1.CENPI promotes the migration of liver cancer cells and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by activating the RAS/MEK/ERK signaling axis
Shushu LU ; Wei HUANG ; Sijia GE ; Jing CHEN ; Yu SHENG ; Zhaoxiu LIU ; Cuihua LU
Chinese Journal of Hepatology 2025;33(7):674-682
Objective:To detect the expression level and clinical significance of centromere protein I (CENPI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to preliminarily explore the effects of CENPI on the biological behavior of liver cancer cells and its possible molecular mechanisms. Methods:The TCGA database, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemical staining experiments were used to analyze and detect the expression differences of CENPI in liver cancer and adjacent tissues. The correlation between CENPI expression levels and clinical pathological features were analyzed in combination with clinical data from HCC patients. The value of CENPI in the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of HCC was explored by plotting receiver operating characteristic curves and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of CENPI overexpression on the migration and healing capabilities of liver cancer cells using Transwell and wound healing experiments. Finally, the effects of CENPI on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in liver cancer cells and the potential molecular mechanisms were explored using Western blot. Comparisons between two groups were analyzed using t-tests, and comparisons among multiple groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The expression of CENPI and its correlation with clinical pathological features were analyzed using the χ2 test. Results:The TCGA database analysis showed that the expression level of CENPI was significantly higher in liver cancer tissues than adjacent tissues, which was further validated by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining experiments. Combined clinical data analysis from HCC patients demonstrated that high expression of CENPI was positively correlated with the degree of tumor malignancy, T stage, and disease prognosis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve indicated that the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high CENPI expression compared to those with low expression. The results of the receiver operating characteristic curve further indicated that the expression level of CENPI had accurately predicted the prognosis of liver cancer patients (area under the curve=0.962). Transwell and wound healing experiment results indicated that overexpressing CENPI in Hep3B and Huh7 cells significantly increased cell migration numbers and healing rates. Further research results showed that overexpressing CENPI significantly upregulated the expression of mesenchymal cell-related marker genes: N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail protein, while the expression of the epithelial cell-related marker gene E-cadherin was significantly reduced. The mechanistic study revealed that when CENPI was overexpressed, the MEK and ERK phosphorylation levels and the expression of RAS protein were significantly increased compared to the control group, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion:The high expression of CENPI in the tissues of HCC patients is associated with poor prognosis, potentially promoting the migration of liver cancer cells and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by activating the RAS/MEK/ERK signaling pathway axis, suggesting that the CENPI gene may be a promising target for HCC treatment.
2.Expression of SIPA1 in colorectal cancer and its impact on its biological behavior
Nanzhang WANG ; Lu ZHANG ; Jing CHEN ; Hui CHEN ; Ruochun WANG ; Cuihua LU ; Yifei JI
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2025;47(7):657-668
Objectives:To investigate the expression of signal-induced proliferation-associated 1 (SIPA1) in colorectal cancer tissues and its relationship with patient prognosis. To explore the effects of SIPA1 on proliferation and migration abilities, as well as the possible molecular mechanisms.Methods:Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze the differential expression of SIPA1 and conduct survival analysis. Then, plotting receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and prognosis calibration curve analysis to assess the predictive capability and accuracy of SIPA1 for patient prognosis. Subsequently, verifying the expression levels of SIPA1 in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot (WB) assays(from March 1, 2023, to May 1, 2024, pathological specimens of five colorectal cancer patients were selected from the tissue bank of affiliated hospital of Nantong University. tissue microarrays were constructed using both cancerous tissues and adjacent normal tissues), and exploring the correlation between SIPA1 and clinical pathological parameters. Next, establishing SIPA1 stable knockdown cell lines in colorectal cancer cell lines DLD1 and HCT116, and assessing the biological behavior changes of tumor cells after SIPA1 knockdown through cell proliferation, invasion, and migration experiments. Validating the impact of SIPA1 on colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vivo through subcutaneous xenograft experiments in nude mice. Exploring the potential pro-tumor mechanisms of SIPA1 through pathway enrichment analysis, and confirming these using WB experiments. The proliferation, invasion and migration of tumor cells were detected after adding PI3K activator. Lastly, conducting correlation analysis between SIPA1 and immune checkpoint, as well as the association with immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Results:Differential analysis showed that mRNA expression of SIPA1 in colorectal cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues ( P<0.05). Prognostic analysis indicated that patients with high expression of SIPA1 had poor overall survival ( P<0.001), and the expression level of SIPA1was correlated with lymph node invasion ( P<0.001) and N stage ( P<0.05). ROC curve and prognosis calibration curve suggest that SIPA1 can effectively predict five-year survival rate of patients (AUC=0.7), and the predictive performance of the model is relatively accurate ( P<0.001). WB experiments showed a significant increase in the expression level of SIPA1 protein in colorectal cancer specimens ( P<0.001). Immunohistochemistry results indicated higher staining scores of SIPA1 in tumor tissues. In vitro experiments demonstrated that SIPA1 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration capabilities of colorectal cancer cells. In DLD1 and HCT116 cells, the SIPA1-knockdown group exhibited significantly lower absorbance compared to the control group (0.89±0.01 vs. 1.57±0.02 and 0.72±0.01 vs. 1.31±0.03, respectively, both P<0.001). The SIPA1-knockdown group also demonstrated a reduced number of migrated cells relative to the control group (197.93±16.64 vs. 518.48±29.15 and 171.83±12.49 vs. 446.00±21.81, respectively, both P<0.001). Furthermore, the cell wound-healing rate was significantly lower in the SIPA1-knockdown group than that in the control group [(0.32±0.01)% vs. (0.61±0.01)% and (0.28±0.01)% vs. (0.75±0.01)%, respectively, both P<0.001]. In vivo animal experiments suggested that SIPA1 knockdown could inhibit tumor growth [(460.35±57.47) mm3 vs (1 177.55±208.24)mm3, (0.76±0.11)g vs (1.43±0.08)g, P<0.05]. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment of the receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathway, and SIPA1 knockdown could inhibit the activation of the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) signaling pathway. The PI3K activator reversed the inhibitory effect of SIPA1 silencing on tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Correlation analysis indicated that high expression of SIPA1 was associated with immune checkpoints and various immunosuppressive cells (all P<0.05). Conclusions:SIPA1 is highly expressed in colorectal cancer and associated with poor prognosis. SIPA1 may affect the proliferation and migration abilities of tumor cells by regulating the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway.
3.The role of telomere length in the causal effects of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis
Jing CHEN ; Qingqing LIU ; Xiang SHI ; Yifei JI ; Cuihua LU
Chinese Journal of Digestion 2025;45(1):44-49
Objective:To investigate the role of telomere length in the causal effects of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis.Methods:Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data were extracted from open GWAS (https: //gwas.mrcieu.ac.uk) for a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Five immune-mediated autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary biliary cholangitis, and Crohn′s disease) individually and collectively were included as exposure factors, telomere length as a mediator, and liver fibrosis as the outcome. The Wald ratio and inverse variance weighted (IVW) methods were performed to assess causal effects. The MR-Egger intercept test was adopted to evaluate the level of horizontal pleiotropy. Multivariable MR was employed to quantify the proportion of the effect of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis mediated by telomere length. And sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results.Results:The results of IVW analysis revealed that the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary biliary cholangitis, and Crohn′s disease were causally related to the high risk of liver fibrosis, and the OR were 1.63 (95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 1.33 to 2.10), 1.28 (95% CI: 1.14 to 1.43), 1.34 (95% CI: 1.02 to 1.74), 1.36 (95% CI: 1.27 to 1.47), 1.37 (95% CI: 1.23 to 1.52), and 1.52 (95% CI: 1.15 to 2.01), respectively ( P<0.001, <0.001, =0.032, <0.001, <0.001, =0.003). Horizontal pleiotropy was detected in the association between Crohn′s disease and liver fibrosis (MR-Egger intercept test, P=0.025).The results of multivariable MR indicated that telomere length acted as a mediating factor in the causal relationship between liver fibrosis and the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cholangitis ( OR=2.24, 95% CI: 1.41 to 3.56; OR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.06; OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.31 to 3.40; OR=2.01, 95% CI: 1.06 to 3.80; P<0.001, =0.038, =0.002, =0.032, respectively ). Conclusion:The causal effects of the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and primary biliary cholangitis on liver fibrosis are mediated by telomere length.
4.Screening of target genes for bile acid metabolism in Crohn's disease and its value in disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring
Hui CHEN ; Lu ZHANG ; Jing CHEN ; Nanzhang WANG ; Ruochun WANG ; Cuihua LU ; Yifei JI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(32):7028-7040
BACKGROUND:Bile acid metabolism plays a crucial role in the development and progression of Crohn's disease.There is no research on changes in bile acid metabolism and key target genes following treatment with biological agents.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression characteristics of bile acid metabolism-related genes in patients with Crohn's disease,identify key genes associated with response to biological agents.METHODS:Transcriptome data were obtained through the GEO database to analyze differentially expressed genes between inflammation-control groups and inflammation-treatment groups.GO,KEGG,and GSEA enrichment analyses were used to evaluate the effects of biological agent therapy on bile acid metabolism.Protein-protein interaction network and WGCNA algorithm were employed to analyze differentially expressed genes,identifying modules closely related to biological agent treatment response,which led to the determination of UGT2A3 as a key gene in bile acid metabolism.In the inflammation group of the GSE186582 dataset,samples were divided into high and low expression groups based on UGT2A3 levels to study its relationship with immune infiltration and explore the interaction between UGT2A3 and the immune microenvironment.Clinical characteristics and intestinal manifestations were compared between high and low expression groups,and correlations between UGT2A3 and clinical indicators(C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's disease activity index,and Crohn's disease endoscopic activity score)were investigated.The competing endogenous RNA regulatory network of UGT2A3 was constructed,and its upstream miRNA was functionally enriched to explore the molecular mechanism of UGT2A3 in bile acid metabolism.Single-cell analysis and clustering were performed using high-throughput sequencing data of GSE134809 to observe the expression of UGT2A3 in different samples and cell populations.Colon tissue samples from untreated and biologic-treated Crohn's disease patients and healthy colon tissue samples from patients with intestinal polyps were collected,and UGT2A3 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry,qRT-PCR,and western blot assay.Fresh feces from Crohn's disease patients and healthy controls were collected to detect bile acid levels,and the relationship between UGT2A3 and fecal bile acid levels was analyzed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A total of 11 bile acid metabolism-related genes were screened,showing significant changes in gene expression after biological agent therapy.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that intestinal nutrient absorption and metabolic processes normalized after treatment,while leukocyte chemotaxis and inflammatory response pathway activity decreased.GSEA analysis revealed significant enrichment of bile acid metabolism-related pathways after treatment.Protein-protein interaction network construction and WGCNA analysis identified UGT2A3 as a key gene closely associated with treatment response.UGT2A3 expression was significantly decreased in inflamed tissues of Crohn's disease patients and returned to normal levels after biological agent therapy.This result was confirmed in clinical specimens.UGT2A3 expression levels showed significant negative correlations with C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's Disease Activity Index,and Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity.Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that UGT2A3 has good diagnostic value(Area Under Curve AUC=0.801 0)and effectively reflects treatment outcomes.Immune infiltration analysis showed significantly increased infiltration of various immune cells in samples with low UGT2A3 expression,and its expression levels negatively correlated with immune scores,microenvironment scores,and stromal scores.Compared with the low UGT2A3 expression group,patients with high expression showed less fecal occult blood and penetrating inflammation,with milder intestinal strictures and general condition severity.Fecal bile acid analysis revealed that UGT2A3 expression strongly negatively correlated with primary bile acid content and strongly positively correlated with secondary bile acid content.
5.Screening of target genes for bile acid metabolism in Crohn's disease and its value in disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring
Hui CHEN ; Lu ZHANG ; Jing CHEN ; Nanzhang WANG ; Ruochun WANG ; Cuihua LU ; Yifei JI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(32):7028-7040
BACKGROUND:Bile acid metabolism plays a crucial role in the development and progression of Crohn's disease.There is no research on changes in bile acid metabolism and key target genes following treatment with biological agents.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression characteristics of bile acid metabolism-related genes in patients with Crohn's disease,identify key genes associated with response to biological agents.METHODS:Transcriptome data were obtained through the GEO database to analyze differentially expressed genes between inflammation-control groups and inflammation-treatment groups.GO,KEGG,and GSEA enrichment analyses were used to evaluate the effects of biological agent therapy on bile acid metabolism.Protein-protein interaction network and WGCNA algorithm were employed to analyze differentially expressed genes,identifying modules closely related to biological agent treatment response,which led to the determination of UGT2A3 as a key gene in bile acid metabolism.In the inflammation group of the GSE186582 dataset,samples were divided into high and low expression groups based on UGT2A3 levels to study its relationship with immune infiltration and explore the interaction between UGT2A3 and the immune microenvironment.Clinical characteristics and intestinal manifestations were compared between high and low expression groups,and correlations between UGT2A3 and clinical indicators(C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's disease activity index,and Crohn's disease endoscopic activity score)were investigated.The competing endogenous RNA regulatory network of UGT2A3 was constructed,and its upstream miRNA was functionally enriched to explore the molecular mechanism of UGT2A3 in bile acid metabolism.Single-cell analysis and clustering were performed using high-throughput sequencing data of GSE134809 to observe the expression of UGT2A3 in different samples and cell populations.Colon tissue samples from untreated and biologic-treated Crohn's disease patients and healthy colon tissue samples from patients with intestinal polyps were collected,and UGT2A3 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry,qRT-PCR,and western blot assay.Fresh feces from Crohn's disease patients and healthy controls were collected to detect bile acid levels,and the relationship between UGT2A3 and fecal bile acid levels was analyzed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A total of 11 bile acid metabolism-related genes were screened,showing significant changes in gene expression after biological agent therapy.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that intestinal nutrient absorption and metabolic processes normalized after treatment,while leukocyte chemotaxis and inflammatory response pathway activity decreased.GSEA analysis revealed significant enrichment of bile acid metabolism-related pathways after treatment.Protein-protein interaction network construction and WGCNA analysis identified UGT2A3 as a key gene closely associated with treatment response.UGT2A3 expression was significantly decreased in inflamed tissues of Crohn's disease patients and returned to normal levels after biological agent therapy.This result was confirmed in clinical specimens.UGT2A3 expression levels showed significant negative correlations with C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's Disease Activity Index,and Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity.Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that UGT2A3 has good diagnostic value(Area Under Curve AUC=0.801 0)and effectively reflects treatment outcomes.Immune infiltration analysis showed significantly increased infiltration of various immune cells in samples with low UGT2A3 expression,and its expression levels negatively correlated with immune scores,microenvironment scores,and stromal scores.Compared with the low UGT2A3 expression group,patients with high expression showed less fecal occult blood and penetrating inflammation,with milder intestinal strictures and general condition severity.Fecal bile acid analysis revealed that UGT2A3 expression strongly negatively correlated with primary bile acid content and strongly positively correlated with secondary bile acid content.
6.CENPI promotes the migration of liver cancer cells and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by activating the RAS/MEK/ERK signaling axis
Shushu LU ; Wei HUANG ; Sijia GE ; Jing CHEN ; Yu SHENG ; Zhaoxiu LIU ; Cuihua LU
Chinese Journal of Hepatology 2025;33(7):674-682
Objective:To detect the expression level and clinical significance of centromere protein I (CENPI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to preliminarily explore the effects of CENPI on the biological behavior of liver cancer cells and its possible molecular mechanisms. Methods:The TCGA database, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemical staining experiments were used to analyze and detect the expression differences of CENPI in liver cancer and adjacent tissues. The correlation between CENPI expression levels and clinical pathological features were analyzed in combination with clinical data from HCC patients. The value of CENPI in the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of HCC was explored by plotting receiver operating characteristic curves and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of CENPI overexpression on the migration and healing capabilities of liver cancer cells using Transwell and wound healing experiments. Finally, the effects of CENPI on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in liver cancer cells and the potential molecular mechanisms were explored using Western blot. Comparisons between two groups were analyzed using t-tests, and comparisons among multiple groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The expression of CENPI and its correlation with clinical pathological features were analyzed using the χ2 test. Results:The TCGA database analysis showed that the expression level of CENPI was significantly higher in liver cancer tissues than adjacent tissues, which was further validated by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining experiments. Combined clinical data analysis from HCC patients demonstrated that high expression of CENPI was positively correlated with the degree of tumor malignancy, T stage, and disease prognosis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve indicated that the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high CENPI expression compared to those with low expression. The results of the receiver operating characteristic curve further indicated that the expression level of CENPI had accurately predicted the prognosis of liver cancer patients (area under the curve=0.962). Transwell and wound healing experiment results indicated that overexpressing CENPI in Hep3B and Huh7 cells significantly increased cell migration numbers and healing rates. Further research results showed that overexpressing CENPI significantly upregulated the expression of mesenchymal cell-related marker genes: N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail protein, while the expression of the epithelial cell-related marker gene E-cadherin was significantly reduced. The mechanistic study revealed that when CENPI was overexpressed, the MEK and ERK phosphorylation levels and the expression of RAS protein were significantly increased compared to the control group, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion:The high expression of CENPI in the tissues of HCC patients is associated with poor prognosis, potentially promoting the migration of liver cancer cells and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by activating the RAS/MEK/ERK signaling pathway axis, suggesting that the CENPI gene may be a promising target for HCC treatment.
7.The role of telomere length in the causal effects of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis
Jing CHEN ; Qingqing LIU ; Xiang SHI ; Yifei JI ; Cuihua LU
Chinese Journal of Digestion 2025;45(1):44-49
Objective:To investigate the role of telomere length in the causal effects of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis.Methods:Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data were extracted from open GWAS (https: //gwas.mrcieu.ac.uk) for a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Five immune-mediated autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary biliary cholangitis, and Crohn′s disease) individually and collectively were included as exposure factors, telomere length as a mediator, and liver fibrosis as the outcome. The Wald ratio and inverse variance weighted (IVW) methods were performed to assess causal effects. The MR-Egger intercept test was adopted to evaluate the level of horizontal pleiotropy. Multivariable MR was employed to quantify the proportion of the effect of immune-mediated diseases on liver fibrosis mediated by telomere length. And sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results.Results:The results of IVW analysis revealed that the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary biliary cholangitis, and Crohn′s disease were causally related to the high risk of liver fibrosis, and the OR were 1.63 (95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 1.33 to 2.10), 1.28 (95% CI: 1.14 to 1.43), 1.34 (95% CI: 1.02 to 1.74), 1.36 (95% CI: 1.27 to 1.47), 1.37 (95% CI: 1.23 to 1.52), and 1.52 (95% CI: 1.15 to 2.01), respectively ( P<0.001, <0.001, =0.032, <0.001, <0.001, =0.003). Horizontal pleiotropy was detected in the association between Crohn′s disease and liver fibrosis (MR-Egger intercept test, P=0.025).The results of multivariable MR indicated that telomere length acted as a mediating factor in the causal relationship between liver fibrosis and the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cholangitis ( OR=2.24, 95% CI: 1.41 to 3.56; OR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.06; OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.31 to 3.40; OR=2.01, 95% CI: 1.06 to 3.80; P<0.001, =0.038, =0.002, =0.032, respectively ). Conclusion:The causal effects of the overall category of immune-mediated diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and primary biliary cholangitis on liver fibrosis are mediated by telomere length.
8.Expression of SIPA1 in colorectal cancer and its impact on its biological behavior
Nanzhang WANG ; Lu ZHANG ; Jing CHEN ; Hui CHEN ; Ruochun WANG ; Cuihua LU ; Yifei JI
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2025;47(7):657-668
Objectives:To investigate the expression of signal-induced proliferation-associated 1 (SIPA1) in colorectal cancer tissues and its relationship with patient prognosis. To explore the effects of SIPA1 on proliferation and migration abilities, as well as the possible molecular mechanisms.Methods:Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze the differential expression of SIPA1 and conduct survival analysis. Then, plotting receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and prognosis calibration curve analysis to assess the predictive capability and accuracy of SIPA1 for patient prognosis. Subsequently, verifying the expression levels of SIPA1 in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot (WB) assays(from March 1, 2023, to May 1, 2024, pathological specimens of five colorectal cancer patients were selected from the tissue bank of affiliated hospital of Nantong University. tissue microarrays were constructed using both cancerous tissues and adjacent normal tissues), and exploring the correlation between SIPA1 and clinical pathological parameters. Next, establishing SIPA1 stable knockdown cell lines in colorectal cancer cell lines DLD1 and HCT116, and assessing the biological behavior changes of tumor cells after SIPA1 knockdown through cell proliferation, invasion, and migration experiments. Validating the impact of SIPA1 on colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vivo through subcutaneous xenograft experiments in nude mice. Exploring the potential pro-tumor mechanisms of SIPA1 through pathway enrichment analysis, and confirming these using WB experiments. The proliferation, invasion and migration of tumor cells were detected after adding PI3K activator. Lastly, conducting correlation analysis between SIPA1 and immune checkpoint, as well as the association with immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Results:Differential analysis showed that mRNA expression of SIPA1 in colorectal cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues ( P<0.05). Prognostic analysis indicated that patients with high expression of SIPA1 had poor overall survival ( P<0.001), and the expression level of SIPA1was correlated with lymph node invasion ( P<0.001) and N stage ( P<0.05). ROC curve and prognosis calibration curve suggest that SIPA1 can effectively predict five-year survival rate of patients (AUC=0.7), and the predictive performance of the model is relatively accurate ( P<0.001). WB experiments showed a significant increase in the expression level of SIPA1 protein in colorectal cancer specimens ( P<0.001). Immunohistochemistry results indicated higher staining scores of SIPA1 in tumor tissues. In vitro experiments demonstrated that SIPA1 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration capabilities of colorectal cancer cells. In DLD1 and HCT116 cells, the SIPA1-knockdown group exhibited significantly lower absorbance compared to the control group (0.89±0.01 vs. 1.57±0.02 and 0.72±0.01 vs. 1.31±0.03, respectively, both P<0.001). The SIPA1-knockdown group also demonstrated a reduced number of migrated cells relative to the control group (197.93±16.64 vs. 518.48±29.15 and 171.83±12.49 vs. 446.00±21.81, respectively, both P<0.001). Furthermore, the cell wound-healing rate was significantly lower in the SIPA1-knockdown group than that in the control group [(0.32±0.01)% vs. (0.61±0.01)% and (0.28±0.01)% vs. (0.75±0.01)%, respectively, both P<0.001]. In vivo animal experiments suggested that SIPA1 knockdown could inhibit tumor growth [(460.35±57.47) mm3 vs (1 177.55±208.24)mm3, (0.76±0.11)g vs (1.43±0.08)g, P<0.05]. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment of the receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathway, and SIPA1 knockdown could inhibit the activation of the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) signaling pathway. The PI3K activator reversed the inhibitory effect of SIPA1 silencing on tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Correlation analysis indicated that high expression of SIPA1 was associated with immune checkpoints and various immunosuppressive cells (all P<0.05). Conclusions:SIPA1 is highly expressed in colorectal cancer and associated with poor prognosis. SIPA1 may affect the proliferation and migration abilities of tumor cells by regulating the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway.
9.The variables affecting the time of B-cell reconstruction in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome treated with rituximab
Pan LU ; Jitong LI ; Shufeng ZHANG ; Yujie LIU ; Gongping ZHAO ; Cuihua LIU
Chinese Journal of Pediatrics 2024;62(9):841-846
Objective:To investigate the factors affecting the time taken for B cell reconstitution after rituximab (RTX) treatment in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.Methods:This was a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 42 children with SSNS who received treatment with RTX in Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Immunology, Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University between December 2019 and May 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. The data of demographics, immunosuppressant treatment and laboratory tests such as CD19 +B cell count, urinary protein quantification were collected. The patients were divided into 2 groups, the early B cell reconstruction group and the late reconstruction group based on the average time of B cell reconstruction. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors impacting the timing of B cell reconstruction, and the predictive value of these factors was assessed by plotting the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results:There were 42 children, with 35 males and 7 females. They were aged 3.5 (2.2, 5.9) years at the onset of PNS and (8.4±3.3) years at their first RTX treatment. The time for B cell reconstitution was (152±53) d. There were 20 children in the early reconstruction group and 22 children in the late reconstruction group. There were no statistically significant differences (all P>0.05) between the 2 groups in terms of the cumulative dose of steroids within 1 year before receiving RTX infusion (0.29 (0.16, 0.50) vs. 0.29 (0.19, 0.46) mg/(kg·d)), the percentage of children using tacrolimus before RTX (65%(13/20) vs. 45%(10/22)) and cumulative doses (0.04 (0.03, 0.05) vs. 0.03 (0.03, 0.06) mg/(kg·d)), the steroid doses at the time of RTX infusion (0.73 (0.49, 0.90) vs. 0.71 (0.58, 0.89) mg/(kg·d)), the percentage of children using tacrolimus at the initial RTX infusion (50% (10/20) vs. 41% (9/22)) and the doses (0.03 (0.02, 0.04) vs. 0.02 (0.01, 0.04) mg/(kg·d)), the discontinuation time of tacrolimus post-RTX infusion (71 (42, 91) vs. 64 (42, 91) d). A multivariate analysis revealed a correlation ( OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.68, P=0.006) between B cell count following the second RTX infusion and the time taken for B cell reconstruction. The area under the ROC curve for B cell count after the RTX infusion in predicting the time to B cell reconstruction was 0.89 (95% CI 0.78-0.99, P<0.001) and the cut-off value was 0.925×10 6/L. Conclusions:The time of B cell reconstruction is not influenced by the previous or concurrent use of tacrolimus, regardless of its duration and the dosage of steroid and tacrolimus prior to the RTX infusion. Insteadly, the peripheral blood B cell count (0.925×10 6/L) following the second RTX infusion for SSNS is identified as an independent predictor of reconstruction time, allowing for a more precise prediction and early intervention to maintain disease remission.
10.Expression and clinical significance of CENPU in intestinal tissues of patients with colorectal cancer
Ruochun WANG ; Wei HUANG ; Sijia GE ; Jing CHEN ; Han XUAN ; Yang YAN ; Jiawei JIANG ; Mingbing XIAO ; Cuihua LU ; Zhaoxiu LIU
China Modern Doctor 2024;62(11):1-6
Objective To investigate the expression of centromere protein U(CENPU)in the intestinal tissues of patients with colon cancer,and to analyze the effect of CENPU expression level on the prognosis of patients with colon cancer combined with bioinformatics.Methods Firstly,the expression of CENPU in cancer tissues and normal tissues of colon cancer patients was analyzed by the expression of CENPU in tissues was further verified by real-time quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR),Western blot(WB)and immunohistochemistry(IHC).Combined with clinical data,univariate and multivariate Cox regression are used to analyze the correlation between CENPU expression and clinical case parameters of colon cancer patients.Then,the predictive effect of CENPU expression on the prognosis of colon cancer patients are explored by drawing receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and Kaplan-Meier survival curve.Finally,the possible molecular mechanism of the effect of CENPU expression on the progression of colon cancer are analyzed by bioinformatics.Results By qRT-PCR,WB and IHC experiments,we find that compared with normal tissues,the expression of CENPU in cancer tissues of colon cancer patients is significantly increased.Cox regression analysis show that the expression of CENPU is significantly correlated with the age and TNM stage of patients,and is a risk factor affecting the prognosis of patients.Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis show that colon cancer patients with high CENPU expression has significantly lower survival rates.ROC curve show that the model based on CENPU expression has a high predictive power for the prognosis of colon cancer patients area under the curve(AUC=0.832).Bioinformatics analysis show that CENPI,CENPN,CENPD,CENPK,CENPP,CENPM,CENPQ,CENPH,NDC80 and ITGB3BP have significant interaction with CENPU gene.CENPU is involved in DNA repair,MYC/TARGETS/V1 and PI3K/AKT/MTOR signaling pathways.Conclusion High expression of CENPU in cancer tissues of patients with colon cancer is significantly associated with poor prognosis of patients,suggesting that CENPU is expected to be a potential target for early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of patients with colon cancer.

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