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Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumor in children and adolescents, typically presenting with a poor prognosis. Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) protein, encoded by the POU class 5 homeobox 1 gene, is important in maintaining self-renewal of pluripotent stem cells, and is closely associated with cancer. However, its role in osteosarcoma remains to be elucidated. The present study observed Oct4 was markedly increased in osteosarcoma cell lines and in human osteosarcoma tissue samples. Following Oct4 downregulation by small interfering RNA (siRNA) in osteosarcoma F5M2 cells, the cells exhibited significant decreases in proliferation and invasion ability, and an increase in cell apoptosis. Notably, downregulation of Oct4 decreased the expression of AK055347, a newly identified long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in human tissues. The downregulation of AK055347 by siRNA resulted in a significant suppressive effect on proliferative and invasive ability, and promotion of cell apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. Thus, the current study suggests Oct4 exerts a promoting effect in osteosarcoma, and identifies a novel lncRNA in osteosarcoma progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituicytoma is a rare tumor of the sellar and suprasellar regions, arising from the pituicytes, which are specialized glial cells in the neurohypophysis and infundibulum. Due to its rarity, ambiguity persists over the diagnosis, management and prognosis of pituicytoma. The current study presents a case series of three patients, each with a histopathological diagnosis of pituicytoma. A summary of the clinical manifestations, radiological characteristics, histopathological features, treatment strategies and prognoses are presented. In addition, 78 cases of pituicytoma, identified in a search of the published literature in Pubmed, are profiled. Pituicytoma typically presents with dysfunction of the optic nerve and pituitary. The radiological characteristics are nonspecific; diagnosis is typically made on the basis of histopathological results. The tumor is slow growing and benign and is amenable to surgical treatment by gross total resection; subsequent tumor recurrence is rare. A definitive assessment of prognosis requires an extended follow-up in a larger cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway performs a central role in tumorigenesis and is constitutively activated in many malignancies. As a novel dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor currently undergoing evaluation in a phase I/II clinical trial, NVP-BEZ235 indicates a significant antitumor efficacy in diverse solid tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Autophagy is a catabolic process that maintains cellular homeostasis and reduces diverse stresses through lysosomal recycling of the unnecessary and damaged cell components. This process is also observed to antagonize the antitumor efficacy of PI3K/mTOR inhibitor agents such as NVP-BEZ235, via apoptosis inhibition. In the present study, we investigated anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing ability of NVP-BEZ235 in SW480 cells and the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis in SW480 cells treated with NVP-BEZ235 in combination with an autophagy inhibitor. The results revealed that, NVP-BEZ235 effectively inhibit the growth of SW480 cells by targeting the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway and induced apoptosis. The inhibition of autophagy with 3-methyladenine or chloroquine inhibitors in combination with NVP-BEZ235 in SW480 cells enhanced the apoptotic rate as componets to NVP-BEZ235 alone. In conclusion, the findings provide a rationale for chemotherapy targeting the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway presenting a potential therapeutic strategy to enhance the efficacy of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 in combination with an autophagy inhibitor in CRC treatment and treatment of other tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study reports the clinical diagnosis and management of a patient with primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (Bcl) of the central nervous system (CNS). Making an early diagnosis of primary diffuse large Bcl is challenging due to the variable and complicated clinical manifestations of the disease. The relevant literature was reviewed, and high-dose methotrexate, whole brain radiotherapy and highly active antiretroviral therapy was recommended for the patient. The present study elucidates the role of positron emission tomography-computed tomography scans for the diagnosis and management of primary diffuse large Bcl of the CNS, and demonstrates the importance of resection surgery in the management of the disease. Specifically, the present study proposes that resection surgery may be applied in the early stages of disease for patients with a single occupied lesion and increased intracranial pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Although, surgery, radio- and chemotherapy are used to treat the disease, the identification of new drugs is crucial to increase the curative effect. The aim of the present study was to examine the chemotherapeutic sensitizing effect of nimotuzumab (h-R3) and cisplatin cytotoxic drugs cisplatin (DDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on esophageal carcinoma cells with two different epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressions. The expression of EGFR was detected in the human EC1 or EC9706 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell line using immunohistochemistry. The inhibitory effect of DDP and 5-FU alone or combined with h-R3 on EC1 or EC9706 cell proliferation was detected using an MTT assay. Flow cytometry and the TUNEL assay were used to determine the effect of single or combined drug treatment on cell apoptosis. The results showed that the expression of EGFR was low in EC1 cells but high in EC9706 cells. The inhibitory effect of the single use of h-R3 on EC1 or EC9706 cell proliferation was decreased. The inhibitory effect between single use of h-R3 alone and combined use of the chemotherapy drugs showed no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) on the EC1 cell growth rate, but showed a statistically significant difference (a=0.05) on EC9706 cell growth rate. The results detected by flow cytometry and TUNEL assay showed that the difference between single use of h-R3 alone and the control group was statistically significant with regard to the EC1 apoptosis rate effect (P<0.05), but not statistically significant for EC9706 (P>0.05). However, statistically significant differences were identified in the apoptotic rate of EC9706 cells between the h-R3 combined chemotherapy group and single chemotherapy group (P<0.05), but not on in the EC1 chemotherapy group (P>0.05). In conclusion, the sensitization effect of h-R3 on chemotherapy drugs is associated with the expression level of EGFR in EC1 or EC9706 cells. The cell killing effect of the combined use of h-R3 with DDP and 5-FU showed no obvious synergistic effect compared to the single-drug group, but only an additive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of compound Radix Sophorae Flavescentis on the proliferation of esophageal carcinoma TE-8 cells and to elucidate the mechanisms involved. For this purpose, we incubated TE-8 cells in medium containing various concentrations (0, 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/ml) of the compound Radix Sophorae Flavescentis injection and its effects on the proliferation of TE-8 cells were examined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In addition, we observed the morphological changes and measured the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes (caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax) in the cells treated with different doses of the compound (low-dose group, 0.05 mg/ml; medium-dose group, 0.2 mg/ml; and high-dose group, 0.8 ng/ml) by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The apoptotic index of the cancer cells treated with different doses of the compound was determined by TUNEL assay. Our results revealed that compared with the control group (untreated cells), the proliferation of the cancer cells treated with the compound was significantly inhibited (P≤0.05); the inhibition of the proliferation of the cancer cells occurred in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with the control group, the apoptotic rate of the cells in the low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups increased significantly (P<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, compared with the control group, the mRNA expression of caspase-3 and Bax increased significantly in the cells treated with the compound. However, the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 markedly decreased (P<0.05). With the gradual increase in the drug concentration, the mRNA expression levels of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax in the cancer cells were altered in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that compound Radix Sophorae Flavescentis injection significantly enhances the expression of pro-apoptotic genes in esophageal carcinoma TE-8 cells by increasing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation. Thus, this study provides a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of esophageal carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]