LINC01342 promotes the progression of ovarian cancer by absorbing microRNA-30c-2-3p to upregulate HIF3A

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a highly prevalent gynecologic malignancy and its mortality is extremely high. Therefore, the development of novel therapeutic approaches for OC is of great significance. In this study, LINC01342 was upregulated in OC tissue in the GSE38666 microarray and in tumor tissue samples collected in our center. The silencing of LINC01342 suppressed the proliferative and metastatic capacities of A2780 and HO8910 cells. Subcellular distribution assays showed that LINC01342 was mainly enriched in the cytoplasm. Subsequently, the downregulation of microRNA-30c-2-3p was proven to be the target of LINC01342. The silencing of microRNA-30c-2-3p enhanced the clonality and migratory capacity of OC cells. Moreover, the silencing of microRNA-30c-2-3p could reverse the inhibited migration and clonality in OC cells caused by LINC01342 knockdown. In addition, hypoxia-inducible factor 3 subunit α (HIF3A) was proven to be the target gene of microRNA-30c-2-3p, which was upregulated. HIF3A was negatively regulated by microRNA-30c-2-3p but positively regulated by LINC01342 in OC cells. An RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation assay showed that microRNA-30c-2-3p, LINC01342, and HIF3A could bind to argonaute RISC catalytic component 2. The overexpression of HIF3A reversed the inhibited migration and clonality in OC cells with LINC01342 knockdown. By analyzing the follow-up data from the enrolled OC patients, the LINC01342 and HIF3A levels were negatively correlated with prognosis, while the microRNA-30c-2-3p level was positively correlated with the same. In short, the upregulated LINC01342 in OC absorbs microRNA-30c-2-3p to release HIF3A. Thus, upregulated HIF3A expression accelerates the progression of OC.     

Dual role of SnoN in mammalian tumorigenesis

SnoN is an important negative regulator of transforming growth factor beta signaling through its ability to interact with and repress the activity of Smad proteins. It was originally identified as an oncoprotein based on its ability to induce anchorage-independent growth in chicken embryo fibroblasts. However, the roles of SnoN in mammalian epithelial carcinogenesis have not been well defined. Here we show for the first time that SnoN plays an important but complex role in human cancer. SnoN expression is highly elevated in many human cancer cell lines, and this high level of SnoN promotes mitogenic transformation of breast and lung cancer cell lines in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, consistent with its proposed pro-oncogenic role. However, this high level of SnoN expression also inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transdifferentiation. Breast and lung cancer cells expressing the shRNA for SnoN exhibited an increase in cell motility, actin stress fiber formation, metalloprotease activity, and extracellular matrix production as well as a reduction in adherens junction proteins. Supporting this observation, in an in vivo breast cancer metastasis model, reducing SnoN expression was found to moderately enhance metastasis of human breast cancer cells to bone and lung. Thus, SnoN plays both pro-tumorigenic and antitumorigenic roles at different stages of mammalian malignant progression. The growth-promoting activity of SnoN appears to require its ability to bind to and repress the Smad proteins, while the antitumorigenic activity can be mediated by both Smad-dependent and Smad-independent pathways and requires the activity of small GTPase RhoA. Our study has established the importance of SnoN in mammalian epithelial carcinogenesis and revealed a novel aspect of SnoN function in malignant progression.     

Establishment of the active catalytic domain of human PDGFRbeta tyrosine kinase-based ELISA assay for inhibitor screening

Tyrosine kinases are emerging as frequent targets of primary oncogenic events and therefore represent an optimal focus of therapeutic intervention. In an effort towards therapeutic PDGFR inactivation, we expressed the catalytic domain of PDGFRbeta as a soluble active kinase using Bac-to-Bac expression system, and studied the correlations between PDGFRbeta activity and enzyme concentration, ATP concentration, substrate concentration and divalent cation type. And a convenient, effective and non-radioactive ELISA screening model is then established for identification of the potential inhibitors targeting PDGFRbeta kinase. Of 500 RTK target-based compounds, TKI-30 was identified as a small molecule potential inhibitor of PDGFRbeta (IC(50)=0.34 microM). Further studies indicated that TKI-30 blocked PDGF-BB-induced autophosphorylation of PDGFRbeta in a dose-dependent manner in Swiss 3T3 cells and human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs). Moreover, it dose-dependently suppressed the PDGF-BB-induced proliferation in HUVSMCs and tube formation of HUVEC. Our data collectively indicated that PDGFRbeta-based ELISA assay is a new method available for screening inhibitors targeting PDGFRbeta kinase and TKI-30 is a potential novel anti-cancer agent worthy of being further investigated.     

Novel thiophene derivatives as PTP1B inhibitors with selectivity and cellular activity

A series of novel thiophene derivatives was designed, synthesized and their activities as competitive inhibitors of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPs) 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors were evaluated. All the compounds showed inhibitory potencies, and 10 of these exhibited moderate inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values less than 10 μM. The activity of the most potent compound P28 (IC₅₀ = 2.1 μM) was 15 times higher than that of the hit compound P01. Further, four representative compounds (P19, P22, P28, and P31) demonstrated remarkably high selectivities against other PTPs (e.g., PTPα, LAR, CD45, and TCPTP); P19 exhibited greater than sixfold selectivity over highly homologous TCPTP. More importantly, these compounds are permeable to cell membranes. The treatment of CHO-K1 cells with P28 (10 μM) resulted in increased phosphorylation of AKT, which suggested extensive cellular activity of this compound. The novel chemical entities reported in this study could be used for overcoming the poor selectivity and low cellular activity of PTP1B inhibitors and might represent a starting point for development of therapeutic PTP inhibitors.     

Inhibitory mode of indole-2-carboxamide derivatives against HLGPa: molecular docking and 3D-QSAR analyses

The interaction of a series of indole-2-carboxamide compounds with human liver glycogen phosphorylase a (HLGPa) have been studied employing molecular docking and 3D-QSAR approaches. The Lamarckian Genetic Algorithm (LGA) of AutoDock 3.0 was employed to locate the binding orientations and conformations of the inhibitors interacting with HLGPa. The binding models were demonstrated in the aspects of inhibitor's conformation, subsite interaction, and hydrogen bonding. The very similar binding conformations of these inhibitors show that they interact with HLGPa in a very similar way. Good correlations between the calculated interaction free energies and experimental inhibitory activities suggest that the binding conformations of these inhibitors are reasonable. The structural and energetic differences in inhibitory potencies of indole-2-carboxamide compounds were reasonably explored. Using the binding conformations of indole-2-carboxamides, consistent and highly predictive 3D-QSAR models were developed by CoMFA and CoMSIA analyses. The q2 values are 0.697 and 0.622 for CoMFA and CoMSIA models, respectively. The predictive ability of these models was validated by four compounds that were not included in the training set. Mapping these models back to the topology of the active site of HLGPa leads to a better understanding of the vital indole-2-carboxamide-HLGPa interactions. Structure-based investigations and the final 3D-QSAR results provide clear guidelines and accurate activity predictions for novel inhibitor design.     

SHP2及其在乳腺癌发生发展中的作用

SHP2是一种非受体型蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶,其介导的信号转导异常与多种疾病包括肿瘤的发生和发展密切相关,对SHP2的深入研究有助于对其作用机制的阐明以及潜在药物学靶点的发现。本文简要介绍了SHP2的结构、功能及其介导的Ras/ERK信号通路,并着重阐述了SHP2与乳腺癌发展的关系。     

Identification of ComW as a new component in the regulation of genetic transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Regulation of competence for genetic transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae depends on a quorum-sensing system, genes involved in DNA uptake and recombination and a link between these two gene sets. The alternative sigma factor ComX provides this link. ComE, the response regulator of the quorum-sensing system, is required for expression of ComX and other early genes. However, an unknown ComE-dependent regulator is also required for competence when comX is expressed under control of the raffinose-responsive promoter of the aga operon. The gene comW (SP0018) is required for a high level of competence and is regulated by the quorum-sensing system, but its function is unknown. To explore its role further, comW was cloned into the multicopy plasmid pMSP3535, under the control of a nisin-inducible promoter (P(N)), and transformed into pneumococcal strains containing a raffinose-inducible comX gene (P(R)::comX). Further introduction of a comE deletion blocked the endogenous CSP signal transduction pathway. In the resulting strain, competence was independent of CSP but depended on treatment with both nisin and raffinose, showing that coexpression of comW and comX complemented the comE deficiency. ComX protein accumulation and expression of a late competence gene in the above strain support the conclusion that ComW is a new positive factor involved in competence regulation.     

Tuning Multimetallic Ordered Intermetallic Nanocrystals for Efficient Energy Electrocatalysis

Ordered intermetallic alloys have attracted extensive attention as advanced electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) reactions with much improved activity and stability. Here, latest progress in tuning intermetallic Pt‐ and Pd‐based nanocrystals with tunable morphology and structure for catalyzing both the cathodic reduction of oxygen and anodic oxidation of fuels (e.g., methanol, ethanol and formic acid) in PEMFCs is highlighted. Making/tuning interesting intermetallic PtM (M = Fe, Co, Pb, Cu, etc.)‐based nanocrystals for boosting oxygen reduction reaction with high activity and stability by using/controlling high‐temperature annealing treatment is discussed. In all the reported Pt‐based intermetallic nanocrystals, controlling the degree of ordering under the proper high temperature treatment is the key for achieving the optimized electrocatalysis. In order to search for cheaper catalysts, the progress on making Pd‐based intermetallic nanocrystals is also discussed. Furthermore, future research directions are proposed and discussed to further enhance the efficiency of such unique intermetallic multimetallic nanocatalysts. This report aims to demonstrate the potential of ordered intermetallic strategy for boosting electrocatalysis and stimulating more research efforts in this field.