Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MEG3 is an important tumor suppressor in several types of human cancers. However, the biological function and underlying mechanism of MEG3 in vascular endothelial cells (VECs) remain unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated the functional importance of lncRNA MEG3 in proliferation and angiogenesis of VECs. MEG3 overexpression significantly suppressed the proliferation and in vitro angiogenesis in VECs, whereas knockdown of MEG3 had the opposite effect. Furthermore, we found that MEG3 exerts its function through negatively regulating miR-9 by acting as a microRNA sponge. Taken together, MEG3-miR-9 plays an important role in proliferation and angiogenesis in VECs.

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Pituitary tumors are generally intracranial neoplasms with high incidence and mortality rates. The investigation of novel factors involved in the tumorigenesis of pituitary tumors and the characterization of the underlying molecular mechanisms is urgently required for the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary tumors. Accumulating evidence has indicated that microRNAs (miRs) serve important roles in the initiation and progression of cancer. The present study found that miR-1 was significantly downregulated in pituitary tumor tissues upon reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Decreased expression of miR-1 was associated with the progression and worse prognosis of patients with pituitary tumors. The MTT assay showed that overexpression of miR-1 significantly suppressed proliferation. Highly expressed miR-1 promoted the apoptosis of pituitary tumor cells upon fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. Further molecular study revealed that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), was one of the targets of miR-1. Western blot assays showed that overexpression of miR-1 significantly decreased the protein level of G6PD in pituitary tumor cells without changing the mRNA level of G6PD. Consequently, oxidative PPP flux analysis revealed that suppression of G6PD by miR-1 decreased the production of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and the glycolysis of pituitary cancer cells. Restoration of the expression of G6PD significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-1 on the PPP and the growth of pituitary tumor cells. Collectively, the present results uncovered the critical involvement of miR-1 in pituitary tumors, indicating that miR-1 is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of pituitary tumors.

Diastolic heart failure (DHF) is characterized by symptoms including reduced ventricular relaxation and compliance, resulting in congestion of pulmonary and systemic circulation. The curative effects of regular cardiac agents are ineffective. Thus, new agents are required to treat chronic cardiac failure. The aim of the present study was to examine the clinical effects of the combined treatment by optimal dose of furosemide (20 mg/day) and spironolactone (40 mg/day) on elderly patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF) [New York Heart Association (NYHA) 1–2 grade]. A total of 93 patients diagnosed with DHF between February, 2013 and February, 2014 were enrolled in the present study. The patients were randomly divided into the furosemide group (20 mg/day, n=27), optimal dose group (20 mg/day furosemide+40 mg/day spirolactone, n=36), and large dose group (40 mg/day furosemide+100 mg/day spirolactone, n=30). Following treatment for one month, a comparison and analysis of the NYHA class, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular wall segmental motion among the three groups were performed. The re-hospitalization rate of heart failure and incidence of electrolyte disorder among the three groups was compared and their differences analysed. Compared with pretreatment, the NYHA classifications of the three groups after treatment were reduced and differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). By contrast, for the NYHA classification after treatment there was no statistical significance (P>0.05). Compared with pretreatment, LVEF of the optimal dose group increased, LVEDD decreased, and the average systolic myocardial peak velocity and early diastolic myocardial peak velocity of ventricular wall motion were reduced, with differences being statistically significant (P<0.05). By contrast, in the furosemide and large dose groups no statistical significance was identified before and after the treatment (P>0.05). Improvement of the optimal dose group following treatment was more significant than the remaining two groups, and differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The re-hospitalization rate of heart failure and incidence of electrolyte disorder in the optimal dose group following treatment were significantly less than the other two groups, and differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). In conclusion, the optimal dose (20 mg/day furosemide+40 mg/day spirolactone) significantly improved the clinical symptoms of elderly DHF patients (NYHA 1–2 grade) and ameliorated their long-term prognosis.

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