LncRNA NFYC-AS1 promotes the development of lung adenocarcinomas through autophagy, apoptosis, and MET/c-Myc oncogenic proteins.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear transcription factor Y subunit C antisense RNA 1 (NFYC-AS1) was revealed to be a potential prognostic biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma (LAUD) by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. However, the function of NFYC-AS1 has not been verified in cancers, including LAUD. We plan to verify the function of NFYC-AS1 in LAUD through this study. METHODS: We determined NFYC-AS1 expression in 4 LAUD cell lines, and 1 normal lung cell line (HBE) by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). small interfering RNA (siRNA) was employed to specifically knockdown NFYC-AS1 in H1299 and PC9 cell lines. Cell growth and invasion activity of LAUD cells was assessed by WST-1, colony formation and transwell assay, respectively. The effect of NFYC-AS1 expression on cell apoptosis was then assessed by flow cytometry assay. Furthermore, the expression of downstream proteins of NFYC-AS1 was investigated by Western blot. RESULTS: The proliferation, migration, and invasion of cells were inhibited and apoptosis was increased after NFYC-AS1 knockdown in LAUD cells. The cells transfected with NFYC-AS1 siRNA had a higher rate of apoptosis compared with that in control cells. The apoptosis-related proteins p53 and PARP were upregulated. These suggested NFYC-AS1 could inhibit the apoptosis of LAUD cells. In terms of the expression of major autophagy proteins, p62 was downregulated while Beclin 1 was upregulated after NFYC-AS1 knockdown, which suggested that autophagy was activated. The expression of oncogenic proteins MET and c-Myc was downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the above results suggest that NFYC-AS1 may promote the proliferation of LAUD through autophagy and apoptosis.

LINC00857 promotes the proliferation of pancreatic cancer via MET, STAT3, and CREB.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) LINC00857 promotes cell proliferation in various cancers and is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer (PC). However, the role of LINC00857 in PC is yet to be clarified. METHODS: In this study, we used Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) to investigate transcriptional data of LINC00857 in different cancers. We determined LINC00857 expression in 4 PC cell lines, and one normal pancreatic cell line by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). small interfering RNA (siRNA) was employed to specifically knockdown LINC00857 in BxPc3 and PANC1 cells. Cell proliferation was evaluated using WST-1. Western blotting analysis was used to detect the expression levels of downstream proteins of LINC00857. RESULTS: We revealed that the knockdown of LINC00857 in PC cell lines inhibited the proliferation of the PC cells. We found that LINC00857 downregulation was followed by the downregulation of oncogenic proteins mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that LINC00857 regulated the expression of STAT3 and CREB via regulating the expression of MET, and consequently promoted the growth of PC cells. The results allowed us to deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of PC and provided a potential target for the clinical treatment of PC.

Effects of parent-based social media and moderate exercise on the adherence and pulmonary functions among asthmatic children.

Our previous study showed Tai-Chi-Chuan (TCC) training, a moderate exercise, at school improved pulmonary function and inflammation profiles in children with mild asthma. However, habitual practice is hard to maintain with the lack of continuous family and peer support. We investigated whether parental intervention with social media could enhance children's adherence to exercise at home and improve asthmatic outcome measures. Parents were opted to attend a 12-week TCC classroom training, supervise home practice, and report to a four-step web-based social media platform to stay updated and motivated through logging activity and tracking competition. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), FEV1/FVC and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were measured before and after 12 weeks of training. Fifty-three asthmatic children were allocated into non-TCC (control, n = 12), TCC groups with moderate-to-severe (TCC-S, n = 26) and mild-to-moderate (TCC-M, n = 15) asthma. We found both TCC groups exhibited better pulmonary function than the non-TCC control. TCC increased FVC in mild-to-moderate asthma children while more pronounced improvement in FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEF and FeNO was noticed in moderate-to-severe asthmatic children. All TCC subjects retained greater participation and better interaction online except for low-ranking families who dramatically dropped their practice 9 weeks later. For asthmatic children, moderate exercise improves pulmonary functions in a severity-dependent fashion. Parent-based Learn-Practice-Persuade-Award wheel is a useful platform to motivate children engagement in physical activity. Classical social persuasive skills could enhance general parent-child relationship but tend to decrease in persuasiveness over time in low-ranking families.

Tai Chi Chuan Exercise Improves Lung Function and Asthma Control through Immune Regulation in Childhood Asthma.

BACKGROUND: Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is an exercise of low to moderate intensity with key features of mindfulness, structural alignment, and flexibility to relax the body and mind in adults. Our previous study showed that TCC could improve the quality of life (QoL), pulmonary function, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide in asthmatic children. We further investigated whether the benefits induced by TCC were associated with immune regulation. METHOD: Six- to twelve-year-old children diagnosed with mild to severe persistent asthma for at least one year according to the Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines were enrolled from a tertiary pediatric allergy center in Taiwan. Asthmatic children were divided into two groups based on their choice: (1) the TCC group had a 60-minute TCC exercise session once weekly led by an instructor and (2) the control group kept their original activity levels. All other exercises were encouraged as usual. Pulmonary function tests, laboratory tests, standardized pediatric asthma QoL questionnaire (PAQLQ(S)), and childhood asthma control test (C-ACT) were performed before and after the TCC program (12 weeks). Data on medications and exacerbations were collected from medical records. RESULTS: There were no differences between the TCC (n = 25) and control (n = 15) groups at baseline, except that the C-ACT showed significantly lower results in the TCC group (p=0.045). After 12 weeks, the number of leukocytes (p=0.041) and eosinophils (p=0.022) decreased, while regulatory T cells increased significantly (p=0.008) only in the TCC group. Lung functions (FEV1 and PEFR) were significantly improved in both the TCC (p < 0.001) and control (p=0.045 and 0.019, respectively) groups, while the PAQLQ(S) and C-ACT (p < 0.001) showed improvement only in the TCC group. Moreover, compared to the control group, the exacerbations within 12 weeks after the study were significantly decreased in the TCC group (p=0.031). After multiple regression by a conditional forward method, the factors that were significantly associated with exacerbation within 12 weeks after study is the practice of TCC and exacerbation within 24 weeks before study (p=0.013 and 0.015, respectively) after adjusting for age, sex, asthma severity, PEF, FEV1, C-ACT, PAQLQ(S), and medication score at baseline. CONCLUSION: TCC exercise may improve pulmonary functions, asthma control, and QoL and prevent exacerbations in asthmatic children through immune regulation. Further research on detailed mechanisms is mandated.