Anthocyanin-Mediated Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Gene Associations and Prognostic Implications.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a globally prevalent malignancy accompanied by high incidence, poor outcomes, and high mortality. Anthocyanins can inhibit tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, and promote apoptosis. Moreover, autophagy-related genes (ARGs) may play vital roles in HCC progression. This study aimed to decipher the mechanisms through which anthocyanins influence HCC via ARGs and to establish a novel prognostic model. METHODS: Based on data from public databases, differential analysis and the Venn algorithm were employed to detect intersecting genes among differentially expressed genes (DEGs), anthocyanin- related targets, and ARGs. Consensus clustering was implemented to delineate molecular subtypes of HCC. The prognostic model was developed by Cox regression analyses. CIBIRSORT was engaged to assess the immune cell infiltration. Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were utilized to evaluate the predictive efficiency of the prognostic signature. RESULTS: A total of 36 intersecting genes were identified from overlapping 1524 ARGs, 537 anthocyanin- related targets, and 5247 DEGs. Consensus clustering determined three molecular subtypes (cluster 1, cluster 2, and cluster 3). Cluster 1 showed worse outcomes and remarkably higher abundances of plasma cells and T follicular helper cells. Furthermore, four prognostic signatures [KDR (Kinase insert domain receptor), BAK1 (BCL2 antagonist/killer 1), HDAC1 (Histone deacetylase 1), and CDK2 (Cyclin-dependent kinase 2)] were identified and showing substantial predictive efficacy. CONCLUSION: This investigation identified three molecular subtypes of HCC patients and proposed a promising prognostic signature comprising KDR, BAK1, HDAC1, and CDK2, which could supply further robust evidence for additional clinical and functional studies.

DEP domain containing 1B (DEPDC1B) exerts the tumor promoter in hepatocellular carcinoma through activating p53 signaling pathway via kinesin family member 23 (KIF23).

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is closely associated with chronic liver disease and possesses a high incidence. DEP domain containing 1B (DEPDC1B) expression has been found to be upregulated in HCC according to bioinformatics analysis. This paper sought to study the specific role of DEPDC1B in HCC. The data of DEPDC1B expression and individual overall survival in HCC and normal liver tissues were acquired from UALCAN database. The association between DEPDC1B and the downstream signal, kinesin family member 23 (KIF23), was determined using LinkedOmics and STRING database, and subsequently confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation assay. The expression levels of DEPDC1B and KIF23 in normal hepatic epithelial cells and HCC cell lines were assessed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. Following transfection with small interference RNA-DEPDC1B, the influences of DEPDC1B knockdown on cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, cell invasion, migration, and KIF23 expression were evaluated. In addition, the effects of KIF23 overexpression on the above aspects of HCC cells were also determined, as well as the expression level of p53 signaling-related proteins. The results indicated that DEPDC1B was highly expressed in HCC cells. DEPDC1B knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, cycle, and KIF23 expression in HCC cells. Moreover, KIF23 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of DEPDC1B knockdown in HCC cells and the activation of the p53 signaling. In conclusion, DEPDC1B knockdown exerts anti-cancer role in HCC by activating the p53 signaling through KIF23.

[Effect of ursolic acid on invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells co-cultured with macrophages and the underlying mechanisms].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of ursolic acid on the invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells co-cultured with macrophages, and to explore the underlying mechanisms.
 Methods: The migration and invasion ability of HCC cells in the co-culture system with or without ursolic acid intervention were evaluated by transwell assay. The levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in HCC cells co-cultured with macrophages were detected by Western blot.
 Results: The migration and invasion ability and EMT were significantly enhanced when co-cultured with macrophages, and the expression of E-cadherin was significantly increased while N-cadherin and vimentin levels were significantly decreased. However, after ursolic acid treatment, the migration and invasion ability were significantly reduced, and the expression of E-cadherin was increased while N-cadherin and vimentin levels were decreased.
 Conclusion: Ursolic acid exerts inhibitory effect on the ability of migration, invasion, and EMT for HCC, which are enhanced by co-culturing with macrophages.

[Research on genotyping of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in China.].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the source and genetic background of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the year of 2006, in China. METHODS: From January to December 2006, a total number of 302 consecutive and non-repetitive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were collected from 17 Teaching hospitals in 15 areas. Genotypes of SCCmec were determined by multiplex PCR and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to type the house-keeping genes. The implementation of the spa typing method was straightforward, and the results obtained were reproducible, unambiguous, and easily interpreted. RESULTS: All areas but Dalian harbored SCCmec III while Dalian harbored SCCmec II most. There were two strains in Guangzhou, harboring SCCmec IV. There were four strains of sequence type (ST), with ST239 accounted for 46.7% and ST5 accounted for 44.4%. ST59 accounted for 6.7% and ST88 accounted for 2.2%. There were fourteen strains of Spa typing, with t30 accounted for 52.6%; t37 accounted for 27.2%; t2 accounted for 12.9%; t632 accounted for 2.3%; t437 accounted for 1.3%; t570, t601 accounted for 0.7%; t377, t459, t796, t899, t1152, t2649 accounted for 0.3%; no-typing accounted for 0.3%, respectively. pvl gene was not detected. CONCLUSION: The main clone strains were ST239-MRSA-SCCmec III-t30, ST5-MRSA-SCCmec II-t2, with unique geographic distributions across the whole nation.

Molecular evidence for spread of two major methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones with a unique geographic distribution in Chinese hospitals.

Methicillin (meticillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious problem worldwide. To investigate the molecular epidemiology of MRSA isolates in China, a total of 702 MRSA isolates collected from 18 teaching hospitals in 14 cities between 2005 and 2006 were characterized by antibiogram analysis, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and spa typing; and 102 isolates were selected for multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Overall, SCCmec type III was the most popular type and was found in 541 isolates (77.1%), followed by SCCmec type II (109/702; 15.5%). Twenty-four PFGE types were obtained among 395 isolates collected in 2005, and 18 spa types were obtained among 702 isolates. spa type t030, which corresponded to PFEG types A to E, constituted 52.0% (365/702) of all isolates, and isolates of this type were present in all 14 cities; spa type t037, which corresponded to PFGE types F and G, accounted for 25.5% (179/702) of all isolates, and isolates of this type were identified in 12 cities. The two spa genotypes belonged to sequence type 239 (ST239) and carried SCCmec type III. spa type t002, which included isolates of PFGE types L to T, made up 16.0% (112/702) of the isolates that belonged to ST5 and SCCmec type II, and isolates of this type were distributed in 12 cities. The distribution of spa types varied among the regions. spa type t002 was the most common in Dalian (53.4%) and Shenyang (44.4%); spa type t037 was predominant in Shanghai (74.8%), whereas spa type t030 was the most common in the other cities. Two isolates from Guangzhou that harbored SCCmec type IVa with ST59 and ST88 were identified as community-associated MRSA. The prevalence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene was 2.3%. The data documented two major epidemic MRSA clones, ST239-MRSA-SCCmec type III and ST5-MRSA-SCCmec type II, with unique geographic distributions across China.

Quantitative analysis of brain optical images with 2D C0 complexity measure.

Optical imaging based on intrinsic signals is a powerful method to visualize the activities of neural assembly in the cortex of animals in vivo, especially the detailed functional architecture of the visual cortex. Here, a new index, two-dimensional (2D) C0 complexity has been used to give a quantitative measure of the spatial pattern of the neural activity in orientation maps optically recorded from the visual cortex of cats globally. Results show that 2D C0 complexity could be employed to reveal the dynamic process of generating an orientation map in the visual cortex, and describe the variance of the neural responses in cortical area 17 under high and normal intraocular pressure. This suggests that 2D C0 could be used as a new quantitative measure for analyzing the intrinsic signal optical images.