Zinc finger proteins: guardians of genome stability.

Zinc finger proteins (ZNF), a unique yet diverse group of proteins, play pivotal roles in fundamental cellular mechanisms including transcription regulation, chromatin remodeling, protein/RNA homeostasis, and DNA repair. Consequently, the mis regulation of ZNF proteins can result in a variety of human diseases, ranging from neurodevelopmental disorders to several cancers. Considering the promising results of DNA damage repair (DDR) inhibition in the clinic, as a therapeutic strategy for patients with homologous recombination (HR) deficiency, identifying other potential targetable DDR proteins as emerged vulnerabilities in resistant tumor cells is essential, especially when considering the burden of acquired drug resistance.

SBF2-AS1 and TreRNA: novel lncRNA players in triple-negative breast cancer pathogenesis.

Background: Compared to other breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has always been challenging for clinicians due to its aggressive behavior and lack of a specific treatment. There is a confirmed association between invasive features of tumors and increased epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, which is consistent with a higher rate of EMT in TNBC.

Methods And Results: We investigated the expression of EMT-related genes, SNAI1 and MMP7, and EMT-related lncRNAs, treRNA and SBF2-AS1, in 50 TNBC tumors and 50 non-TNBC tumors to reveal more regulators and effectors involved in TNBC malignancy.

The role of FOXC1/FOXCUT/DANCR axis in triple negative breast cancer: a bioinformatics and experimental approach.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most challenging subtype of breast cancer and does not benefit from the existing targeted therapies. In the present study, we used bioinformatics and experimental approaches to assess the genes that are somehow involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway which may explain the invasive features of TNBC.

Method And Results: We analyzed five GEO datasets consisting of 657 breast tumors by GEO2R online software to achieve common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between TNBC and non-TNBC tumors.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0044234 as distinct molecular signature of triple negative breast cancer: a potential regulator of GATA3.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been implicated in the initiation and development of breast cancer as functional non-coding RNAs (ncRNA). The roles of circRNAs as the competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to sponge microRNAs (miRNAs) have also been indicated. However, the functions of circRNAs in breast cancer have not been totally elucidated.

Dysregulation of vitamin D synthesis pathway genes in colorectal cancer: A case-control study.

Background: The cytochromes P450 are a superfamily of enzymes that control the synthesis of the biologically active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. These enzymes contribute to the formation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, which starts with a 25-hydroxylation by CYP2R1 and CYP27A1 and a subsequent 1α-hydroxylation via CYP27B1.

Methods: By using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we analyzed the expression ratio of CYP2R1, CYP27A1 and CYP27B1 genes within the vitamin D metabolic pathway in a total of 75 colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues compared to the adjacent tissues.

rs508485 Polymorphism Is Associated with Non-obstructive Azoospermia in Iranian Patients.

Background: The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway has an essential role in transposon silencing, meiosis progression, spermatogenesis, and germline maintenance. genes are critical for piRNA biogenesis and function. Therefore, polymorphisms in genes contribute to spermatogenesis defects and can be considered as risk factors for male infertility.