JAK2-Mediated Phosphorylation of Stress-Induced Phosphoprotein-1 (STIP1) in Human Cells

Selenomethionine modulates the JAK2 / STAT3 / A20 pathway through oxidative stress to alleviate LPS-induced pyroptosis and inflammation in chicken hearts

Selenium (Se) is involved in many physiopathologic processes in humans and animals and is strongly associated with the development of heart disease. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are cell wall components of gram-negative bacteria that are present in large quantities during environmental pollution. To investigate the mechanism of LPS-induced cardiac injury and the efficacy of the therapeutic effect of SeMet on LPS, a chicken model supplemented with selenomethionine (SeMet) and/or LPS treatment, as well as a primary chicken embryo cardiomyocyte model with the combined effect of SeMet / JAK2 inhibitor (INCB018424) and/or LPS were established in this experiment. CCK8 kit, Trypan blue staining, DCFH-DA staining, oxidative stress kits, immunofluorescence staining, LDH kit, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, and western blot were used. The results proved that LPS exposure led to ROS explosion, hindered the antioxidant system, promoted the expression of the JAK2 pathway, and increased the expression of genes involved in the pyroptosis pathway, inflammatory factors, and heat shock proteins (HSPs). Upon co-treatment with SeMet and LPS, SeMet reduced LPS-induced pyroptosis and inflammation and restored the expression of HSPs by inhibiting the ROS burst and modulating the antioxidant capacity. Co-treatment with INCB018424 and LPS resulted in inhibited of the JAK2 pathway, attenuating pyroptosis, inflammation, and high expression of HSPs. Thus, LPS induced pyroptosis, inflammation, and changes in HSPs activity by activating of the JAK2 / STAT3 / A20 signaling axis in chicken hearts. Moreover, SeMet has a positive effect on LPS-induced injury. This work further provides a theoretical basis for treating cardiac injury by SeMet.

Combined signature of N7-methylguanosine regulators with their related genes and the tumor microenvironment: a prognostic and therapeutic biomarker for breast cancer

Background

Identifying predictive markers for breast cancer (BC) prognosis and immunotherapeutic responses remains challenging. Recent findings indicate that N7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification and the tumor microenvironment (TME) are critical for BC tumorigenesis and metastasis, suggesting that integrating m7G modifications and TME cell characteristics could improve the predictive accuracy for prognosis and immunotherapeutic responses.

Methods

We utilized bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Cancer Cohort and the GSE42568 and GSE146558 datasets to identify BC-specific m7G-modification regulators and associated genes. We used multiple m7G databases and RNA interference to validate the relationships between BC-specific m7G-modification regulators (METTL1 and WDR4) and related genes. Single-cell RNA-sequencing data from GSE176078 confirmed the association between m7G modifications and TME cells. We constructed an m7G-TME classifier, validated the results using an independent BC cohort (GSE20685; n = 327), investigated the clinical significance of BC-specific m7G-modifying regulators by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis, and performed tissue-microarray assays on 192 BC samples.

Results

Immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR results indicated that METTL1 and WDR4 overexpression in BC correlated with poor patient prognosis. Moreover, single-cell analysis revealed relationships between m7G modification and TME cells, indicating their potential as indicators of BC prognosis and treatment responses. The m7G-TME classifier enabled patient subgrouping and revealed significantly better survival and treatment responses in the m7Glow+TMEhigh group. Significant differences in tumor biological functions and immunophenotypes occurred among the different subgroups.

Conclusions

The m7G-TME classifier offers a promising tool for predicting prognosis and immunotherapeutic responses in BC, which could support personalized therapeutic strategies.

Preoperative prediction and risk assessment of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and highly lethal tumors worldwide. Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a significant risk factor for recurrence and poor prognosis after surgical resection for HCC patients. Accurately predicting the status of MVI preoperatively is critical for clinicians to select treatment modalities and improve overall survival. However, MVI can only be diagnosed by pathological analysis of postoperative specimens. Currently, numerous indicators in serology (including liquid biopsies) and imaging have been identified to effective in predicting the occurrence of MVI, and the multi-indicator model based on deep learning greatly improves accuracy of prediction. Moreover, several genes and proteins have been identified as risk factors that are strictly associated with the occurrence of MVI. Therefore, this review evaluates various predictors and risk factors, and provides guidance for subsequent efforts to explore more accurate predictive methods and to facilitate the conversion of risk factors into reliable predictors.

Stress induced phosphoprotein 1 overexpression controls proliferation, migration and invasion and is associated with poor survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective

Although there have been remarkable achievements in the molecular landscape of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in recent years, bringing advances in the understanding of its pathogenesis, development and progression, little has been applied in the prognosis and choosing the optimal treatment. In this study, we explored the influence of the stress induced phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1), which is frequently reported to be highly expressed in many cancers, in OSCCs.

Methods

STIP1 expression was assessed in the TCGA database and in two independent cohorts by immunohistochemistry. Knockdown strategy was applied in OSCC cell lines to determine the impact of STIP1 on viability, proliferation, migration and invasion. The zebrafish model was applied for studying tumor formation and metastasis in vivo. The association of STIP1 and miR-218-5p was explored by bioinformatics and mimics transfection.

Results

STIP1 was highly expressed in OSCCs and significantly associated with shortened survival and higher risk of recurrence. STIP1 down-regulation decreased proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells, and reduced the number of metastases in the Zebrafish model. STIP1 and miR-218-5p were inversely expressed, and the transfection of miR-218-5p mimics into OSCC cells decreased STIP1 levels as well as proliferation, migration and invasion.

Conclusion

Our findings show that STIP1 overexpression, which is inversely associated with miR-218-5p levels, contributes to OSCC aggressiveness by controlling proliferation, migration and invasion and is a determinant of poor prognosis.

Endometriosis Stem Cells as a Possible Main Target for Carcinogenesis of Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Cancer (EAOC)

Endometriosis is a serious recurrent disease impairing the quality of life and fertility, and being a risk for some histologic types of ovarian cancer defined as endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers (EAOC). The presence of stem cells in the endometriotic foci could account for the proliferative, migrative and angiogenic activity of the lesions. Their phenotype and sources have been described. The similarly disturbed expression of several genes, miRNAs, galectins and chaperones has been observed both in endometriotic lesions and in ovarian or endometrial cancer. The importance of stem cells for nascence and sustain of malignant tumors is commonly appreciated. Although the proposed mechanisms promoting carcinogenesis leading from endometriosis into the EAOC are not completely known, they have been discussed in several articles. However, the role of endometriosis stem cells (ESCs) has not been discussed in this context. Here, we postulate that ESCs may be a main target for the carcinogenesis of EAOC and present the possible sequence of events resulting finally in the development of EAOC.