The polymorphism of hypoxia-inducible factor-1a gene in endometrial cancer

The Relation of VEGFA, VEGFR2, VEGI, and HIF1A Genetic Variants and Their Serum Protein Levels with Breast Cancer in Egyptian Patients

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in Egyptian females. Polymorphisms in the angiogenesis pathway have been implicated previously in cancer risk and prognosis. The aim of the current study was to determine whether certain polymorphisms in the genes of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI), and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1A) associated with breast cancer development. The study included 154 breast cancer patients and 132 apparently healthy age-matched females as a control group. VEGFA rs25648 genotyping was performed using (ARMS) PCR technique; while VEGFR2 rs2071559, VEGI rs6478106, and HIF-1α rs11549465 were genotyped by the PCR-RFLP method. Serum levels of VEGF, VEGFR2, VEGI, and HIF1A proteins in breast cancer patients and controls were measured by ELISA. There was a significant association between the VEGFA rs25648 C allele and breast cancer risk (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.7-3.6, p < 0.001). VEGFA rs25648 C/C genotype was statistically significantly higher in breast cancer patients vs. control (p < 0.001). Participants with the T/T and T/C VEGFR2 rs2071559 genotypes had 5.46 and 5 higher odds, respectively, of having breast cancer than those with the C/C genotype. For the VEGI rs6478106 polymorphism, there was a higher proportion of C allele in breast cancer patients vs. control (p = 0.003). Moreover, the C/C genotype of VEGI rs6478106 was statistically significantly higher in breast cancer patients vs. control (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in genotypes and allele frequencies of HIF1A rs11549465 polymorphism between breast cancer cases and control individuals (p > 0.05). Serum levels of VEGFA, VEGI, and HIF1A were considerably greater in women with breast cancer than in the control (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the genetic variants VEGFA rs25648, VEGFR2 rs2071559, and VEGI rs6478106 revealed a significant association with increased breast cancer risk in Egyptian patients.

Mechanism of salidroside in the treatment of endometrial cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Salidroside is a natural product of phenols, which has a wide scape of pharmacological effects, but its pharmacological effects and molecular mechanism on endometrial cancer are not clear. To systematically explore the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of salidroside on endometrial cancer through the method of network pharmacology. The possible target genes of salidroside were obtained through different pharmacological databases and analysis platforms, and then the relevant target genes of endometrial cancer were obtained through the GeneCards website, and the target genes were uniformly converted into standardized gene names with Uniprot. The collected data were then processed to obtain common target genes and further analyzed through the String website to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, followed by gene ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Gene and Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) pathway analysis. We further interpreted the molecular mechanism of salidroside for the treatment of endometrial cancer by constructing a "drug component-target gene-disease" network. Finally, we performed molecular docking to validate the binding conformation between salidroside and the candidate target genes. There were 175 target genes of salidroside after normalization, among which 113 target genes interacted with endometrial cancer. GO analysis indicated that the anti-endometrial cancer effect of salidroside may be strongly related to biological processes such as apoptosis and response to drug. KEGG analysis indicated that its mechanism may be related to pathway in cancer and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that salidroside had high affinity with five key genes. Based on the novel network pharmacology and molecular docking validation research methods, we have revealed for the first time the potential mechanism of salidroside in the therapy of endometrial cancer.

Molecular Evaluation of HIF-1α Gene Variation and Determination of Its Frequency and Association with Breast Cancer Susceptibility in Saudi Arabia

AIM

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1α) is responsible in regulating oxygen homeostasis in tissues and is a central effector of the hypoxic response besides its protein overexpression has been shown to have prognostic relevance in several cancers including breast cancer. Several reports indicated that HIF-1α gene variation C1772T (Pro582Ser) is associated with increased breast susceptibility but results remained controversial. Therefore, we performed the molecular evaluation of HIF-1α gene variation and determined its frequency and association with Breast Cancer susceptibility in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

This study was conducted on histologically confirmed Breast cancer patients and gender matched healthy women. HIF-1α C1772T (Pro582Ser) genotyping was done by Amplification refractory mutation system PCR method. The HIF-1α gene genotypes were correlated with different clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients.

RESULTS

A significant difference was observed in genotype distribution of HIF-1α gene variation C1772T (Pro582Ser) between breast cancer cases and gender matched healthy controls (P=0.010). Our findings showed that the HIF- 1α variant was associated with an increased risk of Breast cancer for HIF-1α CC vs CT genotype OR = 2.20, 95% CI = (1.28 -3.77), P = 0.004) in codominant inheritance model. The significant association was reported for HIF1A for genotypes CC vs (CT+ TT) OR = 1.98, 95% CI = (1.17-3.34), P = 0.010) in dominant inheritance model tested. In case of recessive inheritance model, a non-significant association of HIF-1 alpha gene variants was reported for (CC+ CT) vs TT) OR = 1.03, 95% CI = (0. 064-16.79), P = 0.97). During the allelic comparison, a non-significant association was reported between A vs C allele among Breast cancer patients. A significant association of HIF- 1α polymorphism was reported with stage as well as distant metastasis of the disease.

CONCLUSION

A significant difference was observed in genotype distribution of HIF-1α gene variation C1772T (Pro>Ser) between breast cancer cases and gene matched healthy controls (P=0.010). HIF-1α- CT heterozygosity and CC genotype increased the susceptibility .The HIF-1α polymorphism was reported to be significantly associated with the distant metastasis of Breast cancer. Further studies with larger data set and well-designed models are required to validate our findings.

Modeling of the immune response in the pathogenesis of solid tumors and its prognostic significance

BACKGROUND

Tumor initiation and subsequent progression are usually long-term processes, spread over time and conditioned by diverse aspects. Many cancers develop on the basis of chronic inflammation; however, despite dozens of years of research, little is known about the factors triggering neoplastic transformation under these conditions. Molecular characterization of both pathogenetic states, i.e., similarities and differences between chronic inflammation and cancer, is also poorly defined. The secretory activity of tumor cells may change the immunophenotype of immune cells and modify the extracellular microenvironment, which allows the bypass of host defense mechanisms and seems to have diagnostic and prognostic value. The phenomenon of immunosuppression is also present during chronic inflammation, and the development of cancer, due to its duration, predisposes patients to the promotion of chronic inflammation. The aim of our work was to discuss the above issues based on the latest scientific insights. A theoretical mechanism of cancer immunosuppression is also proposed.

CONCLUSIONS

Development of solid tumors may occur both during acute and chronic phases of inflammation. Differences in the regulation of immune responses between precancerous states and the cancers resulting from them emphasize the importance of immunosuppressive factors in oncogenesis. Cancer cells may, through their secretory activity and extracellular transport mechanisms, enhance deterioration of the immune system which, in turn, may have prognostic implications.