Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the liver after adrenal neuroblastoma surgery: a case report.

A boy aged 55 months was diagnosed with stage IV Neuroblastoma (NB) of the right adrenal gland 2 years ago. Preoperative chemotherapy was given and he was then treated with retroperitoneal tumor resection and lymph node dissection. After surgery, the children were transferred to the Hemato-Oncology Department for chemotherapy according to the high-risk group NB, with outpatient follow-up every 6 months. In the second postoperative year, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a rounded hypodense area in the upper part of the right posterior lobe of the liver, with marked inhomogeneous enhancement in the venous phase after enhancement, which was surgically resected, and postoperative pathology confirmed inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) of liver. The patient was not given any special treatment after surgery. In this study, whole transcriptome sequencing was performed on the postoperative specimen of adrenal NB and the specimen of IMT of liver. This unusual case emphasizes the need for close monitoring of second tumor development in NB survivors even in the absence of known predisposing factors.

Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (STLS) during biopsy for burkitt lymphoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a hematologic oncological emergency characterized by metabolic and electrolyte imbalances. On breakdown of tumor cells, enormous amounts of potassium, phosphate, and nucleic acids are released into systemic circulation. TLS mainly occurs during chemotherapy. However, there are rare incidences of spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (STLS) prior to commencement of therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: In the case being reported, the child had just undergone a biopsy. As the incision was being closed, there was a sudden onset of high fever, arrhythmia, severe hyperkalemia, hypocalcemia, and acidosis. Following timely symptomatic treatment and continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT), the child's laboratory results improved, and organ function was restored to normal. The final pathological diagnosis confirmed Burkitt lymphoma. The boy is currently on maintenance chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: TLS is a potentially life-threatening complication in hematologic oncology. Several important conclusions can be drawn from this case, reminding clinicians to: (1) be fully aware of the risk factors of TLS and evaluate the level of risk; (2) pay attention to the possibility of STLS during operation, if surgical procedures are necessary and operate with minimal trauma and in the shortest time possibly; (3) take preoperative prophylaxis actively for high-risk TLS patients, including aggressive fluid management and rational use of diuretics and uric-acid-lowering drugs. In addition, this case confirms the effectiveness of CRRT for severe STLS.

Nur77 inhibition of ß-catenin expression mediates Hepatoblastoma progression and enhances cisplatin's therapeutic effect.

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common malignant tumor in children under 5 years old, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. Nur77 has been reported to be an important regulator for cancer progression in various cancer types. This study found that Nur77 was downregulated in HB tumors, compared with paracancer tissue. Knockout or overexpression of Nur77 in HB tumor cell line HepG2 and HuH6 could significantly enhance or inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further studies illustrated that Nur77 regulated the proliferation of tumor cells by affecting the expression of ß-catenin. Nur77 agonist Csn-B effectively enhanced the therapeutic effect of cisplatin on HB tumors both in vitro and in vivo. This study confirms that Nur77 may act as an oncogene in HB tumors and mediate the progression of HB by inhibiting the expression of ß-catenin, which provides a new targeted therapy for the clinical treatment of HB patients; meanwhile, the combination of Nur77 agonist and cisplatin treatment may improve the chemotherapeutic efficacy of HB patients, which provides a new idea for the improvement of the clinical prognosis of HB patients.

Single-cell transcriptomes of kidneys in a 6-month-old boy with Denys-Drash syndrome reveal stromal cell heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment.

Background: Denys-Drash syndrome (DDS) is a rare disease characterized with pseudohermaphroditism, nephroblastoma (also known as Wilms tumor), and diffuse mesangial sclerosis. The therapy for DDS is largely supportive, i.e. surgery and chemotherapy for Wilms tumor and renal replacement therapy. Due to the limited understanding of the pathogenesis, precision therapy for DDS is yet to be explored. We sought to explore the cellular components and interactions in kidney tissues from an infant with DDS. Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed to examine the mutations associated with DDS. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed to explore the heterogenicity of kidney tissue samples. Results: A 6-month-old infant with bilateral Wilms tumors and genital ambiguity was diagnosed as having DDS. Whole exome sequencing revealed a novel de novo mutation (p.F185fs*118) in exon 1 of WT1. scRNA-seq was performed in tissue samples from bilateral Wilms tumors and the normal kidney from this infant. Fibroblasts, myocytes, epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) ranked at the top of the 31 135 total cells. Fibroblasts and myocytes were dominant in the Wilms tumor samples. In contrast, most epithelial cells and endothelial cells were found in normal kidney tissues. CD44 and TUBA1A were significantly changed in myocyte subclusters, which may contribute to chemotherapy drug resistance. Macrophages intensively interacted with cancerous cells, including fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and myocytes. Conclusions: A novel mutation (p.F185fs*118) in exon 1 of WT1 was identified in an infant with DDS. scRNA-Seq revealed the heterogenicity of cellular components in Wilms tumors and kidney tissues, shedding light on the pathogenesis of DDS.

Knockdown of KIF15 suppresses proliferation of prostate cancer cells and induces apoptosis through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies in men, which has been considered a public health threat. KIF15 is a kind of driver protein, and its abnormal expression is closely related to the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. The purpose of the study was to explore the significance and role of KIF15 in prostate cancer and to show some potential value for prostate cancer. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that KIF15 was highly expressed in prostate cancer tissues, which was also positively correlated with T Infiltrate. The loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays based on prostate cancer cells indicated that the change in KIF15 expression could significantly affect cell proliferation, tumorigenesis, migration, and cell apoptosis. The inhibition of prostate cancer development by KIF15 knockdown was also assured in vivo. The Human Apoptosis Antibody Array showed that CD40L, cytoC, DR6, and p21 were up-regulated upon KIF15 knockdown, while IGF-I and Survivin were down-regulated. Moreover, the involvement of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the KIF15-mediated regulation of prostate cancer was preliminarily proved. In summary, KIF15 was identified to play an important role in the development or biological progress of prostate cancer and is considered to possess the potential to be used as a therapeutic target.

Effectiveness of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging in resection of hepatoblastoma.

OBJECTIVE: The present research aimed to analyze the application of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence contrast technique in the resection of hepatoblastoma (HB) in children, and to discuss the use of ICG in the surgery of HB and the value of guidance. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 23 children with HB resected using ICG fluorescence contrast technique at the Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2020 to September 2022, including 16 boys and 7 girls, aged 5 days to 80 months. The patients were administered with an ICG injection of 0.1 mg/kg around 24-48 h before surgery. The surgical margin was detected by real-time fluorescence imaging and confirmed by postoperative pathology. RESULTS: All primary lesions showed bright fluorescence in 23 HB cases. 22 had clear borders with normal liver tissue, while one neonatal case showed no difference between tumor and background. 13 anatomic resection and 10 non-anatomic resection were performed with ICG fluorescence navigation. The surface of the residual liver was scattered with multiple tumor fluorescence, which was then locally enucleated according to the fluorescence. 22 isolated specimens were dissected and fluorescently visualized. Pathology identified deformed, vacuolated and densely arranged hepatocytes resembling pseudo-envelope changes without tumor residual, due to the compression of the tissue at the site of circumferential imaging. CONCLUSION: The ring ICG fluorescence imaging of HB indicates the tumor resection boundary effectively, especially in multiple lesions cases.

Oxidative Stress as a Contributor to Insulin Resistance in the Skeletal Muscles of Mice with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a reproductive, endocrine, and metabolic disorder. Circulating markers of oxidative stress are abnormal in women with PCOS. There is a close relationship between oxidative stress and insulin resistance (IR). However, little information is available about oxidative stress in the skeletal muscles of those affected by PCOS. In this study, PCOS was induced in prepubertal C57BL/6J mice by injection with dehydroepiandrosterone. Oxidative stress biomarkers were then measured in both serum and skeletal muscles. The underlying mechanisms were investigated in C2C12 myotubes treated with testosterone (T). We discovered increased oxidative biomarkers, increased ROS production, and damaged insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscles of mice with PCOS. High levels of T caused mitochondrial dysfunction and increased ROS levels through the androgen receptor (AR)-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4) signaling pathway in C2C12 cells. Treatment of C2C12 cells with an antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) decreased T-induced ROS production, improved mitochondrial function, and reversed IR. Administration of NAC to mice with PCOS improved insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscles of the animals. Hyperandrogenism caused mitochondrial dysfunction and redox imbalance in the skeletal muscles of mice with PCOS. We discovered that oxidative stress contributed to skeletal muscle IR in PCOS. Reducing ROS levels may improve the insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscles in patients with PCOS.

N(6)-adenosine-methyltransferase-14 promotes glioma tumorigenesis by repressing argininosuccinate synthase 1 expression in an m6A-dependent manner.

Glioma is one of the leading causes of tumor-related deaths worldwide, but its potential mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the biological role and potential mechanism of argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1) in glioma. The relative expression levels of ASS1 in glioma specimens and cell lines were calculated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. The biological functions of ASS1 were demonstrated using the 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, transwell assay, and in vivo experiments. In addition, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP), RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and luciferase reporter assays were performed to explore the molecular mechanism of ASS1 in glioma. ASS1 expression levels were found to be downregulated in glioma specimens and cell lines. Functionally, we confirmed that ASS1 inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and growth both. Furthermore, we found that ASS1 was a target of N(6)-adenosine-methyltransferase-14 (METTL14)-mediated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification. Overexpression of METTL14 markedly elevated ASS1 mRNA m6A modification and suppressed ASS1 mRNA expression. We also revealed that METTL14-mediated ASS1 mRNA degradation relied on the YTH m6A RNA-binding protein 2 (YTHDF2)-dependent pathway. We confirmed that decreased ASS1 expression promoted the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in glioma, and that the METTL14/ASS1/YTHDF2 regulatory axis may be an effective therapeutic target for glioma.

Gene and Phenotype Expansion of Unexplained Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy.

Objective: The genetic aetiology of epileptic encephalopathy (EE) is growing rapidly based on next generation sequencing (NGS) results. In this single-centre study, we aimed to investigate a cohort of Chinese children with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE). Methods: NGS was performed on 50 children with unexplained EIEE. The clinical profiles of children with pathogenic variants were characterised and analysed in detail. Conservation analysis and homology modelling were performed to predict the impact of STXBP1 variant on the protein structure. Results: Pathogenic variants were identified in 17 (34%) of 50 children. Sixteen variants including STXBP1 (n = 2), CDKL5 (n = 2), PAFAH1B1, SCN1A (n = 9), SCN2A, and KCNQ2 were de novo, and one (PIGN) was a compound heterozygous variant. The phenotypes of the identified genes were broadened. PIGN phenotypic spectrum may include EIEE. The STXBP1 variants were predicted to affect protein stability. Significance: NGS is a useful diagnostic tool for EIEE and contributes to expanding the EIEE-associated genotypes. Early diagnosis may lead to precise therapeutic interventions and can improve the developmental outcome.

Emerging Role and Mechanism of circRNAs in Pediatric Malignant Solid Tumors.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs with covalent closed-loop structures and are widely distributed in eukaryotes, conserved and stable as well as tissue-specific. Malignant solid tumors pose a serious health risk to children and are one of the leading causes of pediatric mortality. Studies have shown that circRNAs play an important regulatory role in the development of childhood malignant solid tumors, hence are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for tumors. This paper reviews the biological characteristics and functions of circRNAs as well as the research progress related to childhood malignant solid tumors.

Removal of peri-ovarian adipose tissue affects follicular development and lipid metabolism†.

The development and maturity of follicles are regulated by sex hormones and growth factors. It has been proven that peri-ovarian adipose tissue (POAT) plays an important role in folliculogenesis and fertility in the female ICR and KM mice. The aim of the present study was to further investigate whether the removal of bilateral POAT affected follicular development and lipid metabolism in the female C57BL/6 J mice. Female C57BL/6 J mice at 6-week old were sham-operated (Sham) or removed bilateral POAT (Surgery). After 2 weeks, the mice were subjected to the body composition analysis and indirect calorimetry measurement. Our results show that the Surgery mice exhibited abnormal follicular development, including increased follicular dysplasia and atresia, decreased serum sex hormone levels, and abnormal expression of follicular development-related genes. Correspondingly, the endometrial thickness of the Surgery mice was less than the Sham mice. In addition, the Surgery mice had abnormal lipid metabolism, including reduced fat mass, increased energy expenditure, and up-regulated gene and protein expression involved in lipolysis. These data confirmed the importance of POAT in the follicular development in the female reproduction and suggested the contribution of POAT to the whole-body lipid metabolism.

Nontargeted metabolomic analysis of skeletal muscle in a dehydroepiandrosterone-induced mouse model of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrinopathy and an important metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age. Insulin resistance (IR) is one of its most important clinical features in patients with PCOS. Androgen excess-induced mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to skeletal muscle IR in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced PCOS mice. The effect of androgen excess on the skeletal muscle, however, is incompletely characterized. A nontargeted metabolomics approach was thus applied to analyze the metabolites in skeletal muscle of DHEA-induced PCOS mice. Data from metabolomic analysis revealed the significant changes in 32 metabolites and the marked impact of five metabolic pathways. ATP production was also found to be significantly reduced in skeletal muscle of DHEA mice. Combined with the quantification of type I and II myofibers and lipid measurement in the skeletal muscle of the mice, the results from the present study supported the role of mitochondrial impairment rather than lipid accumulation in the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle IR in DHEA-induced PCOS mice. In summary, we show here for the first time the profile of the metabolites in the skeletal muscle of DHEA-induced PCOS mice which exhibit IR. The work would help better understand the pathology of skeletal muscle IR in PCOS.

Circular RNA CCDC66 targets DCX to regulate cell proliferation and migration by sponging miR-488-3p in Hirschsprung's disease.

It has been suggested that circular RNAs play critical roles in natural growth and disease development. Nevertheless, whether the circular RNAs were related in Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) remains unknown. Thus, we discovered the cir-CCDC66 was downregulated in HSCR compared with the normal gut tissues. The cir-CCDC66 reduction might inhibit cells' proliferation and migration in vitro. Then, we found that DCX transcript was putative cir-CCDC66 competing endogenous RNA. Furthermore, the function of cir-CCDC66 as a sponge for miR-488-3p to regulate DCX RNA expression was demonstrated by immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. In conclusion, this is the first report revealing that cir-CCDC66 modulates DCX expression through sponging miR-488-3p and thus participates in the onset of HSCR.

Long non-coding RNA FAL1 functions as a ceRNA to antagonize the effect of miR-637 on the down-regulation of AKT1 in Hirschsprung's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Emerged evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play quintessential regulatory roles in the cellular processes, tumourigenesis and the development of disease. Though focally amplified lncRNA on chromosome 1 (FAL1) has been identified to have crucial functions in many diseases, its biological mechanism in the development of Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) still remains unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression levels of FAL1 in HSCR aganglionic tissues and matched normal specimens were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation and migration were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, Ethynyl-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay and transwell assay relatively. Cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed using flow cytometer analysis. Moreover, the novel targets of FAL1 were confirmed with the help of bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Western blot assay as well as RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay was conducted to investigate the potential mechanism. RESULTS: FAL1 expression was markedly down-regulated in HSCR aganglionic tissues and decreased FAL1 expression was associated with the diagnosis of HSCR. Cell functional analyses indicated that FAL1 overexpressing notably promoted cell proliferation and migration, while down-regulation of FAL1 suppressed cell proliferation and migration. Additionally, Flow cytometry assay demonstrated that knockdown of FAL1 induced markedly cell cycle stalled in the G0/G1 phase. Furthermore, FAL1 could positively regulate AKT1 expression by competitively binding to miR-637. CONCLUSIONS: These results illuminated that FAL1 may work as a ceRNA to modulate AKT1 expression via competitively binding to miR-637 in HSCR, suggesting that it may be clinically valuable as a biomarker of HSCR.

Lipopolysaccharide enhances ADAR2 which drives Hirschsprung's disease by impairing miR-142-3p biogenesis.

Researches over the past decade suggest that lipopolysaccharide is a dominant driver of gastrointestinal motility and could damage the enteric neuron of rat or porcine. However, it remains poorly defined whether LPS participates in Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). Here, we discovered that LPS increased in HSCR tissues. Furthermore, LPS treatment suppressed the proliferation and differentiation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) or proliferation and migration of human 293T cells. ADAR2 (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA2)-mediated post-transcriptional adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing promotes cancer progression. We show that increased LPS activates ADAR2 and subsequently regulates the A-to-I RNA editing which suppresses the miR-142 expression. RNA sequencing combined with qRT-PCR suggested that ADAR2 restrain cell migration and proliferation via pri-miR-142 editing and STAU1 up-regulation. In conclusion, the findings illustrate that LPS participates in HSCR through the LPS-ADAR2-miR-142-STAU1 axis.

Down-regulation of circ-PRKCI inhibits cell migration and proliferation in Hirschsprung disease by suppressing the expression of miR-1324 target PLCB1.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), which have been shown to participate in intracellular RNA regulatory networks and play vital roles in many pathological processes. Recently, circular RNA_PRKCI (circ-PRKCI) has been reported to regulate cell proliferation, migration and invasion in several human cancers. Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a well-known congenital gut motility disorder which roots in the aberrance of cranial-caudal neural crest cell migration. In this study, we investigated whether circ-PRKCI may affect cell migration and proliferation in HSCR. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of circ-PRKCI in 48 HSCR aganglionic tissues and 48 normal bowel tissues. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay verified the direct interaction between miR-1324 and PLCB1 or circ-PRKCI. Cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Ethynyldeoxyuridine (EdU) assays were employed to appraise the effects of miR-1324 or circ-PRKCI on cell proliferative potential, while transwell was performed to detect the migration in vitro. We found that circ-PRKCI was significantly down-regulated in HSCR aganglionic tissues. Morever, knockdown of circ-PRKCI suppressed cell proliferation and migration in vitro. Mechanistically, we confirmed that circ-PRKCI functioned as a molecular sponge for miR-1324 to upregulate the expression of PLCB1. In conclusion, our present study revealed the important role of circ-PRKCI-miR-1324-PLCB1 regulatory network in HSCR, providing a novel insight for the pathogenesis of HSCR.

Identification of candidate genes for necrotizing enterocolitis based on microarray data.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most serious diseases that could threaten the life of neonates. However the current opinions about the pathogenesis or how to prevent or treat the disease are still ambiguous. The purpose of the present study was to identify the key genes of this disease and provide new insights into the mechanism of NEC. The gene expression data of GSE46619, including 5 specimens from NEC patients and 4 samples from surgical-control infants, were collected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened with regard to NEC versus surgical-control group using Limma package in R software and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted by means of Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) website subsequently. Furthermore the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network for DEGs was constructed using Cytoscape software and the most highly connected module was extracted using MCODE plugin from the PPI network. Moreover, the significantly enriched sub-pathways were identified using iSubpathwayMiner package in R software. A total of 2629 DEGs were screened out between NEC and control samples, including 367 up-regulated genes and 2262 down-regulated genes and they involved in different GO terms and pathways which may be associated with NEC onset and progression. PPI network and module analysis revealed that several genes were defined as hub genes including AGT, IL8 and KNG1. The sub-pathway analysis screened out 189 significantly enriched sub-pathways, including Tryptophan metabolism, Fatty acid metabolism, and Arachidonic acid metabolism. Genes in the corresponding sub-pathway, such as ACACB and CAT were regarded as critical genes in NEC. QRT-PCR was also conducted to identify the expression of the five key genes (AGT, IL8, KNG1, ACACB and CAT) in NEC samples. These findings have identified several hub genes (e.g., AGT, IL8, KNG1, ACACB and CAT) which were presumed to serve critical roles in NEC.

Dehydroepiandrosterone-induced activation of mTORC1 and inhibition of autophagy contribute to skeletal muscle insulin resistance in a mouse model of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age and also an important metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance (IR). Hyperandrogenism is a key feature of PCOS. However, whether hyperandrogenism can cause IR in PCOS remains largely unknown. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and its regulated autophagy are closely associated with IR. In the present study, we investigated the role of mTORC1-autophagy pathway in skeletal muscle IR in a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced PCOS mouse model. DHEA-treated mice exhibited whole-body and skeletal muscle IR, along with the activated mTORC1, repressed autophagy, impaired mitochondria, and reduced plasma membrane glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression in skeletal muscle of the mice. In cultured C2C12 myotubes, treatment with high dose testosterone activated mTORC1, reduced autophagy, impaired mitochondria, decreased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, and induced IR. Inhibition of mTORC1 or induction of autophagy restored mitochondrial function, up-regulated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, and increased insulin sensitivity. On the contrary, inhibition of autophagy exacerbated testosterone-induced impairment. Our findings suggest that the mTORC1-autophagy pathway might contribute to androgen excess-induced skeletal muscle IR in prepubertal female mice by impairing mitochondrial function and reducing insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. These data would help understanding the role of hyperandrogenism and the underlying mechanism in the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle IR in PCOS.

Identification of two novel PCDHA9 mutations associated with Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a complex disorder with multiple pathogenic gene mutations. Protocadherin alpha 9 (PCDHA9) was identified as a potential candidate gene for HSCR by whole-exome sequencing in a Chinese family. Sanger sequencing in 298 HSCR cases revealed two sporadic Chinese patients with a novel missence PCDHΑ9 mutation (NM_031857; c.1280C > T[p.Ala427Val]) and one sporadic Chinese patient with another novel missence PCDHΑ9 mutation (c.1425C > G[p.Phe475Leu]).The silico predictions and 3D modeling suggest the deleterious effect of identified mutations on protein function. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed PCDHΑ9 was predominantly expressed in the myenteric plexus of human colon tissues. For mouse embryos, PCDHΑ9 was expressed in the stomach but rarely seen in the intestine during E10.5-12.5, then obviously expressed in the intestinal mucosa at E13.5 and extensively expressed in intestinal muscularis and mucosa at E14.5. Moreover, the down-regulation of PCDHΑ9 in the SH-SY5Y cell line promoted the proliferation and migration rate but inhibited the apoptotic rate. In summary, PCDHΑ9 is potentially related to HSCR and the clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs) may involve in the enteric nervous system (ENS) ontogeny.