[Retracted] MicroRNA­491­5p suppresses cervical cancer cell growth by targeting hTERT.

Following the publication of this paper, an interested reader drew to the attention of the Office that the GAPDH control bands shown in Fig. 5 were strikingly similar to data appearing in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published elsewhere, or were already under consideration for publication, prior to its submission to Oncology Reports, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors independently contacted the Editorial Office requesting that the paper be retracted. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in Oncology Reports 34: 979­986, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/or.2015.4013].

Function of Adenosine 2A Receptor in High-Fat Diet-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.

Peripheral diabetic neuropathy (DPN) is a complication observed in up to half of all patients with type 2 diabetes. DPN has also been shown to be associated with obesity. High-fat diet (HFD) affects glucose metabolism, and the impaired glucose tolerance can lead to type 2 diabetes. There is evidence to suggest a role of adenosine 2A receptors (A2ARs) and semaphorin 3A (Sema3a) signaling in DPN. The link between the expression of Sema3a and A2AR in DPN was hypothesized, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the regulation of Sema3a by A2AR in the spinal cord and the functional implications thereof in DPN. We examined the expression of A2ARs and Sema3a, as well as Neuropilin 1 and Plexin A, the coreceptors of Sema3a, in the dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord of an animal model with HFD-induced diabetes. Our results demonstrate that HFD dysregulates the A2AR-mediated Sema3a expression, with functional implications for the type 2 diabetes-induced peripheral neuropathy. These observations could stimulate clinical studies to improve our understanding on the subject.

Research Progress of nucleic acid delivery vectors for gene therapy.

Gene therapy has broad prospects as an effective treatment for some cancers and hereditary diseases. However, DNA and siRNA are easily degraded in vivo because of their biological activities as macromolecules, and they need the effective transmembrane delivery carrier Selecting the appropriate carrier for delivery will allow nucleic acid molecules to reach their site of action and enhance delivery efficiency. Currently used nucleic acid delivery vectors can be divided into two major categories: viral and non-viral vectors. Viral carrier transport efficiency is high, but there are safety issues. Non-viral vectors have attracted attention because of their advantages such as low immunogenicity, easy production, and non-tumorigenicity. The construction of safe, effective, and controllable vectors is the focus of current gene therapy research. This review presents the current types of nucleic acid delivery vehicles, which focuses on comparing their respective advantages and limitations, and proposes a novel delivery system, RNTs, a novel nanomolecular material, introducing the characteristics and nucleic acid delivery process of RNTs and their latest applications.

MicroRNA-491-5p suppresses cervical cancer cell growth by targeting hTERT.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that have been shown to regulate a variety of biological processes by targeting messenger RNA. MicroRNA-491-5p (miR-491-5p), an important miRNA, has been demonstrated to be involved in the processes of initiation and progression in several tumors. However, the precise biological function of miR-491-5p and its molecular mechanism in cervical cancer cells remain elusive. The present study was carried out to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of miR-491-5p expression in cervical cancer, and to evaluate the role of miR-491-5p and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in cervical cancer. The results showed that miR-491-5p expression was significantly downregulated in cervical cancer tissues when compared with the corresponding adjacent normal tissues (P<0.001), and the value was negatively associated with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, high histological grading and lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). The enforced expression of miR-491-5p in cervical cancer cells significantly inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion, induced cell apoptosis, and suppressed the tumor growth of the mouse model of HeLa cells. In addition, the dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) was identified as a novel target gene of miR-491-5p. Notably, it was found that miR-491-5p regulated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These results suggested that targeting miR-491-5p is a strategy for blocking the development of cervical cancer.