Resistance to lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxic shock in heterozygous Zfp191 gene-knockout mice

Zinc Finger Protein 24 is a Prognostic Factor in Ovarian Serous Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

As a member of the zinc finger protein family, zinc finger protein 24 (ZNF24) contains a Cys2His2 zinc finger domain and acts as a transcription factor. ZNF24 has been reported to be downregulated in gastric cancer and breast cancer. However, little is known about its expression and function in ovarian serous carcinoma (OSC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We collected 117 OSC patients during 2011 to 2017 and retrospectively retrieved their clinicopathologic characteristics as well as their survival data. Protein level was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, mRNA level was evaluated by RT-qPCR assay, and transcriptional data was obtained from TCGA data sets. The correlations between ZNF24 expression and patients' features were assessed using χ2 test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the prognosis predicative potential of ZNF24 in OSC. The function of ZNF24 in the epithelial ovarian cancer cells was also verified by in vitro cellular experiments.

RESULTS

Among the 117 cases, ZNF24 was downregulated in 52 OSC samples (44.6%) and significantly correlated with tumor stages. According to univariate and multivariate analyses, ZNF24 can act as an independent prognostic indicator for the overall survival of OSC patients, whose lower expression was associated with poorer clinical outcomes. Ectopic overexpression and knockdown assays indicated that ZNF24 can negatively regulate the OSC cell viability.

CONCLUSIONS

OSC patients with low level of ZNF24 have worse overall survival compared with those possess high-ZNF24 expression. Downregulated ZNF24 may be involved in the proliferation of OSC, and ZNF24 expression can serve as an independent survival predictor.

Predictive single nucleotide polymorphism markers for acute oral mucositis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the susceptibility of severe oral mucositis (OM) in Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with radiotherapy and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the whole genome. SNPs were screened in a total of 24 patients with NPC and an additional 6 were subjected to mRNA expression analysis. Patients were subdivided into CTC 0-2 (CTC toxicity grade 0, 1, and 2) and CTC 3+ (CTC toxicity grade 3 and above) groups according to their CTC (common toxicity criteria) scores. The GTEx dataset was used to performed eQTL analyses and in-vitro functional assays were performed for eQTL-associated genes. Our data identified 7 functional SNPs associated with the development of OM. We observed that rs11081899-A, located in the 5′-UTR of the ZNF24 gene, was significantly correlated with a higher risk of severe mucositis (OR = 14.631, 95% CI = 2.61-105.46, p = 1.2 × 10⁻⁴), and positively associated with ZNF24 mRNA expression (p = 4.1 × 10⁻⁶) from GTEx dataset. In addition, high ZNF24 mRNA expression was associated with severe OM in patients with NPC (p = 0.02). Further functional assays revealed that ZNF24 knockdown reduced p65 expression and suppressed TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines release. These findings suggested that rs11081899-A may be a genetic susceptibility factor for radiation-induced OM in patients with NPC, although its value in clinical application needs to be further verified in a large cohort. Also, we suggested that downregulation of ZNF24 may attenuate the development of mucositis by suppressing NF-κB activation.

Zinc finger protein 64 promotes Toll-like receptor-triggered proinflammatory and type I interferon production in macrophages by enhancing p65 subunit activation

The molecular mechanisms that fine-tune the Toll-like receptor (TLR)-triggered innate immune response need further investigation. As an important transcription factor, zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) play important roles in many cell functions, including development, differentiation, tumorigenesis, and functions of the immune system. However, the role of ZFP members in the innate immune responses remains unclear. Here we showed that the expression of C2H2-type ZFP, ZFP64, was significantly up-regulated in macrophages upon stimulation with TLR ligands, including LPS, CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, or poly(I:C). ZFP64 overexpression promoted TLR-triggered TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-β production in macrophages. Coincidently, knockdown of ZFP64 expression significantly inhibited the production of the above cytokines. However, activation of MAPK and IRF3 was not responsible for the ZFP64-mediated promotion of cytokine production. Interestingly, ZFP64 significantly up-regulated TLR-induced NF-κB activation. ZFP64 could bind to the promoter of the TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-β genes in macrophages only after TLR ligation. Furthermore, ZFP64 associated with the NF-κB p65 subunit upon LPS stimulation, and TLR-ligated macrophages showed a lower level of p65 recruitment to the TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-β gene promoter in the absence of ZFP64. The data identify ZFP64 as a downstream positive regulator of TLR-initiated innate immune responses by associating with the NF-κB p65 subunit, enhancing p65 recruitment to the target gene promoters and increasing p65 activation and, thus, leading to the promotion of TLR-triggered proinflammatory cytokine and type I interferon production. Our findings add mechanistic insight into the efficient activation of the TLR innate response against invading pathogens.