Ectopic expression of BrIQD35 promotes drought stress tolerance in Nicotiana benthamiana

The plant IQD gene family is responsive to a variety of stresses. In this study, we studied the structural features and functions of the gene BrIQD35 in Chinese cabbage, a member of the IQD gene family. BrIQD35 was cloned and shown to contain an IQ motif. Transient expression of BrIQD35 indicated that it was localized on the plasma membrane and was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress in Chinese cabbage. To further identify the function of BrIQD35, it was heterologously overexpressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Although there was no significant difference between BrIQD35-overexpressed and wild-type (WT) plants under salt stress, WT N. benthamiana showed more wilting than the BrIQD35-overexpressed plants under drought stress. Since the IQ motif has been annotated as a CaM binding site, yeast two-hybrid assays were used to explore the interaction between BrIQD35 and CaM. The results indicated that BrIQD35 interacts weakly with CaMb, but not with CaMa, suggesting that BrIQD35 may function through the Ca2+ -CaMb pathway. The findings reveal a novel gene involved in drought tolerance, which is important for plant breeding and quality improvement for Chinese cabbage.

Susceptibility-weighted imaging cannot distinguish radionecrosis from recurrence in brain metastases after radiotherapy: a comparison with high-grade gliomas

AIM

To explore the efficiency of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in the differential diagnosis of recurrence from radionecrosis in brain metastases (BM) and in high-grade gliomas (HGG).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From September 2016 to November 2018, 56 patients with BM and 42 patients with HGG were included in this retrospective study. BM and HGG were assigned to the recurrence and radionecrosis groups according to their histopathology or follow-up results. The proportion of dark signal intensity (proDSI), which was defined as the area of dark signal on SWI or the enhancing area on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), was calculated for each patient. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's honestly significant difference test was used for the repeat multiple comparisons. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to validate the diagnostic performance.

RESULTS

For HGG, the proDSI in the recurrence group was significantly lower than that in the radionecrosis group (0.13 ± 0.05 versus 0.43 ± 0.11, p<0.001); however, for BM, no statistical difference was found between groups (0.49 ± 0.09 versus 0.46 ± 0.08, p=0.26). proDSI had the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.98; sensitivity = 0.87; specificity = 0.88) for HGG, when a cut-off value of 0.21 was selected.

CONCLUSIONS

Semi-quantitative analysis using SWI is feasible for the differential diagnosis between recurrence and radionecrosis in HGG, but is not feasible in BM. Semi-quantitative assessment based on SWI should interpreted with caution in BM after radiotherapy in clinical practice.

[Analysis of 2 diagnostic criteria of echocardiography for coronary artery aneurysm in Kawasaki disease]

Objective: To analyze the difference between Z score and previous criteria in the diagnosis characteristics of coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) in Kawasaki disease, and to investigate the clinical distribution of Kawasaki disease CAA in the Z score group. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical and echocardiographic data of 2 419 children with Kawasaki disease in Shenzhen Children's Hospital from January 2009 to December 2019. The traditional criteria and Z score criteria were used to diagnose CAA, and the differences of diagnostic efficiency between the 2 diagnostic methods were analyzed. The clinical distribution characteristics of CAA in children with Kawasaki disease were analyzed by grouping their sex, clinical classification (complete Kawasaki disease, incomplete Kawasaki disease) the sensitivity to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (IVIG-sensitive Kawasaki disease,IVIG-unresponsive Kawasaki disease). And the course of the disease (≤6 weeks, >6-8 weeks, >8 weeks to 6 months) etc. The χ² test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used for comparison between the groups, and the Kappa test was used for consistency evaluation. Results: Among the 2 419 children with Kawasaki disease, 1 558 were males and 861 were females. The age of onset was 1.8 (1.0, 3.2) years. The rate of CAA by Z score criteria was higher than that by traditional method (21.9% (529/2 419) vs. 13.9% (336/2 419), χ²=1 074.94, P<0.001). Compared to the traditional method, the Z score criteria found higher rate of CAA in male patients, patients with incomplete Kawasaki disease, and IVIG-unresponsive patients (25.2% (392/1 558) vs. 16.0% (249/1 558), (32.7% (166/507) vs. 19.5% (99/507), 30.5% (95/312) vs. 24.0% (75/312), χ²=694.05, 216.19, 184.37, all P<0.001). The Z score criteria was consistent with the traditional method in diagnosing CAA (κ=0.642,P<0.001). Moreover, in the Z score criteria, the rate of CAA in males (25.2%, 392/1 558) was higher than that in females (15.9%, 137/861), higher in incomplete Kawasaki cases (32.7%, 166/507) than that in complete Kawasaki case (19.0%, 363/1 912), and higher in IVIG-unresponsive cases (30.4%, 95/312) than that in IVIG-sensitive cases (20.6%, 434/2 107), with statistically significant differences (χ²=27.76, 44.38, 15.43, all P<0.001). Coronary Z score of course ≤ 6 weeks was greater than that of course between>6-8 weeks and >8 weeks to 6 months (1.3 (0.7, 2.3) vs. 0.7 (0.3, 1.4), 0.7 (0.3, 1.3), Z=20.65, 13.70, both P<0.001). Conclusions: The rate of CAA in Kawasaki disease by Z score criteria is higher than that by traditional method. In the Z score group, most CAA occur within 6 weeks of the course of the disease, and the rate of CAA in male, incomplete Kawasaki disease, and IVIG-unresponsive is higher.

[Research advances on application of botulinum toxin type A in scar prevention and treatment]

The wound healing time, tension of wound edge, proliferation of fibroblast, and extracellular matrix deposition are the important factors of scar formation, and botulinum toxin type A can regulate the above. Prevention and treatment of scar with botulinum toxin type A is one of the hot topics of clinical research in recent years. This paper briefly reviews researches by scholars at home and abroad on the mechanism, clinical application, complications, and adverse effects of botulinum toxin type A in scar prevention and treatment.

[Evaluation of the perioperative period and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive LTE and minimally invasive CTLE esophagectomy for stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ cervical esophageal carcinoma based on propensity score matching analysis]

Objective: To evaluate the perioperative period and long-term effects of minimally invasive gasless laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy (LTE) and minimally invasive combined thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy (CTLE) for stageⅠ-Ⅲ cervical esophageal cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 158 consecutive patients with cervical esophageal cancer stageⅠto Ⅲ who underwent minimally invasive CTLE or LTE esophagectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital from January 2008 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 40 pairs of cases were matched (40 cases of CTLE and 40 cases of LTE surgery) after using the propensity score matching analysis which aimed to balance the influence of confounding factors between groups, including 43 males and 37 females, aged 51 to 81 (62.5±7.0) years old. The perioperative variables and long-term outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results: The operation time ((148.0±31.3) min vs (201.3±48.3) min), intraoperative blood loss ((192.6±77.9) ml vs (387.8±112.4) ml), ICU monitoring time (0 day vs 1 day), and the complication rates of postoperative pneumonia (0 vs 15%) and arrhythmia (2.5% vs 20%) were lower in the LTE group than that of in the CTLE group(all P<0.05). The number of lymph node dissections in the CTLE group was higher than that of in the LTE group (21.2±6.1 vs 12.9±4.3, P<0.001). The 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate in the LTE group (OS: 53.53% and 34.27%, DFS: 43.62% and 24.89%, respectively) and the CTLE group (OS: 59.48% and 37.29%, DFS: 49.12% and 28.82%, respectively) had no statistical differences (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The LTE group has advantages in reducing operation time, intraoperative bleeding, ICU monitoring time, postoperative incidence of pneumonia and arrhythmia, and its long-term prognosis is comparable to that of the CTLE group.

TREATMENT OF SECONDARY LOWER LIMB LYMPHEDEMA AFTER GYNECOLOGIC CANCER WITH COMPLEX DECONGESTIVE THERAPY

Secondary lower extremity lymphedema is a common complication of treatment for gynecological cancers. Conservative therapy plays an important role in the treatment of patients with secondary lower extremity lymphedema; in particular, complex decongestive therapy (CDT) has been recognized as an effective nonoperative technique for these patients. But CDT therapy for secondary lower extremity lymphedema remains a problem in China because this technique and its effectiveness have not achieved widespread use and popularity. Our goal was to assess effects of CDT in patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema after treatment for gynecological cancers. The retrospective study consisted of 60 patients who were treated with 20 sessions of CDT. Assessments included objective changes in limb circumference, degree of LE, imaging features, and incidence of erysipelas before and after CDT treatment. We found that CDT can effectively improve lymph stasis and promote backflow, and decrease circumference, interstitial fluid content, and incidence of erysipelas of lymphedematous lower limb. Our results demonstrate that CDT is an effective treatment method for patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema following treatment for gynecologic cancers. This technique should be more widely utilized and popularized in China to improve the quality of life of millions of patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema.

A high precision phase measurement system implemented in FPGA with phase interpolator

High precision timing distribution is crucial to many large scale cosmology and particle physics experiments. Besides the space and energy information, the accurate timing provides an extra dimension for physics event reconstruction. In the timing distribution system, accurate clock phase measurement is an indispensable tool to monitor the phase drift and to achieve accurate phase adjustment. This paper introduces a novel phase measurement method implemented in the Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). It uses the dedicated phase interpolator in the multi-gigabit transceiver. A design based on this method is implemented within the Kintex Ultrascale series FPGA. The preliminary test result shows that a sub-picosecond level precision is achieved. With this system, the nonlinearity of the phase adjustment in the Xilinx transceiver is measured.

[Association between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio and metabolic syndrome based on community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city]

Objective: To analyze the association between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio (SUA/Cr) and metabolic syndrome among community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city. Methods: Participants were from the prospective cohort study of chronic diseases in natural populations in South China conducted in Chashan town, Dongguan city from 2018 to 2019. A total of 11 334 participants with complete data were included by using convenient sampling method. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle and health status were collected through questionnaire and physical examination. The venous blood of the subjects was collected to detect the levels of serum uric acid, creatinine and blood lipid. All participants were divided into four groups (Q1-Q4) according to the quartile of SUA/Cr level. The relationship between SUA/Cr and metabolic syndrome and its components (abdominal obesity, high triglyceride, low level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension and abnormal glucose metabolism) were analyzed by using logistic regression model. Results: The mean age of 11 334 participants was (49.52±10.02) years. Male participants accounted for 44.2% (5 015/11 334). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 31.2% (3 532/11 334), and the level of SUA/Cr was 5.17±1.53. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in group Q1-Q4 was 22.3% (631/2 834), 26.5% (752/2 833), 34.9% (988/2 833) and 41.0% (1 161/2 834), respectively. After adjusting for relevant confounding factors, the result of logistic regression model showed that compared with group Q1, the risk of metabolic syndrome in group Q2-Q4 was significantly higher, with OR (95%CI) values about 1.41 (1.23-1.60), 2.19 (1.93-2.49) and 3.01 (2.65-3.42) respectively. The risk of each component of metabolic syndrome in group Q2-Q4 was higher (P_trend<0.001). The SUA/Cr level of participants with normal uric acid level was significantly positively correlated with metabolic syndrome. The risk of metabolic syndrome increased with the increase of SUA/Cr level, but there was the same trend without significant differences in patients with hyperuricemia (P_interaction=0.008). Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between SUA/Cr level and the risk of metabolic syndrome among community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city.

Prevalence, Drug Resistance, and Virulence Genes of Potential Pathogenic Bacteria in Pasteurized Milk of Chinese Fresh Milk Bar

Fresh Milk Bar (FMB), an emerging dairy retail franchise, is used to instantly produce and sell pasteurized milk and other dairy products in China. However, the quality and safety of pasteurized milk in FMB have received little attention. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence genes of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus in 205 pasteurized milk samples collected from FMBs in China. Four (2.0%) isolates of E. coli, seven (3.4%) isolates of S. aureus, and three (1.5%) isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae were isolated and identified. The E. coli isolates were resistant to amikacin (100%), streptomycin (50%), and tetracycline (50%). Their detected resistance genes include aac(3)-III (75%), blaTEM (25%), aadA (25%), aac(3)-II (25%), catI (25%), and qnrB (25%). The S. aureus isolates were mainly resistant to penicillin G (71.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (71.4%), kanamycin (57.1%), gentamicin (57.1%), amikacin (57.1%), and clindamycin (57.1%). blaZ (42.9%), mecA (28.6%), ermB (14.3%), and ermC (14.3%) were detected as their resistance genes. The Streptococcus strains were mainly resistant to tetracycline (66.7%) and contained the resistance genes pbp2b (33.3%) and tetM (33.3%). The virulence genes eae and stx2 were only found in one E. coli strain (25%), sec was detected in two S. aureus strains (28.6%), and bca was detected in one S. agalactiae strain (33.3%). The results of this study indicate that bacteria with drug resistance and virulence genes isolated from the pasteurized milk of FMB are a potential risk to consumers' health.

[Application effects of free transplantation of autologous omentum in treating maxillofacial infection complicated with complex sinus tract]

Objective: To investigate the application effects of free transplantation of autologous omentum in treating maxillofacial infection complicated with complex sinus tract. Methods: The retrospective observational study method was used. Four patients with maxillofacial infection complicated with complex sinus tract were admitted to Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from July 2017 to the December 2019, including 3 males and 1 female aged 36-60 years. Preoperative facial computed tomography (CT) was performed on patients for calculating the volume of sinus tract. During the operation, the sinus tract was thoroughly debrided, and the volume of the tissue defect was about 5 cm×3 cm×2 cm-10 cm×5 cm×3 cm after debridement. The tissue defect area was filled with omentum of 100-300 mL which was cut under laparoscopy. The artery and vein on the right side of the omentum were reserved as the vascular pedicle of the donor area, which were anastomosed with the facial artery and external jugular vein of the recipient area. The survival of omentum, and the occurrences of reinfection and complication were observed after operation, respectively. On the 10th day and in 1 month after the operation, the blood supply of omentum was examined by colored Doppler ultrasound and CT angiography, and the filling of tissue defect area was examined by head and face CT. During follow-up after the operation, the recoveries of face appearance and function and scar hyperplasia in the donor area. Results: The transplanted omentums in 4 patients survived after the operation with no reinfection and complication. On the 10th day and in 1 month after the operation, the transplanted omentums had good blood supply, and the filled area with omentum was in good shape, without formation of dead cavity. During follow-up of 6-10 months after surgery, the appearance and function of face recovered well, and there was no obvious scar hyperplasia in the donor area. Conclusions: After free transplantation of omentum in treating maxillofacial infection with complex sinus tract, the patients have good facial appearance and function, and the application of laparoscopy results in little damage to the patients and quick postoperative recovery.

[Explorative study of the immobilizing effect of full-thickness skin subcutaneous grafting on allogeneic full-thickness skin graft in rats]

Objective: To investigate the immobilizing effect of full-thickness skin subcutaneous grafting on allogeneic full-thickness skin graft in rats. Methods: The experimental research method was used. The inbred male Brown-Norway rats (n=10) and Lewis rats (n=10) were used as donors and recipients respectively. After subcutaneously full-thickness separation of a 2.2 cm×2.2 cm area on the nape of the recipient rat, a full-thickness skin of 2.0 cm×2.0 cm taken from the abdomen of the donor rat was subcutaneously grafted, and the donor site was pulled together and sutured. The autologous skin over the allograft in the recipient rat was excised 5-6 d after grafting, and the stitches were removed 7 d after excision. Within 2 months after grafting, the feeding, activity, and survival of the donor and recipient rats, behavior of tearing and scratching the wounds of the recipient rats, the wound condition after autologous skin excision in recipient rats, and the survival and hair growth of the grafted allogeneic skin were observed. Results: Within 2 months after grafting, the donor and recipient rats all ate normally and could move freely with no abnormal death. No tearing or scratching of the wounds occurred in recipient rats. There was a small amount of exudation and partial epidermal desquamation after autologous skin excision in recipient rats. All transplanted allografts survived, which were free of infection and necrosis, with new hairs growing out smoothly. Conclusions: The immobilizing method of full-thickness skin subcutaneous grafting of allogeneic full-thickness skin graft in rats is simple and time-saving without postoperative dressing change, with reliable pressure fixation and high survival rate of skin grafts, which can be promoted for animal skin grafting models.

[Establishment and validation of a clinical prediction model for infection risk at the placement sites of skin and soft tissue expanders]

Objective: To establish a clinical prediction model for infection risk at the placement sites of skin and soft tissue expanders (hereinafter termed as expanders) and to validate the predictive value of the model. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted. Totally 2 934 patients who underwent skin and soft tissue dilatation surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from January 2009 to December 2018 and met the selection criteria were included. There were 1 867 males and 1 067 females, with a median age of 18 years. Totally 3 053 skin and soft tissue expansion procedures were performed with 4 266 expanders implanted. The following indexes were selected as predictor variables, including patients' age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, hospital admission, surgical indication, disease duration, with/without history of smoking, history of drinking, history of blood transfusion, history of underlying diseases, and inability to use cephalosporin antibiotics due to allergy, number of expander in a single placement, rated volume of expander, water injection rate of expander in the first time, placement site of expander, anesthesia method, duration of operation, and with/without postoperative hematoma evacuation, and infection at the placement site of expander as the outcome variable. Univariate analysis of the data was performed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to screen the potential risk factors affecting infection at the placement sites of expanders, the factors selected by the univariate analysis were subjected to binary multivariate logistic regression analysis to screen the independent risk factors affecting infection at the placement sites of expanders, and a nomogram prediction model for the occurrence of infection at the placement sites of expanders was established. The C index and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test were used to evaluate the discrimination and accuracy of the model, respectively, and the bootstrap resampling was used for internal verification. Results: The results of LASSO regression showed that age, gender, hospital admission, surgical indication, disease duration, history of drinking, history of heart disease, history of viral hepatitis, history of hypertension, inability to use cephalosporin antibiotics due to allergy, number of expander in a single placement, rated volume of expander, placement site of expander, postoperative hematoma evacuation were the potential risk factors for infection at the placement sites of expanders (regression coefficient=-0.005, 0.170, 0.999, 0.054, 0.510, -0.003, 0.395, -0.218, 0.029, 0.848, -0.116, 0.175, 0.085, 0.202). Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male, emergency admission, disease duration ≤1 year, inability to use cephalosporin antibiotics due to allergy, rated volumes of expanders ≥200 mL and <400 mL or ≥400 mL, and expanders placed in the trunk or the limbs were the independent risks factors for infection at the placement sites of expanders (odds ratio=1.37, 3.21, 2.00, 2.47, 1.70, 1.73, 1.67, 2.16, 95% confidence interval=1.04-1.82, 1.09-8.34, 1.38-2.86, 1.29-4.41, 1.07-2.73, 1.02-2.94, 1.09-2.58, 1.07-4.10, P<0.05 or P<0.01). The C index for evaluating the discriminative degree of the model was 0.63, the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test for evaluating the accuracy of the model showed P=0.685, and the C index for internal validation by the bootstrap resampling was 0.60. Conclusions: Male, emergency admission, disease duration ≤1 year, inability to use cephalosporin antibiotics due to allergy, rated volume of expander ≥200 mL, and expanders placed in the trunk or the limbs are the independent risk factors for infection at the placement sites of expanders. The clinical prediction model for infection risk at the placement sites of expanders was successfully established based on these factors and showed a certain predictive effect.

Distribution and variation in proteins of casein micellar fractions response to heat-treatment from five dairy species

Casein micelles (CMs) contribute to the physicochemical properties and stability of milk. However, how the proteome of CMs changes following heat treatment has not been elucidated. Here, changes in the proteins of CMs in samples of Holstein, buffalo, yak, goat, and camel milk following heat treatment were investigated using a LC-MS/MS approach. According to the hierarchical clustering results, Holstein, yak, and buffalo milk samples had similar CMs protein components, followed by goat and camel milk samples. Changes in lipoprotein lipase and α-lactalbumin in CMs were dependent on the intensity of heat treatment and were similar among the studied species, whereas changes in κ-casein, lactoferrin, and apolipoprotein A-I differed among different types of milk. These results provide information on the distribution and variations of the proteomes of CMs following heat treatment, which will assist in the identification of proteins that are dissociated and attached to CMs from different dairy species during heat treatment.

Mutations of the c-Kit and PDGFRA gene in gastrointestinal stromal tumors among hakka population of Southern China

Aims

The aim of the present study was to investigate mutation status of the cKit and PDGFRA genes in patients with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).

Methods

In total, 96 patients with a GIST were included in the study, in which polymerase chain reaction amplification and gene sequencing were used to detect the sequences of exons 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, and 18 in KIT and exons 12, 14, and 18 in PDGFRA.

Results

KIT mutations were detected in 65 cases (67.71%), of which 81.54% (53/65) were located on exon 11, 12.31% (8/65) were located on exon 9, 4.61% (3/65) were located on exon 17, which included a concomitant mutation of exon 9 and 11, and 4.08% (2/65) were located on exon 13, which included a concomitant mutation on exon 11. The most common mutation in exon 11 was deletion, which accounted for 77.36% (41/53) of the cases, followed by a point mutation observed in 22.64% (12/53) of the cases. Among the 31 GIST cases without a KIT mutation, a mutation in PDGFRA was detected in 5 cases (5.21%, 5/96; 16.13%, 5/31). With respect to gender, age, tumor max diameter, tumor position, and mitotic index, there were no significant differences between KIT/PDGFRA mutations and non-mutations.

Conclusions

GIST mainly occurs in the stomach, and the cytological morphology is mainly spindle cells, and the mutations mainly occur in KIT genes. We need a large sample size to analyze the regularity of GIST gene mutations in Hakka population and understand the independent prognostic correlation of all KIT/PDGFRA genotypes.

Up-regulated ONECUT2 and down-regulated SST promote gastric cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor growth in gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy, with high metastasis and poor prognosis. Our purpose was to explore potential molecular mechanisms of gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 10 pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal gastric tissues were collected for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), followed by differential expression analysis. Combining qRT-PCR results, two novel genes were selected for in-depth analysis, including up-regulated ONECUT and down-regulated SST. To investigate the effects of ONECUT and SST on the biological behaviors of gastric cancer cells, gastric cancer cell lines were transfected by ONECUT2 knockdown and SST overexpression. Afterwards, cell migration and invasion were examined using transwell assays, and the expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins were measured by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. Finally, tumorigenicity in nude mice was performed.

RESULTS

Gastric cancer cell migration and invasion were inhibited in BGC823 cells transfected by shONECUT2. Similar results were observed in SST overexpression in MGC803 cells. Silencing ONECUT2 or overexpressing SST reduced the expressions of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin and vimentin), STAT3, fibronectin, Wnt2, β-catenin and increased epithelial marker (E-cadherin), p-STAT3, smad2/3, α-catenin protein levels. In addition, inhibiting ONECUT2 or elevated SST suppressed tumor cell viability in vitro. Moreover, ONECUT2 silencing or elevated SST significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Up-regulated ONECUT2 and down-regulated SST promote gastric cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor growth in gastric cancer.