6093

ROCK1

Recent studies have implied that miRNAs act as crucial modulators for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We found that miR-148a is significantly downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues, and the downregulated miR-148a was significantly associated with lymph-node metastasis. Functional assays demonstrated that miR-148a inhibited EMT in NSCLC cells. Moreover, miR-148a decreased 3'-untranslated region luciferase activity of ROCK1 and ROCK1 protein expression. Knockdown of ROCK1 reversed EMT resembling that of miR-148a overexpression. Furthermore, ROCK1 was widely upregulated in NSCLC, and its mRNA levels were inversely correlated with miR-148a expression. These findings suggest that miR-148a acts as a novel EMT suppressor in NSCLC cells, at least in part by modulation of ROCK1.

Osmoregulation is an essential mechanism for euryhaline fish. Gill cells undergo rapid mechanism to maintain the cellular homeostasis during osmotic stress. Reports have suggested that gill cells may be able to migrate between primary filament and secondary lamella during seawater acclimination. However, the factor that can trigger such process is not well-known. Previously, we identified the osmotic stress transcription factor 1b (Ostf1b) in medaka and found that it is an early hypertonic responsive gene and can activate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. In this report, we aim to know if Ostf1b plays the role in the migration. Ostf1b was ectopic expressed in the human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293) to understand the Ostf1b function. Results clearly demonstrated that Ostf1b could constitutively activate the Rho kinase 1 (ROCK1) and myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) signalling pathway that promotes cell migration, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cytoskeletal dynamics through stress fibre formation. The study supports the notion of cell migration and cytoskeleton rearrangement theories in osmoregulation.CI - Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The contribution of endothelial cells to scar and fibrotic tissue formation is undisputedly connected to their ability to undergo the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) towards fibroblast phenotype-resembling cells. The migration model of fibroblasts and fibroblast-resembling cells is still not fully understood. It may be either a Rho/ROCK-independent, an integrin- and MMP-correlated ECM degradation-dependent, a mesenchymal model or Rho/ROCK-dependent, integrin adhesion- and MMP activity-independent, an amoeboid model. Here, we hypothesized that microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) undergoing EndMT adopt an intermediate state of drifting migration model between the mesenchymal and amoeboid protrusive types in the early stages of fibrosis. We characterized the response of HMEC-1 to TGF-beta2, a well-known mediator of EndMT within the microvasculature. We observed that TGF-beta2 induces up to an intermediate mesenchymal phenotype in HMEC-1. In parallel, MMP-2 is upregulated and is responsible for most proteolytic activity. Interestingly, the migration of HMEC-1 undergoing EndMT is dependent on both ECM degradation and invadosome formation associated with MMP-2 proteolytic activity and Rho/ROCK cytoskeleton contraction. In conclusion, the transition from mesenchymal towards amoeboid movement highlights a molecular plasticity mechanism in endothelial cell migration in skin fibrosis.CI - Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Upregulated gene 11 (URG11) represents a gene upregulated by hepatitis B virus X protein and is involved in the biological processes of multifarious tumors. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects and regulatory mechanisms of URG11 in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). URG11, Ras homolog family member A (RhoA) and Rhoassociated protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) expression was detected in patients with BPH using reverse transcriptionquantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR). Furthermore, URG11 expression was silenced using URG11targeting small interfering RNAs. In addition, cell viability was determined by performing a Cell Counting Kit8 assay, and the effect of URG11 on the cell cycle was investigated by flow cytometry. expression levels of cyclin D1, p27, Ecadherin, Ncadherin, vimentin, RhoA and ROCK1 were investigated by RTqPCR and western blotting. The results revealed that the expression levels of URG11, RhoA and ROCK1 were enhanced in patients with BPH1 cells compared with matched healthy controls. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that transforming growth factorbeta (TGFbeta) induced the proliferation of BPH1 cells in vitro, and silencing of URG11 inhibited the effects of TGFbeta on BPH1 cell proliferation and the cell cycle. In addition, silencing of URG11 altered the expression levels of cell cycleassociated genes, epithelialmesenchymal transitionassociated genes, and RhoA and ROCK1 protein levels. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that URG11 may be a potential therapeutic target, which may be important to inhibit the development and progression of prostatic hyperplasia.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare malignant bone tumor that commonly occurs in children and adolescents and causes pain and swelling of the long bones of the legs and arms. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and micro (mi)RNA101 are important in the initialization and progression of OS. However, the mechanism underlying the role of the lncRNA and miRNA101 in OS remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, through reverse transcriptionquantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, it was first found that the lncRNA SNHG1 was upregulated and miRNA1013p was downregulated in OS tissues and cell lines. Second, the knockdown of lncRNA SNHG1 induced cell apoptosis and maintained the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, which decreased the overall cell viability. Furthermore, according to a dualluciferase assay and western blot analysis, miRNA1013p was found to be a target of the lncRNA SNHG1 in OS, which further regulated the expression of Rhoassociated coiledcoilcontaining protein kinase 1 (ROCK1). It was found that the phosphoinositide 3kinase/ATK pathway was inactivated and that epithelialmesenchymal transition was activated in OS cell lines with overexpression of the lncRNA SNHG1. Taken together, in OS cell lines, the lncRNA SNHG1 acted as an oncogene, and miRNA1013p was considered a tumor suppressor. The lncRNA SNHG1 promoted OS cell proliferation, migration and invasion by downregulating the expression of miRNA1013p, which enhanced the expression of ROCK1.

During early heart development at the looped heart stage, endothelial cells in the outflow tract and atrioventricular (AV) regions transform into mesenchyme to generate endocardial cushion tissue. This endocardial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is regulated by several regulatory pathways, including the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), and Rho-ROCK pathways. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal expression pattern of ROCK1 mRNA during EMT in chick and examined whether TGFbeta or BMP could induce the expression of ROCK1. At the onset of EMT, ROCK1 expression was up-regulated in endothelial/mesenchymal cells. A three-dimensional collagen gel assay was used to examine the mechanisms regulating the expression of ROCK1. In AV endocardium co-cultured with associated myocardium, ROCK1 expression was inhibited by either anti-TGFbeta3 antibody, anti-ALK2 antibody or noggin, but not SB431542 (ALK5 inhibitor). In cultured preactivated AV endocardium, TGFbeta3 protein induced the expression of ROCK1, but BMP did not. AV endothelial cells that were cultured in medium supplemented with TGFbeta3 plus anti-ALK2 antibody failed to express ROCK1. These results suggest that the expression of ROCK1 is up-regulated at the onset of EMT and that signaling mediated by TGFbeta3/ALK2 together with BMP is involved in the expression of ROCK1.CI - (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.