Identification of biomarkers related to tryptophan metabolism in osteoarthritis.

Background: OA (osteoarthritis) is a common joint disease characterized by damage to the articular cartilage and affects the entire joint tissue, with its main manifestations being joint pain, stiffness, and limited movement.Currently,we know that OA is a complex process composed of inflammatory and metabolic factors.It is reported that the occurrence and development of OA is related to the change of tryptophan metabolism.Therefore, the study of tryptophan metabolism and OA related genes is hopeful to find a new therapeutic target for OA. Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GSE55235 were gained via differential expression analysis (OA samples vs normal samples). The tryptophan metabolic related DEGs (TMR-DEGs) were obtained by overlapping tryptophan metabolism related genes (TMRGs) and DEGs. Further, biomarkers were screening via Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), naive bayes (NB) and supportvector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) algorithm to establish a diagnostic model. Afterward, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and drug prediction were performed based on diagnostic biomarkers by multiple software and databases. Eventually, expression level of biomarker public databases was verified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: Three tryptophan metabolism related biomarkers (TDO2, AOX1 and SLC3A2) were identified in OA. GSEA analysis demonstrated that biomarkers were associated with the function of 'FoxO signaling pathway', 'spliceosome' and 'ribosome'. There were seven drugs with therapeutic potential on TDO2 and AOX1. Ultimately, compared with normal group, expression of AOX1 and SLC3A2 in OA group remarkable lower. Conclusion: Overall, three tryptophan metabolic related diagnostic biomarkers that associated with OA were obtained, which provided a original direction for the diagnosis and treatment of OA.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Regulates the Smad Signaling Pathway by Antagonizing TGF-ß in Giant Cell Tumor of Bone.

BACKGROUND: Giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) is a locally aggressive bone tumour aggravated by stromal cell proliferation and metastasis. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the mechanism of action of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in mediating GCTB proliferation and invasion. METHODS: The expression of HCG was quantified using quantitative real-time PCR. After the primary stromal cells were isolated and identified, the function of HCG in GCTB was estimated using the cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, scratch experiment, transwell assay, Western blot, and immunofluorescence. Moreover, the mechanism of HCG was assessed through western blotting. RESULTS: HCG expression was decreased in clinical tissue samples from patients with GCTB. We validated that HCG repressed stromal cell proliferation, migration, invasion, autophagy, and epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promoted cell apoptosis in GCTB. We also verified that HCG repressed the autophagy and EMT of stromal cells through the Smad signaling axis in GCTB. HCG inhibited the transduction of the Smad signaling pathway by restraining the binding of the TGF-ß II receptor to ligand Activin A. CONCLUSION: HCG restrained the Smad signaling pathway by antagonizing TGF-ß signaling in GCTB. HCG may serve as a useful patent to treat GCTB.

MiR-145 inhibits the differentiation and proliferation of bone marrow stromal mesenchymal stem cells by GABARAPL1 in steroid-induced femoral head necrosis.

Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of femoral head (SANFH) involves impaired differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC), the mechanism of which is regulated by multiple microRNAs. Studies have shown that miR-145 is a key regulatory molecule of BMSC cells, but its mechanism in steroid-induced femur head necrosis remains unclear. The present study mainly explored the specific mechanism of miR-145 involved in SANFH. In this study dexamethasone, a typical glucocorticoid, was used to induce osteogenic differentiation of BMSC cells. Western blot, qPCR, CCK8 and flow cytometry were used to investigate the effects of miR-145 on the proliferation and differentiation of BMSC. The relationship between miR-145 and GABA Type A Receptor Associated Protein Like 1(GABARAPL1) was identified using dual luciferase reports and the effects of the two molecules on BMSC were investigated in vitro. The results showed that miR-145 was up-regulated in SANFH patients, while GABARAPL1 was down-regulated. Inhibition of miR-145 can improve apoptosis and promote proliferation and activation of BMSC. GABARAPL1 is a downstream target gene of miR-145 and is negatively regulated by miR-145. In conclusion, miR-145 regulates the proliferation and differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced BMSC cells through GABARAPL1 and pharmacologically inhibit targeting miR-145 may provide new aspect for the treatment of SANFH.

Cisplatin inhibits the proliferation of Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells via the miR-376c/TGFA pathway.

The transforming growth factor alpha (TGFA) gene is involved in the proliferation and metastasis of various tumors, but its role in cell sensitivity to cisplatin chemotherapy is unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanism underlying inhibitory effects of cisplatin on growth and proliferation of osteosarcoma cells. Osteosarcoma and normal skeletal muscle tissues were collected from 26 patients by biopsy. TGFA was silenced or overexpressed in Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells by transfection with TGFA-shRNA or TGFA ORF clone, respectively. MiR-376c was inhibited or overexpressed by transfection of Saos-2 cells with miR-376c sponge or miR-376c mimics, respectively. Cell growth was analyzed by MTT assay and cell proliferation by BrdU assay. MiR-376c and TGFA mRNA expression was detected by quantitative reverse transcription PCR and TGFA protein expression by Western blot. The target relationship between miR-376c and TGFA was assessed by luciferase reporter assay. Both in osteosarcoma tissues and Saos-2 cells, miR-376c expression was significantly decreased and TGFA mRNA expression was significantly increased compared with control. Transfection of Saos-2 cells with TGFA-shRNA silenced TGFA expression and significantly inhibited cell growth and proliferation. TGFA mRNA and protein expression in Saos-2 cells significantly decreased with increasing cisplatin concentrations (2.5-10 mg/L). Transfection with TGFA ORF clone reversed the inhibitory effects of cisplatin on Saos-2 cell proliferation. Compared with cisplatin (10 mg/L) treatment alone, the combined treatment with cisplatin and miR-376c mimics inhibited the proliferation of Saos-2 cells more significantly. MiR-376c suppressed TGFA expression by directly interacting with its 3' UTR region. Overall, cisplatin inhibited the proliferation of Saos-2 cells by upregulating miR-376c and downregulating TGFA expression.

TBRG4 Knockdown Suppresses Proliferation and Growth of Human Osteosarcoma Cell Lines MG63 Through PI3K/Akt Pathway.

BACKGROUND: The transforming growth factor ß regulator 4 (TBRG4) has been proved to be involved in various types of tumor. However, its contribution in human osteosarcoma (OS) is still unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to investigate the expression of TBRG4 in OS tissues obtained from patients and three types of cell lines. The effect of TBRG4 knockdown using lentivirus on tumorigenesis was detected by CCK8, high-content screening analysis, colony formation assay and flow cytometric analysis. Bioinformatics analysis was operated to investigate related signaling pathways following TBRG4 knockdown. RESULTS: The results showed that the expression of TBRG4 increased significantly in OS tissues and MG63 cell line. TBRG4 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, colony and tumor formation, while activating cell apoptosis. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and Western blot assay further indicated that TBRG4 knockdown may regulate the proliferation of human MG63 cells through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that TBRG4 may become a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of human OS.

The improved antitumor efficacy of continuous intratumoral chemotherapy with cisplatin-loaded implants for the treatment of sarcoma 180 tumor-bearing mice.

Cisplatin is the most commonly used antitumor drug in the chemotherapy of a variety of malignancies. However, the severe side effects and drug resistance limit its clinical application. The aim of this study was to develop PLGA-based cisplatin-loaded implants and evaluate the antitumor efficacy of continuous intratumoral chemotherapy with the implants. The cisplatin-loaded implants were prepared by the direct compression method and characterized regarding drug content, micromorphology, in vitro and in vivo drug release profiles. Furthermore, the antitumor activity of the implants was conducted in sarcoma 180 tumor-bearing mice. The SEM images showed smooth surface of the implants and the mean drug content of the tested implants was (37.7% ± 0.5%, w/w). Both in vitro and in vivo release profiles of the implants were characterized by initial burst release followed by the sustained-release of cisplatin. Intratumoral implantation of the cisplatin-loaded implants could effectively inhibit the tumor growth. Additionally, intratumoral chemotherapy with the implants significantly reduced the systemic toxicity compared with intravenous injection of cisplatin. It is worth noting that an increase in the dose of the implants led to a higher tumor suppression rate without additional systemic toxicity. These results demonstrated that cisplatin-loaded implants enhanced the antitumor efficacy and reduced the dose-related side effects in sarcoma 180 tumor-bearing mice.