Background As a new class of non-coding RNAs, circRNAs have been recently reported to be involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of human cancers. In the current study, we attempted to explore the potential function of a novel circRNA (hsa_circ_0013290) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Relative hsa_circ_0013290 expression was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The subcellular location of hsa_circ_0013290 was performed by RNA subcellular isolation and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays. The effect of hsa_circ_0013290 on proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. The effect of hsa_circ_0013290 on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The invasion and migration abilities of hsa_circ_0013290 were detected by transwell assays. Results Hsa_circ_0013290 is significantly upregulated in HCC cell lines and mainly located in cytoplasm of HCC cells. Hsa_circ_0013290 overexpression promotes cell invasion and migration and inhibits cell apoptosis. In contrast, hsa_circ_0013290 knockdown impedes cell invasion and migration and accelerates cell apoptosis. However, hsa_circ_0013290 did not affect cell proliferation. Conclusions Hsa_circ_0013290 is overexpressed in HCC cell lines and is mainly located in the cytoplasm of HCC cells. Hsa_circ_0013290 promotes cell invasion and migration, and inhibits cell apoptosis.

BACKGROUND Although expression of interleukin (IL)-34 is upregulated in active ulcerative colitis (UC), the molecular function and underlying mechanism are largely unclear. AIM To investigate the function of IL-34 in acute colitis, in a wound healing model and in colitis-associated cancer in IL-34-deficient mice. METHODS Colitis was induced by administration of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), and carcinogenesis was induced by azoxymethane (AOM). Whether the impact of IL-34 on colitis was dependent on macrophages was validated by depletion of macrophages in a murine model. The association between IL-34 expression and epithelial proliferation was studied in patients with active UC. RESULTS IL-34 deficiency aggravated murine colitis in acute colitis and in wound healing phase. The effect of IL-34 on experimental colitis was not dependent on macrophage differentiation and polarization. IL-34-deficient mice developed more tumors than wild-type mice following administration of AOM and DSS. No significant difference was shown in degree of cellular differentiation in tumors between wild-type and IL-34-deficient mice. IL-34 was dramatically increased in the active UC patients as previously reported. More importantly, expression of IL-34 was positively correlated with epithelial cell proliferation in patients with UC. CONCLUSION IL-34 deficiency exacerbates colonic inflammation and accelerates colitis-associated carcinogenesis in mice. It might be served as a potential therapeutic target in UC.

Objective An increasing number of circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified as emerging competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) that play important roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but numerous circRNAs remain unexplored. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism of action of differentially expressed circRNAs and their ceRNA networks in HCC. Methods Second-generation sequencing technology was used to analyse the expression of circRNAs in cancerous and paired paraneoplastic tissues from five patients with HCC. The circRNAs with a P value of less than 0.01, with an original signal value greater than 100 and ranked among the top ten upregulated circRNAs were selected and validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) in paired cancer and paraneoplastic tissues from another 34 HCC patients. The downstream miRNAs and mRNAs of the circRNAs were explored through database analysis, and finally, the ceRNA networks and circRNA–miRNA–mRNA axes based on these ten circRNAs were constructed. Results By sequencing, we identified 9658 differentially expressed circRNAs on all chromosomes, of which 3862 were significantly upregulated and 5796 were significantly downregulated. RT-qPCR was performed to validate the top ten upregulated circRNAs, and the results were generally consistent with the sequencing results. After qRT‒PCR validation, five circRNAs (hsa_circ_0079875, hsa_circ0091580, hsa_circ0091581, hsa_circ0004788 and hsa_circ_0059730) were selected for further analysis. First, the downstream miRNAs and mRNAs of these five circRNAs were predicted to construct circRNA-miRNA‒mRNA network diagrams. The 1482 upregulated mRNAs identified in the GEPIA database overlapped with the 278 mRNAs in the ceRNA networks, and 14 overlapping genes were identified. Further bioinformatics analysis revealed four mRNAs (ADSL, AP3B1, MAPRE1, and TRNP1) and five circRNA–miRNA–mRNA axes that were negatively correlated with HCC prognosis. Conclusions Numerous differentially expressed circRNAs exist in HCC, and most can regulate the biological behaviour of HCC through circRNA-miRNA‒mRNA networks. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the ceRNA regulatory axes in HCC have high diagnostic and prognostic value and deserve further exploration. This study aims to provide new research ideas related to HCC pathogenesis and treatment options.

Background: Liver failure (LF) is a life-threatening clinical syndrome characterized by intense systemic inflammation and organ failure(s), leading to a high mortality rate. The pathogenesis of LF is multifactorial, immune response, and gut bacterial translocation are thought to be major contributing factors. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells play a critical role in immune response and gut bacterial translocation. We aimed to investigate changes of the MAIT cell ratio in patients with LF and to explore the predictive value for long-term prognosis in patients with LF. Material and Method: We recruited 75 patients with LF from Nantong Third People’s Hospital, isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and detected the proportion of circulating MAIT cells by flow cytometry. Statistical analyses were performed using the GraphPad Prism software. Results: Our data showed that the proportion of MAIT cells alterations was independent of the cause of viral infection in patients with LF. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that LF patients with low level of MAIT cells had poor long-term prognosis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the MAIT cell proportion was larger than that of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. More importantly, the combination of MAIT cell proportion and MELD score had a better effect in predicting long-term prognosis of LF patients than any single index (AUC = 0.91, 95% CI:0.84–0.97), and multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the circulating MAIT cell proportion was an independent risk factor for LF. Conclusion: The proportion of MAIT cells in PBMC is an outstanding predictor for the long-term prognosis in patients with LF.

Objective An increasing number of circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) that play important roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism of action of circRNAs and their ceRNA networks in HCC.Methods Second-generation sequencing technology was used to analyse the expression of circRNAs in HCC. The top ten upregulated circRNAs were selected and validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) in another 34 HCC patients. The downstream miRNAs and mRNAs of the circRNAs were explored through database analysis, and finally, the ceRNA networks axes based on these ten circRNAs were constructed.Results By sequencing, we identified 9658 differentially expressed circRNAs, of which 3862 were significantly upregulated. RT-qPCR was performed to validate the top ten upregulated circRNAs, five circRNAs (hsa_circ_0079875, hsa_circ0091580, hsa_circ0091581, hsa_circ0004788 and hsa_circ_0059730) were selected for further analysis. First, the downstream miRNAs and mRNAs of these five circRNAs were predicted to construct ceRNAs network diagrams. The upregulated mRNAs identified in the GEPIA database overlapped with the mRNAs in the ceRNA networks, and 14 overlapping genes were identified. Further analysis revealed four mRNAs (ADSL, AP3B1, MAPRE1, and TRNP1) and five circRNA–miRNA–mRNA axes that were negatively correlated with HCC prognosis.Conclusions Numerous differentially expressed circRNAs exist in HCC, and it can regulate the biological behaviour of HCC through ceRNA networks. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the ceRNA regulatory axes in HCC have high diagnostic and prognostic value and deserve further exploration.