Chen-Xue Mao

Huperzine A Ameliorates Cognitive Deficits in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The present study was designed to probe the effects of Huperzine A (HupA) on diabetes-associated cognitive decline (DACD) using a streptozotocin (STZ)-injected rat model. Diabetic rats were treated with HupA (0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg) for seven weeks. Memory functions were evaluated by the water maze test. Nissl staining was selected for detecting neuronal loss. Protein and mRNA levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were analyzed by ELISA and real-time PCR, respectively. The activities of choline acetylase (ChAT), Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), NF-κB p65 unit, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and caspase-3 were measured using corresponding kits. After seven weeks, diabetic rats exhibited remarkable reductions in: body weight, percentage of time spent in target quadrant, number of times crossing the platform, ChAT and BDNF levels, SOD, GSH-Px and CAT accompanied with increases in neuronal damage, plasma glucose levels, escape latency, mean path length, AChE, MDA level as well as CAT, NF-κB p65 unit, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and caspase-3 in cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Supplementation with HupA significantly and dose-dependently reversed the corresponding values in diabetes. It is concluded that HupA ameliorates DACD via modulating BDNF, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.

MicroRNA-138 acts as a tumor suppressor in non small cell lung cancer via targeting YAP1

MicroRNA (miR)-138 was found to have suppressive effects on the growth and metastasis of different human cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of miR-138 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We applied the Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) to detect the miR-138 levels in NSCLC tissues (n=21) and cell lines, Bioinformatical predication, luciferase reporter assay and western blot to identify the target gene of miR-138. We also applied Cell transfection, MTT, transwell, and wound healing assays to reveal the role of miR-138 in NSCLC cell proliferation and malignant transformation. We observed that miR-138 expression level was significantly decreased in NSCLC tissues compared to their matched adjacent normal tissues. It was also downregulated in tissues with poor differentiation, advanced stage or lymph nodes metastasis, as well as in several NSCLC cell lines compared to normal lung epithelial cell. We further identified YAP1 as a direct target gene of miR-138, and observed that the protein level of YAP1 was negatively mediated by miR-138 in NSCLC A549 cells. Moreover, overexpression of miR-138 significantly inhibited A549 cell growth, invasion and migration, while knockdown of miR-138 enhanced such capacities. Further investigation showed that the cell proliferation capacity was higher in the miR-138+YAP1 group, when compared with that in the miR-138 group, suggesting that overexpression of YAP1 rescued the suppressive effects of miR-138 upregulation on NSCLC cell proliferation. However, we found no difference of cell invasion and migration capacities between miR-138+YAP1 group and miR-138 group. Finally, YAP1 was markedly upregulated in NSCLC tissues compared to their marched adjacent normal tissues. Its mRNA levels were reversely correlated with the miR-138 levels in NSCLC tissues. In summary, our study suggests that miR-138 may play a suppressive role in the growth and metastasis of NSCLC cells partly at least by targeting YAP1.

Baicalein ameliorates cognitive deficits in epilepsy-like tremor rat.

Baicalein has been shown to possess various pharmacological actions. The current work was designed to assess the neuroprotection of baicalein against cognitive deficits in epilepsy-like tremor rat (TRM). Epileptic characteristics and memory functions were assessed by electroencephalograms recording and Morris water maze test, respectively. The changes of oxidative indicators including malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), Mn-SOD, glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and 8-isoprostane were measured using corresponding commercial kits. Real-time RT-PCR and immunoassay were employed to detect activities of various inflammatory mediators such as NF-κB p65, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10. Western blot analysis was performed to determine heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (including ERK, JNK and p38) proteins. Our results illustrated that baicalein significantly ameliorated epileptiform activity and cognitive deficits in TRM. Besides, reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses were also found in TRM treated with baicalein. Furthermore, there were evident alterations of HSP70 and MAPK cascades at protein levels after 14-day pretreatment with baicalein. It was concluded that the neuroprotective effect of baicalein against cognitive dysfunction might be associated with suppressing oxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation and mediating HSP70 as well as MAPK cascades in absence-like TRM.

A critical overview of long non-coding RNA in glioma etiology 2016: an update

With the development of whole genome and transcriptome sequencing technologies, a growing body of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been identified and is receiving increasing attention. LncRNAs are non-protein encoding transcripts whose functions are crucial for advancing our comprehensive understanding of biological processes in human health and diseases, specifically glioma. It has been established that lncRNAs are differently expressed in the central nervous system and may play a vital role in glioma. As of June 2016, 20 lncRNAs have been identified that may play a role in glioma pathogenesis. Investigation into the role of lncRNAs in glioma may help to identify potential biomarkers which can improve the diagnosis and treatment of glioma. In this paper, we review current understanding of the function of lncRNAs in glioma initiation and progression.

Silencing of Forkhead box D1 inhibits proliferation and migration in glioma cells

Despite the extensive role of Forkhead box transcription factors in the development and progression of various cancers, little is known about their role in glioma. We examined the expression and function of Forkhead box D1 (FOXD1) in glioma cell behavior and found that FOXD1 was upregulated and directly correlated with the glioma grade. Data analysis also revealed significant differences in FOXD1 expression for both gene expression profiles (GSE4290 and GSE7696) and the TCGA datasets. Additionally, decreased FOXD1 expression in U251 and U87 glioma cells caused a delay in cell growth and a disruption in colony formation. FOXD1 silencing also promoted generation of apoptotic bodies containing nuclear fragments. Cells with suppressed expression of FOXD1 markedly reduced glioma cell migration. Our results suggest that FOXD1 may serve as a novel regulator of glioblastoma cell behavior that may offer a novel target for gene targeted glioma therapies.

PRRT2 Mutations Are Related to Febrile Seizures in Epileptic Patients

Previous studies reported that the proline-rich transmembrane protein 2 (PRRT2) gene was identified to be related to paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD), infantile convulsions with PKD, PKD with migraine and benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE). The present study explores whether the PRRT2 mutation is a potential cause of febrile seizures, including febrile seizures plus (FS+), generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) and Dravet syndrome (DS); thus, it may provide a new drug target for personalized medicine for febrile seizure patients. We screened PRRT2 exons in a cohort of 136 epileptic patients with febrile seizures, including FS+, GEFS+ and DS. PRRT2 genetic mutations were identified in 25 out of 136 (18.4%) febrile seizures in epileptic patients. Five loss-of-function and coding missense mutations were identified: c.649delC (p.R217Efs*12), c.649_650insC (p.R217Pfs*8), c.412C>G (p.Pro138Ala), c.439G>C (p.Asp147His) and c.623C>A (p.Ser208Tyr). PRRT2 variants were probably involved in the etiology of febrile seizures in epileptic patients.

Common variants of ATP1A3 but not ATP1A2 are associated with Chinese genetic generalized epilepsies

OBJECTIVE ATP1A2 and ATP1A3 are genes that code for catalytic subunits of Na/K-ATPases, which play important roles in the basal electrophysiological states of nerve cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms of ATP1A2 and ATP1A3 influence susceptibility to genetic generalized epilepsies (GGEs) and the efficacy of anti-epileptic drugs in a Chinese population. METHOD Six ATP1A2 tagged single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) and two ATP1A3 tagSNPs were were genotyped by allele-specific MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in 484 Chinese GGE patients (280 drug-responsive and 204 drug-resistant patients) and 284 healthy controls. RESULTS Significant differences were found in the frequencies of the ATP1A3 rs8107107 C allele and the CC genotype between the GGEs and the healthy controls (11% vs. 15%, odds ratio (OR)=0.807 (0.68-0.960), p=0.021 and 0.4% vs. 3.2%, OR=0.121 (0.026-0.565), p=0.002, respectively). The frequency of the rs8107107 CT+CC genotype was significantly lower among the GGE patients than among the healthy controls (15% vs. 26.8%, OR=0.327 (0.248-0.942), p=0.001). No significant differences in the frequencies of six ATP1A2 tagSNPs or ATP1A2 haplotypes were found between the GGEs and the healthy controls. No tagSNPs were involved in anti-epileptic drug resistance. CONCLUSION Our findings demonstrated that common variants of ATP1A3 but not ATP1A2 were associated with the susceptibility to GGEs in a Chinese population, which indicates that the ATP1A3 gene plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of genetic generalized epilepsies.

COL3A1 and SNAP91: novel glioblastoma markers with diagnostic and prognostic value.

Although patients with glioblastoma (GBM) have grave prognosis, significant variability in patient outcome is observed. This study aims to identify novel targets for GBM diagnosis and therapy. Microarray data (GSE4290, GSE7696, and GSE4412) obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus was used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by significant analysis of microarray (SAM). Intersection of the identified DEGs for each profile revealed 46 DEGs in GBM. A subset of common DEGs were validated by real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qPCR). The prognostic value of some of the markers was also studied. We determined that RRM2 and COL3A1 were increased and directly correlated with glioma grade, while SH3GL2 and SNAP91 were decreased in GBM and inversely correlated with glioma grade. Kaplan-Meir analysis of GSE7696 revealed that COL3A1 and SNAP91 correlated with survival, suggesting that COL3A1 and SNAP91 may be suitable biomarkers for diagnostic or therapeutic strategies for GBM.

PPIC, EMP3 and CHI3L1 Are Novel Prognostic Markers for High Grade Glioma

Current treatment methods for patients diagnosed with gliomas have shown limited success. This is partly due to the lack of prognostic genes available to accurately predict disease outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate novel prognostic genes based on the molecular profile of tumor samples and their correlation with clinical parameters. In the current study, microarray data (GSE4412 and GSE7696) downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus were used to identify differentially expressed prognostic genes (DEPGs) by significant analysis of microarray (SAM) between long-term survivors (>2 years) and short-term survivors (≤2 years). DEPGs generated from these two datasets were intersected to obtain a list of common DEPGs. The expression of a subset of common DEPGs was then independently validated by real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qPCR). Survival value of the common DEPGs was validated using known survival data from the GSE4412 and TCGA dataset. After intersecting DEPGs generated from the above two datasets, three genes were identified which may potentially be used to determine glioma patient prognosis. Independent validation with glioma patients tissue (n = 70) and normal brain tissue (n = 19) found PPIC, EMP3 and CHI3L1 were up-regulated in glioma tissue. Survival value validation showed that the three genes correlated with patient survival by Kaplan-Meir analysis, including grades, age and therapy.

Novel Susceptibility Loci were Found in Chinese Genetic Generalized Epileptic Patients by Genome-wide Association Study

Correspondence Professor Zhao-Qian Liu, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China. Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University; Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, China. Tel.: +86 731 84805380; Fax: +86 731 82354476; E-mail: liuzhaoqian63@126.com Received 31 July 2014; revision 19 August 2014; accepted 22 August 2014