[High-Content siRNA Screen of the Kinome Identifies Kinases Involved in Git2-Induced Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition]

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its reverse process mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) programs are involced in the metastatic process. More and more evidence confirms that EMT is vital for the initiation and dissemination of cancer cells whereas MET is critical for successful metastatic colonization of a secondary organ. The regulating mechanism of EMT mediated cancer progression and metastasis has been deeply investigated. However, what processes are dependent on MET in metastatic cascades remains unclear. Here, we created a cell based high-content siRNA screen using the breast cancer cell line 4TO7 to search for kinases that were involved in Git2-induced MET. Our results revealed that 58 kinases including transferase, phosphorylation regulators, ATP/nucleotide partners potentially participate in Git2-induced MET. Our preliminary data is expected to facilitate elucidation of the mechanism on how MET is initiated during cancer metastasis.

Strontium borate glass: potential biomaterial for bone regeneration

Boron plays important roles in many life processes including embryogenesis, bone growth and maintenance, immune function and psychomotor skills. Thus, the delivery of boron by the degradation of borate glass is of special interest in biomedical applications. However, the cytotoxicity of borate glass which arises with the rapid release of boron has to be carefully considered. In this study, it was found that the incorporation of strontium into borate glass can not only moderate the rapid release of boron, but also induce the adhesion of osteoblast-like cells, SaOS-2, thus significantly increasing the cyto-compatibility of borate glass. The formation of multilayers of apatite with porous structure indicates that complete degradation is optimistic, and the spread of SaOS-2 covered by apatite to form a sandwich structure may induce bone-like tissue formation at earlier stages. Therefore, such novel strontium-incorporated borosilicate may act as a new generation of biomaterial for bone regeneration, which not only renders boron as a nutritious element for bone health, but also delivers strontium to stimulate formation of new bones.

[Treatment of rupture of the inferior rectus muscle]

23 patients with fresh or old rupture of the inferior rectus muscle were treated and the causes of injury, modalities of treatment and clinical results analyzed. It is emphasized that in cases of ocular trauma, especially those with laceration of the eyelid or bulbar conjunctiva, the position and motility of the eyeball should be examined so that rupture of the inferior rectus would not be neglected and reduction of the injured muscle be accomplished.