Cardiovascular Diseases ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; physiology ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo investigate the change in the serum level of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) in children with chronic heart failure and its correlation with left ventricular remodeling.

METHODSA total of 45 children with chronic heart failure (CHF) between May 2014 and May 2015 were selected as the CHF group, among whom 21 had endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) and 24 had dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM); another 30 healthy children were selected as the control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to measure the serum level of FSTL1. Radioimmunoassay was applied to measure N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and echocardiography was applied to measure the indicators of left ventricular remodeling. The correlation between the serum level of FSTL1 and left ventricular remodeling was analyzed by Pearson correlation and Spearman′s rank correlation analysis.

RESULTSBefore treatment, the CHF group had a significantly higher serum level of FSTL1 than the control group (P<0.05), which gradually increased with aggravation of CHF (P<0.05). The serum level of FSTL1 showed no significant difference between the EFE and DCM groups (P=0.176). Serum level of FSTL1 was positively correlated with left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (r=0.485, P=0.001), left ventricular mass (r=0.322, P=0.031), left ventricular mass index (r=0.353, P=0.017), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (r=0.562 P<0.001), and was negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (r=-0.436, P=0.003) and left ventricular minor axis decurtation rate (r=-0.436, P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONSFSTL1 might take part in the left ventricular remodeling in children with CHF, and the serum level of FSTL1 can be used as an objective index for clinical diagnosis and severity assessment of CHF in children.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; blood ; Heart Failure ; blood ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant ; Male

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and predict the effect of coronavirus infection on hematopoietic system and potential intervention drugs, and explore their significance for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: The gene expression omnibus (GEO) database was used to screen the whole genome expression data related with coronavirus infection. The R language package was used for differential expression analysis and KEGG/GO enrichment analysis. The core genes were screened by PPI network analysis using STRING online analysis website. Then the self-developed apparent precision therapy prediction platform (EpiMed) was used to analyze diseases, drugs and related target genes. RESULTS: A database in accordance with the criteria was found, which was derived from SARS coronavirus. A total of 3606 differential genes were screened, including 2148 expression up-regulated genes and 1458 expression down-regulated genes. GO enrichment mainly related with viral infection, hematopoietic regulation, cell chemotaxis, platelet granule content secretion, immune activation, acute inflammation, etc. KEGG enrichment mainly related with hematopoietic function, coagulation cascade reaction, acute inflammation, immune reaction, etc. Ten core genes such as PTPRC, ICAM1, TIMP1, CXCR5, IL-1B, MYC, CR2, FSTL1, SOX1 and COL3A1 were screened by protein interaction network analysis. Ten drugs with potential intervention effects, including glucocorticoid, TNF-α inhibitor, salvia miltiorrhiza, sirolimus, licorice, red peony, famciclovir, cyclosporine A, houttuynia cordata, fluvastatin, etc. were screened by EpiMed plotform. CONCLUSION SARS coronavirus infection can affect the hematopoietic system by changing the expression of a series of genes. The potential intervention drugs screened on these grounds are of useful reference significance for the basic and clinical research of COVID-19.
COVID-19 ; Computational Biology ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; Hematopoietic System ; Humans ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; SARS-CoV-2

BACKGROUND: Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) plays both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory roles in the inflammatory processes. We investigated whether serum FSTL1 could predict the current anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV)-specific indices. METHODS: We randomly selected 74 patients with AAV from a prospective and observational cohort of Korean patients with AAV. Clinical and laboratory data and AAV-specific indices were recorded. FSTL1 concentration was determined using the stored sera. The lowest tertile of the short-form 36-item health survey (SF-36) was defined as the current low SF-36. The cutoffs of serum FSTL1 for the current low SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) and SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) were extrapolated by the receiver operator characteristic curve. RESULTS: The median age was 62.5 years (55.4% were women). Serum FSTL1 was significantly correlated with SF-36 PCS (r =  - 0.374), SF-36 MCS (r = -0.377), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.307), but not with Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS). In the multivariable linear regression analyses, BVAS, CRP, and serum FSTL1 were independently associated with the current SF-36 PCS (β = -0.255, β = -0.430, and β = -0.266, respectively) and the current SF-36 MCS (β = -0.234, β =-0.229, and β = -0.296, respectively). Patients with serum FSTL1 ≥779.8 pg/mL and those with serum FSTL1 ≥841.6 pg/mL exhibited a significantly higher risk of having the current low SF-36 PCS and SF-36 MCS than those without (relative risk 7.583 and 6.200, respectively). CONCLUSION Serum FSTL1 could predict the current functional status in AAV patients.
Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis ; Female ; Follistatin ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; Functional Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index

We designed the primers based on the sequence of the follistatin-related protein from Haemaphysalis longicornis Okayama strain accessed in GenBank. We cloned a gene encoding follistatin-related protein by RT-PCR, and the length cDNA is 814 bp, encoding a deduced protein of 289 amino acids. The alignment with the sequence of follistatin-related protein from the H. longicornis Okayama strain showed that the percent of nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence is 97.8% and 99%, respectively. The expected size of GST-fused recombinant protein was 57 kD. We purified the recombinant protein through MagneGST protein purification system. Western blotting revealed that stronger reaction happened with the antiserum against eggs, but not clear with antisera against other developmental stages.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Cloning, Molecular ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; Ixodidae ; chemistry ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment

Objective: To screen the different expressed genes between osteosarcoma and normal osteoblasts, and find the key genes for the occurrence and development of osteosarcoma. Methods: The gene expression dataset GSE33382 of normal osteoblasts and osteosarcoma was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The different expressed genes between normal osteoblasts and osteosarcoma were screened by limma package of R language, and the different expressed genes were analyzed by Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The protein interaction network was constructed by the String database, and the network modules in the interaction network were screened by the molecular complex detection (MCODE) plug-in of Cytoscape software. The different expressed genes contained in the first three main modules screened by MCODE were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) using the BiNGO module of Cytoscape software. The MCC algorithm was used to screen the top 10 key genes in the protein interaction network. The gene expression and survival dataset GSE39055 of osteosarcoma was obtained from GEO database, and the survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method. The data of 48 patients with osteosarcoma treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from January 2005 to December 2015 were selected for verification. The expression of STC2 protein in osteosarcoma was detected by immunohistochemical method, and the survival analysis was carried out combined with the clinical data of the patients. Results: A total of 874 different expressed genes were identified from GSE33382 dataset, including 402 down-regulated genes and 472 up-regulated genes. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that different expressed genes were mainly related to p53 signal pathway, glutathione metabolism, extracellular matrix receptor interaction, cell adhesion molecules, folate tolerance, and cell senescence. The top 10 key genes in the interaction network were GAS6, IL6, RCN1, MXRA8, STC2, EVA1A, PNPLA2, CYR61, SPARCL1 and FSTL3. STC2 was related to the survival rate of patients with osteosarcoma (P<0.05). The results showed that the expression of STC2 protein was related to tumor size and Enneking stage in 48 cases of osteosarcoma. The median survival time of 25 cases with STC2 high expression was 21.4 months, and that of 23 cases with STC2 low expression was 65.4 months. The survival rate of patients with high expression of STC2 was lower than that of patients with low expression of STC2 (P<0.05). Conclusions: Bioinformatics analysis can effectively screen the different expressed genes between osteosarcoma and normal osteoblasts. STC2 is one of the important predictors for the prognosis of osteosarcoma.
Bone Neoplasms/pathology* ; Computational Biology/methods* ; Follistatin-Related Proteins/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling/methods* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma/pathology*

Background: Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) is a novel profibrogenic factor that induces pulmonary fibrosis (PF) through the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)/Smad signaling. Little is known about its effects on PF through the non-Smad signaling, like the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of FSTL1 in PF through the MAPK signaling pathway and its mechanisms in lung fibrogenesis. Methods: PF was induced in Fstl1and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice with bleomycin. After 14 days, the mice were sacrificed, and lung tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin; the hydroxyproline content was measured to confirm PF. The mRNA and protein level of FSTL1 and the change of MAPK phosphorylation were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. The effect of Fstl1 deficiency on fibroblasts differentiation was measured by Western blotting and cell immunofluorescence. MAPK signaling activation was measured by Western blotting in Fstl1 and WT fibroblasts treated with recombinant human FSTL1 protein. We pretreated mouse lung fibroblast cells with inhibitors of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling and analyzed their differentiation, proliferation, migration, and invasion by Western blotting, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide analysis, and transwell assays. The Student's t-test was used to compare the differences between two groups. Results: Fstl1 deficiency attenuated phosphorylation of the ERK, p38, and JNK signaling in bleomycin-induced fibrotic lung tissue 14 days after injury (0.67 ± 0.05 vs. 1.22 ± 0.03, t = 14.92, P = 0.0001; 0.41 ± 0.01 vs. 1.15 ± 0.07; t = 11.19; P = 0.0004; and 0.41 ± 0.01 vs. 1.07 ± 0.07, t = 8.92, P = 0.0009; respectively), compared with WT lungs at the same time and in primary lung fibroblasts (0.82 ± 0.01 vs. 1.01 ± 0.04, t = 4.06, P = 0.0150; 1.04 ± 0.03 vs. 1.24 ± 0.03, t = 4.44, P = 0.0100; and 0.76 ± 0.05 vs. 0.99 ± 0.05, t = 4.48, P = 0.0100; respectively), compared with TGF-β1-stimulated WT group. Recombinant human FSTL1 protein in lung fibroblasts enhanced TGF-β1-mediated phosphorylation of the ERK (1.19 ± 0.08 vs. 0.55 ± 0.04, t = 6.99, P = 0.0020), p38 (1.18 ± 0.04 vs. 0.66 ± 0.03, t = 11.20, P = 0.0020), and JNK (1.11 ± 0.01 vs. 0.84 ± 0.04, t = 6.53, P = 0.0030), compared with the TGF-β1-stimulated WT group. Fstl1-deficient fibroblasts showed reduced alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression (0.70 ± 0.06 vs. 1.28 ± 0.11, t = 4.65, P = 0.0035, compared with the untreated WT group; 1.40 ± 0.05 vs. 1.76 ± 0.02, t = 6.31, P = 0.0007; compared with the TGF-β1-treated WT group). Compared with the corresponding condition in the control group, the TGF-β1/FSTL1-mediated α-SMA expression was significantly suppressed by pretreatment with an inhibitor of p38 (0.73 ± 0.01 vs. 1.13 ± 0.10, t = 3.92, P = 0.0078) and JNK (0.78 ± 0.03 vs. 1.08 ± 0.06, t = 4.40, P = 0.0046) signaling. The proliferation of mouse lung fibroblast cells (MLgs) significantly decreased after treatment of an inhibitor of p38 (0.30 ± 0.01 vs. 0.46 ± 0.03, t = 4.64, P = 0.0009), JNK (0.30 ± 0.01 vs. 0.49 ± 0.01, t = 12.84, P = 0.0001), and Smad2/3 (0.18 ± 0.02 vs. 0.46 ± 0.02, t = 12.69, P = 0.0001) signaling compared with the dimethylsulfoxide group. The migration and invasion cells of MLgs significantly decreased in medium pretreated with an inhibitor of p38 (70.17 ± 3.28 vs. 116.30 ± 7.11, t = 5.89, P = 0.0042 for the migratory cells; 19.87 ± 0.84 vs. 32.70 ± 0.95, t = 10.14, P = 0.0005 for the invasive cells), JNK (72.30 ± 3.85 vs. 116.30 ± 7.11, t = 5.44, P = 0.0056 for the migratory cells; 18.03 ± 0.94 vs. 32.70 ± 0.95, t = 11.00, P = 0.0004 for the invasive cells), and Smad2/3 (64.76 ± 1.41 vs. 116.30 ± 7.11, t = 7.11, P = 0.0021 for the migratory cells; 18.03 ± 0.94 vs. 32.70 ± 0.95, t = 13.29, P = 0.0002 for the invasive cells) signaling compared with the corresponding condition in the dimethylsulfoxide group. Conclusion FSTL1 affects lung fibroblast differentiation, proliferation, migration, and invasion through p38 and JNK signaling, and in this way, it might influence the development of PF.
Animals ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic ; adverse effects ; Bleomycin ; adverse effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Fibroblasts ; Follistatin ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; physiology ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; chemically induced ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; drug effects ; physiology ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL-1) in bone metastasis of prostate cancer (BMPC), the correlation of serum FSTL-1 with the chronic inflammatory factor interleukin-6 (IL-6) and bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) , and the clinical application value of serum FSTL-1 in BMPC.

METHODSUsing ELISA, we measured the expression levels of serum FSTL-1, IL-6, and BMP6 in 35 patients with BMPC and another 30 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and performed correlation analysis on the data obtained.

RESULTSCompared with the BPH controls, the BMPC patients showed a significantly decreased expression of serum FSTL-1 ([34.45 ± 12.35] μg/L vs [20.23 ± 8.69] μg/L, P < 0.01) and increased levels of IL-6 ([11.21 ± 8.62] μg/L vs [23.56 ± 20.12] μg/L, P < 0.05) and BMP6 ([293.50 ± 39.72] μg/L vs [428.30 ± 178.40] μg/L, P < 0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between the level of serum FSTL-1 and those of IL-6 and BMP6 in the BMPC patients, with correlation coefficients of -0.971 and -0.972, respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe expression of serum FSTL-1 decreases in patients with bone metastasis of prostate cancer, and it is correlated with the levels of inflammatory factor and cell transformation factor. This finding offers a novel biological marker for the development and progression of prostate cancer as well as a new biological target factor for its intervention.

Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 6 ; blood ; Bone Neoplasms ; blood ; secondary ; Disease Progression ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; blood ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology

PURPOSE: Follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) is a secreted glycoprotein that has been shown to play a role in various types of cancer. However, the clinical significance and function of FSTL1 in breast cancer have not been reported. We investigated the role of FSTL1 in breast cancer in this study. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, western blot analysis, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were used to monitor the expression of FSTL1 in breast cancer tissue and in serum samples from breast cancer patients. We employed a 4T1 breast cancer model and Fstl1(+/−) mice for in vivo studies. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, western blot analysis, and RNA sequencing were used to analyze the effect of FSTL1 on primary tumor growth and lung metastasis. RESULTS: We demonstrated that the expression of FSTL1 is reduced in both the breast cancer tissue and the serum of breast cancer patients. We showed that reduced levels of FSTL1 in serum correlate with elevated expression of Ki-67 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in cancer tissues. Moreover, lowered expression of FSTL1 was associated with decreased survival in breast cancer patients. Experiments on the Fstl1(+/−) mouse model established that FSTL1 deficiency had no effect on primary tumor growth, but increased the lung metastases of breast cancer cells, resulting in reduced survival of tumor-bearing mice. RNA sequencing found significantly reduced expression of Egln3 and increased expression of EGFR in Fstl1(+/−) mice. Thus, our results suggest that FSTL1 may affect the expression of EGFR through Egln3, inhibiting the proliferation of breast cancer cells at lung metastatic sites. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we suggest a suppressor role of FSTL1 in breast cancer lung metastasis. Furthermore, FSTL1 may represent a potential prognostic biomarker and a candidate therapeutic target in breast cancer patients.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Follistatin-Related Proteins* ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Glycoproteins ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Lung* ; Mice ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Reverse Transcription ; Sequence Analysis, RNA

BACKGROUND: We previously showed that the expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) was significantly down-regulated in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In this study, we aimed to characterize the role of FSTL1 in the development of ccRCC. METHODS: The effects of FSTL1 on cell activity and cell cycle were investigated in ccRCC cell lines with altered FSTL1 expression. Gene expression microarray assays were performed to identify the major signaling pathways affected by FSTL1 knockdown. The expression of FSTL1 in ccRCC and its effect on postoperative prognosis were estimated in a cohort with 89 patients. RESULTS: FSTL1 knockdown promoted anchorage-independent growth, migration, invasion, and cell cycle of ccRCC cell lines, whereas FSTL1 overexpression attenuated cell migration. FSTL1 knockdown up-regulated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) signaling pathways, increased epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, up-regulated interleukin-6 expression, and promoted tumor necrosis factor-α-induced degradation of NF-κB inhibitor (IκBα) in ccRCC cell lines. FSTL1 immunostaining was selectively positive in epithelial cytoplasm in the loop of Henle, and positive rate of FSTL1 was significantly lower in ccRCC tissues than in adjacent renal tissues (P < 0.001). The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the intratumoral FSTL1 expression conferred a favorable independent prognosis with a hazard ratio of 0.325 (95% confidence interval 0.118-0.894). HIF-2α expression was negatively correlated with FSTL1 expression in ccRCC specimens (r = - 0.229, P = 0.044). Intratumoral expression of HIF-2α, rather than HIF-1α, significantly predicted an unfavorable prognosis in ccRCC (log-rank, P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS FSTL1 plays a tumor suppression role possibly via repressing the NF-κB and HIF-2α signaling pathways. To increase FSTL1 expression might be a candidate therapeutic strategy for metastatic ccRCC.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; genetics ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; genetics ; Disease-Free Survival ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; genetics ; Female ; Follistatin-Related Proteins ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; genetics ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Signal Transduction ; genetics ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics