AIM: To investigate the effects of microRNA (miRNA)-483-3p on the growth and migration of human glioma cell line A172 and its potential mechanisms.METHODS: The abundance of miRNA-483-3p in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and different human glioma cell lines (A172, U251 and SHG44) was measured by RT-qPCR.After down-regulation of miRNA-483-3p by transfection of inhibitor in the A172 cells, the cell viability, cell cycle distribution and cell migration were detected by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry and Transwell assay, respectively.Furthermore, the protein levels of cell cycle-related molecules and epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers were measured by Western blot.Luciferase reporter assay was used to predict and verify the target gene of miRNA-483-3p.RESULTS: miRNA-483-3p was highly expressed in human glioma cells.Knockdown of miRNA-483-3p inhibited A172 cell viability, arrested cell cycle and decreased cell migration rate.Furthermore, the protein levels of cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, phoshorylated retinoblastoma protein, N-cadherin and vimentin were significantly decreased after knockdown of miRNA-483-3p, accompanied with the up-regulation of E-cadherin and β-catenin protein expression.Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that Smad4 was a potential target gene of miRNA-483-3p.Down-regulation of Smad4 in the A172 cells transfected with miRNA-483-3p inhibitor partially reversed the effect of miRNA-483-3p on cell viability and migration.CONCLUSION: Knockdown of miRNA-483-3p restrains the growth and migration of A172 cells by targeting Smad4.

AIM:To study the effect of p21-activated protein kinase 2 (PAK2) knockdown by RNA interfer-ence on the proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cells .METHODS:The short hairpin RNA ( shRNA) targe-ting PAK2 gene was designed and used for packing lentivirus in 293T cells.Human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were infected by the virus particles and PAK2 knockdown stable cell line was established by puromycin selection .The knockdown effi-ciency was assessed by Western blotting .The proliferation ability of MCF-7 cells was evaluated by CellTiter 96 AQueous and anchorage-independent growth assays .The cell apoptosis induced by staurosporine was detected by flow cytometry . RESULTS:The protein level of PAK2 was significantly suppressed after silencing of PAK2 gene in MCF-7 cells ( P<0.01).Furthermore, knockdown of PAK2 caused remarkable inhibition of the cell proliferation and colony formation (P<0.01).Staurosporine induced more apoptosis in the PAK2 knockdown cells compared with the control cells (P<0.01). CONCLUSION:Knockdown of PAK2 inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cells and increases the sensitivity of chemothera-peutic drug-induced cell apoptosis , suggesting that PAK2 might be a new therapeutic target in breast cancer treatment .

AIM: To construct a mouse IFN-? expression vector and observe the antitumor effects of mouse peritoneal macrophages transfected with IFN-? in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: The IFN-? mRNA was amplified by RT-PCR. The open reading frame of mouse IFN-? gene was recombinanted with eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 through subcloning. Mouse peritoneal macrophages were transfected with recombinant vector pcDNA3.1-IFN-?. The expression of INF-? mRNA was measured by RT-PCR. Another group of peritoneal macrophages were cultured with the culture medium from pcDNA3.1-IFN-? transfecting groups, and its antitumor effect was measured by MTT. pcDNA3.1-IFN-? plasmid was peritoneally injected inte mouse with tumor. The appearance of ascites of pcDNA3.1-IFN-? plasmid injected mice and survival time were observed. RESULTS: The mouse IFN-? expression vector pcDNA3.1-IFN-? was constructed. The sequence was demonstrated to be the same as on GenBank. The recombinant vector was introduced into mouse peritoneal macrophages. IFN-? mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The supernatant from cultured macrophages transfected with pcDNA3.1-IFN-? plasmid stimulated the antitumor effects of the macrophages without transfection. The appearance of ascites in pcDNA3.1-IFN-? plasmid injected mouse was delayed and survival time was longer than that in other groups. CONCLUSION: We have successfully constructed the mouse IFN-? expression vector pcDNA3.1-IFN-?. Mouse peritoneal macrophages transfected with pcDNA3.1-IFN-? have antitumor effects in vivo and in vitro.

AIM:To establish and characterize the patient-derived esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma xeno-graft (PDECX) in mice.METHODS:The samples of human esophageal cancer were grafted into severe combined immu-nodeficient ( SCID) mice.The xenografts were transferred to SCID mice when the first passage of xenografts grew up .The growth of tumors in the first, second and third passages was observed .HE staining was performed.The expression of CK5/6, p63 and p40 in the patient samples , and the first and third passages of the xenografts were detected by immunohisto-chemical analysis.The expression of mTOR, p-mTOR, p70S6K, p-p70S6K, Akt1, p-Akt (Ser473), Erk1/2 and p-Erk1/2 were determined by Western blot .RESULTS:The PDECX was successfully established .The positive expression of CK5/6, p63 and p40 in the xenografts was consistent with that in the patients ’ samples.The levels of phosphorylated and total proteins of proliferation-related signaling pathways were different in the xenografts from different patients .CONCLU-SION:The PDECX model adequately reflects the tumal heterogeneity that is observed in the patients .

OBJECTIVETo measure peripheral serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and matrix metalloproteinase 19 (MMP19) in patients with pneumoconiosis, and to investigate their feasibility as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

METHODSNinety-eight male patients with pneumoconiosis (49 patients in phase I, 36 patients in phase II, and 13 patients in phase III) were enrolled as subjects, which included 41 patients with silicosis and 57 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Ninety-eight healthy male physical examinees were used as controls. A fasting blood sample (3 ml) was collected from the peripheral venous blood of each patient or control, and the serum was separated from the blood sample. The expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSSerum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in patients with silicosis or coal workers' pneumoconiosis were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients with silicosis were significantly higher than those in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients exposed to dust for less than 7 years were significantly higher than those in patients exposed to dust for more than 20 years (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 between patients with different levels of pulmonary function impairment (P > 0.05). Serum expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 were positively correlated with each other in both patients with pneumoconiosis and those in the control group (P < 0.05). The serum expression level of MMP9 was negatively correlated with the stage of pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSerum MMP9 and MMP19 may be used as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

Anthracosis ; enzymology ; Biomarkers ; Coal Mining ; Dust ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; blood ; Matrix Metalloproteinases, Secreted ; blood ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; blood ; enzymology ; Silicosis ; enzymology

Objective:To investigate the effect of mannose on the radiosensitivity of six human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines and its possible mechanism.Methods:The expression of mannose phosphate isomerase in six lung cancer cell lines were detected by Western blot. The inhibitory effect of mannose on the proliferation of lung cancer cell lines were observed by MTT assay. When irradiated with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 Gy, the effect of mannose on the radiosensitivity of six lung cancer cell lines was detected by plate clone formation assay, respectively; and the apoptosis rates of normal control, mannose, irradiation and combined groups were detected by flow cytometry.Results:The expression levels of mannose phosphate isomerase were different among six lung cancer cell lines. Among them, A549 cells had the highest expression level and H460 cells showed the lowest expression level. When aD ministrated with 11.1 mmol/L mannose, the same inhibitory effect was observed on both A549 and H460 cell lines. Moreover, the inhibitory effect on H460 cell line was significantly increased with the increase of mannose concentration. In addition, aD ministration of 11.1 mmol/L mannose could significantly increase the radiosensitivity and apoptosis rate of H460 cell line. However, it exerted limited effect upon the radiosensitivity and apoptosis rate of A549 cell line. Conclusion:In six lung cancer cell lines with high expression of mannose phosphate isomerase, the aD ministration of mannose can enhance the radiosensitivity of partial tumors cells.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. It is urgent to develop new drugs to improve the prognosis of ESCC patients. Here, we found benzydamine, a locally acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, had potent cytotoxic effect on ESCC cells. Benzydamine could suppress ESCC proliferation in vivo and in vitro. In terms of mechanism, CDK2 was identified as a target of benzydamine by molecular docking, pull-down assay and in vitro kinase assay. Specifically, benzydamine inhibited the growth of ESCC cells by inhibiting CDK2 activity and affecting downstream phosphorylation of MCM2, c-Myc and Rb, resulting in cell cycle arrest. Our study illustrates that benzydamine inhibits the growth of ESCC cells by downregulating the CDK2 pathway.
Humans ; Benzydamine ; Esophageal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma/drug therapy* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Phosphorylation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. The pro-viral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 1 (PIM1) is a proto-oncogene and belongs to the serine/threonine kinase family, which are involved in cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) is a tyrosine kinase that has been implicated in cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. Small molecule HCI-48 is a derivative of chalcone, a class of compounds known to possess anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. However, the underlying mechanism of chalcones against colorectal cancer remains unclear. This study reports that HCI-48 mainly targets PIM1 and FGFR1 kinases, thereby eliciting antitumor effects on colorectal cancer growth in vitro and in vivo. HCI-48 inhibited the activity of both PIM1 and FGFR1 kinases in an ATP-dependent manner, as revealed by computational docking models. Cell-based assays showed that HCI-48 inhibited cell proliferation in CRC cells (HCT-15, DLD1, HCT-116 and SW620), and induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase through modulation of cyclin A2. HCI-48 also induced cellular apoptosis, as evidenced by an increase in the expression of apoptosis biomarkers such as cleaved PARP, cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved caspase 7. Moreover, HCI-48 attenuated the activation of downstream components of the PIM1 and FGFR1 signaling pathways. Using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) murine tumor models, we found that treatment with HCI-48 diminished the PDX tumor growth of implanted CRC tissue expressing high protein levels of PIM1 and FGFR1. This study suggests that the inhibitory effect of HCI-48 on colorectal tumor growth is mainly mediated through the dual-targeting of PIM1 and FGFR1 kinases. This work provides a theoretical basis for the future application of HCI-48 in the treatment of clinical CRC.