Prognostic Significance of Iron Metabolism and Immune-Related Genes as Risk Markers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly lethal liver cancer with significant heterogeneity, which poses challenges in predicting prognosis and treatment outcomes. The impact of iron metabolism and immune-related genes (IMRGs) on HCC patient prognoses remains elusive. We utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset to obtain mRNA expression data and clinical information from HCC patients. Through the application of LASSO regression and univariate/multivariate Cox regression analyses, we identified five IMRGs significantly associated with survival of HCC patients. We constructed a prognostic model comprising these five genes. The model demonstrated excellent predictive performance, not only within TCGA dataset but also when validated using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses presented significant variations in functional categories, such as apical plasma membrane and collagen-containing extracellular matrix. Several pathways, including the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway and the calcium signaling pathway, exhibited significant variations among HCC patients with varying prognoses (P < 0.05). Immune infiltration analysis indicated significantly lower levels of various immune cells, immune functions, and immune checkpoints, such as B cells, CD8+ T cells, and TILs, in the high-risk group (P < 0.05). Immunophenoscore results suggested that the low-risk group may exhibit a more favorable response to immune therapy. Furthermore, the CellMiner database predicted anti-tumor drugs significantly associated with prognostic genes (P < 0.001). In conclusion, our findings highlight the predictive role of IMRGs in prognosis and immune treatment of HCC, indicating that ADAMTS13, CRHBP, VIPR1, FCN3, and CLEC1B may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers for HCC.

Mapping schistosomiasis risk in Southeast Asia: a systematic review and geospatial analysis.

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a water-borne parasitic disease estimated to have infected >140 million people globally in 2019, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Within the goal of eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2030 in the World Health Organization (WHO) Roadmap for neglected tropical diseases, other regions cannot be neglected. Empirical estimates of the disease burden in Southeast Asia largely remain unavailable. METHODS: We undertook a systematic review to identify empirical survey data on schistosomiasis prevalence in Southeast Asia using the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed and the Global Atlas of Helminth Infections, from inception to 5 February 2021. We then conducted advanced Bayesian geostatistical analysis to assess the geographical distribution of infection risk at a high spatial resolution (5 × 5 km) using the prevalence, number of infected individuals and doses needed for preventive chemotherapy. RESULTS: We identified 494 Schistosoma japonicum surveys in the Philippines and Indonesia, and 285 in Cambodia and Laos for S. mekongi. The latest estimates suggest that 225 [95% credible interval (CrI): 168-285] thousand in the endemic areas of Southeast Asian population were infected in 2018. The highest prevalence of schistosomiasis was 3.86% (95% CrI: 3.40-4.31) in Laos whereas the lowest was 0.29% in Cambodia (95% CrI: 0.22-0.36). The estimated number of praziquantel doses needed per year was 1.99 million (95% CrI: 1.92-2.03 million) for the entire population in endemic areas of Southeast Asia. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of schistosomiasis remains far from the WHO goal and our estimates highlighted areas to target with strengthened interventions against schistosomiasis.

Sorafenib-Loaded Ligand-Functionalized Polymer-Lipid Hybrid Nanoparticles for Enhanced Therapeutic Effect Against Liver Cancer.

The main aim of present study was to enhance the anticancer effect of sorafenib (SRF) in the liver cancer cells. The SRF-loaded folate receptor-targeted polymer lipid hybrid nanoparticle was formulated to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of liver cancers. The SRF-loaded folic acid (FA)-conjugated lipid-coated chitosan/chondroitin sulfate (CT/CS) nanoparticle (FCCD/SRF) showed a remarkable internalization of cancer cells compared to non-targeted CCD/SRF. The higher internalization of nanoparticle was mainly attributed to the specific interaction to the folate receptors overexpressed in the liver cancer cells. FCCD/SRF exhibited a remarkable cell killing effect throughout all tested concentrations. Consistent with the cytotoxic effect, IC50 value of FCCD/SRF was 0.78 µg/ml compared to 3.92 µg/ml for CCD/SRF indicating the potential of targeting strategy to the cancer cells. FCCD/SRF showed a remarkable apoptosis of cancer cells with distorted nucleus and apoptotic body formation. Overall, results showed that folate-conjugated polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticle possess promising potential for anticancer drug delivery in the treatment of liver cancers.