
January 26th, 2025
Recent Publications Harnessing the Power of Translatomics
Every week we provide a digest of a small number of recent interesting papers in the field of translatomics.
In this week’s Sunday papers, we focus on the theme of colorectal cancer (CRC).
- Zhang et al. employed ribosome profiling to investigate the role of lncRNA-encoded small protein LINC01547-ORF in CRC tumour progression.
- Wang et al. used polysome profiling to identify the relationship between circular RNA (circRNA) CircMVP, METTL3 and CTNNB1 on the immune regulation.
- Jiang et al. used polysome profiling to study translation-specific regulatory mechanisms in CRC.
The small protein LINC01547-ORF inhibits colorectal cancer progression by regulating the CLDN18-FAK-AKT axis
American Journal of Cancer Research, 2024
Zhang, S., Xu, S., Li, D., Wu, S., Han, M., Han, Y., Wang, Z., Qiao, D., Yuan, H., Du, B. and Chen, H.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers, but the underlying mechanisms of the CRC tumour progression remains unclear. In this paper, Zhang et al. Investigated the role of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) LINC01547 in CRC. The authors identified that LINC01547 encoded a small protein called LINC01547-ORF, which consists of 76 amino acids.
The ribosome profiling technique was employed to identify LINC01547 as a ribosome-associated lncRNA in CRC cells. Expression analyses revealed that LINC01547 was downregulated in CRC tissues. Functional assays demonstrated that both LINC01547 and its encoded protein, LINC01547-ORF, inhibited proliferation and progression of CRC cell lines.
Gene set enrichment analysis indicated an association between LINC01547-ORF and the focal adhesion pathway, particularly involving the protein CLDN18. Co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence experiments confirmed that LINC01547-ORF binds to CLDN18, reducing its ubiquitination and thereby enhancing its protein expression. This interaction leads to the inhibition of the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which is known to promote cancer cell development.
These findings suggest that LINC01547-ORF acts as a tumor suppressor in CRC by modulating the CLDN18-FAK-AKT axis, offering a potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment.
Learn more about EIRNA Bio’s ribosome profiling service here.
CircMVP promotes METTL3 activation mediated CTNNB1 m6A modification in the inhibition of colorectal cancer in B7-H3 dependence antitumor immunity
International Journal of Biological Sciences, 2025
Wang, F., Wang, Q., Wu, Y., Huang, Z., Zhong, X., Wang, H., Yang, C., Qin, Y., Qi, X., Ge, X. and Mao, Y.
Circular RNA (circRNA) is a class of non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in regulating gene expression, particularly in cancer biology. In this paper, it explores the role of CircMVP, a circRNA, in regulating colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. It highlighted the relationship between CircMVP, METTL3 (an m6A methyltransferase), and B7-H3, a molecule involved in immune checkpoint regulation. The authors used polysome profiling to reveal how CircMVP regulates the m6A modification of CTNNB1 (β-catenin) through METTL3 activation.
The study showed that CircMVP promoted the activation of METTL3, which in turn facilitated m6A modification of CTNNB1, a key regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This modification enhanced CTNNB1 stability and activity, contributing to CRC cell proliferation and invasion. Additionally, the authors demonstrated that CircMVP exerted its effects in a B7-H3-dependent manner, suggesting that B7-H3 might play a critical role in modulating immune responses and tumor progression in CRC.
The paper further investigated how this CircMVP-METTL3-CTNNB1 axis influenced antitumor immunity. By regulating B7-H3 expression, CircMVP impacted immune evasion, providing a potential mechanism for CRC resistance to immune checkpoint therapies. Overall, the study uncovered a novel regulatory axis involving CircMVP, METTL3, and CTNNB1 that contributed to CRC progression and immune escape, offering new insights into potential therapeutic strategies targeting the CircMVP-B7-H3 pathway.
Learn more about EIRNA Bio’s polysome profiling service here.
Circular RNA hsa_circ_0000467 promotes colorectal cancer progression by promoting eIF4A3-mediated c-Myc translation
Molecular Cancer, 2024
Jiang, X., Peng, M., Liu, Q., Peng, Q., Oyang, L., Li, S., Xu, X., Shen, M., Wang, J., Li, H. and Wu, N.
In this paper, the authors investigated the role of the circular RNA (circRNA) hsa_circ_0000467 in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. The study revealed that hsa_circ_0000467 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues and cells, and its overexpression was linked to enhanced tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.
hsa_circ_0000467 promoted CRC progression by interacting with eIF4A3, a key component of the translation initiation machinery. Polysome profiling was used to investigate the translational regulation of c-Myc by the circRNA. The circRNA enhanced eIF4A3’s binding to the mRNA of c-Myc, an oncogene critically involved in cell growth and survival. This interaction boosted the translation of c-Myc, leading to its elevated expression. The upregulation of c-Myc, in turn, activated downstream signaling pathways that drove CRC cell proliferation and metastasis.
The authors also demonstrated that silencing hsa_circ_0000467 significantly impaired CRC cell growth and invasion both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target. This study highlighted the importance of circRNAs in regulating translation and identified hsa_circ_0000467 as a key regulator of c-Myc translation in CRC, offering new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind tumor progression and potential therapeutic avenues for CRC treatment.
Learn more about EIRNA Bio’s polysome profiling service here.