BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in human cancers. In our previous study, we demonstrated that lncRNA FKBP prolyl isomerase 9 pseudogene 1 (FKBP9P1) was highly expressed in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) tissues. However, its functional significance remains poorly understood. In the present study, we identify the role and potential molecular biologic mechanisms of FKBP9P1 in HNSCC. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of FKBP9P1 in HNSCC tissues, matched adjacent normal tissues, human HNSCC cells (FaDu, Cal-27, SCC4, and SCC9), and human immortalized keratinocytes cell HaCaT (normal control). Cal-27 and SCC9 cells were transfected with sh-FKBP9P1-1, sh-FKBP9P1-2, and normal control (sh-NC) lentivirus. Cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and trans-well assay were used to explore the biologic function of FKBP9P1 in HNSCC cells. Furthermore, western blotting was used to determine the mechanism of FKBP9P1 in HNSCC progression. Chi-squared test was performed to assess the clinical significance among FKBP9P1 high-expression and low-expression groups. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and assessed using the log-rank test. The comparison between two groups was analyzed by Student t test, and comparisons among multiple samples were performed by one-way analysis of variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test. RESULTS: FKBP9P1 expression was significantly up-regulated in HNSCC tissues (tumor vs. normal, 1.914 vs. 0.957, t = 7.746, P < 0.001) and cell lines (P < 0.01 in all HNSCC cell lines). Besides, the median FKBP9P1 expression of HNSCC tissues (1.677) was considered as the threshold. High FKBP9P1 level was correlated with advanced T stage (P = 0.022), advanced N stage (P = 0.036), advanced clinical stage (P = 0.018), and poor prognosis of HNSCC patients (overall survival, P = 0.002 and disease-free survival, P < 0.001). Knockdown of FKBP9P1 led to marked repression in proliferation, migration, and invasion of HNSCC cells in vitro (P all < 0.01). Mechanistically, silencing FKBP9P1 was observed to restrain the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS Silencing lncRNA FKBP9P1 represses HNSCC progression and inhibits PI3K/AKT (phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/AKT Serine/Threonine Kinase) signaling in vitro. Therefore, FKBP9P1 could be a potential new target for the diagnosis and treatment of HNSCC patients.

OBJECTIVETo detect human bocavirus (HBoV) and investigate its genetic and evolutionary characteristics in children with acute respiratory infection in Tianjin, China.

METHODSA total of 1,259 samples of nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children with a confirmed diagnosis of acute respiratory infection between January and December, 2012. Viral nucleic acid was extracted, HBoV was detected by real-time quantitative PCR, and the gene segments of nucleocapsid protein of HBoV in positive samples were amplified by PCR. Several products were randomly selected and sequenced.The sequence obtained was compared with the known sequence of HBoV, and a phylogenetic analysis was performed. All the samples were examined to detect for other common respiratory tract viruses.

RESULTSAmong the 1,259 samples, the positive rate of HBoV was 4.53% (57/1,259), and among the 57 samples with positive HBoV, 75% (43/57) were positive in children with an age of 6-36 months. The positive rate of HBoV in children peaked in summer (from June to August), and there was a mixed infection with other viruses. Sequence analysis was performed for the PCR products from 36 positive samples, and the presence of HBoV was confirmed, with a higher homology to the known sequence of HBoV.

CONCLUSIONSIn Tianjin, acute respiratory infection in some children may be associated with HBoV infection, which is commonly seen in infants with an age of 6-36 months. The peak of HBoV infection occurs in summer. The phylogenetic analysis shows a high homology to the known sequence of HBoV, with few gene sequence variations.

Bocavirus ; classification ; isolation & purification ; Child, Hospitalized ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; virology ; Seasons

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the physiological features of Ano1 were affected by enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusing at Ano1 C-terminal. The eukaryotic expression vectors of Ano1 and EGFP-Ano1 were constructed, and these plasmids were transfected into Fischer rat thyroid follicular epithelial (FRT) cells using liposome. The expression and location of Ano1 were examined by using inverted fluorescence microscope. The ability of Ano1 to transport iodide was detected by kinetics experiment of fluorescence quenching. The results showed that both Ano1 and EGFP-Ano1 were expressed on FRT cell membrane and could be activated by Ca(2+). There was no significant difference of the ability to transport iodide between Ano1 and EGFP-Ano1. These results suggest Ano1 and EGFP-Ano1 have similar physiological feature.
Animals ; Anoctamin-1 ; Cell Membrane ; physiology ; Chloride Channels ; metabolism ; Epithelial Cells ; physiology ; Genetic Vectors ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; metabolism ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Plasmids ; Rats ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; metabolism ; Thyroid Gland ; cytology ; Transfection

Nine compounds were isolated from an ethanol extract of the roots of K. roxburghii by using a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, MCI gel, Sephadex LH-20, and reversed-phase HPLC. On the basis of physical-chemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis, their structures were identified as munjistin (1), 1-methoxy-3,6-dihydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-9,10-anthraquinone (2), 1,2,3-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (3), arjunolic acid (4), hyptatic acid-A (5), hyptatic acid-B (6), 2α,3β,24-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (7), 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (8), and daucosterol (9). Compounds 1-9 were obtained from this genus for the first time.
Anthraquinones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Rubiaceae ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between abdominal fat volume and obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome in obesity people.

METHODSFrom July 2009 to July 2010, 50 patients with BMI > 25 were prospectively selected for study from the patients who complained of snoring in the Respiratory department. The patients were divided into OSAHS group and non-OSAHS group according to the result of sleep apnea monitoring. All the patients also received full abdominal CT and the whole abdominal fat volume was measured by 3-D CT reconstruction system. SPSS 13.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe whole abdominal fat volume in the two groups was analyzed by T- test, which was significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.01). It showed that there was a statistical relationship between OSAHS and abdominal fat in obesity people.

CONCLUSIONIn obesity people, OSAHS has a close relationship with abdominal fat volume. The abdominal fat volume is markedly higher in OSAHS patients than that in non-OSAHS people.

Abdominal Fat ; diagnostic imaging ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; diagnostic imaging ; Prospective Studies ; Radiography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of rapamycin on proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis of human acute promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of rapamycin on HL60 cell was detected by MTT assay. The expressions of LC3-II autophagy-related protein were determined by Western blot. The cell cycles were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM). Apoptosis were detected by DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: After treatment with rapamycin of 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 40 nmol · L-1 for 24 h, proliferation of HL60 cells were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner (r=0.97, P < 0.05). Western-blot shows that the expression of LC3-II protein of each concentration group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01). Rapamycin has a role in promoting cell autophagy. Compared with control group, more cells were arrested at G0/G1 phases (P < 0.05) and fewer cells were at S phases (P < 0.05). Agarose gel electrophoresis shows no apoptosis DNA fragments. CONCLUSION: In given concentration range, rapamycin can inhibit the proliferation of human acute promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells by promoting autophagy rather than inducing apoptosis.

This study was purposed to investigate the vWF gene A1381T polymorphism in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). A case-control study was designed, including 104 continuously hospitalized patients with CHD, aging from 40 to 75 years (average 59) and 96 persons underwent physical examination in outpatient department as controls, aging from 39 to 70 years (average 56). The plasma vWF: Ag level of CHD patients and control persons was detected by ILISA. vWF gene A1381T polymorphism was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing when it is necessary. The data were grouped by gender, blood group and/or genotype in CHD group and control groups. The difference of plasma vWF level between male and female was analyzed by independent sample t test; one way ANOVA was used to analyze the difference of vWF level between different blood group genotypes, while the factorial design ANOVA was used to test the difference of vWF level in plasma between A1381T genotype and/or ABO blood groups. χ(2) Crosstabs were used to test the CHD susceptibility. The results showed that the frequencies of GG genotype (wild type) of vWF gene A1381T polymorphism were 62.5% in CHD group and 67.7% in control group, and the frequencies of AG genotype (heterozygous variant) were 37.5% in CHD group and 32.3% in control group. χ(2) Crosstabs showed no significant correlation between vWF gene A1381T polymorphism (AG) and CHD (OR = 1.258, 95% CI = 0.702 - 2.255, χ(2) = 0.595, p = 0.440). The plasma vWF level in CHD group was statistically very higher than that in control group (p < 0.001), even though the relationship of vWF A1381T polymorphism (rs216311) and susceptibility of CHD in CHD group was not found. The plasma vWF level of AG or GG genotype was higher in CHD group than in control group (p < 0.001). The plasma vWF level of AG genotype was higher than that of GG in CHD group (p < 0.05), but not in control group. The plasma vWF of O blood group was lower than that of A, B and AB blood groups (p < 0.05), while among A, B, AB blood groups, the vWF level was not different (p > 0.05). Among O, A, B, AB blood groups in CHD group, vWF level was not different (p > 0.05). Although the two-way analysis of variance ANOVA showed no interaction of A1381T genotype and ABO blood groups on plasma vWF level, the plasma vWF level in AG mutant of vWF A1381T gene polymorphism with O blood group was higher than that of GG mutant (p = 0.023) in CHD group, not different in other blood groups. It is concluded that there is no association between vWF gene A1381T polymorphism and CHD susceptibility. The plasma vWF level in CHD group interrelated with ABO blood group and A1381T polymorphism, in which the plasma vWF level in AG genotype increase mostly. Plasma vWF level in vWF gene A1381T polymorphism with AG mutant was significantly much higher than GG mutant in CHD. This change may be beneficial to further study the effect of A1381T polymorphism on vWF gene expression and activity.
ABO Blood-Group System ; Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Coronary Disease ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; von Willebrand Factor ; genetics

This study was purposed to investigate the effects of compound Zhe-Bei granule (CZBG) combined with doxorubicin on expressions of P-gp, MRP, LRP in K562/A02 cell xenografts. Tumor xenograft model were established by injecting the multidrug resistant cell line K562/A02 in the axillary flank of BALB/c-nu-nu mice. CZBG-intragastric administration and doxorubicin-intraperitoneal injection in combination were given to the BALB/c-nu nude mice. The tumor xenografts were made into slice after the dissection, and the expression of P-gp, MRP, LRP in K562/A02 tumor xenografts in mice were investigated by immunohistochemical technique. The integral optical density (IOD) of P-gp, MRP, LRP in K562/A02 tumor xenografts were measured by Image Pro Plus 6.0. The results showed that as compared with the doxorubicin alone, the combination of the doxorubicin and CZBG with high, middle and low dosage could decrease IOD of P-gp, MRP in K562/A02 tumor xenografts with statistical significance (p < 0.05). The LRP expression in K562/A02 tumor xenografts was not observed in five groups. It is concluded that the combination of CZBG with doxorubicin decreases the expressions of P-gp, MRP in K562/A02 tumor xenografts of mice.
Animals ; Doxorubicin ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic ; drug effects ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of iloprost in acute vasodilatation test during cardiac catheterization and to explore a useful hemodynamic indication regarding operability in the patients with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to congenital heart disease (CHD).

METHODSThe clinical data of 46 patients [mean age (12 ± 9) years] with severe PH related to CHD from June 2006 to December 2008 was retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent standard right and left cardiac catheterization and a trial of inhaled iloprost test during cardiac catheterization. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure was (80 ± 13) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) and pulmonary vascular resistance index was (17 ± 10) wood.m². A positive response to inhaled iloprost was defined as a decrease of at least 20% in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) without changes on systemic artery pressure. Patients with positive response to iloprost underwent cardiac surgical repair. The pulmonary artery pressure and PVRI was monitored by Swan-Ganz catheter postoperatively.

RESULTSOf the 46 patients, 29 (63.1%) showed a positive response after iloprost inhalation, defined by a significant reduction in PVRI from (15 ± 6) wood.m(2) at baseline to (9 ± 4) wood.m² in response to iloprost inhalation therapy (P < 0.05). The ratio of pulmonary to systemic resistance (Rp/Rs) decreased from 0.7 ± 0.2 to 0.4 ± 0.2 (P < 0.05). Seventeen patients (36.9%) didn't respond to iloprost displayed only little changes in PVRI [from (21 ± 10) wood.m(2) to (19 ± 9) wood.m²] and Rp/Rs (from 1.0 ± 0.5 to 0.9 ± 0.5). Out of 29 positive patients, 21 (72%) underwent successful cardiac surgical repair with a reduction of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) to an average of (27 ± 10) mm Hg after the operation. Only 2 patients out of the 17 patients from the negative group were referred to surgery. Their mPAP was greater than 45 mm Hg.

CONCLUSIONSA significant reduction in pulmonary artery pressure after cardiac surgery was observed in patients with positive response to inhaled iloprost. Inhaled iloprost may be a valuable tool in the preoperative evaluation of patients with severe PH related to CHD.

Administration, Inhalation ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Iloprost ; pharmacology ; Infant ; Lung ; blood supply ; Male ; Preoperative Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Vasodilator Agents ; pharmacology ; Young Adult