Long Noncoding RNA LINC01133 Functions as an miR-422a Sponge to Aggravate the Tumorigenesis of Human Osteosarcoma.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been verified to participate in various types of malignant tumors, including osteosarcoma (OS), which is the most common primary bone tumor with outstanding morbidity. Although an increasing number of lncRNAs have been reported to mediate the occurrence of OS, the potential mechanisms are still unclear. This study intends to uncover the mechanism by which lncRNA LINC01133 functions as an miRNA sponge to mediate OS tumorigenicity. In this study, we found that the expression level of LINC01133 was statistically upregulated in OS tumor tissue and cell lines compared to noncancerous tissues and a normal human osteoplastic cell line. LINC01133 silencing could also observably suppress the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS cells (HOS and U2-OS). Bioinformatics analysis predicted that LINC01133 specifically targeted miR-422a, which was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, functional experiments revealed that miR-422a played a tumor-suppressive role in OS progression and could effectively reverse the function of LINC01133. In summary, our study discovered that lncRNA LINC01133 aggravates the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS by sponging miR-422a, which provides a novel insight in the tumorigenesis of OS.

MicroRNA-153-3p suppress cell proliferation and invasion by targeting SNAI1 in melanoma.

Malignant melanoma is one of the most common malignancies of the skin cancer and increasing evidences revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs) exert significant effects in melanoma. In the present study, the underlying function of microRNA-153-3p (miR-153-3p) in melanoma was investigated from different levels, including cell level, protein level and gene level. Our results showed that expression of miR-153-3p was lower in melanoma tissues and melanoma cells compared with the para-tumor tissue and normal melanocytes. The overexpression of miR-153-3p inhibited the cell proliferation and invasion, at the same time promoted cell apoptosis. Moreover, we identified that snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAI1) is the direct target of miR-153-3p, and there is a negative correlation between miR-153-3p level and SNAI1 expression. In summary, we presented the evidences that miR-153-3p may act as a tumor suppressor by down-regulating the expression of SNAI1 in melanoma and miR-153-3p might be a potential biomarker in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma.

Ectopic osteogenesis of allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells loading on ß-tricalcium phosphate in canines.

BACKGROUND: Bone mesenchymal stem cells are progenitor cells for mesenchymal tissues. The objective of this study was to evaluate the subcutaneous ectopic osteogenesis of allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells, which were loaded on ß-tricalcium phosphate in canines without immunosuppressive therapy. METHODS: Osteoinduced allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells were seeded onto a ß-tricalcium phosphate scaffold to construct tissue-engineered bone. Four dogs (recipients) in the allogeneic group were subcutaneously implanted with the allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells/scaffold; four dogs (donors) in the autogeneic group were implanted with the autogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells/scaffold complex; and four dogs in the control group were implanted with scaffold alone. Systemic immune responses were evaluated by measuring the T-lymphocyte CD4, CD8, and CD4/CD8 subsets of each group. Subcutaneous osteogenesis was compared between the three groups by histologic analysis at week 24 after implantation. RESULTS: Flow cytometry showed no significant differences in the number of CD4 and CD8 T cells and the CD4/CD8 T-cell ratios among the three groups. Histologically, at week 24, both the autogeneic and allogeneic complexes led to subcutaneous osteogenesis, whereas the control group alone did not. There were no significant differences in the percentage of osteogenic area between the allogeneic and the autogeneic complexes on histomorphometric analysis (p > 0.05), which was significantly higher than that produced by the control group alone (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that osteoinduced, allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells loaded on ß-tricalcium phosphate enhanced ectopic bone formation in canines without immunosuppressive therapy.

Surgical treatment of craniomaxillofacial fibrous dysplasia: functionally or aesthetically?

BACKGROUND: Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a tumor-like growth that consists of replacement of the medullary bone with fibrous tissue, causing the expansion and weakening of the areas of bone involved. The most commonly affected bones are facial bones, causing a number of facial cosmetic and functional problems. METHODS: From December 2008 to July 2012, 10 patients with craniomaxillofacial fibrous dysplasia were treated by conservative resection and local recontouring. The patients were followed up yearly, with an average of 3 years; the longest follow-up period was 5 years. RESULTS: All the 10 patients received appropriate treatment and histopathological examinations were performed to confirm the diagnosis of FD. Four patients with zygoma involved had received partial zygoma osteoectomy and 2 patients received mandibular partial osteoectomy. Average time of follow-up was 3 years, with a range from 1 to 5 years, and all patients obtained satisfactory aesthetic and functional results. CONCLUSION: In most patients, a conservative surgery will achieve good functional and aesthetic results. For patients with mild symptoms, the aesthetic effect should be given priority while for the heavier patients the restoration of function and aesthetic effects should all be taken into account.

[Blocking of Notch signaling decreased scar formation in rabbit ear hypertrophic scar model].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Notch signaling on scars in a rabbit ear model of hypertrophic scarring. METHODS: The hypertrophic scar of rabbits' ears was reproduced. The left rabbit's ear wounds as the N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl-L-alanyl)]-(S)-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) treated group were treated intradermally with the gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT to inhibit the activation of Notch at 1, 3, 7 and 14 day time points. The right ears as the control group were treated with normal saline at the same time points. Experimental and control wounds were harvested on days 14, 21, 28 and 35 post wounding, and then examined histologically to quantify hypertrophic index and fibroblasts. The expression of epidermal differentiation markers-keratin 14 (K14), keratin 19 (K19), Involucrin and Notch downstream molecules-P21, P63 were examined and analyzed with immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: Both hypertrophic index (1.93 +/- 0.32, 1.82 +/- 0.36, 1.79 +/- 0.25) and number of fibroblasts [(4.08 +/- 0.88), (3.30 +/- 0.53), (3.19 +/- 0.73) x 10(3)/mm(2)] in the DAPT treated group were significantly reduced on days 21, 28 and 35, compared with the control group [2.56 +/- 0.29, 2.61 +/- 0.30, 2.58 +/- 0.39, and (5.45 +/- 0.99), (4.80 +/- 1.13), (4.43 +/- 1.17) x 10(3)/mm(2), all P < 0.01)]. The K19, K14 and P63 increased their expression in the DAPT treated group (28.6% +/- 5.7%, 53.1% +/- 4.5%, 57.0% +/- 5.8%) relative to the control group (10.1% +/- 2.8%, 30.8% +/- 4.9%, 16.5% +/- 2.2%, all P < 0.01) on day 14 post wounding, while the Involucrin and P21 decreased their expression in the DAPT treated group (12.3% +/- 1.9%, 11.0% +/- 1.7%) relative to the control group (29.3% +/- 4.6%, 44.3% +/- 3.5%, both P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Inactivation of Notch signaling will inhibit scar epidermis to over-differentiation, and thereby inhibit proliferation of hypertrophic scars in the rabbit ears.

Effect of temperature on the capacitance of carbon nanotube supercapacitors.

The effect of temperature on the kinetics and the diffusion mechanism of the ions in a supercapacitor assembled with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) film electrodes and an organic electrolyte were thoroughly investigated. An improved room temperature performance of the supercapacitor was observed due to the combined effects of an increase in the conductivity of the SWNT films and surface modifications on the SWNT films by repeatedly heating and cooling the supercapacitor between the temperatures of 25 and 100 degrees C. Modified Randles equivalent circuit was employed to carry out an extensive analysis of the Nyquist spectra measured at different temperatures between 25 and 100 degrees C in order to understand the fundamentals of the capacitive and resistive variations in the supercapacitor. The experimental results and their thorough analysis will have significant impact not only on the fundamental understanding of the temperature-dependent electrode/electrolyte interfacial properties but also on supercapacitor design with appropriate electrode materials for numerous industrial and consumer applications. The supercapacitor with SWNT film electrodes was capable of withstanding current densities as high as 100 A/g, yielding eminent specific power density values of about 55 kW/kg. Ultralong galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling over 200 000 cycles with a constant current density of 20 A/g at 25 and 100 degrees C, respectively, showed excellent stability in capacitance with more than 80% efficiency. The usage of such a supercapacitor potentially enables far-reaching advances in backup energy storage and high pulse power applications.