Correlation between expression and differentiation of endocan in colorectal cancer

AIM: To investigate the expression frequency of endocan in colorectal cancer and analyze the relationship between endocan expression and clinical parameters and to study the role of endocan in colorectal carcinogenesis. METHODS: Expression of endocan in 72 tumor tissue samples of colorectal cancer as well as in 27 normal mucous membrane tissue samples was analyzed using in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray, Western blot and reverse-transcript polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The expression of endocan was higher in normal colon and rectum tissue samples than in cancerous tissue samples (mRNA = 92.6%, protein = 36%), and was lower in colorectal cancer tissue samples (mRNA = 70.4%, protein = 36.1%). No correlation was found between staining intensity and clinical parameters such as sex, age, tumor size andTNM stage. However, the expression of endocan was positively correlated with the tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: The expression of endocan is down- regulated in colorectal cancer and is positively correlated with the tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer, suggesting that the expression of endocan is associated with development and differentiation of colorectal cancer.

Upregulation of miR-345-5p suppresses cell growth of lung adenocarcinoma by regulating ras homolog family member A(RhoA)and Rho/Rho associated protein kinase(Rho/ROCK)pathway

Background:Microribose nucleic acids(miRNAs)are implicated in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.MicroRNA-345-5p(miR-345-5p)is a recently identified anti-oncogene in some human cancers,but its functional role and possible molecular mechanism in lung adenocarcinoma remain unknown.This study aimed to identify the biological function and underlying mechanism of miR-345-5p in lung adenocarcinoma cells.Methods:In this study,lung adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent tissues were collected in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between April 2016 and February 2017.The expression of miR-345-5p and ras homolog family member A(RhoA)in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines(A549,H1650,PC-9,and H441)was detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis.Functional assays including colony formation,flow cytometry analysis,wound healing,and transwell assays were performed to assess the proliferation,apoptosis,migration,and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells.In addition,RNA pulldown and luciferase reporter assays were conducted to evaluate the relationship between miR-345-5p and RhoA.Difference between the two groups was analyzed with Student’st test,while that among multiple groups was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance.Results:MiR-345-5p expression displayed lower level in lung adenocarcinoma tissues(0.241±0.095vs.1.000±0.233,t=19.247,P<0.001)and cell lines(F=56.992,P<0.001)than control tissues and cells.Functional experiments demonstrated that upregulation of miR-345-5p inhibited the malignant phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma cells via suppressing cell proliferation,migration,invasion,and facilitating cell apoptosis.Additionally,RhoA was verified to be the downstream target of miR-345-5p.Expression of RhoA was downregulated by overexpression of miR-345-5p in PC-9(0.321±0.047vs.1.000±0.127,t=8.536,P<0.001)and H1650(0.398±0.054vs.1.000±0.156,t=4.429,P=0.011)cells.Rescue assays revealed that overexpression of RhoA rescued the suppressive effects of miR-345-5p upregulation on proliferation,migration,and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells.Further,miR-345-5p was found to regulate the Rho/Rho-associated protein kinase(ROCK)signaling pathway by downregulation of RhoA in lung adenocarcinoma cells.Conclusions:MiR-345-5p plays a tumor suppressor role in lung adenocarcinoma cells by downregulating RhoA to inactivate the Rho/ROCK pathway.