TPX2 Serves as a Cancer Susceptibility Gene and Is Closely Associated with the Poor Prognosis of Endometrial Cancer.

Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is a common tumor of the genital tract that affects the female reproductive system but with only limited treatment options. We aimed to discover new prognostic biomarkers for EC. Methods: We used mRNA-seq data to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between EC and control tissues. Detailed clinicopathological information was collected, and changes in the mRNA and protein levels of hub DEGs were analyzed in EC. Copy number variation (CNV) was also evaluated for its association with the pathogenesis of EC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to enrich significant pathways driven by the hub genes. Cox regression analysis was used to select variables to create a nomogram. The nomogram was calibrated by applying the concordance index (C-index), and net benefits of the nomogram at different threshold probabilities were quantified using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Differential expression analysis identified 24 DEGs as potential risk factors for EC. Survival analysis revealed that TPX2 expression was related to worsening overall survival in patients with advanced EC. A high CNV was associated with the overexpression of TPX2; this suggested that modifications in the cell-cycle pathway might be crucial in the advancement of EC. Moreover, an individualized nomogram was developed for TPX2 incorporating clinical factors; this was also evaluated for its ability to predict EC. Calibration and DCA analyses confirmed the robustness and clinical usefulness of the nomogram. Conclusion: We offer novel insights into the pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms of EC. The overexpression of TPX2 was related to a poorer prognosis and could serve as a biomarker for predicting prognostic outcomes in EC patients.

Elevated Preoperative Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Predict Shorter Survival in Patients with Sigmoid Colon Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the prognostic significance of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and their associations with clinicopathological features in patients with sigmoid colon carcinoma (SCC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with SCC treated with curative surgery from January 2001 to June 2010 at our hospital. Patients' general, clinical, histopathologic, and serum biomarkers were analyzed. We measured VEGF in 176 sets of SCC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissue samples with immunohistochemical and Elivison staining. CEA was measured with a tumor biomarker chip. Their correlations with clinicopathologic factors were analyzed by chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors associated with overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Of the 176 patients, 69.3% were alive and 30.7% had died. In univariate analysis, serum CEA level (p = 0.002, OR = 2.394, 1.392 - 4.116), tumor VEGF (p = 0.04, OR = 1.968, 1.032 - 3.752), lymph node metastasis (N, p = 0.000, OR = 3.712, 2.064 - 6.675), T stage (T, p = 0.016, OR = 5.706, 1.382 - 23.552) and differentiation (p = 0.000) were the prognostic factors for OS. In stratified analysis, combined elevated serum CEA and tumor VEGF levels were associated with poorer prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated preoperative serum CEA and tumor VEGF were predictors of poor prognosis for patients with SCC.

Luteolin reduces cancer­induced skeletal and cardiac muscle atrophy in a Lewis lung cancer mouse model.

Luteolin was recently demonstrated to suppress tumor growth by interfering with nuclear factor (NF)­κB activation. As the NF­κB pathway plays a critical role in muscular atrophy associated with cancer cachexia, we aimed to investigate the potential of luteolin to alleviate cancer­associated cachexia in a Lewis lung cancer mouse model. C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups: A control group, a model group and a luteolin group. Mice in the model and luteolin groups received a subcutaneous injection of Lewis lung cancer cells, while the control group received PBS. Subsequently, the tumor mass, serum, gastrocnemius muscle and heart were collected on day 21. The serum, gastrocnemius muscle and heart were weighed and prepared for use in enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blotting (WB) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT­PCR) analyses. The results revealed that the tumor­free body mass was significantly reduced in tumor­bearing mice compared with that of mice in the other groups. The gastrocnemius muscle mass and heart mass were greater in the luteolin treatment group than in the control group. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)­α and interleukin (IL)­6 levels were lower in the luteolin treatment group than in the model group. In addition, according to the results of the WB and qRT­PCR analyses, the expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase muscle RING finger­containing protein 1 (MuRF1) was downregulated in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, whereas atrogin­1 was downregulated only in skeletal muscle in the luteolin treatment group vs. the model group. Furthermore, IκB kinase ß (IKKß) and phospho­p65 were significantly downregulated in skeletal muscle and cardiac tissue, whereas the expression of p­p38 was downregulated only in skeletal muscle in the luteolin treatment group when compared with their expression levels in the model group, as determined by the WB analysis. In conclusion, from the current results, we conclude that luteolin is able to reduce inflammatory burden, downregulate the expression of genes associated with muscle protein breakdown, and protect skeletal and heart muscle from cancer­induced wasting and loss in vivo. Therefore, luteolin has the potential to be developed into a novel anti­cachetic agent.

[Autoregressive analysis of flash evoked potentials in healthy preterm infants during sleep].

To interpret the flash evoked potential (FVEP) as dynamic high-order responses to natural and experimental stimulation in healthy preterm infants, waveform analysis of FVEP in 36 healthy preterm infants (postconceptional age 28~42 weeks) were performed using an autoregressive analysis. Based on the histogram of damping frequency of different component impulse response waveforms, the waveforms were divided into 4 groups: group I (0 ~ <2 Hz), group II (2 ~ <6.5 Hz), group III (6.5 ~ <12.0 Hz) and group IV (12~25 Hz). The total power, power of component impulse responses (group I~IV), and damping time (group II~IV) changed significantly with increasing postconceptional age (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Identification of an impulse response component with dominant frequency which undergoes a well-identified change with age is considered to be a useful tool for discriminating between normal and abnormal changes in the FVEP with age in healthy preterm infants.

[Advances in studies on genetically engineered microorganism ecology].

Genetically engineered microorganism ecology has been one of main research contents in microorganism molecular ecology. Along with the introduction of molecular marker and molecular biology, traditional microorganism ecology has been developed; therefore, it is possible to study the relationship between GEM and environment, environmental microorganism under molecular level. The GEM ecology has become a new and intersection borderline discipline, related to molecular biology, microbiology, ecology and so on. Moreover, it brought forward that the prosecution of the research on the transgenic organism ecology and the risk assessment, and the foundation of checking means and valuating standard that adapt to the situation of China could help to the development of GEM ecology in China.