Exosomal LINC00161 promotes angiogenesis and metastasis via regulating miR-590-3p/ROCK axis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a lethal malignancy with few effective options for therapeutic treatment in its advanced stages. While exosomal LINC00161 has been identified as a potential biomarker for HCC, its regulatory function and clinical values remain largely unknown. LINC00161 expressions in serum-derived exosomes from HCC patients and HCC cells were determined by qRT-PCR. The ability of proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in HUVECs was assessed by MTT, Transwell, and tube formation. Luciferase reporter assay and AGO2-RIP assay were conducted to explore the interactions among LINC00161, miR-590-3p, and ROCK2. The level of ROCK signal-related proteins was examined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. Subcutaneous tumor growth was observed in nude mice, in which in vivo metastasis was observed following tail vein injection of HCC cells. High levels of LINC00161 were detected in both serum-derived exosomes from HCC patients and the supernatants of HCC cell lines and were significantly associated with poor survival. Functional study demonstrated that exosomal LINC00161 derived from HCC-cells were significantly associated with enhanced proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in HUVECs in vitro, all of which were effectively inhibited when LINC00161 was sliced with shRNA in HCC-cells. In vivo experiment showed that LINC00161 loss inhibited tumorigenesis and metastasis of HCC. Mechanistic study revealed that exosome-carried LINC00161 directly targeted miR-590-3p and induced its downstream target ROCK2, finally activating growth/metastasis-related signals in HCC. Exosome-carried LINC00161 promotes HCC tumorigenesis through inhibiting miR-590-3p to activate the ROCK2 signaling pathway, suggesting that LINC00161 may be used as potential targets to improve HCC treatment efficiency.

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) plus S-1 for the treatment of BCLC stage B hepatocellular carcinoma refractory to TACE

AIM OF THE STUDY

To assess the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus S-1 for the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage B HCC refractory to TACE.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

26 patients meeting the eligibility criteria were enrolled. TACE was given on day 1, and S-1 on days 2-15. Tumor assessment was performed one month later according to mRECIST. The primary endpoints were TTP and OS.

RESULTS

Twenty-six patients received 176 TACE interventions in all. Fifteen patients of TACE plus S-1 received a total of 55 cycles of treatment of S-1, with a median of 4 cycles (range, 2-6). The total dose of S-1 was 6165 mg per day, while average was 120 mg (range, 100-125 mg) for 15 patients of TACE plus S-1. Median TTP and OS of TACE plus S-1 were 6 months (95% CI: 4.7-7.3) and 18 months (95% CI: 15.3-24.7), respectively, while TACE monotherapy was 4 months (95% CI: 2.4-5.6) and 13 months (95% CI: 9.8-16.2), respectively, and significant differences were detected. Though there were higher DCRs in patients of TACE plus S-1, no significant differences were detected. A total of 612 adverse events occurred during the course of the treatment, 367 in TACE plus S-1 and 245 in TACE mono-therapy. There were significant differences to anorexia and nausea, but they were tolerable.

CONCLUSIONS

TACE plus S-1 in the present analysis was tolerable and associated with an interesting TTP and OS. TACE plus S-1 may be used as a new treatment method to BCLC Stage B HCC refractory to TACE.

[Photo-catalytic degradation of gas phase benzene and toluene over multi-composite TiO2 catalyst]

Photo-catalytic degradation of gas-phase benzene and toluene were studied in the condition of no catalyst, pure anatase catalyst, pure rutile catalyst and multi-composite catalyst. The influences of initial concentration of reactants and the catalysts of different composite on photo-catalytic degradation rate of gas-phase benzene and toluene were investigated. The results show that the degradation efficiency of benzene and toluene is improved a lot on anatase catalyst, but improved a little on rutile catalyst in relation to the crystal-structure of anatase and rutile catalyst. In the condition of no catalyst and pure rutile catalyst, toluene is easier to be degradated than benzene, and on anatase catalyst benzene is easier to be done than toluene. The initial concentration of reactant has an effect on the photo-catalytic degradation process. The degradation rates of benzene and toluene are faster in low concentration than in high concentration. A certain amount of rutile doped in anatase catalyst could improve the photo-catalytic activity. The catalyst with 80% anatase and 20% rutile shows the best photo-catalytic activity to benzene, and the catalyst with 90% anatase and 10% rutile gives the best photo-catalytic activity to toluene.

[Characteristics of atmospheric ozone in the urban area of Ji'nan]

Based on the observational data of near surface O3 in the urban area of Ji'nan during the latest two years, the O3 concentrations and their temporal variation characteristics were analyzed. The results showed that O3 concentrations fluctuated periodically,and the photochemical pollution in Ji'nan was serious. Diurnal variations of ozone concentrations exhibited with the characteristic of a single peak, and showed the maximum in the afternoon and minimum in the early morning before sunrise. Ozone concentrations in spring and summer were higher than autumn and winter, while the varying scopes of ozone concentrations in summer and autumn were broader than spring and winter. Variations of ozone concentrations in weekend days were different from weekdays, which caused by the temporal regulation of human activities.