RESUMO
The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression profile of circular RNA (circRNA) in gastric cancer cells MGC-803, SGC-7901 and NCI-N87 with different degrees of differentiation and normal gastric epithelial cells GES-1. High throughput circRNA microarray technique was used to detect the differential expression of circRNA between three kinds of differentiated gastric cancer cells and normal gastric epithelial cells. The interaction of microRNAs (miRNAs) with circRNAs was predicted by bioinformatics software, and circRNA, which might have great significance in gastric cancer, was identified by literature search. The results showed that there were 79 up-regulated circRNAs and 229 down-regulated circRNAs in gastric cancer cells with different degrees of differentiation compared with those in normal gastric epithelial cells. Through bioinformatics software analysis and literature retrieval, it was found that hsa_circ_0001897 was related to the staging and metastasis of gastric cancer, while the miR-150-5p, which combined with it, was closely related to many kinds of digestive tract tumors, such as colon cancer, liver cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma. The miR-16-5p, which has binding sites with hsa_circ_0008106 and hsa_circ_0060456, has been confirmed to be involved in the development of gastric cancer. The above results suggest that hsa_circ_0001897, hsa_circ_0008106 and hsa_circ_0060456 may be closely related to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer by interacting with miRNA.
RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), the primary effective component of the Chinese herb medicine Astragalus membranaceus (frequently used for its anti-hepatic fibrosis effects), on nanoscale mechanical properties of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using endothelial cell medium as the control, 5 experimental groups were established utilizing different concentrations of APS, i.e. 12.5, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL. By using atomic force microscopy along with a microcantilever modified with a silicon dioxide microsphere as powerful tools, the value of Young's modulus in each group was calculated. SAS 9.1 software was applied to analyze the values of Young's modulus at the pressed depth of 300 nm. Environmental scanning electron microscopy was performed to observe the surface microtopography of the SECs.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The value of Young's modulus in each APS experimental group was significantly greater than that of the control group: as APS concentration increased, the value of Young's modulus presented as an increasing trend. The difference between the low-concentration (12.5 and 25 μg/mL) and high-concentration (200 μg/mL) groups was statistically significant (P<0.05), but no significant differences were observed between moderateconcentration (50 and 100 μg/mL) groups versus low- or high-concentration groups (P>0.05). Surface topography demonstrated that APS was capable of increasing the total area of fenestrae.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The values of Young's modulus increased along with increasing concentrations of APS, suggesting that the stiffness of SECs increases gradually as a function of APS concentration. The observed changes in SEC mechanical properties may provide a new avenue for mechanistic research of anti-hepatic fibrosis treatments in Chinese medicine.</p>