Bioinformatic screening and identification of downregulated hub genes in adrenocortical carcinoma

Cysteine- and glycine-rich protein 1 predicts prognosis and therapy response in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease with a poor prognosis. The current risk stratification system is essential but remains insufficient to select the best schedules. Cysteine-rich protein 1 (CSRP1) is a member of the CSRP family and associated with poor clinicopathological features in many tumors. This study aimed to explore the clinical significance and molecular mechanisms of cysteine- and glycine-rich protein 1 (CSRP1) in AML. RT-qPCR was used to detect the relative expression of CSRP1 in our clinical cohort. Functional enrichment analysis of CSRP1-related differentially expressed genes was carried out by GO/KEGG enrichment analysis, immune cell infiltration analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The OncoPredict algorithm was implemented to explore correlations between CSRP1 and drug resistance. CSRP1 was highly expressed in AML compared with normal samples. High CSRP1 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor. Functional enrichment analysis showed neutrophil activation and apoptosis were associated with CSRP1. In the PPI network, 19 genes were present in the most significant module, and 9 of them were correlated with AML prognosis. The high CSRP1 patients showed higher sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, gemcitabine, rapamycin, cisplatin and lower sensitivity to fludarabine. CSRP1 may serve as a potential prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for AML in the future.

MFAP4-Mediated Effects in Elastic Fiber Homeostasis, Integrin Signaling and Cancer, and Its Role in Teleost Fish

Microfibrillar-associated protein 4 (MFAP4) is an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein belonging to the fibrinogen-related domain superfamily. MFAP4 is highly expressed in elastin-rich tissues such as lung, blood vessels and skin. MFAP4 is involved in organization of the ECM, regulating proper elastic fiber assembly. On the other hand, during pathology MFAP4 actively contributes to disease development and progression due to its interactions with RGD-dependent integrin receptors. Both tissue expression and circulating MFAP4 levels are associated with various disorders, including liver fibrosis and cancer. In other experimental models, such as teleost fish, MFAP4 appears to participate in host defense as a macrophage-specific innate immune molecule. The aim of this review is to summarize the accumulating evidence that indicates the importance of MFAP4 in homeostasis as well as pathological conditions, discuss its known biological functions with special focus on elastic fiber assembly, integrin signaling and cancer, as well as describe the reported functions of non-mammalian MFAP4 in fish. Overall, our work provides a comprehensive overview on the role of MFAP4 in health and disease.

The underlying molecular mechanism and drugs for treatment in adrenal cortical carcinoma

Purpose: The study aimed to predict and explore the possible clinical value and mechanism of genetic markers in adrenal cortical carcinoma using a bioinformatics analysis method. Methods: The RNA-seqs and miRNAs data were downloaded from TCGA database to identify the differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed miRNAs. The hub-genes were screened by building protein-protein interaction sub-networks with 12 topological analysis methods. We conducted the receiver operating characteristic curve to elevate the diagnostic value of hub-genes in distinguishing the death and alive groups. The survival analysis of hub-genes and key miRNAs were conducted using Kaplan-Meier curves. Furthermore, most significant small molecules were identified as therapeutic candidates for adrenal cortical carcinoma by the CMap analysis. Results: Compared to survival group, we found 475 up-regulated genes and 354 genes and the key pathways leading to the death of different ACC individual patients. Then we used 12 topological analysis methods to found the most possible 22 hub-genes. Among these hub-genes, nine hub-genes (C3, CXCL5, CX3CR1, GRM8, HCAR2, HTR1B, SUCNR1, PTGER3 and SSTR1) could be used to distinguish the death and survival groups for patients. We also revealed that mRNA expressions of 12 genes (C3, CXCL8, CX3CR1, GNAT3, GNGT1, GRM8, HCAR2, HTR1B, HTR1D, PTGER3, SSTR1 and SUCNR1) and four key miRNAs (hsa-mir-330, hsa-mir-489, hsa-mir-508 and hsa-mir-513b) were related to survival. Three most small molecules were identified (H-9, AZ-628 and phensuximide) as potential therapeutic drugs for adrenal cortical carcinoma. Conclusion: The hub-genes expression was significant useful in adrenal cortical carcinoma, provide new diagnostic, prognosis and therapeutic approaches for adrenal cortical carcinoma. Furthermore, we also explore the possible miRNAs involved in regulation of hub-genes.