Immunolocalization assessment of metastasis-associated protein I in human and mouse mature testes and its association with spermatogenesis

Aim： To investigate the stage-specific localization of metastasis-associated protein 1 （MTA1） during spermatogenesis in adult human and mouse testis. Methods： The immunolocalization of MTA1 was studied by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The distribution pattern of MTA1 in mouse testis was confirmed by using quantitative analysis of purified spermatogenic cells. Results： The specificity of polyclonal antibody was confirmed by Western blot analysis. MTA1 was found expressed in the nucleus of germ cells, except elongate spermatids, and in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells; Leydig cells did not show any specific reactivity. MTA1 possessed different distribution patterns in the two species： in humans, the most intensive staining was found in the nucleus of round spermatids and of primary spermatocytes while in mice, the most intense MTA 1 staining was in the nucleus of leptotene, zygotene and pachytene spermatocytes. In both species the staining exhibited a cyclic pattern. Conclusion： The present communication initially provides new evidence for the potential role of MTA1 in mature testis. In addition, its distinctive expression in germ cells suggests a regulatory role of the peptide during spermatogenesis.

Screening of miRNAs associated with lymph node metastasis in Her-2-positive breast cancer and their relationship with prognosis

The aim of this study was to identify some biomarkers for predicting lymph node metastasis and prognosis of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(Her-2)-positive breast cancer(BC). We analyzed correlations between micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and the prognosis of patients with BC based on data collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) database. The expression levels of mi R-455, mi R-143, and mi R-99 a were measured in clinical samples of Her-2-positive BC patients with different degrees of lymph node metastasis. We investigated the impacts of overexpressed mi R-455 on the proliferation and invasiveness of MDA-MB-453 cells and measured its effects on the expression of long non-coding RNA(lnc RNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1(MALAT1) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(q RT-PCR). The expression of mi R-455 was significantly and positively correlated to the prognosis and overall survival(OS) of the BC(P=0.028), according to TCGA information. The expression level of mi R-455 was positively correlated with OS and relapse-free survival(RFS) of patients with Her-2-positive BC, and was negatively correlated with the number of metastatic lymph nodes(P<0.05). Transwell assay suggested that MDA-MB-453 cells became much less invasive(P<0.01) after being transfected with mi R-455 mimics. During the q RT-PCR, the expression level of MALAT1 declined significantly after transfection(P<0.01). Overexpressed mi R-455 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-453 cells and the expression of MALAT1. We conclude that mi R-455 may be a useful potential biomarker for forecasting lymph node metastasis and the prognosis of Her-2-positive BC patients. mi R-455 may play an important role in lymph node metastasis of BC by interacting with MALAT1.