Liwen Zhao

Tumor suppressor microRNA‑136‑5p regulates the cellular function of renal cell carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRs) are involved in diverse physiological and developmental processes at the post-transcriptional level in cells. Previous studies have demonstrated that miR-136-5p is involved in certain types of cancer. However, the function of miR-136-5p in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains to be fully elucidated. In present study, miR-136-5p expression levels were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and MTT assays, CCK-8 assays, Transwell assays, wound healing assays and flow cytometry were performed to investigate the function of miR-136-5p in RCC. RT-qPCR revealed that the expression of miR-136 was significantly lower in RCC tissues and cells compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues and cells in vitro. miR-136-5pwas also demonstrated to be associated with RCC cell proliferation, viability, migration, invasion and apoptosis. miR-136-5p may therefore function as a tumor suppressor in RCC. Further studies are required to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying these functions of miR-136-5p, to investigate the potential function of miR-136-5p as a biomarker for the early detection and prognosis of RCC, and its potential as a therapeutic target for the treatment of RCC.

MicroRNA‑191‑5p exerts a tumor suppressive role in renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common tumor of the urinary system. Previously, miR-191-5p has been reported to be associated with various types of cancer; however, its specific functions in RCC have not been investigated to date. In the present study, the expression of miR-191-5p in the 786-O and ACHN cell lines was detected in vitro by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The results of RT-qPCR revealed that miR-191-5p was significantly downregulated in the two cell lines compared with the 293T cell line. miR-191-5p was also significantly downregulated in RCC tissue compared with paired normal tissue. In addition, the effects of miR-191-5p on cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were examined by CCK-8, MTT, wound scratch, Transwell and flow cytometry assays. Downregulation of miR-191-5p was observed to promote cell proliferation, migration and invasion, as well as to repress the cell apoptosis of 786-O and ACHN cells. Therefore, the current study suggests that miR-191-5p functions as a tumor suppressor in RCC. Further studies are required to uncover the underlying signaling pathway of miR-191-5p and its potential role as a biomarker for early detection and prognosis prediction, and as a therapeutic target of RCC.

microRNA‑572 functions as an oncogene and a potential biomarker for renal cell carcinoma prognosis

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the third most common urological malignancy in the USA and represents 2‑3% of all adult malignancies. Furthermore, the incidence of RCC has been progressively increasing over recent years. Although the morbidity of treatment has decreased with the use of multidisciplinary synthetic therapy, the prognosis of terminal cancer remains poor, with a 5‑year survival rate of 5‑10%. MicroRNAs (miRs) have been correlated with the regulation of 30‑60% of the protein-coding genes and act as oncogenes or anti‑oncogenes in RCC. Considering this research, miRNAs are likely to be the biomarkers for tumor diagnosis, prognosis and the targets for RCC management. In the present study, 42 formalin‑fixed paraffin‑embedded RCC samples were used. The expression of miR‑572 and the role of miR‑572 in RCC cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis was determined by performing reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, wound scratch assays, cell proliferation assays, Transwell assays and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Further experiments were conducted to clarify the correlation between miR‑572 expression and clinicopathological variables or overall survival. Furthermore, the expression levels of miR‑572 were evaluated for the prognosis value of patients with RCC. Upregulation of miR‑572 was observed in RCC tissues and RCC cell lines. miR‑572 promoted 786‑O and ACHN cell proliferation and mobility and inhibited early apoptosis. In Cox proportional hazard regression analyses, results of the univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that the patients with low miR‑572 expression had a significantly longer overall survival compared with the patients with high miR‑572 expression (univariate analysis, P=0.037; multivariate analysis, P=0.034). Results of the Kaplan‑Meier survival curves revealed that the patients with downregulated miR‑572 have a significantly longer overall survival compared with the patients with highly expressed miR‑572 (P=0.019). To conclude, the results of the present study suggest that tumor oncogene miR‑572 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for RCC.

Oncogenic miR‑425‑5p is associated with cellular migration, proliferation and apoptosis in renal cell carcinoma

An increasing number of studies have demonstrated the function of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the initiation and development of various types of cancer. Among them, miR-425-5p is proven to serve an important function in several types of cancer, including gastric, cervical cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the function of miR-425-5p in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unclear. In the present study, it was demonstrated that the expression level of miR-425-5p was upregulated in RCC tissues and cell lines compared with normal tissues and cell lines (P<0.05). Additionally, Cell Counting kit-8 and MTT assays were employed to assess cell viability and proliferation, whereas wound healing and Transwell assays were employed to examine migration and invasion. The results demonstrated that upregulation of miR-425-5p promoted cell viability and the invasion and migration of ACHN and 786O cells (P<0.05). Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that upregulation of miR-425-5p inhibited apoptosis of ACHN and 786O cells (P<0.05). Downregulation of miR-425-5p inhibited the viability and invasion and migration of ACHN and 786O cells (P<0.05). In the present study, upregulation of miR-425-5p inhibited apoptosis of ACHN and 786O cells whereas no differences in early apoptotic rate were observed between the inhibitor and inhibitor NC groups for 786O and ACHN cells. These results indicate that miR-425-5p may act as an oncogene in RCC.

Giant posterior pararenal schwannoma: A case report and review of literature

Schwannomas, arising from Schwann cells of peripheral nerve sheaths, are primarily benign tumors. They are rarely found in the retroperitoneal space. To date, ~30 cases on giant retroperitoneal schwannomas have been reported. Those with a location of pararenal space are even rarer. Clinically, they are often misdiagnosed as malignancies. In the present study, a case of a 35-year-old woman with a giant schwannoma measuring 13 × 8.5 × 6.5 cm in the posterior pararenal space of left retroperitoneum was presented, which was thought to be a malignant tumor from the result of computed tomography scan. Later postoperative pathology and immunohistochemistry were consistent with benign schwannoma. To the best of our knowledge, this was the largest posterior pararenal schwannoma reported in literature. It is significant to report this case, and summarize the characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the similar cases. Furthermore, a brief review of the previously published cases in literature is provided.

Giant paratesticular liposarcoma: A case report and review of the literature

Paratesticular liposarcoma is an infrequent tumor characterized by a growing, painless, inguinal or scrotal mass. Only about 200 cases have been reported as of yet in literature, however there are a few cases regarding giant paratesticular liposarcoma measuring over 10 cm. The disease may be commonly misdiagnosed prior to operation. Improper treatment tends to lead to local recurrence and distant metastasis. The current report presents a case of a 51-year-old patient with a large, painless right scrotum. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 7.8×5.8×10.4 cm nonhomogeneous space-occupying lesion of the right testis, which was firstly diagnosed as a spermatocytoma. Following this, a radical orchiectomy of the right testis was performed, however, it appeared to be a dedifferentiated liposarcoma, following histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Due to the large size of the tumor, it is significant to report the characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of the similar cases. The current study additionally presents a supplementary review of previously published cases in literature and focuses on discussion regarding the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, histopathology and immunohistochemical features and treatment of this disease.

[Corrigendum] microRNA‑181a‑5p functions as an oncogene in renal cell carcinoma

Subsequently to the publication of the article, the authors have recognized a need to correct some of its content in order to clarify the accuracy of the articles information. First, Dr Yongqing Lai should have been included as the joint corresponding author for this paper. Therefore, the information in the correspondence box should have been as follows (changes are indicated in bold): Correspondence to: Professor Liangchao Ni or Dr Yongqing Lai, Department of Urology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, 1120 Lianhua Road, Shenzhen, Guangdongxa0518036, P.R.xa0China. E‑mail: lncord@163.com, E‑mail: yqlord@163.com. Secondly, the printed version of Fig.xa05 featured an incorrect alignment of the scratch wound scratch assay results showing the migratory ability of the 786‑O cells (the lower panel). The corrected version of Fig.xa05 is featured opposite. These errors did not have an impact on the overall meaning of the paper, or on the reported conclusions of this study. We regret that these errors were not incorporated into the printed version of the paper, and apologize to the readership for the inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in the Molecular Medicine Reports 17: 8510‑8517, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8899].

microRNA‑181a‑5p functions as an oncogene in renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urinary tumors. Previous studies have demonstrated that microRNA (miR)‑181a‑5p has an important role in numerous types of cancer. However, the function of miR‑181a‑5p in RCC remains unknown. In the present study, the expression levels of miR‑181a‑5p in RCC tissues and cell lines were investigated using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) analysis. The results of the RT‑qPCR analyses suggested that the expression of miR‑181a‑5p was upregulated in RCC tissues and cells lines compared with adjacent normal renal tissues and normal renal cell lines. Furthermore, the effect of miR‑181a‑5p on cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis was investigated in the present study. Overexpression of miR‑181a‑5p was revealed to suppress the apoptosis of 786‑O and ACHN cells, in addition to enhancing the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of 786‑O and ACHN cells inxa0vitro, thus suggesting that miR‑181a‑5p may function as an oncogene in RCC. However, further studies are required to investigate the underlying mechanism of miR‑181a‑5p and its potential role as a biomarker for early detection and prognosis, in addition to as a therapeutic target in RCC.

MiR-302b regulates cell functions and acts as a potential biomarker to predict recurrence in bladder cancer

Background: Bladder cancer is the most common urogenital tumor with substantial morbidity, high recurrence rate and mortality. miRNAs, a class of endogenous noncoding RNA, were found to involve in the genesis, maintenance and metastasis of cancer. Genomic profiling revealed that miR‐302b is down‐regulated in bladder cancer while its functions in bladder cancer remain to be ascertained. Methods: Cell functional assays including wound healing assay, CCK‐8 assay, Transwell assay and flow cytometry assay were performed to clarify the functions of miR‐302b expression in cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis in BC. Furthermore, RT‐qPCR was performed to study the expression of miR‐302b in bladder cancer tissues and the prognostic value of altered miR‐302b expression with 48 formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded bladder urothelial carcinoma samples. Results: The results of RT‐qPCR demonstrated that expression level of miR‐302b was significantly reduced in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. The cells after transfected with miR‐302b mimic showed lower mobility, lower proliferation and increased apoptosis, while opposite results were obtained after inhibiting the expression of miR‐302b. The prognosis analysis demonstrated that the patients with low expression of miR‐302b experienced high risks of recurrence. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrate that miR‐302b regulates cell functions and acts as a potential biomarker to predict recurrence in bladder cancer.

Oncogene miR-154-5p regulates cellular function and acts as a molecular marker with poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma

Aims: In adult population, the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urological malignancies. It is meaningful to research for the molecular markers which are involved in the occurrence and development of RCC. Therefore, we concentrate on illuminating the role of microRNA‐154‐5p in progression of RCC and explore its prognostic values. Main methods: The real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) was applied to determine expression level of miR‐154‐5p in tissues. Afterwards, the transfected cell lines ACHN and 786‐O were used for the CCK‐8 assay, MTT assay, wound healing assay, transwell assay and flow cytometric assay to explore the role of miR‐154‐5p in regulating cellular function. In addition, formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) renal cancer samples were used for detecting the relationship between expression level of miR‐154‐5p and clinical information. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional‐hazards regression analyses, and the Kaplan‐Meier survival curves were performed to evaluate the prognostic value of miR‐154‐5p in RCC. Key findings: The RT‐qPCR indicated that miR‐154‐5p is up‐regulated in RCC pathologic specimens and cell lines. Results of study also demonstrated that upregulation of miR‐154‐5p reduced cell apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation, viability, migration as well as invasion in RCC cells. The prognosis analyses indicated that the expression level of miR‐154‐5p is associated with the prognosis of renal cancer, and the overall survival of patients with low expression is longer. Significance: The present study revealed that the oncogene miR‐154‐5p regulates cellular function and acts as a molecular marker with poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma.