Background: In recent decades, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported as crucial functional regulators involved in ovarian cancer. In the present study, we explored how lncRNA RHPN1-AS1 influences the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) through tumor cell-dependent mechanisms. Results: The expression of RHPN1-AS1 in EOC tissues was higher than that in para-cancerous control tissues. High expression of RHPN1-AS1 was closely associated with poor prognosis in EOC patients. N6methyladenosine (m6A) improved the stability of RHPN1-AS1 methylation transcript by reducing RNA degradation, which resulted in upregulation of RHPN1-AS1 in EOC. In vitro and in vivo functional experiments showed that RHPN1-AS1 promoted EOC cell proliferation and metastasis. RHPN1-AS1 acted as a ceRNA to sponge miR-596, consequently increasing LETM1 expression and activating the FAK/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion: RHPN1-AS1-miR-596-LETM1 axis plays a crucial role in EOC progression. Our findings may provide promising drug targets for EOC treatment. Methods: We determined the aberrantly expressed lncRNAs in EOC via microarray analysis and validated RHPN1-AS1 expression by qRT-PCR. The RHPN1-AS1-miR-596-LETM1 axis was examined by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay. The mechanism of RHPN1-AS1 was investigated through gain-and loss-offunction studies both in vivo and in vitro.www.aging-us.com 4559 AGING EOC patients, the 5-year OS remains very low [2]. High throughput sequencing technologies made it possible for large-scale access to gene expression profiles. Gene expression microarray provided new insights for the identification of tumor-associated genes, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets [3]. The integration of those databases containing multiple gene expression data of various cancer types allows in-depth analysis of molecular mechanisms.Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely engaged in various cellular processes, including post-transcriptional regulation via epigenetic regulation [4,5]. In addition, growing evidence has shown that lncRNAs function critically in multiple diseases, especially in cancer occurrence and progression [6,7]. Recently, lncRNAs, such as FLVCR1-AS1, ABHD11-AS1, and NORAD have been found to be associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and progression of EOC and are regarded as potential therapeutic targets for EOC [8][9][10]. It has been reported that dysregulation of lncRNAs played essential roles in the development of tumors, including EOC [11]. LncRNA RHPN1-AS1 is an important regulator in cancer development and progression. It has been reported that RHPN1-AS1 enhances cell proliferation, migration, and in cervical cancer via miR-299-3p/FGF2 cascade [12]. RHPN1-AS1 regulates breast cancer cell proliferation via miR-4261/c-Myc axis and modulation of p53 [13]. RHPN1-AS1 also functions in glioma, neck squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and Uveal Melanoma [14][15][16][17][18][19]. However, the function of RHPN1-AS1...

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Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a complex lung pathological lesion secondary to multiple factors and one of the most common chronic lung diseases. It has a poor prognosis, especially in preterm infants. However, effective therapies for this disease are lacking. Stem-cell therapy is a promising way to improve lung injury and abnormal alveolarization, and the human umbilical cord (hUC) is a good source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which have demonstrated efficacy in other diseases. We hypothesized that intravenously administered allogeneic hUC-MSCs are safe and effective for severe BPD. Methods: The MSC-BPD trial is a randomized, single-center, open-label, dose-escalation, phase-II trial designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of hUC-MSCs in children with severe BPD. In this study, 72 patients will be enrolled and randomly divided into two intervention groups and one control group. Patients in the intervention groups will receive a low dose of hUC-MSCs (n = 24; 2.5 million cells/kg) or a high dose of hUC-MSCs (n = 24; 5 million cells/kg) in combination with traditional supportive treatments for BPD. The patients in the control group (n = 24) will be treated with traditional supportive treatments alone without hUC-MSCs. The primary outcome measures will be cumulative duration of oxygen therapy. Follow-up assessments will be performed at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post intervention, and the key outcome during follow-up will be changes on chest radiography. Statistical analyses will evaluate the efficacy of the hUC-MSC treatment. Discussion: This will be the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenously administered hUC-MSCs in children with severe BPD. Its results should provide a new evidence-based therapy for severe BPD.

Background Pediatric inguinal hernia (PIH) is a common disease in children. Laparoscopic hernia repair (LHR) has developed rapidly in recent years, but there are still different opinions compared with traditional open hernia repair (OHR). The purpose of this study was to compare the advantages and disadvantages of LHR and OHR in the treatment of pediatric inguinal hernia. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all children (< 14 years) who underwent repair of inguinal hernia in the pediatric surgery center of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2015 to December 2015. We collected the medical records of all the children and analyzed the clinical characteristics, operation-related information and follow-up. Results In the OHR group, 202 cases underwent unilateral inguinal hernia repair, and 43 cases underwent bilateral inguinal hernia repair. In the LHR group, 168 cases underwent unilateral inguinal hernia repair, and 136 cases underwent bilateral inguinal hernia repair. There was a significant difference in the operation time between the two groups, but there were no significant differences in postoperative hospitalization time and incidence of ipsilateral recurrent hernia between the two groups. The incidence rates of metachronous contralateral hernia (MCH) and surgical site infection in LHR group were significantly lower than those in the OHR group. Conclusion Our study shows that compared with OHR, LHR has the advantages of concealed incision, minimal invasiveness, reduced operation time, detection of contralateral patent processus vaginalis, and reduced incidence of MCH. In conclusion, LHR is safe and effective in the treatment of pediatric indirect inguinal hernia.

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Liuwei Dihuang Wan (LDW), a classic Chinese medicinal formula, has been used to improve or restore declined functions related to aging and geriatric diseases, such as impaired mobility, vision, hearing, cognition, and memory. It has attracted increasing attention as one of the most popular and valuable herbal medicines. However, the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of LDW is difficult and thus has not been well established. In this paper, a rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra-performance LC with ESI quadrupole TOF high-definition MS method with automated MetaboLynx analysis in positive and negative ion mode was established to characterize the chemical constituents of LDW. The analysis was performed on a Waters UPLC™ HSS T3 using a gradient elution system. MS/MS fragmentation behavior was proposed for aiding the structural identification of the components. Under the optimized conditions, a total of 50 peaks were tentatively characterized by comparing the retention time and MS data. It is concluded that a rapid and robust platform based on ultra-performance LC with ESI quadrupole TOF high-definition MS has been successfully developed for globally identifying multiple constituents of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. This is the first report on the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of LDW.

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical significance of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its association with clinicopathologic features and prognosis in HCC patients.Materials and methodsA total of 128 HCC patients who received radical resection were enrolled from Wenling Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital between May 2005 and December 2008, and tumor and adjacent tissue samples were collected. Expression of PDK1 was detected by immunohistochemistry method. Correlation of PDK1 expression with clinicopathological features and prognosis was determined by Spearman’s correlation analysis. Impact of expression of PDK1 on overall survival and recurrence was determined by Kaplan–Meier analysis.ResultsImmunohistochemistry results showed that PDK1 expression in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in the corresponding adjacent cancer tissues. Univariate analysis showed that PDK1 messenger RNA expression can predict time to recurrence with diagnostic significance (P=0.001). Univariate analysis showed that alpha-fetoprotein level, tumor number, tumor encapsulation, microvascular invasion, and tumor–node–metastasis stage were also unfavorable prognostic variables for recurrence (P<0.05). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that overexpression of PDK1 correlates with significantly shorter postoperative overall survival and higher recurrence rates (hazard ratio =2.68; 95% confidence interval: 2.46–4.42, P=0.001) in HCC patients after curative resection.ConclusionOur study indicated that PDK1 may serve as a candidate pro-oncogene and a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC.