High expression of PDZ-binding kinase is correlated with poor prognosis and immune infiltrates in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: PDZ-binding kinase (PBK) encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase related to the dual specific mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) family. There is evidence that overexpression of this gene is associated with tumorigenesis. However, the role of PBK in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the prognostic role of PBK and its correlation with immune infiltrates in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: The expression of PBK in pan-cancers was studied by Onconmine and TIMER. The expression of PBK in HCC patients and its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed using The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), The human protein atlas database (HPA), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the diagnostic value of PBK in HCC patients. The relationship between PBK and prognosis of HCC was performed by GEPIA and Kaplan Meier plotter web tool. The correlations between the clinical characteristics and overall survival were analyzed by Univariate Cox regression and Multivariate Cox hazards regression to identify possible prognostic factors for HCC patients. LinkedOmics was applied to investigate co-expression associated with PBK and to analyze Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. The network map of PBK and related genes is constructed by GeneMANIA. Finally, TIMER and TISIDB were used to analyze the correlations between PBK and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. RESULTS: Multiple database analysis shows that PBK was highly expressed in many types of tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, and was significantly related to tumor stage (P=0.0089), age (P=0.0131), and race (P=0.0024) of HCC patients. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that PBK had high diagnostic potential to HCC in GSE76427 (AUC=0.8799), GSE121248 (AUC=0.9224), GSE62232 (AUC=0.9975), and GSE84402 (AUC=0.9541). Multivariate Cox hazards regression showed that high expression of PBK may be an independent risk factor for overall survival in HCC patients (HR = 1.566, 95% CI=1.062-2.311, P= 0.024). The Protein-protein interaction network showed that PBK significantly interacted with LRRC47, ARAF, LGALS9B, TTK, DLG1, and other essential genes. Furthermore, enrichment analysis showed that PBK and co-expressed genes participated in many biological processes, cell composition, molecular functions, and pathways in HCC. Finally, the immune infiltration analysis by TIMER and TISIDB indicated that a significant tightly correlation between PBK and macrophages, neutrophils, as well as chemokines and receptors. CONCLUSIONS: High expression of PBK is significantly correlated with poor survival and immune infiltrates in hepatocellular carcinoma. Our study suggests that PBK can be used as a biomarker of poor prognosis and potential immune therapy target in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The expression of minichromosome maintenance protein 3 in brain glioma and its clinical significances / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#目的：分析微小染色体维持蛋白3（minichromosome maintenance protein 3，MCM3）在脑胶质瘤中的表达情况、临床意义和可能参与的生物学过程，并探究其与胶质瘤免疫的关系。方法：在线检索GEPIA和Oncomine数据库获得MCM3在胶质瘤组织中的表达情况，利用CGGA数据库在线分析MCM3表达和胶质瘤临床病理特征的关系。同时收集2019年1月到2020年3月在山西省人民医院神经外科接受手术治疗的24例胶质瘤患者的肿瘤标本和8例非肿瘤对照标本，采用免疫组化SP法检测MCM3的表达，对生物信息学分析结果进行验证。在TCGA和CGGA数据库中利用Kaplan-Meier生存曲线评价MCM3对胶质瘤预后的作用。通过Linkedomic数据库、STRING数据库和Cytoscape软件获得与MCM3表达显著相关的基因。使用DAVID数据库对MCM3及其显著相关基因进行GO和KEGG分析，探究基因功能。最后在TIMER数据库中探究MCM3表达和胶质瘤免疫浸润的关系。结果：综合生物信息学与临床数据分析显示，MCM3在胶质瘤组织中相对正常组织呈高表达（P=0.024），其表达量随着病理级别逐渐升高（P=0.001）。生存分析显示，MCM3高表达与胶质瘤不良预后有关（P＜0.05）。GO和KEGG分析显示，MCM3及其显著相关基因主要富集于细胞周期、DNA复制和调节DNA损伤修复等方面。TIMER数据库分析结果显示，在胶质瘤队列中，MCM3与多种免疫浸润细胞具有相关性（P＜0.05）。结论：MCM3在胶质瘤中高表达且与不良预后有关，其可能与胶质瘤细胞的细胞周期、DNA复制、调节DNA损伤修复和免疫微环境有关。MCM3能促进胶质瘤的进展，可作为胶质瘤患者预后判断指标和潜在的治疗靶点。

Prevalence, correlates and treatment status of alcohol use disorders in psychiatric patients in China.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence, associated factors and treatment status of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in psychiatric patients in China. METHODS: We asked 24,379 consecutive patients aged ≥18years who presented at the psychiatric departments in eight hospitals in 2013 whether they had consumed alcoholic beverages in the previous month. Of the 2964 (12.2%) patients who answered yes and were then screened with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), 1304 (5.3%) screened positive (AUDIT≥7) and, based on DSM-IV criteria, were diagnosed with AUDs by psychiatrists. The treatments prescribed for them were also recorded. Logistic regression was used to identify AUDs associated factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of AUDs was 2.4% (95% CI: 2.2-2.6%). None of the patients diagnosed with AUDs had got medical treatment for preventing relapse. The risk factors for AUDs were middle-aged or elderly (OR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.23-2.80), and consuming beverages with high degree of alcohol content (OR=2.92, 95% CI: 2.11-4.06). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of AUDs in psychiatric patients in China was not high, but the rate of treatment was dramatically low, indicating the serious neglect of AUDs. Our study suggests an urgent need to improve the situation of unmet need for treatment of psychiatric patients with AUDs.

Association Between MKP-1, BDNF, and Gonadal Hormones with Depression on Perimenopausal Women.

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exerts effects on the neuronal function of hippocampal neurons and increases hippocampal mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) expression, which causes depressive behaviors in rat or mouse. Here we focus on the change of serum MKP-1, BDNF, testosterone (T), and estradiol (E2) levels, in order to test the hypothesis that dysregulation of MKP-1, BDNF, T, and E2 are associated with depression in perimenopausal women. METHODS: Women with depression, after meeting criteria in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, for mental and behaviural disorders and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), were included in the study. Psychosocial data and blood samples were obtained from the subjects in the study, including 38 perimenopausal and 32 young women with depression, 26 healthy control perimenopausal women, and 34 young women. RESULTS: Serum MKP-1 levels were higher and T was lower in the women with depression compared to controls (p<0.05), and depressed perimenopausal women exhibited the highest serum MKP-1 levels and lowest T levels. Logistic regression analyses showed that MKP-1 levels were positively correlated with HDRS scores in the women, and T levels were inversely correlated with HDRS scores in the perimenopausal women (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that high serum MKP-1 levels are associated with depression in women, and this association did not appear to be confounded by age. Further, the results provide evidence of association between depressive symptom severity and increasing serum MKP-1 levels in women, and decreasing T levels in perimenopausal women.