Gene profile identifies zinc transporters differentially expressed in normal human organs and human pancreatic cancer

Deregulated expression of zinc transporters was linked to several cancers. However, the detailed expression profile of all human zinc transporters in normal human organs and in human cancer, especially in pancreatic cancer is not available. The objectives of this study are to investigate the complete expression patterns of 14 ZIP and 10 ZnT transporters in a large number of normal human organs and in human pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines. We examined the expression patterns of ZIP and ZnT transporters in 22 different human organs and tissues, 11 pairs of clinical human pancreatic cancer specimens and surrounding normal/benign tissues, as well as 10 established human pancreatic cancer cell lines plus normal human pancreatic ductal epithelium (HPDE) cells, using real time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The results indicate that human zinc transporters have tissue specific expression patterns, and may play different roles in different organs or tissues. Almost all the ZIPs except for ZIP4, and most ZnTs were down-regulated in human pancreatic cancer tissues compared to the surrounding benign tissues. The expression patterns of individual ZIPs and ZnTs are similar among different pancreatic cancer lines. Those results and our previous studies suggest that ZIP4 is the only zinc transporter that is significantly up-regulated in human pancreatic cancer and might be the major zinc transporter that plays an important role in pancreatic cancer growth. ZIP4 might serve as a novel molecular target for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Complete and repeatable inactivation of HIV-1 viral particles in suspension using a photo-labeled non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor

A method is described for achieving repeatable, complete inactivation of HIV, based on photo-inactivation of HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) with a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), photoactive 4-[[4-[(4-azido-2,6-dimethylphenyl) amino]-2-pyrimidinyl]amino]benzonitrile (PA-DAPYa). These results show that PA-DAPYa inactivated completely a suspension of cell-free HIV-1 viral particles in a dose and time-dependent manner. Using an ELISA assay for p24, it is demonstrated that a 500nM concentration of PA-DAPYa is able to inactivate 500 TCID50 of HIV viral particles in suspension when irradiated with non-microbicidal wavelength UV light for 30min. No active p24 was detected on days 7, 14, and 21 days after culturing the inactivated HIV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Several batches of large quantities of HIV viral particles were demonstrated to be inactivated completely and repeatedly by this method. Therefore, a reliable method has been developed to inactivate HIV viral particles in a reproducible manner using an optimal concentration of PA-DAPYa and duration of UV exposure time of the treated particles. The inactivation of viral particles in suspension allows for large-scale production of an injectable formulation of inactivated HIV viral particles for vaccine development which should preserve the conformational and antigenic integrity of viral surface proteins.

Efficacy of phototherapy devices and outcomes among extremely low birth weight infants: multi-center observational study

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the efficacy of phototherapy (PT) devices and the outcomes of extremely premature infants treated with those devices.

STUDY DESIGN

This substudy of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network PT trial included 1404 infants treated with a single type of PT device during the first 24±12 h of treatment. The absolute (primary outcome) and relative decrease in total serum bilirubin (TSB) and other measures were evaluated. For infants treated with one PT type during the 2-week intervention period (n=1223), adjusted outcomes at discharge and 18 to 22 months corrected age were determined.

RESULT

In the first 24 h, the adjusted absolute (mean (±s.d.)) and relative (%) decrease in TSB (mg dl(-1)) were: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) -2.2 (±3), -22%; Spotlights -1.7 (±2), -19%; Banks -1.3 (±3), -8%; Blankets -0.8 (±3), -1%; (P<0.0002). Some findings at 18 to 22 months differed between groups.

CONCLUSION

LEDs achieved the greatest initial absolute reduction in TSB but were similar to Spots in the other performance measures. Long-term effects of PT devices in extremely premature infants deserve rigorous evaluation.

The Pekin duck IL-10R2 common chain: cDNA cloning, genomic structure, molecular characterization and mRNA expression analysis

The interleukin-10 receptor 2 (IL-10R2, IL-10Rβ) is required for the signalling of the class 2 cytokines IL-10, IL-22, IL-26 and IFN-λ1-3 . Here, we describe the identification of the Pekin duck IL-10R2 (duIL-10R2) common chain and its gene structure. The duIL-10R2 cDNA encodes a 343 amino acid protein that has an amino acid identity of 76% and 42% with chicken and human IL-10R2, respectively. Binding residues of human IL-10R2 for IL-10 and IL-22 were mostly conserved in the avian IL-10R2 proteins within loops L3 and L5, but not within loops L2 and L6. Homology modelling of the duIL-10R2 extracellular domain structure using soluble human IL-10R2 (shIL-10R2, PDB ID: 3LQM) as a template revealed a protruding loop L5 and two distinct clefts between loops L2/L3 and L3/L5, similar to shIL-10R2. However, in contrast to the three amino acid β-hairpin loop L2 of shIL-10R2, loop L2 of duIL-10R2 is five residues longer. Residues within a putative Tyk2 binding site were highly conserved across all vertebrate IL-10R2 proteins examined. The duIL-10R2 gene shares a seven exon-six intron structure with chicken and human IL-10R2 genes, but avian genes are more compact. DuIL-10R2 mRNA was constitutively expressed in all tissues. Mitogen stimulation of duck peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) did not alter transcript levels. Our observations suggest that genomic organization and structural features implicated in multiple cytokine-binding properties of human IL-10R2 are conserved in duck IL-10R2, but the evolutionary changes that appear to have lead to low-affinity cytokine interaction within loop L2 are distinct to mammalian species.

Quantitative analysis of rectal cancer by spectral domain optical coherence tomography

To quantify OCT images of rectal tissue for clinic diagnosis, the scattering coefficient of the tissue is extracted by curve fitting the OCT signals to a confocal single model. A total of 1000 measurements (half and half of normal and malignant tissues) were obtained from 16 recta. The normal rectal tissue has a larger scattering coefficient ranging from 1.09 to 5.41 mm⁻¹ with a mean value of 2.29 mm⁻¹ (std:±0.32), while the malignant group shows lower scattering property and the values ranging from 0.25 to 2.69 mm⁻¹ with a mean value of 1.41 mm⁻¹ (std:±0.18). The peri-cancer of recta has also been investigated to distinguish the difference between normal and malignant rectal tissue. The results demonstrate that the quantitative analysis of the rectal tissue can be used as a promising diagnostic criterion of early rectal cancer, which has great value for clinical medical applications.

Wortmannin inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to explore the effects of wortmannin in the proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

METHODS

The authors treated cells with 0, 1, 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 nM wortmannin for 24, 48, and 72 hours. Inhibition of proliferation was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay (CCK8). Apoptosis was detected with Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide double staining by flow cytometry. Additionally, expression of proteins involved in the PI3K pathway, specifically total Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), and NF-kappaB was detected by Western blotting following 24 hours of wortmannin exposure.

RESULTS

Higher doses (6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 nM) of wortmannin significantly inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 cells after 24, 48, and 72 hours of exposure compared with control MCF-7 cells incubated with DMSO alone in DMEM (p < 0.05). This inhibition increased with concentration and duration of treatment. Similarly, wortmannin at 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 nM concentrations significantly increased apoptosis of MCF-7 cells following 24 hours of exposure (p < 0.05). Western blotting revealed that increasing concentrations of wortmannin (6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 nM, 24 hours) increasingly reduced expression of p-Akt and NF-kappaB; however, expression of total Akt was unaffected at any concentration of wortmannin.

CONCLUSIONS

Wortmannin inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of MCF-7 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner, likely through down-regulation of PI3K/Akt signaling and NF-kappaB protein expression.

cDNA cloning, genomic structure, molecular characterization and mRNA expression analysis of the Pekin duck interleukin-10 receptor 1

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) mediates its broad anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects through two cell surface receptors by which binding to the IL-10 receptor 1 (IL-10R1) is the initial step that leads to recruitment of IL-10R2 and initiation of the ternary complex signal transduction cascade. The duck IL-10R1 (duIL-10R1) cDNA was obtained by using RT-PCR and 5'RACE. The deduced 574 amino acid protein has an amino acid identity of 62%, 27% and 28% with chicken, mouse and human IL-10R1, respectively. Comparison of the duIL-10R1 cDNA with duck genomic sequences revealed a seven exon-six intron structure of the duck IL-10R1 gene that shares a similar size with the respective exons 1-7 of the chicken and human IL-10R1 genes, but the avian genes are more compact. Promoter analysis identified putative binding sites for regulatory elements such as CCAAT enhancer binding protein-α, specificity protein 1 (Sp1), nuclear factor 1 (NF1), transcriptional regulatory protein Oct-1, nuclear factor (NF) κB and interferon-stimulated gene factor-3 (ISGF-3). A canonical TATA box was absent in proximity of the transcription initiation site, but a CpG island was present. Sequence analysis of the predicted duIL-10R1 protein revealed characteristic features of class-II cytokine receptors (CFR2) family members and a considerable degree of conservation of residues implicated in ligand binding across higher vertebrates. The predicted secondary structure of the duIL-10R1 extracellular domain is compatible with the two-subdomain structure of the human IL-10R1 protein established by its crystal structure. The 3D model structure shows conservation of the positions of conserved contact residues within four of the five ligand-binding loops. Within the cytoplasmic domain, residues implicated in signal transduction were conserved including two redundant peptide motifs GYXXQ essential for recruitment and activation of STAT3. DuIL-10R1 mRNA expression was most abundant in spleen, thymus, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and lung. Mitogen stimulation of PBMCs transiently increased duIL-10R1 mRNA expression. Our observations suggest significant evolutionary conservation of the IL-10R1 genomic organization, protein structure and receptor function through the JAK/STAT signalling pathway across higher vertebrates.

Genetics and molecular mapping of genes for high-temperature resistance to stripe rust in wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 54

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most widespread and destructive wheat diseases worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is the preferred means of control of the disease. The winter wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 54 has high-temperature resistance to stripe rust. To identify genes for stripe rust resistance, Xiaoyan 54 was crossed with Mingxian 169, a winter wheat genotype susceptible to all Chinese races of the pathogen. Seedlings and adult plants of the parents and F(1), F(2), F(3) and F(4) progeny were tested with Chinese race CYR32 under controlled greenhouse conditions and in the field. Xiaoyan 54 has two recessive resistance genes, designated as Yrxy1 and Yrxy2, conferring high-temperature resistance. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were used to identify molecular markers flanking Yrxy2 using 181 plants from one segregating F(3) line. A total of nine markers, two of which flanked the locus at genetic distances of 4.0 and 6.4 cM on the long arm of chromosome 2A were identified. Resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) and SSR techniques were used to identify molecular markers linked to Yrxy1. A linkage group of nine RGAP and two SSR markers was constructed for Yrxy1 using 177 plants of another segregating F(3) line. Two RGAP markers were closely linked to the locus with genetic distances of 2.3 and 3.5 cM. Amplification of a set of nulli-tetrasomic Chinese Spring lines with RGAP markers M8 and M9 and the two SSR markers located Yrxy1 on the short arm of chromosome 7A. The SSR markers Xbarc49 and Xwmc422 were 15.8 and 26.1 cM, respectively, from the gene. The closely linked molecular markers should be useful for incorporating the resistance genes into commercial cultivars and combining them with other genes for stripe rust resistance.