Combined CRISPRi and proteomics screening reveal a cohesin-CTCF-bound allele contributing to increased expression of RUVBL1 and prostate cancer progression.

Genome-wide association studies along with expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping have identified hundreds of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their target genes in prostate cancer (PCa), yet functional characterization of these risk loci remains challenging. To screen for potential regulatory SNPs, we designed a CRISPRi library containing 9,133 guide RNAs (gRNAs) to cover 2,166 candidate SNP loci implicated in PCa and identified 117 SNPs that could regulate 90 genes for PCa cell growth advantage. Among these, rs60464856 was covered by multiple gRNAs significantly depleted in screening (FDR < 0.05). Pooled SNP association analysis in the PRACTICAL and FinnGen cohorts showed significantly higher PCa risk for the rs60464856 G allele (p value = 1.2 × 10-16 and 3.2 × 10-7, respectively). Subsequent eQTL analysis revealed that the G allele is associated with increased RUVBL1 expression in multiple datasets. Further CRISPRi and xCas9 base editing confirmed that the rs60464856 G allele leads to elevated RUVBL1 expression. Furthermore, SILAC-based proteomic analysis demonstrated allelic binding of cohesin subunits at the rs60464856 region, where the HiC dataset showed consistent chromatin interactions in prostate cell lines. RUVBL1 depletion inhibited PCa cell proliferation and tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. Gene-set enrichment analysis suggested an association of RUVBL1 expression with cell-cycle-related pathways. Increased expression of RUVBL1 and activation of cell-cycle pathways were correlated with poor PCa survival in TCGA datasets. Our CRISPRi screening prioritized about one hundred regulatory SNPs essential for prostate cell proliferation. In combination with proteomics and functional studies, we characterized the mechanistic role of rs60464856 and RUVBL1 in PCa progression.

Pathogenic Roles for RNASET2 in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

A specific splicing isoform of RNASET2 is associated with worse oncologic outcomes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, the interplay between wild-type RNASET2 and its splice variant and how this might contribute to the pathogenesis of ccRCC remains poorly understood. We sought to better understand the relationship of RNASET2 in the pathogenesis of ccRCC and the interplay with a pathogenic splicing isoform (RNASET2-SV) and the tumor immune microenvironment. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium, we correlated clinical variables to RNASET2 expression and the presence of a specific RNASET2-SV. Immunohistochemical staining with matched RNA sequencing of ccRCC patients was then utilized to understand the spatial relationships of RNASET2 with immune cells. Finally, in vitro studies were performed to demonstrate the oncogenic role of RNASET2 and highlight its potential mechanisms. RNASET2 gene expression is associated with higher grade tumors and worse overall survival in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort. The presence of the RNASET2-SV was associated with increased expression of the wild-type RNASET2 protein and epigenetic modifications of the gene. Immunohistochemical staining revealed increased intracellular accumulation of RNASET2 in patients with increased RNA expression of RNASET2-SV. In vitro experiments reveal that this accumulation results in increased cell proliferation, potentially from altered metabolic pathways. RNASET2 exhibits a tumor-promoting role in the pathogenesis of ccRCC that is increased in the presence of a specific RNASET2-SV and associated with changes in the cellular localization of the protein.

Novel role of prostate cancer risk variant rs7247241 on PPP1R14A isoform transition through allelic TF binding and CpG methylation.

Although previous studies identified numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their target genes predisposed to prostate cancer (PrCa) risks, SNP-related splicing associations are rarely reported. In this study, we applied distance-based sQTL analysis (sQTLseekeR) using RNA-seq and SNP genotype data from benign prostate tissue (n = 467) and identified significant associations in 3344 SNP-transcript pairs (P ≤ 0.05) at PrCa risk loci. We characterized a common SNP (rs7247241) and its target gene (PPP1R14A) located in chr19q13, an sQTL with risk allele T associated with upregulation of long isoform (P = 9.99E-7). We confirmed the associations in both TCGA (P = 2.42E-24) and GTEX prostate cohorts (P = 9.08E-78). To functionally characterize this SNP, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation qPCR and confirmed stronger CTCF and PLAGL2 binding in rs7247241 C than T allele. We found that CTCF binding enrichment was negatively associated with methylation level at the SNP site in human cell lines (r = -0.58). Bisulfite sequencing showed consistent association of rs7247241-T allele with nearby sequence CpG hypermethylation in prostate cell lines and tissues. Moreover, the methylation level at CpG sites nearest to the CTCF binding and first exon splice-in (ψ) of PPP1R14A was significantly associated with aggressive phenotype in the TCGA PrCa cohort. Meanwhile, the long isoform of the gene also promoted cell proliferation. Taken together, with the most updated gene annotations, we reported a set of sQTL associated with multiple traits related to human prostate diseases and revealed a unique role of PrCa risk SNP rs7247241 on PPP1R14A isoform transition.

Novel model of pyroptosis-related molecular signatures for prognosis prediction of clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients.

Background: Pyroptosis is a programmed death mode of inflammatory cells, which is closely related to tumor progression and tumor immunity. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the major pathological type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with poor prognosis. Many theories have tried to clarify the mechanism in the development of ccRCC, but the role of pyroptosis in ccRCC has not been well described. The main purpose of this study is to explore the role of pyroptosis in ccRCC and establish a novel prognosis prediction model of pyroptosis-related molecular signatures for ccRCC. Methods: In the present study, we made a systematical analysis of the association between ccRCC RNA transcriptome sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database [which included 529 ccRCC patients who were randomized in a training cohort (n=265) and an internal validation cohort (n=264)] and 40 pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs), from which four genes (CASP9, GSDME, IL1B and TIRAP) were selected to construct a molecular prediction model of PRGs for ccRCC. In addition, a cohort of 114 ccRCC patients from Shanghai Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHSH) was used as external data to verify the effectiveness of the model by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, the biological functions of the four PRGs were also verified in ccRCC 786-O and 769-P cells by Western blot (WB), CCK-8 cell proliferation, and Transwell invasion assays. Results: The model was able to differentiate high-risk patients from low-risk patients, and this differentiation was consistent with their clinical survival outcomes. In addition, the four PRGs also affected the ability of cell proliferation and invasion in ccRCC. Conclusion: The prediction model of pyroptosis-related molecular markers developed in this study may prove to be a novel understanding for ccRCC.

Glycolysis-related biomarker TCIRG1 participates in regulation of renal cell carcinoma progression and tumor immune microenvironment by affecting aerobic glycolysis and AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a hypermetabolic disease. Abnormal up-regulation of glycolytic signaling promotes tumor growth, and glycolytic metabolism is closely related to immunotherapy of renal cancer. The aim of the present study was to determine whether and how the glycolysis-related biomarker TCIRG1 affects aerobic glycolysis, the tumor microenvironment (TME) and malignant progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). METHODS: Based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, n = 533) and the glycolysis-related gene set from MSigDB, we identified the glycolysis-related gene TCIRG1 by bioinformatics analysis, analyzed its immunological properties in ccRCC and observed how it affected the biological function and glycolytic metabolism using online databases such as TIMER 2.0, UALCAN, LinkedOmics and in vitro experiments. RESULTS: It was found that the expression of TCIRG1, was significantly increased in ccRCC tissue, and that high TCIRG1 expression was associated with poor overall survival (OS) and short progression-free interval (PFI). In addition, TCIRG1 expression was highly correlated with the infiltration immune cells, especially CD4+T cell Th1, CD8+T cell, NK cell, and M1 macrophage, and positively correlated with PDCD1, CTLA4 and other immunoinhibitors, CCL5, CXCR3 and other chemokines and chemokine receptors. More importantly, TCIRG1 may regulate aerobic glycolysis in ccRCC via the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby affecting the malignant progression of ccRCC cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that the glycolysis-related biomarker TCIRG1 is a tumor-promoting factor by affecting aerobic glycolysis and tumor immune microenvironment in ccRCC, and this finding may provide a new idea for the treatment of ccRCC by combination of metabolic intervention and immunotherapy.

Subchronic toxicity study of ferric oxide nanoparticles through intragastric administration: A 94-d, repeated dose study in Sprague Dawley rats.

In this study, the toxicity of ferric oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) administered through gavage to Sprague Dawley (SD) rats for 94 d, consecutively and the recovery after Fe2O3 NPs withdrawal for 30 d were evaluated. The vehicle control group, low-, medium-, and high-dose groups were administered with the vehicle (0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose [CMC-Na]), 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg of Fe2O3 NPs, respectively, administered every morning for 94 d. There was no significant difference in the body weight, food intake, hematological, blood biochemical, and urine indices of SD rats in each administration group and the control group (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in organ weight, organ indices, and the coefficient of the visceral brain between the SD rats in the different dosage groups and the SD rats in the vehicle control group (P > 0.05). Histopathological observations showed that there was no correlation between the pathological lesions of the organs observed in this study and the dose of Fe2O3 NPs (P > 0.05). The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) dose of Fe2O3 NPs was initially determined to be 500 mg/kg administered to SD rats through oral gavage for 94 d, consecutively, followed by recovery after Fe2O3 NPs withdrawal for 30 d.

Evaluation of subchronic toxicity of the compound of diphenhydramine hydrochloride and caffeine after 28 days of repeated oral administration in Sprague-Dawley rats and beagle dogs.

This study was designed to evaluate the subchronic toxicity of the compound of diphenhydramine hydrochloride (DH) and caffeine in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and beagle dogs. A total of 180 SD rats (15/sex/group) were randomly divided into the compound low-, medium- and high-dose groups (51, 102, 204 mg/kg), DH group (60 mg/kg), caffeine group (144 mg/kg) and the vehicle control group. Sixty beagle dogs (5/sex/group) were randomly divided into the compound low-, medium- and high-dose groups (male: 14.20, 28.30, 56.60 mg/kg, female: 5.66, 14.20, 28.30 mg/kg), DH group (male: 16.60 mg/kg, female: 8.30 mg/kg), caffeine group (male: 40.00 mg/kg, female: 20.00 mg/kg) and the vehicle control group. Rats and dogs were given continuous oral administration for 28 days following a 28-day recovery period. The adverse effects of the compound on rats and beagle dogs mainly included anorexia and liver function impairment. Most adverse effects induced by administration were reversible. Under the experimental conditions, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of the compound of DH and caffeine was 51 mg/kg/day for SD rats and 28.30 mg/kg/day (male) and 5.66 mg/kg/day (female) for beagle dogs.

Detectable Lipidomes and Metabolomes by Different Plasma Exosome Isolation Methods in Healthy Controls and Patients with Advanced Prostate and Lung Cancer.

Circulating exosomes in the blood are promising tools for biomarker discovery in cancer. Due to their heterogeneity, different isolation methods may enrich distinct exosome cargos generating different omic profiles. In this study, we evaluated the effects of plasma exosome isolation methods on detectable multi-omic profiles in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and healthy controls, and developed an algorithm to quantify exosome enrichment. Plasma exosomes were isolated from CRPC (n = 10), NSCLC (n = 14), and healthy controls (n = 10) using three different methods: size exclusion chromatography (SEC), lectin binding, and T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-containing protein 4 (TIM4) binding. Molecular profiles were determined by mass spectrometry of extracted exosome fractions. Enrichment analysis of uniquely detected molecules was performed for each method with MetaboAnalyst. The exosome enrichment index (EEI) scores methods based on top differential molecules between patient groups. The lipidomic analysis detected 949 lipids using exosomes from SEC, followed by 246 from lectin binding and 226 from TIM4 binding. The detectable metabolites showed SEC identifying 191 while lectin binding and TIM4 binding identified 100 and 107, respectively. When comparing uniquely detected molecules, different methods showed preferential enrichment of different sets of molecules with SEC enriching the greatest diversity. Compared to controls, SEC identified 28 lipids showing significant difference in NSCLC, while only 1 metabolite in NSCLC and 5 metabolites in CRPC were considered statistically significant (FDR < 0.1). Neither lectin-binding- nor TIM4-binding-derived exosome lipids or metabolites demonstrated significant differences between patient groups. We observed the highest EEI from SEC in lipids (NSCLC: 871.33) which was also noted in metabolites. These results support that the size exclusion method of exosome extraction implemented by SBI captures more heterogeneous exosome populations. In contrast, lectin-binding and TIM4-binding methods bind surface glycans or phosphatidylserine moieties of the exosomes. Overall, these findings suggest that specific isolation methods select subpopulations which may significantly impact cancer biomarker discovery.

In Situ N, O Co-Doped Nanoporous Carbon Derived from Mixed Egg and Rice Waste as Green Supercapacitor.

The conversion of nitrogen-oxygen-rich biomass wastes into heteroatomic co-doped nanostructured carbons used as energy storage materials has received widespread attention. In this study, an in situ nitrogen-oxygen co-doped porous carbon was prepared for supercapacitor applications via a two-step method of pre-carbonization and pyrolytic activation using mixed egg yolk/white and rice waste. The optimal sample (YPAC-1) was found to have a 3D honeycomb structure composed of abundant micropores and mesopores with a high specific surface area of 1572.1 m2 g-1, which provided abundant storage space and a wide transport path for electrolyte ions. Notably, the specific capacitance of the constructed three-electrode system was as high as 446.22 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and remained above 50% at 10 A g-1. The capacitance retention was 82.26% after up to 10,000 cycles. The symmetrical capacitor based on YPAC-1 with a two-electrode structure exhibited an energy density of 8.3 Wh kg-1 when the power density was 136 W kg-1. These results indicate that porous carbon materials prepared from mixed protein and carbohydrate waste have promising applications in the field of supercapacitors.

GBP2 serves as a novel prognostic biomarker and potential immune microenvironment indicator in renal cell carcinoma.

Since the application of immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) has gradually become a new strategy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) treatment, biomarkers that predict the individual response to ICT is needed. This study aimed to identify a new clinical indicator for postoperative surveillance of ccRCC and prediction of ICT response. We investigated the GBP2 expression and its relation with immune cell infiltration in tumor microenvironment using public databases, clinical specimens and ccRCC cell lines. Bioinformatic analysis using public database revealed that GBP2 expression is higher in cancer tissues than in adherent normal tissues among different cancer types including ccRCC, and the same results were acquired from clinical tissue samples tested by Western Blot and PCR. In ccRCC cell lines, CCk-8 proliferation assay and apoptosis assessment suggested GBP2 facilitates the malignancy of ccRCC. 286 ccRCC patients were randomly divided into a training or validation cohort, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that higher GBP2 expression is related to worse prognosis. C-index analysis implied that integrating GBP2 expression with TNM stage improved the accuracy in predicting prognosis of ccRCC patients compared to the solitary use of either. Bioinformatic analysis implied a relation between GBP2 and immunity, and GBP2 expression is positively related with suppressive immune markers in ccRCC microenvironment. Taken together, our study demonstrated the potential of GBP2 to sever as a prognostic predictor of ccRCC, and an association between GBP2 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in ccRCC was observed, making it a promising indicator of ICT response.

Endothelium-Specific GTP Cyclohydrolase I Overexpression Restores Endothelial Function in Aged Mice.

This study tested the hypothesis that endothelium-specific GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH I) overexpression (Tg-GCH) restores age-associated endothelial dysfunction in vivo. Aortic GTPCH I expression and serum nitric oxide (NO) release were measured in young and aged mice. Aortic rings from young and aged wild-type (WT) mice and aged Tg-GCH mice were suspended for isometric tension recording. A hind limb ischemia model was used to measure blood flow recovery. Aged mice showed reduced GTPCH I expression in the aorta and decreased NO levels in serum. Compared with aged WT mice, Tg-GCH significantly elevated NO levels in serum in aged Tg-GCH mice, restored the impaired aortic relaxation in response to acetylcholine, and significantly elevated aortic constriction in response to L-NAME. Importantly, aged Tg-GCH mice displayed a significant increase in blood flow recovery compared with aged WT mice. GTPCH I reduction contributes to aging-associated endothelial dysfunction, which can be retarded by Tg-GCH.

TRIM47 promotes malignant progression of renal cell carcinoma by degrading P53 through ubiquitination.

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors originating from the renal parenchymal urinary epithelial system. Tripartite motif 47 (TRIM47) is a member of the TRIM family proteins, which has E3 ligase activity and has been demonstrated to be involved in the occurrence and prognosis of many tumors. The main purpose of this study is to explore the role and potential mechanism of TRIM47 in promoting malignant biological behavior of RCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TRIM47 mRNA and protein levels in human renal cancer and paired normal adjacent tissues were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The effects of TRIM47 knockdown and overexpression in renal cell carcinoma cells on cell proliferation, invasion and xenograft tumor growth in nude mice were analyzed. The molecular mechanism was explored by mass spectrometric exploration,Western blot and immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: TRIM47 promoted RCC cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo as an oncogene. Mechanistically, TRIM47 exerted an E3 ligase activity by interacting with P53 protein to increase its ubiquitination and degradation, which further promoted the malignant biological behavior of RCC. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the TRIM47-P53 axis played a functional role in RCC progression and suggested a potential therapeutic target for RCC.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism rs13426236 contributes to an increased prostate cancer risk via regulating MLPH splicing variant 4.

A prostate cancer risk single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs13426236, is significantly associated with melanophilin (MLPH) expression. To functionally characterize role of the rs13426236 in prostate cancer, we first performed splicing-specific expression quantitative trait loci analysis and refined the significant association of rs13426236 allele G with an increased expression of MLPH splicing transcript variant 4 (V4) (P = 7.61E-5) but not other protein-coding variants (V1-V3) (P > .05). We then performed an allele-specific reporter assay to determine if SNP-containing sequences functioned as an active enhancer. Compared to allele A, allele G of rs13426236 showed significantly higher luciferase activity on the promoter of the splicing transcript V4 (P < .03) but not on the promoter of transcript V1 (P > .05) in two prostate cancer cell lines (DU145 and 22Rv1). Cell transfection assays showed stronger effect of transcript V4 than V1 on promoting cell proliferation, invasion, and antiapoptotic activities. RNA profiling analysis demonstrated that transcript V4 overexpression caused significant expression changes in glycosylation/glycoprotein and metal-binding gene ontology pathways (FDR < 0.01). We also found that both transcripts V4 and V1 were significantly upregulated in prostate adenocarcinoma (P ≤ 2.49E-6) but only transcript V4 upregulation was associated with poor recurrence-free survival (P = .028, hazard ratio = 1.63, 95% confidence interval = 1.05-2.42) in The Cancer Genome Atlas data. This study provides strong evidence showing that prostate cancer risk SNP rs13426236 upregulates expression of MLPH transcript V4, which may function as a candidate oncogene in prostate cancer.

MicroRNA-342 inhibits tumor growth via targeting chemokine CXCL12 involved in macrophages recruitment/activation.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in initiation, development, progression and metastasis of tumors. MiR-342 has been reported as a tumor suppressor or an onco-miRNA based on functions or expression changes in various types of cancers. However, the biological roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of miR-342 in tumorigenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we found that miR-342 was expressed significantly less in a murine MS-K tumor cell line that showed riched blood vessels. Over-expression of miR-342 in MS-K cells inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, reduced frequency of S phase population in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, increasing miR-342 impeded blood vessels formation and accumulation of macrophages (CD11b+ ) in tumors. By bioinformatic analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assays, chemokine CXCL12 was identified as a direct target of miR-342. Restored Cxcl12 expression in MS-K-miR-342 cells could rescue cell proliferation in vitro. In MS-K-miR-342 tumor-infiltrated macrophages, expression of proangiogenic genes (Vegf-A and Thbs1) and M2-subtype macrophage markers (Cd163, Dectin1 and Ym1) was significantly down-regulated compared with controls. Moreover, lower level of Cxcl12 and its receptor Cxcr4 was observed in the macrophages of MS-K-miR-342 tumors, and MS-K-miR-342 derived miR-342, but not endogenous miR-342, might contribute to Cxcl12 suppression in TAM. These results suggest that miR-342 is involved in MS-K tumor growth as a tumor suppressor by targeting chemokine CXCL12.

mTORC1 inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) enhances non-small cell lung cancer cell radiosensitivity in vitro via suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Resistance to radiotherapy causes non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment failure associated with local recurrence and metastasis. Thus, understanding the radiosensitization of NSCLC cells is crucial for developing new treatments and improving prognostics. mTORC1 has been shown to regulate tumor cell radiosensitivity, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Moreover, mTORC1 also regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that is important to metastasis and recurrence. In this study we explored whether mTORC1 regulated NSCLC cell radiosensitivity by altering EMT. We performed immunohistichemical analysis using tumor, adjacent and normal tissues from 50 NSCLC patients, which confirmed significantly elevated mTOR protein expression in NSCLC tissue. Then we used NCI-H460 and NCI-H661 cell lines to examine the effects of the mTORC1 inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) on in vitro radiosensitivity, protein expression and dose-survival curves. RAD001 (10 nmol/L) significantly inhibited the mTORC1 pathway in both the cell lines. Pretreatment with RAD001 (0.1 nmol/L) enhanced the radiosensitivity in NCI-H661 cells with wild-type PIK3CA and KRAS but not in NCI-H460 cells with mutant PIK3CA and KRAS; the sensitivity enhancement ratios in the two NSCLC cell lines were 1.40 and 1.03, respectively. Furthermore, pretreatment with RAD001 (0.1 nmol/L) significantly decreased the migration and invasion with altered expression of several EMT-associated proteins (significantly increased E-cadherin and decreased vimentin expression) in irradiated NCI-H661 cells. Publicly available expression data confirmed that irradiation affected mTOR and EMT-associated genes at the transcript level in NSCLC cells. These results suggest that mTORC1 inhibition enhances the in vitro radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells with wild-type PIK3CA and KRAS by affecting EMT. Our preclinical data may provide a potential new strategy for NSCLC treatment.

The application of the improved 3D rat testicular cells co-culture model on the in vitro toxicity research of HZ1006.

The aims of the present research are to further validate the application of the improved three-dimensional (3 D) rat testicular cell co-culture model to evaluate the effects of various reprotoxic chemicals on the function of the main somatic cells, as well as on spermatogonial cell differentiation and even spermatogenesis, and to investigate the specific toxicant mechanisms in testes treated with HZ1006, a hydroxamate-based a hydroxamate-based histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI). Based on the characteristics of HZ1006, the appropriate exposure duration (8, 16, or 24 days), dosage (0, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, or 25 µM) and toxic endpoints suitable for detection were selected in the experiments. The results showed inhibition of cell proliferation, reduced testosterone levels, and decreased spermatogonial cell meiosis-specific gene expression, as well as decreased protein levels of androgen receptor (AR) and decreased expression of the AR target gene PSA, accompanied by inhibition of Hdac6 expression after HZ1006 exposure in the 3 D rat testicular cell co-culture model. These findings indicate that the improved 3 D rat testicular cell co-culture model we have established has the potential to become a new testicular toxicity test system that can be used to test toxic characteristics and mechanisms of new compounds and has good application prospects, although more research on the model is required.

The impact of UGT2B7 C802T and CYP3A4*1G polymorphisms on pain relief in cancer patients receiving oxycontin.

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in UGT2B7 C802T and CYP3A4*1G impact drug metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the impact of these SNPs on the efficacy of oxycontin for pain relief in cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 57 Han Chinese cancer patients (age range 20-70 years) who received oxycontin to ease pain for the first time were enrolled and divided into two groups (refractory group and remission group) according to pain relief. Peripheral blood samples were collected from each patient for sequencing analysis. The genotype and allele frequency between the two groups were analyzed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: The T allele frequency of UGT2B7 C802T was 25% among all participants, but was higher (32%) in the refractory group (P = 0.047). The variant allele frequency of CYP3A4*1G was 27% and did not differ between the refractory group and remission group. CONCLUSION: The palliative effect of oxycontin is better in patients with UGT2B7 802CC than in those with 802TT. CYP3A4*1G SNP is unlikely to affect pain relief efficacy of oxycontin.

Inhibition of blood vessel formation in tumors by IL-18-polarized M1 macrophages.

We previously showed that interleukin (IL)-18 produced by NFSA cells induced the M1 type of macrophages in NFSA tumors, caused the destruction of endothelial cells in vitro and may have resulted in the necrosis of NFSA tumors by enhancing macrophage phagocytosis and cytotoxicity. However, the effect of IL-18 on blood vessel formation in vivo has not been elucidated. MS-K cells do not express il-18, and they form tumors with well-developed blood vessels. Here, we established IL-18-over-expressing MS-K cell clones (MS-K-IL-18) to address the roles of IL-18 in angiogenesis. The over-expression of IL-18 inhibited the proliferation rate of the MS-K-IL-18 cells in vitro and blood vessel formation in the MS-K-IL-18 tumors. Interestingly, CD14-positive cells from the MS-K-IL-18 tumor had up-regulated expression of the M1-type macrophage marker il-6 and down-regulated expression of interferon (ifn)-γ. Furthermore, FACS analysis showed more accumulation of CD11b+/CD80+ M1 macrophages in the MS-K-IL-18 tumors than in the parental MS-K tumor. Moreover, an in vitro coculture assay showed that MS-K-IL-18-conditioned medium (CM) stimulated macrophages to induce the apoptosis of endothelial cells. Cumulatively, our data showed that IL-18 inhibited tumor blood vessel formation in vivo.

CCL11-induced eosinophils inhibit the formation of blood vessels and cause tumor necrosis.

We previously demonstrated that IL-18 and CCL11 were highly expressed in an NFSA tumor cell line that showed limited angiogenesis and severe necrosis. However, IL-18 was not responsible for the immune cell accumulation and necrosis. Here, we attempted to clarify the relevance of CCL11 in angiogenesis and tumor formation. We established CCL11-overexpressing MS-K cell clones (MS-K-CCL11) to assess the role of CCL11 in immune cell accumulation and angiogenesis. The MS-K-CCL11 cells did not form tumors in mice. MS-K-CCL11-conditioned medium (CM) and recombinant CCL11 induced macrophage and eosinophil differentiation from bone marrow cells. The MS-K-CCL11-CM effectively recruited the differentiated eosinophils. Furthermore, the eosinophils damaged the MS-K, NFSA and endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. Administration of an antagonist of CCR3, a CCL11 receptor, to NFSA tumor-bearing mice restored the blood vessel formation and blocked the eosinophil infiltration into the NFSA tumors. Furthermore, other CCL11-overexpressing LM8 clones were established, and their tumor formation ability was reduced compared to the parental LM8 cells, accompanied by increased eosinophil infiltration, blockade of angiogenesis and necrosis. These results indicate that CCL11 was responsible for the limited angiogenesis and necrosis by inducing and attracting eosinophils in the tumors.

Expression patterns of long noncoding RNAs from Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted region and the potential mechanisms of Gtl2 activation during blastocyst development.

The function of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cell differentiation and development have begun to be revealed in recent years. However, the expression pattern and mechanisms regulating lncRNAs are largely unknown during mammalian preimplantation development. LncRNAs expressed from Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted region have been linked to pluripotency of induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs). In this study we show that these lncRNAs (Gtl2, Rian and Mirg) are first expressed at the morula stage and gradually restricted to the inner cell mass (ICM) as the embryo differentiates into the blastocyst. Analysis of DNA methylation at IG-DMR and Gtl2-DMR showed no change during preimplantation while the presence of the activating histone modification H3K4me3 increased significantly from 8-cell to blastocyst stage, which may explain the expression activation. Additionally, knockdown of transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog) in blastocyst reduced the expression of Gtl2, indicating pluripotency factors regulate transcription of these lncRNAs. This study provides the spatiotemporal expression and dynamic changes of lncRNAs from Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted region in mouse preimplantation stage embryos and offers insight into the potential mechanisms responsible for Gtl2 activation.