LncRNA TATDN1 induces the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via targeting miRNA-6089.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the potential effect of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) TATDN1 on accelerating the proliferative rate and cell cycle progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via sponging miRNA-6089, thus participating in the progression of HCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: TATDN1 expression in HCC tissues and normal tissues was first determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlation between TATDN1 expression to metastasis and overall survival of HCC was analyzed. The cellular level of TATDN1 in HCC cell lines was examined as well. Regulatory effects of TATDN1 on cell cycle progression and viability of HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells were evaluated. Subsequently, a potential target of TATDN1 was screened out and verified by Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. The expression pattern and biological function of the target gene miRNA-6089 in HCC were also determined. In a similar way, LIX1L was verified to be the target of miRNA-6089 and tested for its biological function in HCC. RESULTS: TATDN1 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. The overexpression of TATDN1 accelerated the proliferative rate and cell cycle progression of HCC. MiRNA-6089, the target gene of TATDN1, was lowly expressed in HCC. The overexpression of miRNA-6089 partially reversed the promotive role of TATDN1 in regulating the proliferation and cell cycle of HCC cells. Subsequently, LIX1L was verified to be the target of miRNA-6089. The overexpression of LIX1L partially reversed the regulatory effect of miRNA-6089 on the proliferative rate and cell cycle progression of HCC. CONCLUSIONS: TATDN1 accelerates the proliferative rate and cell cycle progression of HCC by degrading miRNA-6089 to upregulate LIX1L.

Application of high-throughput sequencing for microbial diversity detection in feces of specific-pathogen-free ducks.

High-throughput sequencing technologies play important roles in the study of animal enteric microorganisms. Fecal samples collected from 3 strains (9 samples) of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) ducks raised in an isolator. Duck intestinal bacterial flora were analyzed by sequencing distinct regions of the 16S rRNA genes using an Illumina HiSeq2500 platform. The result showed the most abundant primary enteric microbial phyla of 3 different strains of 70-week-old SPF ducks were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, the most abundant primary enteric microbial order were Clostridiales, Lactobacillales, and Aeromonadales, and the most abundant primary enteric microbial genera were Bacteroides, Comamonas, and Enterococcus. In addition, the 3 duck strains harbored different compositions of the microorganisms, but these differences were not significant. Duck intestinal bacterial flora were analyzed using a high-throughput sequencing approach to further understand the distribution of intestinal flora and the biology of SPF ducks to ultimately benefit the purification of SPF ducks.

Influence of plasma exchange on transplantation related immune function in patients with liver failure.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of plasma exchange (PE) treatment of patients with liver failure on the patient's immune function, including peripheral blood T lymphocytes and cytokines. Patients accepting PE for liver failure from October 2011 to February 2012 were included prospectively in the research group. Peripheral blood samples were collected at set time points. The percentages of T lymphocyte subtypes were detected by flow cytometry using different fluorescence labels including CD3-FITC, CD4-PerCP, CD8-PE, CD25-FITC, and Foxp3-PE. Changes in serum IL-17 concentration were followed by ELISA. In all fifteen patients who accepted PE, the percentages of CD3(+) and CD8(+) T cells increased immediately after the procedure and then reduced gradually. These significant changes were confirmed by statistical analysis (P < 0.05). The percentage of CD4(+) T cells also increased after PE to a certain extent, but failed to show statistical significance. The positive ratio of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells (Treg) increased after the treatment with statistical difference (P < 0.05). The concentration of IL-17 in patient serum increased significantly following PE treatment (P < 0.05). These results demonstrated that T lymphocyte subgroups of patients with liver failure could be influenced after PE treatment, and that cellular immunity could be recovered. PE treatment, therefore, can be viewed as providing reliable protection for the reconstruction of the patient immune system.

Screening and analyzing genes associated with Amur tiger placental development.

The Amur tiger is a unique endangered species in the world, and thus, protection of its genetic resources is extremely important. In this study, an Amur tiger placenta cDNA library was constructed using the SMART cDNA Library Construction kit. A total of 508 colonies were sequenced, in which 205 (76%) genes were annotated and mapped to 74 KEGG pathways, including 29 metabolism, 29 genetic information processing, 4 environmental information processing, 7 cell motility, and 5 organismal system pathways. Additionally, PLAC8, PEG10 and IGF-II were identified after screening genes from the expressed sequence tags, and they were associated with placental development. These findings could lay the foundation for future functional genomic studies of the Amur tiger.

Confidence intervals on the ratio of expected mean squares (theta 1 + d theta 2)/theta 3.

The variance component ratio delta = (theta 1 + d theta 2)/theta 3 is of interest in many fields of application. This paper proposes and compares two methods for constructing confidence intervals on delta. The better method is compared with a method proposed by Graybill and Wang (1979, Journal of the American Statistical Association 74, 368-374) for the special problem of constructing an interval on sigma 2E/(sigma 2A + sigma 2B + sigma 2E) in a two-fold nested design. An example concerning a heritability study is provided.