SQSTM1/p62 promotes the progression of gastric cancer through epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Background: SQSTM1/p62 is an autophagy-related receptor protein that participates in regulating tumorigenesis and multiple signaling pathways. Gastric cancer (GC) is a common tumor in the digestive tract and continues to pose a significant threat to human health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of p62 on gastric cancer. Methods: Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were employed to assess the expression level of the p62 protein in gastric cancer tissues and its correlation with prognosis. Subsequently, in vitro cell experiments were conducted to determine the role of p62 in gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, and metastasis. Result: The expression of p62 in gastric cancer tissues was significantly higher than in normal tissues. The expression of p62 was positively correlated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. In vitro cell experiments indicated that p62 promotes gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration. Mechanistically, elevated p62 expression induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), leading to upregulation of E-cadherin and downregulation of N-cadherin and vimentin. Conclusion: This study provides novel and robust evidence for the mechanism by which elevated p62 expression promotes the progression of gastric cancer. It offers promising therapeutic targets for anti-tumor treatment strategies in gastric cancer patients.

Construction of a Cuproptosis-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Prognosis in Gastric Cancer.

This study aimed to develop and validate a cuproptosis-related gene signature for the prognosis of gastric cancer. The data in TCGA GC TPM format from UCSC were extracted for analysis, and GC samples were randomly divided into training and validation groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to obtain cuproptosis-related genes co-expressed with 19 Cuproptosis genes. Univariate Cox and Lasso regression analyses were used to obtain cuproptosis-related prognostic genes. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to construct the final prognostic risk model. The risk score curve, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and ROC curve were used to evaluate the predictive ability of Cox risk model. Finally, the functional annotation of the risk model was obtained through enrichment analysis. Then, a six-gene signature was identified in the training cohort and verified among all cohorts using Cox regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier plots, demonstrating its independent prognostic significance for gastric cancer. In addition, ROC analysis confirmed the significant predictive potential of this signature for the prognosis of gastric cancer. Functional enrichment analysis was mainly related to cell-matrix function. Therefore, a new cuproptosis-related six-gene signature (ACLY, FGD6, SERPINE1, SPATA13, RANGAP1, and ADGRE5) was constructed for the prognosis of gastric cancer, allowing for tailored prediction of outcome and the formulation of novel therapeutics for gastric cancer patients.

High-Performance Joule Heating and Electromagnetic Shielding Properties of Anisotropic Carbon Scaffolds.

Highly efficient electrical heaters along with excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties are urgently required for the progress of miniaturization electronics, artificial intelligence, and smart heating management setups. Herein, lignin removal, which comprises two efficient and versatile steps, followed by carbonization produces multifunctional carbon monoliths derived from natural wood. The obtained carbonized wood exhibits a high specific surface area (655.14 m2/g) and electrical (17.5 S/cm) and thermal conductivity (0.58 W/m·K), superhydrophilicity (contact angle of ∼0°), and excellent EMI shielding ability and Joule heating performance. The high electrical conductivity renders a low-voltage-actuated Joule heating performance and fascinating EMI shielding effectiveness of 55 dB, primarily resulting from the absorption mechanism. Moreover, regulation of the carbonized woods derived from the longitudinal to the radial direction enables transformation of hydrophilicity, strong thermal conductivity, and absorption-dominated EMI shielding to hydrophobicity, thermal insulation, and reflection-dominated EMI shielding. This is attributed to the unique anisotropic microstructure of carbon scaffolds. It is believed that these multifunctional carbon scaffolds can be used for intelligent electronics, EMI shielding, and thermal heating instruments.