PiR-hsa-23533 promotes malignancy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via USP7.

BACKGROUND: With regard to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), its occurrence and advancement are controlled by genetic and epigenetic anomalies. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are recognized with significance in tumor, but the precise molecular mechanisms of piRNAs in HNSCC largely remain undisclosed. METHODS: Differentially expressed piRNAs were identified by RNA sequencing. The expression of piR-hsa-23533 was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR and RNA in situ hybridization. The impacts of piR-hsa-23533 on the proliferation and apoptosis of HNSCC cells were investigated by a series of in vitro and in vivo assays. RESULTS: piR-hsa-23533 exhibits upregulation within HNSCC cells and tissues. Besides, piR-hsa-23533 overexpression promotes proliferation while inhibiting apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, while piR-hsa-23533 silencing has an opposite function. From the mechanistic perspective, piR-hsa-23533 can bind to Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7), as shown through RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays, promoting USP7 mRNA and protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the functional importance of piR-hsa-23533 in HNSCC and may assist in the development of anti-HNSCC therapeutic target.

Agricultural drought-driven mechanism of coupled climate and human activities in the karst basin of southern China.

Timely and accurate agricultural drought monitoring and drought-driven mechanism analysis in karst basins in the context of global warming are highly important for drought disaster monitoring and sustainable ecological development in a basin. In this study, based on MODIS data, meteorological and topographic data and land use data from 2001 to 2020, we used the Sen slope, the Mann-Kendall test and a geographic detector to explore the driving mechanisms of agricultural drought caused by climate change and human activities in the karst basin of southern China from 2001 to 2020. The results showed that (1) the spatial distribution of the TVDI in the karst basin in southern China has obvious regional characteristics, showing a decreasing trend from west to east. (2) According to the interannual trend of drought, the degree of drought in the South China karst basin exhibited a weakening trend over the last 20 years, with the most severe drought occurring in 2003. Regarding the seasonal change in the TVDI, drought in spring, summer and autumn exhibited a decreasing trend, while that in winter exhibited an increasing trend, and the drought intensity decreased in the following order: spring (0.58) > autumn (0.53) > summer (0.5) > winter (0.48). (3) Single-factor detection the results showed that rainfall, temperature and elevation were the main factors driving aridification in the study area; multifactor coupling (mean) drove drought in descending order: rainfall (q = 0.424) > temperature (q = 0.340) > elevation (q = 0.219) > land use (q = 0.188) > population density (q = 0.061) > slope (q = 0.057). Therefore, revealing the mechanism of agricultural drought in karst basins through the study of this paper has important theoretical significance and provides technical guidance for drought relief in karst areas.

Propagation thresholds and driving mechanism detection of karst meteorological- agricultural drought: A case study in Guizhou Province.

It is significant to systematically quantify the propagation thresholds of meteorological drought to different levels of agricultural drought in karst areas, and revealit's the propagation driving mechanisms. This can guide early warning and fine management of agricultural drought. In this study,we selected Guizhou Province as an example. The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and standardized soil moisture index (SSI) were used to characterize meteorological and agricultural drought. The run theory was used to identify, merge and eliminate drought events. The maximum correlation coefficient was used to capture the propagation time of meteorological-agricultural drought. The regression models were used to quantify the propagation intensity threshold from meteorological drought to different levels of agricultural drought. Finally, the propagation threshold driving mechanism was explored using geographical detectors. The results show that: (1) in terms of temporal variations during the past 21 years, regional meteorological drought had a shorter duration and a higher intensity than agricultural drought, Particularly, 2011 was a year of severe drought, and agricultural drought was significantly alleviated after 2014. (2) In terms of spatial variations, the "long duration area" of meteorological drought duration showed an "S" shaped distribution in the northeast, and the "short duration area" showed a point-like distribution. The overall duration of agricultural drought showed a spatial distribution of northeast to "medium-high in the northeast and low in the southwest. (3) The drought propagation time showed an alternating distribution of "valley-peak-valley-peak" from southeast to northwest. In terms of propagation intensity thresholds, light drought showed an overall spatial distribution of high in the east and low in the west. Moderate, severe, and extreme droughts showed a spatial distribution of low in the center north of southern Guizhou) and high in the borders. (4) There was a strong spatial coupling relationship between karst development intensity, altitude and meteorological-agricultural drought propagation thresholds. The interaction of different factors exhibited a two-factor enhancement and nonlinear enhancement on the propagation threshold. This indicates that synergistic effects of different factors on the propagation threshold were larger than single-factor effects.

Identification of molecular subtypes and prognostic model to reveal immune infiltration and predict prognosis based on immunogenic cell death-related genes in lung adenocarcinoma.

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) has been increasingly indicated to be related to caners. However, ICD's role in Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is still not well investigated. Clinical data along with associated mRNA expression profiles from LUAD cases were collected in TCGA and GEO databases. 13 ICD-related genes were identified. Relations of ICD-related genes expression with prognosis of patients, tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) was analyzed. Then, candidate genes were identified and the prognostic signature were constructed. Afterwards, one nomogram incorporating those chosen clinical data together with risk scores were built. Finally, the effect of HSP90AA1, one gene of the prognostic signature, on LUAD cell were analyzed. Two clusters were identified, which were designated as the ICD-high or -low subtype according to ICD-related genes levels. ICD-high subgroup showed good prognosis, high immune cell infiltration degrees, and enhanced immune response signaling activity compared with ICD-low subtype. Moreover, we established and verified the risk signature based on ICD-related genes. High risk group predicted poor prognosis of LUAD independently and presented negative association with immune score and immune status. Furthermore, nomogram contributed to the accurate prediction of LUAD prognostic outcome. Finally, HSP90AA1 levels were remarkably elevated within tumor cells in comparison with healthy pulmonary epithelial cells. HSP90α, HSP90AA1 protein product, promoted growth, migration, and invasion of LUAD cells. Molecular subtypes and prognostic model were identified by incorporating ICD-related genes, and it was related to TIME and might be adopted for the accurate prediction of LUAD prognosis.