UCHL1 enhances the malignant development of glioma via targeting GAS2.

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression pattern of UCHL1 in glioma samples and its influence on the metastasis of glioma, as well as the underlying mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: UCHL1 levels in 42 paired glioma tissues and paracancerous ones were detected. The relationship between UCHL1 level and pathological indexes in glioma patients was analyzed. After establishing UCHL1 knockdown model in U251 and T98-G cells, their migratory ability was assessed by transwell and wound healing assay. At last, Luciferase assay, Western blot and rescue experiments were conducted to explore the role of UCHL1 in aggravating the development of glioma through targeting GAS2. RESULTS: UCHL1 was upregulated in glioma samples than paracancerous ones. High level of UCHL1 indicated high rates of lymphatic metastasis and distant metastasis, as well as low rates of overall survival and progression-free survival in glioma. Knockdown of UCHL1 markedly inhibited migratory ability in glioma cells. GAS2 was the downstream gene of UCHL1. A positive correlation was found between expression levels of UCHL1 and GAS2 in glioma tissues. Overexpression of GAS2 could reverse the inhibitory effects of silenced UCHL1 on migratory ability in glioma cells. CONCLUSIONS: UCHL1 level is linked to lymphatic metastasis, distant metastasis and prognosis in glioma patients. It stimulates migratory ability in glioma by positively regulating GAS2 level.

[Unusual manifestation of cerebral cysticercosis].

We have surgically treated two patients with cerebral cysticercosis, which were pre-operatively unexpected due to unusual CT and MRI manifestations. A 24 year old chinese farmer with intermittent severe headache for 6 years was examined by CT and MRI. A huge cystic lesion with same density or intensities to CSF occupied retroclival posterior fossa to upper cervical spinal canal and displaced neural structures backwardly. By suboccipital craniectomy, watery clear cyst fluid of 44ml was aspirated and the shrunken cyst was pulled out with ease. It was unable to predict until an electron microscopic study, which revealed a larva with three layers of microvilli, vesicular tegmentum and infrategmental muscle bundles and vesicles. The findings were same to those of racemose cysticercus of human brain. Giant cysts of cysticercosis were infrequently present supratentorially, although infratentorial or basal cysticercosis were racemose and small. The present case may be the first case of a huge cyst of cysticercosis in posterior fossa. A 44 year old Japanese businessman with 15 years history of general convulsion underwent craniotomy due to a small, but growing cystic granulomatous mass in right inferior frontal gyrus. The CT scan examined at 3 years after his first general convulsion revealed a small round low density mass, 5mm in diameter, in right frontal lobe and its wall was weakly enhanced by contrast media. The follow-up CT scans and MRIs revealed that the enhancing cystic mass became thick and deformed, and perifocal edema came to evident and progressed stepwise by attacks of general convulsions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Comparative study of brain tumors treated at China Medical University, China and Kyushu University, Japan].

We have re-examined histopathological specimens of brain tumors extirpated at China Medical University from May, 1990 to June, 1992. During the last 2 years, about 400 cases of brain tumors were operated and 349 cases were histopathologically diagnosed and classified by one of the authors (T. I). The most common tumor was meningioma, 97 cases, followed by gliomas, 87 case and neurinoma, 71 cases. The sex and age distributions of these three tumor types were compared to those of Kyushu University Hospital, Japan. The most striking difference was age of meningioma and neurinoma patients, and Chinese patients were 10 years younger than Japanese patients. The incidence of 30th age group of meningioma was 25% in China and 10% in Japan. Thirty percent of neurinoma patients were operated at 30th and 40th age in China and Japan, respectively. The sex and ages of astrocytoma patients were almost the same frequencies in China and Japan. Among 22 cases of congenital tumors, 11 cases of epidermoid tumor in cerebello-pontine cistern was included. Cerebral tuberculoma, although rarely encountered in Japan, was 2 cases in China.