LINC00205 promotes proliferation,migration and invasion of HCC cells by targeting miR-122-5p

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as crucial regulators in the tumorigenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 205 (LINC00205) has been identified as a prognostic biomarker in HCC. However, the biological role of LINC0205 and its potential molecular mechanism are poorly investigated. Here, we found that the expression of LINC00205 was dramatically up-regulated in HCC tissues compared to adjacent nontumor tissues. Furthermore, the level of LINC00205 in both Hep3B and Huh7 cells was prominently higher than that in normal hepatic cell line LO2. Notably, the high expression of LINC00205 was strongly correlated with tumor size ≥5 cm, venous infiltration and advanced tumor stages. Functionally, LINC00205 knockdown obviously repressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of Hep3B and Huh7 cells in vitro. An inverse correlation between LINC00205 and miR-122-5p was detected in HCC tissues. Interestingly, LINC00205 knockdown increased the level of miR-122-5p in both Hep3B and Huh7 cells. Mechanistically, luciferase reporter assay demonstrated LINC00205 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by directly interacting with miR-122-5p. More importantly, miR-122-5p overexpression significantly restrained the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. Collectively, our study provides solid evidence to support the oncogenic role of LINC00205 in HCC, which may be benefit for the improvement of HCC therapy.     

Paediatric prescribing: why children are not small adults

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose is one of the most common causes of acute liver injury in the Western world. To improve patient care and reduce pressure on already stretched health care providers new biomarkers are needed that identify or exclude liver injury soon after an overdose of paracetamol is ingested. This review highlights the current state of paracetamol poisoning management and how novel biomarkers could improve patient care and save healthcare providers money. Based on the widely used concept of defining a target product profile, a target biomarker profile is proposed that identifies desirable and acceptable key properties for a biomarker in development to enable the improved treatment of this patient population. The current biomarker candidates, with improved hepatic specificity and based on the fundamental mechanistic basis of paracetamol-induced liver injury, are reviewed and their performance compared with our target profile.     

Honey can help in herpes simplex gingivostomatitis in children: Prospective randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial

Purpose

Herpes simplex gingivostomatitis (HSGS) in children is a common painful infectious disease. This study aims to examine the combined efficacy of honey with acyclovir suspension compared to acyclovir alone for treating HSGS in young children.

Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) – Final version of the opinion on Phenoxyethanol in cosmetic products

The SCCS considers 2-phenoxyethanol safe for use as a preservative with a maximum concentration of 1.0%, taking into account the information provided.The toxicokinetics default factor of 4.0 can be reduced to 1.0 yielding a minimum Margin of Safety (MoS) of 25 instead of 100 for the safety assessment of 2-phenoxyethanol.Therefore, the MoS of about 50 for children also covers this specific age group who might be higher exposed to 2-phenoxyethanol than adults.This Opinion does not take into account exposure from sources other than cosmetics.     

M122蛋白与宿主因子Myst4的相互作用位点

目的 明确M122蛋白与宿主因子Myst4相互作用的位点.方法 以诱饵载体pGBKT7-M122为模板,采用PCR方法扩增不同长度大小的M122基因片段,并将其分别插入至pMD-T simple载体,构建含有不同长度M122基因片段的重组质粒.将构建成功的各个重组质粒分别用限制性内切酶EcoRI和SalI进行双酶切鉴定,并送测序.将测序正确的重组质粒采用同样的内切酶进行双酶切,凝胶回收试剂盒回收不同长度大小的M122基因片段,并将其分别亚克隆至pGBKT7-BD载体构建含有不同长度M122基因片段的诱饵质粒.将构建成功的各个诱饵质粒分别用限制性内切酶EcoRI和SalI进行双酶切鉴定,并送测序.将测序正确的各个诱饵质粒分别与pGADT7 -Myst4质粒共同转化至酵母菌株AH109感受态细胞,转化后的酵母细胞分别涂板于营养缺陷培养基SD/-Trp/-Leu和SD/-Trp/-Leu/-His/-Ade/X-α-Gal平板.M122与宿主因子Myst4相互作用的位点通过营养缺陷筛选确定.结果 成功扩增了编码不同M122蛋白突变体的基因片段,并将其正确插入诱饵载体,构建了含有不同长度大小M122基因片段的诱饵质粒;通过酵母双杂交筛选明确了M122蛋白与宿主因子Myst4相互作用的结合位点位于M122蛋白的1～ 148氨基酸.结论 M122蛋白的1～ 148氨基酸是其与宿主因子Myst4相互作用所必需的,为研究M122蛋白在MCMV致神经系统损伤的分子机制中的作用提供了实验基础.     

Lack of Association between Hsa-Mir-499 rs3746444 Polymorphism and Cancer Risk: Meta-analysis Findings

Epidemiologic findings concerning the association between the hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 A>G polymorphismand cancer risk have yielded mixed results. We aimed to investigate the association by performing a meta-analysisof all available studies. We searched PubMed and EMBASE for studies published up to November 2014, usingodds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of any association. The Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) method was used to correct the p values for multiple comparisons. We included 39 studies,including 14,136 cases and 16,937 controls. The results of overall meta-analysis suggested a borderline associationbetween hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility (AG+GG vs. AA: OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.04-1.26, corrected p value=0.04). After removing studies not conforming to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium(HWE), however, this association disappeared (AG+GG vs AA: OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.03-1.34, corrected pvalue=0.21). When stratified analysis by ethnicity, cancer type or HWE in controls, although some associationsbetween hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility were detected, these associations nolonger existed after adjustment using BH method. In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that hsa-mir-499rs3746444 A>G polymorphism is not associated with risk of cancer based on current evidence.     

Successful engraftment of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells in NOD/SCID mice via intrasplenic inoculation

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a heterogeneous disorder, and primary drug resistance and relapse are thought to be the main causes for treatment failure in ALL patients. For these refractory or relapsed patients, there is an increasing demand to identify novel therapeutic approaches, which will highly rely on the use of xenotransplantation models in translational research. Given the critical role that the spleen plays in the hematopoiesis and lymphopoiesis in adult mice, intrasplenic inoculation of ALL cells into immunodeficient mice may represent a feasible route for leukemic xenotransplantation. In the present study, engraftments via intrasplenic inoculation in anti-mCD122 mAb conditioned NOD/SCID mice were achieved in 5 out of 11 cases, and the engrafted cells reconstituted a complete leukemic phenotype. The engrafted cells sustained the self-renewal capacity of leukemia-initiating cells as tested by serial xenotransplantation and can be used for evaluation of antileukemic drugs. These data suggest that the combination of intrasplenic inoculation and the targeted depletion of CD122⁺ cells could provide a novel approach for the xenotransplantation of ALL cells in NOD/SCID mice. Furthermore, this model can be used for stem cell research, long-term analysis of engraftment kinetics and in vivo drug tests.     

MicroRNA-122调控的TK基因有效降低TK/GCV治疗系统的肝毒性

目的：探讨利用肝脏特异性microRNA-122(miR-122)调控外源基因在肝细胞的表达,减轻单纯疱疹病毒1型胸苷激酶和更昔洛韦（herpes simplex virus type 1-thymidine kinase/gancyclovir,TK/GCV）治疗系统的肝毒性。方法：通过在相应基因的3′非翻译区（３′ＵＴＲ）插入miR-122靶序列,构建miR-122调控的pEGFP-122T、pLuc-122T和pTK-122T表达载体,分别转染miR-122阳性的Huh7肝癌细胞和miR-122阴性的HeLa宫颈癌细胞,观察细胞中报告基因的表达及TK/GCV的细胞毒杀伤作用。水动力法分别注射上述质粒至小鼠体内,冰冻切片和活体成像观察肝脏EGFP和Luc的表达,通过小鼠血清ALT、体质量变化、存活率和肝脏病理变化评价TK/GCV系统的肝毒性。结果：在Huh7细胞,miR-122靶序列的插入抑制了EGFP的表达和Luc的活性,减轻TK/GCV的毒性杀伤;而在HeLa细胞,miR-122靶序列的插入对报告基因表达和TK/GCV的杀伤无影响。体内实验结果显示,pEGFP-122T处理组的肝细胞不表达EGFP,而pEGFP处理组的肝细胞有30%高表达EGFP;与pLuc处理组相比,pLuc-122T处理组的Luc活性下调了33.70%。pTK处理组小鼠血清ALT显著升高、体质量进行性下降、肝脏出现明显病理损伤,进而引起小鼠死亡;而pTK-122T处理组小鼠血清ALT正常、无体质量下降、肝脏切片未见病理改变。结论：miR-122靶序列的插入可抑制外源基因在肝脏的表达,并可有效地降低TK/GCV系统的肝毒性。     

Plasma miR‐122 and miR‐200 family are prognostic markers in colorectal cancer

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as minimally invasive prognostic markers for various types of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most diagnosed cancer worldwide. We aimed to evaluate the levels of circulating miRNAs that might serve as markers for CRC prognosis and survival. We included plasma samples of 543 CRC patients with stage I‐IV disease from a population‐based study carried out in Germany. After comprehensive evaluation of current literature, 95 miRNAs were selected and measured with Custom TaqMan® Array MicroRNA Cards. Plasma samples of non‐metastatic and metastatic colon cancer patients, each group consisting of ten patients with ‘good’ and ten patients with ‘bad’ prognosis were screened. Identified candidate miRNAs were further validated by RT‐qPCR in the whole study cohort. The association of the miRNA levels with patients' survival and the prognostic subtypes was analyzed with uni‐ and multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Increased miR‐122 levels were associated with a ‘bad’ prognostic subtype in metastatic CRC (Odds ratio: 1.563, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.038‐2.347) and a shorter relapse‐free survival and overall survival for non‐metastatic (Hazard ratio (HR): 1.370, 95% CI: 1.028‐1.825; HR: 1.353, 95% CI: 1.002‐1.828) and metastatic (HR: 1.264, 95% CI: 1.050‐1.520; HR: 1.292, 95% CI: 1.078‐1.548) CRC patients. Additionally, several members of the miR‐200 family showed associations with patients' prognosis and correlations to clinicopathological characteristics. The here identified miRNA markers, miR‐122 and the miR‐200 family members, could be of use in the development of a multi‐marker blood test for CRC prognosis.