Significant association of PKM2 and NQO1 proteins with poor prognosis in breast cancer

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) have been known to play significant functions in tumorigenesis and development. The association between PKM2 and NQO1 in breast cancer continues, however, to be unclear. In the present study, according to UALCAN and GEPIA database, the mRNA levels of PKM2 and NQO1 in breast primary tumor were significantly higher compared to normal breast tissue. Consonant with these findings, increased expression of both PKM2 and NQO1 were detected in clinical samples and BC cell lines. More importantly, consolidated high expression of NQO1 and PKM2 were obtained to be related with worse clinical stage, relapse, shorter relapse free survival (RFS), and poorer overall survival (OS) in human breast cancer. We subsequently found that knockdown of NQO1 reduced the protein level of PKM2 significantly. Moreover, deletion of PKM2 significantly reduced colony formation, migration and invasion of BC cells. A positive correlation between PKM2 and NQO1 expression was identified by immunohistochemical analyses of 108 specimens of breast cancer patients (rs = 0.60, P = 0.00). Finally, endogenous Co-IP demonstrated that PKM2 and NQO1 interact in breast cancer cells. The results of this study suggest that the correlation between NQO1 and PKM2 might play a critical role during breast tumourigenesis and serve as novel diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer.     

Clinicopathological significance of PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer: Impact of PD-L1 expression on pFOXO1 expression

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of PD-L1 expression and its impact on phospho-Forkhead box O 1 (pFOXO1) expression in colorectal cancer (CRC).MethodsImmunohistochemical analysis for PD-L1 and pFOXO1 was performed on 265 human CRC tissues. PD-L1 expression was evaluated in the tumor and immune cells. The impact of PD-L1 expression on survival was investigated in relation to the pattern of pFOXO1 expression.ResultsPD-L1 was expressed in 25 (9.4%) and 41 (17.7%) patients in the tumor and immune cells of the 265 CRC tissues, respectively. PD-L1 expression in immune cells (I-PD-L1) was significantly correlated with less lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis and lower pT and pTNM stages. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between PD-L1 expression in tumor cells (T-PD-L1) and tumor location (right colon), but not the other clinicopathological characteristics. pFOXO1 expression was significantly lower in CRC with high I-PD-L1 expression than in CRC with low or negative I-PD-L1 expression. However, there was no significant correlation between pFOXO1 and T-PD-L1 expression in CRC. Patients with positive pFOXO1 and low or negative I-PD-L1 expression exhibited the worst survival among patients with CRC.ConclusionCollectively, our results indicate that I-PD-L1 expression was significantly correlated with favorable tumor behaviors and better survival. In addition, patients with high I-PD-L1 and low pFOXO1 expressions had a favorable prognosis than those with other I-PD-L1 and pFOXO1 expression patterns.     

The immune checkpoints CTLA-4 and PD-L1 in carcinomas of the uterine cervix

BackgroundEvasion of immune control is a major feature of malignant tumors. This tumor aspect is poorly studied in cervical lesions.Aim of the studyTo investigate the expression of PD-L1 and CTLA-4 in lesions of the uterine cervix.Material and methodsSixty-three cervical lesions from 52 patients were immunohistochemically studied. The 63 lesions included 27 invasive adenocarcinomas, 19 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), 7 adenocarcinomas in situ, and 10 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (CIN3).ResultsCTLA-4 and PD-L1 tumor cell expression was found in 61.5 % and 26.9 % of the invasive cases, respectively. CTLA-4 tumor cell expression and PD-L1 tumor and immune cell expression were more often found in SCCs than in adenocarcinomas. CTLA-4 tumor cell expression was more often found in advanced FIGO tumors. PD-L1 and CTLA-4 immune cell expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. CTLA-4 expression did not affect survival. The prognosis was worse for PD-L1-expressing tumors.ConclusionCTLA-4 and PD-L1 are potential therapeutic targets in cervical cancer.     

miR-144、miR-451在胃癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的探究胃癌患者组织中miR-144、miR-451的表达与临床病理参数及预后的关系。方法2013年6月至2014年6月,收集115例胃癌患者的癌组织及癌旁正常组织,采用实时定量PCR检测组织中miR-144、miR-451的表达水平;分析胃癌组织中miR-144、miR-451的表达与患者临床病理参数的关系,采用Kaplan-Meier生存曲线评估miR-144、miR-451的表达与患者预后的关系,并采用Cox回归模型分析胃癌患者预后的影响因素。结果胃癌组织中miR-144相对表达量为0.214±0.069,低于癌旁正常组织的1.124±0.157,miR-451相对表达量为0.354±0.087,低于癌旁正常组织的1.084±0.108,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05);miR-144、miR-451的表达均与肿瘤大小、淋巴结转移、远处转移及TNM分期有关(均P<0.05)。Kaplan-Meier生存分析结果表明,与miR-144高表达组、miR-451高表达组相比,miR-144低表达组、miR-451低表达组患者术后5年总生存率较低,术后中位生存时间较短(均P<0.05)。Cox回归模型发现,远处转移、较高TNM分期、miR-144低表达、miR-451低表达是影响胃癌患者预后的危险因素(均P<0.05)。结论胃癌组织中miR-144、miR-451呈低表达,其与患者病情进展和预后有关,检测胃癌组织中miR-144、miR-451的表达可能有利于患者的病情和预后判断。     

乳腺浸润性导管癌中ER、PR、Her-2、Ki-67表达与病理特征及预后的相关性

目的 探究Ki-67、ER、PR、Her-2等基因在乳腺浸润性导管癌（IDC）组织中的表达,分析其与患者临床病理特征及预后的相关性。方法 收集2013年1月~2014年12月广东医科大学附属医院病理科乳腺包埋石蜡块IDC组织74例。采用免疫组织化学法检测ER、PR、Her-2、Ki-67在IDC组织中的表达,分析其与患者年龄、组织学分级、TNM分期、淋巴结转移及预后的相关性。结果 ①不同年龄、组织学分级、淋巴结转移及TNM分期的IDC患者ER、PR表达情况比较,差异均无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;未发生淋巴结转移的IDC患者Her-2表达低于转移患者,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;不同年龄、组织学分级、TNM分期的IDC患者Her-2表达比较,差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;不同TNM分期的IDC患者Ki-67表达情况比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）,不同年龄、组织学分级、淋巴结转移的IDC患者Ki-67表达比较,差异均无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。 ②Spearman相关性分析显示,ER与PR正相关,ER与Her-2、PR与Her-2负相关,ER、Ki-67和PR、Ki-67负相关,Her-2与Ki-67正相关。③Ki-67阳性表达的IDC患者病死率高于Ki-67阴性表达的患者,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;不同ER、PR、Her-2表达情况的IDC患者病死率比较,差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;Ki-67阴性表达患者的总生存时间（OS）高于阳性表达患者,COX多因素分析显示,Ki-67阳性表达是影响IDC患者OS的独立因素（95%CI:0.212~0.865,P=0.018）。结论 Ki-67可作为乳腺浸润性导管癌危险评估的分子标志物,其阳性表达可影响乳腺癌患者的预后。ER、PR、Her-2的表达对乳腺浸润性导管癌患者的预后没有明显影响。     

头颈部鳞状细胞癌预后相关的miRNAs的生物信息学分析

目的 利用癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）数据库微小核糖核酸（miRNAs）表达谱数据分析头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）与癌旁正常组织间差异表达的miRNAs,结合临床信息寻找与HNSCC预后相关的miRNAs。方法 从TCGA中下载miRNAs表达数据,包括39例HNSCC患者和39个肿瘤邻近正常组织样本筛选差异表达的miRNAs,应用481例HNSCC患者的miRNAs表达谱和临床信息来评估找到的差异表达miRNAs的预后作用。结果 共筛选出114个差异表达的miRNAs,包括60个上调和54个下调的miRNAs。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示miR-4652-5p和miR-99a-3p与HNSCC患者预后相关,单因素和多因素Cox回归分析显示,miR-4652-5p和miR-99a-3p是HNSCC的重要预后因素。结论 miR-4652-5p和miR-99a-3p与HNSCC患者预后相关,但miR-4652-5p和miR-99a-3p在头颈鳞状细胞癌发生发展中的分子机制仍需更全面的基础和临床研究进行探讨。     

冠心病患者血清PAPP-A、PC、hs-CRP水平与冠脉病变程度及预后的相关性研究

目的探讨冠心病(CHD)患者血清妊娠相关血浆蛋白A(PAPP-A)、血浆蛋白C(PC)、超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)水平变化及其与冠脉病变程度、预后的关系。方法研究对象源于2017年10月至2018年10月本院收治的186例CHD患者(纳为疾病组)和同期健康体检志愿者85名(纳为对照组),比较两组血清PAPP-A、PC、hs-CRP水平,冠脉造影评估CHD患者冠脉病变程度,随访疾病组预后,分析不同冠脉病变、不同预后CHD患者血清PAPP-A、PC、hs-CRP水平变化,并进行相关性分析。结果与健康组比较,疾病组血清PAPP-A、hs-CRP水平明显升高,PC水平明显降低,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);随着冠脉病变程度加重,CHD患者血清PAPP-A、hs-CRP水平依次明显升高,PC水平依次明显降低,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);随访发现共42例发生MACE事件(22.58%),发生MACE事件的CHD患者血清PAPP-A、hs-CRP水平较未发生者明显升高,而PC水平明显低于未发生者,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);Pearson相关分析发现,CHD冠脉病变程度、预后与血清PAPP-A、hs-CRP呈明显正相关(r=0.546、0.607,P<0.05),与PC水平呈明显负相关(r=-0.512,P<0.05)。结论CHD患者血清PAPP-A、hs-CRP水平明显升高而PC明显降低,三者与CHD病情程度及预后密切相关,或可作为CHD危险分层和预后评估的有效指标。     

The special immune microenvironment of tumor budding and its impact on prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma

Recent studies showed that the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are not randomly distributed, but organized to accumulate more or less densely in different regions within tumors, which have provoked new thoughts on cancer management. In this study we explored the characteristics of tumor immunemicroenvironment (TIME) for the tumor budding (TB) and lymphocytes in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) as well as their prognostic significance. The TILs around the TB at the invasive margin were assessed by double-immunohistochemistry staining for the CD8, FOXP3, OX40 and GrB phenotypes. Results showed that there was a negative correlation between the density of TB and TILs in the budding area, tumor stroma and parenchyma. And the number of TILs around the TB was evidently reduced, compared with TILs in the non-budding region (P < 0.001). Additionally, the number of TILs in turn changed from non-budding area CD8+>FOXP3+>OX40+> GrB + T cells to FOXP3+>CD8+>OX40 + T > GrB + T cells in budding area. Survival rate was significantly lower in patients who had a higher density of TB (P < 0.001) and a lower density of TILs (P = 0.013). We concluded that TB was surrounded by a weak immune surveillance and immunosuppressive response supported the spatial heterogeneity in the TIME of gastric adenocarcinomas. The regional heterogeneity should be attached importance for identifying the influence of the TIME on cancer development and evolution.     

Suppressive effects of metformin on colorectal adenoma incidence and malignant progression

BackgroundThe linear progression from normal colonic epithelium to adenoma initiation, carcinoma transformation and metastasis is considered the classical model of colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Although metformin has been extensively reported to be negatively related to cancer incidence, the effect of metformin on CRC development remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the role of metformin in the entire CRC linear progression.MethodsSystematic searches and data extraction were performed in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases on Jan 31, 2019. The combined relative ratios (RRs) of colorectal tumor incidence and the hazard ratios (HRs) of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were evaluated by a random-effects model. Then, the effects of metformin were further assessed through stratified analyses by population, medication duration and dosage, dose-response analysis and comparison with other antidiabetic agents.ResultsA total of 50 studies consisting of 238,540 cases of diabetes mellitus (DM) were included in this study. Metformin use was negatively associated with the incidence of colorectal adenoma (RR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65-0.86) and CRC (RR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.90). Moreover, CRC patients benefited from metformin in terms of both OS (HR: 0.73, 95% Cl: 0.63-0.84) and CSS (HR: 0.60, 95% Cl: 0.50-0.73). Stratified analyses suggested that a long duration of high-dose metformin (RR: 0.52, 95% Cl: 0.36-0.83) was more effective than a short duration in Asian populations against colorectal adenoma (RR: 0.66, 95% Cl: 056-0.70) and CRC (RR: 0.45, 95% Cl: 0.29-0.70). Interestingly, metformin use decreased CRC risk in a dose-dependent manner (RR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.87-0.95). In addition, the benefit of metformin on CRC was more significant than that of other antidiabetic agents, including insulin.ConclusionsThe use of metformin is associated with a lower incidence of adenoma and CRC and a better prognosis, especially in Asian populations.     

Decreased CDKL2 expression is correlated with the progression and poor prognosis of glioma

Glioma is the most common form of malignant intracranial tumors. Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 2 (CDKL2) was observed in various regions of the brain, but the specific role of CDKL2 in glioma has not been reported yet. In the present study, the expression of CDKL2 mRNA was detected by real-time QPCR in freshly collected glioma and para-carcinoma tissues, and we collected genomic and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas to determine mRNA expression levels of CDKL2 in the normal brain and glioma samples. Moreover, western blot assay and immunohistochemistry experiments were implemented to identify CDKL2 protein expression, and clinical pathology characteristics from 151 glioma cases and thirty-four para-carcinoma tissues were also examined. The relationship between the levels of CDKL2 expression and clinical data was analyzed. Low mRNA and protein expression of CDKL2 was observed in glioma tissues compared to non-cancerous tissues. In addition, low levels of CDKL2 correlated with Astrocytic type, higher clinical WHO grade, and higher Ki-67 expression in glioma. Low mRNA and protein expression of CDKL2 in glioma predicted an observably shorter overall survival time than high expression. However, as revealed by multivariate analysis, CDKL2 protein expression was not an independent prognostic biomarker for the survival of patients with glioma. Our study firstly determined that low levels of CDKL2 expression are associated with poor clinical diagnosis. Thus, CDKL2 may serve as a prognostic factor of glioma.