We present a programmable acoustofluidic pump that utilizes the acoustic streaming effects generated by the oscillation of tilted sharp-edge structures. This sharp-edge based acoustofluidic pump is capable of generating stable flow rates as high as 8 μL/min (~76 Pa of pumping pressure), and it can tune flow rates across a wide range (nL/min to μL/min). Along with its ability to reliably produce stable and tunable flow rates, the acoustofluidic pump is easy to operate and requires minimum hardware, showing great potential for a variety of applications.

Chromatin remodeling has emerged as a hallmark of gastric cancer, but the regulation of chromatin regulators other than genetic change is unknown. Helicobacter pylori causes epigenetic dysregulation to promote gastric carcinogenesis, but the roles and functions of microRNAs (miRNA) in this multistage cascade are not fully explored. In this study, miRNA expression in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in murine stomachs induced by H. pylori and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) was profiled by miRNA expression array. miR-490-3p exhibited progressive downregulation in gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and adenocarcinoma during H. pylori and MNU-induced gastric carcinogenesis. Significant downregulation of miR-490-3p was confirmed in human gastric cancer tissues in which its regulatory region was found to be hypermethylated. miR-490-3p exerted growth-and metastasis-suppressive effects on gastric cancer cells through directly targeting SMARCD1, a SWItch/ Sucrose NonFermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex subunit. Knockdown of SMARCD1 significantly attenuated the protumorigenic effects of miR-490-3p inhibitor, whereas enforced expression of SMARCD1 promoted in vitro and in vivo oncogenic phenotypes of gastric cancer cells. SMARCD1 was markedly upregulated in gastric cancer in which its high expression was associated with shortened patients' survival independent of TNM staging. In conclusion, hypermethylation-mediated silencing of miR-490-3p reactivates SMARCD1 to confer malignant phenotypes, mechanistically linking H. pylori, chromatin remodeling, and gastric carcinogenesis. Cancer Res; 75(4); 754-65. Ó2014 AACR.

SUMMARY Anchorage of tissue cells to their physical environment is an obligate requirement for survival which is lost in mature hematopoietic and in transformed epithelial cells. Here we find that a lymphocyte lineage-restricted transcription factor, Aiolos, is frequently expressed in lung cancers and predicts markedly reduced patient survival. Aiolos decreases expression of a large set of adhesion-related genes, disrupting cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Aiolos also reconfigures chromatin structure within the SHC1 gene, causing isoform-specific silencing of the anchorage reporter p66Shc and blocking anoikis in vitro and in vivo. In lung cancer tissues and single cells, p66Shc expression inversely correlates with that of Aiolos. Together, these findings suggest that Aiolos functions as an epigenetic driver of lymphocyte mimicry in metastatic epithelial cancers.

To investigate the therapeutic effect of different doses of low energy shock wave therapy (LESWT) on the erectile dysfunction (ED) in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. SD rats (n = 75) were randomly divided into 5 groups (normal control, diabetic control, 3 different dose LESWT treated diabetic groups). Diabetic rats were induced by intra-peritoneal injection of STZ (60 mg/kg) and rats with fasting blood glucose ≥ 300 mg/dL were selected as diabetic models. Twelve weeks later, different doses of LESWT (100, 200 and 300 shocks each time) treatment on penises were used to treat ED (7.33 MPa, 2 shocks/s) three times a week for two weeks. The erectile function was evaluated by intracavernous pressure (ICP) after 1 week washout period. Then the penises were harvested for histological study. The results showed LESWT could significantly improve the erectile function of diabetic rats, increase smooth muscle and endothelial contents, up-regulate the expression of α-SMA, vWF, nNOS and VEGF, and down- regulate the expression of RAGE in corpus cavernosum. The therapeutic effect might relate to treatment dose positively, and the maximal therapeutic effect was noted in the LESWT300 group. Consequently, 300 shocks each time might be the ideal LESWT dose for diabetic ED treatment.

No abstract

There is accumulating evidence that histidine triad (HIT) nucleotide-binding protein 1 (HINT1), a member of the evolutionary highly conserved HIT protein super family, is a novel tumor suppressor. However, the mechanism of action of HINT1 with respect to tumor suppression is not known. In the present study, we found that a series of human colon cancer cell lines displayed various levels of expression of HINT1, with a very low level in SW480 cells. This cell line also displayed partial methylation of the promoter region of the Hint1 gene, and treatment of these cells with 5-azadeoxycitidine increased expression of Hint1 mRNA and protein. Therefore, the decreased expression of HINT1 in SW480 cells seems to be due to epigenetic silencing. Increased expression of HINT1 in these cells, using a retrovirus vector (pLNCX2) that encodes either wild-type (WT) Hint1 or a point mutant (His 112 /Asn 112 ) of Hint1, inhibited the proliferation of SW480 cells. Because of the important role of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factor in cancer cells, we examined possible effects of HINT1 on AP-1 transcription factor activity in SW480 cells transfected with an AP-1-luciferase reporter. We found that cotransfection with a pHA-Hint1 plasmid DNA significantly inhibited this activity. Studies with inhibitors indicated that AP-1 activity in SW480 cells requires the activity of c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK) 2 and not JNK1. Cotransfection with the Hint1 plasmid DNA also inhibited AP-1-luciferase reporter activity in WT mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) studies, and studies with JNK1 deleted or JNK2 deleted MEFs confirmed the essential role for JNK2, but not JNK1, in mediating AP-1 activity. Recent studies indicate that the protein plenty of SH3 (POSH) provides a scaffold that enhances JNK activity. We found that cotransfection of a plasmid DNA encoding POSH stimulated the phosphorylation of c-Jun and also AP-1 reporter activity, and cotransfection with Hint1 inhibited both of these activities. Furthermore, coimmunoprecipitation studies provided evidence that HINT1 forms an in vivo complex with POSH and JNK. These results suggest that HINT1 inhibits AP-1 activity by binding to a POSH-JNK2 complex, thus inhibiting the phosphorylation of c-Jun. This effect could contribute to the tumor suppressor activity of HINT1. [Cancer Res 2007;67(10):4700-8]

In patients treated with anthracyclines with an LVEF of 50-59%, both baseline EDV and GLS predict the occurrence of MACE. These parameters may help target patients who could benefit from closer cardiac surveillance and earlier initiation of cardioprotective medical therapy.

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