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Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant digestive tract tumor with a high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. Fucosylation is important in tumor glycosylation, in which the key enzyme is fucosyltransferase (FUT). FUT11 is a member of the fucosyltransferase family and has been closely associated with the development of multiple cancers. However, the specific relationship between FUT11 and GC prognosis and its molecular mechanism has not been fully studied. This study explored FUT11 expression, clinical correlation, and its role in GC occurrence and development to deepen understanding of its function. Methods: FUT11 expression in 33 cancers was preliminarily analyzed using the Tumor Immunoassay Resource (TIMER2.0) database. FUT11 expression in GC was evaluated using The Cancer Genome Atlas stomach adenocarcinoma (TCGA-STAD) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA2) data and verified using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) GSE65801 dataset. Furthermore, we studied the survival prognosis of FUT11 in GC and analyzed its effect on the survival rate of patients with GC using the KM-plotter. We also performed COX regression analysis on TCGA GC clinical data and analyzed FUT11 expression in the pathway using the STRING and LinkedOmics databases. Moreover, the relationship between FUT11 and GC immune infiltration level was examined, and the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis diagram was constructed. The FUT11 genetic variation information was retrieved using cBioPortal, and its drug sensitivity was analyzed using CellMiner. Finally, differential FUT11 expression in GC tissues was verified using immunohistochemistry. Results: The data mining and analysis demonstrated that FUT11 expression was abnormally elevated in GC tissues and correlated with poor patient prognosis. The FUT11 expression level was an independent prognostic factor for GC. The difference in FUT11 expression level resulted in different degrees of immune cell infiltration in the patients with GC, which might regulate the tumor microenvironment. FUT11 affected GC development by participating in cancer pathways such as PI3K–AKT, neuroactive ligand–receptor, and MAPK. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that FUT11 was highly expressed in GC. Conclusions: This study revealed that FUT11 expression is significantly increased in GC tissues. This increase is associated with poor prognosis and might affect immune regulation. FUT11 might have immunological and targeted therapeutic value, providing a new approach to GC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) presents a challenge given its advanced stage at diagnosis and poor prognosis. Integrin subunit alpha 11 (ITGA11) encodes alpha integrin and has been implicated in promoting tumorigenesis and development by participating in cell proliferation and invasion. However, the precise mechanism of ITGA11 in STAD remains unclear. Methods: The differences in ITGA11 expression levels between 375 gastric cancer samples and 32 paracancerous tissue samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were examined. The relationship between ITGA11 expression and clinical features and ITGA11 diagnostic and prognostic value were evaluated using the chi-square test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) assay. Differentially expressed genes were identified based on ITGA11 expression. Subsequently, functional enrichment analyses were conducted using Gene Ontology, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Furthermore, immune infiltration and the expression of ITGA11-associated immune checkpoints in patients with tumors were assessed using CIBERSORT, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis, and the TIMER database. Drug sensitivity associated with ITGA11 expression was analyzed using the R oncoPredict package to guide treatment decisions. Finally, the difference in ITGA11 expression between cancer tissue and the adjacent tissues was validated using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry. Results: The gastric cancer tissue had significantly upregulated ITGA11 expression compared to paracancerous tissues. ITGA11 demonstrated robust diagnostic and prognostic value in gastric cancer (GC) and was an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes. The patients with STAD with elevated ITGA11 expression levels had heightened immune cell infiltration and increased immune checkpoint marker expression. Notably, patients with increased ITGA11 expression demonstrated reduced responsiveness to oxaliplatin and afatinib. Conclusion: The results indicated the pivotal role of ITGA11 in shaping the tumor immune microenvironment, ultimately establishing ITGA11 as an immune-related prognostic predictor within the intricate landscape of STAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The expression of homeobox A10 (HOXA10) in endometrial stromal cells is regulated by steroid hormones, especially by estrogen. As a precursor molecule of estrogen, abnormal cholesterol metabolism is significantly positively correlated with endometriosis. The purpose of this study was to explore the regulation of HOXA10 on cholesterol synthesis in endometrial stromal cells. Method: mRNA expression data of eutopic endometrial stromal cell (ESC) and ovarian endometriotic cysts stromal cell (OESC) were download from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Overexpression and silence of HOXA10 were conducted in cultured ESC and subjected to mRNA sequencing. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected by analyzing the sequencing data. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify the key genes associated with HOXA10. The methylation rate of HOXA10 CpGs and the correlation between HOXA10 expression and the methylation in eutopic endometrial tissue (EU) and ovarian cyst (OC) were analyzed. Results: HOXA10 in ESC was significantly higher expressed than that in OESC. Six key genes (HMGCR, MSMO1, ACAT2, HMGCS1, EBP, and SQLE), which were regulated by HOXA10, were identified from the salmon4 module by WGCNA. All these key genes were enriched in cholesterol synthesis. Moreover, the expression of HOXA10 was negatively related to its CpGs methylation rate. Conclusion: In this study, six key genes that were regulated by HOXA10 were selected, and all of them were enriched in cholesterol synthesis. This finding provided a new insight into the metabolic mechanism of cholesterol in ESC. It also provided a potential treatment strategy for cholesterol metabolism maladjustment in patients with ovarian endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercetin has been confirmed to possess antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant properties. Herein, we evaluated their antitumor activity in vitro by using KB/VCR oral cancer cells. We found that quercetin at 25 to 100 μmol/L effectively inhibited the migration and invasion of KB/VCR cells. Quercetin at dose ranging from 25 to 100 μmol/L significantly inhibited the growth of the KB/VCR cells and at 50 μmol/L arrested cells at the G1 phase and decreased the amount of cells in the S and G2 phase. Apoptosis analysis showed that quercetin at 50 or 100 μmol/L induced apoptosis of KB/VCR cells by suppressing expression of Bax and inducing the expression of Caspase-3 and Bcl-2. Furthermore, we also confirmed that quercetin from 25 to 100 μmol/L reversed gene-encoded Pglycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated MDR in KB/VCR cells by inhibiting the expression of P-gp. For combination treatment with vincristin (0.375 μmol/L) and quercetin (50 μmol/L), the proliferation rate significantly decreased and apoptosis rate significantly increased. This study provided evidence that quercetin induced apoptosis and reversed drug resistance in oral tumor cells and may be a potential candidate for other tumors treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: One expressed sequence tag (EST 64LF004 clone), which is from the subtracted cDNA library of the head kidney of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) stimulated with peptidoglycan (PG) by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method, was cloned using RACE–PCR. The full length cDNA, which possesses typical structural features of a signal peptide, a conserved LPS binding domain and two bactericidal permeability-increasing (BPI) motifs as in higher vertebrates, was identified as a novel homologue, namely of the large yellow croaker BPI-like molecule (Pc-BPI-L). Phylogenetic analysis showed this Pc-BPI-L of large yellow croaker as the most ancestral branch in bony fish clade. The recombinant Pc-BPI-L protein expressed in the Tn-5B1-4 insect cells was successfully produced and confirmed to have the predicted size of 52kDa by Western blot analysis. At the message level, Pc-BPI-L mRNA was ubiquitously expressed in all tissues examined. Following formalin-inactivated Vibrio alginolyticus and Nocardia seriolae treatment, Pc-BPI-L message was differentially up-regulated in primary immune organs. These results indicate that Pc-BPI-L might be involved in the immune response to bacterial infection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rubia cordifolia L. is a significant medicinal plant. To investigate the changes of marker metabolites of R. cordifolia , the purpurin, mollugin, carbon, nitrogen contents, and the expression of genes involved in anthraquinones synthesis were examined. The findings indicated that the two secondary metabolites were only detected in stems and roots. Root purpurin content was 5–26 times higher than in stems, and root mollugin content was 92 times higher than in stems in June. These findings suggest that the potential of the roots as a medicinal part. The roots were found to have highest purpurin content in October (2.406 mg g−1), whereas the mollugin content was highest in August (6.193 mg g−1). However, the purpurin content in August was only 0.029 mg g−1 lower than that in October, making August a suitable harvest period for R. cordifolia. The expression 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (dxs) and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductorisomerase (dxr) genes in roots showed an upward trend. However, the expression level of dxr gene was significantly higher than dxs with the range of 60–518 times higher, indicating the important role of dxr gene. Through correlation and redundancy analyses, it was found that mollugin showed positive correlation with carbon contents and carbon-nitrogen ratio of aerial parts. Additionally, purpurin showed a positive correlation with the expression of both genes. As a result, mollugin is likely to be synthesized in the aerial parts and then stored in the roots, whereas purpurin might be synthesized in the stems and roots. These findings could provide cultivation guidelines for R. cordifolia. • The dynamic changes of secondary metabolites in Rubia cordifolia L. were determined. • R. cordifolia marker secondary metabolites were mainly located in the roots. • The secondary metabolites contents in R. cordifolia were higher in August. • Mollugin might be synthesized in aerial parts and transferred to roots for storage. • Purpurin might be synthesized and accumulated in stems and roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]