BackgroundThe tumour microenvironment is essential for cancer progress and metastasis. Integrin-β5 (ITGB5), a member of the integrin family, has been implicated to mediate the interactions of cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and promote tumorigenesis in several malignancies. However, the role of ITGB5 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unknown.MethodsThe biological function of ITGB5 in HCC was investigated using migration, colony formation assays. The potential molecular mechanism of ITGB5 in regulating HCC tumorigenesis and β-catenin stabilization was investigated by western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation and ubiquitination assays. The expression level of ITGB5 mediated by miR-185 was confirmed by bioinformatic analysis, luciferase assay. The clinical significance of ITGB5 was based on human tissue microarray (TMA) analysis.ResultsHere, we found that the expression of ITGB5 is increased in HCC tissues. Elevated ITGB5 markedly facilitates HCC cell migration and tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies revealed that ITGB5, as a partner of β-catenin, directly interacts with β-catenin and inhibits its degradation, thus leading to WNT/β-catenin activity. Subsequently, we also found that ITGB5 is a direct targeted gene of miR-185. The downregulation of miR-185 in HCC cells promotes an increase in ITGB5. An additional increase of ITGB5 is associated with β-catenin upregulation and a miR-185 decrease in HCC tissues.ConclusionsOur data reveal that the miR-185-ITGB5-β-catenin pathway plays an important role in HCC tumorigenesis, and ITGB5 may be a promising specific target for HCC therapy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-018-0691-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Vaginal dysbiosis often occurs in patients with cervical cancer. The fucosylation of mucosal epithelial cells is closely related to microbial colonization, and play an important role in protecting the vaginal mucosal epithelial cells. However, no reports on the relationship between vaginal dysbiosis and abnormal mucosal epithelial cell fucosylation, and their roles in the occurrence and development of cervical cancer are unavailable. Here we report that core fucosylation levels were significantly lower in the serum, exfoliated cervical cells and tumor tissue of cervical cancer patients. Core fucosyltransferase gene (Fut8) knockout promoted the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells. In patients with cervical cancer, the vaginal dysbiosis, and the abundance of Lactobacillus, especially L. iners, was significantly reduced. Meanwhile, the abundance of L.iners was positively correlated with core fucosylation levels. The L. iners metabolite lactate can activate the Wnt pathway through the lactate-Gpr81 complex, which increases the level of core fucosylation in epidermal cells, inhibiting the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells, and have application prospects in regulating the vaginal microecology and preventing cervical cancer.

No abstract

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient element for plant growth, and deficiency of inorganic phosphate (Pi) limits plant growth and yield. Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is an important fodder crop cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world. However, the mechanisms underlying efficient P use in elephant grass under Pi deficiency remain poorly understood. In this study, the physiological and molecular responses of elephant grass leaves and roots to Pi deficiency were investigated. The results showed that dry weight, total P concentration, and P content decreased in Pi-deprived plants, but that acid phosphatase activity and P utilization efficiency (PUE) were higher than in Pi-sufficient plants. Regarding Pi starvation-responsive (PSR) genes, transcriptomics showed that 59 unigenes involved in Pi acquisition and transport (especially 18 purple acid phosphatase and 27 phosphate transporter 1 unigenes) and 51 phospholipase unigenes involved in phospholipids degradation or Pi-free lipids biosynthesis, as well as 47 core unigenes involved in the synthesis of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids, were significantly up-regulated by Pi deprivation in leaves or roots. Furthermore, 43 unigenes related to Pi-independent- or inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi)-dependent bypass reactions were markedly up-regulated in Pi-deficient leaves, especially five UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and 15 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase unigenes. Consistent with PSR unigene expression changes, metabolomics revealed that Pi deficiency significantly increased metabolites of Pi-free lipids, phenylpropanoids, and flavonoids in leaves and roots, but decreased phospholipid metabolites. This study reveals the mechanisms underlying the responses to Pi starvation in elephant grass leaves and roots, which provides candidate unigenes involved in efficient P use and theoretical references for the development of P-efficient elephant grass varieties.

No abstract