CISD2 Promotes Proliferation of Colorectal Cancer Cells by Inhibiting Autophagy in a Wnt/ß-Catenin-Signaling-Dependent Pathway.

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of CDGSH iron-sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) in colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of CDGSH iron-sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. The expression of CISD2 in CRC cell lines was measured by western blotting. Functional assays including MTT assays and colony formation assays were performed to explore the role of CISD2 in regulating tumor growth. Flow cytometry analysis was used to examine the percentage of apoptotic CRC cells. Expression of apoptosis-related gene, autophagy-related markers, and the protein included in Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling was also determined by western blotting. The in vivo role of CISD2 was also examined in a xenograft model. CISD2 expression was significantly increased in CRC cells. CISD2 promoted the CRC cell proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis and autophagy of CRC cells. Moreover, knockdown of CISD2 inhibited the activation of Wnt/ß-Catenin-signaling pathway. Knockdown of CISD2 inhibited the tumor growth in nude mice. CISD2 promoted colorectal cancer development by inhibiting CRC cell apoptosis and autophagy depending on activating Wnt/ß-Catenin-signaling pathway.

LncRNA DLEU2 silencing impedes the migration, invasion and EMT in gastric cancer cell by suppressing PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Context: The high expression of long non-coding RNA deleted in lymphocytic leukaemia 2 (lncRNA DLEU2) has been confirmed in gastric cancer (GC).Objective: However, the detailed mechanism concerning its involvement in GC remained unclear, which we aimed to explore in this study.Materials and methods: LncRNA DLEU2 expression in GC was estimated by bioinformatic analysis, and the relationship between the expression of DLEU2 and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with GC was performed. qRT-PCR was employed to detect the expression of lncRNA DLEU2 and confirm the transfection efficiency following the knockdown or overexpression of DLEU2. Functional assays, including CCK-8, flow cytometry, scratching test and Transwell assays, were used to determine the role of DLEU2 in tumor phenotypes. The effects of DLEU2 on the PI3K/Akt pathway were detected by western blot. For elucidating the functions of DLEU2/PI3K/Akt axis in GC, we inhibited the PI3K/Akt pathway in rescue experiments, and evaluated the expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins by western blot.Results: The expression of DLEU2 was aberrantly up-regulated in GC tissues and cells, which was correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation, cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and Lauren histologic classification of patients with GC. Silencing of DLEU2 induced apoptosis, attenuated viability, migration and invasion as well as inhibited the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in GC cells. Mechanistically, the DLEU2/PI3K/Akt axis promoted the progression of GC and the EMT by down-regulating the expression of E-Cadherin and up-regulating those of N-Cadherin and Vimentin.Discussion and conclusions: LncRNA DLEU2 promoted the migration, invasion and EMT in GC by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Microarray expression profile of microRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma patients with the Cancer Genome Atlas and its clinical validation.

PURPOSE: To mine differentially expressed microRNAs (miRs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) via The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). METHODS: The transcriptome and pathological data of LUAD patients were downloaded from TCGA. The differentially expressed genes were screened using "edgeR" package in R and analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regressions. The expression and clinic value of serum miR-548v in 50 patients with LUAD (study group) and 50 healthy individuals (control group) was detected by the quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the diagnostic value of miR-548v in LUAD was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: A total of 233 differentially expressed genes were found, of which 115 were highly expressed and 118 were lowly expressed. Multivariate Cox regression showed that hsa-mir-142 and hsa-mir-548v were independent prognostic factors for patients with LUAD. The study group showed significantly higher serum miR-548v expression than the control group (p<0.001). miR-548v was related to TNM staging, lymph node metastasis, and tumor size of patients (p<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of miR-548v in diagnosing LUAD was 0.960, and that in determining TNM staging, lymph node metastasis and tumor size was 0.829, 0.851 and 0.881 respectively. CONCLUSION: Differential expression of miR-548v predicts poor prognosis of patients with LUAD and is closely related to TNM staging, lymph node metastasis and tumor size. Therefore, it is expected to be a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for LUAD.

In vitro antibacterial effects of Tanreqing injection combined with vancomycin or linezolid against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

BACKGROUND: Combining conventional drugs and traditional medicine may represent a useful approach to combating antibiotic resistance, which has become a serious threat to global public health. This study aimed to evaluate the potential synergistic interactions between Tanreqing (TRQ) injection, a commercial traditional Chinese medicine formula used for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infection, and selected antibiotics used against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). METHODS: The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of TRQ, vancomycin and linezolid against planktonic MRSA strain were determined by the broth microdilution method. The combined effects of TRQ and antibiotics were studied by the checkerboard method and the time-kill curve assay. The 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction assay was employed to determine the inhibitory effect of the test compounds alone and in combination against MRSA embedded in biofilms. RESULTS: MRSA strain was found to be susceptible to TRQ formula with MIC value 4125 µg/ml, while the MIC values for antibiotics, vancomycin and linezolid, were 2.5 µg/ml. The checkerboard analysis revealed that TRQ markedly enhanced activities of the tested antibiotics by reducing their MICs. In the time-kill analysis, TRQ at 1/2 × MIC in combination with vancomycin at 1/2 × MIC, as well as TRQ at 1/8 × MIC in combination with linezolid at 1/2 × MIC decreased the viable colonies by ≥2log10 CFU/ml, resulting in a potent synergistic effect against planktonic MRSA. In contrast to the tested antibiotics, which did not affect mature MRSA biofilms at subinhibitory concentrations, TRQ alone showed strong ability to disrupt preformed biofilms and induce biofilm cell death. The combination of TRQ with vancomycin or linezolid at sub-MIC concentrations resulted in a synergistic antibiofilm effect significantly higher than for each single agent. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first in vitro evidence on the synergistic effects of TRQ and vancomycin or linezolid against planktonic and biofilm MRSA, and revealed their optimal combination doses, thereby providing a rational basis for the combination therapies against MRSA.

Preparation and Visible-Light Driven Photocatalytic Properties of CuS/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites.

The CuS/RGO composites were prepared using a facile one-step solvothermal method. The asobtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurements and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The results showed that the CuS particles were uniformly dispersed on the surface of RGO and electronic migration effect existed between RGO and CuS. The photocatalytic activity of CuS/RGO composites was evaluated by the degradation of Cationic blue SD-BL, Cationic red X-5GN, Direct blue 86, Reactive blue KN-R, Methylene blue and Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic experiments showed that the CuS/RGO composites exhibited a better photocatalytic performance for organic dyes with absence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) due to the inhibition of recombination of electron-hole pair induced on the surface of CuS. The photodegradation ratio of Cationic blue SD-BL, Cationic red X-5GN, Direct blue 86, Reactive blue KN-R, Methylene blue and Rhodamine B increased to 100%, 95.8%, 99.5%, 87.8%, 100%, 81% after 75 min of irradiation, respectively. Moreover, no significant decline of CuS/RGO photocatalyst for photodegradation of dyes was observed after five cycles, indicating better photostability of the samples. Thus, the CuS/RGO composites could have a promising application in wastewater treatment.

Geographical patterns based on faunal types of breeding birds and mammals in China.

We collected available chorological data of birds and mammals in China and assigned faunal types. The 19 sub-regions of the zoogeographical regions of China were used as operative geographical units. Matrices of the geographical units using the species number of each faunal type were then constructed. Based on the matrices we clustered the geographical units using a hierarchical cluster analysis The results of the faunal divisions according to the cluster analysis were illustrated in a geographic information system (GIS). When 19 geographical units were clustered into two clusters, the boundary of the two clusters corresponded to that of the Palearctic and Indomalayan (Oriental) realms in the recent division of Chinese fauna. When the geographical units were clustered into eight clusters, the sub-region Southern Yunnan Hilly became an idiographic cluster. As a result, Southern Yunnan hilly should be regarded as a region rather than a sub-region at the same level as Southwest region, Central China region and South China region. The differences in the distribution patterns of birds and mammals among the units in the Indomalayan (Oriental) realm were more complicated than those in Palearctic realm. A few differences of the cluster analysis results based on the faunal types were found between the bird and mammal species. These differences might result from the different ecological and geographical distribution patterns of these two animal categories.

Dual-fluorescent donor-acceptor dyad with tercarbazole donor and switchable imide acceptor: promising structure for an integrated logic gate.

A dual-fluorescent donor-acceptor (D-A) dyad with tercarbazole (donor) and 2,3-dithienylmaleimide (acceptor) was synthesized and characterized. The emission intensity of long wavelength could be regulated by either bistable structures of the dyad or the polarities of solvents. By mimicking the function of an integrated logic gate, a 2-input AND logic operation is established. [reaction: see text].

Synthesis and characterization of 9-(cycloheptatrienylidene)fluorene derivatives: acid-triggered "switch on"of fluorophores.

A series of 9-(cycloheptatrienylidene)fluorene derivatives were synthesized in good yields through the Suzuki or Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions. Fluorescence "off-on" behaviors of these compounds were investigated on the basis of variable acid concentrations. These compounds were shown to be acid-sensing fluorophores with utility as indicators in acidic environments.