Dynamic Changes of Urine Proteome in Rat Models Inoculated with Two Different Hepatoma Cell Lines

Neuropilins as potential biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review of basic and clinical implications

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide and is characterized by complex molecular carcinogenesis. Neuropilins (NRPs) NRP1 and NRP2 are the receptors of multiple proteins involved in key signaling pathways associated with tumor progression. We aimed to systematically review all the available findings on their role in HCC. We searched the Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, Cochrane and Embase databases for articles evaluating NRPs in preclinical or clinical HCC models. This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022349774) and include 49 studies. Multiple cellular and molecular processes have been associated with one or both NRPs, indicating that they are potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in HCC patients. Mainly NRP1 has been shown to promote tumor cell survival and progression by modulating several signaling pathways. NRPs mainly regulate angiogenesis, invasion and migration and have shown to induce invasion and metastasis. They also regulate the immune response and tumor microenvironment, showing a crucial interplay with the hypoxia response and microRNAs in HCC. Altogether, NRP1 and NRP2 are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, providing novel insight into the clinical landscape of HCC patients.

Changes in the urinary proteome in rats with regular swimming exercise

Purpose

Urine can sensitively reflect early pathophysiological changes in the body. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes of urine proteome in rats with regular swimming exercise.

Methods

In this study, experimental rats were subjected to daily moderate-intensity swimming exercise for 7 weeks. Urine samples were collected at weeks 2, 5, and 7 and were analyzed by using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Results

Unsupervised clustering analysis of all urinary proteins identified at week 2 showed that the swimming group was distinctively different from the control group. Compared to the control group, a total of 112, 61 and 44 differential proteins were identified in the swimming group at weeks 2, 5 and 7, respectively. Randomized grouping statistical analysis showed that more than 85% of the differential proteins identified in this study were caused by swimming exercise rather than random allocation. According to the Human Protein Atlas, the differential proteins that have human orthologs were strongly expressed in the liver, kidney and intestine. Functional annotation analysis revealed that these differential proteins were involved in glucose metabolism and immunity-related pathways.

Conclusion

Our results revealed that the urinary proteome could reflect significant changes after regular swimming exercise. These findings may provide an approach to monitor the effects of exercise of the body.