Expression of Fascin-1 and its diagnostic value in liver cancer

Although some studies have reported on the expression and clinical significance of Fascin-1 (FSCN1) in liver cancer, the clinical application and differential diagnosis value of FSCN1 in liver cancer are still unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression level of FSCN1 protein in liver cancer tissues and explore its diagnostic and application value in differentiating between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). The immunehistochemical analysis was used to detect the expression of FSCN1 in 108 cases of HCC, 26 cases of ICC, 23 cases of liver cirrhosis, and 11 cases of normal liver tissues. The differences in the positive expression rate and strong positive expression rate of FSCN1 among different groups were analyzed. The positive rate of FSCN1 in normal liver tissues, liver cirrhosis, HCC, and ICC tissues was 0.0% (0/11), 0.0% (0/23), 13.9% (15/108), and 92.3% (24/26), respectively, while the strong positive rate was 0.0% (0/11), 0.0% (0/23), 0.9% (1/108), and 69.2% (18/26), respectively. Both the positive rate and strong positive rate of FSCN1 in ICC tissues were significantly higher than those in HCC, liver cirrhosis, and normal liver tissues. Additionally, the positive rate of FSCN1 in moderately to poorly differentiated HCC tissues was 18.8% (15/80), significantly higher than in well-differentiated HCC (0.0%, 0/28) (P = 0.031). In liver cancer, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of FSCN1 positive prediction for ICC were 92.3%, 86.1%, 61.5%, and 97.9%, respectively, whereas the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of FSCN1 strong positive prediction for ICC were 69.2%, 99.1%, 94.7%, and 93.0%, respectively. These results suggest that FSCN1 may play an important role in the occurrence and progression of liver cancer, and it can be used as a novel diagnostic marker for ICC.

Relevance and mechanism of STAT3/miR-221-3p/Fascin-1 axis in EGFR TKI resistance of triple-negative breast cancer

The epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR) plays a crucial role in the progression of various malignant tumors and is considered a potential target for treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the effectiveness of representative tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) used in EGFR-targeted therapy is limited in TNBC patients. In our study, we observed that the TNBC cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 exhibited resistance to Gefitinib. Treatment with Gefitinib caused an upregulation of Fascin-1 (FSCN1) protein expression and a downregulation of miR-221-3p in these cell lines. However, sensitivity to Gefitinib was significantly improved in both cell lines with either inhibition of FSCN1 expression or overexpression of miR-221-3p. Our luciferase reporter assay confirmed that FSCN1 is a target of miR-221-3p. Moreover, Gefitinib treatment resulted in an upregulation of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) in MDA-MB-231 cells. Using Stattic, a small-molecule inhibitor of STAT3, we observed a significant enhancement in the inhibitory effect of Gefitinib on the growth, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Additionally, Stattic treatment upregulated miR-221-3p expression and downregulated FSCN1 mRNA and protein expression. A strong positive correlation was noted between the expression of STAT3 and FSCN1 in breast cancer tissues. Furthermore, patients with high expression levels of both STAT3 and FSCN1 had a worse prognosis. Our findings suggest that elevated FSCN1 expression is linked to primary resistance to EGFR TKIs in TNBC. Moreover, we propose that STAT3 regulates the expression of miR-221-3p/FSCN1 and therefore modulates resistance to EGFR TKI therapy in TNBC. Combining EGFR TKI therapy with inhibition of FSCN1 or STAT3 may offer a promising new therapeutic option for TNBC.

[Effect of miR-186 targeting E-cadherin on proliferation and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma]

Objective: To investigate the role of miR-186 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its molecular mechanism of miR-186 targeting E-cadherin to inhibit cell proliferation and metastasis of RCC. Methods: A total of 40 RCC samples which were collected in Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital from January 2015 to January 2019 and four RCC cell lines were measured the expression of miR-186 by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The effect of miR-186 overexpression on the proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis of 786-O cells were detected by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8), colony formation, wound healing and Transwell assay and flow cytometric analysis. The effect of miR-186 on the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related markers (E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin) was analyzed by Western blot, and the dual luciferase reporter was used to verify the miR-186 targeting E-cadherin. Results: There were 26 males and 14 females with an age of (58.4±9.2) years. miR-186 expression levels decreased significantly in RCC tissues and cells (tissues: 0.005 2±0.000 4 vs 0.015 5±0.001 5, P<0.001; cells: 0.334 3±0.025 1, 0.457 0±0.026 6, 0.229 8±0.011 0, 0.741 1±0.091 0 vs 1.000 0±0.085 2, all P<0.001). The expression of miR-186 had a negative correlation with tumor size (≥4 cm: 0.003 2±0.003 4 vs<4 cm: 0.008 4±0.007 2, P<0.001), TNM staging (≤Ⅱ: 0.007 8±0.005 8 vs>Ⅱ: 0.002 7±0.002 3, P=0.021) and Fuhrman grade (<Ⅱ: 0.008 8±0.006 3 vs ≥Ⅱ: 0.004 6±0.003 0, P<0.001). The overexpression of miR-186 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and metastasis, and induced cell apoptosis. delivered.miR-186 overexpression can retard tumor growth in nude mice. Luciferase assay showed that E-cadherin was a direct target gene of miR-186. Conclusion: miR-186 may affect EMT of RCC and inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of RCC by directly regulating E-cadherin.

p-STAT3 expression in breast cancer correlates negatively with tumor size and HER2 status

Although some studies have reported the expression and clinical significance of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) in breast cancer tissues, it is still controversial whether p-STAT3 play a role in promoting or suppressing cancer. Here, we used immunohistochemistry analysis to explore expression of p-STAT3 in 407 cases of breast cancer, and analyzed the relationship between p-STAT3 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of breast cancer patients. Positive p-STAT3 expression was seen in 112 cases (27.5%) of breast cancer. p-STAT3 expression was negatively correlated with tumor size, tumor stage and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, and the positive rate of p-STAT3 was lowest in HER2-enriched subtype breast cancer (15.3%), while other subtypes were luminal B (23.0%), luminal A (30.2%), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (37.5%). Logistic regression model multivariate analysis showed that the independent correlation factor of p-STAT3 expression in breast cancer was tumor size (OR = 0.187, 95% CI = 0.042-0.839, P = .029) and HER2 status (OR = 0.392, 95% CI = 0.216-0.710, P = .002). In this study, no clear relationship was observed between patients' prognosis and expression of p-STAT3. Therefore, we suggest that p-STAT3 expression in breast cancer is negatively correlated with tumor size and HER2 status, but appears to have no effect on survival.

[Expression of HMGB1 protein in breast cancer and its clinicopathological significance]

Objective: To investigate the expression and clinicopathological significance of high mobility group box protein B1 (HMGB1) protein in breast cancer. Methods: The expression of HMGB1 protein in 26 normal breast tissues and 417 invasive breast cancer tissues diagnosed at Dongyang People's Hospital, Zhejiang Province from 2016 to 2018 were detected by immunohistochemical EnVision method. The relationship between nuclear and cytoplasmic HMGB1 protein expression and clinicopathologic features of breast cancer patients were analyzed. Results: The nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of HMGB1 protein was 80.8% (337/417) and 16.8% (70/417) respectively in breast cancer, and was 46.2%(12/26) and 0(0/26) respectively in normal breast tissue. Both nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of HMGB1 protein in breast cancer were significantly higher than normal breast tissue (P<0.001, P=0.046, respectively). The nuclear expression of HMGB1 protein was also higher in high grade, estrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative (P=0.006, P=0.004, P<0.001, respectively); whereas the cytoplasmic expression of HMGB1 protein was also higher in high grade, estrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative (P<0.001 in all) breast cancers. Multivariate logistic regression model showed that nuclear HMGB1 expression correlated with histologic grade (OR=2.188, 95%CI=1.078-4.443, P=0.030), while cytoplasmic HMGB1 expression correlated with histologic grade (OR=3.031, 95%CI=1.600-5.742, P=0.001), ER (OR=0.129, 95%CI=0.034-0.494, P=0.003) and TNM staging (OR=3.820, 95%CI=1.042-14.001, P=0.043). Multivariate analysis of Cox proportional hazard model showed that nuclear HMGB1 expression was an independent risk factor for the overall survival of breast cancer patients (HR=0.366, 95%CI=0.138-0.972, P=0.044). Conclusion: Nuclear and cytoplasmic HMGB1 proteins are related to multiple poor prognostic factors in breast cancer, and may be a potential biomarker for breast cancer treatment.

Histopathologic effect of preoperative chemotherapy using 5-Fu fat emulsion in gastric cancer

The authors report histopathologic effect of preoperative chemotherapy using 5-Fu fat emulsion for a series of 42 cases of gastric carcinoma. To each patient 348-464 mg of 5-Fu emulsion was given orally every day for 10 days before operation. It was well tolerated and no apparent side-effects were encountered. The overall response rate was 57.14%. We hold that this regimen is beneficial for gastric cancer.