METTL3/YTHDF2 m6A axis promotes the malignant progression of bladder cancer by epigenetically suppressing RRAS.

The present study aimed to explore the potential roles of the methyltransferase­like 3 (METTL3)­mediated methylation of RAS related (RRAS) mRNA in the tumorigenesis and development of bladder cancer (BCa). For this purpose, the relative expression levels of METTL3 in BCa specimens and cell lines were measured using reverse transcription­quantitative PCR (RT­qPCR) and western blot analysis. The association between the METTL3 expression level and the clinical characteristics of patients with BCa was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis databases. Cellular experiments were performed to confirm the effects of METTL3 on the proliferative, migratory and invasive capacities of BCa cells. RT­qPCR, western blot analysis, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP)­qPCR and dual­luciferase report assays were utilized to verify the METTL3/RRAS/YTH N6­methyladenosine (m6A) RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2) regulatory axis in BCa. The results revealed that METTL3 expression was markedly increased in BCa specimens and cell lines, and was associated with poor clinical characteristics of patients with BCa. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that the silencing of METTL3 markedly suppressed the proliferative, migratory and invasive capacities of BCa cells. MeRIP­PCR and dual­luciferase report assays indicated that METTL3 could bind to the m6A sites of RRAS mRNA and suppress the transcriptional activity of RRAS. YTHDF2 could recognize the m6A sites of RRAS and mediate RRAS degradation. On the whole, the findings of the present study reveal the pivotal role of METTL3­catalyzed m6A modification in BCa tumorigenesis and development. The change could facilitate BCa tumor growth and metastasis by suppressing RRAS expression in an m6A YTHDF2­dependent manner. Targeting the METTL3/RRAS/YTHDF2 regulatory axis may thus prove to be a promising strategy for the diagnosis and therapy of BCa.

Risk factors for kidney stone disease recurrence: a comprehensive meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Kidney stone disease (KSD) is a common illness that causes an economic burden globally. It is easy for patients to relapse once they have suffered from this disease. The reported recurrence rate of KSD ranged from 6.1% to 66.9%. We performed this meta-analysis to identify various potential risk factors for the recurrence of KSD. METHODS: The PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched using suitable keywords from inception to Mar 2022. A total of 2,663 records were collected initially. After screening the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 53 articles (40 retrospective studies; 13 prospective studies) including 488,130 patients were enrolled. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42020171771). RESULTS: The pooled results indicated that 12 risk factors including younger age (n = 18), higher BMI (n = 16), family history of kidney stones (n = 12), personal history of kidney stones (n = 11), hypertension (n = 5), uric acid stone (n = 4), race of Caucasian (n = 3), suspected kidney stone episode before the first confirmed stone episode (n = 3), surgery (n = 3), any concurrent asymptomatic (nonobstructing) stone (n = 2), pelvic or lower pole kidney stone (n = 2), and 24 h urine test completion (n = 2) were identified to be associated with KSD recurrence. In the subgroup analysis, patients with higher BMI (OR = 1.062), personal history of nephrolithiasis (OR = 1.402), or surgery (OR = 3.178) had a higher risk of radiographic KSD recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: We identified 12 risk factors related to the recurrence of KSD. The results of this analysis could serve to construct recurrence prediction models. It could also supply a basis for preventing the recurrence of KSD.

LINC00961 restrains cancer progression via modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal cell carcinoma.

Recently, long noncoding RNA have been identified as new gene regulators and prognostic biomarkers in various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The expression and biological roles of LINC00961 have been reported in many human cancers. However, up to date, no study of LINC00961 has been shown in RCC. Currently, we aimed to investigate the function of LINC00961 in RCC progression. Interestingly, we observed that LINC00961 could act as a novel biomarker in predicting the diagnosis of RCC. Then, we found that LINC00961 was greatly downregulated in RCC cell lines (Caki-1, Caki-2, 786-O, A498, and ACHN cells) compared with normal renal cell lines (HK-2 cells). Then, 786-O cells and ACHN cells were infected with LV-LINC00961. As displayed in our current study, LINC00961 overexpression could obviously suppress the proliferation and survival of RCC cells in vitro. In addition, RCC cell apoptosis was greatly induced and cell cycle progression was blocked in G1 phase by upregulation of LINC00961 in 786-O cells and ACHN cells. Subsequently, we found that LV-LINC00961 was able to restrain RCC cell migration and cell invasion capacity. Meanwhile, the messenger RNA and protein expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated markers Slug and N-cadherin in RCC cell lines were dramatically inhibited by overexpressing LINC00961. Finally, the in vivo experiment was carried out and we observed that LINC00961 could inhibit RCC development through modulating EMT process. Taken these together, it was indicated in our study that LINC00961 was involved in RCC progression through targeting EMT pathway.

[Quantitative determination of PVC concentration by Raman spectrum].

Quantitative determination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) concentration by Raman spectrum was studied in the present work. According to partial least squares (PLS) analysis, it was found that scores of PLS factor 1 were proportional to the concentrations of the sample solutions. Meanwhile, the loadings of factor 1 could reflect the contents of PVC and cyclohexanone simultaneously. The PLS regression model for PVC concentration prediction was built. The values of r and root mean square error (RMSE) between predictive results and actual values were 0.9963 and 2.775, respectively. The Raman characteristic peaks of PVC and cyclohexanone were found, including the C-Cl bond for PVC (620 and 695 cm(-1)) and the alicyclic ketone for cyclohexanone (1709 cm(-1)). By using internal standard method, another model for PVC concentration prediction was established, and the values of r and RMSE were 0.9941 and 3.151, respectively. The results indicated that it is feasible to use Raman spectrum to detect the PVC concentration, which is of significant importance to PVC recycling.

[Measurement of ethylene content in polypropylene by Raman spectrum].

Ethylene content in polypropylene was studied by Raman spectrum, combined with partial least squares (PLS) method. The comparison between Raman spectra for polyethylene and polypropylene was carried out, and the spectra between 50 and 600, 600 and 1600, and 2700 and 3100 cm(-1) were analyzed respectively. The models for ethylene content prediction were built, while the model based on 50-3600 cm(-1) spectra gave the best performance. The experiment indicated that Raman spectrum gave the similar predictive results as the near infrared (NIR) spectrum; the values of correlation coefficient (r), relative average deviation (RAD) and root mean square error (RMSE) between predictive results and actual values were 0.995, 2.65% and 0.319, respectively. According to PLS analysis, the loadings of factor 1 could reflect the relationship between the composition of polypropylene molecular chain and ethylene content, and ethylene content had a positive correlation with CH2 content, but a negative correlation with content of CH3, C-H, and C-C. The results indicated that it was feasible to detect the ethylene content in polypropylene by Raman spectrum.