miR-30a inhibits breast cancer progression through the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

BACKGROUND: miR-30a is a microRNA associated with the progression of malignant tumors such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer, and can regulate the proliferation and migration of breast cancer (BC) cells in vitro. However, its expression, function, clinical significance and relationship with the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in human BC were still unclear. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were used to measure the expressions of miR-30a and ß-catenin in 114 pairs of human BC tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues which were collected from March 2014 to October 2015. The effect of miR-30a on the expression of ß-catenin was studied in the MCF-7 cells in vitro. RESULTS: The expression levels of miR-30a in human BC tumor tissues were significantly lower than they were in the adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001), and significantly higher in ß-catenin protein (P < 0.001), but there was no significant different in ß-catenin mRNA (P = 0.3816). The immunohistochemistry results showed that ß-catenin protein was only expressed on the cell membrane in paracancerous normal tissues, but ß-catenin protein was expressed on the cell membrane and cytoplasm in BC tumor cells. In addition, there was a significantly negative correlation (r = -0.816, P < 0.001) between the expression miR-30a and ß-catenin protein in BC tissues. The age of onset, PR expression, ER expression, and HER-2 expression of the BC patients were not related to miR-30a or ß-catenin protein expression (P > 0.05). Tumor diameter, histological grade, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and the prognosis of BC patients (P < 0.05) were significantly related to miR-30a or ß-catenin protein expression. In MCF-7 cells, miR-30a regulated the accumulation of ß-catenin protein by inhibiting the expression of BCL9 in BC cells. CONCLUSION: miR-30a was lowly expressed in breast cancer tissues and highly in ß-catenin protein, and miR-30a might block the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway by inhibiting the accumulation of ß-catenin, and then inhibiting breast cancer progression.

PI3K/Akt signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of bleomycin­induced pulmonary fibrosis via regulation of epithelial­mesenchymal transition.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease characterized by chronic inflammation, fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis remain to be fully elucidated. The contribution of the phosphoinositide 3­kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway in fibrotic processes remains to be investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the PI3K/Akt pathway in pulmonary fibrosis. A rat model of pulmonary fibrosis was induced by intratracheal administration of bleomycin (BLM), and a specific PI3K/Akt inhibitor, LY294002, was used to assess the role of the PI3K/Akt pathway in fibrogenesis. The inflammatory and fibrotic alterations in the lung tissues were evaluated using histological staining and the hydroxyproline assay. In addition, the concentration of cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the expression of Akt, phosphorylated (p­)Akt, epithelial cadherin, α smooth muscle actin and vimentin in lung tissues. The data demonstrated that an increase in the expression levels of p­Akt was involved in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis and contributed to fibrogenesis. Administration of the Akt inhibitor significantly attenuated inflammation and fibrosis, which was accompanied by a reversal of lung fibrosis­associated epithelial­mesenchymal transition. Taken together, these observations suggest that the PI3K/Akt pathway serves a central role in the pathophysiology of lung fibrosis, and is a promising therapeutic target.

Preliminary study on CT perfusion imaging in guiding biopsy of pulmonary lumps.

BACKGROUND: CT perfusion imaging (CTP) has been proved to be a powerful functional imaging technique. This study aimed to evaluate the value of CTP in guiding biopsy of pulmonary lumps. METHODS: A total of 147 patients with pulmonary lumps who had CT guided biopsies were enrolled in this study from February 2005 to June 2007. The patients were assigned to 3 groups: 33 cases guided by CTP as group I, 45 cases guided by contrast-enhanced scan of CT as group II, and 69 cases guided by plain scan of CT as group III. Each group was subdivided into central and peripheral types according to the location of the lumps. The achievement ratio of biopsy, the accuracy in grouping, and grading of lung cancer, and the incidence of complication were compared. RESULTS: The total achievement ratios of biopsy from group I to III were 100% (33/33), 91% (41/45), and 80% (55/69) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.05). For the central type, they were 100% (18/18), 88% (15/17), and 79% (11/14) respectively, and the difference was also statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.05). For the peripheral type, they were 100% (15/15), 93% (26/28), and 80% (44/55) respectivelies, and the difference was not statistically significant among the three groups. The total accuracies in grouping and grading of lung cancer from group I to III were 100% (27/27), 91% (31/34), and 72% (33/46) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III and between group II and III (P < 0.05). For the central type, they were 100% (16/16), 94% (16/17), and 70% (8/12) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.05). For the peripheral type, they were 100% (11/11), 88% (15/17), and 72% (26/36) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.05). The total incidence of complication from group I to III were 15% (5/33), 27% (12/45), and 43% (30/69) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.01). For the central type, they were 11% (2/18), 24% (4/17), and 57% (8/14) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant between group I and III (P < 0.01). For the peripheral type, they were 20% (3/15), 29% (8/28), and 40% (22/55) respectively, and no statistically significant difference was found among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: CTP guided biopsy of pulmonary lumps using multi-detector row CT has the potential to improve the accuracy of histopathological diagnosis with a lower risk and higher achievement ratio. More research and technical improvements are needed before it is widely used.