Runjie Zhang

A four immune-related long noncoding RNAs signature as predictors for cervical cancer

The progression, metastasis, and prognosis of cervical cancer (CC) is influenced by the tumor immune microenvironment. Studies proved that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to engage in cervical cancer development, especially immune-related lncRNAs, have emerged crucial in the tumor immune process. This study was set out to identify an immune-related lncRNA signature. In total, 13,838 lncRNA expression profiles and 328 immune genes were acquired from the clnical data of 306 CC tissues and 3 non-CC tissues. From the 433 identified immune-related lncRNAs, 4 candidate immune-related lncRNAs (SOX21-AS1, AC005332.4, NCK1-DT, LINC01871) were considered independent indicators of cervical cancer prognosis through the univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, and they were used to construct a prognostic and survival lncRNA signature model followed by the bootstrap method for further verification. Kaplan-Meier curves illustrated that cervical cancer patients could be divided into high-risk and low-risk groups with significant differences (P = 2.052e - 05), and the discrepancy of immune profiles between these two risk groups was illustrated by principal components analysis. Taken together, the novel survival predictive model created by the four immune-related lncRNAs showed promising clinical prediction value in cervical cancer.

Insulin-induced gene 2 expression is associated with cervical adenocarcinoma malignant behavior

The incidence of cervical adenocarcinoma (CA) as a malignant tumor has increased over the past few decades due to its low detection rate and malignant biological behaviors. Insulin-induced gene 2 (INSIG2), a membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), plays a crucial role in cancer progression. However, there is little known about the connection between INSIG2 and CA. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Cervical Cancer (CESC) data were applied to study the alteration in INSIG2 expression. Biological functions were performed to test the change of malignant behavior. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to explore the potential affection of INSIG2 in CA progression. Our study confirmed that the high INSIG2 expression levels had a poor prognosis. INSIG2-knockdown inhibited the CA cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of CA cells while downregulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated gene expression levels. Moreover, the enrichment analysis of DEGs showed more potential functions of INSIG2 in the CA progression. We found that INSIG2 knockdown may play a suppressor role in the CA progression, and may provide the potential functional influence in inhibiting of CA development.

Plasma‐Based Metabolomics Profiling of High‐Risk Human Papillomavirus and their Emerging Roles in the Progression of Cervical Cancer

High‐risk human papillomavirus (HR‐HPV) is the main etiological factor for cervical cancer. Accumulating evidence has suggested the active role of metabolites in the initiation and progression of cancers. This study explored the plasma metabolic profiles of HPV‐16 positive (HPV16 (+)), HPV‐18 positive (HPV18 (+)), and HPV negative (CTL) individuals using a nontargeted metabolomics approach. C8 ceramide‐1‐Phosphate (d18 : 1/8 : 0) was found to inhibit cervical cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro, evidenced by CCK8 experiments, a cell migration test, RT‐qPCR, and western blotting. The underlying mechanism demonstrated that C8 inhibited proliferation and migration in cervical cancer cells via the MAPK/JNK1 signaling pathway. These findings may contribute to the clinical treatment of HR‐HPV‐induced cervical cancer by intervening in its initiation and progression.