[Preparation and characterization of polyclonal antibodies against haplotype chicken natural killer cell receptor B-NK19 and B-NK21].

Objective: To express natural killer (NK) cell inhibitory receptor gene B-NK of B19 and B21 haplotype chicken, which show different susceptible to various avian diseases, using prokaryotic expression system, and to prepare B-NK19 and B-NK21-specific rabbit polyclonal antibodies.

Methods: B-NK genes of B19 (named as B-NK19) and B21 (named as B-NK21) chicken were amplified by reverse transcription PCR from peripheral blood lymphocytes of one B19 or B21 chicken, respectively, and then inserted into an expression vector of pET-30a. The recombinant plasmids of pET-B-NK19 and pET-B-NK21 were transformed into E.

Assembly of viroplasms by viral nonstructural protein Pns9 is essential for persistent infection of rice gall dwarf virus in its insect vector.

Rice gall dwarf virus (RGDV), a plant reovirus, is transmitted by leafhopper vector Recilia dorsalis in a persistent-propagative manner. In a sequential study of RGDV infection of its insect vector, the virus initially infected the filter chamber epithelium, then directly crossed the basal lamina into the visceral muscles, from where it spread throughout the entire midgut and hindgut. Finally, RGDV spread into the salivary glands.

Targeting FoxM1 by thiostrepton inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: We have previously reported that forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) transcription factor was overexpressed in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and was associated with development of LSCC. However, there are limited studies regarding the functional significance of FoxM1 and FoxM1 inhibitor thiostrepton in LSCC. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine both in vitro and in vivo activity of FoxM1 inhibitor thiostrepton against LSCC cell line and nude mice.

Genetic variants in N-myc (and STAT) interactor and susceptibility to glioma in a Chinese Han population.

Glioma is one of the most common and lethal brain tumors. N-myc (and STAT) interactor (NMI) gene has been reported in tumorigenesis, and our previous study further showed its implication in glioma progression. To elucidate its involvement in the etiology of glioma, we conducted a case-control study of 875 patients and 1040 controls in a Chinese Han population by genotyping 7 representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NMI.

Down-regulation of FoxM1 by thiostrepton or small interfering RNA inhibits proliferation, transformation ability and angiogenesis, and induces apoptosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck malignant tumor rare throughout most of the world but common in Southern China. Forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) transcription factor has been shown to play important role in the development and progression of human cancers. We have previously found that FoxM1 was overexpressed in NPC patients and was associated with development of NPC.

Expression and prognostic significance of TCTN1 in human glioblastoma.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal intracranial malignancy in adults, with dismal prognosis despite multimodal therapies. Tectonic family member 1 (TCTN1) is a protein involved in a diverse range of developmental processes, yet its functions in GBM remain unclear. This study aims to investigate expression profile, prognostic value and effects of TCTN1 gene in GBM.

[Predictors for 'successful quitting smoking' among males carried out in a smoking cessation clinic].

Objective: To investigate the predictors for 'quitting' among male smokers in a smoking cessation clinic.

Methods: The target population consisted of smokers who volunteered to seek treatment for cessation at our clinic in Beijing. Smokers received face-to-face counseling and psychological intervention at the first visit by trained physicians and standardized telephone discussion, was carried out with counselors at 1 week, 1/3/6 months a follow-up study.

Overexpression of FOXM1 is associated with metastases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) transcription factor plays an important role in the metastases of many cancers. Down-regulation of FOXM1 by its inhibitor, thiostrepton, can inhibit the metastatic potential of some cancers; however, there are few studies regarding the functional significance of FOXM1 and thiostrepton in the metastases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and the underlying mechanism.

Methods: Expression of FOXM1 in NPC, normal nasopharyngeal tissues, a NPC cell line (C666-1), and a nasopharyngeal epithelial cell line (NP69) was investigated by immunohistochemical staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blot.

VAMP8 facilitates cellular proliferation and temozolomide resistance in human glioma cells.

Background: Malignant glioma is a common and lethal primary brain tumor in adults. Here we identified a novel oncoprotein, vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 (VAMP8), and investigated its roles in tumorigenisis and chemoresistance in glioma.

Methods: The expression of gene and protein were determined by quantitative PCR and Western blot, respectively.

Shuyusan-containing serum protects SH-SY5Y cells against corticosterone-induced impairment.

The Chinese herb Shuyusan, whose main constituent is jasminoidin, has been shown to protect SH-SY5Y cells against corticosterone-induced damage. SH-SY5Y cells injured by 400 μmol/L corticosterone were treated with 5 and 30 μg/mL Shuyusan-containing serum. Results revealed that Shuyusan-containing serum elevated the survival rate of SH-SY5Y cells, reduced Bax expression, increased Bcl-2 expression, markedly elevated brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression, and blocked cell apoptosis.

Association of genetic variants in the retinoblastoma binding protein 6 gene with the risk of glioma: a case-control study in a Chinese Han population.

Object: The retinoblastoma binding protein 6 (RBBP6) gene plays an important role in the induction of apoptosis and regulation of the cell cycle, and interacts with both p53 and retinoblastoma protein in carcinogenesis. Recently, many studies investigating the function of the RBBP6 gene, including its roles in lung cancer and breast cancer, have been reported. However, the association between RBBP6 variants and glioma was unknown.

Heterozygote advantage of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphisms on clinical outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme is essential for transmethylation reactions including DNA methylation and DNA synthesis and thereby may contribute to cancer prognosis. In our study, a total of 1,004 advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving first-line, platinum-based chemotherapy regimens were used for genotyping 10 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MTHFR. Association was assessed between the SNPs and treatment outcomes.

Expression of FK506-binding protein 52 (FKBP52) in chorionic villi with early recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Objective: To investigate the mRNA and protein expression of FK506-binding protein 52 (FKBP52) in the chorionic villi of patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and normal women during early pregnancy.

Methods: Fresh chorionic villus tissues were collected from 60 subjects. A total of 30 patients with a history of RSA were enrolled into the RSA group and 30 normal pregnant women were enrolled into the control group.

Virus-induced tubule: a vehicle for rapid spread of virions through basal lamina from midgut epithelium in the insect vector.

Unlabelled: The plant reoviruses, plant rhabdoviruses, tospoviruses, and tenuiviruses are transmitted by insect vectors in a persistent propagative manner. These viruses induce the formation of viral inclusions to facilitate viral propagation in insect vectors. The intestines of insect vectors are formed by epithelial cells that lie on the noncellular basal lamina surrounded by visceral muscle tissue.

Expression of migfilin is increased in esophageal cancer and represses the Akt-β-catenin activation.

Cell adhesion proteins that connect each cell to neighboring cells and the extracellular matrix are an important determinant of cell morphology and metastasis. Migfilin is a member of LIM-containing protein family, mediated the linkage between cytoskeleton and focal adhesion through interacting with other proteins and involved in cell adhesion and motility. The present study used immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis of migfilin in clinical specimens of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) to identify that the expression of migfilin was significantly upregulated in ESCC in concomitance with a nuclear-cytoplasm translocation compared to normal adjacent tissue.

Association of CDC25 phosphatase family polymorphisms with the efficacy/toxicity of platinum-based chemotherapy in Chinese advanced NSCLC patients.

Aim: To explore relationships between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CDC25 protein family and the survival and chemotherapy responses of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods & Materials: We genotyped 14 SNPs of the CDC25 family in 663 Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC who were treated with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and, in evaluable patients, analyzed relationships between the CDC25 family and the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy.

Results: CDC25A rs3731513 and rs1380053, CDC25C rs6861656, CDC25A haplotype T/A/A/A/C and CDC25C haplotype A/G/G/G/C were significantly associated with the patients' progression-free survival.

[Molecular mechanisms of SNARE proteins in regulating autophagy].

Autophagy is a self-protective mechanism that degrades inner and outer invaded substances to sustain self-maintenance. SNARE (Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) hypothesis suggests important roles of SNARE proteins in the cellular activities of substance transport and specific membrane fusion, unveiling the molecular mechanisms of normal and physiological activities within a cell. Since autophagy involves membrane fusions from the birth of autophagosomes to the formation of autolysosomes, we review recent research progress on the roles of SNARE proteins in regulating autophagy.

Differentiation-associated genes regulated by c-Jun and decreased in the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Transcription factor c-Jun plays a key role in controlling epithelium cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. However, molecular mechanism and biological functions of c-Jun in squamous differentiation and the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain elusive. In this study, we found that c-Jun bound directly to the promoter region, and activated the transcription of differentiation-associated genes including cystatin A, involucrin and SPRR3 in vivo.

S100 protein family in human cancer.

S100 protein family has been implicated in multiple stages of tumorigenesis and progression. Among the S100 genes, 22 are clustered at chromosome locus 1q21, a region frequently rearranged in cancers. S100 protein possesses a wide range of intracellular and extracellular functions such as regulation of calcium homeostasis, cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell invasion and motility, cytoskeleton interactions, protein phosphorylation, regulation of transcriptional factors, autoimmunity, chemotaxis, inflammation and pluripotency.

Diosgenin inhibits the migration of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by suppressing Vav2 activity.

Diosgenin, a naturally occurring steroidal saponin, possess tumor therapeutic potential. However, the effect of diosgenin on cancer metastasis remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed in vitro experiments to investigate the inhibitory activity of diosgenin on human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell migration, and reveal the possible mechanism.

Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) genotype definition: comment on the article by Cha et al.

Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) is genetically divided into three different genotypes: the original type DHAV-1, a type recently isolated in Taiwan (DHAV-2), and a recently described type isolated in South Korea and China (DHAV-3). Recently, Cha et al. (2013) concluded that the existence that both DHAV-1 and DHAV-2 had been classified into one branch, with DHAV genotype 3 (DHAV-3) in another, and that the phylogenetic distance unit showed was 0.

[Hyper spectral estimation method for soil alkali hydrolysable nitrogen content based on discrete wavelet transform and genetic algorithm in combining with partial least squares DWT-GA-PLS)].

Taking the Qihe County in Shandong Province of East China as the study area, soil samples were collected from the field, and based on the hyperspectral reflectance measurement of the soil samples and the transformation with the first deviation, the spectra were denoised and compressed by discrete wavelet transform (DWT), the variables for the soil alkali hydrolysable nitrogen quantitative estimation models were selected by genetic algorithms (GA), and the estimation models for the soil alkali hydrolysable nitrogen content were built by using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The discrete wavelet transform and genetic algorithm in combining with partial least squares (DWT-GA-PLS) could not only compress the spectrum variables and reduce the model variables, but also improve the quantitative estimation accuracy of soil alkali hydrolysable nitrogen content. Based on the 1-2 levels low frequency coefficients of discrete wavelet transform, and under the condition of large scale decrement of spectrum variables, the calibration models could achieve the higher or the same prediction accuracy as the soil full spectra.

12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate promotes breast cancer cell motility by increasing S100A14 level in a Kruppel-like transcription factor 4 (KLF4)-dependent manner.

The S100 protein family represents the largest subgroup of calcium binding EF-hand type proteins. These proteins have been reported to be involved in a wide range of biological functions that are related to normal cell development and tumorigenesis. S100A14 is a recently identified member of the S100 protein family and differentially expressed in a number of different human malignancies.

Nonstructural protein NS4 of Rice Stripe Virus plays a critical role in viral spread in the body of vector insects.

Rice stripe virus (RSV), a tenuivirus, is transmitted by small brown planthopper (SBPH) in a persistent-propagative manner. In this study, sequential infection of RSV in the internal organs of SBPH after ingestion of virus indicated that RSV initially infected the midgut epithelium, and then progressed to the visceral muscle tissues, through which RSV spread to the entire alimentary canal. Finally, RSV spread into the salivary glands and reproductive system.

Development of continuous cell culture of brown planthopper to trace the early infection process of oryzaviruses in insect vector cells.

Unlabelled: Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV), an oryzavirus in the family Reoviridae, is transmitted by the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, in a persistent-propagative manner. Here, we established a continuous cell line of brown planthopper to investigate the mechanism underlying the formation of the viroplasm, the putative site for viral replication and assembly, during infection of RRSV in its insect vector cells. Within 24 h of viral infection of cultured cells, the viroplasm had formed and contained the viral nonstructural proteins Pns6 and Pns10, known to be constituents of viroplasm.