Caseyhinton3073
[the original article was published in Oncology Reports 34 87-94, 2015; DOI 10.3892/or.2015.3961].As a specific microvascular complication of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy (DR) causes severe visual impairment in patients with diabetes. The expression of microRNA‑126 (miRNA/miR‑126) has previously been found to be significantly decreased in the serum of patients with DR. In the present study, the functions of miR‑126 and its mechanisms of action in experimental diabetic retinopathy were examined in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)‑induced diabetes and in high glucose (HG)‑induced human retinal capillary endothelial cells (HRCECs). In vivo, diabetic rat models were established and the rats were intravitreally injected with lentivirus expressing rno‑miR‑126 (lenti‑miR‑126) or negative control (lenti‑NC). RT‑qPCR was used to determine the miR‑126 level in the serum and retina. MitoSOX Red purchase Paraffin sections and retinal vasculature were used to determine the extent of retinopathy. The protein content of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelium‑derived factor (PEDF) in the retina was used as an auxilihermore, miR‑126 mimic and CFI‑400945 fumarate reduced the HG‑induced upregulation of PLK4 expression, as well as cell proliferation and migration. On the whole, the findings of the present study demonstrate that miR‑126 reduces experimental diabetic retinopathy and suppresses endothelial cell proliferation and migration by targeting PLK4. Thus, miR‑126 and CFI‑400945 fumarate may be therapeutic targets for DR.Infiltration by dendritic cells (DCs) is markedly increased in the infarcted area following myocardial infarction (MI), and DC ablation has been shown to impair angiogenesis in mice post‑MI. Exosomes (EXs) have long been known to act as messengers between cells; however, whether EXs derived from DCs can enhance myocardial angiogenesis post‑MI remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether EXs derived from DCs induce myocardial angiogenesis via paracrine signaling post‑MI. In vitro, suspensions of mouse bone marrow‑derived DCs (BMDCs) were incubated with the supernatant of necrotic or normal cultured HL‑1 myocardial cells (as the MI or control group, respectively) for 24 h. EXs isolated from the supernatant of BMDCs were termed DEXs, which were added to primary cultures of rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs), and angiogenesis was evaluated by measuring tube formation and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. In vivo, different groups of DEXs were injectedhed in DEXs from the MI group compared with the control, and DEX‑miR‑494‑3p enhanced tube formation by CMECs and angiogenesis in mice post‑MI. These results suggest that miR‑494‑3p may be secreted from DCs via EXs and promotes angiogenesis post‑MI. These findings indicate a novel DEX‑based approach to the treatment of MI.The mitochondria have been proven to be involved in processes of aging; however, the mechansims through which mitoepigenetics affect the cytological behaviors of cardiomyocytes during the aging process are not yet fully understood. In the present study, two senescence models were constructed, replicative senescence (RS) and stress‑induced premature senescence (SIPS), using human heart mesenchymal stem cells (HMSCs). First, the differences in age‑related gene expression levels and telomere length were compared between the HMSCs in the RS and SIPS models by PCR. Subsequently, protein expression and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) methylation status of cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX2) was measured by western blot analysis and bisulfite genomic sequencing (BSP). Finally, the value of the DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt) inhibitor, 5‑aza‑2'‑deoxycytidine (AdC), in delaying the senescence of HMSCs was evaluated. It was found that the p16, p27 and p53 mRNA expression levels increased in the senescent cells, whereas p21 mRNA expression did not. It was also found that telomere shortening only occurred in the RS model, but not in the SIPS model. Along with the senescence of HMSCs, COX2 gene methylation increased and its protein expression level significantly decreased. It was demonstrated that AdC inhibited COX2 methylation and downregulated COX2 expression. The addition of exogenous COX2 or the administration of AdC promoted cell proliferation and delayed cell aging. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that COX2 methylation and downregulation are biomarkers of HMSC senescence. Thus, COX2 may have potential for use as a therapeutic target of cardiovascular diseases and this warrants further investigation.Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) epigenetic modification has been linked to specific sequences of CpG islands and plays roles in the progression of lung cancer. In this study, it was found that peroxiredoxin‑5 (PRDX5) was highly expressed in non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues; however, its specific regulatory mechanisms and functions in NSCLC remain unknown. The present study therefore explored the regulatory mechanism of PRDX5 under conditions of oxidative stress (OS) in NSCLC. The results revealed that 79 of 121 NSCLC patients exhibited demethylation in the PRDX5 promoter region, which was related to the tumor, node and metastasis (TNM) stage (P=0.027). PRDX5 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression positively correlated with the demethylation status of the promoter region. The results of bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP) revealed lower demethylation frequencies in H1299 cells treated with 0 µM H2O2, but maximum demethylation following treatment with 100 µM H2O2. Using chromatin imated. All these results suggested that the reactive oxygen species (ROS)‑mediated hypomethylation of PRDX5 enhanced STAT3 binding affinity with the promoter region, and resulted in the promotion of cell migration and invasion, as well as in the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway in NSCLC. The demethylation status of the PRDX5 promoter may thus be used as an epigenetic biomarker in NSCLC. STAT3/PRDX5 signaling may also prove to be a potential strategy for the treatment of this type of cancer.