Effect of rapamycin (RAPA) on the growth of lung cancer and its mechanism in mice with A549

Objective: To investigate the effects of rapamycin (RAPA) on the tumor growth of lung cancer in the mice bearing A549 and the mechanisms. Methods: 60 mice with A549 lung cancer models established were randomly divided into model group, low RAPA dose group and high RAPA dose group. The low dose group underwent intraperitoneal injection of 1.5 mg/kg RAPA, while the high dose group underwent intraperitoneal injection of 4.5 mg/kg RAPA, and the control group was given the same volume of PBS. 21 d after the administration, the changes of the tumor growth and survival rates of three groups were observed. RT-PCR and Western blot were utilized to analyze Caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels in the tumor tissues of the mice, and TUNEL staining method was used to analyze the cellular apoptosis of tumor tissues. Results: Compared with the model group, the low and high dose groups significantly inhibit tumor growth and have remarkably higher survival rates (P<0.05). The high dose group has obviously better effects on inhibiting tumors and a higher survival rate than low dose group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the low and high dose groups have significantly increased Caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels in tumor tissues (P<0.05), and higher cellular apoptosis rates in tumor tissues (P<0.05); Caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels and apoptosis rates of the mice’s tumor tissues of high dose group are markedly higher than those of low dose group (P<0.05). Conclusions: RAPA can significantly increase the expression of Caspase-3 in tumor tissues and promote the apoptosis of tumor tissue cells, and thus achieve good anti-tumor effects.     

The effects of early versus delayed castration targeting androgen on prolonging survival in a mouse model of bladder cancer

Objective: To compare the efficacy of early versus delayed surgical castration on prolonging survival and further to investigate the anticancer effect and potential value of targeting androgen in the therapeutic intervention of bladder cancer. Materials and methods: N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) was used to induce bladder cancer in male mice. Mice were randomly divided into three groups: the early castration group (on which castration was perform at 4 weeks after first time of BBN administration), the delayed castration group (on which castration was perform at 20 weeks after first time of BBN administration), and the sham-castrated group. Mice were monitored daily throughout their lifespan until cancer-related death or the progress of an obviously moribund appearance, at which time the mice were killed. Androgen receptor expression and cell proliferation and apoptosis analysis were also evaluated. Results: The average lifespan in early castration, delayed castration and sham-castrated groups were 315.8 days, 300.1 days and 254.6 days, respectively. Early castration conferred a statistically significant survival advantage when compared with the sham-castrated group (P < 0.05). However, the difference in the lifespan between the delayed castration group and the sham-castrated group was not statistically significant (P = 0.198). Both early and delayed castration significantly increased apoptosis of tumor cells when compared with the sham-castrated group (both P < 0.01), which was also accompanied by a significant decrease in cells proliferation (both P < 0.01). Prolonged survival of mice in early castration group was correlated with a lower G/B value (genitourinary tract weight/body weight) at death than the sham-castrated mice. Conclusion: Early castration had an overall survival benefit when compared with the sham-castrated treatment in BBN-induced bladder cancer mice. This finding may enhance the feasibility of androgen ablation treatment in patients with bladder cancer.     

Genetic and phenotypic changes associated with the acquisition of tumorigenicity in human bladder cancer

There has been a general lack of human paired cell lines that both reproduce the in vivo spectrum of tumor progression of bladder cancer and have some of the genetic changes associated with progression in human tumor tissue. T24, a cell line established from an invasive human transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder, has been used extensively in bladder cancer research. However, a significant limitation of this cell line is its lack of tumorigenicity when injected into immunocompromised mice. This characteristic was used to our advantage as we sought to characterize T24T, a highly tumorigenic variant that could then be used to elucidate the genes responsible for human bladder tumor progression. In culture, T24T has a faster doubling time, reaches a higher cell density in monolayer culture, and is more motile than T24 at higher cell densities. T24T is able to form colonies in soft agar, whereas T24 is not, and expresses HRAS, a gene associated with increased aggressiveness in human TCC, at higher levels than T24. Most importantly, T24T forms solid tumors when injected subcutaneously in SCID mice both with and without Matrigel (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), whereas T24 does not. Cytogenetically, the 2 cell lines contain at least 5 shared structural anomalies, as determined by detailed karyotyping. Interestingly, T24T has acquired 4 new structural changes, 3 of which [add(10)(p12), i(10)(q10), -15] have been observed in loss of heterozygosity (LOH) studies of tumor progression in human TCC. It appears that the T24/T24T model may be an excellent tool for the study of human TCC progression because of its relationship with known karyotypic changes associated with human bladder cancer progression. We are currently taking advantage of these paired cell lines to identify genes involved in human TCC progression. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 27:252-263, 2000.     

Upregulated SLC1A5 promotes cell growth and survival in colorectal cancer

Glutamine metabolism is essential for tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer, cancer cells remodel their glutamine metabolic pathways to fuel rapid proliferation. SLC1A5 is an important transporter of glutamine various cancer cells. In this study, we investigated SLC1A5 protein expression in colorectal cancer and evaluated its clinical significance and functional importance. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tissue microarrays containing 90 pairs of cancer and adjacent normal tissues from colorectal cancer patients, we found that SLC1A5 expression increased significantly in colorectal cancer compared with normal mucosa tissues (P < 0.001). We further validated SLC1A5 overexpression in 12 pairs of fresh cancer and adjacent normal mucosa tissues from colorectal cancer patients by Western blot (P < 0.05). SLC1A5 expression levels were strongly associated with T stage of tumor (P < 0.05), and the tubular adenocarcinoma subtype (P < 0.001). Moreover, downregulation of SLC1A5 by synthetic siRNA could suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis in colorectal cancer cell lines HT29 and HCT116. In conclusion, our results provide for the first time the differential expression in human colorectal cancer and normal tissues, and a functional link between SLC1A5 expression and growth and survival of colorectal cancer, making it an attractive target in colorectal cancer treatment.     

Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Ovarian Cancer : Inhibition of Ascites Formation by Immunoneutralization

Ovarian cancer is characterized by the rapid growth of solid intraperitoneal tumors and large volumes of ascitic fluid. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) augments tumor growth by inducing neovascularization and may stimulate ascites formation by increasing vascular permeability. We examined the role of VEGF in ovarian carcinoma using in vivo models in which intraperitoneal or subcutaneous tumors were induced in immunodeficient mice using the human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV-3. After tumor engraftment (7 to 10 days), some mice were treated with a function-blocking VEGF antibody (A4.6.1) specific for human VEGF. A4.6.1 significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited subcutaneous SKOV-3 tumor growth compared with controls. However, tumor growth resumed when A4.6.1 treatment was discontinued. In mice bearing intraperitoneal tumors (IP mice), ascites production and intraperitoneal carcinomatosis were detected 3 to 7 weeks after SKOV-3 inoculation. Importantly, A4.6.1 completely inhibited ascites production in IP mice, although it only partially inhibited intraperitoneal tumor growth. Tumor burden was variable in A4.6.1-treated IP mice; some had minimal tumor, whereas in others tumor burden was similar to that of controls. When A4.6.1 treatment was stopped, IP mice rapidly (within 2 weeks) developed ascites and became cachectic. These data suggest that in ovarian cancer, tumor-derived VEGF is obligatory for ascites formation but not for intraperitoneal tumor growth. Neutralization of VEGF activity may have clinical application in inhibiting malignant ascites formation in ovarian cancer.     

Decreased HCRP1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients

Background: Downregulation of hepatocellular carcinoma related protein 1 (HCRP1) has been reported to be associated with a poor prognosis in a variety of malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to assess HCRP1 expression in breast cancer and to examine its possible correlation with commonly used prognostic factors, particularly epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tumors from 194 patients with primary breast cancer. HCRP1 expression was analyzed along with major clinicopathological variables. Results: HCRP1 protein expression was shown to be correlated with age (P = 0.001), histological grade (P = 0.005), tumor progression (P = 0.013), and death (P = 0.001), but not with tumor size, lymph-node metastasis, or Ki67 status. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that lower HCRP1 expression was significantly correlated with increased short-term survival (P < 0.001), and both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that HCRP1, tumor size, lymph-node metastasis, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) were independent prognostic factors (all P < 0.05). In addition, low HCRP1 expression was much more frequent in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC; 63.89%) than in luminal (16.95%) and HER-2 overexpression phenotypes (7.5%; P < 0.001), and significant correlations between HCRP1 and survival time were observed for the TNBC group (P < 0.004). Furthermore, an inverse relationship between HCRP1 and EGFR expression was found both for the complete set of all cases (P < 0.001), and for each phenotype analyzed individually (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that HCRP1 may play an important role in EGFR regulation and that its decreased expression is an independent predictor of breast cancer, especially in TNBC patients.     

Bromodomain 4 protein is a predictor of survival for urothelial carcinoma of bladder

Background: Bromodomain 4 (BRD4) protein is a double bromodomain-containing protein that binds preferentially to acetylated chromatins. BRD4 is essential for cellular growth and has been implicated in cell cycle control, DNA replication and carcinogenesis. However, its expression profile and prognostic value in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) have not been investigated. Methods: Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to explore BRD4 expression in UCBs and normal bladder tissues. Moreover immunohistochemistry (ICH) was used to detect the expression of BRD4 in UCBs. Spearman’s rank correlation, Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze the data. Results: Up-regulated expression of BRD4 mRNA and protein was observed in the majority of UCBs by qRT-PCR and Western blot when compared with their paired normal bladder tissues. Clinicopathological analysis was showed a significant correlation existed between the higher expression of BRD4 protein with the histological grade, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P < 0.05); Survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test demonstrated that elevated BRD4 expression in bladder cancer tissue predicted poorer overall survival (OS) compared with group in lower expression. Notably, multivariate analyses by Cox’s proportional hazard model revealed that expression of BRD4 was an independent prognostic factor in UCB. Conclusions: These results suggest that the aberrant expression of BRD4 in human UCB is possibly involved in the tumorigenesis and development, and the BRD4 protein could act as a potential biomarker for prognosis assessment of bladder cancer. Further studies on the cellular functions of BRD4 need to address these issues.     

Establishment of pancreatic cancer stem cells by flow cytometry and their biological characteristics

To investigate the method of separating human pancreatic cancer stem cells by Hoechst 33342 labeled flow cytometry and to analyze the biological properties of pancreatic cancer stem cells. The human pancreatic cancer cell line PC-3 was divided into SP and non-SP cells by flow cytometry. The number of two cell clone spheres and nude mice tumor formation rates were compared by cultivating in serum-free medium; The expression of CD133, Nestin mRNA and protein was analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot; The expression of two cell drug resistance genes (MDR1, ABCG2, ABCA2 and MRP1) was analyzed by real time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The number of the cloned spheres in SP cells in serum-free medium was significantly higher than that of non-SP cells (P<0.05). The incidence of SP cells in the tumor of immunodeficiency nude mice was significantly higher than that of non-SP cells, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of CD133 and Nestin mRNA in SP cells was significantly higher than those of non-SP cells, and the expression of CD133 and Nestin protein in SP cells was also significantly higher than those of non-SP cells (P<0.05). In conclusion, SP side population pancreatic cancer cells by Hoechst 33342 separation have the stem cell characteristics, higher tumor formation rate and higher drug resistance, which may be related to chemotherapy resistance.     

Expression of HMGB1/RAGE protein in renal carcinoma and its clinical significance

Objective: To investigate the expression of high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) and its receptor, receptor for advanced glycation end-product (RAGE), in renal cancer tissue and surrounding normal tissue and to analyze the relationship between the expression level of the protein and receptor as well as the clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis in renal cancer patients. Methods: A total of 80 renal carcinoma patients who were surgically treated in our hospital from February 2004 to December 2012 were included in this study. Normal paratumoral tissues were collected as a control. All diagnoses were confirmed with a postoperative pathological examination. All patients had complete pathological data. The expression of HMGB1/RAGE proteins in renal cancer tissue and paratumoral tissue was examined using immunohistochemical methods. Results: The positive expression rate of HMGB1 was 71% in renal cancer tissue, which was significantly higher than that in the paratumoral normal tissue (25%). The positive expression rate of RAGE was 72% in renal cancer tissue, which was significantly higher than that in the paratumoral normal tissue (27%). Further analysis did not indicate a correlation between the positive expression of HMGB1 and RAGE proteins and gender, age and tumor size (P > 0.05), whereas the expression patterns were shown to correlate with tumor differentiation, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The expression of HMGB1 exhibited a significant positive correlation with RAGE level (P < 0.05), the expression of HMGB1/RAGE proteins exhibited a negative correlation with the prognosis of patients, and the five-year survival rate of patients with positive expression was significantly lower than that of patients with negative expression (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HMGB1/RAGE exhibited significantly elevated expression in renal cancer tissues that was closely related to the clinical prognosis of patients; thus, the expression levels may become a new target in the treatment of renal carcinoma.     

Human amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells as therapeutic vehicles: a novel approach for the treatment of bladder cancer

Recent studies support cell-based therapies for cancer treatment. An advantageous cell type for such therapeutic schemes are the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that can be easily propagated in culture, genetically modified to express therapeutic proteins, and exhibit an innate tropism to solid tumors in vivo. Recently, we successfully isolated and expanded MSCs from second-trimester amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs). The main characteristic of AF-MSCs is their efficient and rapid expansion in vitro. Herein, we investigated the AF-MSCs tropism and capability to transport interferon beta (IFNβ) to the region of neoplasia in a bladder tumor model. To this end, we used the T24M bladder cancer cell line, previously generated from our studies, and developed a disease progression model in immunosuppressed mice, that can recapitulate the molecular events of bladder carcinogenesis. Our results documented that AF-MSCs exhibited high motility, when migrated either to T24M cells or to T24M-conditioned medium, and we further identified and studied the secreted factors which may trigger these enhanced migratory properties. Further, lentivirus-transduced AF-MSCs, expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) or IFNβ, were intravenously administered to T24M tumor-bearing animals at multiple doses to examine their therapeutic effect. GFP- and IFNβ-AF-MSCs successfully migrated and colonized at the tumor site. Notably, significant inhibition of tumor growth as well as prolonged survival of mice were observed in the presence of IFNβ-AF-MSCs. Collectively, these results document the great potential of AF-MSCs as anti-cancer vehicles, implemented by the targeting of the tumor site and further facilitated by their high proliferation rate and expansion efficiency in culture.     

阻断PLCE基因对膀胱癌细胞侵袭能力的影响

目的构建PLCE基因的shRNA表达载体转染膀胱癌细胞T24株,观察其对T24细胞转移侵袭等恶性行为的影响。方法设计合成PLCE基因mRNA的寡核苷酸序列,插入绿色荧光蛋白质粒真核表达载体pGenesil中,构建重组载体pGenesil-PLCε。重组载体转染T24细胞后,RT-PCR和Western blot检测PLCE基因和蛋白表达;以侵袭小室、明胶酶谱分析及免疫组化检测细胞侵袭能力。结果成功构建了针对PLCE基因的shRNA表达载体。两个阳性重组质粒P1和P2转染膀胱癌细胞T24,P1和P2组目的基因/内参照吸光度比值较空载HK-A组明显降低(P<0.01);P1和P2组目的蛋白/内参照吸光度比值较空载HK-A组明显降低(P<0.01)。细胞侵袭实验中阳性质粒P1和P2转染组穿膜细胞数也明显低于空白对照组和阴性质粒HK-A转染组(P<0.01);转染P1、P2均使细胞分泌MMP-2、MMP-9明显低于空白对照和HK-A转染组(P<0.01)。结论阻断PLCE基因能有效抑制膀胱癌T24细胞系中PLCE基因和蛋白表达,并对T24细胞的侵袭转移能力具有一定的抑制作用。     

TGFBI protein high expression predicts poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients

Transforming growth factor-beta-induced (TGFBI) serves as a linker protein and plays a role in the activation of morphogenesis, cell proliferation, adhesion, migration, differentiation and inflammation. High expression levels of the human TGFBI gene are correlated with numerous human malignancies. In order to explore the roles of TGFBI in the tumor progression of colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer specimens from 115 patients with strict follow-up were selected for the analysis of TGFBI by immunohistochemistry. The correlations between TGFBI expression and the clinicopathological features of colorectal cancers were evaluated. In the colorectal cancer tissues, TGFBI was mainly localized in the cytoplasm and stroma and scarcely in the nucleus. TGFBI expression in the cytoplasm and stroma was not found to be associated with age, gender, tumor histopathological grading, PT category and tumor location (P > 0.05 for each). However, high TGFBI expression in the cytoplasm and stroma correlated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and Dukes stage (P < 0.05 for each). The survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high TGFBI expression than in those with low TGFBI expression. Furthermore, we found that tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging (HR: 2.963; 95% CI: 1.573-1.664; P = 0.000), differentiation (HR: 1.574; 95% CI: 1.001-2.476; P = 0.049) and high TGFBI cytoplasmic expression (HR: 3.332; 95% CI: 1.410-7.873; P = 0.000) proved to be independent prognostic factors for survival in colorectal cancer. In conclusion, TGFBI plays an important role in the progression of colorectal cancers and it is an independent poor prognostic factor for colorectal cancer patients.     

Pro-inflammatory type-1 and anti-inflammatory type-2 macrophages differentially modulate cell survival and invasion of human bladder carcinoma T24 cells

Findings from numerous studies suggest that inflammation is likely to have an important role in bladder carcinogenesis and cancer disease progression. While macrophages (M?s) constitute a major inflammatory component of the stroma of human bladder carcinoma, the regulatory role of such inflammatory leukocytes in tumor cell survival and invasion remains elusive. Human urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) T24 cells and monocyte-derived macrophages were used to study the relative contribution of pro-inflammatory type-1 (M?-1) and anti-inflammatory type-2 (M?-2) macrophages in the regulation of UBC cell behaviour. Cell-to-cell studies indicated that the number of viable cells were considerable higher in T24 cell/M?-2 cocultures but lower in T24 cell/M?-1 cocultures when compared to cultures of T24 cells alone. M?-1-derived factors inhibit T24 cell growth but fail to induce caspase-3-mediated apoptosis. M?-2-derived factors have the ability to suppress the inhibitory effect of M?-1-derived factors on T24 cell growth. Exogenous interleukin (IL)-10 reverse M?-1-mediated arrest growth in T24 cell/M?-1 cell cocultures. Further analyses showed that M?-1-derived factors induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α gene expression, promoted cellular invasiveness and increased phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-K)/Akt signaling pathway activity in T24 cells. Inhibition of PI 3-K activation in T24 cells or blockade of TNFα receptor in T24 cell/M?-1 cell cocultures decreased cellular invasiveness but did not affect T24 cell viability. Based on these observations, we propose that similar functional interactions between UBC cells and infiltrating macrophages can take place in vivo and influence tumor cell survival and invasion during bladder cancer progression.     

Effect of curcumin on Bcl-2 and Bax expression in nude mice prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a common malignant tumor in urinary system. Curcumin has curative effect on many kinds of cancers and can inhibit prostate cancer (PC)-3 cells proliferation. This study aimed to explore the curcumin induced prostate cancer cell apoptosis and apoptosis related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax expression. PC-3 cells were injected subcutaneously to the nude mice to establish the tumor model. The nude mice were randomly divided into group C (normal saline), group B (6% polyethylene glycol and 6% anhydrous ethanol), group H, M, L (100 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 25 mg/kg curcumin). The tumor volume was measured every 6 days to draw the tumor growth curve. The mice were killed at the 30^th day after injection to weight the tumor. TUNEL assay was applied to determine cell apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect Bcl-2 and Bax expression. The tumor volume and weight in group H, M, L were significantly lower than the control group (C, B) (P<0.05), and the inhibitory rate increased following the curcumin dose increase. Compared with the control group, Bcl-2 expression in group H, M, L gradually decreased, while Bax protein expression increased (P<0.05). The cell apoptosis rate showed no statistical difference between group B and C, while it increased in curcumin group H, M, and L (P<0.05). Curcumin could inhibit PC-3 growth, decrease tumor volume, reduce tumor weight, and induce cell apoptosis under the skin of nude mice by up-regulating Bax and down-regulating Bcl-2.     

Increased expression of microRNA-196a predicts poor prognosis in human ovarian carcinoma

Objective: Overexpression of MicroRNA-196a (miR-196a) has recently been reported in different types of human cancers. However, the prognostic value of miR-196a in ovarian carcinoma remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression of miR-196a in ovarian carcinoma and its relationship with tumor progression and clinical prognosis. Methods: The expression level of miR-196a was examined by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in surgically removed ovarian cancer tissues and ovarian cancer cell lines. The correlation between miR-196a expression and clinical features and prognosis were statistically analyzed. Results: The results showed that the miR-196a expression was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues and ovarian cancer cell lines compared with that in normal ovarian surface tissues and normal ovarian epithelial cells. Moreover, miR-196a expression was positively correlated with FIGO stage (P <0.001), tumor size (P =0.020), and lymph nodes metastasis (P =0.019). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high levels of miR-196a expression was associated with poorer overall survival (P <0.001) and recurrent-free survival (P =0.003), especially in patients with advanced disease (P =0.002). Multivariate analysis suggested that miR-196a expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of patients with ovarian carcinoma. Conclusions: In conclusion, miR-196a may play an important role in the progression of ovarian carcinoma, and could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker for patients with ovarian carcinoma.     

Expression of miR-32 in human non-small cell lung cancer and its correlation with tumor progression and patient survival

Introduction: miR-32 has recently been found to be implicated in many critical processes in various types of human cancer. However, its clinical significance in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the expression of miR-32 in NSCLC and analyzed its association with clinical features and prognosis of NSCLC patients. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure expression level of miR-32 in lung cancer cell lines, normal bronchial epithelial cells, 90 pairs of tumor samples and adjacent non-tumor tissues. To determine its prognostic value, overall survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using the Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results: The expression of miR-32 was significantly decreased in lung cancer cell lines and NSCLC tissues compared with normal bronchial epithelial cells and adjacent non-tumor tissues (P < 0.05). This reduction of miR-32 was associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with low miR-32 expression had shorter overall survival time than those with high miR-32 expression (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant correlations between overall survival and miR-32 level, tumor stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Furthermore, miR-32 levels, tumor stage and lymph node metastasis were independently associated with overall survival (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results provided the first evidence that down-regulation of miR-32 was correlated with NSCLC progression, and miR-32 might be a potential molecular biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients.     

Comparative studies between nude and scid mice on the growth and metastatic behavior of xenografted human tumors

The growth and metastatic behavior of three human tumor cell lines and a human colon carcinoma previously passagedin vivo were compared between nude mice and scid mice after xenotransplantation. The three human tumor lines included a bladder carcinoma (T24B), a melanoma (RPMI 7931) and alacZ gene-transduced breast cancer (MDA-MB-435 BAG). ThelacZ gene codes for -galactosidase, which can be stained blue with chromogenic substrate X-gal, thus allowing the highly sensitive detection and quantitative examination of human cancer metastasis in host mice. Adult (7–14 weeks) NMRI nude and C.B-17 SCID mice were inoculated with 0.5–5 × 10⁶ tumor cells s.c. Comparable take rate, latent period and growth rate of implanted tumors were observed in nude and scid mice for each of the cell lines tested. At the time of autopsy, which varied from 6 to 11 weeks after inoculation, a significantly higher incidence of spontaneous lung metastasis was discovered in scid mice (96%) than in age-matched nude mice (27%, totalP < 0.001).In vitro assays for NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity revealed no significant differences between the two strains of mice. Our results suggest that nude and scid mice are equally suitable for propagating human tumors. However, the metastatic capacity of human tumor cells appears to be better expressed in scid mice. Scid mice may therefore provide an advantageous model for the study of human tumor metastasis.     

小干扰RNA抑制卵巢癌模型裸鼠移植瘤葡萄糖调节蛋白94的表达及意义

背景：一些实验在模型鼠移植瘤中葡萄糖调节蛋白94被敲除后,细胞黏附中断,刺激肝起源细胞增殖,进而促进肝肿瘤的发生,推测葡萄糖调节蛋白94在肝癌中起到保护作用。 目的：应用小干扰RNA技术抑制裸鼠卵巢癌模型皮下移植瘤内质网分子伴侣葡萄糖调节蛋白94的基因表达,探讨移植瘤中葡萄糖调节蛋白94基因及蛋白表达的变化对移植瘤生长的影响。 方法：从GeneBank中选取人类葡萄糖调节蛋白94基因序列,构建受控于人RNA聚合酶Ⅲ启动子U6 的真核表达载体psiSTRIKETM/葡萄糖调节蛋白94。建立人卵巢癌HO-8910细胞株裸鼠皮下接种模型,并将真核表达载体转染入裸鼠移植瘤体内,观察肿瘤生长情况。卵巢癌裸鼠模型经过不同给药方案干预后分为特异性小干扰RNA组,非特异性小干扰RNA组和生理盐水对照组, RT-PCR和免疫组化SP法检测葡萄糖调节蛋白94 mRNA和蛋白在肿瘤内的表达情况,并观察模型裸鼠的移植瘤生长情况。 结果与结论：成功构建RNA干扰质粒载体,所有裸鼠模型均接种成功,5 d后即可见皮下肿瘤形成,14 d左右肿瘤直径达7-10 mm。转染质粒完毕后抑瘤率为65.1%,与非特异性小干扰RNA组和生理盐水对照组比较,差异有显著性意义(P < 0.01)。psiSTRIKETM/GRP94治疗后瘤体内葡萄糖调节蛋白94 mRNA和蛋白显著下调(P < 0.01)。说明靶向葡萄糖调节蛋白94 mRNA的小干扰RNA可显著抑制人卵巢癌裸鼠移植瘤的生长,其机制可能是诱导葡萄糖调节蛋白94 mRNA和蛋白表达下调所致。 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：肾移植;肝移植;移植;心脏移植;组织移植;皮肤移植;皮瓣移植;血管移植;器官移植;组织工程全文链接：     

Expression of Tim-3 in gastric cancer tissue and its relationship with prognosis

As a negative regulatory molecule, T-cell immunoglobulin–and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) plays a crucial role in the tumor immunological tolerance. In the present study, we aimed to determine the Tim-3 expression in gastric cancer tissue and its relationship with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. The Tim-3 expression was assessed in 52 gastric cancer specimens and 15 gastritis tissues by flow cytometry, and gastritis tissues served as the control. As a result, we found that the Tim-3 expressions on CD4⁺T cells and CD8⁺T cells in gastric cancer tissue was significantly higher than those in gastritis tissue (P=0.022, P=0.047, respectively). The median expression level of Tim-3 on CD4⁺T cells were significantly correlated with clinicopathological parameters, such as tumor size, lymph node metastasis, the depth of tumor invasion and TNM staging (P=0.042, P=0.026, P=0.001, P=0.003, respectively), while it was not correlated with sex, age and histological subtype (all P>0.05). In CD8⁺T cells, the Tim-3 expression was relevant to tumor invasion and TNM staging (P=0.035, P=0.017, respectively), while it was irrelevant to other clinicopathological parameters (all P>0.05). Additionally, Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the median overall survival time of patients with lower Tim-3 expression was greater than that of patients with higher Tim-3 expression in CD4⁺T cells and CD8⁺T cells (χ²=18.036, P<0.001 and χ²=18.036, P<0.001, respectively). Moreover, the multivariate analysis revealed that the Tim-3 expression and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors for gastric cancer patients (P=0.029, P=0.043 and P=0.003, respectively). These results suggest that Tim-3 played an important role in the development and progression of gastric cancer, and it could be used as an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients.     

免疫球蛋白G在膀胱癌细胞中的表达及其抗体诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的研究

目的： 研究免疫球蛋白G在膀胱癌细胞中的表达以及其抗体诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的效应。方法： 免疫组织化学法检测56例临床膀胱癌组织和11例正常膀胱黏膜中以及T24和BIU-87细胞中IgG蛋白表达；对体外培养的膀胱癌细胞系T24和BIU-87采用Western blotting、ELISA法和流式细胞术（FCM）检测IgG蛋白的表达，原位杂交法和RT-PCR检测IgG1 mRNA的表达，MTT法检测羊抗人IgG抗体对肿瘤细胞的生长抑制的影响，FCM检测羊抗人IgG抗体诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡效应。结果： 免疫组化显示临床膀胱癌组织中IgG表达率为91.1％（51/56），正常膀胱移行上皮细胞IgG的表达为45.4％（5/11）；T24和BIU-87细胞浆中IgG明显阳性表达。RT-PCR和原位杂交显示IgG mRNA在T24和BIU-87细胞中明显表达。Western blotting显示T24和BIU-87细胞中均有IgG表达。FCM则表明IgG蛋白主要在细胞质内表达，细胞膜上则小部分表达。ELISA法未能在T24和BIU-87细胞培养液的上清液中检测到IgG。MTT显示羊IgG和羊抗人IgG抗体在25 mg/L时对T24和BIU-87细胞的生长抑制率分别为(4.73±3.73)%、（24.98±3.81）% 和（5.36±1.53）%、（22.70±3.72）%，(P<0.05)。FCM 显示羊IgG和羊抗人IgG抗体在25 mg/L时对T24和BIU-87细胞的凋亡率分别为2.3%、20.7％和1.3%、15.3％。结论:膀胱癌细胞能够表达IgG，但其为非分泌型IgG。IgG的抗体体外对膀胱肿瘤细胞的生长具有一定抑制作用，且具有促进肿瘤细胞凋亡的效应，这可能对膀胱肿瘤的治疗提供一个新的靶点。