Article
Oncology
Chang-Long Chen, Hua-Qian Mo, Yan-Hui Jiang, Xiao-Hui Zhao, Shuang Ma, Kai-Yun You, Yue Pan, Yi-Min Liu
Summary: BRD7 exerts anti-tumor effects in HCC by transcriptionally activating the p53 pathway. Changes in BRD7 and p53 expression can affect tumor cell functions and growth. Additionally, BRD7 may positively regulate activation of the p53 pathway.
Article
Oncology
Xuxiao Chen, Ao Huang, Yupeng Wang, Feiyu Chen, Bo Hu, Xin Zhang, Yunfan Sun, Jian Wang, Jianwen Cheng, Pengxiang Wang, Yuan Ji, Shuangjian Qiu, Jia Fan, Jian Zhou, Xinrong Yang
Summary: BAP1 and its mutations have been shown to play critical roles in tumor biology, particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study found that mutations and downregulation of BAP1 were associated with aggressive tumor phenotypes in HCC, while wild-type BAP1 inhibited HCC cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by stabilizing PTEN through deubiquitination. These findings suggest that BAP1 acts as a tumor suppressor in HCC by regulating PTEN and EMT.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Huaping Chen, Siyuan Chen, Chen Chen, Aifeng Li, Zhixiao Wei
Summary: The study revealed that LDOC1 is downregulated in HCC and is negatively correlated with tumor grade progression. The upregulation of LDOC1 inhibits proliferation, clone formation, migration, and promotes apoptosis in HCC, possibly through the inhibition of the AKT/mTOR pathway.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Rui Peng, Jun Cao, Bing-Bing Su, Xue-song Bai, Xin Jin, Ao-qing Wang, Qian Wang, Ren-jie Liu, Guo-qing Jiang, Sheng-jie Jin, Chi Zhang, Dou-sheng Bai
Summary: In this study, we discovered that circPTTG1IP, a circular RNA, acts as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Low expression of circPTTG1IP is associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Mechanistically, circPTTG1IP functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of RNF125 by binding miR-16-5p, thereby increasing the level of E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF125 and promoting the degradation of JAK1 protein. Filgotinib, a JAK1 inhibitor, can restrict HCC progression induced by low circPTTG1IP expression.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nanni Hua, Anxian Chen, Chen Yang, Hui Dong, Xianglei He, Guoqing Ru, Xiangmin Tong, Feifei Zhou, Shibing Wang
Summary: The expression level of FGL1 is correlated with the progression and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), suggesting its potential as a tumor suppressor and prognostic biomarker.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Suliman Khan, De-Yu Zhang, Ji-Yu Zhang, Mian Khizar Hayat, Jingli Ren, Safyan Nasir, Muhammad Fawad, Qian Bai
Summary: The expression and function of miRNAs play a crucial role in the development of HCC, affecting the biological behavior and clinical pathological features of liver cancer. Despite the unclear regulatory mechanisms, the potential of miRNA-based therapy for HCC warrants further exploration.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Hong-Lin He, Hong-Yue Lai, Ti-Chun Chan, Chung-Hsi Hsing, Steven K. Huang, Kun-Lin Hsieh, Tzu-Ju Chen, Wan-Shan Li, Yu-Hsuan Kuo, Yow-Ling Shiue, Chien-Feng Li
Summary: Zinc finger and SCAN domain containing 4 (ZSCAN4) is downregulated in muscle-invasive bladder cancer and its low expression is significantly correlated with tumor progression, metastasis, and vascular invasion in both upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) and urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UBUC). Furthermore, low expression of ZSCAN4 serves as an independent negative prognostic factor for both diseases. Gene ontology analysis reveals that ZSCAN4 and its co-downregulated genes are associated with the mitotic cell cycle.
WORLD JOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Zaoqu Liu, Long Liu, ChunGuang Guo, Sun Yu, Lingfang Meng, Xueliang Zhou, Xinwei Han
Summary: The study found that HCC patients with TSG non-mutated tumors are more likely to respond positively to immune checkpoint inhibitors, showing higher levels of immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint expression, leading to longer overall survival. Therefore, TSG subtypes may serve as promising biomarkers for guiding surveillance protocols and immunotherapeutic decisions in patients with HCC.
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Shixin Xiang, Jing Li, Jing Shen, Yueshui Zhao, Xu Wu, Mingxing Li, Xiao Yang, Parham Jabbarzadeh Kaboli, Fukuan Du, Yuan Zheng, Qinglian Wen, Chi Hin Cho, Tao Yi, Zhangang Xiao
Summary: This study identified three key genes related to the TME and had prognostic significance in HCC, which may be promising markers for predicting immunotherapy outcomes. The higher immune/stromal/Estimate scores were significantly associated with better survival benefits in HCC, while the tumor purity showed a reverse trend. DEGs based on both immune and stromal scores primarily affected the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathway, with CASKIN1, EMR3, and GBP5 genes found most significantly associated with survival.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Romain Donne, Amaia Lujambio
Summary: The liver is a common site for primary cancer and a major cause of cancer death. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for the majority of liver cancers. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors have shown promise in the treatment of HCC, but further understanding of the tumor microenvironment and the development of additional biomarkers are needed. Other immune-targeting strategies are also being developed. This review provides an overview of the HCC immune microenvironment and current immunotherapies.
Article
Oncology
Ping Tao, Liang Hong, Wenqing Tang, Qun Lu, Yanrong Zhao, Si Zhang, Lijie Ma, Ruyi Xue
Summary: This study comprehensively investigated immune patterns in HCC patients and correlated them with genomic characteristics and clinical outcomes. Patients were categorized into four immune subgroups with distinct clinical outcomes, revealing significant inter-tumoral and intra-tumoral immune heterogeneity based on in-depth interrogation of the immune landscape. This work may serve as a useful resource for establishing the immunoscore for prognostic prediction in HCC patients.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Guangzhen Cai, Jinghan Zhu, Deng Ning, Ganxun Li, Yuxin Zhang, Yixiao Xiong, Junnan Liang, Chengpeng Yu, Xiaoping Chen, Huifang Liang, Zeyang Ding
Summary: The role of hypoxia in hepatocellular carcinoma and its impact on the tumor microenvironment and drug sensitivity are not well understood. This study found that the Hypoxia_DEGs_Score model has excellent predictive value for survival. Hypoxia is closely related to somatic mutation, copy number variation, and DNA methylation, which affect tumor development, metastasis, and drug resistance. Aggravated hypoxic stress leads to immune exclusion phenotype and increased infiltration of immunosuppressive cells. Patients with high Hypoxia_DEGs_Score have worse immunotherapeutic outcomes and prognosis, and may benefit from drugs targeting cell cycle signaling pathways rather than those inhibiting the PI3K/mTOR pathway. Hypoxia_DEGs_Score can predict changes in the tumor microenvironment, the efficacy of immunotherapy, and drug response.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zanzhi Wang, Pengwei Shi, Peng Huang, Chun Xu, Yaoquan He, Wenxiong Lei
Summary: This study classified hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients into two subtypes based on secretory pathway genes and identified a potential therapeutic target. It found that the prognosis, tumor microenvironment, and response to immunotherapy differed between the two subtypes. A risk model consisting of seven secretory pathway genes showed significant associations with prognosis, tumor mutation burden, immunotherapy response, and sensitivity to tumor suppressor drugs.
JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Fengwei Gao, Kunlin Xie, Qiwen Xiang, Yan Qin, Panyu Chen, Haifeng Wan, Yang Deng, Jiwei Huang, Hong Wu
Summary: This study found a dose-response relationship between TILs concentration in tumors and overall survival as well as disease-free survival in HCC patients, validating the prognostic value of TILs. Additionally, hepatitis B or C virus infection patients had higher TILs intensity in the para-tumor tissue.
Article
Immunology
Lin Ding, Qian Yu, Shuo Yang, Wen-Jing Yang, Te Liu, Jing-Rong Xian, Tong-Tong Tian, Tong Li, Wei Chen, Bei-Li Wang, Bai-Shen Pan, Jian Zhou, Jia Fan, Xin-Rong Yang, Wei Guo
Summary: This study suggests that HHLA2 is an independent prognostic biomarker for HCC patients, and it can activate the cell cycle and foster an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment by enriching exhausted CD8+ T cells. Additionally, low expression of HHLA2 may be associated with promoter hypermethylation.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)