Lack of Effects of HER-2/neu on Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer: a Meta-analysis

Han, Jun,Meng, Qing-Yang,Liu, Xiao,Xi, Qiu-Lei,Zhuang, Qiu-Lin,Wu, Guo-Hao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.14

Background: The prognostic value of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2/neu) for survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is still ambiguous. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to evaluate its prognostic significance. Materials and Methods: We searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for published literature investigating associations between HER-2/neu status and overall survival of patients with CRC. A meta-analysis was performed using a DerSimonian-Laird model and publication bias was investigated by Begg's and Egger's tests. Subgroup analysis was also conducted according to the study design type, study quality score, cut-off value for HER-2/neu overexpression, publication region, patient number and publication year. Results: A total of 17 eligible studies involving 2,347 patients were identified for this meta-analysis. The combined hazard ratio (HR) was 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.96-1.79), suggesting that HER-2/neu overexpression was not significantly associated with overall survival of patients with CRC. However, subgroup analysis revealed that HER-2/neu overexpression had an unfavorable impact on survival when the analysis was restricted to subgroups of study quality score ${\leq}5 $(HR=1.56, 95%CI: 1.17-2.10), Asian patients (HR=1.74, 95%CI: 1.22-2.49), patient number ${\leq}106$ (HR=1.57, 95%CI: 1.01-2.44), publication year before 2003 (HR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.02-2.49), and prospectively designed study (HR=3.62, 95%CI: 1.42-9.24). The effect disappeared in subgroups of study quality scores > 5 (HR=0.69, 95%CI: 0.33-1.44), non Asian patients (HR=1.14, 95%CI: 0.77-1.70), patients' number > 106 (HR=1.07, 95%CI: 0.67-1.72), publication year after 2003 (HR=1.13, 95%CI: 0.76-1.69), and retrospectively designed study (HR=1.22, 95%CI: 0.89-1.67). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggests that HER-2/neu overexpression might not be a significantly prognostic indicator for patients with CRC. Further studies are required to confirm these results.

Induction of Apoptosis by IGFBP3 Overexpression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Han, Jian-Jun,Xue, De-Wen,Han, Qiu-Rong,Liang, Xiao-Hong,Xie, Li,Li, Sheng,Wu, Hui-Yong,Song, Bao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.23

Background: The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system comprises a group of proteins that play key roles in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in a variety of cellular systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) in hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN was analyzed by qRT-PCR. Lentivirus vectors were used to overexpress IGFBP3 in hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HCC) lines. The effect of IGFBP3 on proliferation was investigated by MTT and colony formation assays. Results: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN in several HCC cell lines was lower than in normal cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine/trichostatin A treatment, significant demethylation of the promoter region of IGFBP3 was observed in HCC cells. Overexpression of IGFBP3 induced apoptosis and reduced colony formation in HUH7 cells. Conclusions: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN in several HCC cell lines was lower than in normal cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine/trichostatin A treatment, significant demethylation of the promoter region of IGFBP3 was observed in HCC cells. Overexpression of IGFBP3 induced apoptosis and reduced colony formation in HUH7 cells.

Inclusion of thin target and source regions in alimentary and respiratory tract systems of mesh-type ICRP adult reference phantoms

Kim, Han Sung,Yeom, Yeon Soo,Nguyen, Thang Tat,Choi, Chansoo,Han, Min Cheol,Lee, Jai Ki,Kim, Chan Hyeong,Zankl, Maria,Petoussi-Henss, Nina,Bolch, Wesley E,Lee, Choonsik,Qiu, Rui,Eckerman, Keith,Chung, Institute of Physics in association with the Ameri 2017 Physics in medicine & biology Vol. No.

<P>It is not feasible to define very small or complex organs and tissues in the current voxel-type adult reference computational phantoms of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), which limit dose coefficients for weakly penetrating radiations. To address the problem, the ICRP is converting the voxel-type reference phantoms into mesh-type phantoms. In the present study, as a part of the conversion project, the micrometer-thick target and source regions in the alimentary and respiratory tract systems as described in ICRP <I>Publications 100</I> and <I>66</I> were included in the mesh-type ICRP reference adult male and female phantoms. In addition, realistic lung airway models were simulated to represent the bronchial (BB) and bronchiolar (bb) regions. The electron specific absorbed fraction (SAF) values for the alimentary and respiratory tract systems were then calculated and compared with the values calculated with the stylized models of ICRP <I>Publications 100</I> and <I>66</I>. The comparisons show generally good agreement for the oral cavity, oesophagus, and BB, whereas for the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, extrathoracic region, and bb, there are some differences (e.g. up to ~9 times in the large intestine). The difference is mainly due to anatomical difference in these organs between the realistic mesh-type phantoms and the simplified stylized models. The new alimentary and respiratory tract models in the mesh-type ICRP reference phantoms preserve the topology and dimensions of the voxel-type ICRP phantoms and provide more reliable SAF values than the simplified models adopted in previous ICRP <I>Publications</I>.</P>

Omnipotent phosphorene: a next-generation, two-dimensional nanoplatform for multidisciplinary biomedical applications

Qiu, Meng,Ren, Wen Xiu,Jeong, Taeho,Won, Miae,Park, Geun Young,Sang, David Kipkemoi,Liu, Li-Ping,Zhang, Han,Kim, Jong Seung The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018 Chemical Society reviews Vol.47 No.15

<P>Phosphorene, also known as single- or few-layer black phosphorus (FLBP), is a new member of the two-dimensional (2D) material family and has attracted significant attention in recent years for applications in optoelectronics, energy storage and biomedicine due to its unique physicochemical properties and excellent biocompatibility. FLBP is regarded as a potential biological imaging agent for cancer diagnosis due to its intrinsic fluorescence (FL) and photoacoustic (PA) properties and negligible cytotoxicity. FLBP-based photothermal and photodynamic therapies have emerged with excellent anti-tumour therapeutic efficacies due to their unique physical properties, such as near-infrared (NIR) optical absorbance, large extinction coefficients, biodegradability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) or heat generation upon light irradiation. Furthermore, FLBP is a promising drug delivery platform because of its high drug-loading capacity due to its puckered layer structure with an ultralarge surface area, and FLBP is size-controllable with facile surface chemical modification. Because of the marked advantages of FLBP nanomaterials in biomedical applications, an overview of the latest progress and paradigms of FLBP-based nanoplatforms for multidisciplinary biomedical applications is presented in this tutorial review.</P>

An Epigenetic Mechanism Underlying Doxorubicin Induced EMT in the Human BGC-823 Gastric Cancer Cell

Han, Rong-Fei,Ji, Xiang,Dong, Xing-Gao,Xiao, Rui-Jing,Liu, Yan-Ping,Xiong, Jie,Zhang, Qiu-Ping Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.10

The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key step during embryonic morphogenesis and plays an important role in drug resistance and metastasis in diverse solid tumors. We previously reported that 48 h treatment of anti-cancer drug doxorubicin could induce EMT in human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells. However, the long term effects of this transient drug treatment were unknown. In this study we found that after 48 h treatment with $0.1{\mu}g/ml$ doxorubicin, most cells died during next week, while a minor population of cells survived and formed colonies. We propagated the surviving cells in drug free medium and found that these long term cultured drug survival cells (abbreviated as ltDSCs) retained a mesenchymal-like cell morphology, and expressed high levels of EMT-related molecules such as vimentin, twist and ${\beta}$-catenin. The expression of chromatin reprogramming factors, Oct4 and c-myc, were also higher in ltDSCs than parental cells. We further demonstrated that the protein level of p300 was upregulated in ltDSCs, and inhibition of p300 by siRNA suppressed the expression of vimentin. Moreover, the ltDSCs had higher colony forming ability and were more drug resistant when compared to parental cells. Our results suggested that an epigenetic mechanism is involved in the EMT of ltDSCs.

Seismic behavior of properly designed CBFs equipped with NiTi SMA braces

Qiu, Canxing,Zhang, Yichen,Qi, Jian,Li, Han Techno-Press 2018 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.21 No.4

Shape memory alloys (SMA) exhibit superelasticity which refers to the capability of entirely recovering large deformation upon removal of applied forces and dissipating input energy during the cyclic loading reversals when the environment is above the austenite finish temperature. This property is increasingly favored by the earthquake engineering community, which is currently developing resilient structures with prompt recovery and affordable repair cost after earthquakes. Compared with the other SMAs, NiTi SMAs are widely deemed as the most promising candidate in earthquake engineering. This paper contributes to evaluate the seismic performance of properly designed concentrically braced frames (CBFs) equipped with NiTi SMA braces under earthquake ground motions corresponding to frequently-occurred, design-basis and maximum-considered earthquakes. An ad hoc seismic design approach that was previously developed for structures with idealized SMAs was introduced to size the building members, by explicitly considering the strain hardening characteristics of NiTi SMA particularly. The design procedure was conducted to compliant with a suite of ground motions associated with the hazard level of design-basis earthquake. A total of four six-story CBFs were designed by setting different ductility demands for SMA braces while designating with a same interstory drift target for the structural systems. The analytical results show that all the designed frames successfully met the prescribed seismic performance objectives, including targeted maximum interstory drift, uniform deformation demand over building height, eliminated residual deformation, controlled floor acceleration, and slight damage in the main frame. In addition, this study indicates that the strain hardening behavior does not necessarily impose undesirable impact on the global seismic performance of CBFs with SMA braces.

A Novel Recombined Potato virus Y Isolate in China

Han, Shuxin,Gao, Yanling,Fan, Guoquan,Zhang, Wei,Qiu, Cailing,Zhang, Shu,Bai, Yanju,Zhang, Junhua,Spetz, Carl The Korean Society of Plant Pathology 2017 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.33 No.4

This study reports the findings of a distinct Potato virus Y (PVY) isolate found in Northeast China. One hundred and ten samples (leaves and tubers) were collected from potato plants showing mosaic symptoms around the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province of China. The collected tubers were planted and let to grow in a greenhouse. New potato plants generated from these tubers showed similar symptoms, except for one plant. Subsequent serological analyses revealed PVY as the causing agent of the disease. A novel PVY isolate (referred to as HLJ-C-44 in this study) was isolated from this sample showing unique mild mosaic and crisped leaf margin symptoms. The complete genome of this isolate was analyzed and determined. The results showed that HLJ-C-44 is a typical PVY isolate. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that this isolate belongs to the N-Wi strain group of PVY recombinants ($PVY^{N-Wi}$) and also shared the highest overall sequence identity (nucleotide and amino acid) with other members of this strain group. However, recombination analysis of isolate HLJ-C-44 revealed a recombination pattern that differed from that of other $PVY^{N-Wi}$ isolates. Moreover, biological assays in four different potato cultivars and in Nicotiana tabacum also revealed a different phenotypic response than that of a typical $PVY^{N-Wi}$ isolate. This data, combined, suggest that HLJ-C-44 is a novel PVY recombinant with distinct biological properties.

RNA sequencing reveals lncRNA-mediated non-mendelian inheritance of feather growth change in chickens

Qiu Mohan,Yu Chunlin,Zhu Shiliang,Liu Siyang,Peng Han,Xiong Xia,Chen Jialei,Jiang Xiaosong,Du Huarui,Li Qingyun,Zhang Zengrong,Yang Chaowu 한국유전학회 2022 Genes & Genomics Vol.44 No.11

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an essential role in biological processes. However, the expression patterns of lncRNAs that regulate the non-Mendelian inheritance feather phenotypes remain unknown. Objective: This study aimed to compare the expression profiles of lncRNAs in the follicles of the late-feathering cocks (LC) and late-feathering hens (LH) that followed genetic rules and the early-feathering hen (EH) and early-feathering cock (EC) that did not conform to the genetic laws. Methods: We performed RNA sequencing and investigated the differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) between the early- and late-feathering chickens, which function by cis-acting or participate in the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Results: A total of 53 upregulated and 43 downregulated lncRNAs were identified in EC vs. LC, and 58 upregulated and 109 downregulated lncRNAs were identified in EH vs. LH. The target mRNAs regulated by lncRNAs in cis were enriched in the pentose phosphate pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway and Jak-STAT signaling pathway in EC vs. LC and were associated with the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway and Jak-STAT signaling pathway in EH vs. LH. In addition, the lncRNA-mediated ceRNA regulatory pathways of hair follicle formation were mainly enriched in the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, melanogenesis, and calcium signaling pathways. The levels of ENSGALG00000047626 were significantly higher in the late-feathering chickens than in the early-feathering chickens, which regulated the expression of SSTR2 by gga-miR-1649-5p. Conclusion: This study provides a novel molecular mechanism of lncRNA's response to the feather rate that does not conform to the genetic laws in chickens.

DNA Microarray-Based Global Transcriptional Profiling of Yersinia pestis in Multicellularity

Jingfu Qiu,Zhaobiao Guo,Haihong Liu,Dongsheng Zhou,Yanping Han,Ruifu Yang 한국미생물학회 2008 The journal of microbiology Vol.46 No.5

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has a feature of forming multicellular aggregates at liquid-air interface around the wall of glass tube. In this study, we employed the whole-genome DNA microarray of Y. pestis to investigate the global transcriptional profile in multicellularity compared with that in its planktonic growth. A total of 177 genes were differentially expressed in Y. pestis during early stage of multicellular formation; Seventy genes of them were up-regulated while 107 down-regulated. In addition to a large number of genes encoding unknown functions, most of the induced genes encode cell envelope and transport/binding proteins. The up-regulation of amino acid biosynthesis, the differentially altered genes that are involved in virulence, and the cold shock protein genes were for the first time reported to be associated with the multicellular formation. Our results revealed the global gene expression of Y. pestis were changed in the formation of multicellularity, providing insights into the molecular mechanism of multicellular behaviour, which need investigating further.

Horizontal transfer of the C-termini of tccC genes in Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus

Richou Han,Zubing Zhan,Xuehong Qiu 한국유전학회 2016 Genes & Genomics Vol.38 No.8

The high molecular weight insecticidal toxin complexes (Tcs), including four toxin-complex loci (tca, tcb, tcc and tcd), were first identified in Photorhabdus luminescens W14. Each member of tca, tcb or tcc is required for oral toxicity of Tcs. However, the sequence sources of the C-termini of tccC3, tccC4, tccC6 and tccC7 are unknown. Here, we performed a whole genome survey to identify the orthologs of Tc genes, and found 165 such genes in 14 bacterial genomes, including 40 genes homologous to tccC1-7 in P. luminescens TT01. The sequence sources of the C-termini of tccC2-6 were determined by sequence analysis. Further phylogenetic investigations suggested that the C-termini of 6 tccC genes experienced horizontal gene transfer events.