Xuzhou Medical College

About: Xuzhou Medical College is a education organization based out in Xuzhou, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Cell growth. The organization has 12721 authors who have published 7802 publications receiving 102970 citations.

miR-221/222: promising biomarkers for breast cancer.

Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs of 19–25 nt that can regulate gene expression at a posttranscriptional level. Increasing evidence indicates that miRNAs participate in almost every step of cellular processes and are often aberrantly expressed in human cancer. miR-221 and miR-222 are two highly homologous miRNAs that always act as a gene cluster (miR-221/222) in cellular regulation and have extensively been studied in cancer network. Here, we review the role of miR-221/222 in breast cancer (BCa) development and progression: regulating proliferative signaling pathways, altering telomere and telomerase activity, avoiding cell death from tumor suppressors, autophagy and apoptosis, monitoring angiogenesis, supporting epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and even controlling cell-specific function within microenvironment. We consider that miR-221/222 act as promising biomarkers for BCa and they would offer a new way in molecular targeting cancer treatment.

Chronic stress promotes gastric cancer progression and metastasis: an essential role for ADRB2.

Abstract: An increasing number of studies indicate that adrenergic signalling plays a fundamental role in chronic stress-induced tumour progression and metastasis. However, its function in gastric cancer (GC) and its potential mechanisms remain unknown. The expression levels of β-adrenergic receptor (ADRB) in GC cell lines were examined by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting. The effects of β2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) activation and blockade were investigated in vitro in GC cells by using proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle and apoptosis assays. Chronic restraint stress (CRS) increased the plasma levels of catecholamines and cortisol and also induced progression and metastasis of GC in vivo. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining and a TUNEL assay were employed to observe the regulation of cell viability in vivo. The expression levels of ADRB2 in 100 human GC samples were measured by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine significantly accelerated GC cell proliferation, invasion and viability in culture, as well as tumour growth in vivo. These effects were reversed by the ADRB antagonists propranolol and ICI118,551 (an ADRB2-specific antagonist). Moreover, the selective ADRB1 antagonist atenolol had almost no effect on tumour cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. ADRB2 antagonists suppressed proliferation, invasion and metastasis by inhibiting the ERK1/2-JNK-MAPK pathway and transcription factors, such as NF-κB, AP-1, CREB and STAT3. Analysis of xenograft models using GC cells revealed that ADRB2 antagonists significantly inhibited tumour growth and metastasis, and chronic stress antagonized these inhibitory effects. In addition, chronic stress increased the expression of VEGF, MMP-2, MMP-7 and MMP-9 in transplanted tumour tissue, and catecholamine hormones enhanced the expression of metastasis-related proteins. The expression of ADRB2 was upregulated in tumour tissues and positively correlated with tumour size, histological grade, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage in human GC samples. Stress hormone-induced activation of the ADRB2 signalling pathway plays a crucial role in GC progression and metastasis. These findings indicate that ADRB2 signalling regulates GC progression and suggest β2 blockade as a novel strategy to complement existing therapies for GC.

Single gold@silver nanoprobes for real-time tracing the entire autophagy process at single-cell level.

Abstract: This article describes a multimodified core–shell gold@silver nanoprobe for real-time monitoring the entire autophagy process at single-cell level. Autophagy is vital for understanding the mechanisms of human pathologies, developing novel drugs, and exploring approaches for autophagy controlling. A major challenge for autophagy study lies in real-time monitoring. One solution might come from real-time detection of in situ superoxide radicals (O2•–), because it is the main regulator of autophagy. In this work, our proposed nanoprobes were etched by O2•– and gave a notable wavelength change in the plasmon resonance scattering spectra. Both the experimental and simulated results suggested the wavelength change rate correlated well with O2•– level. This response enabled its application in real-time in situ quantification of O2•– during autophagy course. More importantly, with the introduction of “relay probe” operation, two types of O2•–-regulating autophagy processes were successfully traced from the beginni...

Impact of environmental factors on the emergence, transmission and distribution of Toxoplasma gondii.

Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan that poses a great threat to human health and economic well-being worldwide. The effects of environmental factors such as changing climate and human activities on the ecology of this protozoan are being discovered. Accumulated evidence shows that changes of these environmental factors can exert influence on the occurrence, transmission and distribution of T. gondii. This article reviews studies from different geographical regions with varying climates, social cultures and animal welfare standards. It aims to illustrate how these environmental factors work, highlighting their importance in influencing the ecology of T. gondii, as well as providing clues which may contribute to preventing transmission of this important zoonotic pathogen.

miR-874 functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting angiogenesis through STAT3/VEGF-A pathway in gastric cancer

Abstract: MicroRNAs are endogenously expressed, small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs for translational repression or degradation. Our previous studies indicated that miR-874 played a suppressive role in gastric cancer (GC) development and progression. However, the role of miR-874 in tumor angiogenesis and the mechanisms underlying its function in GC remained to be clarified. Here, gain- and loss-of-function assays demonstrated that miR-874 inhibited the tumor angiogenesis of GC cells in vitro and in vivo. Through reporter gene and western blot assays, STAT3 was shown to be a direct target of miR-874. Overexpression of STAT3 rescued the loss of tumor angiogenesis caused by miR-874. Conversely, the STAT3-shRNA attenuated the increased tumor angiogenesis caused by the miR-874-inhibitor. Furthermore, the levels of miR-874 were inversely correlated with those of STAT3 protein in GC tissues. Taken together, these findings indicate that down-regulation of miR-874 contributes to tumor angiogenesis through STAT3 in GC, highlighting the potential of miR-874 as a target for human GC therapy.