LncRNA LASTR promote lung cancer progression through the miR-137/TGFA/PI3K/AKT axis through integration analysis.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are widely involved in the physiological and pathophysiological processes of cells. This study sought to identify novel lncRNAs that play key roles in progression of lung cancer. Methods: Cells were purchased from the Cell Bank of Type Culture Collection of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Public lung cancer data were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, R and GraphPad Prism 8 software. Results: Bioinformatic analysis showed that the lncRNA, LASTR (ENSG00000242147) was significantly upregulated in lung cancer tissues (LUAD and LUSC) compared with the expression level in adjacent normal tissue. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with higher LASTR expression level had a shorter overall survival and worse clinical features relative to patients with low LASTR expression levels. qRT-PCR results showed that LASTR was highly expressed in lung cancer cell lines relative to the expression level in normal lung epithelial cell line. Cell phenotype experiments indicated that knockdown of LASTR significantly inhibited proliferation and metastatic ability of lung cancer cells. Analysis of the downstream mechanism of LASTR demonstrated that LASTR exerts the oncogene effect through the miR-137/TGFA axis. GSEA results indicated that LASTR exhibits its activity by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which was validated by western blotting assay. Conclusion: In summary, the results of the present study showed that LASTR promotes lung cancer progression through miR-137/TGFA/PI3K/AKT axis.

Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) regulates the proliferation and chemosensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells via regulation of PTEN.

As one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) can be directly exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). As a potential EDC, diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) can trigger the development of various cancers, while the potential effect of DEHP on the ESCC progression was not clear. Our present study revealed that DEHP can trigger the proliferation of ESCC cells and decrease the cisplatin (CDDP) and fluorouracil (5-FU) sensitivity. Mechanistical studies indicated that DEHP can decrease the transcription of PTEN, a well-characterized tumor suppressor, in ESCC cells. Over expression of PTEN can reverse DEHP-regulated ESCC cell proliferation and chemosensitivity. Further, DEHP can increase the expression of HES-1, which can bind with the promoter of PTEN to inhibit its transcription. Collectively, DEHP can increase proliferation while decrease chemosensitivity of ESCC cells via regulation of HES-1/PTEN axis. Further, daily expression of DEHP may be a potent risk factor for ESCC development.

[Determination of sodium and chloride in hogwash oil and their molar ratio by ion chromatography].

By reference to edible oil using process as well as hogwash oil refining technology, a method is presented to determine the contents of the sodium and chloride in hogwash oil based on ion chromatography. The molar ratio of the sodium and chloride was analyzed in order to determine whether the sample contained hogwash oil. A hogwash oil sample was extracted by deionized water before analysis. The ion chromatographic separation of the chloride was carried out on an AS19 column (250 mm x4 mm) at 30 degrees C, using 20 nmol/L KOH solution as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and suppressor current of 112 mA. The ion chromatographic separation of the sodium was carried out on a CS12 column (250 mm x 4 mm) at 30 degrees C, using 20 nmol/L methanesulfonic acid (MSA) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and suppressor current of 59 mA. The injection volume was 25 microL and the detector was an electron capture detector (ECD). The external standard method was used to quantify chloride and sodium. The detection limits of this method were 0.005 mg/L for chloride and 0.001 mg/L for sodium. The linear range was from 0 to 5 mg/L with r2 = 0.999988 for chloride and r2 = 0.999926 for sodium. The average recoveries and relative standard deviations were 94.2% and 2.4% for chloride and 92.5% and 2.7% for sodium, respectively. The molar ratio of sodium and chloride in edible oil was approximately 1, while that in hogwash oil was more than 4. The determination of the contents and molar ratio of the chloride and sodium in hogwash oil can be used as an important basis for the judgment of hogwash oil.