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ABSTRACT: Our previous studies showed that cell surface β 1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 (β1,4GT1) negatively regulated cell survival through inhibition and modulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) SMMC-7721 cells. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we demonstrated that β 1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 (β1,4GT1) interacted with EGFR in vitro by GST pull-down analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that β1,4GT1 bound to EGFR in vivo by co-immunoprecipitation and determined the co-localization of β1,4GT1 and EGFR on the cell surface via confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis. Finally, using (125)I-EGF binding experiments and Western blot analysis, we found that overexpression of β1,4GT1 inhibited (125)I-EGF binding to EGFR, and consequently reduced the levels of EGFR dimerization and phosphorylation. In contrast, RNAi-mediated knockdown of β1,4GT1 increased the levels of EGFR dimerization and phosphorylation. These data suggest that cell surface β1,4GT1 interacts with EGFR and inhibits EGFR activation.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 04/2013; · 2.48 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanisms of TGF-β1 mediated immunosuppression in tumor stroma. METHODS: The expression of TGF-β1 was investigated in Huh7, Hep 3B, SGC-7901, Eca-109 and Hepa1-6 cell lines using immunofluorescence. Knocked-down TGF-β1 of the Hepa1-6 cell line was established through lentivirus-based RNA interference. The interference efficiency of the TGF-β1 gene was tested by real-time PCR and ELISA; the expression of Foxp3, IFN-γ and CD83 in CD4(+), CD8(+) or dendritic cells was examined via flow cytometry; and the tumorigenic ability of the cancer cells was investigated in the animal experiments. RESULTS: The diverse digestive cancer cells were found to secrete TGF-β1, mRNA of which was knocked down by 78 % thanks to lentivirus-based interference in Hepa1-6 cells. Flow cytometry showed that CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells significantly increased in hepatocellular carcinoma patients when compared with those in the healthy controls. The supernatant from Hepa1-6 cells and recombinant TGF-β1 significantly induced the expression of Foxp3 gene in vitro, while that from sh TGF-β1 Hepa1-6 cells restored it. Hepa1-6 cells inhibited IFN-γ and CD83 expression in CD8(+) or dendritic cells by secreting TGF-β1. The animal experiments indicated that the knockdown TGF-β1 gene impaired the tumorigenic ability of Hepa1-6 cells. CONCLUSION: TGF-β1, expressed in cancer cells, might be a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment.
Digestive Diseases and Sciences 01/2013; · 2.12 Impact Factor
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Ying Fang,
Da Fu,
Wenqing Tang,
Yu Cai,
Duan Ma,
Huijun Wang,
Ruyi Xue,
Taotao Liu,
Xiaowu Huang,
Ling Dong,
Hao Wu, Xizhong Shen
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ABSTRACT: Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 37 (UCH37) plays a crucial role in numerous biological processes and is also involved in oncogenesis. In this study, clinicopathologic data showed that UCH37 was over-expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cancerous tissues and was a significant predictor for time to recurrence (TTR). In vitro, we discovered that UCH37 could promote cell migration and invasion. Subsequently, we utilized Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) to identify differentially expressed proteins in UCH37 over-expressing cells compared with the control cells, and found that PRP19, an essential RNA splicing factor, was up-regulated. The relationship between UCH37, PRP19 and the capability of cell migration and invasion was further confirmed. Collectively, this study demonstrated that UCH37 could promote cell migration and invasion in HCC cell lines through interacting and deubiquitinating PRP19, and suggested that UCH37 could be a novel predictor for HCC recurrence after curative resection.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 12/2012; · 4.66 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The effect of nucleos(t)ide analogues therapy in patients with decompensated cirrhosis remains unclear. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of nucleos(t)ide analogues on decompensated cirrhotic patients. METHODS: An online search within PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Central of Register of Controlled Trials and China Biology Medicine disc from 1998-01-01 to 2011-09-05 was conducted. A meta-analysis was performed. Relative risks of mortality rate, Child-Pugh-Turcotte score and hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion of the decompensated patients were studied. RESULTS: Eight studies involving 511 patients were included. Data showed that lamivudine and telbivudine significantly decreased the mortality rate (relative risk 0.36, 95 % confidence interval 0.25-0.54), improved the Child-Pugh-Turcotte scores (mean difference -3.23, 95 % confidence interval -3.98 to -2.48) and promoted HBeAg seroconversion (relative risk 7.48, 95 % confidence interval 2.31-24.20). CONCLUSION: For patients with decompensated cirrhosis, lamivudine and telbivudine significantly decrease the mortality rate and disease severity. Also, they promote their HBeAg seroconversion.
Digestive Diseases and Sciences 09/2012; · 2.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 37 (UCH37), a member of the DUBs, was found to play an important role in oncogenesis through promoting some Proto-oncogenes' expression and stem cell-like characteristics in the cell in previous research. The aim of this study was to assess the value of UCH37 in predicting tumor recurrence after curative resection in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients.
We analyzed UCH37 protein expression in 111 clinicopathologically characterized ESCC cases, from those who underwent curative resection between 2007 and 2008, by immunohistochemistry. The prognostic significance was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and log-rank tests.
We found that UCH37 expression was higher in the cancer tissue than in non-tumorous control tissue at protein level and was overexpressed in tumor tissues of recurrent patients. There was a significant difference of UCH37 expression in patients categorized according to TNM stage (p = 0.038) and lymph nodes metastasis condition (p = 0.009). Univariate analyses revealed that UCH37 was a significant predictor for overall survival and disease-free survival, and multivariate analyses showed that UCH37 was an independent prognostic marker for ESCC recurrence. A prognostic significance of UCH37 was also found in the subgroup of lymph nodes metastasis condition classification. About 90 % of the recurrent patients recurred within 2 years, of which 84.4 % were predicted by UCH37.
UCH37 is associated with outcome and recurrence of ESCC and can be a novel predictor for poor prognosis of ESCC patients after curative resection.
Digestive Diseases and Sciences 05/2012; 57(9):2310-7. · 2.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A new type of drug delivery system (DDS) involved chitosan (CHI) modified single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) for controllable loading/release of anti-cancer doxorubicin (DOX) was constructed. CHI was non-covalently wrapped around SWNTs, imparting water-solubility and biocompatibility to the nanotubes. Folic acid (FA) was also bounded to the outer CHI layer to realize selective killing of tumor cells. The targeting DDS could effectively kill the HCC SMMC-7721 cell lines and depress the growth of liver cancer in nude mice, showing superior pharmaceutical efficiency to free DOX. The results of the blood routine and serum biochemical parameters, combined with the histological examinations of vital organs, demonstrating that the targeting DDS had negligible in vivo toxicity. Thus, this DDS is promising for high treatment efficacy and low side effects for future cancer therapy.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 01/2012; 365(1):143-9. · 3.07 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Carbon nanotubes may be applied in different fields including biomedicine and mechanical engineering. It is important to understand the potential hazards of carbon nanotubes. In the present study, the toxicological effects of the pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (p-MWCNTs) and taurine functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (tau-MWCNTs) were assessed on RAW 264.7 macrophages. We tested cell viability, GSH/GSSG ratio, apoptosis, intracellular calcium concentration, ultrastructural changes of cell morphology, and the release of IL-8. We observed the loss of cell viability, decline in the cellular GSH/GSSG ratio, increase of IL-8, and the increase of intracellular calcium concentration in RAW 264.7 macrophages when exposed to p-MWCNTs at high dosage. Additionally, exposure to p-MWCNTs resulted in ultrastructural and morphological changes in RAW 264.7 macrophages. In contrast, the RAW 264.7 macrophages exposed to the tau-MWCNTs did not exhibit altered morphology. Our results conclude that the tau-MWCNTs show lower toxicity than that of p-MWCNTs.
Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 01/2012; 12(1):274-83. · 1.56 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as promising cancer biomarkers due to their stable presence in serum. As an alternative to PCR-based homogenous assays, surface-based electrochemical biosensors offer great opportunities for low-cost, point-of-care tests (POCTs) of disease-associated miRNAs. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of miRNA sensors is often limited by mass transport and crowding effects at the water-electrode interface. To address such challenges, we herein report a DNA nanostructure-based interfacial engineering approach to enhance binding recognition at the gold electrode surface and drastically improve the detection sensitivity. By employing this novel strategy, we can directly detect as few as attomolar (<1, 000 copies) miRNAs with high single-base discrimination ability. Given that this ultrasensitive electrochemical miRNA sensor (EMRS) is highly reproducible and essentially free of prior target labeling and PCR amplification, we also demonstrate its application by analyzing miRNA expression levels in clinical samples from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients.
Scientific Reports 01/2012; 2:867.
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ABSTRACT: Characterized by immunosuppression regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in maintaining immune tolerance. A growing number of tumours have been found with Tregs accumulating in microenvironment and patients with high density of Tregs in tumour stroma get a worse prognosis, which suggests that Tregs may inhibit anti-tumour immunity in stroma, resulting in a poor prognosis. In this paper, we demonstrate the accumulation of Tregs in tumour stroma and the possible suppressive mechanisms. We also state the immunotherapy that has being used in animal and clinical trials.
Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 09/2011; 16(3):425-36. · 4.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH) is a subfamily of deubiquitinating enzymes, which consists of four members: UCH-L1, UCH-L3, UCH37, and BRCA1-associated protein-1. Although there is growing evidence that UCH enzymes and human malignancies are closely correlated, there have been few studies on UCH37, especially on its interactions with other proteins. In the current study, a functional proteomic analysis was performed to screen UCH37-interacting proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and glucose-regulated protein 78 was identified as one interacting with UCH37, which was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis, suggesting that their interaction could provide a new insight into the mechanism of HCC.
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 07/2011; 359(1-2):59-66. · 2.06 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Proteomic techniques are promising strategies in the surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the serum profiling with magnetic bead (MB) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and to further identify the biomarkers for HCC. Serum samples from 80 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, 94 HCC concomitant with HBV patients and 24 healthy subjects were examined by MALDI-TOF MS after peptide enrichment on MBs. Based on the genetic algorithm, diagnostic models for HCC were established between 30 HCC patients and 24 healthy subjects/30 CHB patients. Validations were done with the remaining cases. Markers in the models were identified through liquid chromatography (LC)/MS-MS. The three groups were well separated from each other and two discrimination models were established for HCC. The overall recognition capability of these two models was 96.25% and 93.33%, respectively. Validations showed the misdiagnosis ratio for HCC was 1.6% and 23.4%, respectively. The identified biomarkers for HCC included prothrombin precursor (fragment), calcium-dependent secretion activator 1, Baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat-containing protein 6, etc. MB-based MALDI-TOF MS is applicable in identifying the serum biomarkers and can be used in the surveillance of HCC among HBV-infected patients.
Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica 06/2011; 43(7):542-50. · 1.38 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Recently, there has been growing support for the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, which states that primary tumors are initiated and maintained by a small subpopulation of cancer cells that possess "stem-like" characteristics. CSCs have been identified in many tumor types, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The dye, Hoechst 33342, has been used to enrich CSCs into a side population. Alternatively, liver CSCs (LCSCs) can be identified by several cell surface antigens, including CD133, CD90, CD44, EpCAM, and CD13. In this review, we summarized the recent evidence regarding LCSC markers and discussed the origin and function of these markers. LCSC markers are essential to identify and isolate these cells, to develop future therapies targeting CSCs, and to predict prognosis and efficacy of these therapies. However, definite LCSC markers are still controversial, because none of these markers is exclusively expressed by LCSCs in HCC. By combining several positive or negative markers, it may be possible to isolate and identify CSC fractions beyond the ability of each individual assay. By grouping LCSC markers according to their cellular origin, the properties of LCSC markers may be better studied and new markers may be found. Lastly, markers could be used to estimate the number of LCSCs and therefore predict outcomes. From our point of view, selecting HCC tissue samples from patients with different prognoses and detecting expression patterns of marker combinations may be a new method to identify new and unique markers.
Stem cells and development 06/2011; 20(12):2023-30. · 4.15 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A recent study showed that sarcosine may be potentially useful for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this study was to validate diagnostic value of sarcosine for PCa, to evaluate urine metabolomic profiles in patients with PCa in comparison of non-cancerous control, and to further explore the other potential metabolic biomarkers for PCa. Isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (ID GC/MS) metabolomic approach was applied to evaluate sarcosine using [methyl-D(3)]-sarcosine as an internal standard. Microwave-assisted derivatization (MAD) together with GC/MS was utilized to obtain the urinary metabolomic information in 20 PCa patients compared with eight patients with benign prostate hypertrophy and 20 healthy men. Acquired metabolomic data were analyzed using a two-sample t test. Diagnostic models for PCa were constructed using principal component analysis and were assessed with receiver-operating characteristic curves. Results showed that the urinary sarcosine level has no statistical difference between the PCa group and the control group. In addition, nine metabolomic markers between the PCa group and the healthy male group were selected, which constructed a diagnostic model with a high area under the curve value of 0.9425. We conclude that although urinary sarcosine value has limited potential in the diagnostic algorithm of PCa, urinary metabolomic panel based on GC/MS assay following MAD may potentially become a diagnostic tool for PCa.
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 05/2011; 401(2):635-46. · 3.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In this paper, folate conjugated poly(ε-caprolactone-co-4-maleate-ε-caprolactone) (P(CL-co-MCL)-folate) was prepared by a carbodiimide coupling reaction, i.e., the vitamin folic acid (FA) was covalently linked to the main chain of the maleate-functionalized polymer, poly(ε-caprolactone-co-4-maleate-ε-caprolactone) (P(CL-co-MCL)). Then the 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded nanoparticles of P(CL-co-MCL)-folate were achieved by solvent-evaporation method. Their properties were extensively studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scan electron microscopy (SEM). DLS and SEM showed that the nanoparticles were in a well-defined spherical shape with a uniform size distribution. We also investigated the entrapment and in vitro release behavior, which indicated that the release speed of 5-FU could be well controlled and the release half-life period could reach 16.86h, which was 26.4 times longer than that of pure 5-FU. The in vitro targeting test displayed that the 5-FU loaded P(CL-co-MCL)-folate nanoparticles exhibited an enhanced cell inhibition because folate targeting increased the concentration of 5-FU loaded P(CL-co-MCL)-folate nanoparticles in the tumor cells with folate receptor overexpressed. Meanwhile, the tumor inhibition of 5-FU loaded P(CL-co-MCL)-folate nanoparticles was much higher than that of pure 5-FU and that of 5-FU loaded P(CL-co-MCL) nanoparticles. Therefore, P(CL-co-MCL)-folate nanoparticles would be highly beneficial for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 02/2011; 354(1):202-9. · 3.07 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent tumors worldwide with an increasing incidence. The exploration of biomarkers for HCC is one of the main aims for improving the efficacy of diagnosis and treatment. The microarray technology provides a high-throughput platform for parallel exploration of biomarkers for clinics. In this study, we used antibody microarrays to screen the novel cytokine biomarkers of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. Cytokine-secreting patterns in sera were determined from 109 cases including 43 HBV-related HCC patients, 33 chronic hepatitis B patients, and 33 normal controls by RayBio Biotin label-based human antibody array. The correlation analysis was performed with conventional clinical diagnostic biomarkers, including serum alanine aminotransferase, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and hepatitis B surface antigen. Our results showed that in HBV-related HCC group, which had the highest percentage of AFP positive (>20 ng/ml) ratio, six cytokines were found differentially expressed in HCC patients (P < 0.05), compared with either normal controls or chronic hepatitis B group. Two macrophage-related cytokines, macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) and macrophage-stimulating protein α (MSPα), displayed significant difference in the HCC group. Furthermore, an HCC diagnostic model for prediction was constructed, by which the combination of MDC and MSPα together with AFP had improved the diagnostic sensitivity from 60% (AFP alone) to 73.2% with similar specificity. Our results suggested that MDC and MSPα screened by antibody microarrays might serve as novel cytokines biomarkers for potential auxiliary diagnosis of HBV-related HCC.
Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica 01/2011; 43(1):45-51. · 1.38 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We herein report the design of a dumbbell-shaped DNA probe that integrates target-binding, amplification and signaling within one multifunctional design. The dumbbell probe can initiate rolling circle amplification (D-RCA) in the presence of specific microRNA (miRNA) targets. This D-RCA-based miRNA strategy allows quantification of miRNA with very low quantity of RNA samples. The femtomolar sensitivity of D-RCA compares favorably with other existing technologies. More significantly, the dynamic range of D-RCA is extremely large, covering eight orders of magnitude. We also demonstrate miRNA quantification with this highly sensitive and inexpensive D-RCA strategy in clinical samples.
Nucleic Acids Research 08/2010; 38(15):e156. · 8.03 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The toxicity of polyethylene-glycol functionalized (PEGylated) multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and non-PEGylated MWCNTs in vivo was evaluated and compared. Mice were exposed to MWCNTs by intravenous injection. The activity level of glutathione, superoxide dismutase and gene expression in liver, as well as some biochemical parameters and the tumor necrosis factor alpha level in blood were measured over 2 months. The pathological and electron micrographic observations of liver evidently indicate that the damage caused by non-PEGylated MWCNTs is slightly more severe than that of PEGylated MWCNTs, which means that PEGylation can partly, but not substantially, improve the in vivo biocompatibility of MWCNTs.
Nanotechnology 04/2010; 21(17):175101. · 3.98 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gastric cancer screening or diagnosis is mainly based on endoscopy and biopsy. The aim of this study was to identify the difference of metabolomic profile between normal and malignant gastric tissue, and to further explore tumor biomarkers. Chemical derivatization together with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was utilized to obtain the metabolomic information of the malignant and non-malignant tissues of gastric mucosae in 18 gastric cancer patients. Acquired metabolomic data was analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test to find the tissue metabolic biomarkers for gastric cancer. A diagnostic model for gastric cancer was constructed using principal component analysis (PCA), and was assessed with receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results showed that 18 metabolites were detected differently between the malignant tissues and the adjacent non-malignant tissues of gastric mucosa. Five metabolites were also detected differently between the non-invasive tumors and the invasive tumors. The diagnostic model could discriminate tumors from normal mucosae with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.9629, and another diagnostic model constructed for clinical staging was assessed with an AUC value of 0.969. We conclude that the metabolomic profile of malignant gastric tissue was different from normal, and that the selected tissue metabolites could probably be applied for clinical diagnosis or staging for gastric cancer.
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 12/2009; 396(4):1385-95. · 3.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The hepatotoxicity of two types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), acid-oxidized MWCNTs (O-MWCNTs) and Tween-80-dispersed MWCNTs (T-MWCNTs), were investigated with Kunming mice exposed to 10 and 60 mg kg(-1) by intravenous injection for 15 and 60 d. Compared with the PBS group, the body-weight gain of the mice decreased and the level of total bilirubin and aspartate aminotransferase increased in the MWCNT-exposed group with a significant dose-effect relationship, while tumor necrosis factor alpha level did not show significant statistical change within 60 d. Spotty necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration in portal region, hepatocyte mitochondria swelling and lysis were observed with a significant dose-effect relationship in the MWCNT groups. Liver damage of the T-MWCNT group was more severe than that of the O-MWCNT group according to the Roenigk classification system. Furthermore, T-MWCNTs induce slight liver oxidative damage in mice at 15 d, which was recovered at 60 d. Part of the gene expressions of mouse liver in the MWCNT groups changed compared to the PBS group, including GPCRs (G protein-coupled receptors), cholesterol biosynthesis, metabolism by cytochrome P450, natural-killer-cell-mediated cytotoxicity, TNF- alpha, NF-kappaB signaling pathway, etc. In the P450 pathway, the gene expressions of Gsta2 (down-regulated), Cyp2B19 (up-regulated) and Cyp2C50 (down-regulated) had significant changes in the MWCNT groups. These results show that a high dose of T-MWCNTs can induce hepatic toxicity in mice while O-MWCNTs seem to have less toxicity.
Nanotechnology 11/2009; 20(44):445101. · 3.98 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: With the technique of metabolomics, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), urine or serum metabolites can be assayed to explore disease biomarkers. In this work, we present a metabolomic method to investigate the urinary metabolic difference between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, n - 20) male patients and normal male subjects (n - 20). The urinary endogenous metabolome was assayed using chemical derivatization followed by GC/MS. After GC/MS analysis, 103 metabolites were detected, of which 66 were annotated as known compounds. By a two sample t-test statistics with p < 0.05, 18 metabolites were shown to be significantly different between the HCC and control groups. A diagnostic model was constructed with a combination of 18 marker metabolites or together with alphafetoprotein, using principal component analysis and receiver-operator characteristic curves. The multivariate statistics of the diagnostic model yielded a separation between the two groups with an area under the curve value of 0.9275. This non-invasive technique of identifying HCC biomarkers from urine may have clinical utility.
Analytica chimica acta 09/2009; 648(1):98-104. · 4.31 Impact Factor