Randomized, blind, controlled phase III clinical trial: Assessing the immunogenicity and safety of freeze-dried human rabies vaccine (vero cell) with a 4-dose regimen (2-1-1) in a 10-60 year-old demographic.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the freeze-dried human rabies vaccine (Vero cell), administered in a four-dose schedule (2-1-1) to the 10-60 years old population, has immunogenicity that is not inferior to the approved five-dose schedule and similar vaccines with a four-dose schedule, and to evaluate its safety. METHOD: A total of 1800 individuals were enrolled and divided into three groups: four-dose test group, four-dose control group, and five-dose control group. The rabies virus neutralizing antibodies were measured using the Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test to assess immunogenicity, and the incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The seroconversion rates 14 days after the first dose and 14 days after the complete course of vaccination were 100% in all three groups. The antibody GMC of the four-dose test group was higher than that of the five-dose control group, but slightly lower than the four-dose control group. Seven days after the first dose, both four-dose regimen groups showed higher seroconversion rates and antibody GMCs compared to the five-dose regimen group, proving that the immunogenic effect of the four-dose regimen seven days post-first vaccination is superior to the five-dose regimen. The overall incidence of adverse events showed no significant difference between the four-dose test group and the five-dose control group, but was significantly lower in the four-dose test group compared to the four-dose control group. CONCLUSION: The vaccine in the four-dose test group is equivalent in immunogenic effect to the four-dose control group vaccine and superior to the five-dose control group vaccine; the safety of the vaccine in the four-dose test group is equivalent to the five-dose control group vaccine and superior to the four-dose control group vaccine. CLINICALTRIALS: gov number: NCT05549908.

New Perspectives on the Risks of Hydroxylated Polychlorinated Biphenyl (OH-PCB) Exposure: Intestinal Flora α-Glucosidase Inhibition.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of colorless and odorless environmental pollutants with a wide range of toxic effects. Some PCBs, especially less chlorinated ones, will rapidly undergo phase I metabolism after entering the body, and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are the main metabolites of PCBs. Intestinal flora α-glucosidase is a common carbohydrate-active enzyme which is ubiquitous in human intestinal flora. It can convert complex dietary polysaccharides into monosaccharides, assisting the body in degrading complex carbohydrates and providing energy for the survival and growth of bacterial flora. The present study aims to investigate the inhibition of the activity of intestinal flora α-glucosidase by OH-PCBs. 4-Nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (PNPG) was used as a probe substrate for α-glucosidase, and in vitro incubation experiments were conducted to study the inhibition of 26 representative OH-PCBs on α-glucosidase. Preliminary screening of in vitro incubation was performed with 100 µM of OH-PCBs. The results showed that 26 OH-PCBs generally exhibited strong inhibition of α-glucosidase. The concentration-dependent inhibition and half inhibition concentrations (IC50s) of OH-PCBs on α-glucosidase were determined. 4'-OH-PCB 86 and 4'-OH-PCB 106 were chosen as representative OH-PCBs, and the inhibition kinetic parameters (Kis) of inhibitors for α-glucosidase were determined. The inhibition kinetic parameters (Kis) of 4'-OH-PCB 86 and 4'-OH-PCB 106 for α-glucosidase are 1.007 µM and 0.538 µM, respectively. The silico docking method was used to further analyze the interaction mechanism between OH-PCBs and α-glucosidase. All these results will help us to understand the risks of OH-PCB exposure from a new perspective.

Effect of vegetable consumption on risk of gastric cancer: a systematic review and multi-level meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Vegetables are known to be beneficial to human health, but the association between vegetable consumption and gastric cancer remains uncertain. To synthesise knowledge about the relationship between vegetable group consumption and gastric cancer risk, update present meta-analyses and estimate associations between vegetable consumption and gastric cancer risk based solely on prospective studies, we perform a PRISMA-compliant three-level meta-analysis. Systematic search identified thirteen prospective studies with fifty-two effect sizes that met all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria for our meta-analysis. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) showed a positive association between high vegetable consumption and low gastric cancer risk (pooled RR 0·93, 95% confidence interval 0·90-0·97, P = 0·06). In moderator analyses for indicators of gender, region and quantity of vegetable intake, there was no significant difference between subgroups. However, the effect became significant in populations with lower than the minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) of vegetable consumption (P < 0·05). Higher vegetable intake is associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer. This effect may be limited to specific populations, such as ones with lower vegetable consumption. Evidence from our study has important public health implications for dietary recommendations.

Effect of passive smoking exposure on risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Objective: The effect of passive smoking exposure on the risk of type 2 diabetes has not been systematically studied. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between passive smoking exposure and the risk of diabetes. Methods: We searched three major databases up to 31 October 2022 to identify relevant prospective cohort studies on the association between passive smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes. The pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between passive smoking exposure and the risk of type 2 diabetes were analyzed using a fixed-effect model. Results: Ten prospective cohort studies were included in this meta-analysis, with a total of 251,620 participants involved. The pooled RR showed a significantly positive association between nonsmokers exposed to passive smoking and type 2 diabetes as compared to non-smokers who were not exposed to passive smoking [RR = 1.27; 95% CI (1.19, 1.36); p < 0.001]. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the pooled RR was not substantially affected by any of the individual studies. Conclusion: Exposure to passive smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This study may have a positive effect on the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023372532.

Ambient-Dried, Ultra-high Strength, Low Thermal Conductivity, High Char Residual Rate F-type Polybenzoxazine Aerogel.

The effect of the curing temperature (T c) on the properties of PBO aerogel was investigated in this paper. The compressive strength of PBO aerogel prepared was much higher than that of PBO aerogel of the same density in other kinds of literature. With the robust F-type polybenzoxazine (PBO) aerogels with ultra-high Young's modulus (733.7 MPa at 0.48 g/cm3 and 1070 MPa at 0.57 g/cm3), excellent properties were obtained through a facile and scalable room-temperature HCl-catalyzed sol-gel method, followed by the ambient pressure drying technique. It is found that T c plays a vital role in the polymerization process and the evolution of the microstructure of the 3D porous PBO network, where the necks between the nanoparticles become thick and strong when T c is up to 150 °C, resulting in a pearl necklace-to-worm transformation in the micro-structure and significant growth in mechanical properties, but if T c is higher than 180 °C, the pore volume and specific surface area will decrease sharply. Moreover, all synthetic PBO aerogels here possessed inherent flame retardancy and a high residual char rate in the volume density (0.32-0.57 g/cm3). These properties make the F-type PBO aerogels a candidate material in aerospace applications or other fields.

Inhibition of Human Sulfotransferases by Phthalate Monoesters.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the inhibition of human important phase II metabolic enzyme sulfotransferases (SULTs) by phthalate monoesters, which are important metabolites of phthalate esters (PAEs). Method: Recombinant SULT-catalyzed metabolism of p-nitrophenol (PNP) was employed as the probe reactions of SULTs to investigate the inhibition of 8 kinds of phthalate monoesters towards SULT isoforms. An in vitro incubation system was utilized for preliminary screening, and 100 µM of phthalate monoesters was used. Inhibition kinetics were carried out to determine the inhibition of SULTs by phthalate monoesters. Result: Multiple phthalate monoesters have been demonstrated to exert strong inhibition potential towards SULT1A1, SULT1B1, and SULT1E1, and no significant inhibition of phthalate monoesters towards SULT1A3 was found. The activity of SULT1A1 was strongly inhibited by mono-hexyl phthalate (MHP), mono-octyl phthalate (MOP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBZP), and mono-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP). Monobutyl phthalate (MBP), MHP, MOP, mono-cyclohexyl phthalate (MCHP), and MEHP significantly inhibited the activity of SULT1B1. MHP, MOP, and MEHP significantly inhibited the activity of SULT1E1. MOP was chosen as the representative phthalate monoester to determine the inhibition kinetic parameters (Ki) towards SULT1B1 and SULT1E1. The inhibition kinetic parameters (Ki) were calculated to be 2.23 µM for MOP-SULT1B1 and 5.54 µM for MOP-SULT1E1. In silico docking method was utilized to understand the inhibition mechanism of SULT1B1 by phthalate monoesters. Conclusions: All these information will be beneficial for understanding the risk of phthalate monoester exposure from a new perspective.

Short chain fatty acids for the risk of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes patients.

AIMS: This study aimed to explore relationships short chain fatty acids with diabetic nephropathy (DN) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. METHODS: We extracted the clinical and omics data of 100 T2D patients and 100 DN patients from April 2018 to April 2019 from a tertiary hospital. Restricted cubic splines were used to examine full-range associations of short chain fatty acids with DN in T2D.Query Logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Acetate, butyrate and isovalerate were negatively correlated with DN. Isobutyrate was positively correlated with DN. Propionate ≥ 4.4 µg/mL and isobutyrate ≥ 1.4 µg/mL had threshold effects and their increasing levels above the cutoff points were associated with rapid rises in the risk of DN. The additive interaction between high propionate and high isobutyrate in serum significantly increased the risk of DN (OR34.35; 95%CI 7.11 to 166.08). Presence of hypertension further increased the OR of high propionate for DN to 8.27(95%CI 1.82 to 37.57) with a significant additive interaction. The additive interaction of the high isobutyrate and hypertension was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Acetate, butyrate and isovalerate were negatively associated with DN. Isobutyrate was positively associated with DN. Serum high propionate and high isobutyrate worked independently and synergistically to increase the risk of DN in T2D. Presence of hypertension further amplified the effect of copresence of high propionate on DN risk.

A new method for roadheader pick arrangement based on meshing pick spatial position and rock cutting verification.

This paper proposes a cutting head optimization method based on meshing the spatial position of the picks. According to the expanded shape of the spatial mesh composed of four adjacent picks on the plane, a standard mesh shape analysis method can be established with mesh skewness, mesh symmetry, and mesh area ratio as the indicators. The traversal algorithm is used to calculate the theoretical meshing rate, pick rotation coefficient, and the variation of cutting load for the longitudinal cutting head with 2, 3, and 4 helices. The results show that the 3-helix longitudinal cutting head has better performance. By using the traversal result with maximum theoretical meshing rate as the design parameter, the longitudinal cutting head CH51 with 51 picks was designed and analyzed. The prediction model of pick consumption is established based on cutting speed, direct rock cutting volume of each pick, pick rotation coefficient, uniaxial compressive strength, and CERCHAR abrasivity index. And the rock with normal distribution characteristics of Uniaxial Compressive Strength is used for the specific energy calculating. The artificial rock wall cutting test results show that the reduction in height loss suppresses the increase in pick equivalent loss caused by the increase in mass loss, and the pick consumption in this test is only 0.037-0.054 picks/m3. In addition, the correlation between the actual pick consumption and the prediction model, and the correlation between the actual cutting specific energy and the theoretical calculation value are also analyzed. The research results show that the pick arrangement design method based on meshing pick tip spatial position can effectively reduce pick consumption and improve the rock cutting performance.

Inhibition of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) on sulfotransferases (SULTs).

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been demonstrated as a kind of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that could exert complicated influences towards metabolism in human bodies. Since hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are important metabolites of PCBs, our study focuses on investigating the potential inhibitory capability of OH-PCBs on four human sulfotransferase (SULT) isoforms. P-nitrophenol (PNP) was utilized as nonselective probe substrate for this study, and recombinant SULT isoforms were utilized as the enzyme resources. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-UV detecting system was used to analyze PNP and its metabolite PNP-sulfate. As result, 100 µM of most tested OH-PCBs significantly inhibited the activity of four SULT isoforms. Concentration-dependent inhibition of OH-PCBs towards SULTs was found, and half inhibition concentration values (IC50) of some inhibition processes were determined. Inhibition kinetics (inhibition kinetic type and parameters) were determined using 4'-OH-PCB106 as the representative OH-PCB, SULT1B1 and SULT1E1 as representative SULT isoforms. The inhibition kinetic parameters (Ki) were 1.73 µM and 1.81 µM for the inhibition of 4'-OH-PCB106 towards SULT1B1 and SULT1E1, respectively. In silico docking simulation was utilized to analyze the inhibition capability of 2'-OH-PCB5, 4'-OH-PCB9, 2'-OH-PCB12 towards SULT1A3.All these results obtained in this study are helpful for further understanding the toxicity of PCBs.

Cancer-secreted exosomal miR-21-5p induces angiogenesis and vascular permeability by targeting KRIT1.

Cancer-secreted exosomes are critical mediators of cancer-host crosstalk. In the present study, we showed the delivery of miR-21-5p from colorectal cancer (CRC) cells to endothelial cells via exosomes increased the amount of miR-21-5p in recipient cells. MiR-21-5p suppressed Krev interaction trapped protein 1 (KRIT1) in recipient HUVECs and subsequently activated ß-catenin signaling pathway and increased their downstream targets VEGFa and Ccnd1, which consequently promoted angiogenesis and vascular permeability in CRC. A strong inverse correlation between miR-21-5p and KRIT1 expression levels was observed in CRC-adjacent vessels. Furthermore, miR-21-5p expression in circulating exosomes was markedly higher in CRC patients than in healthy donors. Thus, our data suggest that exosomal miR-21-5p is involved in angiogenesis and vascular permeability in CRC and may be used as a potential new therapeutic target.

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) exert strong inhibitory effects towards human carboxylesterases (CESs).

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been reported to pose a severe risk towards human health, and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) were potential substances basis for PCBs' toxicity. This study aims to determine the inhibition of OH-PCBs towards human carboxylesterases (CESs), including CES1 and CES2. For phenotypic analysis of CES1 and CES2 activity, we used the hydrolysis metabolism of 2-(2-benzoyl3-methoxyphenyl) benzothiazole (BMBT) and fluorescein diacetate (FD) catalyzed by human liver microsomes (HLMs) as the probe reactions. Preliminary inhibition screening showed that the inhibition potential of OH-PCBs towards CES1 and CES2 increased with the increased numbers of chlorine atoms in OH-PCBs. Both 2'-OH-PCB61 and 2'-OH-PCB65 showed concentration-dependent inhibition towards both CES1 and CES2. Lineweaver-Burk plots showed that 2'-OH-PCB61 and 2'-OH-PCB65 exerted non-competitive inhibition towards CES1 and competitive inhibition towards CES2. The inhibition kinetics parameters (Ki) were 6.8 µM and 7.0 µM for 2'-OH-PCB61 and 2'-OH-PCB65 towards CES1, respectively. The inhibition kinetics parameters (Ki) were 1.4 µM and 1.0 µM for 2'-OH-PCB61 and 2'-OH-PCB65 towards CES2, respectively. In silico docking methods elucidate the contribution of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic contacts towards the binding of 2'-OH-PCB61 and 2'-OH-PCB65 with CES1 and CES2. All these results will provide a new perspective for elucidation of toxicity mechanism of PCBs and OH-PCBs.

Inhibition of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and hydroxy-PAHs (OH-PAHs).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known as one of the ubiquitous environmental pollutants caused by unavoidable combustion of by-products. Despite decades of research on adverse health effects towards humans, the effects of PAHs and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) on UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate inhibitory effects with structure-dependence of 14 PAHs and OH-PAHs towards the activity of 7 isoforms of UGTs using in vitro recombinant UGTs-catalyzed glucuronidation of 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) as the probe reaction. PAHs and OH-PAHs showed inhibitory effects towards different UGT isoforms with different extents. For inhibition kinetics determination, 1-HONAP, 4-HOPHE, 9-HOPHE, and 1-HOPYR were utilized as the representative compounds, and UGT1A6, UGT1A9 and UGT2B7 were chosen as the three representative UGT isoforms. The inhibitory effects of 4-HOPHE, 9-HOPHE and 1-HOPYR on three above UGT isoforms were the same: UGT1A9>UGT1A6>UGT2B; for 1-HONAP, that is UGT1A6>UGT1A9>UGT2B. Molecular docking methods were utilized to find the activity cavity of UGT1A9 and UGT2B7 binding with 1-HONAP and 1-HOPYR. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic contacts were mainly contributors to their interactions. In vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) showed that high in vivo inhibition possibility exists for the inhibition of OH-PAHs on UGTs. All the results provide a novel viewpoint for an explanation of the toxicity of PAHs and OH-PAHs.

Hydrogen bonding energy determined by molecular dynamics simulation and correlation to properties of thermoplastic starch films.

The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method was used to investigate the hydrogen bonding energy of starch/glycerol system under different temperatures (range from 90°C to 120°C) and different glycerol contents (range from 20% to 40%, based on dry starch weight). These effects on the hydrogen bonding energy (including the total hydrogen bonding energy, hydrogen bonding energy of starch/starch, glycerol/glycerol, and starch/glycerol) were analyzed in detail. Meanwhile, glycerol plasticized starch films were prepared using casting method. The relationship between the hydrogen bonding energy and the performances of thermoplastic starch film (TPSF), such as crystallinity, mechanical properties and water uptake determined experimentally, were revealed and discussed. The results indicated that glycerol/starch film contained strong hydrogen bonding interaction which could be increased by decreasing the temperature or increasing the glycerol content. The hydrogen bonding interaction is the key factor for the preparation of the plasticized starch material, and the plasticized mechanism can be interpreted according to the analytical results of the simulation.

miR-195 Inhibits Tumor Progression by Targeting RPS6KB1 in Human Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE: To investigate the involvement of hsa-miRNA-195-5p (miR-195) in progression and prognosis of human prostate cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: qRT-PCR was performed to detect miR-195 expression in both prostate cancer cell lines and clinical tissue samples. Its clinical significance was statistically analyzed. The roles of miR-195 and its candidate target gene, ribosomal protein S6 kinase, 70 kDa, polypeptide 1 (RPS6KB1) in prostate cancer progression were confirmed on the basis of both in vitro and in vivo systems. RESULTS: miR-195 downregulation in prostate cancer tissues was significantly associated with high Gleason score (P = 0.001), positive metastasis failure (P < 0.001), and biochemical recurrence (BCR, P < 0.001). Survival analysis identified miR-195 as an independent prognostic factor for BCR-free survival of prostate cancer patients (P = 0.022). Then, we confirmed the tumor suppressive role of miR-195 through prostate cancer cell invasion, migration, and apoptosis assays in vitro, along with tumor xenograft growth, angiogenesis, and invasion in vivo according to both gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments. In addition, RPS6KB1 was identified as a novel direct target of miR-195 through proteomic expression profiling combined with bioinformatic target prediction and luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, the reexpression and knockdown of RPS6KB1 could respectively rescue and imitate the effects induced by miR-195. Importantly, RPS6KB1 expression was closely correlated with aggressive progression and poor prognosis in prostate cancer patients as opposed to miR-195. Furthermore, we identified MMP-9, VEGF, BAD, and E-cadherin as the downstream effectors of miR-195-RPS6KB1 axis. CONCLUSION: The newly identified miR-195-RPS6KB1 axis partially illustrates the molecular mechanism of prostate cancer progression and represents a novel potential therapeutic target for prostate cancer treatment.

EFEMP1 rs3791679 polymorphism was associated with susceptibility to glioma.

We conducted a case-control study in a Chinese population, and investigated the association between four SNPs (rs3791679, rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878) in EFEMP1 and development of glioma. A case-control study was taken in the present study. The rs3791679, rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878 gene polymorphisms were analyzed using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. A total of 159 patients with glioma and 364 controls were collected between July 2012 and June 2014. By unconditional logistic regression analysis, we found that individuals carrying the AA genotype and GA+AA genotype were associated with development of glioma when compared with the GG genotype, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 2.13 (1.15-3.90) and 1.55 (1.04-2.32), respectively. However, we did not find that rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878 were significantly associated with development of glioma. Moreover, we found that the GA+AA genotype of rs3791679 was associations with a heavy increased risk of glioma in patients who have family history of cancers, and the OR (95% CI) was 6.81 (1.17-48.06). The results of our study suggested an association between the rs3791679 polymorphism and an elevated risk of glioma, especially in those with family history of glioma.

Combined overexpression of HIVEP3 and SOX9 predicts unfavorable biochemical recurrence-free survival in patients with prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: To clarify the involvement of HIVEP3 and SOX9 coexpression in prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: A small interfering RNA was used to knockdown SOX9 expression in a PCa cell line and to analyze the effects of SOX9 inhibition on the expression of HIVEP3 in vitro. Then, HIVEP3 and SOX9 expression patterns in the human PCa tissues were detected using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We found that the downregulation of SOX9 could inhibit the expression of HIVEP3 in the PCa cells in vitro. In addition, both HIVEP3 and SOX9 messenger RNA expression levels in the PCa tissues were significantly higher than those in the noncancerous prostate tissues (P=0.006 and P<0.001, respectively). Moreover, the immunohistochemical staining scores of HIVEP3 in the PCa tissues with PSA failure were significantly higher than those without (P=0.042); the increased SOX9 protein expression was more frequently found in the PCa tissues with a high Gleason score (P=0.045) and a high clinical stage (P=0.012). The tumors showing the HIVEP3-high/SOX9-high expression more frequently had PSA failure (P=0.024). When the patients with an HIVEP3 overexpression combined with the SOX9 overexpression, this group had a worse biochemical recurrence-free survival (P<0.001). Furthermore, the multivariate analysis showed that the HIVEP3/SOX9 coexpression was an independent predictor of an unfavorable biochemical recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSION: Our data offer the convincing evidence for the first time that a combined analysis of HIVEP3 and SOX9 may help to predict the tumor progression and prognosis of PCa patients. In particular, the overexpression of HIVEP3 in PCa might partly explain the poor prognosis of patients with an upregulation of SOX9.

Global analysis of the differentially expressed miRNAs of prostate cancer in Chinese patients.

BACKGROUND: Our recent study showed the global physiological function of the differentially expressed genes of prostate cancer in Chinese patients was different from that of other non-Chinese populations. microRNA are estimated to regulate the expression of greater than 60% of all protein-coding genes. To further investigate the global association between the transcript abundance of miRNAs and their target mRNAs in Chinese patients, we used microRNA microarray approach combined with bioinformatics and clinical-pathological assay to investigate the miRNA profile and evaluate the potential of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers in Chinese patients. RESULTS: A total of 28 miRNAs (fold change ≥ 1.5; P ≤ 0.05) were differentially expressed between tumor tissue and adjacent benign tissue of 4 prostate cancer patients.10 top Differentially expressed miRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR using all 20 tissue pairs. Compared to the miRNA profile of non-Chinese populations, the current study showed that miR-23b, miR-220, miR-221, miR-222, and miR-205 maybe common critical therapeutic targets in different populations. The integrated analysis for mRNA microarray and miRNA microarray showed the effects of specifically inhibiting and/or enhancing the function of miRNAs on the gene transcription level. The current studies also identified 15 specific expressed miRNAs in Chinese patients. The clinical feature statistics revealed that miR-374b and miR-19a have significant correlations with clinical-pathological features in Chinese patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed Chinese prostate cancer patients have a common and specific miRNA expression profile compared with non-Chinese populations. The miR-374b is down-regulated in prostate cancer tissue, and it can be identified as an independent predictor of biochemical recurrence-free survival.

SOXs in human prostate cancer: implication as progression and prognosis factors.

BACKGROUND: SOX genes play an important role in a number of developmental processes. Potential roles of SOXs have been demonstrated in various neoplastic tissues as tumor suppressors or promoters depending on tumor status and types. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of SOXs in the progression and prognosis of human prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: The gene expression changes of SOXs in human PCa tissues compared with non-cancerous prostate tissues was detected using gene expression microarray, and confirmed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) analysis and immunohositochemistry. The roles of these genes in castration resistance were investigated in LNCaP xenograft model of PCa. RESULTS: The microarray analysis identified three genes (SOX7, SOX9 and SOX10) of SOX family that were significantly dis-regulated in common among four PCa specimens. Consistent with the results of the microarray, differential mRNA and protein levels of three selected genes were found in PCa tissues by QRT-PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry. Additionally, we found that the immunohistochemical staining scores of SOX7 in PCa tissues with higher serum PSA level (P = 0.02) and metastasis (P = 0.03) were significantly lower than those with lower serum PSA level and without metastasis; the increased SOX9 protein expression was frequently found in PCa tissues with higher Gleason score (P = 0.02) and higher clinical stage (P < 0.0001); the down-regulation of SOX10 tend to be found in PCa tissues with higher serum PSA levels (P = 0.03) and advanced pathological stage (P = 0.01). Moreover, both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the down-regulation of SOX7 and the up-regulation of SOX9 were independent predictors of shorter biochemical recurrence-free survival. Furthermore, we discovered that SOX7 was significantly down-regulated and SOX9 was significantly up-regulated during the progression to castration resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Our data offer the convince evidence that the dis-regulation of SOX7, SOX9 and SOX10 may be associated with the aggressive progression of PCa. SOX7 and SOX9 may be potential markers for prognosis in PCa patients. Interestingly, the down-regulation of SOX7 and the up-regulation of SOX9 may be important mechanisms for castration-resistant progression of PCa.

MicroRNA-23b downregulates peroxiredoxin III in human prostate cancer.

To investigate the mechanism by which peroxiredoxin III (PRDX3) is altered in human prostate cancer (PCa), we used microRNA (miRNA) target prediction program and miRNA microarray to predict and identify miR-23b as a candidate miRNA that targets PRDX3. We showed that miR-23b suppresses PRDX3 protein expression in human DU145 cells under normal and hypoxic conditions. Additionally, the clinical significance of miR-23b and PRDX3 expression in PCa patients was also confirmed. In conclusion, our data suggest that the effects of PRDX3 in PCa progression may be caused by the regulation function of miR-23b, and consequently, miR-23b may be involved in the response of PCa cells to hypoxia stress.