Human sperm cryopreservation in assisted reproductive technology is the only proven method that enables infertile men to father their own children. However, freezing and thawing reduces spermatozoon motility, viability, and fertilizing ability. An association between dysfunctional spermatozoa due to cryoinjury and protein changes has not been established. We investigated through proteomic analysis the differential protein characteristics between freeze-thawed and fresh sperm samples obtained from nine normozoospermic donors. Twenty-seven proteins differed in abundance between the two groups, and results were verified for four proteins via Western blot and immunofluorescent staining. These proteins are putatively involved in sperm motility, viability, acrosomal integrity, ATP and isocitrate content, mitochondrial membrane potential, capacitation, acrosome reaction, and intracellular calcium concentration. These marked differences suggest that dysfunctional spermatozoon after cryopreservation may be due to protein degradation and protein phosphorylation.

Long noncoding RNA 19 (H19) has been shown to promote bladder cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. However, little is known about how miR-675, mature product of H19, contributes to bladder cancer cell proliferation. In this study, we first evaluated the expression of miR-675 in bladder cancer tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and defined its biological functions by flow cytometry and Western blotting. We found that miR-675 expression levels were remarkably increased in bladder cancer tissues as compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues or normal bladder tissue from health donors; moreover, enhanced miR-675 expression was also observed in bladder cancer cell lines. Ectopic expression of H19 significantly increased bladder cancer cell proliferation and miR-675 expression in vitro. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-675 promoted bladder cancer cell proliferation, while suppression of miR-675 induced G1 phase cell cycle arrest and promoted cell apoptosis. Western blotting analysis further identified that miR-675 inhibited p53 activation, decreased the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and cyclin D1 expression in bladder cancer cells; those effects may result in the abnormal proliferation of bladder cancer cells. In conclusion, abnormal enhanced miR-675 expression increases bladder cancer growth by regulating p53 activation, and thus may be helpful in the development of effective treatment strategies for bladder cancer.

BackgroundThe plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is expressed in many cancer cell types and allows the modulation of cancer growth, invasion and angiogenesis. To date, studies investigated the association between a functional polymorphism in PAI-1 (4G/5G) and risk of cancer have shown inclusive results.MethodsA meta-analysis based on 25 case-control studies was performed to address this issue. Odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. The statistical heterogeneity across studies was examined with I2 test.ResultsOverall, a significant increased risk of cancer was associated with the PAI-1 4G/4G polymorphism for the allele contrast (4G vs. 5G: OR = 1.10, CI = 1.03–1.18, I2 = 49.5%), the additive genetic model (4G/4G vs. 5G/5G: OR = 1.21, CI = 1.06–1.39, I2 = 51.9%), the recessive genetic model (4G/4G vs. 4G/5G+5G/5G: OR = 1.11, CI = 1.04–1.18, I2 = 20.8%). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the results indicated that individuals with 4G/4G genotype had a significantly higher cancer risk among Caucasians (4G/4G vs. 5G/5G: OR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.09–1.59, I2 = 59.6%; 4G/4G vs. 4G/5G: OR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.04–1.21, I2 = 3.6%; recessive model: OR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.05–1.21, I2 = 25.3%).ConclusionsThe results of the present meta-analysis support an association between the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism and increasing cancer risk, especially among Caucasians, and those with 4G allele have a high risk to develop colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer.