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MicroRNAs (miRNAs), abundant and highly stable in the plasma, have been widely reported. This greatly pursued us to investigate whether plasma miRNAs could be considered as powerful biomarkers for diagnosing bladder cancer (BC). We performed a plasma miRNAs profile with the TaqMan Low Density Array, and a two-phase validation to detect the candidate miRNAs expression by quantitative PCR. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and the area under curve (AUC) were used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. A total of eight plasma miRNAs abnormally expressed between BC patients and healthy controls in microarray analysis (i.e., elevated miRNAs for miR-505, miR-363 and miR-663b, and decreased for miR-99a, miR-194, miR-100, miR-497 and miR-1 in BC plasma). In further independent cohorts, miR-497 and miR-663b with significantly differential expression were confirmed. Moreover, the AUC, sensitivity and specificity were raised to 0.711 (95% CI = 0.641-0.780), 69.7% and 69.6%, respectively, when miR-497 and miR-663b were integrated. This is the first study systematically exploring the existence of specific plasma miRNAs as early diagnostic biomarkers for BC in Chinese population; and these findings supported that plasma miR-497 and miR-663b could be promising novel circulating biomarkers in clinical detection of BC.

Combining 2D MoS2 with other transition metal sulfide is a promising strategy to elevate its electrochemical performances. Herein, heterostructures constructed using MnS nanoparticles embedded in MoS2 nanosheets (denoted as MnS‐MoS2) are designed and synthesized as anode materials for lithium/sodium‐ion batteries via a facile one‐step hydrothermal method. Phase transition and built‐in electric field brought by the heterostructure enhance the Li/Na ion intercalation kinetics, elevate the charge transport, and accommodate the volume expansion. The sequential phase transitions from 2H to 3R of MoS2 and α to γ of MnS are revealed for the first time. As a result, the MnS‐MoS2 electrode delivers outstanding specific capacity (1246.2 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1), excellent rate, and stable long‐term cycling stability (397.2 mAh g−1 maintained after 3000 cycles at 20 A g−1) in Li‐ion half‐cells. Superior cycling and rate performance are also presented in sodium half‐cells and Li/Na full cells, demonstrating a promising practical application of the MnS‐MoS2 electrode. This work is anticipated to afford an in‐depth comprehension of the heterostructure contribution in energy storage and illuminate a new perspective to construct binary transition metal sulfide anodes.

miRNAs play important roles in numerous cellular processes, including development, proliferation, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. Because altered expression and function of miRNAs has been observed in bladder cancer, we investigated whether genetic variations in miRNAs are associated with bladder cancer risk and prognosis. Using bioinformatics tools, we selected five single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in miRNAs and used these to evaluate miRNA-disease associations in a two-stage model, consisting of 1,019 bladder cancer cases and 1,182 controls (683 cases and 728 controls in the training set and 336 cases and 454 controls in the test set). We found that miR-146a rs2910164 C allele was associated with significantly decreased risk of bladder cancer in both the training and test sets, as well as the combined set [OR ¼ 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) ¼ 0.71-0.90, P ¼ 2.92 Â 10 À4]. Furthermore, the rs2910164 GC/CC genotypes conferred a significantly reduced risk of recurrence, compared with the GG genotype (P ¼ 0.016). Functional analysis revealed that miR-146a rs2910164 C allele inhibited cell proliferation and significantly downregulated expression of IRAK1 and TRAF6 in bladder cancer cells. Additional examination of 64 bladder cancer tissues showed that individuals carrying the C allele had increased expression levels of miR-146a compared with those carrying the G allele (P ¼ 0.010). Taken together, our findings show that miR-146a rs2910164 plays an important role in the risk and recurrence of bladder cancer, suggesting it may represent a biomarker for risk prevention and therapeutic intervention. Further larger and prospective cohorts are needed to validate our findings. Cancer Res; 72(23); 6173-82. Ó2012 AACR.