Research progress of AFP in the diagnosis and therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma / 生物工程学报

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths and the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Clinically therapeutic options for HCC are very limited, and the overall survival rate of patients is very low. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of HCC have important impact on overall survival of patients. At present, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is one of the most widely used serological markers for HCC. Many evidences have shown that as a specific onco-protein, AFP has great research value in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of HCC. Here, we briefly introduce the molecular mechanism of AFP in the regulation of HCC occurrence and development, and its role in tumor escape from immune surveillance. We focus on the application of AFP as an important HCC target or carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) in HCC clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Regulation of energy metabolism in colon cancer cells by chidamide / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE To observe the regulation effect of chidamide on energy metabolism in HCT-8 and HT-29 cells. METHODS HCT-8 and HT-29 cells were treated with chidamide 5,10 and 20 μmol · L-1. Morphological changes of these cells were observed under an ordinary optical microscope. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT. ATP production was determined by CellTiter-Glo? assay kit. Metabolic changes were tested by glycolytic stress kit. The mRNA level of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A)was analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR,whereas the protein level of LDH-A was analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS Compared with control group,cell morphology of HCT-8 and HT-29 cells in chidamide treated group was irregular,accompanied by deformation,shrinkage and cell debris, and the inhibitory rate of proliferation increased(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in ATP total content between chidamide 5 and 10 μmol · L-1 16 h treatment groups,but in chidamide 20 μmol · L-1 treatment group it was decreased(P<0.05). Chidamide 20μmol · L-1 had no effect on oxygen consumption rate, but glycolysis ATP generation rate was reduced by 30.7% and 37.9%(P<0.05),respectively. Chidamide 20μmol · L-1 had no effect on LDH-A mRNA level,but it decreased the protein level of LDH-A(P<0.01). CONCLUSION Chidamide can abate the respiratory metabolic ability of HCT-8 and HT-29 cells. The mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of LDH-A.