CRISPR screen in cancer: status quo and future perspectives.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system offers a powerful platform for genome manipulation, including protein-coding genes, noncoding RNAs and regulatory elements. The development of CRISPR screen enables high-throughput interrogation of gene functions in diverse tumor biologies, such as tumor growth, metastasis, synthetic lethal interactions, therapeutic resistance and immunotherapy response, which are mostly performed or in transplant models. Recently, direct CRISPR screens have been developed to identify drivers of tumorigenesis in native microenvironment.

Correlation of the ratio of IgM/IgG concentration to days after symptom onset (IgM/T or IgG/T) with disease severity and outcome in non-critical COVID-19 patients.

Background: Correlation of SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies with COVID-19 development and outcome has not been fully studied. Due to the time dynamic of antibodies, the antibody concentration of the same patient varies greatly at different times during the course of the disease. Therefore, our study used IgM/T or IgG/T (the ratio of serum antibody concentration to days after symptom onset) to reflect the patient's humoral immune status, and analyzed their correlation with COVID-19 development and outcome.

Non-coding RNAs: emerging regulators of glucose metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Reprogramming of metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer, among which glucose metabolism dysfunction is the most prominent feature. The glucose metabolism of tumor cells is significantly different from that of normal cells. Glucose metabolism reprogramming of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become an important research hotspot in the field of HCC, a variety of tumor metabolic interventions have been applied clinically.

The role of Aurora-A in human cancers and future therapeutics.

Aurora-A is a mitotic serine/threonine-protein kinase and an oncogene. In normal cells, Aurora-A appears from G2 phase and localizes at the centrosome, where it participates in centrosome replication, isolation and maturation. Aurora-A also maintains Golgi apparatus structure and spindle assembly.

CDCA7 promotes lung adenocarcinoma proliferation via regulating the cell cycle.

CDCA7 is overexpressed in several malignant cancers and is predicted by bioinformatics to be a candidate oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, the clinical and biological function of CDCA7 in LUAD has never been investigated. In this study, we used quantitative real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry to determine the expression level and clinical significance of CDCA7.

Role of the zinc finger and SCAN domain-containing transcription factors in cancer.

Transcription factors are key determinants of gene expression that recognize and bind to short DNA sequence motifs, thereby regulating many biological processes including differentiation, development, and metabolism. Transcription factors are increasingly recognized for their roles in cancer progression. Here, we describe a subfamily of zinc finger transcription factors named zinc finger and SCAN domain containing (ZSCAN) transcription factors.

MiR-539 functions as a tumor suppressor in pancreatic cancer by targeting TWIST1.

The dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression has been highlighted in a variety of human malignant conditions with reports implicating a critical role in the process of tumor growth. The role of miR-539 in pancreatic cancer (PC) is yet to be fully elucidated, hence the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of miR-539 expression in relation to a cohort of 52 PC specimens. The application of a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed a significantly down-regulated miR-539 level, which was accompanied by an increased TWIST1 expression in PC when compared with the controls.

Methylation levels of IGF2 and KCNQ1 in spermatozoa from infertile men are associated with sperm DNA damage.

Abnormal imprinted genes methylation in spermatozoa has been shown to be associated with subfertility. However, the relationship between sperm DNA damage and specific imprinted genes methylation remains unclear. In this study, DNA methylation levels were determined at seven imprinted genes loci (H19, INS-IGF2, KCNQ1, MEG3, MEST, PEG3 and SNRPN) in 66 semen samples using the MSRE-qPCR method.

[Value of prostaticexosomal protein contentsin the first- and mid-stream urine for the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis].

Objective: To detect the contents of prostaticexosomal protein (PSEP) in the first- and mid-stream urine and assess their clinical value in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis (CP).

Methods: This study included358 male outpatientsat Nanjing General Hospital from November 2017 to May 2018, 269 diagnosed with and the other 89 without CP. Wemeasured the contents of PSEP in the first- and mid-stream urine samples collected from the subjectsby ELISA anddetermined the sensitivity and specificity, and total coincidence rate ofthe PSEPcontents in the diagnosis of CP.

[Fosfomycin tromethamine inhibits the expressions of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 in the prostate tissue of rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis].

Objective: To investigate the effects of fosfomycin tromethamine (FT) on the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the prostate tissue of the rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP).

Methods: We randomly divided 70 male SD rats into 7 groups of equal number: blank control, CBP model control, positive control, 14 d low-dose FT, 7 d low-dose FT, 14 d high-dose FT, and 7 d high-dose FT. The CBP model rats in the latter five groups were treated intragastrically with levofloxacin at 100 mg/kg/d for 30 days and FT at 200 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days and at 300 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days, respectively.

[Impact of Mycoplasma genitalium infection on the semen quality of infertile males].

Objective: To explore Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) infection in the urogenital tract of infertile men and its influence on semen quality.

Methods: Semen samples were collected from 352 infertile males in the Center of Reproductive Medicine of Nanjing General Hospital from March to July 2015. MG infection was detected by real-time fluorescence simultaneous amplification and testing and semen analyses were conducted according to the WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen (5th Ed) on the semen pH value, semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, total sperm motility, percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and immotile sperm (IMS), and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI).

[Lipoic acid protects spermatogenesis in male rats with ornidazole-induced oligoasthenozoospermia].

Objective: To study the protective effect of lipoic acid (LA) on the spermatogenic function of the male rats with oligoasthenozoospermia induced by ornidazole (ORN).

Methods: Seventy male SD rats were equally randomized into groups A (solvent control: 1 ml 0.5% CMC-Na + 1 ml olive oil), B (low-dose ORN model: 400 mg/kg ORN suspension + 1 ml olive oil), C (low-dose ORN + low-dose LA treatment: 400 mg/kg ORN + 50 mg/kg LA), D (low-dose ORN + high-dose LA treatment: 400 mg/kg ORN + 100 mg/kg LA), E (high-dose ORN model: 800 mg/kg ORN suspension + 1 ml olive oil), F (high-dose ORN + low-dose LA treatment: 800 mg/kg ORN + 50 mg/kg LA), and G (high-dose ORN + high-dose LA treatment: 800 mg/kg ORN + 100 mg/kg LA), and treated respectively for 20 successive days.

[ilin Pills for oligoasthenospermia: Advances in clinical studies].

Industrialization and environmental pollution are bringing more problems to human reproduction and increasing the prevalence of male infertility. Western medicine has shown its limitations in the management of male infertility, especially that of oligoasthenospermia. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), however, has long and rich experiences in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia, with a large variety of medicinal prescriptions based on the TCM theories, among which Qilin Pills shows a particularly significant therapeutic effect on oligoasthenospermia, especially when combined with Western medicine.

[Ningmitai Capsule for the treatment of andrological diseases: Advances in studies].

Ningmitai Capsule is a classical patent medicine prepared from multiple effective ingredients of Chinese herbal medicine, with a wide range of biological activities and a significant efficacy in the treatment of urogenital diseases. Ningmitai Capsule has been widely applied in the management of urological and andrological diseases, with a particularly ideal effect on chronic prostatitis, since its first introduction nearly 20 years ago. With no obvious adverse effect on the male reproductive system, it has also been gaining a gradual application in the treatment of such diseases as urinary tract infections, diabetes, non-gonococcal urethritis, seminal vesiculitis, acute epididymitis, overactive bladder, hematuria, and semen non-liquefaction.

[Protective effect of Qilin Pills on the reproductive function of oligoasthenospermia rats].

Objective: To study the protective effect of Qilin Pills (QLP) on the reproductive function of rats with oligoasthenospermia (OAS) induced by tripterygium glycosides.

Methods: Twenty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control, an OAS model control, a low-dose QLP, and a high-dose QLP group of equal number. OAS models were made in the latter three groups by intragastrical administration of tripterygium glycosides at 40 mg per kg of the body weight per day, and meanwhile the animals in the low- and high-dose QLP groups were treated with QLP at 1.

[Effects of Xialiqi Capsules on the expressions of PCNA and caspase-3 in rats withbenign prostatic hyperplasia].

Objective: To explore the effects of Xialiqi Capsules(XLQ) on the expressions of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 in the prostate tissue of the BPH rat model.

Methods: Fifty male SD ratswereequally randomized into groups A (sham operation control), B (BPH model control), C (high-dose XLQ), D (low-dose XLQ), and E (finasteridecontrol) andthe BPH modelswere established by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate at 0.5 mg per kilogram of the body weight per day for 30 days after castration.

Glyoxalase 1, regulated by LncRNA MALAT1, promotes malignant development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

In previous study we found that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 promotes proliferation and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and that the following microarray chip screening of MALAT1 target genes showed that Glyoxalase I (GLO1) was a potential downstream effector of MALAT1. In this study, we further confirmed that GLO1 was regulated by MALAT1. GLO1 belongs to the glyoxalase system, which encodes a ubiquitous detoxification pathway being implicated in the progression of multiple malignancies.

[Protective effect of astaxanthin against epididymal oxidative damagein rats with ornidazole-induced oligoasthenozoospermia].

Objective: To investigate the improving effect of astaxanthin (AST) on the sperm quality of rats with ornidazole (ORN)-induced oligoasthenozoospermiaand its action mechanism.

Methods: Forty adult male SD rats were equally randomized into groups A (solvent control), B (low-dose ORN ［400 mg/（kg·d）］), C (high-dose ORN ［800 mg/（kg·d）］), D (low-dose ORN ［400 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ［20 mg/（kg·d）］), and E (high-dose ORN ［800 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ［20 mg/（kg·d）］), all treated intragastrically for3 weeks.After treatment, the epididymal tails ononeside was taken for determination of sperm concentration and activity, and the epididymideson the other side harvested for measurement of the activities of GSH-Px, GR, CAT and SOD and the MDA contentin the homogenate.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma.

Gastric mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinomas (MANECs) are rare malignant tumors. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment outcome in gastric MANECs patients. Clinicopathological data and the archived slides of 40 cases of MANEC patients were retrospectively reviewed.

[ICSI with testicular or epididymal sperm for patients with obstructive azoospermia: A systematic review].

Objective: To assess the effects of testicular sperm and epididymal sperm on the outcomes of ICSI for patients with obstructive azoospermia.

Methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CNKI, VIP, CBM, and Wanfang Database up to December 2015 for published literature relevant to ICSI with testicular or epididymal sperm for obstructive azoospermia patients. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers independently conducted literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment of the included trials, followed by meta-analysis with the RevMan 5.

Metabolic reprogramming induced by inhibition of SLC2A1 suppresses tumor progression in lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) is one of the common reasons of cancer-related death with few biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Solute carrier family 2 member 1 protein, SLC2A1, has been associated with tumor progression, metastasis, and poor prognosis in many human solid tumors. However, little is reported about its biological functions in lung adenocarcinoma.

The effects of novel chitosan-targeted gemcitabine nanomedicine mediating cisplatin on epithelial mesenchymal transition, invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the effects involved with the novel chitosan gemcitabine (Gem) nanoparticles mediating cisplatin (DDP) on epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer (PC) cells.

Methods: A total of 62 healthy purebred BALB/C of specific-pathogen free (SPF) female nude mice were recruited and a SW1990 cell line was subsequently cultured. A heterotopic xenograft tumor model was constructed.

Effects of Feeder Cells on Dopaminergic Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) are used for the culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). MEFs and HFFs differed in their capacity to support the proliferation and pluripotency of hESCs and could affect cardiac differentiation potential of hESCs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of MEFs and HFFs feeders on dopaminergic differentiation of hESCs lines.