A signature of 17 immune-related gene pairs predicts prognosis and immune status in HNSCC patients.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an invasive malignancy with high worldwide mortality. Growing evidence has indicated a pivotal correlation between HNSCC prognosis and immune signature. This study investigated an immune-related gene pairs (IRGPs) signature to predict the prognostic value of HNSCC patients. We constructed IRGPs via integrating multiple IRG expression data sets. Moreover, we established the predictive model base on the IRGPs for HNSCC, and utilized multidimensional bioinformatics methods to validate the robustness of prognostic value of the IRGPs signature. In addition, we explored the relationship between the IRGPs model and immune status. Seventeen IRGPs signature was built as the predictive model which predicted prognosis independently and reliably for HNSCC. Compared to the high-risk group, the low-risk group demonstrated a distinctly favorable prognosis including overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free survival (PFS). The low-risk group showed higher-immune score and lower-tumor purity than the high-risk group. In addition, the low-risk group exhibited higher expression of Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) and Microsatellite instability (MSI) score, and lower expression of Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE), which indicated the low-risk group was much more sensitive to immunotherapy. Lastly, the IRGs signature has achieved a higher accuracy than clinical properties for estimation of survival. The IRGPs model is an independent biomarker for estimating the prognosis, and could be also used to predict immunotherapeutic response in HNSCC patients. These findings may provide new ideas for novel biomarkers and may be helpful to formulate personalized immunotherapy strategy.

Identification of Therapeutic and Prognostic Biomarkers of Lamin C (LAMC) Family Members in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is an invasive malignancy with a high worldwide mortality, despite considerable recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment. Increasing evidence indicates that the Lamin C (LAMC) gene family is associated with the progression of diverse cancers, nevertheless, this association is not well understood. MATERIAL AND METHODS A systematic study addressing the expression and prognostic value of LAMC, and the relationship between LAMC and tumor immune response in HNSC was done. Finally, we performed drug screening to identify specific drugs. RESULTS Compared to normal samples, expressions of LAMC1 and LAMC2 were significantly increased in HNSC, and LAMC2 was obviously correlated with an adverse prognosis for patients. LAMC2 expression level was significantly correlated with the infiltrating levels of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages. Moreover, LAMC2 exhibited strong correlations with diverse immune markers, immune microenvironment, and immune checkpoint molecules. Finally, candidate drugs that targeted LAMC2 were identified. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that LAMC2 could serve as a new prognostic biomarker, and it could be used for efficacy of target for immune response and for drug sensitivity prediction in HNSC.

Identification for Exploring Underlying Pathogenesis and Therapy Strategy of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Bioinformatics Analysis.

BACKGROUND Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), one of the most common cavity-associated cancers, has a high incidence and worldwide mortality. However, the cause and underlying molecular mechanisms of OSCC remain unclear. MATERIAL AND METHODS Three microarray datasets (GSE23558, GSE34105, and GSE74530) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were downloaded and then integrated to gain differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We performed Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichments of DEGs in order to elucidate DEGs' biological roles. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were established in order to identify hub genes. To validate the gene markers for OSCC, the data of TCGA OSCC were also assessed. RESULTS Together, 651 DEGs containing 288 upregulated genes and 363 downregulated genes were screened out, which could completely distinguish between OSCC and normal control tissues by principal component analysis (PCA). The GO analysis indicated the DEGs were enriched in chemokine activity in the biological process group. The molecular functions of DEGs included growth factor activity. The molecular functions included oxidoreductase activity. The main DEG-associated cellular components included extracellular exosome. The KEGG pathway analysis indicated the DEGs were mainly participated in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450 and glutathione metabolism signal pathway. The co-expression network identified core genes from the PPI network. Additionally, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that CSF2 and EGF genes were significantly correlated with OSCC patients' overall survival. CONCLUSIONS Our study using an integrated bioinformatics analysis might provide valuable information for exploring potential new molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OSCC.

Antiplatelet Therapy for Critically Ill Patients: A Pairwise and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.

Antiplatelet therapy is an attractive treatment option for critically ill patients. However, more evidence on the benefit of this therapy is required. We searched the PubMed and Embase databases from their inception to June 2017 for randomized controlled trials and observational studies that assess the effect of antiplatelet therapy in critically ill patients. Antiplatelet therapy resulted in significant decreases in hospital mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.97; P = 0. 025), intensive care unit (ICU) mortality (RR 0.78, 95% CI, 0.63-0.97; P = 0. 027), incidence of respiratory distress syndrome or acute lung injury (RR 0.73, 95% CI, 0.58-0.91; P = 0.006), and incidence of sepsis (RR 0.81, 95% CI, 0.68-0.97; P = 0.021). A predefined subgroup analysis according to patient type suggested that hospital mortality and ICU mortality benefits were seen only in septic patients (RR 0.71, 95% CI, 0.58-0.86; P < 0.0001) and (RR 0.65, 95% CI, 0.49-0.86; P = 0.002). By network meta-analysis, the predictive interval plot showed that patients treated with aspirin and clopidogrel had lower risk of hospital mortality as compared with control group. The assessment of rank probabilities using SUCRA plots indicated that aspirin presented the greatest likelihood of having lowest hospital mortality rate. The results of this meta-analysis suggest that antiplatelet therapy is useful for the treatment in critically ill patients, and this is primarily due to an effect on septic patients. Network meta-analysis shows that the probability of being the best antiplatelet therapy for critically ill patients was aspirin.

Dental pulp stem cells express tendon markers under mechanical loading and are a potential cell source for tissue engineering of tendon-like tissue.

Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) for potential application in tendon tissue engineering. The expression of tendon-related markers such as scleraxis, tenascin-C, tenomodulin, eye absent homologue 2, collagens I and VI was detected in dental pulp tissue. Interestingly, under mechanical stimulation, these tendon-related markers were significantly enhanced when DPSCs were seeded in aligned polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibre scaffolds. Furthermore, mature tendon-like tissue was formed after transplantation of DPSC-PGA constructs under mechanical loading conditions in a mouse model. This study demonstrates that DPSCs could be a potential stem cell source for tissue engineering of tendon-like tissue.

[Association of pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 polymorphism and benign parotid tumor in Chinese Han population in Hainan Province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between rs6474051 polymorphism of pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) and the benign parotid tumor in Chinese Han population in Hainan Province. METHODS: Sixty-five patients with benign parotid tumor and 69 healthy volunteers (control) were examined for Rs6474051 polymorphisms of PLAG1 gene by PCR and sequencing. RESULTS: Of the 65 patients with benign parotid tumor, the frequencies of CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 33 (50.8%), 25 (38.5%), and 7 (10.7%), as compared to those of 44 (63.8%), 24 (34.8%), and 1 (1.4%) in the control group (P=0.05). The allele frequency of C/T was 70%/30% in patients with benign parotid tumor, significantly different from that in the control group (80.6%/19.4%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Rs6474051 polymorphism of PLAG1 gene may be associated with the benign parotid tumor in Chinese Han population in Hainan Province, and the T allele is probably one of susceptible genes.