BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)has been a pervasive malignancy throughout the world with elevated mortality.Efficient therapeutic targets are beneficial to treat and predict the disease.Currently,the exact mo...BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)has been a pervasive malignancy throughout the world with elevated mortality.Efficient therapeutic targets are beneficial to treat and predict the disease.Currently,the exact molecular mechanisms leading to the progression of HCC are still unclear.Research has shown that the microRNA-142-3p level decreases in HCC,whereas bioinformatics analysis of the cancer genome atlas database shows the ASH1L expression increased among liver tumor tissues.In this paper,we will explore the effects and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L affect the prognosis of HCC patients and HCC cell bioactivity,and the association between them.AIM To investigate the effects and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L on the HCC cell bioactivity and prognosis of HCC patients.METHODS In this study,we grouped HCC patients according to their immunohistochemistry results of ASH1L with pathological tissues,and retrospectively analyzed the prognosis of HCC patients.Furthermore,explored the roles and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L by cellular and animal experiments,which involved the following experimental methods:Immunohistochemical staining,western blot,quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction,flow cytometric analysis,tumor xenografts in nude mice,etc.The statistical methods involved in this study contained t-test,one-way analysis of variance,theχ^(2)test,the Kaplan-Meier approach and the log-rank test.RESULTS In this study,we found that HCC patients with high expression of ASH1L possess a more recurrence rate as well as a decreased overall survival rate.ASH1L promotes the tumorigenicity of HCC and microRNA-142-3p exhibits reduced expression in HCC tissues and interacts with ASH1L through targeting the ASH1L 3′untranslated region.Furthermore,microRNA-142-3p promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation,invasion,and migration of HCC cell lines in vitro via ASH1L.For the exploration mechanism,we found ASH1L may promote an immunosuppressive microenvironment in HCC and ASH1L affects the expression of the cell junction protein zonula occludens-1,which is potentially relevant to the immune system.CONCLUSION Loss function of microRNA-142-3p induces cancer progression and immune evasion through upregulation of ASH1L in HCC.Both microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L can feature as new biomarker for HCC in the future.展开更多
BACKGROUND Glucotoxic pancreaticβcells impair glycogenesis of hepatocytes,with exosomes serving as novel mediators.miR-375-3p is the most abundant miRNA in the pancreas and critical forβ-cell function,but whether it...BACKGROUND Glucotoxic pancreaticβcells impair glycogenesis of hepatocytes,with exosomes serving as novel mediators.miR-375-3p is the most abundant miRNA in the pancreas and critical forβ-cell function,but whether it plays a role in pancreasliver crosstalk remains unclear.AIM To investigate the role of miR-375-3p,a key regulator of pancreaticβcells,in remotely regulating hepatocyte glycogenesis via exosomes.METHODS Mice fed a high-fat diet(HFD)served as animal models,and mouse primary pancreatic islet cells and theβ-cell line MIN-6 were used as cellular models.miR-375-3p expression in pancreatic cells,hepatocytes and exosomes was detected in both animal and cellular models.Transwell assays,exosome treatment,and exosome-depleted supernatant culture were used to investigate the role of exosomal miR-375-3p in pancreatic-hepatocyte crosstalk.The AKT/GSK signaling pathway and hepatic glycogen content were used as indicators to evaluate hepatocyte glycogenesis.Luciferase reporter assays were used to evaluate the downstream targets of miR-375-3p.RESULTS Increased levels of miR-375-3p were observed in both the pancreas and liver of HFD-fed mice.In contrast to the in vivo results,high-glucose treatment exclusively increased the expression of miR-375-3p in pancreatic cells but had no effect on hepatocytes.Furthermore,hepatocytes treated with the supernatant and exosomes from glucotoxic pancreatic cells presented elevated expression of miR-375-3p.Additionally,exosomal transfer of miR-375-3p from pancreatic cells to hepatocytes suppressed the AKT/GSK signaling pathway,thereby reducing the hepatic glycogen content.Luciferase analysis indicated that the recombination signal binding protein for the immunoglobulin kappa J region(Rbpj)is a target gene of miR-375-3p.Rbpj inhibition impaired hepatic glycogenesis,and Rbpj overexpression reversed the effect on glycogenesis induced by miR-375-3p.CONCLUSION Pancreatic cell-derived miR-375-3p can be delivered to hepatocytes via exosomes and inhibits hepatocyte glycogenesis by targeting Rbpj.展开更多
Objective:Gastric cancer(GC)is a globally common cancer characterized by high incidence and mortality worldwide.Advances in the molecular understanding of GC provide promising targets for GC diagnosis and therapy.Long...Objective:Gastric cancer(GC)is a globally common cancer characterized by high incidence and mortality worldwide.Advances in the molecular understanding of GC provide promising targets for GC diagnosis and therapy.Long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)and their downstream regulators are regarded to be implicated in the progression of multiple types of malignancies.Studies have shown that the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 4(SNHG4)serves as a tumor promoter in various malignancies,while its function in GC has yet to be characterized.Therefore,our study aimed to explore the role and underlying mechanism of SNHG4 in GC.Methods:We used qRT-PCR to analyze SNHG4 expression in GC tissues and cells.Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess the correlation between SNHG4 expression and the survival rate of GC patients.Cellular function experiments such as CCK-8,BrdU,colony formation,flow cytometry analysis,and transwell were performed to explore the effects of SNHG4 on GC cell proliferation,apoptosis,cell cycle,migration,and invasion.We also established xenograft mouse models to explore the effect of SNHG4 on GC tumor growth.Mechanically,dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the interaction between SNHG4 and miR-409-3p and between miR-409-3p and cAMP responsive element binding protein 1(CREB1).Results:The results indicated that SNHG4 was overexpressed in GC tissues and cell lines,and was linked with poor survival rate of GC patients.SNHG4 promoted GC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion while inhibiting cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in vitro.The in vivo experiment indicated that SNHG4 facilitated GC tumor growth.Furthermore,SNHG4 was demonstrated to bind to miR-409-3p.Moreover,CREB1 was directly targeted by miR-409-3p.Rescue assays demonstrated that miR-409-3p deficiency reversed the suppressive impact of SNHG4 knockdown on GC cell malignancy.Additionally,miR-409-3p was also revealed to inhibit GC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion by targeting CREB1.Conclusion:In conclusion,we verified that the SNHG4 promoted GC growth and metastasis by binding to miR-409-3p to upregulate CREB1,which may deepen the understanding of the underlying mechanism in GC development.展开更多
Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)ergic neurons,the most abundant inhibitory neurons in the human brain,have been found to be reduced in many neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's dis...Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)ergic neurons,the most abundant inhibitory neurons in the human brain,have been found to be reduced in many neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementia.Our previous study identified the upregulation of microRNA-502-3p(miR-502-3p)and downregulation of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 in Alzheimer's disease synapses.This study investigated a new molecular relationship between miR-502-3p and GABAergic synapse function.In vitro studies were perfo rmed using the mouse hippocampal neuronal cell line HT22 and miR-502-3p agomiRs and antagomiRs.In silico analysis identified multiple binding sites of miR-502-3p at GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 mRNA.Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-502-3p targets the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 gene and suppresses the luciferase activity.Furthermore,quantitative reve rse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,miRNA in situ hybridization,immunoblotting,and immunostaining analysis confirmed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 level,while suppression of miR-502-3p increased the level of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 protein.Notably,as a result of the overexpression of miR-502-3p,cell viability was found to be reduced,and the population of necrotic cells was found to be increased.The whole cell patch-clamp analysis of human-GABA receptor A-α1/β3/γ2L human embryonic kidney(HEK)recombinant cell line also showed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA current and overall GABA function,suggesting a negative correlation between miR-502-3p levels and GABAergic synapse function.Additionally,the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer s disease were high with miR-502-3p overexpression and reduced with miR-502-3p suppression.The present study provides insight into the molecular mechanism of regulation of GABAergic synapses by miR-502-3p.We propose that micro-RNA,in particular miR-502-3p,could be a potential therapeutic to rget to modulate GABAergic synapse function in neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's diseaserelated dementia.展开更多
BACKGROUND Diabetic kidney disease(DKD),characterized by increased urinary microalbumin levels and decreased renal function,is the primary cause of end-stage renal di-sease.Its pathological mechanisms are complicated ...BACKGROUND Diabetic kidney disease(DKD),characterized by increased urinary microalbumin levels and decreased renal function,is the primary cause of end-stage renal di-sease.Its pathological mechanisms are complicated and multifactorial;Therefore,sensitive and specific biomarkers are needed.Urinary exosome originate from diverse renal cells in nephron segments and partially mirror the pathological changes in the kidney.The microRNAs(miRNAs)in urinary exosome are remark-ably stable and highly tissue-specific for the kidney.METHODS Type 2 diabetic mellitus(T2DM)patients were recruited from the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University and were divided into two groups:DM,diabetic pa-tients without albuminuria[urinary albumin to creatinine ratio(UACR)<30 mg/g]and DKD,diabetic patients with albuminuria(UACR≥30 mg/g).Healthy subjects were the normal control(NC)group.Urinary exosomal miR-145-5p,miR-27a-3p,and miR-29c-3p,were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The correlation between exosomal miRNAs and the clinical in-dexes was evaluated.The diagnostic values of exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p in DKD were determined using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis.Biological functions of miR-145-5p were investigated by performing RESULTS Urinary exosomal expression of miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p was more upregulated in the DKD group than in the DM group(miR-145-5p:4.54±1.45 vs 1.95±0.93,P<0.001;miR-27a-3p:2.33±0.79 vs 1.71±0.76,P<0.05)and the NC group(miR-145-5p:4.54±1.45 vs 1.55±0.83,P<0.001;miR-27a-3p:2.33±0.79 vs 1.10±0.51,P<0.001).The exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p positively correlated with albuminuria and serum creatinine and negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate.miR-27a-3p was also closely related to blood glucose,gly-cosylated hemoglobin A1c,and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.ROC analysis revealed that miR-145-5p had a better area under the curve of 0.88[95%confidence interval(CI):0.784-0.985,P<0.0001]in diagnosing DKD than miR-27a-3p with 0.71(95%CI:0.547-0.871,P=0.0239).Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the target genes of miR-145-5p were located in the actin filament,cytoskeleton,and extracellular exosome and were involved in the pathological processes of DKD,including apoptosis,inflammation,and fibrosis.CONCLUSION Urinary exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p may serve as novel noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers or promising therapeutic targets for DKD.展开更多
基金Supported by the Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem Innovation Fund,No.22HHXBJC00001the Key Discipline Special Project of Tianjin Municipal Health Commission,No.TJWJ2022XK016.
文摘BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)has been a pervasive malignancy throughout the world with elevated mortality.Efficient therapeutic targets are beneficial to treat and predict the disease.Currently,the exact molecular mechanisms leading to the progression of HCC are still unclear.Research has shown that the microRNA-142-3p level decreases in HCC,whereas bioinformatics analysis of the cancer genome atlas database shows the ASH1L expression increased among liver tumor tissues.In this paper,we will explore the effects and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L affect the prognosis of HCC patients and HCC cell bioactivity,and the association between them.AIM To investigate the effects and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L on the HCC cell bioactivity and prognosis of HCC patients.METHODS In this study,we grouped HCC patients according to their immunohistochemistry results of ASH1L with pathological tissues,and retrospectively analyzed the prognosis of HCC patients.Furthermore,explored the roles and mechanisms of microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L by cellular and animal experiments,which involved the following experimental methods:Immunohistochemical staining,western blot,quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction,flow cytometric analysis,tumor xenografts in nude mice,etc.The statistical methods involved in this study contained t-test,one-way analysis of variance,theχ^(2)test,the Kaplan-Meier approach and the log-rank test.RESULTS In this study,we found that HCC patients with high expression of ASH1L possess a more recurrence rate as well as a decreased overall survival rate.ASH1L promotes the tumorigenicity of HCC and microRNA-142-3p exhibits reduced expression in HCC tissues and interacts with ASH1L through targeting the ASH1L 3′untranslated region.Furthermore,microRNA-142-3p promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation,invasion,and migration of HCC cell lines in vitro via ASH1L.For the exploration mechanism,we found ASH1L may promote an immunosuppressive microenvironment in HCC and ASH1L affects the expression of the cell junction protein zonula occludens-1,which is potentially relevant to the immune system.CONCLUSION Loss function of microRNA-142-3p induces cancer progression and immune evasion through upregulation of ASH1L in HCC.Both microRNA-142-3p and ASH1L can feature as new biomarker for HCC in the future.
基金Supported by Beijing Natural Science Foundation,No.7252124National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding,No.BJ-2024-219,No.BJ-2025-125 and No.BJ-2023-236+1 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.82370584,No.82470395 and No.81600618National Key R&D Program of China,No.2021YFE0114200.
文摘BACKGROUND Glucotoxic pancreaticβcells impair glycogenesis of hepatocytes,with exosomes serving as novel mediators.miR-375-3p is the most abundant miRNA in the pancreas and critical forβ-cell function,but whether it plays a role in pancreasliver crosstalk remains unclear.AIM To investigate the role of miR-375-3p,a key regulator of pancreaticβcells,in remotely regulating hepatocyte glycogenesis via exosomes.METHODS Mice fed a high-fat diet(HFD)served as animal models,and mouse primary pancreatic islet cells and theβ-cell line MIN-6 were used as cellular models.miR-375-3p expression in pancreatic cells,hepatocytes and exosomes was detected in both animal and cellular models.Transwell assays,exosome treatment,and exosome-depleted supernatant culture were used to investigate the role of exosomal miR-375-3p in pancreatic-hepatocyte crosstalk.The AKT/GSK signaling pathway and hepatic glycogen content were used as indicators to evaluate hepatocyte glycogenesis.Luciferase reporter assays were used to evaluate the downstream targets of miR-375-3p.RESULTS Increased levels of miR-375-3p were observed in both the pancreas and liver of HFD-fed mice.In contrast to the in vivo results,high-glucose treatment exclusively increased the expression of miR-375-3p in pancreatic cells but had no effect on hepatocytes.Furthermore,hepatocytes treated with the supernatant and exosomes from glucotoxic pancreatic cells presented elevated expression of miR-375-3p.Additionally,exosomal transfer of miR-375-3p from pancreatic cells to hepatocytes suppressed the AKT/GSK signaling pathway,thereby reducing the hepatic glycogen content.Luciferase analysis indicated that the recombination signal binding protein for the immunoglobulin kappa J region(Rbpj)is a target gene of miR-375-3p.Rbpj inhibition impaired hepatic glycogenesis,and Rbpj overexpression reversed the effect on glycogenesis induced by miR-375-3p.CONCLUSION Pancreatic cell-derived miR-375-3p can be delivered to hepatocytes via exosomes and inhibits hepatocyte glycogenesis by targeting Rbpj.
文摘Objective:Gastric cancer(GC)is a globally common cancer characterized by high incidence and mortality worldwide.Advances in the molecular understanding of GC provide promising targets for GC diagnosis and therapy.Long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)and their downstream regulators are regarded to be implicated in the progression of multiple types of malignancies.Studies have shown that the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 4(SNHG4)serves as a tumor promoter in various malignancies,while its function in GC has yet to be characterized.Therefore,our study aimed to explore the role and underlying mechanism of SNHG4 in GC.Methods:We used qRT-PCR to analyze SNHG4 expression in GC tissues and cells.Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess the correlation between SNHG4 expression and the survival rate of GC patients.Cellular function experiments such as CCK-8,BrdU,colony formation,flow cytometry analysis,and transwell were performed to explore the effects of SNHG4 on GC cell proliferation,apoptosis,cell cycle,migration,and invasion.We also established xenograft mouse models to explore the effect of SNHG4 on GC tumor growth.Mechanically,dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the interaction between SNHG4 and miR-409-3p and between miR-409-3p and cAMP responsive element binding protein 1(CREB1).Results:The results indicated that SNHG4 was overexpressed in GC tissues and cell lines,and was linked with poor survival rate of GC patients.SNHG4 promoted GC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion while inhibiting cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in vitro.The in vivo experiment indicated that SNHG4 facilitated GC tumor growth.Furthermore,SNHG4 was demonstrated to bind to miR-409-3p.Moreover,CREB1 was directly targeted by miR-409-3p.Rescue assays demonstrated that miR-409-3p deficiency reversed the suppressive impact of SNHG4 knockdown on GC cell malignancy.Additionally,miR-409-3p was also revealed to inhibit GC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion by targeting CREB1.Conclusion:In conclusion,we verified that the SNHG4 promoted GC growth and metastasis by binding to miR-409-3p to upregulate CREB1,which may deepen the understanding of the underlying mechanism in GC development.
基金supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)National Institutes of Health (NIH)+3 种基金Nos.K99AG065645,R00AG065645R00AG065645-04S1 (to SK)NIH research grants,NINDS,No.R01 NS115834NINDS/NIA,No.R01 NS115834-02S1 (to LG)。
文摘Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)ergic neurons,the most abundant inhibitory neurons in the human brain,have been found to be reduced in many neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementia.Our previous study identified the upregulation of microRNA-502-3p(miR-502-3p)and downregulation of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 in Alzheimer's disease synapses.This study investigated a new molecular relationship between miR-502-3p and GABAergic synapse function.In vitro studies were perfo rmed using the mouse hippocampal neuronal cell line HT22 and miR-502-3p agomiRs and antagomiRs.In silico analysis identified multiple binding sites of miR-502-3p at GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 mRNA.Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-502-3p targets the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 gene and suppresses the luciferase activity.Furthermore,quantitative reve rse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,miRNA in situ hybridization,immunoblotting,and immunostaining analysis confirmed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 level,while suppression of miR-502-3p increased the level of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 protein.Notably,as a result of the overexpression of miR-502-3p,cell viability was found to be reduced,and the population of necrotic cells was found to be increased.The whole cell patch-clamp analysis of human-GABA receptor A-α1/β3/γ2L human embryonic kidney(HEK)recombinant cell line also showed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA current and overall GABA function,suggesting a negative correlation between miR-502-3p levels and GABAergic synapse function.Additionally,the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer s disease were high with miR-502-3p overexpression and reduced with miR-502-3p suppression.The present study provides insight into the molecular mechanism of regulation of GABAergic synapses by miR-502-3p.We propose that micro-RNA,in particular miR-502-3p,could be a potential therapeutic to rget to modulate GABAergic synapse function in neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's diseaserelated dementia.
基金Supported by the Nature Science Foundation of Hebei Province,No.H2023104011.
文摘BACKGROUND Diabetic kidney disease(DKD),characterized by increased urinary microalbumin levels and decreased renal function,is the primary cause of end-stage renal di-sease.Its pathological mechanisms are complicated and multifactorial;Therefore,sensitive and specific biomarkers are needed.Urinary exosome originate from diverse renal cells in nephron segments and partially mirror the pathological changes in the kidney.The microRNAs(miRNAs)in urinary exosome are remark-ably stable and highly tissue-specific for the kidney.METHODS Type 2 diabetic mellitus(T2DM)patients were recruited from the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University and were divided into two groups:DM,diabetic pa-tients without albuminuria[urinary albumin to creatinine ratio(UACR)<30 mg/g]and DKD,diabetic patients with albuminuria(UACR≥30 mg/g).Healthy subjects were the normal control(NC)group.Urinary exosomal miR-145-5p,miR-27a-3p,and miR-29c-3p,were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The correlation between exosomal miRNAs and the clinical in-dexes was evaluated.The diagnostic values of exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p in DKD were determined using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis.Biological functions of miR-145-5p were investigated by performing RESULTS Urinary exosomal expression of miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p was more upregulated in the DKD group than in the DM group(miR-145-5p:4.54±1.45 vs 1.95±0.93,P<0.001;miR-27a-3p:2.33±0.79 vs 1.71±0.76,P<0.05)and the NC group(miR-145-5p:4.54±1.45 vs 1.55±0.83,P<0.001;miR-27a-3p:2.33±0.79 vs 1.10±0.51,P<0.001).The exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p positively correlated with albuminuria and serum creatinine and negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate.miR-27a-3p was also closely related to blood glucose,gly-cosylated hemoglobin A1c,and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.ROC analysis revealed that miR-145-5p had a better area under the curve of 0.88[95%confidence interval(CI):0.784-0.985,P<0.0001]in diagnosing DKD than miR-27a-3p with 0.71(95%CI:0.547-0.871,P=0.0239).Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the target genes of miR-145-5p were located in the actin filament,cytoskeleton,and extracellular exosome and were involved in the pathological processes of DKD,including apoptosis,inflammation,and fibrosis.CONCLUSION Urinary exosomal miR-145-5p and miR-27a-3p may serve as novel noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers or promising therapeutic targets for DKD.
