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Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the main kind of thyroid carcinoma, most of which are diagnosed in women. MiR-21 has been reported to be upregulated in multiple cancers to effect tumor growth. However, the role of miR-21 in PTC development remains unclear. In this present study, miR-21 and VHL expressions in PTC tissues and cells were evaluated by RT-qPCR and/or western blot. MTT assay and transwell assay were employed to assess cell proliferative and invasive abilities, respectively. Luciferase reporter assay was carried out to identify the target of miR-21and explore its roles in PTC. MiR-21 was upregulated in PTC tissues and cells. Ectopic of miR-21 expression promoted cell proliferative and invasive abilities, while knockdown miR-21 suppressed these in TPC-1 and BCPAP cells. Overexpression of miR-21 predicted poor prognosis in PTC. What is more, luciferase reporter assays showed miR-21 can directly target VHL in PTC cells. Knockdown of miR-21 expression inhibited TPC-1 and BCPAP cell invasion-mediated EMT and proliferation through the PI3K/AKT pathway. In addition, VHL reverses partial function of miR-21 on PTC cell proliferation and invasion. MiR-21 can inhibit cell proliferation and invasion by regulated VHL in PTC cells. The newly identified miR-21/VHL axis might provide a novel insight into the pathogenesis and therapy of PTC.

As the predominant thyroid cancer, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for 75‑85% of thyroid cancer cases. This research aimed to investigate transcriptomic changes and key genes in PTC. Using RNA‑sequencing technology, the transcriptional profiles of 5 thyroid tumor tissues and 5 adjacent normal tissues were obtained. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by SAMtools software and then annotated by ANNOVAR software. After differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected by edgR software, they were further investigated by enrichment analysis, protein domain analysis, and protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Additionally, the potential gene fusion events were predicted using FusionMap software. A total of 70,172 SNPs and 2,686 DEGs in the tumor tissues, as well as 83,869 SNPs in the normal tissues were identified. In the PPI network, fibronectin 1 (FN1; degree=31) and transforming growth factor β receptor 1 (TGFβR1; degree=22) had higher degrees. A total of 7 PPI pairs containing the non‑synonymous risk SNP loci in the interaction domains were identified. Particularly, the interaction domains involved in the interactions of FN1 and 5 other proteins (such as FN1‑tenascin C, TNC) had non‑synonymous risk SNP loci. Furthermore, 11 and 4 gene fusion events were identified in all of the tumor tissues and normal tissues, respectively. Additionally, the NK2 homeobox 1‑surfactant associated 3 (NKX2‑1‑SFTA3) gene fusion was identified in both tumor and normal tissues. These results indicated that TGFβR1 and the NKX2‑1‑SFTA3 gene fusion may be involved in PTC. Furthermore, FN1 and TNC containing the non‑synonymous risk SNP loci might serve a role in PTC by interacting with each other.

Purpose The study aims to uncover molecular mechanisms of PTC (papillary thyroid carcinoma) progression and provide therapeutic biomarkers. Methods The paired tumor and control tissues were obtained from 5 PTC patients. RNA was extracted and cDNA libraries were constructed. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on the Illumina HiSeq2000 platform using paired-end method. After preprocessing of the RNA-seq data, gene expression value was calculated by RPKM. Then the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with edgeR. Functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were conducted for the DEGs. Module analysis of the PPI network was also performed. Transcription factors (TFs) of DEGs were predicted. Results A cohort of 496 up-regulated DEGs mainly correlating with the ECM degradation pathways, and 440 down-regulated DEGs predominantly enriching in transmembrane transport process were identified. Hub nodes in the PPI network were RRM2 and a set of collagens (COL1A1, COL3A1 and COL5A1), which were also remarkable in module 3 and module 5, respectively. Genes in module 3 were associated with cell cycle pathways, while in module 5 were related to ECM degradation pathways. PLAU, PSG1 and EGR2 were the crucial TFs with higher transcriptional activity in PTC than in control. Conclusion Several genes including COL1A1, COL3A1, RRM2, PLAU, and EGR2 might be used as biomarkers of PTC therapy. Among them, COL1A1 and COL3A1 might exert their functions via involving in ECM degradation pathway, while RRM2 through cell cycle pathway. PLAU might be an active TF, whereas EGR2 might be a tumor suppressor.

We investigated the influence of obstructive sleep apnea -hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on hypertension and metabolism.There were two groups in this research; they were the research group including 115 patients who were diagnosed with polysomnography and the control group of 122 healthy persons. The blood pressure in the morning, plasmas glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and uric acid (UA) were measured. There were 32 moderate or severe OSAHS patients and 20 healthy persons were selected to be measured the mitochondrial coupling factor 6 (CF6) with radio-immunity method. The results were analyzed with statistic method. The P0.05 means the significant difference.The patients' blood pressure in the morning was significantly higher than the control healthy persons. The plasmas glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and uric acid of the OSAHS patients were all in a higher level than those of the control group healthy persons. There were significant differences between the two groups. The mitochondrial coupling factor 6 (CF6) of moderate OSAHS patients or severe OSAHS patients was more than that of the healthy persons (P0.05).OSAHS is a potential risk factor on the cardiovascular diseases and the metabolism disorders. The mitochondrial coupling factor 6 (CF6) may play an important role in the procedure of X syndrome.

To study the clinical characteristics of female patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) by epidemiological investigation and polysomnography study,compared with that of male patients.Several indexes and the result of polysomnography study of women and men with OSAHS were compared.The mean age of female patients was 53.4 +/- 15.8 years old, and that of male patients was 41.6 +/- 20.2, the difference was considered significant. The difference of the mean body mass index (BMI) had no significance. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of female patients was 32.8 +/- 12.6, and that of male patients was 49.9 +/- 25.8, P0.05, the difference was considered significant. The mean lower oxygen saturation of female patients was (70.0 +/- 11.1)%, and that of male patients was (71.0 +/- 12.2)%, the difference had no significance.Female patients with SAHS are older than male patients, the mean AHI of female patients is lower than that of male patients, but the mean HI (hypopnea index) of female patients is higher than that of male patients.