Liu Tong, Tang Jing, Li Xiaoyu, Lin Yuan, Yang Yuma, Ma Kai, Hui Zhaoyuan, Ma Hong, Qin Yanyan, Lei Hetian, Yang Yanhui
Ningxia Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Common Infectious Diseases, The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Institute, Jinan University, Shenzhen, China.
Front Genet. 2022 Jun 14;13:857507. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.857507. eCollection 2022.
Hypoxia plays an essential role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whereas hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is the key transcription factor allowing HCC to survive hypoxia. The aim of this study was to define the essential mRNAs and miRNAs regulated by HIF1A and dissect their functions, interactions, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HCC. A human HCC cell line HepG2 was used as a cell model of HCC. The CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to knock out in HepG2 cells, and RNA sequencing was utilized to characterize differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs in the -knockout HepG2 cells; the identified candidates were then analyzed by GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment to study their function and establish a PPI network. Quantitative (q) PCR was used to verify if there were significant differences in the expression of mRNAs, and the association of the selected mRNAs expression with immune cell infiltration levels was further analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pan-cancer data. Using RNA-sequencing, we discovered that there were 1535 mRNAs differentially expressed (adjusted < 0.05, |fold change|>1.5) in the -knockout HepG2 cells, among which there were 644 mRNAs upregulated and 891 mRNAs downregulated. GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment showed that these mRNAs were involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In addition, we found that there were 309 miRNAs differentially expressed (adjusted < 0.05, |fold change|>1.5) in the HIF1A-knockout HepG2 cells, of which there were 213 miRNAs upregulated and 96 miRNAs downregulated. Our further analyses uncovered that these miRNA putative targets were involved in the hippo signaling pathway, axon guidance, and tight junction. Moreover, the construction and analysis of the PPI network showed that , , and were recognized as hub genes with the highest connectivity degrees. Importantly, in the -knockout HepG2 cells, our qRT-PCR data confirmed the selected mRNA changes revealed by RNA-sequencing, and with TCGA pan-cancer data, we revealed that the expressional levels of these three genes, , , and , were associated with immune cell infiltration levels. The identified potential key network of mRNAs and miRNAs regulated by in the HCC cells suggests a key role of in the tumorigenesis of HCC.
缺氧在肝细胞癌(HCC)进展中起重要作用,而缺氧诱导因子-1(HIF-1)是使HCC在缺氧状态下存活的关键转录因子。本研究旨在确定受HIF1A调控的关键mRNA和miRNA,并剖析它们在HCC中的功能、相互作用及肿瘤浸润免疫细胞情况。将人HCC细胞系HepG2用作HCC的细胞模型。利用CRISPR/Cas9系统在HepG2细胞中敲除 ,并通过RNA测序来鉴定HIF1A敲除的HepG2细胞中差异表达的mRNA和miRNA;然后通过GO注释和KEGG通路富集分析所鉴定的候选基因,以研究其功能并建立蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用(PPI)网络。采用定量(q)PCR验证mRNA表达是否存在显著差异,并使用癌症基因组图谱(TCGA)泛癌数据进一步分析所选mRNA表达与免疫细胞浸润水平的关联。通过RNA测序,我们发现在HIF1A敲除的HepG2细胞中有1535个mRNA差异表达(校正 <0.05,|倍数变化|>1.5),其中644个mRNA上调,891个mRNA下调。GO注释和KEGG通路富集分析表明,这些mRNA参与糖酵解/糖异生、PI3K-Akt信号通路和HIF-1信号通路。此外,我们发现HIF1A敲除的HepG2细胞中有309个miRNA差异表达(校正 <0.05,|倍数变化|>1.5),其中213个miRNA上调,96个miRNA下调。我们的进一步分析发现,这些miRNA的假定靶标参与了河马信号通路、轴突导向和紧密连接。此外,PPI网络的构建和分析表明, 、 和 被识别为连接度最高的枢纽基因。重要的是,在HIF1A敲除的HepG2细胞中,我们的qRT-PCR数据证实了RNA测序所揭示的所选mRNA变化,并且利用TCGA泛癌数据,我们发现这三个基因 、 和 的表达水平与免疫细胞浸润水平相关。在HCC细胞中鉴定出的受HIF1A调控的潜在关键mRNA和miRNA网络表明HIF1A在HCC肿瘤发生中起关键作用。