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Biswas B, Sugimoto M, Hoque MA. Discovery of Genomic Targets and Therapeutic Candidates for Liver Cancer Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and Molecular Docking. BIOLOGY 2025; 14:431. [PMID: 40282296 PMCID: PMC12024973 DOI: 10.3390/biology14040431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2025] [Revised: 03/20/2025] [Accepted: 03/31/2025] [Indexed: 04/29/2025]
Abstract
Liver cancer is one of the most common malignancies and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, particularly in developing countries, where it poses a significant financial burden. Early detection and timely treatment remain challenging due to the complex mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of liver cancer. This study aims to uncover key genomic features, analyze their functional roles, and propose potential therapeutic drugs identified through molecular docking, utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from liver cancer studies. We applied two advanced hybrid methods known for their robust identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) regardless of sample size, along with four top-performing individual methods. These approaches were used to analyze four scRNA-seq datasets, leading to the identification of essential DEGs. Through a protein-protein-interaction (PPI) network, we identified 25 hub-of-hub genes (hHubGs) and 20 additional hHubGs from two naturally occurring gene clusters, ultimately validating a total of 36 hHubGs. Functional, pathway, and survival analyses revealed that these hHubGs are strongly linked to liver cancer. Based on molecular docking and binding-affinity scores with 36 receptor proteins, we proposed 10 potential therapeutic drugs, which we selected from a pool of 300 cancer meta-drugs. The choice of these drugs was further validated using 14 top-ranked published receptor proteins from a set of 42. The proposed candidates include Adozelesin, Tivozanib, NVP-BHG712, Nilotinib, Entrectinib, Irinotecan, Ponatinib, and YM201636. This study provides critical insights into the genomic landscape of liver cancer and identifies promising therapeutic candidates, serving as a valuable resource for advancing liver cancer research and treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biplab Biswas
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, Gopalganj Science & Technology University, Gopalganj 8100, Bangladesh;
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - Masahiro Sugimoto
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka 997-0052, Japan;
- Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
| | - Md. Aminul Hoque
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
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2
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Lei H, Li X, Hu Z, Xu Q, Li Q, Zhou R, Yu Q, Xiao J. A nomogram predicting venous thromboembolism risk in primary liver cancer patients. J Thromb Thrombolysis 2025; 58:145-156. [PMID: 39306653 PMCID: PMC11762598 DOI: 10.1007/s11239-024-03041-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 12/30/2024]
Abstract
Cancer frequently causes venous thromboembolism (VTE), a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Primary liver cancer (PLC) is prevalent and highly fatal, with an increased risk of venous thrombotic complications. Thus, we aimed to develop a nomogram model for predicting VTE in patients with PLC. We retrospectively analyzed 1,565 patients diagnosed with PLC between January 2018 and December 2022 at Chongqing University Cancer Hospital. Univariate logistic analysis and multivariate logistic regression identified eight significant risk factors: activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 32.20 s, D-dimer > 1.44 mg/L, lymphocyte count (LYM) ≤ 1.18 × 109/L, monocyte count (MONO) > 0.42 × 109/L, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), surgical intervention, immunotherapy, and β2-microglobulin. The nomogram model exhibited strong discriminatory power, with C indices of 0.753 and 0.710 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The calibration curve showed a strong correlation between predicted and actual probabilities. Additionally, decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) confirmed the model's clinical utility. This nomogram facilitates the identification of high-risk PLC patients, allowing for timely preventive and therapeutic interventions to reduce the risk of thrombosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haike Lei
- Chongqing Cancer Multi-omics Big Data Application Engineering Research Center, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Xiaosheng Li
- Chongqing Cancer Multi-omics Big Data Application Engineering Research Center, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Zuhai Hu
- Department of Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Qianjie Xu
- Department of Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Qingdong Li
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Rong Zhou
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Qianwen Yu
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Jing Xiao
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China.
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3
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Wen Z, Qin S, Huang H, Xia X, Zhang W, Wu W. Functional exosomes modified with chitosan effectively alleviate anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 277:134495. [PMID: 39111472 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.134495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 07/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Anthracyclines belong to a class of anti-tumor antibiotics, and their severe cardiotoxicity significantly limits their clinical use. Exosomes play key roles in intercellular communication, characterized by high biocompatibility and specific tissue and organ homing effects. In this study, doxorubicin, an anthracycline anticancer drug widely used in clinical chemotherapy, was selected as a model drug. To address the significant cardiotoxicity associated with doxorubicin, tumor exosomes are utilized as drug carriers. The homing effect of autologous exosomes enhances drug uptake by tumor cells and reduces cardiotoxicity. To enhance the stability of exosomes, improve therapeutic effectiveness, and reduce toxic side effects, chitosan was utilized to modify the surface of exosomes. Chitosan has a specific anti-tumor effect because it can target the CD44 receptor of tumor stem cells and interact with tumor cells through charge adsorption. Through in vitro cell experiments, in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments, and an in situ ectopic nude mouse tumor model, the study demonstrated that chitosan-modified tumor exosomes significantly alleviated the severe cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin, while also showing remarkable anti-tumor efficacy. This study introduces a novel approach to reduce the adverse side effects of anthracycline chemotherapeutic drugs and presents a highly promising nanocarrier delivery system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Wen
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China
| | - Shuiling Qin
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China
| | - Huajie Huang
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China
| | - Xingle Xia
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China
| | - Wei Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Optimization, School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China.
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4
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Galasso L, Cerrito L, Termite F, Mignini I, Esposto G, Borriello R, Ainora ME, Gasbarrini A, Zocco MA. The Molecular Mechanisms of Portal Vein Thrombosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:3247. [PMID: 39409869 PMCID: PMC11482560 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16193247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2024] [Revised: 09/21/2024] [Accepted: 09/22/2024] [Indexed: 10/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the sixth most diagnosed cancer worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. The association of HCC and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) represents an advanced stage of the tumor. PVT has a prevalence of about 25-50% in HCC, determining poor prognosis and a remarkable reduction in therapeutic perspectives in these patients, leading to severe complications such as ascites, metastasis, an increase in portal hypertension and potentially fatal gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim of this review is to evaluate the molecular mechanisms that are at the basis of PVT development, trying to evaluate possible strategies in the early detection of patients at high risk of PVT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Galasso
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Lucia Cerrito
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Termite
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
| | - Irene Mignini
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Esposto
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Raffaele Borriello
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Elena Ainora
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Gasbarrini
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Assunta Zocco
- Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy; (L.G.); (M.E.A.)
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
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Zhu L, Lou Y, Xiao Q, Wang L, Chen G, Yang W, Wang T. Establishment and Evaluation of Exosomes-Related Gene Risk Model in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Biochem Genet 2024; 62:698-717. [PMID: 37405532 PMCID: PMC11031460 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-023-10441-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a challenging disease to evaluate in terms of prognosis, requiring close attention to the prognosis of HCC patients. Exosomes have been shown to play an important role in HCC development and have significant potential in managing HCC patient prognosis, as they are detectable in patients' blood. By using small extracellular vesicular RNA, liquid biopsies can reflect the underlying physiological and pathological status of the originating cells, providing a valuable assessment of human health. No study has explored the diagnostic value of mRNA expression changes in exosomes for liver cancer. The present study investigated establishing a risk prognosis model based on mRNA expression levels in exosomes from blood samples of liver cancer patients and evaluated its diagnostic and prognostic value, providing new targets for liver cancer detection. We obtained mRNA data from HCC patients and normal controls from the TCGA and exoRBase 2.0 databases and established a risk prognostic assessment model using exosomes-related risk genes selected through prognostic analysis and Lasso Cox analysis. The patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on median risk score values to validate the independence and evaluability of the risk score. The clinical value of the model was further analyzed using a nomograph model, and the efficacy of immunotherapy and cell-origin types of prognostic risk genes were further assessed in the high- and low-risk groups by immune checkpoint and single-cell sequencing. A total of 44 genes were found to be significantly associated with the prognosis of HCC patients. From this group, we selected six genes (CLEC3B, CYP2C9, GNA14, NQO1, NT5DC2, and S100A9) as exosomal risk genes and used them as a basis for the risk prognosis model. The clinical information of HCC patients from the TCGA and ICGC databases demonstrated that the risk prognostic score of the model established in this study was an independent prognostic factor with good robustness. When pathological stage and risk prognostic score were incorporated into the model to predict clinical outcomes, the nomograph model had the best clinical benefit. Furthermore, immune checkpoint assays and single-cell sequencing analysis suggested that exosomal risk genes were derived from different cell types and that immunotherapy in the high-risk groups could be beneficial. Our study demonstrated that the prognostic scoring model based on exosomal mRNA was highly effective. The six genes selected using the scoring model have been previously reported to be associated with the occurrence and development of liver cancer. However, this study is the first to confirm that these related genes existed in the blood exosomes, which could be used for liquid biopsy of patients with liver cancer, thereby avoiding the need for puncture diagnosis. This approach has a high value in clinical application. Through single-cell sequencing, we found that the six genes in the risk model originate from multiple cell types. This finding suggests that the exosomal characteristic molecules secreted by different types of cells in the microenvironment of liver cancer may serve as diagnostic markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Fertility Preservation and Maintenance, The School of Basic Medicine, The General Hospital, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
| | - Yan Lou
- Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Spine Tumor Center, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiyu Xiao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hunan Cancer Hospital/The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ling Wang
- Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Center for Translational Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Institute of Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation, Shanghai, China
| | - Guodong Chen
- Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Center for Translational Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenjun Yang
- Department of Emergency, The Sixth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tengjiao Wang
- Department of Precision Medicine, Translational Medicine Research Center, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
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6
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Zeng Y, Hu S, Luo Y, He K. Exosome Cargos as Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2365. [PMID: 37765333 PMCID: PMC10537613 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15092365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Due to the insidiousness of HCC onset and the lack of specific early-stage markers, the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC are still unsatisfactory, leading to a poor prognosis. Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicle containing various components, which play an essential part in the development, progression, and metastasis of HCC. A large number of studies have demonstrated that exosomes could serve as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of HCC. These diagnostic components mainly include proteins, microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and circular RNAs. The exosome biomarkers showed high sensitivity and high specificity in distinguishing HCC from health controls and other liver diseases, such as chronic HBV and liver cirrhosis. The expression of these biomarkers also exhibits correlations with various clinical factors such as tumor size, TMN stage, overall survival, and recurrence rate. In this review, we summarize the function of exosomes in the development of HCC and highlight their application as HCC biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulai Zeng
- Department of Liver Surgery, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China; (Y.Z.); (S.H.)
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Transplantation and Immunology, Shanghai 200127, China
- Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Shuyu Hu
- Department of Liver Surgery, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China; (Y.Z.); (S.H.)
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Transplantation and Immunology, Shanghai 200127, China
- Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Yi Luo
- Department of Liver Surgery, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China; (Y.Z.); (S.H.)
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Transplantation and Immunology, Shanghai 200127, China
- Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Kang He
- Department of Liver Surgery, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China; (Y.Z.); (S.H.)
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Transplantation and Immunology, Shanghai 200127, China
- Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Shanghai 200127, China
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MiRNAs in Lung Cancer: Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Potential. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:diagnostics12071610. [PMID: 35885514 PMCID: PMC9322918 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12071610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the dominant emerging factor in cancer-related mortality around the globe. Therapeutic interventions for lung cancer are not up to par, mainly due to reoccurrence/relapse, chemoresistance, and late diagnosis. People are currently interested in miRNAs, which are small double-stranded (20–24 ribonucleotides) structures that regulate molecular targets (tumor suppressors, oncogenes) involved in tumorigeneses such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis via post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA. Many studies suggest the emerging role of miRNAs in lung cancer diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics. Therefore, it is necessary to intensely explore the miRNOME expression of lung tumors and the development of anti-cancer strategies. The current review focuses on the therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic potential of numerous miRNAs in lung cancer.
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Wang J, Wang X, Zhang X, Shao T, Luo Y, Wang W, Han Y. Extracellular Vesicles and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Opportunities and Challenges. Front Oncol 2022; 12:884369. [PMID: 35692794 PMCID: PMC9175035 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.884369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing worldwide. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain sufficient bioactive substances and are carriers of intercellular information exchange, as well as delivery vehicles for nucleic acids, proteins and drugs. Although EVs show great potential for the treatment of HCC and their role in HCC progression has been extensively studied, there are still many challenges such as time-consuming extraction, difficult storage, easy contamination, and low drug loading rate. We focus on the biogenesis, morphological characteristics, isolation and extraction of EVs and their significance in the progression of HCC, tumor invasion, immune escape and cancer therapy for a review. EVs may be effective biomarkers for molecular diagnosis of HCC and new targets for tumor-targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Wang
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Xiaoya Wang
- Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Xintong Zhang
- Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Tingting Shao
- Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Yanmei Luo
- Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Yunwei Han
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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Wei XC, Liu LJ, Zhu F. Exosomes as potential diagnosis and treatment for liver cancer. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2022; 14:334-347. [PMID: 35116120 PMCID: PMC8790408 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i1.334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liver cancer is the fourth most significant cause of cancer-related death. Lack of early diagnosis strategy and a scarcity of efficient therapy constitute the main reasons for its lethality. Exosomes, which contain various bioactive molecules, are characterized by high biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and high transport efficiency. As a result, exosomes have become a research hotspot and present significant potential for cancer diagnosis biomarkers, biotherapeutics, therapy targets, drug carriers and therapeutic agents. AIM To explore the potential of exosomes in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature search via PubMed and Web of Science. The following keywords were used: "exosomal biomarkers", "exosomal therapy", "exosomal therapy", and "liver cancer" or "HCC". The duplicate data were deleted by EndNote software. Literature search focused on full-texts and references of each article were carefully checked. One author (Xiao-Cui Wei) screened the literature that met the following inclusion criteria: (1) Detection of exosomes or their contents in clinical samples (body fluid or tissue); or (2) Exosomes served as drug carriers or therapeutic factors. Two authors (Xiao-Cui Wei and Li-Juan Liu) independently reviewed all retained literature and analyzed the information. RESULTS A total of 1295 studies were identified using the systematic literature search. Of these, 835 duplicate studies were removed. A further 402 irrelevant studies were excluded due to being irrelevant, including other diseases, review articles, the literature containing neither clinical samples nor animal experiments, exosome-independent studies, methods for detecting exosomes, or articles in Chinese. Finally, 58 published papers were retained and analyzed in the study. It showed a list of potential exosomal biomarkers that were upregulated in the blood samples of patients with liver cancer. Those downregulated in exosomes might serve as possible biotherapeutics. Some exosomes derived from cells in vitro were used for cytology or animal experiments to explore the mechanism of these exosome contents in disease. These contents might serve as potential targets for liver cancer. Additionally, we also discussed that exosomes serve as drug carriers or therapeutic factors. CONCLUSION Exosomes might serve as potential biomarkers or therapeutic biotargets in liver cancer and have the potential to act as drug carriers and self-treatment factors for liver cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Cui Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Li-Juan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Fan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
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10
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Zhou XH, Xu H, Xu C, Yan YC, Zhang LS, Sun Q, Wang WL, Shi YJ. Hepatocellular carcinoma-derived exosomal miRNA-761 regulates the tumor microenvironment by targeting the SOCS2/JAK2/STAT3 pathway. World J Emerg Med 2022; 13:379-385. [PMID: 36119773 PMCID: PMC9420661 DOI: 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2022.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exosomes and exosomal microRNAs have been implicated in tumor occurrence and metastasis. Our previous study showed that microRNA-761 (miR-761) is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and that its inhibition affects mitochondrial function and inhibits HCC metastasis. The mechanism by which exosomal miR-761 modulates the tumor microenvironment has not been elucidated. METHODS Exosomal miR-761 was detected in six cell lines. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and transwell migration assays were performed to determine the function of exosomal miR-761 in HCC cells. The luciferase reporter assay was used to analyze miR-761 target genes in normal fibroblasts (NFs). The inhibitors AZD1480 and C188-9 were employed to determine the role of the Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway in the transformation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). RESULTS In this study, we characterized the mechanism by which miR-761 reprogrammed the tumor microenvironment. We found that HCC-derived exosomal miR-761 was taken up by NFs. Moreover, HCC exosomes affected the tumor microenvironment by activating NFs via suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) and the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrated that exosomal miR-761 modulated the tumor microenvironment via SOCS2/JAK2/STAT3 pathway-dependent activation of CAFs. Our findings may inspire new strategies for HCC prevention and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-hu Zhou
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Hao Xu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Chang Xu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Ying-cai Yan
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Lin-shi Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Wei-lin Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Yan-jun Shi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
- Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Tumor of Zhejiang Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
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11
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Hu K, Li NF, Li JR, Chen ZG, Wang JH, Sheng LQ. Exosome circCMTM3 promotes angiogenesis and tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma through miR-3619-5p/SOX9. Hepatol Res 2021; 51:1139-1152. [PMID: 34233088 DOI: 10.1111/hepr.13692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
AIM As one of the most common and lethal carcinomas, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health concern and affects millions of people worldwide. Current treatments for HCC are very limited due to its unclear pathogenesis. Here, we aim to further investigate the role of circCMTM3/microRNA (miR)-3619-5p in HCC. METHODS Human blood samples were collected from HCC patients and healthy people. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were undertaken to measure levels of circCMTM3, miR-3619-5p, SOX9, and exosome markers. The MTT, colony formation, and Transwell assays were used to examine the viability, migration, and invasion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), respectively. Tube formation assay was used to assess angiogenesis. Dual luciferase assay was used to validate circCMTM3/miR-3619-5p and miR-3619-5p/SOX9 interactions. A nude mouse xenograft model was used to test the role of circCMTM3 in HCC in vivo. RESULTS Levels of circCMTM3 in exosomes from HCC patients and cells were elevated. Knockdown of circCMTM3 greatly decreased viability, migration, and invasion of HUVECs, as well as angiogenesis. CircCMTM3 acted as a miR-3619-5p sponge and miR-3619-5p inhibitor reversed the effects of si-circCMTM3 on angiogenesis. MiR-3619-5p directly targeted SOX9 and modulated angiogenesis through SOX9. Furthermore, knockdown of circCMTM3 suppressed angiogenesis and HCC tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION The exosome circCMTM3/miR-3619-5p/SOX9 axis from HCC cells promotes angiogenesis and thus contributes to HCC tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Hu
- Department of Intensive Care Unit, Yiyang Central Hospital, Yiyang, China
| | - Nian-Feng Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jia-Rong Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ze-Guo Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jian-Hua Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Lang-Qing Sheng
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
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12
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Li L, Zhao J, Zhang Q, Tao Y, Shen C, Li R, Ma Z, Li J, Wang Z. Cancer Cell-Derived Exosomes Promote HCC Tumorigenesis Through Hedgehog Pathway. Front Oncol 2021; 11:756205. [PMID: 34692546 PMCID: PMC8529041 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.756205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for more than 80% of primary liver cancers and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in many countries. Cancer cell-derived exosomes are shown to mediate communications between cancer cells and the microenvironment, promoting tumorigenesis. Hedgehog signaling pathway plays important roles in cancer development of HCC. Methods Exosomes were isolated from culture medium of HCC cell lines PLC/PRF/5 and MHCC-97H and were found to promote cancer cell growth measured with cell proliferation and colony formation assay. HCC cells cultured with cancer cell-derived exosome had increased cancer stem cell (CSC) population demonstrated by increased cell sphere formation CSC marker expressions. Hedgehog protein Shh was found to be highly expressed in these two HCC cell lines and preferably carried by exosomes. When Shh was knocked down with shRNA, the resulting exosomes had a reduced effect on promoting cancer cell growth or CSC population increase compared to normal cell-derived exosomes. Results The ability of PLC/PRF/5 cells to form tumor in a xenograft model was increased by the addition of the exosomes from control cancer cells but not the exosomes from Shh knocked down cancer cells. Finally, the higher plasma Exo-Shh levels were associated with later tumor stages, higher histological grades, multiple tumors, and higher recurrence rates. Conclusion This study demonstrated that HCC cells secreted Shh via exosome and promote tumorigenesis through the activated Hedgehog pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Quanbao Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yifeng Tao
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Conghuan Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruidong Li
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengyu Ma
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianhua Li
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengxin Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Organ Transplantation, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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13
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Zhu J, Tang B, Gao Y, Xu S, Tu J, Wang Y, Yang W, Fang S, Weng Q, Zhao Z, Xu M, Yang Y, Chen M, Lu C, Ji J. Predictive Models for HCC Prognosis, Recurrence Risk, and Immune Infiltration Based on Two Exosomal Genes: MYL6B and THOC2. J Inflamm Res 2021; 14:4089-4109. [PMID: 34466015 PMCID: PMC8403029 DOI: 10.2147/jir.s315957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous molecular disease with complex molecular pathogenesis that influences the efficacy of therapies. Exosomes play a crucial role in tumorigenesis and poor disease outcomes in HCC. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the optimal gene set derived from exosomes in HCC with substantial predictive value to construct models for determining prognosis, recurrence risk and diagnosis and to identify candidates suitable for immunotherapy and chemotherapy, thereby providing new ideas for the individualized treatment of patients and for improving prognosis. Methods Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) and univariate and multivariate Cox PH regression analyses were applied to identify exosome-related signatures in the TCGA and exoRbase databases associated with clinical relevance, immunogenic features and tumor progression in HCC. Cell experiments were performed to further confirm the oncogenic effect of MYL6B and THOC2. Results The models for prognosis and recurrence risk prediction were built based on two exosomal genes (MYL6B and THOC2) and were confirmed to be independent predictive factors with superior predictive performance. Patients with high prognostic risk had poorer prognosis than patients with low prognostic risk in all HCC datasets, namely, the TCGA cohort (HR=2.5, P<0.001), the ICGC cohort (HR=3.15, P<0.001) and the GSE14520 cohort (HR=1.85, P=0.004). A higher recurrence probability was found in HCC patients with high recurrence risk than in HCC patients with low recurrence risk in the TCGA cohort (HR=2.44, P<0.001) and the GSE14520 cohort (HR=1.54, P=0.025). High prognostic risk patients had higher expression of immune checkpoint genes, such as PD1, B7H3, B7H5, CTLA4 and TIM3 (P<0.05). Diagnostic models based on the same two genes were able to accurately distinguish HCC patients from normal individuals and HCC from dysplastic nodules. Conclusion Our findings lay the foundation for identifying molecular markers to increase the early detection rate of HCC, improve disease outcomes, and determine more effective individualized treatment options for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyu Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310016, People's Republic of China
| | - Bufu Tang
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310016, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Suqin Xu
- Clinical Laboratory, Fuyuan Hospital of Yiwu, Jinhua, 321000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianfei Tu
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yajie Wang
- Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Weibin Yang
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Shiji Fang
- Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiaoyou Weng
- Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhongwei Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Min Xu
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Minjiang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenying Lu
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiansong Ji
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Diagnosis and Minimally Invasive Intervention Research, Lishui Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui, 323000, People's Republic of China
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14
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Sun R, Liu W, Zhao Y, Chen H, Wang Z, Zhang Y, Sun X, Cui X. Exosomal circRNA as a novel potential therapeutic target for multiple myeloma-related myocardial damage. Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:311. [PMID: 34120606 PMCID: PMC8201884 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02011-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Myocardial damage is a mostly incurable complication of multiple myeloma (MM) that seriously affects the treatment outcome and quality of life of patients. Exosomal circular RNAs (exo-circRNAs) play an important role in tumor occurrence and development and are considered key factors in MM pathogenesis. However, the role and mechanism of action of exo-circRNAs in MM-related myocardial damage are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate correlations between exo-circRNAs and MM and to preliminarily explore the role of exo-circRNAs in MM-related myocardial damage. Methods Six MM patients and five healthy controls (HCs) were included in the study. High-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR verification were used to obtain a profile of abnormally expressed exo-circRNAs. GO, KEGG, miRanda, TargetScan and Metascape were used for bioinformatics analyses. H9C2 cells treated with exosomes from U266 cells were used in cell experiments. CCK-8, PCR, immunofluorescence and western blotting assays were used to detect cell proliferation and expression of autophagy-related indicators. Electron microscopy was used to observe the number of autophagic vesicles. Results Bioinformatics analysis showed that circRNAs with upregulated expression had the potential to promote MM-related myocardial damage. In addition, PCR results confirmed that circ-G042080 was abundantly expressed in the serum exosomes of 20 MM patients. Correlation analysis showed that the expression level of circ-G042080 was positively correlated with the clinical level of MM and MM-related myocardial damage and that circ-G042080 might interfere with MM-related myocardial damage through a downstream miRNA/TLR4 axis. Cell experiments demonstrated that the circ-G042080/hsa-miR-4268/TLR4 axis might exist in H9C2 cells incubated with exosomes and cause abnormal autophagy. Conclusion Abnormal expression of serum exo-circRNAs was found to be associated with MM-related myocardial damage, suggesting that exo-circRNAs might become a new diagnostic marker of MM-related myocardial damage and a therapeutic target. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02011-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runjie Sun
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Wei Liu
- College of Nursing, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Yangang Zhao
- Department of Audit, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Haoyu Chen
- Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Zhenzhen Wang
- Department of Hematology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Yanyu Zhang
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Xiaoqi Sun
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Xing Cui
- Department of Hematology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 16369 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, China.
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15
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Xing M, Wang X, Kiken RA, He L, Zhang JY. Immunodiagnostic Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC): The First Step in Detection and Treatment. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6139. [PMID: 34200243 PMCID: PMC8201127 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22116139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exerts huge effects on the health burden of the world because of its high mortality and poor prognosis. HCC is often clinically detected late in patients. If HCC could be detected and treated earlier, the survival rate of patients will be greatly improved. Therefore, identifying specific biomarkers is urgent and important for HCC. The liver is also recognized as an immune organ. The occurrence of HCC is related to exacerbation of immune tolerance and/or immunosurveillance escape. The host immune system plays an important role in the recognition and targeting of tumor cells in cancer immunotherapy, as can be seen from the clinical success of immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Thus, there is a pressing medical need to discover immunodiagnostic biomarkers specific to HCC for understanding the pathological mechanisms of HCC, especially for immunotherapy targets. We have reviewed the existing literature to summarize the immunodiagnostic markers of HCC, including autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and exosomes, to provide new insights into HCC and early detection of this deadly cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengtao Xing
- Department of Pharmacology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China;
- Department of Biological Sciences & NIH-Sponsored Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (X.W.); (R.A.K.)
| | - Xinzhi Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences & NIH-Sponsored Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (X.W.); (R.A.K.)
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Robert A. Kiken
- Department of Biological Sciences & NIH-Sponsored Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (X.W.); (R.A.K.)
| | - Ling He
- Department of Pharmacology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China;
| | - Jian-Ying Zhang
- Department of Biological Sciences & NIH-Sponsored Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (X.W.); (R.A.K.)
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16
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Abstract
This review provides epidemiological and translational evidence for milk and dairy intake as critical risk factors in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Large epidemiological studies in the United States and Europe identified total dairy, milk and butter intake with the exception of yogurt as independent risk factors of HCC. Enhanced activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a hallmark of HCC promoted by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). mTORC1 is also activated by milk protein-induced synthesis of hepatic insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), abundant constituents of milk proteins. Over the last decades, annual milk protein-derived BCAA intake increased 3 to 5 times in Western countries. In synergy with HBV- and HCV-induced secretion of hepatocyte-derived exosomes enriched in microRNA-21 (miR-21) and miR-155, exosomes of pasteurized milk as well deliver these oncogenic miRs to the human liver. Thus, milk exosomes operate in a comparable fashion to HBV- or HCV- induced exosomes. Milk-derived miRs synergistically enhance IGF-1-AKT-mTORC1 signaling and promote mTORC1-dependent translation, a meaningful mechanism during the postnatal growth phase, but a long-term adverse effect promoting the development of HCC. Both, dietary BCAA abundance combined with oncogenic milk exosome exposure persistently overstimulate hepatic mTORC1. Chronic alcohol consumption as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), two HCC-related conditions, increase BCAA plasma levels. In HCC, mTORC1 is further hyperactivated due to RAB1 mutations as well as impaired hepatic BCAA catabolism, a metabolic hallmark of T2DM. The potential HCC-preventive effect of yogurt may be caused by lactobacilli-mediated degradation of BCAAs, inhibition of branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase via production of intestinal medium-chain fatty acids as well as degradation of milk exosomes including their oncogenic miRs. A restriction of total animal protein intake realized by a vegetable-based diet is recommended for the prevention of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodo C Melnik
- Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
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17
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Ding J, Wang J, Chen J. Exosomes as therapeutic vehicles in liver diseases. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2021; 9:735. [PMID: 33987433 PMCID: PMC8106083 DOI: 10.21037/atm-20-5422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The diagnosis and treatment of various liver diseases have progressed greatly over the years, but clinical outcomes are still not satisfying. New research on the mechanisms and application thereof may effectuate positive changes. Exosomes are membrane-derived nanovesicles ranging in size from 40 to 160 nm and are released by a diversity of cells. They contain a variety of cargo, including lipids, proteins, coding RNAs, and noncoding RNAs. Recent studies have recognized exosomes as intercellular communication agents, which play important roles in physiological or biological processes in acute or chronic liver disorders by horizontal transferring of genetic bioinformation from donor cells to neighboring or distal target cells. In the hope that exosomes can potentially be used as vehicles for clinical intervention, this review aims to focus on the roles of exosomes and their cargo in the field of various liver disorders, including virus-related liver diseases, alcoholic liver diseases (ALD), nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), and liver cancer. In addition, many studies have indicated that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes or engineered MSC-derived exosomes can also exert hepatoprotection, antioxidation, or enhance drug sensitivity on corresponding liver diseases with the advantage of low immunogenicity and high biocompatibility. Overall, exosomes are expected to serve as an important therapeutic tool for various liver diseases. However, there are still many problems that need to be resolved by further research and a greater body of evidence before exosomes are ready for clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Ding
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ju Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiajia Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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18
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Song T, Li L, Wu S, Liu Y, Guo C, Wang W, Dai L, Zhang T, Wu H, Su B. Peripheral Blood Genetic Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2021; 11:583714. [PMID: 33777736 PMCID: PMC7991745 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.583714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and has high mortality. Biomarkers related to HCC, such as alpha-fetoprotein, and imaging technology, such as ultrasound and computed tomography, have been used to screen and monitor HCC, but HCC is still difficult to diagnose effectively in the early stage due to the low sensitivity of the above mentioned traditional methods. There is an urgent need for noninvasive biomarkers to facilitate the screening and early diagnosis of HCC. With the advancement of next-generation sequencing, genetic biomarkers are becoming the core of cancer diagnosis. Genetic biomarkers such as peripheral blood circulating tumor DNA, microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, circular RNAs, and exosomes have become the focus of early HCC diagnostics. HCC genetic biomarkers have been implemented in clinical practice. In this review, we describe the available literature on peripheral blood genetic biomarkers in the diagnosis of early HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Song
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China.,Department of Hepatology, The Sixth People's Hospital of Qingdao, Qingdao, China
| | - Li Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China
| | - Shaobo Wu
- Center of Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases, Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), Chengdu, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China
| | - Caiping Guo
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Wang
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Lili Dai
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Wu
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Su
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Beijing, China
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19
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Risk Factors and Biomarkers for Chronic Hepatitis B Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22020479. [PMID: 33418899 PMCID: PMC7825109 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Globally, hepatitis B virus (HBV) related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related mortality. This is, in part, due to delayed diagnosis and limited therapeutic options with more advanced stages of the disease. Given the prognostic importance of early diagnosis, novel methods for early detection are in need. Unlike most other cancer types, tissue is not required to diagnose HCC and is frequently avoided given the inherent risks of liver biopsy, so less invasive methods of obtaining tumor material are currently under investigation. Material shed from tumors into the periphery are being investigated for their potential to both surveil and diagnose patients for HCC. These materials include circulating tumor cells, DNA, RNA, and exosomes, and are collectively termed a “liquid biopsy”. In this review article, we discuss the evolving literature regarding the different risk factors for HCC and the types of emerging novel biomarkers that show promise in the prevention and early diagnosis of HCC within the context of HBV infection.
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20
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Ju T, Wang S, Wang J, Yang F, Song Z, Xu H, Chen Y, Zhang J, Wang Z. A study on the effects of tumor-derived exosomes on hepatoma cells and hepatocytes by atomic force microscopy. ANALYTICAL METHODS : ADVANCING METHODS AND APPLICATIONS 2020; 12:5458-5467. [PMID: 33135693 DOI: 10.1039/d0ay01730b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Tumor-derived exosomes (exos) are closely related to the occurrence, development and treatment of tumors. However, it is not clear how the exosomes affect the physical properties, which lead to the deterioration of the target cells. In this paper, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the effects of exosomes in HCC-LM3 cells and other cells (SMMC-7721 and HL-7702). The results showed that the HCC-LM3-exos (the exosomes secreted by HCC-LM3 cells, 50 μg mL-1) significantly promoted the proliferation and migration of HCC-LM3 cells. HCC-LM3-exos also promoted the proliferation and migration of SMMC-7721 and HL-7702 cells at 1000 and 1500 μg mL-1, respectively. With an increase in time and concentration, the proliferation effect was more significant. On comparing the mechanical properties of the three types of cells (HCC-LM3, SMMC-7721 and HL-7702 cells), the degradation degree and migration ability of the cells were from high to low in the above order. In turn, the surface roughness of the cells decreased, and adhesion and elastic modulus increased. With an increase in treatment time, surface roughness increased, while adhesion and elastic modulus decreased. These suggested that the HCC-LM3-exos could change the mechanical properties of cells, leading to their deterioration, and enhance their migration and invasion ability. In this paper, the effects of exosomes were analyzed from the perspective of the physical parameters of cells, which provide a new idea to study cancer metastasis and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuoyu Ju
- International Research Centre for Nano Handling and Manufacturing of China, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China.
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Sai WL, Yao M, Shen SJ, Zheng WJ, Sun JY, Wu MN, Wang L, Yao DF. Dynamic expression of hepatic GP73 mRNA and protein and circulating GP73 during hepatocytes malignant transformation. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2020; 19:449-454. [PMID: 32171652 DOI: 10.1016/j.hbpd.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatic Golgi protein-73 (GP73) expression is related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic expression of GP73 mRNA and protein during hepatocytes malignant transformation. METHODS Human GP73 expressions in 88 HCC tissues and their self-control surrounding tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry, and survival time of HCC patients was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. HCC model of Sprague-Dawley rats was made by diet containing 2-fluorenylacetamide. The rats were divided into the control, hepatocyte degeneration, precanceration, and HCC groups to observe GP73 protein and mRNA alterations during hepatocytes malignant transformation. RESULTS The GP73 expression was significantly higher in the cancerous tissues than that in the surrounding tissues, with shorter survival time, and the positive rates of GP73 protein in human HCC tissues were 53.3% at stage I, 84.0% at stage II, 84.6% at stage III, and 60.0% at stage IV, respectively. The positive rates of hepatic GP73 protein and mRNA in the rat models were none in the control group, 66.7% and 44.4% in the hepatocytes degeneration group, 88.9% and 77.8% in the hepatocytes precanceration group, and 100% in the HCC group, respectively. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.91, P<0.01) between hepatic GP73 and serum GP73 during rat hepatocytes malignant transformation. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal GP73 expression may be a sensitive and valuable biomarker in hepatocarcinogensis.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Aged
- Animals
- Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
- Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology
- Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics
- Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/metabolism
- Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Hepatocytes/metabolism
- Hepatocytes/pathology
- Humans
- Liver Neoplasms/genetics
- Liver Neoplasms/metabolism
- Liver Neoplasms/mortality
- Liver Neoplasms/pathology
- Male
- Membrane Proteins/genetics
- Membrane Proteins/metabolism
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Staging
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- Rats, Sprague-Dawley
- Time Factors
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Li Sai
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China; Departments of Medical Immunology & Medical Informatics, Medical College of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Min Yao
- Departments of Medical Immunology & Medical Informatics, Medical College of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Shui-Jie Shen
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China; Department of Oncology, Nantong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Wen-Jie Zheng
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Jian-Ying Sun
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Meng-Na Wu
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Li Wang
- Departments of Medical Immunology & Medical Informatics, Medical College of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Deng-Fu Yao
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
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Discovery of small extracellular vesicle proteins from human serum for liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Biochimie 2020; 177:132-141. [PMID: 32835735 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2020.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common neoplastic transformation of the hepatocytes, which has high morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in Eastern Asia. HCC is also developed as a consequence of chronic liver cirrhosis, and both diseases are difficult to diagnosis and differentiate. Accurate noninvasive biomarkers for HCC and cirrhosis are urgently needed. In the search for novel candidates, small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) were isolated from the serum of liver cancer patients, liver cirrhosis patients, healthy control subjects, as well as the culture media of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and normal hepatocyte cells (Lo2). Isolated sEVs were confirmed by size distribution analysis, morphological analysis, and surface biomarker tests. Mass spectrometry based label-free quantification revealed 61 and 63 differentially expressed proteins in the serum sEVs of liver cirrhosis patients and liver cancer patients (p < 0.05), respectively. The proteomics data of cell-derived sEVs were combined for the selection of valuable candidates. Promising proteins were further verified by immunoassay, including thrombospondin-1 (THBS1), fibulin-1(FBLN1), and fibrinogen gamma chain (FGG), which could differentiate healthy control from liver cancer or liver cirrhosis. Our findings verified the hypothesis that cancer-related proteomics signatures are present in the sEVs of patient's serum and might be monitored for the evaluation of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.
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Sun C, Wang P, Dong W, Liu H, Sun J, Zhao L. LncRNA PVT1 promotes exosome secretion through YKT6, RAB7, and VAMP3 in pancreatic cancer. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 12:10427-10440. [PMID: 32499447 PMCID: PMC7346024 DOI: 10.18632/aging.103268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Cancer cells secrete excessive numbers of exosomes that play essential roles in tumorigenesis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential non-coding RNAs for cancer progression. However, the role of lncRNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) in exosome secretion of PC remains to be comprehensively investigated. Thus, nanoparticle tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy were performed to determine exosome secretion. Confocal microscopy, western blots, real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays, and rescue experiments were applied to investigate the mechanism underlying the role of PVT1 in exosome secretion. The results showed that PVT1 was upregulated in PC cells, along with increased levels of YKT6 v-SNARE homolog (YKT6), ras-related protein Rab-7 (RAB7), and vesicle-associated membrane protein 3 (VAMP3). Also, PVT1 promoted the transportation of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) towards the plasma membrane. In addition, PVT1 promoted the docking of MVBs by altering RAB7 expression and localization. Moreover, PVT1 promoted the fusion of MVBs with the plasma membrane through regulating YKT6 and VAMP3 colocalization and the palmitoylation of YKT6. Taken together, the results suggest that PVT1 promoted exosome secretion of PC cells and thus, can expand the understanding of PVT1 in tumor biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengming Sun
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Wei Dong
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Haishi Liu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Jianmin Sun
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Liang Zhao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang, China
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Wang H, Lu Z, Zhao X. Tumorigenesis, diagnosis, and therapeutic potential of exosomes in liver cancer. J Hematol Oncol 2019; 12:133. [PMID: 31815633 PMCID: PMC6902437 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-019-0806-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called primary liver cancer) is one of the most fatal cancers in the world. Due to the insidiousness of the onset of HCC and the lack of effective treatment methods, the prognosis of HCC is extremely poor, and the 5-year average survival rate is less than 10%. Exosomes are nano-sized microvesicle and contain various components such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Exosomes are important carriers for signal transmission or transportation of material from cell to cell or between cells and tissues. In recent years, exosomes have been considered as potential therapeutic targets of HCC. A large number of reports indicate that exosomes play a key role in the establishment of an HCC microenvironment, as well as the development, progression, invasion, metastasis, and even the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of HCC. However, the exact molecular mechanisms and roles of exosomes in these processes remain unclear. We believe that elucidation of the regulatory mechanism of HCC-related exosomes and its signaling pathway and analysis of its clinical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC can provide useful clues for future treatment regimens for HCC. This article discusses and summarizes the research progress of HCC-related exosomes and their potential clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbo Wang
- Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China
| | - Zaiming Lu
- Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China
| | - Xiangxuan Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China.
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Wang H, Lu Z, Zhao X. Tumorigenesis, diagnosis, and therapeutic potential of exosomes in liver cancer. J Hematol Oncol 2019; 12:133. [DOI: doi10.1186/s13045-019-0806-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called primary liver cancer) is one of the most fatal cancers in the world. Due to the insidiousness of the onset of HCC and the lack of effective treatment methods, the prognosis of HCC is extremely poor, and the 5-year average survival rate is less than 10%. Exosomes are nano-sized microvesicle and contain various components such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Exosomes are important carriers for signal transmission or transportation of material from cell to cell or between cells and tissues. In recent years, exosomes have been considered as potential therapeutic targets of HCC. A large number of reports indicate that exosomes play a key role in the establishment of an HCC microenvironment, as well as the development, progression, invasion, metastasis, and even the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of HCC. However, the exact molecular mechanisms and roles of exosomes in these processes remain unclear. We believe that elucidation of the regulatory mechanism of HCC-related exosomes and its signaling pathway and analysis of its clinical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC can provide useful clues for future treatment regimens for HCC. This article discusses and summarizes the research progress of HCC-related exosomes and their potential clinical applications.
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Chen W, Jiang J, Wang PP, Gong L, Chen J, Du W, Bi K, Diao H. Identifying Hepatocellular Carcinoma Driver Genes by Integrative Pathway Crosstalk and Protein Interaction Network. DNA Cell Biol 2019; 38:1112-1124. [PMID: 31464520 PMCID: PMC6791483 DOI: 10.1089/dna.2019.4869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we mined out hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) driver genes from MEDLINE literatures by bioinformatics methods of pathway crosstalk and protein interaction network. Furthermore, the relationship between driver genes and their clinicopathological characteristics, as well as classification effectiveness was verified in the public databases. We identified 560 human genes reported to be associated with HCC in 1074 published articles. Functional analysis revealed that biological processes and biochemical pathways relating to tumor pathogenesis, cancer disease, tumor cell molecule, and hepatic disease were enriched in these genes. Pathway crosstalk analysis indicated that significant pathways could be divided into three modules: cancer disease, virus infection, and tumor signaling pathway. The HCC-related protein-protein interaction network comprised 10,212 nodes, and 56,400 edges were mined out to identify 18 modules corresponding to 14 driver genes. We verified that these 14 driver genes have high classification effectiveness to distinguish cancer samples from normal samples and the classification effectiveness was better than that of randomly selected genes. Present study provided pathway crosstalk and protein interaction network for understanding potential tumorigenesis genes underlying HCC. The 14 driver genes identified from this study are of great translational value in HCC diagnosis and treatment, as well as in clinical study on the pathogenesis of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbiao Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jingjing Jiang
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Peizhong Peter Wang
- Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada
| | - Lan Gong
- St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jianing Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Weibo Du
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Kefan Bi
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongyan Diao
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Yang L, Peng X, Li Y, Zhang X, Ma Y, Wu C, Fan Q, Wei S, Li H, Liu J. Long non-coding RNA HOTAIR promotes exosome secretion by regulating RAB35 and SNAP23 in hepatocellular carcinoma. Mol Cancer 2019; 18:78. [PMID: 30943982 PMCID: PMC6446409 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-019-0990-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 197] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Emerging evidence indicates that tumor cells release a large amount of exosomes loaded with cargos during tumorigenesis. Exosome secretion is a multi-step process regulated by certain related molecules. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the role of lncRNA HOTAIR in regulating exosome secretion in HCC cells remains unclear. Methods We analyzed the relationship between HOTAIR expression and exosome secretion-related genes using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Nanoparticle tracking analysis was performed to validate the effect of HOTAIR on exosome secretion. The transport of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) after overexpression of HOTAIR was detected by transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy analysis of cluster determinant 63 (CD63) with synaptosome associated protein 23 (SNAP23). The mechanism of HOTAIR’s regulation of Ras-related protein Rab-35 (RAB35), vesicle associated membrane protein 3 (VAMP3), and SNAP23 was assessed using confocal co-localization analysis, phosphorylation assays, and rescue experiments. Results We found an enrichment of exosome secretion-related genes in the HOTAIR high expression group. HOTAIR promoted the release of exosomes by inducing MVB transport to the plasma membrane. HOTAIR regulated RAB35 expression and localization, which controlled the docking process. Moreover, HOTAIR facilitated the final step of fusion by influencing VAMP3 and SNAP23 colocalization. In addition, we validated that HOTAIR induced the phosphorylation of SNAP23 via mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Conclusion Our study demonstrated a novel function of lncRNA HOTAIR in promoting exosome secretion from HCC cells and provided a new understanding of lncRNAs in tumor cell biology. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-019-0990-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Yang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Xueqiang Peng
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Yan Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Yingbo Ma
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Chunli Wu
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Qing Fan
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Shibo Wei
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China
| | - Hangyu Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China.
| | - Jingang Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110032, China.
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Sung S, Kim J, Jung Y. Liver-Derived Exosomes and Their Implications in Liver Pathobiology. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:3715. [PMID: 30469540 PMCID: PMC6320937 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19123715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The liver has a wide range of physiological functions in the body, and its health is maintained by complex cross-talk among hepatic cells, including parenchymal hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells. Exosomes, which are one method of cellular communication, are endosomal-derived small vesicles that are released by donor cells and delivered to the target cells at both short and long distances. Because exosomes carry a variety of cargoes, including proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs and other noncoding RNAs originating from donor cells, exosomes convey cellular information that enables them to potentially serve as biomarkers and therapeutics in liver diseases. Hepatocytes release exosomes to neighboring hepatocytes or nonparenchymal cells to regulate liver regeneration and repair. Nonparenchymal cells, including hepatic stellate cells, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and cholangiocytes, also secrete exosomes to regulate liver remodeling upon liver injury. Exosomes that are released from liver cancer cells create a favorable microenvironment for cancer growth and progression. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current findings and understanding of exosome-mediated intercellular communication in the liver, with a particular focus on the function of exosomes in both health and disease. Based on the current findings, we suggest the potential applications of exosomes as biomarkers and therapeutics for liver diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumi Sung
- Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63-2 Pusandaehak-ro, Kumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, Korea.
| | - Jieun Kim
- Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63-2 Pusandaehak-ro, Kumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, Korea.
| | - Youngmi Jung
- Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63-2 Pusandaehak-ro, Kumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, Korea.
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Pusandaehak-ro, Kumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, Korea.
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Zanetto A, Campello E, Spiezia L, Burra P, Simioni P, Russo FP. Cancer-Associated Thrombosis in Cirrhotic Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2018; 10:450. [PMID: 30453547 PMCID: PMC6266984 DOI: 10.3390/cancers10110450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
It is common knowledge that cancer patients are more prone to develop venous thromboembolic complications (VTE). It is therefore not surprising that patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) present with a significant risk of VTE, with the portal vein being the most frequent site (PVT). However, patients with HCC are peculiar as both cancer and liver cirrhosis are conditions that can perturb the hemostatic balance towards a prothrombotic state. Because HCC-related hypercoagulability is not clarified at all, the aim of the present review is to summarize the currently available knowledge on epidemiology and pathogenesis of non-malignant thrombotic complications in patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC. They are at increased risk to develop both PVT and non-splanchnic VTE, indicating that both local and systemic factors can foster the development of site-specific thrombosis. Recent studies have suggested multiple and often interrelated mechanisms through which HCC can tip the hemostatic balance of liver cirrhosis towards hypercoagulability. Described mechanisms include increased fibrinogen concentration/polymerization, thrombocytosis, and release of tissue factor-expressing extracellular vesicles. Currently, there are no specific guidelines on the use of thromboprophylaxis in this unique population. There is the urgent need of prospective studies assessing which patients have the highest prothrombotic profile and would therefore benefit from early thromboprophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Zanetto
- Gastroenterology and Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
| | - Elena Campello
- Thrombotic and Hemorrhagic Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
| | - Luca Spiezia
- Thrombotic and Hemorrhagic Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
| | - Patrizia Burra
- Gastroenterology and Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
| | - Paolo Simioni
- Thrombotic and Hemorrhagic Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
| | - Francesco Paolo Russo
- Gastroenterology and Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy.
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