BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of most common cancers worldwide. Long non-coding RNA SNHG6 has been reported to act as essential regulators in several cancers. However, the functional role and molecular mechanism of SNHG6 in colorectal cancer remain unclear.MethodsQuantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to evaluate the SNHG6 expression in CRC tissues. Colony formation, transwell assays and in vivo mice models were carried out to assess the effect of SNHG6 on CRC biological functions.ResultsIn the present study, we showed that the expression of SNHG6 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. High expression of SNHG6 was associated with shorter overall survival in CRC patients. Functionally, SNHG6 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and migration both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, miR-760 was a direct target of SNHG6, and repression of miR-760 could rescue the inhibitory effect of SNHG6 knockdown on CRC progression. In addition, SNHG6 positively regulated FOXC1 expression through sponging miR-760 in CRC cells, thus indicating that SNHG6 exerted an oncogenic role in CRC by acting as a ceRNA of miR-760.ConclusionOur results indicate that long non-coding RNA SNHG6 promotes colorectal cancer progression by sequestering miR-760 and activating FOXC1, our findings suggest that SNHG6 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.

Several studies have identified miR-223 critically involved in various types of cancer, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, its action and regulatory mechanisms in PDAC remains largely unclear. In this study, we found that the expression levels of miR-223 were increased in clinical samples with PDAC (81.6%). The upregulation of miR-223 increases the proliferation, migration, and invasive abilities of PDAC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, miR-223 directly targeted FBXW7 and overexpression of FBXW7 reverted miR-223- induced drastic proliferation in PDAC cells. Interestingly, miR-223 promoter was found to form a coprecipitable complex with hnRNPK, and siRNA knockdown of hnRNPK in PDAC cells reduced the levels of miR-223. These results show that hnRNPK is a cellular protein that binds and affects the accumulation of miR-223 in PDAC. Furthermore, FBXW7 interacts with hnRNPK and promotes its degradation, which requires phosphorylation of hnRNPK at threonine 1695 by GSK3. Consistently, we observed an inverse expression pattern between FBXW7 and miR-223, whereas a positive expression pattern between miR-223 and hnRNPK was found in human PDAC tissues. These data unveiled an important new miR-223/FBXW7/HnRNPK feedback cascade in human PDAC.

PTP-1B is a key regulator of apoptosis of cardiomyocytes induced by H/R, and siRNA against PTP-1B effectively protects cardiomyocytes against H/R injury, the mechanisms of which might be associated with Akt activation, the reduction of both caspase-3 and 8 activities, and the lower amount of PTP-1B bound to FasR.

Background: Adoptive immunotherapy with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) has great potential for the treatment of some malignant cancers. Therefore, augmenting the responses of tumor-specific CTLs is significant for the adoptive immunotherapy of melanoma. This study aimed to investigate the anti-tumor response of a combination therapy employing folate-modified chitosan nanoparticles containing IP-10 (interferon-γ-inducible protein-10) plus melanoma TRP2-specific CD8+CD28+ T cells. Methods: We prepared folate-modified chitosan nanoparticles containing the mouse IP-10 gene (FA-CS-mIP-10), and induced melanoma TRP2-specific CD8+CD28+ T cells by co-culturing them with artificial antigen-presenting cells. B16-bearing mice were treated with FA-CS-mIP-10, melanoma TRP2-specific CD8+CD28+ T cells, a combination of both, and the saline control. Tumor volumes and the survival time of mice were recorded. The proportion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) infiltrating the tumor microenvironment and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the spleen was analyzed by flow cytometry. We also detected the proliferation and angiogenesis of tumors by immunohistochemistry and apoptosis by TUNEL. Results: The combination therapy inhibited the progression of melanoma in vivo. Compared with other treatments, it more efficiently inhibited tumor growth and increased the survival time of mice. After treatment with combination therapy, the proportion of MDSCs and Tregs decreased, while the percentage of CXCR3+CD8+ T cells increased. Furthermore, combination therapy inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of tumor cells and significantly inhibited tumor angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusion: We describe a novel strategy for improving the anti-tumor response of CD8+CD28+ CTLs by combining them with FA-CS-mIP-10 nanoparticles.