Clinical significance of long non-coding RNA NORAD in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that may cause joint deformities and seriously affect the normal life of the patients. In order to enable patients to receive timely attention and treatment, this study developed new diagnostic markers by exploring the expression and molecular mechanism of the long non-coding RNA NORAD (NORAD) in RA. Methods Participants including 77 RA patients and 52 healthy persons were enrolled, and the corresponding clinical data and serum samples were obtained. The NORAD and miR-204-5p expression were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The content of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α) were determined through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Luciferase activity reporter assay demonstrated the association between NORAD and miR-204-5p. In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of NORAD, and Pearson's correlation analysis was applied for the correlation analysis. Results NORAD was enriched in RA serum with high diagnostic value. Simultaneously, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were also upregulated (P < 0.001). The C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (Anti-CCP) levels in RA patients were generally elevated (P < 0.001). NORAD was positively correlated with the levels of clinical indicators and inflammatory factors (P < 0.0001). Mechanistically, NORAD may affect the progression of RA by targeting and negatively regulating miR-204-5p. Conclusions There is a correlation between NORAD and the processes of RA, and NORAD has the potential to predict and diagnose the occurrence of RA.

Effects of lncRNA-UCA1 targeting miR-204-5p on the proliferation, migration, apoptosis and immune escape of endometrial carcinoma cells / 中华肿瘤杂志

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.

Effect of miR-204 targeted regulation of DVL3 gene in silica-induced mouse lung epithelial cells / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To construct a recombinant lentiviral vector for mouse miR-204 overexpression, and to verify the targeted regulation of miR-204 and DVL3 in silica (SiO(2)) -induced mouse lung epithelial cells (MLE-12 cells) . Methods: In October 2019, the pre-miR-204 gene was amplified from the mouse genome by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. After sequencing, the amplified product was cloned into the pLenti-CMV-EGFP lentiviral vector. The positive clones were identified by PCR screening and sequencing. The miR-204 overexpressed lentiviral vector was transfected into 293T cells, and lentiviral packaging and titer determination were performed. The experiment was divided into SiO(2) control group, virus control group, and miR-204 virus group, and the expressions of miR-204 and DVL3 gene were detected by real-time PCR. Results: The miR-204 lentiviral expression vector Lv-miR-204-5p was constructed and identified correctly by PCR and sequencing, and a virus dilution with a titer of 9.57×10(8) IU/ml was obtained. The results of real-time PCR showed that the expression of miR-204 in MLE-12 cells of the miR-204 virus group was higher than that of SiO(2) control group and virus control group, and the expression of DVL3 gene was lower than that of SiO(2) control group and virus control group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Overexpression of miR-204 by lentiviral vector may inhibit the expression of DVL3 gene in silica-induced mouse lung epithelial cells.

LncRNA XIST knockdown ameliorates oxidative low-density lipoprotein-induced endothelial cells injury by targeting miR-204-5p/TLR4

Oxidative low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced endothelial cell injury is a key contributor toatherosclerosis development. However, the role and mechanism of long noncoding RNA X-inactive specifictranscript (XIST) in atherosclerosis remain largely unknown. The ox-LDL-induced human umbilical veinendothelial cells (HUVECs) injury was analyzed by cell viability, apoptosis, inflammatory cytokines secretionand oxidative stress. The expression levels of XIST, microRNA-204-5p (miR-204-5p) and toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot, respectively. Thetarget interaction between miR-204-5p and XIST or TLR4 was explored by bioinformatics analysis, luciferaseassay and RNA immunoprecipitation. The expression of XIST was enhanced in ox-LDL-treatedHUVECs. Knockdown of XIST attenuated ox-LDL-induced viability inhibition, apoptosis production,inflammatory response and oxidative stress in HUVECs. XIST was validated as a sponge of miR-204-5pand TLR4 acted as a target of miR-204-5p. Knockdown of miR-204-5p reversed silence of XISTmediated suppressive role in ox-LDL-induced injury. TLR4 alleviated miR-204-5p-mediated inhibitiveeffect on ox-LDL-induced injury. Moreover, XIST could regulate TLR4 expression by spongingmiR-204-5p. In conclusion, silence of XIST displayed a protective role in ox-LDL-induced injury inHUVECs by regulating miR-204-5p/TLR4 axis, providing a novel mechanism for understanding thepathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

MiR-204 inhibits invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeted regulation of HNRNPA2B1 / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of miR-204 on the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer by targeted regulation of HNRNPA2B1.@*METHODS@#The bioinformatics database was used to obtain data of the expressions of miR-204 in breast cancer patients and the survival rate of the patients. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-204 in breast cancer cell lines. The expression vector GV369-miR-204 was used to overexpress miR-204 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Transwell assay was performed to detect the effect of miR-204 on the migration and invasion ability of the breast cancer cells. The key genes (hub genes) of miR-204 were determined by bioinformatics method. A dual luciferase assay was used to analyze the targeting relationship between miR-204 and HNRNPA2B1. The expression of HNRNPA2B1 in MDA-MB-231 cells after miR-204 overexpression was detected by Western blotting, and Transwell assay was used to examine the changes in the cell invasion ability.@*RESULTS@#The expression of miR-204 was decreased in both breast cancer tissues, and was significantly lower in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells than in MCF-10A cells ( < 0.05). The decreased expression of miR-204 was associated with poorer prognosis of breast cancer patients ( < 0.05). Upregulation of miR-204 in MDA-MB-231 cells significantly inhibited the invasion and migration of the cells ( < 0.05). Analysis of the data from the Starbase revealed that the expression of miR-204-5p was negatively correlated with the expression of HNRNPA2B1, and the expression of HNRNPA2B1 was increased in breast cancer patients ( < 0.05) in association with a poorer prognosis of the patients ( < 0.05). Dual luciferase assay demonstrated that miR-204 could bind to HNRNPA2B1 in a target-specific manner. Western blotting and Transwell assay showed that miR-204 significant inhibited the migration and invasion ability of breast cancer cells by targeting HNRNPA2B1 ( < 0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#miR-204 expression is decreased in breast cancer tissues and cells, and its overexpression can inhibit the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeted regulation of HNRNPA2B1.

Over-expression of miR-204 suppresses proliferation and invasion of retinoblastoma cells and its possible mechanism / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@# Objective: To observe the effects of miR-204 on the proliferation and invasion of retinoblastoma (RB) cells and to explore the potential regulatory mechanism. Methods: The expression level of miR-204 in RB cell lines (Y79, SO-RB50, and HXO-Rb44) as well as in normal human retinal pigment epithelial cell line hTERT RPE-1 was detected using qRT-PCR. The Y79 cells were divided into two groups (negative control group and miR-204 group) by respectively transfecting Y79 cells with NC-mimics and miR-204 mimics using liposome transfection method. The effects of miR-204 on Y79 cell proliferation was detected with CCK-8 assay; while the effect of miR-204 on migration and invasion of Y79cellsweredeterminedbycellscratchassayandTranswellassay,respectively.Besides, thepotentialtargetgeneofmiR-204waspredictedbybioinformatics;and the influence of miR-204 on the expression of high mobility group AT-hook 2 gene (HMGA2) at both mRNA and protein levels was detected using qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Results: miR-204 expression in RB cell lines Y79, SO-RB50 and HXO-Rb44 was remarkably lower than that in normal human retinal pigment epithelial cell line hTERT RPE-1 (P<0.01). miR-204 expression in Y79 cells was markedly up-regulated after transfection with miR-204 mimics (P<0.01) along with significantly reduced cell proliferation, migration and invasion capacities (all P<0.01), and mRNA and protein expressions of HMGA2 were also outstandingly reduced (P<0.01). Conclusion: miR-204 is lowly expressed in RB cell lines; in addition, miR-204 over-expression can suppress RB cell proliferation, migration and invasion, the mechanism of which might be related to down-regulation of the expression of HMGA2.

Effect of miR-204 in cell biological characteristics of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell / 重庆医学

Objective To study the effect of microRNA-204 (miR-204) on the biological characteristics of breast cancer cells.Methods Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-204 in human breast cancer cell MDA-MB-231 after transfection of miR-204 mimics and inhibitor for 48 h.Flow cytometry was used to analyse the effect of miR-204 on the proliferation and apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells.The effect of miR-204 on the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells was detected by Transwell migration assay.Results Real-time PCR analysis showed that miR-204 mimics and inhibitors had significant effect compared with normal control group(P<0.01).Flow cytometry analysis showed that compared with normal control group,the number of G1 phase cells of miR-204 mimics group was significantly decreased(P<0.01),while the number of G2/M cells of miR-204 mimics group was significantly increased(P<0.01).In contrast,the number of G1 phase cells of miR-204 inhibitor group was significantly increased(P<0.01),while the number of G2/M cells of miR-204 inhibitor group was significantly decreased(P<0.01).miR-204 mimics group significantly promoted apoptosis,while the inhibitor group significantly inhibited apoptosis(P<0.01).Transwell migration analysis showed that the number of cells of miR-204 mimics group were significantly reduced,while the number of cells was significantly increased in the inhibitor group(P<0.01).Conclusion We find miR-204,which can promote cell apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation and migration,is a negative factor in the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.

Effects of puerarin on proliferation of osteoblasts and Runx2-targeting miRNAs / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study proliferation capacity of cell and the target relationship between microRNA and Runx2 after effect of puerarin on osteoblasts MC3 T3-E1 . Methods The proliferation capacity of cell was detected by MTT after effect of puerarin on osteoblasts MC3 T3-E1 . The vitality of osteoblasts was detected by activity of alkaline phosphatase. The expression level of mRNA and protein of Runx2 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. The result of miRNA expression spectrum was compared with the predicted result to determine the Runx2-targeting miR-NAs. The expression levels of miRNAs possiby targeted to Runx2 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The RhoE 3′UTR vector and RhoE mut 3′UTR vector were constructed. miRNA-204 mimics and miRNA-204 NC were synthetised. The target genes were verified by dual luciferase report gene assay. Results After osteo-blasts treated with puerarin, proliferation capacity and activity of cells were enhanced , expression levels of mRNA and protein of Runx2 were both increased , the expression levels of miRNA-204 and miRNA-344 f-5 p were declined, the expression levels of miRNA-2861 was increased,the expression levels of miRNA-23a-5p, miRNA-770-5 p and miRNA-871-5 p showed no obvious change. According to the results of dual luciferase re-porter gene method after cell transfection of 48 h, only set of 3′UTR Runx2+mimics the miRNA-204 of fluo-rescein protein expression level decreased significantly, showing only the miRNA-204 inhibits Runx2 3′UTR report gene expression. Conclusion Puerarin pro-motes the proliferation of osteoblasts and regulates the miRNAs which possibly target to Runx2 .

Inhibitory effect of miR-204 on corneal epithelial cell proliferation in vitro / 中华实验眼科杂志

Background As the main cellular constituent of corneal epithelium,corneal epithelial cells play critical roles in regulating and controlling the migration, proliferation and differentiation of cells during the repair of damage.MicroRNA (miRNA) is endogenously expressed small non-coding RNAs, which participates in a variety of biological processes.Previous studies demonstrated that miR-204 is highly expressed in normal corneal epithelium,but its function is still unclear.Objective This study was to investigate the function and mechanism of miR-204 in corneal epithelial cell proliferation.Methods Corneal epithelial tissue was collected during the corneal refractive surgery from the patients with refractive error under the informed consent, and human corneal epithelial cells(HCECs) were cultured and passaged.The relative expressing levels of miR-204 mRNA in the normal corneal epithelium and HCECs were detected by real time quantitative PCR.Cultured HCECs were evenly divided into three groups.The liposome with miR-204 mimic was transfected into the cells of the miR-204 mimic group, and blank liposome was transfected in the cells of the positive control group,and regularly cultured cells served as the normal control group.Cell proliferation capability was evaluated by colony-forming assay, and the percentage of the cells in different cell cycles was analyzed by flow cytometry.Western blot assay was employed to detect the expression levels of p-RB, E2F1 ,p27,CyclinA, CDC2, p-CDC2 and CDK2 proteins in the cells.Results The relative expression levels of miR-204 mRNA were 1.077 ±0.268 in the normal corneal epithelium and 0.041 ±0.018 in the HCECs, showing a significant difference between them (t =7.700,P＜0.001).The cloning cell number was evidently decreased in the miR-204 mimic group in comparison with the positive control group and normal control group.The percentage of cells in the G1 phase was 47.75％ in the miR-204 mimic group, which was significantly higher than 37.23％ in the positive control group and 40.72％ in the normal control group.The expression levels of E2F1 and p27 proteins in the cells were elevated (t=14.87,25.11;both at P＜0.01) and those of CDK2 and p-CDC2 proteins were decreased (t=5.39,10.65;both at P＜0.01) in the miR-204 mimic group in comparison with the positive control group.Conclusions The overexpression of miR-204 in the normal corneas probably is associated with non-proliferation status of corneal epithelial cells.Transfection of miR-204 into corneal epithelial cells can inhibit the proliferation of corneal epithelial cells probably by up-regulating the expression of E2F1 and p27 and suppressing the expression of CDK2/CyclinA and p-CDC2/CyclinA,which lead to cell arrest in G1 phase.

The Study of miR-204 Regulates BDNF/TrkB Expression in Epileptic Neurons / 天津医药

Objective To study the effect of miR-204 on BDNF/TrkB signaling and pathogenesis on the neuron model of epilepsy. Methods Primary hippocampal neurons were cultured in vitro for 7 days, and were divided into control group, control+BDNF group, epilepsy group, epilepsy+BDNF group , control+miR204 group, epilepsy+miR204 group and ep-ilepsy+miR204+BDNF group. The epilepsy model of hippocampal neurons was established by being exposed to Mg2+free me-dia for 3 hours. The miR-204 lentivirus vector was constructed. The effect of miR-204 on BDNF/TrkB expression was detect-ed by immunohistochemistry, patch clamp and Western blot technique. Results Compared with the control group, the TrkB phosphorylation level was higher in control+BDNF group. The TrkB phosphorylation level was lower in epilepsy+BDNF group than that of control+BDNF group, but it was higher than that of epilepsy group. The TrkB phosphorylation level was higher in epilepsy+miR204+BDNF group than that of epilepsy+BDNF group and epilepsy+ miR204 group. Conclusion BDNF and miR-204 can improve the inhibitory condition of BDNF/TrkB signaling and may play an important role in alleviat-ing epilepsy disease.