Myc-Associated Zinc Finger Protein Promotes Metastasis of Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Myc-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) plays a role in cancer progression and metastasis. However, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of MAZ in thyroid cancer have not yet been fully elucidated. This study aimed to explore the clinical significance of MAZ in thyroid cancer tissues, and clarify its mechanism in the occurrence and development of thyroid cancer. METHODS: The expression level of MAZ protein in thyroid cancer tissues was detected by bioinformatics analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The relationship between the expression level of MAZ and clinicopathological characteristics of thyroid cancer patients was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression level of MAZ in thyroid cancer cell lines. After MAZ knockdown cell lines were constructed, wound healing and Transwell assays were used to detect the migratory and invasive abilities of cancer cells. RESULTS: The results of IHC showed that the expression level of MAZ protein in thyroid cancer tissues was higher than that in normal adjacent thyroid tissues (p < 0.05), which was consistent with the high expression level of MAZ in thyroid cancer tissues found in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the expression level of MAZ was correlated with tumor diameter and tumor capsule of thyroid cancer patients. Moreover, patients with the high MAZ expression level had shorter overall and disease-free survival compared with thyroid cancer patients with the low MAZ expression level (p < 0.05). Further cell function assays indicated that downregulation of MAZ expression level could inhibit the migration and invasion of thyroid cancer cell lines. Moreover, the expression level of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related factor fibronectin 1 (FN1) was obtained from the RNA-seq of MAZ knockdown in thyroid cancer cells. RT-qPCR confirmed that the expression level of FN1 was elevated in MAZ knockdown cell lines (p < 0.05). Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the expression level of FN1 was upregulated in thyroid cancer tissues and had a negative relationship with the expression level of MAZ, as evidenced by correlation analysis. CONCLUSIONS: A high expression level of MAZ in thyroid cancer tissues was associated with a poor prognosis of patients. MAZ could affect the progression of thyroid cancer by inducing the EMT process.

Clinical Significance of TUBGCP4 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

We aim to investigate the expression and clinical significance of the tubulin gamma complex-associated protein 4 (TUBGCP4) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The mRNA expression of TUBGCP4 in HCC tissues was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Paired HCC and adjacent nontumor tissues were obtained from HCC patients to measure the protein expression of TUBGCP4 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and to analyze the relationship between TUBGCP4 protein expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of HCC patients. We found that TUBGCP4 mRNA expression was upregulated in HCC tissues from TCGA database. IHC analysis showed that TUBGCP4 was positively expressed in 61.25% (49/80) of HCC tissues and 77.5% (62/80) of adjacent nontumor tissues. The Chi-square analysis indicated that the positive rate of TUBGCP4 expression between HCC tissues and the adjacent nontumor tissues was statistically different (P < 0.05). Furthermore, we found that TUBGCP4 protein expression was correlated with carbohydrate antigen (CA-199) levels of HCC patients (P < 0.05). Further, survival analysis showed that the overall survival time and tumor-free survival time in the TUBGCP4 positive group were significantly higher than those of the negative group (P < 0.05), indicating that the positive expression of TUBGCP4 was related to a better prognosis of HCC patients. COX model showed that TUBGCP4 was an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. Our study indicates that TUBGCP4 protein expression is downregulated in HCC tissues and has a relationship with the prognosis of HCC patients.

Roles of Myc-associated zinc finger protein in malignant tumors.

As an important transcription factor that is widely expressed in most tissues of the human body, Myc-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) has been reported highly expressed in many malignant tumors and thought to be a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment. In this review, we aim to offer a comprehensive understanding of MAZ regulation in malignant tumors. The carboxy terminal of MAZ protein contains six C2H2 zinc fingers, and its regulation of transcription is based on the interaction between the GC-rich DNA binding sites of target genes and its carboxy-terminal zinc finger motifs. MAZ protein has been found to activate or inhibit the transcriptional initiation process of many target genes, as well as play an important role in the transcriptional termination process of some target genes, so MAZ poses dual regulatory functions in the initiation and termination process of gene transcription. Through the transcriptional regulation of c-myc and Ras gene family, MAZ poses an important role in the occurrence and development of breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma, neuroblastoma, and other malignant tumors. Our review shows a vital role of MAZ in many malignant tumors and provides novel insight for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Expression and clinical significance of CMTM1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: CKLF Like Marvel Transmembrane Domain Containing 1 (CMTM1) plays a role in breast cancer and lung cancer, but studies on the occurrence and development of CMTM1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been reported. METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect CMTM1 expression in HCC tissues. The relationship between CMTM1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of HCC patients was analyzed by chi-square test, and the relationship between CMTM1 expression and the prognosis of HCC patients was tested by the Kaplan-Meier model. RESULTS: Bioinformatics analysis showed that the mRNA expression of CMTM1 was upregulated in HCC tissues, and low expression of CMTM1 is associated with longer disease-free survival in patients with HCC. Similarly, the survival time of HCC patients in CMTM1 high expression group was significantly shorter than that in CMTM1 low expression group. IHC detection indicated that CMTM1 protein was highly expressed in both HCC and adjacent non-tumor tissues, with a positive expression in 84% (63/75) of HCC tissues and 89.3% (67/75) of adjacent non-tumor tissues. Moreover, CMTM1 expression was related to family history and TNM stage of HCC patients (P < 0.05), but had no relationship with other clinicopathological characteristics. The survival analysis based on IHC results showed that the prognosis of HCC patients in CMTM1 negative group was significantly poorer than that in CMTM1 positive group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CMTM1 has a high expression in HCC tissues and is related to the prognosis of HCC patients.

Clinical Significance of POM121 Expression in Lung Cancer.

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the RNA and protein expression levels and clinical significance of the pore membrane protein 121 kDa (POM121) in lung cancer. Materials and Methods: Paired lung cancer and adjacent nontumor tissues were obtained from lung cancer patients to measure the expression of POM121 by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Patient clinical and pathological data were collected to analyze their relationships with POM121 protein expression levels by chi-square test and log-rank test, respectively. Results: POM121 mRNA and protein expression were both upregulated in lung cancer tissues. POM121 protein expression was observed in 48.00% (36/75) of lung cancer tissues and 25.33% (19/75) of adjacent nontumor tissues. A chi-square analysis indicated that this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we found that POM121 protein expression was correlated with gender, tumor node metastasis stage, and lymphatic metastasis (p < 0.05). In addition, we found a significant relationship among POM121 expression, gender, and metastasis based on a multivariate logistic regression analysis. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that lung cancer patients with POM121 expression had a poorer prognosis than those without POM121 expression (p < 0.05). Conclusion: POM121 protein expression is associated with lung cancer metastasis and is a potential prognostic biomarker for lung cancer patients.

M6A Demethylase FTO Plays a Tumor Suppressor Role in Thyroid Cancer.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression and clinical significance of N6-methyladenosine demethylase FTO in thyroid cancer. Bioinformatic analysis showed that FTO expression was downregulated in thyroid cancer tissues and correlated with lymph node metastasis in thyroid cancer patients. We conducted experimental verification by collecting Asian samples. The results of quantitative reverse transcription-PCR showed that the mRNA expression of FTO in the blood of 30 thyroid cancer patients was lower than that of the control population. At the same time, we found that FTO expression was negative in tissues of 16/56 (28.57%) thyroid cancer cases and 4/40 (10.00%) nontumor thyroid cases through the immunohistochemical method, indicating a lower FTO expression in thyroid cancer tissues than nontumor thyroid tissues (p < 0.05). In addition, the protein expression of FTO was significantly related to the tumor grade and lymph node metastasis in thyroid cancer patients (p < 0.05), but not to other clinicopathological features. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that FTO expression was an independent risk factor for tumor grade. Survival analysis showed no significant difference in the disease-free survival time of thyroid cancer patients between high expression and low expression groups of FTO. Furthermore, bioinformatic analysis found that promoter DNA methylation and copy number variation might cause downregulated FTO and then affect TP53 pathways in thyroid cancer. We found that FTO expression was downregulated in thyroid cancer tissues and related to the progression of thyroid cancer, suggesting a tumor suppressor role of FTO in thyroid cancer.

Down-Regulated CMTM2 Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Our recent study identified that human chemokine-like factor (CKLF)-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing family member 2 (CMTM2) was deregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and posed as a potential tumor suppressor. However, the mechanism of CMTM2 in HCC occurrence and development has not been well elaborated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of CMTM2 was knocked-down by RNA interruption in Huh-7 and SMMC7721 cells. Cell proliferation ability was detected by CCK8 test and colony formation assay. The cell invasion and migration were measured by wound healing and Transwell assay. RESULTS: We found that the cell proliferation was significantly increased by interruption of CMTM2 expression, both in Huh-7 and SMMC7721 cells. Moreover, down-regulated CMTM2 could promote the invasion and migration ability of HCC cells through inducing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. We further discovered that both the expression of CMTM2 and the EMT-associated marker E-cadherin were decreased in the same thirty cases of HCC tissues compared with the corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues. Pearson correlation test showed that there was a significantly positive correlation between CMTM2 and E-cadherin in HCC tissues (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on the results of cell model and HCC tissues, our study suggests that down-regulated CMTM2 promotes HCC metastasis through inducing the EMT process.

Demand for community-based care services and its influencing factors among the elderly in affordable housing communities: a case study in Nanjing City.

BACKGROUND: Community-based care services refers to the professional services provided at home to the elderly with formally assessed demands. The growth of the elderly population has increased the demand for these services, and this issue is even worse in the affordable housing community (AHC) of China. Understanding of elderly's demands for different types of community-based care services and its determinations would enable the implementation of appropriate incentive schemes to promote utilization of community-based care services in the AHCs of China. METHODS: Guided by previous studies, a conceptual framework was developed. Then, a questionnaire was designed and a community based survey was conducted from May 10-20, 2018 in Daishan AHC of Nanjing City, China. Four hundred eight participants from 25,650 elderly people were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was applied to the data about the elderly' primary demands for community-based care services in the AHC, to quantify the elderly's demands and explore related individual-level factors. RESULTS: The finding indicates that more than 50% of respondents had the demand for an elderly care hotline, building health archives, on-call nursing and doctor visits, medical lectures, regular medical examinations and sporting fitness. The binary logistic regression models revealed that the primary demands of the elderly for community-based care services were influenced by distinct factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings help clarify different types of community-based care services and provide fresh information about the demand for community-based care among the elderly in AHCs. Several policy implications are discussed to enhance the efficiency of community-based care service provision.