Probes for INS

Oncocytic (Hürthle cell) and follicular neoplasms are related thyroid tumors with distinct molecular profiles. Diagnostic criteria separating adenomas and carcinomas for these two types of neoplasms are similar, but there may be some differences in the biological behavior of Hürthle cell and follicular carcinomas. Recent studies have shown that noncoding RNAs may have diagnostic and prognostic utility in separating benign and malignant Hürthle cell and follicular neoplasms. In this study, we examined expression of various noncoding RNAs including metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) and miR-RNA-885-5p (miR-885) in distinguishing between benign and malignant neoplasms. In addition, the expression of phosphorylated mechanistic receptor of rapamycin (p-mTOR) was also analyzed in these two groups of tumors. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) with archived tissue samples were analyzed using in situ hybridization (ISH) for MALAT1 and miR-885 and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for p-mTOR. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was also performed on a subset of the cases.MALAT1 and miR-885 were increased in all neoplastic groups compared to the normal thyroid tissues (p < 0.05). MALAT1 was more highly expressed in HCCs compared to FTCs, although the differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.06). MiR-885 was expressed at similar levels in FTCs and HCCs. P-mTOR protein was more highly expressed in FTCs than in HCCs (p<0.001). qRT-PCR analysis of noncoding RNAs supported the ISH findings. These results indicate that the noncoding RNAs MALAT1 and miR-885 show increased expression in neoplastic follicular and Hürthle cell thyroid neoplasms compared to normal thyroid tissues. P-mTOR was most highly expressed in FTC but was also increased in HCC, suggesting that drugs targeting this pathway may be useful for treatment of tumors unresponsive to conventional therapies.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important for transcription and for epigenetic or posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression and may contribute to carcinogenesis. Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), an lncRNA involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, cell proliferation, and cell migration, is known to be deregulated in multiple cancers. Here, we analyzed the expression of MALAT1 on 195 cases of benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms by using tissue microarrays for RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) and real-time PCR. MALAT1 is highly expressed in normal thyroid (NT) tissues and thyroid tumors, with increased expression during progression from NT to papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) but is downregulated in poorly differentiated thyroid cancers (PDCs) and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas (ATCs) compared to NT. Induction of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) by transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta in a PTC cell line (TPC1) led to increased MALAT1 expression, supporting a role for MALAT1 in EMT in thyroid tumors. This is the first ISH study of MALAT1 expression in thyroid tissues. It also provides the first piece of evidence suggesting MALAT1 downregulation in certain thyroid malignancies. Our findings support the notion that ATCs may be molecularly distinct from low-grade thyroid malignancies and suggest that MALAT1 may function both as an oncogene and as a tumor suppressor in different types of thyroid tumors.

Abstract

AIM:
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are potential biomarkers for breast cancer risk stratification. LncRNA expression has been investigated primarily by RNA sequencing, quantitative reverse transcription PCR or microarray techniques. In this study, six breast cancer-implicated lncRNAs were investigated by chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH).

METHODS:
Invasive breast carcinoma (IBC), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and normal adjacent (NA) breast tissues from 52 patients were screened by CISH. Staining was graded by modified Allred scoring.

RESULTS:
HOTAIR, H19 and KCNQ1OT1 had significantly higher expression levels in IBC and DCIS than NA (p<0.05), and HOTAIR and H19 were expressed more strongly in IBC than in DCIS tissues (p<0.05). HOTAIR and KCNQ101T were expressed in tumour cells; H19 and MEG3 were expressed in stromal microenvironment cells; MALAT1 was expressed in all cells strongly and ZFAS1 was negative or weakly expressed in all specimens.

CONCLUSION:
These data corroborate the involvement of three lncRNAs (HOTAIR, H19 and KCNQ1OT1) in breast tumourigenesis and support lncRNA CISH as a potential clinical assay. Importantly, CISH allows identification of the tissue compartment expressing lncRNA.

Hyaluronan (HA) plays an important role in the development and maintenance of tissues, and its degradation is implicated in many pathologic conditions. We recently reported that HA-binding protein involved in HA depolymerization (HYBID/KIAA1199; encoded by CEMIP) is a key molecule in HA depolymerization, but its developmental and pathologic functions remain elusive. We generated Hybid-deficient mice using the Cre/locus of crossover in P1 (loxP) system and analyzed their phenotypes. Hybid-deficient mice were viable and fertile, but their adult long bones were shorter than those of wild-type animals. Hybid-deficient mice showed lengthening of hypertrophic zone in the growth plate until 4 weeks after birth. There were fewer capillaries and osteoclasts at the chondroosseous junction in the Hybid-deficient mice compared with the wild-type mice. In situ hybridization demonstrated that Hybid was expressed by hypertrophic chondrocytes at the chondroosseous junction. Cultured primary chondrocytes expressed higher levels of Hybid than did osteoblasts or osteoclasts, and the Hybid expression in the chondrocytes was up-regulated after maturation to hypertrophic chondrocytes. High-molecular-weight HA was accumulated in the lengthened hypertrophic zone in Hybid-deficient mice. In addition, high-molecular-weight HA significantly reduced cell growth and tube formation in vascular endothelial growth factor-stimulated or -nonstimulated endothelial cells. HA metabolism by HYBID is involved in endochondral ossification during postnatal development by modulation of angiogenesis and osteoclast recruitment at the chondroosseous junction.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), are well-recognized post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. This study examines the expression of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and lncRNA MALAT1 in medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTCs) and their effects on tumor behavior.

METHODS:

Tissue microarrays (TMAs) were constructed using normal thyroid (n=39), primary tumors (N=39) and metastatic MTCs (N=18) from a total of 42 MTC cases diagnosed between 1987 and 2016. In situ hybridization with probes for miR-21 and MALAT1 was performed. PCR quantification of expression was performed in a subset of normal thyroid (N=10) and primary MTCs (N=32). An MTC-derived cell line (MZ-CRC-1) was transfected with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting miR-21 and MALAT1 to determine the effects on cell proliferation and invasion.

RESULTS:

In situ hybridization (ISH) showed strong (2+ to 3+) expression of miR-21 in 17 (44%) primary MTCs and strong MALAT1 expression in 37 (95%) primary MTCs. Real-time PCR expression of miR-21 (P<0.001) and MALAT1 (P=0.038) in primary MTCs were significantly higher than in normal thyroid, supporting the ISH findings. Experiments with siRNAs showed inhibition of miR-21 and MALAT1 expression in the MTC-derived cell line, leading to significant decreases in cell proliferation (P<0.05) and invasion (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION:

There is increased expression of miR-21 and MALAT1 in MTCs. This study also showed an in vitro pro-oncogenic effect of MALAT1 and miR-21 in MTCs. The results suggest that overexpression of miR-21 and MALAT1 may regulate MTC progression.

Deficiency of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) has been associated with severe craniofacial anomalies in both humans and mice. Cranial neural crest cell (NCC)-derived VEGF regulates proliferation, vascularization and ossification of cartilage and membranous bone. However, the function of VEGF derived from specific subpopulations of NCCs in controlling unique aspects of craniofacial morphogenesis is not clear. In this study a conditional knockdown strategy was used to genetically delete Vegfa expression in Osterix (Osx) and collagen II (Col2)-expressing NCC descendants. No major defects in calvaria and mandibular morphogenesis were observed upon knockdown of VEGF in the Col2+ cell population. In contrast, loss of VEGF in Osx+ osteoblast progenitor cells led to reduced ossification of calvarial and mandibular bones without affecting the formation of cartilage templates in newborn mice. The early stages of ossification in the developing jaw revealed decreased initial mineralization levels and a reduced thickness of the collagen I (Col1)-positive bone template upon loss of VEGF in Osx+ precursors. Increased numbers of proliferating cells were detected within the jaw mesenchyme of mutant embryos. Explant culture assays revealed that mandibular osteogenesis occurred independently of paracrine VEGF action and vascular development. Reduced VEGF expression in mandibles coincided with increased phospho-Smad1/5 (P-Smad1/5) levels and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) expression in the jaw mesenchyme. We conclude that VEGF derived from Osx+ osteoblast progenitor cells is required for optimal ossification of developing mandibular bones and modulates mechanisms controlling BMP-dependent specification and expansion of the jaw mesenchyme.

There is an urgent need for better treatments for chronic pain, which affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have proven successful in treating children with spinal muscular atrophy, a severe infantile neurological disorder, and several compounds based on ASOs are currently being tested in clinical trials for various neurological disorders. Here we characterize the pharmacodynamic activity of ASOs in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG), key tissues for pain signaling. We demonstrate that the activity of ASOs lasts up to 2 months after a single intrathecal bolus dose in the spinal cord. Interestingly, comparison of subcutaneous, central intracerebroventricular and intrathecal administration shows DRGs are targetable by systemic and central delivery of ASOs, while target reduction in the spinal cord is achieved only after direct central delivery. Upon detailed characterization of ASO activity in individual cell populations in DRG, we observe robust target suppression in all neuronal populations thereby establishing that ASOs are effective in the cell populations involved in pain propagation. Furthermore, we confirm that ASOs are selective and do not modulate basal pain sensation. We also demonstrate that ASOs targeting the sodium channel Nav1.7 induce sustained analgesia up to 4 weeks. Taken together, our findings support the idea that ASOs possess the required pharmacodynamic properties, along with a long duration of action beneficial for treating pain.