IRAK2-NF-κB signaling promotes glycolysis-dependent tumor growth in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Metabolic reprogramming has emerged as a core hallmark of cancer, and cancer metabolism has long been equated with aerobic glycolysis. Moreover, hypoxia and the hypovascular tumor microenvironment (TME) are major hallmarks of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), in which glycolysis is imperative for tumor cell survival and proliferation. Here, we explored the impact of interleukin 1 receptor-associated kinase 2 (IRAK2) on the biological behavior of PDAC and investigated the underlying mechanism.

Upregulation of ASAP3 contributes to colorectal carcinogenesis and indicates poor survival outcome.

The function and clinical implication of ArfGAP with SH3 domain, ankyrin repeat, and PH domain 3 (ASAP3) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains undefined. In the present study, we showed that the expression level of ASAP3 was dramatically increased in CRC and its upregulation was associated with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (P < 0.001) and poor prognosis (P = 0.

Biphasic regulation of autophagy by miR-96 in prostate cancer cells under hypoxia.

Autophagy favors cell survival under hypoxia, and increasing evidence revealed that microRNAs regulate autophagy. We report here hypoxia increased the expression of miR-96 in prostate cancer cells, and miR-96 stimulated autophagy by suppressing MTOR. We found that inhibition of miR-96 abolished hypoxia-induced autophagy.

Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha reduces the outgrowth of hepatic micrometastasis of colorectal tumors in a mouse model of liver ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Background: Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) often develop liver metastases, in which case surgery is considered the only potentially curative treatment option. However, liver surgery is associated with a risk of ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, which is thought to promote the growth of colorectal liver metastases. The influence of IR-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) elevation in the process still is unknown.

Impact of thawing on reference gene expression stability in renal cell carcinoma samples.

More and more samples are obtained from biobanks for biomedical research; however, some of these samples may undergo thawing before processing. We aim to evaluate the reference gene expression stability in thawed renal cell carcinoma samples. Sixteen matched malignant and nonmalignant renal tissue samples were obtained and each sample was divided into 4 aliquots before being snap frozen and stored at -80°C.

Consent for use of clinical leftover biosample: a survey among Chinese patients and the general public.

Background: Storage of leftover biosamples generates rich biobanks for future studies, saving time and money and limiting physical impact to sample donors.

Objective: To investigate the attitudes of Chinese patients and the general public on providing consent for storage and use of leftover biosamples.

Design, Setting And Participants: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among randomly selected patients admitted to a Shanghai city hospital (n = 648) and members of the general public (n = 492) from May 2010 to July 2010.

The characteristics of respiratory function and pulmonary hemodynamics in patients with portal hypertension.

Objective: To investigate the respiratory function and pulmonary hemodynamics in patients with portal hypertension (PHT).

Methods: A total of 148 patients with PHT were divided into three groups according to Child-Pugh classification. Results of blood biochemistry test, lung function test, arterial blood gas analysis, free portal pressure (FPP) and pulmonary hemodynamics measurements of the three Child-Pugh grade groups were compared with those of the control group.

Attitudes towards biosample donation in andrology patients.

Clinical left-over biosamples are an important source for medical research. Our aim is to ascertain the attitudes of andrology patients towards biosample donation. A survey of 866 andrology patients with diverse andrology conditions was conducted in Shanghai, China from May 2010 to December 2010.

Suppression of growth of pancreatic cancer cell and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by gene silencing with RNA interference.

Objective: To explore the anti-angiogenesis and tumor cell growth suppressive effects resulted from gene silencing by RNAi in BxPC-3 human pancreatic cancer cells.

Methods: The designation and transfection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-siRNA lentivirus was carried out in vitro. Real-time PCR and western blot were conducted to measure the expression levels of VEGF mRNA and protein.