Omics-based Investigation of Diet-induced Obesity Synergized with HBx, Src, and p53 Mutation Accelerating Hepatocarcinogenesis in Zebrafish Model

β-Sitosterol Reduces the Content of Triglyceride and Cholesterol in a High-Fat Diet-Induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Model

OBJECTIVE

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is strongly associated with hyperlipidemia, which is closely related to high levels of sugar and fat. β-sitosterol is a natural product with significant hypolipidemic and cholesterol-lowering effects. However, the underlying mechanism of its action on aquatic products is not completely understood.

METHODS

A high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD zebrafish model was successfully established, and the anti-hyperlipidemic effect and potential mechanism of β-sitosterol were studied using oil red O staining, filipin staining, and lipid metabolomics.

RESULTS

β-sitosterol significantly reduced the accumulation of triglyceride, glucose, and cholesterol in the zebrafish model. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that differential lipid molecules in β-sitosterol mainly regulated the lipid metabolism and signal transduction function of the zebrafish model. β-sitosterol mainly affected steroid biosynthesis and steroid hormone biosynthesis in the zebrafish model. Compared with the HFD group, the addition of 500 mg/100 g of β-sitosterol significantly inhibited the expression of Ppar-γ and Rxr-α in the zebrafish model by at least 50% and 25%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

β-sitosterol can reduce lipid accumulation in the zebrafish model of NAFLD by regulating lipid metabolism and signal transduction and inhibiting adipogenesis and lipid storage.

Research Advances in the Role of the Tropomyosin Family in Cancer

Cancer is one of the most difficult diseases for human beings to overcome. Its development is closely related to a variety of factors, and its specific mechanisms have been a hot research topic in the field of scientific research. The tropomyosin family (Tpm) is a group of proteins closely related to the cytoskeleton and actin, and recent studies have shown that they play an important role in various cancers, participating in a variety of biological activities, including cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, and have been used as biomarkers for various cancers. The purpose of this review is to explore the research progress of the Tpm family in tumorigenesis development, focusing on the molecular pathways associated with them and their relevant activities involved in tumors. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant studies on the role of Tpms in tumorigenesis and development and the activities of Tpms involved in tumors. Data from the literature suggest that the Tpm family is involved in tumor cell proliferation and growth, tumor cell invasion and migration, tumor angiogenesis, tumor cell apoptosis, and immune infiltration of the tumor microenvironment, among other correlations. It can be used as a potential biomarker for early diagnosis, follow-up, and therapeutic response of some tumors. The Tpm family is involved in cancer in a close relationship with miRNAs and LncRNAs. Tpms are involved in tumor tissue invasion and migration as a key link. On this basis, TPM is frequently used as a biomarker for various cancers. However, the specific molecular mechanism of its involvement in cancer progression has not been explained clearly, which remains an important direction for future research.

Zebrafish facilitate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease research: Tools, models and applications

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become an increasingly epidemic metabolic disease worldwide. NAFLD can gradually deteriorate from simple liver steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis to liver cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. Zebrafish are vertebrate animal models that are genetically and metabolically conserved with mammals and have unique advantages such as high fecundity, rapid development ex utero and optical transparency. These features have rendered zebrafish an emerging model system for liver diseases and metabolic diseases favoured by many researchers in recent years. In the present review, we summarize a series of tools for zebrafish NAFLD research and the models established through different dietary feeding, hepatotoxic chemical treatments and genetic manipulations via transgenic or genome editing technologies. We also discuss how zebrafish models facilitate NAFLD studies by providing novel insights into NAFLD pathogenesis, toxicology research, and drug evaluation and discovery.

Transcriptomic analysis of World Trade Center particulate Matter-induced pulmonary inflammation and drug treatments

Over 400,000 people are estimated to have been exposed to World Trade Center particulate matter (WTC_PM) since the attack on the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Epidemiological studies have found that exposure to dust may cause respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases. However, limited studies have performed a systematic analysis of transcriptomic data to elucidate the biological responses to WTC_PM exposure and the therapeutic options. Here, we developed an in vivo mouse exposure model of WTC_PM and administered two drugs (i.e., rosoxacin and dexamethasone) to generate transcriptomic data from lung samples. WTC_PM exposure increased the inflammation index, and this index was significantly reduced by both drugs. We analyzed the transcriptomics derived omics data using a hierarchical systems biology model (HiSBiM) with four levels, including system, subsystem, pathway, and gene analyses. Based on the selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from each group, WTC_PM and the two drugs commonly affected the inflammatory responses, consistent with the inflammation index. Among these DEGs, the expression of 31 genes was affected by WTC_PM exposure and consistently reversed by the two drugs, and these genes included Psme2, Cldn18, and Prkcd, which are involved in immune- and endocrine-related subsystems and pathways such as thyroid hormone synthesis, antigen processing and presentation, and leukocyte transendothelial migration. Furthermore, the two drugs reduced the inflammatory effects of WTC_PM through distinct pathways, e.g., vascular-associated signaling by rosoxacin, whereas mTOR-dependent inflammatory signaling was found to be regulated by dexamethasone. To the best of our knowledge, this study constitutes the first investigation of transcriptomics data of WTC_PM and an exploration of potential therapies. We believe that these findings provide strategies for the development of promising optional interventions and therapies for airborne particle exposure.

Methotrexate inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry, infection and inflammation revealed by bioinformatics approach and a hamster model

Background

Drug repurposing is a fast and effective way to develop drugs for an emerging disease such as COVID-19. The main challenges of effective drug repurposing are the discoveries of the right therapeutic targets and the right drugs for combating the disease.

Methods

Here, we present a systematic repurposing approach, combining Homopharma and hierarchal systems biology networks (HiSBiN), to predict 327 therapeutic targets and 21,233 drug-target interactions of 1,592 FDA drugs for COVID-19. Among these multi-target drugs, eight candidates (along with pimozide and valsartan) were tested and methotrexate was identified to affect 14 therapeutic targets suppressing SARS-CoV-2 entry, viral replication, and COVID-19 pathologies. Through the use of in vitro (EC₅₀ = 0.4 μM) and in vivo models, we show that methotrexate is able to inhibit COVID-19 via multiple mechanisms.

Results

Our in vitro studies illustrate that methotrexate can suppress SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication by targeting furin and DHFR of the host, respectively. Additionally, methotrexate inhibits all four SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. In a Syrian hamster model for COVID-19, methotrexate reduced virus replication, inflammation in the infected lungs. By analysis of transcriptomic analysis of collected samples from hamster lung, we uncovered that neutrophil infiltration and the pathways of innate immune response, adaptive immune response and thrombosis are modulated in the treated animals.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that this systematic repurposing approach is potentially useful to identify pharmaceutical targets, multi-target drugs and regulated pathways for a complex disease. Our findings indicate that methotrexate is established as a promising drug against SARS-CoV-2 variants and can be used to treat lung damage and inflammation in COVID-19, warranting future evaluation in clinical trials.

Low concentrations of 4-ABP promote liver carcinogenesis in human liver cells and a zebrafish model

4-Aminobiphenyl (4-ABP) is a human bladder cancer carcinogen found in the manufacture of azo dyes and the composition of cigarette smoke in the environment. To determine whether low concentrations of 4-ABP induced or promote liver carcinogenesis and investigate the underlying mechanism, we have established the liver cell carcinogenesis model in human liver cell lines and zebrafish to evaluate liver cancer development associated with long-term exposure to low concentrations of 4-ABP. Results show that repeated 4-ABP exposure promoted cellular proliferation and migration via the involvement of ROS in Ras/MEK/ERK pathway in vitro. Also, 4-ABP (1, 10, and 100 nM) induces hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) formation in HBx, Src (p53^-/-) transgenic zebrafish at four months of age and in wild-type zebrafish at seven months of age. In addition, we observed a correlation between the Ras-ERK pathway and 4-ABP-induced HCC in vitro and in vivo. Our finding suggests low concentrations of 4-ABP repeated exposure is a potential risk factor for liver cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the promotion of liver carcinogenesis in human liver cells and zebrafish following 4-ABP exposure.

Whole-blood 3-gene Signature as a Decision Aid for Rifapentine-based TB Preventive Therapy

Background

Systemic drug reaction (SDR) is a major safety concern with weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid for 12 doses (3HP) for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Identifying SDR predictors and at-risk participants before treatment can improve cost-effectiveness of the LTBI program.

Methods

We prospectively recruited 187 cases receiving 3HP (44 SDRs and 143 non-SDRs). A pilot cohort (8 SDRs and 12 non-SDRs) was selected for generating whole-blood transcriptomic data. By incorporating the hierarchical system biology model and therapy–biomarker pathway approach, candidate genes were selected and evaluated using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Then, interpretable machine learning models presenting as SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values were applied for SDR risk prediction. Finally, an independent cohort was used to evaluate the performance of these predictive models.

Results

Based on the whole-blood transcriptomic profile of the pilot cohort and the RT-qPCR results of 2 SDR and 3 non-SDR samples in the training cohort, 6 genes were selected. According to SHAP values for model construction and validation, a 3-gene model for SDR risk prediction achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 0.972 and 0.947, respectively, under a universal cutoff value for the joint of the training (28 SDRs and 104 non-SDRs) and testing (8 SDRs and 27 non-SDRs) cohorts. It also worked well across different subgroups.

Conclusions

The prediction model for 3HP-related SDRs serves as a guide for establishing a safe and personalized regimen to foster the implementation of an LTBI program. Additionally, it provides a potential translational value for future studies on drug-related hypersensitivity.

RSF1 in cancer: interactions and functions

RSF1, remodelling and spacing factor 1, is an important interphase centromere protein and is overexpressed in many types of cancers and correlated with poor overall survival. RSF1 has functions mainly in maintaining chromosome stability, facilitating DNA repair, maintaining the protein homeostasis of RSF1 and suppressing the transcription of some oncogenes when RSF1 protein is expressed at an optimal level; however, RSF1 overexpression facilitates drug resistance and cell cycle checkpoint inhibition to prompt cancer proliferation and survival. The RSF1 expression level and gene background are crucial for RSF1 functions, which may explain why RSF1 has different functions in different cancer types. This review summarizes the functional domains of RSF1, the overexpression status of RSF1 and SNF2H in cancer based on the TCGA and GTE_X databases, the cancer-related functions of RSF1 in interacting with H2Aub, HDAC1, CENP-A, PLK1, ATM, CENP-S, SNF2H, HB_X, BubR1, cyclin E1, CBP and NF-κB and the potential clinical value of RSF1, which will lay a theoretical foundation for the structural biology study of RSF1 and application of RSF1 inhibitors, truncated RSF1 proteins and SNF2H inhibitors in the treatment of RSF1-overexpressing tumours.

An integrated systematic approach for investigating microcurrent electrical nerve stimulation (MENS) efficacy in STZ-induced diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major metabolic disorder and an increasing health problem worldwide. Effective non-invasive therapies for DM are still lacking. Here, we have developed Microcurrent electrical nerve stimulation (MENS), a non-invasive therapy, and tested on 46 mice clustered into five groups, such as control, STZ-induced DM, and MENS treatment groups. Experimental results show that MENS treatment is able to improve seven biochemical indexes (e.g., hemoglobin A1c and glucose level). To investigate the mechanisms of MENS treatment on STZ-induced DM, we selected six representative samples to perform microarray experiments for several groups and developed an integrated Hierarchical System Biology Model (HiSBiM) to analyze these omics data. The results indicate that MENS can affect fatty acid metabolism pathways, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway and cell cycle. Additionally, the DM biochemical indexes and omics data profiles of MENS treatment were found to be consistent. We then compared the therapeutic effects of MENS with anti-diabetic compounds (e.g., quercetin, metformin, and rosiglitazone), using the HiSBiM four-level biological functions and processes of multiple omics data. The results show MENS and these anti-diabetic compounds have similar effect pathways highly correlated to the diabetes processes, such as the PPAR signaling pathway, bile secretion, and insulin signaling pathways. We believe that MENS is an effective and non-invasive therapy for DM and our HiSBiM is an useful method for investigating multiple omics data.

Effect of Melatonin on the Reduction of Hepatic Steatosis and Intestinal Leptin Expression in Zebrafish Exposed to Fructose

Melatonin is a hormone related to circadian rhythms and has potential clinical applications. Our objectives were to verify the effect of melatonin on the liver of zebrafish exposed to fructose and evaluate the expression of appetite-related genes (leptin, ghrelin, and melanocortin receptor 4 [MC4R]). Animals were divided into three groups: control (CG, n = 25), fructose (FG, n = 25), and fructose+melatonin (FMG, n = 25). The study was carried out in 8 weeks. FG and FMG were exposed to 2% fructose and FMG treated with 1 μM of melatonin. Histological liver studies and gene expression analyses of Leptin, Ghrelin, and MC4R (liver and intestines) were performed. FG developed hepatic steatosis, which did not occur with CG and FMG. Genetic expression of hepatic leptin and MC4R did not show significant difference among the groups. Animals exposed to fructose (FG) presented an increased expression of intestinal leptin compared to those administered with melatonin. Animals exposed to fructose gained weight and developed an important hepatic steatosis, but melatonin reduced significantly the hepatic damage. Intestinal leptin showed increased expression in the group exposed to fructose.

CoMI: consensus mutual information for tissue-specific gene signatures

Background

The gene signatures have been considered as a promising early diagnosis and prognostic analysis to identify disease subtypes and to determine subsequent treatments. Tissue-specific gene signatures of a specific disease are an emergency requirement for precision medicine to improve the accuracy and reduce the side effects. Currently, many approaches have been proposed for identifying gene signatures for diagnosis and prognostic. However, they often lack of tissue-specific gene signatures.

Results

Here, we propose a new method, consensus mutual information (CoMI) for analyzing omics data and discovering gene signatures. CoMI can identify differentially expressed genes in multiple cancer omics data for reflecting both cancer-related and tissue-specific signatures, such as Cell growth and death in multiple cancers, Xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism in LIHC, and Nervous system in GBM. Our method identified 50-gene signatures effectively distinguishing the GBM patients into high- and low-risk groups (log-rank p = 0.006) for diagnosis and prognosis.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that CoMI can identify significant and consistent gene signatures with tissue-specific properties and can predict clinical outcomes for interested diseases. We believe that CoMI is useful for analyzing omics data and discovering gene signatures of diseases.

Chronic systemic exposure to IL6 leads to deregulation of glycolysis and fat accumulation in the zebrafish liver

Inflammation is a constant in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), although their relationship is unclear. In a transgenic zebrafish system with chronic systemic overexpression of human IL6 (IL6-OE) we show that inflammation can cause intra-hepatic accumulation of triglycerides. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of the IL6-OE liver revealed a deregulation of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, especially a striking down regulation of the glycolytic enzyme aldolase b. Metabolomics analysis by mass spectrometry showed accumulation of hexose monophosphates and their derivatives, which can act as precursors for triglyceride synthesis. Our results suggest that IL6-driven repression of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, specifically aldolase b, may be a novel mechanism for fatty liver. This mechanism may be relevant for NAFLD in lean individuals, an emerging class of NAFLD prevalent more in Asian Indian populations.

Low molecular weight fucoidan inhibits hepatocarcinogenesis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in zebrafish via ASGR/STAT3/HNF4A signaling

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma ranks fourth in cancer-related mortality currently lacks effective therapeutics. Fucoidan is sulfated polysaccharide that is mainly found in brown seaweeds. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of low molecular weight fucoidan (i.e. oligo-fucoidan [OF]) preventing hepatocarcinogenesis.

METHODS

We used [HBx,src], [HBx,src,p53-/+ ], and [CD36] transgenic zebrafish liver cancer model treated with OF, and performed molecular and histopathological analysis. Transcriptomic and pathways analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Decreased expression of lipogenic enzymes, fibrosis markers, and cell cycle/proliferation markers by OF in [HBx,src] and [HBx,src,p53-/+ ] transgenic fish. Liver fibrosis was decreased as revealed by Sirius Red staining, and the liver cancer formation was eventually reduced by feeding OF. OF was also found to be capable of reducing lipid accumulation and cancer formation in non-B non-C Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model in CD36 transgenic zebrafish. Whole-genome expression analysis showed that 661 genes were up-regulated, and 451 genes were downregulated by feeding OF. Upregulated genes were mostly found in protein transporter activity, and downregulated genes were enriched with response to extracellular stimulus and metal binding in gene ontology analysis. The driver gene was HNF4A revealed by NetworkAnalyst from OF differential regulated genes at various insults. OF is able to bind the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGR) in hepatoma cells, and increased the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in both hepatoma cells and [HBx,src,p53-/+ ] transgenic fish liver cancer model. Using chromatin-immunoprecipitation, we found pSTAT3 could associate with the P1 promoter of HNF4A. Knockdown of either ASGR or HNF4A reversed OF mediated anti-cancer cell proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, we provide evidence that OF exhibits the anti-HCC, anti-steatosis, and anti-fibrosis effect for liver in zebrafish models, and the anti-cancer potential of OF attributed to the binding to ASGR and activation of STAT3/HNF4A signaling. OF might be potentially valuable for the management of HCC.

Body mass index-associated molecular characteristics involved in tumor immune and metabolic pathways

Background

Overweight or obesity has been evidenced as an important risk factor involved in the incidence, mortality, and therapy response of multiple malignancies. However, the differences between healthy and obesity tumor patients at the molecular and multi-omics levels remain unclear.

Methods

Our study performed a comprehensive and multidimensional analysis in fourteen tumor types of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and found body mass index (BMI)-related genes in multiple tumor types. Furthermore, we compared composite expression between normal, overweight, and obese patients of each immune cell subpopulation and metabolism gene subset. Statistical significance was calculated via the Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test.

Results

Our analysis revealed that BMI-related genes are enriched in multiple tumor-related biological pathways involved in intracellular signaling, immune response, and metabolism. We also found the different relationships between BMI and different immune cell infiltration and metabolic pathway activity. Importantly, we found that many clinically actionable genes were BMI-affect genes.

Conclusion

Overall, our data indicated that BMI-associated molecular characteristics involved in tumor immune and metabolic pathways, which may highlight the clinical importance of considering BMI-associated molecular signatures in cancer precision medicine.

Low Molecular Weight Fucoidan Prevents Radiation-Induced Fibrosis and Secondary Tumors in a Zebrafish Model

Radiotherapy often causes unwanted side effects such as radiation-induced fibrosis and second malignancies. Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed, has many biological effects including anti-inflammation and anti-tumor. In the present study, we investigated the radioprotective effect of Oligo-Fucoidan (OF) using a zebrafish animal model. Adult zebrafish of wild-type and transgenic fish with hepatocellular carcinoma were orally fed with Oligo-Fucoidan before irradiation. Quantitative PCR, Sirius red stain, hematoxylin, and eosin stain were used for molecular and pathological analysis. Whole genomic microarrays were used to discover the global program of gene expression after Oligo-Fucoidan treatment and identified distinct classes of up- and downregulated genes/pathways during this process. Using Oligo-Fucoidan oral gavage in adult wild-type zebrafish, we found Oligo-Fucoidan pretreatment decreased irradiation-induced fibrosis in hepatocyte. Using hepatitis B virus X antigen (HBx), Src and HBx, Src, p53−/+ transgenic zebrafish liver cancer model, we found that Oligo-Fucoidan pretreatment before irradiation could lower the expression of lipogenic factors and enzymes, fibrosis, and cell cycle/proliferation markers, which eventually reduced formation of liver cancer compared to irradiation alone. Gene ontology analysis revealed that Oligo-Fucoidan pretreatment increased the expression of genes involved in oxidoreductase activity in zebrafish irradiation. Oligo-Fucoidan also decreased the expression of genes involved in transferase activity in wild-type fish without irradiation (WT), nuclear outer membrane-endoplasmic reticulum membrane network, and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) transgenic fish. Rescue of those genes can prevent liver cancer formation. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence for the ability of Oligo-Fucoidan to prevent radiation-induced fibrosis and second malignancies in zebrafish.

Transcriptomically Revealed Oligo-Fucoidan Enhances the Immune System and Protects Hepatocytes via the ASGPR/STAT3/HNF4A Axis

Oligo-fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed, exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. However, the knowledge concerning the detailed mechanism of oligo-fucoidan on liver cells is obscure. In this study, we investigate the effect of oligo-fucoidan in normal hepatocytes by transcriptomic analysis. Using an oligo-fucoidan oral gavage in wild-type adult zebrafish, we find that oligo-fucoidan pretreatment enhances the immune system and anti-viral genes in hepatocytes. Oligo-fucoidan pretreatment also decreases the expression of lipogenic enzymes and liver fibrosis genes. Using pathway analysis, we identify hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A) to be the potential driver gene. We further investigate whether hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A) could be induced by oligo-fucoidan and the underlying mechanism. Therefore, a normal hepatocyte clone 9 cell as an in vitro model was used. We demonstrate that oligo-fucoidan increases cell viability, Cyp3a4 activity, and Hnf4a expression in clone 9 cells. We further demonstrate that oligo-fucoidan might bind to asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGPR) in normal hepatocytes through both in vitro and in vivo competition assays. This binding, consequently activating the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), increases the expression of the P1 isoform of HNF4A. According to our data, we suggest that oligo-fucoidan not only enhances the gene expression associated with anti-viral ability and immunity, but also increases P1-HNF4A levels through ASGPR/STAT3 axis, resulting in protecting hepatocytes.

Differential expression and diagnostic significance of P53, MutS homologs 2, tropomyosin-4 in alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Current study aimed to explore the value of P53, MutS homologs 2 (MSH2), and tropomyosin-4 (Tm-4) combined with inflammatory factors, life-history traits in the differential diagnosis of alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (AFP-Negative HCC).

METHODS

A testing cohort including 280 AFP-Negative HCC patients and 300 controls was included. Three external validation cohorts from 3 centers were used to assess the novel logistic regression model including 400 AFP-Negative HCC patients and 400 controls.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, the levels of P53, MSH2, and Tm-4 protein in si-P53 group, si-MSH2 group, and si-Tm-4 group were significantly reduced (P < .05). The P53, MSH2, Tm-4, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocytes to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels, and the smoking, drinking, and occupational exposure to chemicals rates in patients were significantly higher than those in controls (P < .05). ROC analyses showed that the area under curve (AUC) of NLR, MLR, hs-CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, P53, MSH2, Tm-4, drinking, smoking, and occupational exposure to chemicals were 0.798, 0.803, 0.560, 0.644, 0.808, 0.681, 0.830, 0.694, 0.582, 0.581, and 0.567, respectively. A novel logistic regression model was built and has a high value in identifying AFP-Negative HCC with AUC of 0.917, sensitivity of 85.2%, and specificity of 88.3%. In the validation cohorts, this model also showed good diagnostic efficiency (AUC = 0.898 with Dazu Branch cohort, AUC = 0.924 with Jinshan Branch cohort, and AUC = 0.907 with Liangping Branch cohort).

CONCLUSION

Current model has potential significance for the noninvasive diagnosis of AFP-Negative HCC.

WNK1 Kinase Stimulates Angiogenesis to Promote Tumor Growth and Metastasis

With-no-lysine (K)-1 (WNK1) is the founding member of family of four protein kinases with atypical placement of catalytic lysine that play important roles in regulating epithelial ion transport. Gain-of-function mutations of WNK1 and WNK4 cause a mendelian hypertension and hyperkalemic disease. WNK1 is ubiquitously expressed and essential for embryonic angiogenesis in mice. Increasing evidence indicates the role of WNK kinases in tumorigenesis at least partly by stimulating tumor cell proliferation. Here, we show that human hepatoma cells xenotransplanted into zebrafish produced high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and WNK1, and induced expression of zebrafish wnk1. Knockdown of wnk1 in zebrafish decreased tumor-induced ectopic vessel formation and inhibited tumor proliferation. Inhibition of WNK1 or its downstream kinases OSR1 (oxidative stress responsive kinase 1)/SPAK (Ste20-related proline alanine rich kinase) using chemical inhibitors decreased ectopic vessel formation as well as proliferation of xenotransplanted hepatoma cells. The effect of WNK and OSR1 inhibitors is greater than that achieved by inhibitor of VEGF signaling cascade. These inhibitors also effectively inhibited tumorigenesis in two separate transgenic zebrafish models of intestinal and hepatocellular carcinomas. Endothelial-specific overexpression of wnk1 enhanced tumorigenesis in transgenic carcinogenic fish, supporting endothelial cell-autonomous effect of WNK1 in tumor promotion. Thus, WNK1 can promote tumorigenesis by multiple effects that include stimulating tumor angiogenesis. Inhibition of WNK1 may be a potent anti-cancer therapy.