Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), a widespread histopathological subtype of lung cancer, is deemed as a malignant tumor with a peak risk of mortality. Emerged as RNA with a loop structure that depleted protein coding ability, circular RNA (circRNA) has been identified as a regulator in cancer progression. Circ-SOX4, identified as a novel circRNA, has not been studied in any cancer yet. Thus, the regulatory function that circ-SOX4 exerts on LUAD development remains obscure. Aim of the study: This study aimed to investigate the biological function and molecular mechanism of circ-SOX4 in LUAD. Methods: The expression of circ-SOX4 was detected by qRT-PCR. CCK-8, colony formation, transwell and wound healing assays were performed to explore the biological function of circ-SOX4 in LUAD. The interaction between miR-1270 and circ-SOX41 (or PLAGL2) was confirmed by RNA pull down, luciferase reporter and RIP assays. Results: Circ-SOX4 was found to be obviously upregulated in LUAD tissues and cells, and knockdown of it inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and migration in LUAD. Furthermore, silenced circ-SOX4 also inhibited LUAD tumor growth. Molecular mechanism assays revealed that circ-SOX4 interacted with miR-1270 in LUAD. Besides, PLAGL2 was confirmed as a downstream gene of miR-1270. Rescue assays validated that miR-1270 suppression or PLAGL2 overexpression countervailed circ-SOX4 depletion-mediated inhibition on cell proliferation, invasion and migration in LUAD. Additionally, it was discovered that circ-SOX4/miR-1270/PLAGL2 axis activated WNT signaling pathway in LUAD. Conclusions: Circ-SOX4 boosted the development of LUAD and activate WNT signaling pathway through sponging miR-1270 and modulating PLAGL2, which provided a valuable theoretical basis for exploring underlying therapeutic target in LUAD.
The Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus that has spread rapidly worldwide within recent times. There is accumulating evidence that associates ZIKV infections with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and microcephaly in humans. The ZIKV is genetically diverse and can be separated into Asian and African lineages. A rapid, sensitive, and specific assay is needed for the detection of ZIKV across various pandemic regions. So far, the available primers and probes do not cover the genetic diversity and geographic distribution of all ZIKV strains. To this end, we have developed a one-step quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay based on conserved sequences in the ZIKV envelope (E) gene. The detection limit of the assay was determined to be five RNA transcript copies and 2.94 × 10 50% tissue culture infectious doses (TCID) of live ZIKV per reaction. The assay was highly specific and able to detect five different ZIKV strains covering the Asian and African lineages without nonspecific amplification, when tested against other flaviviruses. The assay was also successful in testing for ZIKV in clinical samples. Our assay represents an improvement over the current methods available for the detection ZIKV and would be valuable as a diagnostic tool in various pandemic regions.
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