Using microRNA (miRNA) expression array, we identified that miR-7 was deregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). We studied the biological role and molecular target of miR-7 in CRC. miR-7 was downregulated in six out of seven colon cancer cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-7 suppressed colon cancer cell proliferation (Po0.05), induced apoptosis (Po0.05) and caused cell-cycle arrest in G1 phase (Po0.05). The tumor suppressive function of miR-7 was further confirmed in nude mice (Po0.05). The 3 0 -untranslated region (3 0 UTR) of Yin Yang 1 (YY1) mRNA contains an evolutionarily conserved miR-7 binding site using in silico searches, luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis confirmed that miR-7 directly bound to YY1 3 0 UTR to negatively regulate the protein expression of YY1 in colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and LOVO. Intriguingly, knock-down of YY1 in three colon cancer cell lines (HCT116, LOVO and DLD1) consistently suppressed cell proliferation (Po0.01) and induced apoptosis (Po0.01), indicating the opposite functions of miR-7 and YY1 in CRC. Consistent with these data, ectopic expression of YY1 promoted cell growth by increasing proliferation (Po0.01) and suppressing apoptosis (Po0.001). The tumorigenic ability of YY1 was further confirmed in vivo in xenograft-nude mouse model (Po0.01). In addition, pathway analyses revealed that the oncogenic effect by YY1 was associated with inhibiting p53 and modulating its downstream effectors p15, caspase cascades and C-Jun, and activating Wnt signaling pathway through activating b-catenin, anti-apoptotic survivin and fibroblast growth factor 4. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that patients with YY1 protein high expression had a significant decrease in overall survival, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that these patients had significantly shorter survival than others (Po0.0001). In conclusion, MiR-7 is a novel miRNA with tumor suppressive function in colon cancer by targeting oncogenic YY1. YY1 promotes colon cancer growth through inhibiting p53 and promoting Wnt signaling pathways and serves as an independent prognostic biomarker for CRC patients.

Accumulating evidence reveals the effectiveness of epigenetic therapy in gastric cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms and targets underlying such therapeutic responses remain elusive. Herein, we report an aberrant yet therapeutically rectifiable epigenetic signaling in gastric carcinogenesis. Administration of DNA-demethylating drug 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) reduced gastric cancer incidence by ~74% (P < 0.05) in N-nitroso-N-methylurea-treated mice. Through genome-wide methylation scanning, novel promoter hypermethylation-silenced and drug-targeted genes were identified in the resected murine stomach tumors and tissues. We uncovered that growth/differentiation factor 1 (Gdf1), a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, was silenced by promoter hypermethylation in control tumor-bearing mice, but became reactivated in 5-aza-dC-treated mice (P < 0.05). In parallel, the downregulated SMAD2/3 phosphorylation in gastric cancer was revived by 5-aza-dC in vivo. Such hypermethylation-dependent silencing and 5-aza-dC-mediated reactivation of GDF1-SMAD2/3 activity was conserved in human gastric cancer cells (P < 0.05). Subsequent functional characterization further revealed the antiproliferative activity of GDF1, which was exerted through activation of SMAD2/3/4-mediated signaling, transcriptional controls on p15, p21 and c-Myc cell-cycle regulators and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. Clinically, hypermethylation and loss of GDF1 was significantly associated with reduced phosphorylated-SMAD2/3 and poor survival in stomach cancer patients (P < 0.05). Taken together, we demonstrated a causal relationship between DNA methylation and a tumor-suppressive pathway in gastric cancer. Epigenetic silencing of GDF1 abrogates the growth-inhibitory SMAD signaling and renders proliferation advantage to gastric epithelial cells during carcinogenesis. This study lends support to epigenetic therapy for gastric cancer chemoprevention and identifies a potential biomarker for prognosis.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to review the microbiological profile, in vitro antibiotic susceptibility and visual outcomes of paediatric microbial keratitis in Shanghai, China over the past 6 years. Methods Medical records of patients aged r16 years were reviewed, who were diagnosed as having bacterial keratitis between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2010. Bacterial culture results and in vitro antibiotic susceptibility were analysed. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between visual impairment and possible risk factors. Results Eighty consecutive cases of paediatric bacterial keratitis cases were included, among which 59 were identified as having positive culture. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most commonly isolated organism (n ¼ 23; 39.0%), followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (n ¼ 11; 18.6%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n ¼ 6; 10.2%). Antibiotic sensitivities revealed that tested bacteria had low resistance rates to fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides (8.3-18.4% and 12.5-24.4%, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis proved that visual impairment was significantly associated with Gram-negative bacterial infection (odds ratio (OR) ¼ 7.626; P ¼ 0.043) and an increasing number of resistant antibiotics (OR ¼ 0.385; P ¼ 0.040). Conclusions S. epidermidis was the most common isolated organism in Shanghai paediatric keratitis. The fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides remained good choices for treating these patients. Gram-negative bacterial infection and an increasing number of resistant antibiotics were associated with worse visual prognoses in paediatric keratitis.

Organ transplantation is the only curative treatment for patients with terminal organ failure, however, there is a worldwide organ shortage. Genetically modified pig organs and tissues have become an attractive and practical alternative solution for the severe organ shortage, which has been made possible by significant progress in xenotransplantation in recent years.The past several decades witnessed an expanding list of genetically engineered pigs due to technology advancements, however, the necessary combination of genetic modifications in pig for human organ xenotransplantation has not been determined. In the current study, we created a selective germline genome edited pig (SGGEP). The first triple xenoantigens (GGTA, B4GAL, and CAMH) knockout somatic cells were generated to serve as a prototype cells and then human proteins were expressed in the xenoantigen knockout cells, which include human complement system negative regulatory proteins (CD46, CD55, and CD59); human coagulation system negative regulatory proteins thrombomodulin (THBD); tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI); CD39; macrophage negative regulatory proteins (human CD47); and natural killer cell negative regulatory human HLA-E. After the successful establishment of SGGEP by the nuclear tranfer, we engrafted SGGEP skin to NHP, up to 25 days graft survival without immunosuppressive drugs was observed. Because a pig skin graft does not impact the success of a subsequent allograft or autograft or vice versa, thus our SGGEP could have a great potential for clinical value to save severe and large area burn patients and the other human organ failure. Therefore, this combination of specific gene modifications is a major milestone and provides proof of concept to initiate investigator-initiated clinical trials (IITs) in severe burn patients with defined processes and governance measures in place and the other clinical application.

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