Objective: To investigate the effect of hypoxia on the expression of ephrin A3 (EFNA3) in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the effects of silencing EFNA3 gene expression on migration and invasion abilities of hepatocellular carcinoma cells induced by hypoxia. Methods: The hepatocellular carcinoma HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells were cultured in hypoxic condition for 0, 12, 24 and 48 h, the expression level of EFNA3 mRNA and long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) EFNA3 were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, the expression level of EFNA3 and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) proteins were detected by Western blotting. The HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells were transfected with microRNA (miR)-210-3pmimic and negative control (NC)-mimic by liposome, when cultured in normoxic and hypoxic condition for 48 h, the expression level of miR-210-3p, EFNA3 mRNA and LncRNA EFNA3 were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, the expression level of EFNA3 and HIF-1α proteins were detected by Western blotting. The HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells were infected with recombinant lentivirus vector carrying shHIF-1α and shHIF-2α targeting HIF-1α and HIF-2α genes (GV248-shHIF-1α-1, GV248-shHIF-1α-2, GV248-shHIF-2α-1 and GV248-shHIF-2α-2) and negative control plasmid (GV248-NC), when cultured in hypoxic condition for 48 h, the interference efficiency of HIF-1α and HIF-2α were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, then the expression level of EFNA3 mRNA and LncRNA EFNA3 in HCC-LY10 and MHCC97L cells HIF-1α and HIF-2α silencing were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells were infected with recombinant lentivirus vector carrying shEFNA3 targeting EFNA3 genes (LVRU6GP-shEFNA3-1 and LVRU6GP-shEFNA3-2) and negative control plasmid (LVRU6GP-NC), the interference efficiency was analyzed by Western blotting. The effects of EFNA3 gene silencing on migration and invasion abilities of HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells under hypoxic condition were evaluated by Transwell assays. Results: Under hypoxic condition, there was no significant change in EFNA3 mRNA level (P > 0.05), whereas EFNA3 protein level and LncRNA EFNA3 level increased significantly (all P < 0.01) in HCCLY10 and MHCC-97L cells. HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells were transiently transfected miR-2103p-mimic, the miR-210-3p expression level was increased significantly (both P < 0.001). miR210-3p had little impact on the expression level of EFNA3 mRNA and LncRNA EFNA3 (both P > 0.05) and down-regulated the protein level of EFNA3 induced by hypoxia (both P < 0.05). Stably knocking-down HIF-1α and HIF-2α in HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells under hypoxia, the mRNA expression level of HIF-1α and HIF-2α decreased (both P < 0.01). Knocking-down HIF-1α had no little impact on the mRNA level of EFNA3 (both P > 0.05), and decreased the level of LncRNA EFNA3 (both P < 0.001). Knocking-down HIF-2α had no little impact on the mRNA and LncRNA levels of EFNA3 (both P > 0.05). Stably knocking-down EFNA3 significantly inhibits the abilities of migration and invasion of HCC-LY10 and MHCC-97L cells induced by hypoxia (both P < 0.01). Conclusion: The expression level of LncRNA EFNA3 was up-regulated by HIF-1α under hypoxia competitively binding to miR-210-3p to result in the up-regulation of EFNA3 protein level. Knocking-down EFNA3 inhibits the migration and invasion abilities of hepatocellular carcinoma cells under hypoxic condition.

Objective: To explore the molecular mechanism of resistance to rituximab in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) during treatment with R-CHOP (rituximab+cyclophosphamide+ doxorubicin+vincristine+prednisone). Methods: FCM was used to detect the expression level of CD20 and the three membrane complement regulatory proteins CD46, CD55 and CD59 in parental cells LY8 [germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) subtype] and NU-DUL-1 [activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtype], rituximab (R) resistance cells LY8-R and NU-DUL-1-R, chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide+doxorubicin+ vincristine (CHO) resistance cells LY8-CHO and NU-DUL-1-CHO, and rituximab combined with CHO resistance (RCHO) LY8-RCHO and NU-DUL-1-RCHO cells. The expression level of CD20 protein and mRNA were detected by Western blotting and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, respectively. The expression levels of CD20, CD46, CD55 and CD59 in SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2) overexpression of parental LY8 and NU-DUL-1 cells as well as SOX2 gene silencing of LY8-RCHO and NU-DUL-1-RCHO cells were detected by FCM method. Furthermore, in tumor tissues of clinical 25 DLBCL patients with at least 6 circles of R-CHOP regimen treatment, immunohistochemical were used to detect the expression levels of CD20 and SOX2 before and after the treatment. Results: Compared with the parental cells, in the LY8-R, LY8-RCHO and NU-DUL-1-R and NU-DUL-1-RCHO cells that developed rituximab resistance, not in LY8-CHO and NU-DUL-1-CHO cells which resistant to chemotherapy, the expression level of CD20 was significantly reduced (all P < 0.001), while the expression levels of CD46, CD55 and CD59 were also decreased (all P < 0.05). The expression level of CD20 protein and mRNA were significantly reduced (P < 0.001and P < 0.01). Furthermore, in the parental LY8 and NU-DUL-1 cells, overexpression of SOX2 significantly reduced the expression level of CD20 (P < 0.000 1), while knockdown of SOX2 in LY8-RCHO and NU-DUL-1-RCHO cells significantly increased the expression level of CD20 (P < 0.0001). It was further found that the expression level of CD20 in tumor tissues of DLBCL patients was significantly decreased after R-CHOP treatments (P < 0.01), and the expression level of SOX2 was significantly increased (P < 0.001). After comprehensive analysis, it was found that there was a negative correlation between CD20 and SOX2 expression in tumor tissues (P < 0.000 1). Conclusion: SOX2 induces DLBCL resistance to rituximab by reducing the expression level of CD20.

Objective: To investigate the effects of β-arrestin 1 (ARRB1) on apoptosis and proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, and to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: In NSCLC cell lines A549 and H1650, the expression of ARRB1 was knocked down by transfection of siRNA or over-expressed by transfection of Flag-ARRB1 recombinant plasmids, which was verified by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The effects of down-regulating and up-regulating ARRB1 expression on the transcription and secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and ELISA method, respectively. The interaction between ARRB1 and p300 was detected by protein immunocoprecipitation. The recruitment of p300 and the acetylation of histone in IL-6 promoter region after ARRB1 knock-down or overexpression were detected by chromatin immunocoprecipitation. The proliferation and apoptosis of ARRB1 silencing A549 cells were detected by CCK-8 assay and FCM, respectively. The expression and activation of IL-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway-related molecules in ARRB1 silencing or overexpression NSCLC cells were investigated by Western blotting. Results: In ARRB1-silenced or overexpressed NSCLC cell lines A549 and H1650, ARRB1 enhanced the transcription and production of IL-6 (all P < 0.05). The interaction of ARRB1 and p300 was confirmed by forward and reverse immunocoprecipitation. After ARRB1 knockdown or overexpression, it was found that ARRB1 enhanced the recruitment of p300 in IL-6 promoter region (both P < 0.01) and increased the acetylating of IL-6 promoter (both P < 0.05). Moreover, ARRB1 could facilitate the growth (P < 0.01) and apoptosis inhibition of NSCLC cells. ARRB1 could promote the phosphorylation of STAT3 and the expressions of c-Myc and Bcl-2 proteins. Conclusion: In NSCLC cells, ARRB1 interacts with p300, facilitates the recruitment of p300 to IL-6 promoter, and up-regulates the acetylation of histone H3 and H4 in IL-6 promoter, leading to transcriptional activation of IL-6. So that ARRB1 positively regulates the activation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling through promoting the phosphorylation of STAT3 and the expressions of c-Myc and Bcl-2 proteins, contributing to the growth and anti-apoptosis of NSCLC cells.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Bevacizumab (BEV) combined with first-generation EGFR-TKI versus first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) alone in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutated positive (EGFRm) advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Weipu chinese journal, China Biology Medicine database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang relevant databases were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of BEV combined with first-generation EGFR-TKI (experimental group) versus first-generation EGFR-TKI alone (control group) in the first-line treatment of EGFRm advanced NSCLC from database foundation to July, 2019. The data in the included RCTs were extracted, and the qualities were assessed in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration, and a Meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan 5.3 software, Risk ratio (RR), hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results: A total of 7 RCTs were enrolled, including 834 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that experimental group was better than control group in objective response rate (ORR) (RR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.15-1.41, P < 0.000 01), disease control rate (DCR) (RR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02-1.20, P = 0.02) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.44-0.75, P < 0.000 1) in terms of efficacy. In terms of safety, the incidences of hypertension (RR = 4.11, 95% CI: 2.95-5.93, P < 0.000 01], proteinuria (RR = 5.16, 95% CI: 3.40-7.83, P < 0.000 01), hemorrhage (RR = 3.34, 95% CI: 2.37-4.72, P<0.000 01) were higher in experimental group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidences of rash (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.92-1.08, P = 0.91), diarrhea (RR=1.05, 95% CI: 0.91-1.21, P = 0.52), hypohepatia (RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.72-1.14, P = 0.42). Conclusion: BEV combined with first-generation EGFR-TKI significantly improve ORR, DCR and PFS in the first-line treatment of EGFRm advanced NSCLC, but also increase the risks of hypertension, proteinuria and hemorrhage.

Objective: Toexplore the value of ultra sound features in differentiating follicular thyroid carcinoma and thyroid adenoma. Methods: The ultrasound and clinical data of thyroid follicular carcinoma and adenoma were retrospectively analyzed. Each parameter was analyzed by Student’s t-test and monofactor analysis. The parameters with statistical significance were further analyzed by multivariate analysis. Results: There were statistical differences between follicular carcinoma and adenoma in borders, morphology, "tubercle-in-nodule", and "trabecular formation". In 24.1% of follicular cancers, the boundary of nodule was unclear; while most of the adenomas showed clear boundaries. In 50.6% of follicular cancers, the nodule morphology was irregular; while 83.0% of adenomas showed regular morphology. In 19.5% of follicular cancers, "tubercle-in-nodule" feature was showed; while only 5.7% of adenomas had "tubercle-in-nodule" feature. In 49.4% of follicular cancers, "trabecular formation" was found; while the proportion of adenomas with "trabecular formation" was 20.8%. Multivariate analysis showed that "trabecular formation" was statistically significant in the distinction between follicular carcinoma and adenoma. Conclusion: Trabecular formation as an ultrasound feature is helpful for the ultrasound diagnosis of follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: To analyze the clinical effect of prophylactic use of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) after chemotherapy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Methods: The clinical data of the patients with soft tissue sarcoma who were diagnosed in the Oncology Department of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan Universtiy from July 2016 to July 2019, and received the preventive treatment of PEG-rhG-CSF after chemotherapy to prevent the increase of leukocyte count in vivo, was collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 107 patients with soft tissue sarcoma were treated with PEG-rhG-CSF after chemotherapy. The incidence of neutropenia was 48.6% (52/107), in which the incidence of grade 3-4 neutropenia was 28.0% (30/107), and the incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN) was 4.7% (5/107). The incidence of neutropenia in male or female patients was 52.8% (28/53) or 44.4% (24/54), respectively; there was no significant difference (P > 0.05). The incidence of neutropenia in elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) or young and mid-aged patients (< 65 years old) was 41.7% (5/12) or 49.5% (47/95), respectively; there was no significant difference (P > 0.05). The use of IA chemotherapy with ifosfamide and doxorubicin was more toxic, the incidence of neutropenia was 50.9% (27/53) with 4 cases of FN. In the patients who received major surgery (grade 3-4) or those who did not receive major surgery (grade 1-2 and no surgery), the incidence of neutropenia was 60.0% (36/60) or 34.0% (16/47), respectively; there was significant difference (P < 0.05). In the patients who received radiotherapy or those without radiotherapy, the incidence of neutropenia was 70.0% (14/20) or 43.7% (38/87), respectively; there was significant difference (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF can avoid severe myelotoxicity in the majority of patients with soft tissue sarcoma. However, the risk of neutropenia is still high in the patients who received chemotherapy based on ifosfamide and anthracyclines, as well as in the patients who have received radiotherapy and major surgery in the past. All these are worthy of concern.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor about women in China, and brain metastasis may occur in about 5% to 20% of breast cancer patients. Exosome is a kind of vesicle secreted into the extracellular environment. In the recent years’ study, it has been found that exosome may participate in the occurrence and development of brain metastasis, thus they can be regarded as the diagnosis of breast cancer brain metastasis potential biomarker, and play important roles in the drug delivery carrier. Also, they serve as therapeutic target in the treatment of breast cancer. Therefore, this review focuses on the role of exosome in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer brain metastasis in order to provide potential biomarkers, such as protein and RNA, and lay a foundation for further research of effective targeted therapeutic.

In recent years, researchers have found that magnesium ion homeostasis imbalance is common in tumor cells, and the deficiency and supplement of magnesium ion can affect the occurrence and development of tumor. As an abundant divalent cation in cells, magnesium ion plays an important role in maintaining genetic stability, metabolism, cell growth and proliferation, signal transduction and other physiological processes. Magnesium ion homeostasis is regulated by a variety of transporters, and the research reports on the changes of magnesium ion transporters expression leading to the imbalance of magnesium ion homeostasis which affects the occurrence, development and treatment prognosis of tumors are increasing year by year. In this article, magnesium ion and its related transport proteins include magnesium ion transient receptor potential melastatin (TRPM) protein, magnesium transporter (MagT) protein, cyclin and cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) domain divalent metal cation transport mediator (CNNM) protein and solute carrier (SLC) protein and other related reports in tumors are summarized, with the purpose of providing ideas for exploring whether magnesium ion and its transporters can become new targets for tumor diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Objective: To investigate the effects of ginsenoside Rg3 on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma 143B cells and its possible mechanisms. Methods: Osteosarcoma 143B cells were treated with gradient concentrations of Rg3 (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 µmol/L) for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively, comparing with a control group of 143B cells treated with DMSO. The effects of Rg3 on the viability and proliferation of 143B cells were measured by MTT assay and colony-forming assay, respectively. Then the value of half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) were calculated in order to screen the optimal drug concentrations and its action time. The apoptosis of 143B cells was measured by Hoechst 33258 staining and its cell cycle distribution was detected by FCM method. The migration and invasion abilities of 143B cells were detected by scratch wound healing assay and Transwell assay, respectively. The expression level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) mRNA was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The Western blotting was used to detect the proliferation marker PCNA and apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved-Caspase 3, as well as the expression level of migration-and invasion-related proteins matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-7. Finally, Luciferase Gene Reportor System was used to screen the signaling pathways regulated by Rg3. The expression levels of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as AKT), phospho-AKT (p-AKT), cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), and p-CREB were measured by Western blotting. Results: Comparing with the control group, Rg3 in the concentration of 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 µmol/L could cause the inhibition of the proliferation of 143B cells which had a positive relationship with the concentration and action time (P < 0.001), and the IC50 of Rg3 to 143B cells was (51.00±3.46µmol/L. Furthermore, Rg3 inhibited the expression of PCNA at mRNA and protein levels (P < 0.05). In addition, Rg3 could also promote the apoptosis of 143B and inhibit their migration and invasion abilities (all P < 0.05). The expression levels of apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2 in 143B cells treated with Rg3 was down-regulated, while the expression level of the proteins Bax and cleaved-Caspase3 were up-regulated remarkably (all P < 0.05). The expression level of migration-and invasion-related proteins MMP-2 and MMP-7 were also decreased (all P < 0.05). At the same time, the transcriptional activity of CREB was impaired, and the expression levels of p-AKT, p-CREB were decreased remarkably (both P < 0.05). Conclusion: Rg3 can inhibit the proliferative, imaginational and invasive of osteosarcoma 143B cells, and also induced its apoptosis, which may be related with the depression of the activation of CREB signaling pathway.

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effects of ampelopsin (AMP) on proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis to human colon cancer cells and its possible mechanism. To observe the function of autophagy in the apoptosis of colon cancer cells as well. Methods: The lentivirus infection method was adopted here to construct double fluorescence [green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP)] labeled microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) overexpressed recombinant HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells. The GFP and RFP labeled LC3 expression in HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells were observed by fluorescence microscope, and Western blotting was used to detect the expression of LC3 in HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells at the same time. The proliferation inhibition of recombination HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells and parental HCT116 cells treated with different concentrations of AMP (0, 50, 100, 175, 250, 350, 400 and 450 μg/mL) was detected by CCK-8 assay and the cell morphology was observed. The apoptotic rate of HCT116 cells treated with AMP (0, 25 50, and 75 μg/mL) was detected by FCM method, and the apoptotic-related proteins Bax, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and Bcl-2 expression levels were detected by Western blotting. Autophagy induction was detected by counting fluorescence dots triggered by transformation of LC3to LC3Ⅱ visualized by laser confocal microscopy after HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells treated with AMP (0, 25 50, and 75 μg/mL) alone or combined with bafilomycin A1(Baf A1) (an autophagy inhibitor) (20 nmol/L). After the HCT116 cells were treated with AMP (25 μg/mL) alone or combined with Baf A1 (20 nmol/L), the apoptotic rate was detected by FCM method, and the expression level of autophagy-related proteins LC3Ⅱ and p62 as well as apoptotic-related proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results: RFP-GFP-LC3 could stably express in HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 cells, indicating that HCT116-RFP-GFP-LC3 recombinant cells were successfully constructed. The results of CCK-8 assay suggested that AMP could significantly inhibit the proliferation of recombinant and parental cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in cell morphology or cell proliferation inhibition rate between these two cells (P > 0.05). The apoptosis rate of HCT116 cells increased remarkably along with the enhancement of AMP concentration which means there is a concentration-dependent manner (all P < 0.05). The expression levels of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and NF-κB were increased, and the apoptosis inhibitory protein Bcl-2 was down-regulated (all P < 0.01). The confocal microscopy results showed that with the increase of AMP concentration, the numbers of autophagy points were significantly increased (P < 0.01), and the expression level of autophagy protein LC3Ⅱ was up-regulated, indicating that AMP could trigger autophagy on colon cancer cells. Comparing with AMP alone group, AMP combined with Baf A1 could increase the apoptosis rate of HCT116 significantly (P < 0.05), and the expression level of apoptotic protein Bax promoted remarkably (P < 0.05). The expression level of the apoptosis inhibitory protein Bcl-2 demoted as well. All these results suggest that autophagy blocking could promote AMP induced apoptosis. Conclusion: AMP can inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer cells HCT116, inducing autophagy and apoptosis; inhibition of autophagy can promote AMP-induced apoptosis on colon cancer cells.