Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

Drug-induced liver injury （DILI） has a complex mechanism involving various pathways with a synergistic effect on each other and a causal relationship with each other， among which immune response plays an important role in the pathogenesis of DILI. In the context of genetic background， drug active metabolites， drug-molecule complexes， and danger signal molecules may be used as the trigger factors for immune response in DILI， activating the mechanism of drug antigenic hypersensitivity， P-i hypothesis， and danger signal mechanism in innate immunity. The cascade reaction of innate immunity and adaptive immunity leads to the imbalance of the innate immune tolerance of the liver and thus causes immunoinflammatory injury of liver tissue. This article mainly elaborates on the immunological mechanism of DILI， in order to provide new ideas for the research and development of therapeutic targets for DILI and the methods for avoiding adverse drug reactions.

Seven novel linear polyketides,talaketides A-G(1-7),were isolated from the rice media cultures of the mangrove sed-iment-derived fungus Talaromyces sp.SCSIO 41027.Among these,talaketides A-E(1-5)represented unprecedented unsaturated lin-ear polyketides with an epoxy ring structure.The structures,including absolute configurations of these compounds,were elucidated through detailed analyses of nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)and high-resolution mass spectrometry(HR-MS)data,as well as elec-tronic custom distributors(ECD)calculations.In the cytotoxicity screening against prostate cancer cell lines,talaketide E(5)demon-strated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on prostate cancer PC-3 cell lines,with an IC50 value of 14.44 μmol·L-1.Moreover,com-pound 5 significantly inhibited the cloning formation of PC-3 cell lines and arrested the cell cycle in S-phase,ultimately inducing ap-optosis.These findings indicate that compound 5 may serve as a promising lead compound for the development of a potential treat-ment for prostate cancer.

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical pathological significance of PIWI-interacting RNA-47851 (piR-47851) in gastric adenocarcinoma and its influence on proliferation. Methods The expression of piR-47851 was detected in 79 gastric adenocarcinoma tissues by real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the correlation of piR-47851 expression level and clinical features with survival and prognosis were analyzed. The effect of piR-47851 on proliferation activity of gastric cancer cells was observed by cell proliferation experiments. Informatics websites were used to predict the downstream target genes of piR-47851. The wild-type and mutant plasmids for the 3'untranslated region (UTR) of MAPK1 gene were established, and a dual luciferase reporting system was used to verify that piR-47851 binded to the 3'UTR of MAPK1 gene, thereby inhibiting MAPK1 protein synthesis. The effect of overexpression/silencing of piR-47851 on MAPK1 expression level was examined through qRT-PCR experiment. Rescue experiment was used to confirm the direct regulatory effect of piR-47851 on MAPK1 and explore the effect of piR-47851/MAPK1 on the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. The effect of reduced piR-47851 expression on the volume and weight of transplanted tumors was observed in nude mice by xenograft tumor experiments; the effect of reduced piR-47851 expression on the cell proliferation activity of xenograft tumors was observed by Ki-67 staining. Results The qRT-PCR experiment result showed that the expression level of piR-47851 in 79 gastric adenocarcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal gastric tissues adjacent to the cancer (P < 0.05). The expression level of piR-47851 was significantly correlated with tumor size, degree of differentiation, and survival prognosis (P < 0.05). Bioinformatics suggested that there was a complementary binding site between piR-47851 and MAPK1 gene 3'UTR. The dual luciferase reporter gene experiment showed that piR-47851 was able to significantly inhibit fluorescence enzyme activity in the MAPK1 wild-type transfection group, while this inhibitory effect was not observed in the MAPK1 mutant group. The CCK-8 proliferation activity experiment showed that overexpression of piR-47851 was able to significantly increase the proliferation activity of gastric cancer cells; after reducing piR-47851, the proliferation activity of cells decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Rescue experiment indicated that after changing the expression of piR-47851 and (or) MAPK1 and then detecting the expression level of MAPK1 by qRT-PCR, the MAPK1 could be regulated by piR-47851. Overexpression of MAPK1 could functionally reduce the proliferation promoting effect of piR-47851 on gastric cancer cells, while reducing MAPK1 expression could further enhance the proliferation activity of gastric cancer cells. In xenograft tumor experiments, reducing the expression of piR-47851 significantly resulted in smaller tumor growth volume and weight (P < 0.05). The proliferation index Ki-67 staining showed that the number of proliferative active cells in the reduced piR-47851 expression group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), which further validated the promotional effect of piR-47851 on cell proliferation. Conclusion The expression level of piR-47851 is increased in gastric adenocarcinoma tissues, which is closely related with tumor size and survival prognosis. The piR-47851 downregulates MAPK1 protein expression by binding to the 3'UTR of MAPK1, thereby promoting the proliferation of gastric cancer cells.

Objective To investigate the role of hsa_circ_0013058 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the mechanism in promoting the invasion and migration of ESCC cells. Methods ESCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues of 75 patients were collected. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and RNA in situ hybridization (RISH) were used to detect the expression of hsa_circ_0013058, and the relationship between hsa_circ_0013058 and clinicopathological data of ESCC patients was analyzed. The invasion and migration ability of ESCC cells were detected by scratch test and Transwell test. The target gene of hsa_circ_0013058 was predicted by bioinformatics. The regulation of hsa_circ_0013058 on downstream genes and its effect on invasion and migration of ESCC cells were detected by Rescue experiment. Results The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression level of hsa_circ_0013058 in the ESCC tissues was significantly higher than that in the adjacent normal tissues (t=5.078, P < 0.05). The expression level of hsa_circ_0013058 in KYSE70 was significantly higher than that in human normal esophageal epithelial cells HTT-1A (P < 0.05). At the RNA level, hsa_circ_0013058 was negatively correlated with miR-548p (r=-0.254 2, P < 0.05). The positive expression rate of hsa_circ_0013058 RNA in the ESCC tissues was 72.00%, which was significantly higher than 17.33% in the adjacent normal tissues (χ²=6.862, P < 0.05). The positive expression of hsa_circ_0013058 was closely related to the depth of tumor invasion, differentiation degree and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Scratch test results showed that overexpression of hsa_circ_0013058 enhanced the migration ability of KYSE70 cells (P < 0.05); knockdown of hsa_circ_0013058 expression decreased the migration ability of KYSE70 cells (P < 0.05). After overexpression of hsa_circ_0013058, the number of invasion and migration cells of ESCC increased, and after knockdown of hsa_circ_0013058 expression, the number of invasion and migration cells decreased (P < 0.05). The qRT-PCR confirmed that hsa_circ_0013058 could regulate the expression of microRNA-548p (miR-548p). Dual luciferase reporter gene assay showed that miR-548p was specifically bound to LPAR3, which was the direct target gene of miR-548p. Rescue experiment results indicated that hsa_circ_0013058 regulated the invasion and migration of ESCC cells through the miR-548p/LPAR3 signaling axis. Conclusion In ESCC, hsa_circ_0013058 inhibits the expression of miR-548p, thereby activating the LPAR3 signaling pathway and promoting the invasion and migration of ESCC cells.

Objective To investigate the expression level of piR-35296 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and its pathological significance, as well as its effect on ccRCC cell proliferation. Methods Surgical resection specimens and clinicopathological data from 67 ccRCC patients were collected. Differential expression profiles of piRNAs in ccRCC were detected using piRNA microarray analysis, and validated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effect of piR-35296 on the proliferative activity of ccRCC cells was examined by CCK-8 assay. Bioinformatic analysis predicted TAB2 as a potential downstream target gene of piR-35296; qRT-PCR was performed to detect theinfluence of piR-35296 overexpression or knockdown on TAB2 expression levels. Rescue experiments were conducted to verify the regulation of TAB2 by piR-35296 and its impact on ccRCC cell proliferation. The effect of piR-35296 knockdown on the growth of subcutaneous tumors in experimental nude mice was analyzed, and Ki-67 immunohistochemical staining was used to validate the influence of piR-35296 on ccRCC cell proliferation. Results Both piRNA expression profiling and qRT-PCR revealed an elevated expression level of piR-35296 in ccRCC (P < 0.05). The expression of piR-35296 was closely associated with tumor size and differentiation degree in ccRCC patients (χ²=3.984, 3.974, P < 0.05). CCK-8 proliferation assays demonstrated that piR-35296 overexpression enhanced the proliferative activity of ccRCC cells, whereas its downregulation inhibited cell proliferation (P < 0.05). qRT-PCR experiments showed that TAB2 expression was upregulated after piR-35296 overexpression and downregulated upon piR-35296 knockdown (P < 0.05). Rescue experiments indicated that piR-35296 promoted TAB2 mRNA and its protein expression in ccRCC cells, thereby stimulating cell proliferation; TAB2 downregulation inhibited ccRCC cell proliferation. In experimental nude mice, piR-35296 knockdown reduced the mass andvolume of subcutaneous tumors (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67 revealed a decreased percentage of Ki-67-positive cells after piR-35296 downregulation, suggesting reduced cell proliferation capacity (P < 0.05). Conclusion The piR-35296 serves as a novel oncogenic growth promoter in ccRCC. By elevating TAB2 expression, piR-35296 promotes the proliferative growth of ccRCC cells.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of hsa_circRNA_000596 (circ-596) in promoting invasion and metastasis of cervical cancer cells. Methods The cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) tissue, normal cervical tissue adjacent to cancer and clinical data of 69 cases with CSCC were collected. RNA in situ hybridization (RISH) was used to detect the expression of circ-596 and analyze its association with clinical data of CSCC. The invasive ability of cervical cancer cells was detected by Transwell assay; the regulation of downstream target gene by circ-596 was detected by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). Dual luciferase reporting experiment was used to verify the regulation of miR-197-3p on the downstream target gene RNF146; the regulation of miR-197-3p/RNF146 by circ-596 and its effect on invasion ability were analyzed in rescue experiment. Results Circ-596 was mainly positively expressed in CSCC tissues, and the positive expression rate was 63.77%(44/69), which was higher than 17.39% (12/69) in adjacent normal tissues (χ²=8.254, P=0.004). Circ-596 positive expression was closely correlated with tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The results of Transwell experiment showed that compared with the control cells, the number of cervical cancer cells with overexpression of circ-596 increased, and the number of cells with knockdown expression of circ-596 decreased (P < 0.05). Bioinformatics prediction results showed that miR-197-3p was the downstream target gene of circ-596, and RNF146 was the downstream target gene of miR-197-3p. The results of qRT-PCR showed that overexpression of circ-596 could down-regulate the expression of miR-197-3p, and down-expression of circ-596 could up-regulate the expression of miR-197-3p (P < 0.05). The results of dual luciferase reporter gene experiments showed that miR-197-3p bound to the 3'UTR of RNF146 gene, thereby inhibiting the relative activity of luciferase. Rescue experiment results showed that circ-596 could inhibit the expression of miR-197-3p, and thereby promoting the expression of RNF146, and enhancing the invasion ability of cervical cancer cells. Conclusion Circ-596 is mainly positively expressed in CSCC tissues, and its positive expression is closely related to the degree of tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis. Circ-596 promotes the expression of RNF146 by binding to miR-197-3p, thereby promoting the invasion and metastasis of cervical cancer cells.

Objective To investigate the role of glutathione transferase in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by high-fat diet using the RNA-Seq technique in combination with gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of differentially expressed genes. Methods A total of 14 male C57BL/6J mice were divided into control group with 6 mice and model group with 8 mice by random sampling. The mice in the control group were fed with normal diet, and those in the model group were fed with high-fat diet for 7 consecutive weeks to establish a model of NAFLD. Kits were used to measure the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the level of triglyceride (TG), and HE staining and oil red staining were used to observe liver pathology and deposition of lipid droplets. Liver tissue RNA was extracted for RNA-Seq, and genes with a fold change of ≥2.0 and a P value of < 0.05 were defined as differentially expressed genes; after differentially expressed genes were screened out between the control group and the model group, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed, and qRT-PCR was used to validate the expression of the differentially expressed genes. The independent samples t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in body weight and the serum levels of ALT and AST (all P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, the model group had a significantly higher serum level of TG (2.02±0.50 mmol/L vs 1.00±0.29 mmol/L, t =-4.45, P =0.001). HE staining showed diffuse steatosis and ballooning degeneration in the model group, and oil red staining showed that the model group had a significant increase in orange-red lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and a significantly higher grade of hepatocyte steatosis than the control group (1.88±0.64 vs 1.00±0.00, t =-3.86, P =0.006). RNA-seq results showed a total of 1367 differentially expressed genes between the two groups, among which there were 608 upregulated genes and 759 downregulated genes, and there were 17 differentially expressed GST genes between the two groups. The top 10 GST genes in terms of fold change were validated, and compared with the control group, the model group had downregulated expression of GSTa2, GSTa3, GSTa4, GSTm1, GSTm2, GSTm3, GSTm4, GSTp1, and GSTo1 and upregulated expression of GSTk1. The results of qRT-PCR were consistent with the results of sequencing. Conclusion GST affects lipid metabolism by participating in various biological processes such as steroid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and cholesterol metabolism and is closely associated with the pathogenesis of NAFLD.