Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states assisted by asymmetric Coulomb repulsion in a bipartite molecular device.

Interfacing magnetism with superconducting condensates are promising candidates holding Majorana bound states with which fault-tolerant quantum computation could be implemented. Within this field, understanding the detailed dynamics is important both for fundamental reasons and for the development of innovative quantum technologies. Herein, motivated by a molecular magnet Tb2Pc3interacting with a superconducting Pb(111) substrate, which results in spin-orbital Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states, as is affirmed by a theoretical simulation with the aid of the numerical renormalization group technique (see Xiaet al2022Nat. Commun.136388), we study the YSR states and quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in a bipartite molecular device adsorbed on ans-wave superconducting substrate. We highlight the effect of asymmetric Coulomb repulsion by computing the spectrum function and spin correlation function in various parameter regimes. We demonstrate that if one impurity is non-interacting, there are no YSR states in both impurities with any repulsion value in the other impurity. Whereas if the repulsion in one impurity is strong, the YSR states are observed in both impurities, and a QPT arises as the repulsion in the other impurity sweeps, assisted by the competition between the superconducting singlet (Cooper pair) and the Kondo singlet. The evolution of YSR states distinguishes from the single impurity case and can be well interpreted by the energy scales of the isotropic superconducting gap parameter, as well as the two Kondo temperatures. Our findings provide theoretical insights into the phase diagram of two magnetic impurities on a superconducting host and shine light on the effects induced by asymmetric Coulomb repulsion on many-body interactions.

[Effects of miR-31-5p on HIF-1α/BNIP3 signaling pathway and the expression of osteoblast-related factors of dental pulp stem cells].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of microRNA-31-5p (miR-31-5p) on the signal pathway of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α)/Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19-kDa-interacting protein 3(BNIP3) and the expression of osteoblast-related factors of dental pulp stem cells(DPSCs). METHODS: Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were cultured in vitro and divided into the control group (no transfection), mimic NC group (transfected with negative control-miR-31-5p), miR-31-5p mimic group (transfected with hsa-miR-31-5p mimic), siRNA NC group (transfected with nonsense siRNA) and miR-31-5p siRNA group (transfected with miR-31-5p siRNA).The expressions of miR-31-5p, HIF-1α, BNIP3, alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and Runt-related transcription factor-2(Runx2) mRNA in DPSCs were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR; the proliferation of DPSCs was detected by MTT; ALP activity of DPSCs was detected by ALP activity test kit; and the protein expressions of HIF-1α, BNIP3 and Runx2 in DPSCs were detected by Western blot. Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS 24.0 software package. RESULTS: Compared with the control group and mimic NC group, the A value, ALP mRNA expression level and activity, Runx2 mRNA and protein expression levels of DPSCs in miR-31-5p mimic group were significantly lower (P＜0.05), ALP staining decreased significantly, and the expression levels of miR-31-5p mRNA, HIF-1α, BNIP3 mRNA and HIF-1α, BNIP3, Beclin1 protein were significantly higher (P＜0.05). Compared with the control group and siRNA NC group, the A value, ALP mRNA expression level and activity, Runx2 mRNA and protein expression levels of DPSCs in miR-31-5p siRNA group were significantly higher (P＜0.05), ALP staining enhanced significantly, and the expression levels of miR-31-5p mRNA, HIF-1α, BNIP3 mRNA and HIF-1α, BNIP3, Beclin1 protein were significantly lower(P＜0.05). CONCLUSIONS: MiR-31-5p may inhibit the expression of osteoblast-related factors of DPSCs, and activating HIF-1α/BNIP3 signaling pathway.

CXCL12/CXCR4 facilitates perineural invasion via induction of the Twist/S100A4 axis in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.

The activation of CXCL12/CXCR4 axis participated in the progression of multiple cancers, but potential effect in terms of perineural invasion (PNI) in SACC remained ambiguous. In this study, we identified that CXCL12 substantially expressed in nerve cells. CXCR4 strikingly expressed in tumour cells, and CXCR4 expression was closely associated with the level of EMT-associated proteins and Schwann cell hallmarks at nerve invasion frontier in SACC. Activation of CXCL12/CXCR4 axis could promote PNI and up-regulate relative genes of EMT and Schwann cell hallmarks both in vitro and in vivo, which could be inhibited by Twist silence. After overexpressing S100A4, the impaired PNI ability of SACC cells induced by Twist knockdown was significantly reversed, and pseudo foot was visualized frequently. Collectively, the results indicated that CXCL12/CXCR4 might promote PNI by provoking the tumour cell to differentiate towards Schwann-like cell through Twist/S100A4 axis in SACC.

CD133+ cancer stem-like cells promote migration and invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma by inducing vasculogenic mimicry formation.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have gained much attention due to their roles in the invasion and metastasis of numerous kinds of human cancers. Here, we showed that the positive expression of CD133, the stemness marker, was positively associated with vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation, local regional recurrence, distant metastasis and poorer prognosis in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) specimens. Compared with CD133- ACC cells, CD133+ cancer stem-like cells had more migration and invasion capabilities, as well as more VM formation. The levels of endothelial cell marker VE-cadherin, MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in CD133+ cancer stem-like cells and xenograft tumors of nude mice injected with CD133+ cells were significantly higher than those with CD133- cells. The data indicated that CD133+ cancer stem-like cells might contribute to the migration and invasion of ACC through inducing VM formation.

Transplantation of autologous mesenchymal stem cells for end-stage liver cirrhosis: a meta-analysis based on seven controlled trials.

Background. The bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have demonstrated great potential as regenerative medicine in different therapeutic applications. This study aims to pool previous controlled clinical trials to make an update assessment of the effectiveness of BM-MSC transplantation on end-stage liver cirrhosis. Methods. Relevant studies published between January 1990 and June 2014 were searched among Pubmed, Embase, and ClinicalTrial.gov. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effect of BM-MSCs on liver function indicators, including Models of End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, serum albumin (g/L), total bilirubin (mg/dl), Prothrombin concentration (%), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (U/L). Results. BM-MSCs therapy could significantly improve liver function in patients with end-stage liver cirrhosis, in terms of MELD score, serum albumin, total bilirubin, and prothrombin concentration, at least during the half year after transplantation. Conclusions. Due to BM-MSCs' immunomodulatory functions and the potential to differentiate into hepatocytes, they are a promising therapeutic agent to liver cirrhosis. Considering currently available evidence, this therapy is relatively safe and effective in improving liver function. However, how different variables should be controlled to optimize the therapeutic effect is still not clear. Thus, future mechanism studies and clinical trials are required for this optimization.

WIP1 stimulates migration and invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma by inducing MMP-9 and VEGF-C.

The wild-type p53 induced phosphatase 1 (WIP1) is an oncogene overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. Here, we demonstrated that WIP1 silencing reduced MMP-9 and VEGF-C expression as well as migration and invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) cells. Overexpression of MMP-9 or VEGF-C restored migration and invasion in WIP1 knockdown cells, indicating that MMP-9 and VEGF-C are downstream targets of WIP1 signaling. Levels of cyclin D1 and c-Myc, targets of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, were significantly decreased by WIP1 silencing. In addition, WIP1 expression was positively associated with metastasis and prognosis of ACC patients as well as with MMP-9 or VEGF-C in ACC tissues.

Snail and Slug collaborate on EMT and tumor metastasis through miR-101-mediated EZH2 axis in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

microRNAs(miRNAs) can regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through transcription factors, however, little is known whether EMT transcription factors can modulate miRNAs and further induce EMT and cancer metastasis. Here we show that overexpression of Snail and Slug leads to a mesenchymal phenotype and morphology and enhances cell invasion along with stem cell properties in squamous cell carcinoma of oral tongue (OTSCC) cells. Repression of miR-101 expression by Snail and Slug is essential for Snail/Slug-induced malignant phenotypes. The suppression of miR-101 subsequently activates EZH2, the sole histone methyltransferase, inducing EMT, migration and invasion of OTSCC cells. Importantly, co-overexpression of Slug and Snail correlates with poor survival and elevated EZH2 expression in two independent patient cohorts of OTSCC specimens. These findings defined a Snail and Slug/miR-101/EZH2 pathway as a novel regulatory axis of EMT-mediated-microRNA signaling.

C-kit induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition and contributes to salivary adenoid cystic cancer progression.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with salivary adenoid cystic cancer (ACC) progression and metastasis. Here, we report that ectopic overexpression of c-kit in ACC cell lines is sufficient for acquisition of mesenchymal traits, enhanced cell invasion, along with stem cell properties defined by the presence of a CD133+/CD44+ cell subpopulation. c-kit positively regulated expression of known EMT inducers, also activating TGF-ß to contribute to EMT. c-kit itself was induced by TGF-ß in ACC cell lines and required for TGF-ß-induced EMT. Xenograft experiments showed that c-kit cooperated with oncogenic Ras to promote tumorigenesis in vivo. Finally, in human specimens of ACC, we found that c-kit was abnormally overexpressed and correlated with the prognosis of ACC. Our findings define an important function for c-kit in ACC progression by orchestrating EMT, and they implicate this gene product as a marker of poor prognosis in this disease.

Over-expression of integrin-linked kinase correlates with aberrant expression of Snail, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in oral squamous cell carcinoma: implications in tumor progression and metastasis.

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK), an intracellular protein with serine/threonine protein kinase activities, plays a key role in integrin mediated cell-excellular matrix interactions, regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and migration. ILK has been implicated in the development and progression in several malignancies. However, the role of ILK and ILK-mediated epithelial-mensenchymal transition (EMT) in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been well understood. Here, by immunohistochemistry, we studied the expression of ILK, Snail, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in 98 primary OSCC specimens and analyzed their correlations with clinicopathologic profiles and clinical outcome. We also investigated the expression of ILK in 42 corresponding lymph node metastases. Positive expression of ILK protein was detected in 87.8 % of the primary tumors and 100 % of metastatic lesions. Increased ILK expression was correlated strongly with enhanced tumor invasion, higher tumor grade, advanced clinical stage, positive lymph node status and increased risk of recurrence. Higher ILK expression was also observed in lymph node metastases in comparison with the corresponding primary tumor. Moreover, up-regulation of Snail and N-cadherin and down-regulation of E-cadherin correlated significantly with both ILK over-expression and tumor invasion. Patients with higher ILK expression exhibited shorter disease-free survival while those with absent E-cadherin expression exhibited shorter overall and disease-free survival. Taken together, our results suggest that ILK may have an important role in progression and metastasis of OSCC, possibly through EMT involving up-regulation of Snail and consequent aberrant expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin. ILK should be considered as a critical prognostic indicator for patients with OSCC.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms of integrins are associated with the risk and lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Integrins mediate cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction and play a critical role in cell proliferation, migration, survival, and invasion. Polymorphisms of the Integrin gene can alter integrin protein expression, which may further increase the risk of malignancies or cause poor clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential associations of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the integrin gene with the susceptibility and clinicopathologic parameters of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Two hundred patients with OSCC and 200 healthy volunteers were recruited. Five SNPs of Integrin genes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism genotyping. Their correlations with OSCC risk and clinical tumor characteristics were evaluated. The AT genotype of rs3809865 and GC genotype of rs1190271 increased the risk of OSCC by 2.1-fold (95% confidence interval 1.323-3.829, P=0.004) and 2.85-fold (95% confidence interval 1.583-5.138, P<0.01), respectively. Cases with AT genotype of rs3809865 and GC genotype of rs11902171 were prone to have regional lymph nodes metastasis (P<0.01). The SNPs of rs3809865 and rs1190271 might contribute to the prediction of susceptibility and lymph node metastasis of OSCC, which should be thought as a diagnostic marker and a potential therapeutic target.