LncRNA AC099850.3 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation and invasion through PRR11/PI3K/AKT axis and is associated with patients prognosis.

Background: LncRNA is a key factor influencing tumor development. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a novel lncRNA on the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A candidate lncRNA in The Cancer Genome Atlas database was identified using limma and survival R packages. The effect of lncRNA AC099850.3 on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion, as well as its association with immune cells in HCC were investigated. Furthermore, the functional mechanisms of lncRNA AC099850.3 in HCC were elucidated. Results: The aberrant expression of lncRNA AC099850.3 was identified in tumor tissues and its prognostic relevance in HCC was determined. The results revealed that AC099850.3 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and cell lines, and it predicted poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Furthermore, knockdown of AC099850.3 significantly suppressed the proliferation and metastatic potential of HCC cells, and promoted cell apoptosis in HCC cells. The results of gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the PI3K/AKT pathway was associated with the biological function of AC099850.3, which was further validated by western blotting. PRR11 was identified as the target gene of AC099850.3 and we established that AC099850.3 acted as an oncogene in the PRR11/PI3K/AKT axis. Immune cell infiltration analyses results revealed that AC099850.3 was positively correlated with T follicular helper cells, M0 macrophages, CD4+ memory T cells, and memory B cells. Conversely, AC099850.3 was negatively correlated with M2 macrophages, monocytes, natural killer cells, and CD8+ T cells, which could be responsible for its oncogenic effect. Of note, a significantly positive correlation was observed between AC099850.3 and key immune checkpoint molecules (PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, and CTLA4) in the present study, making AC099850.3 a potential immune therapeutic target for HCC. Conclusion: AC099850.3 can promote malignant biological behavior of HCC cells, and could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

The leaching mechanism of heavy metals (Ni, Cd, As) in a gasification slag during acidification.

The gasification slag by acidification can leach abundant heavy metals. In this paper, the fate of heavy metals (Ni, Cd, and As) in the raw slag and the acidified slag that treated by HAc and HCl was systematically investigated combined with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that the content of Ni and Cd is reduced with an increasing acid concentration and meets the regulatory standards by 7 M HAc and 3 M HCl, respectively. Most of Ni combined with gehlenite is released as gehlenite dissolves during acid treatment, whereas Cd in combination with gehlenite and iron compounds is hard to release at lower HAc concentrations. Unexpectedly, the content of As tends to elevate at a higher concentration of HAc, which is due to the increase in the content of Ca by new Ca-compound formation and the higher binding capacity of Ca to As according to DFT results. Additionally, if the acid-base ratio reaches about 2.0 by acid treatment, there would be a maximum leaching rate. It is recommended that acid concentration should be controlled to avoid a secondary risk of heavy metals.

Investigation of association between IL-8 serum levels and IL8 polymorphisms in Chinese patients with sepsis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical relevance of IL8 gene polymorphisms in patients with sepsis and its association with systemic IL-8 levels. METHODS: PCR and DNA sequencing were used to examine the polymorphism of IL8 in 152 patients with sepsis and in 199 healthy volunteers in China. The distribution frequencies of the genotype and allele were compared among different groups. The serum IL-8 was measured by ELISA and analyzed in relation to polymorphisms of IL8. RESULTS: The homozygote TT genotype and T allele of rs4073 (genotype: p=0.01, allele: p=0.002), the homozygote CC genotype and C allele (genotype: p=0.03, allele: p=0.003) of rs2227306, homozygote AA genotype and A allele of re1126647 (genotype: p=0.01, allele: p=0.002) were associated with susceptibility to sepsis in males. Serum IL-8 levels were significantly increased in patients with sepsis but showed no correlation with IL8 rs4073, rs2227306 and rs1126647 polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: The male population carrying the homozygote TT genotype and T allele of rs4073, the homozygote CC genotype and C allele of rs2227306 and homozygote AA genotype and A allele of rs1126647 are more susceptible to sepsis, suggesting there is a protective effect in females carrying these genotypes and alleles respectively. There was no association between rs4073, rs2227306 and rs1126647 polymorphisms and serum levels of IL-8 in patients with sepsis.

The association of polymorphisms of TLR4 and CD14 genes with susceptibility to sepsis in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is now the leading cause of death in the non-cardiovascular intensive care unit (ICU). Recent research suggests that sepsis is likely to be due to an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Genetic mutations of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) genes are involved in the immune and (or) inflammatory response. These may contribute to the susceptibility to sepsis in patients. This study was designed to evaluate whether the TLR4 and cluster CD14 gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to sepsis. METHODS: The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TLR4 (rs10759932, rs11536889, rs7873784, rs12377632, rs1927907, rs1153879) and CD14 (rs2569190 and rs2563298) in patients with sepsis and control subjects in the Guangxi Province were analyzed by using the polymerase chain reaction-single base extension (PCR-SBE) and DNA sequencing methods. RESULTS: The rs11536889 polymorphism in TLR4 and rs2563298 polymorphism in CD14 were significantly associated with the risk of sepsis when compared to the control group. The frequencies of rs11536889 and rs2563298 polymorphisms in the group with sepsis were higher than that in the control group (OR = 1.430, 95% CI, 1.032-1.981, P<0.05; OR = 2.454, 95% CI, 1.458-4.130, P<0.05, respectively). Followed up haplotype analysis suggested that there were two haplotypes in which increased risk factors for sepsis were indicated. CONCLUSIONS: The rs11536889 polymorphism in TLR4 and rs2563298 polymorphism in CD14, and two haplotypes were associated with increased susceptibility to sepsis.