LncRNA-TMPO-AS1 promotes apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by targeting miR-329 and regulating E2F1.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the clinical value and mechanism of lncRNA-TMPO-AS1 in osteosarcoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected 51 samples of cancer tissues and 51 samples of matched adjacent tissues from 51 patients with osteosarcoma undergoing surgery in our hospital from February 2018 to February 2019. The expression of TMPO-AS1 in tissue samples was tested to analyze its value in the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of osteosarcoma. We transfected osteosarcoma cells with stable and transient vectors containing overexpressed or inhibited genes. Then, we measured cell proliferation by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay, cell invasion by transwell assay, and cell apoptosis by flow cytometry (FCM). The relationship between TMPO-AS1 and miR-329 or between miR-329 and E2F1 was determined by the Dual-Luciferase reporter (DLR) assay. RESULTS: TMPO-AS1 was up-regulated in osteosarcoma cells. Serum TMPO-AS1 could work as a diagnostic marker for osteosarcoma, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of more than 0.8. Osteosarcoma cells were transfected with siRNA-TMPO-AS1, pcDNA3.1-TMPO-AS1, miR-329-mimics, and miR-329-inhibitor. The results revealed that inhibited TMPO-AS1/overexpressed miR-329/inhibited E2F1 suppressed the proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and enhanced cell apoptosis. The DLR assay demonstrated that TMPO-AS1 could target miR-329 and miR-329 could target E2F1. In vitro experiments revealed that TMPO-AS1 could regulate the progression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in osteosarcoma through the miR-329/E2F1 axis. CONCLUSIONS: TMPO-AS1 can function as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for osteosarcoma. LncRNA-TMPO-AS1 can promote apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by targeting miR-329 and regulating E2F1, which is a potent treatment option for osteosarcoma.

Prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection among inhabitants of Lowveld, Swaziland, an endemic area for the disease.

We carried out a parasitological survey of Schistosoma haematobium infection among the residents of Lowveld Siphofaneni, Swaziland, an area which is devoid of sanitation. Subjects with positive infection were confirmed by the detection of S. haematobium ova in their urine. The intensity of the infection was estimated by calculating the total number of S. haematobium ova present in 10 ml urine specimen (geometric mean intensity; GMI). Overall, the prevalence of S. haematobium infection was 6.1% (18/295) with a GMI of 20.7 (95% CI=9.1~32.2). Female (10.5%, 16/153) had significantly higher prevalence than that in male (1.4%, 2/142) (ORs=8.2, 95% CI=1.8- 36.2, P<0.01); conversely, male had higher GMI (60.0) than that (17.3) in female. The age group of ≤5 yrs (15.3%, 9/59) had significantly higher prevalence than that in age group of ≥19 yrs (2.6%, 3/115) (ORs=0.2, 95% CI=0.04-0.57, P<0.01). The highest GMI of 27.9 (95% CI=7.6~48.2) was also seen in age group of ≤5 yrs.

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among children in Swaziland, southern Africa.

As there appeared to be no data available on Toxocara canis infection in the children of Swaziland, a serological survey of T. canis infection was recently conducted among 92 children aged 3-12 years from rural slums in the low- and middle-veld. A child was considered seropositive if, in western blots based on the excretory-secretory antigens of larval T. canis, his or her serum gave a positive result when diluted 1 : 64. Forty-one (44.6%) of the children were found seropositive. There were no statistically significant differences in seroprevalence between the 49 boys and 43 girls investigated (46.9% v. 41.8%) or between the eight subjects aged 12 years and the 47 aged < or = 5 years (62.5% v. 38.3%); the corresponding odds ratios were 0.81 (95% confidence interval=0.36-1.86; P=0.62) and 2.69 (95% confidence interval=0.57-12.62; P=0.20), respectively. The 66 subjects from the middleveld were, however, significantly more likely to be seropositive than the 26 subjects from the lowveld (54.5% v. 19.2%; odds ratio=5.04, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.70-14.98; P<0.01). It seems likely that T. canis infection is common among the children who live in slums in Swaziland, particularly in the country's middleveld, probably as the result of poor hygiene and poor sanitation.