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Objective. Endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 (ESM1) has been implicated as an oncogene in several types of cancer. However, the potential role of ESM1 in esophageal carcinogenesis (ESCA)/esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is still unclear. Methods. The expression, function, and survival data of ESM1 were observed using a bioinformatics approach. Subsequently, the expression level of ESM1 in surgical esophageal tumors and adjacent normal tissues was detected by qRT–PCR and immunofluorescence. We further revealed protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC), which is related to the prognosis of patients with ESCC using survival analysis. In vitro, knockdown of ESM1 in KYSE150 and KYSE510 cell lines, colony formation assays, wound healing assays, and Transwell assays were performed. Results. ESM1 is significantly elevated in 12 of 20 types of human cancer. ESM1 is highly expressed in tumor tissue compared with adjacent normal tissue and was identified as a hub gene in ESCA. Clinical outcome endpoints of overall survival (OS), progression-free interval (PFI), and disease-specific survival (DSS) curves showed that patients whose ESM1 expression was high had a lower clinical survival rate. The ESM1 high-expression group has a certain correlation with clinical stage and grade. The IHC of ESM1 further demonstrated that the higher the expression was, the worse the N classification and pTNM stage in patients with ESCC, which had a distinctly poorer overall 5-year survival rate. Univariate analysis showed that age, N classification, pTNM stage, and ESM1 expression were all prognostic factors, although multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that only pTNM stage was an independent prognostic factor. In vitro, silencing ESM1 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of KYSE150 and KYSE510 cells. Conclusions. ESM1 is a hub gene in the initiation and progression of ESCA/ESCC that promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of esophageal cancer cells and may be a promising therapeutic target and prognostic indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have become a promising therapeutic approach against skin aging. Recent studies confirm that exosomes partially mediate the therapeutic effect of stem cells. This study successfully isolated exosomes from the ADSC culture medium and discovered that ADSC-derived exosomes (ADSC-Exos) could alleviate human dermal fibroblast (HDF) senescence and stimulate HDF migration. Moreover, ADSC-Exos increased the type I collagen expression level and reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) activity in HDFs. In addition, we demonstrated that ADSC-Exos significantly inhibited senescence-related protein expression levels of p53, p21, and p16. In conclusion, our results have revealed the antisenescence effects of ADSC-Exos on HDFs and ADSC-Exos may be a novel cell-free therapeutic tool for antiaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles and their biological functions in calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis remain unclear. In this study, we investigate the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles of kidney tissues in calcium oxalate stone rats. 16 Sprague Dawley rats were divided into control group and stone-forming group. 24-hour urine samples and kidney tissues were collected for biochemical and histological determination after 4 weeks. MiRNA and mRNA microarray were applied to evaluate the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles. To validate the microarray results, the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed. A total of 38 miRNAs and 2728 mRNAs were significantly and differentially expressed in kidney tissues of stone-forming group versus control group. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that most of the target genes were enriched in terms of oxidation reduction, ion transport, inflammatory response, and response to wounding. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of these targets highlights their critical role in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, gap junction, and chemokine signaling pathway. Furthermore, the reliability of the microarray-based results was confirmed by using qRT-PCR determination. The miRNA and mRNA expressions in calcium oxalate stone rat kidneys might provide a basis for further research on urolithiasis mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]