Metastasis is the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. How to improve therapeutic options for patients with metastatic CRC is the core question for CRC treatment. However, the complexity and diversity of stromal context of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in liver metastases of CRC have not been fully understood, and the influence of stromal cells on response to chemotherapy is unclear. Here we performed an in-depth analysis of the transcriptional landscape of primary CRC, matched liver metastases and blood at single-cell resolution, and a systematic examination of transcriptional changes and phenotypic alterations of the TME in response to preoperative chemotherapy (PC). Based on 111,292 single-cell transcriptomes, our study reveals that TME of treatment-naïve tumors is characterized by the higher abundance of less-activated B cells and higher heterogeneity of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). By contrast, in tumors treated with PC, we found activation of B cells, lower diversity of TAMs with immature and less activated phenotype, lower abundance of both dysfunctional T cells and ECM-remodeling cancer-associated fibroblasts, and an accumulation of myofibroblasts. Our study provides a foundation for future investigation of the cellular mechanisms underlying liver metastasis of CRC and its response to PC, and opens up new possibilities for the development of therapeutic strategies for CRC.

Background: Circular RNA (circRNAs) and hypoxia have been found to play the key roles in the pathogenesis and progression of cancer including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the expressions and functions of the specific circRNAs in regulating hypoxia-involved CRC metastasis, and the circRNAs that are relevant to regulate HIF-1α levels in CRC remain elusive. Methods: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of circRNAs and mRNA in CRC cells and tissues. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to analyze the location of circ-ERBIN. Function-based experiments were performed using circ-ERBIN overexpression and knockdown cell lines in vitro and in vivo, including CCK8, colony formation, EdU assay, transwell, tumor growth and metastasis models. Mechanistically, luciferase reporter assay, western blots and immunohistochemical stainings were performed. Results: Circ-Erbin was highly expressed in the CRC cells and Circ-Erbin overexpression facilitated the proliferation, migration and metastasis of CRC in vitro and in vivo. Notably, circ-Erbin overexpression significantly promoted angiogenesis by increasing the expression of hypoxia induced factor (HIF-1α) in CRC. Mechanistically, circ-Erbin accelerated a cap-independent protein translation of HIF-1α in CRC cells as the sponges of miR-125a-5p and miR-138-5p, which synergistically targeted eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1(4EBP-1). Conclusions: Our findings uncover a key mechanism for circ-Erbin mediated HIF-1α activation by miR-125a-5p-5p/miR-138-5p/4EBP-1 axis and circ-ERBIN is a potential target for CRC treatment.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder, and the effective pharmacological treatments for the core autistic symptoms are currently limited. Increasing evidence, particularly that from clinical studies on ASD patients, suggests a functional link between the gut microbiota and the development of ASD. However, the mechanisms linking the gut microbiota with brain dysfunctions (gut-brain axis) in ASD have not yet been full elucidated. Due to its genetic mutations and downregulated expression in patients with ASD, EPHB6, which also plays important roles in gut homeostasis, is generally considered a candidate gene for ASD. Nonetheless, the role and mechanism of EPHB6 in regulating the gut microbiota and the development of ASD are unclear. Results: Here, we found that the deletion of EphB6 induced autism-like behavior and disturbed the gut microbiota in mice. More importantly, transplantation of the fecal microbiota from EphB6-deficient mice resulted in autism-like behavior in antibiotic-treated C57BL/6J mice, and transplantation of the fecal microbiota from wild-type mice ameliorated the autism-like behavior in EphB6-deficient mice. At the metabolic level, the disturbed gut microbiota in EphB6-deficient mice led to vitamin B₆ and dopamine defects. At the cellular level, the excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance in the medial prefrontal cortex was regulated by gut microbiota-mediated vitamin B₆ in EphB6-deficient mice. Conclusions: Our study uncovers a key role for the gut microbiota in the regulation of autism-like social behavior by vitamin B₆, dopamine, and the E/I balance in EphB6-deficient mice, and these findings suggest new strategies for understanding and treating ASD.

Background: Ubiquitination is a basic post-translational modification for cellular homeostasis, and members of the conjugating enzyme (E2) family are the key components of the ubiquitin–proteasome system. However, the role of E2 family in colorectal cancer (CRC) is largely unknown. Our study aimed to investigate the role of Ube2v1, one of the ubiquitin-conjugating E2 enzyme variant proteins (Ube2v) but without the conserved cysteine residue required for the catalytic activity of E2s, in CRC. Methods: Immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR were used to study the expressions of Ube2v1 at protein and mRNA levels in CRC, respectively. Western blotting and immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, and in vivo rescue experiments were used to study the functional effects of Ube2v1 on autophagy and EMT program. Quantitative mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation, ubiquitination assay, western blotting, and real-time RT-PCR were used to analyze the effects of Ube2v1 on histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation, interaction with Sirt1, ubiquitination of Sirt1, and autophagy-related gene expression. Results: Ube2v1 was elevated in CRC samples, and its increased expression was correlated with poorer survival of CRC patients. Ube2v1 promoted migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro and tumor growth and metastasis of CRC cells in vivo. Interestingly, Ube2v1suppressed autophagy program and promoted epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis of CRC cells in an autophagy-dependent pattern in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, both rapamycin and trehalose attenuated the enhanced Ube2v1-mediated lung metastasis by inducing the autophagy pathway in an orthotropic mouse xenograft model of lung metastasis. Mechanistically, Ube2v1 promoted Ubc13-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of Sirt1 and inhibited histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation, and finally epigenetically suppressed autophagy gene expression in CRC. Conclusions: Our study functionally links Ube2v1, an E2 member in the ubiquitin–proteasome system, to autophagy program, thereby shedding light on developing Ube2v1 targeted therapy for CRC patients.