Low-dose metformin suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis via the AMPK/JNK/IL-8 pathway.

Background And Objectives: Metformin, an oral hypoglycemic drug, has been suggested to possess antitumour activity in several types of cancers. Additionally, interleukin-8 (IL-8) has been reported to be involved in the development and metastasis of many cancers. However, the effect of metformin on IL-8 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.

Interferon-α induces differentiation of cancer stem cells and immunosuppression in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating CXCL8 secretion.

Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) is widely used in the clinical treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, high levels of CXCL8 are associated with resistance to IFN-α therapy and poorer prognosis in advanced cancers. In this study, we investigated whether IFN-α could directly induce the production of CXCL8 in HCC cells and whether CXCL8 could antagonize the antitumor activity of IFN-α.

Tumor cell-derived LC3Bextracellular vesicles mediate the crosstalk between tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma via the HSP90α-IL-6/IL-8 signaling axis.

Background: Inflammatory factors are being recognized as critical modulators of host antitumor immunity in liver cancer. We have previously shown that tumor cell-released LC3B positive extracellular vesicles (LC3B EVs) are responsible for malignant progression by dampening antitumor immunity. However, the relationship between LC3B EVs and inflammatory factors in the regulation of the liver cancer microenvironment remains unclear.

Identification of gene signatures associated with ulcerative colitis and the association with immune infiltrates in colon cancer.

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease, are some of the most common inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. The dysfunction of the immune system in the intestines is suggested to be the underlying cause of the pathogenesis of UC. However, the mechanisms regulating these dysfunctional immune cells and inflammatory phenotypes are still unclear.

Clinical significance of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and sdLDL-C for coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus aged ≥ 65 years.

Background And Aims: Although type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) share many common pathological and physiological characteristics, there are few studies assessing the predictive capacity of novel biomarkers in occurrence and development of CAD in T2DM patients aged ≥ 65 years. In addition, T2DM patients aged ≥ 65 years are prone to CAD. Therefore, it is of great significance to find novel biomarkers for the development CAD in T2DM.

The role of hypoxic mesenchymal stem cells in tumor immunity.

The emerging evidence has shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) not only exert a significant role in the occurrence and development of tumors, but also have immunosuppressive potential in tumor immunity. Hypoxia is a sign of solid tumors, but how functions of hypoxic MSCs alter in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains less well and comprehensively described. Herein, we mostly describe and investigate recent advances in our comprehension of the emerging effects of different tissue derived MSCs in hypoxia condition on tumor progression and development, as well as bidirectional influence between hypoxic MSCs and immune cells of the TME.

TIMP2 is associated with prognosis and immune infiltrates of gastric and colon cancer.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP2), a member of tissue inhibitors of the metalloproteinase (TIMP) family is associated with the progression of various tumors. However, the association of TIMP2 with cancer prognosis and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes remains unclear. TIMP2 expression was analyzed by Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), TNM plot, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, and 50 paired gastric cancer tissues.

Plasma CXCL3 Levels Are Associated with Tumor Progression and an Unfavorable Colorectal Cancer Prognosis.

Background: The CXC chemokines belong to a unique family of chemotactic cytokines that influence the initiation, progression, and clinical outcome of many tumor types. Herein, we investigated the association of the CXC-chemokine ligand 3 (CXCL3) with tumor progression and an unfavorable prognosis for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to explore the expression of CXCL3 in CRC tissue, adjacent tissue, and plasma.

The Expression and Clinical Significance of PCNAP1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in many cancer progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression level and clinical significance of the lncRNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen pseudogene 1 (PCNAP1), in cancer tissue and the plasma of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of PCNAP1 in HCC tissue, adjacent tissue, and plasma.

The Prognostic and Predictive Significance of circRNA CDR1as in Tumor Progression.

Cerebellar degeneration-related protein 1 antisense (CDR1as) is an important member of the circRNAs family, also known as cirs-7. Its main function is to act as a mir-7 sponge. Accumulated studies show that CDR1as is closely related to various diseases, especially cancer.

Identification of Long Noncoding RNAs lnc-DC in Plasma as a New Biomarker for Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the plasma levels of lnc-DC in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients and investigate the potential associations between lnc-DC and disease activity.

Methods: In this study, we recruited 358 enrollments, including 127 pSS patients without immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), 22 pSS patients with ITP, 50 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, and 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 109 healthy individuals, from Xuzhou Central Hospital. The expression of anti-SSA and anti-SSB was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Role of microRNAs in remodeling the tumor microenvironment (Review).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non‑coding RNAs that are known to regulate gene expression at the post‑transcriptional level. miRNA expression is often deregulated in several human cancers, affecting the communication between tumor stroma and tumor cells, among other functions. Understanding the role of miRNAs in the tumor microenvironment is crucial for fully elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor progression and exploring novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

The Emerging Role of GC-MSCs in the Gastric Cancer Microenvironment: From Tumor to Tumor Immunity.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been declared to not only participate in wound repair but also affect tumor progression. Tumor-associated MSCs, directly existing in the tumor microenvironment, play a critical role in tumor initiation, progression, and development. And different tumor-derived MSCs have their own unique characteristics.

The Emerging Role of YAP/TAZ in Tumor Immunity.

Yes-associated protein (YAP)/WW domain-containing transcription regulator 1 (TAZ) is an important transcriptional regulator and effector of the Hippo signaling pathway that has emerged as a critical determinant of malignancy in many human tumors. YAP/TAZ expression regulates the cross-talk between immune cells and tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment through its influence on T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and macrophages. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood.

SPC24 Regulates breast cancer progression by PI3K/AKT signaling.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, presenting as several diverse clinical and histologic varieties and it is now the most frequently diagnosed cancer and is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in Chinese women. SPC24 is an important component of the mitotic checkpoint machinery and its carcinogenic roles have been shown in several cancers, including anaplastic thyroid cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and osteosarcoma. However, the role of SPC24 in breast cancer is still unclear.

RDM1 plays an oncogenic role in human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

RAD52 motif containing 1 (RDM1) is involved in DNA damage repair pathway and RDM1 cells increase sensitivity to cisplatin, a common chemotherapy drug. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. However, the role of RDM1 in lung cancer is unknown.

Oleanolic Acid Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Angiogenesis by Blocking the VEGFR2 Signaling Pathway.

Background: Angiogenesis is a crucial process that regulated by multiple intracellular signaling pathways including MEK/ERK and JNK/SAPK. Thus, many inhibitors have developed to these pathways as anti-cancer therapeutic strategies. Oleanolic acid (OA) is a natural pentacyclic triterpenoic acid compound that present in various herbal medicines.

A potential prognostic biomarker SPC24 promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis in lung cancer.

Results: SPC24 is over-expressed in clinical lung adenocarcinoma samples, and high level of is associated with advanced stages of lung tumors. Knocking down SPC24 repressed cell growth and promoted apoptosis. SPC24 deficiency reduced cancer cell migration as well.

Meta-analysis of association between rs1447295 polymorphism and prostate cancer susceptibility.

Aims: A number of studies have found that the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the 8q24 region of genome were associated with the susceptibility of prostate cancer. Association between 8q24 SNP variant rs1447295 and higher risk of prostate cancer had been investigated, but those studies were incomplete and the conclusions were obscure.

Methods: To better elucidate the relationship between rs1447295 polymorphism and the susceptibility of prostate cancer, we performed a more comprehensive meta-analysis about the association between rs1447295 polymorphism and prostate cancer susceptibility by collecting relevant articles published up to November, 2016 and excluding many replicated cohort data existing in previous reports, which made the conclusion more reliant and objective.

Systematic identification of key genes and pathways in the development of invasive cervical cancer.

Background: Cervical cancer progresses through different stages: a long stage of precancerous lesions, then high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) stage in which precancerous lesions transform into invasive cervical carcinoma, and finally invasive squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) which is difficult to be treated and can be deadly.

Methods And Results: To identify critical genes for the development and progression of cervical cancer development, we analyzed an online database comprised of normal squamous cervical epithelia samples, HSIL samples and SCC of cervix. Dysregulated genes were identified in both early stage (from normal to HSIL stage) and late stage (from HSIL stage to SCC stage) of cervical cancer.

The effect and clinical efficacy of lienal polypeptide injection combined with FOLFOX chemotherapy regimen in colon cancer patients.

The aim was to investigate the clinical efficacy and immunomodulatory effect of lienal polypeptide injection combined with postoperative FOLFOX chemotherapy regimen in colon cancer patients. A total of 84 colon cancer patients were selected between January, 2014 and December, 2015. The selected patients were randomly divided into the observation (42 patients) and control (42 patients) groups.

Viral metagenomics analysis of picobirnavirus-positive feces from children with sporadic diarrhea in China.

Picobirnaviruses (PBVs) infect humans and a wide range of animals and may cause diarrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate PBV infection and its association with diarrhea. Here, seven PBV RT-PCR-positive fecal samples from diarrheic children and four fecal samples from healthy children as controls were analyzed by viral metagenomics.

[Removal Characteristics of Elemental Mercury by Mn-Ce/molecular Sieve].

The impregnation method was used to support molecular sieve with active manganese and cerium components to obtain a composite molecular sieve catalyst. The mercury removal performance of the catalyst was studied with a bench-scale setup. XPS analysis was used to characterize the sample before and after the modification in order to study the changes in the active components of the catalyst prepared.