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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the presence of promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor α (PML-RARα) fusion gene, which is formed following the specific chromosomal translocation t(15;17)(q22;q21). However, cases with PML-RARα generated by occult t(15;17) which are negative by both cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), are difficult to diagnose, leading to impaired treatment effectiveness. In the present study, we reported a case of a 66-year-old male patient, and bone marrow morphology, flow cytometry and cytogenetics did not support the diagnosis of APL. Molecular techniques, such as reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), showed the existence of a cryptic PML-RARα fusion gene, and sequence analysis revealed a new variable isoform. Hotspot gene mutation analysis showed a biallelic CEBPA mutation. He received IA chemotherapy and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) treatment, and finally achieved complete remission. This case report provided valuable insights into the relevance of the correct identification of atypical PML–RARα fusion gene and biallelic CEBPA mutation. Moreover, combination of IA chemotherapy and ATRA treatment suggested a good clinical effect in this atypical PML–RARα.

High-risk HPV is clearly associated with cervical cancer. HPV integration has been confirmed to promote carcinogenesis in the previous studies. In our study, a total of 285 DNA breakpoints and 287 RNA breakpoints were collected. We analyzed the characteristic of HPV integration in the DNA and RNA samples. The results revealed that the patterns of HPV integration in RNA and DNA samples differ significantly. FHIT, KLF5, and LINC00392 were the hotspot genes integrated by HPV in the DNA samples. RAD51B, CASC8, CASC21, ERBB2, TP63, TEX41, RAP2B, and MYC were the hotspot genes integrated by HPV in RNA samples. Breakpoints of DNA samples were significantly prone to the region of INTRON (P < 0.01, Chi-squared test), whereas in the RNA samples, the breakpoints were prone to EXON. Pathway analysis had revealed that the breakpoints of RNA samples were enriched in the pathways of transcriptional misregulation in cancer, cancer pathway, and pathway of adherens junction. Breakpoints of DNA samples were enriched in the pathway of cholinergic synapse. In summary, our data helped to gain insights into the HPV integration sites in DNA and RNA samples of cervical cancer. It had provided theoretical basis for understanding the mechanism of tumorigenesis from the perspective of HPV integration in the HPV-associated cervical cancers.

Renal impairment (RI) is one of the hallmarks of multiple myeloma (MM) and carries a poor prognosis. Microvesicles (MVs) are membrane vesicles and play an important role in disease progression. Here, we investigated the role of MVs derived from MM cells (MM-MVs) in RI of MM. We found that MM-MVs significantly inhibited viability and induced apoptosis, but not epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human kidney-2 (HK-2), a human renal tubular epithelial cell line. The protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, 8, and 9, and E-cadherin, were increased, but vementin levels were decreased in the HK-2 cells treated with MM-MVs. Through a comparative sequencing and analysis of RNA content between the MVs from RPMI8226 MM cells (RPMI8226-MVs) and K562 leukemia cells, RPMI8226-MVs were enriched with more renal-pathogenic miRNAs, in which the selective miRNAs may participate in the up-regulation of the levels of cleaved caspase-3. Furthermore, the levels of CD138+ circulating MVs (cirMVs) in the peripheral blood were positively correlated with the severity of RI in newly-diagnosed MM. Our study supports MM-MVs representing a previously undescribed factor and playing a potential role in the development of RI of MM patients, and sheds light on the potential application of CD138+ cirMV counts in precise diagnosis of RI in MM and exploring MM-MVs as a therapeutic target.

This study examined the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of parthenolide (PTL) on the activity of NF-κB in multiple myeloma (MM). Human multiple myeloma cell line RPMI 8226 cells were treated with or without different concentrations of PTL for various time periods, and then MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Cell cycle and apoptosis were flow cytometrically detected. The level of protein ubiquitination was determined by using immunoprecipitation. Western blotting was employed to measure the level of total protein ubiquitination, the expression of IκB-α in cell plasma and the content of p65 in nucleus. The content of p65 in nucleus before and after PTL treatment was also examined with immunofluorescence. Exposure of RPMI 8226 cells to PTL attenuated the level of ubiquitinated Nemo, increased the expression of IκB-α and reduced the level of p65 in nucleus, finally leading to the decrease of the activity of NF-κB. PTL inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and blocked cell cycle. Furthermore, the levels of ubiquitinated tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and total proteins were decreased after PTL treatment. By using Autodock software package, we predicted that PTL could bind to TRAF6 directly and tightly. Taken together, our findings suggest that PTL inhibits the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway via directly binding with TRAF6, thereby suppressing MM cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by a high capacity to induce osteolytic bone lesions. MM patients with osteolytic bone lesions have lower numbers of osteoblasts and decreased bone formation, which plays a critical role in the bone-destructive process. Although the mechanism of estrogen action on bone cells and myeloma cells has been widely investigated, estrogen action on bone cells in MM is unknown. In this study, the effects of the gonadal hormone 17beta-estradiol on cell growth, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mineralization capacity, and RANKL/OPG ratios in primary rat osteoblasts cultured with MM cell conditioned medium (CM) or co-cultured with RPMI8226 cells were investigated. Treatments of 10(-2) to 10 nM 17beta-estradiol reversed inhibition of proliferation and ALP activity of osteoblasts by myeloma cells in a dose-dependent manner, and 10(-2) to 1 nM 17beta-estradiol reversed inhibition of the mineralization capacity of osteoblasts by myeloma cells. In co-culture experiments with primary rat osteoblasts and myeloma cells, treatments of 10(-2) to 10 nM 17beta-estradiol down-regulated transcription and secretion of RANKL and up-regulated transcription and secretion of OPG in the osteoblasts, reversing the effects of co-cultured myeloma cells. These findings suggest that 17beta-estradiol may temper the inhibitory effects of myeloma cells on osteoblasts and improve RANKL/OPG balance, providing a new agent for treatment of bone disease in myeloma.

The inhibitory effects of parthenolide (PTL) on angiogenesis induced by multiple myeloma (MM) cells in vitro and the mechanism were investigated. Human MM line RPMI8226 cells were cultured in vitro. The effects of MM culture supernatant on the migration and tubule formation ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with PTL were observed. By using Western blot, the expression of p65 and IkappaB-alpha in MM cells was detected. RT-PCR was used to assay the expression of VEGF, IL-6, MMP2 and MMP9 mRNA in MM cells. ELISA was used to measure the levels of VEGF and IL-6 in MM cell culture supernatant. The expression of MMP2 and MMP9 in MM cells was examined by immunohistochemistry. (1) In 3.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 micromol/L PTL groups the number of migrated cells was 310 +/- 56, 207 +/- 28, 127 +/- 21 and 49 +/- 10 respectively, which was significantly different from that in positive control group (598 +/- 47) (P0.01). In 3.5 and 5.0 micromol/L PTL groups the areas of capillary-like structures were 0.092 +/- 0.003 and 0.063 +/- 0.002 mm2, significantly less than in positive control group (0.262 +/- 0.012 mm2) (P0.01), but in 7.5 and 10 micromol/L PTL groups no capillary-like structures were found; (2) After treatment with different concentrations of PTL for 48 h, the expression of p65 protein was gradually decreased, while that of IkappaB-alpha was gradually enhanced with the increased concentration of PTL; (3) After treatment with 3.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 micromol/L PTL for 48 h, the VEGF levels in the supernatant were 2373.4 +/- 392.2, 1982.3 +/- 293.3, 1247.0 +/- 338.4 and 936.5+/-168.5 pg/mL respectively, significantly different from those in positive control group (2729 +/- 440.0 pg/mL) (P0.05). After treatment with 7.5 and 10 micromol/L PTL, the IL-6 levels in the culture supernatant were 59.6 +/- 2.8 and 41.4 +/- 9.8 pg/mL respectively, significantly lower than in positive control group (1287.3 +/- 43.5 pg/mL) (P0.05); (4) RT-PCR revealed that PTL could significantly inhibit the expression of VEGF and IL-6 mRNA in MM cells, but not influence the expression of MMP2 and MMP9 mRNA.; (5) Immunohistochemistry indicated that PTL had no significant effects on the expression of MMP2 and MMP9 protein in MM cells. It was concluded that the abilities of the culture supernatant of MM cells treated with PTL to induce endothelial cells migration and tubule formation were significantly reduced, suggesting PTL could obviously inhibit the angiogenesis induced by MM cells. PTL could decrease NF-kappaB activity and significantly suppress the expression of VEGF and IL-6 mRNA and protein, which might contribute to the mechanism by which PTL inhibited the angiogenesis induced by MM cells.