Genes & Diseases
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2025
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IF 9.4
Rongtian Pan,Renrui Zou,Ying Sui,Fei Wu,Dongfeng Wang,Yuan Zhang,Shaorong Yu
P21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) plays an oncogenic role in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of PAK1 in CRC progression remains incompletely understood. Here, we showed that PAK1 enhanced the mRNA stability of multiple oncogenic factors. We found that PAK1 promoted CRC initiation and progression as previously reported. Mechanistically, loss of PAK1 promoted mRNA decay and inhibited the expression of CD44, SAA1, MTOR, RPS6KB1, and EIF4G1, the factors involved in tumorigenesis in many cancers. Importantly, our results revealed that the PAK1 inhibitor, PF3758309, exhibited a profound synergistic effect with oxaliplatin in CRC. Collectively, our study unveils a novel function of PAK1 in CRC progression. Thus, these results highlight the potential of targeting PAK1 as a therapeutic strategy in CRC, particularly in combination with oxaliplatin.
研究领域:
肿瘤学
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分子生物学
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药理学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
CANCER LETTERS
·
2023
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IF 9.7
Jiaoshun Chen,Haoxiang Zhang,Chaoyang Xiu,Chenggang Gao,Shihong Wu,Jianwei Bai,Qiang Shen,Tao Yin
In eukaryotes, N 6 -methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent epigenetic alteration. Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is a key player in the control of m6A, although its function in pancreatic cancer is incompletely understood. In this study, we examined the role that METTL3 plays in pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and stemness. We discovered that in pancreatic cancer cells, METTL3-mediated m6A alterations regulate ID2 as a downstream target. The stability of ID2 mRNA was decreased and m6A modification was effectively eliminated by METTL3 knockdown in pancreatic cancer cells. We also demonstrate that m6a-YTHDF2 is necessary for the METTL3-mediated stabilization of ID2 mRNA. Additionally, we show that ID2 controls the stemness molecules NANOG and SOX2 via the PI3K-AKT pathway to support pancreatic cancer growth and stemness maintenance. Our data suggest that METTL3 may post-transcriptionally upregulate ID2 expression in an m6A-YTHDF2-dependent manner to further promote the stabilization of ID2 mRNA, which may be a new target for pancreatic cancer treatment.
研究领域:
癌症生物学
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分子生物学
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表观遗传学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Cell and Bioscience
·
2025
·Vol. 15
·期 1
·1-23
·
IF 6.2
Ji Hao-Nan,Zhou Hai-Qian,Qie Jing-Bo,Lu Wen-Mei,Gao Hai-Tao,Wu Dan-Hong
Background The identification and intervention of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in its early-stage allows for the timely implementation of lifestyle modifications and therapeutic strategies. Although dysregulation of protein expression has been reported in the brain from AD patients and AD animal models, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C), the only known form of RNA acetylation in eukaryotes, has recently been shown to regulate mRNA stability and translation efficiency. However, the dysregulation of ac4C associated with abnormal protein expression levels in the brain of early-stage mouse models of AD remains to be elucidated. Methods This study investigated ac4C modifications, mRNA and protein expression in the hippocampus of 3 and 6-month-old 5×FAD mice, a mouse model of AD, and wild-type (WT) littermates. The multi-omics analysis was performed: acetylated RNA immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing (acRIP-seq) to identify ac4C mRNAs, deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to quantify mRNA abundance, and label-free quantitative proteomics to assess protein expression levels. In addition, we used acRIP-qPCR, regular qPCR and western blots to verify the ac4C, mRNA and protein levels of some key genes that were identified by the high-throughput assays. Results Proteomic analysis revealed significant change of protein expression in the hippocampus of 3-months-old 5×FAD mice, compared with WT littermates. In contrast, RNA-seq analysis indicated that there were no substantial alterations in mRNA expression levels in the hippocampus of 3-months-old 5×FAD mice, compared to WT littermates. Strikingly, acRIP-seq revealed notable variations in ac4C modification on mRNAs, particularly those associated with synaptic structure and function, in the hippocampus of 3-months-old 5×FAD mice, compared with WT littermates. The ac4C modifications were found to be correlated with protein expression changes. Genes that are essential for synaptic function and cognition, including GRIN1, MAP2, and DNAJC6, exhibited reduced ac4C and protein levels in 3-months-old 5×FAD mice, without any corresponding changes in the mRNA levels, compared with WT littermates. Moreover, only a small part of dysregulated ac4C mRNAs identified in the 3-month-old 5×FAD mice were found in the 6-month-old 5×FAD mice. Conclusions Altogether these results identified abnormal ac4C modification of mRNAs that may contribute to the dysregulation of protein synthesis in the hippocampus from an early-stage mouse model of AD.
研究领域:
神经生物学
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分子生物学
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表观遗传学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY
·
2024
·
IF 4.7
N.I.N.G. HAN,N.A. YU,L.I. YU
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the major ocular complication of diabetes mellitus caused by chronic hyperglycemia, which leads to incurable blindness. Currently, the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions is limited. This study aimed to investigate the function of piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1 (PIEZO1) and its potential regulatory mechanism in DR progression. The results showed that PIEZO1 expression was upregulated in the retinal tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and high glucose (HG)-triggered Müller cells. Functionally, the knockdown of PIEZO1 improves the abnormal retinal function of diabetic mice and impedes inflammatory cytokine secretion and gliosis of Müller cells under HG conditions. Mechanistic investigations utilizing RIP-qPCR, MeRIP-qPCR, and luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that PIEZO1 was a downstream target of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3). These studies revealed that METTL3-mediated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification within the coding sequence of PIEZO1 mRNA significantly shortened its half-life. In HG-stimulated cells, there was a negative regulatory relationship between PIEZO1 and YTH domain family 2 (YTHDF2), a recognized m6A reader. The loss of YTHDF2 resulted in an extended half-life of PIEZO1 in cells with overexpression of METTL3, indicating that the effect of METTL3 on the mRNA stability of PIEZO1 was dependent on YTHDF2. Taken together, this study demonstrated the protective role of the PIEZO1 silencing in DR development, and the degradation of PIEZO1 mRNA is accelerated by METTL3/YTHDF2-mediated m6A modification.
研究领域:
分子生物学
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细胞生物学
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神经科学
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糖尿病研究
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眼科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
CELLULAR SIGNALLING
·
2023
·
IF 4.8
Sijia Han,Xueying Jin,Tianyu Hu,Feng Chi
Non-SMC condensin II complex subunit G2 (NCAPG2) is one of the three non-SMC subunits in condensin II, which plays a vital role in regulating chromosome condensation and segregation. Although the tumor-promoting role of NCAPG2 has been reported in several solid malignancies, its function in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) remains unknown. Data both from GEPIA and GSE36295 indicated that NCAPG2 mRNA expression was abnormally upregulated in cancer tissues, which was further verified in 40 paired BRCA and para-carcinoma samples. Kaplan-Meier Plotter further illustrated that BRCA patients with higher NCAPG2 expression have a poorer prognosis. Functional experiments carried out in two BRCA cell lines (MCF-7 and T-47D) showed that NCAPG2-silenced BRCA cells acquired less aggressive behavior — weakened growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Label-free proteomics quantified the protein expression patterns in MCF-7 cells, and the results revealed 684 differentially expressed proteins (|log 2 FC| > 1 and P < 0.05) downstream to NCAPG2. Interestingly, poly(C)-binding protein 2 (PCBP2), an RNA binding protein previously known to increase RNA stability of its target genes, was found to directly bind to and protect NCAPG2 mRNA from degradation—PCBP2 knockdown accelerated the degradation half-life time of NCAPG2 mRNA from approximately 8 h to 5 h. Taken together, our study indicates that NCAPG2 acts as a novel contributor to BRCA growth and metastasis under the regulation of PCBP2, providing insights into BRCA treatment.
研究领域:
癌症生物学
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分子生物学
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基因组学
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蛋白质组学
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细胞生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Cell Death & Disease
·
2024
·Vol. 15
·期 3
·1-16
·
IF 8.1
Ma Lan,Zhou Xi,Yao Siyue,Zhang Xinyu,Mao Ji,Vona Barbara,Fan Liwen,Lou Shu,Li Dandan,Wang Lin,Pan Yongchu
Craniofacial malformations, often associated with syndromes, are prevalent birth defects. Emerging evidence underscores the importance of m 6 A modifications in various bioprocesses such as stem cell differentiation, tissue development, and tumorigenesis. Here, in vivo, experiments with zebrafish models revealed that mettl3 -knockdown embryos at 144 h postfertilization exhibited aberrant craniofacial features, including altered mouth opening, jaw dimensions, ethmoid plate, tooth formation and hypoactive behavior. Similarly, low METTL3 expression inhibited the proliferation and migration of BMSCs, HEPM cells, and DPSCs. Loss of METTL3 led to reduced mRNA m 6 A methylation and PSEN1 expression, impacting craniofacial phenotypes. Co-injection of mettl3 or psen1 mRNA rescued the level of Sox10 fusion protein, promoted voluntary movement, and mitigated abnormal craniofacial phenotypes induced by mettl3 knockdown in zebrafish. Mechanistically, YTHDF1 enhanced the mRNA stability of m 6 A-modified PSEN1 , while decreased METTL3-mediated m 6 A methylation hindered β-catenin binding to PSEN1, suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Pharmacological activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway partially alleviated the phenotypes of mettl3 morphant and reversed the decreases in cell proliferation and migration induced by METTL3 silencing. This study elucidates the pivotal role of METTL3 in craniofacial development via the METTL3/YTHDF1/PSEN1/β-catenin signaling axis.
研究领域:
发育生物学
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分子生物学
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遗传学
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细胞生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
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