Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common cancer in men. Although current treatments effectively palliate symptoms and prolong life, the metastatic PCa remains incurable. It is important to find biomarkers and targets to improve metastatic PCa diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report a novel correlation between karyopherin α4 (KPNA4) and PCa pathological stages. KPNA4 mediates the cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation of transcription factors including NF-κB while its role in PCa was largely unknown. We find that knockdown of KPNA4 reduces cell migration in multiple PCa cell lines, suggesting a role of KPNA4 in PCa progression. Indeed, stable knockdown of KPNA4 significantly reduces PCa invasion and distant metastasis in mouse models. Functionally, KPNA4 alters tumor microenvironment in terms of macrophage polarization and osteoclastogenesis by modulating TNF-α and -β. Further, KPNA4 is proved as a direct target of miR-708, a tumor-suppressive miRNA. We disclose the role of miR-708-KPNA4-TNF axes in PCa metastasis and KPNA4’s potential as a novel biomarker for PCa metastasis.

Vapor-phase deposition of selected polymers on cotton fibers offers certain potentially attractive characteristics over conventional liquid-phase textile processing. These include uniformity and completeness of coverage at low add-on's in the absence of solvents, lower reaction temperatures and/or shorter exposure times, and use of reactants normally sensitive to water and solvents, all or some of which may result in a more favorable balance of the performance properties of such polymer-coated cottons.High molecular-weight polyoxymethylene polymer deposits were obtained by the immersion of cotton fabrics in a suitable alkaline catayst solution at ambient temperatures and in air, followed by exposure of the catalyzed cloths to purified monomeric formaldehyde vapor. Polyamide polymer deposits were realized by modified interfacial polymerization techniques, also under mild reaction conditions. The properties of these polymer-coated cotton fabrics were determined over a range of polymer add-on's, with emphasis on the effects of treatments with various cross-linking agents. Both methylolamide-treated, polyoxymethylene-coated and diisocyanate-treated polyamide-coated cotton fabrics were found to exhibit significant improvements in wrinkle recovery and other performance properties with superior strength retention at relatively low polymer add-on's, compared to conventionally cross-linked fabrics.

synopsisA process for encapsulating cotton fibers in the form of woven clothes at ambient temperatures with polyoxymethylene is described. It involves pretreatment of the cotton with a carbon tetrachloride solution of tributylamine and diphenylamine to deposit the basic catalyst on the surface of the fibers. Subsequent exposure to dry, purified vapors of monomeric formaldehyde a t 25OC results in the encapsulation of individual fibers with high molecular weight polyoxymethylene. The process is relatively fast (30% fiber weight gain in approx. 20 min) with the polymer located only a t the fiber surfaces. Fiber cementation does not become pronounced for weight increases below approximately 60%-65% based upon the weight of the fibers. Thickness of the polymer sheath increases with the time of the polymerization reaction. Because of the uniformity of the polymer layer deposition, the encapsulated cotton cellulose fibers can be expected to exhibit substantially different physical and chemical surface properties even a t low polymer add-on. The tensile and tear strengths of the polyoxymethyleneencapsulated cotton fibers are generally improved, with some gains in abrasion resistance also noted. Differential staining techniques and polarized light microscopy have shown the location and uniformity of*the polymer sheaths.