👤 Lijing Ma

Wnt signaling components have been shown to control key events in embryogenesis and to maintain tissue homeostasis in the adult. Nkd1/2 and Axin1/2 protein families are required for feedback regulation of Wnt signaling. The mechanisms by which Nkd1 and Nkd2 exhibit significant differences in signal transduction remain incompletely understood. Here we report that Rnf25/AO7, a previously identified E3 ubiquitin ligase for Nkd2, physically interacts with Nkd1 and Axin in an E3 ligase-independent manner to strengthen Wnt signalling. To determine the biological role of Rnf25 in vivo, we found that the renal mesenchymal cell, in which rnf25 was knocked-down, also exhibited more epithelial characters than MOCK control. Meanwhile, the transcriptional level of rnf25 was elevated in three separate tumor tissues more than that in paracarcinomatous tissue. Depletion of Rnf25 in zebrafish embryos attenuated transcriptions of maternal and zygotic Wnt target genes. Our results indicated that Rnf25 might serve as a molecular device, controlling the different antagonizing functions against canonical Wnt signaling between Nkd1 and Nkd2 cooperated with Axin. Show less

The small intestine is the exclusive site of arginine synthesis in neonates. Low levels of circulating arginine have been associated with the occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) but the mechanism of arginine dysregulation has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate (i) expressional changes of arginine synthesizing and catabolic enzymes in human intestinal tissues of NEC, spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) and noninflammatory surgical conditions (Surg-CTL) and to investigate the (ii) mechanisms of arginine dysregulation and enterocyte proliferation upon stimulation by bacterial components, arginine depletion, ARG1 overexpression and nitric oxide (NO) supplementation. Our results showed that expressions of arginine synthesizing enzymes ALDH18A1, ASL, ASS1, CPS1, GLS, OAT and PRODH were significantly decreased in NEC compared with Surg-CTL or SIP tissues. Catabolic enzyme ARG1 was increased (>100-fold) in NEC tissues and histologically demonstrated to be expressed by infiltrating neutrophils. No change in arginine metabolic enzymes was observed between SIP and Surg-CTL tissues. In CaCO2 cells, arginine metabolic enzymes were differentially dysregulated by lipopolysaccharide or lipoteichoic acid. Depletion of arginine reduced cell proliferation and this phenomenon could be partially rescued by NO. Overexpression of ARG1 also reduced enterocyte proliferation. We provided the first expressional profile of arginine metabolic enzymes at the tissue level of NEC. Our findings suggested that arginine homeostasis was severely disturbed and could be triggered by inflammatory responses of enterocytes and infiltrating neutrophils as well as bacterial components. Such reactions could reduce arginine and NO, resulting in mucosal damage. The benefit of arginine supplementation for NEC prophylaxis merits further clinical evaluation. Show less

The role of ROS in stem cell biology has not been fully illustrated and understood. Here we compared the different responses and investigated the mechanism underlying oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H Show less

The biological effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) have been widely studied. Dysregulation of miRNAs plays a critical role in the progression of nervous system diseases and in cell proliferation and differentiation. Our previous study validated that miR-19b-3p was associated with FXR1 (Fragile X related gene 1), one of homologous genes of FMR1 (Fragile X mental retardation 1). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of FXR1 and miR-19b-3p, and the crucial role of miR-19b-3p in FXS and to validate whether miR-19b-3p could regulate the growth of SH-SY5Y cells. We determined that miR-19b-3p could regulate the expression of not only USP32, RAB18 and Dusp6 but also FXR1, and FXR1 could in turn regulate the expression of miR-19b-3p. What's more, the overexpression of miR-19b-3p significantly inhibited the proliferation, contributed the apoptosis and slowed down the cycle of SH-SY5Y cells. Taken together, our results indicate that miR-19b-3p plays a significant role in the molecular pathology of FXS by interacting with FXR1 and influencing the growth of SH-SY5Y cells. Show less

Laying performance is an important economic trait in hens, and this physiological process is largely influenced by the liver function. The livers of hens at 20- and 30-week-old stages were investigated using the next generation sequencing to identify the differences of microRNA expression profiles. Compared with the 20-week-old hens, 67 down- and 13 up-regulated microRNAs were verified to be significant differentially expressed (false discovery rate, FDR ≤ 0.05) (SDE) in the 30-week-old. We also identified 13 down- and 6 up-regulated novel differentially expressed (DE) microRNAs. miR-22-3p and miR-146b-5p, which exhibit critical roles in mammalian lipid metabolism, showed the most abundant expression and the highest fold-change, respectively. A total of 648 potential target genes of the SDE microRNAs were identified through an integrated analysis of microRNAs and the DE genes obtained in previous RNA-sequencing, including FADS1, FADS2, ELOVL6 and ACSL5, which are critical lipid metabolism-related regulators. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that target genes were mainly enriched in lipid-related metabolism processes. This work provides the first study of the expression patterns of hepatic microRNAs between 20- and 30-week old hens. The findings may serve as a fundamental resource for understanding the detailed functions of microRNAs in the molecular regulatory systems of lipid metabolism. Show less

To explore whether plasma fatty acids and SNPs in the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD). In this cross-sectional study, we utilized gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis and the high-resolution melting method to detect plasma fatty acids and SNPs respectively (rs174537G>T, rs174616C>T, rs174460T>C, and rs174450A>C) in 234 T2D, 200 CAD, 185 T2D&CAD patients, and 253 healthy controls. We found that T2D&CAD patients had the highest plasma arachidonic acid, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid and delta-6 desaturase, and the lowest stearic acid, linolenic acid, and saturated fatty acids; plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid elevated in T2D patients, but significantly reduced in CAD patients. Moreover, T2D patients with rs174537 GG genotype were at risk of developing T2D&CAD (odds ratio (OR) 1.763; 95 % CI 1.143-2.718; p = 0.010), with elevated plasma LDL-cholesterol, arachidonic acid, and delta-6 desaturase. Our results show that SNPs in FADS gene (particularly rs174537) associate with plasma fatty acids and desaturase levels in patients with both T2D and CAD, which maybe increases the risk of CAD in diabetic patients. Show less

Large-scale genome-wide association studies have identified multiple genetic variants that are associated with elevated body mass index (BMI) or the risk of obesity in Caucasian or Asian populations. We examined whether these variants are individually associated with obesity in Chinese children, and also assessed their cumulative effects and predictive value for obesity risk in Chinese children. We genotyped 40 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and conducted association analyses for 32/40 SNPs with an estimated minor allele frequency >1% in 2 030 unrelated Chinese children, including 607 normal-weight, 718 overweight, and 705 obese individuals from two cross-sectional study groups. Logistic regression and linear regression under the additive model were used to examine associations, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCROC) was reported as prediction summary. We identified obesity association for 6 SNPs near SEC16B, RBJ, CDKAL1, TFAP2B, MAP2K5 and FTO (odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 1.19 to 1.41, nominal two-sided P-values < 0.05). Association (Bonferroni corrected) of rs543874 near SEC16B and rs2241423 near MAP2K5 had presumably stronger effects on obesity in Chinese children than in Caucasian populations. Their risk alleles were also associated with BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) variability. We demonstrated the cumulative effects of the 32 SNPs on obesity risk (per risk allele: OR = 1.06, 95 % CI: 1.03-1.11, P = 4.84 × 10(-4)) and BMI-SDS (β = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02-0.06, P = 3.69 × 10(-7)). The difference in AUCROC for a model with covariates (age, age square, sex and study group) and the model including covariates and all 32 SNPs was 2.8% (P = 0.0002). While six SNPs were individually associated with obesity in Chinese children, the 32 common variants identified by recent GWA studies had cumulative effects and resulted in a limited increase in the AUCROC predictive value for childhood obesity. Show less

Dietary fructose is considered a risk factor for metabolic disorders, such as fatty liver disease. However, the mechanism underlying the effects of fructose is not well characterized. We investigated the hepatic expression of key regulatory genes related to lipid metabolism following fructose feeding under well-defined conditions. Rats were fed standard chow supplemented with 10% w/v fructose solution for 5 weeks, and killed after chow-fasting and fructose withdrawal (fasting) or chow-fasting and continued fructose (fructose alone) for 14 h. Hepatic deposition of triglycerides was found in rats from both groups. As expected, fructose alone increased mRNA levels of lipogenesis-related genes and correspondingly decreased mRNA levels of lipid oxidative genes in the liver. Interesting, hepatic levels of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD)1 mRNA remained elevated under fructose withdrawn conditions, although expression levels of other genes, including two key transcription factors (carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c) fell to normal levels, indicating that long-term fructose intake increased SCD1 activity, independent of upstream regulatory genes, such as ChREBP and SREBP-1c. In conclusion, SCD1 overexpression in fatty liver disease is not affected by fasting after long-term fructose consumption in rats. Regulation of SCD1 plays an important role in fructose-induced hepatic steatosis. Show less

To identify the potential mutations in a Chinese pedigree with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and to analyze the genotype-phenotype relationship in this pedigree. Clinical history and physical examinations, electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography (UCG), cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) data were obtained from 10 members of a three-generation Chinese family with HCM. A total of 96 genes related to hereditary cardiomyopathy were detected by exon and boarding intron analyses in the proband using second-generation sequencing. Mutations identified in the proband were confirmed by bi-directional Sanger sequencing in the rest 9 family members and 300 healthy controls. Three mutations, including MYBPC3-P1208fs, ANK2-H556R and ANK2-P1974H, were identified in this pedigree. MYBPC3-P1208fs gene mutation was detected in 3 family members (proband, his mother and son), while this mutation was not detected in the rest family members. HCM was diagnosed in the proband and his mother by ECG, UCG and CMR. Son of the proband demonstrated early phenotype of HCM: although UCG and CMR were normal, ECG showed sinus bradycardia and paroxysmal supraventricular arrhythmias as well as ST segment changes. The onset age of HCM diagnosis of the proband and his mother was 42 and 50 years old, presented with palpitation and chest pain, and myocardial fibrosis sign in CMR. Furthermore, we found that left ventricular myocardial fibrosis is related to ECG changes (increasing r wave, ST segment change) in the proband and his mother. No HCM phenotype was evidenced in the 7 family members carrying ANK2-H556R and ANK2-P1974H mutations. Our results show that MYBPC3-P1208fs gene mutation is associated HCM phenotype in this Chinses pedigree. This mutation is associated with myocardial fibrosis and ST changes in HCM phenotype in this pedigree while ANK2-H556R and ANK2-P1974H mutations are not related to HCM phenotype in this family. Show less

The formation of the autophagosome is controlled by an orderly action of ATG proteins. However, how these proteins are recruited to autophagic membranes remain poorly clarified. In this study, we have provided a line of evidence confirming that EVA1A (eva-1 homolog A)/TMEM166 (transmembrane protein 166) is associated with autophagosomal membrane development. This notion is based on dotted EVA1A structures that colocalize with ZFYVE1, ATG9, LC3B, ATG16L1, ATG5, STX17, RAB7 and LAMP1, which represent different stages of the autophagic process. It is required for autophagosome formation as this phenotype was significantly decreased in EVA1A-silenced cells and Eva1a KO MEFs. EVA1A-induced autophagy is independent of the BECN1-PIK3C3 (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, catalytic subunit type 3) complex but requires ATG7 activity and the ATG12-ATG5/ATG16L1 complex. Here, we present a molecular mechanism by which EVA1A interacts with the WD repeats of ATG16L1 through its C-terminal and promotes ATG12-ATG5/ATG16L1 complex recruitment to the autophagic membrane and enhances the formation of the autophagosome. We also found that both autophagic and apoptotic mechanisms contributed to EVA1A-induced cell death while inhibition of autophagy and apoptosis attenuated EVA1A-induced cell death. Overall, these findings provide a comprehensive view to our understanding of the pathways involved in the role of EVA1A in autophagy and programmed cell death. Show less

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been commonly accepted as inducers of autophagy, and autophagy in turn is activated to relieve oxidative stress. Yet, whether and how oxidative stress, generated in various human pathologies, regulates autophagy remains unknown. Here, we mechanistically studied the role of TRPM2 (transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 2)-mediated Ca(2+) influx in oxidative stress-mediated autophagy regulation. On the one hand, we demonstrated that oxidative stress triggered TRPM2-dependent Ca(2+) influx to inhibit the induction of early autophagy, which renders cells more susceptible to death. On the other hand, oxidative stress induced autophagy (and not cell death) in the absence of the TRPM2-mediated Ca(2+) influx. Moreover, in response to oxidative stress, TRPM2-mediated Ca(2+) influx activated CAMK2 (calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II) at levels of both phosphorylation and oxidation, and the activated CAMK2 subsequently phosphorylated BECN1/Beclin 1 on Ser295. Ser295 phosphorylation of BECN1 in turn decreased the association between BECN1 and PIK3C3/VPS34, but induced binding between BECN1 and BCL2. Clinically, acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the most common cause of acute liver failure worldwide. We demonstrated that APAP overdose also activated ROS-TRPM2-CAMK2-BECN1 signaling to suppress autophagy, thereby causing primary hepatocytes to be more vulnerable to death. Inhibiting the TRPM2-Ca(2+)-CAMK2 cascade significantly mitigated APAP-induced liver injury. In summary, our data clearly demonstrate that oxidative stress activates the TRPM2-Ca(2+)-CAMK2 cascade to phosphorylate BECN1 resulting in autophagy inhibition. Show less

Searching for new regulators of autophagy involved in selective dopaminergic (DA) neuron loss is a hallmark in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). We here report that an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated transmembrane protein SLC35D3 is selectively expressed in subsets of midbrain DA neurons in about 10% TH (tyrosine hydroxylase)-positive neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and in about 22% TH-positive neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Loss of SLC35D3 in ros (roswell mutant) mice showed a reduction of 11.9% DA neurons in the SNc and 15.5% DA neuron loss in the VTA with impaired autophagy. We determined that SLC35D3 enhanced the formation of the BECN1-ATG14-PIK3C3 complex to induce autophagy. These results suggest that SLC35D3 is a new regulator of tissue-specific autophagy and plays an important role in the increased autophagic activity required for the survival of subsets of DA neurons. Show less

Deciding appropriate therapy for multiple myeloma (MM) is challenging because of the occurrence of multiple chromosomal changes and the fatal nature of the disease. In the current study, gamabufotalin (GBT) was isolated from toad venom, and its tumor-specific cytotoxicity was investigated in human MM cells. We found GBT inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis with the IC50 values <50 nM. Mechanistic studies using functional approaches identified GBT as an inhibitor of c-Myc. Further analysis showed that GBT especially evoked the ubiquitination and degradation of c-Myc protein, thereby globally repressing the expression of c-Myc target genes. GBT treatment inhibited ERK and AKT signals, while stimulating the activation of JNK cascade. An E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, WWP2, was upregulated following JNK activation and played an important role in c-Myc ubiquitination and degradation through direct protein-protein interaction. The antitumor effect of GBT was validated in a xenograft mouse model and the suppression of MM-induced osteolysis was verified in a SCID-hu model in vivo. Taken together, our study identified the potential of GBT as a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of MM. Show less

The SNP of rs964184 in ZPR1 has recently been associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Japanese individuals. To comprehensively investigate the association of common variants in ZPR1 with T2DM in Han Chinese individuals, we designed a two-stage case-control study of 3,505 T2DM patients and 6,911 unrelated healthy Han Chinese individuals. A total of 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped, and single-SNP association, imputation and gender-specific association analyses were performed. To increase the coverage of genetic markers, we implemented imputation techniques to extend the number of tested makers to 280. A novel SNP, rs2075290, and the previously reported SNP, rs964184, were significantly associated with T2DM in the two independent datasets, and individuals harboring the CC genotype of rs2075290 and GG genotype of rs964184 exhibited higher levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and blood hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) than individuals of other genotypes. Additionally, haplotype analyses indicated that two haplotype blocks containing rs2075290 or rs964184 were also significantly associated with T2DM. In summary, these results suggest that ZPR1 plays an important role in the etiology of T2DM, and this gene might be involved in abnormal glucose metabolism. Show less

We determined the alleles of ten single nucleotide poly-morphisms (SNPs) in the APOA5/A4/C3/A1 gene cluster and in APOB in Han Chinese from Xinjiang Shihezi, China using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, and explored the correlation between these SNPs and dyslipidemia through a case-control study design with 250 pa-tients and 250 normal controls. All SNPs except for APOA5 rs2072560 conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (all P > 0.05). APOA5 rs651821, APOA4 rs5104, APOC3 rs734104, and APOC3 rs5128 geno-type and allele frequencies were significantly different between groups (all P < 0.01). For rs651821, the risks of dyslipidemia for the CC or CC+CT genotypes were 9.917 or 1.859 times that of TT, and the risk of the C vs T allele was 2.027. For rs5104, the AG, GG, or AG+GG risks were 1.797, 1.861, and 1.809 times AA, and the G vs A risk was 1.427. For rs734104, the CT, CC, or CC+CT risks were 1.851, 2.570, and 1.958 times TT, and the C vs T risk was 1.610. For rs5128, the GC or CC+GC risks were 1.738 or 1.749 times GG, and the C vs G risk was 1.477. Compared with the wild-type haplotype TATG, the risks of dyslipidemia with CGCC, TGCC, or CATG haplotypes (odds ratios = 2.434, 1.503, and 2.740, respectively) were significantly higher. Our results suggested that these four SNPs were significantly associated with dyslipidemia in Xinjiang Shihezi Han Chinese, and might serve as risk factors for dyslipidemia. Individuals carrying the CGCC, TGCC, or CATG haplotypes were prone to dyslipidemia. Show less

Commercial sheep raised for mutton grow faster than traditional Chinese sheep breeds. Here, we aimed to evaluate genetic selection among three different types of sheep breed: two well-known commercial mutton breeds and one indigenous Chinese breed. We first combined locus-specific branch lengths and di statistical methods to detect candidate regions targeted by selection in the three different populations. The results showed that the genetic distances reached at least medium divergence for each pairwise combination. We found these two methods were highly correlated, and identified many growth-related candidate genes undergoing artificial selection. For production traits, APOBR and FTO are associated with body mass index. For meat traits, ALDOA, STK32B and FAM190A are related to marbling. For reproduction traits, CCNB2 and SLC8A3 affect oocyte development. We also found two well-known genes, GHR (which affects meat production and quality) and EDAR (associated with hair thickness) were associated with German mutton merino sheep. Furthermore, four genes (POL, RPL7, MSL1 and SHISA9) were associated with pre-weaning gain in our previous genome-wide association study. Our results indicated that combine locus-specific branch lengths and di statistical approaches can reduce the searching ranges for specific selection. And we got many credible candidate genes which not only confirm the results of previous reports, but also provide a suite of novel candidate genes in defined breeds to guide hybridization breeding. Show less

Serum lipid levels are associated with the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Genetic variants in the apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) gene were associated with plasma triglyceride (TG) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two genetic variants (1100 C/T and 3238 C/G) of APOC3 on serum lipid levels and risk of ICH. A prospective hospital-based case-control design and logistic regression analysis were utilized. We enrolled 150 ICH patients and 150 age- and gender-matched controls. The APOC3 gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). ICH patients had a significantly higher frequency of APOC3 3238 GG genotype [odds ratio (OR)=.97, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.20, 7.38; P=0.02] and APOC3 3238 G allele (OR=.53, 95% CI=1.03, 2.27; P=0.04) than controls. The APOC3 3238 G allele was significantly associated with increasing plasma TG levels and VLDL levels both in ICH cases (P=0.01) and controls (P=0.02). No association was found between APOC3 1100 C/T polymorphisms and ICH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature that the APOC3 3238 GG genotype and G allele might contribute to an increased risk of ICH as a result of its effect on serum lipid levels. Show less

Deregulated WNT/β-catenin signaling contributes to the development of a subgroup of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Within this pathway, the tankyrase enzymes (TNKS1 and TNKS2) degrade AXIN and thereby enhance β-catenin activity. We evaluate TNKS enzymes as potential therapeutic targets in HCC, and the anti-tumor efficacy of tankyrase inhibitors (XAV939, and its novel nitro-substituted derivative WXL-8) in HCC cells. Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR, we found significantly elevated levels of TNKS1/2 mRNA in tumor liver tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor livers, at protein levels only TNKS1 is increased. In HepG2, Huh7cells, siRNA-mediated knockdown suppression of endogenous TNKS1 and TNKS2 reduced cell proliferation, together with decreased nuclear β-catenin levels. XAV939 and WXL-8 inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation in HepG2, Huh7, and Hep40 cells (p < 0.05), with stabilization of AXIN1 and AXIN2, and decreased β-catenin protein levels. XAV939 and WXL-8 also attenuated rhWNT3A-induced TOPflash luciferase reporter activity in HCC cells, indicating reduced β-catenin transcriptional activity, consistent with decreased nuclear β-catenin levels. In vivo, intra-tumor injections of XAV939 or WXL-8 significantly inhibited the growth of subcutaneous HepG2 xenografts (P < 0.05). We suggest that tankyrase inhibition is a potential therapeutic approach for treating a subgroup HCC with aberrant WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway. Show less

Cryptorchidism is one of the most common congenital anomalies in newborn boys. Although the mechanism responsible for the pathophysiology of cryptorchidism has not yet been well addressed, the Wnt signaling pathway has been involved in the development of cryptorchidism. Axin1 is a central component of the Wnt signaling pathway and may play a critical role in the development of cryptorchidism. We assumed that cryptorchidism risk and the AXIN1 gene may have an association. Thus we picked out three tag SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the AXIN1 gene and aimed to investigate whether cryptorchidism risk is associated with polymorphisms in the AXIN1 gene. The variants were discriminated using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. A total of 113 cases and 179 controls were recruited to participate in this study, including 92 unilateral cryptorchidism and 21 bilateral cases. In bilateral cases, the position of the testis was decided by the higher one. A significantly increased cryptorchidism risk was found to be associated with both the T allele (p = 2e(-4), OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.37-2.78) and T/T genotype (p = 6e(-4), OR 4.00, 95% CI 1.79-9.09) of rs370681 polymorphism, and, compared with the C/C genotype, a significantly increased cryptorchidism risk was associated with the C/T-T/T genotype (p = 4e(-4), OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.47-4.00) of rs370681 polymorphisms. Among the three tag SNPs we have chosen in AXIN1, two SNPs are located in the intron region, the other SNP is located in the synonymous codon region. Evidential research has indicated that introns and other non-protein-coding RNAs may have evolved to function as network control molecules in higher organisms. Therefore, we suspected that the tag SNPs may work as controls influencing the conduct of other genes rather than affecting the structure of the protein by influencing the coding of amino acid. There were limitations in our study. One is that we did not test the expression level of Axin1. Secondly, the number of the study subjects is limited. Finally, the molecular mechanisms by which AXIN1 is involved in susceptibility to cryptorchidism should be characterized. We assessed the impact of the genetic variability of the AXIN1 gene on cryptorchidism. We have offered primary evidence that the T allele and T/T genotype of rs370681 polymorphisms and C/T genotype of rs1805105 polymorphisms in AXIN1 gene are more frequent in patients with cryptorchidism. Show less

The mechanisms leading to high rates of malignancy and recurrence of human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remain unclear. It is difficult to diagnose and assess the prognosis of patients with ICC in the clinic due to the lack of specific biomarkers. In addition, long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to serve important roles in certain types of tumorigenesis however a role in ICC remains to be reported. The aim of the current study was to screen for genes and lncRNAs that are abnormally expressed in ICC and to investigate their biological and clinicopathological significance in ICC. The global gene and lncRNA expression profiles in ICC were measured using bioinformatics analysis. Carbamoyl‑phosphate synthase 1 (CPS1) and its lncRNA CPS1 intronic transcript 1 (CPS1‑IT1) were observed to be upregulated in ICC. The expression of CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 was measured in 31 tissue samples from patients with ICC and a number of cell lines. The effects of CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of the ICC‑9810 cell line were measured. In addition, the clinicopathological features and survival rates of patients with ICC with respect to the gene and lncRNA expression status were analyzed. CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 were co‑upregulated in ICC tissues compared with non‑cancerous tissues. Knockdown of CPS1 andor CPS1‑IT1 reduced the proliferation and increased the apoptosis of ICC‑9810 cells. Additionally, clinical analysis indicated that CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 were associated with poor liver function and reduced survival rates when the relative expression values were greater than 4 in cancer tissues. The comparisons between the high CPS1 expression group and the low expression group indicated significant differences in international normalized ratio (P=0.048), total protein (P=0.049), indirect bilirubin (P=0.025), alkaline phosphatase (P=0.003) and disease‑free survival (P=0.034). In addition, there were differential trends in CA19‑9 (P=0.068), globulin (P=0.052) and total bilirubin (P=0.066). The comparisons between the high CPS1‑IT1 expression group and the low expression group indicated significant differences in lymphatic invasion (P=0.045), carbohydrate antigen 19‑9 (P=0.044), disease‑free survival (P=0.026), and non‑significant differential trends in alkaline phosphatase were observed (P=0.085). In conclusion, CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 may serve an important role in ICC development by promoting the proliferation of ICC cells. Furthermore, CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 were associated with poor liver function and reduced survival rates. Thus, CPS1 and CPS1‑IT1 may be potential prognostic indicators for patients with ICC. Show less

To improve an asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR)-based enrichment method for detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Peripheral blood samples were collected from healthy subjects, patients with HCC or various other cancers, and patients with hepatic lesions or hepatitis. CTCs were enriched from whole blood by extracting CD45-expressing leukocytes with monoclonal antibody coated-beads following density gradient centrifugation. The remaining cells were cytocentrifuged on polylysine-coated slides. Isolated cells were treated by triple immunofluorescence staining with CD45 antibody and a combination of antibodies against ASGPR and carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1), used as liver-specific markers, and costained with DAPI. The cell slide was imaged and stained tumor cells that met preset criteria were counted. Recovery, sensitivity and specificity of the detection methods were determined and compared by spiking experiments with various types of cultured human tumor cell lines. Expression of ASGPR and CPS1 in cultured tumor cells and tumor tissue specimens was analyzed by flow cytometry and triple immunofluorescence staining, respectively. CD45 depletion of leukocytes resulted in a significantly greater recovery of multiple amounts of spiked HCC cells than the ASGPR(+) selection (Ps < 0.05). The expression rates of either ASGPR or CPS1 were different in various liver cancer cell lines, ranging between 18% and 99% for ASGPR and between 9% and 98% for CPS1. In both human HCC tissues and liver cancer cell lines, there were a few HCC cells that did not stain positive for ASGPR or CPS1. The mixture of monoclonal antibodies against ASGPR and CPS1 identified more HCC cells than either antibody alone. However, these antibodies did not detect any tumor cells in blood samples spiked with the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and the human renal cancer cell line A498. ASGPR(+) or/and CPS1(+) CTCs were detected in 29/32 (91%) patients with HCC, but not in patients with any other kind of cancer or any of the other test subjects. Furthermore, the improved method detected a higher CTC count in all patients examined than did the previous method (P = 0.001), and consistently achieved 12%-21% higher sensitivity of CTC detection in all seven HCC patients with more than 40 CTCs. Negative depletion enrichment combined with identification using a mixture of antibodies against ASGPR and CPS1 improves sensitivity and specificity for detecting circulating HCC cells. Show less

G-quadruplex (G4) DNA and G4 DNA resolvase are involved in a variety of biological processes. To understand the biological function of G4 DNA structures and their resolvases in spermatogenesis, we investigated the distribution of G4 structures in mouse testis and identified their alterations during spermatogenesis. Meanwhile, we studied the function of RNA helicase associated with AU-rich element (RHAU), a G4 DNA resolvase, in spermatogenesis with a germ-cell-specific knockout mouse model. The results showed that the ablation of RHAU in germ cells caused the increase of G4 structures and thus resulted in the decrease of spermatogonial differentiation. c-kit, a spermatogonia differentiation-related gene, contains two G4 DNA motifs on its promoter. We found its expression was significantly downregulated in RHAU conditional knockout testis. A further analysis demonstrated that RHAU directly bound to the G4 structures to activate c-kit expression. We concluded that RHAU regulates spermatogonia differentiation by promoting c-kit expression via directly binding to the G4 DNA motifs c-kit promoter. Show less

Human papillomavirus (HPV) integration is a key genetic event in cervical carcinogenesis. By conducting whole-genome sequencing and high-throughput viral integration detection, we identified 3,667 HPV integration breakpoints in 26 cervical intraepithelial neoplasias, 104 cervical carcinomas and five cell lines. Beyond recalculating frequencies for the previously reported frequent integration sites POU5F1B (9.7%), FHIT (8.7%), KLF12 (7.8%), KLF5 (6.8%), LRP1B (5.8%) and LEPREL1 (4.9%), we discovered new hot spots HMGA2 (7.8%), DLG2 (4.9%) and SEMA3D (4.9%). Protein expression from FHIT and LRP1B was downregulated when HPV integrated in their introns. Protein expression from MYC and HMGA2 was elevated when HPV integrated into flanking regions. Moreover, microhomologous sequence between the human and HPV genomes was significantly enriched near integration breakpoints, indicating that fusion between viral and human DNA may have occurred by microhomology-mediated DNA repair pathways. Our data provide insights into HPV integration-driven cervical carcinogenesis. Show less

Copper is an essential element for human growth and development; however, excessive intake of copper could contribute to neurotoxicity. Here we show that chronic exposure to copper in drinking water impaired spatial memory with simultaneous selective loss of hippocampal pre-synaptic protein synapsin 1, and post-synaptic density protein (PSD)-93/95 in mice. Copper exposure was shown to elevate the levels of nitrotyrosine and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in hippocampus, two markers of oxidative stress. Concurrently, we also found that copper exposure activated double stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) as evidenced by increased ratio of phosphorylated PKR at Thr451 and total PKR and increased the phosphorylation of its downstream signaling molecule eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) at Ser51 in hippocampus. Consistent with activation of PKR/eIF2α signaling pathway which was shown to mediate synaptic deficit and cognitive impairment, the levels of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF-4), a downstream signaling molecule of eIF2α and a repressor of CREB-mediated gene expression, were significantly increased, while the activity of cAMP response elements binding protein (CREB) was inactivated as suggested by decreased phosphorylation of CREB at Ser133 by copper exposure. In addition, the expression of the pro-apoptotic target molecule C/EBP homology protein (CHOP) of ATF-4 was upregulated and hippocampal neuronal apoptosis was induced by copper exposure. Taken together, we propose that chronic copper exposure might cause spatial memory impairment, selective loss of synaptic proteins, and neuronal apoptosis through the mechanisms involving activation of PKR/eIF2α signaling pathway. Show less

There is great interest in the relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids and health. Yet, the combinatory effect of factors such as sex, ethnicity, genetic polymorphisms and hormonal contraceptives (HC) on the concentrations of these fatty acids is unknown. Therefore, we sought to determine the effects of FADS polymorphisms, and HC use in females, on aggregate desaturase indices (ADI), and plasma docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in Caucasian and East Asian males and females. Fasting plasma samples were collected from subjects (Caucasian males: 113 and females: 298; East Asian males: 98 and females: 277) from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study. Fatty acid concentrations were measured by gas chromatography. ADI were estimated by dividing concentrations of arachidonic acid by linoleic acid (n-6 ADI) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by α-linolenic acid (n-3 ADI). [DHA/EPA] desaturase index was used to determine effects of FADS2 polymorphisms and HC use on EPA conversion to DHA. In Caucasians, associations between n-6 ADI and multiple SNP (FADS1 rs174547, FADS2 rs174576, and rs174611 in males; FADS1 rs174547, FADS2 rs174570, rs174576, rs174679, rs174611, rs174593, rs174626, rs2072114, rs2845573, and rs2851682 in females) withstood multiple testing. In East Asian females, 5 SNP-n-6 ADI associations (FADS2 rs174602, rs174626, rs2072114, rs2845573, and rs2851682) withstood multiple testing. One FADS2 SNP was associated with altered [DHA/EPA] desaturase index in Caucasian females only (rs174576, p < 0.0001). HC use had a significant effect on DHA concentrations in Caucasian females only (P < 0.0001). We demonstrate ethnic- and sex-specific effects of FADS polymorphisms on desaturase indices, and ethnic-specific effect of HC use on plasma DHA concentrations. Show less

Previous studies suggested that dietary fatty acids could affect blood lipids by interacting with genetic variations in fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1). However, little is known about their direct effects on coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether dietary n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs)-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could modulate the effect of FADS1 rs174547 polymorphism on CAD. FADS1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs174547 genotypes were measured in 440 CAD patients and 838 healthy controls. Dietary EPA and DHA intakes were assessed with a validated quantitative frequency food questionnaire. The association between FADS1 rs174547 and CAD was estimated using logistic regression under both dominant and additive genetic models. The interactions between rs174547 polymorphism and LCPUFAs were analyzed by using multiple logistic regression and the "genotype × n-3 LCPUFAs" interaction term was included into the model. We found that the minor T allele of FADS1 rs174547 increased CAD risk (OR = 1.36, 95%CIs 1.03-1.80), and observed significant interaction between rs174547 and dietary EPA intakes on CAD (P-interaction = 0.028). The T-allele was only associated with higher CAD risk among individuals with lower dietary EPA intakes, but not in those with higher EPA intakes. Similarly, significant interaction was also observed between rs174547 and dietary DHA intakes on CAD (P-interaction = 0.020). Dietary n-3 LCPUFA intakes could modulate the association between FADS1 rs174547 polymorphism and CAD. High dietary n-3 LCPUFA intakes could negate the unfavorable effect of genetic variation in FADS1 on CAD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. Show less

Tissue concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce cardiovascular disease risk, and genetic variants are associated with circulating fatty acids concentrations. Whether dietary fatty acids interact with genetic variants to modify circulating omega-3 fatty acids is unclear. We evaluated interactions between genetic variants and fatty acid intakes for circulating alpha-linoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and docosapentaenoic acid. We conducted meta-analyses (N = 11 668) evaluating interactions between dietary fatty acids and genetic variants (rs174538 and rs174548 in FADS1 (fatty acid desaturase 1), rs7435 in AGPAT3 (1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate), rs4985167 in PDXDC1 (pyridoxal-dependent decarboxylase domain-containing 1), rs780094 in GCKR (glucokinase regulatory protein), and rs3734398 in ELOVL2 (fatty acid elongase 2)). Stratification by measurement compartment (plasma versus erthyrocyte) revealed compartment-specific interactions between FADS1 rs174538 and rs174548 and dietary alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid for docosahexaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid. Our findings reinforce earlier reports that genetically based differences in circulating fatty acids may be partially due to differences in the conversion of fatty acid precursors. Further, fatty acids measurement compartment may modify gene-diet relationships, and considering compartment may improve the detection of gene-fatty acids interactions for circulating fatty acid outcomes. Show less

In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic gene expression and fatty acid (FA) composition have been reported independently, but a comprehensive gene expression profiling in relation to FA composition is lacking. The aim was to assess this relationship. In a cross-sectional study, hepatic gene expression (Illumina Microarray) was first compared among 20 patients with simple steatosis (SS), 19 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and 24 healthy controls. The FA composition in hepatic total lipids was compared between SS and NASH, and associations between gene expression and FAs were examined. Gene expression differed mainly between healthy controls and patients (SS and NASH), including genes related to unsaturated FA metabolism. Twenty-two genes were differentially expressed between NASH and SS; most of them correlated with disease severity and related more to cancer progression than to lipid metabolism. Biologically active long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs; eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid) in hepatic total lipids were lower in NASH than in SS. This may be related to overexpression of FADS1, FADS2, and PNPLA3. The degree and direction of correlations between PUFAs and gene expression were different among SS and NASH, which may suggest that low PUFA content in NASH modulates gene expression in a different way compared with SS or, alternatively, that gene expression influences PUFA content differently depending on disease severity (SS versus NASH). Well-defined subjects with either healthy liver, SS, or NASH showed distinct hepatic gene expression profiles including genes involved in unsaturated FA metabolism. In patients with NASH, hepatic PUFAs were lower and associations with gene expression were different compared to SS. Show less

In the present study, we demonstrate that prolonged treatment by trastuzumab induced resistance of NCI-N87 gastric cancer cells to trastuzumab. The resistant cells possessed typical characteristics of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)/cancer stem cells and acquired more invasive and metastatic potentials both in vitro and in vivo. Long term treatment with trastuzumab dramatically inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt, but triggered the activation of STAT3. The level of IL-6 was remarkably increased, implicating that the release of IL-6 that drives the STAT3 activation initiates the survival signaling transition. Furthermore, the Notch activities were significantly enhanced in the resistant cells, companied by upregulation of the Notch ligand Jagged-1 and the Notch responsive genes Hey1 and Hey2. Inhibiting the endogenous Notch pathway reduced the IL-6 expression and restored the sensitivities of the resistant cells to trastuzumab. Blocking of the STAT3 signaling abrogated IL-6-induced Jagged-1 expression, effectively inhibited the growth of the trastuzumab resistant cells, and enhanced the anti-tumor activities of trastuzumab in the resistant cells. These findings implicate that the IL-6/STAT3/Jagged-1/Notch axis may be a useful target and that combination of the Notch or STAT3 inhibitors with trastuzumab may prevent or delay clinical resistance and improve the efficacy of trastuzumab in gastric cancer. Show less

Schizophrenia is a heritable, heterogeneous common psychiatric disorder. In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that de novo variants (DNVs) contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We performed exome sequencing in Chinese patients (N = 45) with schizophrenia and their unaffected parents (N = 90). Forty genes were found to contain DNVs. These genes had enriched transcriptional co-expression profile in prenatal frontal cortex (Bonferroni corrected p < 9.1 × 10(-3)), and in prenatal temporal and parietal regions (Bonferroni corrected p < 0.03). Also, four prenatal anatomical subregions (VCF, MFC, OFC and ITC) have shown significant enrichment of connectedness in co-expression networks. Moreover, four genes (LRP1, MACF1, DICER1 and ABCA2) harboring the damaging de novo mutations are strongly prioritized as susceptibility genes by multiple evidences. Our findings in Chinese schizophrenic patients indicate the pathogenic role of DNVs, supporting the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disease. Show less