Apatinib exerts anti-tumour effects on ovarian cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: Apatinib, a small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase, shows strong anti-tumour activity against various tumours. The function of apatinib in ovarian cancer, however, remains unclear. This study was conducted to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms by which apatinib modulates the biological function of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The effects of apatinib on ovarian cancer cells were determined by assessing cell viability, migration and invasion. The cell cycle distribution and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells were analysed using flow cytometry. Western blotting was performed to determine the levels of signalling pathway markers. A mouse xenograft model was used to evaluate the efficacy of apatinib in preventing tumour growth. RESULTS: Apatinib did not appreciably affect ovarian cancer cell proliferation and vitality, but did inhibit ovarian cancer cell migration. Apatinib suppressed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting the JAK/STAT3, PI3K/AKT and Notch signalling pathways. Apatinib effectively inhibited tumour growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, apatinib is a highly potent, orally active anti-angiogenic and anti-ovarian cancer agent.

Overexpression of Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 Is Associated With Tumor Progression and Unfavorable Prognosis in Chinese Patients With Endometrioid Endometrial Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is a kind of flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent amine oxidase that regulates normal cellular differentiation, gene activation, tumorigenesis, and progression. This study aims to detect the expression level of LSD1 in endometrial cancer and to explore its role in the progression and prognosis of endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma (EEA). METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of LSD1 in 206 EEA specimens, 50 benign endometrial lesion specimens, and 45 normal endometrium specimens. χ Analysis, Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis were applied for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Compared with normal endometrium and benign endometrial lesion (both P < 0.001), LSD1 was overexpressed in EEA. LSD1 expression was correlated with histological grade, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, vascular/lymphatic invasion, depth of myometrial invasion, and lymph node metastasis. Results of the Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that LSD1 expression was associated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of EEA. The negative expression LSD1 group had longer OS and DFS than did the positive expression group. The difference was significant (both P < 0.001, log-rank test). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the LSD1 expression status was an independent prognostic factor for both OS (P = 0.027) and DFS (P = 0.016) of patients with EEA. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of LSD1 may contribute to the progression of EEA and may thus serve as a new biomarker to predict the prognosis of EEA.

Synthesis and positive inotropic evaluation of (E)-2-(4-cinnamylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(1-substituted-4,5-dihydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinolin-7-yl)acetamides.

A series of (E)-2-(4-cinnamylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(1-substituted-4,5-dihydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinolin-7-yl)acetamides were synthesized and evaluated for their positive inotropic activity by measuring the left atrium stroke volume on isolated rabbit heart preparations. This class of compounds presented favorable in vitro activity compared with the standard drug, milrinone, among which N-(1-(3-chlorophenyl)-4,5-dihydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinolin-7-yl)-2-(4-cinnamylpiperazin-1-yl)acetamide 5e was found to be the most potent with 16.58 ± 0.11% increased stroke volume (milrinone: 2.46 ± 0.07%) at a concentration of 3 × 10(-5) M. The chronotropic effects of the compounds having inotropic effects were also evaluated.

LAPTM4B-35 overexpression is an independent prognostic marker in endometrial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lysosomal protein transmembrane 4 ß-35 (LAPTM4B-35), a novel oncoprotein that belongs to the mammalian 4-tetratransmembrane spanning protein superfamily, has been implicated in oncogenesis and cancer progression in several solid malignances. However, the expression of LAPTM4B-35 and its role in endometrial cancer progression remain unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the expression of the LAPTM4B-35 protein by immunohistochemistry in 30 normal endometrium specimens and 165 endometrial carcinomas and analyzed its correlation with various clinicopathologic features, including patient outcome. RESULTS: LAPTM4B-35 immunoreactivity was overexpressed in endometrial carcinoma cases compared with normal endometrium (P < 0.001). High LAPTM4B-35 expression was found in 117 (70.91%) of these 165 carcinomas and was positively correlated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, histological grade, depth of myometrial invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymph vascular space involvement, and recurrence, but not with age and histological type. Patients with high LAPTM4B-35 expression had significantly poorer overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients with low expression of LAPTM4B-35 (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that high LAPTM4B-35 expression was an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with endometrial carcinoma (both P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that high LAPTM4B-35 expression was associated with progression and prognosis of endometrial carcinoma.

Cross-reactivity of anti-H pylori antibodies with membrane antigens of human erythrocytes.

AIM: To investigate whether anti-H pylori antibodies have cross-reaction with antigens of erythrocyte membrane. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 14 volunteers (8 positive and 6 negative for H pylori detected by (13)C-urea breath test) of the general population. Erythrocyte membrane proteins of the subjects were examined by Western blot using anti-H pylori serum. The proteins related to the positive bands were identified by mass spectrum analysis. RESULTS: Anti-H pylori antibodies had cross-reaction with the proteins of about 50 kDa of erythrocyte membranes in all samples independent of H pylori infection. One protein in the positive band was identified as Chain S, the crystal structure of the cytoplasmic domain of human erythrocyte Band-3 protein. CONCLUSION: Anti-H pylori antibodies cross-react with some antigens of human erythrocyte membrane, which may provide a clue for the relationship between H pylori infection and vascular disorders.