CircPIAS1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by inhibiting ferroptosis via the miR-455-3p/NUPR1/FTH1 axis.

BACKGROUND: The role of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression remains unclear. CircPIAS1 (circBase ID: hsa_circ_0007088) was identified as overexpressed in HCC cases through bioinformatics analysis. This study aimed to investigate the oncogenic properties and mechanisms of circPIAS1 in HCC development. METHODS: Functional analyses were conducted to assess circPIAS1's impact on HCC cell proliferation, migration, and ferroptosis. Xenograft mouse models were employed to evaluate circPIAS1's effects on tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays were utilized to elucidate the molecular pathways influenced by circPIAS1. Additional techniques, including RNA pulldown, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), qPCR, and western blotting, were used to further explore the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: CircPIAS1 expression was elevated in HCC tissues and cells. Silencing circPIAS1 suppressed HCC cell proliferation and migration both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, circPIAS1 overexpression inhibited ferroptosis by competitively binding to miR-455-3p, leading to upregulation of Nuclear Protein 1 (NUPR1). Furthermore, NUPR1 promoted FTH1 transcription, enhancing iron storage in HCC cells and conferring resistance to ferroptosis. Treatment with ZZW-115, an NUPR1 inhibitor, reversed the tumor-promoting effects of circPIAS1 and sensitized HCC cells to lenvatinib. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the critical role of circPIAS1 in HCC progression through modulation of ferroptosis. Targeting the circPIAS1/miR-455-3p/NUPR1/FTH1 regulatory axis may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Mutational spectrum for guiding the decision of adjuvant treatment in patients with resected biliary tract carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Systemic chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy has proven to be effective in treating advanced biliary tract carcinoma (BTC). However, its efficacy in the adjuvant setting remains controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prognostic significance of genomic biomarkers in resected BTC and their potential role in stratifying patients for adjuvant treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 113 BTC patients who underwent curative-intent surgery and had available tumor sequencing data. Disease-free survival (DFS) was the primary outcome examined and univariate analysis was used to identify gene mutations with prognostic value. Favorable and unfavoratble gene subsets were distinguished from the selected genes through grouping, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify independent prognostic factors of DFS. RESULTS: Our results indicated that mutations in ACVR1B, AR, CTNNB1, ERBB3, and LRP2 were favorable mutations, while mutations in ARID1A, CDKN2A, FGFR2, NF1, NF2, PBRM1, PIK3CA, and TGFBR1 were unfavorable mutations. In addition to age, sex, and node positive, favorable genes (HR = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.04-0.48, p = 0.001) and unfavorable genes (HR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.51-5.29, p = 0.001) were identified as independent prognostic factors for DFS. Out of the 113 patients, only 35 received adjuvant treatment whereas the majority (78) did not. For patients with both favorable and unfavorable mutations undetected, adjuvant treatment showed negative effect on DFS (median DFS: S441 vs. 956 days, p = 0.010), but there was no significant difference in DFS among those in other mutational subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Genomic testing might be useful in guiding the decisions regarding adjuvant treatment in BTC.

COLEC10 Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress by Occupying GRP78 and Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Collectin subfamily member 10 (COLEC10), a C-type lectin mainly expressed in the liver, is involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its underlying molecular mechanism in HCC progression remains unknown. In this study, reduced COLEC10 expression in tumor tissues was validated using various HCC cohorts and was associated with poor patient prognosis. COLEC10 overexpression attenuated HCC cell growth and migration abilities in vitro and in vivo. We identified that COLEC10 was a novel interactor of 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78), a master modulator of the unfolded protein response in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). COLEC10 overexpression potentiated ER stress in HCC cells, as demonstrated by elevated expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase, phosphorylated inositol-requiring protein 1α, activating transcription factor 4, DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, and X-box-binding protein 1s. The ER in COLEC10-overexpressing cells also showed a dilated and fragmented pattern. Mechanistically, COLEC10 overexpression increases GRP78 occupancy through direct binding by the C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain in the ER, which released and activated the ER stress transducers protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase and phosphorylated inositol-requiring protein 1α, triggering the unfolded protein response activity. COLEC10-overexpressing HCC cells generated a relatively high reactive oxygen species level and switched to apoptotic cell death under sorafenib-treated conditions. Our study provides the first novel view that COLEC10 inhibits HCC progression by regulating GRP78-mediated ER stress signaling and may serve as a promising therapeutic and prognostic biomarker.

Expression and clinical significance of inhibitory receptor Leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor-1 on peripheral blood T cells of chronic hepatitis B patients: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor-1 (LAIR-1) is an inhibitory receptor that is expressed on the surface of multiple immune cells and plays key roles in immune modulation. In patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), T cell number and functions are abnormal and the expression of inhibitory receptors is elevated. However, the expression of LAIR-1 on T cells in patients with CHB is still undetermined.We recruited 320 patients with CHB in different disease phases and 17 healthy donors. Serum biochemical and virological examinations were performed for each participant, and their demographic and clinical data were collected. According to the latest American Association for the Study of Liver Disease guidelines, we categorized the patients into 4 groups: immune active, immune tolerant, inactive CHB, and gray zone. Additionally, we tested the expression of LAIR-1 on T cells and T cell subsets using flow cytometry.We observed a significant decrease in LAIR-1 expression on CD3+ T cells and its two subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells) in patients with CHB. LAIR-1 expression on T cells was the lowest in the immune active group. LAIR-1 expression levels on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed a significant negative association with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA load and were lower in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients than in HBeAg-negative patients (P < .05). In addition, LAIR-1 expression levels on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells were all negatively associated with liver inflammation and fibrosis parameters, such as alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, FibroScan value, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index score.LAIR-1 expression levels on T cells were associated with HBV DNA load and liver inflammation and fibrosis parameters, indicating that LAIR-1 may play an important regulatory role in HBV-induced T cell immune pathogenesis and may be a therapeutic target for CHB.

Serum HBV pregenomic RNA exhibited opposite associations with NKdim and NKbright cell immunity in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) is a new biomarker that reflects HBV replication, but its relationship with natural killer (NK) cell immunity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is unknown. We assessed serum HBV pgRNA levels in 323 CHB patients by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, assessed cytokine production and activation and inhibitory markers of NK cells by flow cytometry, and measured serum cytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Among the different CHB phases, the serum HBV pgRNA level was highest in the immune-tolerant (IT) and immune-active (IA) phases. Regarding NK and NKdim cells, HBV pgRNA was negatively associated with frequencies, but positively associated with NKp44 and NKp46 expression (activation markers). Regarding NKbright cells, serum HBV pgRNA was positively associated with frequency and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) expression (inhibitory marker), but negatively associated with NKp44 and NKp46. Serum HBV pgRNA was not associated with NKp30 (activation marker) on NK cells or subsets. Lastly, serum HBV pgRNA was positively correlated with the levels of serum IL-7 and IL-12P40 (NK cell-promoting cytokines) and negatively correlated with serum prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) level (which negatively regulates NK cells). In conclusion, we found varied relationships between serum HBV pgRNA and NK cells and subsets, indicating that HBV pgRNA may play a complicated role in NK cell-related immunity, providing new information on HBV and host immunity.

Distinct T-cell receptor profiles associated with hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion during entecavir treatment.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is ambiguously changed in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients during antivirus therapy. We tried to assess TCR repertoire dynamics and its clinical significance upon HBeAg seroconversion in CHB patients. METHODS: Twenty CHB patients undergoing 1-year entecavir (ETV) treatment were enrolled, including 10 complete response (CR) vs 10 non-complete response (NCR) patients based on HBeAg seroconversion at week 48. The TCRß complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at weeks 0, 12 and 48 was analyzed by unbiased high-throughput sequencing. The TCR repertoire profiles and their correlations with serological parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: The diversity of TCRß repertoires was decreasing in CR patients but increasing in NCR patients. The distribution pattern of TCR repertoires stratified according to clonotype frequencies changed in the opposite direction between CR and NCR patients. Narrow amounts of newly appearing clonotypes in CR patients experienced a more intensive and robust expansion and this phenomenon could occur as early as week 12 for the CD4+ subset but later at week 48 for the CD8+ subset. There existed some CR-exclusive clonotypes with a relatively low but increasing frequency at week 48. The number of unique TCRß clonotypes was positively correlated with the ALT or HBV DNA level in CR patients but showed no or negative correlation in NCR patients. CONCLUSION: Distinct TCR profiles contribute to predicting HBeAg seroconversion in CHB patients during ETV treatment and certain TCRß CDR3 motif may be utilized for CHB immunotherapy in the future.

microRNA-329 suppresses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and lymph node metastasis in bile duct cancer by inhibiting laminin subunit beta 3.

Bile duct cancer (BDC), also known as cholangiocarcinoma, is a highly desmoplastic cancer with a growth pattern characterized by periductal extension and infiltration. Studies have suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in BDC progression. Here we aim at investigating the effects of miR-329 on BDC development, focusing especially on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro and lymph node metastasis in vivo. Expression microarrays associated with BDC tissues were collected and differentially expressed genes were analyzed, followed by miRNA target prediction and verification. The role miR-329 played in BDC was examined using gain-of-function and loss-of-function methods. The expressions of miR-329, laminin subunit beta 3 (LAMB3), and EMT markers, in addition to cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated. Furthermore, nude mice models of BDC were established to observe tumor growth and metastatic lymph nodes. The LAMB3 was identified as an upregulated gene based on the GSE77984 and GSE45001 microarray analysis. LAMB3 was also predicted and confirmed to be a target gene of miR-329 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Through further cell experiments, the EMT process was reversed, cell proliferation, invasion, and migration were suppressed, when miR-329 was upregulated. Furthermore, in vivo experiments exhibited that the overexpression of miR-329 inhibited tumor growth and the number of metastatic lymph nodes. This study provides in vivo and in vitro evidence that miR-329 inhibits BDC progression through translational repression of LAMB3. Therefore, the obtained results may aid as an experimental basis for improving prognosis of BDC.

[Version investigation and the author investigation and argumentation of «Zeng Bu Shi Wu Ben Cao Bei Kao¼].

«Zeng Bu Shi Wu Ben Cao Bei Kao¼is the masterpiece of Guangdong food material medica works Based on the investigation of the existing version. We think the statement that «Chinese ancient books catalogue¼ record the first version of the book is in ten years of Yong Zheng is wrong. We infer that «Zeng Bu Shi Wu Ben Cao Bei Kao¼'s author named He kejian and «Sheng Cao Yao Xing Be Yao¼'s author named He Jian is the same person. However, the former book is mainly sorted by He Shengxuan, and it maybe initially carved in 1738.