Diagnostic Value of Detection of Pregenomic RNA in Sera of Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Patients with Different Clinical Outcomes.

Pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) is a direct transcription product of hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), and it plays important roles in viral genome amplification and replication. This study was designed to investigate whether serum pgRNA is a strong alternative marker for reflecting HBV cccDNA levels and to analyze the correlation between serum pgRNA, serum HBV DNA, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). A total of 400 HBV-infected patients who received nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy with different clinical outcomes were involved in this research. Case groups included asymptomatic hepatitis B virus carrier (ASC), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, with 100 patients in each group. The results showed that the levels of HBV pgRNA had significant differences between these 4 groups. Serum pgRNA levels correlated well with serum HBV DNA and HBsAg levels (HBV pgRNA levels versus HBV DNA levels, r = 0.58, P < 0.001; HBV pgRNA levels versus HBsAg levels, r = 0.47, P < 0.001). In addition, we focused on the 108 HBV-infected patients with HBV DNA levels of <500 IU/ml; it was surprising to find that in 17.57% (13/74) of cases, HBV pgRNA could be detected even when the HBV DNA level was below 20 IU/ml. In conclusion, HBV pgRNA levels in serum can be a surrogate marker for intrahepatic HBV cccDNA compared with serum HBV DNA and HBsAg. The detection of serum HBV pgRNA levels may provide a reference for clinical monitoring of cccDNA levels and the selection of appropriate timing for discontinuing antiviral therapy, especially when HBV DNA levels are below the detection limit.

GINS2 regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in human epithelial ovarian cancer.

Go-Ichi-Ni-San 2 (GINS2), also known as partner of Sld five 2, is involved in the initiation of DNA replication and cell cycle progression. GINS2 is abundantly expressed in a number of malignant solid tumors, including breast cancer, melanoma and hepatic carcinoma. However, the functions of GINS2 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate these functions. GINS2 expression was detected in EOC and normal ovarian tissues using immunohistochemistry. To investigate the functions of GINS2 in EOC, GINS2 expression was stably knocked down in SKOV-3 cells using lentiviral short hairpin RNA (shRNA). The expression of GINS2 mRNA and protein in SKOV-3 cells was examined using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analyses, respectively. Cell proliferation was determined using high-content screening and MTT assays. Cell cycle progression and apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry. Compared with normal ovarian tissues, EOC tissues expressed increased levels of GINS2 expression (16.7 vs. 58.3%). Increased expression of GINS2 mRNA was also observed in SKOV-3 and OVCAR3 cells. In the investigation of GINS2 functions in EOC, GINS2 expression at the mRNA and protein levels was significantly inhibited by specific GINS2 shRNA. GINS2 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation and viability of SKOV-3 cells and induced cell cycle arrest in S phase. Furthermore, GINS2 knockdown in SKOV-3 cells significantly increased cell apoptosis. GINS2 is markedly expressed in EOC tissues and cell lines. Stable GINS2 knockdown in SKOV-3 cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. Therefore, GINS2 may be involved in EOC progression.

Reconstruction and analysis of the aberrant lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network based on competitive endogenous RNA in CESC.

A growing body of studies has demonstrated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are regarded as the primary section of the ceRNA network. This is thought to be the case owing to its regulation of protein-coding gene expression by functioning as miRNA sponges. However, functional roles and regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA-mediated ceRNA in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC), as well as their use for potential prediction of CESC prognosis, remains unknown. The aberrant expression profiles of mRNA, lncRNA, and miRNA of 306 cervical squamous cancer tissues and three adjacent cervical tissues were obtained from the TCGA database. A lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA ceRNA network in CESC was constructed. Meanwhile, Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis were performed using Cytoscape plug-in BinGo and DAVID database. We identified a total of 493 lncRNA, 70 miRNA, and 1921 mRNA as differentially expressed profiles. An aberrant lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA ceRNA network was constructed in CESC, it was composed of 50 DElncRNA, 18 DEmiRNA, and 81 DEmRNA. According to the overall survival analysis, 3 out of 50 lncRNA, 10 out of 81 mRNA, and 1 out of 18 miRNA functioned as prognostic biomarkers for patients with CESC (P value < 0.05). We extracted the sub-network in the ceRNA network and found that two novel lncRNA were recognized as key genes. These included lncRNA MEG3 and lncRNA ADAMTS9-AS2. The present study provides a new insight into a better understanding of the lncRNA-related ceRNA network in CESC, and the novel recognized ceRNA network will help us to improve our understanding of lncRNA-mediated ceRNA regulatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of CESC.

Inhibition of P38 MAPK Downregulates the Expression of IL-1ß to Protect Lung from Acute Injury in Intestinal Ischemia Reperfusion Rats.

Acute lung injury (ALI) induced by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (II/R) has high incidence and mortality, in which IL-1ß was essential for the full development of ALI. However, the detailed regulating mechanism for this phenomenon remains to be unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether inhibition of P38 MAPK could downregulate the expression of IL-1ß to protect lung from acute injury in II/R rats. Here, we found that the level of pulmonary edema at 16 hours after operation (hpo) was obviously enhanced compared to that in 8hpo and sham groups. Immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that IL-1ß and P38 MAPK were detected in lung tissues. And rats with II/R have the highest translation level for IL-1ß and phosphorylation of P38 MAPK in lung tissues at 16hpo compared with 8hpo and sham groups. Moreover, administration of SB239063, an inhibitor of P38 α and ß, could effectively downregulate the expressions of IL-1ß and protects lung tissues from injury in II/R rats. Our findings indicate that the inhibition of P38 α and ß may downregulate the expression of IL-1ß to protect lung from acute injury in II/R, which could be used as a potential target for reducing ALI induced by II/R in the future clinical trial.