Over-expression of prolyl isomerase Pin1 promotes cervical tumorigenesis and metastasis.

Overexpression of the prolyl isomerase PIN1 is involved in tumorigenesis, but the role of PIN1 in cervical cancer is unclear. In this study, we examined PIN1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 221 paraffin-embedded samples from cervical cancer patients, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia patients, and control tissues, and found that high expression of PIN1 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.002), advanced stage according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics guidelines (P=0.026). When endogenous PIN1 expression was knocked down using siRNA, cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion were inhibited in the SiHa cervical cancer cell line. Additionally, PIN1 knockdown increased E-cadherin and ß-catenin expression, and decreased expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin, suggesting that PIN1 can promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). These results indicate that the Overexpression of the prolyl isomerase PIN1 in cervical cancer indicates tumor-Promotive properties of PIN1 that may be a marker of poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients, and the molecular determinants of epithelial polarity which have tumorigenesis enhancing impact, might through EMT.

Screening for cholesterol-lowering probiotic based on deoxycholic acid removal pathway and studying its functional mechanisms in vitro.

Elevated serum cholesterol in humans is generally a risk factor correlated with the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Reducing deoxycholic acid (DCA) content in the intestine can reduce serum cholesterol levels, which reduce the incidence of CHD. A total of 150 strains of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria were isolated from human fecal samples. The DCA removal ability of these strains was evaluated. Results showed that 9 strains displayed above 10% DCA removal rate. The probiotic potentials of the 9 strains were evaluated. The strain Lactobacillus casei F0822 was screened out due to the stronger adhesion to HT-29 cells and tolerance to bile and acid. DCA removal for this strain resulted from that the S-layer protein locating the cell surface bound DCA. The FTIR spectra showed that the carboxyl group in DCA was the principal group by which DCA was bound to the S-layer protein of L. casei F0822. These findings suggested that L. casei F0822 is a better candidate probiotic strain, which has the potential to reduce human serum cholesterol levels.