Mechanical Changes and Microfilament Reorganization Involved in Microcystin-LR-Promoted Cell Invasion in DU145 and WPMY Cells.

Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a potent tumor initiator that can induce malignant cell transformation. Cellular mechanical characteristics are pivotal parameters that are closely related to cell invasion. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of MC-LR on mechanical parameters, microfilament, and cell invasion in DU145 and WPMY cells. Firstly, 10 µM MC-LR was selected as the appropriate concentration via cell viability assay. Subsequently, after MC-LR treatment, the cellular deformability and viscoelastic parameters were tested using the micropipette aspiration technique. The results showed that MC-LR increased the cellular deformability, reduced the cellular viscoelastic parameter values, and caused the cells to become softer. Furthermore, microfilament and microfilament-associated proteins were examined by immunofluorescence and Western blot, respectively. Our results showed that MC-LR induced microfilament reorganization and increased the expression of p-VASP and p-ezrin. Finally, the impact of MC-LR on cell invasion was evaluated. The results revealed that MC-LR promoted cell invasion. Taken together, our results suggested that mechanical changes and microfilament reorganization were involved in MC-LR-promoted cell invasion in DU145 and WPMY cells. Our data provide novel information to explain the toxicological mechanism of MC-LR.

Identification of candidate diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for human prostate cancer: RPL22L1 and RPS21.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the potential of Ribosomal Protein L22-like1 (RPL22L1) and Ribosomal Protein S21 (RPS21) as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PCa. First, RPL22L1 and RPS21 were screened as the key molecular of PCa by bioinformatics analysis. Subsequently, the prostate tissue samples were stained for antibodies against RPL22L1 and RPS21. The unbiased signal quantification was performed by ImageJ software, and the results showed that the expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 exhibited significant differences between the PCa tissues and the normal prostate tissues. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves were prepared, and then the area under the curve (AUC) values of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were calculated as 0.798 and 0.768, and the likelihood ratio (LR) values of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were calculated as 2.86 and 2.53. These data implied that the over-expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 is associated with the presence of PCa. The further analysis suggested that the expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were significantly higher in high Gleason grade than they were in low Gleason grade. In addition, in vitro studies were undertaken to evaluate the roles of RPL22L1 and RPS21 in PCa. The results revealed that these genes promote PCa cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and inhibit PCa cell apoptosis. Taken together, these data showed that RPL22L1 and RPS21 exhibited higher expression in human prostate cancer tissue, and involved in PCa cell proliferation and invasion. This research provided a novel insight into diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PCa.

Identification of the key genes and pathways in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men globally. The aim of the present study was to identify the key genes and pathways involved in the occurrence of PCa. Gene expression profile (GSE55945) was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Subsequently, Gene ontology analysis, KEGG pathway analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis of DEGs were performed. Finally, the identified key genes were confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The GO analysis results showed that the DEGs were mainly participated in cell cycle, cell division, cell development and cell junction. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in proteoglycans in cancer, endocytosis, focal adhesion and hippo signaling pathway. The PPI analysis results showed that RPS21, FOXO1, BIRC5, POLR2H, RPL22L1 and NPM1 were the key genes involved in the occurrence of PCa, and the Module analysis indicated that the occurrence of PCa was associated with cell cycle, oocyte meiosis and ribosome biogenesis. IHC result showed that the expression of RPS21, BIRC5, POLR2H, RPL22L1 and NPM1 were significantly upregulated in PCa, while the expression of FOXO1 was significantly downregulated in PCa, matching with the bioinformatics analysis. Taken together, several key genes and pathways were identified involved in PCa, which might provide the potential biomarker for prognosis, diagnosis and drug targets.

ZNF185-derived peptide induces fertility suppression in mice.

Zinc finger protein 185 (ZNF185) belongs to the ZNF family and is involved in male reproduction. However, it is unclear whether ZNF185 may be a target candidate for contraceptive vaccines. In this study, antigenic peptides derived from ZNF185 were prepared, and their immune contraceptive effects were investigated using mice. Results from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISAs) showed that peptide immunization induced an antibody titre increase that reached a peak in week 12. Peptide-3 and peptide-4 were then chosen for subsequent experiments. The results of the fertility assays showed that peptide immunization inhibited the mating and fertility rates of the mice, whereas there were no obvious changes in the number of pups per litter. Subsequently, epididymal sperm was analysed. The results demonstrated that the sperm count and sperm motility were significantly decreased in the peptide group, while the amount of abnormal sperm was significantly increased in the peptide-3 group. The male reproductive organs were also evaluated. There were no obvious differences in testis or epididymal weights, in the diameters of the seminiferous tubules, or in the thicknesses of the seminiferous epithelium between the peptide group and the phosphate buffer saline (PBS) group. In addition, histological analysis indicated that there were no obvious pathologic changes in testis and epididymal histology in the peptide group; however, the number of spermatozoa present in the epididymal lumen of the peptide group was significantly decreased when compared with the PBS group. Our study demonstrates for the first time that peptides derived from ZNF185 may induce fertility suppression in mice without damaging reproductive organs. These peptides have the potential to be used as a male contraceptive vaccine.