Background:MicroRNA-210 (miR-210) is an oncogenic miRNA previously associated with prognosis in human gliomas, an incurable tumour type of the central nervous system. Here miR-210 was investigated as a potential serum biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of glioma.Methods:Serum was immediately prepared from blood samples collected from patients with glioma grades I–IV at primary diagnosis (n=136) and healthy controls (n=50) from February 2007 to March 2014 in the Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Wuhu, China). Total RNA was isolated from serum. cDNA was synthesised with primers specific for miR-210 and miR-16-1 (internal control), and quantitative real-time RT-PCR was performed. Results were statistically analysed to determine the role of miR-210 in the diagnosis and prognosis of human glioma patients.Results:An approximately seven-fold increase in miR-210 expression was detected in serum samples from glioblastoma patients relative to healthy controls. A threshold expression value (2.259) was chosen from receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC), and the low and high miR-210 expression groups were analysed by multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression and Kaplan–Meier analyses. Results revealed an association of high serum miR-210 expression with tumour grade and poor patient outcome (P-values <0.001).Conclusions:Serum miR-210 is a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker that can be detected in the peripheral blood of patients with glioma.

SummarySystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease with abnormal T cell immune responses. We hypothesized that aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in T cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE. First, we analysed the expression profiles of 270 human miRNAs in T cells from five SLE patients and five healthy controls and then validated those potentially aberrant-expressed miRNAs using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, the expression of mRNAs regulated by these aberrantexpressed miRNAs was detected using real-time PCR. Finally, miRNA transfection into Jurkat T cells was conducted for confirming further the biological functions of these miRNAs. The initial analysis indicated that seven miRNAs, including miR-145, miR-224, miR-513-5p, miR-150, miR516a-5p, miR-483-5p and miR-629, were found to be potentially abnormally expressed in SLE T cells. After validation, under-expressed miR-145 and over-expressed miR-224 were noted. We further found that STAT1 mRNA targeted by miR-145 was over-expressed and apoptosis inhibitory protein 5 (API5) mRNA targeted by miR-224 was under-expressed in SLE T cells. Transfection of Jurkat cells with miR-145 suppressed STAT1 and miR-224 transfection suppressed API5 protein expression. Over-expression of miR-224 facilitates activation-induced cell death in Jurkat cells. In the clinical setting, the increased transcript levels of STAT1 were associated significantly with lupus nephritis. In conclusion, we first demonstrated that miR-145 and miR-224 were expressed aberrantly in SLE T cells that modulated the protein expression of their target genes, STAT1 and API5, respectively. These miRNA aberrations accelerated T cell activation-induced cell death by suppressing API5 expression and associated with lupus nephritis by enhancing signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT)-1 expression in patients with SLE.

Crosstalk between transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling and p53 has a critical role in cancer progression. TGF-β signals via Smad and non-Smad pathways. Under normal conditions, wild-type p53 forms a complex with Smad2/3 and co-activates transcription of a variety of tumor suppressor genes, resulting in tumor suppressive effects. Thus, p53 stability is essential in progression of tumor suppressive responses mediated by TGF-β signaling. However, it remains unknown whether p53 stability is regulated by TGF-β. In the current study, we identify that USP15 binds to and stabilizes p53 through deubiquitination in U2OS and HEK293 cells. TGF-β promotes the translation of USP15 through activation of mammalian target of rapamycin by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway. Upregulation of USP15 translation links the crosstalk between TGF-β signaling and p53 stability, allowing this cytokine to have a critical role in cancer progression.

Aim: To compare the insulin sensitivity indices between Chinese vegetarians and omnivores. Methods: The study included 36 healthy volunteers (vegetarian, n ¼ 19; omnivore, n ¼ 17) who had normal fasting plasma glucose levels. Each participant completed an insulin suppression test. We compared steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG), fasting insulin, the homeostasis model assessment for insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR and HOMA %S) and b-cell function (HOMA %b) between the groups. We also tested the correlation of SSPG with years on a vegetarian diet. Results: The omnivore subjects were younger than the vegetarians (55.773.7 vs 58.673.6 year of age, P ¼ 0.022). There was no difference between the two groups in sex, blood pressure, renal function tests and lipid profiles. The omnivores had higher serum uric acid levels than vegetarians Conclusions:The vegetarians were more insulin sensitive than the omnivore counterparts. The degree of insulin sensitivity appeared to be correlated with years on a vegetarian diet.