A Functional Variant rs2072915 is Associated with the Susceptibility and Mortality of Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Genetic variant has been demonstrated to be a risk factor for the occurrence and outcome of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). From previous genome wide association studies, 6p21.32 has been identified as a susceptibility locus of CSCC. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of a polymorphism rs2072915 located in 6p21.32 with the risk of CSCC and examine the potential mechanism of the rs2072915 in CSCC pathogenesis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The rs2072915 was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism. miR-637 and RXRB mRNA expression levels in CSCC patients were examined using quantitative PCR. miR-637 target site was determined using the dual-luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: The rs2072915 was associated with a significantly increased risk (AA vs TT: adjusted OR = 2.48, 95% CI, 1.57-3.94, P < 0.001; AT/AA vs TT: adjusted OR = 1.38, 95% CI, 1.06-1.80, P = 0.018; A vs T: adjusted OR = 1.49, 95% CI, 1.21-1.84, P < 0.001, respectively) and shorter survival time of CSCC (P = 0.03). Patients with the rs2072915 AA genotype displayed lower levels of RXRB that is a target of miR-637. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the rs2072915 T > A change might augment the binding energy of miR-637 to RXRB, result in lower levels of RXRB, and thus contribute to the risk of CSCC.

Meta-analysis of excision repair cross complementary gene 1 (ERCC1) expression and platinum chemosensitivity in patients with ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women. Due to the lack of typical clinical symptoms and ineffective screening methods for early ovarian cancer, 60-70% of patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed as middle and late stage when they are already suffering abdominal distension, abdominal pain, or pelvic tumor. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the correlation of excision repair cross complementary gene 1 (ERCC1) expression and the chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer. METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively and quantitatively evaluate the relevant research in this area. The literature published in PubMed, Web of Science, CQVIP, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases from establishment to June 2019 were searched. The evaluation index of chemotherapy sensitivity was clinical effective rate (complete remission plus partial remission). Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: A total of 7 articles met the inclusion criteria, comprising 402 patients with ovarian cancer. The results showed that there was a significant difference in chemosensitivity between the low ERCC1 expression group and the high ERCC1 expression group (OR =5.19, 95% CI: 3.15-8.54, P<0.01), with the results of the ethnicity subgroup analysis being the same for the Asian and Caucasian populations. CONCLUSIONS: The chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer patients with a low expression of ERCC1 is greater than that of patients with high expression.

Integrative analysis of genetic and epigenetic profiling of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) patients to identify smoking level relevant biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: Incidence and mortality of lung cancer have dramatically decreased during the last decades, yet still approximately 160,000 deaths per year occurred in United States. Smoking intensity, duration, starting age, as well as environmental cofactors including air-pollution, showed strong association with major types of lung cancer. Lung squamous cell carcinoma is a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, which represents 25% of the cases. Thus, exploring the molecular pathogenic mechanisms of lung squamous cell carcinoma plays crucial roles in lung cancer clinical diagnosis and therapy. RESULTS: In this study, we performed integrative analyses on 299 comparative datasets of RNA-seq and methylation data, collected from 513 lung squamous cell carcinoma cases in The Cancer Genome Atlas. The data were divided into high and low smoking groups based on smoking intensity (Numbers of packs per year). We identified 1002 significantly up-regulated genes and 534 significantly down-regulated genes, and explored their cellular functions and signaling pathways by bioconductor packages GOseq and KEGG. Global methylation status was analyzed and visualized in circular plot by CIRCOS. RNA-and methylation data were correlatively analyzed, and 24 unique genes were identified, for further investigation of regional CpG sites' interactive patterns by bioconductor package coMET. AIRE, PENK, and SLC6A3 were the top 3 genes in the high and low smoking groups with significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Gene functions and DNA methylation patterns of these 24 genes are important and useful in disclosing the differences of gene expression and methylation profiling caused by different smoking levels.

A high-performance alginate hydrogel binder for the Si/C anode of a Li-ion battery.

An alginate hydrogel binder is prepared through the cross linking effect of Na alginate with Ca(2+) ions, which leads to a remarkable improvement in the electrochemical performance of the Si/C anode of a Li-ion battery.