Diagnostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen combined with cytokines in serum of patients with colorectal cancer.

In clinical practice, colorectal cancer (CRC) is difficult to distinguish from ulcerative colitis and colon polyps. Practical markers are useful for diagnosing and treating patients with CRC. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a biomarker for diagnosing patients with CRC.

Analysis of the Heterogeneity of the Tumor Microenvironment and the Prognosis and Immunotherapy Response of Different Immune Subtypes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: The current clinical classification of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cannot well predict the patient's possible response to the treatment plan, nor can it predict the patient's prognosis. We use the gene expression patterns of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma to reveal the heterogeneity of hepatocellular carcinoma and analyze the differences in prognosis and immunotherapy response of different immune subtypes.

Methods: Firstly, using the hepatocellular carcinoma expression profile data of TCGA, combined with the single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm, the immune enrichment of the patient's tumor microenvironment was analyzed.

High-fat diet aggravates colitis-associated carcinogenesis by evading ferroptosis in the ER stress-mediated pathway.

Ferroptosis, a type of programmed cell death caused by lipid peroxidation has recently been observed in colitis. Whether a high-fat diet (HFD) affects ferroptosis and whether it contributes to colitis-associated carcinogenesis (CAC) has not been explored. We found iron, lipid peroxidation, and ferroptotic markers to be elevated in AOM/DSS (azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium)-induced mouse CAC model.

Protease activated receptor 2 signaling promotes self-renewal and metastasis in colorectal cancer through β-catenin and periostin.

The maintenance and expansion of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) is necessary for metastasis. Although protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is strongly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) progression, it is unclear how it regulates distal metastasis, and no studies have shown the involvement of CSCs. In this study, we demonstrated that high PAR2 protein expression was correlated with metastatic CRC and poor prognosis in patients with stage III-IV CRC.

Protease-activated receptor 2 stabilizes Bcl-xL and regulates EGFR-targeted therapy response in colorectal cancer.

The Bcl-2 homolog Bcl-xL is emerging as a key factor in tumorigenesis due to its prominent pro-survival and cell death-independent functions. However, the regulation of Bcl-xL by microenvironment and its implication in cancer therapy of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) are unclear. Here, we demonstrated that Bcl-xL expression was positively associated with protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) in CRC.

Clinical effect of T-SPOT.TB test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Background: The goal of this study was to further investigate the clinical effectiveness of the T-SPOT.TB test in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), including the effects of T-SPOT.TB test on evaluating diverse TB types and locations.

Protease-activated receptor 2 signaling modulates susceptibility of colonic epithelium to injury through stabilization of YAP in vivo.

Hippo signaling plays critical roles in intestinal regeneration. However, the mechanisms which regulate its activity in vivo are largely unknown. We hypothesize that protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) signaling, which could be activated by trypsin, might affect YAP activity in the setting of tissue damage and regeneration.

[Detection of chitinase 3-like 1 combined with other biomarkers for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer].

Objective: To assess the value of chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) alone or in combination with other biomarkers in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 70 patients with pancreatic cancer and 31 healthy subjects and the levels of CHI3L1, CA199, C3, C4, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum were detected.

Results: The serum samples from pancreatic cancer patients showed significantly higher CHI3L1, CA199, C3, C4, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels than those from healthy subjects (P<0.

E-cadherin Mediates the Preventive Effect of Vitamin D3 in Colitis-associated Carcinogenesis.

Vitamin D3 is beneficial in ameliorating or preventing inflammation and carcinogenesis. Here, we evaluated if vitamin D3 has a preventive effect on colitis-associated carcinogenesis. Administration of azoxymethane (AOM), followed with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), was used to simulate colitis-associated colon cancer in mice.

The Effects of Puerarin on Rat Ventricular Myocytes and the Potential Mechanism.

Puerarin, a known isoflavone, is commonly found as a Chinese herb medicine. It is widely used in China to treat cardiac diseases such as angina, cardiac infarction and arrhythmia. However, its cardioprotective mechanism remains unclear.

Differential expression of LEF1/TCFs family members in colonic carcinogenesis.

Lef1/Tcfs family, which includes Lef1, Tcf1, Tcf3, and Tcf4, is required for the transcriptional activation induced by β-catenin. However, whether all the members play the same role in colon carcinogenesis is not clear. We found that Lef1 and Tcf1, but not Tcf3 and Tcf4, were upregulated at both mRNA and protein level with the formation of colon tumor in AOM-DSS mouse model.

The regulation of miRNAs in inflammation-related carcinogenesis.

Chronic inflammation plays important roles in the initiation and development of various cancers, particularly gastrointestinal cancer. Cancer is characterized by stepwise accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations of genes. As a high risk factor for cancer, chronic inflammatory response produces great amount of mediators, including cytokines, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, proteinases, which can induce genetic and epigenetic changes of cancer-associated genes and pathways.