Hsa_circ_0007456 regulates the natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity toward hepatocellular carcinoma via the miR-6852-3p/ICAM-1 axis.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) is one type of important non-coding RNAs that participate in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. In our previous study, we performed a microarray analysis of circRNAs between the tumor tissues and the adjacent normal tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and found that the circRNA hsa_circ_0007456 is significantly downregulated in the tumor tissues and correlated with the prognosis of HCC. We further investigated the relationship between the expression levels of hsa_circ_0007456 in HCC and the susceptibility of NK cells, and found that the expression levels of hsa_circ_0007456 in HCC cell lines significantly influenced their susceptibility to NK cells. Through a series of screening and validation, we found that hsa_circ_0007456 mainly functioned through sponging miR-6852-3p and regulating the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in HCC. The miR-6852-3p/ICAM-1 axis is essential for the NK cytotoxicity toward HCC mediated by hsa_circ_0007456. In conclusion, we identify here hsa_circ_0007456 as a promising biomarker of HCC, and highlight hsa_circ_0007456/miR-6852-3p/ICAM-1 axis as an important signaling pathway in the process of tumor immune evasion and the tumorigenesis of HCC.

Visualization of Rostral Migratory Stream in the Developing Rat Brain by In Vivo Electroporation.

Interneurons in the olfactory bulb (OB) are generated from neuronal precursor cells migrating from anterior subventricular zone (SVZa) not only in the developing embryo but also throughout the postnatal life of mammals. In the present study, we established an in vivo electroporation assay to label SVZa cells of rat both at embryonic and postnatal ages, and traced SVZa progenitors and followed their migration pathway and differentiation. We found that labeled cells displayed high motility. Interestingly, the postnatal cells migrated faster than the embryonic cells after applying this assay at different ages of brain development. Furthermore, based on brain slice culture and time-lapse imaging, we analyzed the detail migratory properties of these labeled precursor neurons. Finally, tissue transplantation experiments revealed that cells already migrated in subependymal zone of OB were transplanted back into rostral migratory stream (RMS), and these cells could still migrate out tangentially along RMS to OB. Taken together, these findings provide an in vivo labeling assay to follow and trace migrating cells in the RMS, their maturation and integration into OB neuron network, and unrecognized phenomena that postnatal SVZa progenitor cells with higher motility than embryonic cells, and their migration was affected by extrinsic environments.

ARID1A suppresses malignant transformation of human pancreatic cells via mediating senescence-associated miR-503/CDKN2A regulatory axis.

ARID1A as a subunit of SWI/SNF chromatin complexes is frequently mutated in human pancreatic cancer, however its exact role in pancreatic tumorigenesis remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of ARID1A loss on human pancreatic epithelial cell lines HPNE, BxPC-3 with KRAS mutant (KRASG12D) expression. We found that ARID1A knockdown promoted cell proliferation and colony formation in cooperation with active mutant KRASG12D. Function assay revealed that ARID1A knockdown accelerated cell cycle progression, and repressed KRASG12D-induced cell senescence. Transcriptome analysis revealed ARID1A knockdown led to miR-503 upregulation. CDKN2A was identified as a target of miR-503, which contributes to cell senescence. Thus, our data suggests that ARID1A deficiency promote KRASG12D-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis through miR-503/CDKN2A-mediated senescence.

[Study on Flavanoids Constituents of Swertia binchuanensis].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents of Swertia binchuanensis. Methods: The constituents were separated and purifyed by conventional methods. Their structures were identified on the basis of spectral analysis such as 1H-NMR,13C-NMR. Results: Seven compounds were isolated and identified as 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-1, 4, 8-trihydroxy-6-methoxyxanhone（ Ⅰ）, erythrocentaurin（ Ⅱ）,1-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-4, 8-dihydroxy-6-methoxyxanthone（ Ⅲ）, maslinic acid（ Ⅳ）,1-hydroxy-3, 7-dimethoxyxanthone（ Ⅴ）,1, 8-dihydroxy-3, 5-dimethoxyxanthone（ Ⅵ）,1, 7-dihydroxy-3, 4, 8-termethoxyxanthone（ Ⅶ）. Conclusion: All compounds were isolated from Swertia binchuanensis for the first time.

Expression and function analysis of mitotic checkpoint genes identifies TTK as a potential therapeutic target for human hepatocellular carcinoma.

The mitotic spindle checkpoint (SAC) genes have been considered targets of anticancer therapies. Here, we sought to identify the attractive mitotic spindle checkpoint genes appropriate for human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapies. Through expression profile analysis of 137 selected mitotic spindle checkpoint genes in the publicly available microarray datasets, we showed that 13 genes were dramatically up-regulated in HCC tissues compared to normal livers and adjacent non-tumor tissues. A role of the 13 genes in proliferation was evaluated by knocking them down via small interfering RNA (siRNA) in HCC cells. As a result, several mitotic spindle checkpoint genes were required for maintaining the proliferation of HCC cells, demonstrated by cell viability assay and soft agar colony formation assay. Then we established sorafenib-resistant sublines of HCC cell lines Huh7 and HepG2. Intriguingly, increased TTK expression was significantly associated with acquired sorafenib-resistance in Huh7, HepG2 cells. More importantly, TTK was observably up-regulated in 46 (86.8%) of 53 HCC specimens. A series of in vitro and in vivo functional experiment assays showed that TTK overexpression promoted cell proliferation, anchor-dependent colony formation and resistance to sorafenib of HCC cells; TTK knockdown restrained cell growth, soft agar colony formation and resistance to sorafenib of HCC cells. Collectively, TTK plays an important role in proliferation and sorafenib resistance and could act as a potential therapeutic target for human hepatocellular carcinoma.