Bismuth-based mesoporous nanoball carrying sorafenib for synergistic photothermal and molecularly-targeted therapy in an orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft mouse model.

Sorafenib (SOR), a multi-kinase inhibitor for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has limited clinical application due to severe side effects and drug resistance. To overcome these challenges, we developed a bismuth-based nanomaterial (BOS) for thermal injury-assisted continuous targeted therapy in HCC. Initially, the mesoporous nanomaterial was loaded with SOR, forming the BOS@SOR nano-carrier system for drug delivery and controlled release.

Multi-Omics profiling identifies aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 as a critical mediator in the crosstalk between Treg-mediated immunosuppression microenvironment and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dysregulation of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) family has been implicated in various pathological conditions, including cancer. However, a systematic evaluation of ALDH alterations and their therapeutic relevance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains lacking. Herein, we found that 15 of 19 ALDHs were transcriptionally dysregulated in HCC tissues compared to normal liver tissues.

Effectiveness and safety of Moluodan in the treatment of precancerous lesions of gastric cancer: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To investigate the clinical potential and safety of Moluodan to reverse gastric precancerous lesions.

Methods: Patients aged 18-70 years diagnosed with moderate-to-severe atrophy and/or moderate-to-severe intestinal metaplasia, with or without low-grade dysplasia, and negative for Helicobacter pylori were recruited in this randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled trial. The primary outcome was the improvement of global histological diagnosis at 1-year follow-up endoscopy using the operative link for gastritis assessment, the operative link for gastric intestinal metaplasia assessment, and the disappearance rate of dysplasia.

Heterogeneous MXene Hybrid-Oriented Exosome Isolation and Metabolic Profiling for Early Screening, Subtyping and Follow-up Evaluation of Bladder Cancer.

Exosome metabolite-based noninvasive liquid biopsy is an emerging research hotspot that tends to substitute current means in clinics. Nanostructure-based mass spectrometry enables continuous exosome isolation and metabolic profiling with superior analysis speed and high efficiency. Herein, we construct a heterogeneous MXene hybrid that possesses ternary binding sites for exosome capture and outstanding matrix performance for metabolite analysis.

Transferrin receptor 1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression and metastasis by activating the mTOR signaling pathway.

Background: Aberrant iron metabolism is commonly observed in multiple tumor types, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, as the key regulator of iron metabolism involved in iron absorption, the role of transferrin receptor (TFRC) in HCC remains elusive.

Methods: The mRNA and protein expression of TFRC were evaluated in paired HCC and adjacent non-tumor specimens.

Coiled-coil domain-containing 154 promotes colorectal cancer proliferation and metastasis via interacting with minichromosome maintenance complex component 2.

Coiled-Coil Domain-Containing (CCDC) is a large class of structural proteins containing left-handed supercoiled structure. The clinical value and the functional implication of CCDC in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unknown. Based on the genetic, transcriptional, and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, five of thirty-six CCDC proteins were differentially expressed in the CRC and associated with the survival of patients with CRC.

Increased expression of autophagy-related gene 5 indicates poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: As a critical component of the autophagic machinery, autophagy-related gene 5 (ATG5) is essential for autophagosome formation. Autophagy participates in the transformation and progression of various malignant tumors, but the role of ATG5 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be illustrated. In this study we aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of ATG5 in HCC.

Synergistic Photochemo Effects Based on Light-Activatable Dual Prodrug Nanoparticles for Effective Cancer Therapy.

Ferroptosis is identified as a novel type of cell death with distinct properties involved in physical conditions and various diseases, including cancers. It is considered that ferroptosis provides a promising therapeutic strategy for optimizing oncotherapy. Although erastin is an effective ferroptosis trigger, the potential of its clinical application is largely restricted by its poor water solubility and concomitant limitations.

Interaction between glycolysis‒cholesterol synthesis axis and tumor microenvironment reveal that gamma-glutamyl hydrolase suppresses glycolysis in colon cancer.

Background: Metabolic reprogramming is a feature of cancer. However, colon cancer subtypes based on the glycolysis‒cholesterol synthesis axis have not been identified, and little is known about connections between metabolic features and the tumor microenvironment.

Methods: Data for 430 colon cancer cases were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas, including transcriptome data, clinical information, and survival outcomes.

A novel murine model of combined hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide. While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are two major pathologic types of PLC, combined HCC and ICC (cHCC-ICC) is a relatively rare subtype that shares both hepatocyte and cholangiocyte differentiation. However, the molecular feature of this unique tumor remains elusive because of its low incidence and lack of a suitable animal model.

Sorafenib-Loaded CuSe Nanoparticles Boost Photothermal-Synergistic Targeted Therapy against Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for the predominant form of liver malignancy and presents a leading cause of cancer-related death globally. Sorafenib (SOR), a first-line targeted drug for advanced HCC treatment, has a battery of untoward side effects. Photothermal therapy (PTT) has been utilized as an effective adjuvant in synergy with other approaches.

Nalidixic acid potentiates the antitumor activity in sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma the tumor immune microenvironment analysis.

Sorafenib resistance is often developed and impedes the benefits of clinical therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the relationship between sorafenib resistance and tumor immune environment and adjuvant drugs for sorafenib-resistant HCC are not systemically identified. This study first analyzed the expression profiles of sorafenib-resistant HCC cells to explore immune cell infiltration levels and differentially expressed immune-related genes (DEIRGs).

Iridium Complex-Loaded Sorafenib Nanocomposites for Synergistic Chemo-photodynamic Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Although sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, has provided noteworthy benefits in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the inevitable side effects, narrow therapeutic window, and low bioavailability seriously affect its clinical application. To be clinically distinctive, innovative drugs must meet the needs of reaching tumor tissues and cause limited side effects to normal organs and tissues. Recently, photodynamic therapy, utilizing a combination of a photosensitizer and light irradiation, was selectively accumulated at the tumor site and taken up effectively via inducing apoptosis or necrosis of cancer cells.

Prp19 Facilitated p21-Dependent Senescence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that the role of senescence in the development of cancer is context-dependent. An orthologue of human pre-mRNA processing factor 19 (Prp19) attenuates the senescence of human endothelial cells. Prp19 has been reported to be involved in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

microRNA-106b-5p Promotes Cell Growth and Sensitizes Chemosensitivity to Sorafenib by Targeting the BTG3/Bcl-xL/p27 Signaling Pathway in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

microRNAs (miRNAs) and miRNA-mediated regulatory networks are promising candidates in the prevention and treatment of cancer, but the role of specific miRNAs involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be elusive. Herein, we found that miR-106b-5p is upregulated in both HCC patients' tumor tissues and HCC cell lines. The miR-106b-5p expression level was positively correlated with -fetoprotein (AFP), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and tumor size.

IRF-2 inhibits cancer proliferation by promoting AMER-1 transcription in human gastric cancer.

Background: Interferon regulatory factor 2 (IRF-2) acts as an anti-oncogene in gastric cancer (GC); however, the underlying mechanism remains unknown.

Methods: This study determined the expression of IRF-2 in GC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and explored the predictive value of IRF-2 for the prognoses of GC patients. Cell function and xenograft tumor growth experiments in nude mice were performed to test tumor proliferation ability, both in vitro and in vivo.

Pre-mRNA processing factor 19 functions in DNA damage repair and radioresistance by modulating cyclin D1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Pre-mRNA processing factor 19 (PRP19) is elevated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, little is known about its function in DNA damage repair in HCC. In this study, analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas data and our tumor models after ionizing radiation (IR) treatment indicated that increased expression of was positively correlated with DNA damage repair. Gain of PRP19 expression induced by plasmids resulted in decreases in apoptosis and double-strand breaks (DSBs), and an increase in cell survival after IR.

Efficacy and safety of linaclotide in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation: Chinese sub-cohort analysis of a phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To conduct a sub-cohort analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of linaclotide in Chinese patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) using data from a completed trial (NCT01880424).

Methods: In this phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, IBS-C patients were randomized to receive linaclotide (290 μg/d) or placebo for 12 weeks. Efficacy was assessed with two co-primary responder end-points (12-wk abdominal pain/discomfort: ≥30% reduction in either score with neither deteriorating from baseline for ≥6 wks; 12-wk IBS degree of relief: score ≤2 for ≥ 6 wks), seven secondary endpoints and several additional end-points.

Efficacy and safety of lubiprostone for the treatment of functional constipation in Chinese adult patients: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives: Functional constipation is a gastrointestinal disorder prevalent around the world. Lubiprostone is the first locally acting type-2 chloride channel activator to be used for treating constipation. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lubiprostone in Chinese adults with functional constipation.

Interferon regulatory factor family influences tumor immunity and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Since interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family functions in immune response to viral infection, its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been inspected before. This study tries to investigate members of IRF family using bioinformatics approaches in aspect of differential expressions, biological function, tumor immune infiltration and clinical prognostic value for patients with CRC.

Methods: Transcriptome profiles data, somatic mutations and clinical information of CRC were obtained from COAD/READ dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as a training set.

Tumor cell-imposed iron restriction drives immunosuppressive polarization of tumor-associated macrophages.

Background: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are immunosuppressive cells that contribute to impaired anti-cancer immunity. Iron plays a critical role in regulating macrophage function. However, it is still elusive whether it can drive the functional polarization of macrophages in the context of cancer and how tumor cells affect the iron-handing properties of TAM.

Low-dose rifaximin prevents complications and improves survival in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Background And Aims: Rifaximin has been recommended as a prophylactic drug for hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). This study aims to explore whether low-dose rifaximin can prevent overall complications and prolong survival in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: In this multi-centre randomized open-labelled prospective study, 200 patients with decompensated cirrhosis were randomly assigned at a ratio of 1:1.