Exosomal Long Non-Coding Ribonucleic Acid Ribonuclease Component of Mitochondrial Ribonucleic Acid Processing Endoribonuclease Is Defined as a Potential Non-Invasive Diagnostic Biomarker for Bladder Cancer and Facilitates Tumorigenesis via the miR-206/G6PD Axis.

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is one of the cancers that is highly sensitive to specific non-invasive tumor biomarkers that facilitate early diagnosis. Exosome-derived long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) hold promise as diagnostic biomarkers for BLCA. In this study, we employed RNA-sequencing to compare the expression patterns of lncRNAs in urine exosomes from three BLCA patients and three healthy individuals. RMRP displayed the most significant differential expression. Elevated RMRP expression levels were observed in urinary and plasma exosomes from BLCA patients compared with those from healthy individuals. RMRP exhibited significant associations with certain BLCA patient clinicopathological features, including tumor stage, poor prognosis, and tumor grade. Combined diagnosis using RMRP in urine and plasma exosomes demonstrated a superior diagnostic performance with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RMRP was found to be related to BLCA tumor progression and the cell migration and invasion processes via the miR-206/G6PD axis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, RMRP serves as an miR-206 sponge, as suggested by dual-luciferase reporter assays and RNA immunoprecipitation. Our study suggests that the combined diagnosis of RMRP in urinary and plasma exosomes can serve as an excellent non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for BLCA patients. Additionally, targeting the RMRP/miR-206/G6PD axis holds promise as a therapeutic strategy for BLCA.

Identification of CD147-positive extracellular vesicles as novel non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) can be decreased with effective screening and early diagnosis. Exosomes are released from cancer cells into the bloodstream, and circulating exosomes may serve as novel biomarkers. This study aimed to identify a sensitive and rapid method of exosome collection and measurement using specific antibodies. METHODS: ExoCounter, a high-sensitive exosome-counting system, allows the identification of exosomes without enrichment or purification, based on the identification of the transmembrane protein-CD147-on serum exosomes that are associated with CRC. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic curves between healthy donors and CRC patients were described and assessed by CD147-specific exosomes (exo-CD147), CEA, and CA19-9. And area under curves for exo-CD147, CEA, and CA19-9 were 0.827 (95%CI: 0.764-0.891), 0.630 (95%CI: 0.536-0.724), and 0.659 (95%CI: 0.559-0.759), respectively. Drawing a clinical decision curve of exo-CD147 for the diagnosis of CRC metastases showed that when the threshold probability of exo-CD147 was between 20% and 92%, the net clinical utilization rate was higher than for all patients with or without metastases. A nomogram was constructed using multivariate COX regression analysis to select significant variables such as the high CD147 group (>34 × 105 particles). Calibration curves for 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of CRC patients showed that the actual 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were in excellent agreement with the survival rates predicted by the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: The increased CD147 expression in exosomes could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for CRC.

Erratum: Myeloid cell-derived LL-37 promotes lung cancer growth by activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling: Erratum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/thno.30726.].

Plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican as potential diagnostic markers for non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the expression of plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlation with clinicopathological features, and to evaluate its diagnostic performance in NSCLC and its predictive function for NSCLC incidence and metastasis risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 110 instances of NSCLC, 42 cases of benign lung disease, and 55 healthy controls from September 2018 to October 2020 at Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University. Blood was collected and plasma was separated before surgery, and plasma exosomes were extracted by ExoQuick kit. Morphological and molecular phenotype identification of exosomes was performed by transmission electron microscopy, Nanosight particle tracking analysis, and western blotting. Plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican were detected in all subjects to assess their expression levels and diagnostic value in NSCLC. Clinicopathological data were collected to explore correlations between abnormal plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican expression and clinicopathological parameters. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to judge its diagnostic performance in NSCLC, and binary logistic regression analysis was used to predict the risk of NSCLC incidence and metastasis. RESULTS: Plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican expression in NSCLC patients was significantly upregulated and was significantly higher in T3 + T4 patients compared with T1 + T2 patients (P < 0.05); the levels of plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastases (e.g., brain, bone), and mutation(e.g., EGFR,ALK)in NSCLC patients (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, ROC curve analysis showed that plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican had higher AUC values than NSE, CYFRA21-1, and SCC, and better diagnostic performance in NSCLC patients. However, the AUC and diagnostic performances of plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican in advanced-stage NSCLC patients were not shown to be significantly better than CEA. The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that high levels of plasma exosomal versican had higher predictive value for lung cancer incidence, while high levels of plasma versican had higher predictive value for lung cancer metastasis. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that plasma versican and plasma exosomal versican might be potential diagnostic markers for NSCLC. High plasma exosomal versican expression can be used as a predictor of NSCLC risk and high plasma versican expression can be used as a predictor of NSCLC metastasis risk.

Comprehensive analyses of molecular features, prognostic values, and regulatory functionalities of m6A-modified long non-coding RNAs in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has a high incidence and recurrence rate. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of RNA has become a promising epigenetic marker in tumors. The dysregulation of both RNA m6A levels and m6A regulator expression levels reportedly affects essential biological processes in various tumors. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a subgroup of RNAs over 200 nucleotides in length that do not code for protein, can be modified and regulated by m6A, but the relevant profile in LUAD remains unclear. RESULTS: The m6A levels of total RNA were decreased in LUAD tumor tissues and cells. Multiple m6A regulators were abnormally expressed at both the RNA and protein levels, and were related in expression patterns and functionally synergistic. Our microarray revealed 2846 m6A-modified lncRNA transcripts as well as its molecular features, 143 of which were differentially m6A-modified and manifested a negative correlation between expression levels and m6A modification levels. More than half of the differentially m6A-modified lncRNAs associated with dysregulated expression. The 6-MRlncRNA risk signature was a reliable indicator for assessing survival time of LUAD patients. The competitive endogenous regulatory network suggested a potential m6A-induced pathogenicity in LUAD. CONCLUSIONS: These data have demonstrated that differential RNA m6A modification and m6A regulator expression levels were identified in LUAD patients. In addition, this study provides evidence increasing the understanding of molecular features, prognostic values, and regulatory functionalities of m6A-modified lncRNAs in LUAD.

NCOA4: An Immunomodulation-Related Prognostic Biomarker in Colon Adenocarcinoma and Pan-Cancer.

Treatment of cancer in humans requires a thorough understanding of the multiple pathways by which it develops. Recent studies suggest that nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4) may be a predictive biomarker for renal cancer. In the present work, TCGA, GEPIA, and several bioinformatics approaches were used to analyze the NCOA4 expression patterns, prognostic relevance, and association between NCOA4 and clinicopathological features and immune cell infiltration. We investigated NCOA4 expression in malignancies. Low NCOA4 expression was associated with poor overall survival in individuals with malignancies such as cholangiocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, and clear cell renal carcinoma. We also analyzed NCOA4 DNA methylation in normal and primary tumor tissues and investigated possible functional pathways underlying NCOA4-mediated oncogenesis. In conclusion, downregulation of NCOA4 is associated with poor prognosis, and NCOA4 may be a predictive biomarker for COAD.

Urinary Exosomal Long Noncoding RNA TERC as a Noninvasive Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Bladder cancer is one of the most common urological malignancies worldwide, and approximately 90% of bladder cancer cases are histologically typed as bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA). Exosomes are 30 to 200 nm extracellular vesicles that transport microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), mRNAs, circular RNAs, and proteins across tissues and through circulation. Urinary exosomes may contain genetic information from tumor cells. Herein, we explored the clinical significance of urinary exosomal lncRNA telomerase RNA component (TERC) levels to provide an urgently needed diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for BLCA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we used RNA-sequencing of samples from four BLCA patients and three healthy controls to identify that TERC was differentially expressed in urinary exosomes. We then used quantitative PCR in different types of clinical samples to validate the biomarker and analyzed results using receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: We found that TERC was significantly upregulated in urinary exosomes from BLCA patients compared with those from healthy controls (P < 0.0001). Urinary exosomal TERC showed higher sensitivity (78.65%) and accuracy (77.78%) than existing indicators including nuclear matrix protein-22 and urine cytometry. Using the cut-off value 4.302, the area under the curve for urinary exosomal TERC was 0.836 (95% confidence interval: 0.768-0.891, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, this noninvasive assay could distinguish low-grade and high-grade tumors (P = 0.0153). CONCLUSIONS: TERC is enriched in urinary exosomes from BLCA patients. Urinary exosomal TERC could become a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for BLCA that allows clinicians to realize noninvasive detection of BLCA.

Proteomics-Based Identification of Candidate Exosomal Glycoprotein Biomarkers and Their Value for Diagnosing Colorectal Cancer.

Early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) significantly improves the survival rate and quality of life. Here we screened for differences in glycoproteins associated with tumor-derived exosomes and validated their clinical value to serve as liquid biopsy biomarkers to diagnosed early CRC. Exosomes were extracted from paracancerous tissues, cancer tissues, and plasma. LC-MS/MS proteomic and glycoproteomics analyses were performed using an LTQ-Orbitrap Elite mass spectrometer. The differences in glycoproteins associated with exosomes of paracancerous tissues and cancer tissue were determined, and their levels in plasma exosomes were determined. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of exosome-associated glycoproteins for CRC. We found that the levels of fibrinogen beta chain (FGB) and beta-2-glycoprotein 1 (ß2-GP1) in the exosome of CRC tissue were significantly higher compared with those of paracancerous tissues exosome. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of plasma exosomal FGB and ß2-GP1 as biomarkers for CRC were 0.871 (95% CI = 0.786-0.914) and 0.834 (95% CI = 0.734-0.901), respectively, compared with those of the concentrations of carcinoembryonic antigen concentration [0.723 (95% CI = 0.679-0.853)] and carbohydrate antigen19-9 concentration [0.614 (95% CI = 0.543-0.715)]. Comprehensive proteomics analyses of plasma exosomal biomarkers in CRC identified biomarkers with significant diagnostic efficacy for early CRC, which can be measured using relatively non-invasive techniques.

Development of bispecific anti-c-Met/PD-1 diabodies for the treatment of solid tumors and the effect of c-Met binding affinity on efficacy.

Although the blockade of the programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway has become a promising treatment strategy for several types of cancers, the constitutive activation of c-Met in tumors may cause a low overall response rate to PD-1 inhibitors. Increasing evidence indicates that the dual inhibition of c-Met and PD-1 could improve the efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies for tumor immunotherapy. In this study, we developed two bispecific single-chain diabodies targeting c-Met and PD-1 for the treatment of solid tumors based on protein homology modeling, and we identified that the binding affinity of diabody-mp to c-Met was 50-folds higher than that of diabody-pm. The results of in vitro studies revealed that both diabodies suppressed HGF-induced proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells, inhibiting the activation of c-Met signaling by antagonizing HGF binding to c-Met. Moreover, they promoted T cell activation by blocking the PD-1 pathway, mediating tumor cellular cytotoxicity through T cell engagement. In vivo studies with mice models demonstrated that diabody-mp exhibited higher therapeutic efficacy than other structural antibodies, greatly enhancing the survival of c-Met-positive tumor-bearing mice compared to single or combined c-Met and PD-1 blockade therapy. Furthermore, diabody-mp, which had a higher c-Met binding affinity, showed better anti-tumoral activity than diabody-pm, which had a lower c-Met binding affinity. In conclusion, bispecific anti-PD-1/c-Met diabody-mp, with high c-Met-associated affinity, inhibited tumor growth by activating T cells, suggesting its therapeutic potential for c-Met-positive solid tumors.

Retinoic Acid-Induced Gene G(RIG-G) as a Novel Monitoring Biomarker in Leukemia and Its Clinical Applications.

Retinoic acid inducible gene G (RIG-G) is an inducible gene produced during the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). However, it is unclear the expression level of RIG-G gene in the peripheral blood of healthy subjects and patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL or AML-M3). In the present study, we established the TaqMan-MGB fluorescent probe qPCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) method for the first time to detect the expression of RIG-G gene in APL. Twenty APL patients were selected, and their RIG-G expression levels were quantified to assess the correlation between the expression of peripheral blood and bone marrow samples. U test was used to analyze the expression level of RIG-G in the peripheral blood of 40 normal specimens and 20 APL patients to observe the prognostic monitoring effect of RIG-G gene in the ATRA treatment process. ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve) was used to analyze and test the diagnostic efficiency of RIG-G gene for APL patients. There is a strong positive correlation between the expression of RIG-G in peripheral blood and bone marrow of APL patients. The expression level of RIG-G in peripheral blood of APL patients is significantly lower than that in healthy controls (p < 0.001). The changes in the expression level of RIG-G in peripheral blood changed indicates the remission and recurrence of APL patients after ATRA treatment, and the ROC curve shows that it has a better diagnostic power for APL. In summary, the TaqMan-MGB real-time PCR method we have established has successfully run. The detection of RIG-G gene expression in peripheral blood can effectively monitor the disease changes of APL patients and avoid harmful bone marrow puncture injury.

Association of laboratory parameters and genetic polymorphisms with ischemic stroke in Chinese Han population.

Numerous genetic polymorphisms and clinical laboratory parameters are associated with ischemic stroke (IS). However, the results of such studies have frequently been inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate associations between clinical laboratory parameters with genetic polymorphisms that influence the risk of IS in a Chinese Han population. Clinical laboratory parameters were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer. Genotype and allele frequencies of the polymorphisms angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D/I, methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and ß-fibrinogen (ß-Fg) A/G, 455/148T/C were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR. Furthermore, the gene polymorphisms plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1-4G/5G and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε2,3,4 were characterized by allele-specific PCR. The associations of genotype and allele frequencies of the six risk genes in different groups with clinical laboratory parameters were analyzed by chi-square tests. The distribution maps of the polymorphisms of the six genes and clinical laboratory parameters were compared between a control group of 336 healthy individuals and 762 patients with IS. Certain laboratory parameters were associated with ACE I/D, ß-Fg-455 A/G and PAI-1 4G/5G. The D allele of ACE I/D was associated with high levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Furthermore, high levels of fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and LDL-C were risk factors for IS. There were significant differences in the genotype frequencies of ACE I/D, ß-Fg-455 A/G and ß-Fg-148 T/C between the IS and the control group. In conclusion, clinical laboratory parameters were associated with the risk of polymorphisms of IS-related genes. The present results support the determination of a range of control values of clinical laboratory parameters for common genotypes in patients with diabetes and hyperlipidemia as a strategy for the early prevention of IS.

Dual-function chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting c-Met and PD-1 exhibit potent anti-tumor efficacy in solid tumors.

Purpose Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), which is upregulated under the continuous induction of the tumor microenvironment, causes chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell hypofunction via interaction with programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1). This study aimed to construct CAR-T cells that are resistant to PD-1 inhibition to improve the effect of CAR-T cells in solid tumors. Methods We constructed a type of dual-function CAR-T cell that targets tumor-associated antigen c-Met and blocks the binding of PD-1 with PD-L1. The expression of c-Met, PD-L1, and inhibitory receptors was measured using flow cytometry. The cytotoxicity, cytokine release, and differentiation level of CAR-T cells were determined using lactate dehydrogenase release assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. The levels of p-Akt, p-MAPK, caspase-3, and Bcl2 were detected by western blot. The in vivo anti-tumor effect was evaluated using tumor xenograft models. Results Dual-function CAR-T cells could mediate enhanced active signals upon encountering target antigens and had targeted cytotoxicity to target cells. However, the cytotoxicity of c-Met-CAR-PD-1+ T cells was impaired due to the interaction of PD-1 with PD-L1. By blocking the binding of PD-1 and PD-L1, the novel dual-function CAR-PD-1+ T cells could maintain cytotoxicity to PD-L1+ tumor cells. In tumor tissue, the dual-function CAR-T cells showed lower inhibitory receptor expression and lower differentiation characteristics, which resulted in potent anti-tumor effects and prolonged survival in PD-L1+ tumor xenograft models compared to single-target CAR-T cells. Conclusion These results confirm that the novel dual-function CAR-T cells exhibit stronger anti-tumor activity against solid tumors than traditional single-target CAR-T cells and present a new approach that enhance the activity of CAR-T cells in solid tumors.

Correction to: Long non-coding RNA HOTTIP enhances IL-6 expression to potentiate immune escape of ovarian cancer cells by upregulating the expression of PD-L1 in neutrophils.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

PLAC8 inhibits oral squamous cell carcinogenesis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the Wnt/ß-catenin and PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß signaling pathways.

Placenta-specific 8 (PLAC8) is closely associated with the proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy of several tumor cells. However, the expression and function of PLAC8 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unknown. Therefore, the present study investigated the function and mechanism of PLAC8 in OSCC. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analyses were performed to quantify the expression of PLAC8 in OSCC cell lines. The function of PLAC8 in OSCC was investigated via transfection, the Transwell and Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, immunofluorescence staining and western blotting. The results demonstrated that PLAC8 exspression was downregulated in OSCC cell lines. PLAC8 inhibited the cell proliferation in OSCC. In addition, PLAC8 restrained invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of OSCC cells. Furthermore, ß-catenin helped to repress PLAC8 expression by regulating the Wnt/ß-catenin and PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß signaling pathways in OSCC cells. Collectively, the results of the present study suggest that PLAC8 acts as a tumor suppressor in OSCC by downregulating ß-catenin.

A nomogram from the SEER database for predicting the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to establish and validate a nomogram to predict the prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from multiple perspectives. RESULTS: A total of 98,640 eligible patients were randomly divided into a training set (n = 69,048) and a validation set (n = 29,592). The baseline characteristics of the two sets were similar. We used clinical data from patients in the training set for univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Twelve independent risk factors were incorporated for constructed a prognostic nomogram. And the nomogram with a concordance index of 0.777 (95 % CI, 0.775 to 0.779) for overall survival. The calibration curve results showed that the actual survival rate was consistent with the predicted survival rate. The area under curve of the receiver operating characteristic curves demonstrated that the nomogram has a high prediction of the overall survival rate in patients with NSCLC. CONCLUSION: We have developed a nomogram with high prediction accuracy and discrimination ability, which can help clinicians making personalized survival predictions for NSCLC patients.

Novel evidence for retinoic acid-induced G (Rig-G) as a tumor suppressor by activating p53 signaling pathway in lung cancer.

Lung cancer is one of most common malignancies worldwide. We have previously identified retinoic acid-induced gene G (Rig-G) as a tumor suppressor in not only acute promyelocytic leukemia, but also in other solid tumors. However, the clinical significance of Rig-G and the underlying mechanism(s) for its biological function in lung cancer remain largely unexplored. Herein, we first compared the expression of Rig-G between lung cancer (n = 138) and normal tissues (n = 23), from public-available data sets and our patient cohort. We further analyzed the correlation of Rig-G expression with key clinico-pathological features and survival outcomes in a multi-site clinical cohort of 300 lung cancer patients. Functional studies for Rig-G were performed in cell lines, and an animal model to support clinical findings. We found that Rig-G was frequently downregulated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines, and correlated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients. Overexpression of Rig-G led to significantly reduced cell growth and suppressed migration in A549 and NCI-H1944 cells, accompanied by reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Likewise, restoration of Rig-G in Lewis lung carcinoma cells permitted development of fewer cancer metastases versus controls in an animal model. Gene expression profiling results identified p53 pathway as a key downstream target of Rig-G, and p53 inhibition by pifithrin-α caused abrogation of tumor-suppressive effects of Rig-G in lung cancer. In conclusion, we, for the first time, have identified Rig-G as a novel and important tumor suppressor, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target for restoring p53 expression in lung cancer patients.

Exosomal circPACRGL promotes progression of colorectal cancer via the miR-142-3p/miR-506-3p- TGF-ß1 axis.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Exosome shave emerged as crucial regulators of intercellular communication and that abundant Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are enriched within exosomes. CircRNAs are novel members of noncoding RNAs regulating cancer proliferation and progression. However, the function and regulatory mechanism of cancer-derived exosomal circRNAs in CRC remains unclear. METHODS: CRC cells-derived exosomes were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and western blot. CCK-8, wound healing and transwell assays, and flow cytometry assays were conducted to assess whether exosomes would affect the proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis of CRC cells, respectively. Moreover, we performed the RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR to identify circRNAs in exosome-stimulated CRC cells. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay was used to detect the cellular distribution of circPACRGL. Bioinformatic analyses (StarBase 2.0) were used to pool the miRNA targets of circPACRGL. Luciferase assays were performed to verify the direct interaction. Finally, flow cytometry was used to detect the differentiation of N1-N2 neutrophils. RESULTS: Our study identified a novel CRC-derived exosomal circRNA, circPACRGL. We found circPACRGL was significantly upregulated in CRC cells after tumor-derived exosomes addition. Moreover, circPACRGL serves as a sponge for miR-142-3p/miR-506-3p to facilitate the transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) expression. As a result, circPACRGL promoted CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, as well as differentiation of N1 to N2 neutrophils via miR-142-3p/miR-506-3p-TGF-ß1 axis. CONCLUSION: Our study, the first to reveal that cancer-derived exosomal circPACRGL plays an oncogenic role in CRC proliferation and metastasis, providing mechanistic insights into the roles of circRNAs in CRC progression and a valuable marker for CRC treatment.

Ginkgolide B inhibits lung cancer cells promotion via beclin-1-dependent autophagy.

BACKGROUND: Ginkgolide B (GKB) is a major active component of the extracts of Ginkgo biloba leaves, and it has been used as an anti-cancer agent. However, it is unknown whether GKB has the therapeutic effects on lung cancer. Here, we studied the effects of GKB on lung cancer cells. METHODS: The effects of GKB on lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion were analyzed by cell counting kit (CCK-8) and cell invasion assays, respectively. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Western blot analysis was used to confirm the expression of autophagy-associated proteins in GKB-treated cells. Immunofluorescence analysis was used to analyze the level of light chain 3B (LC3B). RESULTS: Treatment with GKB time-dependently inhibited the proliferation and decreased the invasive capacity of A549 and H1975 cells. GKB induced apoptosis of these cells, but there was no significant effect on apoptosis compared to the control treatment. GKB-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and GKB-induced cell death were due to autophagy rather than apoptosis. GKB-induced autophagy of lung cancer cells was dependent on beclin-1, and autophagy-induced inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome contributed to the anti-tumor effect of GKB. CONCLUSIONS: GKB-mediated autophagy of lung cancer cells is beclin-1-dependent and results in inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Therefore, GKB might be a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of lung cancer.

Exosomal miR-183-5p promotes angiogenesis in colorectal cancer by regulation of FOXO1.

Exosomes play important roles in proliferation and microenvironment modulation of many types of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the inhibitory effect of CRC cells-derived exosomes in angiogenesis has not been fully discussed. In this study, the roles of microRNA-183-5p (miR-183-5p) in abundant in exosomes secreted from the CRC cells were investigated. Initially, microarray analysis was employed to determine the differentially expressed miRNAs. Exosomes isolated from CRC cells were co-cultured with HMEC-1 cells to explore the role of exosomes in angiogenesis. Further, the effects of CRC cell-derived exosomal miR-183-5p on proliferation, invasion and tube formation abilities of HMEC-1 cells were assessed. The preventative effect of exosomal miR-183-5p in vivo was measured in nude mice. Initially, it was found that FOXO1 was downregulated while miR-183-5p was upregulated in CRC. Additionally, the inhibition of miR-183-5p was suggested to suppress proliferation, invasion and tube formation abilities of HMEC-1 cells through upregulating FOXO1. Then, in vitro assays demonstrated that CRC cell-derived exosomes overexpressing miR-183-5p contributed to an enhanced proliferation, invasion and tube formation abilities of HMEC-1 cells. Furthermore, in vivo experiments confirmed the tumor-promotive effects of CRC cell-derived exosomal miR-183-5p. Collectively, our study demonstrates that the CRC cell-derived exosomes overexpressing miR-183-5p aggravates CRC through the regulation of FOXO1. Exosomes overexpressing miR-183-5p might be a potential treatment biomarker for CRC.