Colorectal cancer pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Here, we report that the heterochromatin protein HP1g is upregulated commonly in human colorectal cancer, where it promotes cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Gene-expression and promoter-binding experiments demonstrated that HP1g directly regulated CDKN1A (p21 Waf1/Cip1 ) in a manner associated with methylation of histone H3K9 on its promoter. We identified miR-30a as a tumor-suppressive microRNA that targets HP1g in vitro and in vivo to specifically suppress the growth of colorectal cancer in mouse xenograft models. MiR30a was widely downregulated in primary human colorectal cancer tissues, where its expression correlated inversely with high levels of HP1g protein. Our results identify a new miR-30a/HP1g/p21 regulatory axis controlling colorectal cancer development, which may offer prognostic and therapeutic opportunities. Cancer Res; 75(21); 4593-604. Ó2015 AACR.

MRI is a helpful technique to define the extent of the retrorectal tumor and its relationship to the surrounding structures, and also to demonstrate possible complications so as to choose the best surgical approach.

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Fistula-associated perianal mucinous adenocarcinoma is an uncommon malignant transformation of chronic fistula-in-ano. MRI can provide important diagnostic information on patient with this suspicious inflammatory condition. Although radical resection of the tumour with abdominoperineal resection remains the surgical treatment of choice. Combined chemoradiotherapy may be appropriate for these patients with promising results.

Background Currently, WeChat is widely used in disease education for patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) in China. It is beneficial for the patients to actively engage in their disease management. Methods In this study, we examined the source and expectations of disease information for Chinese CD patients, analysing the content of popular WeChat public accounts and their potential association with medication adherence. Results Between November 24th, 2017 and April 10th, 2018, online questionnaires were sent to CD patients from eight different large urban hospitals in China. In all, 436 patients with CD were surveyed, and 342 patients responded. Patients most frequently visited Baidu (65%) , WeChat (61%) and medical websites such as Haodaifu (35%) when searching for IBD-related information. Among ten WeChat IBD public accounts, the China Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (CCCF) (73%), “ IBD Academic Officer ” (21%) and “ IBD in love ” (21%) were the most popular. CD patients were most interested in information from the internet about diet and day-to-day health-related living with IBD (83%), an introduction to the disease (80%), and medication advances and side effects (80%). The correlation between the information provided by the top five WeChat public accounts and patients’ expectations was low. Additionally, most patients (64%) had greater confidence in overcoming the disease after learning about CD through their internet searches. Medical adherence was also related to internet access and income ( p < 0.05). Conclusions WeChat has become a major source of information for IBD education in China, but the content of WeChat didn’t fully meet patients’ expectations. Therefore, future initiatives should aim to provide high-quality information that based on patients’ demands.

The LIFT procedure can be considered an effective sphincter-sparing procedure in the management of transsphincteric fistula with an acceptable long-term outcome.

Although baicalin, a flavonoid derived from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has been reported to have anti-tumor activity in various cancers, the molecular mechanism remains imperfect. Here, we show that baicalin inhibits cell growth, migration and invasion and induces cell apoptosis by inhibiting cell cycle, viability, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cellular stemness in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. In detail, baicalin treatment in CRC cells induces cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and promotes p53-independent cell apoptosis, inhibits both endogenous and exogenous TGFβ1-induced EMT of colorectal cancer cells by inhibiting TGFβ/Smad pathway. Cell sphere-formation experiments show that baicalin has a strong inhibitory efficacy on the stemness of CRC cells by decreasing the marker proteins of cancer stem cell (CSC) and inhibits the formation of CSC-like cell spheres in CRC cells. In vivo experiments also identify that baicalin has an anti-tumor effect by down-regulating the levels of marker proteins of cell cycle, EMT and stemness in the orthotopic transplantation tumors of CRC cells in BALB/c nude mice. Collectively, our in vitro and in vivo results indicate that multiple inhibition of cell cycle, EMT and stemness is the real molecular mechanism of baicalin in effectively inducing cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in CRC cells.

A pixel counting strategy is designed on the basis of DNA walker-triggered fluorescence spots for ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acid. The two-dimensional DNA walker was constructed by hybridization of two types of capture DNAs, which were covalently modified by click chemistry on a glass slide, and dye-labeled hairpin structure (hDNA) as track and swing strand (sDNA) as DNAzyme, respectively. Introduction of target DNA unlocked the sDNA via strand displacement to form the activated DNAzyme, and the latter cut nearby hDNA with Mn as cofactor, resulting in fluorescence recovery of dye-labeled hDNA on the substrate due to the separation from the quencher. Meanwhile, the DNAzyme sequence of sDNA was released to cut the next hDNA and, thus, initiated autonomous walking of sDNA for signal amplification. The enhanced fluorescence spots were digitalized as pixels on the basis of DNA walker-built compartments and extracted by a homemade program in MATLAB. The association between fluorescent pixel numbers and DNA concentrations was further proved by a mathematical model and led to an ultrasensitive quantification of nucleic acid with a linear range from 100 fM to 10 pM. The designed pixel counting strategy shows a more sensitive and accurate comparison with conventional methods based on fluorescence intensity or spot counts and provides a new dimension in designing next-type biosensors.