Qiaodong Xu¹, Songgang Gu¹, Jiahong Liang, Zhihua Lin, Shaodong Zheng, Jiang Yan

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.4, pp. 509-514, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15278771272963

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major malignant tumors that lead to death. Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is an important risk factor for HCC initiation. HBx protein, encoded by the HBV X gene, is a significant factor that promotes HBV-related HCC, although the exact molecular mechanism remains unclear. This article summarizes the pathological roles and related mechanisms of HBx in HCC. HBx plays a carcinogenic role by promoting cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis and inhibiting apoptosis in HCC. A detailed study of the biological functions of HBx will help to elucidate the mechanism of hepatocarcinogenesis and lead to… More >

Guoyun Li, Wei Zhang, Li Gong, Xiaoping Huang

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.4, pp. 449-458, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504017X15016337254623

Abstract MicroRNAs, a class of endogenous noncoding RNAs, regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level and thus take part in multiple biological processes. An increasing number of miRNAs have been found to be dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and are involved in liver tumorigenesis. In this study, miR- 125a-5p was found to be obviously downregulated much more in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. To investigate the effects of miR-125a-5p, miR-125a-5p was overexpressed in HepG2.2.15 and HepG3X cells. The findings have indicated that overexpression of miR-125a-5p dramatically inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-125a-5p could significantly decrease the… More >

Jihong Sun^*†1, Jingjing Li^†1, Zhixian Guo^†, Lu Sun^†‡, Chenghui Juan^§, Yubing Zhou^¶, Hongli Gu^†, Yan Yu^†, Qiuyue Hu^†, Quancheng’ Kan^¶, Zujiang Yu^†

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.4, pp. 407-417, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15180451872087

Abstract Most cancers rely disproportionately on glycolysis for energy even in the presence of an adequate oxygen supply, a condition known as “aerobic glycolysis,” or the “Warburg effect.” Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit (PDHA1) is one of the main factors for the metabolic switch from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to aerobic glycolysis and has been suggested to be closely associated with tumorigenesis. Here we observed that the PDHA1 protein was reduced in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens by immunohistochemistry and Western blot, which was significantly associated with poor overall survival. To further analyze the function of PDHA1 in cancer cells, PDHA1 was upregulated in… More >

Junhui Sun^*1, Guanhui Zhou^*1, Xiaoxi Xie^†, Wenjiang Gu^‡, Jing Huang^§, Dedong Zhu^¶, Wenhao Hu^#, Qinming Hou^**, Changsheng Shi^††, Tiefeng Li^‡‡ , Xin Zhang^§§, Wenbin Ji^¶¶, Shihong Ying^§§, Zhiyi Peng^§§, Jian Zhou^##, Zhihai Yu^***, Jiansong Ji^†††, Haijun Du^‡‡‡, Xiaohua Guo^§§§, Jian Fang^¶¶¶, Jun Han^###, Huanhai Xu^****, Zhichao Sun^††††, Wenqiang Yu^‡‡‡‡, Guoliang Shao^§§§§, Xia Wu^¶¶¶¶ ,Hongjie Hu^¶¶¶¶ , Ling Li^#, Jiaping Zheng^§§§§, Jun Luo^§§§§, Yutang Chen^§§§§, Guohong Cao^####, Tingyang Hu^‡‡‡‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.1, pp. 75-94, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504019X15662966719585

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) treatment in Chinese hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and the prognostic factors for treatment response as well as survival. A total of 275 HCC patients were included in this prospective study. Treatment response was assessed by modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST), and progression-free survival (PFS) as well as overall survival (OS) were determined. Liver function and adverse events (AEs) were assessed before and after DEB-TACE operation. Complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and objective response rate (ORR) were 22.9%, 60.7%,… More >

Minhua Wu^*1, Xubin Deng^†1, Yu Zhong^‡1, Li Hu^*, Xiujuan Zhang^§, Yanqin Liang^*, Xiaofang Li^¶, Xiaoxia Ye^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.3, pp. 299-309, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15796890809840

Abstract MafF is a member of the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor Maf family and is commonly downregulated in multiple cancers. But the expression and function of MafF in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between endogenous MafF expression and HCC progression and explored the regulatory mechanism of MafF expression in HCC. We found that MafF decreased in HCC tissues and cells. Lentivirus-mediated MafF overexpression inhibited HCC cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase assay identified MafF as a direct target of miR-224-5p. RNA pull-down assay demonstrated that circular RNA circ-ITCH… More >

Ming Jia^*1, Yulin Xiong^†1, Maoshi Li^*, Qing Mao^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 371-383, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15853075736554

Abstract Chemotherapy is critical for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite the proapoptotic effects of corosolic acid (CA) treatment, its underlying mechanism is not completely clear. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular mechanism of CA in HCC treatment. MTT assay was used to determine the IC50 of CA. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence were used to detect the interaction and subcellular localization of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and mouse double minute 2 (MDM2). In addition, in vivo xenotransplantation was performed to assess the effects of CA, YAP, and MDM2 on tumorigenesis. The IC50 of CA was about 40 µM… More >

Kairui Liu^*, Xiaolin Wu^*, Xian Zang^†, Zejian Huang^*, Zeyu Lin^‡, Wenliang Tan^*, Xiang Wu^*, Wenrou Hu^*, Baoqi Li^*, Lei Zhang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 559-560, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X16032056440102

Abstract Overexpression of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) has been detected in many cancer types and is considered to foster tumor progression. However, the role of TRAF4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive. In this study, we found that TRAF4 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines and HCC tissues compared with normal liver cell lines and adjacent noncancerous tissues. TRAF4 overexpression in HCC tissues was correlated with tumor quantity and vascular invasion. In vitro studies showed that TRAF4 was associated with HCC cell migration and invasion. An in vivo study verified that TRAF4 overexpression facilitated metastasis in… More >

Junfeng Lu^*, Zhongsong Zhao^†, Yanhong Ma^‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 509-518, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15954139263808

Abstract The present study aimed to investigate the effect of miR-186 on proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this work, miR-186 was downregulated in HCC tissues and cells, and low miR-186 level helped predict the occurrence of vascular invasion and poor prognosis in patients with HCC. miR-186 overexpression inhibited cell proliferation and tumor growth in nude mice, repressed migration and invasion abilities, and enhanced apoptosis in HCC cells. miR-186 also retarded progression of EMT. miR-186 directly bound to the 3 -untranslated regions of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) to inhibit its expression. Overexpression of CDK6 markedly… More >

YAO XU^1,#, BIN WU^2,#, JING YANG³, SHENG ZHANG², LONGGEN LIU⁴, SUOBAO XU^2,*, JIAKAI JIANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.6, pp. 1483-1491, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017745

Abstract To study the roles and association of murine double minute gene 2 (MDM2) and fructose-1,6-biphosphatase (FBP1) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), growth response of human HCC cells was assessed using proliferation and apoptosis assay. Pro-survival AKT signaling associated proteins (p-AKT, survivin and cleaved caspase 3) were assessed using western blotting. The correlation between MDM2 and FBP1 was assessed using co-immunoprecipitation combined with ubiquitination assay. Our data suggested that low expression of FBP1 was correlated with high levels of MDM2 in HCC cell lines (Huh7 and Hep3B). Overexpression of FBP1 resulted in anti-proliferation, pro-apoptosis, the up-regulation of cleaved caspase 3 while… More >

Xingyu Zhu^1,2,#, Yongjun Wang^3,#, Shuang Chang^4,#, Yue Su², Cuixia He¹, Shuang Hu⁵, Minhui Zhu¹, Yuzhou Ding², Nuannuan Ren², Qizhi Wang², Jing Xie^1,*, Huan Zhou^1,2,*

Oncologie, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 569-588, 2021, DOI:10.32604/oncologie.2021.018869

Abstract Sirtuins (SIRTs), members of the enzyme family found in yeast cells, are related to silent information regulator (SIR) 2 homologous to its gene family. SIRTs play an important role in many physiological functions from overexpression of gene silencing at the molecular level to the expression of related proteins and RNA to apoptosis. Studies have indicated that SIRTs may be related to the occurrence, development, and metastasis of cancer. However, the current mechanism of action of SIRTs in various diseases and the principle of molecular biology are not fully understood. Therefore, the present article discusses the main regulatory role and function… More >