Predictive significance of glycolysis-associated lncRNA profiles in colorectal cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: The Warburg effect is a hallmark characteristic of colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite extensive research, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in influencing the Warburg effect remains incompletely understood. Our study aims to identify lncRNAs that may modulate the Warburg effect by functioning as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). METHODS: Utilizing bioinformatics approaches, we extracted glycolysis-associated gene data from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and identified 101 glycolysis-related lncRNAs in CRC. We employed Univariable Cox regression, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis, and Multivariable Cox regression to develop a prognostic model comprising four glycolysis-linked lncRNAs. We then constructed a prognostic nomogram integrating this lncRNA model with other relevant clinical parameters. RESULTS: The prognostic efficacy of our four-lncRNA signature and its associated nomogram was validated in both training and validation cohorts. Functional assays demonstrated significant glycolysis and hexokinase II (HK2) inhibition following the silencing of RUNDC3A - AS1, a key lncRNA in our prognostic signature, highlighting its regulatory importance in the Warburg effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our research illuminates the critical role of glycolysis-centric lncRNAs in CRC. The developed prognostic model and nomogram underscore the pivotal prognostic and regulatory significance of the lncRNA RUNDC3A - AS1 in the Warburg effect in colorectal cancer.

A new way to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs based on the decreased resonance light scattering signal and its potential application.

A novel assay has been developed to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs based on the decreased resonance light scattering (RLS) technique. The proposed method can be used to study those drugs which do not produce a RLS-signal after binding to DNA. RLS was used to monitor the interaction of five anticancer drugs with DNA. The reaction between anticancer drugs and DNA took place in BR buffer solution. From the RLS assay, the sequence of five anticancer drugs activities was as follows: CTX < MTX < Pt < MMC < 5-Fu. Mammary cancer cell DNA (mcDNA) was involved to validate the RLS assay. The results showed that the sensitivities of the five anticancer drugs targeting both mcDNA and ctDNA increased in the same order. However the sensitivity of each drug to mcDNA was higher than that to ctDNA It is a significant innovation of the RLS method to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs and to obtain drug sensitivity, which provides new strategies to screen DNA targeted anticancer drugs.

Fatty Acid Metabolism-Related lncRNAs Are Potential Biomarkers for Predicting the Overall Survival of Patients With Colorectal Cancer.

Abnormal metabolism, including abnormal fatty acid metabolism, is an emerging hallmark of cancer. The current study sought to investigate the potential prognostic value of fatty acid metabolism-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in colorectal cancer (CRC). To this end, we obtained the gene expression data and clinical data of patients with CRC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Through gene set variation analysis (GSVA), we found that the fatty acid metabolism pathway was related to the clinical stage and prognosis of patients with CRC. After screening differentially expressed RNAs, we constructed a fatty acid metabolism-related competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network based on the miRTarBase, miRDB, TargetScan, and StarBase databases. Next, eight fatty acid metabolism-related lncRNAs included in the ceRNA network were identified to build a prognostic signature with Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses, and a nomogram was established based on the lncRNA signature and clinical variables. The signature and nomogram were further validated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox regression analysis, calibration plots, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, decision curve analysis (DCA). Besides, the TCGA internal and the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) external cohorts were applied to successfully validate the robustness of the signature and nomogram. Finally, in vitro assays showed that knockdown of prognostic lncRNA TSPEAR-AS2 decreased the triglyceride (TG) content and the expressions of fatty acid synthase (FASN) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) in CRC cells, which indicated the important role of lncRNA TSPEAR-AS2 in modulating fatty acid metabolism of CRC. The result of Oil Red O staining showed that the lipid content in lncRNA TSPEAR-AS2 high expression group was higher than that in lncRNA TSPEAR-AS2 low expression group. Our study may provide helpful information for fatty acid metabolism targeting therapies in CRC.

Corrigendum: Fatty Acid Metabolism-Related lncRNAs Are Potential Biomarkers for Predicting the Overall Survival of Patients With Colorectal Cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.704038.].

DNA as a target for anticancer compounds screening directly by resonance light scattering technique.

Anticancer drugs which selectively interact with DNA can change DNA's conformation and inhibit the duplication or transcription of DNA. An instrument-based assay for directly screening DNA-targeted anticancer drugs using resonance light scattering (RLS) technique with a common spectrofluorometer was proposed. To monitor the proposed screening method, the interactions between three anticarcinogens (Adriamycin (ADM), Bleomycin A (BLMA), Actinomycin D (ACTD)) and DNA were studied. The sequence of binding constants for the three anticarcinogens obtained from RLS spectra is: K(RLS) (ACTD, 9.43 × 10(5) L mol(-1)) > K(RLS) (ADM, 6.67 × 10(5) L mol(-1)) > K(RLS) (BLMA, 8.88 × 10(3) L mol(-1)) and of binding numbers is: N(RLS) (ACTD, 3.36 mmol g(-1)) < N(RLS) (ADM, 3.81 mmol g(-1)) < N(RLS) (BLMA, 57.44 mmol g(-1)). From the results we got the sequence of combination intensity between these three drugs and DNA as follows: ACTD-DNA > ADM-DNA > BLMA-DNA, which was completely consistent with drug activity. The conclusion indicated that the present method was direct, rapid, reliable and was another important innovation of the application of RLS technique.

Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy in Obese Elder Patients: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the safety and effectiveness of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in patients aged 60 years old or older. METHODS: The available literature was searched for eligible studies up to November 2019. The meta-analysis was performed by the RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: This meta-analysis involved nineteen studies. The rates of early and late complications in RYGB were much higher than those in SG. More specifically, within 30 days after surgeries, leak, urinary tract infection, obstruction, and death occurred more often in the RYGB group. The above differences may lead to higher rates of hospital readmission and return to the operating room. RYGB was superior to SG in terms of remission of hypertension and the 1-year follow-up weight loss outcome, while there were no differences in terms of remission of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as well as weight loss outcomes during 2- and 3-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: SG was the preferable option to RYGB for patients aged 60 years old or older, as SG has been shown not inferior to RYGB in terms of effectiveness, while being safer than RYGB.

Determination of nanograms of proteins based on decreased resonance light scattering of zwitterionic gemini surfactant.

A new high-sensitivity detection of protein assay at the nanogram level is proposed based on the decreased resonance light scattering (RLS) signals of zwitterionic gemini surfactant (phosphodiesters quaternary ammonium salt [PQAS]). It was found that PQAS self-assembled into nanometer-scale PQAS aggregates, which induced intense RLS signal in Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer solution (pH 10.5). Under the optimum conditions, the RLS intensity quenching extent of PQAS aggregation was in proportion to the concentration of proteins in the range of 0.0012-1.08 microg/ml for bovine serum albumin, 0.0015-0.95 microg/ml for human serum albumin, and 0.0025-1.3 microg/ml for gamma-globulin. The detection limits were 0.8, 1.2, and 2.0 ng/ml, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine total protein in human serum samples, and the results were identical to those obtained by the Bradford assay. The mechanism of interaction between PQAS and protein was studied using RLS, fluorescence, and time-resolved fluorescence, which indicated that the new complex formed between them, disaggregating self-aggregation of PQAS, resulted in the dominated quenching of RLS signal of the assay system.

A Reduction in Video Gaming Time Produced a Decrease in Brain Activity.

This study examines whether a decrease in brain development is observable after players have reduced their video gaming time over a period of 1 year. Both video gaming experts and non-experts were recruited, whose resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected at the beginning and the end of the study. Immediately after the first scan, the participants were instructed to spend no more than 3 h on video gaming weekly for 1 year. The results showed decreased self-reported video gaming skills and decreased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the experts at the end of the study, demonstrating that a reduction in video gaming time over a period of 1 year produced a decrease in brain development. The non-experts served as a control group and had no significant changes. The findings support the adaptive effect of video gaming experience on brain and cognitive development.

Determination of antibacterial quaternary ammonium compound in lozenges and human serum by resonance light scattering technique.

A method for the specific determination of an antibacterial quaternary ammonium compound Dequalinium chloride (DQC) was described in this paper. At pH 0.5, the resonance light scattering (RLS) intensity of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) remarkably was enhanced by adding DQC. A RLS peak at 392.0 nm was found, and the enhanced intensity of RLS at this wavelength was proportional to the concentration of DQC in the range of 0.096-2.88 microg/mL. The detection limit was 2.98 ng/mL and the correlation coefficient was r=0.9988 (n=9). The method was applied to the analysis of DQC in lozenges and human serum. The results indicated that the method was sensitive, simple, practical and useful in the clinical assay.

Use of Gemini surfactant in a one-step ellagic acid assay by resonance light scattering technique.

Ellagic acid (EA) reacted with Gemini zwitterionic surfactant, phosphodiesters quaternary ammonium salt (PQAS), and formed fine particles which produced strong enhancement in intensity of resonance light scattering (RLS). The effects of several factors on the RLS signal, such as pH, ionic strength, PQAS concentration and so on, were optimized. The relationship between enhanced RLS intensity and EA concentration was constructed. A novel and rapid method for the determination of EA was built. The linear range of this method was 0.016-4.0 microg mL(-1) and the detection limit was 13.9 ng mL(-1). Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method was applied to determine EA in body fluids with the results of quantitative recoveries between 98.4-101.4% in human serum samples and 99.1-102% in human urine samples. This method characterized by low limit detection is very sensitive and the cost is low, and constitutes a fast one-step procedure which requires only measuring the RLS intensities. The mechanism of the reaction was also studied. This investigation could contribute to the research on the delivery and release of bioactive molecules by Gemini surfactants.

Determination of antibacterial ofloxacin in human serum samples by a resonance light scattering technique with alizarin violet 3B.

A method for the determination of ofloxacin (OFL) has been developed, based on the enhancement of resonance light scattering (RLS) of OFL in the presence of alizarin violet 3B (AV3B). Under the experimental conditions, the RLS intensity of AV3B was greatly enhanced by adding OFL. At pH 5.09, the enhancement of the RLS intensity at 439.5 nm was proportional to the concentration of OFL in the range 0.10-2.50 microg/ml. The detection limit (3sigma) was 0.013 microg/ml. At pH 6.90, the enhancement of the RLS intensity at 405.0 nm was proportional to the concentration of OFL in the range 0.05-3.00 microg/ml. The detection limit (3sigma) was 0.021 microg/ml. The proposed method with high sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility was satisfactorily applied to the determination of OFL in human serum.

Screen anticancer drug in vitro using resonance light scattering technique.

An in vitro screening model using resonance light scattering (RLS) technique with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reagent as the reactive probe to target cancer cell was firstly developed. In this model, MTT was reduced by viable cancer cells to produce a purple formazan. Cell viability was proportional to the number of formazan induced strong light scattering signal. The inhibition rate of anticancer drug was found to vary inversely with the H(22)-MTT system RLS intensity. So it was intuitive to see the sequence of the tumor suppressive activity of six anticancer drugs without data processing by RLS/MTT screening spectra. Compared with the traditional MTT method, this method has high sensitivity, low detection limit and quite intuitive screening results which were identical to those obtained from the MTT colorimetric assay.