The molecular regulation of palatogenesis continues to be an active area of investigation to provide a foundation for understanding the molecular etiology of cleft palate. Transforming growth factor (TGF) - type III receptor (TR-III) has been shown to be specifically expressed in the medial edge epithelium at critical stages of palatal shelf adherence during palatogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine TR-III mRNA localization and expression levels in vivo and to determine the requirement for TR-III expression during palatal fusion in vitro. TR-III gene expression was analyzed by in situ hybridization in tissue specimens and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction using specific cells in the palatal shelf isolated by laser capture microdissection. TR-III was knocked down in embryonic day (E) 13 palatal shelves in organ culture. Palatal shelf organ cultures were treated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) at final concentrations of 300, 400, and 500 nM, respectively.
BackgroundNon-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents the most frequent subtype of lung cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have attracted a lot of attention with regard to their clinical significance and crucial biological functions in various human cancers. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of microRNA-421 (miR-421) and its correlation with tumor progression in NSCLC.Materials and methodsExpression levels of miR-421 in both serum and tissue samples were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The prognostic value of miR-421 was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Cox regression assay. To explore the functional role of miR-421 during NSCLC progression, cell experiments were carried out.ResultsExpression of serum and tissue miR-421 was upregulated in the NSCLC patients compared with the normal controls (all P<0.001), and the expression showed a significant correlation between the serum samples and tissues (R=0.475, P<0.001). The increased miR-421 expression was associated with positive lymph-node metastasis and advanced TNM stage (all P<0.05). Moreover, patients with high miR-421 expression had poor overall survival compared with those with low expression (log-rank P=0.007). The overexpression of miR-421 proved to be an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC (HR=1.991, 95% CI=1.046–3.791, P=0.036). According to the cell experiments, the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells were suppressed by knockdown of miR-421.ConclusionOverexpression of miR-421 serves as a prognostic biomarker and may be involved in the promotion of tumor progression in NSCLC.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.