ITGA5 Promotes Tumor Progression through the Activation of the FAK/AKT Signaling Pathway in Human Gastric Cancer

Background

ITGA5 is an adhesion molecule that integrates the intracellular structures with the extracellular matrix to perform biological functions. However, ITGA5 is highly expressed in a variety of tumors and is involved in tumor progression by promoting cell proliferation and metastasis. Nevertheless, little research has been performed on its function in gastric cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of ITGA5 in gastric cancer, focusing on the mechanism regulating the proliferation, invasion and migration.

Methods

The expression of ITGA5 in gastric cancer tissues was assessed by the use of molecular bioinformatics databases and high-throughput sequencing of gastric cancer tissues from patients. Western blot, qPCR, and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect the expression of ITGA5 in samples from gastric cancer patients and gastric cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the ITGA5 gene was silenced and overexpressed in gastric cancer cells, and the effect on proliferation, invasion, migration, and tumorigenic ability was assessed.

Results

ITGA5 mRNA and protein expression were upregulated in gastric cancer cell lines and tissues from patients, and its expression was closely associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that ITGA5 silencing resulted in the inhibition of proliferation, invasion, migration, and graft growth of gastric cancer cells; conversely, the overexpression resulted in the promotion of these cell functions. Our results finally showed that the effect of ITGA5 on proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells was performed through the activation of the FAK/AKT pathway.

Conclusions

ITGA5 promotes proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells through the activation of FAK/AKT signaling pathway, suggesting that ITGA5 may be potentially considered as a new target in gastric cancer therapy.

Parameters of dual-energy CT for the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules and the indirect prediction of lymph node metastasis in thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective diagnostic study

BACKGROUND

To further investigate the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) and explore the relationship between DECT parameters and lymph node metastasis in thyroid carcinoma for clinical practice, especially difficult diagnosis by routine imaging examination.

METHODS

A total of 150 patients with thyroid nodules who underwent preoperative DECT and Thyroid Imaging Report and Data System (TIRADS) classification were enrolled in this study, including 96 patients with malignant tumors and 54 with benign tumors. The DECT parameters were got form regions of interest (ROI) by an experienced radiologist team and thyroid nodules and lymph node status of all patients were identified by cytology and histopathology. Statistical analyses were performed using Student's t-test, Chi-squared test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

RESULTS

In the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules, the optimal iodine concentration (IC) and normalized iodine concentration (NIC) cut-off values were ICa (2.835 mg/mL), NIC1a (0.690), and their corresponding area under the curve (AUC) were 0.940, 0.954 respectively; meantime, the optimal computed tomography (CT) value and slope of the spectral Hounsfield unit curve (λHU) cut-off values were 70 keVa (125.05 HU) and λHU2a (1.405), and their corresponding AUC were 0.955, 0.941 respectively. For lymph node status (with or without lymph node metastasis), the optimal IC and NIC thresholds were ICa (1.715 mg/mL) and NIC2a (0.155), and their corresponding AUC were 0.717, 0.720 respectively; meanwhile, the optimal CT value and λHU thresholds were 70 keVv (89.635 HU) and λHU2v (1.185), and their corresponding AUC were 0.729, 0.641 respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Base on our study, we think DECT is useful in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid nodules, which has potential value in the indirect prediction of lymph node metastasis in thyroid carcinoma.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC): a comparison of predictive performance of multiple classifiers modeling to identify cervical lymph node metastases before surgery

PURPOSE

To compare predictive efficiency of multiple classifiers modeling and establish a combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics model for identifying lymph node (LN) metastases of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) preoperatively.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis based on the preoperative MRI scans of 109 PTC patients including 77 patients with LN metastases and 32 patients without metastases was conducted, and we divided enroll cases into trained group and validation group. Radiomics signatures were selected from fat-suppressed T2-weighted MRI images, and the optimal characteristics were confirmed by spearman correlation test, hypothesis testing and random forest methods, and then, eight predictive models were constructed by eight classifiers. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the models.

RESULTS

The area under the curve (AUC) of ROC based on MRI texture diagnosed LN status by naked eye was 0.739 (sensitivity = 0.571, specificity = 0.906). Based on the 5 optimal signatures, the best AUC of MRI radiomics model by logistics regression classifier had a considerable prediction performance with AUCs 0.805 in trained group and 0.760 in validation group, respectively, and a combination of best radiomics model with visual diagnosis of MRI texture had a high AUC as 0.969 (sensitivity = 0.938, specificity = 1.000), suggesting combined model had a preferable diagnostic efficiency in evaluating LN metastases of PTC.

CONCLUSION

Our combined radiomics model with visual diagnosis could be a potentially effective strategy to preoperatively predict LN metastases in PTC patients before clinical intervention.

Using ultrasound features and radiomics analysis to predict lymph node metastasis in patients with thyroid cancer

Background

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is an important factor for thyroid cancer patients’ treatment and prognosis. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical value of ultrasound features and radiomics analysis in predicting LNM in thyroid cancer patients before surgery.

Methods

The characteristics of ultrasound images of 150 thyroid nodules were retrospectively analysed. All nodules were confirmed as thyroid cancer. Among the assessed patients, only one hundred and twenty-six patients underwent lymph node dissection. All patients underwent an ultrasound examination before surgery. In the radiomic analysis, the area of interest was identified from selected ultrasound images by using ITK-SNAP software. The radiomic features were extracted by using Ultrosomics software. Then, the data were classified into a training set and a validation set. Hypothetical tests and bagging were used to build the model. The diagnostic performance of different ultrasound features was assessed, a radiomic analysis was conducted, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to explore the diagnostic accuracy.

Results

Regarding the prediction of LNM, the ROC curves showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of an irregular shape and microcalcification were 0.591 (P = 0.059) and 0.629 (P = 0.007), respectively. In the radiomics analysis, in the training set, the AUC value of LNM was 0.759, with a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.860. In the verification set, the AUC was 0.803, with a sensitivity of 0.727 and a specificity of 0.800.

Conclusions

Microcalcification and an irregular shape are predictors of LNM in thyroid carcinoma patients. In addition, radiomics analysis has promising value in screening meaningful ultrasound features in thyroid cancer patients with LNM. Therefore, the prediction of LNM based on ultrasound features and radiomic features is useful for making appropriate decisions regarding surgery and interventions before thyroid carcinoma surgery.

Function of chloride intracellular channel 1 in gastric cancer cells

AIM: To investigate the effect of chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1) on the cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

METHODS: CLIC1 expression was evaluated in human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MGC-803 by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Four segments of small interference RNA (siRNA) targeting CLIC1 mRNA and a no-sense control segment were designed by bioinformatics technology. CLIC1 siRNA was selected using Lipofectamine 2000 and transfected transiently into human gastric cancer SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells. The transfected efficiency was observed under fluorescence microscope. After transfection, mRNA expression of CLIC1 was detected with RT-PCR and Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression. Proliferation was examined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. Polycarbonate membrane transwell chamber and Matrigel were used for the detection of the changes of invasion and migration of the two cell lines.

RESULTS: In gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MGC-803, CLIC1 was obviously expressed and CLIC1 siRNA could effectively suppress the expression of CLIC1 protein and mRNA. Proliferation of cells transfected with CLIC1 siRNA3 was enhanced notably, and the highest proliferation rate was 23.3% (P = 0.002) in SGC-7901 and 35.55% (P = 0.001) in MGC-803 cells at 48 h. The G2/M phase proportion increased, while G0/G1 and S phase proportions decreased. The apoptotic rate of the CLIC1 siRNA3 group obviously decreased in both SGC-7901 cells (62.24%, P = 0.000) and MGC-803 cells (52.67%, P = 0.004). Down-regulation of CLIC1 led to the inhibition of invasion and migration by 54.31% (P = 0.000) and 33.62% (P = 0.001) in SGC-7901 and 40.74% (P = 0.000) and 29.26% (P = 0.002) in MGC-803. However, there was no significant difference between the mock group cells and the negative control group cells.

CONCLUSION: High CLIC1 expression can efficiently inhibit proliferation and enhance apoptosis, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells in vitro. CLIC1 might be a promising target for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Imaging in assessing hepatic and peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Hepatic and peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer are operation contraindications. Systematic review to provide an overview of imaging in predicting the status of liver and peritoneum pre-therapeutically is essential.

METHODS

A systematic review of relevant literatures was performed in Pubmed/Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and the China Biological Medicine Databases. QUADAS was used for assessing the methodological quality of included studies and the bivariate model was used for this meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Totally 33 studies were included (8 US studies, 5 EUS studies, 22 CT studies, 2 MRI studies and 5 18F-FDG PET studies) and the methodological quality of included studies was moderate. The result of meta-analysis showed that CT is the most sensitive imaging method [0.74 (95% CI: 0.59-0.85)] with a high rate of specificity [0.99 (95% CI: 0.97-1.00)] in detecting hepatic metastasis, and EUS is the most sensitive imaging modality [0.34 (95% CI: 0.10-0.69) ] with a specificity of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.87-0.99) in detecting peritoneal metastasis. Only two eligible MRI studies were identified and the data were not combined. The two studies found that MRI had both high sensitivity and specificity in detecting liver metastasis.

CONCLUSION

US, EUS, CT and 18F-FDG PET did not obtain consistently high sensitivity and specificity in assessing liver and peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer. The value of laparoscopy, PET/CT, DW-MRI, and new PET tracers such as 18F-FLT needs to be studied in future.

Systematic review of D2 lymphadenectomy versus D2 with para-aortic nodal dissection for advanced gastric cancer

AIM: To evaluate the feasibility and therapeutic effects of para-aortic nodal dissection (PAND) for advanced gastric cancer.

METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies comparing D2 + PAND with D2 lymphadenectomy were identified using a pre-defined search strategy. Five-year overall survival rate, post-operative mortality, and wound degree of surgery between the two operations were compared by using the methods provided by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.

RESULTS: Four RCTs (1120 patients) and 4 non-randomized studies (901 patients) were identified. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between these two groups in 5-year overall survival rate [risk ratio (RR) 1.04 (95% CI: 0.93-1.16) for RCTs and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.83-1.10) for non-randomized studies] and post-operative mortality [RR 0.99 (95% CI: 0.44-2.24) for RCTs and 2.06 (95% CI: 0.69-6.15) for non-randomized studies]. There was a significant difference between these two groups in wound degree of surgery, operation time was significantly longer [weighted mean difference (WMD) 195.32 min (95% CI: 114.59-276.05) for RCTs and 126.07 min (95% CI: 22.09-230.04) for non-randomized studies] and blood loss was significantly greater [WMD 301 mL (95% CI: 151.55-450.45) for RCTs and 302.86 mL (95% CI: 127.89-477.84) for non-randomized studies] in D2 + PAND.

CONCLUSION: D2 + PAND can be performed as safely as standard D2 resection without increasing post-operative mortality but fail to benefit overall survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer.