scholarly journals PLGA-based dual targeted nanoparticles enhance miRNA transfection efficiency in hepatic carcinoma

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenlei Cai ◽  
Yuexia Xie ◽  
liangliang Wu ◽  
Xiaojing Chen ◽  
Hongmei Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Hepatic carcinoma (HCC) is a lethal disease associated with high morbidity and poor prognosis. Recently years, gene therapies have offered novel modalities to improve the prognosis of HCC patients. MicroRNA-99a (miR-99a) is frequently down-regulated in HCC, where it acts as a tumor suppressor. Therefore, we constructed monomethoxy (polyethylene glycol)-poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(L-lysine)-lactobionic acid- anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody (mPEG-PLGA-PLL-LA/VEGFab or PEAL-LA/VEGFab) nanoparticles (NPs) with highly specific targeting properties as carriers to restore the expression of miR-99a both in vitro and in vivo, to inhibit HCC progression. In vitro, PEAL-LA/VEGFab NPs showed more efficient delivery of miR-99a to HepG2 cells than the conventional transfection reagent LipofectamineTM2000 (Lip2000). The higher delivery efficiency associated with PEAL-LA/VEGFab NPs consequently resulted in down-regulation of target genes and suppression of the proliferation, migration and invasion of HepG2 cells. In vivo, miR-99a-PEAL-LA/VEGFab NPs inhibited tumor xenograft growth in HCC-bearing mice without causing obvious systemic toxicity. Our results demonstrate that PEAL-LA/VEGFab NPs selectively and effectively deliver miR-99a to HCC cells based on the double-targeting character of these nanoparticles, thereby offering potential for translation into effective clinical therapies for HCC.

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Weichun Guo ◽  
Shuo Fang ◽  
Bin He ◽  
Xiaohai Li ◽  
...  

Osteosarcoma (OS), characterized by high morbidity and mortality, is the most common bone malignancy worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the initiation and development of OS. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of miR-1270 in OS. RT-qPCR and Western blot were applied to detect the mRNA and protein level, respectively. CCK-8, colony formation, and TUNEL assays were conducted to determine the cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis of OS cells. Wound healing and transwell assay were performed to detect the migration and invasion ability of OS cells. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay were used to predict the target genes of miR-1270. Tumor xenograft in vivo assay was carried out to determine miR-1270 effect on the tumor size, volume, and weight. In this study, miR-1270 was overexpressed in OS tissues and cells. However, miR-1270 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion, and promoted the OS cells’ apoptosis. Mechanistically, cingulin (CGN) was predicted and proved to be a target of miR-1270 and partially alleviated the effects of miR-1270 on the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of OS cells. Taken together, knockdown of miR-1270 may inhibit the development of OS via targeting CGN. This finding may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for OS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 2065-2072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Bian ◽  
Hongfei Zhang ◽  
Miao Tang ◽  
Shaojun Zhang ◽  
Lichao Wang ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Disseminated tumors, known as metastases, are responsible for ninety-percent of mortality due to cancer. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition, a phenomenon required for morphological conversion of non-motile discoid shaped epithelial cells to highly motile spindle-shaped mesenchymal cells, is thought to be a pre-requisite for metastatic progression. Metastasis-associated 1 (MTA1) protein is a prime inducer of EMT and metastatic progression in all solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression and function of MTA1 in HCC have not been elucidated. Methods: In silico prediction algorithms were used to find microRNAs (miRNAs) that may target MTA1. We examined the relationship between the expression of MTA1 and miR-183 using quantitative real time PCR. We also determined the levels of the MTA1 protein using immunohistochemistry. Reporter assays, in the presence and absence of the miR-183 mimic, were used to confirm MTA1 as a bona fide target of miR183. The effect of miR-183 on HCC pathogenesis was determined using a combination of in vitro migration and invasion assay, together with in vivo xenograft experiments. The correlation between miR-183 and MTA1 expression was also studied in samples from HCC patients, and in The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. Results: Analysis of the sequence database revealed that MTA1 is a putative target of miR-183. MTA1 protein and RNA expression showed opposite trends to miR-183 expression in breast, renal, prostate, and testicular tissue samples from cancer patients, and in the metastatic HCC cell line HepG2. An inverse correlation was also observed between MTA1 (high) and miR-183 (low) expression within samples from HHC patients and in the TCGA dataset. Reporter assays in HepG2 cells showed that miR-183 could inhibit translation of a reporter harboring the wild-type, but not the mutant miR-183 3’-untranslated region (UTR). In addition, miR-183 significantly inhibited in vitro migration and invasion in HepG2 cells, and in vivo hepatic metastasis. Conclusion: Our results reveal a novel post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism for MTA1 expression via miR-183, which is suppressed during HCC pathogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Wu ◽  
Yuan-Yuan Mao ◽  
Nan-Nan Han ◽  
Hanjiang Wu ◽  
Sheng Zhang

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common malignant neoplasm; it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying its initiation and progression is critical for establishing the most appropriate treatment strategies. We found that urokinase-type plasminogen activator (PLAU1) was upregulated and associated with poor prognosis in HNSCC. Silencing of PLAU1 inhibited the proliferation, colony-formation, migration, and invasion abilities of HNSCC cells in vitro and reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1), whereas PLAU1 overexpression significantly enhanced the growth, the colony-formation, migration, and invasion abilities, and the xenograft tumor growth of HNSCC cells in vivo and increased the expression of MMP1. The Co-IP assay verified that PLAU1 interacted with MMP1. A positive correlation between PLAU1 and MMP1 expression was observed in HNSCC samples. si-RNAs against MMP1 reversed the aggressive effects of PLAU1 overexpression in HNSCC. Taken together, our data revealed that PLAU1 facilitated HNSCC cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis via interaction with MMP1.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Guo ◽  
Jianping Zou ◽  
Ling Zhou ◽  
Yan He ◽  
Miao Feng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:Nucleolar and spindle associated protein (NUSAP1) is involved in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. However, there are limited studies regarding the role of NUSAP1 in gastric cancer (GC). Methods: The expression profile and clinical significance of NUSAP1 in GC were analysed in online database using GEPIA, Oncomine and KM plotter, which was further confirmed in clinical specimens.The functional role of NUSAP1 were detected utilizing in vitro and in vivo assays. Western blotting, qRT-PCR, the cycloheximide-chase, immunofluorescence staining and Co-immunoprecipitaion (Co-IP) assays were performed to explore the possible molecular mechanism by which NUSAP1 stabilizes YAP protein. Results:In this study, we found that the expression of NUSAP1 was upregulated in GC tissues and correlates closely with progression and prognosis. Additionally, abnormal NUSAP1 expression promoted malignant behaviors of GC cells in vitro and in a xenograft model. Mechanistically, we discovered that NUSAP1 physically interacts with YAP and furthermore stabilizes YAP protein expression, which induces the transcription of Hippo pathway downstream target genes. Furthermore, the effects of NUSAP1 on GC cell growth, migration and invasion were mainly mediated by YAP. Conclusions:Our data demonstrates that the novel NUSAP1-YAP axis exerts an critical role in GC tumorigenesis and progression, and therefore could provide a novel therapeutic target for GC treatment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 565-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongqiang Wang ◽  
Rui Zhou ◽  
Li Sun ◽  
Jianling Xia ◽  
Xuchun Yang ◽  
...  

Aerobic glycolysis plays an important role in cancer progression. New target genes regulating cancer aerobic glycolysis must be explored to improve patient prognosis. Mitochondrial topoisomerase I (TOP1MT) deficiency suppresses glucose oxidative metabolism but enhances glycolysis in normal cells. Here, we examined the role of TOP1MT in gastric cancer (GC) and attempted to determine the underlying mechanism. Using in vitro and in vivo experiments and analyzing the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with GC, we found that TOP1MT expression was lower in GC samples than in adjacent nonmalignant tissues. TOP1MT knockdown significantly promoted GC migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, TOP1MT silencing increased glucose consumption, lactate production, glucose transporter 1 expression and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC. Additionally, regulation of glucose metabolism induced by TOP1MT was significantly associated with lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) expression. A retrospective analysis of clinical data from 295 patients with GC demonstrated that low TOP1MT expression was associated with lymph node metastasis, recurrence and high mortality rates. TOP1MT deficiency enhanced glucose aerobic glycolysis by stimulating LDHA to promote GC progression.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dingyang Li ◽  
Zhe Tang ◽  
Zhiqiang Gao ◽  
Pengcheng Shen ◽  
Zhaochen Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT It has been found that the circular RNA (circRNA) CDR1as is upregulated in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) tissues. In this study, we tried to explore the roles of CDR1as in CCA. CDR1as was overexpressed or knocked down in human CCA cells to assess the effects of CDR1as on cell behaviors and tumor xenograft growth. In vitro, the CDR1as level was significantly increased in CCA cell lines. The results showed that CDR1as promoted the cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and activation of the AKT3/mTOR pathway in CCA cells. Moreover, miR-641, a predicted target microRNA (miRNA) of CDR1as, could partially reverse the effects of CDR1as on cell behaviors in CCA cells. Furthermore, CDR1as improved tumor xenograft growth, and it could be attenuated by miR-641 in vivo. Additionally, CDR1as expression was inversely correlated with miR-641 in CCA cells, and miR-641 could directly bind with CDR1as and its target genes, the AKT3 and mTOR genes. Mechanistically, CDR1as could bind with miR-641 and accelerate miR-641 degradation, which possibly leads to the upregulation of the relative mRNA levels of AKT3 and mTOR in RBE cells. In conclusion, our findings indicated that CDR1as might exert oncogenic properties, at least partially, by regulating miR-641 in CCA. CDR1as and miR-641 could be considered therapeutic targets for CCA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yang ◽  
Yu-Jie Dong

Abstract Background Ovarian cancer (OC) is characterized by early metastasis and poor prognosis, which threatens the health of women worldwide. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 20 (SNHG20), a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), has been verified to be significantly up-regulated in several tumors, including OC. MicroRNA-148a (miR-148a)/rho-kinase1 (ROCK1) axis plays an important role in the modulation of tumor development. However, whether SNHG20 can regulate OC progression through miR-148a/ROCK1 axis remains unclear. Normal human ovarian epithelial cell line and four OC cell lines were adopted for in vitro experiments. Real-time PCR was performed to assess the levels of SNHG20 and miR-148a. OC cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration were detected using clone formation, flow cytometry, transwell, and wound healing assays, respectively. Tumor xenograft assay was applied to evaluate the effect of SNHG20 on tumor growth in vivo. Results Significant higher expression of SNHG20 was observed in OC cell lines. SNHG20 markedly promoted the invasion, migration, proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of OC cells. SNHG20 enhanced ROCK1 expression by sponging miR-148a, and the direct binding between SNHG20/ROCK1 and miR-148a was identified. Conclusion SNHG20 promoted invasion and migration of OC via targeting miR-148a/ROCK1 axis. The present research may provide a novel insight for the therapeutic strategies of OC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1904-1914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Ye ◽  
Jinkuang Lin ◽  
Xuedong Yao ◽  
Yizhong Li ◽  
Xiaobin Lin ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Increasing evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical regulatory roles in cancers, including osteosarcoma. A previous study showed that Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase-antisense RNA1 (NNT-AS1) was aberrantly expressed in several types of cancer. However, the potential biological roles and regulatory mechanisms of NNT-AS1 in osteosarcoma progression remain unknown. Methods: Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to examine the expression of NNT-AS1 in human tissues and cells. The biological functions of NNT-AS1 were determined by CCK-8, colony formation, Flow cytometry and Transwell assays in vitro. A mouse xenograft model was performed to investigate the effect of NNT-AS1 on tumor growth in vivo. Results: In this study, we found the expression of NNT-AS1 was significantly increased in tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, upregulated NNT-AS1 expression predicted poor prognosis and was an independent and significant risk factor for osteosarcoma patient survival. Further experiments revealed that NNT-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and promoting apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. Moreover, NNT-AS1 silencing suppressed cell migration and invasion in vitro. In a tumor xenograft model, knockdown of NNT-AS1 suppressed tumor growth of OS-732 cells in vivo. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings indicate that NNT-AS1 functions as an oncogene in osteosarcoma and could be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenhao Tong ◽  
Yali Wang ◽  
Jiandong Li ◽  
Wenda Cen ◽  
Weiguang Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractGallbladder cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the biliary system and is characterized by difficulty to diagnose in early stages, a high degree of malignancy, and poor prognosis. Finding new drugs may improve the prognosis for this dismal cancer. Herein, we investigated the potential application of pterostilbene (PTS) against gallbladder cancer in vivo and in vitro. PTS potently inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of gallbladder cancer cells. Moreover, PTS also had a function of inducing apoptosis in vitro. Meanwhile, PTS reversed EMT with a correlated inhibition of PI3K/Akt activation. Tumor xenograft models showed that PTS inhibited tumor growth and had low toxicity in vivo, which were consistent with the in vitro data. These findings indicate that PTS arrests cell growth through inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling and is a potential drug for the therapy of gallbladder cancer.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5710
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Zhang ◽  
Tingyu Li ◽  
Ya-Nan Han ◽  
Minghui Ge ◽  
Pei Wang ◽  
...  

Metastasis contributes to the poor prognosis of colorectal cancer, the causative factor of which is not fully understood. Previously, we found that miR-125b (Accession number: MIMAT0000423) contributed to cetuximab resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which miR-125b enhances metastasis by targeting cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and the tight junction-associated adaptor cingulin (CGN) in CRC. We found that miR-125b expression was upregulated in primary CRC tumors and metastatic sites compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-125b in CRC cells enhanced migration capacity, while knockdown of miR-125b decreased migration and invasion. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and dual-luciferase reporter assays identified CFTR and CGN as the target genes of miR-125b, and the inhibitory impact of CFTR and CGN on metastasis was further verified both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we found that miR-125b facilitated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and the expression and secretion of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) by targeting CFTR and enhanced the Ras Homolog Family Member A (RhoA)/Rho Kinase (ROCK) pathway activity by targeting CGN. Together, these findings suggest miR-125b as a key functional molecule in CRC and a promising biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC.


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