RNA-binding proteins in ovarian cancer: a novel avenue of their roles in diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC), an important cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide, is one of the most malignant cancers and is characterized by a poor prognosis. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), a class of endogenous proteins that can bind to mRNAs and modify (or even determine) the amount of protein they can generate, have attracted great attention in the context of various diseases, especially cancers. Compelling studies have suggested that RBPs are aberrantly expressed in different cancer tissues and cell types, including OC tissues and cells. More specifically, RBPs can regulate proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, tumorigenesis and chemosensitivity and serve as potential therapeutic targets in OC. Herein, we summarize what is currently known about the biogenesis, molecular functions and potential roles of human RBPs in OC and their prospects for application in the clinical treatment of OC.

The RNA‐binding protein sorbin and SH3 domain‐containing 2 are transcriptionally regulated by specificity protein 1 and function as tumor suppressors in bladder cancer by stabilizing tissue factor pathway inhibitor

“…30,31 RBPs are key proteins that regulate numerous RNA transcripts at posttranscriptional levels and ensure intracellular homeostasis. 32 In addition, RBPs were aberrantly expressed in several types of tumor cells, which in turn affects cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis. 33 SORBS2, as an RBP, has shown that the biological function of SORBS2 is mediated in part by interactions with other proteins.…”

“…Cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease, often accompanied by genetic mutations that affect the stability of oncogenic or tumor suppressor pathway 30,31 . RBPs are key proteins that regulate numerous RNA transcripts at posttranscriptional levels and ensure intracellular homeostasis 32 . In addition, RBPs were aberrantly expressed in several types of tumor cells, which in turn affects cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis 33 .…”

“…In subsequent studies, we will continue to delve into other molecular mechanisms involved in the SP1 transcriptional regulation process. Furthermore, RBPs can also regulate the length of 3′ UTR through cleavage and polyadenylation thereby affecting cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis 32,45 . Therefore, whether SORBS2 regulates the tail length of TFPI mRNA can be further investigated in subsequent studies.…”

Efficacy evaluation of multi-immunotherapy in ovarian cancer: From bench to bed

“…Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical regulators in ovarian cancer occurrence and progression (170). RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), a class of endogenous proteins that bind to mRNA, regulate a series of pathological processes in ovarian cancer (171). Therefore, both lncRNAs and RBPs could be a potential therapeutic target (172)(173)(174)(175)(176)(177)(178).…”

Immunogenic cell death-related gene landscape predicts the overall survival and immune infiltration status of ovarian cancer

“…OC has an incidence rate that ranks second among all gynecological tumor diseases (17.3%), but its mortality rate jumps to the first place (39.0%) mainly due to the following reasons: First, the ovaries are located deep in the pelvis, and the early stage of OC has almost no symptoms. Therefore, most patients are already in the advanced stage when they are diagnosed with OC ( Wu et al, 2022 ). Second, the effectiveness of initial treatment in patients with OC has been limited due to widespread drug resistance, with 70%–80% of patients experiencing relapse within 2 years ( Blagden et al, 2018 ).…”