Nondestructive and high-resolution monitoring of inflammation-type skull defects regeneration on adult zebrafish with optical coherence tomography.

Optimized animal models and effective imaging techniques are exceedingly important to study cranial defects in bone loss due to chronic inflammation. In this study, the assessment procedure on a zebrafish inflammation-type skull defects model was monitored in vivo with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and the efficacy of etidronate disodium in bone regeneration was assessed. An acute skull defect injury model was established in adult zebrafish using a stereotaxic craniotomy device. SD-OCT imaging was performed immediately following the mechanical injury. Both SD-OCT and immunohistochemistry results demonstrated an increase in inflammation-induced skull destruction within 5 days, which was confirmed by pathological experiments.

Subcutaneous injection of hyaluronic acid leading to emboliom and recanalization process monitored in real time by three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging.

This study describes a method for real-time examination of the microvascular system based on the three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging system to prevent arterial complications, especially vascular embolism, during hyaluronic acid (HA) injections. Chicken embryos were used to simulate the superficial blood vessels of human skin, and then the target area was imaged by the photoacoustic imaging system for three-dimensional vascular imaging, and then the syringe and blood vessels were monitored, and the syringe angle and penetration depth were adjusted in time using an injection device to avoid puncturing the arterial vasculature and clogging the blood vessels. HA was then injected into smaller vessels on the dorsum of the tongue in mice and into thicker vessels on the dorsal portion of the tongue in rats to mimic embolization, and the post-operative recovery was reflected by the changes in the pixel dots of the extracted part of the blocked blood vessels, and it was observed that the blood flow in the area of the fine vessels was restored in about 3 days, whereas blood flow in the area of the large vessels was restored in only about 1 h. The method presented in this paper allows precise guidance of injectable filler HA, which has good application prospects in improving the safety of injection micro-plastic surgery and reducing the experience requirements for medical personnel.

Molecular Features of Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Microarray Evidence and Further Integrated Analysis.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease usually including four molecular subtypes such as luminal A, luminal B, HER2-enriched, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC is more aggressive than other breast cancer subtypes. Despite major advances in ER-positive or HER2-amplified breast cancer, there is no targeted agent currently available for TNBC, so it is urgent to identify new potential therapeutic targets for TNBC. METHODS: We first used microarray analysis to compare gene expression profiling between TNBC and non-TNBC. Furthermore an integrated analysis was conducted based on our own and published data, leading to more robust, reproducible and accurate predictions. Additionally, we performed qRT-PCR in breast cancer cell lines to verify the findings in integrated analysis. RESULTS: After searching Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO), two microarray studies were obtained according to the inclusion criteria. The integrated analysis was conducted, including 30 samples of TNBC and 77 samples of non-TNBC. 556 genes were found to be consistently differentially expressed (344 up-regulated genes and 212 down-regulated genes in TNBC). Functional annotation for these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that the most significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) term for molecular functions was protein binding (GO: 0005515, P = 6.09E-21), while that for biological processes was signal transduction (GO: 0007165, P = 9.46E-08), and that for cellular component was cytoplasm (GO: 0005737, P = 2.09E-21). The most significant pathway was Pathways in cancer (P = 6.54E-05) based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). DUSP1 (Degree = 21), MYEOV2 (Degree = 15) and UQCRQ (Degree = 14) were identified as the significant hub proteins in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Five genes were selected to perform qRT-PCR in seven breast cancer cell lines, and qRT-PCR results showed that the expression pattern of selected genes in TNBC lines and non-TNBC lines was nearly consistent with that in the integrated analysis. CONCLUSION: This study may help to understand the pathogenesis of different breast cancer subtypes, contributing to the successful identification of therapeutic targets for TNBC.

siRNA-Mediated Suppression of Synuclein γ Inhibits MDA-MB-231 Cell Migration and Proliferation by Downregulating the Phosphorylation of AKT and ERK.

PURPOSE: Synuclein-γ (SNCG), which was initially identified as breast cancer specific gene 1, is highly expressed in advanced breast cancers, but not in normal or benign breast tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SNCG siRNA-treatment on breast cancer cells and elucidate the associated mechanisms. METHODS: Vectors containing SNCG and negative control (NC) siRNAs were transfected into MDA-MB-231 cells; mRNA levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell proliferation was evaluated using the MTT assay, cell migration was assessed by the Transwell assay, apoptosis and cell cycle analyses were conducted with the flow cytometer, and Western blot analysis was performed to determine the relative levels of AKT, ERK, p-AKT, and p-ERK expression. RESULTS: SNCG mRNA levels were significantly reduced in MDA-MB-231 cells transfected with SNCG siRNA. Our results indicate that in SNCG siRNA-treated cells, cell migration and proliferation decreased significantly, apoptosis was induced, and the cell cycle was arrested. Western blot analysis indicated that the protein levels of p-AKT and p-ERK were much lower in the SNCG siRNA-treated groups, than in the control and NC groups. CONCLUSION: SNCG siRNA could decrease the migration and proliferation of breast cancer cells by downregulating the phosphorylation of AKT and ERK.