STAMBPL1 promotes breast cancer cell resistance to cisplatin partially by stabilizing MKP-1 expression.

Dual-specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1/DUSP1/CL-100) has been documented to promote breast cancer cell survival and chemoresistance. MKP-1 is an unstable protein that is ubiquitinated and degraded via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. However, it is not clear how MKP-1 protein stability is regulated in breast cancer. In this study, we performed a genome-wide siRNA library screen of deubiquitinases (DUBs) and identified STAMBPL1 as an MKP-1 DUB in breast cancer cells. STAMBPL1 interacts with MKP-1 and stabilizes MKP-1 via deubiquitination. Both STAMBPL1 and MKP-1 depletion sensitize breast cancer cells to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo, and ectopic overexpression of MKP-1 partially rescues STAMBPL1 depletion-induced cisplatin sensitivity. Furthermore, STAMBPL1 and MKP-1 depletion increased breast cancer sensitivity to cisplatin by increasing the phosphorylation and activation of c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK). Collectively, our findings not only identify STAMBPL1 as an MKP-1 DUB but also reveal a critical mechanism that regulates MKP-1 expression in breast cancer. Our findings indicate that the STAMBPL1/MKP-1 axis represents a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer.

TNF-α increases breast cancer stem-like cells through up-regulating TAZ expression via the non-canonical NF-κB pathway.

Breast cancer patients often suffer from disease relapse and metastasis due to the presence of breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSCs). Numerous studies have reported that high levels of inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), promote BCSCs. However, the mechanism by which TNF-α promotes BCSCs is unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that TNF-α up-regulates TAZ, a transcriptional co-activator promoting BCSC self-renewal capacity in human breast cancer cell lines. Depletion of TAZ abrogated the increase in BCSCs mediated by TNF-α. TAZ is induced by TNF-α through the non-canonical NF-κB pathway, and our findings suggest that TAZ plays a crucial role in inflammatory factor-promoted breast cancer stemness and could serve as a promising therapeutic target.

Amino modification of biochar for enhanced adsorption of copper ions from synthetic wastewater.

Biochar was modified as a high efficient and selective absorbent for copper ions (Cu(II)) by nitration and reduction. Results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analyses indicated that the amino groups were chemically bound to the functional groups on the biochar surface. Kinetics, thermal dynamics, and adsorption and desorption of Cu(II) in fixed-bed were investigated. The results demonstrated that the amino-modified biochar exhibited excellent adsorption performance for Cu(II). The adsorption capacity and bed volume of the modified biochar are five- and eight- folds of the pristine biochar, respectively. The Cu(II) combined with the amino groups through strong complexation based on the comparison of XPS and ATR-FTIR analyses before and after adsorption, which endows it with the high pH stability and ion selectivity.

Mass production of chemicals from biomass-derived oil by directly atmospheric distillation coupled with co-pyrolysis.

Production of renewable commodity chemicals from bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of biomass has received considerable interests, but hindered by the presence of innumerable components in bio-oil. In present work, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated an innovative approach combining atmospheric distillation of bio-oil with co-pyrolysis for mass production of renewable chemicals from biomass, in which no waste was produced. It was estimated that 51.86 wt.% of distillate just containing dozens of separable organic components could be recovered using this approach. Ten protogenetic and three epigenetic compounds in distillate were qualitatively identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and quantified by gas chromatography. Among them, the recovery efficiencies of acetic acid, propanoic acid, and furfural were all higher than 80 wt.%. Formation pathways of the distillate components in this process were explored. This work opens up a fascinating prospect for mass production of chemical feedstock from waste biomass.

Preparation of liquid chemical feedstocks by co-pyrolysis of electronic waste and biomass without formation of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins.

The co-pyrolysis of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEEs) and waste biomass to obtain pyrolysis-oil, a liquid fuel or chemical feedstock, was carried out in the present work. The pyrolysis-oil yield of co-pyrolysis reached 62.3% which was significantly higher than those of pyrolysis of WEEEs and biomass alone (i.e., 53.1% for WEEEs and 46.3% for biomass), suggesting that synergistic effects of the WEEEs and biomass happened during the co-pyrolysis process. The pyrolysis-oil mainly contained aromatic compounds, including many aromatic hydrocarbons. More than 90 wt.% of bromides were enriched in pyrolysis-oil and char, which is easily to be recovered by further treatments, and no polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PBDD/Fs) were detected in all products which may be attributed to the blocking of PBDD/Fs generation under special reductive environment of pyrolysis. This work provided a green and environmentally friendly approach for the disposal of the WEEEs as well as resource recovery.

Sequence characterization, tissue-specific expression and polymorphism of the porcine (Sus scrofa) liver-type fatty acid binding protein gene.

In this study, the full-length cDNA of porcine liver-type fatty acid binding protein gene (L-FABP) was obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The nucleotide sequence and the predicted protein sequence share a high sequence identity with their mammalian counterparts. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that porcine L-FABP gene is expressed in all twelve tissues studied, but a transcript is more abundant in liver and small intestine than in other tissues. The part genomic DNA of the porcine L-FABP gene was amplified by PCR. The coding region of the pig L-FABP gene is organized in four exons and spans an approximate 2.62 kb genomic region. Comparative sequencing of four pig breeds revealed a C-->T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within exon 2. The allele and genotype frequencies differed significantly between indigenous Chinese Zang, Dahe, and Yanan pigs with higher frequencies of allele C and genotype CC and Yorkshire pigs with higher frequencies of allele T and genotype TT (P < 0.01). The association analysis suggested that the C-->T polymorphism was associated with intramuscular fat content, indicating that the SNP is a potential molecular marker for intramuscular fat content.