AMP-activated protein kinase suppresses the in vitro and in vivo proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central metabolic sensor and plays an important role in regulating glucose, lipid and cholesterol metabolism. Therefore, AMPK is a key therapeutic target in diabetes. Recent pilot studies have suggested that diabetes drugs may reduce the risk of cancer by affecting the AMPK pathway.

Association of mitochondrial haplogroup D and risk of esophageal cancer in Taihang Mountain and Chaoshan areas in China.

Both the Taihang Mountain area in north-central China and Chaoshan area in the southeastern littoral of China are areas with high risk of esophageal cancer (EC). Our previous study confirmed that populations from the two areas might share similar matrilineal backgrounds and found that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup D, especially subhaplogroups D4a and D5a, might be genetic background markers of EC in Chaoshan area. Here, to further determine whether D4a, D5a, and D might be susceptibility markers for EC in the two high-risk areas, we performed a case-control study with larger samples and analyzed the distributions of these three haplogroups in subjects (controls [n = 898] and patients [n = 768]) from the two areas.

Y-chromosome evidence for common ancestry of three Chinese populations with a high risk of esophageal cancer.

High rates of esophageal cancer (EC) are found in people of the Henan Taihang Mountain, Fujian Minnan, and Chaoshan regions of China. Historical records describe great waves of populations migrating from north-central China (the Henan and Shanxi Hans) through coastal Fujian Province to the Chaoshan plain. Although these regions are geographically distant, we hypothesized that EC high-risk populations in these three areas could share a common ancestry.

Single nucleotide variation detection by ligation of universal probes on a 3D poyacrylamide gel DNA microarray.

We attempted to simultaneously analyze single nucleotide variations (SNVs) in a number of samples by integrating the high fidelity of ligation of universal probes with the robustness of three-dimensional (3D) polyacrylamide gel DNA microarray. By performing a ligation reaction between the 5' phosphate terminus of the sequencing primer and the 3' hydroxyl terminus of the labeled probe, we accurately identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of 33 genomic DNA samples and two point mutations in the PCR-amplified 83 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) samples immobilized in gel. Fluorescent imaging allowed genotyping with a high call rate (100%).