MTF1 has the potential as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for gastric cancer and is associated with good prognosis.

PURPOSE: Metal Regulatory Transcription Factor 1 (MTF1) can be an essential transcription factor for heavy metal response in cells and can also reduce oxidative and hypoxic stresses in cells. However, the current research on MTF1 in gastric cancer is lacking. METHODS: Bioinformatics techniques were used to perform expression analysis, prognostic analysis, enrichment analysis, tumor microenvironment correlation analysis, immunotherapy Immune cell Proportion Score (IPS) correlation and drug sensitivity correlation analysis of MTF1 in gastric cancer. And qRT-PCR was used to verify MTF1 expression in gastric cancer cells and tissues. RESULTS: MTF1 showed low expression in gastric cancer cells and tissues, and low expression in T3 stage compared with T1 stage. KM prognostic analysis showed that high expression of MTF1 was significantly associated with longer overall survival (OS), FP (first progression) and PPS (post-progression survival) in gastric cancer patients. Cox regression analysis showed that MTF1 was an independent prognostic factor and a protective factor in gastric cancer patients. MTF1 is involved in pathways in cancer, and the high expression of MTF1 is negatively correlated with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of common chemotherapeutic drugs. CONCLUSION: MTF1 is relatively lowly expressed in gastric cancer. MTF1 is also an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients and is associated with good prognosis. It has the potential to be a diagnostic and prognostic marker for gastric cancer.

Comparative assessment of effect of malt with different bud length on prolactin in hyperprolactinemia rat

Malt is the mature fruit of Hordeum vulgare L. after germination and drying and has been applied for treatment female abnormal galactorrhea. Previous studies have showed total alkaloids in malt have anti-HPRL effect. However, total alkaloids of malt change with the growth cycle, and the specified levels of total alkaloids in different bud length of malt have not been decided. To determine the definitive level of total alkaloids in different buds of malt and the most suitable bud length for clinical application by comparing effects on hyperprolactinemia rat. During the budding of malt, the content of total alkaloids first increased and then decreased, and it peaked at a bud length of 0.75 cm. Treated the HPRL model rats with different buds of malt, the PRL level was decreased, the number of PRLpositive cells and the mRNA expression level in the pituitary were significantly declined, and the number of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the hypothalamus was increased. The above changes were most significant in 0.75 cm bud. These results suggest that in terms of the content of effective substance and the effects on HPRL model rats, a malt bud length of 0.75 cm is optimal for clinical application.

A functional polymorphism in the paired basic amino acid-cleaving enzyme 4 gene confers osteoarthritis risk in a population of Eastern China.

Paired basic amino acid-cleaving enzyme 4 (PACE4), a proprotein convertase, is involved in the activation of aggrecanases (ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) in osteoarthritic and cytokine-stimulated cartilage. Activated aggrecanases cause aggrecan degradation and thus, contribute to osteoarthritis (OA). In this study, we investigated the association between PACE4 gene polymorphisms and OA risk. One single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs4965833) in the PACE4 gene was genotyped in 432 OA patients and 523 healthy controls using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the relative expression of PACE4 in blood samples from 90 OA patients (30 for each genotype). The relative expression level of PACE4 mRNA was higher in the GG genotype as compared to the AA/AG group. Moreover, the PACE4 rs4965833 polymorphism was associated with increased risk of OA, especially among individuals aged ≥55 years and with a body mass index ≥25. There was no significant association between the PACE4 rs4965833 polymorphism and clinical parameters of OA patients, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, Visual Analog Scale for pain and Lequesne's index. In conclusion, the rs4965833 polymorphism in the 3'-UTR of PACE4 is associated with OA susceptibility.

Curcumin combining with si-MALAT1 inhibits the invasion and migration of colon cancer SW480 cells

To study the effect of small interfering RNA targeting metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript1 (si-MALAT1) combining with curcumin on the invasion and migration abilities of human colon cancer SW480 cells, and to explore the involved molecular mechanism. The recombinant lentiviral vector expressing si-MALAT1 was constructed, and its titer was determined by gradient dilution method. The colon cancer SW480 cells with stable expression of si-MALAT1 was established, followed by treatment with curcumin at different concentrations. The effect of curcumin or si-MALAT1 alone and the combination of the two on the cell activity was detected by MTT assay. The cell invasion and migration abilities were detected by transwell and scratch-wound assay. The relative expression level of MALAT1 was detected by RT-qPCR. The protein expression was determined by Western blot analysis. The IC50 of curcumin alone was 77.69 mmol/L, which was 51.17 mol/L when combined with curcumin and random sequence. The IC50 of curcumin was 30.02 mmol/L when combined with si-MALAT1. The increased susceptibility multiples was 2.58. The wound healing rates were 30.9% and 67.5% after treatment with si-MALAT1 combined with curcumin for 24 hrs and 48 hrs, respectively. The numbers of invasion cells were 200±12, 162±13, 66±8, 53±4 and 16±3 after treatment with si-MALAT1 combined with curcumin for 48 hrs. The relative expression level of lncRNA-MALAT1 in the curcumin group was 68%, and the relative expression level of lncRNA-MALAT1 in si-MALAT1group was 56%, and that for the combination treatment group was about 21%. The protein expression levels of β- catenin, c-myc and cyclinD1 were significantly down-regulated upon treatment with certain concentration of si-MALAT1 alone or combined with curcumin.si-MALAT1 could significantly inhibit the invasion and migration of SW480 cells by enhancing the sensitivity of SW480 cells to curcumin. The mechanism involved mignt be related to the down-regulation of β-catenin, c-myc and cyclinD1 proteins.