Given a passage, construct a question on the basis of the information present in the passage. Construct the question in such a way that (i) it is unambiguous, (ii) it is answerable from the passage, (iii) its answer is unique (iv) it answer uses text phrases from the passage. Avoid creating questions that (i) can't be answered correctly without actually understanding the passage and (ii) uses the same words or phrases given in the passage.

The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is associated with inflammatory processes and cancer formation through production of nitric oxide (NO). However, the clinical importance of the expression of iNOS in oral cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we examined whether up-regulation of the iNOS gene can affect growth and metastasis of an oral cancer cell line (B88t cell) in vitro and in vivo.', 'We constructed an expression vector containing sense-oriented murine iNOS cDNA with pcDNA3.1. We transfected B88t cells with the sense expression vector to up-regulate the expression of the iNOS gene in the sense transfectants.', 'The expression of iNOS protein was up-regulated in the sense transfectants and that up-regulation of the iNOS gene exerted a growth inhibitory effect on B88t cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, up-regulation of the iNOS gene markedly inhibited the migration of cancer cells in a Boyden chamber. Furthermore, up-regulation of the iNOS gene dramatically inhibited metastases to the cervical lymph node in vivo.
Does overexpression of iNOS gene suppress the tumorigenicity and metastasis of oral cancer cells?

The FAS/FASLG system has been proposed to play a key role in germ cell apoptosis. To elucidate the role of the genetic variants of cell death pathway genes in male infertility, we genotyped the polymorphisms of FAS, FASLG and caspase-8 (CASP8) genes and evaluated their effects on sperm apoptosis and semen quality in infertile men.', 'The genotypes of FAS, FASLG and CASP8 were determined in 620 infertile men. Sperm apoptosis rates were measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Tdt)-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay, and the semen quality analysis was performed using computer assisted sperm analysis.', 'We found that polymorphisms of FAS-670A/G (rs1800682: A>G) and CASP8-652 6N ins/del (rs3834129: -/CTTACT) were associated with sperm apoptosis and semen quality. Individuals with FAS-670GG showed low apoptosis rate and decreased sperm concentration, compared with the FAS-670AA genotype. Similarly, in comparison with the CASP8-652 6N ins/ins genotype, the CASP8-652 6N (ins/del+del/del) genotypes also showed significantly decreased sperm apoptosis rate and poor sperm motility. Other polymorphisms investigated did not appear to affect sperm apoptosis and semen quality.
Are polymorphisms in cell death pathway genes associated with altered sperm apoptosis and poor semen quality?

Exposure of animals for a few hours to moderate hypoxia confers relative protection against subsequent ischemic brain damage. This phenomenon, known as hypoxic preconditioning, depends on new RNA and protein synthesis, but its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Increased expression of IL-6 is evident, particularly in the lungs of animals subjected to hypoxic preconditioning. Stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) is a 56-kDa homodimeric glycoprotein originally discovered in bony fish, where it regulates calcium/phosphate homeostasis and protects against toxic hypercalcemia. We originally reported expression of mammalian STC-1 in brain neurons and showed that STC-1 guards neurons against hypercalcemic and hypoxic damage.', 'We treated neural Paju cells with IL-6 and measured the induction of STC-1 mRNA. In addition, we quantified the effect of hypoxic preconditioning on Stc-1 mRNA levels in brains of wild-type and IL-6 deficient mice. Furthermore, we monitored the Stc-1 response in brains of wild-type and transgenic mice, overexpressing IL-6 in the astroglia, before and after induced brain injury.', 'Hypoxic preconditioning induced an upregulated expression of Stc-1 in brains of wild-type but not of IL-6-deficient mice. Induced brain injury elicited a stronger STC-1 response in brains of transgenic mice, with targeted astroglial IL-6 expression, than in brains of wild-type mice. Moreover, IL-6 induced STC-1 expression via MAPK signaling in neural Paju cells.

Does hypoxic preconditioning induce neuroprotective stanniocalcin-1 in brain via IL-6 signaling?