The prognostic value of major facilitator superfamily domain-containing protein 2A in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Wnt/β-catenin-driven EMT regulation in human cancers

Metastasis accounts for 90% of cancer-related deaths among the patients. The transformation of epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells with molecular alterations can occur during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The EMT mechanism accelerates the cancer metastasis and drug resistance ability in human cancers. Among the different regulators of EMT, Wnt/β-catenin axis has been emerged as a versatile modulator. Wnt is in active form in physiological condition due to the function of GSK-3β that destructs β-catenin, while ligand-receptor interaction impairs GSK-3β function to increase β-catenin stability and promote its nuclear transfer. Regarding the oncogenic function of Wnt/β-catenin, its upregulation occurs in human cancers and it can accelerate EMT-mediated metastasis and drug resistance. The stimulation of Wnt by binding Wnt ligands into Frizzled receptors can enhance β-catenin accumulation in cytoplasm that stimulates EMT and related genes upon nuclear translocation. Wnt/β-catenin/EMT axis has been implicated in augmenting metastasis of both solid and hematological tumors. The Wnt/EMT-mediated cancer metastasis promotes the malignant behavior of tumor cells, causing therapy resistance. The Wnt/β-catenin/EMT axis can be modulated by upstream mediators in which non-coding RNAs are main regulators. Moreover, pharmacological intervention, mainly using phytochemicals, suppresses Wnt/EMT axis in metastasis suppression.

Uncovering the Gut-Liver Axis Biomarkers for Predicting Metabolic Burden in Mice

Western diet (WD) intake, aging, and inactivation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) are risk factors for metabolic and chronic inflammation-related health issues ranging from metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) to dementia. The progression of MASLD can be escalated when those risks are combined. Inactivation of FXR, the receptor for bile acid (BA), is cancer prone in both humans and mice. The current study used multi-omics including hepatic transcripts, liver, serum, and urine metabolites, hepatic BAs, as well as gut microbiota from mouse models to classify those risks using machine learning. A linear support vector machine with K-fold cross-validation was used for classification and feature selection. We have identified that increased urine sucrose alone achieved 91% accuracy in predicting WD intake. Hepatic lithocholic acid and serum pyruvate had 100% and 95% accuracy, respectively, to classify age. Urine metabolites (decreased creatinine and taurine as well as increased succinate) or increased gut bacteria (Dorea, Dehalobacterium, and Oscillospira) could predict FXR deactivation with greater than 90% accuracy. Human disease relevance is partly revealed using the metabolite-disease interaction network. Transcriptomics data were also compared with the human liver disease datasets. WD-reduced hepatic Cyp39a1 (cytochrome P450 family 39 subfamily a member 1) and increased Gramd1b (GRAM domain containing 1B) were also changed in human liver cancer and metabolic liver disease, respectively. Together, our data contribute to the identification of noninvasive biomarkers within the gut-liver axis to predict metabolic status.

The Role of Major Facilitator Superfamily Domain-Containing 2a in the Central Nervous System

Major facilitator superfamily-domain containing 2a (Mfsd2a) is selectively expressed in vascular endotheliocytes and plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the blood‒brain barrier and the transport of docosahexaenoic acid. It is currently recognized as the only molecule that inhibits endocytosis mediated by caveolae in brain endothelial cells. Mfsd2a gene knockout leads to an increase in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier from embryonic stages to adulthood while maintaining the normal pattern of the vascular network. In Mfsd2a knockout mice, the docosahexaenoic acid content is significantly reduced and associated with neuron loss, resulting in microcephaly and cognitive impairment. Based on the role of Mfsd2a in the central nervous system, it has been preliminarily suggested as a potential therapeutic target for drug delivery to the central nervous system. This paper reviews the current progress in Mfsd2a research and summarizes the physiological functions of Mfsd2a in the central nervous system and its role in the occurrence and development of a variety of neurological diseases.

Multi-region sampling with paired sample sequencing analyses reveals sub-groups of patients with novel patient-specific dysregulation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Conventional differential expression (DE) testing compares the grouped mean value of tumour samples to the grouped mean value of the normal samples, and may miss out dysregulated genes in small subgroup of patients. This is especially so for highly heterogeneous cancer like Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Using multi-region sampled RNA-seq data of 90 patients, we performed patient-specific differential expression testing, together with the patients' matched adjacent normal samples.

RESULTS

Comparing the results from conventional DE analysis and patient-specific DE analyses, we show that the conventional DE analysis omits some genes due to high inter-individual variability present in both tumour and normal tissues. Dysregulated genes shared in small subgroup of patients were useful in stratifying patients, and presented differential prognosis. We also showed that the target genes of some of the current targeted agents used in HCC exhibited highly individualistic dysregulation pattern, which may explain the poor response rate.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

Our results highlight the importance of identifying patient-specific DE genes, with its potential to provide clinically valuable insights into patient subgroups for applications in precision medicine.

The effects of rhein on D-GalN/LPS-induced acute liver injury in mice: Results from gut microbiome-metabolomics and host transcriptome analysis

Background

Rhubarb is an important traditional Chinese medicine, and rhein is one of its most important active ingredients. Studies have found that rhein can improve ulcerative colitis by regulating gut microbes, but there are few reports on its effects on liver diseases. Therefore, this study aims to investigate these effects and underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Mice were given rhein (100 mg/kg), with both a normal control group and a model group receiving the same amount of normal saline for one week. Acute liver injury was induced in mice by intraperitoneal injection of D-GalN (800 mg/kg)/LPS (10 ug/kg). Samples (blood, liver, and stool) were then collected and assessed for histological lesions and used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and RNA-seq analysis.

Results

The levels of ALT and AST in the Model group were abnormal higher compared to the normal control group, and the levels of ALT and AST were significantly relieved in the rhein group. Hepatic HE staining showed that the degree of liver injury in the rhein group was lighter than that in the model group, and microbiological results showed that norank_o:Clostridia_UCG-014, Lachnoclostridium, and Roseburia were more abundant in the model group compared to the normal control group. Notably, the rhein treatment group showed reshaped disturbance of intestinal microbial community by D-GalN/LPS and these mice also had higher levels of Verrucomicrobia, Akkermansiaceae and Bacteroidetes. Additionally, There were multiple metabolites that were significantly different between the normal control group and the model group, such as L-α-amino acid, ofloxacin-N-oxide, 1-hydroxy-1,3-diphenylpropan-2-one,and L-4-hydroxyglutamate semialdehyde, but that returned to normal levels after rhein treatment. The gene expression level in the model group also changed significantly, various genes such as Cxcl2, S100a9, Tnf, Ereg, and IL-10 were up-regulated, while Mfsd2a and Bhlhe41 were down-regulated, which were recovered after rhein treatment.

Conclusion

Overall, our results show that rhein alleviated D-GalN/LPS-induced acute liver injury in mice. It may help modulate gut microbiota in mice, thereby changing metabolism in the intestine. Meanwhile, rhein also may help regulate genes expression level to alleviate D-GalN/LPS-induced acute liver injury.

The Role of Mfsd2a in Nervous System Diseases

Major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is the maximum and most diversified membrane transporter, acting as uniporters, symporters and antiporters. MFS is considered to have a good development potential in the transport of drugs for the treatment of brain diseases. The major facilitator superfamily domain containing protein 2a (Mfsd2a) is a member of MFS. Mfsd2a-knockout mice have shown a marked decrease of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level in brain, exhibiting neuron loss, microcephaly and cognitive deficits, as DHA acts essentially in brain growth and integrity. Mfsd2a has attracted more and more attention in the study of nervous system diseases because of its critical role in maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and transporting DHA, including inhibiting cell transport in central nervous system endothelial cells, alleviating BBB injury, avoiding BBB injury in cerebral hemorrhage model, acting as a carrier etc. Up to now, the clinical research of Mfsd2a in nervous system diseases is rare. This article reviewed the current research progress of Mfsd2a in nervous system diseases. It summarized the physiological functions of Mfsd2a in the occurrence and development of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), Alzheimer's disease (AD), sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE), autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) and intracranial tumor, aiming to provide ideas for the basic research and clinical application of Mfsd2a.

Expression profile analysis of circular RNAs in BmN cells (Bombyx mori) upon BmNPV infection

The disease caused by Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) has always been difficult to control, resulting in tremendous economic losses in the sericulture industry. Although much has been learned about the impact of noncoding RNAs on pathogenesis, the role of circular RNA (circRNA) in insect immunity remains unclear. To explore circRNA regulation involved in BmNPV infection, we used transcriptome analysis of BmN cells with or without BmNPV infection to generate circRNA data set. A total of 444 novel circRNAs were identified in BmN cells, with 198 pervasively distributed both in the control group and BmNPV-infection group. The host genes were enriched inMAPK signaling pathway, dorso-ventral axis formation, and ECM-receptor interaction, which were required for the normal larval growth. A total of 75 circRNAs were differentially expressed (DE) on BmNPV infection. Six downregulated circRNAs were validated by Sanger sequencing and qRT-PCR. DEcircRNA-miRNA-DEmRNA network was constructed based on the six validated circRNAs. Pathway analysis indicated that the predicted target genes were mainly enriched in the metabolic pathway and immune-related signaling pathway. Our results may provide a basis for further studies on circRNA function in BmN cells challenged by BmNPV infection and offer an insight into the molecular mechanism on silkworm-virus interaction.

Aquaporin 9 inhibits growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer worldwide, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Aquaporin 9 (AQP9) is an essential aquaporin in the liver and located in the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes, but its roles on HCC has not been completely elucidated. This study investigated the regulatory functions of AQP9 in the pathogenesis of HCC. The expression levels of AQP9 were significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues and cells, which was also correlated with tumor size and number, TNM stage, five-year survival rate, lymphatic and distal metastasis within the patients. Furthermore, overexpressed AQP9 suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. The levels of PCNA, E-cad, N-cad, α-SMA, DVL2, GSK-3β, cyclinD1 and β-catenin in HCC cells were reduced by overexpressed AQP9, while cell apoptosis was remarkably enhanced. Additionally, following the treatment with Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibitor (XAV939), the proliferative activity of HCC cells was significantly inhibited; PCNA and EMT-related markers were down-regulated; migration and invasion of cells were notably suppressed; cell apoptotic rate was decreased. Vice versa, after the cells were treated with Wnt/β-catenin inducer (SKL2001), the effects caused by overexpressed AQP9 were abrogated. In vivo studies indicated that tumor volume and weight were remarkably decreased in AQP9 overexpression group, where the levels of Wnt/β-catenin signaling- and EMT-associated molecules were also reduced. Taken together, our results suggested that overexpressed AQP9 could inhibit growth and metastasis of HCC cells via Wnt/β-catenin pathway. AQP9 may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of patients with HCC.