, offering new hope for improving outcomes in uterine cancer patients.

NK Cell Regulation in Cervical Cancer and Strategies for Immunotherapy

Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent gynaecological malignancies worldwide and is related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, viral persistence, progression, and invasion. Therefore, the immune response is linked to HPV status. Natural killer (NK) cells play a central role against virus-infected cells and tumours through a delicate balance between activating and inhibitory receptors and secretion of cytokines and chemokines. These cells also play a crucial role in tumour immunosurveillance. For these reasons, there is growing interest in harnessing NK cells as an immunotherapy for cervical cancer. These studies are diverse and include many strategies such as transferring activated autologous or allogeneic NK cells, improving the activation and cytolytic activity of NK cells using cytokines or analogues and modifying chimeric antigen receptors to increase specificity and targeting NK cells. However, research regarding the application of NK cells in immunotherapy is limited. This article focuses on recent discoveries about using NK cells to prevent and treat cervical cancer and the possibility of cellular immunotherapy becoming one of the best strategies to exploit the immune system to fight tumours.

Association study of relationships of polymorphisms in the miR-21, miR-26b, miR-221/222 and miR-126 genes with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer

Background

miR-21, miR-26b, miR-221/222 and miR-126 play crucial roles in cervical cancer development. Studies have shown that polymorphisms in miRNA genes can affect miRNA expression, which might be associated with cancer development.

Methods

Ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the miR-21, miR-26b, miR-221/222 and miR-126 genes (rs1292037, rs13137 in miR-21; rs2227255, rs2227258 in miR-26b; rs2858061, rs34678647, rs2858060, rs2745709 in miR-221/222; rs2297537, rs2297538 in miR-126) were selected, and genotyped in a total of 2176 individuals, including 435 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 743 patients with cervical cancer (CC) and 998 healthy persons using TaqMan assays, and their associations with CIN and CC were evaluated.

Results

Our results showed significant differences for the rs2297538 genotypes between the CIN and CC groups (P = 0.001). In addition, our results also showed significant differences for the rs2297537 alleles between the CIN and CC groups (P = 0.003), and the C allele of rs2297537 might be associated with a decreased risk of CC (OR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.58–0.90). At the inheritance analysis, between the CIN and control groups, the T/T-T/C genotype in rs1292037 and A/A-A/T genotype in rs13137 might be associated with an increased risk of CIN in the recessive model (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.17–2.20 and OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.15–2.15). In addition, the C/C-T/T genotype of rs2745709 might be associated with a decreased risk of CIN in the overdominant model (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.52–0.82). Between, CIN and CC group, the T/T-C/C genotype in rs1292037 and A/A-T/T genotype in rs13137 might be associated with an increased risk of CC in the overdominant model (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.12–1.81 and OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.12–1.80). The rs2297538 G/G-A/G genotype might be associated with an increased risk of CC in the recessive model (OR = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.52–5.25). The rs2297537 2C/C + C/G genotype might be associated with a decreased risk of CC (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.57–0.89) in the log-additive model. The rs2745709 T/T-C/C genotype might be associated with an increased risk of CC (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.13–1.83) in the overdominant model.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that rs2297538 and rs2297537 in miR-126, rs1292037 and rs13137 in miR-21, and rs2745709 in miR-221/222, may have important roles in the development of CIN or CC.

Flavonoid display ability to target microRNAs in cancer pathogenesis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding, conserved, single-stranded nucleotide sequences involved in physiological and developmental processes. Recent evidence suggests an association between miRNAs' deregulation with initiation, promotion, progression, and drug resistance in cancer cells. Besides, miRNAs are known to regulate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, autophagy, and senescence in different cancer types. Previous reports proposed that apart from the antioxidant potential, flavonoids play an essential role in miRNAs modulation associated with changes in cancer-related proteins, tumor suppressor genes, and oncogenes. Thus, flavonoids can suppress proliferation, help in the development of drug sensitivity, suppress metastasis and angiogenesis by modulating miRNAs expression. In the present review, we summarize the role of miRNAs in cancer, drug resistance, and the chemopreventive potential of flavonoids mediated by miRNAs. The potential of flavonoids to modulate miRNAs expression in different cancer types demonstrate their selectivity and importance as regulators of carcinogenesis. Flavonoids as chemopreventive agents targeting miRNAs are extensively studied in vitro, in vivo, and pre-clinical studies, but their efficiency in targeting miRNAs in clinical studies is less investigated. The evidence presented in this review highlights the potential of flavonoids in cancer prevention/treatment by regulating miRNAs, although further investigations are required to validate and establish their clinical usefulness.

The roles of microRNA in human cervical cancer

Although a potentially preventable disease, cervical cancer (CC) is the second most commonly diagnosed gynaecological cancer with at least 530,000 new cases annually, and the prognosis with CC is still poor. Studies suggest that aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) contributes to the progression of CC. As a group of small non-coding RNA with 18-25 nucleotides, miRNA regulate about one-third of all human genes. They function by repressing translation or inducing mRNA cleavage or degradation, including genes involved in diverse and important cellular processes, including cell cycling, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Results showed that misexpression of miRNA is closely related to the onset and progression of CC. This review will provide an overview of the function of miRNA in CC and the mechanisms involved in cervical carcinogenesis.

CircularRNA-9119 promotes the proliferation of cervical cancer cells by sponging miR-126/MDM4

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of circular RNA-9119 (circ9119) in cervical cancer (CC) and the microRNA-126-3p (miR-126)-based molecular mechanism underlying CC. circ9119 and MDM4 were initially overexpressed, and miR-126 expression was found to be reduced in CC cells and tissues. A series of mimics, inhibitors, overexpressing plasmids or siRNAs were introduced into CC cells to alter the circ9119, miR-126, and MDM4 expressions. Cell-based experiments showed that silencing of circ9119 or the upregulation of miR-126 resulted in suppressed proliferation, accompanied by the induced apoptosis of CC cells. The dual-luciferase reporter assay highlighted that circ9119 functioned as an miR-126 ceRNA to increase MDM4 expression. In vivo experiments further confirmed the suppressed tumor growth caused by circ9119 silencing. Our findings demonstrated that circ9119 acts as an oncogene in CC. Our study provides evidence for targeting circ9119 for the treatment of CC.

Hypoxic Wharton's Jelly Stem Cell Conditioned Medium Induces Immunogenic Cell Death in Lymphoma Cells

Mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord (hWJSCs), and the conditioned medium (hWJSC-CM) prepared from them, were shown to be tumoricidal on many cancers. However, these tumoricidal effects were observed in hWJSCs grown under normoxic conditions of 21% oxygen in the laboratory. Since oxygen concentrations in the stem cell niche or physiological microenvironment are hypoxic and help to maintain stemness properties, the objective of this work was to evaluate whether there were differences in the tumoricidal properties of hWJSC-CM grown in 21% O₂ (normoxic) or 5% O₂ (hypoxic) environments. The results showed that hWJSCs grown under normoxic or hypoxic conditions showed no distinct morphological differences in culture and remained positive in trilineage differentiation into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes. Hypoxic hWJSCs expressed the mesenchymal stem cell surface markers CD105, CD90, CD73, CD146, and CD108 similar to normoxic hWJSCs but were negative for the hematopoietic markers CD14, CD19, CD34, CD45, CD117, and HLA-DR. Hypoxic hWJSC-CM produced a significantly greater reduction in cell viability and a significantly greater increase in apoptosis, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation in human lymphoma cells compared to normoxic hWJSC-CM. Hypoxic hWJSC-CM also produced significantly greater expression of immunogenic cell death (ICD) hallmarks such as surface-bound calreticulin, HSP70, HSP90, and high mobility group binding 1 proteins and significantly decreased expression of the defense molecules CD47 and PD-L1. This study showed that the tumoricidal effect of hypoxic hWJSC-CM was superior to normoxic hWJSC-CM and should be the preferred choice of preparing hWJSC-CM for the induction of ICD on lymphoma cells.

MicroRNA‑126‑3p suppresses HeLa cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and increases apoptosis via the PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway

We previously reported that relative to normal cervical mucus, microRNA 126-3p (miR-126-3p) is present in significantly greater amounts in the cervical mucus of patients with overt cervical cancer or precursor lesions. Here, we investigated the effects of enforced miR-126-3p expression in the cervical cancer cell line, HeLa, on proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and protein expression. We transfected HeLa cells with miR-126-3p miRNA and found that proliferation, migration and invasion by cell counting, wound healing, cell migration and invasion assay were significantly reduced in these cells relative to those transfected with a negative control mimic. The levels of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (p-PDK1) and p-AKT proteins were lower in the miR-126-3p-transfected cells. Phosphorylated 70S6K (p-p70S6K), phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3β (p-GSK3β), phosphorylated S6K (p-S6K), cyclin D1, phosphorylated p21-activated kinase 1 (p-PAK1), Rho associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), myotonic dystrophy-related CDC42-binding kinases α (MRCKα) and phospholipase C γ1 (p-PLCγ1) were also downregulated. This suggests that downstream effectors of the PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway are targets for inhibition by miR-126-3p. In contrast, apoptotic-related proteins including the BCL-2-associated agonist of cell death (Bad), B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (Bcl-xL) and BCL-2-associated X (Bax), were all upregulated by miR-126-3p, resulting in increased caspase 3/7 activity and apoptosis. Thus, enforced expression of miR-126-3p inhibited cell migration and invasion and also induced apoptosis by regulating the PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway in HeLa cells. Hence, high levels of miR-126-3p may inhibit cervical carcinogenesis, and targeting the PI3K/PDK1/AKT pathway via miR-126-3p could represent a new approach for treating patients with cervical cancer.

Human Papillomavirus Infections, Cervical Cancer and MicroRNAs: An Overview and Implications for Public Health

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is among the most common sexually transmitted infections in both females and males across the world that generally do not cause symptoms and are characterized by high rates of clearance. Persistent infections due at least to twelve well-recognized High-Risk (HR) or oncogenic genotypes, although less frequent, can occur, leading to diseases and malignancies, principally cervical cancer. Three vaccination strategies are currently available for preventing certain HR HPVs-associated diseases, infections due to HPV6 and HPV11 low-risk types, as well as for providing cross-protection against non-vaccine genotypes. Nevertheless, the limited vaccine coverage hampers reducing the burden of HPV-related diseases globally. For HR HPV types, especially HPV16 and HPV18, the E6 and E7 oncoproteins are needed for cancer development. As for other tumors, even in cervical cancer, non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in posttranscriptional regulation, resulting in aberrant expression profiles. In this study, we provide a summary of the epidemiological background for HPV occurrence and available immunization programs. In addition, we present an overview of the most relevant evidence of miRNAs deregulation in cervical cancer, underlining that targeting these biomolecules could lead to wide translational perspectives, allowing better diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutics, and with valuable applications in the field of prevention. The literature on this topic is rapidly growing, but advanced investigations are required to achieve more consistent findings on the up-regulated and down-regulated miRNAs in cervical carcinogenesis. Because the expression of miRNAs is heterogeneously reported, it may be valuable to assess factors and risks related to individual susceptibility.

Identification and performance evaluation of housekeeping genes for microRNA expression normalization by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR using liquid-based cervical cytology samples

Screening for cervical cancer by cytology has been effective in reducing the worldwide incidence and mortality rates of this disease. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that the sensitivity of conventional cervical cytology may be too low for detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CIN). Therefore, it is important to incorporate more sensitive molecular diagnostic tests that could substantially improve the detection rates and accuracy for identifying CIN lesions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs with the potential to provide robust non-invasive cancer biomarkers for detecting CIN lesions in liquid-based cervical cytology (LBC) samples. At present, there is no consensus on which are the best housekeeping genes for miRNA normalization in LBC. The present study aimed to identify housekeeping genes with consistent and reproducible performance for normalization of reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) expression analysis of miRNA using LBC samples. The present study firstly selected six potential candidate housekeeping genes based on a systematic literature evaluation. Subsequently, the expression levels of microRNAs U6, RNU-44, RNU-47, RNU-48, RNU-49 and hsa-miR-16 were measured in 40 LBC samples using RT-qPCR. The stability of each potential housekeeping gene was assessed using the NormFinder algorithm. The results revealed that U6 and RNU-49 were the most stable genes among all candidates requiring fewer amplification cycles and smaller variation across the sample set. However, RNU-44, RNU-47, RNU-48 and hsa-miR-16 stability exceeded the recommended housekeeping value suitable for normalization. The findings revealed that U6 may be a reliable housekeeping gene for normalization of miRNA RT-qPCR expression analysis using LBC samples.

ADAM9 Expression in Uterine Cervical Cancer and Its Associated Factors

Background:

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease caused by human papillomaviruses. It is the third most common cancer to occur in women of reproductive age. The ADAM9 protein plays a role in basement membrane degradation and tumour metastasis in certain types of tumour. Thus, it has the potential to become a new targeted therapy. The objective of this study was to investigate ADAM9 expression in cervical cancer and to determine the factors associated with ADAM9-positive expression.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Kelantan, Malaysia from December 2010 to December 2012. Histological slides obtained from 95 cervical cancer cases diagnosed and/or treated in HUSM from 2000 to 2010 were analysed. The ADAM9 immunostain was then performed on the paraffin blocks. The statistical data entry and analysis were done using SPSS version 18.0. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with ADAM9-positive expression.

Result:

Of the 95 cervical cancer patients included in the study, 72 (75.8%) patients showed positive ADAM9 expression. The mean age of the patients was 53.89 (10.83) years old. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common type of cervical cancer (n = 67, 70.5%). Factors that showed a statistically significant association with ADAM9-positive expression were tumour size (adjusted odds ratio [adj. OR]: 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02, 1.13; p = 0.004), distant metastasis (adj. OR: 12.82; 95% CI: 1.91, 86.13; p = 0.009) and the histological type of cervical cancer (i.e. squamous cell carcinoma) (adj. OR: 7.39; 95% CI: 1.42, 38.51; p = 0.017).

Conclusion:

The ADAM9 immunostain was consistently positive in malignant cells. Thus, ADAM9 expression can be used as a prognostic/therapeutic indicator in aiding clinician decision-making regarding patient treatment (targeted therapy).

The inhibition of miR-126 in cell migration and invasion of cervical cancer through regulating ZEB1

Background

Cervical cancer is a malignancy that’s common in female with high incidence and mortality worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act a pivotal part in human cancer development. Our aim was to investigate the effect of miR-126 on cervical cancer and its underlying molecular mechanism.

Results

Firstly, RT-qPCR assay revealed that the expression of miR-126 was significantly downregulated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines, compared with that in normal adjacent tissues and normal cervical epithelial cell line (Ect1/E6E7), respectively. Then, ZEB1 was verified as a target of miR-126 by using luciferase reporter assay. Inversely, the expression of ZEB1 was markedly upregulated in tumor tissues, and its mRNA level was negatively regulated by miR-126 expression in SiHa and Hela cells. Moreover, the capability of cell proliferation, migration and invasion was analyzed by CCK-8, wound healing assay and transwell assay, respectively. The results demonstrated that overexpression of miR-126 inhibited SiHa and Hela cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while ZEB1 abolished the inhibition induced by miR-126. Additionally, miR-126 suppressed MMP2 and MMP9 in mRNA and protein levels, as well as inhibited the protein expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in both SiHa and Hela cells, while ZEB1 rescued miR-126-induced suppression.

Conclusion

miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor in cervical cancer cells in vitro, which inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion by suppressing MMP2, MMP9 expression and inactivating JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway through targeting ZEB1, suggesting that miR-126 might be a novel potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cervical cancer.

microRNAs: New prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic biomarkers in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is as a kind of cancer beginning from the cervix. Given that cervical cancer could be observed in women who infected with papillomavirus, regular oral contraceptives, and multiple pregnancies. Early detection of cervical cancer is one of the most important aspects of the therapy of this malignancy. Despite several efforts, finding and developing new biomarkers for cervical cancer diagnosis are required. Among various prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic biomarkers, miRNA have been emerged as powerful biomarkers for detection, treatment, and monitoring of response to therapy in cervical cancer. Here, we summarized various miRNAs as an employable platform for prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic biomarkers in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Expression of the lncRNA ZFAS1 in cervical cancer and its correlation with prognosis and chemosensitivity

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression of the lncRNA ZFAS1 in cervical cancer and its relationship with patient prognosis and cervical cancer cell chemosensitivity.

METHODS

The expression of ZFAS1 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines was detected by qRT-PCR. The cervical cancer CaSki and the HeLa cell lines were transfected to be divided into Blank, siR-Control, and siR-ZFAS1 groups. MTT, wound-healing, and transwell assays were used to evaluate cell biological function. Cisplatin with different concentrations was used to treat cells in different transfection groups, and MTT assays were used to detect the cell growth inhibition rate and the half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of cisplatin was measured. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. A xenograft mouse model was used to investigate the effects of siR-ZFAS1 on the chemosensitivity to cisplatin.

RESULTS

ZFAS1 was significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines, and increased ZFAS1 levels led to poor prognoses in patients. In addition, cells in the siR-ZFAS1 group showed remarkably reduced ZFAS1 expression as well as cell proliferation, invasion and migration. After being treated with cisplatin at different concentrations, cells in the siR-ZFAS1 group had dramatically increased cell growth inhibition and apoptosis but lower cisplatin IC50s. In addition, siR-ZFAS1 reduced the volumes and weights of tumors in nude mice treated with cisplatin and enhanced the chemosensitivity of cervical cancer cells to cisplatin.

CONCLUSION

The lncRNA ZFAS1 was upregulated in cervical cancer tissues, and its high expression indicated a poor prognosis. Silencing ZFAS1 may inhibit cell proliferation, migration and invasion and enhance cisplatin chemosensitivity.

Identification of miRNAs in cervical mucus as a novel diagnostic marker for cervical neoplasia

microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in regulation of gene expression during cervical carcinogenesis. We investigated expression profiles of miRNAs in cervical cancer and its precursor lesions by utilizing cervical mucus. Cervical mucus was collected from 230 patients with a normal cervix, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), or adenocarcinoma (AD). The levels of miRNA in the mucus were quantified by miRNA array and real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The performance for detecting diseases was statistically analysed. The expression of miRNAs was further validated in the surgical tissues of enrolled patients. Four miRNAs (miR-126-3p, -20b-5p, -451a, and -144-3p) were significantly up-regulated in SCC and AD compared with normal, and their expression levels correlated with disease severity and high-risk human papillomavirus infection. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that the area under the curve values for miR-126-3p, -20b-5p, -451a, and -144-3p were 0.89, 0.90, 0.94, and 0.93, respectively, for SCC plus AD compared with normal, showing high accuracy of cancer detection. Real-time RT-PCR analyses confirmed the expression of these four miRNAs in frozen tissues from cervical cancer. miR-126-3p, -20b-5p, -451a, and -144-3p in cervical mucus are promising biomarkers for cervical cancer and high-grade CINs.

miR-126-5p Restoration Promotes Cell Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer by Targeting Bcl2l2

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in females, with a high incidence and mortality around the world. However, the pathogenesis in cervical cancer is not completely known. In the present study, we investigated the role of miR-126-5p and Bcl2l2 in cervical cancer cells. First, miR-126-5p expression was aberrantly downregulated in human cervical cancer tumor tissues in comparison with normal tissues, as evaluated by RT-PCR. Consistently, the levels of miR-126-5p were also significantly reduced in cervical cancer cell lines when compared to normal cervical epithelial cells. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the rate of apoptosis of cervical cancer cells was significantly increased by miR-126-5p overexpression but inhibited by miR-126-5p inhibitor. A similar change pattern was observed in the expression of apoptosis-regulated protein caspase 3 in cervical cancer cells transfected with miR-126-5p mimic or inhibitor. By bioinformatic prediction with online databases and verification using luciferase reporter assay, we then identified that Bcl2l2 is a direct target of miR-126-5p in cervical cancer cells. The expression of Bcl2l2 was strongly downregulated by the miR-126-5p mimic but upregulated by the miR-126-5p inhibitor in cervical cancer cells, and Bcl2l2 expression was significantly increased in human cervical cancer tumor tissues, which was negatively correlated with miR-126-5p levels. Furthermore, we confirmed that the rate of apoptosis was significantly increased by Bcl2l2 silencing in cervical cancer cells, which was not affected by the miR-126-5p inhibitor. In addition, the increased apoptosis of cells by the miR-126-5p mimic was inhibited by Bcl2l2 overexpression. In summary, miR-126-5p plays an inhibitory role in human cervical cancer progression, regulating the apoptosis of cancer cells via directly targeting Bcl2l2. This might provide a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

A comparison of microRNA expression profiles from splenic hemangiosarcoma, splenic nodular hyperplasia, and normal spleens of dogs

Background

Splenic masses are common in older dogs; yet diagnosis preceding splenectomy and histopathology remains elusive. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that play a role in post-transcriptional regulation, and differential expression of miRNAs between normal and tumor tissue has been used to diagnose neoplastic diseases. The objective of this study was to determine differential expression of miRNAs by use of RNA-sequencing in canine spleens that were histologically confirmed as hemangiosarcoma, nodular hyperplasia, or normal.

Results

Twenty-two miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in hemangiosarcoma samples (4 between hemangiosarcoma and both nodular hyperplasia and normal spleen and 18 between hemangiosarcoma and normal spleen only). In particular, mir-26a, mir-126, mir-139, mir-140, mir-150, mir-203, mir-424, mir-503, mir-505, mir-542, mir-30e, mir-33b, mir-365, mir-758, mir-22, and mir-452 are of interest in the pathogenesis of hemangiosarcoma.

Conclusions

Findings of this study confirm the hypothesis that miRNA expression profiles are different between canine splenic hemangiosarcoma, nodular hyperplasia, and normal spleens. A large portion of the differentially expressed miRNAs have roles in angiogenesis, with an additional group of miRNAs being dysregulated in vascular disease processes. Two other miRNAs have been implicated in cancer pathways such as PTEN and cell cycle checkpoints. The finding of multiple miRNAs with roles in angiogenesis and vascular disease is important, as hemangiosarcoma is a tumor of endothelial cells, which are driven by angiogenic stimuli. This study shows that miRNA dysregulation is a potential player in the pathogenesis of canine splenic hemangiosarcoma.

LncRNA HOTAIR promotes cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer by targeting miR-126 to activate the PI3K/AKT/MRP1 genes

Altered expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has shown to associate with human cancer development and progression and drug resistance. LncRNA HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) regulates chromatin state and highly expressed in various human cancers. This study analyzed HOTAIR expression in gastric cancer cells and tissues and then assessed the effects of HOTAIR on modulation of gastric cancer cell sensitivity to cisplatin and the underlying molecular events. The data showed that HOTAIR was significantly upregulated in cisplatin-resistant gastric cancer cells and tissues compared with control cells and noncancerous gastric tissues. Overexpression of HOTAIR enhanced gastric cancer cell proliferation, promoted cell cycle G1/S transition, but decreased tumor cell apoptosis. Furthermore, HOTAIR was shown to directly bind to and inhibit miR-126 expression and then to promote VEGFA and PIK3R2 expression and activate the PI3K/AKT/MRP1 pathway. In conclusion, the data demonstrated that high HOTAIR expression acted as a competitive endogenous RNA to promote cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer. Further study will evaluate HOTAIR expression as a biomarker to predict treatment response of cisplatin and explore inhibition of HOTAIR expression as a novel strategy for anti-cisplatin resistance in human gastric cancer.

RNA sequencing reveals a depletion of collagen targeting microRNAs in Dupuytren's disease

Background

Dupuytren’s disease is an inherited disorder in which patients develop fibrotic contractures of the hand. Current treatment strategies include surgical excision or enzymatic digestion of fibrotic tissue. MicroRNAs, which are key posttranscriptional regulators of genes expression, have been shown to play an important regulatory role in disorders of fibrosis. Therefore in this investigation, we apply high throughput next generation RNA sequencing strategies to characterize microRNA expression in diseased and healthy palmar fascia to elucidate molecular mechanisms responsible for pathogenic fibrosis.

Methods

We applied high throughput RNA sequencing techniques to quantify the expression of all known human microRNAs in Dupuytren’s and control palmar fascia. MicroRNAs that were differentially expressed between diseased and healthy tissue samples were used for computational target prediction using the bioinformatics tool ComiR. Molecular pathways that were predicted to be differentially expressed based on computational analysis were validated by performing RT-qPCR on RNA extracted from diseased and non-diseased palmar fascia biopsies.

Results

A comparison of microRNAs expressed in Dupuytren’s fascia and control fascia identified 74 microRNAs with a 2-fold enrichment in Dupuytren’s tissue, and 32 microRNAs with enrichment in control fascia. Computational target prediction for differentially expressed microRNAs indicated preferential targeting of collagens and extracellular matrix related proteins in control palmar fascia. RT-qPCR confirmed the decreased expression of microRNA targeted collagens in control palmar fascia tissues.

Discussion

Control palmar fascia show decreased expression of mRNAs encoding collagens that are preferentially targeted by microRNAs enriched in non-diseased fascia. Thus alterations in microRNA regulatory networks may play an important role in driving the pathogenic fibrosis seen in Dupuytren’s disease via direct regulatory effects on extracellular matrix protein synthesis.

Conclusion

Dupuytren’s fascia and healthy palmar fascia can be distinguished by unique microRNA profiles, which are predicted to preferentially target collagens and other extracellular matrix proteins.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12920-015-0135-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

MicroRNA-126 Overexpression Inhibits Proliferation and Invasion in Osteosarcoma Cells

This study investigated the biological effects of microRNA-126 overexpression in human MG63 osteosarcoma cells. A recombinant plasmid expressing microRNA-126, pcDNA6.2-microRNA-126, was constructed and transfected into MG63 cells. Using real-time fluorogenic quantitative polymerase chain reaction, the microRNA-126 expression was measured in microRNA-126-MG63 group, Ctrl-MG63 group, and blank group. Cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution, cell migration, and invasion were analyzed using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, flow cytometer, wound-healing assay, and transwell assay, respectively. As expected, microRNA-126 expression was higher in microRNA-126-MG63 group than in Ctrl-MG63 group and blank group (both P < .05). After 48/72 hours of transfection, cell proliferation in microRNA-126-MG63 group was significantly reduced compared to blank group (both P < .05). Compared to blank group, cell population in G0/G1 stage was significantly higher in microRNA-126-MG63 group, accompanied by lower cell numbers in the S and G2/M phases and decreased proliferation index (all P < .05). Wound-healing assay showed a wider scratch width in microRNA-126-MG63 group and reduced cell migration than blank group (both P < .05). Cells overexpressing microRNA-126 exhibited reduced ADAM9 expression levels compared to other 2 groups (all P < .05), suggesting ADAM9 is a target of microRNA-126. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion rates were reduced in microRNA-126 group after 48/72 hours of transfection, compared with blank group (all P < .05). Cotransfection of pcDNA6.2-microRNA-126 and pMIR-ADAM9 into MG63 cells led to higher cell proliferation, invasion, and migration rates, compared with transfection of pcDNA6.2-microRNA-126 alone (all P < .05). In summary, our data show that microRNA-126 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in human osteosarcoma cells by targeting ADAM9.

MiRNA-15a mediates cell cycle arrest and potentiates apoptosis in breast cancer cells by targeting synuclein-γ

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have indicated that microRNA-15a (miR-15a) is dysregulated in breast cancer (BC). We aimed to evaluate the expression of miR-15a in BC tissues and corresponding para-carcinoma tissues. We also focused on effects of miR-15a on cellular behavior of MDA-MB-231 and expression of its target gene synuclein-γ (SNCG).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression levels of miR-15a were analysed in BC formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues by microarray and quantitative real-time PCR. CCK-8 assays, cell cycle and apoptosis assays were used to explore the potential functions of miR-15a in MDA-MB-231 human BC cells. A luciferase reporter assay confirmed direct targets.

RESULTS

Downregulation of miR-15a was detected in most primary BCs. Ectopic expression of miR-15a promoted proliferation and suppressed apoptosis in vivo. Further studies indicated that miR-15a may directly interact with the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of SNCG mRNA, downregulating its mRNA and protein expression levels. SNCG expression was negatively correlated with miR-15a expression.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-15a has a critical role in mediating cell cycle arrest and promoting cell apoptosis of BC, probably by directly targeting SNCG. Thus, it may be involved in development and progression of BC.

Impact of Nutrition on Non-Coding RNA Epigenetics in Breast and Gynecological Cancer

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in females. According to the American Cancer Society, there are 327,660 new cases in breast and gynecological cancers estimated in 2014, placing emphasis on the need for cancer prevention and new cancer treatment strategies. One important approach to cancer prevention involves phytochemicals, biologically active compounds derived from plants. A variety of studies on the impact of dietary compounds found in cruciferous vegetables, green tea, and spices like curry and black pepper have revealed epigenetic changes in female cancers. Thus, an important emerging topic comprises epigenetic changes due to the modulation of non-coding RNA levels. Since it has been shown that non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are aberrantly expressed in cancer, and furthermore are linked to distinct cancer phenotypes, understanding the effects of dietary compounds and supplements on the epigenetic modulator non-coding RNA is of great interest. This article reviews the current findings on nutrition-induced changes in breast and gynecological cancers at the non-coding RNA level.

Downregulated miR-495 [Corrected] Inhibits the G1-S Phase Transition by Targeting Bmi-1 in Breast Cancer

Bmi-1 (B cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1) is upregulated in breast cancer and was involved in many malignant progressions of breast cells, including cell proliferation, stem cell pluripotency, and cancer initiation. However, the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of Bmi-1 in breast cancer remains unclear. After analysis of the ArrayExpress dataset GSE45666, we comparatively detected the expression levels of miR-495 in 9 examined breast cancer cell lines, normal breast epithelial cells and 8 pairs of fresh clinical tumor samples. Furthermore, to evaluate the effect of miR-495 on the progression of breast cancer, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 were transduced to stably overexpress miR-495. The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay, colony formation assays, 5-Bromo-2-deoxyUridine labeling and immunofluorescence, anchorage-independent growth ability assay, flow cytometry analysis, and luciferase assays were used to test the effect of miR-495 in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. Xenografted tumor model was also used to evaluate the effect of miR-495 in breast cancer. Herein, we found that miR-495, a predicted regulator of Bmi-1, was frequently downregulated in malignant cells and tissues of breast. Upregulation of miR-495 significantly suppressed breast cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenicity via G1-S arrest. Further analysis revealed that miR-495 targeted Bmi-1 through its 3' untranslated region. Moreover, Bmi-1 could neutralize the suppressive effect of miR-495 on cell proliferation and tumorigenicity of breast cancer in vivo. These data suggested that miR-495 could inhibit the G1-S phase transition that leads to proliferation and tumorigenicity inhibition by targeting and suppressing Bmi-1 in breast cancer.

Meta-analysis of microRNA expression profiling studies in human cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and numerous studies have associated the disease with changes in microRNA (miRNA) expression. This meta-analysis aimed to consolidate and assess the results of these studies in order to identify potential miRNA biomarkers of cervical cancer. We systematically searched the literature for studies comparing miRNA expression between cervical cancer tissues and normal cervical tissues, and we meta-analyzed the result of 27 studies comprising 1,132 cancer samples and 943 normal samples. We used a vote-counting strategy that took into account total sample and mean fold-change, in order to comprehensively assess associations between certain miRNAs and cervical cancer occurrence and progression. The studies described 195 miRNAs that were significantly up-regulated and 96 microRNAs that were down-regulated in cervical cancer tissues (stage I-IV) relative to normal cervical tissues. Vote-counting analysis showed that up-regulation was most consistently reported for miR-20a and miR-21 (four studies), followed by miR-10a, miR-15b, miR-20b, miR-141, miR-200a, and miR-224 (three studies). Down-regulation was reported most consistently for miR-143 (seven studies), followed by miR-203 and miR-145 (six studies). Fourteen miRNA, respectively, showed a significantly correlated lymphatic node metastasis in eight studies. This meta-analysis has identified several miRNAs whose expression correlates reliably with cervical cancer. These should be probed in further studies to explore their potential as diagnostic biomarkers.

Notch1 ligand signaling pathway activated in cervical cancer: poor prognosis with high-level JAG1/Notch1

OBJECTIVE

Notch signalings are regulated multiple cellular processes during cancer progression. We aimed to investigate the significance and prognostic value of expression of Notch1 and JAG1 in cervical cancer to determine whether they could serve as prognostic predictors.

METHODS/MATERIALS

The expression of Notch1/JAGD1 was investigated by real-time PCR, western blot assay and its association with overall survival of patients was analyzed by statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Notch1 and JAGD1 expression level were significantly elevated in cervical cancer in comparison to normal specimens and other types of Notch receptors and ligands. It is also proved that Notch1 and JAGD1 expression were to be associated with cervical cancer invasion, lymph node metastasis, and FIGO system. In addition, survival analysis proved that elevated Notch1 and JAGD1 expression were associated with poor overall survival of patients (P = 0.01, P = 0.02 log-rank test), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data proved the over-expression of Notch1/JAGD1 and its association with tumor progression in human cervical cancer, which might be a potential valuable biomarker for cervical cancer and further studies need.

Decreased expression of microRNA-126 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer

Background

MicroRNA-126(miR-126) has been shown to be frequently down-regulated in a variety of malignancies and act as a potential tumor suppressor. However, its correlations with the clinicopathological characters of cervical cancer remain unclear.

Methods

TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR was used to determine the expression level of miR-126 in tissue samples. The associations of miR-126 expression with clinicopathologic variables were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to analyze the association of miR-126 expression with overall survival (OS) of patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed.

Results

miR-126 expression level in human cervical cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent nontumorous tissues (mean ± SD: 0.59 ± 0.44 vs. 1.00 ± 0.51, P < 0.0001). Decreased miR-126 expression in cervical cancer was found to be significantly associated with lymphatic invasion (P = 0.002), distant metastasis (P < 0.001), FIGO stage (P = 0.009), and histological grade (P = 0.005). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with lower levels of miR-126 had significantly poorer survival than those with higher expression of this miRNA in patients, with a 5-year OS of 45.7% and 70.9%, respectively (P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis revealed that miR-126 expression (HR = 3.97, 95% CI: 2.01-20.22; P = 0.003) was independently associated with the OS.

Conclusion

Our data suggests the potential of miR-126 as a prognostic biomarker for cervical cancer.

Virtual Slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/13000_2014_220

Overexpression of miR-126 sensitizes osteosarcoma cells to apoptosis induced by epigallocatechin-3-gallate

Background

miR-126 plays an important role in the proliferation, invasion, migration, and chemotherapeutics resistance in cancer. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), as the major polyphenolic constituent present in green tea, is a promising anticancer agent. However, the role of miR-126 in EGCG anticancer remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of miR-126 and EGCG on cell viability, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution of osteosarcoma cells and the sensitization of miR-126 on osteosarcoma cells to EGCG.

Methods

The cell viability, apoptosis and cycle distribution were analyzed using MTT assay and flow cytometry.

Results

Our results showed that EGCG (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 g/L) suppresses proliferation of osteosarcoma MG63 and U2OS cells in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner and the inhibitory effects of 0.05 g/L EGCG on U2OS cells were roughly equivalent to 20 μM cisplatin (DDP); miR-126 could promote apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in U2OS cells but without significant effects on cell cycle G1 phase arrest; EGCG suppressed proliferation of U2OS cells through induction of cell cycle G1 arrest and apoptotic death; overexpression of miR-126 enhanced the inhibitory effects of EGCG on proliferation in U2OS cells via promotion of apoptosis.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that enhanced expression of miR-126 increased the sensitivity of osteosarcoma cells to EGCG through induction of apoptosis.

Characterization of the microRNA expression profile of cervical squamous cell carcinoma metastases

OBJECTIVES

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of many physiological and pathological processes, including tumorigenesis and metastasis. In this study, we sought to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of metastatic cervical carcinoma by performing miRNA profiling.

METHODS

Tissue samples were collected from ten cervical squamous cancer patients who underwent hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node (PLN) dissection in our hospital, including four PLN-positive (metastatic) cases and six PLN-negative (non-metastatic) cases. A miRNA microarray platform with 1223 probes was used to determine the miRNA expression profiles of these two tissue types and case groups. MiRNAs having at least 4-fold differential expression between PLN-positive and PLN-negative cervical cancer tissues were bioinformatically analyzed for target gene prediction. MiRNAs with tumor-associated target genes were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTS

Thirty-nine miRNAs were differentially expressed (>4-fold) between the PLN-positive and PLN-negative groups, of which, 22 were up-regulated and 17 were down-regulated. Sixty-nine percent of the miRNAs (27/39) had tumor-associated target genes, and the expression levels of six of those (miR-126, miR-96, miR-144, miR-657, miR-490-5p, and miR-323-3p) were confirmed by quantitative (q)RT-PCR.

CONCLUSIONS

Six MiRNAs with predicted tumor-associated target genes encoding proteins that are known to be involved in cell adhesion, cytoskeletal remodeling, cell proliferation, cell migration, and apoptosis were identified. These findings suggest that a panel of miRNAs may regulate multiple and various steps of the metastasis cascade by targeting metastasis-associated genes. Since these six miRNAs are predicted to target tumor-associated genes, it is likely that they contribute to the metastatic potential of cervical cancer and may aid in prognosis or molecular therapy.