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Abstract Background miR-223-3p has been demonstrated as a Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization-related miRNA in bronchiectasis (BE), but its clinical value in BE has not been revealed, which is of great significance for the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of BE. This study aimed to identify a reliable biomarker for screening BE and predicting patients’ outcomes. Methods The serum expression of miR-223-3p was compared between healthy individuals (n = 101) and BE patients (n = 133) and evaluated its potential in distinguishing BE patients. The severity of BE patients was estimated by BSI and FACED score, and the correlation of miR-223-3p with inflammation and severity of BE patients was evaluated by Pearson correlation analysis. BE patients were followed up for 3 years, and the predictive value of miR-223-3p in prognosis was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results Significant upregulation of miR-223-3p was observed in BE patients, which significantly distinguished BE patients and showed positive correlations with C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of BE patients. Additionally, miR-223-3p was also positively correlated with BSI and FACED scores, indicating its correlation with inflammation and severity of BE. BE patients with adverse prognoses showed a higher serum miR-223-3p level, which was identified as an adverse prognostic factor and discriminated patients with different prognoses. Conclusion Increasing serum miR-223-3p can be considered a biomarker for the onset, severity, and prognosis of BE.

Abstract Background Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the malignancy with the worst outcome among all breast cancer subtypes. We reported that ETV1 is a significant oncogene in TNBC tumourigenesis. Consequently, investigating the critical regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) of ETV1 may be beneficial for TNBC targeted therapy. Methods We performed in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect the location of miR-17-5p and ETV1 in TNBC patient samples, respectively. miR-17-5p expression in TNBC tissues and cell lines was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). ETV1 expression was evaluated by qRT-PCR, western blotting and IHC. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, Transwell and wound closure assays were utilized to determine the TNBC cell proliferation and migration capabilities. In vivo tumour metastatic assays were performed in a zebra fish model. Results The abundance of miR-17-5p was significantly decreased in TNBC cell lines and clinical TNBC tissues. The miR-17-5p expression levels were closely correlated with tumour size (P

Background Upregulator of cell proliferation 4 (URG4) has been implicated in the oncogenesis of certain cancers. However, the correlation between URG4 expression and clinicopathological significance in human cancer remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated its expression and clinicopathological significance in cervical cancer patients. Methods URG4 expression was examined using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blotting in normal cervical epithelial cells, cervical cancer cells, and eight matched pairs of cervical cancer tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues from the same patient. In addition, immunohistochemistry (THC) was used to examine URG4 expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 167 cervical cancer patients (FIGO stages Ibl-IIa2). Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate associations between URG4 expression and prognostic and diagnostic factors. Results URG4 was significantly upregulated in the cervical cancer cell lines and tissues compared with the normal cells and adjacent noncancerous cervical tissues. IHC revealed high URG4 expression in 59 out of the 167 (35.13%) cervical cancer specimens. Its expression was significantly correlated with clinical stage (P < 0.0001), tumour size (P = 0.012), T classification (P = 0.023), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001) and vaginal involvement (P = 0.002). Patients with high URG4 expression, particularly those who received concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001), showed a shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared to those with the low expression of this protein. Multivariate analysis revealed that URG4 expression is an independent prognostic factor for cervical cancer patients. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that elevated URG4 protein expression is associated with a poor outcome in patients with early-stage cervical cancer. URG4 may be a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for the treatment of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Prostate tumor overexpressed 1 (PTOV1) was demonstrated to play an important role in cancer progression and was correlated with unfavorable clinical outcome. However, the clinical role of PTOV1 in cancer remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the expression and clinicopathological significance of PTOV1 in breast cancer. Methods The mRNA and protein expression levels of PTOV1 were analyzed in 12 breast cancer cell lines and eight paired breast cancer tumors by semi-quantitative real time-PCR and western blotting, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess PTOV1 protein expression in 169 paraffin-embedded, archived breast cancer samples. Survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of PTOV1 expression. Results Our data revealed that PTOV1 was frequently overexpressed in breast cancer cell lines compared to normal human breast epithelial cells and in primary breast cancer samples compared to adjacent noncancerous breast tissues, at both the mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, high expression of PTOV1 in breast cancer is strongly associated with clinicopathological characteristics and estrogen receptor expression status (P = 0.003). Breast cancer patients with higher PTOV1 expression had substantially shorter survival times than patients with lower PTOV1 expression (P < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that PTOV1 might be an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer patients (P = 0.005). Conclusions Our study showed that PTOV1 is upregulated in breast cancer cell lines and clinical samples, and its expression was positively associated with progression and aggressiveness of breast cancer, suggesting that PTOV1 could serve as an independent prognostic marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are gastrointestinal disorders associated with chronic inflammatory processes. Carnosol has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory properties. This study examined the suppressive effect of carnosol on the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and chemokines in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the possible underlying mechanism. The effect of carnosol on CAM and chemokine expression in HUVECs was identified by western blotting and ELISA, respectively. nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation of HUVECs was analyzed using the TransAM NF-κB Family kit. The effect of carnosol on the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced activation of the NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, and was subsequently analyzed using western blotting. Carnosol not only inhibited TNF-α-induced protein expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and E-selectin in HUVECs, but also suppressed interleukin (IL)-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 expression. In addition, carnosol inhibited the TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of p-65 and IκB-α, as well as the activation of NF-κB. The same result was observed in TNF-α-stimulated phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p-38. It was demonstrated that carnosol inhibited TNF-α-induced CAM and chemokine expression in HUVECs. The underlying mechanism may be associated with the blocking of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. These results indicate that carnosol may be a novel therapeutic agent for targeting endothelial cells in IBDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to explore possible role of miR-221 in the pathogenesis of HCC. Matched HCC and adjacent non-cancerous samples were assayed for the expression of miR-221 and three G1/S transition inhibitors: p27, p21and TGF-β1 by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry respectively. p27 is one of miR-221's proven targets. Real time qRT-PCR was used to investigate miR-221 and p27 transcripts in different clinical stages. Western blotting was used to analyze the expression levels of p27 protein in different clinical stages. In result, miR-221 and TGF-β1 are frequently up-regulated in HCC, while p27 and p21 proteins are frequently down-regulated. Moreover, miR-221 and p27's expression correlated with metastasis and miR-221's expression also correlated with tumor size. Both of p21and TGF-β1's expression correlated with tumor differentiations. miR-221's upregulation and p27's downregulation were significantly associated with tumor stages and metastasis. In conclusion, miR-221 is important in tumorigenesis of HCC, possibly by specifically down-regulating p27, a cell-cycle inhibitor. These results indicate miR-221 as a new therapeutic target in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a study which compared the safety and efficacy outcomes of stapled hemorrhoidectomy (PPH) with Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy (MMH) as treatment for severe hemorrhoids. The study presented the effects of the safety and efficacy outcomes on PPH and MMH. The study found that skin tags and prolapse occurred at higher rates in the PPH Group.