TGF-ß1 promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and stemness of prostate cancer cells by inducing PCBP1 degradation and alternative splicing of CD44.

CD44 is a marker of cancer stem cell (CSC) in many types of tumors. Alternative splicing of its 20 exons generates various CD44 isoforms that have different tissue specific expression and functions, including the CD44 standard isoform (CD44s) encoded by the constant exons and the CD44 variant isoforms (CD44v) with variant exon insertions. Switching between the CD44v and CD44s isoforms plays pivotal roles in tumor progression. Here we reported a novel mechanism of CD44 alternative splicing induced by TGF-ß1 and its connection to enhanced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness in human prostate cancer cells. TGF-ß1 treatment increased the expression of CD44s and N-cadherin while decreased the expression of CD44v and E-cadherin in DU-145 prostate cancer cells. Other EMT markers and cancer stem cell markers were also upregulated after TGF-ß1 treatment. RNAi knockdown of CD44 reversed the phenotype, which could be rescued by overexpressing CD44s but not CD44v, indicating the alternatively spliced isoform CD44s mediated the activity of TGF-ß1 treatment. Mechanistically, TGF-ß1 treatment induced the phosphorylation, poly-ubiquitination, and degradation of PCBP1, a well-characterized RNA binding protein known to regulate CD44 splicing. RNAi knockdown of PCBP1 was able to mimic TGF-ß1 treatment to increase the expression of CD44s, as well as the EMT and cancer stem cell markers. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to show that CD44s promoted prostate cancer cell migration, invasion, and tumor initiation. Taken together, we defined a mechanism by which TGF-ß1 induces CD44 alternative splicing and promotes prostate cancer progression.

Uhrf2 deletion impairs the formation of hippocampus-dependent memory by changing the structure of the dentate gyrus.

Ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 2 (Uhrf2) is distributed in many brain regions, including the cortex and hippocampus. Decreased Uhrf2 expression is involved in neurodegenerative disease. A recent study showed Uhrf2 deletion impaired spatial memory; however, the mechanism remains elusive. In our study, we determined that Uhrf2+/- and Uhrf2-/- mice had significant learning and memory deficiencies in contextual fear conditioning (CFC) and the novel place recognition test but not in the novel object recognition test. Interestingly, there were no changes in the Uhrf2 protein levels in the hippocampus of C57BL6 mice after CFC training, which suggests Uhrf2 in adult mice may not be related to the formation of CFC long-term memory. Based on Nissl staining, Uhrf2 deletion caused neuropathological changes specifically in the crest of the dentate gyrus (DG), such as cell swelling, a vague outline and confused boundary; however, no changes were identified in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Transmission electron microscope assay further indicated a series of abnormal ultrastructure changes in neurons and glia in the DG crest. These results suggested that Uhrf2 deletion selectively blocked the development of the DG crest and impaired hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Our study will facilitate a better understanding of the role of Uhrf2 protein in the central nervous system.

[Expression of long non-coding RNA H19 in prostate cancer and its effect on the proliferation and glycometabolism of human prostate cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 in human prostate cancer tissue and its effect on the glycometabolism and growth of human prostate cancer cells. METHODS: Realtime quantitative RTPCR (qRTPCR) was employed to detect the expression of lncRNA H19 in human prostate tissues from 20 patients with prostate cancer (10 cases of highGleason score prostate cancer ï¼»HGPCï¼½ and 10 cases of lowGleason score prostate cancer ï¼»LGPCï¼½) and another 5 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). After transfection of H19 siRNA into the DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells, the growth of the cells and the H19 expression in the cells were determined by MTT and qRTPCR respectively, and the changes in the glycometabolism of the prostate cancer cells were analyzed by measuring the contents of glucose and lactate in the culture medium. Nontransfected and transfected negative vectors were used as blank and negative controls respectively. RESULTS: The relative expression of H19 was significantly increased in both the HGPC and LGPC tissues (0.725±0.385 and 2.086±0.542) as compared with that in the BPH tissue (0.210±0.068) (P< 0.01), even higher in the HGPC than in the LGPC tissue (P< 0.01). After transfection of H19 siRNA, the expressions of H19 were remarkably decreased in the DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells in comparison with those in the blank control and negative control groups (P< 0.01), and so were the proliferation of and the glucose and lactate levels in the DU145 and PC3 cells (P< 0.01).