BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a major threat to human health. The molecular mechanisms related to the occurrence and development of lung cancer are complex and poorly known. Exploring molecular markers related to the development of lung cancer is helpful to improve the effect of early diagnosis and treatment. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) THAP7-AS1 is known to be highly expressed in gastric cancer, but has been less studied in other cancers. The aim of the study is to explore the role and mechanism of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) mediated up-regulation of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modified lncRNA THAP7-AS1 expression in promoting the development of lung cancer. METHODS: Samples of 120 lung cancer and corresponding paracancerous tissues were collected. LncRNA microarrays were used to analyze differentially expressed lncRNAs. THAP7-AS1 levels were detected in lung cancer, adjacent normal tissues and lung cancer cell lines by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The diagnostic value of THAP7-AS1 in lung cancer and the relationship between THAP7-AS1 expression and survival rate and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Bioinformatics analysis, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (meRIP), RNA pull-down and RNA-immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were used to investigate the molecular regulation mechanism of THAP7-AS1. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenesis of SPC-A-1 and NCI-H1299 cells were determined by MTS, colony-formation, scratch, Transwell and xenotransplantation in vivo, respectively. Expression levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kenase B (PI3K/AKT) signal pathway related protein were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Expression levels of THAP7-AS1 were higher in lung cancer tissues and cell lines (P<0.05). THAP7-AS1 has certain diagnostic value in lung cancer [area under the curve (AUC)=0.737], and its expression associated with overall survival rate, tumor size, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). METTL3-mediated m6A modification enhanced THAP7-AS1 expression. The cell proliferation, migration, invasion and the volume and mass of transplanted tumor were all higher in the THAP7-AS1 group compared with the NC group and sh-NC group of SPC-A-1 and NCI-H1299 cells, while the cell proliferation, migration and invasion were lower in the sh-THAP7-AS1 group (P<0.05). THAP7-AS1 binds specifically to Cullin 4B (CUL4B). The cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and expression levels of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), phosphoinositide-3 kinase, catalytic subunit delta (PIK3CD), phospho-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K), phospho-protein kinase B (p-AKT) and phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) were higher in the THAP7-AS1 group compared with the Vector group of SPC-A-1 and NCI-H1299 cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS LncRNA THAP7-AS1 is stably expressed through m6A modification mediated by METTL3, and combines with CUL4B to activate PI3K/AKT signal pathway, which promotes the occurrence and development of lung cancer.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Up-Regulation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; Cullin Proteins/genetics*

Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) is a kind of metastatic tumor whose primary origin cannot be identified after adequate examination and evaluation. The main treatment modality of CUP is empiric chemotherapy, and the median overall survival time is less than 1 year. Compared with immunohistochemistry, novel method based on gene expression profiling have improved the sensitivity and specificity of CUP detection, but its guiding value for treatment is still controversial. The approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors and pan-cancer antitumor agents has improved the prognosis of patients with CUP, and targeted therapy and immunotherapy based on specific molecular characteristics are the main directions of future research. Given the high heterogeneity and unique clinicopathological characteristics of CUP, "basket trial" is more suitable for clinical trial design in CUP.
Humans ; Neoplasms, Unknown Primary/genetics* ; Carcinoma/drug therapy* ; Gene Expression Profiling/methods* ; Microarray Analysis ; Prognosis

Objective: To investigate the effect of long non-coding RNA urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) gene on the proliferation, migration, apoptosis and immune escape of endometrial cancer cells and its molecular mechanism. Methods: Endometrial cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues of patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma who underwent total or partial hysterectomy in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from 2017 to 2019 were collected. The expressions of UCA1 and miR-204-5p were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis were detected by cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) method, Transwell method, flow cytometry, and dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to explore the target relationship between UCA1 and miR-204-5p. HEC-1A-sh-NC or HEC-1A-sh-UCA1 cells were co-cultured with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or cytokine-induced killer cells in vitro to explore the role of UCA1 in immune escape. Results: The expression level of UCA1 in endometrial cancer tissue (17.08±0.84) was higher than that in adjacent normal endometrial tissue (3.00±0.37), and the expression level of miR-204-5p (0.98±0.16) was lower than that in adjacent normal endometrial tissue (2.00±0.20, P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the expression of miR-204-5p was negatively correlated with the expression of UCA1 (r=-0.330, P=0.030). The expressions of UCA1 and miR-204-5p were associated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage of endometrial cancer, lymph node metastasis and vascular invasion (P<0.05). The relative ratio of absorbance (0.58±0.11) and the number of cell migration [(199.68±18.44)] in the sh-UCA1 group were lower than those in the sh-NC group (1.24±0.17 and 374.76±24.83), respectively. The apoptosis rate of sh-UCA1 group [(28.64±7.80)%] was higher than that of sh-NC group [(14.27±4.38)%, P<0.05]. After different ratios of effector cells and target cells were cultured, the cell survival rate of HEC-1A-sh-UCA1 group was lower than that of HEC-1A-sh-NC group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). UCA1 had a binding site for miR-204-5p. The relative ratio of absorbance (1.74±0.08) and the number of cell migration (426.00±18.00) cells in the UCA1+ anti-miR-204-5p group were higher than those in the control group [1.00±0.03 and (284.00±8.00) cells, respectively]. The apoptosis rate of UCA1+ anti-miR-204-5p group [(5.42±0.93)%] was lower than that of control group [(14.82±1.48)%, P<0.05]. HEC-1A-sh-UCA1 cells could induce higher interferon gamma (IFN-γ) expression when co-cultured with PBMC, and the levels of IFN-γ expression in PHA group and PHA+ pre-miR-204-5p group cells were 2.42±0.49 and 1.88±0.26, which were higher than that in the PHA+ pre-NC group (0.85±0.10, P<0.05). When co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer cells (different ratios) in vitro, the HEC-1A-sh-UCA1 group and the HEC-1A-pre-miR-204-5p group had lower survival rates than that in the HEC-1A-pre-miR-204-5p group. In the HEC-1A-pre-NC group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: UCA1/miR-204-5p may play an important role in human endometrial cancer.
Female ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Antagomirs ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Cell Proliferation ; Endometrial Neoplasms/genetics* ; Apoptosis/genetics* ; Cell Movement/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic

Objective: To explore the effect of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of retinoblastoma cells and its possible mechanism. Methods: The tumor tissues of 31 patients with retinoblastoma admitted to Henan Provincial Eye Hospital from February to June 2020 and their corresponding normal tissues adjacent to the cancer were collected. The expression levels of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 and miR-200b-5p in retinoblastoma tissues and normal adjacent tissues were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Human retinal epithelial cell ARPE-19, human retinoblastoma cell Y-79 and WERI-Rb-1 were cultured in vitro. The expression levels of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 and miR-200b-5p were detected by qRT-PCR. Y-79 cells were randomly divided into si-con group, si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 group, miR con group, miR-200b-5p group, si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1+ anti-miR con group, and si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1+ anti-miR-200b-5p group. The proliferation, cloning and apoptosis of cells in each group were detected by tetramethylazol blue method, plate cloning test and flow cytometry, respectively. The targeting relationship between lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 and miR-200b-5p was detected by double luciferase report test, and the expression level of cleaved-caspase-3 protein was detected by western blot. Results: Compared with the adjacent tissues, the expression of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 in retinoblastoma tissues was increased (P<0.05), while the expression of miR-200b-5p was decreased (P<0.05). Compared with ARPE-19 cells, the expression of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 in Y-79 and WERI-Rb-1 cells was increased (P<0.05), while the expression of miR-200b-5p was decreased (P<0.05). Compared with the si-con group, the cell viability of the si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 group was reduced (1.06±0.09 vs 0.53±0.05, P<0.05), the number of cell clone formation was reduced (114.00±8.03 vs 57.00±4.13, P<0.05), while the apoptosis rate [(7.93±0.68)% vs (25.43±1.94)%] and the protein level of cleaved-caspase-3 were increased (P<0.05). Compared with the miR-con group, the cell viability of the miR-200b-5p group was decreased (1.05±0.08 vs 0.57±0.05, P<0.05), the number of cell clone formation was decreased (118.00±10.02 vs 64.00±5.13, P<0.05), while the apoptosis rate [(7.89±0.71)% vs (23.15±1.62)%] and the protein level of cleaved-caspase-3 were increased (P<0.05). lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 could target the expression of miR-200b-5p. Compared with the si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1+ anti-miR-con group, cell viability of the si-lncRNA ADPGK-AS1+ anti-miR-200b-5p group was increased (0.53±0.04 vs 1.25±0.10, P<0.05), and the number of cell clones was increased (54.00±4.39 vs 125.00±10.03, P<0.05), while the rate of apoptosis [(25.38±1.53)% vs (9.76±0.71)%] and the protein level of cleaved-caspase-3 were decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion: Interfering with the expression of lncRNA ADPGK-AS1 could inhibit the proliferation and clone formation and induce apoptosis of retinoblastoma cells by targeting the expression of miR-200b-5p.
Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Retinoblastoma/pathology* ; Caspase 3/metabolism* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism* ; Antagomirs/pharmacology* ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis/genetics* ; Retinal Neoplasms/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Cell Movement/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: Programmed cell death 6 (PDCD6), a Ca ²⁺-binding protein, has been reported to be aberrantly expressed in all kinds of tumors. The aim of this study was to explore the role and mechanism of PDCD6 in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). METHODS: The expression levels of PDCD6 in liver cancer patients and HCC cell lines were analyzed using bioinformatics and Western blotting. Cell viability and metastasis were determined by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) and transwell assays, respectively. And Western blotting was used to test related biomarkers and molecular pathway factors in HCC cell lines. LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor inhibiting AKT, was used to suppress the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway to help evaluate the role of this pathway in the HCC carcinogenesis associated with PDCD6. RESULTS: The analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas Database suggested that high PDCD6 expression levels were relevant to liver cancer progression. This was consistent with our finding of higher levels of PDCD6 expression in HCC cell lines than in normal hepatocyte cell lines. The results of MTT, transwell migration, and Western blotting assays revealed that overexpression of PDCD6 positively regulated HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conversely, the upregulation of PDCD6 expression in the presence of an AKT inhibitor inhibited HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In addition, PDCD6 promoted HCC cell migration and invasion by epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The mechanistic investigation proved that PDCD6 acted as a tumor promoter in HCC through the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway, increasing the expression of transcription factors and cellular proliferation and metastasis. CONCLUSION PDCD6 has a tumor stimulative role in HCC mediated by AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling and might be a potential target for HCC progression.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology* ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; beta Catenin/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Calcium-Binding Proteins/metabolism* ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/genetics*

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells play an irreplaceable role in biopharmaceuticals because the cells can be adapted to grow in suspension cultures and are capable of producing high quality biologics exhibiting human-like post-translational modifications. However, gene expression regulation such as transgene silencing and epigenetic modifications may reduce the recombinant protein production due to the decrease of expression stability of CHO cells. This paper summarized the role of epigenetic modifications in CHO cells, including DNA methylation, histone modification and miRNA, as well as their effects on gene expression regulation.
Cricetinae ; Animals ; Humans ; Cricetulus ; CHO Cells ; Epigenesis, Genetic/genetics* ; DNA Methylation ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics*

Gelsemium elegans is a traditional Chinese herb of medicinal importance, with indole terpene alkaloids as its main active components. To study the expression of the most suitable housekeeping reference genes in G. elegans, the root bark, stem segments, leaves and inflorescences of four different parts of G. elegans were used as materials in this study. The expression stability of 10 candidate housekeeping reference genes (18S, GAPDH, Actin, TUA, TUB, SAND, EF-1α, UBC, UBQ, and cdc25) was assessed through real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ΔCT, and RefFinder. The results showed that EF-1α was stably expressed in all four parts of G. elegans and was the most suitable housekeeping gene. Based on the coexpression pattern of genome, full-length transcriptome and metabolome, the key candidate targets of 18 related genes (AS, AnPRT, PRAI, IGPS, TSA, TSB, TDC, GES, G8H, 8-HGO, IS, 7-DLS, 7-DLGT, 7-DLH, LAMT, SLS, STR, and SGD) involved in the Gelsemium alkaloid biosynthesis were obtained. The expression of 18 related enzyme genes were analyzed by qRT-PCR using the housekeeping gene EF-1α as a reference. The results showed that these genes' expression and gelsenicine content trends were correlated and were likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of the Gelsemium alkaloid, gelsenicine.
Genes, Essential ; Gelsemium/genetics* ; Peptide Elongation Factor 1/genetics* ; Transcriptome ; Gene Expression Profiling/methods* ; Alkaloids ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Reference Standards

Plant diseases and insect pests threaten the safety of crop production greatly. Traditional methods for pest management are challenged by the problems such as environmental pollution, off-target effects, and resistance of pathogens and insects. New biotechnology-based strategies for pest control are expected to be developed. RNA interference (RNAi) is an endogenous process of gene regulation, which has been widely used to study the gene functions in various organisms. In recent years, RNAi-based pest management has received increasing attention. The effective delivery of the exogenous interference RNA into the targets is a key step in RNAi-mediated plant diseases and pest control. Considerable advances were made on the mechanism of RNAi, and various RNA delivery systems were developed for efficient pest control. Here we review the latest advances on mechanisms and influencing factors of RNA delivery, summarize the strategies of exogenous RNA delivery in RNAi-mediated pest control, and highlight the advantages of nanoparticle complexes in dsRNA delivery.
Animals ; RNA Interference ; Pest Control ; Insecta/genetics* ; RNA, Double-Stranded ; Gene Expression Regulation

The WUSCHEL related-homeobox (WOX) family is one of the plant-specific transcription factor families, playing important roles in plant growth and development. In this study, 51 WOX gene family members were identified from the genome data of Brassica juncea by searching and screening with HUMMER, Smart and other software. Their protein molecular weight, amino acids numbers, and isoelectric point were analyzed by using Expasy online software. Furthermore, bioinformatics software was used to systematically analyze the evolutionary relationship, conservative region, and gene structure of the WOX gene family. The mustard WOX gene family was divided into three subfamilies: ancient clade, intermediate clade, and WUS clade/modern clade. Structural analysis showed that the type, organization form and gene structure of the conservative domain of WOX transcription factor family members in the same subfamily were highly consistent, while there was a certain diversity among different subfamilies. 51 WOX genes are distributed unevenly on 18 chromosomes of mustard. Most of the promoters of these genes contain cis acting elements related to light, hormone and abiotic stress. Using transcriptome data and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, it was found that the expression of mustard WOX gene was spatio-temporal specific, among which BjuWOX25, BjuWOX33, and BjuWOX49 might play an important role in the development of silique, and BjuWOX10, BjuWOX32, and BjuWOX11, BjuWOX23 respectively might play an important role in the response to drought and high temperature stresses. The above results may facilitate the functional study of mustard WOX gene family.
Mustard Plant/genetics* ; Multigene Family/genetics* ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Plants/genetics* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Phylogeny ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*

Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter (NHX) gene subfamily plays an important role in plant response to salt stress. In this study, we identified the NHX gene family members of Chinese cabbage and analyzed the expression patterns of BrNHXs gene in response to abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low temperature, drought and salt stress. The results showed that there were 9 members of the NHX gene family in Chinese cabbage, which were distributed on 6 chromosomes respectively. The number of amino acids was 513-1 154 aa, the relative molecular weight was 56 804.22-127 856.66 kDa, the isoelectric point was 5.35-7.68. Members of BrNHX gene family mainly existed in vacuoles, the gene structure is complete, and the number of exons is 11-22. The secondary structures of the proteins encoded by the NHX gene family in Chinese cabbage had alpha helix, beta turn and random coil, and the alpha helix occurred more frequently. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the gene family members had different responses to high temperature, low temperature, drought and salt stress, and their expression levels differed significantly in different time periods. BrNHX02 and BrNHX09 had the most significant responses to these four stresses, and their expression levels were significantly up-regulated at 72 h after treatments, which could be used as candidate genes to further verify their functions.
Genome, Plant ; Multigene Family ; Stress, Physiological/genetics* ; Brassica/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*