Endoscopic band ligation or endoscopic tissue adhesive injection in the treatment of gastric varices: Which is better?

The combination of endoscopic ultrasound with endoscopic treatment of type 1 gastric variceal hemorrhage may improve the robustness and generalizability of the findings in future studies. Moreover, the esophageal varices should also be included in the evaluation of treatment efficacy in subsequent studies to reach a more convincing conclusion.

DNAJA1 promotes proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer by activating mutant P53/NF-κB pathway.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is one of the most common tumors with high malignancy and metastatic rate. DNAJA1 is closely related to tumor progress in several tumors. However, the role and mechanisms of DNAJA1 in the metastasis and proliferation of breast cancer are unknown. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to detect the protein expression genes. In vivo and vitro experiments were performed to evaluate the proliferation, invasive and metastatic abilities of breast cancer cells. RESULTS: DNAJA1 was high expressed in 234 cases of breast cancer tissues and associated with metastasis, p53 expression and poor survival for patients. Knock down of DNAJA1 decreased the number of plate clone formation and the OD value of CCK8 assays in breast cancer cells. Depletion of DNAJA1 also in decreased the invasive abilities of breast cancer cells. In vivo, knock down DNAJA1 decreased the growth of subcutaneous tumor and lung metastatic nodes. Mechanically, DNAJA1 could bind with P53-R175H and reduced its degradation. Up regulation of DNAJA1 in mutant P53-R175H breast cancer cell promoted the nuclear translocation of p65, activated NF-κB pathway and enhanced the transcription of its downstream genes such as MMP9, CXCL10 et al. Blockade of NF-κB pathway effectively rescued the effects of DNAJA1 on proliferation and metastasis in breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that DNAJA1 is up regulated in breast cancer and promotes breast cancer cells proliferation and metastasis via P53-R175H/NF-κB pathway. It might be a potential prognosis marker for the breast cancer patients.

Reprogramming of ovarian aging epigenome by resveratrol.

Resveratrol is an antiaging, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory natural polyphenolic compound. Growing evidence indicates that resveratrol has potential therapeutic effects for improving aging ovarian function. However, the mechanisms underlying prolonged reproductive longevity remain elusive. We found that resveratrol ameliorates ovarian aging transcriptome, some of which are associated with specific changes in methylome. In addition to known aging transcriptome of oocytes and granulosa cells such as decline in oxidoreductase activity, metabolism and mitochondria function, and elevated DNA damage and apoptosis, actin cytoskeleton are notably downregulated with age, and these defects are mostly rescued by resveratrol. Moreover, the aging-associated hypermethylation of actin cytoskeleton is decreased by resveratrol. In contrast, deletion of Tet2, involved in DNA demethylation, abrogates resveratrol-reprogrammed ovarian aging transcriptome. Consistently, Tet2 deficiency results in additional altered pathways as shown by increased mTOR and Wnt signaling, as well as reduced DNA repair and actin cytoskeleton with mouse age. Moreover, genes associated with oxidoreductase activity and oxidation-reduction process were hypermethylated in Tet2-deficient oocytes from middle-age mice treated with resveratrol, indicating that loss of Tet2 abolishes the antioxidant effect of resveratrol. Taking together, our finding provides a comprehensive landscape of transcriptome and epigenetic changes associated with ovarian aging that can be reprogrammed by resveratrol administration, and suggests that aberrantly increased DNA methylation by Tet2 deficiency promotes additional aging epigenome that cannot be effectively restored to younger state by resveratrol.

DNAJA1 Stabilizes EF1A1 to Promote Cell Proliferation and Metastasis of Liver Cancer Mediated by miR-205-5p.

Liver cancer is one of the most common and aggressive malignancies worldwide with poor prognosis. Studies on pathogenesis of liver cancer are urgently demanded to develop better treatment strategy. Here, we found that overexpression of DnaJ heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member A1 (DNAJA1) increased cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis in Huh 7 and HepG2 cells, while depletion of DNAJA1 in MHCC-97H and HCC-M3 showed opposite effects. In vivo functional assays indicated that DNAJA1 promoted tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis in mice. Mechanistically, as a direct target of miR-205-5p, DNAJA1 promoted proliferation and metastasis of liver cancer cells by stabilizing eukaryotic elongation factor 1A1 (EF1A1). Moreover, DNAJA was markedly upregulated in liver cancer tissues (P < 0.05) and was significantly associated with poor prognosis. And its expression was correlated with differentiation (P < 0.001), dissemination (P < 0.001), and serum AFP (P = 0.029). The mRNA levels of miR-205-5p and DNAJA1 were negatively correlated in liver cancer. In conclusion, our study reveals that DNAJA1 acts as an oncogene in liver cancer via miR-205-5p/EF1A1 axis and might be a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis for liver cancer patients.

scMethBank: a database for single-cell whole genome DNA methylation maps.

Single-cell bisulfite sequencing methods are widely used to assess epigenomic heterogeneity in cell states. Over the past few years, large amounts of data have been generated and facilitated deeper understanding of the epigenetic regulation of many key biological processes including early embryonic development, cell differentiation and tumor progression. It is an urgent need to build a functional resource platform with the massive amount of data. Here, we present scMethBank, the first open access and comprehensive database dedicated to the collection, integration, analysis and visualization of single-cell DNA methylation data and metadata. Current release of scMethBank includes processed single-cell bisulfite sequencing data and curated metadata of 8328 samples derived from 15 public single-cell datasets, involving two species (human and mouse), 29 cell types and two diseases. In summary, scMethBank aims to assist researchers who are interested in cell heterogeneity to explore and utilize whole genome methylation data at single-cell level by providing browse, search, visualization, download functions and user-friendly online tools. The database is accessible at: https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/methbank/scm/.

Methane hydrate formation in an oil-water system in the presence of lauroylamide propylbetaine.

To enhance our understanding of the influence of quaternary ammonium salts on CH4 hydrate formation, the chosen anti-agglomerant lauroylamide propylbetaine (LPB) was tested in an oil-water system in this work and analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, PXRD, and SEM. The results showed that LPB promoted CH4 hydrate formation by reducing the induction time and increasing the CH4 consumption rate for hydrate growth. The promotion effect on the CH4 hydrate growth was the best when the LPB concentration reached 0.18 wt%. Raman and PXRD analyses of the hydrate samples showed that the ratio of the CH4 molecules in large and small cages was below 3 and the (222) plane of the CH4 hydrate formed from an LPB solution was obviously lower compared to that for a typical CH4 hydrate. It was suggested that the positions of the water molecules in the host water lattice changed. The LPB molecules were thought to modify the surface structure of the hydrate phase, where the methyl head groups of LPB were allowed to penetrate both the 51262 and 512 cages of the CH4 hydrate. The modifications on the hydrate surface were further revealed by SEM images. The porous surface of the formed solids turned into curved sheets when LPB was added. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the bulk solid phase were assumed to be weakened.

A giant Brunner's gland hamartoma being treated as a pedunculated polyp: a case report.

BACKGROUND: With the development and application of endoscopic technology, most pedunculated polyps can be absolutely resected with a complete specimen by hot snare polypectomy (HSP). Brunner's gland hamartoma (BGH) is a rare benign small bowel tumor. The majority of BGH measuring about 2 cm in diameter, rarely larger than 5 cm. Most patients are asymptomatic, some may present with gastrointestinal hemorrhage or intestinal obstruction. Symptomatic larger lesions leading to bleeding or obstruction should be excised either endoscopically or surgically. Whether it is safe and effective that removing a BGH measuring about 7 cm by HSP is not known. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we reported a rare case of a proximal duodenum pedunculated mass measuring about 7 cm which was responsible for the patient's severe anemia. we treated it as a pedunculated polyp. After being pretreated the stalk with an endoloop which was placed around the base of the mass to prevent post-polypectomy bleeding (PPB), the pedunculated BGH was removed by HSP completely. The stalk of the mass was negative. We achieved a curative resection. CONCLUSION: It is a safe and effective for our patient to treat the pedunculated BGH measuring about 7 cm as a pedunculated polyp and remove it by HSP. And future prospective studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm it.

MicroRNA-147b Promotes Proliferation and Invasion of Human Colorectal Cancer by Targeting RAS Oncogene Family (RAP2B).

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small-regulatory RNA molecules, were closely involved in the pathogenesis of a broad-spectrum of colorectal cancer (CRC). But role of miR-147b in CRC still remains unclear. METHODS: Real-time RT-PCR or Western blotting was utilized to detect the expressions of miR-147b and RAP2B in CRC cell lines and tissues. Luciferase reporter assays were conducted to detect the associations between miR-147b and 3'UTRs of RAP2B. A series of assays were performed to evaluate the effect of miR-147b on proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We found that the level of miR-147b was significantly lower in CRC tissues than in normal tissues (p = 0.0006). Enforced expression of miR-147b led to suppression of CRC cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Specifically, miR-147b promoted proliferation by arresting CRC cells in the G1/G0 phase. Mechanically, RAP2B was identified as a direct target gene of miR-147b and RAP2B rescued the suppression of proliferation and invasion reduced by miR-147b in CRC cells. CONCLUSIONS: miR-147b not only plays important roles in the regulation of cell proliferation and tumor growth in CRC, which might be a potential prognostic marker or therapeutic target for CRC.

Bcl­2 associated athanogene 4 promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

Currently, with the increase of morbidity and mortality rate, gastric cancer (GC) is attracting increasing attention in China. Bcl­2­associated athanogene 4 (BAG4) has been identified as a tumor promoter in several tumors, but its role in GC remains unknown. The present study aimed to detect the expression of BAG4 and determine its function in the progression of GC. The results from reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting revealed that BAG4 was markedly upregulated in highly metastatic cell lines (SGC7901 and MGC803), compared with the lower­metastatic cell lines (AGS and BGC823). Through Cell Counting Kit­8, cell cycle, apoptosis, Transwell and colony formation assays, BAG4 was demonstrated to promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro. Additionally, in vivo assays further certified that BAG4 can increase the proliferation and invasion of GC cells. In conclusion, these findings implicate BAG4 as a potential therapeutic target for GC.