Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects of silencing expression ofEZH2 gene on the cell proliferation of human QBC939 cells and its mechanisms. Methods The targeting siRNA was designed and trans-fected into QBC939cells. The expressions of EZH2 mRNA and protein were detected by real-time qPCR and west-ern blotting,respectively. The ability of cellproliferationwas analyzed by MTT assay and plate clone formation assay. Cell apoptosis and cycle percentage weremeasured by flow cytometry. Cell senescence was assessed byβ-galactosi-dase dyeing.The expressions of H3K27me3,P14ARF,P16INK4a,P53,P21 and E2F1 proteinwere determined by West-ern blotting.Results Compared with the control group ,the expressions of mRNAand protein were significantly elevat-ed in experimental group. The ability of cellproliferation in the experiment group was significantly down regulated , which could also cause a rise of G1/S phase ,but not a marked variation of apoptosis rate. Silencing EZH2 would induce a obvious senescence phenotype in QBC939 cells. EZH2-siRNA transferredcould also down-regulate the expressions of H3K27me3 and E2F1 protein,while up-regulating the expressions of P14ARF,P16INK4a,P53 and P21 protein in QBC939 cells.Conclusions Silencing EZH2 could induce a significant inhibition on cell proliferation of QBC939 cells,the mechanism of which may be associated with the senescence pathway regulation.

Objective To investigate the effect of bisdemethoxycurcumin on the proliferation and apoptosis of melanoma B16-F10 cells. Methods The B16-F10 cells were incubated with bisdemethoxycurcumin for 24 h, and MTT assay was used to detect the proliferation of B16-F10 cell. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle and cell apoptosis. A C57BL/6 mouse melanoma model was established to investigate the effect of bisdemethoxycurcumin on the proliferation of melanoma. Expression of BCL-1 in B16-F10 cells and tissues was detected by western blotting assay. Results bisdemethoxycurcumin could significantly inhibit B16-F10 cell proliferation, induce B16-F10 cell apoptosis and block the cell cycle at S phase. The intravenous dosing of bisdemethoxycurcumin could inhibit the growth of melanoma. Bisdemethoxycurcumin could inhibit the expression of BCL-1. Conclusion Bisdemethoxycurcumin can inhibit the proliferation of B16-F10 cell, resulting from its role in promoting cell apoptosis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Paris saponin I (PS I) on human gastric carcinoma cell growth and apoptosis and to explore the potential mechanisms. The proliferation of SGC7901 cells was monitored by the MTT cell viability assay, while the nuclear morphology of apoptotic cells was assessed by Hoechst 33258 staining. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the cell cycle progression of propidium iodide (PI)-stained SGC7901 cells and the apoptotic rate of annexin V/PI-stained cells. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of several cell cycle proteins, including cyclin B1 and Cdk1, and the apoptosis-regulated proteins Bcl-2, Bax, cytochrome c, procaspase-9, and procaspase-3. The MTT assay demonstrated that PS I could induce significant dose- and time-dependent inhibition of SGC7901 cell proliferation. Marked morphological changes, including condensation of chromatin, nuclear fragmentation and apoptotic bodies were clearly shown on Hoechst 33258 staining. PSI treatment also resulted in the disruption of the cell cycle at G(2)/M and the induction of apoptosis. Following PSI treatment, the cell cycle-related proteins cyclin B1 and Cdk1 were down-regulated. Expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax was increased, while anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased. PSI treatment resulted in elevated cytoplasmic cytochrome c and activation of the apoptotic proteases caspase-9 and caspase-3. These data indicate that PS acts as an inhibitor of proli I feration in SGC7901 cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. PSI is a potential therapeutic agent against human gastric carcinoma.

Objective: To understand rural students’ perception and satisfaction of the Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES), and to provide basis for promoting students’ participation in the school feeding program and improving the acceptability of school feeding. Methods: In 3 national pilot counties and 2 local pilot counties of NIPRCES, 1 middle school and 1 primary school were randomly selected. Two classes of 2 364 students from grade 4 to grade 9 were randomly selected and investigated with questionnaires. Results: Students were aware of the policy, with 78.9% of the students reported to be familiar with NIPRCES. The awareness rate of students at the national pilot areas was higher than that in local pilot areas(P<0.05). Students showed positive attitude towards NIPRCES. The median score of students’ understandings of the influence of NIPRCES was 20.0 (18.0, 20.0) points. Students in national pilot areas showed a more positive attitude toward the program than those in local pilot areas(P<0.05). Moderate satisfaction was reported in school feeding, 78.7% of students thought that school provided adequate amount of food, and 60.9% of the students enjoyed the food very much. The main reasons for leftovers were too much in amount(27.4%), repetition of food types (22.8%) and food aversions(9.2%). Conclusion Students are quite aware of NIPRCES and show moderate satisfaction in school feeding. The awareness and satisfaction are relatively higher among students in national pilot areas than those in local pilot areas. Health promoting schools should be established and students and parents should be advocated to take part in the program, health education need to be promoted in schools. Experiences sharing between different places could help improve the quality and acceptability of school feeding program.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of silencing Bmi-1 expression in reversing cisplatin resistance in human lung cancer cells and explore the possible mechanisms.

METHODSCisplatin-resistant A549/DDP cells with small interference RNA (siRNA)-mediated Bmi-1 expression silencing were examined for cisplatin sensitivity using MTT assay and alterations in cell cycle distribution and apoptosis with flow cytometry, and the changes in cell senescence was assessed using β-galactosidase staining. The protein expressions of Bmi-1, P14(ARF), P16(INK4a), P53, P21, Rb and ubi-H2AK119 in the cells were determined with Western blotting.

RESULTSA549/DDP cells showed significantly higher Bmi-1 expression than A549 cells. After siRNA-mediated Bmi-1 silencing, A549/DDP cells showed significantly enhanced cisplatin sensitivity with an increased IC50 from 40.3±4.1 µmol/L to 18.3±2.8 µmol/L (P<0.01) and increased cell percentage in G0/G1 phase from (48.9±2.3)% to (78.7±7.6)% (P<0.01). Silencing Bmi-1 did not cause significant changes in the cell apoptosis rate but induced obvious senescence phenotype in A549/DDP cells with down-regulated expression of ubi-H2AK119 and up-regulated expressions of P14(ARF), P16(INK4a), P53, P21 and Rb.

CONCLUSIONSilencing Bmi-1 by RNA interference can induce cell senescence and resensitize A549/DDP cells to cisplatin possibly by regulating INK4a/ARF/Rb senescence pathway.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; genetics ; RNA, Small Interfering

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Paris saponin Ⅰ (PS Ⅰ ) on human gastric carcinoma cell growth and apoptosis and to explore the potential mechanisms.The proliferation of SGC7901 cells was monitored by the MTT cell viability assay,while the nuclear morphology of apoptotic cells was assessed by Hoechst 33258 staining.Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the cell cycle progression of propidium iodide (PI)-stained SGC7901 cells and the apoptotic rate of annexin V/PI-stained cells.Western blotting was used to examine the expression of several cell cycle proteins,including cyclin B1 and Cdkl,and the apoptosis-regulated proteins Bcl-2,Bax,cytochrome c,procaspase-9,and procaspase-3.The MTT assay demonstrated that PSⅠ could induce significant doseand time-dependent inhibition of SGC7901 cell proliferation.Marked morphological changes,including condensation of chromatin,nuclear fragmentation and apoptotic bodies were clearly shown on Hoechst 33258 staining.PSⅠ treatment also resulted in the disruption of the cell cycle at G2/M and the induction of apoptosis.Following PSⅠ treatment,the cell cycle-related proteins cyclin B 1 and Cdk1 were downregulated.Expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax was increased,while anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2decreased.PSⅠ treatment resulted in elevated cytoplasmic cytochrome c and activation of the apoptotic proteases caspase-9 and caspase-3.These data indicate that PSⅠ acts as an inhibitor of proliferation in SGC7901 cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis.PSⅠ is a potential therapeutic agent against human gastric carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate students’ satisfaction on school feeding program in 8 cities in China, and to provide the basis for improving school feeding management and lunch quality. Methods: Multi-stage random cluster sampling method was used to randomly select the second, fifth and eighth-grade students from 67 primary and middle schools in 8 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, Shijiazhuang, Guangzhou, Changsha, Bengbu and Pinghu. Results: A total of 15 475 students participated in the survey, 15 170(98.0%) of which were valid questionnaires. A total of 13 297(87.7%) students had lunch in school. Twenty-six(38.8%), 14(20.9%) and 27(40.3%) schools served lunch by self-run canteens, custody canteens, and food delivery companies respectively. Twenty-one schools provided milk or yogurt for lunch, accounting for 31.3%. The reported rates of very satisfied, satisfied, moderate, dissatisfied, and extremely dissatisfied among students were 40.8%, 28.1%, 20.1%, 7.3%, and 3.6%, respectively. The satisfaction rate of the eighth-grade students was lower than that of the second-and fifth-grade(56.9% vs 77.1% vs 73.5%). The satisfaction rate among students from schools with self-run canteen was higher than that of custody canteens and food delivery companies(73.8% vs 60.5% vs 66.2%). The satisfaction rate of school lunch is highest in dining surrounding (75.3%), followed by amount of meals(71.6%), food hygiene(71.1%), food combination(65.4%), and the appearance of the food(60.5%), and food taste(55.9%). Conclusion The satisfaction rate of students for school lunch was acceptable. The food taste is the main factor for students’ dissatisfaction. Schools should be encouraged to provide lunch in the self-run canteens with tasty food while meeting the nutritional standard.

Objective: To investigate and analyze the amount and the type of fluid intake in spring among male college athletics in a university in Beijing, and to provide scientific basis and reference data for fluid intake-related education and formulating adequate water intake. Methods: A simple random sampling method was used to select 109 male sports crowd from a college in Beijing. The information on amount and types of fluid intake were recorded using the validated 7-day fluid specific diary. Results: The median amount of daily fluid intake among participants was 1 789 mL. The number of participants who reached the amount of adequate water intake for Chinese adult residents 60, which accounted for 55.1% of the total participants. There was difference on the amount of fluid intake among different participants after grouped by the quartiles of exercise consumption(χ2=9.20, P=0.03). There were also differences in the percentage of fluid intake reaching the recommended amount on adequate water intake(χ2=18.27, P=0.04). The median amount of plain water, dairy products, sports beverages, and other sugary beverages were 1 180, 40, 65, and 383 mL, respectively; which accounted for 67.1%, 2.2%, 3.7%, and 22.2% of daily fluid intake. There was difference on the amount of sports beverages among different participants after grouped by the quartiles of BF%(χ2=8.59, P=0.04). There was difference on the amount of sports beverages (χ2=8.25, P=0.00) and other sugar-sweetened beverages (χ2=8.57, P=0.02) among different participants after grouped by the quartiles of energy expenditure. Conclusion Among male sports population in a university in Beijing, the amount of fluid intake differed among different participants after grouped by the quartiles of exercise consumption. As the exercise consumption of participants increased, the water consumption increased. Participants mainly drink plain water, and there were differences on the types of fluid intake among participants with different BF% and different energy expenditure.

Objective: To understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices of drinking water among college students of Hebei Province, to provide evidence for health education. Methods: A total of 715 subjects were selected from a university in Baoding City, Hebei Province in March 2017 by random cluster sampling. Knowledge, attitude and behavior of drinking water among college students were investigated by self-designed questionnaires. Results: The awareness rate of water consumption of 1 500-1 700 mL was 19.0%, the awareness rate of drinking modes was 95.0%, the awareness rate of suitable drinking time was 30.1%, the awareness rate on drinking water was higher among girls and medical major sutdents (χ2=22.16, 12.49, P<0.05); the awareness rate on the relationship between insufficient drinking water and stroke, hypertension and coronary heart disease was generally low, with sophornore higher than freshman (χ2=11.10, P<0.05). The most common medium for accessing drinking water knowledge among the respondents was network (60.0%), followed by campus publicity/classroom teaching (48.3%). 99.6% of the respondents believed that drinking water was important to health, 98.3% were willing to change their drinking habits, 93.0% were willing to pay attention to drinking water education, and the proportion of female students was higher than that of male students (χ2=5.46, 6.49, 8.01, P<0.05). In real life, 48.4% of the respondents drank water on an empty stomach in the morning and 40.7% before going to bed. 45.5% of the respondents drank water when they thought of it. Conclusion College students in Hebei province are generally lack of appropriate awareness on water drinking, which varied in sex, grade and major. While the attitude towards water drinking is satisfactory, drinking behavior need to be improved.

Objective: To investigate and analyze the fluids intake, urine output and hydration status during spring among male college athletics from one university in Beijing, and to provide scientific evidence for launching targeted health education. Methods: A simple random sampling method was used to select 109 male students in college with habit of exercise.Total drinking fluids was assessed by 7-day 24-hour fluid intake questionnaire. The water from food was assessed by the duplicate portion method and the weight method. The urine samples of 24-hour was collected for 3 consecutive days, and the volume, osmolality and specific gravity of urine were measured. The energy expenditure in exercise was estimated by using the exercise plan. Results: The median drinking fluids intake, water from food, total fluids intake and urine volume were 1 789, 955, 2 701, 850 mL/d, respectively. 15.6% of the subjects were in proper hydration status, and 43.1% of the subjects were in dehydration. The differences between drinking fluids intake, water from food, total fluids intake and urine volume of subjects in the different BMI and BF% levels were not significant(P>0.05). The differences between drinking fluids intake and total fluids intake of subjects in the different energy expenditure in exercise levels were significant(χ2=9.20, 8.43, P<0.05). Conclusion Comparing with the normal college students, the drinking fluids intake and total fluids intake of male sports people were higher, the volume of urine was lower, and the hydration status was worse. The targeted health education about water intake was recommended.