Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a hot topic in the field of researching tumor pathogenesis, and the importance in hematologic malignancies has been gradually being elucidated. LncRNA not only regulates hematological tumorigenesis and progression through affecting various biological processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, pluripotency and apoptosis; moreover, abnormal expression and mutation of lncRNA are closely related to drug resistance and prognosis. Thus lncRNA can be used as novel biomarker and potential therapeutic target for hematological tumors. In this review, we will focus on the latest progress of lncRNA in hematological tumors to provide new ideas for the clinical diagnosis, prognostic evaluation together with research and development of target drugs for hematologic malignancies.
Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism* ; Hematologic Neoplasms/genetics* ; Neoplasms ; Carcinogenesis/pathology* ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic

YWHAE gene is located on chromosome 17p13.3, and its product 14-3-3epsilon protein belongs to 14-3-3 protein family. As a molecular scaffold, YWHAE participates in biological processes such as cell adhesion, cell cycle regulation, signal transduction and malignant transformation, and is closely related to many diseases. Overexpression of YWHAE in breast cancer can increase the ability of proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. In gastric cancer, YWHAE acts as a negative regulator of MYC and CDC25B, which reduces their expression and inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells, and enhances YWHAE-mediated transactivation of NF-κB through CagA. In colorectal cancer, YWHAE lncRNA, as a sponge molecule of miR-323a-3p and miR-532-5p, can compete for endogenous RNA through direct interaction with miR-323a-3p and miR-532-5p, thus up-regulating K-RAS/ERK/1/2 and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways and promoting the cell cycle progression of the colorectal cancer. YWHAE not only mediates tumorigenesis as a competitive endogenous RNA, but also affects gene expression through chromosome variation. For example, the FAM22B-YWHAE fusion gene caused by t(10; 17) (q22; p13) may be associated with the development of endometrial stromal sarcoma. At the same time, the fusion transcript of YWHAE and NUTM2B/E may also lead to the occurrence of endometrial stromal sarcoma. To understand the relationship between YWHAE, NUTM2A, and NUTM2B gene rearrangement/fusion and malignant tumor, YWHAE-FAM22 fusion gene/translocation and tumor, YWHAE gene polymorphism and mental illness, as well as the relationship between 17p13.3 region change and disease occurrence. It provides new idea and basis for understanding the effect of YWHAE gene molecular mechanism and genetic variation on the disease progression, and for the targeted for the diseases.
14-3-3 Proteins/metabolism* ; Breast Neoplasms/genetics* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation/genetics* ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics* ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal/pathology* ; Stomach Neoplasms/genetics* ; Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Translocation, Genetic

Objective To investigate the effects of miR-125a-5p on cell proliferation,apoptosis and cell cycle of pancreatic cancer cells.Methods The expression level of miR-125a-5p in pancreatic cancer was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis in 4 pairs of pancreatic cancer tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues samples. The expression of miR-125a-5p was downregulated in pancreatic cancer cell lines by transfection with miR-125a-5p inhibitor. Cell counting kit-8 assays was conducted to detect the growth ability of pancreatic cancer cell lines. Flow cytometry was applied to detect the cell cycle and apopotosis. Soft agar colony formation test was employed to assess the role of miR-125a-5p in process of malignant transformation.Results MiR-125a-5p was significantly highly expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues than adjacent normal tissues(P<0.05). After the expression level of miR-125a-5p in Panc-1 and MIA PaCa-2 was downregulated,the growth ability was suppressed(P<0.05),early apopotosis rate was promoted by 13.6% and 11.0% respectively(P<0.05),the amount of colony formation was reduced by 27.3% and 27.8%,respectively(P<0.05),and the percentage of S stage of Panc-1 was reduced by 11.8% (P<0.05).Conclusions The expression of miR-125a-5p is high in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues. After the expression level of miR-125a-5p is downregulated,the growth ability,colony formation,and cell cycle of Panc-1 and MIA PaCa-2 are suppressed,and the early apopotosis rate will be promoted. Therefore,miR-125a-5p may play an oncogenic role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal ; pathology ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological significance of Twist and YB-1 up-regulation in cervical cancer, and to correlate the expression of the two genes with E-cadherin, a marker of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

METHODSA total of 202 tissue samples were collected during January 2008 to December 2013, including 50 cases of normal cervical tissues, 100 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 52 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Twist, YB-1 and E-cadherin expression was investigated by MaxVision.

RESULTSIncreased expression levels of Twist and YB-1 were found and correlated with the malignant transformation of cervical epithelium, histological progression and metastasis of cervical cancer. In addition, Twist and YB-1 overexpression was also associated with aberrant expression of E-cadherin. Regression analysis revealed that Twist expression was an independent factor for the histological progression of cervical cancer.

CONCLUSIONSIt is suggested that Twist and YB-1 overexpression is significantly linked to cervical cancer tumorigenesis and progression, likely related to EMT through (YB-1)-Twist-(E-cadherin) pathway. Twist and YB-1 may be markers for determining the metastatic potential of cervical cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cadherins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Disease Progression ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Epithelium ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Twist-Related Protein 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Y-Box-Binding Protein 1 ; genetics ; metabolism

Basal-type breast cancers are among the most aggressive and deadly breast cancer subtypes, displaying a high metastatic ability associated with mesenchymal features. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance of mesenchymal phenotypes of basal-type breast cancer cells remain obscure. Here, we report that KRAS is a critical regulator for the maintenance of mesenchymal features in basal-type breast cancer cells. KRAS is preferentially activated in basal-type breast cancer cells as compared with luminal type. By loss and gain of KRAS, we found that KRAS is necessary and sufficient for the maintenance of mesenchymal phenotypes and metastatic ability through SLUG expression. Taken together, this study demonstrates that KRAS is a critical regulator for the metastatic behavior associated with mesenchymal features of breast cancer cells, implicating a novel therapeutic target for basal-type breast cancer.
Animals ; Breast Neoplasms/*genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics/metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/*genetics ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phenotype ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/*genetics/metabolism ; *Transcriptional Activation ; ras Proteins/*genetics/metabolism

During normal postnatal mammary gland development and adult remodeling related to the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and lactation, ovarian hormones and peptide growth factors contribute to the delineation of a definite epithelial cell identity. This identity is maintained during cell replication in a heritable but DNA-independent manner. The preservation of cell identity is fundamental, especially when cells must undergo changes in response to intrinsic and extrinsic signals. The maintenance proteins, which are required for cell identity preservation, act epigenetically by regulating gene expression through DNA methylation, histone modification, and chromatin remodeling. Among the maintenance proteins, the Trithorax (TrxG) and Polycomb (PcG) group proteins are the best characterized. In this review, we summarize the structures and activities of the TrxG and PcG complexes and describe their pivotal roles in nuclear estrogen receptor activity. In addition, we provide evidence that perturbations in these epigenetic regulators are involved in disrupting epithelial cell identity, mammary gland remodeling, and breast cancer initiation.
Animals ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Chromatin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; physiology ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase ; Humans ; Mammary Glands, Animal ; cytology ; growth & development ; Mammary Glands, Human ; cytology ; growth & development ; Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein ; genetics ; physiology ; Polycomb-Group Proteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Receptors, Estrogen ; metabolism

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in diverse biological functions and carcinogenesis by inhibiting specific gene expression. We previously reported that suppression of adenine nucleotide translocase 2 (ANT2) by using the short hairpin RNA (shRNA) approach has an antitumor effect in several cancer cells. We here examined the influence of ANT2 on expression of miRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to further elucidate the tumor-suppressive mechanism of ANT2 shRNA. We first carried out screening for miRNAs, whose expression is regulated by ANT2 suppression in the Hep3B HCC cell line using miRNA microarrays. Validation of candidate miRNAs was done by incorporating clinical samples, and their effects on the tumorigenesis of HCC were studied in vitro and in vivo. miR-636 was one of the miRNAs whose expression was highly upregulated by ANT2 suppression in miRNA microarray analysis, as confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Notably, miR-636 was markedly downregulated in HCC tissues compared with matched non-neoplastic liver in clinical samples. Restoration of miR-636 in Hep3B cells led to significant reduction of cell proliferation and colony formation. miR-636 restoration resulted in a decreased level of Ras, one of the putative targets of miR-636, and inactivation of its signaling pathway. Moreover, tumorigenesis was efficiently suppressed by miR-636 in an in vivo tumor xenograft model of HCC. The data suggest that miR-636 might function as a tumor suppressor miRNA affecting HCC tumorigenesis via downregulation of Ras, and that ANT2 suppression by shRNA could exert an anticancer effect by restoring miR-636 expression in HCC.
Adenine Nucleotide Translocator 2/*metabolism ; Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*genetics/pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/*genetics/pathology ; Down-Regulation/*genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/genetics/pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; MicroRNAs/*genetics/metabolism ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering/*metabolism ; Signal Transduction/genetics ; Transcription, Genetic ; Tumor Stem Cell Assay ; Up-Regulation/genetics ; ras Proteins/*genetics/metabolism

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was performed to determine the association between RUNX3 expression and Helicobacter pylori infection in premalignant gastric lesions. METHODS: We examined 107 patients with gastric epithelial dysplasia who had undergone endoscopic mucosal resection or submucosal dissection. All tissue samples were evaluated by RUNX3 staining and subclassified by immunophenotype. H. pylori infection in dysplastic lesions and the normal surrounding tissue was examined by silver staining, and cagA status was assessed by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The loss of RUNX3 expression was observed in 62 cases (57.9%), and an association with H. pylori infection was found in 54 cases (50.5%). The infection rate with the cagA-positive H. pylori strain was 63.0%. In RUNX3-negative lesions, the rate of H. pylori infection (p=0.03) and the frequency of category 4 lesions (according to the revised Vienna classification) were high (p=0.02). In addition, the gastric mucin phenotype was predominant. In RUNX3-negative category 4 lesions, the rate of cagA-positive H. pylori infection rate was high but not significantly increased (p=0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Infection with H. pylori is associated with inactivation of RUNX3 in early gastric carcinogenesis. This mechanism was prominent in gastric cancer with a gastric mucin phenotype.
Adenoma/*chemistry ; Aged ; Antigens, Bacterial/genetics ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics ; Carcinoma/*chemistry ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 3 Subunit/*analysis ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/*chemistry/pathology ; Helicobacter Infections/*metabolism ; Helicobacter pylori/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucin 5AC/analysis ; Mucin-2/analysis ; Mucin-6/analysis ; Neprilysin/analysis ; Phenotype ; Precancerous Conditions/*chemistry/pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms/*chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the clinicopathologic features and possible molecular mechanisms of adenoid cystic carcinoma with high-grade transformation.

METHODSFour cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma with high-grade transformation were enrolled into the study. Immunohistochemical study for smooth muscle actin, p63, p53 and Ki-67 was carried out. C-myc gene status was analyzed by fluorescence in-situ hybridization.

RESULTSThere were altogether 3 males and 1 female. The mean age of the patients was 55.5 years. Two patients died 17 months and 29 months after operation, respectively. One patient had distant metastasis 23 months after operation and was still alive at 26-month follow up. The remaining patient remained tumor free at 3-month follow up. High-grade transformation in adenoid cystic carcinoma presented either as poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma or undifferentiated carcinoma. Histologic examination showed sheets of pleomorphic tumor cells occupying more than one low-power field. The high-grade carcinoma cells showed increased nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, prominent eosinophilic nucleoli and active mitosis (ranging from 8 to 25 per high-power field). Comedo necrosis was observed in 2 cases and multiple foci of calcifications in 3 cases. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated loss of myoepithelial differentiation, overexpression of p53 and high proliferative index by Ki-67. No c-myc translocation or copy-number changes were observed.

CONCLUSIONSHigh-grade transformation in adenoid cystic carcinoma is rare. The histopathologic features are rather distinctive and the biologic behavior is aggressive. C-myc gene mutation does not seem to play a key role in the pathogenesis.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Eye Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genes, myc ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Maxillary Sinus Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Parotid Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEGastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have a broad spectrum of biological behaviors ranging from benign, borderline and malignant. This study aimed to screen differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) between malignant and borderline GISTs and to investigate the potential role of miRNAs in the malignant transformation of GISTs.

METHODSSix GIST samples including borderline tumors (n = 3) and malignant tumors (n = 3) were collected based on the clinical and pathological characteristics. Total RNA was extracted, followed by miRNA microarray analysis to screen the differentially expressed miRNAs. The most significantly expressed 4 miRNAs were then chosen for further validation by real-time PCR in 22 additional GIST samples.

RESULTSDirect comparison of malignant group versus borderline group revealed 14 significantly and differentially expressed miRNAs (P < 0.05, with a fold change of < 0.5 or > 2). Five miRNAs were up-regulated and nine were down-regulated in the malignant group. Four miRNAs (miR-221, miR-135b, miR-675(*) and miR-218) were most significantly and differentially expressed between the two groups. The differential expression of 2 miRNAs (miR-221 and miR-675(*)) were subsequently confirmed with good concordance by real-time PCR.

CONCLUSIONSThe differential miRNA expression profiles between two groups are revealed by miRNA microarray assay, and confirmed by real-time PCR. Among differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-221 and miR-675(*) might be related to the malignant transformation of GISTs, and have a potential value in predicting biological behavior of GISTs.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; genetics ; pathology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Microarray Analysis ; Middle Aged ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Up-Regulation