Pre-operation NLR can be considered as a potential prognostic biomarker in patients with RCC who underwent surgical resection.

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n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) are important for human health. Alternative resources of n-3 PUAFs created by transgenic domestic animals would be an economic approach. In this study, we generated a mfat-1 transgenic cattle expressed a Caenorhabditis elegans gene, mfat-1, encoding an n-3 fatty acid desaturase. Fatty acids analysis of tissue and milk showed that all of the examined n-3 PUAFs were greatly increased and simultaneously the n-6 PUAFs decreased in the transgenic cow. A significantly reduction of n-6/n-3 ratios (P<0.05) in both tissue and milk were observed.

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Background Resistance to chemotherapeutic treatment is a common phenomenon in cancers, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Hippo signaling pathway has been demonstrated to play a role in tumor initiation, development, and progression. However, little is known about its roles in the HCC chemoresistance. Methods In this study, real-time PCR and western blotting were used to identify the expression profile of key components of Hippo signaling pathway between chemoresistant and chemosensitive HCC cell lines. In vitro and in vivo loss- and gain-of-function studies were performed to reveal the effects and related mechanism of microRNA-590-5p/YAP1 axis in the chemoresistant phenotype of HCC cells. Findings We identified yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) as the major dysregulated molecules in adriamycin (ADR)-resistant HCC cells. YAP1 was profoundly implicated in the chemoresistant phenotype of HCC cells. Furthermore, microRNA-590-5p was revealed as a functional modulator of YAP1. Importantly, YAP1-mediated chemoresistant phenotype was closely related to increased expression of stemness markers and ATP-binding cassette transporters. HCC patients with poor response to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment had higher protein level of YAP1 than that in the responsive patients. Interpretation The microRNA-590-5p/YAP axis plays an important role in the chemotherapeutic resistance of HCC cells, suggesting new adjuvant chemotherapeutic directions in HCC. Fund National Natural Science Foundation of China, Zhejiang Province Medical and Health Care Key Project, Experimental Animal Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province, Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project of Lishui, Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province.

OBJECTIVE. miR-122 is highly abundant in liver and a hepato-specific microRNA. There is evidence to show that miR-122 expression is down-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is not known whether miR-122 affects the cellular behavior of hepatoma cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of miR-122 on the viability and apoptosis of hepatoma cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The viability and apoptosis of Huh-7 and HepG2 cells treated with miR-122 or miR-122 antisense RNA (anti-miR-122) were analyzed by adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based luminescent assay, annexin V-based flow cytometry, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) detection. The miR-122 coding genes in both cell lines were sequenced. RESULTS. Although two putative promoter sequences for the miR-122 gene at 18q21.31 were detected, the miR-122 coding sequence was missing in HepG2 cells, which might be the reason for the absence of miR-122 expression. There was no significant difference between the viabilities of HepG2 cells transfected with miR-122 and mock HepG2 cells (p >0.05). However, the viability of Huh-7 transfected with anti-miR-122 was significantly elevated at 24, 36, and 48 h posttransfection compared with that of mock cells (p <0.01). Both the flow cytometry and TUNEL assay showed that the apoptotic level of Huh-7 transfected with anti-miR-122 was significantly decreased at 48 h posttransfection (p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS. miR-122 down-regulated the viability but up-regulated the apoptosis of hepatoma cell Huh-7. The absence of miR-122 expression in HepG2 cells was due to the loss of the miR-122 coding sequence in chromosome 18. These results imply that aberrant expression of miR-122 may contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis.

Early diagnosis of liver metastasis is of great significance. The sensitivity and specificity of combined tumor and biochemical markers are rather good in screening colorectal liver metastasis.

Quercetin (Que) is a flavonoid widely distributed in vegetables and fruits and exhibits strong antioxidant activity, but the poor stability of Que limits its function and application. The present study developed a nanoparticle (NP) using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a matrix to encapsulate Que. The stability of encapsulated Que by BSA NP was tracked in a simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). The antioxidant activity of encapsulated Que was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assays. Furthermore, the stabilizing mechanism of Que by BSA NP was investigated, using scanning transmisson electron microscopy (STEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis, fluorescence spectrometry, and circular dichroism (CD). The results revealed that Que was effectively encapsulated by BSA and formed spherical NP (<10 nm). BSA NP not only promoted the stability of encapsulated Que but also kept the antioxidant activity of encapsulated Que. The driving forces for BSA-Que association were hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bond, and the latter was involved in the mechanism of Que stabilization. This suggested that BSA NP could be a good carrier to deliver hydrophobic flavonols.