miR-132-3p promotes heat stimulation-induced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tumorigenesis by targeting KCNK2.

Epidemiological evidence supports that consumption of high-temperature food and beverages is an important risk factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, the underlying mechanism still remains unclear. Here, we established a series of animal models and found that drinking 65°C water can promote esophageal tumor progression from preneoplastic lesions to ESCC. RNA sequencing data showed that miR-132-3p was highly expressed in the heat stimulation group compared with controls. Further study verified that miR-132-3p were upregulated in human premalignant lesion tissues of the esophagus, ESCC tissues, and cells. Overexpression of miR-132-3p could promote ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation, whereas knockdown of miR-132-3p could inhibit ESCC progression in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that miR-132-3p could bind with the 3'-untranslated region of KCNK2 and inhibit KCNK2 gene expression. Knockdown or overexpression of KCNK2 could promote or suppress ESCC progression in vitro. These data suggest that heat stimulation can promote ESCC progression and miR-132-3p mediated this process by directly targeting KCNK2.

miR-17-3p promotes the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells by downregulating P21 expression through LMLN inhibition.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a hematological malignancy, has a poor prognosis and requires an invasive procedure. Reports have implicated miRNAs in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of hematological malignancies. In our study, we evaluated the expression profiles of miR-17-3p in plasma and bone marrow mononuclear cells of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and MM patients and healthy subjects. The results showed that the plasma and mononuclear cell expression levels of miR-17-3p in MM patients were higher than those in MGUS patients and normal controls. In addition, the expression of miR-17-3p was positively correlated with diagnostic indexes, such as marrow plasma cell abundance and serum M protein level, and positively correlated with the International Staging System stage of the disease. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested that miR-17-3p might be a diagnostic index of MM. Moreover, miR-17-3p regulated cell proliferation, apoptosis and the cell cycle through P21 in MM cell lines and promoted MM tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, we predicted and verified LMLN as a functional downstream target gene of miR-17-3p. Negatively regulated by miR-17-3p, LMLN inhibits MM cell growth, exerting a tumor suppressive function through P21. Taken together, our data identify miR-17-3p as a promising diagnostic biomarker for MM in the clinic and unveil a new miR-17-3p-LMLN-P21 axis in MM progression.

The Biological Function and Clinical Significance of miR-886-5p in Multiple Myeloma.

BACKGROUND: miR-886-5p plays an important role in many tumors, but it has been rarely investigated in multiple myeloma (MM). We studied the expression of miR-886-5p in the plasma of MM patients and in MM cell lines, and evaluated its biological function to identify its potential involvement in MM. METHODS: We recruited 16 subjects including 10 newly diagnosed MM patients who had not received treatment and 6 healthy individuals. The expression of miR-886-5p in plasma and MM cell lines was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation assay, and 7-amino-actinomycin D/allophycocyanin double staining were performed to detect the function of miR-886-5p in MM cell lines. The expression of Bax and p53 was determined by western blot. RESULTS: The expression of miR-886-5p in the plasma of MM patients was higher than that in normal individuals and its level in MM cell lines was higher than that in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from healthy individuals. miR-886-5p could trigger the cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis and affect the cell cycle. CONCLUSION: miR-886-5p triggered MM cell growth and may act as a diagnostic plasma biomarker for MM, potentially contributing to resistance to chemotherapy.

Molecular and biological characterization of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistant to the anilinopyrimidine fungicide cyprodinil.

Cyprodinil belongs to the chemical class of anilinopyrimidines fungicides. In this study, baseline sensitivity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary to cyprodinil was determined using 100 strains collected from the fields in Jiangsu Province of China. The EC50 (50% effective concentration) values ranged from 0.0636-0.8163 µg/ml with a mean value of 0.1869 (±0.1118) ug/ml for mycelial growth. Nine cyprodinil-resistant mutants (Range of resistance factor: 20.22-271.59) were obtained from sensitive strains exposed on PDA medium amended with cyprodinil and the resistance was stable after their ten transfers on PDA without the fungicide or stored at 4 °C for two months. There was positive cross-resistance between cyprodinil and pyrimethanil but not to fludioxonil, dimetachlone, procymidone, carbendazim and boscalid in S. sclerotiorum. Compared with the parental strains, all of the nine cyprodinil-resistant mutants decreased in sclerotial production. The dry weight of mycelia, pathogenicity and cell membrane permeability of most resistant mutants decreased. The mycelial growth, oxalic acid content, and the response to various stress for resistant mutants were almost the same as the sensitive parental strains. Sequencing alignment results showed that there was no alteration of amino acid in cystathionine γ-synthase (MetB) and cystathionine ß-lyase (MetC) between cyprodinil-resistant mutants and their sensitive parental strains, which indicated that MetB or MetC was not the molecular target of cyprodinil in S. sclerotiorum. The addition of amino acids L-methionine, L-cystine or L-cysteine decreased the inhibition of cyprodinil against mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum, which indicated that cyprodinil could not only inhibited methionine biosynthesis but also suppressed cystine and cysteine biosynthesis. These results will contribute to evaluating the resistance risk of cyprodinil for management of the plant diseases of Sclerotinia stem rot caused by S. sclerotiorum and further increase our understanding about the mode of action of cyprodinil.

Effects of a novel SDHI fungicide pyraziflumid on the biology of the plant pathogenic fungi Bipolaris maydis.

Pyraziflumid is a novel member of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicide. Southern corn leaf blight (SCLB) caused by Bipolaris maydis is an important foliar disease of maize crop. In this study, baseline sensitivity of B. maydis to pyraziflumid was determined using 100 strains of B. maydis collected from different geographical regions in Jiangsu Province of China during 2015 and 2016, and EC50 values ranged from 0.0309 to 0.8856 µg/ml with the average value of 0.2780 ±â€¯0.2012 µg/ml for mycelial growth, and 0.032 to 0.9592 µg/ml with the average value of 0.3492 ±â€¯0.2450 µg/ml for conidium germination. After treatment with pyraziflumid, the distribution of cell nucleus and septum of mycelium was not changed, but hyphae of offshoot and conidia production decreased, cell secretion decreased, the cell membrane was damaged, mycelium electrolyte leakage increased, and organelles in mycelial cell dissolved and vacuolated. The protective and curative activity test of pyraziflumid suggested that pyraziflumid had great control efficiency against B. maydis on detached corn leaves. In protective activity assay with application of pyraziflumid at 5 µg/ml and 10 µg/ml, the control efficacy reached to 87.32% and 100% respectively. In curative activity assay with application of pyraziflumid at 20 µg/ml and 50 µg/ml, the control efficacy reached to 82.10% and 100% respectively.

Effects of the dinitroaniline fungicide fluazinam on Fusarium fujikuroi and rice.

Fusarium fujikuroi is the primary causal agent of rice bakanae disease. Fluazinam is a protective dinitroaniline fungicide which could interrupt the fungal cell's energy production. Little is known about the effects of fluazinam on F. fujikuroi. In this study, baseline sensitivity of F. fujikuroi to fluazinam was determined using 103 isolates collected from diseased young rice of different fields in Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province and Huaian of Jiangsu Province of China in 2016. The EC50 values of fluazinam on inhibiting mycelial growth against 103 isolates of F. fujikuroi ranged from 0.0621 to 0.5446 µg/mL with the average value of 0.2038 ±â€¯0.0099 µg/mL (mean ±â€¯standard error). The EC50 values of fluazinam on suppressing conidium germination against 103 isolates of F. fujikuroi ranged from 0.1006 to 0.9763 µg/mL with the mean value of 0.3552 ±â€¯0.0181 µg/mL. Treated with fluazinam, hyphae of F. fujikuroi were contorted, offshoot of top mycelia increased, conidial production descreased significantly and exopolysaccharide (EPS) content did not change significantly while peroxidase (POD) activity significantly decreased. Meanwhile, cell membrane permeability increased after treated with fluazinam. The analysis of cell ultrastructure indicated that fluazinam could damage the membrane structure of F. fujikuroi and cause a large number of vacuoles formed. In addition, fluazinam did not affect germination rate, plant height and fresh weight of rice, which indicated that fluazinam was safe to rice. All the results indicated that fluazinam had strong antifungal activity against F. fujikuroi and a potential application in controlling rice bakanae disease. These results will provide useful information for management of rice bakanae disease caused by F. fujikuroi and further increase our understanding about the mode of action of fluazinam against F. fujikuroi and other phytopathogens.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel (E)-N'-(2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene) benzohydrazides as potent LSD1 inhibitors.

Lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) plays an important role in regulating histone lysine methylation at residues K4 and K9 on histone H3 and is recognized as an attractive therapeutic target in multiple malignancies. In this study, a series of novel (E)-N'-(2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene) benzohydrazides were synthesized and biologically evaluated for their potential LSD1 inhibitory effect. Among them, compounds 5a and 5n showed the most potent LSD1 inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 1.4 and 1.7nM, respectively, which were about 10 times more potent compared with (E)-N-(1-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl) ethylidene)-3-(morpholinosulf-only) benzohydrazide (J. Med. Chem.2013, 56, 9496-9508; as reference compound). Compounds 5a and 5n also exhibited marked anti-proliferation activities against cancer cell lines that highly expressed LSD1. These results suggest that these optimized compounds might be served as promising LSD1 inhibitors against cancer, which merit further study.

5-Methoxyquinoline Derivatives as a New Class of EZH2 Inhibitors.

A series of quinoline derivatives was synthesized and biologically evaluated as Enhancer of Zeste Homologue 2 (EZH2) inhibitors. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies led to the discovery of 5-methoxy-2-(4-methyl-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)-N-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)quinolin-4-amine (5k), which displayed an IC50 value of 1.2 µM against EZH2, decreased global H3K27me3 level in cells and also showed good anti-viability activities against two tumor cell lines. Due to the low molecular weight and the fact that no quinoline derivative has been reported as an EZH2 inhibitor, this compound could serve as a lead compound for further optimization.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel benzamide derivatives as potent smoothened antagonists.

A series of novel benzamide derivatives were prepared and evaluated using cell-based measurements. Among these compounds, 10f significantly inhibited Hedgehog signaling and showed equivalent or more potency than GDC-0449 in different tests. Furthermore, compound 10f potently inhibited the proliferation of Daoy, a medulloblastoma cell line that is reported to be resistant to GDC-0449, which indicated a promising prospect in the treatment of Hedgehog signaling pathway related cancer in clinical trial.

Single-cell and spatial transcriptome analyses reveal tertiary lymphoid structures linked to tumour progression and immunotherapy response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Tertiary lymphoid structures are immune cell aggregates linked with cancer outcomes, but their interactions with tumour cell aggregates are unclear. Using nasopharyngeal carcinoma as a model, here we analyse single-cell transcriptomes of 343,829 cells from 77 biopsy and blood samples and spatially-resolved transcriptomes of 31,316 spots from 15 tumours to decipher their components and interactions with tumour cell aggregates. We identify essential cell populations in tertiary lymphoid structure, including CXCL13+ cancer-associated fibroblasts, stem-like CXCL13+CD8+ T cells, and B and T follicular helper cells. Our study shows that germinal centre reaction matures plasma cells. These plasma cells intersperse with tumour cell aggregates, promoting apoptosis of EBV-related malignant cells and enhancing immunotherapy response. CXCL13+ cancer-associated fibroblasts promote B cell adhesion and antibody production, activating CXCL13+CD8+ T cells that become exhausted in tumour cell aggregates. Tertiary lymphoid structure-related cell signatures correlate with prognosis and PD-1 blockade response, offering insights for therapeutic strategies in cancers.

¹H NMR-based metabolic profiling of human rectal cancer tissue.

BACKGROUND: Rectal cancer is one of the most prevalent tumor types. Understanding the metabolic profile of rectal cancer is important for developing therapeutic approaches and molecular diagnosis. METHODS: Here, we report a metabonomics profiling of tissue samples on a large cohort of human rectal cancer subjects (n = 127) and normal controls (n = 43) using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) based metabonomics assay, which is a highly sensitive and non-destructive method for the biomarker identification in biological systems. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal projection to latent structure with discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were applied to analyze the 1H-NMR profiling data to identify the distinguishing metabolites of rectal cancer. RESULTS: Excellent separation was obtained and distinguishing metabolites were observed among the different stages of rectal cancer tissues (stage I = 35; stage II = 37; stage III = 37 and stage IV = 18) and normal controls. A total of 38 differential metabolites were identified, 16 of which were closely correlated with the stage of rectal cancer. The up-regulation of 10 metabolites, including lactate, threonine, acetate, glutathione, uracil, succinate, serine, formate, lysine and tyrosine, were detected in the cancer tissues. On the other hand, 6 metabolites, including myo-inositol, taurine, phosphocreatine, creatine, betaine and dimethylglycine were decreased in cancer tissues. These modified metabolites revealed disturbance of energy, amino acids, ketone body and choline metabolism, which may be correlated with the progression of human rectal cancer. CONCLUSION: Our findings firstly identify the distinguishing metabolites in different stages of rectal cancer tissues, indicating possibility of the attribution of metabolites disturbance to the progression of rectal cancer. The altered metabolites may be as potential biomarkers, which would provide a promising molecular diagnostic approach for clinical diagnosis of human rectal cancer. The role and underlying mechanism of metabolites in rectal cancer progression are worth being further investigated.

1H-NMR based metabonomic profiling of human esophageal cancer tissue.

BACKGROUND: The biomarker identification of human esophageal cancer is critical for its early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches that will significantly improve patient survival. Specially, those that involves in progression of disease would be helpful to mechanism research. METHODS: In the present study, we investigated the distinguishing metabolites in human esophageal cancer tissues (n = 89) and normal esophageal mucosae (n = 26) using a (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR) based assay, which is a highly sensitive and non-destructive method for biomarker identification in biological systems. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were applied to analyse (1)H-NMR profiling data to identify potential biomarkers. RESULTS: The constructed OPLS-DA model achieved an excellent separation of the esophageal cancer tissues and normal mucosae. Excellent separation was obtained between the different stages of esophageal cancer tissues (stage II = 28; stage III = 45 and stage IV = 16) and normal mucosae. A total of 45 metabolites were identified, and 12 of them were closely correlated with the stage of esophageal cancer. The downregulation of glucose, AMP and NAD, upregulation of formate indicated the large energy requirement due to accelerated cell proliferation in esophageal cancer. The increases in acetate, short-chain fatty acid and GABA in esophageal cancer tissue revealed the activation of fatty acids metabolism, which could satisfy the need for cellular membrane formation. Other modified metabolites were involved in choline metabolic pathway, including creatinine, creatine, DMG, DMA and TMA. These 12 metabolites, which are involved in energy, fatty acids and choline metabolism, may be associated with the progression of human esophageal cancer. CONCLUSION: Our findings firstly identify the distinguishing metabolites in different stages of esophageal cancer tissues, indicating the attribution of metabolites disturbance to the progression of esophageal cancer. The potential biomarkers provide a promising molecular diagnostic approach for clinical diagnosis of human esophageal cancer and a new direction for the mechanism study.

Low-dose decitabine plus bortezomib-dexamethasone therapy is well-tolerated and highly effective on first-relapsed multiple myeloma: a single-center phase 2 trial.

An open-label, single-center, phase 2 trial of a second-line therapy comprising low-dose decitabine (DAC) plus bortezomib (Bort) and dexamethasone (DXM) (Dvd) in relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients was conducted to screen available and inexpensive agents, aiming to work synergistically with other existing anti-melanoma drugs at reasonable prices, and effectively treat Bort and/or Len-refractory patients. Forty-seven patients were included according to the inclusion criteria, with only 1 withdrawal due to premature death. After 17.2 (range: 0.5-24.1) months of median follow-up, all the 46 cases had halted or completed DVd therapy per protocol, with an overall response rate (ORR) of 87.0%. Meanwhile, DVd was indicated to induce high, deep, and lasting responses, dependent of prior treatment or baseline characteristics. The results revealed that DVd is well-tolerated and highly effective in the treatment of first-relapsed RRMM (including those with Bort-refractory disease) patients.

Current development of pyrazole-azole hybrids with anticancer potential.

Chemotherapy is a critical treatment modality for cancer patients, but multidrug resistance remains one of the major challenges in cancer therapy, creating an urgent need for the development of novel potent chemical entities. Azoles, particularly pyrazole, could interact with different biological targets and exhibit diverse biological properties including anticancer activity. Many clinically used anticancer agents own an azole moiety, demonstrating that azoles are privileged and pivotal templates in the discovery of novel anticancer chemotherapeutics. The present article is an attempt to highlight the recent advances in pyrazole-azole hybrids with anticancer potential and discuss the structure-activity relationships, covering articles published from 2018 to present, to facilitate the rational design of more effective anticancer candidates.

Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Detection of Human and Veterinary Drugs and Pesticides in Surface Water.

Antibiotics and pesticides are widespread in most rivers and lakes due to the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides, but there are few methods for simultaneous analysis of antibiotics and pesticides in aquatic environments. To address this knowledge gap, a concise and sensitive analytical method is proposed in which three classes of human and veterinary drugs (sulfonamides, macrolides, and hormones) and two classes of pesticides (organophosphorus and neonicotinoids) are simultaneously extracted and determined in surface water. The solid-phase extraction column with Cleanert PEP-2 was preconditioned sequentially with 6 mL of methanol, ultrapure water, and citric acid buffer (pH 3.0) each for simultaneous extraction and further purification. The forty-seven target analytes were analysed by LC-MS/MS in positive and negative ion modes. The LC separation was performed using a Sigma-Aldrich C18 column with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as a gradient eluting mobile phase in positive ion mode. The internal standard method was used to overcome the inevitable matrix effects in LC-MS/MS analysis. The matrix effects of most target analytes were in the range of 27-151%. The recoveries of forty analytes in the three concentrations (10, 50, and 100 ng L-1) of surface water spiked samples ranged from 41 to 127%. The method quantitative limits of the analytes were in the range of 0.40-5.49 ng L-1. Application of the method to analyze samples in the eight runoff outlets of the Pearl River Delta showed that some antibiotics and pesticides were detected, and the concentration of parathion was as high as 154 ng L-1. A powerful tool for quickly and efficiently screening for contaminants in surface water has been presented.

Novel benzothiazole, benzimidazole and benzoxazole derivatives as potential antitumor agents: synthesis and preliminary in vitro biological evaluation.

In a previous hit-to-lead research program targeting anticancer agents, two promising lead compounds, 1a and 1b, were found. However, the poor solubility of 1a and 1b made difficult further in vivo studies. To solve this problem, a lead optimization was conducted through introducing N-methyl-piperazine groups at the 2-position and 6-position. To our delight, the optimized analogue 1d showed comparable antiproliferative activity in vitro with better solubility, compared with 1a. Based on this result, the replacement of the benzothiazole scaffold with benzimidazole and benzoxazole moieties afforded 1f and 1g, whose activities were fundamentally retained. In the preliminary in vitro biological evaluation, the immunofluorescence staining of HCT116 cells indicated that 1d, 1f and 1g led to cytosolic vacuolization which was not induced by 1a at low micromolecular concentrations. These results suggest that these optimized compounds might potentially constitute a novel class of anticancer agents, which merit further studies.