Metastasis and resistance are main causes to affect the outcome of the current anticancer therapies. Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) as an ATP-dependent molecular chaperone takes important role in the tumor metastasis and resistance. Targeting Hsp90 and downregulating its expression show promising in inhibiting tumor metastasis and resistance. In this study, a redox-responsive dual-drug nanocarrier was constructed for the effective delivery of a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug PTX, and a COA-modified 4-arm PEG polymer (4PSC) was synthesized. COA, an active component in oleanolic acid that exerts strong antitumor activity by downregulating Hsp90 expression, was used as a structural and functional element to endow 4PSC with redox responsiveness and Hsp90 inhibitory activity. Our results showed that 4PSC/PTX nanomicelles efficiently delivered PTX and COA to tumor locations without inducing systemic toxicity. By blocking the Hsp90 signaling pathway, 4PSC significantly enhanced the antitumor effect of PTX, inhibiting tumor proliferation and invasiveness as well as chemotherapy-induced resistance in vitro. Remarkable results were further confirmed in vivo with two preclinical tumor models. These findings demonstrate that the COA-modified 4PSC drug delivery nanosystem provides a potential platform for enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapies.

Metastasis is crucial for the mortality of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role in regulating tumor metastasis. Glioma-associated oncogene 1 (Gli1) is aberrantly active in a series of tumor tissues. However, the molecular regulatory relationships between Gli1 and NSCLC metastasis have not yet been identified. Herein, we reported Gli1 promoted NSCLC metastasis. High Gli1 expression was associated with poor survival of NSCLC patients. Ectopic expression of Gli1 in low metastatic A549 and NCI-H460 cells enhanced their migration, invasion abilities and facilitated EMT process, whereas knock-down of Gli1 in high metastatic NCI-H1299 and NCI-H1703 cells showed an opposite effect. Notably, Gli1 overexpression accelerated the lung and liver metastasis of NSCLC in the intravenously injected metastasis model. Further research showed that Gli1 positively regulated Snail expression by binding to its promoter and enhancing its protein stability, thereby facilitating the migration, invasion and EMT of NSCLC. In addition, administration of GANT-61, a Gli1 inhibitor, obviously suppressed the metastasis of NSCLC. Collectively, our study reveals that Gli1 is a critical regulator for NSCLC metastasis and suggests that targeting Gli1 is a prospective therapy strategy for metastatic NSCLC.

Reducing the inflammatory response is a major goal in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Herein, we integrated palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) with selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) and obtained a multiple nanosystem (Pd@Se-HA NPs) that could simultaneously scavenge hydroxyl radicals (⋅OH) and provide a photothermal effect. The Pd@Se-HA NPs were constructed by a simple self-assembly method in which Se NPs were electrostatically bonded to Pd NPs; hyaluronic acid (HA) was linked to the NPs by ester bonding to provide macrophage targeting ability. The experiments show that the combined therapy of eliminating ⋅OH with Se NPs and utilizing PTT with Pd NPs could effectively reduce the inflammatory response in macrophages more effectively than either individual NP treatment. In addition, the outer layer of HA could specifically target the CD44 receptor to enhance the accumulation of Pd@Se NPs at the lesion, further enhancing the therapeutic effect. After treatment for 15 days, the Pd@Se-HA NPs nearly eliminated the inflammatory response in the joints of mice in an induced RA model, and prevented joint damage and degradation.

MiR-142-3p has been reported to act as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer. However, the regulatory effect of miR-142-3p on drug resistance of breast cancer cells and its underlying mechanism remain unknown. Here, we found that miR-142-3p was significantly downregulated in the doxorubicin (DOX)-resistant MCF-7 cell line (MCF-7/DOX). MiR-142-3p overexpression increased DOX sensitivity and enhanced DOX-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a direct functional target of miR-142-3p in breast cancer cells and miR-142-3p negatively regulated HMGB1 expression. Moreover, overexpression of HMGB1 dramatically reversed the promotion of apoptosis and inhibition of autophagy mediated by miR-142-3p up-regulation. In conclusion, miR-142-3p overexpression may inhibit autophagy and promote the drug sensitivity of breast cancer cells to DOX by targeting HMGB1. The miR-142-3p/HMGB1 axis might be a novel target to regulate the drug resistance of breast cancer patients.

Aim To investigate whether human umbili-cal cord mesenchymal stem cells(hUC-MSCs)exposed to inflammatory conditions could release large amounts of exosomes to induce regulatory T cells(Treg).Meth-ods hUC-MSCs were isolated by enzyme digestion method.(In vitro)interferonγ(IFN-γ)was added in-to hUC-MSCs to mimic inflammatory microenviron-ments,then exosomes were extracted from the superna-tant of normal conditional medium or IFN-γpretreated hUC-MSCs.Both sources of exosomes,Nor-hUC-exo and IFN-γ-stimulated hUC-exo, were identified by Nanoparticle Trafficking Analysis (NTA )and Western blot for the exosome-enriched protein CD63 .Next,hu-man peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs ) stimulated with PHA were respectively co-cultured with hUC-MSCs,IFN-γ-pretreated-hUC-MSCs,hUC-MSCs exosomes or IFN-γ-stimulated-hUC-MSCs exosomes for 5 days to assess the exosomes-T cells communication. The proliferation rate of PBMCs and frequency of CD4 +/CD25 +/Foxp3 + Treg were measured by flow cytometry.Results The isolated cells from human um-bilical cord tissue,which were positive for CD73, CD44,CD29,CD90 and HLA-ABC,but were nega-tive for CD31 and CD34,were mesenchymal stem cells indeed.After IFN-γtreatment,hUC-MSCs secreted nu-merous exosomes(P<0.05 ).Morerover,there was a significantly higher level of CD63 ,but no difference in diameter between Nor-hUC-exo and IFN-γ-stimulated hUC-exo.IFN-γ-stimulated hUC-exo had a superior a-bility compared with Nor-hUC-exo to suppress the pro-liferation of PHA stimulated PBMCs due to their upreg-ulation of the percentage of Treg (1 1.53 ±0.88% vs 6.60 ±0.56%,P <0.01 ).Conclusion hUC-MSCs could promote the expression of Treg to modulate im-munosuppression through exosomes,especially for IFN-γ-licenced exosomes,which might carry much immu-notherapeutic potential.

Aim To measure the methylation rate of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and determine the methylation rate in the process of senescence.Methods The DNA extracted from BMMSCs would be digested into individual deoxynucleosides using enzymatic hydrolysis.To quantify the global genomic DNA methylation rate,we developed a method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with multiple reaction monitoring to simultaneously measure the levels of 5-methyl deoxycytidine and deoxyguanosine in digested genomic DNA.Results The DNA methylation rate could be analyzed within two minutes after hydrolyzing 1μg DNA for an hour.The detection limit of DNA methylation rate was 5.00×10-4.The coefficient of variance of the intra-day and inter-day precision was within 7.12×10-2 and 0.119, respectively.With the subculture of BMMSCs, the methylation rate gradually decreased.The methylation rate of stem cells was the lowest in 4~6 generation, and gradually increased with the subculture.Conclusions Using this method, the preliminary data on DNA methylation of BMMSCs in the process of senescence are obtained.The method is simple and convenient for sample preprocessing, and the method is fast and accurate with good sensitivity and repeatability.

AIM:Increasing evidence indicates that inflammation contributes to the initiation and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation ( AF) .Al-though tumor necrosis factor ( TNF)-αlevels are increased in patients with AF , the role of TNF-αin the pathogenesis of AF remains unclear.Recent research has revealed that T-type Ca2+currents ( ICa,T ) play an important role in the pathogenesis of AF .METH-ODS:In this study , we used the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique and biochemical assays to explore the role of TNF-αin the regula-tion of ICa,T in atrial myocytes.RESULTS:We found that compared with sinus rhythm (SR) controls, T-type calcium channel (TCC) subunit mRNA levels were decreased , while TNF-αexpression levels were increased , in human atrial tissue from patients with AF .In murine atrial myocyte HL-1 cells, after cultured for 24 h, 12.5, 25 and 50 μg/L TNF-αsignificantly reduced the protein expression levels of the TCC α1G subunit in a concentration-dependent manner .The peak current was reduced by the application of 12.5 or 25μg/L TNF-αin a concentration-dependent manner [from ( -15.08 ±1.11) pA/pF in controls to ( -11.89 ±0.83) pA/pF and (-8.54 ±1.55) pA/pF in 12.5 and 25 μg/L TNF-αgroups, respectively].TNF-αapplication also inhibited voltage-dependent inactivation of ICa,T shifted the inactivation curve to the left .CONCLUSION:These results suggest that TNF-αis involved in the path-ogenesis of AF, probably via decreasing ICa,T function in atrium-derived myocytes through impaired channel function and down -regula-tion of channel protein expression .This pathway thus represents a potential pathogenic mechanism in AF .

Aim To investigate the effect of Sonic Hedgehog on normal hearts and hypoxic-ischemic myo-cardial cells. Methods A method for left anterior de-scending artery ( LAD ) ligation was employed to con-struct the myocardial infarction model, and ultrasonic cardiogram was used for identification. Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect expressions of Shh, Ptch-1, Smo and Gli-1 in H9C2 cells and H2 O2-induced H9C2 cells, and that in 12 ca-ses of myocardial infarction tissues and 9 cases of nor-mal myocardium, respectively. Agonist and antagonist of Shh pathway were adminstered in the hypoxic-ische-mic myocardial H2 O2-induced H9C2 cell model, and once again expressions and strength of Shh, Ptch-1, Smo, Gli-1 were detected. Results Shh and Gli-1 were not expressed in normal hearts, but expressed in hearts with myocardial infarction;Ptch-1 and Smo were expressed in both normal hearts and hearts with myo-cardial infarction. Under the action of agonist, expres-sions of Shh and Gli-1 increased in the hypoxic-ische-mic H9C2 cell model. Similarly, Shh and Gli-1 were not expressed in normal H9C2 cells, but in H2 O2-in-duced H9C2 cells, and Ptch-1 and Smo were expressed in both normal H9C2 and in H2 O2-induced H9C2 cells. Conclusion Shh signaling pathway can be acti-vated in the condition of ischemia and oxidative stress, and then it promotes the repairing of myocardial cell damage.

OBJECTIVE:To explore the genome-wide methylation differences between coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and healthy volunteers,and to investigate the relationsip of DNA methylation with CHD from epigenetics. METHODS:In case-control study,subjects were divided into CHD group(50 cases)and health control group(50 cases). DNA of 2 groups were sequenced with methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing technology. The genome-wide methylation differences were analyzed and compared between 2 groups. RESULTS:The number of methylation peak in CHD group was higher than health group,with statistical signfi-cance(P<0.05). The methylation peak mainly distributed in 5'UTR,Intron functional elements. The number of reads in AQP1,SHB and other gene promoters in CHD group were lower than health group,and its methylation level decreased. The number of reads in GRK5 and serveal gene promoters on chrX in CHD group were higher than helath group,and its methylation level increased,with sta-tistical significance(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:The genome-wide methylation level of CHD patients are higher than those of healthy volunteers. The occurence of CHD is possibly associated with the change of methylation level of related gene promoters.

Aim To explore the anti-apoptotic function of cardiac progenitor cells(CPCs)-derived exosome in vitro.Method CPCs were isolated from mouse heart using Magnetic Cell Sorting(MACS)system.Flow Cy-tometry(FC)determine the purity of stem cell surface antigen-1 positive(Sca-1 +)CPCs.Exosome was puri-fied from conditional medium,and confirmed by West-ern blot using CD63 as a marker,Nanoparticle Traffic-king Analysis(NTA)was used to detect the diameters and concentration of exosome.Then the cells were di-vided into control groups and CPC-exosome pre-protec-tion groups.H2 O2 was added into H9c2 cells to induce oxidative stress.Western blot was adopted to determine the expression of cleaved caspase-3.Results ① Im-munofluorescence showed that CPCs isolated by MACS were positively expressing Sca-1 protein;FC analysis showed that typical purity of Sca-1 +CPCs from the first
preparations was more than 95%.② WB demonstrated that CD63 of exosome isolated from CCMwas positively expressed,and NTA results showed that the diameters of exosome were (82.33 ±3.06)nm(n =3).Micro-scope detected PKH-26 labeled exosome appeared in the cytoplasma of H9c2 cells.③ Western blot showed the CPC-exosome pre-protection groups significantly down-regulated the levels of cleaved caspase-3 com-pared to the control groups(P <0.05).Conclusion CPC can secrete exosome which carries many important cargos,which can effectively gather in H9c2 cells. CPC-exosome can protect H9c2 cells from the oxidative stress induced by H2 O2 .Our results highlight a new perspective strategy for cardiac disease.