Background: Our previous study demonstrated that aldolase A (ALDOA) is overexpressed in clinical human lung squamous cell carcinoma and that ALDOA promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition and tumorigenesis. The present study aimed to explore the function of ALDOA in the modulation of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) proliferation and cell cycle progression and the potential mechanism. Methods: ALDOA was knocked down by short hairpin RNA in H520 and H1299 cells. ALDOA was overexpressed with vectors carrying the full‐length ALDOA sequence in H1299 and H157 cells. The proliferation capacities were assessed with immunohistochemical staining, Cell Counting Kit‐8 and colony formation assays. The cell cycle distribution was examined by flow cytometry, and molecular alterations were determined by western blotting. Cell synchronization was induced with nocodazole. The stability of cyclin D1 mRNA was tested. The pyruvate kinase M2 and ALDOA protein distributions were examined. Aerobic glycolysis was evaluated with Cell Titer‐Glo assay, glucose colorimetric assay and lactate colorimetric assay. Results: ALDOA knockdown inhibited the proliferation and G ₁ /S transition in H520 cells. Conversely, ALDOA overexpression promoted the proliferation and G ₁ /S transition in H157 cells. The cell cycle synchronization assay showed that ALDOA expression increased in the G ₁ phase and G ₁ /S transition. Furthermore, ALDOA knockdown reduced cyclin D1 expression by regulating epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen‐activated protein kinase (EGFR/MAPK) pathway. Similar results were found in H1299 and H157 cells. The inhibition of mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 prompted the nuclear distribution of ALDOA. Additionally, ALDOA knockdown reduced nuclear distribution of PKM2, the extracellular lactate and intracellular adenosine triphosphate concentrations and elevated the extracellular glucose concentration. Conclusions: ALDOA contributed to activation of the EGFR/MAPK pathway, thus promoting cyclin D1 expression and enhancing proliferation and G ₁ /S transition in NSCLC. Additionally, ALDOA facilitated NSCLC aerobic glycolysis.

RNA modifications are reversible, dynamically regulated, and involved in a variety of diseases such as cancers. Given the lack of efficient and reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OV), this study was designed to explore the role of RNA modification genes (RMGs) in the diagnosis of OV. Herein, 132 RMGs were retrieved in PubMed, 638 OV and 18 normal ovary samples were retrieved in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and GSE18520 cohorts were collected for differential analysis. Finally, PUS7 (Pseudouridine Synthase 7) as differentially expressed RMGs (DEGs-RMGs) was identified as a diagnostic biomarker candidate and evaluated for its specificity and sensitivity using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis in TCGA and GEO data. The protein expression, mutation, protein interaction networks, correlated genes, related pathways, biological processes, cell components, and molecular functions of PUS7 were analyzed as well. The upregulation of PUS7 protein in OV was confirmed by the staining images in HPA and tissue arrays. Collectively, the findings of the present study point towards the potential of PUS7 as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare malignant neoplasm originating from adrenal cortical cells, has high malignancy and few treatments. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis, screen and verify potential biomarkers, which will provide new clues for the treatment and diagnosis of ACC. In this paper, three gene expression profiles (GSE10927, GSE12368 and GSE90713) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained using the Limma package. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were enriched by DAVID. Protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network was evaluated by STRING database, and PPI network was constructed by Cytoscape. Finally, GEPIA was used to validate hub genes’ expression. Compared with normal adrenal tissues, 74 up‐regulated DEGs and 126 down‐regulated DEGs were found in ACC samples; GO analysis showed that up‐regulated DEGs were enriched in organelle fission, nuclear division, spindle, et al, while down‐regulated DEGs were enriched in angiogenesis, proteinaceous extracellular matrix and growth factor activity; KEGG pathway analysis showed that up‐regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in cell cycle, cellular senescence and progesterone‐mediated oocyte maturation; Nine hub genes (CCNB1, CDK1, TOP2A, CCNA2, CDKN3, MAD2L1, RACGAP1, BUB1 and CCNB2) were identified by PPI network; ACC patients with high expression of 9 hub genes were all associated with worse overall survival (OS). These hub genes and pathways might be involved in the tumorigenesis, which will offer the opportunities to develop the new therapeutic targets of ACC.

Ever reports showed that PCNP is associated with human cancers including neuroblastoma and lung cancer. However, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of PCNP in ovarian cancer have not been plenty elucidated. Herein, we first investigated the expression of PCNP in ovarian cancer tissues and cells, the effects of PCNP in ovarian cancer proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion, and determined the molecular mechanism of PCNP in ovarian cancer progression. The results indicated that PCNP was significantly overexpressed in human ovarian cancer tissues and cells, and related to poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients. In addition, we also detected that PCNP promoted ovarian cancer cells growth, migration and invasion, as well as inhibited ovarian cancer cells apoptosis. Mechanistically, PCNP binding to β‐catenin promoted β‐catenin nuclear translocation and further activated Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway. Moreover, PCNP regulated the expression of genes involved in EMT and further triggered EMT occurrence. Conclusionally, PCNP may promote ovarian cancer progression through activating Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway and EMT, acting as a novel and promising target for treating ovarian cancer.

SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been spreading widely and posing an international challenge for both healthcare and society. At present, cancer has been identified as an individual risk factor for COVID-19. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Cathepsin L/Cathepsin B (CTSL/B), which act as the receptor and entry-associated proteases of SARS-CoV-2 respectively, are pivotal for SARS-CoV-2 infection. To investigate the possible SARS-CoV-2 infection risk of pan-cancer, we analyzed the genetic alterations, RNA expression, DNA methylation, and the association with immune subtypes of ACE2 and CTSL/B with the prognosis in pan-cancer. Results showed the upregulation of CTSL/B and ACE2 in Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) and Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and demonstrated a positive correlation between copy number alteration (CNA) and gene expression for CTSB in PAAD and STAD. Hypomethylation and a negative correlation of gene expression and methylation for CTSB were detected in PAAD. In addition, ACE2 and CTSL/B are overexpressed in the IFN-gamma immune subtype of ovarian serous Cystadenocarcinoma (OV), Cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC), and Bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA). Our study presents a bioinformatics assessment for the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pan-cancer.