High Serum HDGF Levels Are Predictive of Bone Metastasis and Unfavorable Prognosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Identification of a 5-gene signature panel for the prediction of prostate cancer progression

BACKGROUND

Despite nearly 100% 5-year survival for localised prostate cancer, the survival rate for metastatic prostate cancer significantly declines to 32%. Thus, it is crucial to identify molecular indicators that reflect the progression from localised disease to metastatic prostate cancer.

METHODS

To search for molecular indicators associated with prostate cancer metastasis, we performed proteomic analysis of rapid autopsy tissue samples from metastatic prostate cancer (N = 8) and localised prostate cancer (N = 2). Then, we utilised multiple independent, publicly available prostate cancer patient datasets to select candidates that also correlate with worse prostate cancer clinical prognosis.

RESULTS

We identified 154 proteins with increased expressions in metastases relative to localised prostate cancer through proteomic analysis. From the subset of these candidates that correlate with prostate cancer recurrence (N = 28) and shorter disease-free survival (N = 37), we identified a 5-gene signature panel with improved performance in predicting worse clinical prognosis relative to individual candidates.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study presents a new 5-gene signature panel that is associated with worse clinical prognosis and is elevated in prostate cancer metastasis on both protein and mRNA levels. Our 5-gene signature panel represents a potential modality for the prediction of prostate cancer progression towards the onset of metastasis.

Bone metastasis prediction in non-small-cell lung cancer: primary CT-based radiomics signature and clinical feature

BACKGROUND

Radiomics provided opportunities to quantify the tumor phenotype non-invasively. This study extracted contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) radiomic signatures and evaluated clinical features of bone metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With the combination of the revealed radiomics and clinical features, the predictive modeling on bone metastasis in NSCLC was established.

METHODS

A total of 318 patients with NSCLC at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital was enrolled between January 2009 and December 2019, which included a feature-learning cohort (n = 223) and a validation cohort (n = 95). We trained a radiomics model in 318 CECT images from feature-learning cohort to extract the radiomics features of bone metastasis in NSCLC. The Kruskal-Wallis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO) were used to select bone metastasis-related features and construct the CT radiomics score (Rad-score). Multivariate logistic regression was performed with the combination of the Rad-score and clinical data. A predictive nomogram was subsequently developed.

RESULTS

Radiomics models using CECT scans were significant on bone metastasis prediction in NSCLC. Model performance was enhanced with each information into the model. The radiomics nomogram achieved an AUC of 0.745 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68,0.80) on predicting bone metastasis in the training set and an AUC of 0.808(95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71,0.88) in the validation set.

CONCLUSION

The revealed invisible image features were of significance on guiding bone metastasis prediction in NSCLC. Based on the combination of the image features and clinical characteristics, the predictive nomogram was established. Such nomogram can be used for the auxiliary screening of bone metastasis in NSCLC.

HDGF promotes gefitinib resistance by activating the PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK signaling pathways in non-small cell lung cancer

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) expression is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, whether HDGF affects gefitinib resistance in NSCLC remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the role of HDGF in gefitinib resistance in NSCLC and to discover the underlying mechanisms. Stable HDGF knockout or overexpression cell lines were generated to perform experiments in vitro and in vivo. HDGF concentrations were determined using an ELISA kit. HDGF overexpression exacerbated the malignant phenotype of NSCLC cells, while HDGF knockdown exerted the opposite effects. Furthermore, PC-9 cells, which were initially gefitinib-sensitive, became resistant to gefitinib treatment after HDGF overexpression, whereas HDGF knockdown enhanced gefitinib sensitivity in H1975 cells, which were initially gefitinib-resistant. Higher levels of HDGF in plasma or tumor tissue also indicated gefitinib resistance. The effects of HDGF on promoting the gefitinib resistance were largely attenuated by MK2206 (Akt inhibitor) or U0126 (ERK inhibitor). Mechanistically, gefitinib treatment provoked HDGF expression and activated the Akt and ERK pathways, which were independent of EGFR phosphorylation. In summary, HDGF contributes to gefitinib resistance by activating the Akt and ERK signaling pathways. The higher HDGF levels may predict poor efficacy for TKI treatment, thus it has the potential to serve as a new target for overcoming tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in combating NSCLC.

Marsdenia tenacissima extract disturbs the interaction between tumor-associated macrophages and non-small cell lung cancer cells by targeting HDGF

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Marsdenia tenacissima (Roxb.) Wight et Arn. is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, and its water-soluble ingredient Marsdenia tenacissima extract (MTE), was widely used for cancer treatment. The multi-pharmacological efficacies and mechanisms of MTE in directly inhibiting tumor cells have been extensively studied. However, the anti-tumor effects of MTE in the tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) microenvironment remain unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To uncover the role of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) in the interaction between TAMs and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. To evaluate the anti-tumor effects of MTE on the vicious crosstalk between TAMs and NSCLC by targeting HDGF.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

HDGF-overexpression PC-9 and H292 NSCLC cell lines were constructed and verified. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed in HDGF-overexpression PC-9 cells to probe the differential expression of genes. THP-1-derived macrophages were characterized using specific markers after stimulation with phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and rhIL-4 or rhHDGF. The role of HDGF both in NSCLC cells and TAMs was determined using approaches like Western blot, qRT-PCR, ELISA, and flow cytometry. The interaction between tumor cells and TAMs were assessed by indirect co-culture H1975, PC-9 cells with M2 type macrophages. The effects of MTE on anti-tumor and macrophage polarization were evaluated in vitro and in vivo.

RESULTS

RNA-seq results identified IL-4 as a critical response to HDGF in NSCLC. HDGF induced macrophages polarizing toward M2 type, and promoted NSCLC cells proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. On the one hand, HDGF dose-dependently promoted IL-4 expression in NSCLC cells. On the other hand, HDGF induced M2 macrophage polarization through the IL-4/JAK1/STAT3 signaling pathway. MTE treatment significantly decreased the expression and secretion of HDGF in NSCLC cells. Meanwhile, MTE treatment led to M2 macrophage repolarization, as evidenced by decreased expression of M2 markers and increased levels of M1 markers. Importantly, MTE treatment significantly suppressed tumor development in C57BL/6 mice bearing Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells in vivo, accompanied by decreased plasma HDGF levels, reduced M2 macrophages infiltration and increased M1 macrophages proportion in mice tumor tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

HDGF upregulated IL-4 expression in NSCLC cells, and promoted M2 polarization by the IL-4/JAK1/STAT3 signaling pathway in macrophages. MTE disturbed the interaction between NSCLC and TAMs in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in vivo, at least in part, by suppressing HDGF. Therefore, our present study revealed a novel anti-tumor mechanism of MTE through inhibiting HDGF expression and enhancing macrophage polarization from M2 to M1 phenotype.

Effects of N6-Methyladenosine Regulators on LAG3 and Immune Infiltrates in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histological subtype of lung cancer, which is one of the most commonly diagnosed tumors and the leading causes of death from cancer around the world. Since RNA methylation is a posttranscriptional modification and affects so much biological progress, it is urged to explore the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation in LUAD. Methods. We explored the expression of 24 m6A methylation genes, as well as their correlations with LAG3 in 561 LUAD samples from TCGA. Consensus clustering was applied to m6A methylation genes, and two LUAD subgroups were identified. The expression of m6A genes was analyzed by the Wilcoxon test. KEGG and GO enrichment analyses were performed to indicate the pathway affected by differentially expressed genes in the two groups. A prognostic model based on LASSO regression using an eleven-m6A gene signature was constructed according to the expression of these genes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to confirm the accuracy of the model in the TCGA cohort, as well as in the test cohort from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Results. Compared to cluster 1, cluster 2 showed poorer overall survival (OS) and higher LAG3 expression. In addition, KEGG and GO enrichment analyses indicated that differentially expressed genes are enriched in the immune response. We also observed that the expression of LAG3 is positively correlated with IGF2BP2, CBLL1, and HNRNPA2B1 and negatively correlated with YTHDF2, YTHDF3, and FTO. For patients in the TCGA cohort, the AUC score is 0.7, and the AUC score for the GSE50081 cohort is 0.675. Patients with lower risk scores exhibited better overall survival and lower expression of LAG3 than patients with higher risk scores. Conclusions. In brief, our results indicated the important role of m6 methylation in affecting the tumor immune microenvironment and the survival of patients with LUAD. The m6A methylation gene signatures might serve as promising therapeutic targets and help the immunotherapy of LUAD in the future.

A Novel Mitochondrial-Related Gene Signature for the Tumor Immune Microenvironment Evaluation and Prognosis Prediction in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains the most common deadly disease and has a poor prognosis. More and more studies have reported that mitochondrial-related genes (MTRGs) were associated with the clinical outcomes of multiple tumors solely. In this study, we aimed to develop a novel prognostic model based on MTRGs. Differentially expressed MTRGs were identified from TCGA-LUAD and GSE31210 cohorts. Univariate Cox regression analysis was utilized to screen differentially expressed MTRGs that were related to prognosis of LUAD. Then, LASSO Cox regression analysis was used to develop a prognostic signature. ESTIMATE was used for estimating the fractions of immune cell types. In this study, we identified 44 overlapping differentially expressed MTRGs in TCGA-LUAD and GSE31210 cohorts. Among 44 overlapping differentially expressed MTRGs, nine genes were associated with prognosis of LUAD. When the penalty parameter lambda was the minimum, there were six genes meeting the conditions of constructing the signature, including SERPINB5, CCNB1, FGR MAOB, SH3BP5, and CYP24A1. The survival analysis suggested that prognosis of patients in the high-risk group was significantly worse than that in the low-risk group. Cox regression analyses showed that the risk score was an independent predictor of LUAD prognosis. As with the results of ESTIMATE score, the degree of immune cell infiltration in the low-risk group was higher than that in the high-risk group, such as TIL, Treg, and B cells. In addition, TMB and cancer stem cell infiltration were higher in the low-risk group than the high-risk group. In conclusion, we developed a novel MTRG signature acting as a negative independent prognostic factor. In the future, individualized treatments and medical decision-making may benefit from using the predicted model.

Association of serum hepatoma-derived growth factor levels with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis: A pilot study

Background

Hepatoma‐derived growth factor (HDGF) is reported to play an important role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, growing evidence indicates its participation in immune system activation. This study analyzed the relationship among serum HDGF levels, disease activity, and laboratory markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

Blood samples from 165 patients with RA, 42 with osteoarthritis (OA), and 28 healthy controls, were used to evaluate the serum HDGF levels. Correlations of serum HDGF levels with age, 28‐joint count disease activity score (DAS28), and laboratory findings were assessed by Pearson correlation and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to obtain HDGF optimal cutoffs according to the disease status. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on the knee synovial tissue samples from patients with RA and OA (n = 10 each) to investigate HDGF joint expression.

Results

Serum HDGF levels were significantly correlated with DAS28 erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.412, p < 0.001) and C‐reactive protein values (r = 0.376, p < 0.001). The optimal cutoffs of serum HDGF levels from the ROC analysis were 5.79 and 5.14 for the differentiation of active/inactive disease and remission/non‐remission, respectively. The ideal cutoff of serum HDGF levels to differentiate RA and OA was determined as 5.47. Serial serum HDGF level analyses in 21 patients with RA revealed that serum HDGF levels significantly decreased after improvement in disease activity (p = 0.046). HDGF expression was not observed in the synovial tissues of the patients with RA and OA.

Conclusion

Serum HDGF level could be a potential laboratory biomarker for the severity of RA.

Regulation of apoptosis, autophagy and ferroptosis by non‑coding RNAs in metastatic non‑small cell lung cancer (Review)

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a common type of cancer worldwide, is normally associated with a poor prognosis. It is difficult to treat successfully as it often metastasizes into brain or bone. Methods to facilitate the induction of effective programmed cell death (PCD) in NSCLC cells to reverse drug resistance, or to inhibit the invasion and migration of NSCLC cells, are currently under investigation. The present study summarized the regulatory functions of PCD, including apoptosis, autophagy and ferroptosis, in the context of NSCLC metastasis. It further summarized how regulatory agents, including long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs and microRNAs, regulate PCD during the metastasis of NSCLC and characterized new potential diagnostic biomarkers of NSCLC metastasis.

The Autophagosomes Containing Dengue Virus Proteins and Full-Length Genomic RNA Are Infectious

Autophagic machinery is involved in selective and non-selective recruitment as well as degradation or exocytosis of cargoes, including pathogens. Dengue virus (DENV) infection induces autophagy that enhances virus replication and vesicle release to evade immune system surveillance. This study reveals that DENV2 induces autophagy in lung and liver cancer cells and showed that DENV2 capsid, envelope, NS1, NS3, NS4B and host cell proinflammatory high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) proteins associated with autophagosomes which were purified by gradient centrifugation. Capsid, NS1 and NS3 proteins showing high colocalization with LC3 protein in the cytoplasm of the infected cells were detected in the purified double-membrane autophagosome by immunogold labeling under transmission electron microscopy. In DENV infected cells, the levels of capsid, envelope, NS1 and HMGB1 proteins are not significantly changed compared to the dramatic accumulation of LC3-II and p62/SQSTM1 proteins when autophagic degradation was blocked by chloroquine, indicating that these proteins are not regulated by autophagic degradation machinery. We further demonstrated that purified autophagosomes were infectious when co-cultured with uninfected cells. Notably, these infectious autophagosomes contain DENV2 proteins, negative-strand and full-length genomic RNAs, but no viral particles. It is possible that the infectivity of the autophagosome originates from the full-length DENV RNA. Moreover, we reveal that DENV2 promotes HMGB1 exocytosis partially through secretory autophagy. In conclusion, we are the first to report that DENV2-induced double-membrane autophagosomes containing viral proteins and full-length RNAs are infectious and not undergoing autophagic degradation. Our novel finding warrants further validation of whether these intracellular vesicles undergo exocytosis to become infectious autophagic vesicles.

The novel immune-related genes predict the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the main causes of cancer deaths globally. Immunotherapy is becoming increasingly important in the cure of advanced HCC. Thus it is essential to identify biomarkers for treatment response and prognosis prediction. We searched publicly available databases and retrieved 465 samples of genes from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and 115 tumor samples from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Meanwhile, we used the ImmPort database to determine the immune-related genes as well. Weighted gene correlation network analysis, Cox regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis were used to identify the key immune related genes (IRGs) which are closely related to prognosis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was implemented to explore the difference of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway between Immune high- and low-risk score groups. Finally, we made a prognostic nomogram including Immune-Risk score and other clinicopathologic factors. A total of 318 genes from prognosis related modules were identified through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). 46 genes were strongly linked to prognosis after univariate Cox analysis. We constructed a seven genes prognostic signature which showed powerful prediction ability in both training cohort and testing cohort. 16 significant KEGG pathways were identified between high- and low- risk score groups using GSEA analysis. This study identified and verified seven immune-related prognostic biomarkers for the patients with HCC, which have potential value for immune modulatory and therapeutic targets.

Integrating site-specific peptide reporters and targeted mass spectrometry enables rapid substrate-specific kinase assay at the nanogram cell level

Dysregulation of phosphorylation-mediated signaling drives the initiation and progression of many diseases. A substrate-specific kinase assay capable of quantifying the altered site-specific phosphorylation of its phenotype-dependent substrates provides better specificity to monitor a disease state. We report a sensitive and rapid substrate-specific kinase assay by integrating site-specific peptide reporter and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-MS platform for relative and absolute quantification of substrate-specific kinase activity at the sensitivity of nanomolar kinase and nanogram cell lysate. Using non-small cell lung cancer as a proof-of-concept, three substrate peptides selected from constitutive phosphorylation in tumors (HDGF-S165, RALY-S135, and NRD1-S94) were designed to demonstrate the feasibility. The assay showed good accuracy (<15% nominal deviation) and reproducibility (<15% CV). In PC9 cells, the measured activity for HDGF-S165 was 3.2 ± 0.2 fmol μg^-1 min^-1, while RALY-S135 and NRD1-S94 showed 4- and 20-fold higher activity at the sensitivity of 25 ng and 5 ng lysate, respectively, suggesting different endogenous kinases for each substrate peptide. Without the conventional shotgun phosphoproteomics workflow, the overall pipeline from cell lysate to MS data acquisition only takes 3 h. The multiplexed analysis revealed differences in the phenotype-dependent substrate phosphorylation profiles across six NSCLC cell lines and suggested a potential association of HDGF-S165 and NRD1-S94 with TKI resistance. With the ease of design, sensitivity, accuracy, and reproducibility, this approach may offer rapid and sensitive assays for targeted quantification of the multiplexed substrate-specific kinase activity of small amounts of sample.

Quercetin induces pro-apoptotic autophagy via SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway in human lung cancer cell lines A549 and H1299 in vitro

Background

Quercetin, a natural flavonoid compound, is a potent cancer therapeutic agent widely found in fruit and vegetables. It has been reported to induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in both A549 and H1299 human lung cancer cells. However, the effect of quercetin‐induced autophagy on apoptosis and the possible autophagy mechanism in A549 and H1299 cells have not yet been critically examined.

Methods

A549 and H1299 cells were treated with different concentrations of quercetin for 24 hours. Cell growth was measured by cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay, whereas apoptosis was assessed by western blotting analysis of apoptotic proteins. The levels of proteins and genes involved in autophagy were determined by western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), respectively. Autophagosomes were also observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and LC3 immunofluorescence.

Results

Quercetin inhibited cell viability and induced mitochondria‐dependent apoptosis in both A549 and H1299 cells in a dose‐dependent. Moreover, quercetin also promoted the expression of LC3‐II and beclin 1 and suppressed the expression of p62. The mRNA levels of LC3‐II, beclin 1, Atg5, Atg7, and Atg12 were upregulated by quercetin treatment. Autophagy inhibition with 3‐methyladenine could effectively inhibit quercetin‐induced apoptosis. In addition, quercetin dose‐dependently elevated the levels of SIRT1 protein and the pAMPK–AMPK ratio. Quercetin‐induced autophagy was attenuated by SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 and SirT1 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA).

Conclusions

Quercetin‐induced autophagy contributes to apoptosis in A549 and H1299 lung cancer cells, which involved the SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway.

Analysis of metastases in non-small cell lung cancer patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation

Background

Most lung cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage with metastases. There was no population-based data on metastases in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. This study focused on the metastases in NSCLC patients with EGFR mutation.

Methods

In our research, we retrospectively studied 365 NSCLC patients with EGFR mutation (EGFR positive-mutant group) were not resistant to first-generation EGFR TKIs and 316 NSCLC patients with T790M mutation (T790M-mutant group) who were resistant to first-generation EGFR TKIs. In the study, we also investigated sex, smoking status, age at diagnosis, histology, T, N, and M stage, and mutation status. In addition, we analyzed metastatic sites in stage IV patients.

Results

Among the EGFR positive-mutant group, 248 (67.95%) patients were stage IV disease. Among them, 41 patients had brain metastases, 86 patients had bone metastases, 16 patients had liver metastases, 168 patients had intrapulmonary metastases, and 39 patients had metastases in other sites. Among the T790M-mutant group, 277 (87.66%) patients were stage IV disease. Among them, 158 patients had brain metastases, 82 patients had bone metastases, 241 patients had liver metastases, 53 patients had intrapulmonary metastases, and 229 patients had metastases in other sites. We also found that lung cancer patients in the T790M-mutant group had higher incidences of the brain (P<0.001), bone (P<0.001), liver (P=0.001), and intrapulmonary metastases (P<0.001). Moreover, wherever the metastatic site was, the metastasis time all centrally distributed in the first two months after diagnosis.

Conclusions

For patients with metastatic lung cancer, most metastases happened before diagnosis, which indicated that metastases related to driving mutations, such as EGFR positive mutation or T790M mutation, but not to the survival time. Lung cancer patients with T790M mutation were more likely to metastasize before the diagnosis.

The relationship between hepatoma-derived growth factor and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) promotes cancer progression and metastasis by interacting with vascular endothelial growth factor, thereby inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis. Recent studies have correlated increased HDGF levels with poor prognosis in various malignancies, including lung cancer. This meta-analysis systematically assessed the prognostic significance of HDGF expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

Eligible studies were identified by searching literature in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane library until June 2020. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was determined to assess the relationship between HDGF expression and clinical outcome in patients with NSCLC.

RESULTS

The pooled HRs between high HDGF expression and clinical outcome were 2.20 (95% CI 1.75-2.76, P < .001) and 2.77 (95% CI 1.79-4.29, P < .001) for overall survival and disease-free survival, respectively. High HDGF expression was significantly correlated with a larger tumor size (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.02-2.46, P = .040).

CONCLUSION

HDGF expression is related to clinical outcome and may be a prognostic marker in patients with NSCLC.

The knockdown of LncRNA AFAP1-AS1 suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promoted apoptosis by regulating miR-545-3p/hepatoma-derived growth factor axis in lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common human cancers. Long noncoding RNA AFAP1-AS1 (LncRNA AFAP1-AS1) and microRNA-545-3p (miR-545-3p) were reported to play important roles in lung cancer development. This study aimed to elucidate the functional mechanisms of AFAP1-AS1 and miR-545-3p in lung cancer. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction was carried out to determine the levels of AFAP1-AS1, miR-545-3p and hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF). Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were detected by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay, flow cytometry, and transwell migration and invasion assays, respectively. Furthermore, the interaction between miR-545-3p and AFAP1-AS1 or HDGF was predicted by bioinformatics analysis software starbase and confirmed by the dual luciferase reporter assay. Western blot assay was used to detect the protein level of HDGF. Besides, murine xenograft model was conducted through injecting A549 cells transfected with sh-AFAP1-AS1. The expression levels of AFAP1-AS1 and HDGF were increased, while miR-545-3p was decreased in lung cancer tissues and cells. AFAP1-AS1 knockdown suppressed lung cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, AFAP1-AS1 mediated cell progression through regulating miR-545-3p expression. In addition, miR-545-3p negatively regulated the expression level of HDGF via binding 3'-untranslated region of HDGF. As expected, AFAP1-AS1 knockdown inhibited lung cancer progression via affecting miR-545-3p/HDGF axis. Besides, AFAP1-AS1 knockdown suppressed lung cancer tumor growth in vivo. Collectively, our results suggested that AFAP1-AS1 promoted the development of lung cancer via regulating miR-545-3p/HDGF axis, providing a potential target for the treatment of lung cancer.

Hepatoma-derived growth factor participates in concanavalin A-induced hepatitis

Hepatitis is an important health problem worldwide. Novel molecular targets are in demand for detection and management of hepatitis. Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) has been delineated to participate in hepatic fibrosis and liver carcinogenesis. However, the relationship between hepatitis and HDGF remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the role of HDGF during hepatitis using concanavalin A (ConA)-induced hepatitis model. In cultured hepatocytes, ConA treatment-elicited HDGF upregulation at transcriptional level and promoted HDGF secretion while reducing intracellular HDGF protein level and cellular viability. Similarly, mice receiving ConA administration exhibited reduced hepatic HDGF expression and elevated circulating HDGF level, which was positively correlated with serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. By using HDGF knockout (KO) mice, it was found the ConA-evoked cell death was prominently alleviated in KO compared with control. Besides, it was delineated HDGF ablation conferred protection by suppressing the ConA-induced neutrophils recruitment in livers. Above all, the ConA-mediated activation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)/interleukin-1β (IL-1β)/interleukin-6 (IL-6)/cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inflammatory signaling was significantly abrogated in KO mice. Treatment with recombinant HDGF (rHDGF) dose-dependently stimulated the expression of TNF-α/IL-1β/IL-6/COX-2 in hepatocytes, further supporting the pro-inflammatory function of HDGF. Finally, application of HDGF antibody not only attenuated the ConA-mediated inflammatory cascade in hepatocytes, but also ameliorated the ConA-induced hepatic necrosis and AST elevation in mice. In summary, HDGF participates in ConA-induced hepatitis via neutrophils recruitment and may constitute a therapeutic target for acute hepatitis.

Clinical significance of expression level of CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis in bone metastasis of lung cancer

PURPOSE

To investigate the clinical significance of CX3 chemokine ligand 1(CX3CL1) and CX3CR1 in patients with bone metastasis from lung cancer. The expression levels of CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 mRNA and protein in primary lung cancer and lung cancer bone metastasis were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot.

METHODS

One hundred patients with lung cancer were divided into a boneless metastasis group (50 patients with bone metastasis) and a bone metastasis group (50 patients without distant metastasis). The bone transfer component was graded by Soloway classification (0 to III). The expression levels of serum CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RT-qPCR and Western Blot were used to verify the transfection efficiency. The scratching assay was used to detect the migration of CX3CL1 to 95-D cells after down-regulating the expression of CX3CR1.

RESULTS

The expression levels of CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 mRNA and protein in the primary lung cancer and lung cancer bone metastasis were significantly higher than those in the adjacent tissues (P < 0.0001). The levels of serum CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 in bone metastasis group were significantly higher than those in boneless metastasis group and healthy control group (P < 0.05). In the bone metastasis group, the levels of serum CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 were significantly positively correlated with the degree of disease progression (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The expression level of serum CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis is expected to be an auxiliary reference index for monitoring bone metastasis of lung cancer.

Identification of a novel glycolysis-related gene signature that can predict the survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma

Lung cancer is one of the most malignant cancers worldwide, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histologic subtype. Thousands of biomarkers related to the survival and prognosis of patients with this cancer type have been investigated through database mining; however, the prediction effect of a single gene biomarker is not satisfactorily specific or sensitive. Thus, the present study aimed to develop a novel gene signature of prognostic values for patients with LUAD. Using a data-mining method, we performed expression profiling of 1145 mRNAs in large cohorts with LUAD (n = 511) from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Using the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, we selected 198 genes related to GLYCOLYSIS, which is the most important enrichment gene set. Moreover, these genes were identified using Cox proportional regression modeling. We established a risk score staging system to predict the outcome of patients with LUAD and subsequently identified four genes (AGRN, AKR1A1, DDIT4, and HMMR) that were closely related to the prognosis of patients with LUAD. The identified genes allowed us to classify patients into the high-risk group (with poor outcome) and low-risk group (with better outcome). Compared with other clinical factors, the risk score has a better performance in predicting the outcome of patients with LUAD, particularly in the early stage of LUAD. In conclusion, we developed a four-gene signature related to glycolysis by utilizing the Cox regression model and a risk staging model for LUAD, which might prove valuable for the clinical management of patients with LUAD.