Hypermethylation of SFRP genes in esophageal squamous cell cancer

AIM: To investigate the promoter methylation of secreted frizzled-related protein(SFRP) genes in esophageal squamous cell cancer(ESCC). METHODS: The methods of methylation-specific PCR(MS-PCR) and RT-PCR were applied to examine the CpG methylation of the SFRP promoter and the mRNA expression of SFRP genes,respectively, in 78 samples of ESCC and corresponding adjacent non-cancer tissues. The protein expression of β-catenin was determined by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS: In the ESCC tissues, the frequencies of promoter methylation in SFRP1 , SFRP2 , SFRP4 and SFRP5 genes were 65.4%(51/78), 69.2%(54/78), 62.8%(49/78) and 52.6%(41/78),respectively, significantly higher than those in the adjacent tissues(P<0.01). The hypermethylation of these genes had no correlation with clinical stage and pathological classification in ESCC tissues(P>0.05). The frequency of simultaneous methylation of the 4 genes was correlated with the clinical stage(P<0.05). The positive rates of mRNA expression of the 4 genes in ESCC tissues were 42.3%(33/78), 46.2%(36/78), 50.0%(39/78) and 39.7%(31/78), respectively lower than those in the adjacent tissues(P<0.01). The mRNA expression of SFRP genes and the ectopic expression of β-catenin were correlated with the methylation frequency of SFRP genes(P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Promoter methylation of SFRP1 , SFRP2 , SFRP4 and SFRP5 genes was a frequent event in ESCC, indicating a contribution to the pathogenesis of ESCC through aberrant canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Combination analysis of methylation status in SFRP genes may has definite value on estimating prognosis of ESCC.     

Methylation of TIMP-3 gene and their relationships with their clinical-pathological characteristics of colorectal cancers

AIM: To investigate whether methylation of the TIMP-3 gene is associated with clinical-pathological characteristics, recurrence and metastasis of the colorectal cancer. METHODS: Nest methylation specific PCR (nMSP) and RT-PCR techniques were used to detect methylation of TIMP-3 gene and its mRNA expression in the colorectal cancer specimen and adjacent non-cancerous tissues. RESULTS: The expression of TIMP-3 mRNA in tumor tissues was distinctly reduced (P<0.01). The expression of TIMP-3 mRNA in those without lymph node metastasis was higher than those with lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). The patients with Duke's C, D and lymph node metastasis were more to contain methylated TIMP-3 compared to those with Duke's A, B and no lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Statistical differences in pathological characteristics such as tumor site, Duke's stage, histological differentiation and type between TIMP-3 methylation positive group and negative group were observed (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Methylation of the TIMP-3 gene promoter usually occurs in the proximal site, infiltrating type, poor cellular differentiation, lymph node metastasis and advanced stage of colorectal cancers patients.     

Expression and clinical significance of RhoC and Ki-67 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues

AIM: To investigate the expression and significance of RhoC and Ki-67 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues.METHODS: The expression of RhoC and Ki-67 was detected in 52 specimens of ESCC by the method of immunohistochemistry. The clinicopathological features were also analyzed.RESULTS: The expression of RhoC was detected in 32 of the total 52 (61.5%) cases of human ESCC tissues, significantly higher than that in the adjacent histologically normal epithelium, which was only in 11 of 37 cases (29.7%, P<0.05). RhoC expression was closely correlated with clinical tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (P<0.05) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) in ESCC. The over-expression of RhoC was positively correlated with Ki-67 in ESCC (r=0.322, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The over-expression of RhoC protein significantly correlates with advanced TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and cell proliferation ability of ESCC. Therefore, RhoC may be a new auxiliary parameter for early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of ESCC.     

Expression and significance of Mnk2 and eIF4E in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the expression and significance of MAPK-interacting kinase-2 (Mnk2) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) in the patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).METHODS: The protein expression of Mnk2 and eIF4E in ESCC tissues (98 cases) and normal esophageal tissues (20 cases) were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and their correlations with clinicopathological features were statistically analyzed.RESULTS: The over-expression rate of Mnk2 and eIF4E was 68.4% (67/98) and 61.2% (60/98), respectively. The expression of Mnk2 had a positive correlation with eIF4E (P<0.05). Clinicopathologic analysis showed that Mnk2 expression was significantly correlated with T classification (P<0.05) and clinical stage (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The over-expression of Mnk2 was significantly related to the tumor invasive depth, TNM stages and expression of eIF4E in ESCC. Expression of Mnk2 and eIF4E may have a cooperative formation mechanism in the development of ESCC.     

Clinical significance of STMN1 expression in cervical cancer and effect of inhibition of its expression on viability and apoptosis of cervical cancer SiHa cells

AIM: To investigate the clinical significance of stathmin 1 (STMN1) expression in cervical cancer and the influence of its expression on the viability and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. METHODS: Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of STMN1 in cervical cancer tissues, and the relationship between the expression and clinical characteristics of cervical cancer was analyzed. STMN1-siRNA was transfected into cervical squamous-cell carcinoma SiHa cells. The protein levels of STMN1, STAT3, p-STAT3 and survivin were determined by Western blot after transfection for 48 h. The cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. DCFH-DA probe was used to detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). RESULTS: The protein expression of STMN1 in cervical cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in paracancerous tissues (P<0.01). The STMN1 protein expression level was not correlated with age and histological types of cervical cancer patients, but was related to clinical stage, histological differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). Transfection with STMN1-siRNA significantly reduced the expression of STMN1 in SiHa cells. Compared with control group, the cell viability in STMN1-siRNA group was significantly decreased, the apoptotic rate and ROS content were increased, and the protein levels of p-STAT3 and survivin were down-regulated (P<0.01). However, no significant difference of the STAT3 protein level was observed between STMN1-siRNA group and control group. CONCLUSION: STMN1 is highly expressed in cervical cancer, and its expression is related to clinical stage, histological differentiation and lymph node metastasis. Inhibition of STMN1 expression reduces the viability and promotes apoptosis of cancer cells by down-regulating STAT3 signaling pathway.     

Expression of KDM5B gene in breast cancer and its clinical significance

AIM:To investigate the expression of KDM5B gene in breast cancer tissues and its relationship with clinical data and prognosis of the patients. METHODS:Data sets of breast cancer were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and KDM5B mRNA expression profiles were downloaded. The mRNA expression of KDM5B in breast cancer tissues and adjacent tissues was detected by real-time PCR. The cases were divided into high expression group and low expression group according to the median expression of KDM5B, and the relationship with clinical data and case characteristics were analyzed. The relationship between KDM5B and prognosis of breast cancer patients was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier plotter. RESULTS:The expression of KDM5B in breast cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in normal breast tissues (P<0.01). In TCGA breast cancer data, the expression of KDM5B was significantly correlated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), estrogen receptor (ER), age, histopathological type and lymph node metastasis (P<0.01), but not with progesterone receptor (PR), menopause and distant metastasis. The expression of KDM5B was significantly correlated with HER2, age and lymph node metastasis, but not with ER, PR, menopause, pathological type and distant metastasis. The higher the expression of KDM5B, the shorter the total survival time and the disease-free survival time of breast cancer patients. CONCLUSION:KDM5B is over-expressed in breast cancer tissues and correlated with prognosis of the patients. KDM5B expression is significantly correlated with HER2, age and lymph node metastasis. KDM5B may play an important role in the development of breast cancer.     

《中国蔬菜品种志》

本书由中国农业科学院蔬菜花卉研究所主编,已于2002年9月出版发行。全书分上、下卷,1～6章为上卷,包括根菜类、白菜类、芥菜类、甘蓝类、绿叶菜类及葱蒜类,计2263个品种,1347页;7～12章为下卷,包括瓜类、茄果类、豆类、薯芋类、水生蔬菜类和多年生蔬菜类,计2550个品种,1177页。入志的品种中,地方品种占     

Correlation between Mnk2 protein expression and prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the protein expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase-interacting kinase-2 (Mnk2) and its prognostic effect in the patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: A total of 86 informative patients with surgically resected ESCC and 54 normal esophageal tissues were enrolled. Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were utilized to assess the protein expression of Mnk2, and its correlation with prognosis was statistically analyzed by the methods of Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox proportional hazard mode. RESULTS: The protein expression of Mnk2 was elevated in most of tumor tissues compared with the adjacent tissues. Clinicopathologic analysis showed that Mnk2 expression was significantly correlated with the TNM stage (P<0.05). Both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of Mnk2 over-expression patients were shorter than those in Mnk2 negative expression group. Multivariate analysis confirmed that Mnk2 expression, as an independent and significant factor for both DFS and OS, predicted a poor prognosis of the patients with resected ESCC (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression of Mnk2 was significantly related to the TNM stages, and might be a novel predictor for prognosis in ESCC.     

Expression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins in breast cancer and its clinical significance

AIM: To evaluate the expression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins in breast cancer and the significance. METHODS: The patients with breast cancer (n=150) in our hospital from January 2015 to January 2017 were selected as study object. The tumor tissue samples of these patients were obtained from paraffin section of breast cancer by surgical resection with complete clinicopathological data. The corresponding paracancerous tissue sam-ples were taken from the non-tumor tissue samples from the above breast cancer patients, which were 0.5~1 cm away from the tumor tissue. The methods of real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to examine the expression of Wnt-1 and β-catenin at mRNA and protein levels. Human breat cancer MCF-7 cells were divided into 3 groups:control group (MCF-7 cells without treatment), agonist group[MCF-7 cells+Wnt3a (1 mg/L)] and antagonit group[MCF-7 cells+DKK1 (16 μmol/L)]. The expression of Wnt-1 and β-catenin at mRNA and protein levels was detected by real-time PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the paracancerous tissues, the expression levels of Wnt-1 and β-catenin were higher in tumor tissues at mRNA and proteins levels (P<0.05). Notably, the positive expression rates of Wnt-1 and β-catenin were significantly higher in tumor tissues than that in the paracancerous tissues. Furthermore, Wnt-1 expression was associated with tumor metastasis (χ²=5.352, P=0.021), tumor stage (χ²=9.412, P=0.002) and tumor size (χ²=9.412, P=0.002). In addition, β-catenin expression was also associated with tumor metastasis (χ²=9.851, P=0.002) and tumor stage (χ²=5.661, P=0.017). Compared with control group, the expression of Wnt-1 and β-catenin at mRNA and protein levels in agonist group was increased (P<0.05),while that in antagonist group was decreased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression levels of Wnt-1 and β-catenin related with Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway are increased in the breast cancer, which are closely related to the malignant state of the tumor.     

Methylation status of multiple genes in colorectal cancer tissues and its clinical significance

AIM: The aim of the present study was to detect the methylation status of multiple genes (Syk, CDH1 and TIMP-3) in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, to investigate the roles in the pathogenesis of CRC, to investigate whether methylation of multiple genes was associated with recurrence and metastasis of CRC, and to evaluate its ability to predict the prognosis of CRC. METHODS: Nested methylation-specific PCR (n-MSP) were used to detect methylation status of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) from 120 CRC tissues and the methylation status of CDH1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) from 100 CRC tissues. RESULTS: We found that methylation in one or more genes, co-methylation in two genes and three genes were detected in 74%, 21%, and 8% of CRC tissues. No significant correlation between three genes co-methylation and lymph node metastasis (2=0.725,P>0.05) was observed. The methylation of CDH1 gene, but not Syk or TIMP-3 gene, was significantly related with liver and lung metastasis of CRC (2=6.938,P<0.01). The methylation of Syk or TIMP-3, and co-methylation of CDH1 and TIMP-3 were risk factors in the prognosis of colorectal cancer after surgical treatment, and three genes co-methylation was not a risk factor. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that methylation of multiple genes exists in CRC tissues. The methylation of multiple genes is not a necessary factor in the pathogenesis, metastasis and recurrence of CRC, and also it is not a necessary prognostic factor in CRC.     

Expression and significance of T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain in colorectal cancer

AIM: To study the expression and clinical significance of T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) in colorectal cancer. METHODS: The patients with colorectal cancer (n=80) from January 2016 to June 2018 were selected. The expression of TIGIT and CD155 in the colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining method. The expression of TIGIT and CD155 was also determined by Western blot and ELISA. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of TIGIT and CD155 were 78.8% (63/80) and 83.8% (67/80) in the colorectal cancer tissues, significantly higher than that in the paracancerous tissues of 8.8% (7/80) and 18.8% (15/80), respectively (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between TIGIT and CD155 expression (r=0.867, P<0.01). The expression levels of TIGIT and CD155 were increased as the stage evolved. The positive rates of TIGIT and CD155 in the colorectal cancer tissues were correlated with the degree of differentiation, pathological stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: TIGIT and CD155 are correlated with the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer, and can be used as one of the prognostic indicators of colorectal cancer.     

Histone acetylation and methylation modification of topoisomerase Ⅱα promoter regulatory factor Sp1 in patients with chronic benzene poisoning

AIM: To investigate the histone modification changes of topoisomerase Ⅱα(TOPOⅡα) promoter regulatory factor Sp1 in the patients with chronic benzene poisoning.METHODS: The bone marrow samples were collected from 25 chronic benzene poisoning cases and 25 controls. The chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was carried out to study the possible mechanism of TOPOⅡα promoter regulatory factor Sp1 expression changes. The mRNA expression of Sp1 was detected by RT-PCR.RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the histone H4 acetylation and histone H3 acetylation of Sp1 in the chronic benzene poisoning patients significantly decreased(P<0.01), and histone H3K9 methylation level of Sp1 increased(P<0.01), but the histone H3K4 methylation level of SP1 was not obviously changed(P>0.05). The mRNA expression of Sp1 in the chronic benzene poisoning patients was significantly lower than that in the controls(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: In chronic benzene poisoning patients, the histone acetylation and methylation modification changes of TOPO Ⅱα promoter regulatory factor Sp1 accompanied with the changes of mRNA level are observed. Histone H4 and H3 acetylation and H3K9 methylation modification of Sp1 may play an important role in the benzene,s hematopoietic toxicities.     

Expression and clinical significance of bone morphogenetic protein 3 in hilar cholangiocarcinoma tissues

AIM: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of bone morphogenetic protein 3 (BMP3) in hilar cholangiocarcinoma tissues.METHODS: Thirty cases of hilar cholangiocarcinoma specimens were collected. The expression of BMP3 at mRNA and protein levels in the tumor tissues and paracancerous tissues was detected by real-time PCR and Western blot. The hilar cholangiocarcinoma paraffin-embedded specimens (n=103) were collected. The protein expression of BMP3 was determined by immunohistochemical method, and the relationship of BMP3 protein expression with clinical pathological characteristics was evaluated.RESULTS: In the 30 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma, the expressions of BMP3 protein and mRNA in 22 cases of tumor tissues were significantly decreased compared with the adjacent normal tissues. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that 87 cases were negative and 16 cases were weakly positive in all 103 cases of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The expression of BMP3 protein was associated with the tumor TNM staging, lymph node metastasis and tumor differentiation (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: BMP3 gene might be inhibited in human hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The down-regulation of BMP3 gene might be associated with the carcinogenesis and development of hilar cholangiocarcinoma.     

Relationship between expression of COX-2 and clinicopathological features in esophageal carcinoma

AIM:To examine COX-2 expression in esophageal carcinoma, and to study relationships between COX-2 expression and clinicopathological features and prognosis of esophageal carcinoma patients. METHODS:89 paraffin - embedded tissue samples from patients with esophageal carcinoma were collected, its clinicopathological features such as tumour differentiation, depth of invasion, length and site of the tumor, regional lymph node metastases, distant metastasis were recorded. Survival time of 81 cases were also recorded. By SP immunohistochemistry method, the expression of COX-2 in tumor samples was examined. RESULTS:COX-2 expression in esophageal carcinoma was markedly higher than that in nomal esophagus, the expression was higher in less differentiated and deeper invaded cases (P<0.05), but it had no correlations with other clinicopathological features such as age,sex, length and site of the tumor, regional lymph node metastases, and distant metastasis (P>0.05). Cases of esophageal carcinoma with lower COX-2 expression had longer survival time than those with higher COX-2 expression (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:COX-2 expression is higher in esophageal carcinoma than normal esophagus. COX-2 expression of esophageal carcinoma is higher in less differentiated and deeper invaded cases, but it has no correlation with age, sex, length and site of the tumor, regional lymph node metastases, and distant metastasis. Patients with lower COX-2 expression have longer survival time than those with higher COX-2 expression.     

Clinical significance and prognostic value of β-catenin expression in colonic adenocarcinoma

AIM: To observe the expression of β-catenin in colonic adenocarcinoma and to investigate its clinical significance and prognostic value. METHODS: The integrated clinical and follow-up data of 52 patients, who were undergone radical operation, were retrospectively analyzed from June 2000 to June 2004 in our hospital. The paraffin-embedded tissues of 52 colonic adenocarcinoma specimens and 20 cases of normal paraneoplastic colonic mucous tissues were detected for β-catenin expression by immunohistochemical method. The relationships between β-catenin and clinical variables and prognostic value were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: β-catenin was normally expressed in all 20 normal cases. In the cases of colonic adenocarcinoma, the abnormal expression rate of β-catenin was 71%. The abnormal expression of β-catenin did not correlated with gender, age, histological differentiation and blood CEA (P>0.05), but it was correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (P<0.05). The abnormal expression of β-catenin were also correlated with the postoperative survive time (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The abnormal expression of β-catenin is correlated with the lymph node metastasis and clinical stage, and the abnormal expression is an important adverse prognostic factor for survival in the patients with colonic adenocarcinoma. β-catenin may be a molecular prognostic marker in the patients with colonic adenocarcinoma.     

庆祝《园艺学报》创刊50 周年

今年是《园艺学报》创刊发行50周年。50年来,《园艺学报》坚持为学术交流服务,为促进学科发展作贡献的办刊原则,以"科学性;创新性;对生产和科研有参考启迪作用"的标准,收录和发表了大量高水平的论文,记载了几代科技工作者呕心沥血创新之作,反映了中国园艺科学技术和园艺产业的发展历程。     

Clinical significance of detection of p16 gene methylation in early diagnosis of lung cancer

AIM: To investigate the aberrant methylation in the promoter of p16 in plasma, sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), pleural effusion and biopsy specimens from suspected lung cancer patients and to evaluate the clinical significance in the early diagnosis of lung cancer.METHODS: Using methylation specific PCR (MSP) for the detection of promoter methylation of p16 gene in plasma, sputum, BALF, pleural effusion and biopsy specimens from suspected lung cancer patients.RESULTS: Of the 67 cases of suspected lung cancer patients, 42 were proved by pathology. The positive percentages of p16 gene promoter methylation of the lung cancer patients are as follows: 52.4%（22/42）in plasma, 47.6%（20/42）in sputum, 59.5%（25/42）in BALF, 71.4%（10/14）in pleural effusion and 61.9%（26/42）in biopsy specimens, respectively；while promoter methylation in p16 gene was found only one in plasma and one in pleural effusion in 25 patients with various benign lesions (P<0.05). The positive expression of p16 gene promoter methylation in lung cancer patients was irrelevant to histological type, clinical stage, pathological grade, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis of the lung carcinomas (P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Detection of the aberrant methylation in the promoter of p16 gene in plasma, sputum, BALF, pleural effusion and biopsy specimens from lung cancer patients by MSP method is a kind of rising technology with development potential for lung cancer early diagnosis.