circRNA_SLC8A1 promotes the survival of mycobacterium tuberculosis in macrophages by upregulating expression of autophagy-related protein SQSTM1/p62 to activate the NF-κB pathway.

Macrophages act as the first immune defense line of the host against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). A previous study showed that circRNA_SLC8A1 was significantly upregulated in Mtb-infected macrophages, but its regulatory mechanism in anti-tuberculosis infection is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of circRNA_SLC8A1 in the anti-tuberculosis activity of macrophages. We showed that circRNA_SLC8A1 was upregulated in tuberculosis patients. Moreover, the binding sites of miR-20b-5p on circRNA_SLC8A1 and Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62) mRNA were predicted by StarBase and verified by the double luciferase reporter gene assay. Next, we found that miR-20b-5p expression was decreased, while SQSTM1 protein expression was increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner in the human macrophage U937 in response to Mtb infection. Furthermore, circRNA_SLC8A1 overexpression vector (circRNA_SLC8A1) or shRNA (sh-circRNA_SLC8A1) and/or miR-20b-5p mimic or inhibitor and/or SQSTM1 overexpression vector (SQSTM1) or small interfering RNA (si-SQSTM1) or its corresponding control were transfected into Mtb-infected macrophages. Results showed that overexpression of circRNA_SLC8A1 or miR-20b-5p inhibitor promoted the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, increased Nitric Oxide (NO) content and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, inhibited Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Cleaved-caspase-3 protein expression, and cell apoptosis, and promoted Mtb survival. Silencing SQSTM1 inhibited secretion of pro-inflammatory factors and activation of the NF-κB pathway. Overexpression of miR-20b-5p blocked the promoting of circ-SLC8A1 on SQSTM1 protein expression. In summary, circRNA_SLC8A1 sponged miR-20b-5p to upregulate SQSTM1/p62 expression and promoted Mtb survival in macrophages through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Evaluation of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detection of Bowel Inflammation in Patients With Crohn Disease.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) in detecting bowel inflammation in patients with Crohn disease (CD). METHODS: Sixteen patients who underwent intravoxel incoherent motion DW-MRI for CD and colonoscopy were recruited. Seventy-nine bowel segments were selected, and their mean D, D*, f, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were measured. The receiver operating characteristic curve was performed to distinguish inflamed from normal bowel. RESULTS: The mean D, D*, f, and ADC values of inflamed bowel were significantly lower than those of normal bowel (P < 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for f (0.906) and ADC values (0.924) was greater than that for D (0.709) or D* values (0.686) for differentiating inflamed bowel from normal bowel (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intravoxel incoherent motion DW-MRI is a feasible technique for detecting inflammation in CD patients. The ADC and f values have more potential than the D and D* values.

Expression of lncRNA PVT1 in colorectal cancer tissues and cells and its effect on chemo-sensitivity to cisplatin and the possible mechanisms / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#Objective: To study the regulatory effects and possible mechanism of long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (lncRNA PVT1) on chemotherapy sensitivity to cisplatin (DDP) of colorectal cancer (CRC)．Methods: A total of 112 pairs of matched cancer and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were obtained from the CRC patients who underwent surgical resection in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University betweenApril 2006 and March 2011.All specimens were confirmed by pathological examinations. Tumor tissues and corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 30 cisplatin-sensitive CRC patients and 30 cisplatin-resistant patients were selected. Human CRC cell lines (HT29, SW480, HCT116, RKO and LoVo) and normal colonic epithelial cell line NCM460 were also collected for this study; and DDP-resistant RKO/DDP and LoVo/DDP cell lines were constructed. siPVT1, siNC, LV-PVT1 and LV-NC were transfected into LoVo and RKO cells or LoVo/DDP and RKO/DDP cells using lipofectamineTM2000. The expression of lncRNA PVT1 in CRC tissues and cells was tested by Real-time qPCR. CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry and WB were performed to test the effect of PTV1 knockout or enforcement on cell proliferation, apoptosis and expressions of apoptosis-related proteins, respectively. The CRC subcutaneous transplanted xenograft model was established on athymic nude mice to study the effect of PVT1 over-expression on tumor growth and DDP resistance. Results: PVT1 was highly expressed in the cancer tissues and CRC cells, and its expression was positively associated with cisplatin resistance of CRC. After knockdown of PVT1, the proliferation of cisplatinresistant CRC cells was significantly suppressed, while the apoptosis was significantly enhanced (P<0.05 or P<0.01); Mechanically, the levels of drug resistance-associated molecules, including MDR1 and MRP1, as well as the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 were significantly downregulated whereas the levels of pro-apoptotic Bax and cleaved caspase-3 were increased in PVT1-silenced DDP-resistant CRC cells. Over-expression of PVT1 reversely increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis of CRC cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In addition, PVT1 over-expression in CRC cells significantly promoted DDP-resistance in vivo (P<0.05). Conclusion: Collectively, knockdown of PVT1 expression can significantly suppress cell proliferation and promote apoptosis of DDP-resistant CRC cells. Overexpression of PVT1 can significantly promote the growth of CRC cells in vitro and transplanted xenograft in vivo. PVT1 regulates endogenous apoptosis pathways and further promotes the sensitivity of CRC cells to cisplatin chemotherapy via inhibiting the expressions of MDR1 and MRP1.

Kanglaite injection combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Kanglaite (KLT) injection combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) by meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases was conducted to select studies about KLT injection combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced NSCLC. The pooled risk ratio (RR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for objective response rate (ORR), Karnofsky (KPS) score improvement and nausea and vomiting were calculated by Stata11.0 statistical software. RESULT: Finally, we included 34 clinical trials in this meta-analysis. The pooled results suggested that KLT injection combined with systematic chemotherapy can significantly increase the objective response rate (ORR) [RR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.23-1.48, (Z = 6.43, P = 0.000)], the quality of patients' life (KSP improvement) [RR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.79-2.33, (Z = 10.57, P = 0.000)] and decrease the risk ratio of gastrointestinal reaction [RR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.42-0.66, (Z = 5.53, P = 0.000)] compared with chemotherapy alone. CONCLUSION: KLT injection combined with chemotherapy can improve the short-term efficacy, performance status and decrease the risk of gastrointestinal reaction compared with systematic chemotherapy alone.

CP-673451, a platelet-derived growth-factor receptor inhibitor, suppresses lung cancer cell proliferation and migration.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. Although some advances in lung cancer therapy have been made, patient survival is still poor. The platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) and their ligands play critical roles in the regulation of many cancer cell processes, including cell survival and cell motility. Herein, we investigate the anticancer activities of CP-673451, a potent selective inhibitor of PDGFR kinase, in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapy. We found that CP-673451 is effective at suppressing cell viability, inducing cell apoptosis, and inhibiting cell migration and invasion by suppressing the PDGFR downstream signaling pathway in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, CP-673451 is effective at suppressing NSCLC tumor growth in vivo. In summary, our studies suggest that CP-673451 might be a promising therapeutic compound for NSCLC.