[The clinical characteristics of metastatic tumors in small intestine].

To investigate the clinical characteristics of metastatic tumors in small intestine. The clinical manifestations, imaging and endoscopic findings, treatment methods and follow-up of patients with small bowel metastatic tumors admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 10 patients were included, including 7 males and 3 females, aged 33-77 (56.4±12.6) years. The main clinical manifestations were intestinal obstruction (8 cases), such as abdominal pain, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, and reduced defecation. Some patients had intussusception (abdominal pain, vomiting, black stool and other symptoms, 1 case) or gastrointestinal bleeding (1 case) with early symptoms imperceptible. The primary tumors include gastric cancer (3 cases), malignant melanoma (2 cases), ovarian cancer (2 cases), colon cancer (1 case), rectal cancer (1 case), and lung cancer (1 case). Most of the primary tumors were poorly differentiated (6 cases) or moderately to poorly differentiated (2 cases). The median time from primary tumor surgery to detection of small bowel metastasis [M (Q1, Q3)] was 22 (18, 28) months.The metastatic lesions were single (6 cases) or multiple (4 cases), in both jejunum and ileum. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT, 3 cases) and endoscopy (2 cases) were helpful for detection of small intestinal metastases. The main treatment methods were surgical resection (9 cases), supplemented by radiotherapy, targeted drugs, immunotherapy, etc. Postoperative recurrence and metastasis occurred in some patients (5 cases). Most patients died within 4 to 29 months after diagnosis. Metastatic tumors in small intestine are rare in clinical practice with atypical early symptoms. The patients often present with complications such as intestinal obstruction, which is prone to delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis.

[Overview of design and construction of hypertensive disorders of a pregnancy-cohort in Shenzhen].

Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) involves two major public health issues: mother-infant safety and prevention and controlling major chronic disease. HDP poses a serious threat to maternal and neonatal safety, and it is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, as well as an important risk factor for long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD). In order to explore effective strategies to prevent and control the source of CVD and reduce its risk, we have established a cohort of HDPs in Shenzhen for the primordial prevention of CVD. The construction of the HDP cohort has already achieved preliminary progress till now. A total of 2 239 HDP women have been recruited in the HDP cohort. We have established a cohort data management platform and Biobank. The follow-up and assessment of postpartum cardiovascular metabolic risk in this cohort has also been launched. Our efforts will help explore the pathophysiological mechanism of HDP, especially the pathogenesis and precision phenotyping, prediction, and prevention of pre-eclampsia, which, therefore, may reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and provide a bridge to linking HDP and maternal-neonatal cardiovascular, metabolic risk to promote the cardiovascular health of mothers and their infants.

LncRNA OIP5-AS1 affects the biological behaviors of chondrocytes of patients with osteoarthritis by regulating micro-30a-5p.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic orthopedic disease, but its relationship with the lncRNA OIP5 Antisense RNA 1(OIP5-AS1)/micro-30a-5p axis is still under investigation. This study was designed to explore the regulatory function of this axis on chondrocytes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was carried out to quantify lncRNA OIP5-AS1 and micro-30a-5p in cartilage tissues of patients with OA, and lncRNA OIP5-AS1 siRNA, micro-30a-5p mimics, and micro-30a-5p inhibitor vectors were constructed to analyze the functions of lncRNA OIP5-AS1/micro-30a-5p on chondrocytes. In addition, the Western blot was used to determine the levels of proteins in chondrocytes, the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)assay to determine the viability of chondrocytes, the flow cytometry to analyze apoptosis and cycle of them, and the Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay to verify the targeting relationship between LncRNA OIP5-AS1 and micro-30a-5p. RESULTS: LncRNA OIP5-AS1 in cartilage tissues of patients with OA decreased, while micro-30a-5p in them increased and increased with apoptosis. Down-regulation of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 gave rise to increased micro-30a-5p, and up-regulation of micro-30a-5p or down-regulation of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 brought about cell apoptosis and inflammatory response, and inhibited cell proliferation, while up-regulation of micro-30a-5p suppressed cell apoptosis and inflammatory response, and accelerated cell proliferation. LncRNA OIP5-AS1 affected chondrocytes by negatively regulating micro-30a-5p. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA OIP5-AS1 inhibits the apoptosis and inflammatory response of chondrocytes and promotes their survival by targetedly inhibiting micro-30a-5p, and both up-regulation of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 and down-regulation of micro-30a-5p is beneficial to patients with OA.

[Circular RNA-UBXN7 promotes proliferation, migration and suppresses apoptosis in hepatocellular cancer].

Objective: To investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of circular RNA-UBXN7 (circ_UBXN7) on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Methods: Circ_UBXN7 expression in the tissues and cells of hepatocellular cancer was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the relationship between circ_UBXN7 expression and clinicopathological features, including age, gender, tumor volume, pathological classification, staging, and lymph node metastasis was analyzed. The full-length sequence of circ_UBXN7 with lentivirus carrying lenti circ_UBXN7 and lenti circ_UBXN7 shRNA was constructed to transfect hepatocellular cell lines (HepG2 and Huh-7), respectively. CCK-8 experiments were performed to detect the ability of up- or down-regulation of circ_UBXN7 on the proliferation of HEPG2 and HUH-7 cells. Annexin V / PI experiment was used to detect the changes in apoptosis of HEPG2 and HUH-7 cells after up-regulation or down-regulation of circ_UBXN7 expression. JC-1 assay was used to detect the changes in mitochondrial potential energy of HEPG2 and HUH-7 cells after up-regulation or down-regulation of circ_UBXN7 expression. Transwell was used to detect the migration ability of HEPG2 and HUH-7 cells after up-regulation or down-regulation of circ_UBXN7 expression. Western blotting was used to detect the expressional change of TWIST, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and vimentin. Statistical analysis: The expression levels of circ_UBXN7 and clinicopathological features were measured by chi-square test. Two groups were compared by t-test and three groups and above were compared by single factor analysis of variance. LSD method was used for comparison between groups. Results: The expression of circ_UBXN7 in liver cancer tissues was significantly higher than adjacent tissues, and its expression level was significantly positively correlated with tumor volume, stage, and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Lenti-circ_UBXN7 had up-regulated the expression of circ_UBXN7 in HEPG2 and HUH-7 cells and promoted cell proliferation. Lenti-circ_UBXN7-shRNA had down-regulated the expression of circ_UBXN7 and induced apoptosis. Lenti-circ_UBXN7-shRNA had reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential of cells. Lenti-circ_UBXN7 had promoted cell migration, while lenti-circ_UBXN7-shRNA had inhibited cell migration. Lenti-circ_UBXN7 had induced increased expression of Twist, N-cadherin, and Vimentin proteins, and reduced the expression of E-cadherin protein. Lenti-circ_UBXN7-shRNA had opposite effects on the expression levels of each protein. Starbase V2.0 software showed that miR-203a and circ_UBXN7 had potential binding sites, and miR-203a and circ_UBXN7 expression levels were negatively correlated in HEP ​​G2 and HUH-7 cells. Conclusion: circ_UBXN7 plays an important role in promoting the occurrence and development of liver cancer, and is expected to become a potential target for the treatment of liver cancer.

ZEB2-AS1 regulates the expression of TAB3 and promotes the development of colon cancer by adsorbing microRNA-188.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the possible role and mechanism of lncRNA ZEB2-AS1 in the pathogenesis of colon cancer (CCa). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression level of ZEB2-AS1 in 41 colon cancer tissue samples and 25 normal tissues was detected by qRT-PCR, and appropriate colon cancer cell lines were screened for in vitro experiments. Subcellular localization of ZEB2-AS1 was examined. After ZEB2-AS1 was transfected into colon cancer cells by liposome method, the cell proliferation, migration ability, and cell apoptosis percentage were evaluated by CCK-8 test, transwell assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. In addition, bioinformatics was applied to detect the target genes of microRNA-188. The Luciferase gene reporter assay was then performed to analyze the relative activity of Luciferase between microRNA-188 and TAB3 or ZEB2-AS1. At the same time, the control sequence, microRNA-188 mimics, microRNA-188 mimics+ ZEB2-AS1, si-TAB3, and microRNA-188 inhibitor+ si-TAB3 were respectively transfected into cells to further verify the interaction between TAB3 and microRNA-188 or ZEB2-AS1. Besides, the glucose and lactate levels were measured to explore their roles in glycolysis. RESULTS: The expression of ZEB2-AS1 in colon cancer tissues and cells was significantly higher than that in normal ones, and ZEB2-AS1 was confirmed to be mostly located in the cytoplasm. In addition, ZEB2-AS1 overexpression could enhance the cell proliferation rate and migration ability as well as reduce the cell apoptosis, which could be reversed by microRNA-188 overexpression. In addition, bioinformatics prediction and Dual-Luciferase reporter assays revealed that ZEB2-AS1 could bind to microRNA-188, which could directly target TAB3. At the same time, it was found that the overexpression of ZEB2-AS1 and low expression of microRNA-188 promoted glycolysis, while the opposite result was observed after overexpression of microRNA-188 and low expression of TAB3. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of ZEB2-AS1 is significantly increased in colon cancer tissues and cells, which can promote the proliferation, migration, and promote apoptosis of colon cancer cells. It may be involved in the development of this cancer through the process of glycolysis regulated by microRNA-188/TAB3.

Polarity determination for the CdxZn1-xS nanocombs by EELS.

Comb-like Cd(x)Zn(1-x)S nanostructures have been synthesized by one-step metallo-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The microstructure and composition were characterized by analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The ribbon of the comb-like structure is along [2-1-10] (the a-axis), and the nanotips are along [0001] (the c-axis). The atomic location by channeling-enhanced microanalysis (ALCHEMI) technique was used to determine the polarity of the crystal via electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). The thickness dependence, delocalization and beam convergent effect are discussed here. The investigations reveal that the growth mechanism is consistent with the asymmetric growth.

Photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films grown on different substrates.

Titanium dioxide films were prepared on glass, indium-tin oxide (ITO) glass and p-type monocrystalline silicon and studied for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B in an aqueous medium. Raman, AFM, and XPS spectroscopic investigations of these films indicated that microstructure of titanium oxide films were greatly affected by the substrate materials. Rutile was confirmed to be easily formed on the surface of ITO glass, and TiO2 tended to grow as closely packed particles that were elongated strips with an average size of 20 nm, and had lovely contrast with the perfectly round particles grown on p-type monocrystalline silicon. Charge transfer between the film and silicon substrate was verified by surface photovoltage spectra. This may be the real reason why the films grown on ITO glass and silicon substrates exhibit higher photocatalytic reactivity than the film on glass substrate. Moreover, the different surface properties also seem to be responsible for the different activity.