Period2 (Per2) is a key circadian clock gene, and its deregulation contributes to tumour development, including breast cancer. However, the biological function and clinicopathological significance of Per2 in non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. The present study aimed to explore the role of Per2 and its relative clinical significance in NSCLC. To analyse Per2 expression in NSCLC specimens, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed, and the results indicated that Per2 expression was markedly downregulated in 83.87% (26/31) of NSCLC samples compared with their adjacent matched tissues. Increased Per2 expression was associated with increased differentiation (P<0.01) and reduced lymph node metastasis (P<0.0001). Functional studies identified that enhancing Per2 expression in A549 cells by lentivirus transduction not only significantly suppressed cell growth, migration and invasion (P<0.05) but also inhibited NSCLC growth and metastasis in vivo. Animal studies and histopathological analysis identified that Per2 expression in A549 cells not only markedly increased expression of tumour anti‑oncogenes Bax, P53 and P21 but also inhibited expression of pro‑oncogenes vascular endothelial growth factor, CD44 and c‑Myc. These results indicate that the loss of Per2 is one of the factors underlying tumourigenesis in NSCLC, and it may function as a novel molecular target for NSCLC.

PURPOSE We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of patient-reported outcome (PRO)-based symptom management in the early period after lung cancer surgery. METHODS Before surgery, patients with clinically diagnosed lung cancer were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive postoperative PRO-based symptom management or usual care. All patients reported symptoms on MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Lung Cancer presurgery, daily postsurgery, and twice a week after discharge for up to 4 weeks via an electronic PRO system. In the intervention group, treating surgeons responded to overthreshold electronic alerts driven by any of the five target symptom scores (score ≥ 4 on a 0-10 scale for pain, fatigue, disturbed sleep, shortness of breath, and coughing). The control group patients received usual care and no alerts were generated. The primary outcome was the number of symptom threshold events (any target symptom with a score of ≥ 4) at discharge. Per-protocol analyses were conducted. RESULTS Of the 166 participants, 83 were randomly allocated to each group. At discharge, the intervention group reported fewer symptom threshold events than the control group (median [interquartile range], 0 [0-2] v 2 [0-3]; P = .007). At 4 weeks postdischarge, this difference was maintained between the intervention and control groups (median [interquartile range], 0 [0-0] v 0 [0-1]; P = .018). The intervention group had a lower complication rate than the control group (21.5% v 40.6%; P = .019). Surgeons spent a median of 3 minutes managing an alert. CONCLUSION PRO-based symptom management after lung cancer surgery showed lower symptom burden and fewer complications than usual care for up to 4 weeks postdischarge.

MiR-326 functions as an antioncogene in the several types of cancer. However, the underling mechanisms through which miRNA-326 regulates the anti-carcinogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma have remained elusive. The aim of this study was to explore the role and regulatory mechanism of miR-326 in cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression pattern of miR-326 in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBES-2B), 4 kinds of lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (H23, H1975, H2228, H2085) and 20 lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Then, H23 cells were infected with miR-326 mimics, miR-326 inhibitors and si-ZEB1 to build up-regulated miR-326 cell lines, down-regulated ZEB1(zinc-finger-enhancer binding protein 1)cell lines, simultaneous down-regulated ZEB1 and miR-326 cell lines. Moreover, CCK-8 assay, transwell invasion assay, wound healing assay and flow cytometry assay were employed to examine the effects of miR-326 and ZEB1 on the proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis abilities of H23 cells. Western blot was performed to explore the effects of miR-326 and ZEB1 on the expression of invasion and migration related proteins N-cadherin, E-cadherin, MMP7, MMP13, SLUG and apoptotic proteins PARP, BAX. On the mechanism, a dual-luciferase reporter gene was used to measure the target relationship between miR-326 and ZEB1. MiR-326 expression was significantly downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and cells. Overexpression of miR-326 significantly inhibited the malignant behaviors of H23 cells. Mechanically, luciferase reporter assay showed that ZEB1 was a direct target of miR-326. MiR-326 mimic downregulated the expression of ZEB1. Furthermore, knocking down ZEB1 strongly inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of H23 cells but promoted apoptosis. MiR-326 could target ZEB1 to inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells and promote apoptosis, which is a potential therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma.

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Background. MicroRNA- (miR-) 657 has been shown to regulate immunological and inflammatory activity, and it has also been defined to be dysregulated in both non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and hepatocellular carcinoma. The mechanistic role whereby miR-657 influences NSCLC progression, however, has yet to be clarified. Methods. miR-657 and SRCIN1 expression levels were assessed via qPCR in the cell lines and tissues of NSCLC. Besides, correlations between the levels of miR-657 and NSCLC patient pathological characteristics were examined, and the Kaplan-Meier approach was employed for the evaluation of the prognostic utility of miR-657 in these patients. Moreover, the Pearson correlation analyses and dual-luciferase reporter assessments were used for detecting interactive relationships between miR-657 and SRCIN1. In addition, CCK-8, EdU, and Transwell assessments were employed for the appraisal of the ability of miR-657/SRCIN1 to regulate NSCLC cell proliferation and invasion. Western blotting was employed for the assessment of the levels of NSCLC cell proteins associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that were influenced by miR-657. The nude mice xenograft tumor model is established to observe the effect of miR-657 on NSCLC growth in vivo. Results. NSCLC patient tissues and cell lines exhibited upregulated miR-657 expression that was closely related to tumor differentiation, lymphoid metastasis, and TNM stage. High levels of miR-657 were predictive of a poorer NSCLC patient prognosis, and overexpressing miR-657 resulted in the more rapid growth of NCI-H1650 and A549 cells, with a concomitant increase in their invasion. In addition, miR-657 overexpression raised the levels of Slug, N-cadherin, and Vimentin in these two cell lines while promoting E-cadherin downregulation. Dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed that miR-657 was capable of binding to the SRCIN1 gene, and SRCIN1 expression levels were negatively associated with those of miR-657, indicating that it acts as a negative regulator of this gene. Knocking down SRCIN1 was capable to reverse the influences of miR-657 inhibitor treatment on NSCLC cell behavior. Finally, in vivo studies showed that miR-657 promoted NSCLC cell growth. Conclusion. The obtained findings illuminate that miR-657 can promote the growth of tumors and the induction of the EMT in NSCLC cells by targeting SRCIN1 expression and modulating Slug pathway activation, highlighting this pathway as a promising therapeutic target in cases suffering from NSCLC.

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Background Long intergenic non-coding RNA 326 (LINC00326) modulates hepatocarcinogenic lipid metabolism. However, the ability of LINC00326 to modulate the highly aggressive non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is unknown. Here, LINC00326 in NSCLC was investigated, together with its effects on tumor malignancy and the underlying mechanisms of action. Methods LINC00326 levels in tumor tissues and cell lines were measured by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Proliferation and apoptosis were assessed in cell lines by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), EdU staining assays and flow cytometry, respectively, and tumor growth was measured in mouse models. Possible microRNA targets of LINC00326 were predicted by bioinformatics and verified by RNA pull-down and immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression of Wnt/β-catenin-associated proteins. Results  LINC00326 was downregulated in tumor tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of LINC00326 stimulated NSCLC cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis in vitro, as well as enhancing xenograft tumor growth. LINC00326 sponged miR-657, and dickkopf WNT signaling pathway inhibitor 2 (DKK2) was found to be directly targeted by miR-657, with LINC00326 positively regulating its expression through sponging miR-657. The actions of LINC00326 knockdown on proliferation and apoptosis were reversed by stimulation of the miR-657/DKK2 axis. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-657 mitigated DKK2 inhibition on Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Conclusions LINC00326/miR-657/DKK2 axis signaling blocked tumor-associated functions in NSCLC cells through the targeting Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This suggests that this pathway could be a target for NSCLC treatment.

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