Sequential stabilization of RNF220 by RLIM and ZC4H2 during cerebellum development and Shh-group medulloblastoma progression

Dissecting the genomic regions of selection on the X chromosome in different cattle breeds

Mammalian X and Y chromosomes independently evolved from various autosomes approximately 300 million years ago (MYA). To fully understand the relationship between genomic composition and phenotypic diversity arising due to the course of evolution, we have scanned regions of selection signatures on the X chromosome in different cattle breeds. In this study, we have prepared the datasets of 184 individuals of different cattle breeds and explored the complete X chromosome by utilizing four within-population and two between-population methods. There were 23, 25, 30, 17, 17, and 12 outlier regions identified in Tajima's D, CLR, iHS, ROH, FST, and XP-EHH. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these regions harbor important candidate genes like AKAP4 for reproduction in Brown Swiss, MBTS2 for production traits in Brown Swiss and Guernsey, CXCR3 and CITED1 for health traits in Jersey and Nelore, and BMX and CD40LG for regulation of X chromosome inactivation in Nelore and Gir. We identified genes shared among multiple methods, such as TRNAC-GCA and IL1RAPL1, which appeared in Tajima's D, ROH, and iHS analyses. The gene TRNAW-CCA was found in ROH, CLR and iHS analyses. The X chromosome exhibits a distinctive interaction between demographic factors and genetic variations, and these findings may provide new insight into the X-linked selection in different cattle breeds.

Differential Signaling Pathways in Medulloblastoma: Nano-biomedicine Targeting Non-coding Epigenetics to Improve Current and Future Therapeutics

BACKGROUND

Medulloblastomas (MDB) are malignant, aggressive brain tumors that primarily affect children. The survival rate for children under 14 is approximately 72%, while for ages 15 to 39, it is around 78%. A growing body of evidence suggests that dysregulation of signaling mechanisms and noncoding RNA epigenetics play a pivotal role in this disease.

METHODOLOGY

This study conducted an electronic search of articles on websites like PubMed and Google. The current review also used an in silico databases search and bioinformatics analysis and an extensive comprehensive literature search for original research articles and review articles as well as retrieval of current and future medications in clinical trials.

RESULTS

This study indicates that several signaling pathways, such as sonic hedgehog, WNT/β-catenin, unfolded protein response mediated ER stress, notch, neurotrophins and TGF-β and ERK, MAPK, and ERK play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MDB. Gene and ncRNA/protein are also involved as an axis long ncRNA to sponge micro-RNAs that affect downstream signal proteins expression and translation affection disease pathophysiology, prognosis and present potential target hit for drug repurposing. Current treatment options include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy; unfortunately, the disease often relapses, and the survival rate is less than 5%. Therefore, there is a need to develop more effective treatments to combat recurrence and improve survival rates.

CONCLUSION

This review describes various MDB disease hallmarks, including the signaling mechanisms involved in pathophysiology, related-causal genes, epigenetics, downstream genes/epigenes, and possibly the causal disease genes/non-protein coding (nc)RNA/protein axis. Additionally, the challenges associated with MDB treatment are discussed, along with how they are being addressed using nano-technology and nano-biomedicine, with a listing of possible treatment options and future potential treatment modalities.

Smurf1 and Smurf2 mediated polyubiquitination and degradation of RNF220 suppresses Shh-group medulloblastoma

Sonic hedgehog (Shh)-group medulloblastoma (MB) (Shh-MB) encompasses a clinically and molecularly distinct group of cancers originating from the developing nervous system with aberrant high Shh signaling as a causative driver. We recently reported that RNF220 is required for sustained high Shh signaling during Shh-MB progression; however, how high RNF220 expression is achieved in Shh-MB is still unclear. In this study, we found that the ubiquitin E3 ligases Smurf1 and Smurf2 interact with RNF220, and target it for polyubiquitination and degradation. In MB cells, knockdown or overexpression of Smurf1 or Smurf2 promotes or inhibits cell proliferation, colony formation and xenograft growth, respectively, by controlling RNF220 protein levels, and thus modulating Shh signaling. Furthermore, in clinical human MB samples, the protein levels of Smurf1 or Smurf2 were negatively correlated with those of RNF220 or GAB1, a Shh-MB marker. Overall, this study highlights the importance of the Smurf1- and Smurf2-RNF220 axes during the pathogenesis of Shh-MB and provides new therapeutic targets for Shh-MB treatment.

RNF220 promotes gastric cancer growth and stemness via modulating the USP22/wnt/β-catenin pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignancy that seriously threatens the health and life of patients. Although Ring finger 220 (RNF220) has been demonstrated to participate in the development of various cancers, its role and mechanism in GC remain undiscovered. The expression of RNF220 was determined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Western blot. Additionally, the overall survival (OS) and post-progression survival (PPS) were analyzed based on the levels of RNF220 in the TCGA database. The role and mechanism of RNF220 in growth and stemness were investigated using cell counting kit-8, colony formation, sphere-formation, co-immunoprecipitation, and Western blot experiments. Furthermore, the role of RNF220 was investigated in a xenografted mouse model. The expression of RNF220 was found to be upregulated in GC, which predicted unfavorable OS and PPS in patients with GC. Knockdown of RNF220 reduced cell viability, colony numbers, numbers of spheres formation, and the relative protein levels of Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4 in both AGS and MKN-45 cells. Moreover, overexpression of RNF220 increased cell viability and the numbers of spheres formation in MKN-45 cells. Mechanistically, RNF220 bound to USP22, and interference of RNF220 downregulated the Wnt/β-catenin axis via USP22, which was confirmed by the overexpression of USP22 in both cell lines. Furthermore, silencing of RNF220 significantly decreased tumor volume and weight, the level of Ki-67, and the relative protein levels of USP22, β-catenin, c-myc, Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4. Taken together, downregulation of RNF220 suppressed GC cell growth and stemness by downregulating the USP22/Wnt/β-catenin axis.

Disruption of protein geranylgeranylation in the cerebellum causes cerebellar hypoplasia and ataxia via blocking granule cell progenitor proliferation

The prenylation of proteins is involved in a variety of biological functions. However, it remains unknown whether it plays an important role in the morphogenesis of the cerebellum. To address this question, we generated a mouse model, in which the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (Ggps1) gene is inactivated in neural progenitor cells in the developing cerebellum. We report that conditional knockout (cKO) of Ggps1 leads to severe ataxia and deficient locomotion. To identify the underlying mechanisms, we completed a series of cellular and molecular experiments. First, our morphological analysis revealed significantly decreased population of granule cell progenitors (GCPs) and impaired proliferation of GCPs in the developing cerebellum of Ggps1 cKO mice. Second, our molecular analysis showed increased expression of p21, an important cell cycle regulator in Ggps1 cKO mice. Together, this study highlights a critical role of Ggpps-dependent protein prenylation in the proliferation of cerebellar GCPs during cerebellar development.

Kinesin family member 3A induces related diseases via wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathway

Kinesin family member 3A is an important motor protein that participates in various physiological and pathological processes, including normal tissue development, homeostasis maintenance, tumor infiltration, and migration. The wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathway is essential for critical molecular mechanisms such as embryonic development, organogenesis, tissue regeneration, and carcinogenesis. Recent studies have examined the molecular mechanisms of kinesin family member 3A, among which the wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathway has gained attention. The interaction between kinesin family member 3A and the wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathway is compact and complex but is fascinating and worthy of further study. The upregulation and downregulation of kinesin family member 3A influence many diseases and patient survival through the wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathway. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on describing the kinesin family member 3A and wingless-related integration site/β-catenin signaling pathways and their associated diseases.