MicroRNA-301b-3p accelerates the growth of gastric cancer cells by targeting zinc finger and BTB domain containing 4

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be aberrantly expressed and exert essential roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of gastric cancer (GC). miR-301b-3p has been recognized as a cancer-related miRNA in lung cancer, bladder cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the function of miR-301b-3p in GC progression and its underlying mechanism have not been studied yet. In this study, we found that miR-301b-3p expression was up-regulated in GC tissues compared to adjacent noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, the elevated levels of miR-301b-3p were detected in GC cell lines (SGC-7901, AGS, MKN-45 and MGC-803) as compared with GES-1 cells. Interestingly, GC tissues from patients with tumor size ≥ 5 cm and advanced tumor stages showed obvious higher levels of miR-301b-3p compared to matched controls. Functionally, miR-301b-3p knockdown prominently inhibited cell proliferation, and induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and apoptosis in MGC-803 cells. Meanwhile, ectopic expression of miR-301b-3p conversely regulated these biological behaviors of MKN-45 cells. Next, we found that miR-301b-3p knockdown increased, whereas miR-301b-3p overexpression reduced the expression of zinc finger and BTB domain containing 4 (ZBTB4) in GC cells. Accordingly, luciferase reporter assay identified ZBTB4 as a direct target of miR-301b-3p. ZBTB4 overexpression markedly restrained the growth of MGC-803 cells. More importantly, ZBTB4 silencing partially reversed miR-301b-3p knockdown-induced tumor suppressive effects on MGC-803 cells. In conclusion, we firstly revealed that miR-301-3p was highly expressed in GC and contributed to tumor progression via attenuating ZBTB4, which might provide a novel molecular-targeted strategy for GC treatment.     

Infantile lethal neuraminidase deficiency (sialidosis)

An infant suffering from failure to thrive, hepatosplenomegaly, developmental retardation and early infantile death is described. The proposita demonstrated a type 2 early infantile sialidosis with onset at birth, and death at 4 months. A culture of the proband's fibroblasts showed neuraminidase deficiency, and low activity of the enzyme was found in the lymphocytes of both parents. A previous female child, born prematurely, died 6 h after birth and had hepatosplenomegaly and foam cells in the placenta. There is strong evidence that the inheritance of the disease is autosomal recessive.     

Genetic analysis of an influenza B virus isolated from a patient with encephalopathy in Japan

An influenza B virus, B/Saga/S172/99 (SAG99), was isolated from the nasopharynx of a patient with encephalopathy/encephalitis in Japan in 1999. To clarify the molecular characteristics of this virus, detailed analysis of the gene segments coding for the hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), nucleoprotein (NP), matrix protein (M) and non-structural protein (NS) was undertaken. All five genes of SAG99 showed high nucleotide and predicted amino acid similarities with those of recent non-encephalopathic strains isolated in the same epidemic season. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis revealed that all five gene segments of SAG99 analyzed in the present study were most similar to those of the recent Yamagata/16/88-like viruses. The hemagglutinin and neuraminidase proteins of SAG99 were each distinguished from those of recent epidemic strains by one characteristic amino acid substitution. These substitutions were not found in the previously reported encephalopathy/encephalitis-derived influenza B viruses, and we could not find any common characteristic amino acid changes in SAG99 and these viruses. Similarly, among the internal proteins studied, only the M2 protein of SAG99 was found to contain a single novel amino acid change when compared with other recent isolates. Thus, it was apparent that SAG99 contained very few amino acid differences when compared with other epidemic viruses. The association of recent B/Yamagata/16/88-like viruses with encephalitis/encephalopathy observed in the present study and previously suggest that these viruses may have a higher potential for causing neurological complications in certain individuals.     

Novel druggable hot spots in avian influenza neuraminidase H5N1 revealed by computational solvent mapping of a reduced and representative receptor ensemble

The influenza virus subtype H5N1 has raised concerns of a possible human pandemic threat because of its high virulence and mutation rate. Although several approved anti-influenza drugs effectively target the neuraminidase, some strains have already acquired resistance to the currently available anti-influenza drugs. In this study, we present the synergistic application of extended explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) and computational solvent mapping (CS-Map) to identify putative 'hot spots' within flexible binding regions of N1 neuraminidase. Using representative conformations of the N1 binding region extracted from a clustering analysis of four concatenated 40-ns MD simulations, CS-Map was utilized to assess the ability of small, solvent-sized molecules to bind within close proximity to the sialic acid binding region. Mapping analyses of the dominant MD conformations reveal the presence of additional hot spot regions in the 150- and 430-loop regions. Our hot spot analysis provides further support for the feasibility of developing high-affinity inhibitors capable of binding these regions, which appear to be unique to the N1 strain.     

Vaccines and therapeutics against influenza virus infections

BACKGROUND: Vaccination prior to epidemic season is the best measure to control influenza virus infection; however, there are several issues to be considered regarding influenza vaccines in Japan. In the present review, current issues regarding influenza vaccine in Japan are described, as well as the future prospects of vaccine development. As well as vaccination, anti-influenza agents such as amantadine are now available in Japan. Furthermore, neuraminidase inhibitors are expected to appear in the market in near future. These anti-influenza agents represent new options for influenza control. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination and antiviral agents are a major armamentarium against influenza infections. Thus, exploratory studies on novel forms of vaccine and anti-influenza drugs should help to prepare against pandemics that must emerge in near future.     

Optimisation of Neuraminidase Expression for Use in Drug Discovery by Using HEK293-6E Cells

Influenza virus is a highly contagious virus that causes significant human mortality and morbidity annually. The most effective drugs for treating influenza are the neuraminidase inhibitors, but resistance to these inhibitors has emerged, and additional drug discovery research on neuraminidase and other targets is needed. Traditional methods of neuraminidase production from embryonated eggs are cumbersome, while insect cell derived protein is less reflective of neuraminidase produced during human infection. Herein we describe a method for producing neuraminidase from a human cell line, HEK293-6E, and demonstrate the method by producing the neuraminidase from the 1918 H1N1 pandemic influenza strain. This method produced high levels of soluble neuraminidase expression (>3000 EU/mL), was enhanced by including a secretion signal from a viral chemokine binding protein, and does not require co-expression of additional proteins. The neuraminidase produced was of sufficient quantity and purity to support high resolution crystal structure determination. The structure solved using this protein conformed to the previously reported structure. Notably the glycosylation at three asparagine residues was superior in quality to that from insect cell derived neuraminidase. This method of production of neuraminidase should prove useful in further studies, such as the characterisation of inhibitor binding.     

碱性磷酸酶同工酶在原发性肺癌骨转移诊断中的应用

目的:探讨骨碱性磷酸酶同工酶（bone alkaline phosphatase,BALP）与原发性肺癌骨转移的相关性。方法:采用神经氨酸苷酶处理血清,琼脂糖电泳法分析测定50名健康体检者和131例原发性肺癌患者血清中的血清碱性磷酸酶（ALP）同工酶。结果:原发性肺癌组的总ALP和同工酶均高于正常对照组,原发性肺癌骨转移组的总ALP和BALP活性均显著高于对照组和无骨转移组,原发性肺癌无骨转移组的总ALP和BALP活性和对照组无显著性差异。结论:骨型ALP与原发性肺癌骨转移有一定的相关性,经神经氨酸苷酶处理血清后,采用琼脂糖电泳法分离ALP同工酶有助于临床辅助诊断原发性肺癌有无骨转移。     

Combination chemotherapy for influenza

The emergence of pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses in April 2009 and the continuous evolution of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses underscore the urgency of novel approaches to chemotherapy for human influenza infection. Anti-influenza drugs are currently limited to the neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir and zanamivir) and to M2 ion channel blockers (amantadine and rimantadine), although resistance to the latter class develops rapidly. Potential targets for the development of new anti-influenza agents include the viral polymerase (and endonuclease), the hemagglutinin, and the non-structural protein NS1. The limitations of monotherapy and the emergence of drug-resistant variants make combination chemotherapy the logical therapeutic option. Here we review the experimental data on combination chemotherapy with currently available agents and the development of new agents and therapy targets.     

2009甲型H1N1流感病毒的血凝素和神经氨酰酶基因变异分析

目的探讨2009新型甲型流感病毒H1N1的血凝素和神经氨酰酶基因的进化规律。方法通过NCBI数据库下载最新收录的A/H1N1的基因序列,采用Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version4.0(MEGA4.0)软件来排列和修剪流感病毒各段基因序列并构建进化树。结果不同地区分离到的2009年新型甲型H1N1流感病毒血凝素和神经氨酰酶编码基因均具有高度同源性,同一国别的亲缘关系更近,不同国别的亲缘关系稍远。结论说明此次新型甲型H1N1流行病毒来自同一传染源,且病毒到目前还没有变异。