PCNT is a prognostic biomarker correlated with tumor immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes tumor progression by inhibiting cell cycle arrest.

Pericentrin (PCNT), a core pericentriolar material protein during mitosis, is involved in tumorigenesis and development in various cancers. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Based on public databases and a cohort with 174 HCC patients, we found that PCNT mRNA and protein expression were elevated in HCC tissues and correlated with unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that knockdown PCNT expression inhibited the cell viability, migration, and invasion capacity of HCC cells. Multivariate regression analysis suggested that a high PCNT level was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis. In addition, mutation analysis suggested that PCNT was positively correlated to TMB and MSI but negatively correlated to tumor purity. Moreover, PCNT was significantly negatively correlated with ESTIMATE, immune, and Stromal scores in HCC patients. The PCNT expression level was correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint-related gene expression in the tumor microenvironment. The single-cell sequencing analysis suggested that higher PCNT expression level was detected in the malignant cells and immune cells (dendritic cells, monocytes, and macrophages cells) in HCC tissues. Enrichment analysis and functional experiments revealed PCNT promoted tumor progression by inhibiting cell cycle arrest. In conclusion, our studies suggested that PCNT can be a potential prognostic indicator correlated with tumor immune microenvironment, suggesting that PCNT can serve as a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

GNG7 and ADCY1 as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for pancreatic adenocarcinoma through bioinformatic-based analyses.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors in the world. The GSE55643 and GSE15471 microarray datasets were downloaded to screen the diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PAAD. 143 downregulated genes and 118 upregulated genes were obtained. Next, we performed gene ontology (GO) and The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis on these genes and constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. We screened out two important clusters of genes, including 13 upregulated and 5 downregulated genes. After the survival analysis, 3 downregulated genes and 10 upregulated genes were identified as the selected key genes. The KEGG analysis on 13 selected genes showed that GNG7 and ADCY1 enriched in the Pathway in Cancer. Next, the diagnostic and prognostic value of GNG7 and ADCY1 was investigated using independent cohort of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), GSE84129 and GSE62452. We observed that the expression of the GNG7 and ADCY1 was decreased in PAAD. The diagnostic receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the GNG7 and ADCY1 could serve as sensitive diagnostic markers in PAAD. Survival analysis suggested that expression of GNG7, ADCY1 were significantly associated with PAAD overall survival (OS). The multivariate cox regression analysis showed that the expression of GNG7, ADCY1 were independent risk factors for PAAD OS. Our study indicated GNG7 and ADCY1 may be potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in patients with PAAD.

Oleanolic Acid Improves the Symptom of Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury via the PI3K/AKT Pathway.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of oleanolic acid (OA) on the renal ischemia reperfusion injury (RIRI) and the possible mechanism. METHODS: The RIRI model was successfully established in rats. OA, LY294002 (a PI3K inhibitor), and OA combined with LY294002 were dosed to rats in 3 therapeutic groups, respectively. The blood was collected to detect the concentration of Cr and BUN by ELISA. The kidney of each rat was collected to detect the concentration of renal injury factor (Kim-1) and the HE staining was performed. Western blot was used to detect the expression level of PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, PDK1, Skp2, and p27 in the renal tissue homogenate. RESULTS: The symptom of vacuolar degeneration and interstitial edema was greatly improved in the rat kidney from the 3 therapeutic groups, compared with that from the RIRI model group. No significant difference was observed among the 3 therapeutic groups. The concentration of Cr in the 3 therapeutic groups was greatly lower than that in the RIRI model group. The expression level of p-AKT/AKT, PI3K, PDK1, Skp2, and p27 in OA group, LY294002 group, and OA combined with LY294002 group was significantly lower than that in the RIRI model group, respectively. CONCLUSION: OA could improve the symptom of RIRI, possibly by inhibiting PI3K/AKT signal pathway.

Attenuation of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury by oleanolic acid preconditioning via its antioxidant, anti­inflammatory, and anti­apoptotic activities.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)­associated acute kidney injury is a major clinical problem in both native and transplanted kidneys. Renal I/R, and subsequent renal injury, may be attributed to oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Oleanolic acid (OA) is a natural product, which possesses antioxidant, anti­inflammatory, and anti­apoptotic activities. The present study aimed to examine the effects of OA preconditioning on renal I/R and the possible underlying mechanisms. In a renal I/R model, rats were administered OA (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg) for 15 consecutive days prior to bilateral renal I/R induction. Serum samples and kidneys were then collected and stored for subsequent determination. The results of the present study demonstrated that OA significantly and dose­dependently attenuated I/R­induced renal damage. OA prevented renal I/R injury, as evidenced by decreased levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, kidney injury molecule­1 and lactate dehydrogenase. In addition, OA defended against oxidative stress, as reflected by decreased levels of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde, increased activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, and increased glutathione (GSH) levels. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines, interferon­Î³, interleukin (IL)­6) and myeloperoxidase, were also reduced by OA, whereas the anti­inflammatory cytokine IL­10 was increased. Furthermore, OA prevented I/R­induced apoptotic cell death, and prevented decreases in the mRNA expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2­related factor 2 (Nrf2) and γ­glutamylcysteine ligase (GCLc). Conversely, buthionine sulphoximine attenuated the protective effects of OA on renal I/R injury. These results indicated that OA preconditioning may prevent I/R­induced renal damage via antioxidant, anti­inflammatory, and anti­apoptotic activities. Stabilization of Nrf2/GCLc signaling and subsequent maintenance of the GSH pool is critical for the protective effects of OA against renal I/R injury. The present study reported a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of renal I/R injury.