© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Several protein-coding genes have been identified to play essential roles in cancer biology, and they are dysregulated in many tumors. Transmembrane protein 106C (TMEM106C) is differentially expressed in several human and porcine diseases; however, the expression and biological functions of TMEM106C in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not clear. In our study, we obtained paired tissue samples from patients undergoing resection for HCC and public databases, which were analyzed for TMEM106C expression using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We further conducted in vitro and in vivo experiments in HCC cell lines and nude mice, respectively, in which TMEM106C was overexpressed or knocked down. Cell-Counting Kit-8 and colony formation experiments were used to determine the influence of TMEM106C on cell proliferation, flow cytometric assays were used to detect the influence on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis, and transwell assays were used for detecting changes in cell migration and invasion. TMEM106C levels were significantly elevated in HCC tissues and cell lines from public databases and our collected specimens from patients. Moreover, higher TMEM106C expression levels predicted a poor prognosis in HCC patients in survival analysis. Overexpression of TMEM106C in HCC cells accelerated cell growth, migration, and invasion, but it inhibited cell apoptosis by targeting forkhead box O-1 (FOXO1) and FOXO3. Conversely, TMEM106C knockdown impeded cell proliferation and metastasis, whereas it enhanced the rate of apoptosis. More important, knockdown of the expression of TMEM106C in HCC cells inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors in vivo. Collectively, these results suggest that TMEM106C acts as an oncogene and can serve as a potential therapeutic target for HCC in the future. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Homeobox B5 (HOXB5), a member of the HOX gene family, is an important gene in tumourigenesis. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell proliferation and apoptosis remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role and regulation mechanism of HOXB5 in HCC cell lines Hep3B and LM6. The data indicated high expression of HOXB5 in HCC tissues and cell lines. In HCC cells, inhibition of HOXB5 by transfection with HOXB5 siRNA significantly constrained cell viability, and Bcl-2 levels, and it increased cell apoptosis, cytochrome c levels, BAX levels, and caspase-3 activity. On the contrary, HOXB5 overexpression increased proliferation and Bcl-2 levels but inhibited BAX levels and caspase-3 activity in these cells. HOXB5 downregulation attenuated activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and expression of the murine double minute 2 (MDM2) oncogene. Incubation with the ERK activator, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (40 μmol/L), for 12 hours reversed the effects of HOXB5 inhibition on MDM2 expression, cell proliferation, and apoptosis in HCC cells. Overall, this study demonstrated that HOXB5 inhibition regulated MDM2 expression by controlling ERK activation and that it modulated proliferation and apoptosis in HCC cells. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.In Focus Kaspari, M., Welti, E. A. R., & de Beurs, K. M. (2020). The nutritional geography of ants Gradients of sodium and sugar limitation across North American grasslands. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89, 276-284. Biologically essential elements and macromolecules impact individuals to ecosystems and vary across space. Predictive frameworks for understanding community patterns across nutritional gradients are increasingly important as the nutritional landscape is continually altered by global change. Grasslands vary in the quantity and quality of essential nutrients that can impact plant consumer abundance, biomass and activity, but causes for variation, particularly across large spatial scales are poorly understood. In 53 North American grasslands spanning 16° latitude, Kaspari et al. (2020) tested three hypotheses for explaining sources of sodium (Na) limitation and five hypotheses for explaining sources of sugar limitation of ants, which are common and ecologically important omnivores that consume both plant- and animal-derived material. For both Na and sugar, over half of the variation in ant bait usage was accounted for by their predictions. Specifically, after accounting for ant activity (ant usage of sugar baits), ant Na-limitation was next best predicted by plant Na content and lastly, insect biomass, while sugar limitation after accounting for activity (ant usage of Na baits) was best predicted by growing season, then ecosystem productivity, plant potassium (K) and phosphorous (P), respectively.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/CP-690550.html  Kaspari et al. (2020) demonstrate the importance of plant physiology and chemistry towards a predictive framework for understanding sugar- and Na-limitation and highlights the importance of tackling ecological questions from a geographical perspective. This framework can provide a useful foundation for predicting future patterns in grassland organism nutritional ecology as plant species and physiology are altered with global change. © 2020 British Ecological Society.McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is caused by postzygotic somatic activating mutations of GNAS and is classically characterized by the clinical triad of peripheral precocious puberty, café-au-lait pigmentation, and polyostotic fibrous dysplasia. It can also present with other hyperfunctioning endocrinopathies, including growth hormone excess, hyperprolactinemia, hypercortisolemia, hyperthyroidism, and renal phosphate wasting due to excess fibroblast growth factor 23. We review the clinical, biochemical, radiological, and genetic findings in a 7-year-old girl diagnosed with MAS at age 4 and then with autoimmune type 1 diabetes mellitus at age 7. While MAS is associated with hyperglycemia secondary to growth hormone excess and hypercortisolemia, an association with diabetes mellitus has not been demonstrated. We review the unique presentation of a patient with these two rare conditions. © 2020 New York Academy of Sciences.