Introduction: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal of the central nervous system (CNS) malignancies. The initiation, progression, and infiltration ability of GBMs are attributed in part to the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs). Thus, targeting dysregulated miRNAs with RNA oligonucleotides (RNA interference, RNAi) has been proposed for GBM treatment. Despite promising results in the laboratory, RNA oligonucleotides have clinical limitations that include poor RNA stability and off-target effects. RNAi therapies against GBM confront an additional obstacle, as they need to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Methods: Here, we developed gold-liposome nanoparticles conjugated with the brain targeting peptides apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG). First, we functionalized gold nanoparticles with oligonucleotide miRNA inhibitors (OMIs), creating spherical nucleic acids (SNAs). Next, we encapsulated SNAs into ApoE, or RVG-conjugated liposomes, to obtain SNA-Liposome-ApoE and SNA-Liposome-RVG, respectively. We characterized each nanoparticle in terms of their size, charge, encapsulation efficiency, and delivery efficiency into U87 GBM cells in vitro. Then, they were administered intravenously (iv) in GBM syngeneic mice to evaluate their delivery efficiency to brain tumor tissue. Results: SNA-Liposomes of about 30– 50 nm in diameter internalized U87 GBM cells and inhibited the expression of miRNA-92b, an aberrantly overexpressed miRNA in GBM cell lines and GBM tumors. Conjugating SNA-Liposomes with ApoE or RVG peptides increased their systemic delivery to the brain tumors of GBM syngeneic mice. SNA-Liposome-ApoE demonstrated to accumulate at higher extension in brain tumor tissues, when compared with non-treated controls, SNA-Liposomes, or SNA-Liposome-RVG. Discussion: SNA-Liposome-ApoE has the potential to advance the translation of miRNA-based therapies for GBM as well as other CNS disorders.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is an aggressive form of invasive breast cancer, highly metastatic, representing 2–4% of all breast cancer cases in the United States. Despite its rare nature, IBC is responsible for 7–10% of all breast cancer deaths, with a 5-year survival rate of 40%. Thus, targeted and effective therapies against IBC are needed. Here, we proposed Lipocalin-2 (LCN2)—a secreted glycoprotein aberrantly abundant in different cancers—as a plausible target for IBC. In immunoblotting, we observed higher LCN2 protein levels in IBC cells than non-IBC cells, where the LCN2 levels were almost undetectable. We assessed the biological effects of targeting LCN2 in IBC cells with small interference RNAs (siRNAs) and small molecule inhibitors. siRNA-mediated LCN2 silencing in IBC cells significantly reduced cell proliferation, viability, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, LCN2 silencing promoted apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle progression in the G0/G1 to S phase transition. We used in silico analysis with a library of 25,000 compounds to identify potential LCN2 inhibitors, and four out of sixteen selected compounds significantly decreased cell proliferation, cell viability, and the AKT phosphorylation levels in SUM149 cells. Moreover, ectopically expressing LCN2 MCF7 cells, treated with two potential LCN2 inhibitors (ZINC00784494 and ZINC00640089) showed a significant decrease in cell proliferation. Our findings suggest LCN2 as a promising target for IBC treatment using siRNA and small molecule inhibitors.

Despite initial responses to first-line treatment with platinum and taxane-based combination chemotherapy, most high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) patients will relapse and eventually develop a cisplatin-resistant fatal disease. Due to the lethality of this disease, there is an urgent need to develop improved targeted therapies against HGSOC. Herein, we identified CASC10, a long noncoding RNA upregulated in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells and ovarian cancer patients. We performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in total RNA isolated from the HGSOC cell lines OVCAR3 and OV-90 and their cisplatin-resistant counterparts. Thousands of RNA transcripts were differentially abundant in cisplatin-sensitive vs. cisplatin-resistant HGSOC cells. Further data filtering unveiled CASC10 as one of the top RNA transcripts significantly increased in cisplatin-resistant compared with cisplatin-sensitive cells. Thus, we focused our studies on CASC10, a gene not previously studied in ovarian cancer. SiRNA-mediated CASC10 knockdown significantly reduced cell proliferation and invasion; and sensitized cells to cisplatin treatment. SiRNA-mediated CASC10 knockdown also induced apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and altered the expression of several CASC10 downstream effectors. Multiple injections of liposomal CASC10-siRNA reduced tumor growth and metastasis in an ovarian cancer mouse model. Our results demonstrated that CASC10 levels mediate the susceptibility of HGSOC cells to cisplatin treatment. Thus, combining siRNA-mediated CASC10 knockdown with cisplatin may represent a plausible therapeutic strategy against HGSOC.

Worldwide, the number of cancer-related deaths continues to increase due to the ability of cancer cells to become chemotherapy-resistant and metastasize. For women with ovarian cancer, a staggering 70% will become resistant to the front-line therapy, cisplatin. Although many mechanisms of cisplatin resistance have been proposed, the key mechanisms of such resistance remain elusive. The RNA binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS) binds to nascent RNA transcripts and regulates splicing, transport, localization, and stability. Evidence indicates that RBPMS also binds to protein members of the AP-1 transcription factor complex repressing its activity. Until now, little has been known about the biological function of RBPMS in ovarian cancer. Accordingly, we interrogated available Internet databases and found that ovarian cancer patients with high RBPMS levels live longer compared to patients with low RBPMS levels. Similarly, immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis in a tissue array of ovarian cancer patient samples showed that serous ovarian cancer tissues showed weaker RBPMS staining when compared with normal ovarian tissues. We generated clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-mediated RBPMS knockout vectors that were stably transfected in the high-grade serous ovarian cancer cell line, OVCAR3. The knockout of RBPMS in these cells was confirmed via bioinformatics analysis, real-time PCR, and Western blot analysis. We found that the RBPMS knockout clones grew faster and had increased invasiveness than the control CRISPR clones. RBPMS knockout also reduced the sensitivity of the OVCAR3 cells to cisplatin treatment. Moreover, β-galactosidase (β-Gal) measurements showed that RBPMS knockdown induced senescence in ovarian cancer cells. We performed RNAseq in the RBPMS knockout clones and identified several downstream-RBPMS transcripts, including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and protein-coding genes associated with alteration of the tumor microenvironment as well as those with oncogenic or tumor suppressor capabilities. Moreover, proteomic studies confirmed that RBPMS regulates the expression of proteins involved in cell detoxification, RNA processing, and cytoskeleton network and cell integrity. Interrogation of the Kaplan–Meier (KM) plotter database identified multiple downstream-RBPMS effectors that could be used as prognostic and response-to-therapy biomarkers in ovarian cancer. These studies suggest that RBPMS acts as a tumor suppressor gene and that lower levels of RBPMS promote the cisplatin resistance of ovarian cancer cells.

RNA-Binding Protein with Multiple Splicing (RBPMS) is a member of family proteins that bind to nascent RNA transcripts and regulate their splicing, localization, and stability. Evidence indicates that RBPMS controls the activity of transcription factors associated with cell growth and proliferation, including AP-1 and Smads. Three major RBPMS protein splice variants (RBPMSA, RBPMSB, and RBPMSC) have been described in the literature. We previously reported that reduced RBPMS levels decreased the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin treatment. However, little is known about the biological role of the RBPMS splice variants in ovarian cancer cells. We performed RT-PCR and Western blots and observed that both RBPMSA and RBPMSC are reduced at the mRNA and protein levels in cisplatin resistant as compared with cisplatin sensitive ovarian cancer cells. The mRNA and protein levels of RBPMSB were not detectable in any of the ovarian cancer cells tested. To better understand the biological role of each RBPMSA and RBPMSC, we transfected these two splice variants in the A2780CP20 and OVCAR3CIS cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cells and performed cell proliferation, cell migration, and invasion assays. Compared with control clones, a significant reduction in the number of colonies, colony size, cell migration, and invasion was observed with RBPMSA and RBPMSC overexpressed cells. Moreover, A2780CP20-RBPMSA and A2780CP20-RBPMSC clones showed reduced senescence-associated β-galactosidase (β-Gal)-levels when compared with control clones. A2780CP20-RBPMSA clones were more sensitive to cisplatin treatment as compared with A2780CP20-RBPMSC clones. The A2780CP20-RBPMSA and A2780CP20-RBPMSC clones subcutaneously injected into athymic nude mice formed smaller tumors as compared with A2780CP20-EV control group. Additionally, immunohistochemical analysis showed lower proliferation (Ki67) and angiogenesis (CD31) staining in tissue sections of A2780CP20-RBPMSA and A2780CP20-RBPMSC tumors compared with controls. RNAseq studies revealed many common RNA transcripts altered in A2780CP20-RBPMSA and A2780CP20-RBPMSC clones. Unique RNA transcripts deregulated by each RBPMS variant were also observed. Kaplan–Meier (KM) plotter database information identified clinically relevant RBPMSA and RBPMSC downstream effectors. These studies suggest that increased levels of RBPMSA and RBPMSC reduce cell proliferation in ovarian cancer cells. However, only RBPMSA expression levels were associated with the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin treatment.