Oxaliplatin‐based systemic chemotherapy has been proposed to have efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the combination of vorinostat and oxaliplatin for possible synergism in HCC cells. SMMC7721, BEL7402, and HepG2 cells were treated with vorinostat and oxaliplatin. Cytotoxicity assay, tumorigenicity assay in vitro, cell cycle analysis, apoptosis analysis, western blot analysis, animal model study, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative PCR were performed. We found that vorinostat and oxaliplatin inhibited the proliferation of SMMC7721, BEL7402, and HepG2 cells. The combination index (CI) values were all <1, and the dose‐reduction index values were all greater than 1 in the three cell lines, indicating a synergistic effect of combination of the two agents. Coadministration of vorinostat and oxaliplatin induced G2/M phase arrest, triggered caspase‐dependent apoptosis, and decreased tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo. Vorinostat suppressed the expression of BRCA1 induced by oxaliplatin. In conclusion, cotreatment with vorinostat and oxaliplatin exhibited synergism in HCC cells. The combination inhibited cell proliferation and tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our results predict that a combination of vorinostat and oxaliplatin may be useful in the treatment of advanced HCC.

The septation initiation network (SIN), composed of a conserved SepH (Cdc7p) kinase cascade, plays an essential role in fungal cytokinesis/septation and conidiation for asexual reproduction, while the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway depends on successive signaling cascade phosphorylation to sense and respond to stress and environmental factors. In this study, a SepH suppressor–PomA in the filamentous fungus A. nidulans is identified as a negative regulator of septation and conidiation such that the pomA mutant is able to cure defects of sepH1 in septation and conidiation and overexpression of pomA remarkably suppresses septation. Under the normal cultural condition, SepH positively regulates the phosphorylation of MAPK-HogA, while PomA reversely affects this process. In the absence of PbsB (MAPKK, a putative upstream member of HogA), PomA and SepH are unable to affect the phosphorylation level of HogA. Under the osmostress condition, the induced phosphorylated HogA is capable of bypassing the requirement of SepH, a key player for early events during cytokinesis but not for MobA/SidB, the last one in the core SIN protein kinase cascade, indicating the osmotic stimuli-induced septation is capable of bypassing requirement of SepH but unable to bypass the whole SIN requirement. Findings demonstrate that crosstalk exists between the SIN and MAPK pathways. PomA and SepH indirectly regulate HogA phosphorylation through affecting HogA-P upstream kinases. Timely septation and conidiation are essential for fungal asexual reproduction. Here, we identified a putative dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase PomA, as a suppressor of a conserved SepH (Cdc7p) kinase in the septation initiation network (SIN) cascade, is a new identified negative regulator for septation and conidiation in A. nidulans. Our findings indicated that reversible protein phosphorylation of the high-osmolarity glycerol gene hogA regulated by the SIN-SepH-PomA kinase cascade plays a key role for fungal cell septation and asexual reproduction. However, when fungi meet osmostress, they bypass the originally required SIN protein cascade to fit the environmental niches by increasing the phosphorylation of HogA.

Objective: To investigate DACH1 protein expression in lung cancer tissue and matched paracancerous tissue and explore its effect on proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma cells (HLACs). Methods: Tumor tissue and matched paracancerous tissue were collected from 46 patients with pathologically diagnosed lung cancer. RT-PCR was performed to detect DACH1 mRNA expression and immunohistochemistry to measured DACH1 protein expression. To determine the effect of DACH1 on lung cancer behavior, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to silence DACH1 expression in A549 cells. The impact on the proliferation of tumor cells was then observed by MTT assay, changes in the invasion of tumor cells were identified using transwell chamber assay, and the effects on apoptosis in the cell line were detected using flow cytometry. Results: The expression of DACH1 mRNA and DACH1 protein was significantly decreased in lung cancer tissue versus matched paracancerous control tissue. The silencing of DACH1 expression in A549 cells significantly enhanced cell proliferation, significantly increased cell invasion, and significantly reduced spontaneous apoptosis. Conclusion: DACH1 is downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissue. In vitro assessment shows that DACH1 functions as a tumor suppressor, suggesting its potential use as a new target for lung cancer treatment.

Introduction: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare neoplastic hyperplasia with an unknown etiology. It is clinically rare for patients with solitary rib lesion and pathological fracture; moreover, its diagnosis and treatment are quite difficult. The purpose of this study is to present a case for the pathogenesis, clinical features, imaging, and treatment of this disease. Case presentation: A 52-year-old female patient complained of left chest pain for one week. CT showed a fracture in the left 5th rib. The rib tumor was then resected and the surrounding muscles and soft tissues were accordingly resected. The patient was diagnosed with pathological rib fracture, and the patient was pathologically diagnosed with LCH. After surgery, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was reported during the two-year follow-up. Conclusions: LCH should be treated by observation, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery, or using a combination of several methods. Moreover, primary tumor should be considered when rib fracture without trauma and tumor metastasis.