Comprehensive pan-cancer analysis reveals the versatile role of GALNT7 in epigenetic alterations and immune modulation in cancer.

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality globally, characterized by intricate molecular alterations, including epigenetic changes such as glycosylation. This study presents a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of Polypeptide N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 7 (GALNT7), an enzyme involved in mucin-type O-linked protein glycosylation. GALNT7 has previously been linked to various cancers, but a unified analysis across cancer types is lacking. Leveraging data from TCGA, GTEx, and other sources, we scrutinized GALNT7's expression, prognostic relevance, links to immune-related genes, immune cell infiltration, and its involvement in tumor genetic heterogeneity across 33 cancer types. GALNT7 exhibited diverse expression patterns across cancer types, showcasing its potential as an oncogenic factor, with its expression levels linked to both positive and negative prognoses, highlighting the context-specific nature of its role in cancer progression. We delved into the intricate interplay between GALNT7 and immune genes, unveiling positive and negative correlations, underscoring complex interactions in the tumor microenvironment. GALNT7 was found to impact immune cell infiltration, which could have implications for treatment strategies. Additionally, GALNT7 displayed associations with genetic tumor aspects, encompassing genomic instability, DNA repair issues, and genetic mutations, hinting at its pivotal role in shaping the genetic landscape of diverse cancers. Enrichment analysis uncovered potential functions of GALNT7 beyond glycosylation, such as its participation in signaling pathways and its association with various diseases, notably cancer. This comprehensive analysis elucidates the multifaceted role of GALNT7 in cancer biology, underlining its potential as a therapeutic target and biomarker across various cancer types. These findings provide valuable insights for future research and the development of personalized cancer treatment strategies.

Artificial intelligence-assisted analysis on the association between exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and incidence of arrhythmias in outpatients of Shanghai community hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the impact of fine particulate matter pollution on cardiovascular system is drawing considerable concern worldwide. The association between ambient fine particulate and the cardiac arrhythmias is not clear now. OBJECTIVE: To study associations of ambient fine particulate with incidence of arrhythmias in outpatients. METHODS: Data was collected from the remote electrocardiogram (ECG) system covering 282 community hospitals in Shanghai from June 24th, 2014 to June 23rd, 2016. ECG was performed for patients admitted to above hospitals with complaining of chest discomfort or palpitation, or for regular check-ups. Air quality data during this time period was obtained from China National Environment Monitoring Center. A generalized additive quasi-Poisson model was established to examine the associations between PM2.5 and cardiac arrhythmias. RESULTS: Cardiac arrhythmias were detected in 202,661 out of 1,016,579 outpatients (19.9%) and fine particulate matter ranged from 6 to 219 µg/m3 during this period. Positive associations were evidenced between fine particulate matter level and prevalence of cardiac arrhythmia by different lag models. Per 10 µg/m3 increase in fine particulate matter was associated with a 0.584%(95%CI:0.346-0.689%, p < 0.001) increase of cardiac arrhythmia detected in these patient cohort at lag0-2. For different types of cardiac arrhythmias, an immediate arrhythmogenic effect of fine particulate matter (increase of the estimates of cardiac arrhythmia prevalence detected in daily outpatient visits) was found with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia; a lag effect was found with atrial fibrillation; and both immediate and lag effect was found with premature atrial contractions or atrial tachycardia, atrioventricular block. Moreover, the impact of fine particulate matter on cardiac arrhythmias was significantly greater in women (lag3 and lag0-4), and in people aged <65 years (lag0). CONCLUSION: Ambient exposure to fine particulate matter is linked with increased risk of arrhythmias in outpatients visiting Shanghai community hospitals, with an immediate or lag effect. The arrhythmogenic effect varies among different types of cardiac arrhythmias.

Chemical constituents from acid hydrolyzates of Panax quinquefolius total saponins and their inhibition activity to α-glycosidase and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B.

Objective: To investigate the hypoglycemic components from the acid hydrolyzates of Panax quinquefolius total saponins, and screen the active compounds by in vitro inhibitory activities to α-glycosidase enzymes and protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B). Methods: The hydrolyzates were chromatographed repeatedly over silica gel column, and the structures of the compounds were determined by means of NMR. The in vitro bioassay was performed through the inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase or/and PTP1B. Results: Eight compounds were isolated, which identified as 20(S)-panaxadiol (1), (20S,24R)-dammarane-20,24-epoxy-3ß,6α,12ß,25-tetraol (2), 20(R)-dammarane-3ß,12ß,20,25-tetraol (3), 20(S)-dammarane-3ß,6α,12ß,20,25-pentol (4), 20(R)-dammarane-3ß,12ß,20,25-tetrahydroxy-3ß-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside (5), ß-sitosterol (6), oleanolic acid (7) and 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (8). Compound 5 was ginseng triterpenoid isolated from the acid hydrolysates of total saponins from P. quinquefolius for the first time. In this paper, the possible in vitro inhibitory activities were investigated. Compound 5 exhibited significantly inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, and the IC50 value [(0.22 ± 0.21) µmol/L] was about 43-fold lower than positive control. For the PTP1B inhibition assay, compound 5 indicated the strongest inhibitory effect with IC50 of (5.91 ± 0.38) µmol/L, followed by compound 4 with IC50 of (6.21 ± 0.21) µmol/L, which were all showed competitive inhibitory pattern by using a Lineweaver-Burk plot. Conclusion: These results supported the potential application of dammaranes from acid hydrolyzates of P. quinquefolius total saponins can be used as ingredients of ancillary anti-diabetic agent or functional factor.

Triterpenoid saponins from Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

Four new dammarane-type triterpene saponins, 1-4, were isolated from the aerial parts of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino. Their structural elucidations were accomplished mainly on the basis of spectroscopic methods, such as IR, HR-TOF-MS, and NMR. Compounds 1-4 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against cancer cell lines HL-60, Colon205, and Du145 in vitro.