Roles of ERα and ERβ in estrogen-induced DDP chemoresistance in non-small cell lung cancer

The role of estrogen in inducing chemoresistance is not yet fully understood. The objective of this study was to observe the relationship between estrogen levels and cellular response to chemotherapeutic drugs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to reveal the potential mechanisms involved. Cell viability was analyzed after pre-treating NSCLC cells with different levels of estrogen (E2), followed by treatment with an anti-tumor drug for 48 h. The roles of various estrogen receptors (ERs) were examined in vitro by blocking the activity of each ER individually. The ER pathway was further confirmed in NSCLC tissues. It was found that 10-1000 nM E2 resulted in a decreased cellular response to DDP in H1650 cells compared to the use of cisplatin alone (P < 0.05). However, this result was not demonstrated in H1299 cells, which lack p53. Both ERa and ERb were associated with E2-induced cisplatin chemoresistance, though they had opposite functions. p53 expression did not correlate with the expression of ERa or ERb individually. However, a statistically significant correlation between p53 expression and ERa to ERb mRNA ratio was observed (P < 0.001, R = -0.676). These findings suggest that E2-induced DDP chemoresistance depends on the balance between ERa and ERb expression and the p53 pathway.

Association of C1q Binding Status With De Novo HLA Antibody Clinical Features and Allograft Function in Kidney Transplantation Patients During Eight Years of Dynamic Follow-up

BACKGROUND

C1q-binding donor-specific antibody (DSA) is detrimental to transplanted kidney function. However, the factors that affect C1q binding status are unclear.

METHODS

A total of 519 samples from 129 consecutive kidney transplantation patients during 8 years of dynamic follow-up were collected for HLA antibody (Ab) screening and C1q detection.

RESULTS

Among the detected HLA Abs, the majority were class II, and the DQ subtypes composed the highest proportion. The C1q-binding Abs were all HLA-II, and the DQ subtypes had the highest rate of C1q positivity. With a cutoff mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) value of 7349, the sensitivity and specificity of detecting C1q-binding Abs from all HLA-II Abs were 84.48% and 83.56%, respectively. Additionally, C1q is more likely to be bound by DSA than non-donor-specific antibody (NDSA). Compared with free DSA/NDSA, the MFI values of C1q-binding DSA/NDSA are more closely correlated with serum creatinine levels and reflect the effect of anti-antibody-mediated rejection treatment more sensitively.

CONCLUSIONS

HLA-II Abs (particularly DQ subtypes), high titers of Abs, and DSA are important relevant factors of C1q positivity. The MFI value of C1q-binding DSA may be a useful clinical indicator of HLA antibody-mediated graft injury before the appearance of histologically typical humoral rejection.

The developmental transcriptome landscape of bovine skeletal muscle defined by Ribo-Zero ribonucleic acid sequencing

Ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) libraries are normally prepared with oligo(dT) selection of poly(A)+ mRNA, but it depends on intact total RNA samples. Recent studies have described Ribo-Zero technology, a novel method that can capture both poly(A)+ and poly(A)- transcripts from intact or fragmented RNA samples. We report here the first application of Ribo-Zero RNA-Seq for the analysis of the bovine embryonic, neonatal, and adult skeletal muscle whole transcriptome at an unprecedented depth. Overall, 19,893 genes were found to be expressed, with a high correlation of expression levels between the calf and the adult. Hundreds of genes were found to be highly expressed in the embryo and decreased at least 10-fold after birth, indicating their potential roles in embryonic muscle development. In addition, we present for the first time the analysis of global transcript isoform discovery in bovine skeletal muscle and identified 36,694 transcript isoforms. Transcriptomic data were also analyzed to unravel sequence variations; 185,036 putative SNP and 12,428 putative short insertions-deletions (InDel) were detected. Specifically, many stop-gain, stop-loss, and frameshift mutations were identified that probably change the relative protein production and sequentially affect the gene function. Notably, the numbers of stage-specific transcripts, alternative splicing events, SNP, and InDel were greater in the embryo than in the calf and the adult, suggesting that gene expression is most active in the embryo. The resulting view of the transcriptome at a single-base resolution greatly enhances the comprehensive transcript catalog and uncovers the global trends in gene expression during bovine skeletal muscle development.

A Multi-Objective Compounded Local Mobile Cloud Architecture Using Priority Queues to Process Multiple Jobs

As a result of the greatly increased use of mobile devices, the disadvantages of portable devices have gradually begun to emerge. To solve these problems, the use of mobile cloud computing assisted by cloud data centers has been proposed. However, cloud data centers are always very far from the mobile requesters. In this paper, we propose an improved multi-objective local mobile cloud model: Compounded Local Mobile Cloud Architecture with Dynamic Priority Queues (LMCpri). This new architecture could briefly store jobs that arrive simultaneously at the cloudlet in different priority positions according to the result of auction processing, and then execute partitioning tasks on capable helpers. In the Scheduling Module, NSGA-II is employed as the scheduling algorithm to shorten processing time and decrease requester cost relative to PSO and sequential scheduling. The simulation results show that the number of iteration times that is defined to 30 is the best choice of the system. In addition, comparing with LMCque, LMCpri is able to effectively accommodate a requester who would like his job to be executed in advance and shorten execution time. Finally, we make a comparing experiment between LMCpri and cloud assisting architecture, and the results reveal that LMCpri presents a better performance advantage than cloud assisting architecture.

Inhibitory effect of microRNA-27b on interleukin 17 (IL-17)-induced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) expression

We investigated the effect of microRNA-27b (miR-27b), a gene expression regulatory factor, on the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) stimulated by interleukin 17 (IL-17). After IL-17 had been added to H9C2 cardiomyocytes, an miR-27b mimic was transfected into the H9C2 cells. The mRNA expression levels of miR-27b and MCP1 in the H9C2 cells were detected by SYBR green I fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the expression levels of MCP1 protein in the H9C2 cells. The expression of MCP1 mRNA in the H9C2 cells began to increase 2 h after IL-17 stimulation, reached a peak at 4 h, and then decreased. The MCP1 protein level increased gradually in the 24 h following IL-17 stimulation. After transfection with the miR-27b mimic, the expression of miR-27b in the H9C2 cells significantly increased than that in the miRNA negative control group (P < 0.01). The MCP1 mRNA and protein levels in the miR-27b mimic + IL-17 group were significantly reduced than that in the miRNA negative control + IL-17 group (P < 0.01). miR-27b inhibited IL-17-induced MCP1 expression in the H9C2 cells, which demonstrates that treatment with microRNA could alleviate myocardial injury in viral myocarditis.

[Expression of cadherin17 in metanephric adenoma and its value in differential diagnosis]

OBJECTIVE

To study the expression of cadherin17(CDH17) in metanephric adenoma (MA), and to explore the value of CDH17 in the diagnosis of metanephric adenoma.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical EnVision method was used to detect the expression of CDH17, WT1, CD57, P504S and EMA in 21 cases of MAs, 16 epithelial-predominant Wilms tumors (e-WT), and 20 solid variant of papillary renal cell carcinomas (s-PRCC). The expression of CDH17 was also examined in other common renal epithelial tumors, including 10 cases of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (CCRCC), 10 chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (CHRCC), and 10 oncocytomas.

RESULTS

Twenty (95.2%) of 21 cases of MAs demonstrated membranous CDH17 immunoreactivity in all components (acinar, tubular, and papillary), whereas only 1 (1/16) e-WT was positive for CDH17 and all s-PRCCs were negative (P<0.05). WT1 was negative in s-PRCC and was positive in all cases of e-WT (16/16) and MA (100%, 21/21). All MAs (100%) were strongly positive for CD57; however, this marker was also positive in 13 (13/16) e-WTs and 9 (45.0%, 9/20) s-PRCCs. P504S was strongly positive in all s-PRCCs (100%), but reactivity was seen in 3 (14.3%, 3/21) MAs and all e-WTs were negative. The positive rates of EMA in MAs, e-WTs and s-PRCCs were 19.0%(4/21), 14/16 and 17/20, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CDH17 in the diagnosis of MA were 95% and 97%. CDH17 was negative in all cases of CCRCC, CHRCC and oncocytoma.

CONCLUSIONS

CDH17 is a highly sensitive and specific marker for MA and should be considered in the immunohistochemistry panel for distinguishing MA from its mimics and other common renal epithelial tumors.

Developmental Regulation of the Growth Plate and Cranial Synchondrosis

Long bones and the cranial base are both formed through endochondral ossification. Elongation of long bones is primarily through the growth plate, which is a cartilaginous structure at the end of long bones made up of chondrocytes. Growth plate chondrocytes are organized in columns along the longitudinal axis of bone growth. The cranial base is the growth center of the neurocranium. Synchondroses, consisting of mirror-image growth plates, are critical for cranial base elongation and development. Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in determining the roles of the parathyroid hormone-related protein, Indian hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein, and Wnt signaling pathways in various aspects of skeletal development. Furthermore, recent evidence indicates the important role of the primary cilia signaling pathway in bone elongation. Here, we review the development of the growth plate and cranial synchondrosis and the regulation by the above-mentioned signaling pathways, highlighting the similarities and differences between these 2 structures.

[Intraperitoneal transplantation of acellular extracellular matrix-derived biomaterial has no response to innate immunity in mice]

Objective To explore the effect of acellular extracellular matrix (ECM) transplantation on the innate immunity (including macrophages and neutrophils) of mice, and establish a method evaluating the immunogenicity of acellular ECM material in mice as experimental animals. Methods Fresh membrane material and newly-processed acellular ECM material without DNA were separately intraperitoneally transplanted into mice. Seven days later, samples were collected to measure spleen index. The absolute numbers of neutrophils in peripheral blood and macrophages in peritoneal fluid were determined by BD Trucount tubes. The concentrations of interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-17A and IL-10 in the plasma and peritoneal fluid were detected by BD(TM) Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) mouse Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine kit. Results Compared with sham group, the body mass is not increased in the mice transplanted with fresh membrane material, but the spleen index increased. The fresh material could dramatically increase the numbers of neutrophils in peripheral blood and macrophages in peritoneal fluid, and increase IL-6 and IFN-γ production. However, acellular ECM material prepared by improved technique only had minor or even no effect on those parameters. Conclusion Acellular ECM material with DNA removed has no obvious response to the inherent immunity in mice.

[Application of three-dimensional ultrasonography to assess the abdominal lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical value of three-dimensional ultrasonography (3D-US) in the diagnosis of abdominal lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

METHODS

A total of 95 patients with gastric cancer diagnosed by gastroscopy and confirmed by pathology after operation were examined by 3D-US preoperatively.The characteristics of gastric carcinoma was assessed using QLAB software. The tumor volume, lesion diameter and invasion depth of gastric cancer were measured.

RESULTS

All of the 95 subjects were divided into two groups according to their lymph nodes status postoperatively: group N+ , 71 patients with lymph node metastasis; and group N0, 24 patients without lymph node metastasis.The quantitative 3D-US analysis and pathological results of these two groups were compared with each other. The tumor volume of group N+ was significantly higher than that of the group N0 [(26.02±6.87)cm(3) vs. (13.11±2.79)cm(3), P<0.05], the invasion depth was significantly deeper in the group N+ than in the group N0 [(1.57±0.29)cm VS (1.10±0.29)cm, P<0.05]. However, there was no significant difference of the lesion diameters between these two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor volume and depth of invasion are independently correlated with lymph node metastasis. A cut-off value=16.8 cm(3) of the tumor volume for assessing the lymph node metastasis had a sensitivity of 90.1% and specificity of 95.8%, respectively, obtained by the area under the ROC curve.

CONCLUSION

The tumor volume of gastric cancer can be obtained by 3D-ultrasonography, and the tumor volume can be considered as a new potential index to evaluate the abdominal lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer before surgery.

Qing'E formula alleviates the aging process in D-galactose-induced aging mice

Qing'E formula (QEF) is a clinically used prescription with four ingredients, Eucommiae Cortex, Psoraleae Fructus, Juglandis Semen and Garlic Rhizoma, from the Song dynasty (10th century CE). The present study aimed to investigate the anti-aging effect and mechanisms of QEF on D-galactose-induced aging mice. A mouse subacute aging model was established by subcutaneous injection of D-galactose at the neck consecutively for 8 weeks. Motor activity and memory impairment of the mice were evaluated by the rotarod test and passive avoidance test, respectively. Serum and liver parameters were analyzed with biochemical kits. Hippocampal mRNA and protein expression levels were examined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. QEF administration significantly ameliorated the impaired motor and memory of aging mice. In the serum, QEF reduced blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and inhibited alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities. In the liver, QEF increased the glutathione level, enhanced total antioxidant capacity and catalase activity, deceased NO and MDA production, and reduced NO synthase activity. In the hippocampus, QEF elevated gene expression levels of Klotho, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), forkhead box transcription factor O3, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), insulin-like growth factor-1 and peroxiredoxin-3. QEF increased protein expression levels of Klotho and SIRT1, and decreased that of PGC-1α in the hippocampus. In conclusion, QEF attenuated the aging process in D-galactose-treated mice, which may be mediated through enhancing the antioxidants in the body, protecting renal and hepatic health, and balancing hippocampal expression levels of the longevity-related genes.

Insights into composition/structure/function relationships of Doxil® gained from "high-sensitivity" differential scanning calorimetry

Thermotropic behavior of Doxil® and its generic, Lipodox®, was characterized using "high-sensitivity" differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This is the first report that two distinct endotherms were observed in Doxil and Lipodox upon heating. The first (Tm at 51±2°C) is broad and of low enthalpy, representing the membrane lipid phase transition, which occurs despite having high (38mole%) cholesterol. The second (Tm at ∼70°C) is narrow, representing melting of the intraliposomal doxorubicin-sulfate nanocrystals. The thermograms of Doxil and Lipodox are practically identical. The membrane phase transition is similar to that of drug-free nanoliposomes of the same size and lipid composition as Doxil, suggesting lack of significant drug-membrane interaction. The melting endotherm of the intraliposomal nanocrystals is 2.0-2.5-fold narrower than that of the crystals formed in a solution of 250mM ammonium sulfate and >60mg/ml doxorubicin. This suggests that nanovolume of liposomes improves doxorubicin-sulfate crystallinity. Moreover, both phase transitions are reversible in cycled DSC scanning (15-90-15°C). This indicates an unexpected "non-leaky" phospholipid phase transition and excellent physical and chemical stabilities of Doxil after short exposure to high temperature. Reducing mole% of cholesterol results in a "leaky" membrane phase transition of higher enthalpy. Namely, high mole% cholesterol is essential for the resistance to drug leakage during phase transition. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in which HSPC was replaced by DPPC shows the same non-leaky phase transition but at a lower temperature, indicating this type of phase transition is not unique to Doxil. The presence of DSPE-PEG2k increases the cooperativity of the phase transition. High-sensitivity DSC helps illuminate composition/structure/function relationships of Doxil, and is useful for the equivalence/similarity studies.

Research output and the public health burden of cancer: is there any relationship?

PURPOSE

The relative distribution of research output across cancer sites is not well described. Here, we evaluate whether the volume of published research is proportional to the public health burden of individual cancers. We also explore whether research output is proportional to research funding.

METHODS

Statistics from the Canadian and American cancer societies were used to identify the top ten causes of cancer death in 2013. All journal articles and clinical trials published in 2013 by Canadian or U.S. authors for those cancers were identified. Total research funding in Canada by cancer site was obtained from the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to describe the relationship between research output, cancer mortality, and research funding.

RESULTS

We identified 19,361 publications and 2661 clinical trials. The proportion of publications and clinical trials was substantially lower than the proportion of deaths for lung (41% deaths, 15% publications, 16% clinical trials), colorectal (14%, 7%, 6%), pancreatic (10%, 7%, 5%), and gastroesophageal (7%, 5%, 3%) cancers. Conversely, research output was substantially greater than the proportion of deaths for breast cancer (10% deaths, 29% publications, 30% clinical trials) and prostate cancer (8%, 15%, 17%). We observed a stronger correlation between research output and funding (publications r = 0.894, p < 0.001; clinical trials r = 0.923, p < 0.001) than between research output and cancer mortality (r = 0.363, p = 0.303; r = 0.340, p = 0.337).

CONCLUSIONS

Research output is not well correlated with the public health burden of individual cancers, but is correlated with the relative level of research funding.