Anti-HCV actions by statins appear to be caused by the inhibition of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthesis rather than their cholesterol lowering effects. Other compounds that block various steps of cholesterol metabolic pathways have also been studied to develop new strategies for the complete eradication of this virus. “
“Background and Aim:  Recent genome-wide association studies of colorectal cancer (CRC) have identified rs6983267 and trs10505477 polymorphisms as key loci in the 8q24 region to be associated with CRC. In the present study, we performed a meta-analysis

to determine whether these loci are risk factors for susceptibility to CRC. Methods:  We meta-analyzed the 22 included studies (47 003 cases and 45 754 controls) that evaluated the association of rs6983267 and trs10505477 with CRC under alternative genetic models. Results:  A meta-analysis of Akt inhibitor the pooled data showed allelic and genotypic association of the rs6983267 polymorphism with CRC risk in Asians, Europeans,

and European-Americans. A subanalysis of the US studies showed negative results in JQ1 concentration the studies with non-identified ethnicity of the patients. A meta-analysis of included studies of rs10505477 polymorphisms identified allelic and genotypic associations with CRC risk in the US patients. A further meta-analysis of the US studies demonstrated positive results in the studies with non-identified ethnicity of the samples. Conclusion:  Our data suggested that the rs6983267 G > T polymorphism Protein kinase N1 is a risk factor for CRC in Asians, Europeans, and Americans with European ancestry. “
“By comparing the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in different hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subtypes,

we identified miR-140-5p as an HCC-related miRNA. We found that miR-140-5p was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and all of six liver cancer cell lines examined and its expression levels were correlated with multiple nodules, vein invasion, capsular formation, and differentiation, as well as overall and disease-free survival of HCC. We also found that miR-140-5p suppressed HCC cell proliferation and HCC metastasis. Multipathway reporter arrays suggested that miR-140-5p inhibited transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and mitogen-activated protein kinase / extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) signaling. TGFB receptor 1 (TGFBR1) and fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) were then characterized as the direct targets for miR-140-5p after it was found that ectopic miR-140-5p expression suppressed TGFBR1 and FGF9 expression. Silencing TGFBR1 and FGF9 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) resembled the phenotype resulting from ectopic miR-140-5p expression, while overexpression of TGFBR1 and FGF9 attenuated the effect of miR-140-5p on HCC growth and metastasis. Conclusion: These data elucidated a tumor suppressor role for miR-140-5p in HCC development and progression with therapeutic potential.