Screening and validation of optimal miRNA reference genes in different developing stages and tissues of Lilium henryi Baker.

Dynamic miRNA detection using the qRT-PCR technique requires appropriate reference genes to ensure data reliability. Previous studies have screened internal reference genes in plants during embryonic development and various stress treatment, involving relatively few tissues and organs. There is no relevant miRNA study in Lilium henryi Baker and limited research on the optimal miRNA reference genes in lilies, such as 5S, 18S, U6 and Actin. Twelve genes were selected as candidate reference genes whose expression stability was analyzed in petals at different developmental stages and other tissues using various algorithms, such as geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and Delta CT. The results revealed that the optimal combination of reference genes for Lilium henryi Baker petals at different developmental stages was osa-miR166m and osa-miR166a-3p, while that for different tissues of Lilium henryi Baker was osa-miR166g-3p and osa-miR166a-3p.Four important genes related to growth and development regulation, namely, osa-miR156a, osa-miR395b, osa-miR396a-3p, and osa-miR396a-5p, were selected for validation. The findings of the present study could contribute to future investigations onmiRNA expression and the related functions in Lilium henryi Baker while providing important references for the normalization of the miRNA expression in other varieties of lily.

TPX2 as a Novel Prognostic Indicator and Promising Therapeutic Target in Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which lacks endocrine therapies and targeted therapies, has the worst prognosis of all breast cancers which remain the most common malignancy in women worldwide. Targeting protein for xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) is a microtubule-associated protein that is strongly correlated with chromosomal instability, resulting in the development of different human tumors. Herein, we investigated the relationship between the clinical outcome of TNBC and the expression level of the TPX2 protein. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients initially treated at Tongji Hospital for confirmed TNBC were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining and retrospectively recruited into our study. The immunohistochemical staining evaluation of TPX2 was based on the staining intensity and extent. STATA was used to analyze all the data. RESULTS: In total, 97 patients with TNBC were recruited into our study. The TPX2 protein was overexpressed in almost all patients with TNBC. Our study demonstrated that an elevated TPX2 protein level was significantly associated with worse outcomes in the patients with TNBC, including worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (log-rank test, P < .001). Our model also indicated that TPX2 expression was an independent predictor of OS (hazard ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-4.28; P = .020) but not of PFS (P = .639). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we demonstrated that TPX2 could be a novel prognostic marker of PFS and OS after the initial treatment of TNBC. We also revealed that TPX2 expression could serve as an independent predictor of OS but not of PFS and a promising therapeutic target in patients with TNBC.