Association of Prepregnancy Obesity and Remodeled Maternal-Fetal Plasma Fatty Acid Profiles

Background

Fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), are found abundantly in the brain and are fundamental for a fetus's growth. The fatty acid profiles of mothers and fetuses may be affected by maternal prepregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI), thus affecting fetal growth and development.

Methods

A total of 103 mother-fetus pairs were divided into overweight/obese (OW, n = 26), normal weight (NW, n = 60), and underweight (UW, n = 17) groups according to pre-BMI. Fatty acid profiles in maternal and umbilical cord plasma were analyzed by gas chromatography.

Results

The infant birth BMI z-score of the OW group was higher than that of the NW and UW groups (p < 0.05). The OW mothers had significantly higher plasma n-6 PUFA and n-6/n-3, but lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and n-3 PUFA (p < 0.05). In cord plasma, the proportions of DHA and n-3 PUFA were lower in the OW group (p < 0.05), whereas the n-6/n-3 ratio was higher in the OW group (p < 0.05). The pre-BMI was negatively correlated with cord plasma DHA in all subjects (r = −0.303, p = 0.002), and the same negative correlation can be observed in the OW group (r = −0.561, p = 0.004), but not in the NW and UW groups (p > 0.05). The pre-BMI was positively correlated with cord plasma n-6/n-3 in all subjects (r = 0.325, p = 0.001), and the same positive correlation can be found in the OW group (r = 0.558, p = 0.004), but not in NW and UW groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Maternal pre-BMI was associated with the maternal-fetal plasma fatty acid profiles, whereas the adverse fatty acid profiles are more noticeable in the prepregnancy OW mothers.

Brand interchangeability of pepsinogen tests in the real-world setting after eradication of Helicobacter pylori: a community-based study

Background

Serum pepsinogen (PG) is recommended as a screening test for premalignant gastric lesions. However, real-world evidence demonstrating its applicability and equivalence between different test brands is limited.

Methods

Mass screening began in 2018 in a high-risk Taiwanese population after eradication of Helicobacter pylori, with the first stage of two PG tests (GastroPanel^®, Helsinki, Finland and LZ-Test^®, Tokyo, Japan) and the second stage of endoscopy. A positive test was defined as PG-I < 30 ng/mL or PG-I/II ratio < 3 for GastroPanel^® and PG-I ≤ 70 ng/mL and PG-I/II ratio ≤ 3 for LZ-Test^®. Index lesions included atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. Test performance was evaluated based on the participation rate, positivity rate, referral rate, positive predictive value (PPV), and the detection rate.

Results

Among 7616 eligible participants, 5117 (67.2%) received PG tests and 284 (5.6%) tested positive. Of those who tested positive, 105 (37.0%) underwent endoscopy. Overall PPVs for atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia were 12.4% and 18.9%, respectively, with detection rates of 2.5 and 3.9 per 1000, respectively. Correlations of numerical measures between tests were high and the agreements of test results were substantial. The PPVs (16.3% vs. 16.3% and 23.8% vs. 21.3%, P = 1.00 and 0.71, respectively), detection rates (2.5 vs. 2.5 and 3.7 vs. 3.3 per 1000, P = 1.00 and 0.27, respectively), and the stage distributions of gastritis were all comparable, which were confirmed by multiple regression analyses.

Conclusions

PG testing is effective for mass screening after eradication of H. pylori. Tests from different manufacturers, even using different analytical methods and cutoff criteria, can perform equivalently.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02155-7.

Extract the Degradation Information in Squeezed States with Machine Learning

In order to leverage the full power of quantum noise squeezing with unavoidable decoherence, a complete understanding of the degradation in the purity of squeezed light is demanded. By implementing machine-learning architecture with a convolutional neural network, we illustrate a fast, robust, and precise quantum state tomography for continuous variables, through the experimentally measured data generated from the balanced homodyne detectors. Compared with the maximum likelihood estimation method, which suffers from time-consuming and overfitting problems, a well-trained machine fed with squeezed vacuum and squeezed thermal states can complete the task of reconstruction of the density matrix in less than one second. Moreover, the resulting fidelity remains as high as 0.99 even when the antisqueezing level is higher than 20 dB. Compared with the phase noise and loss mechanisms coupled from the environment and surrounding vacuum, experimentally, the degradation information is unveiled with machine learning for low and high noisy scenarios, i.e., with the antisqueezing levels at 12 dB and 18 dB, respectively. Our neural network enhanced quantum state tomography provides the metrics to give physical descriptions of every feature observed in the quantum state with a single scan measurement just by varying the local oscillator phase from 0 to 2π and paves a way of exploring large-scale quantum systems in real time.

Infrapatellar Fat Pads-Derived Stem Cell Is a Favorable Cell Source for Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering: An In Vitro and Ex Vivo Study Based on 3D Organized Self-Assembled Biomimetic Scaffold

OBJECTIVE

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a promising source of cells for articular cartilage regeneration. However, ASCs isolated from different adipose tissue depots have heterogeneous cell characterizations and differentiation potential when cultured in 3-dimensional (3D) niches.

DESIGN

We compared the chondrogenicity of ASCs isolated from infrapatellar fat pads (IPFPs) and subcutaneous fat pads (SCFPs) in 3D gelatin-based biomimetic matrix.

RESULTS

The IPFP-ASC-differentiated chondrocytes had higher ACAN, COL2A1, COL10, SOX6, SOX9, ChM-1, and MIA-3 mRNA levels and lower COL1A1 and VEGF levels than the SCFP-ASCs in 3D matrix. The difference in mRNA profile may have contributed to activation of the Akt, p38, RhoA, and JNK signaling pathways in the IPFP-ASCs. The chondrocytes differentiated from IPFP-ASCs had pronounced glycosaminoglycan and collagen type II production and a high chondroitin-6-sulfate/chondroitin-4-sulfate ratio with less polymerization of β-actin filaments. In an ex vivo mice model, magnetic resonance imaging revealed a shorter T2 relaxation time, indicating that more abundant extracellular matrix was secreted in the IPFP-ASC-matrix group. Histological examinations revealed that the IPFP-ASC matrix had higher chondrogenic efficacy of new cartilaginous tissue generation as evident in collagen type II and S-100 staining. Conclusion. ASCs isolated from IPFPs may be better candidates for cartilage regeneration, highlighting the translational potential of cartilage tissue engineering using the IPFP-ASC matrix technique.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of HOXC family members in gastric cancer

Aims: HOX clusters encode proteins that play pivotal roles in regulating transcription factors and many other proteins during embryogenesis. However, little is known about the diagnostic and prognostic values of HOXC family members in gastric cancer (GC). Materials and methods: The authors evaluated the data in patients with GC based on bioinformatics analysis. Results: HOXC6/8/9/10/11/13 were overexpressed in GC and associated with a poor prognosis. HOXC4/5 were downregulated in GC tissues. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that they have high diagnostic value. In addition, HOXC4/5/6/9/10/11/13 were negatively correlated with DNA methylation level. The gene set enrichment analysis results implied that they play essential roles in multiple biological processes underlying tumorigenesis. Conclusion: HOXC family members are potential targets for diagnosis and may work as prognostic biomarkers of GC.

[Analysing pathogenic bacterial spectrum and drug resistance of bloodstream infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation]

Objective: To elucidate the clinical characteristics of bloodstream infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in our hospital and improves the survival of transplant patients with bloodstream infection. Methods: Two hundred and ten patients with allo-HSCT from the Department of Hematology were retrospectively analyzed between October 2014 and September 2019. Pathogen distribution, drug resistance, risk factors, and outcomes were investigated in 49 allo-HSCT patients with bloodstream infections. Results: Forty-nine of 210 patients with allo-HSCT had bloodstream infection, and 59 pathogenic microorganisms were identified, mainly Gram-negative bacteria (67.8%) , of which E. coli had the highest incidence (23.7%) , CRO accounted for 42.5%, and Grampositive bacteria accounted for 23.7% (without vancomycin or linezolid-resistant strain) . Additionally, fungi accounted for 8.5%. Univariate analysis suggested that the risk factors of bloodstream infection were gender, pretransplant disease status, and conditioning regimen. In contrast, multivariate analysis showed that bloodstream infection was mainly related to conditioning regimens. Further grouping results showed that 77.6% of patients with neutropenia had bloodstream infections, and 22.4% of patients with non-neutropenia had bloodstream infections; 81.0% of patients with active infections before transplantation had bloodstream infections, while bloodstream infection occurred in 16.9% of patients without active infection. Survival analysis showed that long-term survival of patients with bloodstream infection is shorter than that of patients without bloodstream infection and long-term survival of patients with CRO infection is shorter than that of patients without CRO infection. The survival of patients with neutropenia longer than 14 d is shorter than that of patients with neutropenia shorter than 14 d. Furthermore, there is no correlation between whether there is an active infection before transplantation and whether they are in a neutropenic state at the time of infection and survival. Conclusion: Our results suggest that effective prevention of bloodstream infections from drug-resistant bacteria, particularly CRO, shortening the duration of neutropenia, eradication of potential infections before transplantation, and patient-adaptive conditioning could reduce transplant-related mortality and improve prognosis.

Prognostic performance of different lymph node classification systems in young gastric cancer

Background

Accurate staging plays a pivotal role in cancer care. The lymph node (LN) ratio (LNR) and the log odds of positive LNs (LODDS) have been suggested as alternatives to the N staging since the TNM system has the risk of stage migration. The prognostic significance of LNR and LODDS in young patients with gastric cancer (GC) has not been reported. This study aims to investigate the correlations between LNR and LODDS and survival of young patients with GC, and compare the predictive performance of these LN staging methods.

Methods

GC patients before the age of 40 from 2004 to 2016 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database were enrolled. The prognostic evaluation of the N factor, LNR and LODDS was compared using the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, area under the curve (AUC), C-index and Akaike information criterion (AIC).

Results

Multivariate survival analysis identified that the LNR and LODDS were significantly independent prognostic indicators for overall survival (OS) in young patients with GC and in the subgroups comprised of patients with ≤15 LNs examined. The time-dependent ROC curves of the LNR and LODDS were continuously superior to that of the N factor in predicting OS during the observation period. And the AUCs revealed that the predictive accuracy of the LNR and LODDS was remarkably superior to the N factor at 1 and 3 years (P<0.05). The model incorporating LNR or LODDS had higher C-index and lower AIC when comparing to the model incorporating the N factor.

Conclusions

The LNR and LODDS improve accuracy of survival risk prediction in young patients with GC when comparing to the N factor. These two novel LN classification methods should be considered as alternatives to the N staging for the prognostic prediction of young patients with GC.

Prognostic significance and function of MCM10 in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim: To investigate the role of MCM10, a conserved replication factor, in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We used data from 364 HCC patients in the Cancer Genome Atlas database and conducted in vitro experiments to confirm the role of MCM10. Results: High MCM10 expression correlated with poor HCC patient outcome and was an independent prognosticator for HCC. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found that the sequential trend of MCM10 for survival was not inferior to that of the tumor node metastasis stage. The MCM10 model had a higher C-index than the non-MCM10 model, indicating that incorporating MCM10 into a multivariate model improves the model's prognostic accuracy for HCC. Genetic alterations of MCM10 prominently correlated with an unfavorable HCC outcome. Conclusion: Our findings strongly suggest using the MCM10 gene as a prognostic indicator in HCC.

[Association between pulse pressure and new-onset diabetes in hypertensive patients]

Objective: To determine the association between pulse pressure and the risk of new-onset diabetes in hypertensive patients. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, hypertensive patients from the Kailuan Study, who were diagnosed in 2006-2007 check-up, were screened for enrollment. Participants who finished the biennial follow-up until December 31, 2017 were finally included in this analysis. The primary outcome was incident diabetes development. The pulse pressure variables were divided into quartiles (Q1-Q4), and the Kaplan-Meier curve was used to examine and estimate the cumulative incidence of new-onset diabetes among quartiles. Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to explore the association between pulse pressure and the risk of new-onset diabetes in hypertensive patients. Results: During an average follow-up of 8.17 years, 6 617 new-onset diabetes were identified out of the 32 917 hypertensive patients with no history or evidence of diabetes in 2006-2007 check-up. Participants were classified into quartiles according to pulse pressure levels as follows: Q1 group(<41 mmHg (1mmHg=0.133kPa))(n=7 995); Q2 group(41-<51 mmHg) (n=8 196); Q3 group (51-<61 mmHg) (n= 8 270); Q4 group (≥61 mmHg) (n=8 456). The cumulative incidences of new-onset diabetes across the quartiles were 16.94%, 19.61%, 21.07%, and 22.33%, respectively, with the incidence density was 20.27, 23.20, 24.92, and 26.10 per 1 000 person-years, respectively. The cumulative incidence of new-onset diabetes increased in proportion with increasing pulse pressure levels (P<0.01 by the Log-rank test). After multivariate adjustment, compared with the first quartile, the hazard ratios for new-onset diabetes in the third and fourth quartiles were 1.13 (95%CI 1.04-1.22, P<0.01) and 1.14 (95%CI 1.05-1.24, P<0.01), respectively. The risk of new-onset diabetes increased 5%(HR=1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08, P<0.01) with the fractional pulse pressure increased per 1 SD (0.13). Findings from the three sensitivity analyses were consistent with the main results in this cohort. Conclusions: Pulse pressure at baseline is positively associated with the incidence of new-onset diabetes among hypertensive individuals, and pulse pressure is an independent risk factor for the development of diabetes in hypertensive patients.

LOC550643, a Long Non-coding RNA, Acts as Novel Oncogene in Regulating Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis

Metastatic disease is responsible for over 90% of death in patients with breast cancer. Therefore, identifying the molecular mechanisms that regulate metastasis and developing useful therapies are crucial tasks. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are non-coding transcripts with >200 nucleotides, have recently been identified as critical molecules for monitoring cancer progression. This study examined the novel lncRNAs involved in the regulation of tumor progression in breast cancer. This study identified 73 metastasis-related lncRNA candidates from comparison of paired isogenic high and low human metastatic breast cancer cell lines, and their expression levels were verified in clinical tumor samples by using The Cancer Genome Atlas. Among the cell lines, a novel lncRNA, LOC550643, was highly expressed in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the high expression of LOC550643 was significantly correlated with the poor prognosis of breast cancer patients, especially those with triple-negative breast cancer. Knockdown of LOC550643 inhibited cell proliferation of breast cancer cells by blocking cell cycle progression at S phase. LOC550643 promoted important in vitro metastatic traits such as cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, LOC550643 could inhibit miR-125b-2-3p expression to promote breast cancer cell growth and invasiveness. In addition, by using a xenograft mouse model, we demonstrated that depletion of LOC550643 suppressed the lung metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. Overall, our study shows that LOC550643 plays an important role in breast cancer cell metastasis and growth, and LOC550643 could be a potential diagnosis biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Effects of Trait Anxiety on Error Processing and Post-error Adjustments: An Event-Related Potential Study With Stop-Signal Task

The present study aimed to use event-related potentials with the stop-signal task to investigate the effects of trait anxiety on inhibitory control, error monitoring, and post-error adjustments. The stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) was used to evaluate the behavioral competence of inhibitory control. Electrophysiological signals of error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) were used to study error perception and error awareness, respectively. Post-error slowing (PES) was applied to examine the behavioral adjustments after making errors. The results showed that SSRT and PES did not differ significantly between individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA) and those with low trait anxiety (LTA). However, individuals with HTA demonstrated reduced ERN amplitudes and prolonged Pe latencies than those with LTA. Prolonged Pe latencies were also significantly associated with poorer post-error adjustments. In conclusion, HTA led to reduced cortical responses to error monitoring. Furthermore, inefficient conscious awareness of errors might lead to maladaptive post-error adjustments.

HOTAIR plays an oncogenic role in gastric cancer through microRNA and SNP

HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is a lncRNA with a length of 2,158 nucleotides and its two terminal domains could combine with different complexes to function at the level of transcription and translation. It overexpresses in many cancers including gastric cancer. HOTAIR could play an oncogenic role in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer through interaction with microRNAs, such as miR-330/618/126 in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. HOTAIR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may have genotype-function and allele-specific effect on gastric cancer by a mechanism that specific SNP could give rise to a variation of HOTAIR and alter the binding site of microRNAs. Both rs920778 T allele and rs4759314 G allele will enhance the susceptibility to gastric cancer in the Chinese populations. In a word, the suppression of HOTAIR and overexpression of downstream microRNAs may be potential therapeutic strategies of gastric cancer related to HOTAIR.

Silymarin modulates catabolic cytokine expression through Sirt1 and SOX9 in human articular chondrocytes

Background

Silymarin (SMN), a polyphenolic flavonoid, is involved in multiple bioactive functions including anti-inflammation. Pretreatment with SMN demonstrated chondroprotection against tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) stimulation in a chondrocyte cell line. However, pre- and posttreatment with phytochemicals have varying effects on osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes, and the therapeutic potential of SMN after catabolic cytokine stimulation is not fully elucidated.

Methods

The cytotoxicity of SMN (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 μM) was evaluated in human primary chondrocytes. The chondrocytes were supplemented with SMN (25 and 50 μM) after interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) stimulation. The mRNA expression and protein production of catabolic/anabolic cytokines as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) components were evaluated.

Results

High-dose SMN (100 μM) impaired the mitochondrial activity in chondrocytes, and 50 μM SMN further caused cell death in IL-1β-stimulated cells. The addition of 25 μM SMN ameliorated cell senescence; downregulated the catabolic genes of inducible nitric oxide synthase, IL-1β, TNF-α, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), MMP-9 and MMP-13; upregulated the anabolic genes of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and collagen type II alpha 1; and restored the expression of chondrogenic phenotype genes SOX9 and sirtuin-1 (Sirt1). In addition, the production of IL-1β, MMP-3 and MMP-9 decreased with an increase in TIMP-1 secretion. However, the mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 and protein production remained high. The addition of nicotinamide, a Sirt1 inhibitor, downregulated SOX9 and attenuated the therapeutic effects of SMN on IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes.

Conclusion

SMN regulates the chondrocyte phenotype through Sirt1 and SOX9 to improve ECM homeostasis and may serve as a complementary therapy for early-stage knee OA.

Mass eradication of Helicobacter pylori to reduce gastric cancer incidence and mortality: a long-term cohort study on Matsu Islands

OBJECTIVE

Although mass eradication of Helicobacter pylori has been proposed as a means to eliminate gastric cancer, its long-term effects remain unclear.

DESIGN

Mass eradication of H. pylori infection was launched in 2004 and continued until 2018 for a high-risk Taiwanese population aged 30 years or older dwelling on Matsu Islands with prevalent H. pylori infection. Test positives for the ¹³C-urea breath test underwent eradication therapy. We evaluated the effectiveness of the mass eradication in reducing two main outcomes, incidence and mortality rates of gastric cancer, until the end of 2016 and 2018, respectively.

RESULTS

After six rounds of mass screening and eradication, the coverage rate reached 85.5% (6512/7616). The referral rate for treatment was 93.5% (4286/4584). The prevalence rates of H. pylori fell from 64.2% to 15.0% with reinfection rates of less than 1% per person-year. The presence and severity of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia also decreased with time. Compared with the historical control period from 1995 to 2003, the effectiveness in reducing gastric cancer incidence and mortality during the chemoprevention period was 53% (95% CI 30% to 69%, p<0.001) and 25% (95% CI -14% to 51%, p=0.18), respectively. No significant changes were noted in the incidence rates of other digestive tract cancers or the antibiotic resistance rate of H. pylori.

CONCLUSION

Population-based eradication of H. pylori has significantly reduced gastric cancer incidence with no increase in the likelihood of adverse consequences. A significant reduction in mortality is likely to be achieved with a longer follow-up period.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT00155389.

The safety of antiviral therapy and drug withdrawal for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HBV during pregnancy

The efficacy of prenatal antiviral therapy (AVT) for preventing the vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is well demonstrated. However, data are limited regarding the safety of postpartum cessation of AVT, which may induce alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation. We aimed to investigate the necessity of prolonging maternal AVT after delivery. Chronic hepatitis B mothers at the immune-tolerant phase with HBV DNA levels >6 log10  IU/mL were prospectively enrolled and received AVT during the third trimester until delivery. Patients were offered to discontinue AVT either at delivery or postpartum week (PPW) 6. In addition, mothers who deferred AVT during pregnancy served as the control group. All mothers were followed until PPW 52 for clinical and virological parameters of hepatitis flares. Among 118 mothers recruited, 91 received AVT with 53 (group A) and 24 (group B) discontinue their treatment at delivery and PPW 6, respectively. Twenty-seven mothers who deferred AVT during pregnancy were followed as the control (group C). A total of 104 of 118 mothers who completed the study, 50% (52/104) had postpartum-elevated ALT levels, which were mild and moderate except 6 of 104 (5.77%) of patients had levels ≥5 times the upper limit of normal; 70% (36/52) of the ALT flares occurred within 12 weeks after delivery. In subgroup analyses, the frequency of ALT elevation was similar among the groups A vs B vs C (50.9% [27/53] vs 58.3% [14/24] vs 40.7% [11/27], respectively; P  = .447), as well as the mean peak ALT level (108.4/74.1/126.7 U/L in groups A/B/C, respectively; P = .291). Although postpartum ALT flares were common for mothers with or without AVT during pregnancy, most cases of ALT elevation were mild to moderate. Our study observed that extending AVT to PPW 6 did not affect maternal outcomes and ATV should be discontinued at birth. Close monitoring is warranted as severe flares rarely occurred.

Involvement of the MicroRNA-1-LITAF Axis in Gastric Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion

BACKGROUND/AIM

Lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha factor (LITAF) has been identified as a tumor suppressor in human cancers. Present study, we assessed biological role of LITAF in human gastric cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The clinical impacts of LITAF expression were assessed in gastric cancer using public databases. The biological role of LITAF was assessed in gastric cancer cells using siLITAF transfection.

RESULTS

High LITAF expression was correlated well with worse prognosis, including pathological stage (p=0.034) and pathological T stage (p=0.047), as well as with shorter survival. Herein, we present a novel finding that miR-1-3p could inhibit LITAF expression by directly binding to the 3'-untranslated region of LITAF mRNA. Cell functional assays revealed that LITAF knockdown could significantly suppress gastric cancer growth and motility.

CONCLUSION

High LITAF expression resulting from low miR-1-3p expression is a biomarker for poor prognosis or therapeutic targets in gastric cancer.

Prognostic efficacy of preoperative mGPS, SIS and LCS in patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Systemic inflammation and interactions with host-tumor are currently identified as a hallmark of cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic value of preoperative modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS), systemic inflammation score (SIS) and "lymphocyte C-reactive protein score" (LCS) in gastric cancer (GC) patients.

METHODS

358 GC patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. Kaplan-Meier method, multivariate Cox regression analysis, time-dependent receiver operating characteristics analysis (ROC), concordance index (C-index), and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were applied for assessments of the prognostic values.

RESULTS

Preoperative increased mGPS, SIS and LCS were all significantly linked with unfavorable overall survival using the Kaplan-Meier method (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis proved that SIS was the only independent indicator among these three scoring systems. At the 4th-month point postoperatively, the time-dependent ROC curves of SIS and LCS crossed the curve of mGPS and were consistently superior to that of mGPS thereafter. The model incorporating SIS had higher C-index and smaller AIC than did the model without SIS or the models with mGPS or LCS.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative SIS exceeded both the mGPS and LCS and was the most clinically promising and feasible prognostic scoring system for GC patients.

Abstract 5034: Effect of estrogen on heteronemin-induced anti-proliferation in breast cancer cells

Estrogen, 17β-estradiol (E2) has multiple functions in breast cancers including stimulating cancer growth and interfering with chemotherapeutic efficacy. Heteronemin, a marine sesterterpenoid-type natural product, processes anti-proliferative effect in cancer cells. In the current study, we investigate the antitumor mechanism of heteronemin in breast cancer cells and further explore its molecular targets. Heteronemin exhibited potent cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cells. On the other hand, E2 stimulated cancer cell growth. Heteronemin and E2 showed different effects on gene expression of proliferation, angiogenesis or growth factor receptors in breast cancer cells. NanoString® analysis was further used to detect mRNAs, heteronemin repressed gene expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (SMAD) and PCNA, whose protein products play important roles in regulating cell growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. The results indicate that heteronemin was able to modulate cell adhesion, expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) receptors, TGF-β pathway, cell motility, membrane integration, metastasis response, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) remodeling, regulation of metabolism, sprouting angiogenesis, transcription factors, and vasculogenesis in breast cancer cells. However, those effects were partially reversed by E2. Furthermore, Heteronemin and E2 altered several signaling transduction pathways. In summary, this study provides insight into the complex pathways by which anti-proliferation is induced by heteronemin in E2-depleted and -repleted environments.

Citation Format: Zi-Lin Li, Yi-shin Pan, Tung-Yung Huang, Ya-Jung Shih, Yi-Ru Chen, Heng-Yuan Tang, Jacqueline Whang-Peng, Hung-Yun Lin, Paul J. Davis, Kuan Wang. Effect of estrogen on heteronemin-induced anti-proliferation in breast cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5034.

Chrysophanol attenuates hepatitis B virus X protein-induced hepatic stellate cell fibrosis by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress and ferroptosis

Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are critical for liver fibrosis development. Anti-fibrosis occurs via reversion to quiescent-type HSCs or clearance of HSCs via apoptosis or ferroptosis. We aimed to elucidate the role of chrysophanol in rat HSC-T6 cells expressing HBx and investigate whether chrysophanol (isolated from Rheum palmatum rhizomes) influences cell death via ferroptosis in vitro. Analysis of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), Bip, CHOP, p-IRE1α, GPX4, SLC7A11, α-SMA, and CTGF showed that chrysophanol attenuated HBx-repressed cell death. Chrysophanol can impair HBx-induced activation of HSCs via endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) and ferroptosis-dependent and GPX4-independent pathways.

NDAT Targets PI3K-Mediated PD-L1 Upregulation to Reduce Proliferation in Gefitinib-Resistant Colorectal Cancer

The property of drug-resistance may attenuate clinical therapy in cancer cells, such as chemoresistance to gefitinib in colon cancer cells. In previous studies, overexpression of PD-L1 causes proliferation and metastasis in cancer cells; therefore, the PD-L1 pathway allows tumor cells to exert an adaptive resistance mechanism in vivo. Nano-diamino-tetrac (NDAT) has been shown to enhance the anti-proliferative effect induced by first-line chemotherapy in various types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). In this work, we attempted to explore whether NDAT could enhance the anti-proliferative effect of gefitinib in CRC and clarified the mechanism of their interaction. The MTT assay was utilized to detect a reduction in cell proliferation in four primary culture tumor cells treated with gefitinib or NDAT. The gene expression of PD-L1 and other tumor growth-related molecules were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Furthermore, the identification of PI3K and PD-L1 in treated CRC cells were detected by western blotting analysis. PD-L1 presentation in HCT116 xenograft tumors was characterized by specialized immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E stain). The correlations between the change in PD-L1 expression and tumorigenic characteristics were also analyzed. (3) The PD-L1 was highly expressed in Colo_160224 rather than in the other three primary CRC cells and HCT-116 cells. Moreover, the PD-L1 expression was decreased by gefitinib (1 µM and 10 µM) in two cells (Colo_150624 and 160426), but 10 µM gefitinib stimulated PD-L1 expression in gefitinib-resistant primary CRC Colo_160224 cells. Inactivated PI3K reduced PD-L1 expression and proliferation in CRC Colo_160224 cells. Gefitinib didn’t inhibit PD-L1 expression and PI3K activation in gefitinib-resistant Colo_160224 cells. However, NDAT inhibited PI3K activation as well as PD-L1 accumulation in gefitinib-resistant Colo_160224 cells. The combined treatment of NDAT and gefitinib inhibited pPI3K and PD-L1 expression and cell proliferation. Additionally, NDAT reduced PD-L1 accumulation and tumor growth in the HCT116 (K-RAS mutant) xenograft experiment. (4) Gefitinib might suppress PD-L1 expression but did not inhibit proliferation through PI3K in gefitinib-resistant primary CRC cells. However, NDAT not only down-regulated PD-L1 expression via blocking PI3K activation but also inhibited cell proliferation in gefitinib-resistant CRCs.

Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of Spiropentadiene Pyrazolones and 1H-Oxepino[2,3-c]pyrazoles from Doubly Conjugated Pyrazolones via Intramolecular Wittig Reaction

An efficient method for the diversity-oriented synthesis of spiropentadiene pyrazolones and 1H-oxepino[2,3-c]pyrazoles is reported. The methodology attributes O-acylation of phosphorus zwitterions which were formed by a tandem phospha-1,6-addition of PBu₃ to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated pyrazolones, further generating betaine intermediates that preferentially resulted in the aforementioned cyclic products in a diversity-oriented manner. The mechanistic investigations revealed that formation of the betaines is the key step to provide the products via an intramolecular Wittig reaction or an unprecedented δ-C-acylation/cyclization/Wittig reaction.

Evaluation of the post-treatment anti-inflammatory capacity of osteoarthritic chondrocytes: An in vitro study using baicalein

INTRODUCTION

Targeting inflammatory cascades is considered a promising way to prevent knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression. In terms of down-regulating the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin (IL)-6, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), pre-treatment with the flavonoid baicalein reportedly protects articular chondrocytes against the cytotoxicity of IL-1β. However, the benefits of post-treatment baicalein on osteoarthritic chondrocytes are not fully elucidated.

METHODS

In this study, primary human chondrocytes were stimulated with IL-1β prior to baicalein application to evaluate the therapeutic effect of post-treatment.

RESULTS

Post-treatment baicalein alleviated cell death and partially restored mitochondrial viability, while the senescence-associated secretory phenotype was not improved in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. Post-treatment baicalein down-regulated the expressions of IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-13 mRNA as well as the protein production in stimulated cells. Even so, the levels of these factors were relative higher than those in un-treated chondrocytes. Moreover, iNOS, IL-6, IL-8, and COL1A1 expressions were consistently high, and IL-10 protein synthesis steadily increased in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes under baicalein treated status. Moreover, Western blot analyses showed that post-treatment baicalein suppressed nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells and p50 production while downstream cyclooxygenase-2 was still highly expressed.

CONCLUSION

Baicalein post-treatment to osteoarthritic chondrocytes had a minor benefit to the homeostasis of cartilaginous extracellular matrix.

Chitosan-cartilage extracellular matrix hybrid scaffold induces chondrogenic differentiation to adipose-derived stem cells

Introduction

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are potential cell sources for cartilage tissue engineering. Chitosan has been shown to enhance the stemness and differentiation capability of ASCs, and the native extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from articular cartilage has been also reported to induce chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs. Here we tested the hypothesis that a porous three-dimensional (3D) hybrid scaffold composed of chitosan and cartilage ECM can provide a better environment to induce ASC chondrogenesis.

Methods

Mixed solution composed of chitosan and cartilage ECM was frozen and lyophilized to form a composite construct. The porous 3D scaffolds were further crosslinked by genipin and used for ASC culture.

Results

Cultivation of ASCs in the chitosan/cartilage ECM composite 3D scaffolds induced the formation of cell spheroids with profound glycosaminoglycan production after 14 and 28 days culture. Chondrogenesis of ASCs seeded in the 3D scaffolds was also evident by mRNA expressions of cartilage-specific gene COL2A1 and ACAN on day 14. Histology and immunohistochemistry on day 28 also showed abundant cartilage-specific macromolecules, namely collagen type II and proteoglycan, deposited in a surface layer of the composite scaffold with tangential layer, transitional layer, and lacunae-like structures. Otherwise, hypertrophic markers collagen type I and X were concentrated in the area beneath the surface.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated spatial chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs in the chitosan-cartilage ECM composite scaffolds. This 3D hybrid scaffold exhibits great potentials for ASC-based cartilage tissue engineering.

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Cultivation of ASCs in the chitosan and cartilage ECM hybrid scaffold induced chondrogenesis.

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ASCs in composite scaffold expressed cartilage-specific genes COL2A1 and ACAN.

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Histologic inspections showed abundant cartilage-specific collagen type II and proteoglycan productions.

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Chitosan-cartilage ECM hybrid scaffold exhibits great potentials for ASC-based cartilage tissue engineering.

Long-Range Self-Assembly of an Electron-Deficient Hexaazatrinaphthylene with Out-of-Plane Substituents

The unprecedented time-dependent long-range supramol-ecular assembly of electron-deficient hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN) core based on peripheral crowding with three out-of-plane cyclic ketals is reported. The single-crystal X-ray structure of the diethyl derivative provided detailed information as to how four molecules in a repeating unit were packed in order to avoid steric crowding of the out-of-plane cyclic ketal side chain, providing locking and fastening for stabilizing the self-assembled structure. The polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) did not instantaneously show any phase transition upon the cooling process. To our surprise, POM images showed a nucleation of spherulite up to 100 μm after 24 hour later. X-ray diffraction data further confirmed that these soft crystal formed a hexagonal-like crystal. The long-range self-assembly of the new material showed a slight red shift in the UV-vis absorption spectra and further substantiated by computational method.