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Carnosine dipeptidase 1 (CNDP1), an enzyme integral to the hydrolysis of dipeptides containing histidine, plays an indispensable role in myriad physiological processes, including hydrolysis of proteins, maturation of specific biochemical functionalities within proteins, tissue regeneration, and regulation of cell cycle. However, the implications of CNDP1 in oncogenesis and its prognostic value are not yet fully elucidated. Initially, we procured the GSE40367 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus and established a protein–protein interaction network. Thereafter, we conducted functional and pathway enrichment analyses utilizing GO, KEGG, and GSEA. Moreover, we undertook an association analysis concerning the expression of CNDP1 with immune infiltration, along with survival analysis across various cancers and specifically in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our study uncovered a total of 2,248 differentially expressed genes, with a down-regulation of CNDP1 in HCC and other cancers. Our explorations into the relationship between CNDP1 and immune infiltration disclosed a negative correlation between CNDP1 expression and the presence of immune cells in HCC. Survival analyses revealed that diminished expression of CNDP1 correlates with an adverse prognosis in HCC and several other types of cancer. These observations intimate that CNDP1 holds promise as a novel prognostic biomarker for both pan-cancer and HCC.

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Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide, and metastasis is the main cause of early recurrence and poor prognosis. However, the mechanism of metastasis remains poorly understood., Aim: To determine the possible mechanism affecting HCC metastasis and provide a possible theoretical basis for HCC treatment., Methods: The candidate molecule lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) was screened by gene microarray and bioinformatics analysis. The expression levels of LCAT in clinical cohort samples was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor-forming ability were measured by Cell Counting Kit-8, Transwell cell migration, invasion, and clonal formation assays, respectively. Tumor formation was detected in nude mice after LCAT gene knockdown or overexpression. The immunohistochemistry for Ki67, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase 9 and vascular endothelial growth factor were performed in liver tissues to assess the effect of LCAT on HCC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) on various gene signatures were analyzed with GSEA version 3.0. Three machine-learning algorithms (random forest, support vector machine, and logistic regression) were applied to predict HCC metastasis in The Cancer Genome Atlas and GEO databases., Results: LCAT was identified as a novel gene relating to HCC metastasis by using gene microarray in HCC tissues. LCAT was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues, which is correlated with recurrence, metastasis and poor outcome of HCC patients. Functional analysis indicated that LCAT inhibited HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion both in vitro and in vivo . Clinicopathological data showed that LCAT was negatively associated with HCC size and metastasis (HCC size ≤ 3 cm vs 3-9 cm, P < 0.001; 3-9 cm vs > 9 cm, P < 0.01; metastatic-free HCC vs extrahepatic metastatic HCC, P < 0.05). LCAT suppressed the growth, migration and invasion of HCC cell lines via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Our results indicated that the logistic regression model based on LCAT, TNM stage and the serum level of α-fetoprotein in HCC patients could effectively predict high metastatic risk HCC patients., Conclusion: LCAT is downregulated at translational and protein levels in HCC and might inhibit tumor metastasis via attenuating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. LCAT is a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for HCC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors who have taken part in this study declared that they do not have anything to disclose regarding funding or conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder that affects almost 20% of the global population. In addition, much evidence has implicated altered function of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) system in the pathophysiology of depression. Recent research has indicated that GABA B receptors (GABA B Rs) are an emerging therapeutic target in the treatment of stress-related disorders such as MDD. However, which cell types with GABA B Rs are involved in this process is unknown. As hippocampal dysfunction is implicated in MDD, we knocked down GABA B Rs in the hippocampus and found that knocking down these receptors in astrocytes, but not in GABAergic or pyramidal neurons, caused a decrease in immobility in the forced swimming test (FST) without affecting other anxiety- and depression-related behaviors. We also generated astrocyte-specific GABA B R-knockout mice and found decreased immobility in the FST in these mice. Furthermore, the conditional knockout of GABA B Rs in astrocytes selectively increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein in hippocampal astrocytes, which controlled the decrease in immobility in the FST. Taken together, our findings contribute to the current understanding of which cell types expressing GABA B Rs modulate antidepressant activity in the FST, and they may provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms and potential targets for the treatment of depression.

HE 's tube acupuncture technique is developed on the base of the theories of zangfu , meridian and collateral by HE Hui - wu , the eminent master of traditional Chinese medicine in 1920s. It is a set of acupuncture technique, in which, the function of the traditional pressing hand is replaced by the needle tube and the seven skills and five manipulations are specially included. In this paper, the experience in the treatment of chronic gastritis with HE 's tube acupuncture technique was introduced. "Regulating the spleen function for the deficiency syndrome" and "taking the liver into the great consideration for the excess syndrome" are the basic principles of treatment. The specific manipulations are predominant, e.g. the conducting- qi manipulation, the sparrow-pecking manipulation, the rotating manipulation, the lifting-thrusting manipulation and the circling manipulation. Moreover, the unique needling techniques are adopted at Zhongwan (CV 12), Weishu (BL 21) and Yanglingquan (GB 34), etc.

Objective: To observe the effect difference of behavior training with head needling retention and behavior training after acupuncture for autism children., Methods: Sixty qualified autism children were divided randomly into simultaneous head needling retention and behavior training group (trial group) and behavior training after acupuncture treatment group (control group) with 30 case in each group. Retention needles on the head with simultaneous behavior training was applied for the trial group. The main acupoints included Sishen Xue, Dingshen Sanxue (3 points for mental tranquilization), Nao Sanxue (3 points for the function of brain), Shou Zhisanxue (3 points for mental activities on hand) and Zozhi Sonxue (3 points for mental activities on foot). Other points were combined according to conditions of patients. Needles on the 4 extremities were withdrawn first after 30 minutes, needles on head were remained during behavior training. While behavior training was applied to the control group when acupuncture treatment was completely accomplished. Treatments were applied once a day to both groups. And 3 months was taken as one observation cycle. Estimation was made on therapeutic effect and developing level of autism children with CARS and PEP., Results: The total effective rate of the trial group was 83.3% (25/30), better than 66.7% (20/30) of the control group (P < 0.05). The CARS scores of both groups declined after the treatment. And the score of trail group was lower than the control group (all P < 0.05). While the PEP scores of both groups increased, and the score of trail group was higher than the control group (all P < 0.05). The increasing level of scores of cognitive understanding and cognitive expression were all better than the control group (all P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The effect of behavior training with head needle retention on autism children is better than behavior training after acupuncture treatment, especially in enhancing cognition understanding and cognition expression.