miRNA-145/miRNA-205 inhibits proliferation and invasion of uveal melanoma cells by targeting NPR1/CDC42

AIM:To investigate the role of microRNA-145(miRNA-145)and microRNA-205(miRNA-205)in proliferation and invasion of uveal melanoma(UM)cells.METHODS:The expression level of miRNA-145 and miR NA-205 from samples of UM patients were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The growth and invasion inhibitory effects were observed by the transfection of UM cells with miRNA-145 and miRNA-205.Several epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EMT)-related proteins were screened by Western blotting.UM clinical samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)were applied to search for potential protein interaction.Pearson’s correlation analysis was applied to estimate co-expression between genes.Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the binding sites on target protein for miRNA-145 and miRNA-205.RESULTS:The expression levels of miRNA-145 and miRNA-205 in the samples from patients with UM were significantly lower than those in the normal tissue samples.Significant growth and invasion inhibitory effects were observed in human UM cells with miRNA-145 and miR NA-205 overexpression.The miRNA-145 and miRNA-205 could decrease the expression level of cell division control protein 42(CDC42).After database searching and sequence alignment,we identified that Neuropilin 1(NRP1)had binding sites for both miRNA-145 and miRNA-205.CONCLUSION:The miRNA-145 and miRNA-205 can reduce the proliferation,migration and invasion of UM cells by targeting the mRNA of its upstream protein NRP1 to down-regulate the expression level of CDC42.

Therapeutic effect of autologous concentrated growth factor on lower-extremity chronic refractory wounds:A case report

BACKGROUND Management of chronic refractory wounds is one of the toughest clinical challenges for surgeons.Because of poor blood supply,less tissue coverage,and easy exposure,the lower leg is a common site for chronic refractory wounds.The current therapeutic regimens often lead to prolonged hospital stay and higher healthcare costs.Concentrated growth factor(CGF)is a novel blood extract that contains various growth factors,platelets,and fibrins to promote wound healing process.However,there has been little research reported on the treatment of lower extremity wounds with CGF.CASE SUMMARY A 37-year-old man,without any past medical history,presented an ulcerated chronic wound on his right lower leg.The skin defect exhibited clear boundaries,with a size of 2.0 cm×3.5 cm.The depth of wound was up to the layer of deep fascia.Staphylococcus aureus was detected by bacterial culture.The final diagnosis was right lower extremity ulcers with infection.Cefathiamidine,silver sulfadiazine,and mupirocin cream were applied to control the infection.CGF gel was prepared from the patient’s blood sample,and was used to cover the wound after thorough debridement.The skin wound was successfully healed after three times of CGF treatment.CONCLUSION CGF displays an excellent wound healing promoting effect in patients with lowerextremity chronic refractory wounds.

Elevated VEGF-A & PLGF concentration in aqueous humor of patients with uveal melanoma following Iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy

AIM: To measure the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor-A(VEGF-A), and placental growth factor(PLGF) in aqueous humor of uveal melanoma patients before and after Iodine-125 plaque therapy(IPT), determine the postoperative fluctuation and evaluate associated factors in vivo.METHODS: Participants were 18 Chinese patients with uveal melanoma who were elected to IPT. Undiluted aqueous humor samples were collected at Iodine plaque implant and removal time, then stored immediately at-80℃ until assayed. The concentration of VEGF-A, PLGF and other 7 cytokines comprising interleukin-2(IL-2), IL-8, IL-10, interferon(IFN)-γ, programmed death(PD)-1, transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1 and insulin-like growth factor(IGF)-1 in aqueous humor was measured using Raybiotech immunoassay kit, a high throughput strategy. The VEGF-A and PLGF levels were compared across preoperation and postoperation subgroups, as well as those of other 7 interleukins. Correlation and grouped analyses were conducted to determine the independent effects of clinical parameters and other cytokines on VEGF-A and PLGF concentration or fluctuation. This study set a self-control design.RESULTS: VEGF-A(P=0.038) and PLGF(P=0.026) were the only two increased cytokines after IPT. Preoperative and postoperative level of VEGF-A and PLGF(r=0.575, P=0.013;r=0.987, P<0.001) correlated with each other significantly. Level of VEGF-A(r=0.626, P=0.005;r=0.588, P=0.01) and PLGF(r=0.616, P=0.007;r=0.588, P=0.01) had positive correlation with tumor thickness consistently. Elevated VEGF-A or PLGF level were strong predictive factors of each other(P=0.007, OR=60.0). The elevated VEGF-A group showed a higher postoperative level of IFN-γ(P=0.005), IL-2(P<0.001) and IL-10(P=0.004) in aqueous humor. When the elevated PLGF group got similar results that a higher postoperative level of IFN-γ(P=0.007), IL-2(P<0.001) and IL-10(P=0.013) in aqueous humor. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that VEGF-A and PLGF in aqueous humor significantly increased with tumor thickness and radiation process in uveal melanoma patients. VEGF-A and PLGF may be crucial in uveal melanoma genesis and radiotherapy reactions. Immune mediators comprised IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 could play roles in the link between inflammation and angiogenesis in uveal melanoma when exposed to radiotherapy.

Distribution pattern of the snail intermediate host of schistosomiasis japonica in the Poyang Lake region of China

Background:With the closure of the Three Gorges Dam in 2003 the hydrology of Poyang Lake was altered dramatically leading to significant changes in the environment.In order to assess the impact on schistosomiasis this study assessed the spatial and temporal patterns of the snail intermediate host,Oncomelania hupensis in the Poyang Lake tributaries.The results of the study have important implications for future snail control strategies leading to disease elimination.Methods:The marshland area surrounding Poyang Lake was divided randomly into 200×200 m vector grids using ArcGIS software,and the surveyed grids were randomly selected by the software.The snail survey was conducted in each selected grid using a survey frame of 50×50 m with one sideline of each grid serving as the starting line.No less than ten frames were used in each surveyed grid with Global Positioning System(GPS)recordings for each.All snails in each frame were collected to determine infection status by microscopy.Altitude data for all frames were extracted from a lake bottom topographic map in order to analyze the average altitude.All snail survey data were collected and statistically analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software in order to determine the difference of the percentage of frames with living snails and mean density of living snails in different regions of Poyang Lake.The altitude of the snail-infested marshlands and snail dens were subsequently identified.Results:A total of 1159 potential snail sampling grids were surveyed,of which 15231 frames(0.1 m2/frame)were investigated.1241 frames had live Oncomelania snails corresponding to 8.15%of the total number of frames.The mean density of living snails was 0.463/0.1 m2 with a maximum of 57 snails per frame.The percent of frames with snails in the southern sector(8.13%)of Poyang Lake did not differ statistically from the north(8.21%).However,the mean density of live snails in the northern sector(0.164/0.1 m2)of the lake was statistically higher(F=6.727;P=0.010)than the south(0.141/0.1 m2).In the south of the lake,the elevation of snail-inhabited marshland ranged between 11-16 m,and could be further subdivided into two snail-concentrated belts at 12-13 m of elevation and 15-16 m of elevation respectively.In the north of the lake,the elevation of snail-inhabited marshland ranged between 9-16 m with the elevation of 12-14 m being the snail-concentrated zone.Conclusions:The elevation of snail-infested marshlands in the Poyang Lake region ranged from 9 to 16 m.The snail distribution and habitat has moved north of the lake and to a lower altitude due to changes in the water level post dam closure.Based on the current geological features of the snail habitant focused mollusciciding should occur in snail dense northern regions with frequent bovine and human traffic.Targeting these identified'hotspots'of transmission will assist in elimination efforts.

Flexible regulation of C3^=/C2^= ratio in methanol-to-hydrocarbons by delicate control of acidity of ZSM-5 catalyst

Avery wide range of the C3^=/C2^= ratio from 0.72 to 7.56 with high C2^= ＋ C3^= selectivity of around 66%in the methanol-to-hydrocarbons process can be realized over ZSM-5 catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor.We firstly conduct a single factor experiment of acidity,demonstrating that the acidity control of MTH catalyst is crucial to adjusting light olefins selectivity.Weak Bronsted acid sites favor to high C3^= selectivity（59.0%）due to the suppression of the conversion reactions from the alkene-based to arene-based cycle,while Lewis acid sites conduce to high C2^= selectivity（39.6%） due to the promotion of the conversion reactions for the aromatics formation and steric constraints of Lewis acid sites making the aromatics crack more efficiently to C2^=.

Machine learning models for outcome prediction of Chinese uveal melanoma patients: A 15-year follow-up study

Dear Editor Uveal melanoma(UM)is the most frequent primary malig-nant intraocular tumor in adults with an estimated inci-dence of 4-5 per million per year in western countries[1].About 50%of UM patients eventually develop metas-tasis.In a previous study,the prognosis of Chinese UM was mainly correlated with visual clinical features and gene sequencing results.Models designed to predict UM prognosis have been previously described[2],but these studies were based on Caucasians,not Chinese.

Impact of continuous low water stage on the breeding environment of Oncomelania hupensis: a case study of Poyang Lake area in China

Background Oncomelania hupensis is the only intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum and plays a decisive role in its transmission.The variation of water level greatly affects the reproduction and growth of snails.Therefore,in this paper,we analyze the variations of water level in the Poyang Lake region from 1993 to 2016 combined with satellite imagery to elucidate the evolution of the snail breeding environment.Methods By employing remote sensing data from 1993 to 2016(April–June and September–November),the vegetation area of Poyang Lake and the vegetation area at different elevations were extracted and calculated.Moreover,the average daily water level data from the four hydrological stations(Hukou station,Xingzi station,Tangyin station and Kangshan station)which represent the typical state of Poyang Lake were collected from 1993 to 2016.The variance of the monthly mean water level,inundation time and the average area were analyzed by variance to find a significance level ofα=0.05.Results According to hydrological data before and after 2003,the average water level after 2003 is significantly lower than that before 2003 in Poyang Lake.After 2003,the time of inundateing the snail breeding period was later in April to June than that before 2003,while the time of wate-falling stage in September to November moved forward after 2003 than before 2003.Of them,the lowest water level affecting the breeding and growing period of O.hupensis in the northern part of Poyang Lake decreased from 11 m to 9 m.After 2003,the expansion of meadow area in the north part of Poyang Lake was mainly concentrated in the elevation of 9–11 m,and the newly increased infested-meadow in the lake area was mainly concentrated in the north part of Poyang Lake.Conclusions By comparing the change of water level characteristics in different parts of the Poyang Lake area as well as changes in meadow area before and after 2003,it is found that the water level changes mainly affect the snail breeding area in the northern part of Poyang Lake.The results are helpful for improving scientific measures for snail control in Jiangxi Province.This approach could also be applicible to Dongting Lake area and other lake areas affected by water level changes and can bring significant guidance for snail control in lake areas.