Phase separation of RNF214 promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, and the expression and function of an uncharacterized protein RNF214 in HCC are still unknown. Phase separation has recently been observed to participate in the progression of HCC. In this study, we investigated the expression, function, and phase separation of RNF214 in HCC. We found that RNF214 was highly expressed in HCC and associated with poor prognosis. RNF214 functioned as an oncogene to promote the proliferation, migration, and metastasis of HCC. Mechanically, RNF214 underwent phase separation, and the coiled-coil (CC) domain of RNF214 mediated its phase separation. Furthermore, the CC domain was necessary for the oncogenic function of RNF214 in HCC. Taken together, our data favored that phase separation of RNF214 promoted the progression of HCC. RNF214 may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

The Correlation between the Use of the Proton Pump Inhibitor and the Clinical Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: To determine if the use of the Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) impacts the clinical efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), a meta-analysis was conducted. Method: Eleven studies from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and other databases up to May 2022, were selected. The pertinent clinical outcomes were assessed by applying the Progression-free survival (PFS), Overall Survival (OS), Hazard Ratio (HR), and 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Result: This study included eleven articles containing 7,893 NSCLC patients. The result indicated that PPI use was dramatically related to poor OS (HR: 1.30 [1.10-1.54]), and poor PFS (HR: 1.25 [1.09-1.42]) in case of patients treated with ICIs. With regard to the subgroup analysis, PPI use was dramatically associated with poor OS (Europe: HR = 1.48 [1.26, 1.74], Worldwide: HR = 1.54 [1.24, 1.91]), and poor PFS (Europe: HR = 1.36 [1.18, 1.57], Worldwide: HR = 1.34 [1.16, 1.55]) in patients from Europe and multi-center studies across the world, poor OS in patients with age less than or equal to 65 (HR = 1.56 [1.14, 2.15]), poor PFS in patients aged more than 65 (HR = 1.36 [1.18, 1.57]), poor OS for patients receiving with PD-1 (HR = 1.37 [1.04, 1.79]), poor PFS for patients receiving with PD-L1 (HR = 1.33 [1.19, 1.49]), and poor OS (-30: HR = 1.89 [1.29, 2.78], ±30: HR = 1.44 [1.27, 1.64]) and poor PFS (-30: HR = 1.51 [1.11, 2.05], ±30: HR = 1.32 [1.20, 1.45]) for patients who received PPI at 30 days before and/or after starting the ICIs treatment. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis indicated that PPI combined with ICIs in the treatment of NSCLC patients could result in poor OS and PFS. PPI use should be extremely cautious in clinical practices to avoid the impact on the efficacy of the ICIs.

USP15 in Cancer and Other Diseases: From Diverse Functionsto Therapeutic Targets.

The process of protein ubiquitination and deubiquitination plays an important role in maintaining protein stability and regulating signal pathways, and protein homeostasis perturbations may induce a variety of diseases. The deubiquitination process removes ubiquitin molecules from the protein, which requires the participation of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). Ubiquitin-specific protease 15 (USP15) is a DUB that participates in many biological cell processes and regulates tumorigenesis. A dislocation catalytic triplet was observed in the USP15 structure, a conformation not observed in other USPs, except USP7, which makes USP15 appear to be unique. USP15 has been reported to be involved in the regulation of various cancers and diseases, and the reported substrate functions of USP15 are conflicting, suggesting that USP15 may act as both an oncogene and a tumor suppressor in different contexts. The importance and complexity of USP15 in the pathological processes remains unclear. Therefore, we reviewed the diverse biological functions of USP15 in cancers and other diseases, suggesting the potential of USP15 as an attractive therapeutic target.

Clostridium butyricum in combination with specific immunotherapy converts antigen-specific B cells to regulatory B cells in asthmatic patients.

The effect of antigen specific immunotherapy (SIT) on asthma is supposed to be improved. Published data indicate that administration of probiotics alleviates allergic diseases. B cells play important roles in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. This study aims to modulate antigen specific B cell property by the administration of Clostridium butyrate (CB) in combination with SIT. The results showed that after a 3-month treatment, the total asthma clinical score and serum specific IgE were improved in the patients treated with SIT, which was further improved in those treated with both SIT and CB, but not in those treated with CB alone. Treatment with SIT and CB increased p300 and STAT3 activation, up regulated the IL-10 gene transcription and increased the frequency of peripheral antigen specific B cells. In conclusion, administration with SIT in combination with CB converts Der p 1 specific B cells to regulatory B cells in asthma patients allergic to Der p 1. The data suggest a potential therapeutic remedy in the treatment of allergic diseases.

Protective role of adiponectin in a rat model of intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury.

AIM: To determine the potential protective role of adiponectin in intestinal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. METHODS: A rat model of intestinal I/R injury was established. The serum level of adiponectin in rats with intestinal I/R injury was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were also measured by ELISA. Apoptosis of intestinal cells was detected using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. The production of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and villous injury scores were also measured. RESULTS: Adiponectin was downregulated in the serum of rats with intestinal I/R injury compared with sham rats. No significant changes in the expression of adiponectin receptor 1 and adiponectin receptor 2 were found between sham and I/R rats. Pre-treatment with recombinant adiponectin attenuated intestinal I/R injury. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α, in rats with intestinal I/R injury was reduced by adiponectin pre-treatment. The production of MDA was inhibited, and the release of SOD was restored by adiponectin pre-treatment in rats with intestinal I/R injury. Adiponectin pre-treatment also inhibited cell apoptosis in these rats. Treatment with the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway inhibitor, compound C, or the heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) inhibitor, Snpp, attenuated the protective effects of adiponectin against intestinal I/R injury. CONCLUSION: Adiponectin exhibits protective effects against intestinal I/R injury, which may involve the AMPK/HO-1 pathway.

Compensatory sweating after restricting or lowering the level of sympathectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare compensatory sweating after lowering or restricting the level of sympathectomy. METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted of all randomized controlled trials published in English that compared compensatory sweating after lowering or restricting the level of sympathectomy. The Cochrane collaboration tool was used to assess the risk of bias, and the Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio method was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 11 randomized controlled trials were included, including a total of 1079 patients. Five of the randomized controlled trials studied restricting the level of sympathectomy, and the remaining six studied lowering the level of sympathectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The compiled randomized controlled trial results published so far in the literature do not support the claims that lowering or restricting the level of sympathetic ablation results in less compensatory sweating.

Compensatory sweating after restricting or lowering the level of sympathectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To compare compensatory sweating after lowering or restricting the level of sympathectomy. METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted of all randomized controlled trials published in English that compared compensatory sweating after lowering or restricting the level of sympathectomy. The Cochrane collaboration tool was used to assess the risk of bias, and the Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio method was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 11 randomized controlled trials were included, including a total of 1079 patients. Five of the randomized controlled trials studied restricting the level of sympathectomy, and the remaining six studied lowering the level of sympathectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The compiled randomized controlled trial results published so far in the literature do not support the claims that lowering or restricting the level of sympathetic ablation results in less compensatory sweating. .

[Cytotoxicity of T cells transduced with WT1 peptide-specific T-cell receptor gene against human lung cancer cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cytotoxicity of normal CD8(+) T lymphocytes retrovirally transduced with WT1 peptide-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) genes against human lung cancer cells. METHODS: HLA-A*2402-restricted and WT1 peptide-specific TCR-α/ß genes were cloned from a cytotoxic T lymphocyte clone and inserted into a retroviral TCR expression vector. The cytotoxicity of normal peripheral CD8⁺ T cells transduced with the WT1-TCR genes against human lung cancer cells was evaluated using a standard 5¹Cr release assay. RESULTS: The WT1-TCR gene-modified T cells recognized the peptide-pulsed target cells but not the non-pulsed cells. TCR-redirected CD8⁺ T cells lysed WT1-overexpressing human lung cancer cells in an HLA-A*2402-restricted manner, but did not kill normal cells positively expressing HLA-A*2402. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate the feasibility of adoptive immunotherapy with TCR-redirected T cell for the treatment of lung cancer.

Promoter methylation of Raf kinase inhibitory protein: A significant prognostic indicator for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

DNA methylation has an important role in the development of carcinomas. As a metastasis suppressor gene, Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) suppresses tumor cell invasion and metastasis. In the present study, the associations between RKIP protein expression and promoter methylation with clinicopathological parameters, prognosis and survival rates in gastric adenocarcinoma were investigated. RKIP protein expression and promoter methylation were measured in 135 cases of surgically resected gastric adenocarcinoma specimens and corresponding normal tissues using immunohistochemistry and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to analyze the patient survival rate. Prognostic factors were determined using multivariate Cox analysis. RKIP promoter methylation was detected in 48.9% of gastric carcinoma tissues and 5.17% of adjacent tissues (P<0.05). RKIP protein expression was detected in 43.0% of gastric carcinoma tissues and 91.1% of adjacent tissues (P<0.05). The protein expression levels and promoter methylation of RKIP were shown to correlate with pathological staging, Union for International Cancer Control-stage, tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). In addition, the protein expression of RKIP in gastric carcinomas was demonstrated to be associated with promoter methylation of RKIP. Survival analysis of gastric carcinoma patients revealed that promoter methylation in RKIP-positive tumors correlated with a significantly shorter survival time when compared with RKIP-negative tumors (P=0.0002, using the log-rank test). Using multivariate Cox analysis, promoter methylation of RKIP was shown to be an independent prognostic factor (P=0.033). These results indicated that abnormal promoter methylation of RKIP may be one cause of downregulated RKIP expression. Downregulation of RKIP expression was shown to correlate with the incidence and development of gastric carcinomas. Thus, abnormal promoter methylation of RKIP may be a valuable biomarker for estimating gastric carcinoma prognosis.

HIF-1α silencing suppresses growth of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells through induction of apoptosis.

Lung adenocarcinoma (AC) is one of the most deadly malignancies. The disease has a low five-year survival rate; therefore, the identification of novel therapeutic agents is required. This study aimed to investigate the effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting hypoxia­inducible factor 1α (HIF­1α) on the growth of AC A549 cells. A549 cells were transfected with various concentrations of HIF­1α or control siRNA, and the effect on HIF­1α expression was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. The effects of HIF-1α siRNA on growth inhibition and apoptosis were then assessed using standard methods. HIF­1α siRNA treatment significantly reduced HIF­1α mRNA and protein expression in A549 cells. Furthermore, the downregulation of HIF-1α expression inhibited the growth of A549 cells and induced apoptosis of A549 cells by upregulating caspase-3 expression. The present in vitro study demonstrates that the downregulation of HIF­1α is capable of suppressing AC A549 cell growth, through the induction of apoptosis. This suggests that HIF­1α inhibition may represent a promising strategy for the treatment of AC.

HIF-1α siRNA and cisplatin in combination suppress tumor growth in a nude mice model of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: The esophagus squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most deadly malignances, and a current challenge is the development of effective therapeutic agents. Our present work addressed the effect of HIF-1α siRNA alone or in combination with cisplatin on the growth of ESCC in nude mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Xenografts were established by inoculating ESCC TE-1 cells in nude mice, and transplanted tumors were treated with HIF-1α siRNA, cisplatin alone or together. Growth was assessed by measuring tumor volume. HIF-1α mRNA and protein expression were detected using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Apoptosis of ESCC TE-1 cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: In our nude mice model, HIF-1α siRNA effectively inhibited the growth of transplanted ESCC, downregulating HIF-1α mRNA and protein expression, and inducing ESCC TE-1 cell apoptosis. Notably when combinated with cisplatin, HIF-1α siRNA showed synergistic interaction in suppressing tumor growth. Furthermore, the proportion of apoptotic cells in HIF- 1α siRNA plus cisplatin group was significantly higher than that in cisplatin or HIF-1α siRNA-treated groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Down-regulated HIF-1α expression induced by siRNA could effectively suppress the growth of transplanted ESCC in vivo. HIF-1α siRNA could enhance the cytotoxicity of cisplatin, which suggests that a combination of these two agents may have potential for therapy of advanced ESCC.