Targeting LncRNA LLNLR-299G3.1 with antisense oligonucleotide inhibits malignancy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.

Accumulating evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in the development and progression of cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the mechanisms of lncRNAs in ESCC are still incompletely understood and therapeutic attempts for in vivo targeting cancer-associated lncRNA remain a challenge. By RNA-sequencing analysis, we identified that LLNLR-299G3.1 was a novel ESCC-associated lncRNA. LLNLR-299G3.1 was up-regulated in ESCC tissues and cells and promoted ESCC cell proliferation and invasion. Silencing of LLNLR-299G3.1 with ASO (antisense oligonucleotide) resulted in opposite effects. Mechanistically, LLNLR-299G3.1 bound to cancer-associated RNA binding proteins and regulated the expression of cancer-related genes, including OSM, TNFRSF4, HRH3, and SSTR3. ChIRP-seq (chromatin isolation by RNA purification and sequencing) revealed that these genes contained enriched chromatin binding sites for LLNLR-299G3.1. Rescue experiments confirmed that the effects of LLNLR-299G3.1 on ESCC cell proliferation were dependent on interaction with HRH3 and TNFRSF4. Therapeutically, intravenous delivery of placental chondroitin sulfate A binding peptide-coated nanoparticles containing antisense oligonucleotide (pICSA-BP-ANPs) strongly inhibited ESCC tumor growth and significantly improved animal survival in vivo. Overall, our results suggest that LLNLR-299G3.1 promotes ESCC malignancy through regulating gene-chromatin interactions and targeting ESCC by pICSA-BP-ANPs may be an effective strategy for the treatment of lncRNA-associated ESCC.

First fossil pseudopsine rove beetle from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pseudopsinae).

Pseudopsinae represented by four genera with just over 50 species in the Recent fauna represent one of the smallest subfamilies of the megadiverse family Staphylinidae. Here we describe the first fossil member of the subfamily Pseudopsinae. Cretopseudopsis maweii gen. et sp. nov. preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma) is distinguished from extant pseudopsine genera by head not carinate, apical maxillary palpomere only slightly narrower than penultimate segment, subocular carinae absent, temples short, pronotal lateral margin smoothly rounded, and mesocoxae separated by an elongate process of the mesoventrite. Our discovery of Cretopseudopsis gen. et sp. nov. provides evidence that the subfamily Pseudopsinae originated by the Albian-Cenomanian and suggests a Gondwanan distribution of the group in the Cretaceous.

Novel heterozygous mutation c.4282G>T in the SCN5A gene in a family with Brugada syndrome.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a rare, inherited arrhythmia syndrome. The most well-known gene that is responsible for causing BrS is SCN5A, which encodes the human cardiac Na+ channel (Nav1.5) α subunit. To date, it has been reported that >100 mutations in SCN5A can cause BrS. In the present study, a novel BrS-associated Nav1.5 mutation, A1428S, was identified in a proband who was successfully resuscitated from an episode of sudden collapse during walking. This mutation was further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, which showed that the PCR fragment containing the mutation A1428S could be cut by the restriction enzyme Nsi1, yielding two shorter DNA fragments of 329 and 159 bp, which were not present in family members homozygous for the wild-type (WT) allele. Furthermore, the electrophysiological properties were analyzed by patch clamp technique. Current density was decreased in the A1428S mutant compared that in the WT. However, neither the steady-state activation or inactivation, nor the recovery from inactivation exhibited changes between the A1428S mutant and the WT. In conclusion, the results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that a reduction in Nav1.5 channel function is involved in the pathogenesis of BrS. The structural-functional study of the Nav1.5 channel enhances the present understanding the pathophysiological function of the channel.