miR-3934 regulates the apoptosis and secretion of inflammatory cytokines of basophils via targeting RAGE in asthma.

BACKGROUND: Several miRNAs are now known to have clear connections to the pathogenesis of asthma. The present study focused on the potential role of miR-3934 during asthma development. METHODS: miR-3934 was detected as a down-regulated miRNA in basophils by sequencing analysis. Next, the expression levels of miR-3934 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 50 asthma patients and 50 healthy volunteers were examined by RT-qPCR methods. The basophils were then treated with AGEs and transfected with miR-3934 mimics. The apoptosis levels were examined by flow cytometry assay; and the expression levels of cytokines were detected using the ELISA kits. Finally, the Western blot was performed to examined the expression of key molecules in the TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway. RESULTS: miR-3934 was down-regulated in the basophils of asthmatic patients. The expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and IL-33 was enhanced in basophils from asthmatic patients, and this effect was partially reversed by transfection of miR-3934 mimics. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristics analysis showed that miR-3934 levels can be used to distinguish asthma patients from healthy individuals. miR-3934 partially inhibited advanced glycation end products-induced increases in basophil apoptosis by suppressing expression of RAGE. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that miR-3934 acts to mitigate the pathogenesis of asthma by targeting RAGE and suppressing TGF-ß/Smad signaling.

miR-223-5p Suppresses Tumor Growth and Metastasis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Targeting E2F8.

miR-223-5p has been demonstrated to regulate the development and progression of various cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and gastric carcinoma. However, the role of miR-223-5p in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requires further investigation. In this study, we found that the expression of miR-223-5p was significantly downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, the expression level of miR-223-5p is negatively correlated with the malignance of NSCLC. We found that overexpression of miR-223-5p remarkably suppressed the proliferation of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. miR-223-5p overexpression also led to reduced migration and invasion in NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, we found that E2F8, a key transcription factor involved in many kinds of biological processes, was a direct target gene of miR-223-5p. Overexpression of miR-223-5p significantly decreased the mRNA and protein levels of E2F8 in NSCLC cells. We also showed that restoration of E2F8 rescued the proliferation, migration, and invasion of miR-223-5p-overexpressing NSCLC cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that miR-223-5p suppressed NSCLC progression through targeting E2F8.

Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of a coronary heart disease model rat strain (Muridae; Rattus).

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome sequencing of an important coronary heart disease model inbred rat strain for the first time. The total length of the mitogenome was 16,308 bp with 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes.

Association of IL-6 polymorphisms with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk: meta-analysis of genetic association, gene expression and expression quantitative trait locus analysis.

AIM: IL-6 might play an important role in the mechanism of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study assessed the relationship of rs1800796 and rs1800797 of IL-6 with COPD. MATERIALS & METHODS: We conducted meta-analysis and gene expression analysis using published datasets to examine the associations between IL-6 SNPs and COPD. RESULTS: rs1800796 was significantly associated with COPD, yielding a pooled odds ratio of 0.52 (95% CI: 0.33-0.84; p = 0.007), and showed cis-expression quantitative trait locus associations (p = 0.02148). Differential gene expression analysis found that IL-6 was upregulated in COPD cases compared with controls. The associations of rs1800797 with COPD were not significant. CONCLUSION: The findings showed that rs1800796 was associated with COPD in Europeans and might affect COPD risk through disturbing IL-6 gene expression.