Mechanistic study of NUPR1 in bladder cancer development through transcriptional regulation of CCR2.

Nuclear protein-1 (NUPR1) (also known as p8) is one of the genes associated with transcription factors that participate in various aspects of cancer initiation and development. However, the molecular mechanisms of NUPR1 in bladder cancer (BLCA) remain unclear. We conducted an analysis of the correlation between NUPR1 expression and related genes using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) online database. We employed lentivirus-mediated small interfering RNA (siRNA) to knockdown the expression of NUPR1 in two human BLCA cell lines. In vitro experiments were conducted to validate the impact of NUPR1 interference on BLCA and the influence of NUPR1 on the transcription of chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2). Furthermore, transcription factors for CCR2 were predicted using the PROMO database. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and immunofluorescence double staining were used to detect the binding between NUPR1 and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein γ (CEBPG). In vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted to validate that NUPR1 regulates CCR2 transcription through CEBPG. In vitro experiments indicate that the suppression of NUPR1 inhibited BLCA growth. Analysis of the GEO database revealed a positive correlation between the expression of NUPR1 and CCR2. Luciferase experiments confirmed that NUPR1 influences the transcription of CCR2. Online data indicates that CEBPG is a transcription factor for CCR2. Co-IP and immunofluorescence double staining confirmed binding between NUPR1 and CEBPG. Luciferase assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) demonstrate that CEBPG regulates the transcription of CCR2. Additionally, rescue experiments at the cellular level and animal experiments validated the aforementioned mechanism. NUPR1 promotes a promotional role in BLCA, and interference with NUPR1 can inhibit the proliferation and invasive abilities of BLCA. There was a correlation between the expressions of NUPR1 and CCR2, and NUPR1 binds with CEBPG in the cell nucleus. Transcriptional regulation of CCR2 by NUPR1 may be achieved through the involvement of CEBPG.

PSAT1 enhances the efficacy of the prognosis estimation nomogram model in stage-based clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is associated with a high prevalence of cancer-related deaths. The survival rates of patients are significantly lower in late-stage ccRCC than in early-stage ccRCC, due to the spread and metastasis of late-stage ccRCC, surgery has not reached the goal of radical cure, and the effect of traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy is poor. Thus, it is crucial to accurately assess the prognosis and provide personalized treatment at an early stage in ccRCC. This study aims to develop an efficient nomogram model for stratifying and predicting the survival of ccRCC patients based on tumor stage. METHODS: We first analyzed the microarray expression data of ccRCC patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and categorized them into two groups based on the disease stage (early and late stage). Subsequently, the GEO2R tool was applied to screen out the genes that were highly expressed in all GEO datasets. Finally, the clinicopathological data of the two patient groups were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and the differences were compared between groups. Survival analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of candidate genes (PSAT1, PRAME, and KDELR3) in ccRCC patients. Based on the screened gene PSAT1 and clinical parameters that were significantly associated with patient prognosis, we established a new nomogram model, which was further optimized to a single clinical variable-based model. The expression level of PSAT1 in ccRCC tissues was further verified by qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The datasets GSE73731, GSE89563, and GSE150404 identified a total of 22, 89, and 120 over-expressed differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. Among these profiles, there were three genes that appeared in all three datasets based on different stage groups. The overall survival (OS) of late-stage patients was significantly shorter than that of early-stage patients. Among the three candidate genes (PSAT1, PRAME, and KDELR3), PSAT1 was shown to be associated with the OS of patients with late-stage ccRCC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age, tumor grade, neoadjuvant therapy, and PSAT1 level were significantly associated with patient prognosis. The concordance indices were 0.758 and 0.725 for the 3-year and 5-year OS, respectively. The new model demonstrated superior discrimination and calibration compared with the single clinical variable model. The enhancer PSAT1 used in the new model was shown to be significantly overexpressed in tissues from patients with late-stage ccRCC, as demonstrated by the mRNA level, protein level, and pathological evaluation. CONCLUSION: The new prognostic prediction nomogram model of PSAT1 and clinicopathological variables combined was thus established, which may provide a new direction for individualized treatment for different-stage ccRCC patients.

Development and validation of a rating scale for barriers to and facilitators of nurses' participation intentions in "Internet + Nursing Service".

BACKGROUND: Given increases in China's aging population, the growing demand for public health services and the shortage of human resources among nurses have become more prominent. Under such a background, "Internet + Nursing Services" have received more attention. Thus, exploring the barriers to and facilitators of nurses' willingness to participate in "Internet + Nursing Services" and utilizing internet technology to increase the supply of nursing services has become a key issue. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a scale for assessing the barriers to and facilitators of nurses' willingness to participate in "Internet + Nursing Services" and to test the validity and reliability of the scale. METHODS: A preliminary scale was developed based on a literature review, theoretical research, semistructured qualitative interviews, and two rounds of Delphi expert inquiry. A convenient sampling method was used for the questionnaire survey. A 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the importance of the items. The survey data of 659 clinical nurses obtained from February to March 2023 were used for item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and reliability and validity tests of the scale. The survey data of 538 clinical nurses obtained in April 2023 were used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the final scale. RESULTS: The final scale consists of 25 items and 4 dimensions (performance expectations, perceived risk, need for professional knowledge training, and nonprofessional knowledge training). The scale showed good structural validity and content validity: the Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.955, the split-half reliability was 0.778, the test-retest reliability was 0.944, the kaiser-meyer-olkin(KMO) value was 0.960, and the cumulative variance contribution rate of the 4 common factors was 83.147%. The scale content validity index(S-CVI) was 0.914. The confirmatory factor analysis model had favorable fit indices: χ2/df = 4.234, RMSEA = 0.078, NFI = 0.940, IFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.947, and CFI = 0.953. CONCLUSION: The scale for assessing the barriers to and facilitators of nurses' willingness to participate in "Internet + Nursing Services" has good reliability and validity, and provides a reference for evaluating nurses' willingness to participate in "Internet + Nursing Services".

A novel PSMA targeted dual-function near-infrared fluorescence and PET probe for the image-guided surgery and detection of prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a promising diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa). NYM016, a novel small-molecule PSMA-targeted fluorescence probe for the surgical navigation of PCa, was designed in this work. Furthermore, the potential of the PET agent [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 for the radionuclide imaging of PCa was evaluated. METHODS: NYM016 was designed with the near-infrared fluorescent group Cyanine 7 (Cy7) and the chelating group NOTA. The radioactive probe [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 was designed and synthesized on the basis of NYM016. The abovementioned probes were assessed in PSMA-positive xenograft-bearing models and patients diagnosed with PCa. RESULTS: NYM016 obviously aggregated in the tumor site of the mouse model, and its fluorescence intensity was stable within 24 h. NYM016 was well-tolerated, and no adverse events were found in the clinical study. Moreover, it was also observed in the excised lesions from the patient with PCa, and its fluorescence aggregated at the same site where PSMA was highly expressed. In addition, the PSMA xenograft demonstrated intense [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 uptake at 2.5 min after injection. At 3 h after injection, [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 uptake by the PSMA xenograft gradually increased to 6.40 ± 0.19%ID/g, which was higher that by the blocked and negative groups (2.28 ± 0.07%ID/g, P < 0.05; 2.28 ± 0.22%ID/g, P < 0.05). In the clinical study, [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 was well-tolerated and no adverse events were observed. Substantial accumulation was observed in primary and metastatic lesions in a patient with recurrence with the maximum standardized uptake value of 18.93. Meanwhile, negative [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 uptake was observed at the prostate site of a patient with prostatitis. CONCLUSION: The novel fluorescence probe NYM016 and the radioactive tracer [68Ga]Ga-NYM016 are promising candidates for the surgical navigation and radionuclide imaging of PCa, respectively. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The clinical evaluation of this study was registered at Clinicaltrial.gov (NCT05623878) on 21 Dec, 2022.

TROAP Promotes the Proliferation, Migration, and Metastasis of Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma with the Help of STAT3.

Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is a subtype of renal cell carcinoma that threatens human health. The mechanism by which the trophinin-associated protein (TROAP)-an important oncogenic factor-functions in KIRC has not been studied. This study investigated the specific mechanism by which TROAP functions in KIRC. TROAP expression in KIRC was analyzed using the RNAseq dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) online database. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the expression of this gene from clinical data. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for the survival analysis of KIRC. The expression level of TROAP mRNA in the cells was detected using qRT-PCR. The proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and cell cycle of KIRC were detected using Celigo, MTT, wound healing, cell invasion assay, and flow cytometry. A mouse subcutaneous xenograft experiment was designed to demonstrate the effect of TROAP expression on KIRC growth in vivo. To further investigate the regulatory mechanism of TROAP, we performed co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) and shotgun liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). TCGA-related bioinformatics analysis showed that TROAP was significantly overexpressed in KIRC tissues and was related to higher T and pathological stages, and a poor prognosis. The inhibition of TROAP expression significantly reduced the proliferation of KIRC, affected the cell cycle, promoted cell apoptosis, and reduced cell migration and invasion. The subcutaneous xenograft experiments showed that the size and weight of the tumors in mice were significantly reduced after TROAP-knockdown. CO-IP and post-mass spectrometry bioinformatics analyses revealed that TROAP may combine with signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) to achieve tumor progression in KIRC; this was verified by functional recovery experiments. TROAP may regulate KIRC proliferation, migration, and metastasis by binding to STAT3.

Identifying diseases that cause psychological trauma and social avoidance by GCN-Xgboost.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of medical treatment, many patients not only consider the survival time, but also care about the quality of life. Changes in physical, psychological and social functions after and during treatment have caused a lot of troubles to patients and their families. Based on the bio-psycho-social medical model theory, mental health plays an important role in treatment. Therefore, it is necessary for medical staff to know the diseases which have high potential to cause psychological trauma and social avoidance (PTSA). RESULTS: Firstly, we obtained diseases which can cause PTSA from literatures. Then, we calculated the similarities of related-diseases to build a disease network. The similarities between diseases were based on their known related genes. Then, we obtained these diseases-related proteins from UniProt. These proteins were extracted as the features of diseases. Therefore, in the disease network, each node denotes a disease and contains the information of its related proteins, and the edges of the network are the similarities of diseases. Then, graph convolutional network (GCN) was used to encode the disease network. In this way, each disease's own feature and its relationship with other diseases were extracted. Finally, Xgboost was used to identify PTSA diseases. CONCLUSION: We developed a novel method 'GCN-Xgboost' and compared it with some traditional methods. Using leave-one-out cross-validation, the AUC and AUPR were higher than some existing methods. In addition, case studies have been done to verify our results. We also discussed the trajectory of social avoidance and distress during acute survival of breast cancer patients.

Association of C-reactive protein (CRP) rs1205 and rs2808630 variants and risk of cancer.

The correlation between rs1205, rs2808630 variants of C-reactive protein (CRP) gene and susceptibility of cancer has been assessed previously, but with conflicting results. We adopted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), in silico tools and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis to evaluate this association. Totally, 10,614 cancer subjects and 33,294 controls were involved in the pooled analysis. When all the studies were pooled, no significant correlation was indicated between the two variants and cancer risk. However, in stratification analysis by ethnicity, we found that CRP rs1205 C>T polymorphism was associated with an elevated risk of cancer in Asians (T-allele vs. C-allele, OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.06-1.36, pheterogeneity = .226; TT vs. CC, OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.14-1.93, pheterogeneity = .089). Similar findings were observed for rs2808630 variant. In silico tools showed that lung adenocarcinoma participants with high CRP expression may have shorter overall survival time than low expression group. ELISA analysis indicated that CRP expression in prostate adenocarcinoma subjects with TT + TC genotypes was statistically higher than in those with CC genotypes. CRP rs1205 C>T and rs2808630 T>C polymorphism may be associated with cancer risk, especially for Asians.

Characterization and validation of long noncoding RNAs as new candidates in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proved to be an important regulator in gene expression. In almost all kinds of cancers, lncRNAs participated in the process of pathogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Meanwhile, compared with the large amounts of patients, there is rare knowledge about the role of lncRNAs in prostate cancer (PCa). MATERIAL/METHOD: In this study, lncRNA expression profiles of prostate cancer were detected by Agilent microarray chip, 5 pairs of case and control specimens were involved in. Differentially expressed lncRNAs were screened out by volcano plot for constructing lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA central network. Then, the top ten up-regulated and down-regulated lncRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR in another 5 tumor specimens and 7 para-cancerous/benign contrasts. Furthermore, we searched for the survival curve of the top 10 upregulated and downregulated lncRNAs. RESULTS: A total of 817 differentially expressed lncRNAs were filtered out by the criteria of fold change (FC) and t-test p < 0.05. Among them, 422 were upregulated, whereas 395 were downregulated in PCa tissues. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses showed that many lncRNAs were implicated in carcinogenesis. lnc-MYL2-4:1 (FC = 0.00141, p = 0.01909) and NR_125857 (FC = 59.27658, p = 0.00128) had the highest magnitude of change. The subsequent qPCR confirmed the expression of NR_125857 was in accordance with the clinical samples. High expression of PCA3, PCAT14 and AP001610.9 led to high hazard ratio while low expression of RP11-279F6.2 led to high hazard ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Our study detected a relatively novel complicated map of lncRNAs in PCa, which may have the potential to investigate for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up in PCa. Our study revealed the expression of NR_125857 in human PCa tissues was most up-regulated. Further studies are needed to investigate to figure out the mechanisms in PCa.

CDKN1B Val 109 Gly variant is not related to risk of prostate cancer.

Association between CDKN1B gene Val 109 Gly polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility has been investigated in several studies but with inconsistent conclusions. We adopted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the correlation between CDKN1B Val 109 Gly variant and PCa susceptibility. Moreover, we used in-silico tools to evaluate the relationship of CDKN1B expression and overall survival (OS) or disease free survival (DFS) time in PCa patients. The overall results demonstrated no association of the CDKN1B variant on PCa risk [allelic contrast (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.45 - 1.35, Pheterogeneity = 0.038); GV vs VV (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.56 - 1.25, Pheterogeneity = 0.253); GG vs VV (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.23 - 1.01, Pheterogeneity = 0.161); GG+GV vs VV (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.52 -1.08, Pheterogeneity = 0.132) and GG vs GV+VV (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.25 - 1.11, Pheterogeneity = 0.152)]. In subgroup analysis by ethnicity and source of control, we also identified similar results. In-silico results showed that expression of CDKN1B was decreased in PCa tissue, especially in less advanced PCa (Gleason score = 6 or 7). No significant difference of OS or DFS time was indicated between the low and high expression of CDKN1B. Our present study showed evidence that CDKN1B Val 109 Gly variant is not related to PCa risk. Future studies with large sample size are needed to confirm this correlation in more details.

The association between three AXIN2 variants and cancer risk.

Plenty of epidemiological studies have assessed the effects of AXIN2 polymorphisms on the risk of developing cancer, but the available results were somewhat inconclusive. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to investigate the relationship between three AXIN2 variants (rs2240308 C/T, rs1133683 C/T, and rs4791171 A/G) and overall cancer susceptibility. In silico tools were undertaken to investigate the correlation of AXIN2 expression with cancer risk and survival time. Furthermore, we explored the serum expression of AXIN2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A total of 4167 cancer patients and 3515 control subjects were evaluated. The overall results demonstrated that there was no major association of these polymorphisms on cancer risk. However, stratified analysis by cancer type showed evidence that rs2240308 C/T polymorphism had a lower risk in lung cancer (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.92; Pheterogeneity = 0.865) and prostate cancer (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.35-0.84; Pheterogeneity = 0.088) by heterozygote comparison. Similar results were indicated in Asian descendants and population-based studies. In silico analysis showed evidence that AXIN2 expressions in lung cancer and prostate cancer were lower than that in normal counterpart. High expression of AXIN2 may have longer overall survival time than low expression group for lung cancer participants. In addition, individuals who were CC/TC carriers had a higher serum expression level than TT carriers. In conclusion, this pooled analysis suggested that AXIN2 rs2240308 C/T variant may decrease both lung and prostate cancer susceptibility, particularly in Asian descendants and population-based studies. Future large scale and well-designed research are required to validate these effects in more detail.

VEGF gene rs3025039C/T and rs833052C/A variants are associated with bladder cancer risk in Asian descendants.

INTRODUCTION: Polymorphisms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene were evaluated in a number of studies to evaluate bladder cancer (BCa) susceptibility but with controversial conclusions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a pooled analysis and used odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to investigate the correlation between VEGF gene rs3025039C/T and rs833052C/A variants and risk of BCa. Furthermore, we utilized in silico tools to demonstrate the relationship of VEGF expression correlated with BCa susceptibility and survival time. RESULTS: A total of eight studies including 4359 BCa patients and 5417 control subjects were enrolled in our study. For VEGF rs3025039C/T, a significant association was indicated between this variant and BCa risk in homozygote comparison (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.13-2.02; P heterogeneity = 0.815) and recessive genetic model (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.12-1.99; P heterogeneity = 0.874), in particular in an Asian population subgroup. For VEGF rs833052C/A, we observed a positive association between this variant and BCa susceptibility in Asian descendants. Results from in silico tool showed evidence that VEGF expression in bladder carcinoma tissue is higher than that in normal counterpart (transcripts per kilobase million = 7.21 vs 6.85; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The VEGF gene rs3025039C/T and rs833052C/A variants may contribute to the risk of developing BCa, especially in Asian descendants. Future larger sample studies should be continued to focus on this issue in more detail.

RNASEL 1623A>C variant is associated with the risk of prostate cancer in African descendants.

Association between ribonuclease L (RNASEL) gene 1623A>C polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility has been assessed in large quantities of studies but with controversial conclusions. We undertook a pooled analysis containing 7397 PCa cases and 6088 control subjects to assess the correlation between RNASEL 1623A>C polymorphism and PCa risk. Moreover, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to test the serum RNASEL expression among patients enrolled in our centers and in-silico tools were also utilized. The overall results of our analysis indicated a positive relationship between 1623A>C variant and PCa risk (allelic contrast, odds ratio [OR] = 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-1.12; Pheterogeneity = 0.575; CC vs AA, OR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.03-1.26; Pheterogeneity = 0.217; CC + CA vs AA, OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01-1.19; Pheterogeneity = 0.303; and CC vs CA + AA, OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.00-1.17; Pheterogeneity = 0.298). In ethnicity subgroup analysis, similar results were especially indicated in African descendants. In addition, serum RNASEL levels in PCa cases with CC + CA genotypes were higher than those with AA genotypes. Our present study showed evidence that RNASEL 1623A>C polymorphism is related to PCa risk, especially in African descendants.

MMP-8 C-799 T, Lys460Thr, and Lys87Glu variants are not related to risk of cancer.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have focused on the relationship between MMP-8 variants and cancer risk, but they have been unsuccessful in drawing reliable conclusions. METHODS: We employed odds ratio (OR) together with 95% confidence interval (CI) to assess the correlation between MMP-8 C-799 T, Lys460Thr, and Lys87Glu polymorphisms and cancer risk. We further employed in silico tools to evaluate the effect of MMP-8 expression on cancer susceptibility and overall survival time. RESULTS: A total of 8140 patients with malignant carcinoma and 10,529 healthy individuals (control) were enrolled. Overall, the analysis showed that the relationship between three MMP-8 variants and cancer susceptibility was not significant (allelic contrast, C-799 T: OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.92-1.04, Pheterogeneity = 0.068; Lys460Thr: OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.67-1.32, Pheterogeneity = 0.905; Lys87Glu: OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.93-1.18, Pheterogeneity = 0.968). Similar results were observed in subgroup analysis by ethnicity, cancer type, and source of control. In silico analysis indicated that MMP-8 expression was elevated in bladder cancer tissue compared to that in the control. However, both the higher and lower MMP-8 expression groups did not show an impact on the overall survival time of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: MMP-8 C-799 T, Lys460Thr, and Lys87Glu variants are not participant with the susceptibility of cancer.

The Association Between Three Genetic Variants in MicroRNAs (Rs11614913, Rs2910164, Rs3746444) and Prostate Cancer Risk.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules which play a significant role in transcriptional and translational regulation. Published data on the association between the miRNA SNPs and prostate cancer (PCa) risk are somewhat inconclusive. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of all available studies including 2,227 patients and 2,331 control subjects to evaluate the impact of three common genetic variants of microRNAs in prostate cancer risk. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to investigate the strength of the association. RESULTS: For miR-499 polymorphism, a significant association was observed between the rs3746444 A>G polymorphism and PCa risk in heterozygote comparison and dominant genetic model, in particular in Asian population subgroup. For miR-146a polymorphism, the rs2910164 CC genotype was associated with decreased PCa risk in Asian population in homozygote comparison. In addition, rs2910164 CC genotype had a weekly higher percentage value in subgroup of Gleason score < 7. Similar results were also indicated in localized prostate cancer in subgroup analysis by tumor stage. For miR-196a2 polymorphism, no association was observed between this variant and PCa risk in the overall group. However, in stratified analysis by ethnicity, we found that rs11614913 T allele was a risk factor for Asian PCa patients. CONCLUSIONS: Polymorphisms of miR-196a2 rs11614913, miR-146a rs2910164, and miR-499 rs3746444 may contribute to the risk for developing prostate cancer in Asian descendants. Moreover, miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism was related to PCa prognosis.

Coatomer subunit beta 2 (COPB2), identified by label-free quantitative proteomics, regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in human prostate carcinoma cells.

Label-free quantitative proteomics has broad applications in the identification of differentially expressed proteins. Here, we applied this method to identify differentially expressed proteins (such as coatomer subunit beta 2 [COPB2]) and evaluated the functions and molecular mechanisms of these proteins in prostate cancer (PCA) cell proliferation. Proteins extracted from surgically resected PCA tissues and adjacent tissues of 3 patients were analyzed by label-free quantitative proteomics. The target protein was confirmed by bioinformatics and GEO dataset analyses. To investigate the role of the target protein in PCA, we used lentivirus-mediated small-interfering RNA (siRNA) to knockdown protein expression in the prostate carcinoma cell line, CWR22RV1 cells and assessed gene and protein expression by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. CCK8 and colony formation assays were conducted to evaluate cell proliferation. Cell cycle distributions and apoptosis were assayed by flow cytometry. We selected the differentiation-related protein COPB2 as our target protein based on the results of label-free quantitative proteomics. High expression of COPB2 was found in PCA tissue and was related to poor overall survival based on a public dataset. Cell proliferation was significantly inhibited in COPB2-knockdown CWR22RV1 cells, as demonstrated by CCK8 and colony formation assays. Additionally, the apoptosis rate and percentage of cells in the G1 phase were increased in COPB2-knockdown cells compared with those in control cells. CDK2, CDK4, and cyclin D1 were downregulated, whereas p21 Waf1/Cip1 and p27 Kip1 were upregulated, affecting the cell cycle signaling pathway. COPB2 significantly promoted CWR22RV1 cell proliferation through the cell cycle signaling pathway. Thus, silencing of COPB2 may have therapeutic applications in PCA.

The Involvement of Corin in the Progression of Diabetic Erectile Dysfunction in a Rat Model by Down-Regulating ANP /NO/cGMP Signal Pathway.

This study was aimed to analyze the potential role of Corin in the procession of diabetic ED and to explore the underlying mechanism. Diabetic ED rat model was constructed and the characteristics of diabetic ED and control rats were recorded at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. qRT-PCR and Western bloting were used to detected the mRNA and protein levels. Intracellular cGMP detection was accomplished using a commercial radioimmunoassay method. Vascular endothelial cell from rat corpus cavernosum spiral artery was isolated and transfected with si- Corin to analyzed the potential role of Corin. Cell viability was assessed using crystal violet. The results showed that diabetic ED rats showed significantly higher glucose level, and lower body weight, ICP level, and ICP/MAP ratio at 12 and 16 weeks in diabetic ED rats compared with control rats. The protein levels of Corin, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and eNOS, and the level of cGMP were significantly down-regulated in corpus cavernosum in diabetic ED rats, revealing the potential role of Corin in NO-associated diabetic ED. Further, studies proved that defect of Corin not only inhibited the vascular endothelial cell viability in high-glucose condition, but also suppressed ANP, eNOS, and cGMP expression in vascular endothelial cells. To sum up, Corin contributes to the progression of diabetic ED and the underlying mechanism is associated with the down-regulation of ANP /NO/cGMP signal pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2325-2332, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CPNE1 Is a Useful Prognostic Marker and Is Associated with TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 2 (TRAF2) Expression in Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND CPNE1 plays a vital role in regulating cell differentiation. The clinical and biological values of CPNE1 in prostate cancer are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological value of CPNE1 and the association of CPNE1 with TRAF2 expression in patients with prostate cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS CPNE1 expression in prostate cancer was analyzed using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was used to investigate the association of CPNE1 expression with TRAF2 expression in prostate cancer. The association of CPNE1 expression with recurrence-free survival in patients was also analyzed using the TCGA dataset. Immunohistochemistry assay was performed to examine CPNE1 expression in 65 normal prostate samples and 114 prostate cancer samples. The recurrence-free survival in patients was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. In addition, multivariate and univariate analyses of prognostic factors were investigated by Cox regression. The effect of CPNE1 on TRAF2 expression was explored in human prostate cancer DU-145 cells. RESULTS Our results showed that expression level of CPNE1 is higher in prostate cancer than in normal prostate tissues (P=0.006). In the GSE35988 dataset, CPNE1 expression was found to be upregulated in castration-resistant prostate cancer compared with non-castration-resistant prostate cancer (P<0.001). Furthermore, we found that CPNE1 high expression was significantly related to tumor stage, Gleason score, and poorer biochemical recurrence-free survival in prostate cancer patients. Co-expression analysis of TCGA data showed that CPNE1 is significantly associated with TRAF2 expression. CPNE1 overexpression can upregulate TRAF2 expression in prostate cancer DU-145 cells as determined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our findings suggest that CPNE1 is a valuable prognostic marker for evaluating recurrence-free survival and is positively related to TRAF2 expression in prostate cancer.

TRAF2 is a Valuable Prognostic Biomarker in Patients with Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND TRAF2 exerts important functions in regulating the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate whether TRAF2 is a valuable prognostic biomarker and to determine if it regulates TRAIL-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Microarray gene expression data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used to determine TRAF2 expression in prostate cancer. TRAF2 expression in prostate cancer was further investigated by immunohistochemistry assay. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were used to assess the recurrence-free rate. Cox regression was used to analyze prognostic factors. Effects of TRAF2 on regulating TRAIL-induced apoptosis in DU-145 cells were further investigated. RESULTS We found that TRAF2 was significantly upregulated in prostate cancer compared with normal prostate samples (P<0.001). In addition, compared with primary prostate cancer, TRAF2 was upregulated in metastatic prostate cancer (P=0.006). Furthermore, our results showed that high expression of TRAF2 was significantly associated with tumor stage of prostate cancer (P=0.035). TRAF2 high expression was associated with poorer recurrence-free survival in prostate cancer patients (P=0.013). TRAF2 was found to be a valuable independent prognostic factor for predicting recurrence-free survival (P=0.026). In addition, the present results indicate that TRAF2 affects TRAIL-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer DU-145 cells via regulating cleaved Caspase-8 and c-Flip expression. CONCLUSIONS TRAF2 could be a novel prognostic biomarker for predicting recurrence-free survival in patients with prostate cancer, which might be associated with the effects of TRAF2 in regulating TRAIL-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells via c-Flip/Caspase-8 signalling.

Long-period rhythmic synchronous firing in a scale-free network.

Stimulus information is encoded in the spatial-temporal structures of external inputs to the neural system. The ability to extract the temporal information of inputs is fundamental to brain function. It has been found that the neural system can memorize temporal intervals of visual inputs in the order of seconds. Here we investigate whether the intrinsic dynamics of a large-size neural circuit alone can achieve this goal. The network models we consider have scale-free topology and the property that hub neurons are difficult to be activated. The latter is implemented by either including abundant electrical synapses between neurons or considering chemical synapses whose efficacy decreases with the connectivity of the postsynaptic neuron. We find that hub neurons trigger synchronous firing across the network, loops formed by low-degree neurons determine the rhythm of synchronous firing, and the hardness of exciting hub neurons avoids epileptic firing of the network. Our model successfully reproduces the experimentally observed rhythmic synchronous firing with long periods and supports the notion that the neural system can process temporal information through the dynamics of local circuits in a distributed way.

Human cystic echinococcosis in Heilongjiang Province, China: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of emerging zoonotic parasitic diseases throughout the world, having significant medical and economic importance in developing countries. The western and northwestern China is considered as CE endemic areas. In northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, the increasing number of sporadic human CE cases has attracted more and more attention. The aims of the present study were to understand the clinical characteristics of human CE in the investigated area and to compare the coincidence rates of CT, ultrasound and serological test against the histopathology results among CE patients. METHODS: Hospital data of 183 human CE cases in the period from January 2004 to July 2013 were collected from the two largest hospitals in Heilongjiang Province. Clinical data were analyzed, including age, gender, occupation and living residence of CE patients and localization, size and number of CE cysts as well as the diagnosis methods of CE before operation. RESULTS: The results revealed that the incidence of CE reached a peak in the age group of 41-50 years. Among the 183 CE patients, the females were observed to have a higher percentage of CE patients (60.66%, 111/183) than males (39.34%, 72/183). The majority of CE patients were farmers, followed by workers, employees, public servants, students and so on. CE cysts were most commonly found in the livers, with a 30 cm cyst in diameter being detected. CT showed the highest coincidence rate (96.64%) for hepatic CE among the three common diagnosis methods (CT, ultrasound imagine and serological test) compared against the histopathology results. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first retrospective analysis of human CE cases in Heilongjiang Province in recent ten years. Clinical characteristics of human CE were described here. CT appeared to be the most effective diagnosis method for hepatic CE.