Exosomal SNHG16 secreted by CSCs promotes glioma development via TLR7

Ruijie Zhang1, Peng Li2, Heli Lv2

  • 1Department of Neurology, Heze Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Heze, 274000, Shandong, China.

Abstract

Insights

Cancer stem cell-derived exosomes carrying long non-coding RNA SNHG16 promote glioma progression. This occurs by activating the TLR7/MyD88/NFκB/c-Myc signaling pathway, offering potential therapeutic targets for glioma gene therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Neuro-oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Glioma is a common and aggressive central nervous system tumor with limited treatment options.
  • Gene therapy presents a significant avenue for developing novel therapeutic strategies for glioma.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG16 in glioma progression.
  • To explore the mechanism by which SNHG16, particularly when packaged in exosomes derived from cancer stem cells (CSCs), influences glioma growth and signaling pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Quantification of SNHG16 expression in glioma tissues using microarray and qRT-PCR.
  • Isolation and identification of exosomes from glioma CSCs and cancer cells.
  • Functional assays (MTT, wound healing, Transwell, colony formation) to assess the impact of SNHG16 on glioma cell progression.
  • Investigation of the interaction between SNHG16 and TLR7 using RIP assay.
  • In vivo tumorigenesis experiments in xenograft models to evaluate the SNHG16/TLR7/MyD88/NFκB/c-Myc signaling axis.

Main Results:

  • SNHG16 was found to be upregulated in glioma tissues and associated with poor prognosis.
  • SNHG16 was identified within exosomes secreted by glioma CSCs.
  • Exosomal SNHG16 (exo-SNHG16) promoted the progression of glioma cell lines.
  • SNHG16 was shown to interact with TLR7, activating the NFκB/c-Myc signaling pathway.
  • Silencing TLR7 or inhibiting exo-SNHG16 from CSCs attenuated glioma cell progression.
  • In vivo studies confirmed that exo-SNHG16 promotes glioma growth via the TLR7/MyD88/NFκB/c-Myc pathway.

Conclusions:

  • Glioma CSC-derived exosomes carrying SNHG16 promote tumor progression.
  • The mechanism involves the activation of the TLR7/MyD88/NFκB/c-Myc signaling pathway.
  • Targeting exo-SNHG16 or the TLR7 pathway represents a potential therapeutic strategy for glioma.