Genetic variant in a BaP-activated super-enhancer increases prostate cancer risk by promoting AhR-mediated FAM227A expression

Genetic variants in super-enhancers(SEs)are increasingly implicated as a disease risk-driving mechanism.Previous studies have reported an associations between benzo[a]pyrene(BaP)exposure and some malignant tumor risk.Currently,it is unclear whether BaP is involved in the effect of genetic variants in SEs on prostate cancer risk,nor the associated intrinsic molecular mechanisms.In the current study,by using logistic regression analysis,we found that rs5750581T>C in 22q-SE was significantly associated with prostate cancer risk(odds ratio=1.26,P=7.61×10^(-5)).We also have found that the rs6001092T>G,in a high linkage disequilibrium with rs5750581T>C(r^(2)=0.98),is located in a regulatory aryl hydrocarbon receptor(AhR)motif and may interact with the FAM227A promoter in further bioinformatics analysis.We then performed a series of functional and BaP acute exposure experiments to assess biological function of the genetic variant and the target gene.Biologically,the rs6001092-G allele strengthened the transcription factor binding affinity to AhR,thereby upregulating FAM227A,especially upon exposure to BaP,which induced the malignant phenotypes of prostate cancer.The current study highlights that AhR acts as an environmental sensor of BaP and is involved in the SE-mediated prostate cancer risk,which may provide new insights into the etiology of prostate cancer associated with the inherited SE variants under environmental carcinogen stressors.

Identification of four novel prognosis biomarkers and potential therapeutic drugs for human colorectal cancer by bioinformatics analysis

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is one of the most deadly cancers in the world with few reliable biomarkers that have been selected into clinical guidelines for prognosis of CRC patients.In this study,mRNA microarray datasets GSE113513,GSE21510,GSE44076,and GSE32323 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)and analyzed with bioinformatics to identify hub genes in CRC development.Differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were analyzed using the GEO2 R tool.Gene ontology(GO)and KEGG analyses were performed through the DAVID database.STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to construct a protein-protein interaction(PPI)network and identify key modules and hub genes.Survival analyses of the DEGs were performed on GEPIA database.The Connectivity Map database was used to screen potential drugs.A total of 865 DEGs were identified,including 374 upregulated and 491 downregulated genes.These DEGs were mainly associated with metabolic pathways,pathways in cancer,cell cycle and so on.The PPI network was identified with 863 nodes and 5817 edges.Survival analysis revealed that HMMR,PAICS,ETFDH,and SCG2 were significantly associated with overall survival of CRC patients.And blebbistatin and sulconazole were identified as candidate drugs.In conclusion,our study found four hub genes involved in CRC,which may provide novel potential biomarkers for CRC prognosis,and two potential candidate drugs for CRC.

Alternative polyadenylation-related genetic variants contribute to bladder cancer risk

Aberrant alternative polyadenylation(APA)events play an important role in cancers,but little is known about whether APA-related genetic variants contribute to the susceptibility to bladder cancer.Previous genome-wide association study performed APA quantitative trait loci(apaQTL)analyses in bladder cancer,and identified 17955 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs).We found that gene symbols of APA affected by apaQTL-associated SNPs were closely correlated with cancer signaling pathways,high mutational burden,and immune infiltration.Association analysis showed that apaQTL-associated SNPs rs34402449 C>A,rs2683524 C>T,and rs11540872 C>G were significantly associated with susceptibility to bladder cancer(rs34402449:OR=1.355,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.159-1.583,P=1.33×10^(−4);rs2683524:OR=1.378,95%CI:1.164-1.632,P=2.03×10^(−4);rs11540872:OR=1.472,95%CI:1.193-1.815,P=3.06×10^(−4)).Cumulative effect analysis showed that the number of risk genotypes and smoking status were significantly associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer(P_(trend)=2.87×10^(−12)).We found that PRR13,being demonstrated the most significant effect on cell proliferation in bladder cancer cell lines,was more highly expressed in bladder cancer tissues than in adjacent normal tissues.Moreover,the rs2683524 T allele was correlated with shorter 3′untranslated regions of PRR13 and increased PRR13 expression levels.Collectively,our findings have provided informative apaQTL resources and insights into the regulatory mechanisms linking apaQTL-associated variants to bladder cancer risk.

IL-17 induces NSCLC cell migration and invasion by elevating MMP19 gene transcription and expression through the interaction of p300-dependent STAT3-K631 acetylation and its Y705-phosphorylation

The cancer cell metastasis is a major death reason for patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Although researchers have disclosed that interleukin 17(IL-17)can increase matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs)induction causing NSCLC cell metastasis,the underlying mechanism remains unclear.In the study,we found that IL-17 receptor A(IL-17RA),p300,p-STAT3,Ack-STAT3,and MMP19 were up-regulated both in NSCLC tissues and NSCLC cells stimulated with IL-17.p300,STAT3 and MMP19 overexpression or knockdown could raise or reduce IL-17-induced p-STAT3,Ack-STAT3 and MMP19 level as well as the cell migration and invasion.Mechanism investigation revealed that STAT3 and p300 bound to the same region(−544 to−389 nt)of MMP19 promoter,and p300 could acetylate STAT3-K631 elevating STAT3 transcriptional activity,p-STAT3 or MMP19 expression and the cell mobility exposed to IL-17.Meanwhile,p300-mediated STAT3-K631 acetylation and its Y705-phosphorylation could interact,synergistically facilitating MMP19 gene transcription and enhancing cell migration and invasion.Besides,the animal experiments exhibited that the nude mice inoculated with NSCLC cells by silencing p300,STAT3 or MMP19 gene plus IL-17 treatment,the nodule number,and MMP19,Ack-STAT3,or p-STAT3 production in the lung metastatic nodules were all alleviated.Collectively,these outcomes uncover that IL-17-triggered NSCLC metastasis involves up-regulating MMP19 expression via the interaction of STAT3-K631 acetylation by p300 and its Y705-phosphorylation,which provides a new mechanistic insight and potential strategy for NSCLC metastasis and therapy.

Causal genetic regulation of DNA replication on immune microenvironment in colorectal tumorigenesis: Evidenced by an integrated approach of trans-omics and GWAS

The interplay between DNA replication stress and immune microenvironment alterations is known to play a crucial role in colorectal tumorigenesis,but a comprehensive understanding of their association with and relevant biomarkers involved in colorectal tumorigenesis is lacking.To address this gap,we conducted a study aiming to investigate this association and identify relevant biomarkers.We analyzed transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of 904 colorectal tumor tissues and 342 normal tissues to examine pathway enrichment,biological activity,and the immune microenvironment.Additionally,we evaluated genetic effects of single variants and genes on colorectal cancer susceptibility using data from genome-wide association studies(GWASs)involving both East Asian(7062 cases and 195745 controls)and European(24476 cases and 23073 controls)populations.We employed mediation analysis to infer the causal pathway,and applied multiplex immunofluorescence to visualize colocalized biomarkers in colorectal tumors and immune cells.Our findings revealed that both DNA replication activity and the flap structure-specific endonuclease 1(FEN1)gene were significantly enriched in colorectal tumor tissues,compared with normal tissues.Moreover,a genetic variant rs4246215 G>T in FEN1 was associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer(odds ratio=0.94,95%confidence interval:0.90–0.97,P_(meta)=4.70×10^(-9)).Importantly,we identified basophils and eosinophils that both exhibited a significantly decreased infiltration in colorectal tumors,and were regulated by rs4246215 through causal pathways involving both FEN1 and DNA replication.In conclusion,this trans-omics incorporating GWAS data provides insights into a plausible pathway connecting DNA replication and immunity,expanding biological knowledge of colorectal tumorigenesis and therapeutic targets.

The relationship between compartment models and their stochastic counterparts:A comparative study with examples of the COVID-19 epidemic modeling

Deterministic compartment models(CMs)and stochastic models,including stochastic CMs and agent-based models,are widely utilized in epidemic modeling.However,the relationship between CMs and their corresponding stochastic models is not well understood.The present study aimed to address this gap by conducting a comparative study using the susceptible,exposed,infectious,and recovered(SEIR)model and its extended CMs from the coronavirus disease 2019 modeling literature.We demonstrated the equivalence of the numerical solution of CMs using the Euler scheme and their stochastic counterparts through theoretical analysis and simulations.Based on this equivalence,we proposed an efficient model calibration method that could replicate the exact solution of CMs in the corresponding stochastic models through parameter adjustment.The advancement in calibration techniques enhanced the accuracy of stochastic modeling in capturing the dynamics of epidemics.However,it should be noted that discrete-time stochastic models cannot perfectly reproduce the exact solution of continuous-time CMs.Additionally,we proposed a new stochastic compartment and agent mixed model as an alternative to agent-based models for large-scale population simulations with a limited number of agents.This model offered a balance between computational efficiency and accuracy.The results of this research contributed to the comparison and unification of deterministic CMs and stochastic models in epidemic modeling.Furthermore,the results had implications for the development of hybrid models that integrated the strengths of both frameworks.Overall,the present study has provided valuable epidemic modeling techniques and their practical applications for understanding and controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

First-line camrelizumab(a PD-1 inhibitor)plus apatinib(an VEGFR-2 inhibitor)and chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer(SPACE):a phase 1 study

Patients with advanced gastric cancer typically face a grim prognosis.This phase 1a(dose escalation)and phase 1b(dose expansion)study investigated safety and efficacy of first-line camrelizumab plus apatinib and chemotherapyfor advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.The primary endpoints included maximum tolerated dose(MTD)in phase 1a and objective response rate(ORR)across phase 1a and 1b.Phase 1a tested three dose regimens of camrelizumab,apatinib,oxaliplatin,and S-1.Dose regimen 1:camrelizumab 200 mg on day 1,apatinib 250 mg every other day,oxaliplatin 100 mg/m^(2) on day 1,and S-140 mg twice a day on days 1-14.Dose regimen 2:same as dose regimen 1,but oxaliplatin 130mg/m.Dose regimen3:same as dose regimen 2,but apatinib 250 mg daily.Thirty-four patients were included(9 in phase 1a,25 in phase 1b).No dose-limiting toxicities occurred so no MTD was identified.Dose 3 was set for the recommended phase 2 doses and administered in phase 1b.The confrmed ORR was 76.5%(95%CI 58.8-89.3).The median progression-free survival was 8.4 months(95%CI 5.9-not evaluable[NE]),and the median overall survival(OS)was not mature(11.6-NE).Ten patients underwent surgery after treatment and the multidisciplinary team evaluation.Among 24 patients without surgery,the median OS was 19.6 months(7.8-NE).Eighteen patients(52.9%)developed grade≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events.Camrelizumab plus apatinib and chemotherapy showed favorable clinical outcomes and manageable safety for untreated advanced gastric cancer(ChiCTR2000034109).

Gastric cancer: Epidemiology, risk factors and prevention strategies

Gastric cancer(GC) is a global health problem, with more than 1 million people newly diagnosed with GC worldwide each year. GC is more prevalent in less developed countries than in more developed countries. About half of all GC cases worldwide occur in East Asia, notably China. Globally, overall incidence rates of GC are declining, which is potentially attributed to a decrease in Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection and the use of refrigeration to preserve foods rather than salt. GC is a multifactorial disease, and its occurrence and development were impacted by environmental and genetic factors. H. pylori infection is the primary risk factor for GC, especially for non-cardia. The prognosis of GC is poor due to stages at the first diagnosis. The 5-year survival rate is less than 10% when patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, but the rate is as high as 85% if patients are detected at an earlier stage. Endoscopic screening can potentially prevent GC by early diagnosis and early treatment and has been widely adopted in screening programs in East Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea. This review summarizes updated epidemiological aspects, risk factors, and prevention strategies of GC in recent years to help researchers determine the most effective intervention strategies for reducing risk of GC.

The cancer-testis gene,MEIOB,sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer to PARP1 inhibitors by inducing homologous recombination deficiency

Objective:The newly defined cancer-testis(CT)gene,MEIOB,was previously found to play key roles in DNA double-strand break(DSB)repair.In this study,we aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of MEIOB in the carcinogenesis of triple-negative breast cancers(TNBCs).Methods:The Cancer Genome Atlas database was used to quantify the expression of MEIOB.Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between MEIOB expression and the prognosis of human TNBC.The effects of MEIOB on cell proliferation and migration in TNBCs were also assessed in vitro.Patient-derived xenograft(PDX)models were used to assess the sensitivity of breast cancers with active MEIOB to PARP1 inhibitors.Results:We confirmed MEIOB as a CT gene whose expression was restricted to the testes and breast tumors,especially TNBCs.Its activation was significantly associated with poor survival in breast cancer patients[overall,hazard ratio(HR)=1.90(1.16–2.06);TNBCs:HR=7.05(1.16–41.80)].In addition,we found that MEIOB was oncogenic and significantly promoted the proliferation of TNBC cells.Further analysis showed that MEIOB participated in DSB repair in TNBCs.However,in contrast to its function in meiosis,it mediated homologous recombination deficiency(HRD)through the activation of poly ADP-ribose polymerase(PARP)1 by interacting with YBX1.Furthermore,activated MEIOB was shown to confer sensitivity to PARP inhibitors,which was confirmed in PDX models.Conclusions:MEIOB played an oncogenic role in TNBC through its involvement in HRD.In addition,dysregulation of MEIOB sensitized TNBC cells to PARP inhibitors,so MEIOB may be a therapeutic target of PARP1 inhibitors in TNBC.

A causal variant rs3769823 in 2q33.1 involved in apoptosis pathway leading to a decreased risk of non-small cell lung cancer

Objective:Although our previous genome-wide association study(GWAS)has identified chromosome 2q33.1 as a susceptibility locus for non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),the causal variants remain unclear.The aims of this study were to identify the causal variants in 2q33.1 and to explore their biological functions in NSCLC.Methods:CCK-8,colony formation,EdU incorporation,Transwell,and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays were applied to examine variant function.The tumor xenograft model was used to examine variant function in vivo.Caspase-8 activity assays,flow cytometry analysis,and co-immunoprecipitation assays were used to explore the molecular mechanism.Results:The missense variant rs3769823(A>G),which caused the substitution of lysine with arginine at amino acid 14 in caspase-8(caspase-8K14R),was identified as a potential causal candidate in 2q33.1.Compared with the wild type caspase-8(caspase8WT)group,the caspase-8K14R group had higher expression of caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-8.Caspase-8K14R inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of human lung cancer cell lines in vitro.Moreover,caspase-8K14R repressed lung cancer cell growth in vivo.Mechanistically,caspase-8K14R was more sensitive than caspase-8WT to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand(TRAIL)-mediated apoptosis and showed higher binding of caspase-8 and FADD.Conclusions:These results suggested that rs3769823 is the causal variant in chromosome 2q33.1 and is involved in an apoptosis pathway,leading to a decreased risk of NSCLC.

Paclitaxel-induced stress granules increase LINE-1 mRNA stability to promote drug resistance in breast cancer cells

Abnormal expression of long interspersed element-1(LINE-1)has been implicated in drug resistance,while our previous study showed that chemotherapy drug paclitaxel(PTX)increased LINE-1 level with unknown mechanism.Bioinformatics analysis suggested the regulation of LINE-1 mRNA by drug-induced stress granules(SGs).This study aimed to explore whether and how SGs are involved in drug-induced LINE-1 increase and thereby promotes drug resistance of triple negative breast cancer(TNBC)cells.We demonstrated that SGs increased LINE-1 expression by recruiting and stabilizing LINE-1 mRNA under drug stress,thereby adapting TNBC cells to chemotherapy drugs.Moreover,LINE-1 inhibitor efavirenz(EFV)could inhibit drug-induced SG to destabilize LINE-1.Our study provides the first evidence of the regulation of LINE-1 by SGs that could be an important survival mechanism for cancer cells exposed to chemotherapy drugs.The findings provide a useful clue for developing new chemotherapeutic strategies against TNBCs.

A novel long non-coding RNA NFIA-AS1 is down-regulated in gastric cancer and inhibits proliferation of gastric cancer cells

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant gastrointestinal tumors whose morbidity and mortality account for the second and third place respectively in malignant tumors in China.As an important participant in tumor biology,the abnormal expression of long non-coding RNA(lncRNAs)in cancer cells is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors and plays the role of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes.In this study,we identified a novel lncRNA NFIA antisense RNA 1(NFIA-AS1)and explored its role and clinical significance in gastric cancer.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of NFIA-AS1 in tumor tissues and corresponding normal tissues from 42 pairs of gastric cancer samples.The lower expression of NFIA-AS1 was significantly associated with larger tumor size,lower histological grade,and advanced TNM stage.Kaplan-meier analysis showed that NFIA-AS1 expression could be used as an independent predictor of overall survival.We also demonstrated that overexpression of NFIA-AS1 significantly inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer cells through affecting p16 levels.In conclusion,our results suggest that the lncRNA NFIA-AS1 may play the role of tumor suppressor gene,and serve as a biomarker for prognosis or progression of gastric cancer.

Genetic variants in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes are associated with gastric cancer risk in a Chinese Han population

The Hedgehog signaling pathway participates in the occurrence and progression of cancers including gastric cancer.We conducted this study to evaluate whether genetic variants in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes would affect gastric cancer risk.Multi-marker Analysis of GenoMic Annotation(MAGMA)was used to investigate the aggregated genetic effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)assigned to candidate genes.The relationship between SNPs and gastric cancer risk was estimated by multivariate logistic regression analyses.Gene expression was calculated using databases obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO).Kaplan‐Meier plotter was used to evaluate the association between gene expression with gastric cancer survival.Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0(TIMER 2.0)was applied to determine the correlation between selected gene expression and the immune cell infiltration degree.We identified that the G allele of rs2990912 in KIF27 was associated with higher gastric cancer risk,especially in the young and male subgroups.The expression of KIF27 in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in normal tissues,leading to poor survival in gastric cancer patients.Besides,KIF27 expression was related to immune cell infiltration and positively correlated with PD-L1 expression.Our findings highlight the key role of genetic variation in the Hedgehog signaling pathway genes in gastric cancer susceptibility,which may provide important insights into the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of gastric cancer.

Sonic Hedgehog stimulates migration of MCF-7 breast cancer cells through Rac1

As one of the most common tumors in women, breast cancer has drawn considerable interest from investigators and clinicians in recent years. Despite early diagnosis and best therapeutic regimens available, the prognosis of malignant or metastatic breast cancer patients is still not optimistic. Hedgehog signaling, a classical pathway indispensable to embryonic development, participates in the growth of a variety of tumors. In the present study,the effect of Sonic Hedgehog(Shh) on breast cancer cells was investigated. We identified that Shh signal stimulated the migration of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Smo and Gli1 were involved in Shh-stimulated migration of MCF-7 cells. Activating Smo and Gli1 induced cell migration, which was blocked by their specific antagonists.The effect of Shh signaling on MCF-7 cells was independent of Wnt5 a, Dvl2 and Rab35, but directly dependent on Rac1. In conclusion, our study suggested that Shh promotes breast cancer cell migration via Rac1 independently of the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which may represent a rational molecular target for combination medication in breast cancer.

A comparative genomics analysis of lung adenocarcinoma for Chinese population by using panel of recurrent mutations

Previous studies have demonstrated that Chinese lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD)patients have unique genetic characteristics,however,the specific genomic features relating to the development and treatment of LUAD in the Chinese population are not fully understood.Here,we applied the ultra-deep targeted sequencing to 66 Chinese LUAD samples,accompanied by comparative analysis with 162 Caucasian LUAD in The Cancer Genome Atlas.We focused on the 68 recurrently mutated genes and results revealed that the panel-based tumor mutational burden(pTMB)is significantly higher in the Chinese LUAD(P=0.0017).Additionally,the percentage of smoking-associated C>A transversion is significantly lower in Chinese LUAD(15.5%vs.39.7%,P=5.69×10^(-27)),while C>T transition is more frequent in Chinese LUAD(35.8%vs.25.7%,P=2.67×10^(-5)),which indicated the ethnic difference in mutation types.Notably,novel driver genes(GNAS and JAK1)that are peculiar to Chinese LUAD were identified,and a more convergent distribution of mutations was observed in the Chinese cohort(P=0.012)compared with scattered mutations in Caucasian LUAD.Our results present a distinct genomic profile of Chinese LUAD compared to Caucasians LUAD and elucidate the ethnic difference in mutation distribution besides the type and rate.

Association between soft drink consumption types and risk of lung cancer and all-cancer: A prospective study of PLCO data

Diet/sugar-free soft drinks are considered to be healthier than regular soft drinks.However,few studies have examined the relationship between the types of soft drinks(regular and diet/sugar-free)and lung cancer(LC)/all-cancer(AC)risk.In this study,we comprehensively assessed the influence of the type of soft drink consumption on LC/AC risk based on the Prostate,Lung,Colorectal,and Ovarian(PLCO)Cancer Screening Trial.Multivariable Cox proportional hazards and competing risks Fine-Gray regression models adjusted for relevant confounders were used to estimate hazard ratios(HRs)and subdistribution HRs for different types of soft drink consumption.In the PLCO population,female subgroup,and the ever/current smoker subgroup,consumption of both regular and diet soft drinks was associated with a significantly reduced risk of LC compared with no soft drinks at all.For the non-lung cancer(NLC)risk,consumption of only diet soft drinks had a significant positive association for the total population and female subgroup.Based on our findings,it was suggested that partial replacement of regular soft drinks with diet soft drinks might be beneficial to LC prevention,especially for females and ever/current smokers.Additionally,completely replacing regular soft drinks with diet soft drinks might be detrimental to NLC prevention,especially for females.

Lung cancer risk score for ever and never smokers in China

Background:Most lung cancer risk prediction models were developed in European and North-American cohorts of smokers aged≥55 years,while less is known about risk profiles in Asia,especially for never smokers or individuals aged<50 years.Hence,we aimed to develop and validate a lung cancer risk estimate tool for ever and never smokers across a wide age range.Methods:Based on the China Kadoorie Biobank cohort,we first systematically selected the predictors and explored the nonlinear association of predictors with lung cancer risk using restricted cubic splines.Then,we separately developed risk prediction models to construct a lung cancer risk score(LCRS)in 159,715 ever smokers and 336,526 never smokers.The LCRS was further validated in an independent cohort over a median follow-up of 13.6 years,consisting of 14,153 never smokers and 5,890 ever smokers.Results:A total of 13 and 9 routinely available predictors were identified for ever and never smokers,respectively.Of these predictors,cigarettes per day and quit years showed nonlinear associations with lung cancer risk(Pnon-linear<0.001).The curve of lung cancer incidence increased rapidly above 20 cigarettes per day and then was relatively flat until approximately 30 cigarettes per day.We also observed that lung cancer risk declined sharplywithin the first 5 years of quitting,and then continued to decrease but at a slower rate in the subsequent years.The 6-year area under the receiver operating curve for the ever and never smokers’models were respectively 0.778 and 0.733 in the derivation cohort,and 0.774 and 0.759 in the validation cohort.In the validation cohort,the 10-year cumulative incidence of lung cancerwas 0.39%and 2.57%for ever smokers with low(<166.2)and intermediate-high LCRS(≥166.2),respectively.Never smokers with a high LCRS(≥21.2)had a higher 10-year cumulative incidence rate than those with a low LCRS(<21.2;1.05%vs.0.22%).An online risk evaluation tool(LCKEY;http://ccra.njmu.edu.cn/lckey/web)was developed to facilitate the use of LCRS.Conclusions:The LCRS can be an effective risk assessment tool designed for ever and never smokers aged 30 to 80 years.

Biological functions and potential implications of circular RNAs

Circular RNAs(circRNAs) are characterized by a covalent closed-loop structure with an absence of both 5′ cap structure and 3′ polyadenylated tail. Numerous studies have found that circRNAs play an important role in various diseases and have a variety of biological regulatory mechanisms, including acting as microRNA sponges,interacting with proteins, modulating the expression of related genes and translating into peptides or proteins.CircRNAs have also been used as biomarkers for a number of diseases, which could improve clinical practice.This review summarizes the most recent advances in biogenesis and knowledge of the biological functions of circRNAs as well as the related bioinformatics databases. We specifically describe developments in understanding of circRNA functions in the field of environmental exposure-induced diseases. Finally, we focus on potential clinical implications of circRNAs to facilitate their clinical transformation into disease treatment.

Construction and evaluation of the functional polygenic risk score for gastric cancer in a prospective cohort of the European population

Background:A polygenic risk score(PRS)derived from 112 single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)for gastric cancer has been reported in Chinese populations(PRS-112).However,its performance in other populations is unknown.A functional PRS(fPRS)using functional SNPs(fSNPs)may improve the generalizability of the PRS across populations with distinct ethnicities.Methods:We performed functional annotations on SNPs in strong linkage disequilibrium(LD)with the 112 previously reported SNPs to identify fSNPs that affect protein-coding or transcriptional regulation.Subsequently,we constructed an fPRS based on the fSNPs by using the LDpred2-infinitesimal model and then analyzed the performance of the PRS-112 and fPRS in the risk prediction of gastric cancer in 457,521 European participants of the UK Biobank cohort.Finally,the performance of the fPRS in combination with lifestyle factors were evaluated in predicting the risk of gastric cancer.Results:During 4,582,045 person-years of follow-up with a total of 623 incident gastric cancer cases,we found no significant association between the PRS-112 and gastric cancer risk in the European population(hazard ratio[HR]=1.00[95%confidence interval(CI)0.93–1.09],P=0.846).We identified 125 fSNPs,including seven deleterious protein-coding SNPs and 118 regulatory non-coding SNPs,and used them to construct the fPRS-125.Our result showed that the fPRS-125 was significantly associated with gastric cancer risk(HR=1.11[95%CI,1.03–1.20],P=0.009).Compared to participants with a low fPRS-125(bottom quintile),those with a high fPRS-125(top quintile)had a higher risk of incident gastric cancer(HR=1.43[95%CI,1.12–1.84],P=0.005).Moreover,we observed that participants with both an unfavorable lifestyle and a high genetic risk had the highest risk of incident gastric cancer(HR=4.99[95%CI,1.55–16.10],P=0.007)compared to those with both a favorable lifestyle and a low genetic risk.Conclusion:These results indicate that the fPRS-125 derived from fSNPs may act as an indicator to measure the genetic risk of gastric cancer in the European population.

Evolution-driven crosstalk between glioblastoma and the tumor microenvironment

Glioblastoma(GBM)is a malignant adult brain tumor for which 90%of patients experience recurrence within a year after surgery1.Evolution confers treatment resistance capabilities on tumors2.The diversification of malignant and non-malignant(i.e.,stromal and immune cell)compartments in the tumor microenvironment(TME)during tumor evolution3-7 eventually results in the formation of a complex interaction network that promotes tumor progression.