Various LncRNA Mechanisms in Gene Regulation Involving miRNAs or RNA-Binding Proteins in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Main Signaling Pathways and Networks.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial players in the pathogenesis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A competing binding of lncRNAs and mRNAs with microRNAs (miRNAs) is one of the most common mechanisms of gene regulation by lncRNAs in NSCLC, which has been extensively researched in the last two decades. However, alternative mechanisms that do not depend on miRNAs have also been reported. Among them, the most intriguing mechanism is mediated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) such as IGF2BP1/2/3, YTHDF1, HuR, and FBL, which increase the stability of target mRNAs. IGF2BP2 and YTHDF1 may also be involved in m6A modification of lncRNAs or target mRNAs. Some lncRNAs, such as DLGAP1-AS2, MALAT1, MNX1-AS1, and SNHG12, are involved in several mechanisms depending on the target: lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA interactome and through RBP. The target protein sets selected here were then analyzed using the DAVID database to identify the pathways overrepresented by KEGG, Wikipathways, and the Reactome pathway. Using the STRING website, we assessed interactions between the target proteins and built networks. Our analysis revealed that the JAK-STAT and Hippo signaling pathways, cytokine pathways, the VEGFA-VEGFR2 pathway, mechanisms of cell cycle regulation, and neovascularization are the most relevant to the effect of lncRNA on NSCLC.

Regulation of the Key Epithelial Cancer Suppressor miR-124 Function by Competing Endogenous RNAs.

A decrease in the miR-124 expression was observed in various epithelial cancers. Like a classical suppressor, miR-124 can inhibit the translation of multiple oncogenic proteins. Epigenetic mechanisms play a significant role in the regulation of miR-124 expression and involve hypermethylation of the MIR-124-1/-2/-3 genes and the effects of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) according to the model of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). More than 40 interactomes (lncRNA/miR-124/mRNA) based on competition between lncRNAs and mRNAs for miR-124 binding have been identified in various epithelial cancers. LncRNAs MALAT1, NEAT1, HOXA11-AS, and XIST are the most represented in these axes. Fourteen axes (e.g., SND1-IT1/miR-124/COL4A1) are involved in EMT and/or metastasis. Moreover, eight axes (e.g., OIP5-AS1/miR-124-5p/IDH2) are involved in key pathways, such as Wnt/b-catenin, E2F1, TGF-ß, SMAD, ERK/MAPK, HIF-1α, Notch, PI3K/Akt signaling, and cancer cell stemness. Additionally, 15 axes impaired patient survival and three axes reduced chemo- or radiosensitivity. To date, 14 cases of miR-124 regulation by circRNAs have been identified. Half of them involve circHIPK3, which belongs to the exonic ecircRNAs and stimulates cell proliferation, EMT, autophagy, angiogenesis, and multidrug resistance. Thus, miR-124 and its interacting partners may be considered promising targets for cancer therapy.

Dysregulation of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Interactome as a Marker of Metastatic Process in Ovarian Cancer.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common types of cancer among malignancies of the female reproductive system. This pathology is asymptomatic until advanced stages and has a poor prognosis. Our study aimed to search for lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing triplets that promote ovarian tumorigenesis. For this purpose, we analyzed tumor samples from the TCGA database and verified the results experimentally in a set of 46 paired samples of tumor and matched histologically unchanged ovarian tissues from OC patients. The list of RNAs selected in silico for experimental studies included 13 mRNAs, 10 lncRNAs, and 5 miRNAs related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis. We evaluated the expression of these RNAs by qRT-PCR and assessed the correlation between levels of miRNAs, mRNAs, and lncRNAs. Sixteen significant triplets were revealed, in some of which, e.g., OIP5-AS1-miR-203a-c-MET and OIP5-AS1-miR-203a-ZEB2, both lncRNA and mRNA had sites for miR-203a direct binding. Transfection of the OVCAR-3 and SKOV-3 cell lines with the miR-203a mimic was used to confirm the novel links of miR-203a with ZEB2 and c-MET in OC. These connections suggest that the interactomes have the potential for diagnostics of metastasis at early onset.

Aberrant Methylation of 20 miRNA Genes Specifically Involved in Various Steps of Ovarian Carcinoma Spread: From Primary Tumors to Peritoneal Macroscopic Metastases.

Our work aimed to differentiate 20 aberrantly methylated miRNA genes that participate at different stages of development and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma (OvCa) using methylation-specific qPCR in a representative set of clinical samples: 102 primary tumors without and with metastases (to lymph nodes, peritoneum, or distant organs) and 30 peritoneal macroscopic metastases (PMM). Thirteen miRNA genes (MIR107, MIR124-2, MIR124-3, MIR125B-1, MIR127, MIR129-2, MIR130B, MIR132, MIR193A, MIR339, MIR34B/C, MIR9-1, and MIR9-3) were hypermethylated already at the early stages of OvCa, while hypermethylation of MIR1258, MIR137, MIR203A, and MIR375 was pronounced in metastatic tumors, and MIR148A showed high methylation levels specifically in PMM. We confirmed the significant relationship between methylation and expression levels for 11 out of 12 miRNAs analyzed by qRT-PCR. Moreover, expression levels of six miRNAs were significantly decreased in metastatic tumors in comparison with nonmetastatic ones, and downregulation of miR-203a-3p was the most significant. We revealed an inverse relationship between expression levels of miR-203a-3p and those of ZEB1 and ZEB2 genes, which are EMT drivers. We also identified three miRNA genes (MIR148A, MIR9-1, and MIR193A) that likely regulate EMT-MET reversion in the colonization of PMM. According to the Kaplan-Meier analysis, hypermethylation of several examined miRNA genes was associated with poorer overall survival of OvCa patients, and high methylation levels of MIR130B and MIR9-1 were related to the greatest relative risk of death.

LncRNAs in the Regulation of Genes and Signaling Pathways through miRNA-Mediated and Other Mechanisms in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

The fundamental novelty in the pathogenesis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) was discovered as a result of the recent identification of the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Here, we discuss several mechanisms for the dysregulation of the expression of protein-coding genes initiated by lncRNAs in the most common and aggressive type of kidney cancer-clear cell RCC (ccRCC). A model of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) is considered, in which lncRNA acts on genes through the lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis. For the most studied oncogenic lncRNAs, such as HOTAIR, MALAT1, and TUG1, several regulatory axes were identified in ccRCC, demonstrating a number of sites for various miRNAs. Interestingly, the LINC00973/miR-7109/Siglec-15 axis represents a novel agent that can suppress the immune response in patients with ccRCC, serving as a valuable target in addition to the PD1/PD-L1 pathway. Other mechanisms of action of lncRNAs in ccRCC, involving direct binding with proteins, mRNAs, and genes/DNA, are also considered. Our review briefly highlights methods by which various mechanisms of action of lncRNAs were verified. We pay special attention to protein targets and signaling pathways with which lncRNAs are associated in ccRCC. Thus, these new data on the different mechanisms of lncRNA functioning provide a novel basis for understanding the pathogenesis of ccRCC and the identification of new prognostic markers and targets for therapy.

Long Noncoding RNA GAS5 in Breast Cancer: Epigenetic Mechanisms and Biological Functions.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as contributors to the development and progression of cancer through various functions and mechanisms. LncRNA GAS5 is downregulated in multiple cancers and acts as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer. GAS5 interacts with various proteins (e.g., E2F1, EZH2, and YAP), DNA (e.g., the insulin receptor promoter), and various microRNAs (miRNAs). In breast cancer, GAS5 binds with miR-21, miR-222, miR-221-3p, miR-196a-5p, and miR-378a-5p that indicates the presence of several elements for miRNA binding (MREs) in GAS5. Mediated by the listed miRNAs, GAS5 is involved in the upregulation of a number of mRNAs of suppressor proteins such as PTEN, PDCD4, DKK2, FOXO1, and SUFU. Furthermore, the aberrant promoter methylation is involved in the regulation of GAS5 gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer and some other carcinomas. GAS5 can stimulate apoptosis in breast cancer via diverse pathways, including cell death receptors and mitochondrial signaling pathways. GAS5 is also a key player in the regulation of some crucial signal pathways in breast cancer, such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Wnt/ß-catenin, and NF-κB signaling. Through epigenetic and other mechanisms, GAS5 can increase sensitivity to multiple drugs and improve prognosis. GAS5 is thus a promising target in the treatment of breast cancer patients.

Landscape of allele-specific transcription factor binding in the human genome.

Sequence variants in gene regulatory regions alter gene expression and contribute to phenotypes of individual cells and the whole organism, including disease susceptibility and progression. Single-nucleotide variants in enhancers or promoters may affect gene transcription by altering transcription factor binding sites. Differential transcription factor binding in heterozygous genomic loci provides a natural source of information on such regulatory variants. We present a novel approach to call the allele-specific transcription factor binding events at single-nucleotide variants in ChIP-Seq data, taking into account the joint contribution of aneuploidy and local copy number variation, that is estimated directly from variant calls. We have conducted a meta-analysis of more than 7 thousand ChIP-Seq experiments and assembled the database of allele-specific binding events listing more than half a million entries at nearly 270 thousand single-nucleotide polymorphisms for several hundred human transcription factors and cell types. These polymorphisms are enriched for associations with phenotypes of medical relevance and often overlap eQTLs, making candidates for causality by linking variants with molecular mechanisms. Specifically, there is a special class of switching sites, where different transcription factors preferably bind alternative alleles, thus revealing allele-specific rewiring of molecular circuitry.

LncRNAs in Ovarian Cancer Progression, Metastasis, and Main Pathways: ceRNA and Alternative Mechanisms.

Ovarian cancer (OvCa) develops asymptomatically until it reaches the advanced stages with metastasis, chemoresistance, and poor prognosis. Our review focuses on the analysis of regulatory long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) competing with protein-coding mRNAs for binding to miRNAs according to the model of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) in OvCa. Analysis of publications showed that most lncRNAs acting as ceRNAs participate in OvCa progression: migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and metastasis. More than 30 lncRNAs turned out to be predictors of survival and/or response to therapy in patients with OvCa. For a number of oncogenic (CCAT1, HOTAIR, NEAT1, and TUG1 among others) and some suppressive lncRNAs, several lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA axes were identified, which revealed various functions for each of them. Our review also considers examples of alternative mechanisms of actions for lncRNAs besides being ceRNAs, including binding directly to mRNA or protein, and some of them (DANCR, GAS5, MALAT1, and UCA1 among others) act by both mechanisms depending on the target protein. A systematic analysis based on the data from literature and Panther or KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) databases showed that a significant part of lncRNAs affects the key pathways involved in OvCa metastasis, EMT, and chemoresistance.

Molecular Mechanisms in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Role of miRNAs and Hypermethylated miRNA Genes in Crucial Oncogenic Pathways and Processes.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the third most common urological cancer, and it has the highest mortality rate. The increasing drug resistance of metastatic ccRCC has resulted in the search for new biomarkers. Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, such as genome-wide DNA methylation and inhibition of protein translation by interaction of microRNA (miRNA) with its target messenger RNA (mRNA), are deeply involved in the pathogenesis of human cancers, including ccRCC, and may be used in its diagnosis and prognosis. Here, we review oncogenic and oncosuppressive miRNAs, their putative target genes, and the crucial pathways they are involved in. The contradictory behavior of a number of miRNAs, such as suppressive and anti-metastatic miRNAs with oncogenic potential (for example, miR-99a, miR-106a, miR-125b, miR-144, miR-203, miR-378), is examined. miRNAs that contribute mostly to important pathways and processes in ccRCC, for instance, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Wnt-ß, histone modification, and chromatin remodeling, are discussed in detail. We also separately consider their participation in crucial oncogenic processes, such as hypoxia and angiogenesis, metastasis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The review also considers the interactions of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and miRNAs of significance in ccRCC. Recent advances in the understanding of the role of hypermethylated miRNA genes in ccRCC and their usefulness as biomarkers are reviewed based on our own data and those available in the literature. Finally, new data and perspectives concerning the clinical applications of miRNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of ccRCC are discussed.

In vivo measurement of afferent activity with axon-specific calcium imaging.

In vivo calcium imaging from axons provides direct interrogation of afferent neural activity, informing the neural representations that a local circuit receives. Unlike in somata and dendrites, axonal recording of neural activity-both electrically and optically-has been difficult to achieve, thus preventing comprehensive understanding of neuronal circuit function. Here we developed an active transportation strategy to enrich GCaMP6, a genetically encoded calcium indicator, uniformly in axons with sufficient brightness, signal-to-noise ratio, and photostability to allow robust, structure-specific imaging of presynaptic activity in awake mice. Axon-targeted GCaMP6 enables frame-to-frame correlation for motion correction in axons and permits subcellular-resolution recording of axonal activity in previously inaccessible deep-brain areas. We used axon-targeted GCaMP6 to record layer-specific local afferents without contamination from somata or from intermingled dendrites in the cortex. We expect that axon-targeted GCaMP6 will facilitate new applications in investigating afferent signals relayed by genetically defined neuronal populations within and across specific brain regions.

A Role for Mouse Primary Visual Cortex in Motion Perception.

Visual motion is an ethologically important stimulus throughout the animal kingdom. In primates, motion perception relies on specific higher-order cortical regions. Although mouse primary visual cortex (V1) and higher-order visual areas show direction-selective (DS) responses, their role in motion perception remains unknown. Here, we tested whether V1 is involved in motion perception in mice. We developed a head-fixed discrimination task in which mice must report their perceived direction of motion from random dot kinematograms (RDKs). After training, mice made around 90% correct choices for stimuli with high coherence and performed significantly above chance for 16% coherent RDKs. Accuracy increased with both stimulus duration and visual field coverage of the stimulus, suggesting that mice in this task integrate motion information in time and space. Retinal recordings showed that thalamically projecting On-Off DS ganglion cells display DS responses when stimulated with RDKs. Two-photon calcium imaging revealed that neurons in layer (L) 2/3 of V1 display strong DS tuning in response to this stimulus. Thus, RDKs engage motion-sensitive retinal circuits as well as downstream visual cortical areas. Contralateral V1 activity played a key role in this motion direction discrimination task because its reversible inactivation with muscimol led to a significant reduction in performance. Neurometric-psychometric comparisons showed that an ideal observer could solve the task with the information encoded in DS L2/3 neurons. Motion discrimination of RDKs presents a powerful behavioral tool for dissecting the role of retino-forebrain circuits in motion processing.

Cortical Processing: How Mice Predict the Visual Effects of Locomotion.

New research identifies a frontal area in the mouse neocortex that sends predictions of locomotion-coupled visual flow to visual cortex. The findings support predictive coding theories of cortical processing.

The single nucleotide variant rs12722489 determines differential estrogen receptor binding and enhancer properties of an IL2RA intronic region.

We studied functional effect of rs12722489 single nucleotide polymorphism located in the first intron of human IL2RA gene on transcriptional regulation. This polymorphism is associated with multiple autoimmune conditions (rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis). Analysis in silico suggested significant difference in the affinity of estrogen receptor (ER) binding site between alternative allelic variants, with stronger predicted affinity for the risk (G) allele. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that purified human ERα bound only G variant of a 32-bp genomic sequence containing rs12722489. Chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that endogenous human ERα interacted with rs12722489 genomic region in vivo and DNA pull-down assay confirmed differential allelic binding of amplified 189-bp genomic fragments containing rs12722489 with endogenous human ERα. In a luciferase reporter assay, a kilobase-long genomic segment containing G but not A allele of rs12722489 demonstrated enhancer properties in MT-2 cell line, an HTLV-1 transformed human cell line with a regulatory T cell phenotype.

DNA methylation contributes to deregulation of 12 cancer-associated microRNAs and breast cancer progression.

The methylation of promoter CpG islands and the interaction between microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of target genes are considered two crucial mechanisms for gene and pathway deregulation in malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of promoter methylation in altering the expression of 13 miRNAs that are associated with breast cancer (BC): miR-124, -125b, -127, -132, -137, -148a, -191, -193a, -203, -212, -34b, -375, -9. The role of methylation in the deregulation of these miRNAs has not been previously assessed in the representative set of BC samples. We used a set of 58 paired (tumor/normal) breast tissue samples and methylation-specific PCR to demonstrate significant aberrations in the methylation patterns of 9 miRNA genes. In particular, we observed hypermethylation of MIR-127, -132, and -193a, and hypomethylation of MIR-191 for the first time. Using quantitative PCR, we established a strong correlation between promoter methylation and expression levels for 12 miRNA genes (all except MIR-212); this finding demonstrates the functional importance of altered methylation patterns. We also performed a correlation analysis between expression levels of the 13 miRNAs and 5 cancer-associated genes, namely RASSF1(A), CHL1, APAF1, DAPK1, and BCL2, which were predicted as targets for these miRNAs, to investigate the impact of these miRNAs on these genes with key cellular functions in BC. Significant negative correlation was revealed for the following miRNA-mRNA pairs: miR-127-5p and DAPK1, miR-375 and RASSF1(A), and miR-124-3p and BCL2. Additionally, we also found a strong association between hypermethylation of MIR-127 and MIR-125b-1 and BC progression, particularly metastasis. Thus, our findings provide evidence for the significant role of methylation in the deregulation of 12 miRNA genes in BC, identify putative novel functional miRNA-mRNA pairs, and suggest MIR-127 and MIR-125b-1 hypermethylation to be potential biomarkers of BC metastasis.

Expression and DNA methylation alterations of seven cancer-associated 3p genes and their predicted regulator miRNAs (miR-129-2, miR-9-1) in breast and ovarian cancers.

The methylation of promoter CpG islands and interactions between microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of target genes are considered two crucial epigenetic mechanisms for inducing gene and pathway deregulation in tumors. Here, the expression levels of seven cancer-associated 3p genes (RASSF1(isoform A), RARB(isoform 2), SEMA3B, RHOA, GPX1, NKIRAS1, and CHL1) and their predicted regulator miRNAs (miR-129-2, miR-9-1) were analyzed in breast (BC, 40 samples) and ovarian (OC, 14 samples) cancers using RT-PCR and qPCR. We first revealed a negative correlation between the level of the miR-129-2 precursor and RASSF1(A) and GPX1 mRNA levels in BC (Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs) was − 0.26 in both cases). Similar results were observed for the miR-129-2 precursor and the RASSF1(A), GPX1, RARB(2), and CHL1 genes in OC (rs was in the range − 0.48 to − 0.54). Using methylation-specific PCR, a significant correlation was shown between promoter hypermethylation and the down-regulation of the RASSF1(A), GPX1, RARB(2), SEMA3B, MIR-129-2, and MIR-9-1 genes in BC (rs = 0.41 to 0.75) and of the RASSF1(A) gene in OC (rs = 0.67). We first demonstrated a high hypermethylation frequency of MIR-129-2 and SEMA3B (up to 45 to 48%) in both BC (69 samples) and OC (41 samples). Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between the hypermethylation of MIR-129-2 and the up-regulation of the RASSF1(A) and GPX1 genes in BC (rs = 0.38 and 0.42, respectively). QPCR analysis of the expression of RASSF1(A) and mature miR-129-2 in additional BC sample set (24 samples) revealed a negative correlation between them (rs = − 0.41) that strengthened the results obtained during the analysis of miR-129-2 precursor level. In summary, the obtained data indicate the involvement of methylation in the down-regulation of the studied coding and miRNA genes and suggest the involvement of miR-129-2 in the deregulation of RASSF1(A) via a direct interaction or/and mediators in common pathways (according to KEGG, Gene Ontology (FDR < 0.01), and GeneCards data) in the examined gynecological tumors.

Heavy-light chain interrelations of MS-associated immunoglobulins probed by deep sequencing and rational variation.

The mechanisms triggering most of autoimmune diseases are still obscure. Autoreactive B cells play a crucial role in the development of such pathologies and, in particular, production of autoantibodies of different specificities. The combination of deep-sequencing technology with functional studies of antibodies selected from highly representative immunoglobulin combinatorial libraries may provide unique information on specific features in the repertoires of autoreactive B cells. Here, we have analyzed cross-combinations of the variable regions of human immunoglobulins against the myelin basic protein (MBP) previously selected from a multiple sclerosis (MS)-related scFv phage-display library. On the other hand, we have performed deep sequencing of the sublibraries of scFvs against MBP, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). Bioinformatics analysis of sequencing data and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) studies have shown that it is the variable fragments of antibody heavy chains that mainly determine both the affinity of antibodies to the parent autoantigen and their cross-reactivity. It is suggested that LMP1-cross-reactive anti-myelin autoantibodies contain heavy chains encoded by certain germline gene segments, which may be a hallmark of the EBV-specific B cell subpopulation involved in MS triggering.

Intergenic, gene terminal, and intragenic CpG islands in the human genome.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it has been discovered that the human genome contains many transcription start sites for non-coding RNA. Regulatory regions related to transcription of this non-coding RNAs are poorly studied. Some of these regulatory regions may be associated with CpG islands located far from transcription start-sites of any protein coding gene. The human genome contains many such CpG islands; however, until now their properties were not systematically studied. RESULTS: We studied CpG islands located in different regions of the human genome using methods of bioinformatics and comparative genomics. We have observed that CpG islands have a preference to overlap with exons, including exons located far from transcription start site, but usually extend well into introns. Synonymous substitution rate of CpG-containing codons becomes substantially reduced in regions where CpG islands overlap with protein-coding exons, even if they are located far downstream from transcription start site. CAGE tag analysis displayed frequent transcription start sites in all CpG islands, including those found far from transcription start sites of protein coding genes. Computational prediction and analysis of published ChIP-chip data revealed that CpG islands contain an increased number of sites recognized by Sp1 protein. CpG islands containing more CAGE tags usually also contain more Sp1 binding sites. This is especially relevant for CpG islands located in 3' gene regions. Various examples of transcription, confirmed by mRNAs or ESTs, but with no evidence of protein coding genes, were found in CAGE-enriched CpG islands located far from transcription start site of any known protein coding gene. CONCLUSIONS: CpG islands located far from transcription start sites of protein coding genes have transcription initiation activity and display Sp1 binding properties. In exons, overlapping with these islands, the synonymous substitution rate of CpG containing codons is decreased. This suggests that these CpG islands are involved in transcription initiation, possibly of some non-coding RNAs.