Effect of Genetic Variants in Two Chemokine Decoy Receptor Genes,DARC and CCBP2, on Metastatic Potential of Breast Cancer

The inhibitory effect of two chemokine decoy receptors (CDRs), DARC and D6, on breast cancer metastasis is mainly due to their ability to sequester pro-malignant chemokines. We hypothesized that genetic variants in the DARC and CCBP2 (encoding D6) genes may be associated with breast cancer progression. In the present study, we evaluated the genetic contributions of DARC and CCBP2 to metastatic potential, indicated by lymph node metastasis (LNM). Ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (potentially functional SNPs and block-based tagging SNPs) in DARC and CCBP2 were genotyped in 785 breast cancer patients who had negative lymph nodes and 678 patients with positive lymph nodes. Two non-synonymous SNPs, rs12075 (G42D) in DARC and rs2228468 (S373Y) in CCBP2, were observed to be associated with LNM in univariate analysis and remained significant after adjustment for conventional clinical risk factors, with odds ratios (ORs) of 0.54 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37 to 0.79) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.98), respectively. Additional functional experiments revealed that both of these significant SNPs could affect metastasis of breast cancer in xenograft models by differentially altering the chemokine sequestration ability of their corresponding proteins. Furthermore, heterozygous GD genotype of G42D on human erythrocytes had a significantly stronger chemokine sequestration ability than homozygous GG of G42D ex vivo. Our data suggest that the genetic variants in the CDR genes are probably associated with the varied metastatic potential of breast cancer. The underlying mechanism, though it needs to be further investigated, may be that CDR variants could affect the chemokine sequestration ability of CDR proteins.     

MiR-186-5p对3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖分化的影响研究 *

目的 探究miR-186-5p对小鼠3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖,分化的影响及其潜在的分子机制.方法: qRT-PCR检测miR-186-5p在不同周龄小鼠白色脂肪组织及3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖分化过程中的表达变化;通过脂质体将miR-186-5p mimics,inhibitors转染入增殖液或分化液培养的3T3-L1细胞后,利用CCK-8,EdU和qRT-PCR检测3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖变化,油红O染色观察其脂滴形态;通过生物信息软件TargetScan和双荧光报告系统分别对miR-186-5p靶基因进行预测和确认.结果: (1)miR-186-5p在1~6周龄小鼠的白色脂肪组织及3T3-L1前脂肪细胞自然分化过程中表达量均逐渐上调.(2)与阴性对照相比,mimics或inhibitors转染分别显著地促进或抑制了miR-186-5p的表达.(3)过表达miR-186-5p后,3T3-L1前脂肪细胞的增殖速率减慢,脂滴增大增多;而抑制miR-186-5p后,3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖速率增快,脂滴数量减少,且粒径变小.其中过表达miR-186-5p显著地降低了野生型Wnt5a和Mapk1 3'-UTR活性,而突变相应的绑定位点可解除该抑制作用.结论: miR-186-5p可抑制3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖,且通过直接靶向Wnt5a和Mapk1以促进其分化为成熟脂肪细胞.     

MiR-210-3p-EphrinA3-PI3K/AKT axis regulates the progression of oral cancer

This study aimed to explore new therapeutic targets to improve the survival rate of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).MiR-210-3p, EphrinA3 and EMT related indices were evaluated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. In addition, the relationship between differential EphrinA3 expression and tumour progression was explored through molecular biology techniques, in vitro functional experiments and tumour xenotransplantation models. The expression of EphrinA3 (r_s = −0.719, P < .05) and E-cadherin (r_s = −0.856, P < .05) was negatively correlated with the pathological grading in OSCC tissues. Protein clustering shows EphrinA3 may be associated with tumour progression. EphrinA3 also can regulate the biological behaviour of oral cancer cells. And it regulates the EMT by the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. MiR-210-3p targeted the gen EFNA3. Up-regulation of miR-210-3p expression can decrease the expression of EphrinA3 and further to influence the biological behaviour of OSCC. The miR-210-3p-EphrinA3-PI3K/AKT signalling axis plays an important role in the progress of OSCC. EphrinA3 may serve as a novel target for oral cancer treatment.     

Monophosphoryl lipid A alleviated radiation-induced testicular injury through TLR4-dependent exosomes

Radiation protection on male testis is an important task for ionizing radiation-related workers or people who receive radiotherapy for tumours near the testicle. In recent years, Toll-like receptors (TLRs), especially TLR4, have been widely studied as a radiation protection target. In this study, we detected that a low-toxicity TLR4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) produced obvious radiation protection effects on mice testis. We found that MPLA effectively alleviated testis structure damage and cell apoptosis induced by ionizing radiation (IR). However, as the expression abundance differs a lot in distinct cells and tissues, MPLA seemed not to directly activate TLR4 singling pathway in mice testis. Here, we demonstrated a brand new mechanism for MPLA producing radiation protection effects on testis. We observed a significant activation of TLR4 pathway in macrophages after MPLA stimulation and identified significant changes in macrophage-derived exosomes protein expression. We proved that after MPLA treatment, macrophage-derived exosomes played an important role in testis radiation protection, and specially, G-CSF and MIP-2 in exosomes are the core molecules in this protection effect.     

Melatonin against acute ischaemic stroke dependently via suppressing both inflammatory and oxidative stress downstream signallings

This study tested the hypothesis that melatonin (Mel) therapy preserved the brain architectural and functional integrity against ischaemic stroke (IS) dependently through suppressing the inflammatory/oxidative stress downstream signalling pathways. Adult male B6 (n = 6 per each B6 group) and TLR4 knockout (ie TLR4^?/?) (n = 6 per each TLR4^?/? group) mice were categorized into sham control (SC^B6), SC^TLR4?/?, IS^B6, IS^TLR4?/?, IS^B6 + Mel (i.p. daily administration) and IS^TLR4?/? + Mel (i.p. daily administration). By day 28 after IS, the protein expressions of inflammatory (HMBG1/TLR2/TLR4/MAL/MyD88/RAM TRIF/TRAF6/IKK‐α/p‐NF‐κB/nuclear‐NF‐κB/nuclear‐IRF‐3&7/IL‐1β/IL‐6/TNF‐α/IFN‐γ) and oxidative stress (NOX‐1/NOX‐2/ASK1/p‐MKK4&7/p‐JNK/p‐c‐JUN) downstream pathways as well as mitochondrial‐damaged markers (cytosolic cytochrome C/cyclophilin D/SRP1/autophagy) were highest in group IS^B6, lowest in groups SC^B6 and SC^TLR4?/?, lower in group IS^TLR4?/? + Mel than in groups IS^TLR4?/? and IS^B6 + Mel and lower in group IS^B6 + Mel than in group IS^TLR4?/? (all P < .0001). The brain infarct volume, brain infarct area and the number of inflammatory cells in brain (CD14/F4‐88) and in circulation (MPO+//Ly6C+/CD11b+//Ly6G+/CD11b+) exhibited an identical pattern, whereas the neurological function displayed an opposite pattern of inflammatory protein expression among the six groups (all P < .0001). In conclusion, TLR inflammatory and oxidative stress signallings played crucial roles for brain damage and impaired neurological function after IS that were significantly reversed by Mel therapy.     

A novel lncRNA PLK4 up‐regulated by talazoparib represses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by promoting YAP‐mediated cell senescence

A growing number of studies recognize that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential to mediate multiple tumorigenic processes, including hepatic tumorigenesis. However, the pathological mechanism of lncRNA‐regulated liver cancer cell growth remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified a novel function lncRNA, named polo‐like kinase 4 associated lncRNA (lncRNA PLK4, GenBank Accession No. RP11‐50D9.3), whose expression was dramatically down‐regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and cells. Interestingly, talazoparib, a novel and highly potent poly‐ADP‐ribose polymerase 1/2 (PARP1/2) inhibitor, could increase lncRNA PLK4 expression in HepG2 cells. Importantly, we showed that talazoparib‐induced lncRNA PLK4 could function as a tumour suppressor gene by Yes‐associated protein (YAP) inactivation and induction of cellular senescence to inhibit liver cancer cell viability and growth. In summary, our findings reveal the molecular mechanism of talazoparib‐induced anti‐tumor effect, and suggest a potential clinical use of talazoparib‐targeted lncRNA PLK4/YAP‐dependent cellular senescence for the treatment of HCC.     

LncRNA TUG1 alleviates cardiac hypertrophy by targeting miR-34a/DKK1/Wnt-β-catenin signalling

The current study was designed to explore the role and underlying mechanism of lncRNA taurine up-regulated gene 1 (TUG1) in cardiac hypertrophy. Mice were treated by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery to induce cardiac hypertrophy, and cardiomyocytes were treated by phenylephrine (PE) to induce hypertrophic phenotype. Haematoxylin-eosin (HE), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and immunofluorescence (IF) were used to examine morphological alterations. Real-time PCR, Western blots and IF staining were used to detect the expression of RNAs and proteins. Luciferase assay and RNA pull-down assay were used to verify the interaction. It is revealed that TUG1 was up-regulated in the hearts of mice treated by TAC surgery and in PE-induced cardiomyocytes. Functionally, overexpression of TUG1 alleviated cardiac hypertrophy both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, TUG1 sponged and sequestered miR-34a to increase the Dickkopf 1 (DKK1) level, which eventually inhibited the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling. In conclusion, the current study reported the protective role and regulatory mechanism of TUG1 in cardiac hypertrophy and suggested that TUG1 may serve as a novel molecular target for treating cardiac hypertrophy.