Identifying Differentially Expressed Genes and Screening Small Molecule Drugs for Lapatinib-resistance of Breast Cancer by a Bioinformatics Strategy

Zhuo, Wen-Lei,Zhang, Liang,Xie, Qi-Chao,Zhu, Bo,Chen, Zheng-Tang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Background: Lapatinib, a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor that interrupts the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HER2/neu pathways, has been indicated to have significant efficacy in treating HER2-positive breast cancer. However, acquired drug resistance has become a very serious clinical problem that hampers the use of this agent. In this study, we aimed to screen small molecule drugs that might reverse lapatinib-resistance of breast cancer by exploring differentially expressed genes (DEGs) via a bioinformatics method. Materials and Methods: We downloaded the gene expression profile of BT474-J4 (acquired lapatinib-resistant) and BT474 (lapatinib-sensitive) cell lines from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using dChip software. Then, gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses were performed with the DAVID database. Finally, a connectivity map was utilized for predicting potential chemicals that reverse lapatinib-resistance. Results: A total of 1, 657 DEGs were obtained. These DEGs were enriched in 10 pathways, including cell cycling, regulation of actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion associate examples. In addition, several small molecules were screened as the potential therapeutic agents capable of overcoming lapatinib-resistance. Conclusions: The results of our analysis provided a novel strategy for investigating the mechanism of lapatinib-resistance and identifying potential small molecule drugs for breast cancer treatment.

Pseudolaric Acid B Inhibits Proliferation, Invasion and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cell

Xiaoyu Li,Xianzhi Zhao,Wen Song,Zibin Tian,Lin Yang,Qinghui Niu,Qi Zhang,Man Xie,Bin Zhou,Yonghong Xu,Jun Wu,Cuiping Zhang 연세대학교의과대학 2018 Yonsei medical journal Vol.59 No.1

Purpose: This study was aimed to investigate the effect of pseudolaric acid B (PAB) on proliferation, invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in pancreatic cancer cells and to explore the possible mechanism. Materials and Methods: The pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 was cultured and treated with PAB dose- and time-dependent manners. Cell proliferation and invasion ability were measured by MTT assay and Matrigel/Transwell test, respectively. Semi-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were conducted to detect the expression of EMT markers and the key molecules. Finally, nude mice subcutaneous transplantation tumor model was used to confirm the therapy efficacy of PAB. Results: PAB could inhibit SW1990 cell proliferation and invasion in time- and dose-dependent manners. Vimentin, fibronectin, N-cadherin, Snail, Slug, YAP, TEAD1, and Survivin were down-regulated (p<0.01), while E-cadherin, caspase-9, MST1, and pYAP were up-regulated (p<0.05). Combined PAB and gemcitabine treatment markedly restricted the tumor growth compared with gencitabin or PAB alone groups. Conclusion: PAB could inhibit the proliferation and invasion ability of pancreatic cancer cells through activating Hippo-YAP pathway and inhibiting the process of EMT.

A Comprehensive Assessment of the Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Incidence of Gastric Cancer in the United States, 1992-2014

Qiang Yao,Xiaona Qi,Wen Cheng,Shao-Hua Xie 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.2

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the racial and ethnic disparities in the incidence of gastric cancer and their temporal trends in the United States. Materials and Methods Using data from 13 cancer registries in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we assessed such disparities during 1992-2014 in the United States using a variety of disparity metrics. Results The age-standardized incidence rate of non-cardia gastric cancer was highest in Asian and Pacific Islanders, while the incidence of cardia gastric was highest in non-Hispanic whites in men and was similarly low in all groups in women. The incidence of non-cardia gastric cancer decreased in all groups over time, particularly in Asian and Pacific Islanders (on average by 3% per year). The incidence of cardia gastric remained relatively stable in virtually all racial/ethnic groups. The racial and ethnic disparities in gastric cancer incidence steadily decreased over time as measured on the absolute scale, which was mainly driven by the reduced disparities in non-cardia gastric cancer. The range difference in the incidence of gastric cancer decreased on average by 4.1% per year in men and by 2.6% per year in women from 1992 to 2014. The between group variance decreased by 5.6% per year in men and by 3.4% per year in women. The relative-scale disparity measures generally remained stable over time. Conclusion This study demonstrates decreased racial and ethnic disparities in the incidence of gastric cancer over time in the United States, particularly as measured on the absolute scale.

Protective activities of probiotics in letrozole-induced polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) rats

Xinyu Li,Chenyang Xie,Qiuping Huang,Eun Mi Hwang,Bin Jin,Zhewen Dong,Zhen Zeng,Wen He,Qi Qi Pang,Jia-Le Song 한국식품영양과학회 2021 한국식품영양과학회 학술대회발표집 Vol.2021 No.10

To investigate the effect of Bifidobacterium, C. butyricum and L. plantarum on the letrozole induced PCOS rats. All female SD rats were randomly divided into five groups, modeling PCOS rats, and respectively given intragastric administration of Bifidobacterium, C. butyricum, and L. plantarum solution (1×10<SUP>9</SUP> CFU/mL) for 30 days, and observed body weight (BW). The serum levels of testosterone (T), LH, E2, FSH, INS, TG, TC, LDL, HDL were determined by ELISA kits. The levels of TGF-β1, smad4, smad3, p-smad3, p-smad2, smad2 were detected by Western Blotting. Compared with normal group, the BW, T, LH, INS, TG, TC LDL-C in PCOS rats were significantly increased, and the levels of E2, FSH and HDL-C were significantly decreased. Administrated with different probiotics can decrease the BW, T, LH, INS, TG, TC,LDL-C, and the levels of E2, FSH and HDL-C increased in PCOS rats. All probiotics significantly decreased the expression of p-smad2, p-smad3, smad4, TGF-β1. Our results showed that Bifidobacterium, C. butyricum and L. plantarum were all effective in regulating hormone levels, improving IR and dyslipidemia, and improving ovarian fibrosis in PCOS rats.

Variation of cassiicolin genes among Chinese isolates of Corynespora cassiicola

Jun Wu,Xue-Wen Xie,Yan-Xia Shi,A-Li Chai,Qi Wang,Bao-ju Li 한국미생물학회 2018 The journal of microbiology Vol.56 No.9

Corynespora cassiicola is a species of fungus that is a plant pathogen of many agricultural crop plants, including severe target spot disease on cucumber. Cassiicolin is an important effector of pathogenicity of this fungus. In this study, we collected 141 Corynespora isolates from eighteen hosts, and the casscolin gene was detected in 82 C. cassiicola strains. The deduced protein sequences revealed that 72 isolates contained the Cas2 gene, two strains from Gynura bicolor harboured the Cas2.2 gene, and 59 isolates without a cassiicolin gene were classified as Cas0. Phylogenetic analyses was performed for the 141 isolates using four loci (ITS, ga4, caa5, and act1) and revealed two genetic clusters. Cluster A is composed of four subclades: subcluster A1 includes all Cas2 isolates plus 18 Cas0 strains, subcluster A2 includes the eight Cas5 isolates and one Cas0 isolate, and subclusters A3 and A4 contain Cas0 strains. Cluster B consists of 21 Cas0 isolates. Twenty-two C. cassiicola strains from different toxin classes showed varying degrees of virulence against cucumber. Cas0 or Cas2 strains induced diverse responses on cucumber, from no symptoms to symptoms of moderate or severe infection, but all Cas5 isolates exhibited avirulence on cucumber.

Overexpression of the potato StEPF2 gene confers enhanced drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

Yanli Wang,Tian Xie,Chunli Zhang,Juanjuan Li,Zhi Wang,Hongbing Li,Xiping Liu,Li-Na Yin,Shi-Wen Wang,Sui-Qi Zhang,Xiping Deng,Qingbo Ke 한국식물생명공학회 2020 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.14 No.4

Epidermal patterning factor 2 (EPF2) is a negative regulator of stomatal development, and is essential for plant growth, development, and environmental stress responses. However, the role of EPF2 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) has not been investigated to date. Here, we cloned and characterized the potato EPF2-like gene (StEPF2). StEPF2 is predominantly intercellular space localized and its transcripts were rhythmically expressed, and showed the highest expression in apical unexpanded leaves. Expression of StEPF2 was markedly down-regulated in response to abscisic acid and sodium chloride treatments; however, upon the application of polyethylene glycol, the expression of StEPF2 peaked at 4 h and then decreased gradually. Overexpression of StEPF2 in Arabidopsis (OE) substantially reduced stomatal density and photosynthetic rate, but had little effects on plant growth. Under drought stress, OE lines maintained higher photosynthetic rates, photosystem II efficiency, and instantaneous water use efficiency than wild-type (WT) plants. Moreover, OE lines showed less water loss and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in detached leaves compared with WT plants. Thus, our results suggest that StEPF2 acts as a negative regulator of stomatal development in potato, indicating that the role of EPF2 is conserved across plant species. Overall, StEPF2 represents an important target for the development of drought-tolerant potato cultivars via genetic engineering.

Effect of gelatin nano-coating containing Gardenia pigment on the preservation of pork slices

Yong Liu,Zi-Hao Liu,Chang-Qi Luo,Chun-Tao Xiao,Wen-Yu Zhou,Wen-Jin Xie 한국식품과학회 2022 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.31 No.4

The nano-coating composed of gelatin and Gardenia pigment (GP) was successfully prepared and showed strong antioxidant activity. The average particle sizes of the nano-coating containing 0.1% and 0.3% GP were 269.58 and 394.13 nm, respectively. The pork slices uncoated and coated with the nano-coating were preserved at 4 C for 15 days. The pork slices’ pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), total viable counts (TVC), water-bind- ing capacity (WHC), and thiobarbituric acid reactive sub- stances (TBARS) were measured to assess the preservation effect of the nano-coating. The results showed that the pork coated with the nano-coating had lower pH, TVC, TVB-N, TBARS, and higher WHC, significantly different (p \ 0.05) than the uncoated pork. It is suggested that the proposed nano-coating can be used to effectively improve the pork’s quality and shelf life during refrigeration storage.

The Epitope Recognized by Monoclonal Antibody 2B6 in the B/C Domains of Classical Swine Fever Virus Glycoprotein E2 Affects Viral Binding to Hyperimmune Sera and Replication

( Chao Tong ),( Ning Chen ),( Xun Liao ),( Wen Qi Xie ),( De Jiang Li ),( Xiao Liang Li ),( Wei Huan Fang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.4

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious disease of pigs caused by CSF virus (CSFV). E2 is the major viral envelope protein of immune dominance that induces neutralizing antibodies and confers protection against CSFV infection. The B/C domains of E2 are variable among CSFV isolates, which could affect immunogenicity and binding to antibodies. We attempted to characterize the epitope recognized by a monoclonal antibody 2B6 (mAb-2B6) raised against the E2 B/C domains of the vaccine C-strain and to examine if mutations in the epitope region would affect antibody binding and viral neutralization. The epitope specific for mAb-2B6 recognition is linear, spanning five residues 774DGXNP778 in the B/C domains. The residue N777 is indispensable for the specificity. The epitope exists only in group 1 strains, but not in those of group 2. The recombinant viruses containing individual mutations on the epitope region lost the reactivity to mAb-2B6. The mutant virus RecC-N777S had low replication potential, about 10-fold decrease in the yield of progeny virus particles, whereas the mutant virus RecC-P778A reverted to proline upon continuous passaging. The mutations on the mAb-2B6 epitope region did not affect neutralization by anti-C-strain polyclonal sera from pigs. Deletion from aa774 covering the mAb-2B6 epitope, but not that from aa781, also affected binding with the polyclonal antibodies from vaccinated pigs, although the major binding region for the vaccinated antibodies is aa690-773.

Recommendations on management of gynecological malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from Chinese gynecological oncologists

Yingmei Wang,Shiqian Zhang,Lihui Wei,Zhongqiu Lin,Xinyu Wang,Jianliu Wang,Keqin Hua,Manhua Cu,Jiandong Wang,Shixuan Wang,Wen Di,Yudong Wang,Ruifang An,Mingrong Xi,Ruixia Guo,Qi Zhou,Xing Xie,Fengxia X 대한부인종양학회 2020 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.31 No.4

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratorysyndrome coronavirus 2 has rapidly spread globally. Cancer patients are at a higher risk ofbeing infected with the coronavirus and are more likely to develop severe complications, ascompared to the general population. The increasing spread of COVID-19 presents challengesfor the clinical care of patients with gynecological malignancies. Concerted efforts should beput into managing gynecological malignancies in an orderly manner by strictly implementingthe measures that are specifically developed for controlling the spread of COVID-19. We havedrafted Recommendations on Management of Gynecological Malignancies during the COVID-19 Pandemicbased on our experience on controlling COVID-19 pandemic in China. We recommendthat patients with gynecological malignancies should be managed in hierarchical andindividualized manners in combination with local conditions related to COVID-19. Medicalcare decision should be balanced between controlling COVID-19 pandemic spread and timelydiagnosis and treatment for gynecologic oncology patients.