TGF-ß1-induced Fascin1 promotes cell invasion and metastasis of human 786-0 renal carcinoma cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) on the expression of Fascin1 protein and its impact on cell invasion and metastasis in human renal carcinoma. METHODS: Renal tissue slices of 52 cases when undergoing radical nephrectomy were collected to be the observation group, and the normal renal tissues of 23 cases when undergoing nephrectomy due to trauma were collected to be the control group. The expressions of TGF-ß1 and Fascin1 were measured by immunohistochemical staining. Human renal carcinoma 786-0 cell line was selected as the study subject. The cells were divided into six groups including NT (no transfection), si-NC (transfection with pGenesil-1-con) si-Fascin1 (transfection with pGen-1-FSCN1) groups, and three corresponding groups: NT, si-NC and si-Fascin1 groups treated with TGF-ß1. RT-qPCR, Western-Blot, Transwell, and flow cytometry method were used in this study. RESULTS: The expressions of TGF-ß1 and Fascin1 in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The expression of TGF-ß1 was positively correlated with that of Fascin1. After 24 and 48h of treatment with TGF-ß1 (10ng/mL), the invasive and metastatic abilities of the 786-0 cells in the NT and si-NC groups were higher than those before the treatment (P<0.05). Comparing the three groups before TGF-ß1 treatment, the invasive and metastatic ability of 786-0 cells in the si-Fascin1 were significantly lower than those in the NT group and si-NC group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: TGF-ß1 could induce the expressions of 786-0 Fascin1 mRNA and protein and thus improve the invasive and metastatic ability of human 786-0 renal carcinoma cell.

High-Level Expression of microRNA-21 in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Is a Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker in Prostate Cancer.

AIMS: Our study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic values of microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: Between February 2010 and June 2014, 75 consecutive patients with localized PCa confirmed by radical prostatectomy and biopsy were enrolled as the case group. Among them, 25 patients were confirmed with recurrence or metastasis (R/M) (PCa with R/M group) and 50 patients without R/M (PCa without R/M group). During the same period, 75 healthy volunteers were enrolled as the control group. Blood was collected from all subjects, and PBMCs were isolated. Relative miR-21 expression levels from the PBMCs were determined by fluorescence real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RESULTS: The relative miR-21 expression levels in the preoperative case group was significantly higher than that in the postoperative case group and the control group (both p<0.001). miR-21 expression levels were associated with tumor differentiation, clinical stage, and lymph node metastasis (all p<0.001). Furthermore, miR-21 expression levels in PCa patients with R/M were significantly higher than that in PCa patients without R/M and healthy controls (both p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the cut-off point of miR-21 for diagnosis of PCa was 0.9 with a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 85.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that high miR-21 expression levels in PBMCs were correlated with the presence, recurrence, and metastasis of PCa and that this may be a useful biomarker for screening PCa and monitoring the risk of PCa recurrence and metastasis.

Doppler ultrasound measurement of resistance index in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains the second leading cause of cancer diagnosis worldwide. Early diagnosis and treatment of PCa is critical since the long-term prognosis is excellent in patients with tumors confined to the prostate gland. The current meta-analysis investigates the diagnostic value of resistive index (RI) measurement using color Doppler ultrasound in patients with PCa. Electronic literature databases were exhaustively searched for relevant studies published prior to May 31, 2014. Nine studies met our predetermined inclusion criteria for the present meta-analysis. The methodologic quality of the selected studies was independently assessed by 2 reviewers based on Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. Our meta-analysis results showed that RI values were significantly higher in malignant prostate tissues compared to normal prostate tissues (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12~0.73, p = 0.007) and benign prostate tissues (SMD 0.41, 95% CI 0.26~0.56, p<0.001). Subgroup analysis based on the diagnostic instruments used revealed that RI values were accurate in diagnosis of PCa when compared between malignant tissue vs normal tissue and malignant tissue vs benign tissue (all p<0.05). Taken together, our findings support the potential clinical applications of RI values in diagnosis of PCa.