Departmental sources Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert various functions in human cancers. However, the biological functions of lncRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are unknown. In the present study we investigated the tumorsuppressive role of lncRNA on chromosome 8p12 (TSLNC8) in the pathogenesis and progression of NSCLC. Material/Methods: qRT-PCR was carried out to evaluate the expression of TSLNC8 in lung cancer cell lines. The effects of TSLNC8 on A549 cells proliferation, migration, and invasion were analyzed using CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and Western blot analysis. We used flow cytometry to assess cell apoptosis, and cell autophagy was assessed by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining. Levels of proteins in the IL-6/STAT3/HIF-1a pathway were measured by Western blot analysis. Results: The results revealed that TSLNC8 was significantly downregulated in lung cancer cells compared to normal bronchial epithelial cells. Further experiments showed that overexpression of TSLNC8 in A549 cells significantly inhibited proliferation in a time-dependent manner and promoted cell apoptosis. We found that TSLNC8 overexpression suppressed cell migration and invasion, and upregulation of TSLNC8 regulated the protein levels of Beclin-1, p62, ATG14, and LC3-II and inhibited the IL-6/STAT3/HIF-1a signaling pathway. Conclusions: lncRNA TSLNC8 remarkably inhibited the proliferation and migration and accelerated apoptosis of lung cancer cells by targeting the IL-6/STAT3/HIF-1a signaling pathway. TSLNC8 may be a potential therapeutic target for the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC.

Direct DNA delivery via microprojectile bombardment has become an established approach for gene transfer into peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). To optimize our transformation protocol and to simultaneously explore the function of a heterologous promoter whose activity is developmentally regulated, embryogenic cultures from three peanut cultivars were bombarded with two plasmid constructs containing a uidA gene controlled by either a soybean vegetative storage protein gene promoter or a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. We found that GUS transient expression was useful to predict stable transformation and confirmed that image analysis could provide a quick and efficient method for semi‐quantitation of transient expression. One hundred and sixty hygromycin‐resistant cell lines were recovered from and maintained on selective medium, and those tested by Southern blot analysis showed integration of the foreign gene. Over 200 transgenic plants were regenerated from 38 cell lines. More than 100 plants from 32 cell lines flowered and 79 plants from 19 cell lines produced pods. Over 1000 R1 seeds were harvested. Analysis of expression in primary transgenic plants showed that GUS expression driven by the vspB promoter was modulated by chemical and positional information.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is biologically distinct from HPV-negative HNSCC. Outside of HPV-status, few tumor-intrinsic variables have been identified that correlate to improved survival. As part of exploratory analysis into the trace elemental composition of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), we performed elemental quanitification by X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) on a small cohort (n = 32) of patients with HPV-positive and -negative OPSCC and identified in HPV-positive cases increased zinc (Zn) concentrations in tumor tissue relative to normal tissue. Subsequent immunohistochemistry of six Zn-binding proteins—zinc-α2-glycoprotein (AZGP1), Lipocalin-1, Albumin, S100A7, S100A8 and S100A9—revealed that only AZGP1 expression significantly correlated to HPV-status (p < 0.001) and was also increased in tumor relative to normal tissue from HPV-positive OPSCC tumor samples. AZGP1 protein expression in our cohort significantly correlated to a prolonged recurrence-free survival (p = 0.029), similar to HNSCC cases from the TCGA (n = 499), where highest AZGP1 mRNA levels correlated to improved overall survival (p = 0.023). By showing for the first time that HPV-positive OPSCC patients have increased intratumoral Zn levels and AZGP1 expression, we identify possible positive prognostic biomarkers in HNSCC as well as possible mechanisms of increased sensitivity to chemoradiation in HPV-positive OPSCC.

The prevalence of peanut allergy is increasing amongst children. 1 Early introduction of peanut by 4-6 months of age in infants at high risk for peanut allergy (defined by guidelines as those with severe atopic dermatitis, egg allergy or both diagnoses) may prevent pea-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.