Project description:The invasion front of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) harbors the most aggressive cells of the tumor and is critical for cancer invasion and metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating OSCC invasion. In this study, we modeled the OSCC invasion front on a microfluidic chip and investigated differences in miRNA profiles between cells in the invasion front and those in the tumor mass by small RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. We found that miR-218-5p was downregulated in invasion front cells; a luciferase reporter assay confirmed that cluster of differentiation (CD)44 was a direct target of miR-218-5p. Inhibiting miR-218-5p in invasion front cells activated CD44- Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling and promoted cell invasion by inducing cytoskeletal reorganization. These findings indicate that miR-218-5p negatively regulates OSCC invasiveness by targeting the CD44–ROCK pathway and may be a useful therapeutic target for OSCC. Moreover, our method of modeling and isolating invasion front cells using a microfluidic chip is a time-saving alternative to in vivo models.
Project description:Homeostatic synaptic plasticity (HSP) is a fundamental neuronal mechanism that allows networks to compensate for prolonged changes in activity by adjusting synaptic strength. This process is crucial for maintaining stable brain function and has been implicated in memory consolidation during sleep. While scaling of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses plays an important role during homeostatic synaptic plasticity, molecules coordinating both of these processes are unknown. In this study, we investigate the role of miR-218-5p as a regulator of inhibitory and excitatory synapses in the context of picrotoxin (PTX)-induced homeostatic synaptic downscaling (HSD) in rat hippocampal neurons. Using enrichment analysis of miRNA-binding sites in differentially expressed genes changing upon PTX-induced HSD, we bioinformatically predicted and experimentally validated increased miR-218-5p activity upon PTX-treatment in the process compartment. By monitoring synapse structure in vitro with confocal microscopy, we demonstrate that miR-218-5p exerts a dual effect in HSD: it prevents the downscaling of excitatory synapses and dendritic spines, while at the same time blocking inhibitory synapse upscaling. Furthermore, we identify the Neuroligin2 interacting molecule Mdga1 as a crucial target of miR-218-5p in the context of homeostatic upscaling of inhibitory synapses. By performing long-term electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, we further revealed that local inhibition of miR-218-5p in the somatosensory cortex reduced local slow-wave activity (SWA) during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep. In summary, this study uncovers miR-218-5p as a key player in coordinating inhibitory and excitatory synapses during homeostatic plasticity and sleep. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how neural circuits maintain stability in the face of activity-induced perturbations, with potential implications for both physiological and pathological conditions.
Project description:Aberrant expression of oncomicroRNAs and tumor suppressor miRNAs (tsmiRs) contributes to the carcinogenesis and progression of cervical cancer (CC). miR-124-3p, miR-23b-3p, and miR-218-5p are tsmiRs that modulate oncogenes regulating cellular processes implicated in CC progression. This research aimed to explore transcriptomic changes in C-33A and CaSki cells following the overexpression of miR-124-3p, miR-23b-3p, and miR-218-5p, and to identify the biological processes (BPs) and pathways modulated by differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 100 nM of miR-124-3p, miR-23b-3p, and miR-218-5p mimetics were transfected into C-33A and CaSki cells, and transcriptome changes were analyzed using RNA-seq. The Galaxy and R-Studio platforms were employed to identify DEGs, while BPs and pathways regulated by DEGs were identified through the DAVID platform. Transcriptional changes revealed both differences and similarities between cell lines and miRNAs. In C-33A cells, miR-124-3p and miR-218 regulated direct and indirect targets involved in the cell cycle and apoptosis. In CaSki cells, apoptosis and viral carcinogenesis were regulated by genes modulated directly or indirectly by miR-124-3p and miR-23b-3p. These tsmiRs demonstrated synergistic activity, regulating multiple transcripts that modulate processes and pathways involved in CC progression, with or without HPV. These findings suggest that miR-124-3p, miR-23b-3p, and miR-218-5p may represent promising therapeutic alternatives for CC treatment.
Project description:Dysregulation of tumor suppressor miRNAs (tsmiRs) is associated with tumor progression in cancer. miR-23b-3p, miR-218-5p and miR-124-3p are tsmiRs in cervical cancer (CC) and regulate the translation of genes involved in metastasis-related biological processes. Objective. To analyze transcriptome changes in cervical cancer cell lines (C-33A HPV-negative and CaSki HPV-positive) overexpressing miR-23b-3b+miR-218-5p+miR-124-3p, to identify specific target transcripts common to all three miRNAs, as well as signaling pathways and cellular processes related to tumor progression. Methods. The transcriptome of C-33A and CaSki cells transfected with miR-23b-3b+miR-218-5p+miR-124-3p was analyzed by RNA-seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were subjected to Gene Ontology analysis on the DAVID platform. The function of under-regulated genes was analyzed on the GEPIA 2.0, Kaplan-Meier plotter and STRING platforms. On the TargetScanHuman platform it was determined which transcripts have MREs for miR-23b-3p, miR-218-5p and/or miR-124-3p in their 3`UTR region. Results. Simultaneous overexpression of miR-218-5p, miR-124-3p and miR-23b-3p induced changes in global gene expression in C-33A and CaSki cells. In C-33A cells, DEGs included 45 over- and 172 under-regulated transcripts; in CaSki, 125 transcripts were over- and 84 under-regulated. The under-regulated transcripts enrich proliferation, migration, apoptosis and angiogenesis; 20 of these genes are associated with overall survival (OS) in women with CC, and 18 of the 20 mRNAs have MREs for one, two or all three miRNAs. Conclusions. miR-23b-3b+miR-218-5p+miR-124-3p, differentially modify global gene expression in C-33A and CaSki cells. The results indicate that these miRNAs act synergistically and modulate CC progression through individual and shared targets by two or all three miRNAs.
Project description:Objective: Fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS) have multilineage differentiation potential including osteoblasts. We aimed to investigate the role of microRNAs during the osteogenic differentiation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-FLS. Methods: MicroRNA(miRNA) array analysis was performed to investigate the differentially expressed miRNAs during the osteogenic differentiation. Expression of miR-218-5p (miR-218) during the osteogenic differentiation was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Transfection with miR-218 precursor and inhibitor were used to confirm the targets of miR-218 and to analyse the ability of miR-218 to induce osteogenic differentiation. Results: The miRNA array revealed that 12 miRNAs were up-regulated and 24 miRNAs were down-regulated after osteogenic differentiation. We observed that miR-218 rose in the early phase of osteogenic differentiation and then decreased. Micro array analysis revealed the mir-218 modulate the expression of ROBO1 in RA-FLS. The induction of miR-218 in RA-FLS decreased ROBO1 expression, and promoted osteogenic differentiation.