Storage of plasma-derived exosomes: evaluation of anticoagulant use and preserving temperatures.

Exosomes carry large cargo of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, serving as versatile biomarkers for disease diagnosis and vehicles for drug delivery. However, up to date, no well recognized standard procedures for exosome storage were available for clinical application. This study aimed to determine the optimal storage conditions and the anticoagulants for plasma-derived exosome isolation. Fresh whole blood samples were collected from healthy participants and preserved in four different anticoagulants including sodium citrate (SC1/4), sodium citrate (SC1/9), lithium heparin (LH), or Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), respectively. Exosomes were extracted from the plasma by differential ultracentrifugation and stored at three different temperatures, 4°C, -20°C or - 80°C for a duration ranging from one week to six months. All plasma samples for storage conditions comparison were pretreated with LH anticoagulant. Exosome features including morphological characteristics, pariticles size diameter, and surface protein profiles (TSG101, CD63, CD81, CD9, CALNEXIN) were assessed by transmission electron microscopy, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis, and Western Blotting, respectively. Exosomes preserved in LH and SC1/4 group tended to remain intact microstructure with highly abundant protein biomarkers. Exosomes stored at 4°C for short time were prone to be more stable compared to thos at -80°C. Exosomes stored in plasma were superior in terms of ultrastructure, size diameter and surface protein expression to those stored in PBS. In conclusion, plasma-dervied exosome characteristics strictly depend on the anticoagulants and storage temperature and duration.

What is the context? Effective isolation of exosomes is a prerequisite for subsequent investigation into its involvemnt in disease development as well as potentialtherapeutic applications.Anticoagulants, storage temperature and durations might change the microscopical structure, integrity and also the stability of plasma-derived exosomes. However, no internationally recognized standard of exosome storage procedure was available for clinical use.What is new? Our finding evaluated the effect of anticoagulants and storage on plasma exosome characteristics.Exosomes isolated from plasma preserved with Li-heparin and sodium citrate (1/4) showed better physical properties and surface marker protein expression.Isolated exosomes appeared more stable in a short time for 4°C compared to −80°C. Storage of exosomes in plasma showed better physical properties and surface marker protein expression than in PBS.What is the impact? Our findings inform the significance of standardizing procedure of exosome isolation and preservation.

E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP interacts with transferrin receptor 1 for degradation and promotes cell proliferation through inhibiting ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major form of liver malignancy with high incidence and mortality. Identifying novel biomarkers and understanding regulatory mechanisms underlying the development and progression of HCC are critical for improving diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes. Carboxyl terminus of Hsc-70-interacting protein (CHIP) is a well-described U-box-type E3 ubiquitin ligase which promotes the ubiquitination and degradation of numerous tumor-associated proteins. Recent studies have shown that CHIP can play as a tumor-suppressor gene or an oncogene in different kinds of malignancies. To date, the function and mechanism of CHIP in hepatocellular carcinoma remains largely unknown. Based on TCGA data, we found that compared with high CHIP expression, the overall survival of HCC patients with low expression of CHIP was better. In addition, CHIP overexpression markedly enhanced HCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Conversely, knockdown of CHIP restrained the proliferation and colony formation of HCC cells. Meanwhile, knockdown of CHIP decreased mitochondrial cristae or ruptured outer mitochondrial membrane, promoted the accumulation of Fe2+ and ferroptosis of HCC cells. Further research for the first time confirmed that CHIP interacts and degrades transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) by ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, which leads to the inhibition of ferroptosis and promotes the proliferation of HCC cells. The analysis of proteomics data from CPTAC revealed a negative correlation between CHIP and TfR1 protein expression levels in HCC. These findings indicate that CHIP acts as a negative modulator of ferroptosis and functions as an oncogene in HCC.

Brain-Type Glycogen Phosphorylase (PYGB) in the Pathologies of Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Glycogen metabolism is a form of crucial metabolic reprogramming in cells. PYGB, the brain-type glycogen phosphorylase (GP), serves as the rate-limiting enzyme of glycogen catabolism. Evidence is mounting for the association of PYGB with diverse human diseases. This review covers the advancements in PYGB research across a range of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, nervous system diseases, and other diseases, providing a succinct overview of how PYGB functions as a critical factor in both physiological and pathological processes. We present the latest progress in PYGB in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and discuss the current limitations and future prospects of this novel and promising target.

The Current Situation and Development Prospect of Whole-Genome Screening.

High-throughput genetic screening is useful for discovering critical genes or gene sequences that trigger specific cell functions and/or phenotypes. Loss-of-function genetic screening is mainly achieved through RNA interference (RNAi), CRISPR knock-out (CRISPRko), and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) technologies. Gain-of-function genetic screening mainly depends on the overexpression of a cDNA library and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa). Base editing can perform both gain- and loss-of-function genetic screening. This review discusses genetic screening techniques based on Cas9 nuclease, including Cas9-mediated genome knock-out and dCas9-based gene activation and interference. We compare these methods with previous genetic screening techniques based on RNAi and cDNA library overexpression and propose future prospects and applications for CRISPR screening.

FOXG1 regulates the proliferation and apoptosis of human lung cancer cells.

FOXG1, a transcriptional factor belonging to the Forkhead Box (Fox) superfamily, is highly expressed in the brain tissue during brain development and plays an important role in cellular proliferation. Recently, FOXG1 was reported to play important roles in oncogenesis, wherein its abnormal expression regulates tumor cell proliferation. However, the expression and role of FOXG1 in lung cancer remain largely unknown. This study investigated the clinical significance, expression, and role of FOXG1 in lung cancer. We found that FOXG1 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues. MTT, CCK-8 and colony formation assays showed that FOXG1 overexpression could enhance the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that FOXG1 promoted the cell cycle and suppressed cell apoptosis. Additionally, the expression levels of PTEN, phosphorylated AKT, mTOR, p53, and Bax were significantly altered in response to changes in FOXG1 expression, indicating that FOXG1 regulated the PI3K pathway. Furthermore, in the xenograft mouse model, the upregulated FOXG1 expression strongly promoted tumor growth. In conclusion, these results suggested that FOXG1 was a critical regulator of the proliferation of lung cancer cells and enhanced tumor growth in vivo.

Loss of Dip2b leads to abnormal neural differentiation from mESCs.

BACKGROUND: Disco-interacting protein 2 homolog B is a member of the Dip2 family encoded by the Dip2b gene. Dip2b is widely expressed in neuro-related tissues and is essential in axonal outgrowth during embryogenesis. METHODS: Dip2b knockout mouse embryonic stem cell line was established by CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The commercial kits were utilized to detect cell cycle and growth rate. Flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and RNA-seq were employed for phenotype and molecular mechanism assessment. RESULTS: Our results suggested that Dip2b is dispensable for the pluripotency maintenance of mESCs. Dip2b knockout could not alter the cell cycle and proliferation of mECSs, or the ability to differentiate into three germ layers in vitro. Furthermore, genes associated with axon guidance, channel activity, and synaptic membrane were significantly downregulated during neural differentiation upon Dip2b knockout. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that Dip2b plays an important role in neural differentiation, which will provide a valuable model for studying the exact mechanisms of Dip2b during neural differentiation.

Duck hepatitis a virus: Full-length genome-based phylogenetic and phylogeographic view during 1986-2020.

Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) is one of key pathogens for duck viral hepatitis, especially in Asian duck industry. Currently, two main genotypes (DHAV-1 and -3) exist. To explore insightfully the evolutionary character, we assessed the available 141 full-length genome sequences of DHAV isolated in 1986-2020 globally and divided DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 into further seven (DHAV-1 a-g) and five (DHAV-3 a-e) sub-clades, respectively. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic network analyses indicated great genetic diversity of DHAV identified in China, where the DHAV-1 cluster and DHAV-3 cluster were linked by virus strain HDHV1-BJ (GenBank ID: FJ157172.1) and Du_CH_LSD_090612 (GenBank ID: JF828995.1) via a long mutational branch and intermediate strains. Several strains previously identified as DHAV-1 according to the partial gene sequences were actually clustered within DHAV-3 in full-length genome-based analysis. Furthermore, we identified 32 recombination events across virus genome with the recombination hotspot at the 5' end and upstream of the capsid coding region. The highest variability of DHAV polyprotein was shown at the upstream region of the N terminus P-loop region, e.g., amino acids 672-716, followed by the aa 334-359 in the Capsid encoding region. The results presented here provides a robust insight into the genetic exchange patterns of DHAV genomes during the past decades, which may be used to map the evolutionary history and facilitate preventive measures of DHAVs.

Characteristics of plasma exosomes in drug-resistant tuberculosis patients.

BACKGROUND: Increasing prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) poses a major challenge to the early detection and effective control of tuberculosis (TB). Exosomes carrying proteins and nucleic acid mediate intercellular communication between host and pathogen including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, molecular events of exosomes indicating the status and development of DR-TB remain unknown. This study determined the proteomics of exosome in DR-TB and explored the potential pathogenesis of DR-TB. METHODS: Plasma samples were collected from 17 DR-TB patients and 33 non-drug-resistant tuberculosis (NDR-TB) patients using grouped case-control study design. After exosomes of plasma were isolated and confirmed by compositional and morphological measurement for exosomal characteristics, a label-free quantitative proteomics of exosomes was performed and differential protein components were determined via bioinformatics analysis. RESULTS: Compared with the NDR-TB group, we identified 16 up-regulated proteins and 10 down-regulated proteins in the DR-TB group. The down-regulated proteins were mainly apolipoproteins and mainly enriched in cholesterol metabolism-related pathways. Apolipoproteins family including APOA1, APOB, APOC1 were key proteins in protein-protein interaction network. CONCLUSION: Differentially expressed proteins in the exosomes may indicate the status of DR-TB from NDR-TB. Apolipoproteins family including APOA1, APOB, APOC1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of DR-TB by regulating cholesterol metabolism via exosomes.

Association analysis of MTHFR (rs1801133 and rs1801131) and MTRR (rs1801394) gene polymorphisms towards the development of hypertension in the Bai population from Yunnan, China.

OBJECTIVE: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of human death and disability. MTHFR and MTRR regulate folate metabolism and are closely linked to hypertension, although the relationship is inconsistent among different ethnic groups. The present study aims to investigate the effects of MTHFR C677T (rs1801133), MTHFR A1298C (rs1801131), and MTRR A66G (rs1801394) polymorphisms on hypertension susceptibility in the Bai nationality of the Yunnan Province, China. METHODS: This case-control study included 373 hypertensive patients and 240 healthy controls from the Chinese Bai population. The genotyping of MTHFR and MTRR gene polymorphisms was carried out by using the KASP method. The effects of genetic variations of MTHFR and MTRR genes on hypertension risk were evaluated with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: The present study revealed that the CT and TT genotypes and T allele of MTHFR C677T locus were considerably associated with an increased risk of hypertension. In addition, MTHFR A1298C locus CC genotype could significantly increase the hypertension risk. The T-A and C-C haplotypes of MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C could increase the risk of hypertension. Further stratified analysis by risk rank of folate metabolism indicated that people with poor utilization of folic acid were more prone to develop hypertension. In the hypertension group, the MTHFR C677T polymorphism was significantly associated with fasting blood glucose, fructosamine, apolipoprotein A1, homocysteine, superoxide dismutase, and malondialdehyde levels. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that genetic variations of MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C were significantly associated with susceptibility to hypertension in the Bai population from Yunnan, China.

Genetic Characteristics and Phylogeographic Dynamics of Lagoviruses, 1988-2021.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV), rabbit calicivirus (RCV), and hare calicivirus (HaCV) belong to the genus Lagovirus of the Caliciviridae family that causes severe diseases in rabbits and several hare (Lepus) species. Previously, Lagoviruses were classified into two genogroups, e.g., GI (RHDVs and RCVs) and GII (EBHSV and HaCV) based on partial genomes, e.g., VP60 coding sequences. Herein, we provide a robust phylogenetic classification of all the Lagovirus strains based on full-length genomes, grouping all the available 240 strains identified between 1988 and 2021 into four distinct clades, e.g., GI.1 (classical RHDV), GI.2 (RHDV2), HaCV/EBHSV, and RCV, where the GI.1 clade is further classified into four (GI.1a-d) and GI.2 into six sub-clades (GI.2a-f). Moreover, the phylogeographic analysis revealed that the EBHSV and HaCV strains share their ancestor with the GI.1, while the RCV shares with the GI.2. In addition, all 2020-2021 RHDV2 outbreak strains in the USA are connected to the strains from Canada and Germany, while RHDV strains isolated in Australia are connected with the USA-Germany haplotype RHDV strain. Furthermore, we identified six recombination events in the VP60, VP10, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) coding regions using the full-length genomes. The amino acid variability analysis showed that the variability index exceeded the threshold of 1.00 in the ORF1-encoded polyprotein and ORF2-encoded VP10 protein, respectively, indicating significant amino acid drift with the emergence of new strains. The current study is an update of the phylogenetic and phylogeographic information of Lagoviruses that may be used to map the evolutionary history and provide hints for the genetic basis of their emergence and re-emergence.

Targeting lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 triggers autophagic program in esophageal cancer.

Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process to maintain cellular homeostasis. However, dysfunctional autophagy contributes to a context-dependent role in cancer. Here, we clarified the exact role of autophagy modulated by the scavenger receptor lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) in esophageal cancer (EC). A comprehensive analysis in various cancers displayed that LOX-1 was upregulated the most in EC tissues and associated with poor prognosis of patients. Deletion of LOX-1 ex vivo and in vivo suppresses EC development by inducing autophagic cell death. Receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) was identified as a signal adapter of LOX-1, which incented RAS/MEK/ERK pathway and TFEB nuclear export signal and safeguarded tumorigenesis. A sulfated polysaccharide fucoidan extracted from brown seaweed was found to bind with LOX-1 and mediate its proteasomal degradation but not the lysosome pathway, leading to autophagy-related cell death in EC. These results reveal a central contribution of LOX-1 to EC development and provide genetic ablation or bioactive polysaccharide as an effective intervention for EC therapy.

Association of polymorphisms of innate immunity-related genes and tuberculosis susceptibility in Mongolian population.

BACKGROUNDS: Genetic polymorphism of the toll-like receptor 2, 4 (TLR2, TLR4) and natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1) genes may affect host immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and lead to the variation of susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in humans. However, the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in these genes and the susceptibility to TB in Mongolian population has not been investigated. METHODS: We conducted a genetic association study including 197 Mongolian TB patients and 217 Mongolian healthy controls in Inner Mongolia, China. DNA of blood samples was extracted and genotyped for 5 SNPs in TLR4, 4 SNPs in TLR2 and 5 SNPs in NRAMP1 by next-generation sequencing. A logistic regression was performed and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to estimate the risk at TB by each SNP. RESULTS: The most significant locus associated with the susceptibility to TB was TLR4 rs11536889. The frequency for allele C of TLR4 rs11536889 was 16.0% in TB patients and 23.5% in healthy controls, respectively. Rs11536889 C/C genotype of TLR4 was significantly associated with the low susceptibility against TB compared to G/G genotype in the dominant model (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.41-0.94). CONCLUSIONS: The TLR4 rs11536889 polymorphisms might be an indicative of the low susceptibility to TB in Mongolian population, which provides valuable information for the generation of effective strategy or measurement against TB in Mongolian population.

Progressive liver injury and increased mortality risk in COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study in China.

BACKGROUND: Liver injury is common and also can be fatal, particularly in severe or critical patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). AIM: To conduct an in-depth investigation into the risk factors for liver injury and into the effective measures to prevent subsequent mortality risk. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed on 440 consecutive patients with relatively severe COVID-19 between January 28 and March 9, 2020 at Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China. Data on clinical features, laboratory parameters, medications, and prognosis were collected. RESULTS: COVID-19-associated liver injury more frequently occurred in patients aged ≥ 65 years, female patients, or those with other comorbidities, decreased lymphocyte count, or elevated D-dimer or serum ferritin (P < 0.05). The disease severity of COVID-19 was an independent risk factor for liver injury (severe patients: Odds ratio [OR] = 2.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.78-4.59; critical patients: OR = 13.44, 95%CI: 7.21-25.97). The elevated levels of on-admission aspartate aminotransferase and total bilirubin indicated an increased mortality risk (P < 0.001). Using intravenous nutrition or antibiotics increased the risk of COVID-19-associated liver injury. Hepatoprotective drugs tended to be of assistance to treat the liver injury and improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19-associated liver injury. CONCLUSION: More intensive monitoring of aspartate aminotransferase or total bilirubin is recommended for COVID-19 patients, especially patients aged ≥ 65 years, female patients, or those with other comorbidities. Drug hepatotoxicity of antibiotics and intravenous nutrition should be alert for COVID-19 patients.

Low serum calcium and phosphorus and their clinical performance in detecting COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical performance of low serum calcium and phosphorus in discriminative diagnosis of the severity of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a single-center hospital-based study and consecutively recruited 122 suspected and 104 confirmed patients with COVID-19 during January 24 to April 25, 2020. Clinical risk factors of COVID-19 were identified. The discriminative power of low calcium and phosphorus regarding the disease severity was evaluated. Low calcium and low phosphorus are more prevalent in severe or critical COVID-19 patients than moderate COVID-19 patients (odds ratio [OR], 15.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-143.18 for calcium; OR, 6.90; 95% CI, 2.43-19.64 for phosphorus). The specificity in detecting the severe or critical patients among COVID-19 patients reached 98.5% (95% CI, 92.0%-99.7%) and 84.8% (95% CI, 74.3%-91.6%) by low calcium and low phosphorus, respectively, albeit with suboptimal sensitivity. Calcium and phosphorus combined with lymphocyte count could obtain the best discriminative performance for the severe COVID-19 patients (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.80), and combined with oxygenation index was promising (AUC = 0.71). Similar discriminative performances of low calcium and low phosphorus were found between suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patient. Low calcium and low phosphorus could indicate the severity of COVID-19 patients, and may be utilized as promising clinical biomarkers for discriminative diagnosis.

Cholestasis-induced bile acid elevates estrogen level via farnesoid X receptor-mediated suppression of the estrogen sulfotransferase SULT1E1.

The liver is the main site of estrogen metabolism, and liver disease is usually associated with an abnormal estrogen status. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this connection. Here, we investigated the effects of bile acid (BA)-activated farnesoid X receptor (FXR) on the metabolism of 17ß-estradiol (E2) during blockage of bile flow (cholestasis). Correlations between BA levels and E2 concentrations were established in patients with cholestasis, and hepatic expression profiles of key genes involved in estrogen metabolism were investigated in both WT and FXR-/- mice. We found that the elevated E2 level positively correlated with BA concentrations in the patients with cholestasis. We further observed that bile duct ligation (BDL) increases E2 levels in mouse serum, and this elevation effect was alleviated by deleting the FXR gene. Of note, FXR down-regulated the expression of hepatic sulfotransferase SULT1E1, the primary enzyme responsible for metabolic estrogen inactivation. At the molecular level, we found that FXR competes with the protein acetylase CREB-binding protein (CBP) for binding to the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α). This competition decreased HNF4α acetylation and nuclear retention, which, in turn, repressed HNF4α-dependent SULT1E1 gene transcription. These findings suggest that cholestasis induces BA-activated FXR activity, leading to downstream inhibition of SULT1E1 and hence impeding hepatic degradation of estrogen.

LOX-1 is a poor prognostic indicator and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis in pancreatic cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is an aggressive type of cancer that exhibits a rapid progression. Previously LOX-1, which is a type II trans-membrane glycoprotein that is expressed in endothelial cells, has been found to be involved in the development of several types of cancer. As yet, however, the expression of LOX-1 and its functional consequences in PC have not been documented. The present study was aimed at investigating the prognostic relevance of LOX-1 expression in PC patients and at resolving its role in PC metastasis. METHODS: LOX-1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray containing samples from 98 PC patients. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to compare survival curves, whereas Cox regression analyses were performed to explore the independent prognostic value of LOX-1 expression on the overall survival (OS) of PC patients. Harrel's concordance index was applied to calculate the predictive accuracy of established models. In addition, in vitro scratch wound healing and Transwell assays were used to assess the effect of LOX-1 expression silencing and over-expression on PC cell migration and invasion, whereas Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) and Flow Cytometry (FCM) assays were used to assess its effects on PC cell proliferation and apoptosis. RESULTS: We found that LOX-1 is highly expressed in the PC tumor tissues tested and is related to the occurrence of lymph node metastases, higher TNM stages and a poor OS. We also found that LOX-1 expression may serve as an independent prognostic factor for the OS of PC patients. Our in vitro assays revealed that LOX-1 expression may promote the migration and invasion of PC cells through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). No effect on PC cell proliferation was noted. CONCLUSIONS: From our data we conclude that a high LOX-1 expression in PC tissues is indicative for the occurrence of lymph node metastases, high TNM stages and a poor prognosis. LOX-1 may serve as an independent prognostic biomarker. Our in vitro assays additionally revealed that LOX-1 may enhance the migration and invasion of PC cells through EMT. LOX-1 may also serve as a novel therapeutic target.

Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 facilitates metastasis of gastric cancer through driving epithelial-mesenchymal transition and PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß activation.

Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) is a pattern recognition receptor that plays a critical role in vascular diseases and host immune response. Recently, our research discovered that LOX-1 could facilitate the uptake of dying cells and cross-presentation of cellular antigen via binding with heat shock proteins, which have a close relationship with gastric neoplasia. Therefore, we speculated that LOX-1 may serve as an oncogene in gastric cancer (GC) development and progression. In this study, through immunohistochemistry staining assay and cancer-related databases, we found that LOX-1 expression was up-regulated in GC tissues and correlated with a poor prognosis in GC patients. The expression of LOX-1 was an independent prognostic factor for OS in GC patients, and the incorporation of LOX-1 with TNM stage is more accurate for predicting prognosis. Additionally, in vitro study by transwell assay and western blot analysis confirmed that LOX-1 could promote the migration and invasion of GC cells by driving epithelial-mesenchymal transition and PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß activation. Taken together, we first explored the expression profiles, clinical significance and biological function of LOX-1 in GC, and these data suggest that LOX-1 may represent a promising prognostic biomarker for GC and offer a novel molecular target for GC therapies.

High expression of GFAT1 predicts unfavorable prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. As a branch of glucose metabolism, hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) has been reported to play a critical role in the insulin resistance and progression of cancer. Glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) is the rate-limiting enzyme of the HBP; nevertheless, the prognostic value of GFAT1 in HCC remains elusive. In this study, we found that high expression of GFAT1 was significantly associated with serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), tumor size, tumor encapsulation, T stage and TNM stage. High GFAT1 expression was identified as an independent prognostic factor which predicted poor overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in HCC patients. Incorporation of GFAT1 expression could improve the prognostic accuracy of traditional TNM stage system. Integration of GFAT1 expression with other independent prognosticators generated a predictive nomogram, which showed better prognostic efficiency for OS and RFS in HCC patients. In vitro studies also revealed that GFAT1 promoted the proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration and invasion of HCC cells. In conclusion, GFAT1 is a potential prognostic biomarker for overall survival and recurrence-free survival of HCC patients after surgery.

Decreased expression of STING predicts poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.

STING (stimulator of interferon genes) has recently been found to play an important role in host defenses against virus and intracellular bacteria via the regulation of type-I IFN signaling and innate immunity. Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori is identified as the strongest risk factor for gastric cancer. Thus, we aim to explore the function of STING signaling in the development of gastric cancer. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect STING expression in 217 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgical resection. STING protein expression was remarkably decreased in tumor tissues compared to non-tumor tissues, and low STING staining intensity was positively correlated with tumor size, tumor invasion depth, lymph mode metastasis, TNM stage, and reduced patients' survival. Multivariate analysis identified STING as an independent prognostic factor, which could improve the predictive accuracy for overall survival when incorporated into TNM staging system. In vitro studies revealed that knock-down of STING promoted colony formation, viability, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells, and also led to a defect in cytosolic DNA sensing. Besides, chronic H. pylori infection up-regulated STING expression and activated STING signaling in mice. In conclusion, STING was proposed as a novel independent prognostic factor and potential immunotherapeutic target for gastric cancer.