IL-10 regulates the malignancy of hemangioma-derived endothelial cells via regulation of PCNA

Deep Semantic Segmentation of Angiogenesis Images

Angiogenesis is the development of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. It is a complex multifaceted process that is essential for the adequate functioning of human organisms. The investigation of angiogenesis is conducted using various methods. One of the most popular and most serviceable of these methods in vitro is the short-term culture of endothelial cells on Matrigel. However, a significant disadvantage of this method is the manual analysis of a large number of microphotographs. In this regard, it is necessary to develop a technique for automating the annotation of images of capillary-like structures. Despite the increasing use of deep learning in biomedical image analysis, as far as we know, there still has not been a study on the application of this method to angiogenesis images. To the best of our knowledge, this article demonstrates the first tool based on a convolutional Unet++ encoder-decoder architecture for the semantic segmentation of in vitro angiogenesis simulation images followed by the resulting mask postprocessing for data analysis by experts. The first annotated dataset in this field, AngioCells, is also being made publicly available. To create this dataset, participants were recruited into a markup group, an annotation protocol was developed, and an interparticipant agreement study was carried out.

Antisense lncRNA PCNA-AS1 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression through the miR-2467-3p/PCNA axis

Multiple studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs are aberrantly expressed in cancers and are pivotal in developing various tumors. No studies have investigated the expression and function of long non-coding antisense RNA PCNA-AS1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, the expression of PCNA-AS1 was identified by qRT–PCR. Cell function assays were used to explore the potential effect of PCNA-AS1 on ESCC progression. A prediction website was utilized to discover the relationships among PCNA-AS1, miR-2467-3p and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Dual luciferase reporter gene and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were executed to verify the binding activity between PCNA-AS1, miR-2467-3p and PCNA. As a result, PCNA-AS1 was highly expressed in ESCC and was associated with patient prognosis. PCNA-AS1 overexpression strongly contributed to ESCC cell proliferation, invasion and migration. PCNA-AS1 and PCNA were positively correlated in ESCC. Bioinformatics analysis, RIP and luciferase reporter gene assays revealed that PCNA-AS1 could act as a competitive endogenous RNA to sponge miR-2467-3p, thus upregulating PCNA. In conclusion, the current outcome demonstrates that PCNA-AS1 may be a star molecule in the treatment of ESCC.

The proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a potential proliferative marker in oyster Crassostrea gigas

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a crucial eukaryotic replication accessory factor in the regulation of DNA synthesis, which is always used as a proliferation marker for haematopoiesis in vertebrates. In the present study, a homologue of PCNA (named as CgPCNA) with a conserved N-terminal PCNA domain and a C-terminal PCNA domain was identified from oyster Crassostrea gigas. The deduced amino acid sequence of CgPCNA shared 85.4% and 86.6% similarities with the PCNAs identified in Mus musculus and Homo sapiens, respectively. CgPCNA was firstly clustered with PCNAs from molluscs, and then with PCNAs from arthropods to form a group falling into the invertebrate clade in the phylogenic tree. The mRNA transcripts of CgPCNA were detected in all tested tissues with higher expression level in gonad, gills and haemolymph. They were also detected in granulocytes, semi-granulocytes and agranulocytes with no significant differences, but the protein level of CgPCNA in agranulocytes was significantly higher (3.67-fold, p < 0.05) than that in granulocytes. In the haemocytes, CgPCNA was mainly distributed in the nucleus and less in the cytoplasm of haemocytes. CgPCNA protein was observed at the tubule lumen regions of gills vessels, and especially colocalized with the EdU signals. After lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Vibrio splendidus stimulation, the expression level of CgPCNA mRNA in haemocytes was significantly (p < 0.05) up-regulated at 6 h and 12 h, which was 13.87-fold and 3.89-fold of that in control, respectively. In the oysters treated with the recombinant protein CgAstakine (rCgAstakine), the protein abundance of CgPCNA was enhanced in agranulocytes and gills, while no significant change was observed in semi-granulocytes and granulocytes. These results collectively indicated that CgPCNA was highly expressed in the newborn agranulocytes and the potential haematopoietic sites, and it might be applied as a marker for haemocytes proliferation in oysters.

MicroRNA‑195‑5p inhibits the progression of hemangioma via targeting SKI

Hemangioma (HA), which is characterized by aberrant endothelial cell proliferation in blood vessels, is a common tumor during infancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) collectively participate in the development of HA; however, the potential roles of miR-195-5p in HA are not completely understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the roles of miR-195-5p in HA. In the present study, miR-195-5p was found to be downregulated in HA cells, such as the XPTS-1 human infantile hemangioma-derived endothelial cell line and the EOMA hemangioendothelioma cell line. Overexpression of miR-195-5p was shown to suppress HA cell viability, colony formation and proliferation, and induced HA cell apoptosis. Furthermore, miR-195-5p downregulated Bcl-2 expression and upregulated Bax and Bcl-2 expression levels. V-ski sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (SKI) was identified as a target of miR-195-5p. Co-transfection of miR-195-5p mimics and SKI 3'-untranslated region wild-type decreased HA cell luciferase activity. SKI overexpression alleviated the miR-195-5p-induced decrease in HA cell proliferation and increased HA cell apoptosis. In addition, the regulatory role of miR-195-5p on the expression of Bcl-2, Bax and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase was reversed by SKI. Collectively, the results of the present study demonstrated that miR-195-5p suppressed HA progression and its effects were mediated via SKI. Therefore, the miR-195-5p/SKI axis may represent a novel therapeutic target for HA.

MicroRNA-27b-3p inhibits the proliferation and invasion of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma by targeting EGFR and MMP-13

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a common malignant tumor. The aim of the present study was to examine the biological function of microRNA (miR)-27b-3p in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and its underlying mechanism. The relative expression levels of miR-27b-3p were determined in A-431, Colo-16 and NHEK/SVTERT3-5 cell lines. The regulatory effects of miR-27b-3p on the proliferation of CSCC cells were evaluated using MTT and colony formation assays. Transwell assays were conducted to examine the role of miR-27b-5p in the migratory and invasive abilities of CSCC cells. The levels of EGFR, MMP-13, Akt, phosphorylated (p)-Akt, cyclin D1, N-cadherin (CAD) and E-CAD were detected in CSCC cells using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. Binding between miR-27b-3p and the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of EGFR or MMP-13 was assessed using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. miR-27b-3p was significantly downregulated in CSCC cell lines, compared with the skin keratinocyte cell line. Transfection with a miR-27b-3p mimic significantly reduced the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of CSCC cells in vitro. Moreover, miR-27b-3p mimic transfection downregulated the mRNA and protein levels of EGFR, MMP-13, cyclin D1, p-Akt and N-CAD, whilst upregulating E-CAD levels in CSCC cells. miR-27b-3p was found to target the EGFR and MMP-13 3'-UTRs, thus downregulating the expression of these molecules. The inhibition of CSCC proliferation by miR-27b-3p was effectively reversed by EGFR overexpression. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of miR-27b-3p on the migratory and invasive abilities of CSCC cells was abolished by MMP-13 overexpression. In conclusion, miR-27b-3p inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of CSCC cells by downregulating the expression of EGFR and MMP-13 and may represent a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic option for CSCC.