Clinical significance and prospective mechanism of increased CDKN2A expression in small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Although it has been shown that cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) plays a significant role in a number of malignancies, its clinicopathological value and function in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is unclear and warrants additional research. METHODS: The clinical significance of CDKN2A expression in SCLC was examined by multiple methods, including comprehensive integration of mRNA level by high throughput data, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for prognostic value, and validation of its protein expression using in-house immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The expression of CDKN2A mRNA in 357 cases of SCLC was evidently higher than that in the control group (n = 525) combing the data from 20 research centers worldwide. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was 3.07, and the area under the curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristic curve (sROC) was 0.97 for the overexpression of CDKN2A. ACC, COAD, KICH, KIRC, PCPG, PRAD, UCEC, UVM patients with higher CDKN2A expression had considerably worse overall survival rates than those with lower CDKN2A expression with the hazard ratio (HR) > 1. CONCLUSION: CDKN2A upregulation extensively enhances the carcinogenesis and progression of SCLC.

Fish assemblage changes over half a century in the Yellow River, China.

Riverine environments have been threatened by anthropogenic perturbations worldwide, whereby their fish assemblages have been modified by habitat changes and nonendemic species invasions. We assessed changes in fish assemblages by comparing the species presence in historical and contemporary fish data in the Yellow River from 1965 to 2015. The temporal change in species assemblages was found with increased nonendemic species and fewer natives. Fish species richness of the river declined 35.4% over the past fifty years. Moreover, the decreased mean Bray-Curtis dissimilarity among reaches suggested that the fish assemblages of different reaches in the Yellow River were becoming more similar over time. However, temporal patterns of fish assemblages varied among reaches. In the upper Yellow River, higher species richness and more invasive species were found than those in the historical record, while the lower reaches experienced significant species loss. Dam constructions, exotic fish invasions, and flow reductions played the vital role in structuring the temporal fish assemblages in the Yellow River. It is suggested that river basins which experienced different types and levels of stressors by anthropogenic perturbations can produce varied effects on their temporal trends of species assemblages.

Roles of SHARP1 in thyroid cancer.

SHARP1 is a basic helix­loop­helix transcription factor involved in various cellular processes, including proliferation and differentiation. The present study assessed the role of SHARP1 in the progression and invasion of thyroid cancer. PCR and western blot analysis demonstrated that in thyroid cancer tissues, SHARP1 was significantly downregulated at the mRNA and protein level compared with that in normal tissues. Furthermore, SHARP1 was downregulated in the TT and TPC­1 thyroid cancer cell lines compared with a normal thyroid cell line, while it was upregulated in other thyroid cancer cell lines. Overexpression of SHARP1 in TT and TPC­1 cells significantly inhibited the cell viability, migration and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, the protein and mRNA levels of HIF­1α were found to be decreased in TT and TPC­1 cells following forced overexpression of SHARP1. In addition, silencing of HIF­1α reduced the viability, migration and invasion of TT and TPC-1 cells. In conclusion, the present study indicated that SHARP1 acts as a tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer and that its downregulation may contribute to the proliferation, migration and invasion of thyroid cancer cells through mechanisms possibly involving HIF­1α, suggesting that SHARP1 may be an important therapeutic target for the treatment of thyroid cancer.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Schizopygopsis pylzovi (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).

Schizopygopsis pylzovi Kessler (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), an endemic species to China, is a major commercial fish in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of S. pylzovi was sequenced. The mitogenome is 16,704 bp in length and includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and two non-coding regions. The basic composition of S. pylzov is 28.5% for A, 27.0% for T, 26.1% for C, and 18.4% for G, with a slight AT bias of 55.5%. Gene order is similar to that of the typical vertebrate, as is nucleotide composition and codon usage. The complete mitogenome sequence of S. pylzovi would be useful to further phylogenetic analysis and genetic conservation for this endemic species.