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Li J, Fu Y, Wang Y, Zheng Y, Zhang K, Li Y. Qi Lang formula relieves constipation via targeting SCF/c-kit signaling pathway: An integrated study of network pharmacology and experimental validation. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31860. [PMID: 38841509 PMCID: PMC11152960 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Constipation is one of the chronic gastrointestinal functional diseases that affects the quality of life. While Qi Lang Formula (QLF) has demonstrated effectiveness in alleviating constipation symptoms, its precise mechanism remains elusive. Methods QLF was analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS. Targets for QLF were collected from SwissADME, Herb, ITCM databases, and constipation-related targets from scRNA-seq and Genecards databases. Overlapping targets suggested potential QLF therapy targets for constipation. Enrichment analysis used the KOBAS database. A "drug-ingredient-target" network was constructed with Cytoscape, and AutoDock verified active ingredient binding. H&E staining assessed colonic mucosa changes, TEM examined ICC structural changes. ELISA measured neurotransmitter levels, and Western blot verified QLF's effect on target proteins. ICC proliferation was observed through immunofluorescence. Results We identified 89 targets of QLF associated with ICC-related constipation, with c-Kit emerging as the pivotal target. Molecular docking studies revealed that Atractylenolide Ⅲ, Apigenin, Formononetin, Isorhamnetin, Naringenin, and Ononin exhibited strong binding affinities for the c-Kit structural domain. QLF significantly enhanced first stool passage time, fecal frequency, fecal moisture content, and intestinal propulsion rate. Further analysis unveiled that QLF not only restored neurotransmitter levels but also mitigated colon muscular fiber ruptures. ICC ultrastructure exhibited partial recovery, while Western blot confirmed upregulated c-Kit expression and downstream targets. Immunofluorescence results indicated ICC proliferation post QLF treatment in rat colon. Conclusion Our findings suggest that QLF may promote ICC proliferation by targeting SCF/c-Kit and its downstream signaling pathway, thereby regulating intestinal motility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiacheng Li
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
- Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
| | - Yugang Fu
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
- Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
| | - Yanping Wang
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
- Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
| | - Yiyuan Zheng
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
| | - Kehui Zhang
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
| | - Yong Li
- Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200071, China
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Lv L, Huang Y, Li Q, Wu Y, Zheng L. A Comprehensive Prognostic Model for Colon Adenocarcinoma Depending on Nuclear-Mitochondrial-Related Genes. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2024; 23:15330338241258570. [PMID: 38832431 PMCID: PMC11149454 DOI: 10.1177/15330338241258570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) has increasing incidence and is one of the most common malignant tumors. The mitochondria involved in cell energy metabolism, oxygen free radical generation, and cell apoptosis play important roles in tumorigenesis and progression. The relationship between mitochondrial genes and COAD remains largely unknown. Methods: COAD data including 512 samples were set out from the UCSC Xena database. The nuclear mitochondrial-related genes (NMRGs)-related risk prognostic model and prognostic nomogram were constructed, and NMRGs-related gene mutation and the immune environment were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. Then, a liver metastasis model of colorectal cancer was constructed and protein expression was detected using Western blot assay. Results: A prognostic model for COAD was constructed. Comparing the prognostic model dataset and the validation dataset showed considerable correlation in both risk grouping and prognosis. Based on the risk score (RS) model, the samples of the prognostic dataset were divided into high risk group and low risk group. Moreover, pathologic N and T stage and tumor recurrence in the two risk groups were significantly different. The four prognostic factors, including age and pathologic T stage in the nomogram survival model also showed excellent predictive performance. An optimal combination of nine differentially expressed NMRGs was finally obtained, including LARS2, PARS2, ETHE1, LRPPRC, TMEM70, AARS2, ACAD9, VARS2, and ATP8A2. The high-RS group had more inflamed immune features, including T and CD4+ memory cell activation. Besides, mitochondria-associated LRPPRC and LARS2 expression levels were increased in vivo xenograft construction and liver metastases assays. Conclusion: This study established a comprehensive prognostic model for COAD, incorporating nine genes associated with nuclear-mitochondrial functions. This model demonstrates superior predictive performance across four prognostic factors: age, pathological T stage, tumor recurrence, and overall prognosis. It is anticipated to be an effective model for enhancing the prognosis and treatment of COAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Lv
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuqing Huang
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiong Li
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuan Wu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Lan Zheng
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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Hu G, Li J, Zeng Y, Liu L, Yu Z, Qi X, Liu K, Yao H. The anoikis-related gene signature predicts survival accurately in colon adenocarcinoma. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13919. [PMID: 37626132 PMCID: PMC10457303 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40907-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is a serious public health problem, the third most common cancer and the second most deadly cancer in the world. About 9.4% of cancer-related deaths in 2020 were due to COAD. Anoikis is a specialized form of programmed cell death that plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The presence of anti-anoikis factors is associated with tumor aggressiveness and drug resistance. Various bioinformatic methods, such as differential expression analysis, and functional annotation analysis, machine learning, were used in this study. RNA-sequencing and clinical data from COAD patients were obtained from the Gene expression omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Construction of a prognostic nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) using multivariate analysis and Lasso-Cox regression. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was our method of validating the expression of seven genes that are linked to anoikis in COAD. We identified seven anoikis-related genes as predictors of COAD survival and prognosis, and confirmed their accuracy in predicting colon adenocarcinoma prognosis by KM survival curves and ROC curves. A seven-gene risk score consisting of NAT1, CDC25C, ATP2A3, MMP3, EEF1A2, PBK, and TIMP1 showed strong prognostic value. Meanwhile, we made a nomogram to predict the survival rate of COAD patients. The immune infiltration assay showed T cells. CD4 memory. Rest and macrophages. M0 has a higher proportion in COAD, and 11 genes related to tumor immunity are important. GDSC2-based drug susceptibility analysis showed that 6 out of 198 drugs were significant in COAD. Anoikis-related genes have potential value in predicting the prognosis of COAD and provide clues for developing new therapeutic strategies for COAD. Immune infiltration and drug susceptibility results provide important clues for finding new personalized treatment options for COAD. These findings also suggest possible mechanisms that may affect prognosis. These results are the starting point for planning individualized treatment and managing patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunchu Hu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China
| | - Jian Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China
| | - Yi Zeng
- Department of Orthopedics, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
- Orthopedic Biomedical Materials Engineering Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Lixin Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China
| | - Zhuowen Yu
- Department of Orthopedics, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Xiaoyan Qi
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China
| | - Kuijie Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
| | - Hongliang Yao
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
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Xu X, Zhang X, Lin Q, Qin Y, Liu Y, Tang W. Integrated single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing analysis identifies a prognostic signature related to ferroptosis dependence in colorectal cancer. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12653. [PMID: 37542061 PMCID: PMC10403602 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39412-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of cell death induced by lipid oxidation with an essential role in diseases, including cancer. Since prognostic value of ferroptosis-dependent related genes (FDRGs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear, we explored the significance of FDRGs in CRC through comprehensive single-cell analysis. We downloaded the GSE161277 dataset for single-cell analyses and calculated the ferroptosis-dependent gene score (FerrScore) for each cell type. According to each cell type-specific median FerrScore, we categorized the cells into low- and high-ferroptosis groups. By analyzing differentially-expressed genes across the two groups, we identified FDRGs. We further screened these prognosis-related genes used to develop a prognostic signature and calculated its correlation with immune infiltration. We also compared immune checkpoint gene efficacy among different risk groups, and qRT-PCR was performed in colorectal normal and cancer cell lines to explore whether the signature genes could be used as clinical prognostic indicators. In total, 523 FDRGs were identified. A prognostic signature including five signature genes was constructed, and patients were divided into two risk groups. The high-risk group had poor survival rates and displayed high levels of immune infiltration. Our newly developed ferroptosis-based prognostic signature possessed a high predictive ability for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochen Xu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Xinwen Zhang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Qiumei Lin
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yuling Qin
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yihao Liu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Weizhong Tang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
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Current Targeted Therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021702. [PMID: 36675216 PMCID: PMC9864602 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Surgery or surgery plus radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy for patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) were accepted as the main therapeutic strategies until the early 2000s, when targeted drugs, like cetuximab and bevacizumab, were developed. The use of targeted drugs in clinical practice has significantly increased patients' overall survival. To date, the emergence of several types of targeted drugs has opened new possibilities and revealed new prospects for mCRC treatment. Therapeutic strategies are continually being updated to select the most suitable targeted drugs based on the results of clinical trials that are currently underway. This review discusses the up-to date molecular evidence of targeted therapy for mCRC and summarizes the Food and Drug Administration-approved targeted drugs including the results of clinical trials. We also explain their mechanisms of action and how these affect the choice of a suitable targeted therapy.
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