YUTING WANG^1,2,3, PEIWEN FAN^1,2,3, YANING FENG^1,2,3, XUAN YAO⁴, YANCHUN PENG⁴, RUOZHENG WANG^1,2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1365-1375, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027201

Abstract Background: This study was designed to investigate the feasibility of tumor-infiltrating immune cells with different phenotypic characteristics for predicting short-term clinical responses in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). Methods: Thirty-four patients who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy and twenty-one patients who merely underwent radiotherapy were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively analyzed the T cell markers (i.e., CD3, CD4, CD8), memory markers (i.e., CD45, CCR7), and differentiation markers (i.e., CD27) in the peripheral blood and tumor tissues of patients with LACC before treatment based on flow cytometry. We also analyzed the relationship of T cell subsets between peripheral blood and… More >

QIAN CHEN^1,#, XIN LEI^1,#, GUANHUA HU^1,#, YAN WANG², ZHENGQING FANG¹, GUOQUAN WANG¹, HANG SONG¹, SHU YE^1,*, BIAO CAI^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1265-1277, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028811

Abstract Background: Huang-Pu-Tong-Qiao formula (HPTQ), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, has a variety of pharmacological effects. It has been used to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) for decades. This study aimed to screen differentially expressed proteins in the hippocampus of AD model rats treated with HPTQ. Proteomic studies of the effects of HPTQ on AD are key to understanding the therapeutic mechanisms of HPTQ and identifying potential therapeutic targets. Methods: We hence used the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (ITRAQ) approach to investigate the differentially expressed proteins in the hippocampus of AD model rats before and after HPTQ administration and… More >

HONG YANG^1,2, WAN LI^1,2, LIWEN REN^1,2, YIHUI YANG^1,2, YIZHI ZHANG^1,2, BINBIN GE^1,2, SHA LI^1,2, XIANGJIN ZHENG^1,2, JINYI LIU^1,2, SEN ZHANG^1,2, GUANHUA DU^1,2, BO TANG³, HONGQUAN WANG³, JINHUA WANG^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.2, pp. 83-99, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028905

Abstract Pancreatic cancer is a malignant disease characterized by low survival and high recurrence rate, whose patients are mostly at the stage of locally advanced or metastatic disease when first diagnosed. Early diagnosis is particularly important because prognostic/predictive markers help guide optimal individualized treatment regimens. So far, CA19-9 is the only biomarker for pancreatic cancer approved by the FDA, but its effectiveness is limited by low sensitivity and specificity. With recent advances in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other analytical and sequencing technologies, the rapid acquisition and screening of biomarkers is now possible. Liquid biopsy also occupies a significant place due to… More > Graphic Abstract

YANGQING HUANG^1,2, XINLAN ZHOU¹, XIUFEN LI¹, DAN HUANG¹, ZHONG FANG^3,*, RONGRONG DING^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.2, pp. 193-205, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.027112

Abstract Sterol o-acyltransferase1 (SOAT1) is an enzyme that regulates lipid metabolism. Nevertheless, the predictive value of SOAT1 regarding immune responses in cancer is not fully understood. Herein, we aimed to expound the predictive value and the potential biological functions of SOAT1 in pan-cancer. Raw data related to SOAT1 expression in 33 different types of cancer were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. SOAT1 expression was significantly increased in most cancers and showed a distinct correlation with prognosis. This enhanced expression of the SOAT1 gene was confirmed by evaluating SOAT1 protein expression using tissue microarrays. In… More >

GUSTAVO MARTÍN VILLOLDO¹, MARÍA TERESA POMBO², MARIANA ARIS³, JOAQUÍN CHEMI¹, PABLO MANDÓ³, SUPRIYA NAGARAJU⁴, JUAN CAMEAN¹, ADRIÁN BURIONI¹, DEBORAH EGEA¹, MORA AMAT⁵, JOSÉ LEÓN MELLADO³, JOSÉ MORDOH³, ALBERTO VILLARONGA¹, MARÍA MARCELA BARRIO^3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.2, pp. 207-220, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028163

Abstract Intravesical Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the gold standard therapy for intermediate/high-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, the response rate is ~60%, and 50% of non-responders will progress to muscle-invasive disease. BCG induces massive local infiltration of inflammatory cells (Th1) and ultimately cytotoxic tumor elimination. We searched for predictive biomarker of BCG response by analyzing tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) polarization in the tumor microenvironment (TME) in pre-treatment biopsies. Pre-treatment biopsies from patients with NMIBC who received adequate intravesical instillation of BCG (n = 32) were evaluated retrospectively by immunohistochemistry. TME polarization was assessed by quantifying the T-Bet+ (Th1) and GATA-3+… More > Graphic Abstract

XI YANG^1,5,#, HUIXIAN WU^2,3,#, CHAO XIONG^4,#, BO ZHAO¹, MEILIAN LIU¹, JIE QIN⁶, MEI DENG^1,2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 1021-1037, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027103

Abstract Background: Cytochrome b561 (CYB561) plays a critical role in neuroendocrine function, cardiovascular regulation, and tumor growth; however, the prognostic value of CYB561 in patients with breast cancer and the relationship between CYB561 expression and immune infiltration in breast cancer remain unclear. Methods: The mRNA expression and clinical data of patients with breast cancer were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Functional enrichment analysis was used to explore underlying biological functions associated with CYB561. The methylation status of CYB561 was analyzed using the MethSurv database. The enrichment score of immune cell infiltration for CYB561 in breast cancer was calculated using… More >

WEI SHI^1,2,3,#, JIANXIA LIN^1,2,3,#, RONG JIN^1,2,3, XIANJING XIE^1,2,3, YAN LIANG^1,2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.4, pp. 869-877, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.026037

Abstract Background: LncRNA DLX6-AS1 has been uncovered to exert effects on various cancers. Nevertheless, the impacts of DLX6-AS1 on endometrial cancer (EC) development remained obscure. The study explored the influence of DLX6-AS1 on EC progression via the microRNA (miR)-374a-3p/zinc-finger protein (ZFX) axis.Methods: EC cell lines were collected and DLX6-AS1, miR-374a-3p, and ZFX levels in EC cell lines were detected. The EC cells were transfected with DLX6-AS1, miR-374a-3p, and ZFX constructs to examine the biological functions of EC cells. The xenograft model was established for detecting tumor growth. Rescue experiments were conducted to verify the interaction of DLX6-AS1, miR-374a-3p, and ZFX in… More > Graphic Abstract

GANG WANG^#, MINGPING QIAN^#, WEI JIAN, JUHANG CHU, YIXIANG HUANG^*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.1, pp. 63-70, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.028168

Abstract Circular RNA (circRNA), as a newly discovered non-coding RNA with important regulatory potential, is closely related to the occurrence and progression of various tumors. This study aimed to investigate has_circ_0000069 expression in breast cancer and its influence on cellular activities. Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, has_circ_0000069 levels were measured in 137 pairs of tissue specimens, as well as cancer cell lines. The cellular activities of cell lines were determined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assays. The potential targeting miRNAs were predicted and verified using an online database and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Has_circ_0000069 was highly expressed in breast… More >

NADIA Z. SHAABAN¹, NASHWA K. IBRAHIM², HELEN N. SAADA², FATMA H. EL-RASHIDY¹, HEBATALLAH M. SHAABAN³, NERMEEN M. ELBAKARY^2,*, AHMAD S. KODOUS^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.30, No.6, pp. 269-276, 2022, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.027277

Abstract Background: MicroRNAs (miRs) are small (19–25 nucleotides), non-protein coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, and thus play essential roles in cell cycle progression. The evidence has demonstrated that the expression of several miRs is dysregulated in human cancer. Methods: The study includes 179 female patients and 58 healthy women Patients were identified as luminal A, B, Her-2/neu, and basal-like, as well as classified into I, II, and III stages. Analysis of the expression fold change of miR-21 and miR-34a with molecular markers, including the oncogene Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) and the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 (breast cancer susceptibility gene 1),… More >

ZEKUN XIN^1,#, YUDAN MA^2,#, WEIQIANG SONG³, HAO GAO³, LIJUN DONG³, BAO ZHANG^1,*, ZHILONG REN^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.3, pp. 555-567, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.026254

Abstract Background: Recently, researchers have been attracted in identifying the crucial genes related to cancer, which plays important role in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, in performing the cancer molecular subtype classification task from cancer gene expression data, it is challenging to obtain those significant genes due to the high dimensionality and high noise of data. Moreover, the existing methods always suffer from some issues such as premature convergence. Methods: To address those problems, we propose a new ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm called DACO to classify the cancer gene expression datasets, identifying the essential genes of different diseases. In DACO,… More >