Serum Amyloid A is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Ni, Xiao-Chun,Yi, Yong,Fu, Yi-Peng,He, Hong-Wei,Cai, Xiao-Yan,Wang, Jia-Xing,Zhou, Jian,Fan, Jia,Qiu, Shuang-Jian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic value of serum amyloid A (SAA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing surgery. Materials and Methods: Preoperative serum samples of 328 patients with HCC who underwent curative resection and of 47 patients with benign liver lesion were assayed. Serum levels of SAA were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and its correlations with clinicopathological characteristics and survival were explored. Results: Levels of SAA were significantly higher in patients with HCC than those with benign liver lesion. There were strong correlations between preoperative serum SAA level and tumor size and more advanced BCLC stage. On univariate analysis, elevated SAA was associated with reduced disease-free survival and overall survival (p=0.001 and 0.03, respectively). Multivariate analyses showed that serum SAA level was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio 2.80, p=0.01). Conclusions: High SAA serum level is a novel biomarker for the prognosis of HCC patients.

Low Counts of γδ T Cells in Peritumoral Liver Tissue are Related to More Frequent Recurrence in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Curative Resection

Cai, Xiao-Yan,Wang, Jia-Xing,Yi, Yong,He, Hong-Wei,Ni, Xiao-Chun,Zhou, Jian,Cheng, Yun-Feng,Jin, Jian-Jun,Fan, Jia,Qiu, Shuang-Jian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

Objectives: TCR-gamma-delta+T cells (${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells) are non-conventional T lymphocytes that can recognize and eradicate tumor cells. Our previous studies showed that infiltration and function of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells were substantially attenuated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, their prognostic value was not clarified. Methods: The association between ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells and the clinical outcomes was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a HCC patient cohort (n = 342). Results:Immunohistochemistry showed decreased infiltration of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in tumoral tissues compared with paired peritumoral tissues. The counts of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in peritumoral tissues were negatively correlated with tumor size (P = 0.005). Survival analysis showed that the levels of peritumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells were related to both time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.010 and P = 0.036, respectively) in univariate analysis, and related to TTR in multivariate analysis (P = 0.014, H.R. [95% CI] = 0.682 [0.502-0.927]). Furthermore, the level of peritumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells showed independent prognostic value for TTR in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A patients (P = 0.038, H.R. [95% CI] = 0.727 [0.537-0.984]). However, tumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells did not show independent prognostic value for either TTR or OS in HCC patients. Conclusions: Low counts of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in peritumoral liver tissue are related to a higher incidence of recurrence in HCC and can predict postoperative recurrence, especially in those with early-stage HCC.

Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers, Especially Fibrinogen to Albumin Ratio, Predict Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Lin Fang,Fei-Hu Yan,Chao Liu,Jing Chen,Dan Wang,Chun-Hui Zhang,Chang-Jie Lou,Jie Lian,Yang Yao,Bo-Jun Wang,Rui-Yang Li,Shu-Ling Han,Yi-Bing Bai,Jia-Ni Yang,Zhi-Wei Li,Yan-Qiao Zhang 대한암학회 2021 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.53 No.1

Purpose Systemic inflammatory response is a critical factor that promotes the initiation and metastasis of malignancies including pancreatic cancer (PC). This study was designed to determine and compare the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC. Materials and Methods Three hundred fifty-three patients with resectable PC and 807 patients with locally advan-ced or metastatic PC were recruited in this study. These patients were classified into a training set (n=758) and a validation set (n=402). Kaplan-Meier survival plots and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze prognosis. Results Overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients with resectable PC with low preoperative PLR (p=0.048) and MLR (p=0.027). Low FAR, MLR, NLR (p < 0.001), and PLR (p=0.003) were significantly associated with decreased risk of death for locally advanced or metastatic PC patients. FAR (hazard ratio [HR], 1.522; 95% confidential interval [CI], 1.261 to 1.837; p < 0.001) and MLR (HR, 1.248; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.532; p=0.034) were independent prognostic factors for locally advanced or metastatic PC. Conclusion The prognostic roles of FAR, MLR, NLR, and PLR in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC were different. FAR showed the most prognostic power in locally advanced or metastatic PC. Low FAR was positively correlated with OS in locally advanced or metastatic PC, which could be used to predict the prognosis.

Effects of Myogenin on Expression of Late Muscle Genes through MyoD-Dependent Chromatin Remodeling Ability of Myogenin

Chao Du,Ju-Hua Ni,Ya-Qiong Jin,Jun-Juan Qi,Zhen-Xing Ji,Shu-Yan Li,Guo-Shun An,Hong-Ti Jia 한국분자세포생물학회 2012 Molecules and cells Vol.34 No.2

MyoD and myogenin (Myog) recognize sets of distinct but overlapping target genes and play different roles in skeletal muscle differentiation. MyoD is sufficient for near-full expression of early targets, while Myog can only partially enhance expression of MyoD-initiated late muscle genes. However, the way in which Myog enhances the expression of MyoD-initiated late muscle genes remains unclear. Here, we examine the effects of Myog on chromatin remodeling at late muscle gene promoters and their activation within chromatin environment. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay showed that Myog selectively bound to the regulatory sequences of late muscle genes. Overexpres-sion of Myog was found to overcome sodium butyrate-inhibited chromatin at late muscle genes in differ-entiating C2C12 myoblasts, shifting the transcriptional activation of these genes to an earlier time period. Furthermore, overexpression of Myog led to increased hyperacetylation of core histone H4 in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts but not NIH3T3 fibroblasts, and hyperacetylated H4 was associated directly with the late muscle genes in differentiating C2C12, indicating that Myog can induce chromatin remodeling in the presence of MyoD. In addition, co-immunopre-cipitation (CoIP) revealed that Myog was associated with the nuclear protein Brd4 in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts. Together, these results suggest that Myog enhances the expression of MyoD-initiated late muscle genes through MyoD-dependent ability of Myog to induce chromatin remodeling, in which Myog-Brd4 interaction may be involved.

An ileosigmoid fistula: what is the diagnosis?

( Chun Lan Zhang ),( Ji Li ),( Yan You ),( Yue Hui Ni ),( Yan Zhang ),( Jia Ming Qian ) 대한장연구학회 2017 Intestinal Research Vol.15 No.2

Identification of interacting proteins of retinoid-related orphan nuclear receptor gamma in HepG2 cells

( Ze Min Huang ),( Jun Wu ),( Zheng Cai Jia ),( Yi Tian ),( Jun Tang ),( Yan Tang ),( Ying Wang ),( Yu Zhang Wu ),( Bing Ni ) 생화학분자생물학회 (구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2012 BMB Reports Vol.45 No.6

The retinoid-related orphan nuclear receptor gamma (RORγ) plays critical roles in regulation of development, immunity and metabolism. As transcription factor usually forms a protein complex to function, thus capturing and dissecting of the RORγ protein complex will be helpful for exploring the mechanisms underlying those functions. After construction of the recombinant tandem affinity purification (TAP) plasmid, pMSCVpuro RORγ-CTAP(SG), the nuclear localization of RORγ-CTAP(SG) fusion protein was verified. Following isolation of RORγ protein complex by TAP strategy, seven candidate interacting proteins were identified. Finally, the heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and receptor-interacting protein 140 (RIP140) were confirmed to interplay with RORγ by co-immunoprecipitation. Interference of HSP90 or/and RIP140 genes resulted in dramatically decreased expression of CYP2C8 gene, the RORγ target gene. Data from this study demonstrate that HSP90 and RIP140 proteins interact with RORγ protein in a complex format and function as co-activators in the RORγ-mediated regulatory processes of HepG2 cells. [BMB Reports 2012; 45(6): 331-336]

Radiofrequency Ablation Combined with Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization Therapy Versus Surgical Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma within the Milan Criteria: A Meta-Analysis

Wei-dong Wang,Li-hua Zhang,Jia-Yan Ni,Xiong-ying Jiang,Dong Chen,Yao-ting Chen,Hong-liang Sun,Jiang-hong Luo,Lin-feng Xu 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.4

Objective: To meta-analytically compare combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and surgical resection (SR) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies comparing these two therapies that were published between January 2006 and August 2017. Overall survival rate (OS), recurrence-free survival rate (RFS), major complications and the average length of hospital stay were compared between these two therapies. Metaanalytic pooled odds ratio (OR) was calculated using TACE plus RFA as the base category. Results: Seven case-control studies and one randomized trial were identified. Meta-analytic results revealed that, compared with SR, TACE plus RFA had significantly higher 1-year OS (OR for survival = 0.50, p = 0.009) and lower major complications (OR = 1.88, p = 0.02) after therapy. Three studies reported on the length of hospital stay. The average length ± standard deviation reported in individual studies for SR and TACE plus RFA groups was 19.8 ± 8.4 days and 7.4 ± 2.2 days, respectively; 18.7 ± 4.9 days and 11.5 ± 6.9 days, respectively; and 16.6 ± 6.7 days and 8.5 ± 4.1 days, respectively (p < 0.0001 for all studies). Three or 5-year OS and 1-, 3-, or 5-year RFS did not significantly differ between the two therapies. Conclusion: Combined TACE plus RFA may be an alternative to SR for the treatment of patients with HCC within Milan the criteria. Non-randomized design in most of the original studies was a limitation.