Blockage of ETS homologous factor inhibits the proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells through the c-Met pathway

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer(GC)is one of the most common and deadliest types of cancer worldwide due to its delayed diagnosis and high metastatic frequency,but its exact pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated.ETS homologous factor(EHF)is an important member of the ETS family and contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple malignant tumors.To date,whether EHF participates in the development of GC via the c-Met signaling pathway remains unclear.AIM To investigate the role and mechanism of EHF in the occurrence and development of GC.METHODS The expression of EHF mRNA in GC tissues and cell lines was measured by quantitative PCR.Western blotting was performed to determine the protein expression of EHF,c-Met,and its downstream signal molecules.The EHF expression in GC tissues was further detected by immunohistochemical staining.To investigate the role of EHF in GC oncogenesis,small interfering RNA(siRNA)against EHF was transfected into GC cells.The cell proliferation of GC cells was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays.Flow cytometry was performed following Annexin V/propidium iodide(PI)to identify apoptotic cells and PI staining to analyze the cell cycle.Cell migration and invasion were assessed by transwell assays.RESULTS The data showed that EHF was upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines in which increased expression of c-Met was also observed.Silencing of EHF by siRNA reduced the proliferation of GC cells.Inhibition of EHF induced significant apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in GC cells.Cell migration and invasion were significantly inhibited.EHF silencing led to c-Met downregulation and further blocked the Ras/c-Raf/extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2(Erk1/2)pathway.Additionally,phosphatase and tensin homolog was upregulated and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta was deactivated.Moreover,inactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 was detected following EHF inhibition,leading to inhibition of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EMT).CONCLUSION These results suggest that EHF plays a key role in cell proliferation,invasion,apoptosis,the cell cycle and EMT via the c-Met pathway.Therefore,EHF may serve as an antineoplastic target for the diagnosis and treatment of GC.

Possible mechanisms associated with immune escape and apoptosis on anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effect of Mu Ji Fang granules

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the most common digestive system cancers with high mortality rates worldwide.The main ingredients in Mu Ji Fang Granules(MJF)are alkaloids,flavonoids,and polysaccharides.MJF has been used in the clinical treatment of hepatitis,cirrhosis and HCC for more than 30 years.Few previous studies have focused on the mechanism of MJF on tumor immunology in the treatment of HCC.AIM To explore the mechanism of action of MJF on tumor immunology in the treatment of HCC.METHODS The absorbable ingredients of MJF were identified using Molecule Network related to High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electron Spray Ionization-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry,and hub potential anti-HCC targets were screened using network pharmacology and pathway enrichment analysis.Forty male mice were randomly divided into the Blank,Model,and MJF groups(1.8,5.4,and 10.8 g/kg/d)following 7 d of oral administration.Average body weight gain,spleen and thymus indices were calculated,tumor tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin,and Interferon gamma(IFN-γ),Tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α),Interleukin-2,aspartate aminotransferase,alanine aminotransferase,alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),Fas,and FasL were measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay.Relevant mRNA expression of Bax and Bcl2 was evaluated by Real Time Quantitative PCR(RTqPCR)and protein expression of Transforming growth factorβ1(TGF-β1)and Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog(SMAD)4 was assessed by Western blotting.The HepG2 cell line was treated with 10 mg/mL,20 mg/mL,30 mg/mL,40 mg/mL of MJF,and another 3 groups were treated with TGF-β1 inhibitor(LY364947)and different doses of MJF.Relevant mRNA expression of TNF-α,IFN-γ,Bax and Bcl2 was evaluated by RT-qPCR and protein expression of TGF-β1,SMAD2,p-SMAD2,SMAD4,and SMAD7 was assessed by Western blotting.RESULTS It was shown that MJF improved body weight gain and tumor inhibition rate in H22 tumorbearing mice,protected immune organs and liver function,reduced the HCC indicator AFP,affected immunity and apoptosis,and up-regulated the TGF-β1/SMAD signaling pathway,by increasing the relative expression of TGF-β1,SMAD2,p-SMAD2 and SMAD4 and decreasing SMAD7,reducing immune factors TNF-αand IFN-γ,decreasing apoptosis cytokines Fas,FasL and Bcl2/Bax,and inhibiting the effect of LY364947 in HepG2 cells.CONCLUSION MJF inhibits HCC by activating the TGF-β1/SMAD signaling pathway,and affecting immune and apoptotic cytokines,which may be due to MJF adjusting immune escape and apoptosis.

Electrical stimulation upregulates angiopoietin-1/Tie-2 mRNA expression in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia

Angiopoietin-1/tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin and epidermal growth factor homology domains 2 （Tie-2） is a newly discovered signaling pathway of angiogenesis. Angiogenesis benefits recovery of neurological functions such as swallowing. In the present study, a rat model of dysphagia following stroke was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion to investigate the influence of low frequency electrical stimulus with bidirectional square waves and triangular waves on angiopoietin-1/-13e-2 mRNA expression. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results showed that low frequency electrical stimulus significantly improved the neurological scores of the model rats, and increased angiopoietin-1/＇13e-2 mRNA expression. This demonstrates that low frequency electrical stimulation can ameliorate neurological function in rats with focal brain ischemia, potentially through regulation of angiopoietin-1/-13e-2 expression in the angiogenesis pathway.

Edaravone protects against oxygen-glucose-serum deprivation/restoration-induced apoptosis in spinal cord astrocytes by inhibiting integrated stress response

We previously found that oxygen-glucose-serum deprivation/restoration（OGSD/R） induces apoptosis of spinal cord astrocytes, possibly via caspase-12 and the integrated stress response, which involves protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase（PERK）, eukaryotic initiation factor 2-alpha（eIF2α） and activating transcription factor 4（ATF4）. We hypothesized that edaravone, a low molecular weight, lipophilic free radical scavenger, would reduce OGSD/R-induced apoptosis of spinal cord astrocytes. To test this, we established primary cultures of rat astrocytes, and exposed them to 8 hours/6 hours of OGSD/R with or without edaravone（0.1, 1, 10, 100 μM） treatment. We found that 100 μM of edaravone significantly suppressed astrocyte apoptosis and inhibited the release of reactive oxygen species. It also inhibited the activation of caspase-12 and caspase-3, and reduced the expression of homologous CCAAT/enhancer binding protein, phosphorylated（p）-PERK, p-eIF2α, and ATF4. These results point to a new use of an established drug in the prevention of OGSD/R-mediated spinal cord astrocyte apoptosis via the integrated stress response.

DNA End Resection:Facts and Mechanisms

DNA double-strand breaks（DSBs）,which arise following exposure to a number of endogenous and exogenous agents,can be repaired by either the homologous recombination（HR）or non-homologous end-joining（NHEJ） pathways in eukaryotic cells.A vital step in HR repair is DNA end resection,which generates a long 30single-stranded DNA（ss DNA） tail that can invade the homologous DNA strand.The generation of 30 ss DNA is not only essential for HR repair,but also promotes activation of the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein（ATR）.Multiple factors,including the MRN/X complex,C-terminal-binding protein interacting protein（Ct IP）/Sae2,exonuclease 1（EXO1）,Bloom syndrome protein（BLM）/Sgs1,DNA2 nuclease/helicase,and several chromatin remodelers,cooperate to complete the process of end resection.Here we review the basic machinery involved in DNA end resection in eukaryotic cells.

San-Cao Granule (三草颗粒) Ameliorates Hepatic Fibrosis through High Mobility Group Box-1 Protein/Smad Signaling Pathway

Objective： To investigate the possible mechanism of San-Cao Granule（SCG, 三草颗粒） mediating antiliver fibrosis. Methods： A total of 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control group, porcine serum-treated group, ursodesoxycholic acid（UDCA, 60 mg/kg）, SCG（3.6 g/kg） group, SCG（1.8 g/kg） group and SCG（0.9 g/kg） group, with 10 rats in each group. Liver fibrosis was induced with porcine serum by intraperitoneal injection for 8 weeks, except for the normal control group. Then, the rats in the three SCG-treated groups and UDCA group were administered SCG and UDCA respectively for 4 weeks. The serum levels of alanine transaminase（ALT）, aspartate transaminase（AST）, albumin（ALB）, total bilirubin（TBIL）, hyaluronic acid（HA）, laminin（LN）, and type Ⅳcollagen（ⅣC） were examined using commercial kits and hepatic histopathology was examined with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining. Moreover, the protein expression levels of high mobility group box-1 protein（HMGB1）, transforming growth factor β1（TGF-β1）, phosphorylated mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3（p-Smad3）, Smad7, toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）, myeloid differentiation factor 88（My D88）, nuclear factor-kappa B（NF-κB） and α-smooth muscle actin（α-SMA） were determined by western blot, immunohistochemistry and real time quantitativereverse transcription polymerase. Results： Both SCG（3.6 and 1.8 g/kg） and UDCA significantly ameliorated the liver fibrosis induced by porcine serum as indicated by retarding the serum levels increasing of ALT, AST, TBIL, HA, LN and ⅣC and preventing the serum level reducing of ALB compared with the model group（all P〈0.01）. Meanwhile, the collagen deposition was attenuated by SCG and UDCA treatment. Furthermore, SCG markedly reduced the expressions of HMGB1, TGF-β1, p-Smad3, TLR4, My D88, NF-κB and α-SMA, and enhanced the expression of the Smad7 compared with the model group（all P〈0.01）. Conclusion： SCG ameliorates hepatic fibrosis possibly through inhibiting HMGB1, TLR4/NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway.