Xuesong Li

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidences have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are potential biomarkers that play key roles in tumor development and progression. Differentiation antagonizing non-protein noding RNA (DANCR) is a novel lncRNA that acts as a potential biomarker and is involved in the development of cancers. However, the clinical significance and molecular mechanism of DANCR in bladder cancer is still unknown. METHODS: The relative expression level of DANCR was determined by Real-Time qPCR in a total of 106 patients with urothelial bladder cancer and in different bladder cancer cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments were performed to investigate the biological roles of DANCR on bladder cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenicity. Comprehensive transcriptional analysis, RNA-FISH, dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blot were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of DANCR. RESULTS: In this study, we found that DANCR was significantly up-regulated in bladder cancer. Moreover, increased DANCR expression was positively correlated with higher histological grade and advanced TNM stage. Further experiments demonstrated that knockdown of DANCR inhibited malignant phenotypes and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of bladder cancer cells. Mechanistically, we found that DANCR was distributed mostly in the cytoplasm and DANCR functioned as a miRNA sponge to positively regulate the expression of musashi RNA binding protein 2 (MSI2) through sponging miR-149 and subsequently promoted malignant phenotypes of bladder cancer cells, thus playing an oncogenic role in bladder cancer pathogenesis. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to demonstrate that DANCR plays a critical regulatory role in bladder cancer cell and DANCR may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target of bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that are functionally involved in numerous critical cellular processes including tumorigenesis. Data mining using a microRNA array database suggested that let-7d microRNA may be associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) malignant progression. Here, we performed further analyses to determine whether let-7d is functionally linked to RCC malignancy. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine the level of mature let-7d in RCC clinical specimens and its correlation with clinicopathological data. Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to characterize the stroma of RCC. Let-7d overexpressing RCC cell lines combined with mouse models bearing cell-derived xenografts and patient-derived xenografts were used to assess the functional role of let-7d in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Downregulation of let-7d in clinical RCC samples was associated with advanced tumor grade and T stage and increased vascular invasion. An inverse relationship between let-7d expression and macrophage infiltration was found in clinical RCC samples. Functional studies indicated that ectopic expression of let-7d significantly inhibited RCC cell proliferation, migration, and peripheral blood monocyte (PBMC) recruitment in vitro, as well as tumor growth, metastasis, and tumor macrophage infiltration in vivo. In silico analysis and subsequent experimental validation confirmed collagen, type III, alpha 1 (COL3A1) and C-C subfamily chemokine member CCL7 as direct let-7d target genes. The addition of COL3A1 and CCL7 counteracted the inhibitory effects of let-7d on RCC cell proliferation, migration, and PBMC recruitment. The inhibition of let-7d increased cell proliferation, migration, and PBMC recruitment by the enhanced expression of COL3A1 and CCL7 genes in vitro. The mRNA levels of COL3A1 and CCL7 were inversely correlated with let-7d level in RCC clinical specimens. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that let-7d may suppress RCC growth, metastasis, and tumor macrophage infiltration at least partially through targeting COL3A1 and CCL7.

were identified in the training set. Risk scores were calculated to divide patients into high-risk and low-risk groups, and the high-risk patients tended to have a poor overall survival (OS). Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that the IRlncRNA signature could be an independent prognostic factor. The results were subsequently confirmed in the validating set. Additionally, this 8-IRlncRNA classifier was related to recurrence free survival (RFS) of BLCA. Functional characterization revealed this signature mediated immune-related phenotype. This signature was also associated with immune cell infiltration (i.e., macrophages M0, M2, Tregs, CD8 T cells, and neutrophils) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) immunotherapy-related biomarkers [mismatch repair (MMR) genes, tumor mutation burden (TMB) and immune checkpoint genes]. The present study highlighted the value of the 8-IRlncRNA signature as a predictor of prognosis and immunotherapeutic response in BLCA.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic bladder cancer (BLCA) is a lethal disease with an unmet need for study. Transgelin (TAGLN) is an actin-binding protein that affects the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton indicating its robust potential as a metastasis initiator. Here, we sought to explore the expression pattern of TAGLN and elucidate its specific functioning and mechanisms in BLCA. METHODS: A comprehensive assessment of TAGLN expression in BLCA was performed in three cohorts with a total of 847 patients. The potential effects of TAGLN on BLCA were further determined using clinical genomic analyses that guided the subsequent functional and mechanistic studies. In vitro migration, invasion assays and in vivo metastatic mouse model were performed to explore the biological functions of TAGLN in BLCA cells. Immunofluorescence, western blot and correlation analysis were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of TAGLN. FINDINGS: TAGLN was highly expressed in BLCA and correlated with advanced prognostic features. TAGLN promoted cell colony formation and cell migration and invasion both in vitro and in vivo by inducing invadopodia formation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, during which a significant correlation between TAGLN and Slug was observed. The progression-dependent correlation between TGF-β and TAGLN was analysed at both the cellular and tissue levels, while TGF-β-mediated migration was abolished by the suppression of TAGLN. INTERPRETATION: Overall, TAGLN is a promising novel prognosis biomarker of BLCA, and its metastatic mechanisms indicate that TAGLN may represent a novel target agent that can be utilized for the clinical management of invasive and metastatic BLCA. FUND: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [81772703, 81672546, 81602253]; the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing [71772219, 7152146]. and Innovative Fund for Doctoral Students of Peking University Health Science Center (BUM2018BSS002). Funders had no role in the design of the study, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, or the writing of this report.