QI XIA¹, XING CHEN², QINGHUA MA³, XIANXIU WEN^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.2, pp. 217-228, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027414

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Immune features play an important role in improving the prognosis prediction of BC. However, while previous immune signatures consisted mainly of immune genes, immune cell-based signatures have been rarely reported. Methods: In this study, we report that a novel immune cell signature is effective in improving prognostic prediction by combining M2 macrophages. We identified 17 differentially infiltrating immune cells between cancer and normal groups. Prognostic features of the four immune cells identified by LASSO COX analysis showed good performance for survival risk… More >

QINGPAN BU, PING LI, YUNFEI XIA, XINPEI WEI, KAI SONG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2535-2546, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030781

Abstract Mannose, a different isomer of the hydroxyl group at the C-2 position of glucose, shares the same transport carrier protein with glucose to enter cells and participate in the regulation of glucose metabolism. It affects cell growth, differentiation, and function and plays an active role in tumor immunity and inflammatory processes. This paper provides theoretical support for expanding the clinical applications of mannose by exploring its constitution, metabolic pathways, and role in regulating immune cell function and treating immunology-related diseases. More > Graphic Abstract

JING GUO¹, CHANGYONG TONG¹, JIANGUANG SHI¹, XINJIAN LI¹, XUEQIN CHEN^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 199-212, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030969

Abstract Oxidative stress (OS) is intimately associated with tumorigenesis and has been considered a potential therapeutic strategy. However, the OS-associated therapeutic target for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unconfirmed. In our study, gene expression data of ESCC and clinical information from public databases were downloaded. Through LASSO-Cox regression analysis, a risk score (RS) signature map of prognosis was constructed and performed external verification with the GSE53625 cohort. The ESTIMATE, xCell, CIBERSORT, TIMER, and ImmuCellAI algorithms were employed to analyze infiltrating immune cells and generate an immune microenvironment (IM). Afterward, functional enrichment analysis clarified the underlying mechanism of the model. Nomogram… More >

BOWEN PENG¹, YUN GE¹, GANG YIN^2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.7, pp. 1519-1535, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027026

Abstract Background: Tanshinone IIA, one of the main ingredients of Danshen, is used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, potential targets of the molecule in the therapy of HCC are unknown. Methods: In this study, we collected the tanshinone IIA targets from public databases for investigation. We screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across HCC and normal tissues using mRNA expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Univariate Cox regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression models were used to identify and construct the prognostic gene signature. Results: Finally, we discovered common genes across tanshinone IIA… More >

QIOU GU, TIAN ZHAN, XIAO GUAN, CHUILIN LAI, NA LU, GUOGUANG WANG, LEI XU, XIANG GAO, JIANPING ZHANG^*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 287-297, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028124

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignancy with the worst prognosis that seriously threatens human health, especially in East Asia. Apolipoprotein C1 (apoc1) belongs to the apolipoprotein family. In addition, apoc1 has been associated with various tumors. However, its role in GC remains unclear. Methods: Firstly, we quantified its expression in GC and adjacent tumor tissues, using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Next, we assessed cell invasion and migration abilities. Finally, we revealed the role of apoc1 in the tumor microenvironment (TME), immune cell infiltration and drug sensitivity. Results: Firstly, in TCGA database, it has been shown that elevated expression… More >

SHA LI^1,2,#, YAQIONG LIU^3,#, CHAOLING YAO¹, ANJI XU¹, XIAOLING ZENG⁴, YUXIN GE⁴, XIAOWU SHENG⁴, HAILIN ZHANG^1,2, XIAO ZHOU^1,2,*, YING LONG^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 1003-1019, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027209

Abstract Background: Nuclear receptor binding SET domain protein-3 (NSD3) is a histone lysine methyltransferase and a crucial regulator of carcinogenesis in several cancers. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value and potential function of NSD3 in 33 types of human cancer. Methods: The data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Kaplan-Meier analysis, CIBERSORT, gene set enrichment analysis, and gene set variation analysis were performed. The expression of NSD3 was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Results: The expression of NSD3 was altered in pan-cancer samples. Patients with higher levels of NDS3 generally had shorter overall survival… More >

ZHANSHU LIU¹, XI HUANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.3, pp. 593-605, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024148

Abstract Purpose: Iron metabolism maintains the balance between iron absorption and excretion. Abnormal iron metabolism can cause numerous diseases, including tumor. This study determined the iron metabolism-related genes (IMRGs) signature that can predict the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The roles of these genes in the immune microenvironment were also explored. Methods: A total of 514 IMRGs were downloaded from the Molecular Characteristics Database (MSigDB). IMRGs related to AML prognosis were identified using Cox regression and LASSO analyses and were used to construct the risk score model. AML patients were stratified into high-risk groups (cluster 1) and low-risk groups (cluster… More >

WENLI ZENG¹, FENG LING², KAINUO DANG³, QINGJIA CHI^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.3, pp. 581-592, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025957

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with poor prognosis and fluctuations in immune status. Although studies have found that secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) is involved in HCC progression, its independent prognostic value and immune-mediated role remain unclear. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus data, we found that low expression of SPP1 is significantly associated with improved survival of HCC patients and that SPP1 expression is correlated with clinical characteristics. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression confirmed that SPP1 is an independent prognostic factor of HCC. Subsequently, we found that T cell CD4 memory-activated monocytes, M0 macrophages, and resting mast… More >

MOTAWA E. EL-HOUSEINI¹, MOSTAFA S. ARAFAT², AHMED M. EL-HUSSEINY³, ISLAM M. KASEM², MAHMOUD M. KAMEL⁴, AHMED H. EL-HABASHY⁵, MEDHAT M. KHAFAGY⁶, ENAS M. RADWAN⁴, MAHA H. HELAL⁷, MONA S. ABDELLATEIF^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.29, No.5, pp. 319-329, 2021, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.025249

Abstract Immunotherapy becomes a promising line of treatment for breast cancer (BC) however, its success rate is still limited. Methods: The study was designed to optimize the condition for producing an effective dendritic cell (DCs) based immunotherapy by using DCs and T lymphocytes together with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-infiltrating DCs (TIDCs), treated with anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibodies. This mixture of immune cells was co-cultured with autologous breast cancer cells (BCCs) isolated from 26 BC females. Results: There was a significant upregulation of CD86 and CD83 on DCs (P = 0.001 and 0.017, respectively), similarly upregulation of CD8, CD4 and… More >

LIPING GONG¹, MING JIA^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 109-123, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024620

Abstract ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 8 (ABCC8) encodes a protein regulating the ATP-sensitive potassium channel. Whether the level of ABCC8 mRNA in lower grade glioma (LGG) correlates with immune cell infiltration and patient outcomes has not been evaluated until now. Comparisons of ABCC8 expression between different tumors and normal tissues were evaluated by exploring publicly available datasets. The association between ABCC8 and tumor immune cell infiltration, diverse gene mutation characteristics, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and survival in LGG was also investigated in several independent datasets. Pathway enrichment analysis was conducted to search for ABCC8-associated signaling pathways. Through an online… More >