The human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have the ability to migrate into tumors and therefore have been considered as an alternative source of mesenchymal progenitors for the therapy of malignant diseases. The present study was aimed to investigate effect of hUCMSCs as vehicles for a constant source of transgenic interleukin-21 (IL-21) on ovarian cancer in vivo.

Background: Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are typically seed cells of breast tumor that initiate and maintain tumor growth. MiR-7, as a cancer inhibitor, decreases the BCSC subset and inhibits tumor progression through mechanisms that remain unknown. Methods: We examined miR-7 expression in breast cancer and developed a BCSC-driven xenograft mouse model, to evaluate the effects of miR-7 overexpression on the decrease of the BCSC subset in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we determined how miR-7 decreased the BCSC subset by using the ALDEFLUOR, lentivirus infection, dual-luciferase reporter, and chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR assays. Results: MiR-7 was expressed at low levels in breast cancer tissues compared with normal tissues, and overexpression of miR-7 directly inhibited lncRNA XIST, which mediates the transcriptional silencing of genes on the X chromosome, and reduced epithelium-specific antigen (ESA) expression by increasing miR-92b and inhibiting slug. Moreover, miR-7 suppressed CD44 and ESA by directly inhibiting the NF-κB subunit RELA and slug in breast cancer cell lines and in BCSC-driven xenografts, which confirmed the antitumor activity in mice injected with miR-7 agomir or stably infected with lenti-miR-7. Conclusions: The findings from this study uncover the molecular mechanisms by which miR-7 inhibits XIST, modulates the miR-92b/Slug/ESA axis, and decreases the RELA and CD44 expression, resulting in a reduced BCSC subset and breast cancer growth inhibition. These findings suggest a potentially targeted treatment approach to breast cancer.

Multiple myeloma (MM) currently remains largely incurable. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are believed to be responsible for drug resistance and eventual relapse. In this study, we exploited a novel agent to evaluate its inhibitory effect on MM CSCs. Epirubicin (EPI)-loaded lipid microbubbles (MBs) conjugated with anti-ABCG2 monoclonal antibody (EPI-MBs + mAb) were developed and their effect on MM 138−CD34− CSCs isolated from human MM RPMI 8226 cell line plus ultrasound exposure in vitro and in vivo in a nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mouse model were assessed. EPI-MBs + mAb combined with ultrasound led to a significant decrease in the clone formation ability and the mitochondrial membrane potential along with an increase in MM CSC apoptosis. Moreover, treatment with EPI-MBs + mAb with ultrasound exposure remarkably inhibited the growth of MM CSC-derived tumors in xenograft nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice compared with a single agent or EPI-MBs + mAb without ultrasound exposure. The inhibitive efficacy was also correlated with an increased expression of caspase-3, Bax, and TUNEL and decreased expressions of PCNA, Bcl-2, and CD31. Our findings reveal that the EPI-MBs + mAb combined with therapeutic ultrasound may confer an effective approach for treatment of MM by induction of an apoptotic pathway in MM CSCs.

Growing evidence implicates that intratumoral microbiota are closely linked to cancer progression; however, research on the role of these microbiota in the development of gastric cancer remains limited. Here, using 16 S rRNA sequencing, tumor tissue proteomics and serum cytokines analysis, we identified enrichment of specific microbial communities within tumors of gastric cancer patients, possibly affecting the tumor microenvironment by immune modulation, metabolic processes, and inflammatory responses. Based on the results of in vivo experiments and intratumoral microbiota analysis, we found that Streptococcus mitis can inhibit gastric cancer progression via suppressing M2 macrophage polarization and infiltration, as well as altering the intratumoral microbial community. In summary, our findings suggest that the intratumoral microbiota, exemplified by Streptococcus mites, may be involved in regulating the progression of gastric cancer, thereby emerging as potential therapeutic targets for this disease.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the common infectious diseases in the world. HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is the initial template of HBV replication, which can exist in human hepatocytes for a long time and is difficult to be completely removed. It has been shown that HBV RNA can directly respond to the levels and transcriptional activity of cccDNA in hepatocytes and can be used as a surrogate marker of cccDNA transcriptional activity. At present, the detection techniques used for quantitative HBV RNA mainly include reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and simultaneous amplification and testing (SAT). In this study, we verified the performance of the SAT method for detecting HBV RNA and the clinical effectiveness of SAT and RT-qPCR, and compared the correlation and consistency of the two detection methods for HBV RNA detection. The results showed that the limit of detection for HBV RNA by SAT method was 50 copies/mL, with a linear range of 1 × 10²-1 × 10⁸ copies/mL. There was no difference in HBV RNA levels detected by the two methods. The correlation and consistency of the results were good, with the coefficient of determination of 0.7787 in HBeAg positive group and 0.8235 in HBeAg negative group. Therefore, this study confirmed that the SAT method and RT-qPCR for detecting HBV RNA have good agreement, which are both reliable methods to detect HBV RNA and can replace each other.