Prognostic Value of Serum AFP, AFP-L3, and GP73 in Monitoring Short-term Treatment Response and Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Radiofrequency Ablation

Wang, Nan-Ya,Wang, Cong,Li, Wei,Wang, Guan-Jun,Cui, Guo-Zhen,He, Hua,Zhao, Heng-Jun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.4

Purpose: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3), and Golgi protein 73 (GP73) levels have been widely used as tumor markers for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate whether these tumor markers could be used to monitor short-term treatment response and recurrence of HCC in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Methods: Between July 2012 and July 2013, 53 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed HCC were prospectively enrolled in this study. Among these, 32 patients underwent RFA, after which they were followed up prospectively at the First Hospital of Jilin University in China. Results: AFP, AFP-L3, and GP-73 values pre-RFA were not associated with tumor size, whereas AFP and GP-73 levels tended to be associated with tumor number, the presence of vascular invasion, deterioration of liver function, advanced-stage disease, and a poor performance status. GP-73 levels were dramatically elevated in the patients with hepatitis C-associated HCC. Neither pre-RFA nor 1-month post-RFA tumor marker values were associated with short-term outcome. The short-term recurrence rate of AFP-positive patients measured 1 month post-RFA was obviously higher than that of AFP-negative patients. Conclusions: AFP and GP-73 values were associated with clinical variables representing tumor growth and invasiveness, and the AFP value measured 1 month post-RFA was a strong predictor of short-term recurrence in patients with HCC.

Fatty Acid Binding Protein 5 (FABP5) Promotes Aggressiveness of Gastric Cancer Through Modulation of Tumor Immunity

Shu Zhang,Mei-qing Qiu,Hui-jun Wang,Ya-fei Ju,Zhen Liu,Tao Wang,Shi-feng Kan,Zhen Yang,Ya-yun Cui,You-qiang Ke,Hong-min He,Li Sun 대한위암학회 2023 Journal of gastric cancer Vol.23 No.2

Purpose: Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most lethal cancer globally and is associated with poor prognosis. Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) can regulate biological properties of carcinoma cells. FABP5 is overexpressed in many types of cancers; however, the role and mechanisms of action of FABP5 in GC remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical and biological functions of FABP5 in GC. Materials and Methods: We assessed FABP5 expression using immunohistochemical analysis in 79 patients with GC and evaluated its biological functions following in vitro and in vivo ectopic expression. FABP5 targets relevant to GC progression were determined using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Results: Elevated FABP5 expression was closely associated with poor outcomes, and ectopic expression of FABP5 promoted proliferation, invasion, migration, and carcinogenicity of GC cells, thus suggesting its potential tumor-promoting role in GC. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis indicated that FABP5 activates immune-related pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways, interleukin-17 signaling, and tumor necrosis factor signaling, suggesting an important rationale for the possible development of therapies that combine FABP5-targeted drugs with immunotherapeutics. Conclusions: These findings highlight the biological mechanisms and clinical implications of FABP5 in GC and suggest its potential as an adverse prognostic factor and/or therapeutic target.

Inhibitory effects of piceatannol on human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) in vitro

Wang San-Ying,Zhang Jing,Xu Xiao-Gang,Su Hui-Li,Xing Wen-Min,Zhang Zhong-Shan,Jin Wei-Hua,Dai Ji-Huan,Wang Ya-Zhen,He Xin-Yue,Sun Chuan,Yan Jing,Mao Gen-Xiang 한국미생물학회 2020 The journal of microbiology Vol.58 No.8

Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus, which results in the establishment of a latent infection that persists throughout the life of the host and can be reactivated when the immunity is low. Currently, there is no vaccine for hCMV infection, and the licensed antiviral drugs mainly target the viral enzymes and have obvious adverse reactions. Thus, it is important to search for compounds with antihCMV properties. The present study aimed to investigate the suppressive effects of piceatannol on hCMV Towne strain infection and the putative underlying mechanisms using human diploid fibroblast WI-38 cells. Piceatannol supplementation prevented the lytic changes induced by hCMV infection in WI-38 cells. Furthermore, piceatannol suppressed the expression of hCMV immediate-early (IE) and early (E) proteins as well as the replication of hCMV DNA in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, hCMV-induced cellular senescence was suppressed by piceatannol, as shown by a decline in the senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) activity and decreased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). p16INK4a, a major senescence-associated molecule, was dramatically elevated by current hCMV infection that was attenuated by pre-incubation with piceatannol in a dose-dependent manner. These results demonstrated that piceatannol suppressed the hCMV infection via inhibition of the activation of p16INK4a and cellular senescence induced by hCMV. Together, these findings indicate piceatannol as a novel and potent anti-hCMV agent with the potential to be developed as an effective treatment for chronic hCMV infection.

Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition of osteoblasts induced by Fam20c knockout

Geng Ya-Wei,Zhang Zhen,Jin Han,Da Jun-Long,Zhang Kai,Wang Jian-Qun,Guo Yu-Yao,Zhang Bin,Li Ying 한국유전학회 2022 Genes & Genomics Vol.44 No.2

Background: Fam20c is intimately related to tissue development and diseases. At present, it has been reported that Fam20c regulates the mineralization of osteoblasts, but there are few reports on other effects. Objective: To study the effect of Fam20c on osteoblasts by knocking out the Fam20c gene. Methods: Fam20c knockout osteoblasts were constructed by transfecting mouse osteoblasts with lentivirus. The proliferation, migration and mineralization of Fam20c knockout cells were detected by CCK-8, scratch test and alizarin red staining assays. The subcellular structure was observed by transmission electron microscopy. RT-PCR was used to detect the differential expression of mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET)-related marker genes and core transcription factors. The differential expression of MET-related proteins was detected by immunofluorescence or Western blot. Transcriptome analysis of Fam20c knockout osteoblasts was performed, and real-time PCR was used to verify transcriptome analysis related to MET. Results: The proliferation ability of osteoblasts was not significantly changed after Fam20c deletion, but the migration ability and mineralization ability were significantly weakened. There were tight junctions between Fam20c knockout cells. The expression of mesenchymal cell marker genes and core transcription factors was significantly decreased, and the expression of epithelial cell marker genes was significantly increased. The expression of mesenchymal cell marker proteins was significantly decreased, and the expression of epithelial cell marker proteins was significantly increased. Multiple signalling molecules and pathways involved in MET have changed. Conclusions: Knockdown of Fam20c resulted in MET. Fam20c affects the transcription of key factors in osteoblast MET.

Sepsis induces variation of intestinal barrier function in different phase through nuclear factor kappa B signaling

Ying-Ya Cao,Zhong-Han Wang,Qian-Cheng Xu,Qun Chen,Zhen Wang,Wei-Hua Lu 대한생리학회-대한약리학회 2021 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.25 No.4

The intestinal barrier function disrupted in sepsis, while little is known about the variation in different phases of sepsis. In this study, mouse models of sepsis were established by caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The H&E staining of sections and serum diamine oxidase concentration were evaluated at different timepoint af-ter CLP. TUNEL assay and EdU staining were performed to evaluate the apoptosis and proliferation of intestinal epithelium. Relative protein expression was assessed by Western blotting and serum concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines was mea-sured by ELISA. The disruption of intestinal barrier worsened in the first 24 h after the onset of sepsis and gradually recovered over the next 24 h. The percentage of apop-totic cell increased in the first 24 h and dropped at 48 h, accompanied with the prolif-erative rate of intestinal epithelium inhibited in the first 6 h and regained in the later period. Furthermore, the activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) presented similar trend with the intestinal barrier function, shared positive correction with apoptosis of intestinal epithelium. These findings reveal the conversion process of intestinal barrier function in sepsis and this process is closely correlated with the activity of NF-κB signaling.

Effects of Transition-Metal Ions on the Morphology and Electrochemical Properties of δ-MnO2 for Supercapacitors

Jia-Wei Wang,Ya Chen,Bai-Zhen Chen 대한금속·재료학회 2014 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.20 No.6

δ-MnO2 materials doped with transition-metal cations (Zn, Co, and Ag) were successfully synthesized usinga hydrothermal technique. The structures and morphologies of the obtained oxides were analyzed using X-raydiffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements. Additionally, the electrochemicalproperties were evaluated through cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopyand galvanostatic cycling measurements. The results indicate that the pure and doped samples crystallize inthe δ form with a layered structure and that the Mn/Zn, Mn/Co and Mn/Ag molar ratios are all approximately1:0.09. Both the Zn-doped and pure MnO2 materials exhibit a petal-like morphology; however, the formerhas a higher specific surface area of up to 98.97m2 g1. Furthermore, the Zn-doped MnO2 exhibits a near-rectangularcyclic voltammetry (CV) curve with broad quasi-reversible redox peaks and a specific capacitance of182.9 F g−1 at a CV scan rate of 2mVs1. The Co-doped material exhibits a distinct spiny-fiber morphology, andthe electrochemical performance of this material is significantly worse than that of pure MnO2. The averageattenuation rate of the Ag-doped material is only 0.028% after 1000 cycles, which is lower than that of pureMnO2.

Adaptive polymorphism of tetrameric alpha-amylase inhibitors in wild emmer wheat

Ji-Rui Wang,Mei Deng,Ya-Xi Liu,Xin Qiao,Zhen-Hong Chen,Qian-Tao Jiang,Zhi-En Pu,Yu-Ming Wei,Eviatar Nevo,You-Liang Zheng 한국유전학회 2011 Genes & Genomics Vol.33 No.4

α-Amylase inhibitors are attractive candidates for the control of seed weevils as these insects are highly dependent on starch as an energy source. Wheat tetrameric α-amylase inhibitor (WTAI) is a mixture (60 kDa) of 3 units: WTAI-CM2 plus 2 WTAI-CM3 plus WTAI-CM16, where none of the subunits is active on its own. A total of 334 gene sequences were obtained from 14 populations (131 accessions= genotypes) of wild emmer wheat. The frequencies of SNPs in WTAI-CM2,WTAI-CM3 and WTAI-CM16 were 1 out of 87.6, 101.4, and 108.0 bases, where 5, 5 and 4 SNPs were detected in the coding sequence, respectively. The nucleotide sequence of each unit of tetrameric α-amylase inhibitors were much more conserved than that of dimeric or monomeric inhibitors. The wild emmer wheat populations showed diversity on three WTAI loci,both between and within populations. It was revealed that WTAI were naturally selected for across populations by a ratio of dN/dS as expected. The results of purifying and positive selection hypothesis (p<0.05) also showed that the sequences of WTAI were contributed by natural selection, which ensures the protein function conservation as well as the inhibition diversity with insects amylase enzyme. Ecological factors, singly or in combination, explained a significant proportion of the variations in the SNPs. Ecological factors have an important evolutionary role in gene differentiation at these loci, and tetrameric α-amylase inhibitors are obviously adaptively selected under different environments.

Cryptotanshinone and wogonin up-regulate eNOS in vascular endothelial cells via ERa and down-regulate iNOS in LPS stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells via ERb

Barnabas Oche,Lu Chen,Ya-ke Ma,Yue Yang,Chun-xiao Li,Xiao Geng,Li-zhen Qiu,Xiu-mei Gao,Hong Wang 대한약학회 2016 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.39 No.2

Phytoestrogens were widely used as natural alternatives to estrogen for treating cardiovascular diseases. They have been reported to have cardioprotective and antiinflammatory response, but the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we found cryptotanshinone and wogonin exhibited phytoestrogenic property in an estrogen- responsive reporter assay. In EA.hy926 cells, treatment of cryptotanshinone and wogonin led to significant increase in NO production levels, which were inhibited by co-incubation of estrogen receptor (ER)a antagonist methyl-piperidino-pyrazole (MPP). The expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and ERa were up-regulated with the same treatment, indicating they stimulate NO and eNOS expression via ERa-dependent pathway in endothelial cells. While in lipopolysaccharide activated vascular smooth muscle cell line A7r5, cryptotanshinone and wogonin exerted anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting NO and inducible NO synthase expression via ERbdependent pathway. The reduction of NO synthesis was not affected by MPP, and was abrogated by ERb antagonist R,R-tetrahydrochrysene. Our findings provide the potential molecular mechanism of cryptotanshinone and wogonin as phytoestrogens for their cardioprotective effects, which exerted regulatory effects on NO synthesis through differential regulation of estrogen receptors. It can be employed as a basis for evaluating the beneficial effects of phytoestrogens in the treatment of patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Resource Allocation based on Quantized Feedback for TDMA Wireless Mesh Networks

Xu, Lei,Tang, Zhen-Min,Li, Ya-Ping,Yang, Yu-Wang,Lan, Shao-Hua,Lv, Tong-Ming The Institute of Electronics and Information Engin 2013 IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing & Computing Vol.2 No.3

Resource allocation based on quantized feedback plays a critical role in wireless mesh networks with a time division multiple access (TDMA) physical layer. In this study, a resource allocation problem was formulated based on quantized feedback for TDMA wireless mesh networks that minimize the total transmission power. Three steps were taken to solve the optimization problem. In the first step, the codebook of the power, rate and equivalent channel quantization threshold was designed. In the second step, the timeslot allocation criterion was deduced using the primal-dual method. In the third step, a resource allocation scheme was developed based on quantized feedback using the stochastic optimization tool. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme not only reduces the total transmission power, but also has the advantage of quantized feedback.

Transcriptome sequencing and comparative analysis of differentially expressed genes in the roots of Musa Paradisiaca under salt stress

Ji Fusang,Tang Lu,Yang Zhen,Li Yuanyuan,Wang Wenchang,Xu Ya,Li Shuangmei,Li Xinguo 한국식물생명공학회 2021 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.15 No.3

Salt stress severely impacts plant growth and development. Banana, a salt-sensitive plant, has been studied for decades with respect to its physiological and biochemical performances under salt stress. To understand the salinity tolerance mechanisms of banana, the RNA-seq technique is applsied to analyze the transcriptomic changes on roots treated with salt (60 mM NaCl) for 12 h and 24 h in comparison with those cultured in normal condition. Totally, 1466 and 2089 diferentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 542 up- and 924 down-regulated-; 507 up- and 1582 down-regulated genes are identifed after salt treatment at 12 h and 24 h, respectively. Functional annotation analysis indicates that a large number of genes can be involved in several aspects of salt stress response including stress signal transduction, ROS scavenging, osmoregulation and transcription factors (TFs). This study is the frst report of a comprehensive transcriptome-based gene expression profle to analyze banana response to salt stress. The outcomes of this study could facilitate further dissecting the molecular mechanism underlying salt stress response and provide a valuable platform for further genetic improvement of salt tolerance in banana breeding programs.