1.Role of primary cilia in common skin tumors
Jingrun YANG ; Liqiang ZHENG ; Min HUANG ; Wei BA ; Chengxin LI
Chinese Journal of Dermatology 2019;52(5):353-356
Primary cilium has attracted increasing attention in the biomedical field in recent years.It exists in the surface of various cells and is micro-sized,but its complex structures have not been clear.The primary cilium has an important role in sensory perception.Cells can receive extracellular mechanical and chemical signals through primary cilia,and primary cilia can assist in transferring signals into cells,followed by cellular responses.Recent studies have shown that the primary cilium also plays an important role in embryonic development and malignant transformation of cells.The investigation into primary cilia will facilitate the understanding of malignant transformation of cells and development of tumors.According to the related literature in recent years,this review summarizes the relationship between the primary cilium and common skin tumors,as well as potential targets for these tumors,so as to provide references and new sights for further researches.
2.Effect of metformin on proliferation and differentiation of HaCaT cells and secretion of inflammatory factors by HaCaT cells
Cuihao SONG ; Rui WANG ; Shuangjing CHEN ; Liqiang ZHENG ; Zigang ZHAO ; Jingrun YANG ; Chengxin LI
Chinese Journal of Dermatology 2019;52(1):25-32
Objective To evaluate the effect of mefformin on the human keratinocyte line HaCaT,and to explore its molecular mechanism.Methods HaCaT cells were divided into several groups to be treated with mefformin at different concentrations of 1,2,5,10,20,50 mmol/L for 24,48 and 72 hours.Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to evaluate the effect of metformin on the survival rate of HaCaT cells.After 48-hour treatment with metformin at concentrations of 0 (control group),0.5,1,2,5,10 mmol/L,flow cytometry was conducted to evaluate the effect of metformin on cell cycle and apoptosis.Western blot analysis was performed to determine the expression of cell proliferation-and differentiation-related proteins (keratin-16 [K16],K17,K1,involucrin),apoptosis-related proteins (Bax,Bcl-2) and AKT/mTOR/STAT3 pathway proteins.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect the levels of interleukin (IL)-8,tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-23 (inflammatory factors) in the culture supernatant of HaCaT cells.Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS19.0 software using one-way analysis of variance for comparison of the above indices among the 0.5-,1-,2-,5-,10-mmol/L metformin groups and control group,repeated measures analysis of variance for comparisons among different time points or different metformin groups,least significant difference (LSD)-t test for multiple comparisons.Results CCK-8 assay showed that mefformin had inhibitory effects on the proliferation of HaCaT cells (F =116.87,P < 0.05),and the cell survival rates gradually decreased along with the increase in the concentrations of mefformin.After 48-hour treatment with mefformin at concentrations of 0,0.5,1,2,5,10mmol/L,the proportion of HaCaT cells in G2/M phase gradually increased (5.55% ± 1.03%,6.37% ±0.93%,8.57% ± 1.18%,10.05% ± 0.60%,10.76% ± 0.87%,13.63% ± 1.41%,respectively,F =24.98,P <0.05),and the early apoptosis rate also gradually increased (0.78% ± 0.71%,19.18% ± 1.41%,25.67% ±1.34%,28.45% ± 0.92%,34.97% ± 2.12%,40.41% ± 1.49%,respectively,F =296.08,P < 0.05).Along with the increase in the concentrations of metformin,there were increasing trends in the expression of K1 and the pro-apoptotic protein Bax (F =8.86,5.38 respectively,both P < 0.05),while there were decreasing trends in the expression of K16,K17 and the apoptotic protein Bcl-2 (F =8.02,4.82,12.10 respectively,all P < 0.05).There was no significant difference in the expression of involucrin among different metformin groups (F =0.57,P > 0.05).After 48-hour treatment with mefformin at different concentrations,the levels of IL-8 and TNF-α in HaCaT cells significantly decreased (F =33.89,14.99 respectively,both P <0.05),while there was no significant change in the IL-23 level (F =2.12,P > 0.05).Along with the increase in the concentrations of metformin,the expression of p-AKT,p-mTOR and p-STAT3 significantly decreased (F =11.38,0.35,4.38 respectively,all P < 0.05),but there were no significant changes in the protein expression of AKT,mTOR and STAT3 (F =0.66,0.35,4.24 respectively,all P > 0.05).Conclusion Metformin can inhibit the proliferation,promote the differentiation and apoptosis of HaCaT cells,and inhibit the secretion of inflammatory factors by regulating the AKT/mTOR/STAT3 signaling pathway.