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Fanrui Zeng



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    P2.15 - SCLC/Neuroendocrine Tumors (ID 716)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Poster Session with Presenters Present
    • Track: SCLC/Neuroendocrine Tumors
    • Presentations: 3
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      P2.15-003 - A Long Non-Coding RNA HOTTIP Expression Is Associated with Disease Progression and Predicts Outcome in Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients (ID 8801)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): Fanrui Zeng

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for approximately 15% of lung cancer, is one of the most malignant diseases world-wide, with a high mortality. Despite progress in treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the biology of the tumor still remains poorly understood. Recently, we globally investigated the contributions of lncRNA in SCLC with a special focus on sponge regulatory network. Here we report lncRNA HOTTIP, which is specifically amplified in SCLC, is associated with SCLC proliferation and poor prognosis of patients.

      Method:
      RT-qPCR was used to investigate the expression of HOTTIP in SCLC tissues and cell lines. The role of HOTTIP in SCLC cell proliferation was demonstrated by CCK8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry analysis and in vivo models of transplant tumor in mice through HOTTIP loss- and gain-of function effects. Western blot assay was used to evaluated gene expression in cell lines at protein level. RNA pull-down, Mass spectrometry and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) were performed to confirm the molecular mechanism of HOTTIP involved in SCLC progression.

      Result:
      We found that HOTTIP was overexpressed in SCLC tissues, and its expression was correlated with the clinical stage and the shorter survival time of SCLC patients. Moreover, HOTTIP knockdown could impair cell proliferation, affect the cell cycle and inhibit tumor growth of mice, while HOTTIP overexpression might enhance cell proliferation and cell cycle in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations showed that HOTTIP functions as an oncogene in SCLC progression by sponging miR-574-5p and affecting the expression of several protein-coding cancer driver genes, such as polycomb group protein EZH1 and EZH2. By in-depth study of mechanism, we identified Ago2 as an RNA-binding protein that binds to HOTTIP, which confirmed miRNAs interact with HOTTIP by the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).


      Conclusion:
      Our findings not only illuminate how HOTTIP confers an oncogenic function in SCLC pathogenesis, but also underscore a novel gene expression governing hallmarks in the disease.

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      P2.15-009 - Linc00173 Modulates Chemoresistance of Small Cell Lung Cancer by Functioning as a Competing Endogenous RNA to Regulate Etk Expression (ID 8971)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Presenting Author(s): Fanrui Zeng

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that constitutes of 15-18% of all lung cancers is a highly lethal malignancy. The functional effects of long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs) in cancer have been widely recognized. Long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 173(Linc00173) was first identified in SCLC, and was found to be involved in chemoresistance. We aimed to explore the regulatory mechanisms of Linc00173 using drug-resistant cell lines and human tissues.

      Method:
      We used microarrays to compare expression profiles of lncRNAs in SCLC cell line and the drug-resistant subline and Linc00173 was identified. Linc00173 was examined in 60 SCLC patient samples by qRT-PCR assay. The functional roles of Linc00173 in SCLC were studied by overexpression and RNA interference approaches in vitro and in vivo. The localization of the genes were involved in competitive endogenous RNAs(ceRNAs) regulatory network was studied by separating cytoplasmic and nuclear RNA fractions from SCLC. Bioinformatic analysis, luciferase assays, RNA immunoprecipitation and pull-down assays were performed to elucidate the role of Linc00173 in mechanism of ceRNA. The positive Linc00173/Etk correlation was further verified by qRT-PCR assay and bivariate correlation analysis in clinical tissues and blood samples.

      Result:
      We found that Linc00173 expression was significantly associated with chemoresistance and the shorter survival time in SCLC patients. Downregulation of Linc00173 expression could impair cell proliferation and increased cell sensitivity to anticancer drugs, while upregulation of Linc00173 promoted the proliferation and induced multidrug resistance both in vitro and in vivo. Linc00173 overexpression enhanced the expression of Etk through competitively ‘spongeing’ miRNA-218 resulting in the activation of STAT3. Particularly, the ceRNA regulatory network of above genes was occurred in nucleus. Finally, the positive Linc00173/Etk correlation was found in SCLC tissues and blood samples.

      Conclusion:
      Figure 1Linc00173 was first identified to promote proliferation and chemoresistance of SCLC. It regulates levels of Etk by acting as ‘sponger ’of miR-218. These genes may be novel indices for clinical diagnosis of tumor growth and chemoresistance in SCLC.



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      P2.15-010 - Etk Interacting with PFKFB4 Modulates Chemoresistance of Small Cell Lung Cancer by Regulating Autophagy (ID 9023)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): Fanrui Zeng

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Epithelial and endothelial tyrosine kinase(Etk), also known as Bone marrow X kinase (Bmx), was found to be critical in modulating chemoresistance of small cell lung cancer(SCLC) in our preliminary study. However, the molecular mechanisms of Etk leading to chemoresistance in SCLC remain obscure.

      Method:
      Knockdown of Etk by siRNAs was performed to evaluate autophagy change in SCLC. Subsequently, a microarray analysis identified PFKFB4 as a downstream molecule of Etk, and CoIP and GST-pull down was used to test protein interaction. We then explored whether PFKFB4 affected autophagy of SCLC. Gain or loss-of-function in vitro or in vivo was used to evaluate the effects PFKFB4 on chemotherapy sensitivity. The expression of PFKFB4 in SCLC tissues were measured by immunohistochemistry(IHC). Besides, luciferase assays, Western blot and CCK8 assay were performed to confirmed whether miR-218 regulates Etk and its effect on chemoresistance. As Etk shares conserved domains with Btk(Bruton’s tyrosine kinase) family, we also explored whether ibrutinib, a Btk inhibitor used in leukemia, affected chemotherapy sensitivity of SCLC.

      Result:
      Etk affected autophagy in SCLC, and directly inhibition of autophagy sensitized cells to chemotherapy. PFKFB4 was found as a downstream molecule of Etk and they interacted with each other in protein level directly. Moreover, knockdown of PFKFB4 suppressed autophagy of SCLC. PFKFB4 affected chemoresistance of SCLC in vitro and in vivo, and high level of PFKFB4 was associated with poor therapeutic response and prognosis. Furthermore, miR-218 directly modulated Etk expression as a novel regulator and it affected chemoresistance in SCLC. We demonstrated that ibrutinib exhibited a synergistic effect with chemotherapy in SCLC.

      Conclusion:
      Figure 1 Our results demonstrated for the first time that Etk interacts with PFKFB4 to modulate the chemoresistance of SCLC by autophagy and Etk is a direct target of miR-218. These genes may be predictive factors for the chemotherapy response as well as potential therapeutic targets in SCLC.