Long non-coding RNA MIR22HG inhibits the proliferation and migration, and promotes apoptosis by targeting microRNA-9-3p/ SOCS1 axis in small cell lung cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the role of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) MIR22HG in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and to explore its relevant mechanism. METHODS AND RESULTS: The expressions of genes and proteins in SCLC cells were examined applying qRT-PCR and western blot. Cell proliferation estimation was implemented utilizing cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays; the assessment of cell migration and invasion was operated employing Wound healing and Transwell; apoptosis evaluation was conducted adopting flow cytometric assay. Binding relationships was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, SCLC animal model was established to explore the role of MIR22HG in vivo. It was found that MIR22HG was declined and miR-9-3p was elevated in five SCLC cell lines (NCI-H446, NCI-H69, SHP-77, DMS79 and NCI-H345) in comparison with normal human bronchial epithelial cell line (NHBE). More interestingly, overexpression of MIR22HG resulted in decreased cell viability, declined colony formation, diminished capacities of cell migration and invasion in NCI-H446 and NCI-H345 cells but induced more apoptotic cells. However, these impacts were reversed by miR-9-3p upregulation. Meanwhile, MIR22HG could bind to miR-9-3p and negatively regulate its expression in SCLC. What's more, LncRNA MIR22HG overexpression was also testified to elevate SOCS1 via downregulating miR-9-3p expression. Furthermore, in vivo study further confirmed the role of MIR22HG/miR-9-3p in tumor regulation of SCLC. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, MIR22HG in SCLC was found to modulate miR-9-3p level and might act as a possible biomarker for SCLC treatment.

ß-Hydroxybutyrate upregulates FGF21 expression through inhibition of histone deacetylases in hepatocytes.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is secreted by hepatocytes as a peptide hormone to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. FGF21 promotes hepatic ketogenesis and increases ketone body utilization in starvation. Histones are the target molecules of nutrients in regulating hepatic metabolic homeostasis. However, the effect of ketone bodies on FGF21 expression and the involvement of histones in it is not clear yet. The present study observed the effects of ß-hydroxybutyrate (ß-OHB), the main physiological ketone body, on FGF21 expression in human hepatoma HepG2 cells in vitro and in mice in vivo, and the role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in ß-OHB-regulated FGF21 expression was investigated. The results showed that ß-OHB significantly upregulated FGF21 gene expression and increased FGF21 protein levels while it inhibited HDACs' activity in HepG2 cells. HDACs' inhibition by entinostat upregulated FGF21 expression and eliminated ß-OHB-stimulated FGF21 expression in HepG2 cells. Intraperitoneal injections of ß-OHB in mice resulted in the elevation of serum ß-OHB and the inhibition of hepatic HDACs' activity. Meanwhile, hepatic FGF21 expression and serum FGF21 levels were significantly increased in ß-OHB-treated mice compared with the control. It is suggested that ß-OHB upregulates FGF21 expression through inhibition of HDACs' activity in hepatocytes.

The inhibitory effects of Dulaglutide on cellular senescence against high glucose in human retinal endothelial cells.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most important chronic microvascular complications of diabetes, and its main feature is diabetic glomerulosclerosis. Endothelial sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression is related to aging, and reducing SIRT1 expression promotes endothelial cell aging. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) can be synthesized in a variety of cells, such as endothelial cells. Dulaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug, and it can activate the GLP-1 receptor and promote the conversion of intracellular adenosine triphosphate to adenylate cyclase, thereby activating phosphokinase A, and regulating blood glucose levels effectively in the body. We analyzed the effects of Dulaglutide on inhibiting cell senescence by studying the effects of its different concentrations on telomerase activity and senescence-related gene expression. Our results suggest that Dulaglutide can alleviate high-glucose-induced oxidative stress in human retinal endothelial cells by restoring the expressions of SIRT1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), thereby inhibiting the expression of PAI-1, and restoring telomerase activity. This suggests that the activity of retinal endothelial cells can be controlled by regulating the expression of SIRT1, so as to achieve the effect of treating diabetic retinopathy.

Far upstream element -binding protein 1 (FUBP1) participates in the malignant process and glycolysis of colon cancer cells by combining with c-Myc.

Human distal upstream element (Fuse) binding protein 1 (FUBP1) is a transcriptional regulator of c-Myc and represents an important prognostic marker in many cancers. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether FUBP1 could combine with c-Myc to participate in the progression of colon cancer. Detection of FUBP1 expression was done through reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and the combination of FUBP1 and c-Myc was detected by immunoprecipitation assay. Cell counting kit (CCK)-8, colony formation, transwell and wound healing were applied for assessing the ability of cells to proliferate, migrate, and invade; glycolysis and lactic acid detection kits were used to detect glucose uptake and lactic acid content, while western blotting was adopted to detect the protein expression of glycolysis-related genes. FUBP1 expression was elevated in HCT116 cells relative to other colon cancer cell lines, and silencing FUBP1 could inhibit the ability of HCT116 cells to proliferate, migrate, invade and glycolysis, and enhance its apoptosis. In addition, the results of immunoprecipitation experiments showed that FUBP1 could bind to c-Myc. c-Myc overexpression reversed the inhibitory effects of FUBP1 knockdown on the ability of HCT116 cells to proliferate, migrate, invade and glycolysis. The results indicated that FUBP1 could participate in the deterioration process of colon cancer cells by combining with c-Myc, and it has clinical significance for understanding the key role of FUBP1 in tumor genesis.

Plasma polymer surface modified expanded polytetrafluoroethylene promotes epithelial monolayer formation in vitro and can be transplanted into the dystrophic rat subretinal space.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the surface modification of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) using an n-heptylamine (HA) plasma polymer would allow for functional epithelial monolayer formation suitable for subretinal transplant into a non-dystrophic rat model. Freshly isolated iris pigment epithelial (IPE) cells from two rat strains (Long Evans [LE] and Dark Agouti [DA]) were seeded onto HA, fibronectin-coated n-heptylamine modified (F-HA) and unmodified ePFTE and fibronectin-coated tissue culture (F-TCPS) substrates. Both F-HA ePTFE and F-TCPS substrates enabled functional monolayer formation with both strains of rat. Without fibronectin coating, only LE IPE formed a monolayer on HA-treated ePTFE. Functional assessment of both IPE strains on F-HA ePTFE demonstrated uptake of POS that increased significantly with time that was greater than control F-TCPS. Surgical optimization using Healon GV and mixtures of Healon GV: phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to induce retinal detachment demonstrated that only Healon GV:PBS allowed F-HA ePTFE substrates to be successfully transplanted into the subretinal space of Royal College of Surgeons rats, where they remained flat beneath the neural retina for up to 4 weeks. No apparent substrate-induced inflammatory response was observed by fundus microscopy or immunohistochemical analysis, indicating the potential of this substrate for future clinical applications.

Dry eye induced by exposure to cigarette smoke pollution: An in vivo and in vitro study.

Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) pollution has previously associated with dry eye symptoms but without detailed experimental data and elucidation of the mechanism. We aimed to evaluate the effects of CS on the ocular surfaces of mice and the extraction of DMSO lipid-soluble cigarette smoke particles (DCSP) on cultured human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs), and explore to elucidate the probable mechanism. C57BL mice were exposed to CS challenging. In vivo clinical evaluations, including corneal fluorescein staining, tear film break-up time, and confocal microscopic observations, were performed before exposure and post-exposure. At the end of the in vivo study, changes in corneal and conjunctival histology, corneal ultrastructure, and conjunctival goblet cell intensity were examined, expression of TUNLE and Ki67 in tissue were also detected. In vitro, cell confluence and caspase3/7 were assessed in DCSP treated HCECs. Production of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, activation of NF-κB and Ki67 were evaluated by means of ELISA and Western blot respectively in HCECs cultured with 0.6 µL/mL DCSP. We found that longer-term CS exposure induced dry eye symptoms in mice. Additionally, corneal and conjunctival epithelial damage occurred, the corneal ultrastructure changed, and the density of goblet cells decreased. Apoptosis and Ki67 increased in both the conjunctiva and the cornea of CS-exposed animals. Furthermore, although DCSP inhibited the proliferation of HCECs, expression of Ki67 increased and apoptosis was only induced significantly by 2.0 µL/mL DCSP. The release of IL-1ß and IL-6, activation of NF-κB were prompted by DCSP. The results indicated that CS is toxic to the ocular surface of mice and HCECs. Longer-term CS exposure in mice stimulates ocular surface changes that resemble those observed with dry eye. The mechanism may relate to inflammation and activation of NF-κB. In this study, we established a novel animal model to study dry eye, with the experimental data and elucidation of mechanism facilitating further research.