Expressions of Notch receptors and ligands in tongue carcinoma and adjacent non-neoplastic tongue tissues suggest that Notch signaling may control cell differentiation and proliferation of carcinoma cells. The disorder of Notch signaling may be a mechanism of the tongue carcinoma development.

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), was the earliest discovered to be correlated with cancer and contributes to the initiation and development of several types of tumors. Dysregulation of MALAT1 expression is frequently observed in many types of cancer such as gastric cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and glioma. To date, the role of MALAT1 and the underlying mechanisms in tongue cancer development remain unclear. In the present study, we studied the influence of MALAT1 on tongue cancer cell lines and clinical tongue cancer samples so as to detect its function and the underlying mechanism. In the present study, lncRNA-MALAT1 was specifically upregulated in tongue cancer cell lines and overexpression promoted tongue cancer cell growth by targeting miR-124. Knockdown of MALAT1 suppressed the growth and invasion of human tongue cancer cells and inhibited metastasis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, miR-124-dependent jagged1 (JAG1) regulation was required for MALAT1-induced tongue cancer cell growth. Our data revealed that MALAT1 inhibited tongue cancer cell growth and metastasis through miR-124-dependent JAG1 regulation. In conclusion, we revealed that MALAT1 may play an oncogenic role by increasing proliferation and metastasis of tongue cancer and is a potential therapeutic target in human tongue cancer.

Much research has been focused on developing bone morphogenetic protein-2(BMP-2) delivery systems to enhance bone formation in bone defect repair and bone tissue engineering. However, many of these current systems have several drawbacks associated with low loading efficiencies and reduced biological activities after release. Collagen scaffolds can be used as in delivery systems because of their biocompatibility. However, growth factors have naturally low affinity to collagen, which is disadvantageous for maintaining a sufficient growth factor concentration at the delivery sites. To enhance BMP-2 binding to collagen scaffolds, we chose a porous collagen scaffold that was chemically modified using Traut's reagent. The modified collagen scaffold allows cross-linking of the collagen fibers and is able to immobilize more BMP-2 after treatment with Sulfo-SMCC. We demonstrated that cross-linking led to a slower release rate of BMP-2, but did not reduce its biological activity. Moreover, more ectopic bone formation was induced by subcutaneous implants of cross-linked collagen treated with BMP-2. We concluded that collagen scaffolds chemically conjugated with BMP-2 using Traut's reagent and Sulfo-SMCC was an effective delivery system for use in bone defect repair and in bone tissue engineering.