Docetaxel and 5-FU enhanced the inhibitory effects of apatinib and ramucirumab on growth and migration of gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. The clinical benefit of anti-angiogenic strategy as a single drug is limited. Some studies showed that the combination of anti-angiogenic therapy and chemotherapy exhibited synergistic effect and reduced the side effects of chemotherapy drugs.

Zebrafish xenograft model for studying mechanism and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer brain metastasis.

Background: Brain metastasis (BM) is thought to be related to the mortality and poor prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite promising development of NSCLC treatment, the treatment of NSCLC BM is still not optimistic due to the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that prevent drug penetration, as well as the short median survival time of the patients left for treatment. In this context, further development of quick and effective pre-clinical models is needed in NSCLC BM treatment.

Mechanism of hepatotoxicity of first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors: Gefitinib and afatinib.

Aims: Both gefitinib and afatinib are epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It has been reported that gefitinib and afatinib could cause hepatotoxicity during the clinic treatment, therefore it is critical to investigate their hepatotoxicity systematically. In this study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used as model animals to compare the hepatotoxicity and their toxic mechanism.

Isoliquiritin exert protective effect on telencephalon infarction injury by regulating multi-pathways in zebrafish model of ischemic stroke.

Background: Ischemic stroke is a multifactorial disease contributing to mortality and neurological dysfunction. Isoliquiritin (ISL) has been reported to possess a series of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-depression, anti-neurotoxicity and pro-angiogenesis activities but whether it can be used for ischemic stroke treatment remains unknown.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to explore its therapeutic effect on ischemic stroke and demonstrated the potential mechanism of ISL in zebrafish model.

Isoliquiritin promote angiogenesis by recruiting macrophages to improve the healing of zebrafish wounds.

Licorice is a widely used herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases in southern Europe and parts of Asia. It has been reported that the isoliquiritin (ISL) from Glycyrrhiza root has the activity of promoting angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ISL on the wound healing activity of zebrafish and its mechanism.

A systematical comparison of anti-angiogenesis and anti-cancer efficacy of ramucirumab, apatinib, regorafenib and cabozantinib in zebrafish model.

Aims: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Anti-angiogenic therapy is a useful strategy for the treatment of advanced GC. This study was aimed to systemically compare the anti-angiogenesis, anti-cancer efficacy, as well as the safety of four known anti-angiogenic drugs, namely ramucirumab, apatinib, regorafenib and cabozantinib.

Pro-angiogenic activity of isoliquiritin on HUVECs in vitro and zebrafish in vivo through Raf/MEK signaling pathway.

Aims: Liquorice is a widely used herbal medicine for treating various diseases native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. Isoliquiritin (ISL), a licorice root-derived flavonoid, has been reported to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-genotoxic activity and anti-depression activities. This study was aimed to explore the pro-angiogenic activity of ISL and explicate the underlying mechanism.

Anti-angiogenic activity of para-coumaric acid methyl ester on HUVECs in vitro and zebrafish in vivo.

Background: Para-coumaric acid methyl ester (pCAME) is one of the bioactive components of Costus speciosus (Koen) Sm. (Zingiberaceae). This plant is traditionally used in Asia to treat catarrhal fevers, worms, dyspepsia, and skin diseases.

Patient-derived xenograft in zebrafish embryos: a new platform for translational research in gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is among the most commonly cancer occurred in Asian, especially in China. With its high heterogeneity and few of validated drug targets, GC remains to be one of the most under explored areas of precision medicine. In this study, we aimed to establish an in vivo patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model based on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, allowing for a rapid analysis of the angiogenic and invasive potentials, as well as a fast drug sensitivity testing.

MicroRNA-497 inhibits tumor growth and increases chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil treatment by targeting KSR1.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading cancer-related causes of death in the world. Recently, downregulation of microRNA-497 (miR-497) has been observed in CRC tissues. In this study, we found that miR-497 expression levels were downregulated in human CRC specimens compared to the adjacent normal tissues.

Insulin regulates glucose consumption and lactate production through reactive oxygen species and pyruvate kinase M2.

Although insulin is known to regulate glucose metabolism and closely associate with liver cancer, the molecular mechanisms still remain to be elucidated. In this study, we attempt to understand the mechanism of insulin in promotion of liver cancer metabolism. We found that insulin increased pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) expression through reactive oxygen species (ROS) for regulating glucose consumption and lactate production, key process of glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and Bel7402 cells.

MicroRNA-143 inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis and sensitizes chemosensitivity to oxaliplatin in colorectal cancers.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading cancer-related causes of death in the world. Recently, downregulation of microRNA-143 (miR-143) has been observed in CRC tissues. Here in this study, we found that miR-143 expression was downregulated both in CRC patients' blood samples and tumor specimens.

MiR-128 inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis by targeting p70S6K1.

MicroRNAs are a class of small noncoding RNAs that function as critical gene regulators through targeting mRNAs for translational repression or degradation. In this study, we showed that miR-128 expression levels were decreased in glioma, and identified p70S6K1 as a novel direct target of miR-128. Overexpression of miR-128 suppressed p70S6K1 and its downstream signaling molecules such as HIF-1 and VEGF expression, and attenuated cell proliferation, tumor growth and angiogenesis.

Fast screening target sites for RNA interference using a cell-free system.

A fast and simple procedure to screen target sites for RNA interference by using RNA in a cell-free system of Hela cells, and then evaluating the efficiency by Northern blotting, is described. This procedure produces results with an identical reliability compared to those described previously but which are more time-consuming than this present method.