Circular RNA hsa_circ_0007142 Is Upregulated and Targets miR-103a-2-5p in Colorectal Cancer.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a large class of endogenous noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression and mainly function as microRNA sponges. This study aimed to explore the aberrant expression of circRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC). Using a circRNA microarray, we identified 892 differentially expressed circRNAs between six pairs of CRC and adjacent paracancerous tissues. Among them, hsa_circ_0007142 was significantly upregulated. Further analysis in 50 CRC clinical samples revealed that hsa_circ_0007142 upregulation was associated with poor differentiation and lymphatic metastasis of CRC. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase reporter assay showed that hsa_circ_0007142 targeted miR-103a-2-5p in CRC cells. Moreover, the silencing of hsa_circ_0007142 by siRNAs decreased the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HT-29 and HCT-116 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that hsa_circ_0007142 is upregulated in CRC and targets miR-103a-2-5p to promote CRC.

Small nucleolar host gene 6 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis.

Esophageal cancer (ESCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-associated mortality in China. The present investigation reveals that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), exert a significant effect on the initiation, development and metastasis of malignant tumors, including ESCC. However, to the best of our knowledge, the function of non-protein-coding genes that host small nucleolar RNAs has not been investigated in cancer, particularly in ESCC. The expression of small nucleolar host gene 6 (SNHG6) in 70 ESCC tissues and paired adjacent tissues was measured by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Analysis demonstrated that SNHG6 expression was significantly increased in ESCC tissues, and associated with tumor size (P=0.040) and Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (P<0.01). Knockdown of SNHG6 may inhibit proliferative and colony-forming abilities, and induce apoptosis, in ESCC cells. To the best of our knowledge, the data from the present study indicated for the first time that SNHG6 was upregulated in ESCC tissues and cell lines. This novel lncRNA may exert a marked effect on the generation and progression of ESCC, potentially providing a novel perspective on ESCC diagnosis and management.

Comprehensive profile of differentially expressed circular RNAs reveals that hsa_circ_0000069 is upregulated and promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, despite great progress in cancer research, the detailed mechanisms of colorectal cancer (CRC) are still poorly understood. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a new star of the non-coding RNA network, have been identified as critical regulators in various cancers, including CRC. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, by using unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis, a novel dysregulated circRNA, hsa_circ_0000069, was found. The expression of hsa_circ_0000069 was measured in 30 paired CRC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A high expression of hsa_circ_0000069 was observed in CRC tissues and correlated with patients' age and tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage (P<0.05). Furthermore, by using specifically designed siRNAs in CRC cells, a functional analysis was performed which revealed that hsa_circ_0000069 knockdown could notably inhibit cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induce G0/G1 phase arrest of cell cycle in vitro. CONCLUSION: This study's findings are the first to demonstrate that hsa_circ_0000069, an important regulator in cancer progression, could be a promising target in the diagnosis and therapy in colorectal cancer.

Second-order nonlinear optical responses of carboranyl-substituted indole/indoline derivatives: impact of different substituents.

Carborane has been the subject of great interest over the last decades due to its high structural, chemical, biological stability and diverse applications. In the present work, carboranyl-substituted indole/indoline compounds and their functionalized derivatives have been systematically investigated by density functional theory (DFT) method with the view of assessing their electronic structures and first hyperpolarizabilities. Significantly, the first hyperpolarizabilities can be obviously enhanced by the introduction of a strong electron-withdrawing group for closed-ring forms, while the strong electron-donating group is beneficial for large first hyperpolarizabilities for open-ring forms. It indicates that the NLO properties of these compounds can be enhanced by controlling their relative substituent groups. Furthermore, the time-dependent DFT calculation illustrates that the enhancement of the first hyperpolarizabilities are found due to the obvious charge transfer (CT) transition, and closed-ring forms have a significant difference on the CT patterns versus open-ring ones. Investigation of the structure-property relationship and substituent effects at the molecular level can benefit for further exploration of carboranyl-substituted indole/indoline derivatives with versatile and fascinating NLO properties.

Ion-π interaction in impacting the nonlinear optical properties of ion-buckybowl complexes.

Ion-buckybowl complexes have received considerable attention in modern chemical research due to its fundamental and practical importance. Herein, we performed density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the geometical structure, binding interactions, dipole moments and the first hyperpolarizabilities (ßtot) of ion-buckybowl complexes (ions are Cl(-) and Na(+), buckybowls are quadrannulene, corannulene and sumanene). It is found that the stabilities of ion-buckybowl compounds primarily originate from the interaction energy, which was proved by a new isomerization energy decomposition analysis approach. Plots of reduced density gradient mirror the ion-π weak interaction has been formed between the ions and buckybowls. Significantly, the buckybowl subunits cannot effectively impact the nonlinear optical (NLO), but the kind of ion has marked influence on the second-order NLO responses. The ßtot values of Cl(-)-buckybowl complexes are all larger as compared to that of Na(+)-buckybowl complexes, which is attributed to the large charge-transfer (CT) from Cl(-) to buckybowl. Our present work will be beneficial for further theoretical and experimental studies on the NLO properties of ion-buckybowl compounds.

Ferrocene/fullerene hybrids showing large second-order nonlinear optical activities: impact of the cage unit size.

The electron donor-acceptor complexes, which undergo intramolecular charge transfer under external stimulus, are an emerging class of materials showing important application in nonlinear optics. Synthesizing ferrocene/fullerene complexes through face-to-face fusion would enjoy the merits of both ferrocene and fullerene due to their strong donor-acceptor interactions. Four ferrocene/fullerene hybrid complexes with the gradual extension of fullerene cage size, including CpFe(C60H5), CpFe(C66H5), CpFe(C70H5), and CpFe(C80H5) (Cp is cyclopentadienyl), have been investigated by density functional theory. These hybrid molecules give eclipsed and staggered isomers. The main reason that the eclipsed isomer is stable is that the eclipsed structure possesses large CpFefullerene bonding energy. The CpFefullerene interaction is smaller than that of CpFefullerene, which must come from two different interfaces. The presence of covalent bond character between CpFe and fullerene is supported by the localized orbital locator, deformation of electron density distribution and energy decomposition analysis. Significantly, the absorption bands and first hyperpolarizabilities of these hybrid complexes are strongly sensitive to the fullerene cage size, which is ascribed to a change in the charge transfer pattern, especially for CpFe(C80H5), which displays reverse π → π* charge transfer from bottom to top cage, leading to notable hyperpolarizability. Investigation of the structure-property relationship at the molecular level can benefit the design and preparation of such hybrid complexes in chemistry and materials science.

[A randomized trial of docetaxol plus cisplatin versus gemzar plus cisplatin in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is difficult. The response rate (RR) of NSCLC patients to traditional chemotherapy regimen is about 40%. Now the RR has been improved with application of new drugs, such as taxol, docetaxal, and gemzar. This randomized trial was designed to determine treatment efficacies of docetaxol plus cisplatin and gemzar plus cisplatin on advanced NSCLC, and observe their cytotoxicities. METHODS: A total of 43 advanced NSCLC patients were randomized into 2 groups, 22 in TP group (docetaxol plus cisplatin) and 21 in GP group (gemzar plus cisplatin), and received relevant treatments. The RR, time to progression (TTP), mean survival time (MST), and 1- and 2-year survival rates of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The RR was 45.4% in TP group with 1 case of complete remission (CR) and 9 cases of partial remission (PR), and 42.9% in GP group with 9 cases of PR. The TTP was 4.6 months in TP group, and 4.7 months in GP group; the MST was 10.6 months in TP group [95% confidence interval (CI), 9.3-11.3 months], and 11.3 months in GP group (95% CI, 6.8-14.8 months). The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 38.1% and 15.3% in TP group, and 34.1% and 11.2% in GP group. The differences of RR and survival rate between the 2 groups were not significant (P=0.71, P=0.89). The major cytotoxicity of TP was leukopeniaû the major cytotoxicities of GP group were fatigue and thrombocytopenia. All adverse reactions were tolerable. CONCLUSION: TP and GP regimens may enhance the remission rate of NSCLC patients with tolerable adverse reaction, and improve the short-term survival rate, but the differences in treatment efficacies of TP and GP groups are not significant.