Bmi-1 siRNA inhibited ovarian cancer cell line growth and decreased telomerase activity.

The knockdown of Bmi-1 could effectively suppress cancer cell proliferation and tumourigenicity in several cancers. This study aims to investigate whether or not Bmi-1 plays a causative role in the proliferation of ovarian epithelial cancer cells and telomerase activity. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression levels of Bmi-1 in the human ovarian carcinoma cell line OVCAR-3 were downregulated by Bmi-1 siRNA, as confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot. Cell viability was analysed by MTT assay, and telomerase activity was analysed by a modified telomeric repeat amplification protocol. Targeting Bmi-1 with siRNA inhibited Bmi-1 mRNA over five-fold compared with the control cells, and inhibited Bmi-1 protein expression over three-fold compared with control cells. The viability of the OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cell line was reduced by Bmi-1 mRNA compared to control cells. Telomerase activity was decreased 22.73% (from 0.33 to 0.255) by Bmi-1 siRNA treatment compared to control cells. As Bmi-1 siRNA depressed telomerase activity, cell immortalisation may be prevented; thus, silencing Bmi-1 may be a potential therapy to manage ovarian cancer.

Pulmonary blood vessels and endocrine cells in subacute infantile mountain sickness.

A male infant of 16 months, of the Han race, died from subacute infantile mountain sickness in Lhasa (3600 m). At necropsy there was right ventricular hypertrophy secondary to muscularization of the pulmonary arteries and arterioles thought to have been induced by hypobaric hypoxia. In addition, there was intimal proliferation of myofibroblasts in the pulmonary arterioles, venules and veins. There were increased numbers within the bronchioles of pulmonary endocrine cells, containing calcitonin and bombesin, which could be related to hypoxia or trophic effects on the pulmonary vasculature. The relation of delayed effects of hypoxia to primary pulmonary hypertension is considered in this study.

[The metastatic pattern of malignant tumors].

Four hundred autopsy cases of malignant tumors were analysed. Of these 321 cases (80.3%) had carcinoma and 79 (19.7%) sarcoma. In the 79 cases, 65 had malignant lymphoma, and 14 (3.5%) soft tissue and bone tumor. The tumor cells metastatic to the lung and liver were common in the autopsy cases. There were 163 cases of metastatic tumors in the lung and liver respectively (40.5%). The metastatic tumor in the liver was mainly from the breast, large intestinal, ovary, stomach and NHL, and in the lung mainly from the breast, liver, NHL, stomach and ovary. The lymph node metastasis was mainly located in the neck, mediastina, aorta. The extensive metastatic tumors were lung cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer and NHL, However, carcinoma in uterus cervix, urinary bladder, pharynex and testis was mainly infiltrated in the original region. The tumor metastasis was related to the region, histologic type and differentiation and so on.

Subacute infantile mountain sickness.

A description is given of a disease of infants occurring in Lhasa, Tibet at an altitude of 3600 m. Typically if affects infants who have been born at low altitude and subsequently brought to residue in Lhasa, and it is usually fatal within a few weeks or months. There is extreme medial hypertrophy of muscular pulmonary arteries and muscularization of pulmonary arterioles, together with dilatation of the pulmonary trunk and massive hypertrophy and dilatation of the right ventricle. The disease is distinct from acute or chronic mountain sickness and appears to be the human counterpart of 'brisket disease' in cattle.