High Expression of PXMP4 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tissues.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the high expression of peroxisome membrane protein 4 (PXMP4) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical significance. METHODS: The expression of PXMP4 mRNA in HCC tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues was detected by Q-PCR, and the expression of PXMP4 protein was detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The correlation of PXMP4 protein expression with clinicopathological features and prognosis of HCC was analyzed. RESULTS: The expression levels of PXMP4 mRNA and protein in HCC tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissues (P < 0.05), and its high expression was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion and TNM stage (P < 0.05). Patients with high expression of PXMP4 had a poor prognosis (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The high expression of PXMP4 may promote the occurrence and development of HCC, and inhibition of PXMP4 may be one of the potential molecular targets for targeted therapy of HCC.

To Establish a Nomogram Prediction of Prostate Cancer Based on Pyroptosis-Related Genes that Affect the Immune Microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the most common tumor in men worldwide with a poor prognosis. In recent years, studies have revealed that pyroptosis can affect the tumor immune microenvironment. However, the relationship between the immune microenvironment regulated by pyroptosis-related genes and the prognosis of prostate cancer is still unclear. METHODS: Thirty-three cell death-associated genes were selected from a literature review. The "DESeq2" R package was used to identify differentially expressed cell death-associated genes between normal prostate tissue (GTEx) and prostate cancer tissue (TCGA) samples. Biological functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed cell death genes was performed using R statistical software packages, such as "clusterProfiler," "org.Hs.eg.db," "enrichplot," "ggplot2," and "GOplot." Univariate Cox and LASSO Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify prognostic genes associated with the immune microenvironment using the "survival" package. Finally, a predictive model was established based on Gleason score, T stage, and cell death-associated genes.odel was established based on Gleason score, T stage, and cell death-associated genes. RESULTS: Seventeen differentially expressed genes related to pyroptosis were screened out. Based on these differentially expressed genes, biological function enrichment analysis showed that they were related to pyroptosis of prostate cells. Based on univariate Cox and (LASSO) Cox regression analysis, four pyroptosis-related genes (CASP3, PLCG1, GSDMB, GPX4) were determined to be related to the prognosis of prostate cancer, and the immune correlation analysis of the four pyroptosis-related genes was performed. The expression of CASP3, PLCG1 and GSDMB was positively correlated with the proportion of immune cells, and the expression of GPX4 was negatively correlated with the proportion of immune cells. A predictive nomogram was established by combining Gleason score, T and pyroptosis genes. The nomogram was accompanied by a calibration curve and used to predict 1 -, 2 -, and 5-year survival in PAAD patients. CONCLUSION: Cell death-associated genes (CASP3, PLCG1, GSDMB, GPX4) play crucial roles in modulating the immune microenvironment and can be used to predict the prognosis of prostate cancer.

Validity and Reliability of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) to Assess Dietary Intake of Preschool Children.

As there are few food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to assess the dietary intake of preschool children, this study examined the validity and reliability of an FFQ for this purpose. A total of 210 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years participated in the validation study, while a subsample of 66 participants joined the reliability study. The FFQ is modified from the ToyBox-study and South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS), and comprised 108 food items from 13 food groups. A three-day estimated dietary record (3DR) was used as reference and reliability was assessed through a second administration of the FFQ (FFQ2), four weeks after the first administration (FFQ1). For the validation study, Spearman's correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ and 3DR. Cross-classification of quartile analysis showed moderate agreement between the two methods. As for reliability, Spearman's correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ1 and FFQ2. Cronbach's alpha values (0.708 to 0.824) and intraclass correlation coefficients (0.710 to 0.826) showed good agreement between repeated FFQs. The results suggest that the FFQ has acceptable validity and good reliability. Hence, the FFQ can be used to assess preschool children's food intake.