MRI-Based Radiomics: Nomograms predicting the short-term response after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with diameter less than 5 cm

PURPOSE

To construct MRI radiomics nomograms that can predict short-term response after TACE in HCC patients with diameter less than 5 cm.

METHODS

MRI images and clinical data of 153 cases with tumor diameter less than 5 cm before TACE from 3 hospitals were collected retrospectively and divided into 1 internal training set and 1 external validation set. The T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI arterial phase (DCE-MR AP) images were studied. Multivariable logistic regression was used to construct Radiomics models, Clinics models, and Nomograms based on T2WI and DCE-MR AP, respectively. The receiver characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the predictive performance of each model.

RESULTS

In this study, 113 eligible cases in Hospital 1 were collected as the training set, and 40 eligible cases in other hospitals were used as the verification set. 11 T2WI features and 11 DCE-MRI AP features with the most predictive value were finally screened. 3 models based on T2WI and 3 models based on DCE-MRI AP were established, respectively. The area under curve (AUC) value of Nomogram based on T2WI of training set and validation set was 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. The AUC value of the models based on T2WI and models based on AP was almost equal, and Nomograms were the most effective models among all three types of models.

CONCLUSION

MRI-based Nomogram has greater predictive efficacy to predict the response after TACE than Radiomics and Clinics models alone, and the efficacy of T2WI-based models and DCE-MRI AP-based models was almost equal.

SPC25 overexpression promotes tumor proliferation and is prognostic of poor survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: The nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) complex assures proper chromosome segregation during the cell cycle progression. SPC25 is a crucial component of NDC80, and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been explored recently. This study characterized the differential expression of SPC25 in HCC patients of different races and HBV infection status.

Methods: Expression patterns of SPC25 were evaluated in TCGA and Chinese HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis was applied to examine the predictive value of SPC25. In vitro and in vivo functional assays were conducted to explore the role of SPC25 in HCC. Bioinformatics methods were applied to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of SPC25.

Findings: The mRNA levels of SPC25 were up-regulated in HCC. SPC25 has a significantly higher transcriptional level in Asian patients than Caucasian patients. SPC25 promoted HCC cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo by accelerating the cell cycle. We identified transcription factors, miRNAs, and immune cells that may interact with SPC25.

Interpretation: The findings suggest that increased expression of SPC25 is associated with poor prognosis of HCC and enhances the proliferative capacity of HCC cells. SPC25 could serve as a valuable prognostic marker and a novel treatment target for HCC.

Circular RNA circ_0091579 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Proliferation, Migration, Invasion, and Glycolysis Through miR-490-5p/CASC3 Axis

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies with high invasion and metastasis capacities. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) were evidenced to take part in the progression of multifarious cancers, including HCC. However, the role of circ_0091579 in HCC progression has not been fully described. This study aimed to explore the function of circ_0091579 and its potential regulatory mechanism in the progression of HCC. Materials and Methods: The expression of circ_0091579, microRNA-490-5p (miR-490-5p), and cancer susceptibility candidate 3 (CASC3) in HCC tissues and cells was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The circular characteristic and stability of circ_0091579 were verified by RNase R digestion and actinomycin D reaction assays. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay and Transwell assay, respectively. The level of glycolysis was evaluated by glucose consumption and lactate production. The levels of proteins were examined by Western blot. The interaction between miR-490-5p and circ_0091579 or CASC3 was certified by Dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results: circ_0091579 and CASC3 were upregulated, while miR-490-5p was downregulated in HCC tissues and cells. Silencing of either circ_0091579 or CASC3 suppressed cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis in HCC cells. Moreover, miR-490-5p was verified to directly bind to circ_0091579 and CASC3. Circ_0091579 upregulated CASC3 by sponging miR-490-5p in HCC cells to promote cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Conclusion: circ_0091579 promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis partially through miR-490-5p/CASC3 axis in HCC cells.

GPR50 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via the Notch Signaling Pathway through Direct Interaction with ADAM17

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and it is thus critical to identify novel molecular biomarkers of HCC prognosis and elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying HCC progression. Here, we show that G-protein-coupled receptor 50 (GPR50) in HCC is overexpressed and that GPR50 knockdown may downregulate cancer cell progression through attenuation of the Notch signaling pathway. GPR50 knockdown was found to reduce HCC progression by inactivating Notch signaling in a ligand-independent manner through a disintegrin and metalloproteinase metallopeptidase domain 17 (ADAM17), a proteolytic enzyme that cleaves the Notch receptor, which was corroborated by GPR50 overexpression in hepatocytes. GPR50 silencing also downregulated transcription and translation of ADAM17 through the AKT/specificity protein-1 (SP1) signaling axis. Notably, GPR50 was found to directly interact with ADAM17. Overall, we demonstrate a novel GPR50-mediated regulation of the ADAM17-Notch signaling pathway, which can provide insights into HCC progression and prognosis and development of Notch-based HCC treatment strategies.

LncRNA MAGI2-AS3 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and migration by targeting the miR-374b-5p/SMG1 signaling pathway

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to play critical roles in cancer progression. Recently, lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 has been revealed to be a tumor suppressor and inhibit cell growth by targeting the Fas/FasL signalling pathway in breast cancer. However, the role and underlying mechanism of MAGI2-AS3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown. In the current study, we found that MAGI2-AS3 expression is downregulated in HCC tissues and closely associated with some clinical characteristics (tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage) and poor overall survival. Overexpression of MAGI2-AS3 inhibits HCC cell proliferation and migration in vitro, while impedes tumor growth in vivo accordantly. In addition, our data suggest that MAGI2-AS3 could function as an endogenous sponge of miR-374b-5p by directly binding to it and suppressing its expression. Furthermore, miR-374b-5p upregulation could restore the inhibitory effect of MAGI2-AS3 on HCC cells processes. Moreover, suppressor with morphogenetic effect on genitalia family member 1 (SMG1) is positively regulated by MAGI2-AS3 via absorbing miR-374b-5p in HCC cells. More important, SMG1 knockdown reverses the suppressive function of MAGI2-AS3 in HCC cell processes. Taken together, we reveal a functional MAGI2-AS3/miR-374b-5p/SMG1 axis that suppresses HCC progression, potently suggesting a new road for HCC treatment.

Knockdown of miR-299-5p inhibits the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting SIAH1

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. MiR-299-5p has been demonstrated to play important roles in multiple human cancers. Nevertheless, little is known about the detailed function and molecular mechanism of miR-299-5p on HCC progression.

METHODS

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was used to assess the expression patterns of miR-299-5p and siah E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (SIAH1) in HCC tissues and cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments were performed to explore the effect of miR-299-5p on HCC progression in vitro and in vivo. Target predicted by software algorithms, the connection between miR-299-5p and SIAH1 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. Subsequently, anti-miR-299-5p and si-SIAH1 were cotransfected into LM9 and Huh-7 cells to further explore whether the regulatory effect of miR-299-5p on HCC was mediated by SIAH1.

RESULTS

qRT-PCR assay revealed that miR-299-5p was upregulated and SIAH1 was downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, miR-299-5p knockdown suppressed HCC progression in vitro and in vivo. In addition, anti-miR-299-5p-mediated regulatory effect on HCC cells was abated following the restoration of SIAH1 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-299-5p knockdown suppressed the progression of HCC by targeting SIAH1, highlighting its role as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target of HCC.

Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cell aggressiveness by activating the NF-κB pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, in which the NF-κB pathway plays an important role and is constitutively activated. Better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of HCC and the NF-κB pathway are needed to improve patient outcomes. Herein, we identified an unappreciated protein involved in NF-κB-induced activation, Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3). The mRNA and protein expression levels of GOLPH3 were frequently up-regulated in HCC and GOLPH3 expression correlated closely with clinical stage and survival in both the testing and validation cohorts. Ectopic over-expression of GOLPH3 in PLC/PRF/5 (PLC) and Huh7 HCC cells protected against cisplatin-induced apoptosis, promoted angiogenesis and proliferation and increased the aggressiveness of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas inhibition of GOLPH3 led to decreased aggressiveness. Through analysis of two published HCC patient profiles, GOLPH3 expression significantly correlated with NF-κB signalling. Furthermore, we demonstrated that GOLPH3 promoted K63-linked polyubiquitination of tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2), receptor interacting protein (RIP) and NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO) and substantially sustained the activation of NF-κB in HCC cells. Taken together, our findings provided evidence that GOLPH3 is a prognostic and/or potential therapeutic biomarker for HCC patients and plays an important role in activation of the NF-κB pathway during HCC progression.