Novel Prognostic Nomograms for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Microvascular Invasion: Experience from a Single Center

Liangliang Xu,Lian Li,Peng Wang,Ming Zhang,Yanfang Zhang,Xiangyong Hao,Lvnan Yan,Bo Li,Tianfu Wen,Mingqing Xu 거트앤리버 소화기연관학회협의회 2019 Gut and Liver Vol.13 No.6

Background/Aims: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is an established risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, prediction models that specifically focus on the individual prognoses of HCC patients with MVI is lacking. Methods: A total of 385 HCC patients with MVI were randomly assigned to training and validation cohorts in a 2:1 ratio. The outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Prognostic nomograms were established based on the results of multivariate analyses. The concordance index (C-index), calibration plots and Kaplan-Meier curves were employed to evaluate the accuracy, calibration and discriminatory ability of the models. Results: The independent risk factors for both DFS and OS included age, tumor size, tumor number, the presence of gross vascular invasion, and the presence of Glisson’s capsule invasion. The platelet-tolymphocyte ratio was another risk factor for OS. On the basis of these predictors, two nomograms for DFS and OS were constructed. The C-index values of the nomograms for DFS and OS were 0.712 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.679 to 0.745; p<0.001) and 0.698 (95% CI, 0.657 to 0.739; p<0.001), respectively, in the training cohort and 0.704 (95% CI, 0.650 to 0.708; p<0.001) and 0.673 (95% CI, 0.607 to 0.739; p<0.001), respectively, in the validation cohort. The calibration curves showed optimal agreement between the predicted and observed survival rates. The Kaplan-Meier curves suggested that these two nomograms had satisfactory discriminatory abilities. Conclusions: These novel predictive models have satisfactory accuracy and discriminatory abilities in predicting the prognosis of HCC patients with MVI after hepatectomy.

BAIAP2L2 facilitates the malignancy of prostate cancer (PCa) via VEGF and apoptosis signaling pathways

Yuanzi Song,Guishan Zhuang,Jiazhen Li,Mingqing Zhang 한국유전학회 2021 Genes & Genomics Vol.43 No.4

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common type of male cancer in western. Despite key roles of brainspecifc angiogenesis inhibitor 1-associated protein like 2 (BAIAP2L2) in several cancers, the function of BAIAP2L2 in PCa is never reported. Objective We aimed to investigate the role of BAIAP2L2 in the progression of PCa and decipher the underlying mechanisms. Methods RNA sequencing data from TCGA database were used to evaluate the expression of BAIAP2L2 in PCa. Survival analysis and Cox regression model analysis were conducted to evaluate the prognostic value of BAIAP2L2. BAIAP2L2- associated pathways were preliminary analyzed by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) method and confrmed by western blot assays. Cell proliferation and transwell assays were performed to determine biological behaviors in BAIAP2L2 knockeddown or overexpressed PCa cell lines including LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Results In our study, BAIAP2L2 was signifcantly up-regulated in PCa tissues and cell lines and independently associated with the poor prognosis of PCa patients. Knockdown of BAIAP2L2 notably repressed proliferation, migration and invasion of PCa cells. And overexpression of BAIAP2L2 obtained the contrary results. Mechanically, GSEA method and western blot results of key molecules in signaling pathways implicated that the depletion of BAIAP2L2 inactivated the vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and induced apoptosis signaling pathways in PCa cells. Conclusions Overall, these fndings revealed that BAIAP2L2 may support tumorigenesis and malignant development of prostate cancer cells via VEGF and apoptosis signaling pathways, and it could be considered as a promising biomarker and independent prognostic predictor of prostate cancer.

Hypoxia-hindered methylation of PTGIS in endometrial stromal cells accelerates endometriosis progression by inducing CD16− NK-cell differentiation

Haiyan Peng,Lichun Weng,Shating Lei,Shuhui Hou,Shaoliang Yang,Mingqing Li,Dong Zhao 생화학분자생물학회 2022 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.54 No.-

Prostacyclin (PGI2) plays key roles in shaping the immune microenvironment and modulating vasodilation, whereas its contribution to endometriosis (EMs) remains largely unclear. Our study suggested that prostacyclin synthase (PTGIS)-dependent PGI2 signaling was significantly activated in EMs, which was involved in the hypoxic microenvironment of ectopic lesions and deficient methylation status of the PTGIS promoter. Notably, in vitro assays, hypoxia promoted PTGIS expression through DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-mediated DNA methylation deficiency in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs); PTGIS overexpression enhanced the adhesive ability of ESCs and led to elevated PGI2 production, and PGI2 triggered CD16− (encoded by FCGR3, Fc fragment of IgG receptor IIIa) natural killer (NK)-cell differentiation through PGI2 receptor (IP, PTGIR) in an ESC/NK-cell coculture system. Our rodent model experiment suggested that treatment with the PGI2 analog iloprost and adoptive transfer of fcgr3 knockout (fcgr3−/−) NK cells aggravated EMs progression and that genetic ablation of ptgis (ptgis−/−) in ectopic lesions and treatment with the PTGIR antagonist RO1138452 partially rescued this outcome. Thus, our findings identified the contribution of PGI2 to EMs progression via enhancement of the adhesive ability of ESCs and inhibition of the activity of NK cells. We hypothesized that PGI2 is a target for EMs intervention and provide a rationale for studying pharmacological PTGIR inhibition and PTGIS genetic depletion therapies as therapeutic strategies for EMs.

Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Eukaryotic Photosynthetic Microalgae: Identification of a Microsomal Delta 12 Desaturase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Xiaoyuan Chi,Xiaowen Zhang,Xiangyu Guan,Ling Ding,Youxun Li,Mingqing Wang,Hanzhi Lin,Song Qin 한국미생물학회 2008 The journal of microbiology Vol.46 No.2

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important components of infant and adult nutrition because they serve as structural elements of cell membranes. Fatty acid desaturases are responsible for the insertion of double bonds into pre-formed fatty acid chains in reactions that require oxygen and reducing equivalents. In this study, the genome-wide characterization of the fatty acid desaturases from seven eukaryotic photosynthetic microalgae was undertaken according to the conserved histidine-rich motifs and phylogenetic profiles. Analysis of these genomes provided insight into the origin and evolution of the pathway of fatty acid biosynthesis in eukaryotic plants. In addition, the candidate enzyme from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with the highest similarity to the microsomal Δ12 desaturase of Chlorella vulgaris was isolated, and its function was verified by heterologous expression in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

Crystallization and melting behavior of polypropylene in b-PP/polyamide 6 blends containing PP-g-MA

Zhidan Lin,Zixian Guan,Baofeng Xu,Chao Chen,Guangheng Guo,Jiaxian Zhou,Jiaming Xian,Lin Cao,Yueliang Wang,Mingqing Li,Wei Li 한국공업화학회 2013 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.19 No.2

In this research, we used a twin-screw extruder to melt and blend PP-g-MA compatibilizer with bpolypropylene (PP)/polyamide 6 (PA6). The influences of the PA6 and PP-g-MA contents in PP/PA6 blends on crystallization and melting behavior of PP phase and morphology were investigated. The results showed that, when PP-g-MA copolymer was added to the b form of nucleated PP/PA6 blends, the anhydride groups in PP-g-MA and PA6 terminal amine groups react to form PP-g-PA graft copolymer in a two-phase interface. This reduces the interfacial tension, improves the interfacial adhesion, and reduces the size of PA6 domains in the blend. The generated PP-g-PA graft copolymer wrapped PA6 phase and buried the anhydride groups of PP-g-MA. When the proportion of PP-g-MA and PA6 was between 0.5 and 0.75, there was no longer interfering to the formation of b-crystals in the PP phase. The content of bcrystal of PP phase in blends was found to reach as large as 85.9%.