T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy originating from T-cell precursors. The genetic landscape of T-ALL has been largely characterized by next-generation sequencing. Yet, the transcriptome of miRNAs (miRNome) of T-ALL has been less extensively studied. Using small RNA sequencing, we characterized the miRNome of 34 pediatric T-ALL samples, including the expression of isomiRs and the identification of candidate novel miRNAs (not previously annotated in miRBase). For the first time, we show that immunophenotypic subtypes of T-ALL present different miRNA expression profiles. To extend miRNome characteristics in T-ALL (to 82 T-ALL cases), we combined our small RNA-seq results with data available in Gene Expression Omnibus. We report on miRNAs most abundantly expressed in pediatric T-ALL and miRNAs differentially expressed in T-ALL versus normal mature T-lymphocytes and thymocytes, representing candidate oncogenic and tumor suppressor miRNAs. Using eight target prediction algorithms and pathway enrichment analysis, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs and their predicted targets implicated in processes (defined in Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) of potential importance in pathogenesis of T-ALL, including interleukin-6–mediated signaling, mTOR signaling, and regulation of apoptosis. We finally focused on hsa-mir-106a-363 cluster and functionally validated direct interactions of hsa-miR-20b-5p and hsa-miR-363-3p with 3′ untranslated regions of their predicted targets ( PTEN , SOS1 , LATS2 ), overrepresented in regulation of apoptosis. hsa-mir-106a-363 is a paralogue of prototypic oncogenic hsa-mir-17-92 cluster with yet unestablished role in the pathogenesis of T-ALL. Our study provides a firm basis and data resource for functional analyses on the role of miRNA-mRNA interactions in T-ALL.

Optimal endogenous controls enable reliable normalization of microRNA (miRNA) expression in reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). This is particularly important when miRNAs are considered as candidate diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. Universal endogenous controls are lacking, thus candidate normalizers must be evaluated individually for each experiment. Here we present a strategy that we applied to the identification of optimal control miRNAs for RT-qPCR profiling of miRNA expression in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and in normal cells of T-lineage. First, using NormFinder for an iterative analysis of miRNA stability in our miRNA-seq data, we established the number of control miRNAs to be used in RT-qPCR. Then, we identified optimal control miRNAs by a comprehensive analysis of miRNA stability in miRNA-seq data and in RT-qPCR by analysis of RT-qPCR amplification efficiency and expression across a variety of T-lineage samples and T-ALL cell line culture conditions. We then showed the utility of the combination of three miRNAs as endogenous normalizers (hsa-miR-16-5p, hsa-miR-25-3p, and hsa-let-7a-5p). These miRNAs might serve as first-line candidate endogenous controls for RT-qPCR analysis of miRNAs in different types of T-lineage samples: T-ALL patient samples, T-ALL cell lines, normal immature thymocytes, and mature T-lymphocytes. The strategy we present is universal and can be transferred to other RT-qPCR experiments.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a rare, aggressive and heterogeneous malignancy originating from T-cell precursors. The mechanisms of T-ALL pathogenesis related to non-protein coding part of the genome are currently intensively studied. miRNAs are short, non-coding molecules acting as negative regulators of gene expression which shape phenotype of cells in a complex and context-specific manner. miRNAs may act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors; several miRNAs have been related to drug resistance and treatment response in various malignancies. Here we present the review of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the role of miRNAs in T-ALL pathogenesis, with detailed overview of the studies reporting on miRNAs with oncogenic and tumor suppressor potential. We discuss whether miRNAs might be considered candidate biomarkers of prognosis in T-ALL and leukemia subtype-specific markers. We also describe experimental approaches and a typical workflow applied in research on the involvement of miRNAs in oncogenesis.

CORRESPONDENCE E93 CORRESPONDENCE E95 data; ŁS and TS provided FC-MRD data; KZ and PB performed statistical analyses; JK and TS coordinated acquisition of samples and clinical data; BSZ and RJ designed and created figures; PVV supervised sWGS analyses; AEK supervised MLPA analyses; MD supervised the study and MW was in charge of overall direction; BSZ and MD wrote the manuscript; all authors approved the manuscript.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy arising from T lymphocyte precursors. We have previously shown by miRNA-seq, that miRNAs from the mir-106a-363 cluster are overexpressed in pediatric T-ALL. In silico analysis indicated their potential involvement in the regulation of apoptosis. Here, we aimed to test the hypothesis on the pro-tumorigenic roles of these miRNAs in T-ALL cells in vitro. We demonstrate, for the first time, that hsa-miR-20b-5p and hsa-miR-363-3p from the mir-106a-363 cluster, when upregulated in T-ALL cells in vitro, protect leukemic cells from apoptosis, enhance proliferation, and contribute to growth advantage. We show, using dual luciferase reporter assays, Ago2-RNA immunoprecipitation, RT-qPCR, and Western blots, that the oncogenic effects of these upregulated miRNAs might, at least in part, be mediated by the downregulation of two important tumor suppressor genes, PTEN and BIM, targeted by both miRNAs. Additionally, we demonstrate the cooperative effects of these two miRNAs by simultaneous inhibition of both miRNAs as compared to the inhibition of single miRNAs. We postulate that hsa-miR-20b-5p and hsa-miR-363-3p from the mir-106a-363 cluster might serve as oncomiRs in T-ALL, by contributing to post-transcriptional repression of key tumor suppressors, PTEN and BIM.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy originating from T-cell precursors and is characterized by high genetic, immunophenotypic, and clinical heterogeneity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to the class of small noncoding RNAs and are implicated in the regulation of hematopoiesis and in the development of leukemia. miRNAs control expression of their target genes at the post-transcriptional level by blocking translation of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) or promoting their degradation. Some miRNAs are encoded within clusters, giving rise to policistronic transcripts. Such miRNAs are co-expressed and may co-regulate the expression of genes involved in certain biological processes and pathways. In our recent study we performed miRNA profiling in pediatric T-ALL using Next-Generation Sequencing (Dawidowska M et al. Blood 2017; 130:1443) and identified miRNAs differentially expressed in T-ALL. The set of overexpressed miRNAs included, among others, miR-20b-5p, miR-363-3p and miR-92a-2-5p, belonging to a cluster of six miRNAs: miR-106a-363 (ChrXq26.2). miR-106a-363 cluster is a paralog of miR-17-92 cluster (Chr13q31.3), a prototypic oncogenic cluster of eminent importance in human hematopoietic cancers, with reported role in T-ALL pathogenesis (Mavrakis KJ et al., Nature Cell Biology 2010, 12:4). Despite the similarity of seed sequences between miRNAs from miR-17-92 and miR-106a-363 clusters, the significance of miR-106a-363 cluster in T-ALL remains to be elucidated. In this study we investigated the expression of the miR-20b-5p, miR-363-3p and miR-92a-2-5p in children with T-ALL, healthy donor thymocytes, normal bone marrow samples and 6 T-ALL cell lines. RT-qPCR analysis (TaqMan Advanced miRNA Assays; Thermo Fisher Scientific) confirmed overexpression of 2 miRNAs from cluster miR-106a-363 (miR-20b-5p and miR-363-3p) in children with T-ALL and in T-ALL cell lines, suggesting their oncogenic function. To predict potential target genes of overexpressed miRNAs belonging to miR106a-363 cluster, we applied 8 target prediction algorithms and pathway enrichment analysis. This revealed the enrichment of miR-20b-5p and miR-363-3p target genes in GO term: positive regulation of apoptosis. We further validated predicted miRNA-mRNA interactions (Dual Luciferase Reporter Assays; Promega) confirming the majority of them (e.g. PTEN, FBXW7, BCL2L11). Finally, we assessed the effect of mimicry/inhibition (miRVana, Thermo Fisher Scientific) of overexpressed miRNAs from miR-106a-363 cluster on proliferation, cell cycle distribution and apoptosis in 3 T-ALL cell lines. Overexpression of miR-20b-5p and miR-363-3p in CCRF-CEM, DND-41 and P12-Ichikawa cells resulted in increased proliferation and inhibited apoptosis. To summarize, in this study we showed that miRNAs belonging to miR-106a-363 cluster directly interact with mRNAs implicated in the regulation of apoptosis and that miR-20b-5p and miR-363-3p have pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic effects in T-ALL cells in vitro. These results indicate that miR-106a-363 cluster may have an oncogenic role in the pathogenesis of T-ALL via suppression of pro-apoptotic genes. Research funded by National Science Centre, Poland grants: 2014/15/B/NZ2/03394, 2017/25/N/NZ2/01132 and National Centre of Research and Development (NCRD) grant STARTEGMED3/304586/5/NCBR/2017. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Natural environment probes are constantly screened in order to isolate new bacteria strains [1, 2]. Strains isolated from diverse sources are metabolically stronger than the ones collected by us because they must adapt to variable conditions [3, 4]. Thus, indigenous bacteria in the natural environment can produce a wide range of metabolites more effi ciently [1, 5, 6]. Since the biodiesel industry is growing rapidly, simultaneously the amount of crude glycerol obtained is also increasing [7]. One solution to that problem is to utilized crude glycerol and convert it into 1,3-PD as well as organic acids via a microbial method [6, 8-10]. Many researchers have worked on screening the natural environment in search of new strains that can effectively convert crude glycerol to metabolites. However, most of the available literature is all about the same bacteria species: Clostridium butyricum [11], Clostridium pasteurianum [12, 13], Clostridium diolis, Clostridium acetobutylicum, Clostridium butylicum, Clostridium perfi ngens, [14, 15], Klebsiella pneumonia [16], Klebsiella oxytoca [17], Klebsiella aerogenes [16], Lactobacillus reuterii, Lactobacillus buchnerii, Lactobacillus collinoides [18], Enterobacter agglomerans [19], Citrobacter freundii [20-22], Pelobacter carbinolicus, Rautella planticola, and Bacillus welchii [23]. Thus, the screening of the natural environment for the new strains able to convert glycerol into industrial metabolites is a very important