Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides improve cyclophosphamide-induced adverse reactions by regulating the balance of cytokines in helper T cells.

The manuscript aimed to study the immune function maintenance effect of Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides (ABPs). The mice were divided into the control group, cyclophosphamide-induced (CTX) group, and ABPs-treated (ABP) group. The results showed that, compared with the CTX group, ABPs could significantly improve the spleen index and alleviate the pathological changes in immune organs. Ex vivo study of whole spleen cells, the levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were increased. The proliferation of lymphocytes and the proportion of CD3+CD4+ Th cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were increased. The transcription of GATA-3, Foxp3, and ROR γ t were decreased, while the transcription of T-bet was increased. The transcriptome sequencing analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) caused by ABPs-treated were mostly downregulated in CTX-induced mice. The Th2-related genes were significantly enriched in DEGs, with representative genes, including Il4, II13, Il9, etc., while increasing the expression of immune effector genes simultaneously, including Ccl3, Ccr5, and Il12rb2. It was suggested that ABPs possibly regulated the balance of cytokines in helper T cells to ameliorate the immune function of CTX-induced mice.

Decreased nuclear expression of FTO in human primary hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis.

Fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) has been well known for a pivotal role in regulation of fat mass, adipogenesis and body weight. In recent years, increasing studies revealed a strong association between FTO and various types of cancer. Its role in human hepatocellular carcinoma, however, remains unclear. We aimed at investigating the expression pattern and clinical significance of FTO in hepatocellular carcinoma. We found that FTO mRNA levels were significantly lower in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis showed the expression of FTO was reduced in the nuclei in hepatocellular carcinoma, and was associated with AFP level (P < 0.001), tumor size (P < 0.001), metastasis (P = 0.025) and vascular invasion (P < 0.001). Patients with decreased FTO expression had a shorter overall and tumor-free survival time (P = 0.004 and P = 0.006) than those with normal FTO expression. Cox's proportional hazard regression model revealed that reduced expression of FTO was a risk factor associated with the prognosis of HCC patients (P = 0.022). These results indicated that decreased FTO expression is correlated with clinicopathological factors, implying that FTO could be a vital predictor of poor outcome in HCC patients and serves as a novel biomarker for HCC.