ZFAS1 could be delivered by exosomes to promote GC progression, which suggests that ZFAS1 may serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for GC.

BackgroundExosomes are extracellular vesicles that mediate cellular communication in health and diseases. Neutrophils could be polarized to a pro-tumor phenotype by tumor. The function of tumor-derived exosomes in neutrophil regulation remains unclear.MethodsWe investigated the effects of gastric cancer cell-derived exosomes (GC-Ex) on the pro-tumor activation of neutrophils and elucidated the underlying mechanisms.ResultsGC-Ex prolonged neutrophil survival and induced expression of inflammatory factors in neutrophils. GC-Ex-activated neutrophils, in turn, promoted gastric cancer cell migration. GC-Ex transported high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) that activated NF-κB pathway through interaction with TLR4, resulting in an increased autophagic response in neutrophils. Blocking HMGB1/TLR4 interaction, NF-κB pathway, and autophagy reversed GC-Ex-induced neutrophil activation. Silencing HMGB1 in gastric cancer cells confirmed HMGB1 as a key factor for GC-Ex-mediated neutrophil activation. Furthermore, HMGB1 expression was upregulated in gastric cancer tissues. Increased HMGB1 expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. Finally, gastric cancer tissue-derived exosomes acted similarly as exosomes derived from gastric cancer cell lines in neutrophil activation.ConclusionWe demonstrate that gastric cancer cell-derived exosomes induce autophagy and pro-tumor activation of neutrophils via HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling, which provides new insights into mechanisms for neutrophil regulation in cancer and sheds lights on the multifaceted role of exosomes in reshaping tumor microenvironment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-018-0898-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The presence of a transanal tube is effective and safe in decreasing the rate of clinically significant anastomotic leaks and in mitigating the clinical consequences of leakage after anterior resection for rectal cancer with the technique of total mesorectal excision and double-staple anastomosis. The potential benefits of transanal tube placement are multifactorial, including drainage, reduction of endoluminal pressure, and promotion of gastrointestinal motility. Obesity and poor gastrointestinal electromyogram on POD 3 are independent risk factors for anastomotic leakage in patients with low anastomosis.

Exosomes are nanosized extracellular vesicles that can be released by almost all types of cells. Initially considered as the garbage bins acting to discard unwanted products of cells, exosomes are now recognized as an important way for cellular communication by transmitting bioactive molecules including proteins, DNA, mRNAs, and non-coding RNAs. The recent studies have shown that exosomes are critically involved in human health and diseases including cancer. Exosomes have been suggested to participate in the promotion of tumorigenesis, tumor growth and metastasis, tumor angiogenesis, tumor immune escape, and tumor therapy resistance. Increasing evidence indicate that exosomes play important roles in gastric cancer development and progression. In this review, we summarized the current understanding of exosomes in gastric cancer with an emphasis on the biological roles of exosomes in gastric cancer and their potential as biomarkers for gastric cancer diagnosis as well as potential targets for gastric cancer therapy.

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs and have been shown to play a crucial role in the colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis and progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of miR-140-5p in CRC. The exact functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms of miR-140-5p in CRC was further determined. Methods: miR-140-5p expression was detected in CRC samples, their adjacent nontumor tissues as well as CRC cell lines by RT-qPCR. Cell proliferation was detected using CCK-8, and cell invasion and migration were evaluated using Transwell assay. The direct regulation of VEGFA by miR-140-5p was identified using luciferase reporter assay. Results: miR-140-5p was significantly dowregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. Downregulation of miR-140-5p was significantly correlated with advanced CRC stage and poorer overall survival. Both gain-of-function and loss of function studies demonstrated that miR-140-5p acted as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Integrated analysis identified VEGFA as a direct and functional target gene of miR-140-5p. Silencing VEGFA by small interfering RNA (siRNA) resembled the phenotype resulting from ectopic miR-140-5p expression, while overexpression of VEGFA attenuated the effect of miR-140-5p on CRC cells. Conclusions: Our results suggested a tumor suppressive role of miR-140-5p in CRC tumorigenesis and progression by targeting VEGFA.