Qin Zhu

PNPLA3 polymorphisms (rs738409) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease risk and related phenotypes: a meta-analysis.

One single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs738409 in the patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing 3 gene (PNPLA3) has been implicated in susceptibility to non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) across different populations. One meta‐analysis confirmed this association, but within it, only two Asian studies were included. This meta‐analysis aimed to investigate the association in Asian population.

CD146 promotes metastasis and predicts poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Recurrence and metastasis after curative resection remain critical obstacles in HCC treatment. CD146 predicted poor prognosis of a variety of cancers including melanoma, breast tumors, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. However, the role of CD146 in HCC has not yet been systematically explored.MethodsTo investigate the role of CD146 in HCC, we evaluated its expression in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines using real-time PCR and western blotting (WB). Second, we established HCC cell lines that stably overexpressed and interfered CD146 and explored the function of CD146 in HCC in vitro and in vivo. Third, we conducted microarray analysis to investigate the potential mechanism by identifying differentially expressed genes. Last, follow ups were conducted to help uncover the connection of CD146 expression and the prognosis of HCC patients.ResultsWe found that CD146 was overexpressed in HCC tissues and that high CD146 expression predicted poor overall survival time and shorter recurrence period in HCC patients. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that CD146 promoted migration and invasion of HCC cell lines. Further study indicated that CD146 promoted epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), IL-8 upregulation, and STAT1 downregulation. CD146 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines.ConclusionsCD146 promoted metastasis of HCC cells and predicted poor prognosis of HCC patients. CD146 induced EMT, and IL-8 upregulation and STAT1 downregulation may be the potential underlying mechanism. The exact mechanism still needs further investigation.

Impact of insurance status on the survival of gallbladder cancer patients

The prognostic significance of insurance status has been investigated in many types of malignancies, however, its impact on gallbladder cancer is yet not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between insurance status and gallbladder cancer survival. We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results dataset, and identified 1,729 gallbladder cancer cases. Kaplan-Meier methods and multivariable Cox regression models were used to analyze survival outcomes and risk factors. We found that individuals who had non-Medicaid insurance were more likely to be male, older, from wealthier area, and better-educated. Insurance status was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for gallbladder cancer patients. Stratified analysis revealed that the uninsured status independently predicted unfavorable survival outcome at localized tumor stage and in white individuals. To conclude, insurance status is an important predictive factor for gallbladder cancer, and uninsured individuals are at the highest risk of death.The prognostic significance of insurance status has been investigated in many types of malignancies, however, its impact on gallbladder cancer is yet not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between insurance status and gallbladder cancer survival. We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results dataset, and identified 1,729 gallbladder cancer cases. Kaplan–Meier methods and multivariable Cox regression models were used to analyze survival outcomes and risk factors. We found that individuals who had non-Medicaid insurance were more likely to be male, older, from wealthier area, and better-educated. Insurance status was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for gallbladder cancer patients. Stratified analysis revealed that the uninsured status independently predicted unfavorable survival outcome at localized tumor stage and in white individuals. To conclude, insurance status is an important predictive factor for gallbladder cancer, and uninsured individuals are at the highest risk of death.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibition promotes human iTreg differentiation and suppressive function.

Induced regulatory T cells (iTregs) are essential to maintain immunological tolerance, immune homeostasis and prevention of autoimmunity. Some studies suggest that glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) is involved in the mouse iTreg differentiation; however, whether GSK3β inhibits or enhances iTreg differentiation is still a matter of controversy. To address this issue, we have utilized human naïve CD4+ T cells and investigated whether GSK3 activity changes during iTreg differentiation and whether altering GSK3 activity influences the development of iTregs and its suppressive function. As a constitutively activated kinase, during iTreg differentiation GSK3β became quickly deactivated (phosphorylated at serine 9), which is dependent on MAPK pathway rather than PI3-kinase/Akt pathway. Our results indicated that inhibition of GSK3β by specific inhibitors, SB216763 or TDZD-8, promoted the differentiation of iTreg and increased their suppressive activity. In contrast, overexpression of GSK3β significantly inhibited iTreg differentiation. Furthermore, GSK3β inhibition enhanced iTreg differentiation through the TGF-β/Smad3 pathway. Taken together, this study demonstrates that inhibition of GSK3β enhances human iTreg differentiation and its suppressive activity, and provides a rationale to target GSK3β as a novel immunotherapeutic strategy.

MicroRNA-873 Promotes Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion by Directly Targeting TSLC1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background/Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer and has the third highest mortality rate among all cancers. MicroRNAs are a class of endogenous, single-stranded short noncoding RNAs. The purpose of this study was to study the role of microRNA-873 in HCC. Methods: The expression of miRNA-873 and tumor suppressor in lung cancer 1 (TSLC1) in HCC tissues and cell lines was detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) or western blot. A CCK-8 assay was used to examine cell proliferation; flow cytometry was used to assess the cell cycle; the Transwell migration assay was used to test for metastasis. Luciferase assays were performed to assess whether TSLC1 was a novel target of miRNA-873. Results: We showed that miRNA-873 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines compared with the normal control. Knockdown of miRNA-873 inhibited the growth and metastasis of HepG2 and accelerated G1 phase arrest, while overexpression of miRNA-873 had the opposite effect. The dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed that TSLC1 was a novel target of miRNA-873. Further study showed that TSLC1 was decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines. There was a negative correlation between the expression levels of TSLC1 and miRNA-873. The effect of miRNA-873 overexpression was neutralized by TSLC1. We also found that miRNA-873 activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and promoted HCC. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that miRNA-873 promoted HCC progression by targeting TSLC1 and provided a new target for the therapy of HCC.

miR-142-3p regulates autophagy by targeting ATG16L1 in thymic-derived regulatory T cell (tTreg)

Thymic-derived regulatory T cell (tTreg) clinical trials show therapeutic promise in the prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients. However, strategies are needed to improve tTreg proliferative ability and survival as a means to improve tTreg therapy and reduce the requirement for producing large numbers of Treg cells for adoptive tTreg transfer. Autophagy is a self-degradative process for cytosolic components, which is involved in cells death, differentiation, lymphocyte homeostasis, and tTreg function. Studies have shown that mice with tTreg cells that have a disrupted autophagy process have defective tTreg cell generation and function, resulting in autoimmune disease and failed GVHD prevention by adoptively transferred tTreg cells. We found the attenuated autophagy status during ex vivo expansion, which leads us to determine whether tTreg cell survival could be augmented by miR-142-3p, the miRNA which is highly expressed in tTreg cells and potentially targets autophagy-related protein (ATG)-1, ATG16L1. We demonstrate that miR-142-3p downregulates ATG16L1 mRNA and production of ATG16L1, that has been linked to autoimmune diseases. Conversely, miR-142-3p knock-down improved tTreg cell expansion, survival and function in vitro and vivo. In aggregate, these studies provide a new approach that uses miR-142-3p knockdown to increase tTreg cell efficacy by increasing ATG16L1 mRNA and protein and the autophagy process.

Protection of acute GVHD by all-trans retinoic acid through suppression of T cell expansion and induction of regulatory T cells through IL-2 signaling.

All-trans retinoic acid (atRA), the active derivative of vitamin A, has been shown to regulate Treg and T effector cell differentiation. However, the potential use of atRA as a treatment for acute graft-verse-host disease (aGVHD) has not been realized. Here we studied the ability of atRA to prevent and treat acute-GVHD in the B6-to-F1(D2B6F1) murine model. Our results showed that atRA consistently displayed a potent ability to control aGVHD development and reduce mortality by suppressing the expansion of donor T cells and inhibiting cytokine expression from donor CD8 cells. Interestingly, CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells were markedly increased in the spleens of atRA-treated mice. In vitro treatment with atRA inhibited T cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Injection of an anti-IL-2 antibody impaired the protection by atRA in aGVHD. Therefore, these results strongly implicate atRA as a novel therapeutic strategy for controlling aGVHD progression and treating other inflammatory diseases.

Influence of marital status on the survival of adults with extrahepatic/intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Although the prognostic value of marital status has been implicated in many cancers, its prognostic impact on cholangiocarcinoma has not yet been determined. The aim of this study was to examine the association between marital status and cholangiocarcinoma survival. We included 8,776 extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cases and 1,352 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cases between 1973 and 2013 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. We found widowed patients were more likely to be female, aged more than 70, and from low income areas. Multivariate analysis indicated that marital status was an independent prognostic factor for extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients. Subgroup analysis suggested the widowed status independently predicted poor survival at regional stage and in older patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. To conclude, marital status is a valuable prognostic factor in cholangiocarcinoma, and widowed patients are at greater risk of death than others.

Clinical value of Oct4 as a prognostic marker in patients with digestive system cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The role of octamer‐binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) has been implicated in the clinical prognosis of various kinds of digestive system cancers, but the results remain controversial. The purpose of this meta‐analysis is to assess the potential role of Oct4 as a prognostic marker in digestive system tumors.

Chitinase 3-like-1 deficient donor splenocytes accentuated the pathogenesis of acute graft-versus-host diseases through regulating T cell expansion and type I inflammation

Abstract Acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGVHD) is a major complication following transplantation, limiting the success of this therapy. Chitinase 3‐like‐1 (CHI3L1), a member of the glycosyl hydrolase 18 family, plays a critical role in bacterial infections, allergic disease and a variety of malignancies. Here, we investigated whether CHI3L1 could affect the pathogenesis of aGVHD in a mouse allo‐HCT model. In this study, we show that CHI3L1 deficiency in donor T cells increased the severity of aGVHD through enhancing systemic and local inflammation. In addition, we found that aGVHD induced by CHI3L1‐knockout (CHI3L1‐KO) donors resulted in massive expansion of donor CD3+ T cells, release of Th1‐related cytokines and chemokines, and significant inhibition of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) without changing the suppressive ability of donor Tregs remarkably. Expression of PERK1/2 and PAkt increased both in the skin and intestine from CHI3L1‐KO splenocytes‐treated aGVHD mice. Moreover, at mRNA and protein levels, we defined several molecules that may account for the enhanced ability of CHI3L1‐KO splenocytes to migrate into target organs and produce Th1‐related cytokines and chemokines, such as CXCL9, CXCL11, IFN‐&ggr; and TNF‐&agr;. Therefore, these results imply that CHI3L1 levels in donor cells may be related to the risk of aGVHD and targeting CHI3L1 may be a promising clinical strategy to control aGVHD. HighlightsWe present a novel molecular CHI3L1 which plays an important role in regulating the pathophysiology of aGVHD.Several molecules may account for the enhanced pathogenesis of aGVHD caused by CHI3L1 deficiency in donors, such as CXCL9, CXCL11, IFN‐&ggr; and TNF‐&agr;.CHI3L1 absence promotes the expansion of T cells.CHI3L1 absence significantly inhibits Tregs.ERK1/2 and Akt pathway participates in the function of CHI3L1 in regulating aGVHD.