Huiping Qiu¹, Shaofang Huang^2,*, Xin Xiong¹, Li Zhang¹

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.12, pp. 2415-2432, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.070402 - 24 December 2025

Abstract Background: Pulmonary fibrosis is an irreversible lung disorder that currently has a limited number of effective therapeutic strategies. Taraxasterol (TAR), a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, its precise role in pulmonary fibrosis remains incompletely defined. This study aimed to elucidate whether TAR alleviates pulmonary fibrosis by modulating Protein Phosphatase 2 Scaffold Subunit Abeta (PPP2R1B) expression. Methods: A bleomycin-induced murine model of pulmonary fibrosis and a transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) stimulated mouse lung fibroblast cell line (MLg) were established. To evaluate the effects of… More >

Wenjing Liao^1,#, Liaodi Wang^2,#, Zhen Huang¹, Ziyu Zou¹, Yimin Liu¹, Haoyue Liu¹, Zhaoning Duan¹, Liangdan Tang^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.10, pp. 3041-3064, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.065451 - 26 September 2025

Abstract Objectives: Ovarian cancer (OC) is a highly heterogeneous disease characterized by high metastatic potential and frequent recurrence. 3β-hydroxysterol Δ24-reductase (DHCR24) is closely associated with the progression of various malignant tumors, but its role in OC remains unexplored. This study is the first to systematically investigate the function of DHCR24 in OC and elucidate its mechanism in promoting OC progression, providing novel theoretical insights for targeted therapy. Methods: The expression of DHCR24 was evaluated in tissues using bioinformatics and clinical data; the impact of DHCR24 on the malignant behavior of OC was assessed through in vivo and in… More >

Giuseppe Carota¹, Lucia Di Pietro^2,3, Vincenzo Cardaci⁴, Anna Privitera^1,2, Francesco Bellia¹, Valentina Di Pietro⁵, Giuseppe Lazzarino¹, Barbara Tavazzi⁶, Angela Maria Amorini¹, Giacomo Lazzarino⁶, Giuseppe Caruso^6,7,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.4, pp. 563-578, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.062176 - 30 April 2025

Abstract Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a naturally occurring endogenous peptide widely distributed in excitable tissues, such as the heart and brain. Over the years, several beneficial effects of carnosine have been discussed well in scientific literature. In particular, this dipeptide is well-known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aggregation activities. It is of great interest in the context of numerous systemic and neurodegenerative diseases, besides performing important “side activities” such as metal chelation and pH-buffering. Despite a plethora of preclinical and clinical data supporting carnosine’s therapeutic potential, researchers are still searching for new pharmacological targets that better highlight More >

DONG JIANG¹, ZHI QI³, ZHIYING XU^2,*, YIRAN LI^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.3, pp. 709-722, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.050125 - 28 February 2025

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent liver malignancy. This study examined the roles of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and cytochrome b5 domain containing 2 (CYB5D2) in HCC etiology and their prognostic biomarker potential. Methods: Key modules and prognostic genes were identified by analyzing the GSE101685 dataset by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression. The expression levels of CYB5D2 and TGF-β in HCC cell lines were quantified using Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting (WB) assays. Effects of CYB5D2 overexpression on cell proliferation,… More >

Zhenlu Li^#, Chao Yue^#, Shengzhong Hou, Xing Huang, Zihe Wang, Weiming Hu, Huimin Lu^*

European Cytokine Network, Vol.35, No.3, pp. 28-37, 2024, DOI:10.1684/ ecn.2024.0495 - 05 January 2026

Abstract Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths, associated with a high risk of metastasis and mortality. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is highly expressed in multiple types of tumour tissues and may be associated with the growth of PC cells. In this study, we aimed to assess the role and possible mechanisms of MALAT1 in PC progression. Methods: Expression of MALAT1 was studied by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in PC tissues. The dual-luciferase assay was performed to validate binding between MALAT1 and miR-141-5p… More >

TIANYUN HAN^#, ZHONG LI^#, LUONING ZHANG, LINSHEN XIE^*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.11, pp. 1625-1638, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.055029 - 07 November 2024

Abstract Objective: The study aimed to explore the protective mechanism of Ganoderic acid A (GAA) in renal fibrosis and to verify that GAA can ameliorate renal fibrosis by regulating the Niemann-pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) gene. Methods: Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) was used to treat Human Kidney-2 (HK-2) cells to establish a renal fibrosis model. The differentially expressed genes in the control (CTRL) group, TGF-β1 group, and TGF-β1 + GAA group were screened via transcriptome sequencing technology and verified by qPCR and Western blot experiments. The NPC1L1 gene overexpression plasmid was constructed. The expression levels of N-cad, E-cad,… More >

JINXIA CHEN^1,2,3,#, SULI DAI^1,2,#, GENG ZHANG^4,5, SISI WEI^1,2, XUETAO ZHAO³, YANG ZHENG^1,2, YAOJIE WANG^1,2, XIAOHAN WANG^1,2, YUNJIANG LIU^4,5,*, LIANMEI ZHAO^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.11, pp. 1791-1802, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.049348 - 16 October 2024

Abstract Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous, recurring cancer characterized by a high rate of metastasis, poor prognosis, and lack of efficient therapies. KBU2046, a small molecule inhibitor, can inhibit cell motility in malignant tumors, including breast cancer. However, the specific targets and the corresponding mechanism of its function remain unclear. Methods: In this study, we employed (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H tetrazolium) (MTS) assay and transwell assay to investigate the impact of KBU2046 on the proliferation and migration of TNBC cells in vitro. RNA-Seq was used to explore the targets of KBU2046 that inhibit the motility of TNBC.… More > Graphic Abstract

XUHUI ZHAO^1,2, XIAOMIN HUANG¹, CHUNYAN DANG², XIA WANG¹, YUJIAO QI³, HONGLING LI^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.5, pp. 999-1009, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.046679 - 23 April 2024

Abstract Background: EBV-miR-BARTs exhibit significant relevance in epithelial tumors, particularly in EBV-associated gastric and nasopharyngeal cancers. However, their specific mechanisms in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer remain insufficiently explored. Material and Methods: Initially, EBV-miRNA-BART6-5p and its target gene SMAD4 expression were assessed in EBV-associated gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. Subsequent transfection induced overexpression of EBV-miRNA-BART6-5p in AGS and MKN-45, and downregulation in EBV-positive cells (SUN-719). The subsequent evaluation aimed to observe their impact on gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, and glycolytic processes, with the TGF-β/SMAD4 signaling pathway value clarified using a TGF-β inhibitor. Results:… More >

JIANFA WU^1,2,#, QIANYI LIAO^3,#, LI ZHANG^1,2,#, SUQIN WU^1,2,*, ZHOU LIU^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 373-391, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.031404 - 28 December 2023

Abstract The impact of different iron metabolism processes (DIMP) on ovarian cancer remains unclear. In this study, we employed various gene chips and databases to investigate the role of DIMP in the initiation and development of ovarian cancer. cBioPortal was used to determine mutations in DIMP-associated genes in ovarian cancer. Kaplan-Meier plotter was used to examine the influence of DIMP on the prognosis of ovarian cancer. By analyzing 1669 serous ovarian cancer cases, we identified a range of mutations in iron metabolism genes, notably in those coding for the transferrin receptor (19%), melanotransferrin (19%), and ceruloplasmin… More >

SAYAKA IMATSUJI^1,#, YUKIKO UJIE^1,#, HIROYUKI ODAKE¹, MASAYA IMOTO^1,2, SUSUMU ITOH³, ETSU TASHIRO^1,3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 139-150, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030190 - 15 November 2023

Abstract Growing evidence suggests an association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a hallmark of tumor malignancy, and chemoresistance to a number of anti-cancer drugs. However, the mechanism of EMT induction in the process of acquiring anti-cancer drug resistance remains unclear. To address this issue, we obtained a number of cisplatin-resistant clones from LoVo cells and found that almost all of them lost cell-cell contacts. In these clones, the epithelial marker E-cadherin was downregulated, whereas the mesenchymal marker N-cadherin was upregulated. Moreover, the expression of EMT-related transcription factors, including Slug, was elevated. On the other hand, the upregulation More >