CircRNA_002178 promotes the proliferation and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by activating the Akt/mTOR pathway.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the biological effects of circRNA_002178 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and to analyze its potential mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CircRNA_002178 expression in 50 pairs of OSCC tissues and adjacent ones was studied by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis, and the correlations of circRNA_002178 with clinicopathological indicators, as wells as prognosis of OSCC patients were analyzed. qPCR was used to verify circRNA_002178 expression in OSCC cell lines. Subsequently, circRNA_002178 knockdown models were constructed using lentivirus in OSCC cell lines, and the impacts of circRNA_002178 on the function of OSCC cells were assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) test, plate cloning experiment, transwell assay and nude mouse tumor formation experiments. Finally, rescue experiments in vitro were used to explore the potential mechanism of circRNA_002178 activating Akt/mTOR pathway. RESULTS: Our data showed that circRNA_002178 expression in OSCC tissue specimens was remarkably higher than that in adjacent ones. In comparison to patients in low circRNA_002178 expression group, patients in high expression group showed higher incidences of advanced pathological stage and distant metastasis, and a lower overall survival rate. Cell functional experiments revealed that knockdown of circRNA_002178 markedly attenuated the proliferation and migration ability of OSCC cells compared to the sh-NC group, and the consistent results were observed in the nude mouse experiment. In addition, Western blot suggested that the expression of key proteins in Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was remarkably reduced after downregulation of circRNA_002178 in OSCC cells. Meanwhile, Akt activator SC79 reversed the inhibitory effect of circRNA_002178 on the metastasis and proliferation of OSCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: CircRNA_002178, over-expressed in OSCC tissues and cell lines, may promote the malignant progression of OSCC through activating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Role of Bcl-2 and Bax in parotid gland atrophy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and correlation of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and Bax in the parotid gland after leading duct ligation in rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Atrophy of the right parotid was induced by ligating the right Stensen's duct of rats. Immunohistochemical labeling was performed to study the changes in number and distribution of Bcl-2 and Bax in each step of glandular atrophy, and every group at 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, 90, 150, 180 days after ligation. RESULTS: Bcl-2 and Bax showed a low level of expression in normal glandular tissues. At different time points after the ligation of the main duct, Bcl-2 was highly expressed in the duct cells, and the absorbance value reached a peak value at 21-day (3.02+0.10). The 1 D expression of Bax was found in some of the cells in the 3 D, and the expression of Bax reached the peak (1.99+0.10), and the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were decreased in some cells. Bcl-2/Bax ratio increased at 1 day-21 day, and then decreased and stabilized. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of Bax and Bcl-2 after ligation of the parotid gland is closely related to the process of the parotid gland atrophy.

Expression of T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis factor on the occurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

In recent years, many studies have found that tumor metastasis-related gene T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis-inducing factor 1 (TIAM1) had abnormal high expression in a variety of tumor cells; however, there are few studies regarding its expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study aimed to observe the expression of TIAM1 in OSCC and investigated its clinical significance. The expression of TIAM1 in tissues from 120 cases of OSCC and oral mucosa from 40 normal cases was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the relationship between the expression of TIAM1 and the clinicopathological parameters of OSCC was analyzed. The positive expression rate of TIAM1 in the OSCC tissues was significantly higher than that in the normal oral mucosa (92.5% vs 0%). With the decrease of histological differentiation of OSCC, the increase of tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage and the occurrence of lymph node metastasis, the TIAM1 staining positive rate was gradually increased, and the difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). However, the expression of TIAM1 in the OSCC tissues was in no correlation with the gender and age of the patients. The expression of TIAM1 is closely related to the occurrence, development and metastasis of OSCC, and it can be used as a new marker for reflecting its biological behaviors.

Clinical diagnostic value of free body of reduced iron protoporphyrin in uterus epithelial cells on cervical carcinoma and precancerous lesion.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer is a common malignant tumor in women with increased incidence and younger onset age. As a curable tumor, timely diagnosis and early intervention are critical. Based on the golden standard of cervical tissues pathology examination, we investigated the value of free body of reduced iron protoporphyrin (FH) in uterus epithelial cells for the diagnosis of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions, aiming to provide novel methods for early screening of cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 574 women who were screened for cervical cancer according to golden standard of pathology as the reference, were recruited for the analysis of authenticity, reliability, and predictive values of FH. The diagnostic value of FH on cervical carcinoma and precancerous lesion diagnosis was further analyzed. RESULTS: 340 individuals had normal cervical or benign lesion by pathology examination, while 155 people had precancerous lesion, among which 79 cases presented early infiltration and infiltrative cancer. In FH screening, 361 and 213 people had negative and positive results, respectively. No significant differences in the results were observed between the two methods in screening cancer and precancerous lesion (p>0.05). FH showed 93.55% sensitivity and 81.94% specificity in diagnosing precancerous lesion, while the sensitivity and specificity for cervical cancer diagnosis were 93.53% and 81.01%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: FH assay was demonstrated to have advantages of high diagnostic value for cervical cancer and precancerous lesion, and might be used for early screening.

Factors influencing QTL mapping accuracy under complicated genetic models by computer simulation.

The accuracy of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) identified using different sample sizes and marker densities was evaluated in different genetic models. Model I assumed one additive QTL; Model II assumed three additive QTLs plus one pair of epistatic QTLs; and Model III assumed two additive QTLs with opposite genetic effects plus two pairs of epistatic QTLs. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) (50-1500 samples) were simulated according to the Models to study the influence of different sample sizes under different genetic models on QTL mapping accuracy. RILs with 10-100 target chromosome markers were simulated according to Models I and II to evaluate the influence of marker density on QTL mapping accuracy. Different marker densities did not significantly influence accurate estimation of genetic effects with simple additive models, but influenced QTL mapping accuracy in the additive and epistatic models. The optimum marker density was approximately 20 markers when the recombination fraction between two adjacent markers was 0.056 in the additive and epistatic models. A sample size of 150 was sufficient for detecting simple additive QTLs. Thus, a sample size of approximately 450 is needed to detect QTLs with additive and epistatic models. Sample size must be approximately 750 to detect QTLs with additive, epistatic, and combined effects between QTLs. The sample size should be increased to >750 if the genetic models of the data set become more complicated than Model III. Our results provide a theoretical basis for marker-assisted selection breeding and molecular design breeding.

Relationship between anal occult blood and hepatobiliary pancreatic carcinoma screening.

Cotton swab anal smear instead of stool occult blood test can not only be used as a mass screening method for colorectal cancer, but is an auxiliary way to screen hepatobiliary pancreatic carcinoma. Two hundred and twenty-three cases of hepatobiliary pancreatic carcinoma patients received anal occult blood test, of which 121 were positive (54.3%). The screening test was performed in 14,645 healthy people aged 40-60 years; 511 persons (3.4%) were positive for anal blood. Among these, six cases of digestive tract cancer were found (one oesophageal carcinoma, one gastric cardia carcinoma, two gastric carcinomas, two liver carcinomas). This suggests that when anal occult blood is positive, the patient should be scanned by ultrasonic means to rule out hepatobiliary pancreatic tumour.

New concept for cancer screening.

Prevention of cancer mortality can be achieved by two main routes: (1) detection of precancerous lesions and preventing their progression to cancer, and (2) detecting cancers at an early stage when they are still amenable to curative treatment. Early detection of cancer is dependent on the population being well-informed about cancer, and about how to carry out self-examination as a preliminary screen (followed by a full clinical examination in the event of suspicious symptoms). In this paper the warning signs that the population should be taught to look out for are discussed. Superficial observation and palpation can be used for surface tumours (which comprise 10-15% of the total). A further 60-70% of tumours are of the digestive tract, respiratory tract or urogenital tract. For these, it is argued that a simple occult blood test could be used as a self-administered screening test. Data are presented to show that this is a practicable way for the general population to detect early signs of cancer or pre-cancer, with a high yield of clinically significant results in the occult blood positive persons.

Screening of esophageal and gastric cancer by occult blood bead detector.

A previously described bead method used to detect blood is simple, cheap, and effective; it can be repeated periodically. In 11 provinces in China, 233,825 persons (age range, 30-70 years) were screened. A positive occult blood test result was found in 28,557 persons (12%). Of these, 16,918 underwent a gastroscopy, resulting in the detection of 581 cancers that were located in similar frequencies in the esophagus, gastric cardia, and gastric body; 70% of the lesions were in an early or moderately advanced stage. Among 119 patients with early-stage cancer, the 3-year survival rate was 98.3%. After preliminary screening of cancer, the 4-year follow-up found a mortality rate in the group with negative occult blood test results that was only 25% of that of the positive group. Preliminary yearly screening would detect more early cancers and fewer advanced cancers. The mortality rate of esophageal and gastric cancer might be reduced drastically.