[Progress of researches on novel diagnostic markers for alveolar echinococcosis].

Imaging and serological approaches play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of alveolar echinococcosis; however, they also suffer from some problems during their applications in clinical practices, which urges the identification of potential diagnostic markers. Novel serological, genomics and proteomics diagnostic markers alone or in combination may increase the sensitivity and specificity in early diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis, which play vital roles in monitoring of disease courses and prognostic evaluation. This review mainly presents the advances in the studies on novel diagnostic markers for alveolar echinococcosis.

LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 promoted chemoresistance, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through regulation of miR-25-3p/ITGB8 axis in prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Accumulating evidence determined that lncRNA plays important roles in the development and occurrence of cancers. Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer and one of the top five cancers for the cause of male death in the world. Therefore, this study was to explore the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA in chemoresistance of PC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of FEZF1-AS1, miR-25-3p and ITGB8. Western blot was applied to measure the protein expression of ITGB8 E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, LC3I, LC3II, ATG5 and Beclin-1. In addition, CCK-8 assay was used to assess cell proliferation of transfected cells. Luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay were used to determine the relationship among FEZF1-AS1, miR-25-3p and ITGB8. RESULTS: In this study, the expression of FEZF1-AS1 and ITGB8 was upregulated, whereas the expression of miR-25-3p was downregulated in PC tumor tissues and PC/PTX cells. Luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay determined that miR-25-3p was a target of FEZF1-AS1 and ITGB8 was a target mRNA of miR-25-3p. Interestingly, knockdown of FEZF1-AS1 could inhibit cell viability and EMT and promoted cell autophagy in PC/PTX cells, but inhibition of miR-25-3p or promotion of ITGB8 could reverse the effects of si-FEZF1-AS1 on PC/PTX cells. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 promoted chemoresistance, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through regulation of miR-25-3p/ITGB8 axis in PC, providing a new regulatory mechanism of PC and a novel therapeutic target.

LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 promoted chemoresistance, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through regulation of miR-25-3p/ITGB8 axis in prostate cancer.

The article "LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 promoted chemoresistance, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through regulation of miR-25-3p/ITGB8 axis in prostate cancer, by Z.-H. Wang, J.-H. Wang, K.-Q. Wang, Y. Zhou, J. Wang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2020; 24(5): 2281-2293-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202003_20494-PMID: 32196579" has been withdrawn from the authors. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/20494.

Correlations of MC4R and MSH2 expression with obesity in colon cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlations of MC4R and MSH2 with adult obesity, a total of 46 patients with early-stage colon cancer were treated in our hospital between February 2008 and February 2009 and were enrolled. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Venous blood was regularly drawn from subjects of the observation group and 48 healthy subjects for 6 years. Expression levels of MC4R and MSH2 genes were tested using quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses, and the ensuing proteins were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses. Finally, correlations with body mass index (BMI) and the presence of colon cancer were identified using multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, MSH2 mRNA and protein expression increased significantly over time (p < 0.05) in patients with colon cancer. Moreover, MSH2 expression was correlated with colon cancer progression, and MC4R mRNA and protein expression increase concurrently in comparison with the control group (p < 0.05). Also, the mean BMI among patients with colon cancer was 30.8, whereas that among control subjects was only 21.4. These data indicate a relationship between BMI and colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of MSH2 in patients with colon cancer may promote the expression of the obesity gene MC4R, potentially contributing to body weight gains.

TonEBP modulates the protective effect of taurine in ischemia-induced cytotoxicity in cardiomyocytes.

Taurine, which is found at high concentration in the heart, exerts several protective actions on myocardium. Physically, the high level of taurine in heart is maintained by a taurine transporter (TauT), the expression of which is suppressed under ischemic insult. Although taurine supplementation upregulates TauT expression, elevates the intracellular taurine content and ameliorates the ischemic injury of cardiomyocytes (CMs), little is known about the regulatory mechanisms of taurine governing TauT expression under ischemia. In this study, we describe the TonE (tonicity-responsive element)/TonEBP (TonE-binding protein) pathway involved in the taurine-regulated TauT expression in ischemic CMs. Taurine inhibited the ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal degradation of TonEBP, promoted the translocation of TonEBP into the nucleus, enhanced TauT promoter activity and finally upregulated TauT expression in CMs. In addition, we observed that TonEBP had an anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative role in CMs under ischemia. Moreover, the protective effects of taurine on myocardial ischemia were TonEBP dependent. Collectively, our findings suggest that TonEBP is a core molecule in the protective mechanism of taurine in CMs under ischemic insult.

Air bronchogram in differential diagnosis of small peripheral lung cancers on CT image.

The computed tomographic (CT) images of 52 patients of small peripheral lung nodule < 3 cm proved pathologically were reviewed. Air bronchogram (AB) was found in 14 nodules on thin-section CT images, in which well or moderately differentiated small adenocarcinomas were only seen with lipidic growth. Squamous-cell, large-cell carcinomas and small benign lung nodules had no AB sign both on CT image and in pathologic specimens.

Treatment of experimental Coxsackie B-3 viral myocarditis with Astragalus membranaceus in mice.

A murine model system for observing the effect of Astragalus Membranaceus (AM) on experimental myocarditis caused by Coxsackie B-3 virus (CB3V) was developed in 4-week-old male BALB/C mice. Gross, histopathologic and ultrastructural examinations of the infected-AM treated group showed that the severity and involved area of the myocardial lesions became milder and smaller than those in the infected-NS treated mice. The total lesion area, and the total lesion area/total myocardial area examined (%) and virus titer in the former group were also smaller and lower than those in the latter group. The results suggest that AM is effective in the inhibition of Coxsackie B virus propagation and protection of myocardium in mouse myocarditis.