Prognostic significance of NFIA and NFIB in esophageal squamous carcinoma and esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.

The nuclear factor I (NFI) family members, especially NFIA and NFIB, play essential roles in cancers. The roles of NFIA and NFIB in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EJA) remain poorly known. This study aimed to determine the expression of NFIA and NFIB in ESCC and EJA and elucidate their prognostic significance. The expression of NFIA and NFIB was examined in 163 ESCC samples and 26 EJA samples by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that high NFIA expression correlated significantly with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and advanced TNM stage in patients with ESCC. High NFIB expression only correlated with poor differentiation in patients with ESCC. Survival analysis showed that NFIA but not NFIB associated with short overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with ESCC. On the other hand, high NFIB expression correlated with lymph node metastasis, advanced TNM stage, and short OS and DFS in patients with EJA. Finally, multivariate analysis demonstrated that high NFIA expression was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC. Taken together, these results demonstrated that NFIA and NFIB could serve as prognostic indicators for ESCC and EJA, respectively.

STK31 maintains the undifferentiated state of colon cancer cells.

The expression of serine/threonine kinase (STK) family is frequently altered in human cancers. However, the functions of these kinases in cancer development remain elusive. Here, we report that STK31 is robustly and heterogeneously expressed in colon cancer tissues and plays a critical role in determining the differentiation state of colon cancer cells. Knockdown or overexpression of STK31 induced or inhibited differentiation of colon cancer cells, respectively. Deletion of the STK domain abolished the inhibiting effect of STK31. Associated with differentiation, knockdown of STK31 resulted in significant suppression of tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo. Genome microarray analysis showed that knockdown of STK31 altered the expression profile of genes that are known to be involved in germ cell and cancer differentiation. Taken together, these results suggest that STK31 is able to control the differentiation state of colon cancer cells, which critically depends on its STK domain. The present findings may shed light on the new therapeutic approach against cancer by targeting STK31 and cancer differentiation.

Immunity induced by Staphylococcus aureus surface protein A was protective against lethal challenge of Staphylococcus aureus in BALB/c mice.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of hospital-acquired bacteremia. Due to emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, these infections present a serious public health threat. In this study, to develop a broadly protective vaccine, we tested whether immune responses induced by several proteins associated with S. aureus toxicity could protect mice from lethal challenge with human clinical S. aureus isolate USA300. We found that the surface protein A (SasA) of S. aureus could protect mice from lethal challenge of the bacteria.

The sequence-dependent cytotoxic effect of trastuzumab in combination with 5-Fluorouracil or cisplatin on gastric cancer cell lines.

The effect of trastuzumab on patients with HER-2/neu (HER2)-positive gastric cancer has been confirmed in a phase III clinical trial (ToGA study). However, the optimized sequence and synergic mechanism of trastuzumab and chemotherapy are not clear. Our study investigated the effects and mechanisms of trastuzumab in combination with 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) or cisplatin (DDP) on gastric cancer cell lines. Flow cytometry was used to determine HER2 expression and cell cycle. MTT assay was performed to evaluate cytotoxicity. Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to analyze signaling transduction and mRNA expression. Sequential 5-Fu followed by trastuzumab and trastuzumab plus DDP followed by trastuzumab produced the best inhibitory effects. Inhibition of HER2-PI3K-AKT signal transduction, downregulation of nucleotide excision repair cross-complementation 1 (ERCC1), and interference with cell cycle distribution may elucidate the synergism between trastuzumab and chemotherapy. These results provide some evidence for designing a rational regime when trastuzumab is being considered to be used in patients with gastric cancer.

[Expression of mouse CD1.1 in CHO cells and its stimulatory function on NKT cells].

AIM: To get cell lines which express mouse CD1.1 (mCD1.1) stably and to study the stimulatory effects of mCD1.1 on lymphocytes from many tissues. METHODS: The intestinal epithelial cells were isolated and their total RNA was prepared. By RT-PCR, the gene coding mCD1.1 was obtained and then cloned into the pcDNA3.1 vector through BamH I and EcoR I. The reconstructed plasmid, named pcDNA3.1-mCD1.1, was transfected into CHO cells by electroporation. The clones that grew well in the medium containing G418 were selected and their mCD1.1 expression was analyzed by RT-PCR and flow cytometry(FCM). The mCD1.1-expressing CHO cells were co-cultured with lymphocytes freshly isolated from the liver or mesenteric lymph nodes with or without LPS. The CHO cells were treated with mitomycin C to inhibit their proliferation. The lymphocyte proliferation was detected by MTT. In addition, the lymphocytes collected from the co-culture system were stained with fluorescein-labeled monoclonal antibodies against mouse NK1.1 and CD3. The double positive cells were detected by FCM. RESULTS: By RT-PCR, the gene coding mCD1.1 was acquired, identical to that reported by some authors with one base different from that reported by Genbank. Many clones that express mCD1.1 stably were obtained. MCD1.1-expressing CHO cells could stimulate lymphocytes to proliferate in the presence or absence of LPS and elevate the percentage of NK1.1 and CD3 double-positive cells. CONCLUSION: The mCD1.1 expressed on the membrane of CHO cells could stimulate the proliferation of NKT cells.