Upregulation of FEN1 Is Associated with the Tumor Progression and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background. Studies show that patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have poor prognosis, particularly when patients are diagnosed at late stages of the disease development. The flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) gene is overexpressed in multiple malignant tumors and may promote tumor aggressiveness. However, its expression profile and functional roles in HCC are still unclear. Here, we evaluated the molecular mechanisms of FEN1 in HCC. Methods. The expression of FEN1 in HCC was evaluated using HCC mRNA expression data from TCGA and GEO databases. The expression of FEN1 was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using a tissue microarray (TMA) cohort with a total of 396 HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to determine the correlation between FEN1 expression and survival rate of HCC patients. The molecular mechanism and biological functions of FEN1 in HCC were predicted using functional and pathway enrichment analysis in vitro experiments. Results. FEN1 was overexpressed in multiple HCC cohorts at both mRNA and protein levels. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that FEN1 can serve as a diagnostic predictor of HCC. Meanwhile, patients with high FEN1 expression levels showed lower overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates than those with low FEN1 expression. More importantly, we found that FEN1 elevation was an independent prognostic factor for OS and RFS in HCC patients based on univariate and multivariate analyses, indicating that FEN1 might be a potential prognostic marker in HCC. Furthermore, knocking down FEN1 resulted in suppressed cell proliferation and migration in vitro. This could have been due to regulation expressions of c-Myc, survivin, and cyclin D1 genes, indicating that FEN1 may function as an oncogene through its role in the cell cycle and DNA replication pathway. Conclusion. Our study indicated that high FEN1 expression might function as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis. In addition, the study confirms that FEN1 is an oncogene in HCC progression.

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Identification of hepatocellular carcinoma risk using a novel prognostic model based on apoptosis-related genes

10.21203/rs.3.rs-141169/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Renjie Liu ◽

Guifu Wang ◽

Chi Zhang ◽

Dousheng Bai

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Risk Model ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Low Risk ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Risk Scores

Abstract Background Dysregulation of the balance between proliferation and apoptosis is the basis in human hepatocarcinogenesis. There is a possible association of apoptosis dysregulation with poor prognosis in many malignant tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the prognostic effect of Apoptosis-related genes (ARGs) on HCC is still unclear. Methods A total of 161 ARGs expression levels were analyzed based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database(https://cancergenome.nih.gov/) to screen for differentially expressed ARGs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of screened ARGs in HCC. ARGs prognostic values were identified using Cox regression to subsequently establish a prognostic risk model and scoring in patients. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to determine the prognostic value in the model. Results Compared to normal specimens, 43 highly upregulated and 8 downregulated ARGs respectively and their normal counterparts in HCC specimens were screened. KEGG analysis demonstrated pathways correlated with these 51 genes which included MAPK, P53, TNF, PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. With Cox regression, 5 prognostic correlated with ARGs (PPP2R5B, SQSTM1, TOP2A, BMF, and LGALS3) were obtained to develop the prognosis model. According to the median of risk scores, patients were categorized into high-risk and low-risk groups. Patients in low-risk groups had a significantly higher two-year or five-year survival probability (p < 0.0001). The risk model had better potency than other clinical characteristics, with the area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0.741). Prognosis of HCC patients was established from a plotted nomogram. Conclusion This present study established a novel prognostic risk model for predicting HCC according to the expression of ARGs. The present advancement can potentially contribute to prediction prognosis and individualized treatment of HCC patients.

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Decoding molecular markers and transcriptional circuitry of naive and primed states of human pluripotency

10.1101/2020.04.17.046037 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Arindam Ghosh ◽

Anup Som

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

System Development ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

List Type ◽

Metabolic Processes ◽

Primed State

ABSTRACTPluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been observed to occur in two distinct states — naive and primed. Both naive and primed state PSCs can give rise to tissues of all the three germ layers in vitro but differ in their potential to generate germline chimera in vivo. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern these two states of pluripotency in human can open up a plethora of opportunities for studying early embryonic development and in biomedical applications. In this work, we use weighted gene co-expression network (WGCN) approach to identify the key molecular makers and their interactions that define the two distinct pluripotency states. Signed-hybrid WGCN was reconstructed from transcriptomic data (RNA-seq) of naive and primed state pluripotent samples. Our analysis revealed two sets of genes that are involved in establishment and maintenance of naive (4791 genes) and primed (5066 genes) states. The naive state genes were found to be enriched for biological processes and pathways related to metabolic processes while primed state genes were associated with system development. Further, we identified the top 10% genes by intra-modular connectivity as hubs and the hub transcription factors for each group, thus providing a three-tier list of genes associated with naive and primed states of pluripotency in human.HIGHLIGHTSWeighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified 4791 and 5066 genes to be involved in naive and primed states of human pluripotency respectively.Functional and pathway enrichment analysis revealed the naive genes were mostly related to metabolic processes and primed genes to system development.The top 10% genes based on intra-modular connectivity from each group were defined as hubs.Identified 52 and 33 transcription factors among the naive and primed module hubs respectively.The transcription factors might play a switch on-off mechanism in induction of the two pluripotent states.

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MicroRNA expression profile in the N2 phenotype neutrophils of colorectal cancer and screen of putative key mircRNAs

10.21203/rs.2.23091/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Liang Wang ◽

Jun Yang ◽

Jian Huang ◽

Zheng-Qi Wen ◽

Ning Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Differential Expression Analysis ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Expression Level ◽

Cancer Tissue ◽

Potential Biomarker

Abstract Objective: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the digestive tract, which accounts for 10% of all the malignant tumors in the world. The aim of this study was to identify key genes and miRNAs in CRC diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy and to further explore the potential molecular mechanisms of CRC.Methods: The infiltration and metastasis of neutrophils in Primary colorectal cancer tissue and Paracancerous tissue were observed by immunohistochemical staining. After inducing N2 neutrophils with TGF-β1 in vitro, exosomes were extracted and sequenced, and then the expression differences of microRNAs were screened by using Agilent microRNA microarrays. The data were imported to the Web CARMA for differential expression analysis. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed using DIANA-MirPath v3.0 using Targetscan database. And the corresponding targets were imported into Gephi for network analysis. The expression level of differentially expressed microRNA using quantitative Realtime polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was validated.Results: A total of 2 miRNAs were found to be associated with N2 neutrophils, in which the expression of hsa-miR-4780 was upregulated and the expression of hsa-miR-3938 was downregulated in N2 neutrophils, compared with the neutrophils. In addition, the results of miRNA-targets networks showed that the hsa-mir-3938 and hsa-mir-4780 could regulate TUSC1 and ZNF197. The expression level of hsa-miR-4780 and hsa-miR-3938 were validated in accordance with the results of RT-PCR.Conclusion: The hsa-mir-3938 and hsa-mir-4780 were differentially expressed between N2 neutrophils and neutrophils. Moreover, the regulation of TUSC1 and ZNF197 by these DEmiRNA established the theoretical basis for the mechanism of N2 type neutrophils regulating the invasion and metastasis of CRC cells, and provided the potential biomarker for prognosis for clinical treatment of CRC

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UBAC2 promotes bladder cancer proliferation through BCRC-3/miRNA-182-5p/p27 axis

Cell Death and Disease ◽

10.1038/s41419-020-02935-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

Author(s):

Chaohui Gu ◽

Keyuan Zhao ◽

Naichun Zhou ◽

Feng Liu ◽

Fei Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bladder Cancer ◽

Posttranscriptional Regulation ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Circular Rna ◽

Cancer Proliferation ◽

Lower Survival Rate ◽

Protein Levels

Abstract Emerging evidences have demonstrated that ubiquitin-associated domain-containing protein 2 (UBAC2) is closely related to the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. However, the functions and underlying molecular mechanisms of UBAC2 in bladder cancer (BC) development have not been defined. In this study, we found that both UBAC2 mRNA and protein levels were upregulated in BC tissues and cell lines, and knockdown of UBAC2 inhibited BC cells proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, Kaplan–Meier survival plots of 406 BC cases from TCGA database showed that higher expression of UBAC2 in BC patients was associated with lower survival rate. Mechanistic studies revealed that knockdown of UBAC2 increased the expression of p27 by posttranscriptional regulation. Our previous study indicated that circular RNA BCRC-3 (BCRC-3) promoted the expression of p27 through interacting with miR-182-5p, and reversed miR-182-5p-induced inhibition of p27 3′UTR activity. In the present study, we found that UBAC2 could bind to BCRC-3, and subsequently affected the interaction of BCRC-3 with miR-182-5p to inhibit the expression of p27. Furthermore, knockdown of BCRC-3 partly reversed the upregulation of p27 expression induced by knockdown of UBAC2. Our findings highlight a novel mechanism of UBAC2 in regulating p27 through affecting the function of BCRC-3, and provide a research basis for the diagnostic and therapeutic application of BC.

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A System Pharmacology Model for Decoding the Synergistic Mechanisms of Compound Kushen Injection in Treating Breast Cancer

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2021.723147 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Yi Li ◽

Kexin Wang ◽

Yupeng Chen ◽

Jieqi Cai ◽

Xuemei Qin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Differentially Expressed Gene ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Active Components ◽

System Pharmacology ◽

Compound Kushen Injection

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant tumors among women worldwide and can be treated using various methods; however, side effects of these treatments cannot be ignored. Increasing evidence indicates that compound kushen injection (CKI) can be used to treat BC. However, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is characterized by “multi-components” and “multi-targets”, which make it challenging to clarify the potential therapeutic mechanisms of CKI on BC. Herein, we designed a novel system pharmacology strategy using differentially expressed gene analysis, pharmacokinetics synthesis screening, target identification, network analysis, and docking validation to construct the synergy contribution degree (SCD) and therapeutic response index (TRI) model to capture the critical components responding to synergistic mechanisms of CKI in BC. Through our designed mathematical models, we defined 24 components as a high contribution group of synergistic components (HCGSC) from 113 potentially active components of CKI based on ADME parameters. Pathway enrichment analysis of HCGSC targets indicated that Rhizoma Heterosmilacis and Radix Sophorae Flavescentis could synergistically target the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and the cAMP signaling pathway to treat BC. Additionally, TRI analysis showed that the average affinity of HCGSC and targets involved in the key pathways reached -6.47 kcal/mmol, while in vitro experiments proved that two of the three high TRI-scored components in the HCGSC showed significant inhibitory effects on breast cancer cell proliferation and migration. These results demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the proposed strategy.

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C1orf61 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis and affects the therapeutic response to sorafenib

10.21203/rs.3.rs-80702/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

You Yu ◽

Zhimeng Wang ◽

Zan Huang ◽

Xianying Tang ◽

Wenhua Li

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Therapeutic Response ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Molecular Events ◽

Carcinoma Metastasis ◽

And Migration

Abstract Background C1orf61 is a specific transcriptional activator that is highly up-regulated during weeks 4–9 of human embryogenesis, the period in which most organs develop. We have previously demonstrated that C1orf61 acts as a tumor activator in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression in HCC remain obscure. Methods In this study, we demonstrated that the pattern of C1orf61 expression was closely correlated with metastasis in liver cancer cells. Gene expression profiling analysis indicated that C1orf61 regulated diverse genes related to cell growth, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Results Results showed that C1orf61 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by inducing cellular EMT in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, C1orf61-induced cellular EMT and migration are involved in the activation of the STAT3 and Akt cascade pathways. We also found that C1orf61 was associated with HBV infection-induced cell migration in HCC. In addition, C1orf61 expression improved the efficacy of the anticancer therapy sorafenib in HCC patients. For the first time, we report a regulatory pathway by which C1orf61 promoted cancer cell metastasis and regulated the therapeutic response to sorafenib. Conclusions These findings increased our understanding of the molecular events that regulate metastasis and treatment in HCC.

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Network Pharmacology-Based Prediction of the Active Ingredients and Potential Targets of Chinese Herbal Danyu Gukang Pills for Application to Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Disease

10.21203/rs.3.rs-143355/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yongchang Guo ◽

Dapeng Zhang ◽

Yuju Cao ◽

Xiaoyan Feng ◽

Caihong Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Docking ◽

Femoral Head ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Network Pharmacology ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

In Vitro Experiments ◽

Active Components

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevanceOsteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is still a challenge for orthopedists worldwide, which may lead to disability in patients without effective treatment. A newly developed formula of Chinese medicine, Danyu Gukang Pills (DGP), was recognized to be effective for ONFH. Nevertheless, its molecular mechanisms remain to be clarified. MethodsNetwork pharmacology was adopted to detect the mechanism of DGP on ONFH. The compounds of DGP were collected from the online databases, and active components were selected based on their OB and DL index. The potential proteins of DGP were acquired from TCMSP database, while the potential genes of ONFH were obtained from Gene Cards and Pubmed Gene databases. The function of Gene and potential pathways were researched by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The compounds-targets and targets-pathways network were constructed in an R and Cytosacpe software. The mechanism was further investigated via molecular docking. Finally, in-vitro experiments were validated in the BMSCs. ResultsA total of 2305 compounds in DGP were gained, among which, 370 were selected as active components for which conforming to criteria. Combined the network analysis, molecular docking and in-vitro experiments, the results firstly demonstrated that the treatment effect of DGP on ONFH may be closely related to HIF-1α, VEGFA and HIF-1 signaling pathway. ConclusionThe current study firstly researched the molecular mechanism of DGP on ONFH based on network pharmacology. The results indicated that DGP may exert the effect on ONFH targeting on HIF-1α and VEGFA via HIF-1 signaling pathway.

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Identification of FEZ2 as a potential oncogene in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.12736 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e12736

Author(s):

Chaozhi Yang ◽

Xuebing Wang ◽

Chenjie Qiu ◽

Ziruo Zheng ◽

Kai Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Poor Prognosis ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Conserved Gene

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the common malignant tumors with high lethal rate and poor prognosis. Dysregulation of many genes have been reported to be involved in the occurrence and development of PDAC. However, as a highly conserved gene in eukaryotes, the role of Fasciculation and Elongation protein Zeta 2 (FEZ2) in pancreatic cancer progression is not clear. In this study, we identified the oncogenic effect of FEZ2 on PDAC. By mining of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we found that FEZ2 was upregulated in PDAC tissues and FEZ2 expression was negatively regulated by its methylation. Moreover, high expression and low methylation of FEZ2 correlated with poor prognosis in PDAC patients. Besides, we found that FEZ2 could promote PDAC cells proliferation, migration and 5-FU resistance in vitro. Furthermore, Gene pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between Wnt signaling activation and FEZ2 expression in PDAC patients. Western blot showed that FEZ2 knockdown significantly suppressed β-catenin expression. Collectively, our finding revealed that FEZ2 functioned as a potential oncogene on PDAC progression and migration, and the expression of FEZ2 had guidance value for the treatment and chemotherapy program of PDAC patients.

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Down-regulation of DLG2 predicts an unfavorable prognosis and promotes the proliferation and migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-22758/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jiawei Gu ◽

Runqi Hong ◽

Gengming Niu ◽

Zhiqing Hu ◽

Tao Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Down Regulation ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

And Migration ◽

Proliferation And Migration

Abstract Background Discs large MAGUK scaffold protein 2 (DLG2), a member of the MAGUK family, has been associated with certain tumor suppressing processes. In this study, we aim to identify the prognosis value and specific function of DLG2 in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Methods Expression of DLG2 in HCCs and adjacent normal tissues (NTs) was analyzed with transcriptomic datasets from the Integrative Molecular Database of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCCDB) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of a tissue microarray (TMA). Prognostic roles of DLG2 in HCCs were investigated in the TMA cohort and validated in two cohorts from HCCDB. The in vitro activities of DLG2 were investigated in cultured HCC cells with lentiviruses. The underlying mechanism was explored using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and gene-gene correlation analyses with The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) dataset. Results The expression of DLG2 was significantly decreased in HCCs compared to that in NTs. Down-regulation of DLG2 in HCCs was associated with unfavorable prognosis. Overexpression of DLG2 inhibited, while knockdown of DLG2 prompted proliferation and migration of cultured HCCs. Mechanistically, DLG2 may inhibited cell growth of HCCs by interacting with key molecules that regulate cell cycles. Conclusion DLG2 inhibited HCC progression and may be a novel prognosis biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

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Identification of Biomarkers of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Gene Prognosis Based on Immune-Related lncRNA Signature of Transcriptome Data

10.21203/rs.3.rs-57303/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andi Ma ◽

Yukai Sun ◽

Racheal O. Ogbodu ◽

Ling Xiao ◽

Haibing Deng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Overall Survival ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Risk Group ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Low Risk ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Cox Regression Analysis

Abstract Background: It is well known that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a vital role in cancer. We aimed to explore the prognostic value of potential immune-related lncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Validated the established lncRNA signature of 343 patients with HCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 81 samples from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Immune-related lncRNAs for HCC prognosis were evaluated using Cox regression and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) analyses. LASSO analysis was performed to calculate a risk score formula to explore the difference in overall survival between high- and low-risk groups in TCGA, which was verified using GEO, Gene Ontology (GO), and pathway-enrichment analysis. These analyses were used to identify the function of screened genes and construct a co-expression network of these genes. Results: Using computational difference algorithms and lasso Cox regression analysis, the differentially expressed and survival-related immune-related genes (IRGs) among patients with HCC were established as five novel immune-related lncRNA signatures (AC099850.3, AL031985.3, PRRT3-AS1, AC023157.3, MSC-AS1). Patients in the low‐risk group showed significantly better survival than patients in the high‐risk group ( P = 3.033e−05). The signature identified can be an effective prognostic factor to predict patient survival. The nomogram showed some clinical net benefits predicted by overall survival. In order to explore its underlying mechanism, several methods of enrichment were elucidated using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Conclusion: Identifying five immune-related lncRNA signatures has important clinical implications for predicting patient outcome and guiding tailored therapy for patients with HCC with further prospective validation.

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