Along with the rapid development of society, lifestyles and diets have gradually changed. Due to overwhelming material abundance, high fat, high sugar and high protein diets are common. Numerous studies have determined that diet and its impact on gut microbiota are closely related to obesity and metabolic diseases. Different dietary components affect gut microbiota, thus impacting gastrointestinal disease occurrence and development. A large number of related studies are progressing rapidly. Gut microbiota may be an important intermediate link, causing gastrointestinal diseases under the influence of changes in diet and genetic predisposition. To promote healthy gut microbiota and to prevent and cure gastrointestinal diseases, diets should be improved and supplemented with probiotics.

Aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in breast tumorigenesis. It is still unclear if and how miRNAs-221/222 are implicated in breast cancer and the resistance to estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen. We investigated the roles and mechanisms of miR-221/222 in breast cancer cells, particularly in modulating response to tamoxifen therapy. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were transfected with antisense oligonucleotides AS-miR-221 and AS-miR-222 and their expression of miR-221 and miR-222 was assessed. The correlation of miR-221/222 with tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) expression was investigated by fluorescence quantitative PCR and western blotting analysis. The therapeutic sensitivity of these cells, transfected and untransfected, to tamoxifen was determined. Transfection of AS-miR-221 and AS-miR-222 dramatically inhibited expression of miR-221 and miR-222, respectively, in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells (P<0.05-0.01). Downregulation of miR-221/222 significantly increased the expression of TIMP3 compared with controls (P<0.05-0.01). The viability of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 cells transfected with AS-miR-221 or/and AS-miR-222 was significantly reduced by tamoxifen (P<0.05-0.01). We have demonstrated for the first time that suppression of miRNA-221/222 increases the sensitivity of ER-positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells to tamoxifen. This effect is mediated through upregulation of TIMP3. These findings suggest that upregulation of TIMP3 via inhibition of miRNA-221/222 could be a promising therapeutic approach for breast cancer.

Preliminary studies showed that miR-21 is overexpressed in some human cancers. However, the role of miR-21 in cancer is still unclear and even controversial. Our purpose was to investigate the biological effects of miR-21 on A549 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and the underlying mechanisms of those effects. The expression of miR-21 was quantified in serum samples from patients with NSCLC. A549 cells were transfected with miR-NC-sponge or miR-21-sponge only, or with miR-21-sponge plus PDCD4 small-interfering RNA (siRNA). The expression of miR-21 and PDCD4 mRNA in transfected cells was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction and the expression of PDCD4 protein by Western blot. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion assays were performed to determine the biological effects of miR-21 expression and PDCD4 inhibition. miR-21 was overexpressed in serum from patients with NSCLC. Reduced miR-21 expression was observed following transfection with miR-21-sponge in A549 NSCLC cells. Co-transfection of miR-21-sponge with PDCD4 siRNA upregulated miR-21 expression in these cells. PDCD4 mRNA and protein levels were increased 2.14-fold and 2.16-fold, respectively, following inhibition of miR-21 expression. Inhibition of miR-21 expression following transfection of miR-21-sponge reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells. Depletion of PDCD4 by siRNA transfection reversed the reduction of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion induced by inhibition of miR-21 in A549 cells. It indicates that miR-21 is highly expressed in patients with NSCLC and inhibition of miR-21 expression reduces proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells by upregulating PDCD4 expression. Modulation of miR-21 or PDCD4 expression may provide a potentially novel therapeutic approach for NSCLC.

1. Resveratrol (RSV), a polyphenol in red wine, exhibits cardioprotective effects in vitro, such as inhibition of angiotensin II- or phenylephrine-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in rat neonatal myocyte cultures and suppression of cardiac fibroblast proliferation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of RSV against monocrotaline (MCT)-induced right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy in rats. 2. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single injection of MCT (50 mg/kg, s.c.) and were then treated with either vehicle (normal saline) or RSV (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.g., twice daily) for 21 days. A separate group of control rats were not injected with MCT and were treated with normal saline for 21 days. At the end of the treatment period, all rats were subjected to echocardiography and haemodynamic measurements. In addition, after rats had been killed, the hearts were subjected to histopathological, untrastructural and immunohistochemical analyses. 3. In vehicle-treated rats, MCT injection resulted in 33% mortality, whereas mortality in RSV-treated MCT-injected rats was 0%. In vehicle-treated rats, MCT increased RV free wall thickness and RV systolic pressure and decreased pulmonary arterial acceleration time at the end of the experimental period. These dynamic changes were ameliorated by RSV in a dose-dependent manner. Histologically, MCT injection resulted in RV hypertrophy, swollen mitochrondria and cardiomyocyte apoptosis; all these morphological changes were dose-dependently improved in rats treated with RSV. 4. In conclusion, RSV inhibits the RV hypertrophy induced by MCT in rats and this effect is mediated by both a direct effect of RSV on cardiomyocytes and an indirect effect mediated via a reduction in pulmonary hypertension.

No abstract