Association between insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 polymorphism-202 A/C and the risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis

CDK12 regulates angiogenesis of advanced prostate cancer by IGFBP3

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a prevalent malignancy among men, with a majority of patients presenting with distant metastases at the time of initial diagnosis. These patients are at a heightened risk of developing more aggressive castration‑resistant PCa following androgen deprivation therapy, which poses a greater challenge for treatment. Notably, the inhibition of tumor angiogenesis should not be considered an ineffective treatment strategy. The regulatory role of CDK12 in transcriptional and post‑transcriptional processes is essential for the proper functioning of various cellular processes. In the present study, the expression of CDK12 was first knocked down in cells using CRISPR or siRNA technology. Subsequently, RNA‑seq analysis, co‑immunoprecipitation, western blotting, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the LinkedOmics database were employed to reveal that CDK12 inhibits insulin like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3). Western blot analysis also demonstrated that CDK12 promoted VEGFA expression by inhibiting IGFBP3, which involves the Akt signaling pathway. Then, CDK12 was found to promote PCa cell proliferation, cell migration and angiogenesis by inhibiting IGFBP3 through cell proliferation assays, cell migration assays and tube formation assays, respectively. Finally, animal experiments were performed for in vivo validation. It was concluded that CDK12 promoted PCa and its angiogenesis by inhibiting IGFBP3.

Energy Homeostasis Gene Nucleotide Variants and Survival of Hemodialysis Patients-A Genetic Cohort Study

Background: Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) therapy have an increased risk of death compared to the general population. We investigated whether selected single nucleotide variants (SNVs) involved in glucose and lipid metabolism are associated with mortality risk in HD patients. Methods: The study included 805 HD patients tested for 11 SNVs in FOXO3, IGFBP3, FABP1, PCSK9, ANGPTL6, and DOCK6 using HRM analysis and TaqMan assays. FOXO3, IGFBP3, L-FABP, PCSK9, ANGPTL6, and ANGPTL8 plasma concentrations were measured by ELISA in 86 individuals. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models were used for survival analyses. Results: We found out that the carriers of a C allele in ANGPTL6 rs8112063 had an increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cardiac mortality. In addition, the C allele of DOCK6 rs737337 was associated with all-cause and cardiac mortality. The G allele of DOCK6 rs17699089 was correlated with the mortality risk of patients initiating HD therapy. The T allele of FOXO3 rs4946936 was negatively associated with cardiac and cardiovascular mortality in HD patients. We observed no association between the tested proteins’ circulating levels and the survival of HD patients. Conclusions: The ANGPTL6 rs8112063, FOXO3 rs4946936, DOCK6 rs737337, and rs17699089 nucleotide variants are predictors of survival in patients undergoing HD.

Association between Paraoxonase 1 polymorphisms and risk of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma: a case-control study involving 2,740 subjects

Esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJA) is a serious public health problem with high mortality in China. In this study, we assessed the association between Paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) rs662 C>T, rs854560 A>T polymorphisms and EGJA risk. This case-control study enrolled 2,740 participants of Asians origin from the Eastern Chinese Han populations. SNPscanTM genotyping assay was harnessed to determine the genotyping of PON1 polymorphisms. The PON-1 rs854560 A>T and rs662 C>T genotypes distribution accorded with Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. We found that there was no difference in the frequency of PON-1 rs662 C>T, rs854560 A>T genotypes between the overall EGJA cases and controls. In the subgroup analyses, the results indicated that PON-1 rs662 C>T polymorphism might be associated with a significantly decreased risk of EGJA in ever smoking group (TT vs. CC/CT: adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.35–0.95, P = 0.029). In conclusion, our study highlights PON-1 rs662 C>T polymorphism may decrease the risk of EGJA, which interacts with the tobacco using. In the future, a fine-mapping case-control study with detailed gene-environmental data is needed to further assess these potential relationship.

Association of estrogen receptor α PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms with prostate cancer susceptibility and risk stratification: a meta-analysis from case-control studies

Background

Studies on the association between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in estrogen receptor α (ERα), PvuII (rs2234693 T>C) and XbaI (rs9340799 A>G), and the prostate cancer risk are inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to derive a more accurate estimation of this relationship.

Methods

A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science databases until October 1, 2016, was conducted. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of this association.

Results

Eighteen case-control studies, with a total of 3,317 prostate cancer patients and 8,324 controls, were included. Results showed that both PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms were significantly associated with a higher prostate cancer risk in overall populations. To derive a more accurate estimation, subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity revealed that this relation-ship existed only in Caucasians, but not in Asians. Furthermore, PvuII polymorphism was significantly associated with high Gleason grade (Gleason score ≥7) cancers.

Conclusion

The current meta-analysis demonstrates that ERα PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms are associated with a higher prostate cancer risk in Caucasians, but not in Asians, and PvuII polymorphism is significantly associated with high Gleason grade tumors, indicating the probability of inherited susceptibility to prostate cancer arising from different genomic ERα SNPs, which may help us understand the pathogenesis of prostate cancer in Caucasians.

Paraoxonase 1 gene polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in a population of Chinese women

In this study, we explored associations between paraoxonase 1 (PON1) L55M and Q192R gene polymorphisms and the risk of breast cancer in 365 female breast cancer patients and 378 healthy controls from the Guangxi region of southern China. The LM heterozygous and MM homozygous genotypes, as well as M carrier status and M alleles, were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, the M allele was associated with postmenopausal status and increased nodal involvement. In contrast, none of the Q192R genotypes or alleles were associated with a change in breast cancer risk, or with any of the clinicopathological parameters. These results indicate that PON1 L55M genetic polymorphisms may be associated with the risk of breast cancer and could potentially serve as useful genetic markers for tumor prognosis in some populations of Chinese women.