Small nucleolar RNA host gene 22 (SNHG22) promotes the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by miR-429/SESN3 axis.

BACKGROUND: It has been observed that lncRNAs have been taking part in many cancer progressions, including non-small cell lung cancer and gastric cancer. Meanwhile, lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 22 (SNHG22) has been studied, taking part in the progression of ovarian epithelial carcinoma. However, we know little about the function of SNHG22 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: In this study, we will explore the inner mechanism of SNHG22 in ESCC. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was implemented in ESCC cells for detecting the expression of lncRNA, SNHG22, and miR-429. Also, functional experiments, including CCK8 and colony formation assay, were implemented to assess the growth of ESCC cells. Meanwhile, flow cytometry analysis was conducted to test the apoptosis of ESCC cells. The immunofluorescence (IF) assay and western blot were conducted to verify the autophagy of ESCC cells. RESULTS: Inhibition of SNHG22 was found that can inhibit the progression and promotes autophagy and apoptosis of ESCC cells. Meanwhile, as subcellular fraction assay and FISH assay found that SNHG22 mainly in the cytoplasm, miR-429 was found can bind to SNHG22 and SESN3 by RIP assay and luciferase reporter assay. SESN3 was found it can play the oncogene in ESCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: SNHG22 promotes the progression of ESCC by the miR-429/SESN3 axis.

Development and Validation of a Gene Signature for Prediction of Relapse in Stage I Testicular Germ Cell Tumors.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are commonly diagnosed tumors in young men. However, a satisfactory approach to predict relapse of stage I TGCTs is still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a robust risk score model for stage I TGCTs. Method: RNA-sequence data of stage I TGCTs and normal testis samples were downloaded and analyzed to identify different expression genes. Gene-based prognostic model was constructed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis and validated in GSE99420 dataset. Potential biological functions of the genes in prognostic model were determined via Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) between high-risk and low-risk patients. Results: A total of 9,391 differentially expressed genes and 84 prognosis-related genes were identified. An eight-gene-based risk score model was constructed to divide patients into high or low risk of relapse. The low-risk patients had a significantly better relapse-free survival (RFS) than high-risk patients in both training and validation cohorts (HR = 0.129, 95% CI = 0.059-0.284, P < 0.001; HR = 0.277, 95% CI = 0.116-0.661, P = 0.004, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values at 5 years was 0.805 and 0.724 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Functional enrichment analyses showed that DNA replication, ribosome, cell cycle, and TGF-beta signaling pathway may contribute to the relapse process. Conclusion: In summary, our analysis provided a novel eight-gene signature that could predict RFS in stage I TGCT patients.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of serum neuron-specific enolase for early small cell lung cancer screening.

We performed a pooled analysis of the efficacy of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels for early detection of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in patients with benign lung diseases and healthy individuals. Comprehensive searches of several databases through September 2016 were conducted. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Ultimately, 33 studies containing 9546 samples were included in the review. Pooled sensitivity of NSE for detecting SCLC was 0.688 (95%CI: 0.627-0.743), specificity was 0.921 (95%CI: 0.890-0.944), positive likelihood ratio was 8.744 (95%CI: 6.308-12.121), negative likelihood ratio was 0.339 (95%CI: 0.283- 0.405), diagnostic odds ratio was 25.827 (95%CI: 17.490- 38.136) and area under the curve was 0.88 (95%CI: 0.85- 0.91). Meta-regression indicated that study region was a source of heterogeneity in the sensitivity and joint models, while cut-off level was a source in the joint model. Subgroup analysis showed that enzyme linked immunosorbent assays had the highest sensitivity and radioimmunoassay assays had the highest specificity. The diagnostic performance was better in Europe [sensitivity: 0.740 (95%CI: 0.676-0.795), specificity: 0.932 (95%CI: 0.904-0.953)] than in Asia [sensitivity: 0.590 (95%CI: 0.496- 0.678), specificity: 0.901 (95%CI: 0.819-0.948)]. In Europe, 25 ng/ml is likely the most suitable NSE cut-off level. NSE thus has high diagnostic efficacy when screening for SCLC, though the efficacy differs depending on study region, assay method and cut-off level. In the clinic, NSE measurements should be considered along with clinical symptoms, image results and histopathology.

[Spectra analyses of chitosans degraded by hydrogen peroxide under optimal conditions].

Chitosans with different average molecular weight (1,500-156 kDa) were prepared under optimal conditions based on our previous research by the depolymerization of initial chitosan using hydrogen peroxide, with maintaining the native structure of natural chitosan as principal consideration. Nitrogen and Carbon components of initial chitosan and degraded products were analyzed by BUCHI fully automatic nitrogen determination system and Liquid total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR), X-ray diffraction and circular dichroism (CD) analyses were used to characterize the structure properties of samples. The results indicated that the maximum standard deviations of carbon content and nitrogen content and the degree of deacetylation (DD) of degraded products with the corresponding values of the initial chitosan are 2.4%, 2.3% and 6.9% respectively. Besides, the differentiations of the nitrogen content and DD value of the degraded product with the corresponding values of the initial chitosan are narrowed with the increase in the reaction time. FTIR spectra of resulting products are similar to that of initial chitosan in terms of peak number and position, indicating that there are no other functional groups formed during the degradation. 13C-NMR analyses of initial chitosan and degraded products revealed that the chemical structures of resulting chitosans are not changed to any noticeable extent. X-ray diffraction patterns of initial chitosan and degraded chitosans are alike and show characteristic peaks at 2theta = 10. 4 degrees and 19.8 degrees under the condition that the initial chitosan was disposed as degraded chitosans. Circular dichroism analyses showed that all the samples exhibit a broad negative band located at about 210 nm assigned to n --> pi* electronic transition of the --NH--CO-- chromophore on a glycosidic ring in acidic media, which demonstrated that degraded chitosans maintain their natural conformation in liquid state substantially. All these confirmed that the degraded chtiosans maintain their natural structure and conformation, and the breakage of beta-1,4-glucoside bonds in macromolecule is the basic process under optimal degradation conditions.

[Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of konjac glucomannan derivative with quaternary ammonium salts].

Methacryloxylethyl tetradecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide was grafted onto konjac glucomannan using ceric ammonium nitrate as an initiator, and the konjac glucomannan derivative with quaternary ammonium salts was obtained. The konjac glucomannan derivative was investigated by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and Zeta sizer nano series. The antimicrobial properties of the konjac glucomannan derivative against selected microorganisms were tested by the quantitative suspension method. The results revealed that (1) methacryloxylethyl tetradecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide can be grafted onto the surface of the konjac glucomannan, and the percentage grafting increases with increasing the amount of methacryloxylethyl tetradecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide. (2) The Zeta potential showed that the isoelectric point of the konjac glucomannan and the modified konjac glucomannan is pH 4. 5 and pH 9. 9, respectively. The shift of the isoelectric point is due to the quaternary ammonium groups. (3) The obtained konjac glucomannan derivative has significant inhibition effect on the growth of microorganisms, and the bactericidal rates in 15 min for E. coil (8099), S. aureus (ATCC 6538) and C. albicans (ATCC10231) were 99.99%, 99.99% and 98.13%, respectively.

[Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of nano-fumed silica derivative with quaternary ammonium salts].

Nano-fumed silica reacted with gamma-chlopropyltrimethoxysilane as a coupling agent, and then by quaternization with N,N-dimethyl-n-tetradecylamine, finally the nano-fumed silica derivative with quaternary ammonium salts was obtained. The nano-fumed silica derivative was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and Zeta sizer nano series. The antimicrobial properties of the nano-fumed silica derivative against selected microorganisms were tested by the quantitative suspension method. The results revealed that (1) gamma-chlopropyltrimethoxysilane can be bound to the surface of the nano-fumed silica With increasing the amount of gamma-chlopropyltrimethoxysilane, the amount of surface hydroxyl groups of nano-fumed silica decreases. (2) The Zeta potential showed that the isoelectric point of the nano-fumed silica and the modified nano-fumed silica is pH 4.8 and pH 10.5, respectively. The shift of the isoelectric point is due to the quaternary ammonium groups. (3) The obtained nano-fumed silica derivative has significant inhibition effect on the growth of microorganisms, and the bactericidal rates in 15 min for E. coil (8099), S. aureus (ATCC6538) and C. albicans(ATCC10231) were 99.99%,, 99.99% and 94.12%, respectively.