[Corrigendum) RNA interference­mediated FANCF silencing sensitizes OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cells to adriamycin through increased adriamycin­induced apoptosis dependent on JNK activation.

After the publication of the article, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that there appeared to be a pair of overlapping data panels in Fig. 4C on p. 1726 [specifically, the 'Untransfected' and 'Control shRNA' data panels for the ADM (24 h) experiments]. The authors have consulted their original data, and have realized that this figure was inadvertently assembled incorrectly. Furthermore, they have noticed that Fig. 1 on p. 1724 also contained errors that arose during its assembly; essentially, several of the data panels in Fig. 1C, showing the detection of FANCD2 focus formation via immunofluorescence experiments, were selected inappropriately. The corrected versions of Figs. 1 and 4, containing the corrected data panels for Figs. 1C and 4C respectively, are shown on the next page. Note that these errors did not affect the results or the conclusions reported in this work. The authors all agree to this Corrigendum, and are grateful to the Editor of Oncology Reports for allowing them to have the opportunity to correct these mistakes. Lastly, the authors apologize to the readership for any inconvenience these errors may have caused. [Oncology Reports 29: 1721­1729, 2013; DOI: 10.3892/or.2013.2295].

5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine alleviates the progression of primary biliary cholangitis by suppressing the FoxP3 methylation and promoting the Treg/Th17 balance.

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a common autoimmune liver disease manifested by the infiltration of CD4+ T cells, and the subsequent targeted injury of biliary epithelial cells (BECs). As important components of CD4 subsets, the Treg/Th17 axis maintains an immunological balance between self-tolerance and inflammation in the liver microenvironment. However, the role and regulatory mechanism of the Treg/Th17 axis in PBC remain unclear. In this study, we examined the Treg/Th17 axis in PBC patients and found that the Treg/Th17 axis was imbalanced in PBC at both the transcriptional and cellular levels, with Treg being a weak candidate, which correlates with the PBC progression. This imbalanced Treg/Th17 axis was likely to be affected by the FoxP3 hypermethylation, which was related to the increase of DNA methyltransferase. Furthermore, the effect of 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine (DAC)-mediated FoxP3 demethylation on PBC mice was investigated. We verified that DAC significantly suppressed the FoxP3 methylation and rebuilt the Treg/Th17 balance, resulting in the alleviation of liver lesions and inflammation. Taken together, our data indicate that DAC plays a positive role in alleviating the progression of PBC through the inhibition of DNA methylation of FoxP3 to rebuild the balanced Treg/Th17 axis. DAC could be considered as a potential candidate for the development of new anti-inflammation strategies in the treatment of PBC.

Distribution of HLA alleles and haplotypes in Jinuo and Wa populations in Southwest China.

The frequencies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 alleles and A-B-DRB1, A-B, and B-DRB1 haplotypes were studied in Jinuo and Wa populations in Southwest China using the polymerase chain reaction-Luminex (PCR-Luminex) typing method. A total of 12 A, 22 B, and 16 DRB1 alleles were found in the Jinuo population, and 10 A, 28 B, and 18 DRB1 alleles were found in the Wa population. The A*110101-B*1502-DRB1*120201 was the predominant haplotype in both the Jinuo and Wa populations; A*110101-B*1301-DRB1*120201 and A*24020101-B*1502-DRB1*120201 were common in the Jinuo population, whereas A*110101-B*1532-DRB1*1504 and A*110101-B*350101-DRB1*1404 were common in the Wa population. Phylogenetic tree and principal component analyses based on HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 allele frequencies suggested that both the Jinuo and Wa populations belong to the Southeast Asian group, whereas Wa population is still maintaining its original genetic character and a great distance from other populations because of a founder effect and subsequent geographic isolation. A close relationship among Jinuo, Wa, Thai, and Vietnamese was also suggested.

[Collection of a Chinese pedigree with Parkinson's disease and linkage analysis of nine susceptibility genes].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the susceptibility genes of a Parkinson's Disease (PD) family. METHODS: The blood samples of a four-generation classic idiopathic PD family were collected. Two-point LOD score method was applied to analyze the linkage disequilibrium between the disease locus and microsatellite markers. RESULTS: We studied 13 markers near the 9 genes that had been reported to be associated with PD. No obvious evidence showed that the selected markers had anything correlation with PD locus. CONCLUSION: These 9 genes are not the susceptibility genes of PD in this family.

[Polymorphism of DYS287 on Y chromosome in 28 ethnic populations of China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the polymorphism of DYS287 among 28 ethnic populations in 9 provinces of China. METHOD: YAP element was detected by Touchdown PCR amplification and 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: YAP+ frequencies in these ethnic populations were as follows: Zang 36.7%, Tu 23.8%, Yi 18.4%, Pumi 11.3%, Tajik 7.4%, Bai 6.7%, Jino 5.1%, Shandong Han 4%, Mulao 2.7%, and Maonan 1.3%. The rest ethnic populations in our study, including Gansu Han, Yunnan Han, Zhuangzu, Daizu, Lizu, Nuzu, Lisu, Naxi, Lahu, Dulong, Hani, Shezu, Weiwuer, Sala, Kerkizi, Dongxiang, Vazu, and Korea didn't carry YAP + element. CONCLUSIONS: Zangzu, Tuzu, Yizu, Pumi, Jino, and Baizu, which belong to Sino-Tibetan language family, carry a high YAP + frequency. Sala, Tuzu, and Tajik, regarded as Central Asia by origin in history and linguistics, also have a high YAP + frequency. Mulao and Maonan, which origin from "Baiyue" ancient ethnic groups, also have a considerable YAP + frequency.

[Gene frequencies and haplotypes of nine Y-short tandem repeat loci in four minority populations of China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the polymorphism of nine Y-short tandem repeat loci in 117 male individuals from four minority populations of China, and to obtain the polymorphism information in these populations. METHODS: Nine loci in all samples were amplified by PCR. Products were electrophoresed on ABI PRISM 377 DNA sequencer. The electrophoresis result was analyzed by Genotyper 2.0 software. Allele frequencies, diversities and genetic distance were calculated. RESULTS: Forty-three alleles and 32 haplotypes were found in Manchu population, 43 alleles and 33 haplotypes in Uygur population, 31 alleles and 15 haplotypes in Kirgiz population and 34 alleles and 23 haplotypes in Zhuang population. The closest genetic distance is 0.02530 between Manchu and Uygur, the highest genetic distance is 0.34590 between Kirgiz and Zhuang. CONCLUSION: High haplotype diversities were found in four populations. The study of genetic diversity among different populations is useful in research of their origins, migrations and their relationships.

[Polymorphism research on the distribution of four HLA alleles in five Chinese populations].

ARMS-SSP PCR was applied to survey the distribution of four AIDS associated HLA alleles, HLA-A*02, B*35, B*27, and B*57 in five Chinese nationalities (Yunnan han, yi, dai, Xinjiang uygur, and Guangxi zhuang). The results showed that HLA-A*02 allele occured very frequently at higher frequencies in han and zhuang than in the other three nationalities; B*35 did not show great variation in it's distribution in five population groups; B*27 had a distinctively high frequency in dai, but normal in han, yi and zhuang; B*57 allele did not vary greatly in these nationalities, too. A*02, B*27 and B*57 are three protective alleles. As a whole, their frequencies in the five nationalities were significantly different. This study could be a complement of the HLA and AIDS relative studies, and enhanced the understanding of the genetic background of some AIDS epidemic regions in China.

Regulation of alternative splicing of Bcl-x by IL-6, GM-CSF and TPA.

The splicing of many alternative exons in the precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is regulated by extracellular factors but the underlying molecular bases remain unclear. Here we report the differential regulation of Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing by extracellular factors and their distinct requirements for pre-mRNA elements. In K562 leukemia cells, treatment with interleukin-6 (IL-6) or granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) reduced the proportion of the Bcl-xL variant mRNA while treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) had no effect. In U251 glioma cells, however, TPA efficiently increased the Bcl-xL level. These regulations were also seen for a transfected splicing reporter mini-gene. Further analyses of deletion mutants indicate that nucleotides 1-176 on the downstream intron are required for the IL-6 effect, whereas additional nucleotides 177-284 are essential for the GM-CSF effects. As for the TPA effect, only nucleotides 1-76 are required in the downstream intron, Thus UK-6, GM-CSF and TPA differentially regulate Bcl-x splicing and require specific intronic pre-mRNA sequences for their respective effects.

[Regulation of pre-mRNA alternative spicing in U251 cells by TPA].

By using the mini-gene construct containing partial sequence of Bcl-X gene as model, we examined the function of TPA on Bcl-X pre-mRNA alternative splicing in vivo and vitro with RT-PCR and site-directed mutagesis assay. The results show that PKA signaling system can regulate Bcl-X pre-mRNA alternative splicing, the possible mechanism is that the responsible sequence affect the choice of the 5'-downstream or upstream splice site of Bcl-X pre-mRNA.

[Genetic analysis of 17 biallelic markers on Y chromosome in 3 Chinese ethnic group populations].

OBJECTIVE: To study the genetic polymorphism of Y chromosome in different Chinese ethnic group populations. METHODS: Genotypes of 17 biallelic markers located in the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome in 76 men from 3 Chinese ethnic group populations (Han in Shandong, Bai in Yunnan, and Tu in Qinghai) were examined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and allelic-specific PCR (ASPCR). Their haplotypes made of these 17 binary markers were constructed. The principle component (PC) analysis was conducted based on the haplotype frequency distribution among these 3 and other 15 published Chinese ethnic group populations. RESULTS: The diversities of M50, M110, M103, M88, M3, and M7 were not found in these 3 populations. The frequencies of YAP+ were 23.8%, 6.7%, and 4% respectively in Tu, Bai, and Shandong Han. Eleven haplotypes were found in 3 populations--7 haplotypes (H1, H3, H5, H6, H8, H9, and H11) in Shandong Han (Han.SD), 8 haplotypes (H1, H2, H3, H5, H6, H8, H11, and H16) in Tu, and 9 haplotypes (H1, H3, H4, H5, H6, H8, H9, H11, and H13) in Bai. The predominant haplotypes were H1, H3, H5, H6, H8, and H11. According to PC analysis, Bai was close to Northern Han; Shandong Han, Southern Han (Han.S), Bai and Yunnan Tibetan clustered together; and Tu was close to Yi, Hui and Manchurian. CONCLUSIONS: Shandong Han may have had genetic exchanges with southern populations in China. It has been confirmed that some gene components of Han had flowed into Bai's gene pool. Gene flowed from Central Asia had impacted Chinese western populations.

[Genotyping of HLA-DRB1 by PCR-SSP in Yunnan Lahu ethnic groups].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate polymorphism of HLA-DRB1 in Chinese Lahu population in Yunnan. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) were used to determine HLA-DRB1 genotypes of 110 unrelated healthy Lahu minority people of Yunnan Province. RESULTS: Sixteen alleles of DRB1 were detected in this study. The results of test showed that the genotype distributions observed were corresponded with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. CONCLUSION: This study has obtained a more comprehensive and accurate data set of the normal allele frequencies of HLA-DRB1 in Chinese Lahu population in Yunnan Province, which may be of significance in the studies on population genetics and disease association.

[Immunogenecity of combined hepatitis A and B vaccine].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the immunogenicity of combined hepatitis A and B vaccine (HAB). METHODS: The combined HAB vaccine was prepared and different concentrations of HAB were administered on mice in week 0, 4 and 24, and then we tested the antibodies to both hepatitis A virus and B virus. After the first injection, we tested the hepatitis A antigen-induced and hepatitis B surface antigen-induced stimulation indices in spleen monocyte as well as changes of CD4+ and CD8+ cell numbers. RESULTS: The serum antibody positive rates were 100% in all three groups, and the antibody induced by HAB vaccine were earlier than by monovalent vaccine. The hepatitis A antibody and hepatitis B surface antibody titers after the combined vaccine inoculation were not significantly higher than those after the monovalent vaccine inoculation. On the other hand, after the first injection of the combined vaccine, the hepatitis A antigen-induced and hepatitis B surface antigen-induced stimulation indices in spleen monocyte were detected. The numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ cells increased. CONCLUSIONS: HAB vaccine has reliable immunogenicity.

RNA interference-mediated FANCF silencing sensitizes OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cells to adriamycin through increased adriamycin-induced apoptosis dependent on JNK activation.

In the present study, we downregulated FANCF expression by small interfering RNA (siRNA) in OVCAR ovarian cancer cells to address the effects of decreased FANCF expression on the function of the Fanconi anemia (FA)/breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) pathway. Furthermore, we investigated whether this method increases the sensitivity of OVCAR3 cells to adriamycin (ADM) and the possible mechanism(s). We found that silencing of FANCF inactivated the FA/BRCA pathway by decreasing the monoubiquitination and focus formation of FANCD2 and reduced the function of the FA/BRCA pathway, resulting in the inhibition of cell proliferation, increased cell apoptosis and DNA damage in OVCAR3 cells. Moreover, we observed that silencing of FANCF enhanced the antiproliferative effect of ADM in OVCAR3 cells and increased ADM intracellular accumulation consequently sensitizing OVCAR3 cells to ADM. Furthermore, silencing of FANCF increased cell apoptosis of OVCAR3 cells which was caused by decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP)-induced DNA damage, activated Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), increased release of cytochrome c, increased expression of cleaved caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) dependent on JNK activation following treatment of ADM. Collectively, we confirm that silencing of FANCF sensitizes OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cells to ADM, suggesting that FANCF may serve as a potential target for therapeutic strategies in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

[Effect of troxerutin and cerebroproptein hydrolysate injection on platelet aggregation and thrombosis].

This study was purposed to explore the effect of troxerotin and cerebroproptein hydrolysate injection (TCHI) on platelet aggregation in vitro and thrombosis in vivo. The inhibitory rate of TCHI at different concentrations on platelet aggregation was determined by platelet aggregometer. The relationship between dose and effect was established. The effect of troxerutin and cerebroproptein hydrolysate injection on thrombosis was determined by the carotid thrombosis model of rats. The results showed that the TCHI could inhibit thrombosis and platelet aggregation in a concentration-dependent way. When the concentration of TCHI total nitrogen was 5 µg/ml, the inhibition rate of platelet aggregation reached to the highest value of 28.61 ± 22.07%, which is 2.5 times as much as that with 100 µg/ml aspirin. It is concluded that the TCHI has antiaggregative and antithrombotic activity effects against platelet aggregation and thrombosis.