Correlation between DNA methylation and Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin expression in asthmatic airway epithelial cells

Yan‑Li Li,Xi‑Qian Xing,Yi Xiao,Yan‑Hong Liu,Yu‑Shan Zhou,Min Zhuang,Chao‑Qian Li 한국유전학회 2020 Genes & Genomics Vol.42 No.12

Background: The overexpression of TSLP and DNA methylation in asthma were both risk factors the relationship was not clear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between methylation status of TSLP promoter and mRNA/protein expression in asthmatic airway epithelial cells. Methods: Human bronchial epithelial cells were cultured in vitro and divided into: Control group, treated with PBS, model group, sensitized with LPS (10 μg/mL) for 12 h (37 °C, 5% CO2). Other groups were cultured with the pCMV3 plasmid (M + NC/pCMV), pGPH1 plasmid (M + NC/pGPH), DNMT1/pCMV3 plasmid (M + DNMT1/pCMV), and DNMT1/pGPH1 plasmid (M + DNMT1/pGPH) for 48 h. The expression of DNA methyltransferase 1 and TSLP were measured using real-time PCR and western blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, TSLP mRNA (1.00 ± 0.00 vs. 2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 1, P < 0.001) and protein (1.07 ± 0.04 vs. 1.46 ± 0.11, P < 0.01) were significantly greater, and the methylation of promoter was lower (92.75 ± 1.26 vs. 58.57 ± 3.34, P < 0.05) in the model group. Compared with the model group, TSLP mRNA (2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 1.17 ± 0.10, P < 0.001) decreased, but TSLP promoter methylation increased (58.57 ± 3.34 vs. 92.58 ± 7.30, P < 0.05) in M + DNMT1/pCMV. TSLP mRNA and protein were higher (2.82 ± 0.81 vs. 5.32 ± 0.21, P < 0.001; 1.46 ± 0.11 vs. 1.94 ± 0.11, respectively, P < 0.01), TSLP promoter methylation was lower (58.57 ± 3.34 vs. 33.57 ± 4.29, P < 0.05) in M + DNMT1/pGPH. Conclusions: Overexpression of TSLP in asthmatic airway epithelial cells may be regulated by DNA demethylation.

Transcriptome profiling of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) discovers candidate regulators of the cold stress respo

Xiao‑Xiao Gong,Bing‑Yu Yan,Jin Hu,Cui‑Ping Yang,Yi‑Jian Li,Jin‑Ping Liu,Wen‑Bin Liao 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.11

Tropical plant rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is the sole source of commercial natural rubber and low-temperature stress is the most important limiting factor for its cultivation. To characterize the gene expression profiles of H. brasiliensis under the cold stress and discover the key cold stress-induced genes. Three cDNA libraries, CT (control), LT2 (cold treatment at 4 °C for 2 h) and LT24 (cold treatment at 4 °C for 24 h) were constructed for RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and gene expression profiling. Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was conducted to validate the RNA-Seq and gene differentially expression results. A total of 1457 and 2328 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in LT2 and LT24 compared with CT were respectively detected. Most significantly enriched KEGG pathways included flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis, Pentose and glucuronate interconversions, phenylalanine metabolism and starch and sucrose metabolism. A total of 239 transcription factors (TFs) were differentially expressed following 2 h or/and 24 h of cold treatment. Cold-response transcription factor families included ARR-B, B3, BES1, bHLH, C2H, CO-like, Dof, ERF, FAR1, G2-like, GRAS, GRF, HD-ZIP, HSF, LBD, MIKC-MADS, M-type MADS, MYB, MYB-related, NAC, RAV, SRS, TALE, TCP, Trihelix, WOX, WRKY, YABBY and ZF-HD. The genome-wide transcriptional response of rubber tree to the cold treatments were determined and a large number of DEGs were characterized including 239 transcription factors, providing important clues for further elucidation of the mechanisms of cold stress responses in rubber tree.

Meteorological driven factors of population growth in brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), in rice paddies

Xiao‐Zhen Li,Yi ZOU,Hai-Yan YANG,Hai-Jun XIAO,Jian-Guo WANG 한국곤충학회 2017 Entomological Research Vol.47 No.5

Growth of brown planthopper (BPH) (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) in rice paddies is mainly driven by meteorological factors under similar management practices. By analyzing field investigation and meteorological data collected from 2008 to 2013 in Nanchang, China, we show that BPH population densities and monthly growth rates (BGR) changed greatly from May to October, and these changes were closely associated with meteorological factors. Stepwise regression and path analysis indicated average speed of winds (AW) in June and lowest temperature (LT) in July were the first factors entering analysis, which interpreted 46.20% and 31.90% of their influences on BGR. While highest temperature (HT) in August and average temperature (AT) in September were the most important factors affecting BGR, but their direct path coefficients were all smaller than their corresponding indirect path coefficients. In October, relative humidity (RH), AW and number of raining days (RD) had significant effects on BGR. According to the sum of each meteorological factor entering stepwise regression analysis sequences, we found AW had the utmost effect on BPH growth, followed by AT and RH, but LT and RD least. The work demonstrate dynamic meteorological factors driving BPH growth and outbreak in rice paddies, which would facilitate the development of durable approaches for forecasting and controlling this destructive rice pest.

Colorectal Cancer Concealment Predicts a Poor Survival: A Retrospective Study

Li, Xiao-Pan,Xie, Zhen-Yu,Fu, Yi-Fei,Yang, Chen,Hao, Li-Peng,Yang, Li-Ming,Zhang, Mei-Yu,Li, Xiao-Li,Feng, Li-Li,Yan, Bei,Sun, Qiao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.7

Objectives: Understanding the situation of cancer awareness which doctors give to patients might lead to prognostic prediction in cases of of colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Subsets of 10,779 CRC patients were used to screen the risk factors from the Cancer Registry in Pudong New Area in cancer awareness, age, TNM stage, and gender. Survival of the patients was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and assessed by Cox regression analysis. The views of cancer awareness in doctors and patients were surveyed by telephone or household. Results: After a median observation time of 1,616 days (ranging from 0 to 4,083 days) of 10,779 available patients, 2,596 of the 4,561 patients with cancer awareness survived, whereas 2,258 of the 5,469 patients without cancer awareness and 406 of the 749 patients without information on cancer awareness died of the disease. All-cause and cancer-specific survival were poorer for the patients without cancer awareness than those with (P < 0.001 for each, log-rank test). Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that cancer concealment cases had significantly lower cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.299; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.200-1.407)and all-cause survival (HR = 1.324; 95 % CI: 1.227-1.428). Furthermore, attitudes of cancer awareness between doctors and patients were significantly different (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Cancer concealment, not only late-stage tumor and age, is associated with a poor survival of CRC patients.

Relation between Ki-67, ER, PR, Her2/neu, p21, EGFR, and TOP II-α Expression in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer Patients and Correlations with Prognosis

Yan, Jian,Liu, Xiao-Long,Han, Lu-Zhe,Xiao, Gang,Li, Ning-Lei,Deng, Yi-Nan,Yin, Liang-Chun,Ling, Li-Juan,Yu, Xiao-Yuan,Tan, Can-Liang,Huang, Xiao-Ping,Liu, Li-Xin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of the transcription factor Ki-67, ER, PR, Her2/neu, p21, EGFR, and TOP II-${\alpha}$ in the tumor tissue of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma(IDC); in addition, we examined correlations between these markers. Two hundred and sixteen IDC patients, who were not previously been treated with chemo- or radiotherapy, were included in the study. All tumors were grade I-III. Expression of molecular markers was determined by immunohistochemical analysis on paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Follow-up data were collected for 3 months to 10 years and analyzed for tumor recurrence, survival time, and prognostic risk factors. We determined Ki-67 expression correlates with the expression of ER, PR, HER-2, EGFR, and TOP-${\alpha}$, as well as lymph node involvement, high tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, high tumor stage, and high TNM stage in IDC. Positive Ki-67 expression was a risk factor for rapid tumor recurrence and may help tumor progression, leading to poor prognosis in IDC. Ki-67 was directly correlated with EGFR, TOP II-${\alpha}$, lymph node involvement, high tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, high tumor stage, and high TNM stage in the hormone receptor subtypes of breast cancer. In triple negative breast cancer, Ki-67 correlated with TOP II-${\alpha}$. Expression of Ki-67 correlated with that of ER, PR, HER-2, EGFR, TOP II-${\alpha}$, and p21. In addition, the biomarker Ki-67 has a role as a prognostic factor and indicates a poor prognosis in IDC.

Anti-metastasis Activity of Black Rice Anthocyanins Against Breast Cancer: Analyses Using an ErbB2 Positive Breast Cancer Cell Line and Tumoral Xenograft Model

Luo, Li-Ping,Han, Bin,Yu, Xiao-Ping,Chen, Xiang-Yan,Zhou, Jie,Chen, Wei,Zhu, Yan-Feng,Peng, Xiao-Li,Zou, Qiang,Li, Sui-Yan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.15

Background: Increasing evidence from animal, epidemiological and clinical investigations suggest that dietary anthocyanins have potential to prevent chronic diseases, including cancers. It is also noteworthy that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ErbB2) protein overexpression or ErbB2 gene amplification has been included as an indicator for metastasis and higher risk of recurrence for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The present experiments investigated the anti-metastasis effects of black rice anthocyanins (BRACs) on ErbB2 positive breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. Results: Oral administration of BRACs (150 mg/kg/day) reduced transplanted tumor growth, inhibited pulmonary metastasis, and decreased lung tumor nodules in BALB/c nude mice bearing ErbB2 positive breast cancer cell MDA-MB-453 xenografts. The capacity for migration, adhesion, motility and invasion was also inhibited by BRACs in MDA-MB-453 cells in a concentration dependent manner, accompanied by decreased activity of a transfer promoting factor, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA). Conclusions: Together, our results indicated that BRACs possess anti-metastasis potential against ErbB2 positive human breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro through inhibition of metastasis promoting molecules.

SPON2 Promotes M1-like Macrophage Recruitment and Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis by Distinct Integrin–Rho GTPase–Hippo Pathways

Zhang, Yan-Li,Li, Qing,Yang, Xiao-Mei,Fang, Fang,Li, Jun,Wang, Ya-Hui,Yang, Qin,Zhu, Lei,Nie, Hui-Zhen,Zhang, Xue-Li,Feng, Ming-Xuan,Jiang, Shu-Heng,Tian, Guang-Ang,Hu, Li-Peng,Lee, Ho-Young,Lee, Su-J American Association for Cancer Research 2018 Cancer research Vol.78 No.9

<P>Matricellular protein SPON2 acts as an HCC suppressor and utilizes distinct signaling events to perform dual functions in HCC microenvironment.</P><P>Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) represent key regulators of the complex interplay between cancer and the immune microenvironment. Matricellular protein SPON2 is essential for recruiting lymphocytes and initiating immune responses. Recent studies have shown that SPON2 has complicated roles in cell migration and tumor progression. Here we report that, in the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), SPON2 not only promotes infiltration of M1-like macrophages but also inhibits tumor metastasis. SPON2-α4β1 integrin signaling activated RhoA and Rac1, increased F-actin reorganization, and promoted M1-like macrophage recruitment. F-Actin accumulation also activated the Hippo pathway by suppressing LATS1 phosphorylation, promoting YAP nuclear translocation, and initiating downstream gene expression. However, SPON2-α5β1 integrin signaling inactivated RhoA and prevented F-actin assembly, thereby inhibiting HCC cell migration; the Hippo pathway was not noticeably involved in SPON2-mediated HCC cell migration. In HCC patients, SPON2 levels correlated positively with prognosis. Overall, our findings provide evidence that SPON2 is a critical factor in mediating the immune response against tumor cell growth and migration in HCC.</P><P><B>Significance:</B> Matricellular protein SPON2 acts as an HCC suppressor and utilizes distinct signaling events to perform dual functions in HCC microenvironment.</P><P><B>Graphical Abstract:</B> http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/9/2305/F1.large.jpg. <I>Cancer Res; 78(9); 2305–17. ©2018 AACR</I>.</P><P><B>Graphical Abstract</B></P><P> [Figure]</P>

Monosaccharide as a Central Scaffold Toward the Construction of Salicylate-Based Bidentate PTP1B Inhibitors via Click Chemistry

Yan-Hui Tang,Min Hu,Xiao-Peng He,Sando Fahnbulleh,Cui Li,Li-Xin Gao,Li Sheng,Yun Tang,Jia Li,Guo-Rong Chen 대한화학회 2011 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.32 No.3

The discovery of carbohydrate-based bioactive compounds has recently received considerable interest in the drug development. This paper stresses on the application of 1-methoxy-O-glucoside as the central scaffold,whereas salicylic pharmacophores were introduced with diverse spatial orientations probing into the structural preference of an enzymatic target, i.e. protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). By employing regioselective protection and deprotection strategy, 2,6-, 3,4-, 4,6- and 2,3-di-O-propynyl 1-methoxy-O-glucosides were previously synthesized and then coupled with azido salicylate via click chemistry in forming the desired bidentate salicylic glucosides with high yields. The inhibitory assay of the obtained triazolyl derivatives leads to the identification of the 2,3-disubstituted salicylic 1-methoxy-O-glucoside as the structurally privileged PTP1B inhibitor among this bidentate compound series with micromole-ranged IC50 value and reasonable selectivity over other homologous PTPs tested. In addition, docking simulation was conducted to propose a plausible binding mode of this authorized inhibitor with PTP1B. This research might furnish new insight toward the construction of structurally different bioactive compounds based on the monosaccharide scaffold.

Activation of JNKs is essential for BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Yan Fang Zhao,Jing Xu,Wen Juan Wang,Jin Wang,Juan Wen He,Li Li,Qian Dong,Yan Xiao,Xing Lian Duan,Xue Yang,Yi Wen Liang,Tao Song,Min Tang,Dan Zhao,Jin Yong Luo 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2013 BMB Reports Vol.46 No.8

Elevated Platelets Enhance Cancer Cell Migration, Promote Hematogenous Metastasis and Associate with a Poor Prognosis in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cases

Li, Yan,Miao, Li-Yun,Xiao, Yong-Long,Cai, Hou-Rong,Zhang, De-Ping Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.1

Although correlations between platelets and lung cancer has been recognized, effects on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastasis remain to be determined in detail. In the present study, wound healing assays revealed a role of platelets in NSCLC cell migration. Thus the mean migration rate of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells was significantly elevated after co-culture with platelets ($81.7{\pm}0.45%$ vs $41.0{\pm}3.50%$, P<0.01). Expression of GAPDH was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to study the effect of platelets on NSCLC cell proliferation. The result showed that the proliferation of A549 and SPC-A1 cells was not affected. Mouse models were established by transfusing A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells into mice lateral tail veins. We found tumor metastasis nodules in lungs to be increased significantly after co-transfusion with platelets (in A549, $4.33{\pm}0.33$ vs $0.33{\pm}0.33$, P=0.01; in SPC-A1, $2.67{\pm}0.33$ vs $0.00{\pm}0.00$, P=0.01). In addition, consecutive inoperable patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC (TNM stage III or IV) between January 2009 and December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, NSCLC patients with a high platelet counts demonstrated a significantly shorter progression free survival compared with those with a low platelet count (> $200{\times}10^9/L$, 3 months versus ${\leq}200{\times}10^9/L$, 5 months, P=0.001). An elevated platelet count was also identified as an independent prognostic factor by Cox regression analysis for prgression free survival (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.46; P=0.006). This study suggested that platelets might contribute to the hematogenous metastatic process by promoting cancer cell migration, which eventually affects the prognosis of NSCLC.