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Objective:To explore the establishment and application of ovarian cancer organoids.Methods:Fresh ovarian tumor tissues, obtaining from patients underwent surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between October 2021 and March 2022, were collected, enzymatic degraded, digested, and embedded into matrigel to establish organoids. A total of 32 ovarian cancer samples were collected. Hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence (IF) procedure were used to verify the morphological structure of organoids and their expression of molecular markers. 3D cyto-live or dead assay was used to detecte the live or dead cells in organoids. Carboplatin with a concentration ranging from 5 to 80 μmol/L (5, 10, 20, 40, 80 μmol/L) was added to organoids to calculate the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50) in different organoids. Results:(1) Organoids from a total of 32 patients were established, of which 18 cases could be passaged stably in the long term in vitro, while 14 could be passaged in the short time. The average amplification time of long-term passage in vitro was over 3 months, and the longest reached 9 months. (2) In HE staining, significant nuclei atypia and local micropapillary structures were observed in organoids. IF staining revealed that ovarian cancer organoids expressed molecular markers similar to primary tumor tissues, such as Pan cytokeratin (Pan-CK), p53, paired box gene 8 (PAX8), and Wilms tumor gene 1 (WT1). (3) In 3D cyto-live or dead assay, a large number of apoptotic cells were observed inside and around the organoids after added carboplatin. The sensitivity to carboplatin varied in 18 organoids could amplify in the long term, with an average IC 50 of (29.5±15.8) μmol/L. Moreover, IC 50 values of 4 organoids derived from patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were much higher than the 14 organoids which did not received neoadjuvant chemotherapy [(48.7±11.3) μmol/L vs (24.0±12.1) μmol/L; t=3.429, P=0.022]. Conclusions:Organoids recapitulate ovarian cancers in vitro and could be stably passaged. Organoids derived from patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy have higher resistance to carboplatin.
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Objective:To investigate the expression of p21-activated kinase 2 (PAK2) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and its relationship with the clinicopathological characteristics and chemosensitivity of patients.Methods:Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) data for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and 123 patients were included in the study (12 cases had cancer tissues and normal tissues data, and the remaining 111 only had cancer tissues data). Differential expression of PAK2 in cancer and para-cancer tissues was analyzed by using R software, and the potential function of PAK2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma was investigated by using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database signaling pathway enrichment. A total of 34 patients with primary laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and corresponding para-carcinoma 34 tissue specimens who underwent surgical resection were retrospectively selected from Chaoyang Central Hospital between April 2016 and June 2021, and 20 cases of normal laryngeal mucosa tissues were selected as the controls. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of PAK2 in various tissues, and its correlation with clinicopathological factors was analyzed. A total of 35 supraglottic primary laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients were retrospectively collected before induction chemotherapy during the same period, including 20 patients sensitive to chemotherapy and 15 patients resistant to chemotherapy. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the relative expression level of PAK2 mRNA in cancer tissues.Results:Analysis of TCGA database data showed that PAK2 expression was increased in cancer tissues compared with that in para-cancer tissues ( P = 0.012); KEGG database signaling pathways showed that the high expression of PAK2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma was related to signal transduction pathways, cell cycle, and cancer. Immunohistochemistry showed that the proportion of PAK2 positive in 34 cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues was higher than that in adjacent tissues and normal tissues [58.82% (20/34) vs. 0.03% (1/34), 0 (0/20), all P < 0.001]. There were statistically significant differences in the proportion of PAK2 positive patients stratified with different degrees of differentiation [high differentiation vs. low or middle differentiation: 33.33% (6/18)vs. 87.50% (14/16)], lymph node metastasis [presence vs. absence: 90.91% (10/11) vs. 43.48% (10/23)], TNM staging [stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ vs. stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ: 82.35% (14/17) vs. 35.29% (6/17)] (all P < 0.05), and PAK2 positive patients were not associated with clinical type, tumor size, smoking history, drinking history, and age (all P > 0.05). qRT-PCR showed that the relative expression level of PAK2 mRNA in the chemotherapy-resistant group was higher than that in the chemotherapy-sensitive group (3.89±0.12 vs. 0.78±0.23, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The expression level of PAK2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues is increased, and the high expression of PAK2 is closely related to the malignant clinical characteristics of patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The high expression of PAK2 may indicate the insensitivity to traditional chemotherapy regimens, and PAK2 may be a potential gene that targets and regulates the chemosensitivity of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
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Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. With the emergence of chemotherapy resistance in recent years, the survival rate of osteosarcoma patients has reached a bottleneck. Therefore, exploration of its chemoresistance mechanism is one of the popular research directions currently. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a class of RNA without the ability to encode proteins, which is classified into microRNA, long non-coding RNA, and circular RNA based on length and shape. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, there is increasing evidence that some non-coding RNAs are abnormally upregulated or downregulated in osteosarcoma cells and affect the response of osteosarcoma to four commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs (methotrexate, doxorubicin, cisplatin and ifosfamide) through mechanisms such as regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle, signaling pathways, intracellular drug concentration, and cellular autophagy. Therefore, thesenon-coding RNAs are expected to be novel targets for osteosarcoma treatment. In this paper, the current studies were searched and reviewed on the above three non-coding RNAs mediating chemoresistance in osteosarcoma, aiming to provide a reference for breaking the bottleneck of survival rate of osteosarcoma patients.
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Multidrug resistance impacts negatively upon the curative effect of chemotherapy and prognosis in colorectal cancer. There is a growing body of studies trying to develop drugs to overcome multidrug resistance against its common targets, including ATP-binding cassette proteins, metabolic enzymes, apoptotic genes, signaling pathways and genetic material, among which P-glycoprotein inhibitors and drugs disrupting DNA are deeply developed. Developing new inhibitors or combining existing inhibitors with conventional treatment are hopeful ways to overcome multidrug resistance in colorectal cancer.
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Objective Drug resistance is the main cause of chemotherapy failure in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1), as a major influencing factor for reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism, has been proven to be associated with the poor prognosis of patients with HCC. This study aims to explore the role of TXNRD1 in the mechanism of multidrug resistance in HCC. Methods BEL/FU cells in BEL-7402 cell line were selected as the multidrug-resistant cell line. The siRNA was used for the intervention of TXNRD1 expression; quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to measure the expression of TXNRD1; CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the effect of TXNRD1 on hepatocyte ROS accumulation, resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) and doxorubicin (DOX), and apoptosis in vitro; a xenograft tumor model was established to investigate the effect of auranofin (AUR) on drug resistance in vivo. The two-independent-samples t test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups. Results As a multidrug-resistant HCC cell line, BEL/Fu showed high mRNA and protein expression levels of TXNRD1 (both P < 0.05). Compared with 5-Fu or DOX treatment alone, the TXNRD1 inhibitor AUR combined with 5-Fu or DOX had had a significant reduction in the number of colony formation ( P < 0.01) and a significant increase in apoptosis ratio ( P < 0.001). The ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) significantly weakened the effect of TXNRD1 knockdown by siRNA on the drug resistance of BEL/Fu cells, and the application of NAC effectively reduced the apoptosis ratio of cells after siRNA interference ( P < 0.001). Animal experiments also confirmed that compared with the nude mice treated with 5-Fu alone, the nude mice treated with 5-Fu and AUR had a significantly lower tumor mass ( P < 0.001) and a significantly smaller tumor volume ( P < 0.001). Conclusion TXNRD1 plays an important role in the drug resistance of HCC, and inhibition of its level in cells can effectively improve drug resistance. As a TXNRD1 inhibitor, AUR has great application prospects in the multimodality therapy for HCC.
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γ-synuclein (SNCG) has been extensively studied for its specific overexpression in various malignant neoplasms. Recently, SNCG has been found to be involved in multiple signaling pathways, including estrogen, AKT-mTOR, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and microtubule regulation. SNCG has also been found to be related to the proliferation, invasion, migration and chemotherapy drug resistance of neoplasms. Therefore, SNCG is expected to be the key target of anti-tumor and improving the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs.
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Fibulin protein family is a class of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that are widely expressed in various tissues and plays an important role in the formation and stabilization of ECM. More and more studies have found that Fibulin protein family can play a role in tumor suppression or tumor promotion in different tumor tissues, which affects tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis and is closely related to tumor chemotherapy resistance. Furthermore, Fibulin protein family is expected to be the target of inhibiting and reversing tumor chemotherapy resistance. This article reviews the role, target and molecular mechanism of Fibulin protein family in tumor development, progression and chemotherapy resistance, aiming to find a new research direction for tumor chemotherapy resistance.
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Objective:To investigate the effects of hyperthermia on the biological behavior of human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cisplatin-resistant (Hep-2/CDDP) cell line and its possible mechanism.Methods:Hep-2/CDDP cell line was induced by high impact combined with increasing concentration method. Cell count method was used to detect the cell proliferation ability of Hep-2 parental cell group (Hep-2 cells without cisplatin-resistance and the cells were cultured with RPMI 1640 cultured medium without cisplatin), Hep-2/CDDP cell group and Hep-2/CDDP+cisplatin group (using RPMI 1640 cultured medium including 4 mg/L cisplatin). Hep-2/CDDP cell group and Hep-2 parental cell group were treated with cultured medium including 0, 0.004, 0.04, 0.4, 4, 40 mg/L cisplatin, respectively. The sensitivity of Hep-2/CDDP cells to cisplatin, vincristine and 5-fluorouracil was determined by using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method. The half inhibitory concentration ( IC50) and resistance index (RI) were also calculated. Hep-2/CDDP cell group was divided into 4 subgroups: the cells in the control group were cultured for 24 h at 37 ℃; the cells in hyperthermia group were treated at 43 ℃ for 2 h and then re-cultured at 37 ℃ for 22 h; the cells in cisplatin group were cultured at 37 ℃ for 24 h in cultured medium containing 4 mg/L cisplatin. The cells in hyperthermia combined with cisplatin group were cultured in cultured medium containing 4 mg/L cisplatin, treated at 43 ℃ for 2 h and then re-cultured at 37 ℃ for 22 h. The effects of hyperthermia combined with cisplatin on the proliferation and early apoptosis of Hep-2/CDDP cells were detected by using MTT and flow cytometry. The interaction of hyperthermia combined with cisplatin on the proliferation and early apoptosis of HEP-2/CDDP cells was observed by using factorial analysis. Western blotting was used to detect the effect of hyperthermia combined with cisplatin on the expressions of wild-type p53 and PI3K in Hep-2/CDDP cells. Hep-2/CDDP cells were divided into 4 groups: the control group (Hep-2/CDDP cells were cultured for 24 h at 37 ℃); chemotherapy group was treated with 12 mg/L vincristine or 9 mg/L 5-fluorouracil; in the hyperthermia group, Hep-2/CDDP cells were treated at 43℃ for 2 h and then re-cultured at 37 ℃ for 22 h; in hyperthermia combined with chemotherapy group, the cells were cultured in a medium containing 12 mg/L vincristine or 9 mg/L 5-fluorouracil, treated at 43 ℃ for 2 h and then re-cultured at 37 ℃ for 22 h. MTT method was used to detect the effect of hyperthermia combined with vincristine and 5-fluorouracil on the proliferation of Hep-2/CDDP cells. Results:Hep-2/CDDP cell line was successfully established. There were no significant differences in the number of cells in Hep-2/CDDP cell group, Hep-2 parental cell line group and Hep-2/CDDP + cisplatin cell group at different time points (all P > 0.05), and the doubling time was 43.8, 40.6 and 43.5 h, respectively. The IC50 of Hep-2 parental cell line group and Hep-2/CDDP cell group to cisplatin was 4.771 mg/L and 42.749 mg/L, respectively, and the RI was 8.960. Hyperthermia combined with cisplatin could inhibit the proliferation of Hep-2/CDDP cells ( F = 327.91, P < 0.05) and promote the early apoptosis of Hep-2/CDDP cells ( F = 724.63, P < 0.05). Factorial analysis showed that hyperthermia combined with cisplatin had an interaction effect on the proliferation and early apoptosis of Hep-2/CDDP cells ( F = 185.68, 472.51, all P < 0.05). Western blotting showed that the relative expression levels of wild-type p53 protein and PI3K protein in the control group, hyperthermia group, cisplatin group and hyperthermia combined with cisplatin group were significantly different ( F = 547.76, 404.44, all P < 0.01). Hyperthermia combined with vincristine or 5-fluorouracil could inhibit the proliferation of Hep-2/CDDP cells ( F = 33.06, 34.61, all P < 0.05). Factorial analysis showed that hyperthermia combined with vincristine and 5-fluorouracil had no interaction effect on the proliferation of Hep-2/CDDP cells ( F = 0.64,0.60, all P > 0.05). Conclusions:Hyperthermia may reverse the resistance of Hep-2/CDDP cell line to cisplatin by upregulating wild-type p53 expression and inhibiting the PI3K pathway. Hep-2/CDDP cell line has cross-resistance to vincristine and 5-fluorouracil. Hyperthermia can increase the sensitivity of Hep-2/CDDP cell line to vincristine and 5-fluorouracil.
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Objective:To investigate the effect of miR-485-5p on cisplatin resistance of colon cancer cells through the PI3K/Akt-PAK1 signaling pathway.Methods:The LoVo/DDP cell lines were constructedand divided into an NC group(without transfection treatment), an miR-485-5p mimics group(transfected with miR-485-5p mimics), an miR-485-5p inhibitors group(transfected with miR-485-5p inhibitors), an IPA-3 group(intervention with IPA-3)and an miR-485-5p mimics+ IPA-3 group(transfection with miR-485-5p mimics andinterventionwith IPA-3), with all given 0, 3, and 5 μmol/L cisplatin treatment.Results:Among the 20 patients, the proportion of negative miR-485-5p detection was 85.0%(17/20), and the proportion of positive detection was 15.0%(3/20); the proportion of negative PAK1 detection was 20.0%(4/20), and the proportion of positive detection was 80.0%(16/20). The expression of miR-485-5p in colon cancer tissue was significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues( P<0.05); the expression of miR-485-5p in the human colon cancer cell lines LoVo, SW620, HCT116, and SW480 was all lower than in normal intestinal mucosal cells( P<0.05); the expression of miR-485-5p in LoVo/DDP was significantly lower than inLoVo( P<0.001). Under the action of 3 μmol/L and 5 μmol/L cisplatin, LoVo/DDP had highercell viability but a lower apoptosis rate than LoVo( P<0.001). The cell survival rate in the miR-485-5p mimics group was significantly lower than that in the miR-485-5p inhibitors group( P<0.001). Compared with the NC mimics group, overexpression of miR-485-5p significantly down-regulated luciferase activity of the wild-type PAK1 reporter gene( P<0.001); P-PI3k, P-Akt and PAK1levels in the miR-485-5p mimics group were significantly lower than in the miR-485-5p inhibitors group( P<0.001); the cell survival rate in the miR-485-5p mimics group, the IPA-3 group and the miR-485-5p mimics+ IPA-3 group was significantly lower than in the NC group( P<0.001)and the cell survival rate in the miR-485-5p mimics+ IPA-3 group was significantly lower than in the miR-485-5p mimics group( P<0.001). Conclusions:Up-regulation of miR-485-5p reverses colon cancer cisplatin resistance through the PI3K/Akt-PAK1signaling pathway, suggesting that overexpression of miR-485-5p or inhibition of the PI3K/Akt-PAK1signaling pathway enhances the therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin in colon cancer.
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Objective:To investigate the effects of autophagy-mediated crizotinib resistance on cancer stem-like cell subsets in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK + ALCL). Methods:The preliminary research of our group divided ALK + ALCL Karpas299 cell line into two subgroups: reporter unresponsive (RU) and reporter responsive (RR) cells through the implantation of Sox2 reporter genes, among which the RR cells had the characteristics of stem cells. Fluorescent labeled LC3 overexpressing RR and RU cells (RR-LC3 and RU-LC3) were constructed by lentiviral transfection technique, and the transfection efficiency was verified by using Western blotting and flow cytometry. RU-LC3 and RR-LC3 were treated with crizotinib at different concentrations (0, 250, 500, 1 000 nmol/L). The RED and GEN signals were detected by using double-signal flow cytometry to observe autophagy flux (RED represents the red signal B695 of the next generation of far-red fluorescent protein TagFP635 mKate; GEN represents the green signal from pH-sensitive GFP variant pHluorin B530), and the RED to GEV ratio represents autophagy flux. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect autophagy related genes ULK1, WIPI1 and LC3B mRNA expression levels in cells. The effects of different concentrations of crizotinib (250, 500, 1 000 nmol/L) combined with chloroquine (5, 10 μmol/L) on the cell survival were detected by using MTS assay. Results:RU-LC3 and RR-LC3 cells with overexpression of LC3 were successfully constructed. After induction of 250, 500 and 1 000 nmol/L crizotinib, the RED to GEN ratio in RU-LC3 cells was 1.135±0.017, 1.453±0.017 and 1.755±0.021, respectively; the RED to GEN ratio in RR-LC3 cells was 1.193±0.018, 2.116±0.013 and 3.307±0.189, respectively; the RED to GEN ratio in RU-LC3 cells and RR-LC3 cells showed a dose-dependent manner. The RED to GEN ratio in RR-LC3 cells was higher than that in RU-LC3 cells when treated with same concentrations of crizotinib, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.01). The autophagy flux of RR-LC3 cells was larger than that of RU-LC3 cells. When treated without crizotinib, mRNA relative expression levels of ULK1, WIPI1 and LC3B in RR cells were higher than those in RU cells (1.69±0.05 vs.1.01±0.02, t = -1.62, P < 0.01; 1.24±0.04 vs. 1.03±0.05, t = -2.11, P < 0.01; 1.70±0.22 vs. 1.02±0.05, t = -1.74, P = 0.033). In the absence of chloroquine, the half-inhibitory concentration ( IC50) of crizotinib in RR cells was higher than that of RU cells (950 nmol/L vs. 709 nmol/L). After treated with chloroquine, IC50 of RU cells did not change, while IC50 of RR cells was decreased with the increase of chloroquine concentration. Conclusions:Compared with RU cells, autophagy reaction of cancer stem-like RR cells is more rapid and intense, which is considered to be one of the important reasons for their resistance to crizotinib.
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Resistance or drug-resistant recurrence of targeted tumor therapy is a complex and multi-factorial process, with the final result of tumor clones that can evade treatment or have relative proliferation advantages under treatment pressure being selectively retained. The BCR::ABL1 fusion gene is the primary molecular abnormality of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and the development and application of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) targeting the BCR::ABL1 fusion protein pioneered the era of small molecule targeted therapeutics. Several TKI have been approved for clinical application or in development. Although most CML patients manifest an excellent response to TKI treatment, there are still some patients with poor primary response or relapse with drug resistance. With the increase in the number of patients with long-term maintenance therapy and the sequential use of multiple TKI, the resistance of TKI has become more complicated. This article introduces the research progress of CML molecular resistance mechanisms in recent years and shares the relevant cutting-edge reports at the 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in 2021.
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Objective:To explore the characteristics of BCR-ABL1 kinase domain mutations in imatinib-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph + ALL) patients from Northeast China and their impact on prognosis. Methods:The clinical data of 252 CML patients and 49 Ph + ALL patients who were admitted to the First Hospital of Jilin University from January 2013 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The samples of bone marrow or peripheral blood were collected from patients when imatinib treatment was not effective. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the BCR-ABL1 kinase domain, and Sequencing Analysis v5.4 software was used to analyze the mutation of BCR-ABL1 kinase domain. Patients were followed up for 6-48 months, and the survival analysis was performed. Results:Among 252 CML patients, the mutations in ABL1 kinase domain were found in 57 patients (22.6%), including 25 patients in the chronic phase, 21 patients in the accelerated phase and 11 patients in the blast crisis; 50 patients had 20 types of single point mutation, and the most common mutation types were E255K (16.0%, 8/50), T315I (14.0%, 7/50), M244V (8.0%, 4/50) and G250E (8.0%, 4/50), which were all concentrated in the P-loop and C-helix domains; 7 patients had double mutations; patients with multiple mutations had the worst prognosis, with a median overall survival (OS) time of 3.2 months. Among 49 Ph + ALL patients, 17 cases (34.7%) were positive for mutations in the BCR-ABL1 kinase domain, 14 patients had 12 types of single point mutation, and 3 patients had multiple mutations; the median OS time of patients with multiple mutations, mutations located in the P-loop and C-helix domains and mutations located in the other domains was 2.0, 8.0 and 18.0 months, and the difference in OS among the three groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.01). Conclusions:Among the imatinib-resistant CML and Ph + ALL patients from Northeast China, point mutations in the P-loop and C-helix domains are most commonly found. Multiple mutations, mutations in the P-loop and C-helix domains are related to the poor prognosis of the patients.
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Acute myeloid leukemia is a clonal malignant proliferative disease of myeloid blasts of the hematopoietic system. The leukemia cell population is composed of cells of different stages. Acute myeloid leukemia stem cells are the cells that may cause diseases in immunodeficient animals and can regenerate themselves through continuous transplantation, which causes leukemia. Since more than 96% of leukemia stem cells are in the G0 stage, they may escape the effects of chemical drug stabbing, leading to drug resistance and recurrence of leukemia. Therefore, the key to the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia has always been how to remove leukemia stem cells without damaging hematopoietic stem cells. This review paper addresses the new developments in the immunophenotype of leukemia stem cells and leukemia stem cells-targeting therapy for acute myeloid leukemia.
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Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of steroid-resistant chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) patients and the therapeutic effect of ibrutinib.Methods:The clinical data of 3 steroid-resistant cGVHD patients treated with ibrutinib after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from December 2017 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, and the literature was reviewed.Results:All 3 patients had different degrees of skin and oral cGVHD. One patient's oral symptom improved after the application of prednisone, and the skin symptom was better after oral ibrutinib; one patient's oral symptom improved after oral ibrutinib, but skin symptom did not improve significantly; one patient's skin symptom did not improve significantly. None of the 3 patients presented with adverse reactions such as hemorrhage, infection and cytopenia.Conclusions:Ibrutinib has a certain effect on the improvement of symptoms in steroid-resistant cGVHD patients.
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Cell epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is one of the causes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The emergence of targeted drugs for EGFR gene mutation provides a new direction for NSCLC treatment. The common EGFR-targeted drugs like the first-generation gefitinib and erlotinib, the second-generation afatinib and the third-generation osimertinib have shown their good efficacies in a number of large international clinical trials. EGFR gene mutation in Chinese NSCLC patients is different from that in European and American NSCLC patients. This paper briefly reviews the characteristics of EGFR gene mutation and the current status and progress of EGFR-targeted drugs in Chinese NSCLC patients to investigate the mutation characteristics of EGFR in Chinese NSCLC patients and the response as well as prognosis of Chinese patients to EGFR-TKI therapy.
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O câncer de cólon é uma das principais causas de morte por câncer em todo mundo e aproximadamente 50% dos pacientes desenvolvem metástases hepáticas durante o curso da doença. Ainda que a ressecção cirúrgica proporcione sobrevida de 5 anos ao redor de 40%, a maior parte dos pacientes apresenta doença irressecável ao diagnóstico. Neste caso, o cenário é devastador devido à resistência das células tumorais ao tratamento padrão com quimioterapia e/ou anticorpo monoclonal. Apesar dos avanços alcançados pelo rastreamento genômico das metástases, o conhecimento sobre o envolvimento de transcritos e proteínas específicas na atividade de sinalização e recrutamento de populações imunes ainda é limitado nessa doença. Considerando o grande potencial de descoberta e inovação que pode ser alcançado, este projeto propôs o desenvolvimento de uma meta-análise de dados públicos para a exploração de metástases hepáticas e a caracterização proteômica de metástases hepáticas inicialmente irressecáveis em busca de alvos promissores que possam ser explorados em novas opções terapêuticas. As principais etapas metodológicas incluem (1) desenvolvimento de um modelo de integração de dados para a obtenção, processamento e análise de aproximadamente 3.5 mil amostras de RNA-seq, microarray e proteômica de metástases hepáticas inicialmente ressecáveis, tumores primários do cólon e tecidos não-neoplásicos, (2) rastreamento por espectrometria de massas de 30 biópsias pareadas, sendo 15 de metástases hepáticas inicialmente irressecáveis e 15 de tecidos não-neoplásicos adjacentes, (3) investigação de potenciais moduladores da sinalização oncogênica associada à resistência à terapia e (4) exploração dos resultados em um conjunto independente com aproximadamente 138 mil células obtidas por single-cell RNA-seq em busca de associações entre alvos, vias de sinalização e populações imunes. Após a análise de espectrometria de massas e integração de dados da metaanálise, das 46 proteínas diferencialmente reguladas entre metástases hepáticas inicialmente irressecáveis e tecidos não-neoplásicos, TGFB1, CDH2, APOA1, TNFR2, EGFR, MDH2, ITIH2, YWHAZ, PCBP1, TOP2A e ENO1 (todas com aumento de regulação nas metástases) e CXCL14, PLA2G2A e CAV1 (com diminuição de regulação nas metástases) prosseguiram na análise. Dessas, PLA2G2A e CAV1 não foram estatisticamente confirmadas após comparação com cinco estudos independentes. Também foi identificada a ativação nas metástases de importantes vias como JAK-STAT (z-score=3,18), VEGF (z-score=2,67), WNT (z-score=3,22), PI3K (z-score=3,99), MAPK (z-score=2,85), EGFR (z-score=2,49) e NFkB (zscore=4,11). Em seguida observamos pela análise de single-cell RNA-seq que a presença de TGFB1, TNFR2 e EGFR estava associada a maior polarização de neutrófilos e células Tregs em metástases hepáticas, sugerindo uma participação desses alvos no recrutamento dessas populações imunes ou em conjunto durante o desenvolvimento, estabelecimento dessas células no fígado e progressão da doença. Tanto TGFB1 (p=0,01) quanto TNFR2 (p=0,048) foram associados a pior sobrevida global em pacientes metastáticos e apresentaram AUC=0,95 na separação entre câncer primário no cólon e metástases no fígado. Especificamente sobre a comparação entre metástases inicialmente ressecáveis e irressecáveis, apesar de termos identificado alguns alvos com mais de 10-fold de diferença (YWHAZ, AHNAK, HNRNPH1, PCBP1 e TGFB1) apenas TGFB1 prosseguiu em todas as análises, porém, esses resultados sugerem a exploração posterior desses candidatos em novos estudos. Quando buscamos por alvos relacionados à resistência à terapia, nossa estratégia selecionou 32 proteínas diferencialmente reguladas nas metástases resistentes, com envolvimento de CDH2 (p=0,002), CXCL14 (p=0,05), SERPINA1 (p=0,012) e LRGR (p=0,049) com pior sobrevida global em pacientes metastáticos. Nesses tumores também foi observada uma tendência de ativação das vias TGF-ß e TNF-α, já descritas na literatura devido a participação no desenvolvimento e progressão de metástases, além de favorer um perfil de resistência às células tumorais. Por meio de uma análise de deconvolução também observamos maior presença de células Tregs em pacientes resistentes. Essa relação entre Tregs/LGR5 também já foi associada a pior prognóstico em outros tipos de cânceres e suportam uma participação de ambos em um possível mecanismo de resistência desses tumores. Com base nos resultados obtidos, acreditamos oferecer um conjunto de dados inéditos que podem modificar o prognóstico e diagnóstico das metástases hepáticas, bem como contribuir para que os pacientes tenham novas opções terapêuticas com melhora na sobrevida
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide and approximately 50% of patients develop liver metastases during the course of the disease. Although surgical resection provides a 5-year survival rate of around 40%, most patients have unresectable disease at diagnosis. In this case, the scenario is devastating due to the resistance of tumor cells to standard treatment with chemotherapy and/or monoclonal antibody. Despite the advances achieved by genomic tracking of metastases, the involvement of specific transcripts and proteins in the signaling activity and recruitment of immune populations is still limited in this disease. Considering the great potential for discovery and innovation that can be achieved, this project proposed the development of a meta-analysis for the exploration of liver metastases and the proteomic characterization of initially unresectable liver metastases in search of promising targets that can be explored in new therapeutics options. Key methodological steps include (1) development of a data integration model for obtaining, processing and analyzing approximately 3,500 RNA-seq, microarray and proteomic samples from initially resectable liver metastases, primary colon tumors and non-neoplastic tissues, (2) mass spectrometry screening of 30 paired biopsies, 15 from initially unresectable liver metastases and 15 from adjacent non-neoplastic tissues, (3) investigation of potential modulators of oncogenic signaling associated with therapy resistance, and (4) exploration of the results in an independent pool of approximately 138,000 cells obtained by single-cell RNA-seq in search of associations between targets, signaling pathways and immune populations. After mass spectrometry analysis and integration of metaanalysis data, of the 46 differentially regulated proteins between initially unresectable liver metastases and non-neoplastic tissues, TGFB1, CDH2, APOA1, TNFR2, EGFR, MDH2, ITIH2, YWHAZ, PCBP1, TOP2A and ENO1 (all with upregulation in metastases) and CXCL14, PLA2G2A and CAV1 (with downregulation in metastases) continued in the analysis. Of these, PLA2G2A and CAV1 were not statistically confirmed after comparison with five independent studies. We identified activation of important pathways such as JAK-STAT (zscore=3.18), VEGF (z-score=2.67), WNT (z-score=3.22), PI3K (z-score=3.99), MAPK (z- score=2.85), EGFR (z-score=2.49) and NFkB (z-score=4.11). Then we observed by single-cell RNA-seq analysis that the presence of TGFB1, TNFR2 and EGFR was associated with greater polarization of neutrophils and Treg cells in liver metastases, suggesting a participation of these targets in the recruitment of these immune populations or together during development, establishment of these cells in the liver and disease progression. Both TGFB1 (p=0.01) and TNFR2 (p=0.048) were associated with worse overall survival in patients with metastatic disease and had AUC=0.95 separating primary colon cancer from liver metastases. Specifically, regarding the comparison between initially resectable and unresectable metastases, although we identified some targets with more than 10-fold difference (YWHAZ, AHNAK, HNRNPH1, PCBP1 and TGFB1) only TGFB1 continued in all analyses, however, these results suggest the exploration of these candidates in further studies. When looking for targets related to therapy resistance, our strategy selected 32 proteins differentially regulated in resistant metastases, with involvement of CDH2 (p=0.002), CXCL14 (p=0.05), SERPINA1 (p=0.012) and LRGR (p=0.049) with poor overall survival in metastatic patients. In these tumors, a tendency of activation of the TGF-ß and TNF-α pathways was also observed, already described in the literature due to their participation in the development and progression of metastases, in addition to favoring a resistance profile to tumor cells. By means of a deconvolution analysis, we also observed a greater presence of Treg cells in resistant patients. This relationship between Tregs/LGR5 has also been associated with a worse prognosis in other types of cancers and supports the participation of both in a possible mechanism of resistance in these tumors. Based on the results obtained, we believe to offer a set of unpublished data that can modify the prognosis and diagnosis of liver metastases, as well as contribute to patients having new therapeutic options with improved survival
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Middle Aged , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Colonic Neoplasms , Proteomics , Prognosis , Neoplasm MetastasisABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the related mechanism of miRNA-34a (miR-34a) reverses cisplatin resistance of osteosarcoma through targeted inhibition of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1).Methods:The MG-63 cisplatin-resistant cell line (MG-63/DDP) was constructed by using dose escalation and intermittent action, and then the successfully constructed MG-63/DDP cells were treated with different concentrations of cisplatin (0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 μg/ml), and CCK-8 method was used to detect cell survival rate. The MG-63/DDP cells were transfected respectively and then randomly divided into two groups: the miR-34a overexpression vector group and the miR-34a empty expression vector (miR-34a-NC) group. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the relative expression level of miR-34a. Transfected cells were treated with different concentrations of cisplatin (0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 μg/ml), and CCK-8 method was used to detect cell survival rate, flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis. The dual luciferase reporter gene experiment was used to verify whether miR-34a regulated the expression of HMGB1, and Western blotting method was used to detect the HMGB1 protein expression level of the transfected cells. MG-63/DDP cells were transfected respectively and then randomly divided into two groups: HMGB1 gene silencing vector (si-HMGB1) group and its negative control vector (si-NC) group. Western blotting method was used to detect HMGB1 protein expression level and CCK-8 method was used to detect cell survival rate.Results:The MG-63/DDP cell line was successfully constructed. The survival rate of MG-63/DDP cells was higher than that of MG-63 cells when cells were treated with different concentrations of cisplatin (all P < 0.01), and half inhibitory concentration ( IC50) value of MG-63/DDP cells and MG-63 cells on cisplatin was 25.80 μg/ml and 0.47 μg/ml, respectively. qRT-PCR results showed that the relative expression level of miR-34a in MG-63/DDP cells was lower than that in MG-63 cells (0.46±0.04 vs. 1.02±0.05, t = 15.14, P < 0.01); compared with miR-34a-NC group, the relative expression of miR-34a in MG-63/DDP cells was increased in miR-34a overexpression vector group (1.67±0.09 vs. 1.00±0.02, t = -12.58, P < 0.01). Cell survival rate of miR-34a overexpression vector group and miR-34a-NC group was decreased with the increase in the concentration of cisplatin; cell survival rate of miR-34a overexpression vector group was lower than that of miR-34a-NC group when cells were treated with different concentrations of 5- 30 μg/ml cisplatin (all P < 0.01). The apoptotic rate of MG-63/DDP cells in miR-34a-NC group and miR-34a overexpression vector group was (25.1±1.7)% and (42.3±2.3)%, respectively when cells were treated with 20 μg/ml cisplatin; and in miR-34a overexpression vector group, MG-63/DDP cells had a higher rate of apoptosis ( P < 0.01). The dual luciferase reporter gene experiment results showed that compared with miR-34a-NC group, miR-34a overexpression vector group could inhibit the luciferase activity of PGL3- wild-type-HMGB1, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 6.37, P < 0.01), while miR-34a overexpression vector group had no significant inhibitory effect on the luciferase activity of PGL3- mutant-HMGB1 ( t = 0.35, P = 0.74). The relative expression level of HMGB1 protein in miR-34a overexpression vector group was lower than that in miR-34a-NC group (0.43±0.02 vs. 1.00±0.14, t = 6.98, P < 0.01). Compared with si-NC group, the relative expression level and IC50 value of HMGB1 protein in si-HMGB1 group were reduced (all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Overexpression of miR-34a can enhance the chemosensitivity of osteosarcoma cells MG-63/DDP to cisplatin, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of HMGB1 expression.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the expressions of glutathione S-transferases M1 (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferases M2 (GSTM2) in follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) and their clinical significances.Methods:Gene expression profile of GSE82208 generated from 52 human thyroid samples, including 27 cases of FTC and 25 cases of follicular adenoma (FA) were collected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The gene matrix data were extracted and analyzed, and then differentially expressed genes (DEG) between FTC and FA were identified by using Limma package. Immunohistochemical SABC method was used to detect the expression levels of GSTM1 and GSTM2 proteins in FTC tissues and FA tissues collected from 56 FTC samples and 56 FA samples in Dandong First Hospital of Liaoning Province from January 2000 to December 2020. The relationship between GSTM1 and GSTM2 was analyzed; the association of expression levels of GSTM1 and GSTM2 with the clinicopathological factors of FTC patients was also analyzed.Results:Based on the GEO database, a total of 40 DEG were identified, including 9 up-regulated DEG (GSTM1, GSTM2, COL6A2, CUX2, CLUH, TSC2, OGDHL, ACADVL, SDHA) and 31 down-regulated DEG in FTC. The immunohistochemistry results of samples resected showed that the positive rates of GSTM1 and GSTM2 proteins in FTC tissues were higher than those in FA tissues [71.4% (40/56) vs. 23.2% (13/56), 80.4% (45/56) vs. 14.3% (8/56)], and differences were statistically significant ( χ2 values were 26.11 and 49.03, both P < 0.01). The expressions of GSTM1 and GSTM2 in FTC tissues were correlated with clinical staging, invasion degree and distant metastasis (all P < 0.05), but not with gender, age and tumor diameter (all P>0.05). There was a positive correlation between GSTM1 and GSTM2 proteins expressions in FTC ( r = 0.384, P = 0.004). Conclusions:The expression levels of GSTM1 and GSTM2 in FTC are increased. The interaction between GSTM1 and GSTM2 proteins can be involved in the development and progression of FTC.
ABSTRACT
miRNA-27a (miR-27a) is a member of miR-23a-27a-24 gene cluster and is abnormally expressed in gastric cancer. miR-27a plays an important role in gastric cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition, proliferation, microenvironment and resistance to chemotherapy drugs by regulating SFRP1, PHLPP2, BTG2, SOCS6, FOXO1 and other tumor suppressor genes. At the same time, single nucleotide polymorphisms of miR-27a and gastric cancer have also become hotspots in recent years. A more comprehensive exploration of the relationship between miR-27a and gastric cancer is expected to provide new methods and ideas in the treatment of gastric cancer. This article reviews the research progress of miR-27a in gastric cancer.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the correlations of laminin subunit gamma 3 (LAMC3) expression with prognosis of ovarian cancer (OC).Methods:LAMC3 protein expression was measured using immunohistochemical streptavidin-peroxidase-biotin connection method (IHC). Gene expression and related clinical data in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) cohort and clinical proteomic tumor analysis consortium (CPTAC) were applied to analyse the correlation between gene and protein expressions and clinical outcomes. Correlations between LAMC3 and clinicopathological factors were evaluated using the Pearson χ2 test (2-sided). The probability of survival and significance was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier plot. The functional clustering of biological pathways enriched from co-expressed genes of LAMC3 was used to explore the possible mechanisms that LAMC3 might contribute to poor prognosis. Results:Based on the IHC results of 216 OC tissues or ovaries (including 208 tumors and 8 normal tissues) and 51 OC tissues (including 24 chemotherapy-resistant and 27 sensitive tissues), and the protein expression data from CPTAC (including 100 primary tumors and 25 normal tissues), the results showed that the protein expression of LAMC3 was significantly decreased in OC tissues compared with normal, decreased in advanced-stage tissues compared with early-stage tissues, and decreased in drug-resistant tissues compared with sensitive tissues (all P<0.05). Furthermore, low expression of LAMC3 protein was significantly associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in 51 OC tissues ( P<0.01), consistent with the results that the low levels of LAMC3 mRNA predicted short DFS and OS in 489 OC tissues of the TCGA cohort ( P<0.05). The results suggested that low expression of LAMC3 might be the adverse factors for OC development, such as drug resistance and advanced tumors, and might be a risk indicator for prognosis. Moreover, functional clustering of biological pathways enriched from the co-expressed genes of LAMC3 in TCGA ovarian cohort indicated that LAMC3 potentially involved in regulation of OC via oncogene-pathways such as Ras associated protein 1 (Rap1), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Ras and cell adhesion-related pathways such as extra cellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction and focal adhesion. It indicated that LAMC3 might contribute to short survival and tumor progression by regulation of the above pathways. Conclusion:Low expression of LAMC3 is related to poor prognosis and malignant progression in OC, and thus it is expected to be a new prognostic marker and therapeutic target for clinical treatment.