Tissue miR-200c-3p and circulating miR-1290 as potential prognostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related cancers generally elicit low immune responses. EMT is regulated by several microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancers. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the prognostic potential of EMT-related miRNAs as biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC). Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor and normal tissue and plasma samples were obtained from 65 patients with pathologically confirmed CRC. In addition, plasma samples were obtained from 30 healthy volunteers. Immunohistochemical staining for E-cadherin, ZEB1, PD-1, PD-L1, CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and CD68 was conducted on tissue samples. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) analysis was performed to evaluate miR-21-5p, 34a-5p, 138-5p, 200a-3p, 200b-5p, 200c-3p, 630, 1246, and 1290 expression in tissue samples and miR-630, 1246, and 1290 expression in plasma samples. miR-21-5p, 34a-5p, 630, 1246, and 1290 expression was higher in tumor tissues than in normal tissues (P < 0.05). EMT was significantly associated with reduced tumor-infiltrating T cells. Moreover, miR-21-5p, miR-34a-5p, miR-200a-3p, and miR-200c-3p expression was negatively correlated with T cell density (P < 0.05). High tissue levels of miR-200c-3p were associated with poor overall survival (OS) (P < 0.001). CRC patients with the EMT phenotype had poor OS; however, PD-L1 positivity and abundant PD-1 positive immune cells were correlated with better OS (P < 0.05). miR-1246 and miR-1290 levels were significantly higher in the plasma of patients with CRC than in the plasma of healthy controls (P < 0.05). High plasma levels of miR-1290 were correlated with advanced stage and poor OS (P < 0.05). The tissue expression of miR-200c-3p and plasma levels of miR-1290 measured by ddPCR indicate their potential as prognostic biomarkers for CRC.

Abundance and Distribution of Korean Flower Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae): Dominant Influence of Latitude on Regional Distribution.

Studies on abundance and distribution at different scales are rare. We examined whether the abundance of flower flies at a site in South Korea was related to the national occupancy and global distribution (distributional extent or range size) and whether the national occupancy was related to global distribution. In global distribution, the influence of two dimensions (latitude and longitude) was analyzed separately. Flower flies were collected by malaise and pitfall traps at a forest gap in South Korea. Data regarding national occupancy and global distribution were obtained from a Korean Flower Fly Atlas. We collected 46 species from the field survey and obtained a list of 119 species from the Korean Flower Fly Atlas. Our results showed that abundance at a site was positively correlated with national occupancy, but not global distribution, and the national occupancy was positively correlated with global distribution, mainly by the latitudinal range size. Finally, our results indicated that the regional distribution of flower flies was influenced by its one-dimensional global distribution.

Characterization of Sgr3394 produced only by the A-factor-producin Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350, not by the A-factor deficient mutant.

Protein D (9.7 kDa) is an extracellular protein detected in the culture broth of A-factor-producing Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350, but not of the A-factor-deficient mutant strain S. griseus HH1. Comparison of the N-terminal amino acid sequence with the genomic sequencing data of S. griseus IFO 13350 identified protein D as Sgr3394, which encodes a putative secretory protein with unknown function. The premature Sgr3394 consisted of 128 amino acids (13.5 kDa), showed 87.5% identity with SACT1DRAFT-0503, from Streptomyces sp. ACT-1, and 68.8% identity with SrosN15-18634, from S. roseosporus NRRL15998, and was confirmed to be matured for secretion by a peptide cleavage between the Ala-38 and Ala-39 bond. RT-PCR analysis of Sgr3394 clearly showed that it can be transcribed in the wild-type strain, but not in the A-factor-deficient strain. However, a gel-mobility shift assay of the promoter region of sgr3394 with A-factor-dependent transcriptional regulator (AdpA) showed that AdpA could not specifically recognize the putative AdpA-binding site (5'-TCCCCCGAAT-3'). All of these data strongly suggest that the expression of sgr3394 is not directly induced by AdpA but is regulated indirectly by an A-factor dependent protein. Introduction of sgr3394 on a high-copy-numbered plasmid (pWHM3-sgr3394) into S. lividans TK21 induced massive production of actinorhodin (blue pigment) and undecylprodigiosin (red pigment). Compared to the control, production of each pigment increased by 6.1 and 2.6 times, respectively, on R2YE agar, and 3.1 and 1.4 times, respectively, in R2YE broth; there was little influence on morphogenesis. In S. coelicolor A3(2)/pWHM3-sgr3394, actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin productions were enhanced to 1.8 and 1.1 times those observed in the control, respectively, suggesting that overexpression of sgr3394 can stimulate secondary metabolism, especially actinorhodin biosynthesis, in S. lividans and S. coelicolor.