RNA editing is a widespread post-transcriptional mechanism that confers specific and reproducible nucleotide changes in selected RNA transcripts and plays a critical role in many human cancers. However, little is known about how RNA editing operates in non-small-cell lung cancers. Here, we measured the sequence and expression level of genes of antizyme inhibitor 1 and adenosine deaminase acting on RNA family in 30 non-small-cell lung cancer patient samples and 13 cell lines and revealed RNA editing S367G in antizyme inhibitor 1 is a high-frequent molecular events. We determined overexpression of antizyme inhibitor 1 with RNA editing, implying the oncogenic function of this alteration. We also detected the association of adenosine deaminase acting on RNA overexpression with RNA editing occurred in antizyme inhibitor 1. Furthermore, the RNA editing could cause a cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation of antizyme inhibitor 1 protein and conferred the malignant phenotype of non-small-cell lung cancer cells. The in vivo experiment confirmed that this RNA editing confers higher capacity of tumor migration as well. In conclusion, antizyme inhibitor 1 RNA editing and its involvement in tumorigenesis of non-small-cell lung cancer pave a new way for potential clinical management of non-small-cell lung cancer.

Regulation of ductus arteriosus (DA) tension depends on a balance between oxygen-induced constriction and PG and nitric oxide (NO)-mediated relaxation. After birth, increasing Pa(O(2)) produces DA constriction. However, as the full-term ductus constricts, it develops severe tissue hypoxia in its inner vessel wall (oxygen concentration <0.2%). We used isolated rings of fetal lamb DA to determine why the constricted ductus does not relax and reopen as it becomes hypoxic. We used a modification of the 2-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-N-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl) acetamide (EF5) technique (Clyman RI, Chan CY, Mauray F, Chen YQ, Cox W, Seidner SR, Lord EM, Weiss H, Wale N, Evan SM, and Koch CJ. Pediatr Res 45: 19-29, 1999) to determine mean tissue oxygen concentration. A decrease in the ductus' mean tissue oxygen concentration from 1.4 to 0.1% lowers the isometric tone of the ductus by 15 +/- 10% of its maximal active tension (the maximal tension that can be produced by the ductus). Although decreases in oxygen concentration diminish ductus tension, most of the vasoconstrictor tone in the ductus is independent of ambient oxygen concentration. This oxygen-independent tone is equivalent to 64 +/- 10% of the maximal active tension. At mean tissue oxygen concentrations >0.2%, endogenous PGs and NO inhibit more than 40% of the active tension developed by the ductus. However, when tissue oxygen concentrations drop below 0.2%, the constitutive relaxation of the ductus by endogenous PGs and NO is lost. In the absence of PG and NO production, tension increases to a level normally observed only after treatment of the ductus with indomethacin and nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (inhibitors of PG and NO production). Therefore, under conditions of severe hypoxia (tissue oxygen concentration <0.2% oxygen), the loss of PG- and NO-mediated relaxation more than compensates for the loss of oxygen-induced tension. We hypothesize that this increased ductus tone enables the vessel to remain closed as it undergoes tissue remodeling.

The alpha6 integrin subunit couples with either the beta1 or the beta4 subunit to form a laminin receptor. alpha6 expression is cell-type-specific and generally is present at high levels in epithelial and endothelial cells. To study its gene regulation, we isolated a genomic clone containing the human alpha6 integrin gene promoter. It includes 3 kb of the upstream flanking region, the first exon (385 bp), and 9 kb of the first intron. The alpha6 promoter directs transcription initiation from a primary site 202 nucleotides from the translation initiation codon. Unlike most other integrin gene promoters, the alpha6 promoter has a TATA box (GATAAA), which is located 22 nucleotides upstream from the primary transcription initiation site. A 190-bp region upstream from the TATA box is highly rich (78%) in C and G nucleotides and contains several Sp1 and AP2 binding sequences. However, full promoter activity (in the presence of the SV40 enhancer) requires only 78 bp of this C/G-rich sequence upstream from the TATA box. Slightly upstream from the C/G-rich region are a steroid receptor binding homolog and an epithelial-cell-specific E-pal sequence. Another possible epithelial cell-specific binding sequence (Ker1) is found immediately downstream from the TATA box. Cell-type-specific activities of the promoter paralleled the alpha6 mRNA levels in four tested cell lines. In the presence of the SV40 enhancer, alpha6 promoter activity increased approximately four-fold in primary keratinocytes and in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells and 30-fold in T47D breast carcinoma cells, but remained undetectable in K562 leukemia cells. Genomic analysis that compared alpha6-expressing with non-alpha6-expressing cells suggested that DNA methylation is not involved in the silencing of the alpha6 gene in alpha6-negative cells. DNase I footprint analysis confirmed the binding of Sp1 and AP2 to their cognate sequences. A nuclear extract of high-alpha6-expressing HBL-100 cells also produced significant binding to these sites, suggesting that the two transcription factors are probably involved in the positive regulation of the alpha6 promoter.

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Serine incorporator 2 (SERINC2) is a member of the SERINC family of transmembrane proteins that incorporate serine into membrane lipids during synthesis. In the present study, the biological function of SERINC2 in lung adenocarcinoma cells was investigated. The data from a previous study and the publicly available Oncomine database were analysed regarding the expression levels of SERINC2 mRNA in lung adenocarcinoma. A lentiviral-based short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to suppress SERINC2 expression in lung cancer cells. The effect of SERINC2 expression on lung cancer proliferation was determined using cell counting kit-8 and colony formation assays. The influence on invasion and migration was examined in vitro using Transwell and wound-healing assays, respectively. Phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT) expression levels were assessed by immunoblotting. According to a previous study and Oncomine, expression levels of SERINC2 mRNA are significantly upregulated in tumour tissues compared with those in healthy tissues in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. SERINC2-knockdown by lentiviral-based shRNA inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of the H1650 and A549 cells. In addition, p-AKT expression levels were significantly decreased following SERINC2-knockdown. In conclusion, SERINC2-knockdown suppresses lung adenocarcinoma proliferation, migration and invasion through a mechanism that may be associated with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT signalling. Based on these findings, SERINC2 serves an important role in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To explore the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in combination with systemic family therapy (SFT) on mild to moderate postpartum depression and sleep quality. Methods: 249 primiparous women with mild to moderate postpartum depression were recruited and randomly assigned to a control group (n=128), which received conventional postpartum care, or to a psychological intervention group (n=121), which received conventional postpartum care combined with psychological intervention. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were employed to evaluate depression and sleep quality, respectively. Results: 104 patients in the intervention group and 109 in the control group completed the study. After intervention, the EPDS score, PSQI score, sleep quality score, sleep latency score, sleep duration score, habitual sleep efficiency score, sleep disturbance score, and daytime dysfunction score were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group. The EPDS and PSQI scores of each group at different time points after intervention were markedly decreased compared with those before intervention, and the reduction in the intervention group was more evident than that in the control group. Conclusion: CBT in combination with SFT can improve depression and sleep quality in patients with mild to moderate postpartum depression.

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Our results suggest the presence of EGFR wild-type, KRAS gene mutations or squamous cell carcinoma were associated with high PD-L1expression, which provides potential benefited population for the administration of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in human lung cancer.