Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 46
Filter
1.
Comput Biol Med ; 174: 108346, 2024 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38581999

ABSTRACT

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) significantly impact global health, contributing to over 70% of premature deaths, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). These diseases have complex and multifactorial origins, involving genetic, epigenetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. While Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) is widely recognized as a valuable tool for identifying variants associated with complex phenotypes; the multifactorial nature of NCDs necessitates a more comprehensive exploration, encompassing not only the genetic but also the epigenetic aspect. For this purpose, we employed a bioinformatics-multiomics approach to examine the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of NCDs (i.e. colorectal cancer, coronary atherosclerosis, squamous cell lung cancer, psoriasis, type 2 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis), aiming to identify novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Leveraging GWAS summary statistics, we pinpointed Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) independently associated with each NCD. Subsequently, we identified genes linked to cell cycle, inflammation and oxidative stress mechanisms, revealing shared genes across multiple diseases, suggesting common functional pathways. From an epigenetic perspective, we identified microRNAs (miRNAs) with regulatory functions targeting these genes of interest. Our findings underscore critical genetic pathways implicated in these diseases. In colorectal cancer, the dysregulation of the "Cytokine Signaling in Immune System" pathway, involving LAMA5 and SMAD7, regulated by Hsa-miR-21-5p, Hsa-miR-103a-3p, and Hsa-miR-195-5p, emerged as pivotal. In coronary atherosclerosis, the pathway associated with "binding of TCF/LEF:CTNNB1 to target gene promoters" displayed noteworthy implications, with the MYC factor controlled by Hsa-miR-16-5p as a potential regulatory factor. Squamous cell lung carcinoma analysis revealed significant pathways such as "PTK6 promotes HIF1A stabilization," regulated by Hsa-let-7b-5p. In psoriasis, the "Endosomal/Vacuolar pathway," involving HLA-C and Hsa-miR-148a-3p and Hsa-miR-148b-3p, was identified as crucial. Type 2 Diabetes implicated the "Regulation of TP53 Expression" pathway, controlled by Hsa-miR-106a-5p and Hsa-miR-106b-5p. In conclusion, our study elucidates the genetic framework and molecular mechanisms underlying NCDs, offering crucial insights into potential genetic/epigenetic biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. The specificity of pathways and related miRNAs in different pathologies highlights promising candidates for further clinical validation, with the potential to advance personalized treatments and alleviate the global burden of NCDs.


Subject(s)
Inflammation , MicroRNAs , Noncommunicable Diseases , Oxidative Stress , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Humans , MicroRNAs/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Inflammation/genetics , Oxidative Stress/genetics , Genome-Wide Association Study , Signal Transduction/genetics , Epigenesis, Genetic
2.
Front Cell Dev Biol ; 12: 1343385, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38434617

ABSTRACT

Air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5, with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 µm), represents a risk factor for human health. Many studies, regarding cancer onset and progression, correlated with the short and/or long exposition to PM2.5. This is mainly mediated by the ability of PM2.5 to reach the pulmonary alveoli by penetrating into the blood circulation. This review recapitulates the methodologies used to study PM2.5 in cellular models and the downstream effects on the main molecular pathways implicated in cancer. We report a set of data from the literature, that describe the involvement of miRNAs or long noncoding RNAs on the main biological processes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, autophagy (PI3K), cell proliferation (NFkB, STAT3), and EMT (Notch, AKT, Wnt/ß-catenin) pathways. microRNAs, as well as gene expression profile, responds to air pollution environment modulating some key genes involved in epigenetic modification or in key mediators of the biological processes described below. In this review, we provide some scientific evidences about the thigh correlation between miRNAs dysregulation, PM2.5 exposition, and gene pathways involved in cancer progression.

3.
Int J Mol Sci ; 24(18)2023 Sep 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37762429

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer and the second leading cause of death in women. A typical feature of BC cells is the metabolic shift toward increased glycolysis, which has become an interesting therapeutic target for metabolic drugs such as metformin (MET). Recently, the administration of the antihypertensive syrosingopine (SYRO) in combination with MET has shown a synergistic effect toward a variety of cancers. However, a fundamental need remains, which is the development of in vivo biomarkers that are able to detect early clinical response. In this study, we exploited a triple-negative murine BC cell line (4T1) and a metastatic ER+ murine BC cell line (TS/A) in order to investigate, in vivo, the early response to treatment, based on MET and/or SYRO administration, evaluating [18F]FDG and [18F]FLT as potential biomarkers via PET/CT. The study provides evidence that SYRO plus MET has a synergistic effect on tumor growth inhibition in both 4T1 and TS/A experimental models and has showed the highest efficacy on the TNBC xenograft mice (4T1) via the expression reduction in the lactate transporter MCT4 and in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition biomarker Snail, promoting its potential application in therapy settings. In addition, the selective reduction in the [18F]FLT tumor uptake (at 7 dd), observed in the SYRO plus MET treated mice in comparison with the vehicle group, suggests that this radiotracer could be potentially used as a biomarker for the early detection of therapy response, in both evaluated xenografts models.


Subject(s)
Metformin , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms , Humans , Female , Animals , Mice , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Biomarkers , Estrogens
4.
Methods Protoc ; 5(5)2022 Oct 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36287050

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease, affecting millions of women every year. Early diagnosis is crucial to increasing survival. The clinical workup of BC diagnosis involves diagnostic imaging and bioptic characterization. In recent years, technical advances in image processing allowed for the application of advanced image analysis (radiomics) to clinical data. Furthermore, -omics technologies showed their potential in the characterization of BC. Combining information provided by radiomics with -omics data can be important to personalize diagnostic and therapeutic work up in a clinical context for the benefit of the patient. In this review, we analyzed the recent literature, highlighting innovative approaches to combine imaging and biochemical/biological data, with the aim of identifying recent advances in radiogenomics applied to BC. The results of radiogenomic studies are encouraging approaches in a clinical setting. Despite this, as radiogenomics is an emerging area, the optimal approach has to face technical limitations and needs to be applied to large cohorts including all the expression profiles currently available for BC subtypes (e.g., besides markers from transcriptomics, proteomics and miRNomics, also other non-coding RNA profiles).

5.
Biomedicines ; 10(9)2022 Sep 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36140281

ABSTRACT

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic cardiomyopathy. The molecular mechanisms determining HCM phenotypes are incompletely understood. Myocardial biopsies were obtained from a group of patients with obstructive HCM (n = 23) selected for surgical myectomy and from 9 unused donor hearts (controls). A subset of tissue-abundant myectomy samples from HCM (n = 10) and controls (n = 6) was submitted to laser-capture microdissection to isolate cardiomyocytes. We investigated the relationship among clinical phenotype, cardiac myosin proteins (MyHC6, MyHC7, and MyHC7b) measured by optimized label-free mass spectrometry, the relative genes (MYH7, MYH7B and MYLC2), and the MyomiR network (myosin-encoded microRNA (miRs) and long-noncoding RNAs (Mhrt)) measured using RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR. MyHC6 was lower in HCM vs. controls, whilst MyHC7, MyHC7b, and MyLC2 were comparable. MYH7, MYH7B, and MYLC2 were higher in HCM whilst MYH6, miR-208a, miR-208b, miR-499 were comparable in HCM and controls. These results are compatible with defective transcription by active genes in HCM. Mhrt and two miR-499-target genes, SOX6 and PTBP3, were upregulated in HCM. The presence of HCM-associated mutations correlated with PTBP3 in myectomies and with SOX6 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, transiently transfected with either miR-208a or miR-499, demonstrated a time-dependent relationship between MyomiRs and myosin genes. The transfection end-stage pattern was at least in part similar to findings in HCM myectomies. These data support uncoupling between myosin protein/genes and a modulatory role for the myosin/MyomiR network in the HCM myocardium, possibly contributing to phenotypic diversity and providing putative therapeutic targets.

6.
Int J Mol Sci ; 23(11)2022 Jun 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35683018

ABSTRACT

Prostate cancer (PC) is a male common neoplasm and is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. PC is traditionally diagnosed by the evaluation of prostate secreted antigen (PSA) in the blood. Due to the high levels of false positives, digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy are necessary in uncertain cases with elevated PSA levels. Nevertheless, the high mortality rate suggests that new PC biomarkers are urgently needed to help clinical diagnosis. In a previous study, we have identified a network of genes, altered in high Gleason Score (GS) PC (GS ≥ 7), being regulated by miR-153. Until now, no publication has explained the mechanism of action of miR-153 in PC. By in vitro studies, we found that the overexpression of miR-153 in high GS cell lines is required to control cell proliferation, migration and invasion rates, targeting Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5). Moreover, miR-153 could be secreted by exosomes and microvesicles in the microenvironment and, once entered into the surrounding tissue, could influence cellular growth. Being upregulated in high GS human PC, miR-153 could be proposed as a circulating biomarker for PC diagnosis.


Subject(s)
MicroRNAs , Prostatic Neoplasms , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Humans , Male , MicroRNAs/genetics , Neoplasm Grading , Prostate-Specific Antigen , Prostatic Neoplasms/metabolism , Tumor Microenvironment
7.
Int J Mol Sci ; 23(6)2022 Mar 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35328484

ABSTRACT

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy; it is considered a network disorder associated with structural changes. Incomplete knowledge of the pathological changes in TLE complicates a therapeutic approach; indeed, 30 to 50% of patients with TLE are refractory to drug treatment. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), acting as epigenetic factors, participate in the regulation of the pathophysiological processes of epilepsy and are dysregulated during epileptogenesis. Abnormal expression of ncRNA is observed in patients with epilepsy and in animal models of epilepsy. Furthermore, ncRNAs could also be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of treatment response in epilepsy. In summary, ncRNAs can represent important mechanisms and targets for the modulation of brain excitability and can provide information on pathomechanisms, biomarkers and novel therapies for epilepsy. In this review, we summarize the latest research advances concerning mainly molecular mechanisms, regulated by ncRNA, such as synaptic plasticity, inflammation and apoptosis, already associated with the pathogenesis of TLE. Moreover, we discuss the role of ncRNAs, such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs, in the pathophysiology of epilepsy, highlighting their use as potential biomarkers for future therapeutic approaches.


Subject(s)
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe , Epilepsy , MicroRNAs , RNA, Long Noncoding , Animals , Biomarkers/metabolism , Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/drug therapy , Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/genetics , Humans , MicroRNAs/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , RNA, Untranslated/genetics , RNA, Untranslated/metabolism
8.
Comput Struct Biotechnol J ; 20: 864-873, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35222845

ABSTRACT

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the major male cancers. Differential diagnosis of PC is indispensable for the individual therapy, i.e., Gleason score (GS) that describes the grade of cancer can be used to choose the appropriate therapy. However, the current techniques for PC diagnosis and prognosis are not always effective. To identify potential markers that could be used for differential diagnosis of PC, we analyzed miRNA-mRNA interactions and we build specific networks for PC onset and progression. Key differentially expressed miRNAs for each GS were selected by calculating three parameters of network topology measures: the number of their single regulated mRNAs (NSR), the number of target genes (NTG) and NSR/NTG. miRNAs that obtained a high statistically significant value of these three parameters were chosen as potential biomarkers for computational validation and pathway analysis. 20 miRNAs were identified as key candidates for PC. 8 out of 20 miRNAs (miR-25-3p, miR-93-3p, miR-122-5p, miR-183-5p, miR-615-3p, miR-7-5p, miR-375, and miR-92a-3p) were differentially expressed in all GS and proposed as biomarkers for PC onset. In addition, "Extracellular-receptor interaction", "Focal adhesion", and "microRNAs in cancer" were significantly enriched by the differentially expressed target genes of the identified miRNAs. miR-10a-5p was found to be differentially expressed in GS 6, 7, and 8 in PC samples. 3 miRNAs were identified as PC GS-specific differentially expressed miRNAs: miR-155-5p was identified in PC samples with GS 6, and miR-142-3p and miR-296-3p in PC samples with GS 9. The efficacy of 20 miRNAs as potential biomarkers was revealed with a Random Forest classification using an independent dataset. The results demonstrated our 20 miRNAs achieved a better performance (AUC: 0.73) than miRNAs selected with Boruta algorithm (AUC: 0.55), a method for the automated feature extraction. Studying miRNA-mRNA associations, key miRNAs were identified with a computational approach for PC onset and progression. Further experimental validations are needed for future translational development.

9.
J Clin Med ; 10(15)2021 Jul 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34362180

ABSTRACT

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a complex disease with a late onset and is characterized by the progressive loss of muscular and respiratory functions. Although recent studies have partially elucidated ALS's mechanisms, many questions remain such as what the most important molecular pathways involved in ALS are and why there is such a large difference in ALS onset among different populations. In this study, we addressed this issue with a bioinformatics approach, using the United Kingdom Biobank (UKBB) and the European 1000 Genomes Project (1KG) in order to analyze the most ALS-representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that differ for minor allele frequency (MAF) between the United Kingdom population and some European populations including Finnish in Finland, Iberian population in Spain, and Tuscans in Italy. We found 84 SNPs associated with 46 genes that are involved in different pathways including: "Ca2+ activated K+ channels", "cGMP effects", "Nitric oxide stimulates guanylate cyclase", "Proton/oligopeptide cotransporters", and "Signaling by MAPK mutants". In addition, we revealed that 83% of the 84 SNPs can alter transcription factor-motives binding sites of 224 genes implicated in "Regulation of beta-cell development", "Transcription-al regulation by RUNX3", "Transcriptional regulation of pluripotent stem cells", and "FOXO-mediated transcription of cell death genes". In conclusion, the genes and pathways analyzed could explain the cause of the difference of ALS onset.

10.
Future Virol ; 2021 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34306168

ABSTRACT

Aim: SARS-CoV-2, an emerging betacoronavirus, is the causative agent of COVID-19. Currently, there are few specific and selective antiviral drugs for the treatment and vaccines to prevent contagion. However, their long-term effects can be revealed after several years, and new drugs for COVID-19 should continue to be investigated. Materials & methods: In the first step of our study we identified, through a gene expression analysis, several drugs that could act on the biological pathways altered in COVID-19. In the second step, we performed a docking simulation to test the properties of the identified drugs to target SARS-CoV-2. Results: The drugs that showed a higher binding affinity are bardoxolone (-8.78 kcal/mol), irinotecan (-8.40 kcal/mol) and pyrotinib (-8.40 kcal/mol). Conclusion: We suggested some drugs that could be efficient in treating COVID-19.

12.
Sci Rep ; 11(1): 6553, 2021 03 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33753785

ABSTRACT

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about a fifth of all breast cancers and includes a diverse group of cancers. The heterogeneity of TNBC and the lack of target receptors on the cell surface make it difficult to develop specific therapeutic treatments. These aspects cause the high negative prognosis of patients with this type of tumor. The analysis of the molecular profiles of TNBC samples has allowed a better characterization of this tumor, supporting the search for new reliable diagnostic markers. To this end, we have developed a bioinformatic approach to integrate networks of genes differentially expressed in basal breast cancer compared to healthy tissues, with miRNAs able to regulate their expression. We studied the role of these miRNAs in TNBC subtype cell lines. We therefore identified two miRNAs, namely miR-135b and miR-365, with a central role in regulating the altered functional pathways in basal breast cancer. These two miRNAs are differentially expressed in human TNBC immunohistochemistry-selected tissues, and their modulation has been shown to play a role in the proliferation of tumor control and its migratory and invasive capacity in TNBC subtype cell lines. From the perspective of personalized medicine, we managed to modulate the expression of the two miRNAs in organotypic cultures, suggesting their possible use as diagnostic and therapeutic molecules. miR-135b and miR-365 have a key role in TNBC, controlling proliferation and invasion. Their detection could be helpful in TNBC diagnosis, while their modulation could become a new therapeutic tool for TNBC.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor , MicroRNAs/genetics , Phenotype , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Cell Line, Tumor , Cells, Cultured , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Precision Medicine , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/therapy
13.
Crit Rev Oncol Hematol ; 158: 103210, 2021 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33385514

ABSTRACT

Characterized by remarkable levels of aggression and malignancy, BC remains one of the leading causes of death in females world wide. Accordingly, significant efforts have been made to develop early diagnostic tools, increase treatment efficacy, and improve patient prognosis. Hopefully, many of the molecular mechanisms underlying BC have been detected and show promising targeting potential. In particular, short and long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of endogenous BC controllers and include a number of different species including microRNAs, Piwi-interacting RNAs, small nucleolar RNA, short interfering RNAs, and tRNA-derivatives. In this review, we discuss the tumor suppressing roles of ncRNAs in the context of BC, and the mechanisms by which ncRNAs target tumor hallmarks, including apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, and cell cycle progression, in addition to their diagnostic and prognostic significance in cancer treatment.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , MicroRNAs , RNA, Long Noncoding , Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , MicroRNAs/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , RNA, Small Interfering
14.
Int J Mol Sci ; 22(2)2021 Jan 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33445780

ABSTRACT

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that have emerged as new potential epigenetic biomarkers. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of six circulating miRNA previously described in the literature as biomarkers for the diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and/or as predictive biomarkers to antiepileptic drug response. We measured the differences in serum miRNA levels by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays in a cohort of 27 patients (14 women and 13 men; mean ± SD age: 43.65 ± 17.07) with TLE compared to 20 healthy controls (HC) matched for sex, age and ethnicity (11 women and 9 men; mean ± SD age: 47.5 ± 9.1). Additionally, patients were classified according to whether they had drug-responsive (n = 17) or drug-resistant (n = 10) TLE. We have investigated any correlations between miRNAs and several electroclinical parameters. Three miRNAs (miR-142, miR-146a, miR-223) were significantly upregulated in patients (expressed as average expression ± SD). In detail, miR-142 expression was 0.40 ± 0.29 versus 0.16 ± 0.10 in TLE patients compared to HC (t-test, p < 0.01), miR-146a expression was 0.15 ± 0.11 versus 0.07 ± 0.04 (t-test, p < 0.05), and miR-223 expression was 6.21 ± 3.65 versus 1.23 ± 0.84 (t-test, p < 0.001). Moreover, results obtained from a logistic regression model showed the good performance of miR-142 and miR-223 in distinguishing drug-sensitive vs. drug-resistant TLE. The results of this pilot study give evidence that miRNAs are suitable targets in TLE and offer the rationale for further confirmation studies in larger epilepsy cohorts.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers/blood , Circulating MicroRNA/blood , Circulating MicroRNA/genetics , Drug Resistance/genetics , Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/blood , Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/genetics , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pilot Projects , Up-Regulation/genetics
15.
BMC Pharmacol Toxicol ; 21(1): 65, 2020 09 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32883368

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), an emerging Betacoronavirus, is the causative agent of COVID-19. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), being the main cell receptor of SARS-CoV-2, plays a role in the entry of the virus into the cell. Currently, there are neither specific antiviral drugs for the treatment or preventive drugs such as vaccines. METHODS: We proposed a bioinformatics analysis to test in silico existing drugs as a fast way to identify an efficient therapy. We performed a differential expression analysis in order to identify differentially expressed genes in COVID-19 patients correlated with ACE-2 and we explored their direct relations with a network approach integrating also drug-gene interactions. The drugs with a central role in the network were also investigated with a molecular docking analysis. RESULTS: We found 825 differentially expressed genes correlated with ACE2. The protein-protein interactions among differentially expressed genes identified a network of 474 genes and 1130 interactions. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of drug-gene interactions in the network and molecular docking analysis allows us to obtain several drugs with antiviral activity that, alone or in combination with other treatment options, could be considered as therapeutic approaches against COVID-19.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/analysis , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/genetics , Drug Repositioning , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/genetics , Protein Interaction Maps/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Gene Expression Regulation , Humans , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Pandemics/prevention & control , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , SARS-CoV-2
16.
Int J Mol Sci ; 21(16)2020 Aug 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32781585

ABSTRACT

This review highlights the importance and the complexity of tumour biology and microenvironment in the progression and therapy resistance of glioma. Specific gene mutations, the possible functions of several non-coding microRNAs and the intra-tumour and inter-tumour heterogeneity of cell types contribute to limit the efficacy of the actual therapeutic options. In this scenario, identification of molecular biomarkers of response and the use of multimodal in vivo imaging and in particular the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) based molecular approach, can help identifying glioma features and the modifications occurring during therapy at a regional level. Indeed, a better understanding of tumor heterogeneity and the development of diagnostic procedures can favor the identification of a cluster of patients for personalized medicine in order to improve the survival and their quality of life.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Diagnostic Imaging , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Glioma/genetics , Glioma/pathology , Tumor Microenvironment , Glioma/drug therapy , Humans , MicroRNAs/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism
17.
Viruses ; 12(4)2020 04 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32268515

ABSTRACT

Previous studies reported that Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the main cell receptor of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It plays a key role in the access of the virus into the cell to produce the final infection. In the present study we investigated in silico the basic mechanism of ACE2 in the lung and provided evidences for new potentially effective drugs for Covid-19. Specifically, we used the gene expression profiles from public datasets including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus and Genotype-Tissue Expression, Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment analysis to investigate the main functions of ACE2-correlated genes. We constructed a protein-protein interaction network containing the genes co-expressed with ACE2. Finally, we focused on the genes in the network that are already associated with known drugs and evaluated their role for a potential treatment of Covid-19. Our results demonstrate that the genes correlated with ACE2 are mainly enriched in the sterol biosynthetic process, Aryldialkylphosphatase activity, adenosylhomocysteinase activity, trialkylsulfonium hydrolase activity, acetate-CoA and CoA ligase activity. We identified a network of 193 genes, 222 interactions and 36 potential drugs that could have a crucial role. Among possible interesting drugs for Covid-19 treatment, we found Nimesulide, Fluticasone Propionate, Thiabendazole, Photofrin, Didanosine and Flutamide.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Drug Discovery , Lung/enzymology , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/metabolism , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Receptors, Virus/metabolism , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , COVID-19 , Computational Biology , Computer Simulation , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Databases, Genetic , Gene Expression Profiling , Gene Regulatory Networks , Humans , Pandemics , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Protein Interaction Mapping , Receptors, Coronavirus , Receptors, Virus/genetics , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19 Drug Treatment
18.
Nat Commun ; 11(1): 69, 2020 01 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31900418

ABSTRACT

Cancer driver gene alterations influence cancer development, occurring in oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and dual role genes. Discovering dual role cancer genes is difficult because of their elusive context-dependent behavior. We define oncogenic mediators as genes controlling biological processes. With them, we classify cancer driver genes, unveiling their roles in cancer mechanisms. To this end, we present Moonlight, a tool that incorporates multiple -omics data to identify critical cancer driver genes. With Moonlight, we analyze 8000+ tumor samples from 18 cancer types, discovering 3310 oncogenic mediators, 151 having dual roles. By incorporating additional data (amplification, mutation, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility), we reveal 1000+ cancer driver genes, corroborating known molecular mechanisms. Additionally, we confirm critical cancer driver genes by analysing cell-line datasets. We discover inactivation of tumor suppressors in intron regions and that tissue type and subtype indicate dual role status. These findings help explain tumor heterogeneity and could guide therapeutic decisions.


Subject(s)
Computational Biology/methods , Genes, Tumor Suppressor , Neoplasms/genetics , Oncogenes , DNA Methylation , Humans , Mutation , Software
19.
Theranostics ; 10(1): 50-61, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31903105

ABSTRACT

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed/amplified in one third of breast cancers (BCs), and is associated with the poorer prognosis and the higher metastatic potential in BC. Emerging evidences highlight the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of several cellular processes, including BC. METHODS: Here we identified, by in silico approach, a group of three miRNAs with central biological role (high degree centrality) in HER2+ BC. We validated their dysregulation in HER2+ BC and we analysed their functional role by in vitro approaches on selected cell lines and by in vivo experiments in an animal model. RESULTS: We found that their expression is dysregulated in both HER2+ BC cell lines and human samples. Focusing our study on the only upregulated miRNA, miR-429, we discovered that it acts as an oncogene and its upregulation is required for HER2+ cell proliferation. It controls the metastatic potential of HER2+ BC subtype by regulating migration and invasion of the cell. CONCLUSIONS: In HER2+ BC oncogenic miR-429 is able to regulate HIF1α pathway by directly targeting VHL mRNA, a molecule important for the degradation of HIF1α. The overexpression of miR-429, observed in HER2+ BC, causes increased proliferation and migration of the BC cells. More important, silencing miR-429 succeeds in delaying tumor growth, thus miR-429 could be proposed as a therapeutic probe in HER2+ BC tumors.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Breast Neoplasms/metabolism , Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Movement , Cell Proliferation , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Mice , Mice, Nude , Theranostic Nanomedicine
20.
Int J Mol Sci ; 20(23)2019 Nov 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31756987

ABSTRACT

Personalized medicine relies on the integration and consideration of specific characteristics of the patient, such as tumor phenotypic and genotypic profiling. BACKGROUND: Radiogenomics aim to integrate phenotypes from tumor imaging data with genomic data to discover genetic mechanisms underlying tumor development and phenotype. METHODS: We describe a computational approach that correlates phenotype from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of breast cancer (BC) lesions with microRNAs (miRNAs), mRNAs, and regulatory networks, developing a radiomiRNomic map. We validated our approach to the relationships between MRI and miRNA expression data derived from BC patients. We obtained 16 radiomic features quantifying the tumor phenotype. We integrated the features with miRNAs regulating a network of pathways specific for a distinct BC subtype. RESULTS: We found six miRNAs correlated with imaging features in Luminal A (miR-1537, -205, -335, -337, -452, and -99a), seven miRNAs (miR-142, -155, -190, -190b, -1910, -3617, and -429) in HER2+, and two miRNAs (miR-135b and -365-2) in Basal subtype. We demonstrate that the combination of correlated miRNAs and imaging features have better classification power of Luminal A versus the different BC subtypes than using miRNAs or imaging alone. CONCLUSION: Our computational approach could be used to identify new radiomiRNomic profiles of multi-omics biomarkers for BC differential diagnosis and prognosis.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Machine Learning , MicroRNAs/genetics , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Female , Gene Regulatory Networks , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Transcriptome
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...