ABSTRACT
Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome (EAS) is a condition of hypercortisolism caused by non-pituitary tumors that secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). A rare occurrence of this syndrome is due to an ACTH-producing neuroendocrine tumor that originates from the gallbladder. One patient with severe hypokalemia and alkalosis was admitted to our hospital. Clinical presentations and radiographic findings confirmed the diagnosis of an aggressive ACTH-producing gallbladder malignancy with multiple liver metastases. The diagnosis was verified by pathological and immunohistochemical measurements from a biopsy of the hepatic metastasis. A literature review identified only four similar cases had been reported. Despite being rare and having a poor prognosis, hormone-producing neuroendocrine tumors that derive from the gallbladder should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ectopic ACTH syndrome.
ABSTRACT
Family with sequence similarity 49, member B (FAM49B) is highly expressed in many tumors, its role in malignant tumors especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains uncertain. We first evaluated the expression, clinical features, and prognostic value of FAM49B using RNA-seq and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We further assessed the role of FAM49B in the tumor immune microenvironment. The correlation of FAM49B with the sensitivity of 192 anti-cancer drugs was analyzed using data from Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database. qRT-PCR assay was used to validate the expression of FAM49B in HCC. FAM49B was expressed at high levels in most tumor types, including HCC. High FAM49B expression predicted poor survival in patients with HCC. We also found that FAM49B expression was negatively associated with the infiltration levels of immune killer cells, including NK cells, and positively associated with immunosuppressive cells, including Tregs and Central Memory T cell (Tcm), in HCC. In addition, FAM49B expression was positively associated with immune checkpoints, immune regulation genes, MHC genes, chemokines and chemokine receptors. Patients with evaluated expression of FAM49B might be resistant to several anti-cancer drugs. Our results suggest that FAM49B is a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC. FAM49B play a potential key role in regulating tumor immune microenvironment and anti-tumor drug tolerance.
ABSTRACT
Statins are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors that are used to decrease the blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). In addition, they have been shown to exert pleiotropic protective effects in the absence of LDL-lowering activity. The present study investigated the effects of lovastatin on global gene expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), in order to further explore its ability to protect against oxidized (ox)-LDL-induced cytotoxicity. HUVECs were treated with lovastatin for 2-24 h, and gene expression patterns were analyzed using cDNA microarrays. The results suggested that numerous genes were regulated by lovastatin, including certain genes associated with cell survival, such as PTK2B, BCL2 and MAP3K3. In particular, PTK2B, which has been shown to exert anti-apoptotic effects against ox-LDL-induced cell injury, was upregulated by lovastatin. Knockdown of PTK2B was able to attenuate ox-LDL-induced cell injury, and this was associated with decreased levels of phosphorylated-AKT and eNOS, and inhibition of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggested that lovastatin protects against ox-LDL-induced cell injury, potentially via the upregulation of PTK2B, which regulates the anti-apoptosis signaling pathway.
ABSTRACT
Head and neck paraganglioma is a rare and predominantly asymptomatic tumor. In the present study, an extremely rare case of asymptomatic paraganglioma located between the left common carotid artery and the left thyroid is described. The clinical presentation, cytomorphology and the immunohistochemical characteristics for the diagnosis of head and neck paraganglioma are described. To the best of our knowledge, only two cases of paraganglioma located between the left common carotid artery and the left thyroid have previously been reported.
