OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-12DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03334-y
Jiquan Zhou, Jing Wang, Liyuan Yang, Tingyi Fu, Hui Li, Yuhua Shan, Hongxiang Gao, Chenjie Xie, Lei Zhang, Min Zhang, Ji Ma, Li Liu, Houshun Fang, Dapeng Jiang, Min Xu, Qiuhui Pan, Song Gu
{"title":"N6-methyadenosine-modified YWHAE mRNA promotes proliferation and inhibits ferroptosis in hepatoblastoma by mediating SLC7A11 expression.","authors":"Jiquan Zhou, Jing Wang, Liyuan Yang, Tingyi Fu, Hui Li, Yuhua Shan, Hongxiang Gao, Chenjie Xie, Lei Zhang, Min Zhang, Ji Ma, Li Liu, Houshun Fang, Dapeng Jiang, Min Xu, Qiuhui Pan, Song Gu","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03334-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03334-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hepatoblastoma (HB) is a rare but predominant liver cancer in children, with few treatment choices in advanced stages. YWHAE is closely related to several human diseases and acts as a molecular scaffold for malignant transformation. However, whether YWHAE promotes HB development remains unknown. Conducting RNA and m<sup>6</sup>A sequencing on HB tissues, we found that YWHAE was upregulated and modified by N6-methyadenosine. Functionally, YWHAE promoted proliferation and inhibited cell death in HB by in vitro and in vivo studies. Mechanistically, METTL3-dependent m<sup>6</sup>A modification activated YWHAE mRNA expression, and the m<sup>6</sup>A reader IGF2BP2 recognized and bound to the m<sup>6</sup>A site on YWHAE mRNA, thereby enhancing the mRNA stability of YWHAE. Interestingly, RNA sequencing revealed that YWHAE knockdown was involved in regulating ferroptosis of HB cells by mediating SLC7A11 expression. Moreover, knockdown of YWHAE significantly increased the levels of lipid ROS and peroxides in HB cells, promoting the susceptibility of HB cells to ferroptosis. In summary, these findings illuminated the role of YWHAE in HB progression and uncovered its relevance to ferroptosis as a new therapeutic target for HB.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143616705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-12DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03295-2
Sayuri Miyauchi, Souvick Roy, Nathalie Boutros, Andrew B Sharabi
{"title":"Virus-mediated immunosuppression in head and neck cancer.","authors":"Sayuri Miyauchi, Souvick Roy, Nathalie Boutros, Andrew B Sharabi","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03295-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41388-025-03295-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Head and neck cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide and its development is associated with viral infection. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major cause of oropharyngeal cancer and encodes three known oncoproteins, E5, E6, and E7. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is the causative agent of most nasopharyngeal carcinoma, also employs several immunosuppressive mechanisms that contribute to the development of the disease. In this review, we synthesize and discuss several mechanisms used by these viruses to evade and escape the host immune system. In particular, we focus on the evasive tactics of HPV E5 which, we argue, is critical to establishing persistent infection and the development and progression of carcinomas. Importantly the mechanisms by which these viruses suppress immune responses may also play a key role in resistance to checkpoint blockade immunotherapies and thus impact patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143616706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-11DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03335-x
Jinrong Zhu, Lei Wang, Xiaoya Nie, Shengming Ou, Jianfei Shen, Shuxia Zhang, Geyan Wu
{"title":"RBMS3-loss impedes TRIM21-induced ubiquitination of ANGPT2 in an RNA-independent manner and drives sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.","authors":"Jinrong Zhu, Lei Wang, Xiaoya Nie, Shengming Ou, Jianfei Shen, Shuxia Zhang, Geyan Wu","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03335-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03335-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sorafenib, a first-line targeted drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has limited clinical application due to intrinsic/acquired resistance. In this study, we have identified the RNA-binding protein RBMS3 as a pivotal regulator involved in sorafenib resistance among patients with HCC. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments further demonstrate that downregulation of RBMS3 promotes angiogenesis and confers resistance to sorafenib by augmenting the capacity of HCC cells to express and secrete ANGPT2, while upregulation of RBMS3 reverse these phenotypes.Through immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry experiments and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), we further verified that RBMS3 can facilitate the K48-linked ubiquitination and subsequent protein degradation of ANGPT2 by recruiting the ubiquitin E3 ligase TRIM21 in an RNA-independent manner.Additionally, RBMS3 is found to be deleted in HCC tissues and exhibits a significant positive correlation with angiogenesis and resistance to sorafenib treatment. Importantly, the combination of ANGPT2 antibody in RBMS3-deficient HCC cells restores sensitivity to sorafenib both in vitro and in vivo. These findings uncovered a novel molecular basis for post-translational upregulation of ANGPT2, suggesting that RBMS3-loss plays an oncogenic role in HCC by promoting angiogenesis and conferring resistance to sorafenib treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03336-w
Ming Bai, Pengzhi Xu, Rong Cheng, Na Li, Sunrun Cao, Qiqiang Guo, Xiaoxun Wang, Chunlu Li, Ning Bai, Bo Jiang, Xuan Wu, Xiaoyu Song, Chen Sun, Mingfang Zhao, Liu Cao
{"title":"ROS-ATM-CHK2 axis stabilizes HIF-1α and promotes tumor angiogenesis in hypoxic microenvironment.","authors":"Ming Bai, Pengzhi Xu, Rong Cheng, Na Li, Sunrun Cao, Qiqiang Guo, Xiaoxun Wang, Chunlu Li, Ning Bai, Bo Jiang, Xuan Wu, Xiaoyu Song, Chen Sun, Mingfang Zhao, Liu Cao","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03336-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03336-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hypoxia is an established hallmark of tumorigenesis. HIF-1α activation may be the prime driver of adaptive regulation of tumor cells reacting to hypoxic conditions of the tumor microenvironment. Here, we report a novel regulatory mechanism in charge of the fundamental stability of HIF-1α in solid tumor. Under hypoxic conditions, the checkpoint kinase CHK2 binds to HIF-1α and inhibits its ubiquitination, which is highly likely due to phosphorylation of a threonine residue (Thr645), a formerly uncharacterized site within the inhibitory domain. Meanwhile, HIF-1α phosphorylation induced by CHK2 promotes complex formation between HIF-1-α and the deubiquitination enzyme USP7, increasing stability under hypoxic conditions. This novel modification of the crosstalk between phosphorylation and ubiquitination of HIF-1α mediated by CHK2 enriches the post-translational modification spectrum of HIF-1α, thus offering novel insights into potential anti-angiogenesis therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03293-4
Méabh Finucane, Elizabeth Brint, Aileen Houston
{"title":"The complex roles of IL-36 and IL-38 in cancer: friends or foes?","authors":"Méabh Finucane, Elizabeth Brint, Aileen Houston","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03293-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03293-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The interleukin-36 (IL-36) family comprises of three pro-inflammatory receptor agonists (IL-36α, IL-36β and IL-36γ), two anti-inflammatory receptor antagonists (IL-36RA and IL-38) along with the IL-36 receptor (IL-36R). Part of the IL-1 cytokine superfamily, the IL-36 family was discovered in the early 2000s due to the homology of its member sequences to the IL-1 cytokines. As pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, respectively, IL-36α, IL-36β, IL-36γ and IL-38 aid in maintaining homoeostasis by reciprocally regulating the body's response to damage and disease through IL-36R-associated signalling. With the significant roles of IL-36α, IL-36β and IL-36γ in regulating the immune response realised, interest has grown in investigating their roles in cancer. While initial studies indicated solely tumour-suppressing roles, more recent work has identified tumour-promoting roles in cancer, suggesting a more complex dual functionality of the IL-36 cytokines. The activity of IL-38 in cancer is similarly complex, with the receptor antagonist displaying distinct tumour-suppressive roles, particularly in colorectal cancer (CRC), in addition to broad tumour-promoting roles in various other malignancies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the IL-36 and IL-38 cytokines, their activation and IL-36R signalling, the physiological functions of these cytokines, and their activity in cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03324-0
Jie Huang, Shufeng Luo, Juan Shen, Maya Lee, Rachel Chen, Shenglin Ma, Lun-Quan Sun, Jian Jian Li
{"title":"Cellular polarity pilots breast cancer progression and immunosuppression","authors":"Jie Huang, Shufeng Luo, Juan Shen, Maya Lee, Rachel Chen, Shenglin Ma, Lun-Quan Sun, Jian Jian Li","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03324-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41388-025-03324-0","url":null,"abstract":"Disrupted cellular polarity (DCP) is a hallmark of solid cancer, the malignant disease of epithelial tissues, which occupies ~90% of all human cancers. DCP has been identified to affect not only the cancer cell’s aggressive behavior but also the migration and infiltration of immune cells, although the precise mechanism of DCP-affected tumor-immune cell interaction remains unclear. This review discusses immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments (TME) caused by DCP-driven tumor cell proliferation with DCP-impaired immune cell functions. We will revisit the fundamental roles of cell polarity (CP) proteins in sustaining mammary luminal homeostasis, epithelial transformation, and breast cancer progression. Then, the current data on CP involvement in immune cell activation, maturation, migration, and tumor infiltration are evaluated. The CP status on the immune effector cells and their targeted tumor cells are highlighted in tumor immune regulation, including the antigen presentation and the formation of immune synapses (IS). CP-regulated antigen presentation and delivery and the formation of IS between the immune cells, especially between the immune effectors and tumor cells, will be addressed. Alterations of CP on the tumor cells, infiltrated immune effector cells, or both are discussed with these aspects. We conclude that CP-mediated tumor aggressiveness coupled with DCP-impaired immune cell disability may decide the degree of immunosuppressive status and responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Further elucidating the dynamics of CP- or DCP-mediated immune regulation in TME will provide more critical insights into tumor-immune cell dynamics, which is required to invent more effective approaches for cancer immunotherapy.","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":"44 12","pages":"783-793"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41388-025-03324-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03339-7
Kimberley McGrail, Paula Granado-Martínez, Roberto Orsenigo, Ginevra Caratù, Paula Nieto, Holger Heyn, Berta Ferrer, Javier Hernández-Losa, Eva Muñoz-Couselo, Vicenç García-Patos, Juan A Recio
{"title":"Transcriptional reprogramming triggered by neonatal UV radiation or Lkb1 loss prevents BRAF<sup>V600E</sup>-induced growth arrest in melanocytes.","authors":"Kimberley McGrail, Paula Granado-Martínez, Roberto Orsenigo, Ginevra Caratù, Paula Nieto, Holger Heyn, Berta Ferrer, Javier Hernández-Losa, Eva Muñoz-Couselo, Vicenç García-Patos, Juan A Recio","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03339-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03339-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The mechanisms behind UVB-initiated, neonatal-specific melanoma linked to BRAF<sup>V600E</sup> are not well understood, particularly regarding its role in growth arrest. We found that, beyond mutations, neonatal UV irradiation or Lkb1 loss promotes a cell-autonomous transcriptional reprogramming that prevents BRAF<sup>V600E</sup>-induced growth arrest, leading to melanoma development. Using UVB-dependent and independent mouse models, genomic analyses, clinical data, and single-cell transcriptomics, we identified a transcriptional program that bypasses growth arrest, promoting melanoma. In humans, many of these genes are linked to poor survival and are upregulated in melanoma progression and other RAS pathway-driven tumors. Reconstitution experiments showed these genes cooperate with BRAF<sup>V600E</sup> in melanocyte transformation, dedifferentiation, and drug resistance. Depleting gene products like UPP1 highlights their potential as therapeutic targets. Our findings reveal that BRAF<sup>V600E</sup>-mutated melanomas can develop independently of nevus progression and identify novel targets for treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated single-cell and spatial transcriptomic profiling reveals that CD177<sup>+</sup> Tregs enhance immunosuppression through apoptosis and resistance to immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.","authors":"Yuan Liang, Lei Qiao, Qufei Qian, Rui Zhang, Yu Li, Xiaozhang Xu, Zibo Xu, Qingfa Bu, Hao Wang, Xiangyu Li, Tianning Huang, Jinren Zhou, Ling Lu, Qiuyang Chen","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03330-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03330-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Regulatory T cells (Tregs), an immunosuppressive subpopulation of CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells, are prevalent in tumor tissues, where they impede effective antitumor immune responses and represent potential targets for immunotherapy. However, targeting tumor-infiltrating Treg cells (TiTregs) remains challenging. In this study, we identified CD177 as a biomarker specifically expressed in TiTregs but not in adjacent or peripheral Treg cells through single-cell transcriptome sequencing combined with a stringent screening strategy. These CD177<sup>+</sup> TiTregs exhibited distinct transcriptional profiles characterized by enhanced immunosuppressive capabilities and were correlated with poor patient prognosis. Mechanistically, the apoptosis-related transcription factor REL drove the differentiation of CD177<sup>+</sup> TiTregs, accompanied by apoptosis and enhanced immunosuppression. Furthermore, using a CD177 Treg conditional knockout mouse model, we demonstrated that inhibiting CD177 in Tregs significantly impaired their immunosuppressive function and inhibited the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vitro. Our results underscore the critical role of CD177<sup>+</sup> TiTregs in cancer immunology and highlight their potential as novel therapeutic targets in HCC.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-06DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03328-w
Linglong Yin, Yi Dai, Yue Wang, Shiwen Liu, Yubing Ye, Yongming Fu, Yuchong Peng, Ruizheng Tan, Li Fang, Haoran Suo, Xuli Qi, Bowen Yuan, Yingxue Gao, Youhong Liu, Xiong Li
{"title":"A mitochondrial outer membrane protein TOMM20 maintains protein stability of androgen receptor and regulates AR transcriptional activity in prostate cancer cells.","authors":"Linglong Yin, Yi Dai, Yue Wang, Shiwen Liu, Yubing Ye, Yongming Fu, Yuchong Peng, Ruizheng Tan, Li Fang, Haoran Suo, Xuli Qi, Bowen Yuan, Yingxue Gao, Youhong Liu, Xiong Li","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03328-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41388-025-03328-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prostate cancer (PCa) is an androgen-dependent malignancy, with HSP90 and HSP70 serving as classical molecular chaperones that maintain androgen receptor (AR) protein stability and regulate its transcriptional activation. Surprisingly, our study identified TOMM20, a mitochondrial outer membrane protein, as a potential molecular chaperone with similar roles to HSP90/HSP70. We found that TOMM20 expression is elevated in PCa tissues and cell lines and positively correlates with AR levels. RNA-seq analysis revealed that TOMM20 knockdown significantly reduced the mRNA levels of AR-regulated genes. Additionally, the protein level of KLK3 (PSA) decreased, and AR binding to the androgen response element (ARE) of the KLK3 promoter was diminished following TOMM20 knockdown, leading to decreased KLK3 gene transcription. Furthermore, TOMM20 depletion reduced both cytoplasmic and nuclear AR protein levels and facilitated AR degradation via an E3 ubiquitin ligase SKP2-mediated ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, independent of heat shock proteins (HSPs). To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that TOMM20, a mitochondrial outer translocase protein, stabilizes AR protein and enhances its transcriptional activity, while its knockdown promotes AR degradation through the SKP2-mediated ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. These findings suggest that TOMM20 may serve as a potential biomarker for PCa progression and a promising therapeutic target for drug development.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143567823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OncogenePub Date : 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1038/s41388-025-03323-1
Jieming Zhang, Xiangyang Wei, Yanci Xie, Siyang Peng, Ping Yang, Yidong Chen, Xiaodong Huang, Jieke Wu, Linjie Hong, Zheng Guo, Xiaoting Huang, Zhizhao Lin, Fachao Zhi, Side Liu, Li Xiang, Jianjiao Lin, Aimin Li, Jide Wang
{"title":"Long non-coding RNA-MIR181A1HG acts as an oncogene and contributes to invasion and metastasis in gastric cancer.","authors":"Jieming Zhang, Xiangyang Wei, Yanci Xie, Siyang Peng, Ping Yang, Yidong Chen, Xiaodong Huang, Jieke Wu, Linjie Hong, Zheng Guo, Xiaoting Huang, Zhizhao Lin, Fachao Zhi, Side Liu, Li Xiang, Jianjiao Lin, Aimin Li, Jide Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41388-025-03323-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-025-03323-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) plays an essential role in cancer development and progression. However, their functions and mechanisms of action in gastric cancer (GC) remain largely unknown. Gene expression in GC was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and RNA in situ hybridization. The impact of MIR181A1HG on GC cells was explored in vitro and in vivo using cell proliferation, migration, invasion assays and animal models. Biotinylated RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, co-immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays were performed to evaluate the molecular interactions. LncRNA-MIR181A1HG was upregulated in GC and associated with malignant progression. MIR181A1HG physically interacts with ELAVL1 to regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC cells. MIR181A1HG intron-derived miR-181a-5p/miR-181b-5p triggers MIR181A1HG transcription through binding to and destabilizing SOCS3 messenger RNA. Specifically, SOCS3 interacts with NFATC2 and downregulated SOCS3 enhances the NFATC2-mediated transcriptional activation of the MIR181A1HG promoter. Collectively, MIR181A1HG, activated by miR-181a-5p/miR-181b-5p-SOCS3-NFATC2 positive feedback loop, contributes to GC progression through stabilizing ELAVL1. MIR181A1HG expression correlates positively with ELAVL1, miR-181a-5p, miR-181b-5p, and NFATC2 and negatively with SOCS3 in fresh GC samples. These data demonstrate that MIR181A1HG plays an important role in tumor progression by promoting invasion, metastasis, and EMT, indicating its potential as a prognostic biomarker in GC.</p>","PeriodicalId":19524,"journal":{"name":"Oncogene","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143567825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}