LncRNA SNHG3 promotes the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer by regulating miR-539/RUNX2 axis.

The long noncoding RNA(lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 3(SNHG3) has been reported to be upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its biological role and underlying mechanisms in CRC have not been well studied. The expression levels of SNHG3 were measured in CRC tissues and cell lines by real time quantitative PCR. Functional assays, including the cell counting Kit-8, wound healing and transwell invasion assays, were used to determine the effect of SNHG3 on CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion,respectively. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis, dual-Luciferase reporter assays and RNA immunoprecipitation were applied to determine the mechanism of SNHG3 in CRC. Mice xenograft models were established to assess the role of SNHG3 in CRC tumorigenicity and metastasis in vivo.The expression of SNHG3 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, which was positively correlated with advanced clinical stage, distant metastasis and poor overall survival. Functional experiments revealed that SNHG3 knockdown significantly decreased CRC growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, SNHG3 could bind to miR-539, thereby up-regulating the expression of its target gene runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), and play an oncogenic role in CRC progression. Our works suggest that lncRNA SNHG3 promotes CRC growth and metastasis via regulating miR-539/RUNX2 axis, suggesting that the SNHG3 might be a potential therapeutic target for CRC.

Clinical and genetic analysis of eleven pediatric patients with Alagille syndrome / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To explore the clinical and molecular genetic features of patients with Alagille syndrome (AS).@*Methods@#The clinical data of eleven pediatric patients, who were suspected to have AS at the Department of Pediatrics in the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University from August 2010 to March 2017, were collected and analyzed. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes of the patients and their parents. For 5 patients collected before March 2006, all JAG1 exons and their flanking sequences were directly sequenced. For the remaining 6 patients, high-throughput gene capture technology, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and whole-genome copy-number variant(CNV) analysis were utilized, when necessary, to explore the genetic causes.@*Results@#All patients had cholestasis. However, the γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels in one patient were normal. Nine patients had posterior embryotoxon and facial malformations. Eight patients displayed heart defects. Seven patients presented with vertebral anomalies and among them, 1 patient had sacralization of the cubitus and radius. The condition of nine patients tended to be stabilized on follow-up, but 1 patient died of liver failure in late infancy and 1 got worse. Seven JAG1 variants were detected in 9 out of the 11 AS patients, with c.1977G>A (p.Trp659*) and c.1106_1107delCC (p.Pro369fs) being two novel variants. Two heterozygous interstitial deletions of 3.0 Mb and 9.24 Mb in size, respectively, in chromosome 20 were discovered in the remaining 2 patients. Both deletions involved the entire JAG1 gene. De novo origin was unveiled for the detected variants in 7 patients and interstitial deletions in two. Although the mother of 2 patients carried the relevant variant, she did not demonstrate any clinical features of AS.@*Conclusions@#With cholestasis, posterior embryotoxon, facial malformations, heart defects and vertebral anomalies being the major manifestations, AS demonstrated variable clinical expressivities and incomplete penetrance. This study identified a total of 7 JAG1 variants as well as 2 interstitial deletions involving this gene, and among them, the variants c.1977G>A (p.Trp659* ) and c.1106_1107delCC (p.Pro369fs) as well as the 9.24 Mb chromosomal interstitial deletion had not been reported previously.

Progress and challenges in optical cochlear implant / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Optical cochlear implant has been occuring as a new cochlear implant which utilizes laser pulses to stimulate hearing. Compared to electronic cochlear implant, it has demonstrated higher spatial selectivity and less radiation scattering, which could lead to higher fidelity cochlear prostheses. At present, most investigations have focused on experiments in vivo. Although a lot of exciting results have been obtained, the mechanisms of laser stimulation is still open. In this paper, a brief review on the recent new findings of optical cochlear implant is given, and possible mechanisms are discussed. In the end, new experimental proposals are suggested which could help to explore the mechanisms of laser-cochlea stimulation.

Preparation of chicken red blood cells for calibration of flow cytometry / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To prepare stable chicken red blood cells for the calibration of flow cytometry.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The traditional isolation method of chicken red blood cells was modified by incorporating gelatin technique, Ca2+-free HBSS treatment and low-speed centrifugation. The effect of fluorescence staining of the cells was improved by the addition of TritonX-100 to enhance the membrane permeability and Rnase enzymes to disintegrate RNA tiles. The modified method was compared with the traditional method for viability of the freshly isolated cells and the DNA content coefficient of variation (CV) of the fixed cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Chicken red blood cells obtained by the modified method showed a significantly higher viability than those obtained by the traditional method [(98.5∓3.5)% vs (93.5∓2.7)%, P<0.05]. After glutaraldehyde fixation, the isolated cells with the modified method were stable during the 90-day preservation with a significantly lower CV than the cells obtained by the traditional method [(6.0∓0.3)% to 6.2∓0.4% vs (8.6∓0.5)% to (13.1∓1.4)%, P<0.01].</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The chicken red blood cells isolated using the modified method can be applicable for calibration of flow cytometry.</p>