Collagen triple helix repeats containing 1 (CTHRC1) participates in vascular remodeling, bone formation, and developmental morphogenesis. Recently, CTHRC1 has been found up-regulated in many solid tumors and contributes to tumorigenesis, but its role in the progression of human colorectal cancer (CRC), remains unclear. In this study, CTHRC1 expression in human CRC cell lines was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblot analyses. The role of CTHRC1 in CRC cell proliferation and extracellular matrix invasion in vitro was analyzed by gene over-expression and recombinant protein. Reporter luciferase assay was used to reveal key relevant signaling pathways involved in CRC cells. The results show that CTHRC1 is secreted both by colorectal epithelia cells and stromal fibroblasts. Recombinant CTHRC1 promotes CRC cell migration and invasion dose-dependently. CTHRC1 overexpression promotes CRC cell migration, invasion and proliferation in vitro. Wnt/PCP signaling but not Wnt/catenin signaling was activates by CTHRC1 in CRC cells. Together, CTHRC1 promotes CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, which is possibly mediated by activating Wnt/PCP pathway.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous noncoding small RNAs, have been reported to play crucial roles in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancers. Deregulation of microRNA-204 (miR-204) has been documented in many cancers, but its role in the development of esophageal cancer (EC) has not been studied. Here, we reported the role of miR-204 in invasion and EMT in EC. We identified an inverse correlation between miR-204 expression level and the invasion and EMT phenotype of EC cells, and up-regulation of miR-204 inhibited invasion and EMT phenotype of EC cells. Furthermore, we showed that forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) was a direct target gene of miR-204, and miR-204 regulated invasion and EMT in EC by acting directly on the 3'UTR of FOXM1 mRNA and suppressing its protein expression. We also explored the anti-tumor effect of miR-204, and found that overexpression of miR-204 suppressed the growth of esophageal tumors in vivo. These findings suggest that miR-204 might be a suppressor of invasion and EMT in EC, which offers a novel potential therapeutic target for EC.

Semaphorin-3F (SEMA3F) is a member of the class III semaphorin family, and is seen as a candidate tumor suppressor gene. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of SEMA3F in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and to explore the mechanism for that SEMA3F suppresses tumor progression and metastasis. The expression levels of SEMA3F in the colorectal cancer tissues and corresponding non-tumor colorectal tissues were determined by Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). In addition, we evaluate the effects of SEMA3F on CRC cell migration and colony formation in vitro. Subsequently, quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) was used to detect the DNA methylation status in the CpG islands of SEMA3F gene promoter in normal colon and colorectal cancer cell lines, colorectal cancer tissues and corresponding non-tumor colorectal tissues. We found that SEMA3F was downregulated in the protein (P < 0.01) and mRNA (P < 0.001) levels in CRC tissues as compared to matched adjacent non-tumor tissues. Moreover, MSP assay showed high levels of SEMA3F gene promoter methylation in the CpG islands in some CRC cell lines and tissue samples. Furthermore, SEMA3F expression was reactivated in CRC cell lines after treatment with 5-Aza-CdR, demethylation of SW620 cells resulted in cell colony formation and invasion inhibition. These findings suggest DNA methylation of promoter CpG island-mediated silencing of the tumor suppressor SEMA3F gene plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of CRC.

Hepatoma is a tumor with high degree of malignancy. A number of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play certain roles in tumorigenesis and progression. Among which, miRNA, as an important class of gene regulators, play important roles in regulating tumorigenesis and development of hepatoma. So know well the unique molecular pathway is very important. Here, we showed that there is a different miR-143 expression patterns in different hepatoma tissues, and that miR-143 expressions contribute disease progress. By contrast, we down-regulated the expression of miR-143 with miR-143 mimics in HepG2 cells resulting in decreased proliferation. And the decreased proliferations of HepG2 cells were due to a G0/G1 arrest of cell cycle. During this progress, the increased apoptosis may be another major cause for decreased proliferation of HepG2 cells. And then, we found miR-143 down-regulation induced decreased mRNA and protein expressions of TLR2 and NF-κB. These results show that HepG2 cells depend to a greater extent on miR-143 for proliferation, and miR-143 down-regulation may induce a cell cycle arrest though TLR and NF-κB pathway. miR-143 blockade may be beneficial in therapy of Hepatoma.

Recent studies have shown that microRNA-34c-3p (miR-34c-3p) is down-regulated in various types of cancers and involved in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. However, the roles of miR-34c-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are poorly understood. In this study, the expression profile of miR-34c-3pin HCC tissues and cell lines were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlations of miR-34c-3p expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. The biological role of MiR-34c-3pin cell proliferation, migration and invasion was examined. In addition, the targets of miR-34c-3p were identified. The results showed that miR-34c-3p expression was significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues and cell lines; low expression level of miR-34c-3p was correlated with vascular invasion and advanced TNM stage. In vitro functional assays showed that overexpression of miR-34c-3pin HepG2 and Huh7 cells significantly reduced cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, target analysis and luciferase assay identified myristoylated alanine-rich protein kinase c substrate (MARCKS) as a specific target of miR-34c-3p. Knockdown of MARCKS in HepG2 cells reduced cell migration and invasion, but not cell proliferation. Taken together, our findings implicate the potential application of miR-34c-3p as a tumor suppressor in cancer therapy.

Temozolomide (TMZ) with radiotherapy is the current standard of care for newly diagnosed glioma. However, glioma patients who are treated with the drug often develop resistance to it and some other drugs. Recently studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in drug resistance. In present study, we first examined the sensitivity to temozolomide in six glioma cell lines, and established a resistant variant, U251MG/TR cells from TMZ-sensitive glioma cell line, U251MG. We then performed a comprehensive analysis of miRNA expressions in U251MG/TR and parental cells using cancer microRNA PCR Array. Among the downregulated microRNAs was miR-16, members of miR-15/16 family, whose expression was further validated by qRT-PCR in U251MG/TR and U251MG cells. The selective microRNA, miR-16 mimics or inhibitor was respectively transfected into U251MG/TR cells and AM38 cell. We found that treatment with the mimics of miR-16 greatly decreased the sensitivity of U251MG/TR cells to temozolomide, while sensitivity to these drugs was increased by treatment with the miR-16 inhibitor. In addition, the downregulation of miR-16 in temozolomide-sensitive AM38 cells was concurrent with the upregulation of Bcl-2 protein. Conversely, overexpression of miR-16 in temozolomide-resistant cells inhibited Bcl-2 expression and decreased temozolomide resistance. In conclusion, MiR-16 mediated temozolomide-resistance in glioma cells by modulation of apoptosis via targeting Bcl-2, which suggesting that miR-16 and Bcl-2 would be potential therapeutic targets for glioma therapy.

Bladder carcinoma is a common malignancy with complicated treatment methods due to its heterogeneity. In this study, we focused on two bladder carcinoma cell lines, 5637 and T24, to compare their differences from the transcriptome level. RNA sequencing was used to generate the transcriptome data of the two cell line and the control cell line SV-HUC-1. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) of cell line 5637 and T24 were screened. Their annotation and analyses were conducted using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) to predict their possible functions and pathways involved. Number of DEGs specific in cell line 5637, specific in cell line T24 and in both the cell lines was 880, 1512 and 1412, respectively. Number of differentially expressed miRNAs of the three categories was 7, 20 and 18, respectively. These DEGs and miRNAs participated in different biological processes and pathways, among which some were further verified by qRT-PCR. Interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), including STAT1, TMEM173 and OAS3, were down-regulated in cell line 5637 compared to SV-HUC-1. NDOR1 and NDUFV1, genes related to mitochondrial metabolism, were up-regulated in cell line T24. miR-4257, miR-6733 and gene WNT9A and WNT10A were down-regulated in both the cell lines. Thus cell line 5637 might have lower chemotherapy resistance while T24 might exhibit abnormal mitochondrial metabolism. These results uncovered major differences between cell line 5637 and T24, which indicated the two cell lines, should be selectively used in bladder carcinoma research.

Gliomas are the most common and aggressive type of primary adult brain tumor. Although high expression and prognostic value of TMEM45A has been recently reported in various types of human tumors, the association of TMEM45A expression and glioma is still unknown. Here, we reported that TMEM45A was significantly overexpressed in glioma tissues compared to non-tumorous brain tissues. Furthermore, TMEM45A mRNA levels were gradually increased with the increasing severity of histological grade of glioma. Moreover, high TMEM45A expression level was correlated with short survival time of glioma patients. Down-regulation of TMEM45A in two glioma cell lines, U251 and U373 by transected with TMEM45A siRNA resulted in a significant reduction of cell proliferation and G1-phase arrest. Additionally, we found that suppressing of TMEM45A expression in glioma cells remarkably suppressed cell migration and cell invasion. More importantly, TMEM45A siRNA treatment significantly down-regulated the proteins promoting cell cycles transition (Cyclin D1, CDK4 and PCNA) and cell invasion (MMP-2 and MMP-9), which indicted a possible mechanism underlying its functions on glioma. In summary, our study suggests that TMEM45A may work as an oncogene and a new effective therapeutic target for glioma treatment.

PCBP2, a member of the poly(C)-binding protein (PCBP) family, is involved in posttranscriptional and translational regulation by interacting with single-stranded poly(C) motifs in target mRNAs. Recent studies have shown that PCBP2 is overexpressed and plays an important role in human cancers, including glioma. However, the molecular basis for its up-regulation remains poorly understood. Here, we show that microRNA-214 (miR-214) interacts with the 3'-untranslated region of PCBP2 mRNA and induces its degradation, leading to reductions in its protein expression. As a result, overexpression of miR-214 mimics significantly inhibited, while its antisense oligos proliferation and growth of glioma cells. Restoration of PCBP2 remarkably reversed the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-214 on cell proliferation and growth. In summary, our data indicate that miR-214 may function as tumor suppressor in glioma by targeting PCBP2.

Contactin 1 (CNTN1) as a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily plays important role in the development of nervous system. Recent studies find that elevated CNTN1 can promote the metastasis of cancer. However, the expression and function of CNTN1 in thyroid cancer are still unknown. Here, we firstly find CNTN1 is a new gene which can be regulated by RET/PTC3 (Ret proto-oncogene and Ret-activating protein ELE1) rearrangement gene and the protein level of CNTN1 is increasing in thyroid cancer. Besides this change is positively associated with the TNM stage and tumor size. Moreover, we confirm that knockdown of CNTN1 significantly inhibits the tumor proliferation, invasiveness and represses the expression of cyclin D1 (CCND1). In conclusion, CNTN1 will be a potential diagnosis biomarker and therapy target for thyroid cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are classes of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate the translation of target mRNA transcripts. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-592 was downregulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and could suppress growth of the human HCC cell line HepG2. A tumor oncogene, DEK, was identified as a direct target of miR-592. Luciferase report assay indicated miR-592 regulates DEK expression though bind to its 3'UTR. Furthermore, knockdown of DEK also suppressed cell proliferation of HepG2 cells, which was consist with miR-592. At last, we suggested that DEK was upregulated in HCC tissues inversely with miR-592. These results demonstrated that miR-592 targets DEK transcript and suppresses HCC cell growth, and may provide potential therapeutic target in human HCC.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in cancer development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to analyze the role of microRNA-194 (miR-194) in HCC. We found that miR-194 expression was significantly reduced in HCC and its expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for HCC patient overall and disease-free survival rate. A significant correlation was observed between miR-194 reduction and unfavourable variables including tumor size (P = 0.0315), histologic grade (P = 0.0038), TNM stage (P = 0.0083), intrahepatic metastasis (P = 0.0184). Overexpression of miR-194 in HCC cell lines HepG2 and Hep3B inhibited cell proliferation by blocking G1-S transition and inducing apoptosis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 (MAP4K4), a potential target gene of miR-194, was inversely correlated with miR-194 expression in HCC tissues and cell lines. Further studies demonstrated that miR-194 regulated the progression of HCC through directly inhibiting the expression of MAP4K4 and the restoration of MAP4K4 expression reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-194 on HCC cell proliferation. Together, our findings indicate that miR-194 may serve as a valuable prognostic marker and promising interventional therapeutic target for HCC.

ZNF139, a member of zinc finger protein family, is a transcription factor. Our previous studies have showed that the over-expression of ZNF139 in gastric cancer (GC) cells was related to the differentiation of GC. However, the function of ZNF139 in GC cells' apoptosis is still unclear. In present study, endogenous ZNF139 in GC cell line BGC823 was inhibited with siRNA, and then mechanism of ZNF139 in GC cells' apoptosis was investigated.

To verify c-Myc can regulate the expression of lncRNA H19 directly in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and clarify the molecular mechanism on how lncRNA H19 promote the cell cycle progression of NSCLC. The mRNA levels of lncRNA H19 in NSCLC tissues and cells, the adjacent tissues and normal cells were determined by RT-PCR. The expression change of lncRNA H19 in NSCLC cells after transfection with pcDNA3.1-c-Myc or c-Myc-siRNA was determined by RT-PCR, respectively. Targeted role of c-Myc on the promoter of H19 was studied by luciferase reporter assay. Chromosome immune coprecipitation (ChIP) was used to confirm the relationship between c-Myc and H19. MiRNAs that have base-pairing with H19 was predicted by online software. The relationship between H19 and miR-107 was determined by disturbing and overexpressing the expression of H19. The influence of the changes of H19 and miR-107 on cell cycle progression was determined by flow cytometry. The mRNA levels of lncRNA H19 in NSCLC tissues and cells were significantly higher than the adjacent tissues and normal cells, respectively. The expression of H19 increased or decreased accordingly with the overexpression and knockdown of c-Myc. The activity of the promoter of H19 was strengthened by c-Myc. While the expression of miR-107 increased or decreased with the overexpression and knockdown of H19, respectively. The number of cells in G2/M stage decreased significantly with the knockdown of H19 and miR-107 compared with the control group. Our study demonstrates that lncRNA H19, which is induced by c-Myc, is up-regulated in NSCLC. H19 influences the mitotic progression of NSCLC cell lines.

to observe relationship between chromosome imbalance and taxol resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors, with its 5-year survival rate lower than 5%. MicroRNAs (miR) have been known as important regulators for the tumorigenesis, progression, invasion and metastasis of various cancers. MiR-184 was found to be abnormally expressed in various cancers including glioma and oral carcinoma. The expression and functional role of miR-184 in PDAC, however, remains unclear. PDAC cell line PANC-1 was transfected with miR-184 inhibitor. Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-184 in untreated PANC-1, miR-184 inhibitor transfected PANC-1 and controlled normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cell line HPDE6c7. MTT assay was used to detect the effect of miR-184 on the proliferation of PANC-1 cells, while invasion assay and Western blotting were employed to describe the effect on cell invasion ability and expression of caspase-3, respectively. In PANC-1 cells, miR-184 was abundantly expressed. The transfection of inhibitor effectively suppressed the expression of miR-184, and further inhibited both cell proliferation and invasion abilities, in addition to the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein caspase 3 expression. The up-regulation of miR-184 in PDAC may facilitate the proliferation and invasion ability, and inhibit apoptosis of tumor cells, thus potentiating the occurrence and development of PDAC. MiR-184, therefore, is a potential molecular target for therapy.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers. The role of apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like protein-3G (APCBEC-3G) in cervical cancer has yet to be elucidated. This study intends to explore the effect of APCBEC-3G on cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasion. In vitro, the cervical cancer cell line Hela was transfected by APCBEC-3G plasmid. The mRNA and protein expression levels of APCBEC-3G were detected by Real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. Cervical cancer cell proliferation was determined by MTT. Transwell assay was applied to measure the effect of APCBEC-3G on cell invasion. APCBEC-3G mRNA and protein increased significantly after transfection (P<0.05) and cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasive ability were decreased significantly (P<0.05). APOBEC-3G serves as a suppressor of cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasion. Our research provides theoretical basis for further investigation APOBEC-3G effect in cervical cancer occurrence and development.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a novel class of RNA molecules defined as transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that lack protein coding potential. LncRNA IRAIN has been verified that it is related to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and breast cancer. However, there was no study to clarify whether it is involved in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we demonstrated IRAIN as a tumor promoter in NSCLC. Its expression level was remarkably upregulated in NSCLC tissues and connected with tumor size and smoking status. Knockdown of IRAIN suppressed NSCLC cells proliferation in vitro. These data identify IRAIN as a novel promoting gene, which plays a vital role in tumorigenesis of NSCLC.

Increasing evidences indicate that dysregulation of miRNAs contributes to the pathogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, little is known about the potential role of miR-98 in OSCC. Here, we found that miR-98 was downregulated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-98 inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of OSCC cells. IGF1R was identified as the potential target of miR-98 using dual luciferase assay, qRT-PCR and western blot. Furthermore, restoration of IGF1R remarkably reversed the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-98 on OSCC cells. Moreover, miR-98 expression was inversely correlated with IGF1R expression in 19 cases of OSCC. These findings suggest that miR-98 inhibits cancer cell growth and metastasis by direct targeting IGF1R, implicating miR-98 as a novel potential therapeutic target for OSCC.

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), which is located on the mitochondrial inner membrane, is essential to the Krebs cycle. Mutations of the SDH gene are associated with many tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma, wild type gastrointestinal stromal tumors (WT GISTs) and hereditary paragangliomas/pheochromocytomas. Herein we present a rare case diagnosed as a WT GIST complicated with a renal chromophobe cell tumor and detected a novel germline heterozygous mutation (c.2T>C: p.M1T) in the initiation codon of the SDHA gene. We also conduct a preliminary exploration for the mechanism of reduced expression of SDHB without mutation of SDHB gene. Our case enriches the mutation spectrum of the SDH gene. After reviewing previous studies, we found it to be the first case diagnosed as a WT GIST complicated with a synchronous renal chromophobe cell tumor and identified a novel germline heterozygous mutation. It was also the second reported case of a renal cell carcinoma associated with an SDHA mutation.