ZFX-mediated upregulation of CEBPA-AS1 contributes to acute myeloid leukemia progression through miR-24-3p/CTBP2 axis.

Emerging reports demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a role in the pathogenesis and metastasis of cancers. However, the biological functions and underlying mechanisms of LncRNA CEBPA-AS1 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remain largely elusive. The level of CEBPA-AS1 was examined in AML clinical tissues and cell lines via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In vivo and in vitro functional tests were applied to identify the pro-oncogenic role of CEBPA-AS1 in AML development. The overexpressed CEBPA-AS1 was linked to poor survival in AML patients. Moreover, the relationships among CEBPA-AS1, Zinc Finger Protein X-Linked (ZFX), and miR-24-3p were predicted by bioinformatics and validated by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and luciferase reporter assays. Our findings unveiled that transcription factor ZFX particularly interacted with the promoter of CEBPA-AS1 and activated CEBPA-AS1 transcription. Downregulation of CEBPA-AS1 inhibited the proliferation and invasion while promoted apoptosis of AML cells in in vitro, as well as in vivo, xenograft tumor growth was modified. However, overexpression of CEBPA-AS1 observed the opposite effects. Furthermore, CEBPA-AS1 acted as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of miR-24-3p to attenuate the repressive effects of miR-24-3p on its downstream target CTBP2. Taken together, this study emphasized the pro-oncogenic role of CEBPA-AS1 in AML and illustrated its connections with the upstream transcription factor ZFX and the downstream regulative axis miR-24-3p/CTBP2, providing important insights to the cancerogenic process in AML.

Dendrobium officinale Flower Extraction Mitigates Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice: Role of Antisteatosis, Antioxidative, and Anti-Inflammatory.

The study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of Dendrobium officinale flower extraction (DOFE) on alcohol-induced liver injury and its probable mechanisms in mice. The chemical composition of DOFE was performed via UPLC/MS. Male Kunming mice were used to establish alcohol-induced liver injury models by oral gavage of 56% alcohol. Results showed that DOFE dramatically attenuated the increased serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), and triacylglycerol (TG). Meanwhile, hematoxylin and eosin and Oil Red O staining showed that DOFE attenuated degeneration, inflammatory infiltration, and lipid droplet accumulation. DOFE was also found to suppress the activity of malonaldehyde (MDA) and enhanced the level of glutathione (GSH) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) in the liver. The protection of DOFE against oxidative stress was associated with the downregulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase l (NQO1). Additionally, DOFE suppressed inflammation via downregulating Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and nuclear factor kappa-B P65 (NF-κB P65). Thus, DOFE exhibited a significant protective effect against alcohol-induced liver injury through its antisteatosis, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory effect.

Relationship between epigenetic changes in Wnt antagonists and acute leukemia.

The present study was designed to investigate the relationship among epigenetic changes in Wnt antagonists, histone H4K20me1 and the expression of tumor-suppressor genes in acute leukemia (AL) to better understand the pathogenesis of leukemia. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of Wnt antagonists (Wnt5a, HDPR1, DKK1 and DKK3) in patients with AL and in normal controls; pyrophosphate sequencing was performed to detect the methylation status of the Wnt5a promoter; and western blotting was performed to detect the overall expression levels of Wnt5a protein and histone H4K20me1 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in normal controls. The relationship between Wnt5a protein expression and histone H4K20me1 was analyzed. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR (ChIP-qPCR) was performed to investigate the recruitment of H4K20me1 and SET8 to the Wnt5a promoter and coding regions. Our results demonstrated that the expression levels of Wnt antagonists were generally low in AML, but showed differential expression in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). In most cases of AML, methylation of the Wnt5a promoter was observed and Wnt5a protein expression was low. In some cases of AML, the overall level of H4K20me1 protein was higher than that in normal controls. In addition, Wnt5a expression was positively correlated with H4K20me1 expression and was unrelated to the methylation status of its promoter. Moreover, H4K20me1 and SET8 were enriched in the Wnt5a promoter region and coding region. By contrast, Wnt5a expression was unrelated to H4K20me1 expression in normal controls. Moreover, we observed that the methylation of Wnt antagonists was often found in patients with AL, particularly those with AML, whereas the extent of methylation was variable in ALL patients. Wnt5a expression was positively correlated with the enrichment of H4K20me1 and SET8 at the Wnt5a promoter and coding regions. H4K20me1 increased Wnt5a expression by promoting transcription initiation and elongation.

[Application of Bisulfite Sequencing PCR in Detecting the Abnormal Methylation of Suppressor Gene of Wnt Signaling Pathway in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the abnormal methylation of the CPG island in the suppressor gene promoter region of the Wnt signaling pathway in cell strain NB4 of the acute promyelocytic leukemia by using the bisulfite sequcucing PCR(BSP), to screan the hyper-methylated suppressor gene of the Wnt signaling pathway and to evaluatc the potency of BSP in the methylation study. METHODS: The strain NB4 cells of the acute promyelocytic leukemia patients were used as the object, the mononuclear cells from 20 normal persons were used as the controls. The DNA was extracted and processed by bisulfite, the target sequences were amplified with PCR, then the abnormal methylation of the suppressor genes of the Wnt signaling pathway in the NB4 cells was analyzed by BSP, and the advantage and disadvantage of BSP were evaluated by comparison with the Methylation specific PCR and Pyrosequencing. RESULTS: The methylated rate of suppressor genes of the Wnt signaling pathways in the NB4 cells detected by BSP was as follows: the gene WIF1 95.26%, the gene DKK3 86%, the gene SFRP1 81.67%, the gene SFRP2 95.71%, the gene SFRP4 85%, and the gene SFRP5 95%; while the methylations in the control group were respectively as follows: the gene WIF-1 1.5%, the gene DKK3 4.2%, the gene SFRP1 0%, the gene SFRP2 0.9%, the gene SFRP4 2.5%, and the gene SFRP5 1.75%. A more significant methylation happened in the suppressor genes promoter of the Wnt signaling pathway in the NB4 cells as compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: Many hypermethylated suppressor genes are found in the Wnt signaling pathway of the acute promyelocytic leukemia NB4 cells, which may be served as one of the early diagnosis index and therapeutic target of the acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Role of HOTAIR in the diagnosis and prognosis of acute leukemia.

HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), a long non-coding RNA, plays an important role in the development of many types of cancers. Its function in acute leukemia (AL), however, has not been examined. The present study investigated the role of HOTAIR and its downstream genes in AL, and determined whether it could act as a molecular marker for prediction of leukemia development and prognosis. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to examine the expression of each gene in the HOTAIR signaling pathway in AL patients. The relationship between expression of HOTAIR and downstream genes and AL prognosis was analyzed. Expression of HOTAIR in patients with acute monocytic leukemia (M5) was increased as compared to controls (P<0.05). Compared to patients with low HOTAIR expression, overall survival and event-free survival of patients with high HOTAIR expression was significantly reduced. In addition, the expression of downstream genes in the HOTAIR signaling pathway including EZH2, LSD1, DNMT3A and DNMT3B was significantly increased in AL patients, and showed a significant positive correlation with high expression of HOTAIR (P<0.05). In conclusion, HOTAIR was closely related with a poor prognosis in AL patients. It may be involved in the development of leukemia by mediating methylation of DNA and histones.

Insecticidal activity of pogostone against Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

BACKGROUND: Essential oil of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. has been reported to exhibit strong insecticidal activities, but few studies have focused on the insecticidal activity of its main individual constituent, pogostone (PO). The goal of this research was to investigate the insecticidal activity of PO against two harmful noctuid insects, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). RESULTS: In a no-choice assay, PO exhibited strong antifeedant activity against S. litura and S. exigua. PO showed pronounced larvicidal activities, including oral toxicity (LC50 986.88 mg L(-1) and 545.61 mg L(-1) respectively) and contact toxicity (LC50 1041.42 mg L(-1) and 519.48 mg L(-1) respectively) against these two noctuid insects. Additionally, PO treatment significantly increased the larval and pupal developmental period. Furthermore, PO showed moderate ovicidal activities and influenced the emergence and deformity of the moth. However, PO failed to exert a potent effect on adult development. These tested parameters proved to be dose dependent for both insect species. CONCLUSION: PO possesses strong insecticidal activities, especially antifeedant, larvicidal, growth inhibitory and pupicidal activities, against S. litura and S. exigua. PO may partly account for the insecticidal activity of patchouli oil and may be a promising candidate for the control of agricultural insects.

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of pogostone and its analogues.

Pogostone (PO) is one of the secondary metabolites from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (Lamiaceae), serving as the effective component of the antimicrobial activity. In this study, PO and a series of its analogues were synthesized by the reaction of dehydroacetate and aldehydes in tetrahydrofuran under a nitrogen atmosphere. Their activities against Candida albicans, Gram positive bacteria and Gram negative bacteria were evaluated. The antifungal results demonstrated that PO (MIC ranged from 12 to 97µg/mL against all strains, MFC ranged from 49 to 97µg/mL against all strains) and A3 (MIC ranged from 12 to 49, MFC over 195µg/mL) showed a strong activity against Candida albicans. While A1 (MIC ranged from 49 to 97µg/mL) and A2 (MIC ranged from 24 to 49µg/mL) have only shown effect against Guangzhou clinical isolates, the antibacterial results demonstrated that PO and its analogues showed no effects against the tested bacteria strains. This study suggests that pogostone analogues, with the appropriated structure modification, represented a kind of promising antifungal agents.