Jing Liu

Bio: Jing Liu is an academic researcher from China Medical University (PRC). The author has contributed to research in topics: Cancer cell & Apoptosis. The author has an hindex of 26, co-authored 80 publications receiving 1997 citations.

β-Elemene-induced autophagy protects human gastric cancer cells from undergoing apoptosis

Abstract: Background β-Elemene, a compound found in an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, has shown promising anti-cancer effects against a broad spectrum of tumors. The mechanism by which β-elemene kills cells remains unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate the anti-tumor effect of β-elemene on human gastric cancer cells and the molecular mechanism involved.

Long non-coding RNA MALAT-1 is downregulated in preeclampsia and regulates proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of JEG-3 trophoblast cells.

Abstract: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), as a newly identified subset of the transcriptome, has been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT-1), a lncRNA that was initially detected in the metastatic lung cancer, was reported to be overexpressed in placenta previa increta/percreta (I/P), which is caused by excessive trophoblast invasion. However, the role of MALAT-1 in the regulation of trophoblast behavior is not fully understood. In this study, we first examined the expression of MALAT-1 in the placentas from the patients with preeclampsia, the pathology of which is associated with inadequate trophoblast invasion, and found that the expression of MALAT-1 was downregulated in the preeclamptic placentas as compared to the normal placentas. We further investigated the function of MALAT-1 in JEG-3 trophoblast cell line using short interfering RNA (siRNA) against MALAT-1 transcripts. Silencing of MALAT-1 in JEG-3 cells suppressed proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Reduced expression of MALAT-1 by RNA interference resulted in enhanced apoptosis in JEG-3 cells, accompanied with elevated levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins including cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9 and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1). Moreover, the migration rate and the invasiveness of JEG-3 cells were suppressed when MALAT-1 was downregulated. In summary, our results suggest that MALAT-1 may play an important role in the regulation of proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration and invasion of trophoblast cells, and under-expression of MALAT-1 during early placentation may be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

KIR3DS1/L1 and HLA-Bw4-80I are associated with HIV disease progression among HIV typical progressors and long-term nonprogressors

Abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells have emerged as pivotal players in innate immunity, especially in the defense against viral infections and tumors. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) – an important recognition receptor expressed on the surface of NK cells – regulate the inhibition and/or activation of NK cells after interacting with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands. Various KIR genes might impact the prognosis of many different diseases. The implications of KIR-HLA interaction in HIV disease progression remains poorly understood. Here, we studied KIR genotypes, mRNA levels, HLA genotypes, CD4+ T cell counts and viral loads in our cohort of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected individuals, a group that includes HIV long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs) and typical progressors (TPs). We found that the frequency of KIR3DS1/L1 heterozygotes with HLA-Bw4-80I gene was much higher in LTNPs than in TPs (P = 0.001) and that the KIR3DL1 homozygotes without HLA-Bw4-80I gene had higher viral loads and lower CD4+ T cell counts (P = 0.014 and P = 0.021, respectively). Our study also confirmed that homozygosity for the HLA-Bw6 allele was associated with rapid disease progression. In addition to the aforementioned results on the DNA level, we observed that higher level expression of KIR3DS1 mRNA was in LTNP group, and that higher level expression of KIR3DL1 mRNA was in TP group. Our data suggest that different KIR-HLA genotypes and different levels of transcripts associate with HIV disease progression.

Signaling pathway of MAPK/ERK in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, senescence and apoptosis

Abstract: The generic mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling pathway is shared by four distinct cascades, including the extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK1/2), Jun amino-terminal kinases (JNK1/2/3), p38-MAPK and ERK5. Mitogen-activated protein kinases/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway is reported to be associated with the cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, senescence and apoptosis. The literatures were searched extensively and this review was performed to review the role of MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, senescence and apoptosis.

A copy number variation map of the human genome

Abstract: A major contribution to the genome variability among individuals comes from deletions and duplications - collectively termed copy number variations (CNVs) - which alter the diploid status of DNA. These alterations may have no phenotypic effect, account for adaptive traits or can underlie disease. We have compiled published high-quality data on healthy individuals of various ethnicities to construct an updated CNV map of the human genome. Depending on the level of stringency of the map, we estimated that 4.8-9.5% of the genome contributes to CNV and found approximately 100 genes that can be completely deleted without producing apparent phenotypic consequences. This map will aid the interpretation of new CNV findings for both clinical and research applications.