BackgroundAbout 10 –15 % of all clinically recognized pregnancies result in spontaneous miscarriages, and chromosomal abnormalities are the most common reason. The conventional karyotyping on chorionic villus samples (CVSs) is limited by cell culture and its resolution. This study aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the application of high throughput genetic technology, including array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) and next generation sequencing (NGS) on the chromosomal copy number analysis of CVSs from early spontaneous miscarriages.ResultsFour hundred and thirty-six CVSs from early spontaneous abortion were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted using a routine method, and the chromosomal copy number variants (CNVs) were analyzed by array CGH and NGS. Two hundred and twenty-five samples (51.6 %) with abnormal chromosomes were identified among 436 samples, of which 188 samples (41.3 %) were aneuploidy, 23 samples (5.3 %) were segmental deletion and/or duplication cases, and 14 samples (3.2 %) were triploid. Two of the three cases with small segmental deletion and duplication were validated to be transferred from their fathers who were carriers of submicroscopic reciprocal translocation.ConclusionA high chromosomal abnormality detection rate on CVSs from early spontaneous miscarriage was achieved by array CGH and NGS. Specifically, the detection of submicroscopic recombination, which is sometimes missed by conventional karyotyping, was important for genetic counseling for the couples that suffered from recurrent miscarriages.

Purpose Lenvatinib is a long-awaited alternative to Sorafenib for first-line targeted therapy of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, resistance to Lenvatinib results in tumor progression and has become a major obstacle to improving the prognosis of HCC patients. Exploring the mechanisms underlying Lenvatinib resistance is considered essential for the treatment of advanced HCC. Methods Lenvatinib resistant HCC (LR-HCC) cells were generated and potential long non-coding RNAs (Lnc-RNAs) upregulated in LR-HCC cells were identified by RNA sequencing. The effects of upregulated Lnc-RNAs were evaluated in vitro in cell models and in vivo in experimental animals using quantitative cell viability and apoptosis assays. Results We found that Lnc-RNA MT1JP (MT1JP) was upregulated in LR-HCC cells and inhibited the apoptosis signaling pathway. In addition, we found that sponging of microRNA-24-3p by MT1JP released Bcl-2 like 2 (BCL2L2), an anti-apoptotic protein, thereby forming a positive-feedback loop. The role of this feedback loop was validated using rescue assays. Additionally, we found that upregulation of MT1JP and BCL2L2 impaired the sensitivity of HCC cells to Lenvatinib both vitro and vivo. Conclusions Our results suggest a novel molecular feedback loop between MT1JP and apoptosis signaling in Lenvatinib sensitive HCC cells.

RGS22 is a novel testis specific gene. It is located within chromosome 8q22.2, which shows high relevance with tumor chromosomal aberrations. We investigated the potential role of RGS22 in human tumorigenesis. We examined the level of RGS22 expression by tumor tissue arrays, immunohistochemistry and by analyzing the expression levels of four human esophageal cancer cell lines with different metastatic potential using western blot. In addition, we examined the role of RGS22 over-expression in the processes of invasion and metastasis using a highly metastatic cancer cell line. We show that RGS22 are expressed in many tumor types, but specific to cancers with epithelial origin and associated with cancer metastasis. In addition, we identified the association of RGS22 to tumor invasion in cancer cell lines. Over-expression of RGS22 in a highly metastatic esophageal cancer cell line causes decrease in cell migration and reduction in the invasive potential of the cells. RGS22 is over-expressed in low metastatic epithelial cancers and involved in the processes of cell migration and invasion in esophageal cancer cell lines. Therefore, RGS22 may be an important tumor suppressor gene in tumorigenesis, a potential new diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for metastasis and may translate to therapeutic opportunities for the preventive treatment of epithelial cancer metastasis.

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