Identification of antibacterial activity of liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2) from primitive vertebrate lamprey.

Liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2) is a member of the antimicrobial peptides family and plays a key role in the innate immune system of organisms. LEAP2 orthologs have been identified from a variety of fish species, however, its function in primitive vertebrates has not been clarified. In this study, we cloned and identified Lc-LEAP2 from the primitive jawless vertebrate lamprey (Lethenteron camtschaticum) which includes a 25 amino acids signal peptide and a mature peptide of 47 amino acids. Although sequence similarity was low compared to other species, the mature Lc-LEAP2 possesses four conserved cysteine residues, forming a core structure with two disulfide bonds between the cysteine residues in the relative 1-3 (Cys 58 and Cys 69) and 2-4 (Cys 64 and Cys 74) positions. Lc-LEAP2 was most abundantly expressed in the muscle, supraneural body and buccal gland of lamprey, and was significantly upregulated during LPS and Poly I:C stimulations. The mature peptide was synthesized and characterized for its antibacterial activity against different bacteria. Lc-LEAP2 possessed inhibition of a wide range of bacteria with a dose-dependence, disrupting the integrity of bacterial cell membranes and binding to bacterial genomic DNA, although its inhibitory function is weak compared to that of higher vertebrates. These data suggest that Lc-LEAP2 plays an important role in the innate immunity of lamprey and is of great value in improving resistance to pathogens. In addition, the antimicrobial mechanism of LEAP2 has been highly conserved since its emergence in primitive vertebrates.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of a novel cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) gene in lamprey (Lethenteron reissneri).

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) responds to a wide array of cellular stresses such as cold shock, hypoxia, and inflammatory responses. However, functional studies of CIRBP in jawless vertebrates are limited. In this study, a CIRBP homolog from the jawless vertebrate lamprey (Lethenteron reissneri) was cloned and characterized (named Lr-CIRBP). The cDNA fragment of Lr-CIRBP has a 516 bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes 171 amino acids, comprising a glycine-rich region at the C-terminal, similar to higher vertebrates but slightly shorter, and an RNA recognition motif (RRM) domain at the N-terminus. The predicted Lr-CIRBP sequence had 51.4 ~ 70.6% similarity with CIRBPs from other vertebrates. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that Lr-CIRBP is located in the outgroup of vertebrates and is the ancestor of vertebrates. Based on real-time quantitative PCR experimental analysis, Lr-CIRBP expression was highest in leukocytes and increased significantly after multi-stimulation, peaking at 12 h. RNA interference showed that Lr-CIRBP knockdown can down-regulate the expression of inflammatory factors in Lethenteron reissneri. In conclusion, our study successfully clarifies the ancestral features and functions of CIRBP, while revealing valuable insight into how the protein is involved in the immune responses of a jawless vertebrate.

All fiber optic current sensor based on phase-shift fiber loop ringdown structure.

An all fiber optic current sensor (AFOCS) utilizing ordinary optical fiber is proposed and demonstrated, which is implemented with a phase-shift fiber loop ringdown (PS-FLRD) structure. The current-induced rotation angle is converted into a minute change in transmittance of the fiber loop, which can be obtained by measuring the phase shift. The current sensitivity is improved by allowing optical signals to traverse the sensing fiber repeatedly. The relationship between the current sensitivity, intrinsic phase shift, and initial transmittance of the fiber loop is numerically analyzed, and the tunable sensitivity is experimentally verified by adjusting the modulation frequency. An optimal current sensitivity of 0.8158°/A is experimentally obtained for the proposed sensor, and the minimum detectable current is at least 100 mA. The proposed sensor requires fewer polarization elements compared with the common type of fiber optic current sensor (FOCS) and has the characteristics of simple structure, high sensitivity, and ease of operation; it will be a promising approach in practical applications.

Peptidomics Analysis Reveals the Buccal Gland of Jawless Vertebrate Lamprey as a Source of Multiple Bioactive Peptides.

Various proteins with antibacterial, anticoagulant, and anti-inflammatory properties have been identified in the buccal glands of jawless blood-sucking vertebrate lampreys. However, studies on endogenous peptides in the buccal gland of lampreys are limited. In this study, 4528 endogenous peptides were identified from 1224 precursor proteins using peptidomics and screened for bioactivity in the buccal glands of the lamprey, Lethenteron camtschaticum. We synthesized four candidate bioactive peptides (VSLNLPYSVVRGEQFVVQA, DIPVPEVPILE, VVQLPPVVLGTFG, and VPPPPLVLPPASVK), calculated their secondary structures, and validated their bioactivity. The results showed that the peptide VSLNLPYSVVRGEQFVVQA possessed anti-inflammatory activity, which significantly increased the expression of anti-inflammatory factors and decreased the expression of inflammatory factors in THP-1 cells. The peptide VVQLPPVVLGTFG showed antibacterial activity against some gram-positive bacteria. The peptide VSLNLPYSVVRGEQFVQA possessed good ACE inhibitory activity at low concentrations, but no dose-related correlation was observed. Our study revealed that the buccal glands of the jawless vertebrate lamprey are a source of multiple bioactive peptides, which will provide new insights into the blood-sucking mechanism of lamprey.

Multiplexing of RF-assisted fiber ring resonators based on phase-shift amplification.

The multiplexing of fiber ring resonators (FRRs) for no crosstalk loss sensing is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The difference between the parallel and series FRRs is theoretically elaborated to determine the multiplexing scheme. The frequency response properties of the cascaded FRRs at distinct radio frequency (RF) working points are compared and analyzed. The optical carrier-based microwave interferometry system is implemented to verify the numerical investigation and exhibit the multiplexing of phase-shift based demodulation at diverse RF working points. Enhanced by the phase-shift amplification and the series configuration, each FRR can be independently demodulated by recording the phase of frequency response at the specific RF working point. The experimental results indicate that the sensitivity of transmittance reaches -0.341 rad with the advantage of robustness and immunity to power fluctuation. Owing to the prominent contribution of insensitive points and the series strategy, the crosstalk of multiplexing for loss sensing between two FRRs is eliminated virtually, which matches well with the theory. The proposed scheme provides an innovative approach for multiplexing the phase-based FRRs sensors without additional expenditure.

Choosing Optimal Microcarcinoma Patients for Active Surveillance Study (Compass): Effectiveness Evaluation of a Preoperative Clinical Framework.

OBJECTIVE: Active surveillance (AS) is a management alternative for patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). To decide the best candidates for AS, clinicians can use a framework to classify PTMC patients as ideal, appropriate, or inappropriate. This study aimed to explore the correlation between the framework categories and surgical pathology. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study was conducted between 2014 and 2016. We included 1997 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for the first time due to suspected PTMC and were confirmed as PTMC by postoperative pathology. The consistency of modified preoperative risk stratification and the pathologic condition were evaluated using a consistency ratio and the Kappa coefficient. Stratified analysis was also performed to test consistency in different age groups. RESULTS: Based on the decision-making framework, 558 (27.9%) patients could receive AS while 810 (40.6%) patients did not require immediate surgery according to the actual postoperative pathology. The sensitivity, false-positive rate, specificity, false-negative rate, and consistency rate were 82.39%, 56.91%, 43.09%, 17.61%, and 66.45%, respectively. The Kappa value was 0.268. Stratified analysis showed that the sensitivity was 87.7% among patients aged 18 to 59 years. In the group aged ≥60 years, the specificity was up to 87.5%, but the sensitivity was low. CONCLUSION: The results of the modified risk-stratified clinical decision-making framework did not have a high consistency with the postoperative results. However, the framework showed a good effect in selecting patients for immediate surgery in the younger group and patients for AS in the older group.

High Ratio of Early Postoperative Calcitonin to Preoperative Calcitonin Could be a Novel Indicator of Poor Prognosis in Patients with Biochemical Incomplete Responses in Sporadic Medullary Thyroid Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: In a cohort of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) patients with biochemical incomplete responses, 37 to 48% developed structural persistent disease; however, few indictors were available to distinguish those patients who were more likely to develop structural disease. We hypothesized that the relationship between preoperative calcitonin (Ctn) and postoperative Ctn (within 3 days after surgery) could be used to predict early prognosis of these patients. METHODS: A total of 92 sporadic MTC patients were enrolled in this study. Our team proposed a novel indicator of structural persistent MTC called the calcitonin ratio (CR; CR = postoperative Ctn/preoperative Ctn). Cox regression models and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to evaluate the prognostic capability of CR. The area under the time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUC) and the Harrell concordance index (C-index) were used for analysis. RESULTS: The cutoff CR value used to determine MTC prognosis was 0.15. Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that CR (hazard ratio [HR]: 22.974, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.259 to 161.959, P = .002), tumor-node-metastasis (HR: 3.968, 95% CI: 1.360 to 21.857; P = .031), and multifocality (HR: 8.466, 95% CI: 1.286 to 55.716; P = .026) independently correlated with MTC prognosis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated a lower proportion with structural persistent disease in patients with CR <0.15 (P<.001). The 3, 5, and 10-year AUC values were 0.798, 0.752, and 0.743, respectively. The C-index of CR was 0.788 (95% CI: 0.763 to 0.813). CONCLUSION: In this study, CR was identified as a sensitive and specific risk stratification marker for patients with biochemical incomplete responses in sporadic MTC. ABBREVIATIONS: ATA = American Thyroid Association; AUC = area under curve; CEA = carcinoembryonic antigen; CR = calcitonin ratio; Ctn = calcitonin; HR = hazard ratio; MTC = medullary thyroid cancer; ROC = receiver operating characteristic; TNM = tumor-node-metastasis.

Reduction-responsive polypeptide nanomedicines significantly inhibit progression of orthotopic osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor with high metastasis and mortality. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an effective therapeutic regimen, but the clinical application is limited by the unsatisfactory efficacies and considerable side effects. In this study, the reduction-responsive polypeptide micelles based on methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(S-tert-butylmercapto-L-cysteine) copolymers (mPEG113-b-PBMLC4, P4M, and mPEG113-b-PBMLC9, P9M) were developed to control the delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) in OS therapy. Compared to free DOX, P4M/DOX and P9M/DOX exhibited 2.6 and 3.5 times increase in the area under the curve of pharmacokinetics, 1.6 and 2.0 times increase in tumor accumulation, and 1.6 and 1.7 times decrease of the distribution in the heart. Moreover, the selective accumulation of micelles, especially P9M/DOX, in tumors induced stronger antitumor effects on both primary and lung metastatic OSs with less systematic toxicity. These micelles with smart responsiveness to intracellular microenvironments are highly promising for the targeted delivery of clinical chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer therapy.

LHPP inhibits cell growth and migration and triggers autophagy in papillary thyroid cancer by regulating the AKT/AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.

In recent decades, the incidence rate of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has been rapidly increasing. However, the molecular mechanism of the physiological and pathological processes of PTC is still largely unknown. Phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) is a tumor suppressor and exerts anti-tumor effect in several human cancers, while the role and underlying mechanism of LHPP in PTC remain vague. In this study, we firstly evaluated the roles of LHPP in PTC and explored its underlying mechanism. Using clinical tissue samples, we detected the level of LHPP in PTC tissues and in matched adjacent normal tissues. Lower level of LHPP was found in PTC tissues than in matched adjacent normal tissues. Similar LHPP expression pattern was found in PTC cell lines when compared with that in normal human thyroid follicular epithelial cells. Then, we over-expressed LHPP in three PTC cell lines and results showed that ectopic LHPP expression consistently reduced cell viability, proliferation, and migration and triggered cell autophagy. Furthermore, over-expression of LHPP inhibited the activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway and promoted the AMPK signaling pathway. In addition, the activation of AKT/mTOR and inhibition of AMPK signaling pathways restored the role of ectopic LHPP expression in PTC cell lines, indicating that LHPP exerts its anti-tumor activity through regulating the AKT/AMPK/mTOR pathway. Ultimately, we illustrated that ectopic LHPP expression inhibited PTC tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, we revealed that LHPP has an anti-tumor effect in PTC and indicated that LHPP might serve as an effective diagnostic and therapeutic target for PTC.

Anlotinib, a novel small molecular tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppresses growth and metastasis via dual blockade of VEGFR2 and MET in osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, with highly aggressive behavior and early systemic metastasis. The survival rates for osteosarcoma remain unchanged over the past two decades. Studies aiming to find new or alternative therapies for patients with refractory osteosarcoma are urgently needed. Anlotinib, a novel multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), has exhibited encouraging clinical activity in NSLCC and soft tissue sarcoma, whereas its effect on osteosarcoma has not been studied. In our study, we investigated the anti-tumor activity and underlying mechanism of anlotinib in osteosarcoma. Various in vitro and in vivo models of human osteosarcoma were used to determine the anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenesis and anti-metastasis efficacy of anlotinib. Our results showed that anlotinib suppressed tumor growth and increased the chemo-sensitivity of osteosarcoma. In addition, anlotinib inhibited migration and invasion in osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, in order to explore the anti-tumor mechanism of anlotinib, phospho-RTK antibody arrays were performed. These analyses confirmed that anlotinib suppressed the phosphorylation of MET, VEGFR2 and the downstream signaling pathway activation. Moreover, we demonstrated that anlotinib blocked hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced cell migration, invasion and VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Notably, a 143B-Luc orthotopic osteosarcoma model further showed that anlotinib significantly inhibited growth and lung metastasis of implanted tumor cells. Our preclinical work indicates that anlotinib acts as a novel inhibitor of VEGFR2 and MET that blocks tumorigenesis in osteosarcoma, which could be translated into future clinical trials.

Antitumor activity of Raddeanin A is mediated by Jun amino-terminal kinase activation and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 inhibition in human osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor. Raddeanin A (RA) is an active oleanane-type triterpenoid saponin extracted from the traditional Chinese herb Anemone raddeana Regel that exerts antitumor activity against several cancer types. However, the effect of RA on osteosarcoma remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that RA inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in a dose- and time-dependent way in vitro and in vivo. RA treatment resulted in excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and JNK and ERK1/2 activation. Apoptosis induction was evaluated by the activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 and poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage. RA-induced cell death was significantly restored by the ROS scavenger glutathione (GSH), the pharmacological inhibitor of JNK SP600125, or specific JNK knockdown by shRNA. Additionally, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation was suppressed by RA in human osteosarcoma, and this suppression was restored by GSH, SP600125, and JNK-shRNA. Further investigation showed that STAT3 phosphorylation was increased after JNK knockdown. In a tibial xenograft tumor model, RA induced osteosarcoma apoptosis and notably inhibited tumor growth. Taken together, our results show that RA suppresses proliferation and induces apoptosis by modulating the JNK/c-Jun and STAT3 signaling pathways in human osteosarcoma. Therefore, RA may be a promising candidate antitumor drug for osteosarcoma intervention.

A Novel N Staging System for Predicting Survival in Patients with Medullary Thyroid Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the crucially prognostic value of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), only the LNM compartment alone was reflected in the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) system. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to incorporate the metastatic lymph node number and metastatic lymph node ratio to generate a more accurate and appropriate N staging system for patients with MTC based on recursive partitioning analysis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Two cohorts were included in the analysis, including 1374 MTC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database as the derivation cohort, and 164 patients from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center as the validation cohort. The predictive performance of the alternative proposed N staging system was compared with that of the 8th AJCC system by using the Harrell concordance index (C-index) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: In the derivation cohort, the C-index and the AUC at 10 years were 0.778 and 0.789, respectively, for the novel N staging system, and 0.749 and 0.741, respectively, for the 8th AJCC N staging system. Similar trends were also observed in the validation cohort. The proposed N staging system had a better prognostic performance. CONCLUSION: With some improvements, the novel N staging system for MTC suggested from this research may be assessed for potential adoption in the next edition of the AJCC N staging system.

Oxymatrine exerts protective effects on osteoarthritis via modulating chondrocyte homoeostasis and suppressing osteoclastogenesis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease characterized by the progressive destruction both articular cartilage and the subchondral bone. The agents that can effectively suppress chondrocyte degradation and subchondral bone loss are crucial for the prevention and treatment of OA. Oxymatrine (OMT) is a natural compound with anti-inflammatory and antitumour properties. We found that OMT exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on LPS-induced chondrocyte inflammation and catabolism. To further support our results, fresh human cartilage explants were treated with LPS to establish an ex vivo degradation model, and the results revealed that OMT inhibited the catabolic events of LPS-stimulated human cartilage and substantially attenuated the degradation of articular cartilage ex vivo. As subchondral bone remodelling is involved in OA progression, and osteoclasts are a unique cell type in bone resorption, we investigated the effects of OMT on osteoclastogenesis, and the results demonstrated that OMT suppresses RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis by suppressing the RANKL-induced NFATc1 and c-fos signalling pathway in vitro. Further, we found that the anti-inflammatory and anti-osteoclastic effects of oxymatrine are mediated via the inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. In animal studies, OMT suppressed the ACLT-induced cartilage degradation, and TUNEL assays further confirmed the protective effect of OMT on chondrocyte apoptosis. MicroCT analysis revealed that OMT had an attenuating effect on ACLT-induced subchondral bone loss in vivo. Taken together, these results show that OMT interferes with the vicious cycle associated with OA and may be a potential therapeutic agent for abnormal subchondral bone loss and cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis.

HER4 promotes cell survival and chemoresistance in osteosarcoma via interaction with NDRG1.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. The abilities of chemotherapy resistance are major roadblock in the successful treatment of OS. The clarification of mechanism regarding cell survival during OS chemotherapy are important. Here, we examined HER4 expression by immunohistochemistry in a large series of OS tissues, and found HER4 expression correlated with tumor characteristics and patient survival rates. HER4 knockdown by shRNA inhibited OS cell growth and tumorigenesis, and induced cell senescence and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that HER4 expression upregulated in the adverse conditions, such as serum starvation and sphere culture. Moreover, HER4 knockdown cells became more sensitive in stressful conditions such as loss of attachment, cytotoxic agents or nutrition insufficiency. Mechanism studies revealed that HER4 interacted with NDRG1, and NDRG1 overexpression could antagonize HER4 knockdown-mediated cell growth and apoptosis in stressed conditions. There was a positive correlation between HER4 and NDRG1 immunoreactivity in OS patients. Together, our present study shows that HER4 and/or NDRG1 might play a critical role for the cell survival and chemo-resistance of OS, and could be used as potential therapeutic targets in OS.

The Positive Lymph Node Number and Postoperative N-Staging Used to Estimate Survival in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: Results from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Dataset (1988-2008).

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis is important when evaluating the prognosis of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, the current N-staging system cannot fully reflect the clinical significance of cervical lymph node metastasis in DTC. In this study, we employed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-registered DTC cases with lymph node metastasis to determine whether the positive lymph node number (PLNN) could be used to improve stratification of patients in terms of survival. METHODS: We used the SEER dataset to identify all DTC patients with at least one positive cervical lymph node who were examined between 1988 and 2008. Multivariable modeling was used to compare cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) and to calculate different PLNN cutoff points. RESULTS: In total, 14,359 pN + DTC patients identified in the SEER were included. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the PLNN was significantly associated with both CSS and OS, whereas neither the lymph node ratio (LNR) nor the (numbers of) lymph nodes examined (LNE) were so associated. The highest C-index value (0.933) and the lowest AIC value (9362.687) obtained indicated that the PLNN better predicted the CSS of DTC than did the LNR or LNE. As the p values for both CSS and OS were minimized, and as the PLNN performed best when cases were grouped, PLNN cutoff points of 10 and 3/10 efficiently stratified DTC patients into two and three levels, respectively. Based on the 3/10 trichotomy, the benefits of radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment were evaluated for each group. Such treatment afforded about a 10% survival benefit in patients with more than 10 lymph node metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the LNR and LNE under different statistical models, PLNN was superior in terms of DTC staging. A cutoff point of 3/10 was optimal for stratifying patients according to prognosis and was of clinical significance in terms of RAI treatment selection.

Cervical Lymph Node Metastatic Status and Adjuvant Therapy Predict the Prognosis of Salivary Duct Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an aggressive malignancy that is not yet fully understood. We designed the present retrospective study to investigate the factors affecting the prognosis of SDC and the effects of adjuvant therapies on the clinical outcomes of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with SDC treated surgically from 2006 to 2016 were enrolled in the present retrospective cohort study. The demographic data, clinical pathologic characteristics, and follow-up results were recorded. The prognostic indicators of overall survival (OS), locoregional failure-free survival (LRFFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: The study sample included 66 patients, most of whom were male (81.8%). The 5-year OS, LRFFS, and DMFS for all patients was 52.5%, 63.9%, and 51.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that stage N2-N3, lymph node involvement of levels IV and V, 8 or more positive lymph nodes, and extranodal extension were all negative prognostic indicators for OS. The only significant indicator on multivariate analysis was the number of positive lymph nodes. Multivariate analysis revealed that extracapsular invasion and no adjuvant radiotherapy were risk factors for LRFFS. In contrast, lesions involving both glands and 8 or more positive lymph nodes were prognostic factors for DMFS. Further subgroup analysis showed that radiotherapy was only useful for patients with locally advanced lesions for local control. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical lymph node metastatic status is an important factor in predicting the prognosis of SDC patients. Adjuvant radiotherapy is useful for local control, especially for patients with stage T4 disease but does not benefit OS and DMFS.

Alternol, a natural compound, exerts an anti-tumour effect on osteosarcoma by modulating of STAT3 and ROS/MAPK signalling pathways.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumour. Alternol, a novel compound purified from microbial fermentation products exerts anti-tumour effects across several cancer types. The effect of alternol on human OS remains to be elucidated. We first evaluated the anti-tumour effect of alternol in several human OS cell lines in vitro and investigated its underlying mechanism. Alternol inhibited OS cell proliferation, migration and induced caspase-dependent apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest in a dose and time-dependent manner. Moreover, alternol treatment inhibited signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in 143B and MG63 human OS cells, as evaluated using a STAT3-dependent dual luciferase reporter system. Exposure to alternol resulted in excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and Jun amino-terminal kinases (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) and p38 activation. Furthermore, alternol-induced cell death was significantly restored in the presence of the ROS scavenger, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) or a caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK. NAC also prevented G2/M phase arrest and phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), but did not reverse STAT3 inactivation. Finally, alternol suppressed tumour growth in vivo in the nude mouse OS tibia orthotopic model. Immunohistochemistry revealed that alternol treatment resulted in down-regulation of phosph-STAT3 Tyr705 and up-regulation of cleaved caspase-3 and phosph-SAPK (Stress-activated protein kinases)/JNK expression. Taken together, our results reveal that alternol suppresses cell proliferation, migration and induces apoptosis, cell cycle arrest by modulating of ROS-dependent MAPK and STAT3 signalling pathways in human OS cells. Therefore, alternol is a promising candidate for developing anti-tumour drugs target OS.

A new synthetic ursolic acid derivative IUA with anti-tumor efficacy against osteosarcoma cells via inhibition of JNK signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents and is characterized by frequent metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy. Because osteosarcoma cells are not highly susceptible to current chemotherapy drugs, new alternative strategies for the treatment of osteosarcoma are needed. This study was undertaken to investigate the inhibitory effects of a new synthetic ursolic acid derivative IUA on osteosarcoma cells and to explore its molecular mechanism. We also intended to identify new therapeutic candidates. METHODS: We used MTT assay to assess the effect of IUA on the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells. Western-blot analysis was performed to examine downstream molecular events. The Annexin V method was used to evaluate the effect of IUA on apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. The cell cycle of IUA-treated cells was examined by flow cytometry, and the in vivo effects of this new ursolic acid derivative were evaluated in a mouse osteosarcoma model. RESULTS: The results showed that the new synthetic ursolic acid derivative IUA significantly decreased viability of osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo. It could also induce apoptosis and G1 phase arrest of osteosarcoma cells. The JNK signaling pathway was significantly inhibited, and cleaved caspase-3 protein was increased. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the new synthetic ursolic acid derivative IUA induces proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo via the down-regulation of the JNK signaling pathway, making it a promising agent for the prevention and treatment of human osteosarcoma.

Outcome after intensity modulated radiotherapy for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a malignancy with one of the highest fatality rates. We reviewed our recent clinical experience with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) combined with surgery and chemotherapy for the management of ATC. METHODS: 13 patients with ATC who were treated by IMRT in our institution between October 2008 and February 2011, have been analyzed. The target volume for IMRT was planned to include Gross tumor volume (GTV): primary tumor plus any N + disease (66 Gy/33 F/6.6 W), with elective irradiation of thyroid bed, bilateral level II through VI and mediastinal lymph nodes to the level of the carina (54-60 Gy). Seven patients received surgical intervention and eleven patients had chemotherapy. RESULTS: The median radiotherapy dose to GTV was 60 Gy/30 fractions/6 weeks. The median survival time of the 13 patients was 9 months. The direct causes of death were distant metastases (75%) and progression of the locoregional disease (25%). Ten patients were spared dyspnea and tracheostomy because their primary neck lesion did not progress. CONCLUSION: The results showed that IMRT combined by surgery and chemotherapy for ATC might be beneficial to improve locoregional control. Further new therapies are needed to control metastases.

Number of tumor foci predicts prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) often presents as multifocal. However, the association of multifocality with poor prognosis remains controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the characteristics of PTC with multiple foci and to evaluate the association between multifocality and prognosis. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 496 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for PTC. Patients were classified as G1 (1 tumor focus), G2 (2 foci), and G3 (3 or more foci). We analyzed the clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes in each classification. A Cox regression model was used to assess the relationship between multifocality and recurrence or cancer mortality. RESULTS: The G1, G2 and G3 groups included 287, 141 and 68 patients, respectively. The mean age was 47.1±16.1 yr in G1, 41.1±18.4 yr in G2, and 35.5±15.9 yr in G3 and differed significantly among the 3 groups (p=0.001). The proportion of extrathyroidal extension, central lymph node metastasis (CLNM), and lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in the G1 to G3 groups increased with increasing number of tumor foci. The Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that G3 had the shortest recurrence-free survival, and differences were significant among the 3 groups (p=0.001, Log Rank test). Furthermore, cancer-specific survival rates decreased significantly with increasing number of tumor foci (p=0.041). Independent predictors of recurrence by multivariate Cox analysis included >3 tumor foci [HR 2.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.53-4.39, p=0.001] and extrathyroidal extension (HR 1.95, CI 1.12-3.38, p=0.018). CONCLUSION: An increase in the number of tumors is associated with a tendency toward more aggressive features and predicts poor prognosis in PTC.