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All these results indicate that lncRNA AB073614 can induce the expression of EMT cell markers and regulate the process of EMT of CRC cells through regulating the JAK/STAT3 pathway activation.

microRNAs (miR) can potentially be used for categorizing the various subtypes of colorectal cancer (CRC) and predicting a patient's response to treatment with traditional anti-CRC therapies. We investigated how miR-1297 and its potential target molecule cyclin D2 (CCND2) might affect the progression of CRC. Thirty-two pairs of CRC specimens and corresponding samples of para-tumor tissue were collected and examined for their levels of miR-1297 and CCND2 expression. We also examined miR-1297 and CCND2 expression in cultured SW480 cells. The effects of modulated levels of miR-1297 and CCND2 on cell viability, anchorage-independent growth ability, proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, migration, and invasion were detected using specific techniques. The possible regulatory effect of miR-1297 on CCND2 was investigated using dual luciferase assays. Our results showed that miR-1297 expression was downregulated in clinical CRC specimens, and such downregulation was associated with upregulated levels of CCND2 expression. Upregulation of miR-1297 and downregulation of CCND2 reduced the proliferation and metastasis potential of SW480 cells, but did not affect the apoptotic process. In addition, miR-1297 regulated CCND2 function by directly binding to the promoter sequence of the CCND2 gene, which would block CCND2-related signaling at the transcription level. Our findings validate the anti-CRC function of miR-1297 and pro-CRC function of CCND2. Our findings may assist in developing miR-based therapies against CRC.

The hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) is an important target for antiviral response in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the correlation between HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus and nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapeutic response is unclear. We sought to evaluate the role of HBcAg by analysing liver biopsies for viral response in NA‐naïve hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive (+) CHB patients via immunohistochemistry (IHC). A total of 48 HBcAg‐negative (−) patients and 48 HBcAg (+) patients with matching baseline characteristics were retrospectively analysed for up to 288 weeks. Virological response (VR) rates of patients in the HBcAg (−) group were significantly higher at week 48 and 96 than the HBcAg (+) group (77.1% versus 45.8% at week 48, respectively, P = 0.002 and 95.3% versus 83.3% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.045). The serological negative conversion rate of HBeAg was significantly higher in the HBcAg (−) than in the HBcAg (+) group from week 96 to 288 (35.4 % versus 14.6% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.018; 60.4% versus 14.6%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 144; 72.9% versus 35.4%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 288). The cumulative frequencies of VR and lack of HBeAg were higher in the HBcAg (−) group (both P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that HBcAg (−) was the predictor for the lack of HBeAg (OR 4.482, 95% CI: 1.58–12.68). In summary, the absence of HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus could be an independent predictor for HBeAg seroconversion rates during NA‐naïve treatment in HBeAg (+) CHB patients.

BackgroundThe antiviral effect of HBV in different nucleos (t) ide analogues is still not well known. This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of lamivudine (LMV), adefovir dipivoxil (ADV), telbivudine (LdT), and entecavir (ETV) monotherapy in chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis B patients with medium load of HBV DNA.Material/MethodsThe effective data of 207 patients treated by LMV (n=43), ADV (n=57), LdT (n=54) or ETV (n=53) were collected and analyzed during 144-week follow-up by retrospective analysis.ResultsSerum HBV DNA levels were significantly lower in the ETV group 1.91±0.45 log10 IU/ml) than in the LdT group (2.09±0.62 log10 IU/ml), ADV group (2.26±0.73 log10 IU/ml), and LMV group (2.08±0.75 log10 IU/ml) at 12 weeks (P=0.0464). HBV DNA levels were maintained at lower levels in the ETV group compared to other 3 groups during follow-up (48 weeks, P<0.001; 96 weeks, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that LMV (P=0.001), ADV, (P<0.001), and LdT (P<0.001) were all negative predictors of HBV DNA-negative time, but ETV was not. Viral breakthrough occurred in 34.8% (15/43) of patients in the LMV group; 5.26% (3/57) in the ADV group, 7.4.0% (4/54) in the LdT group, and 0% (0/53) in the ETV group at the end of follow-up. No significant differences were found in mean ALT levels (all P>0.05) or in cumulative normalization rates (P=0.473).ConclusionsETV was more potent and faster for viral response and lower viral breakthrough in medium load of HBV DNA when compared to LMV, ADV, or LdT monotherapy in HBeAg-negative CHB.