CD39的临床意义及其与肝癌浸润T细胞耗竭的相关性分析

摘要 目的：探索CD39分子（编码基因ENTPD1）在原发性肝细胞肝癌（Hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC）中的表达、临床意义及其与HCC中免疫浸润和T细胞耗竭的相关性。方法：TIMER、GEPIA、Kaplan-Meier Plotter、TCGA等数据库分析CD39在肝癌中的差异性表达、与免疫浸润的关系、相关基因的表达及其与肝癌患者预后的关系。免疫荧光染色、细胞测序和流式检测验证临床HCC患者的癌及癌旁组织中CD39的差异性表达及其和CD8⁺T细胞耗竭特性的相关性。结果：（1）生物信息学分析结果显示：CD39在多种肿瘤组织中表达上调（包括HCC）（P＜0.05）；且其表达水平与HCC的临床预后等显著相关（P＜0.05）；与CD39低表达组相比，HCC中CD39高表达组患者无复发生存期（relapse-free survival, RFS）（P=0.025）和无进展生存期（progression-free survival, PFS）（P=0.026）较短；CD39与HCC肿瘤微环境中CD8⁺T、CD4⁺T、巨噬细胞等免疫细胞浸润水平均有明显正相关。（2）临床HCC样本验证：免疫荧光和流式结果显示CD39在癌组织中的表达水平高于癌旁正常组织，与耗竭相关分子LAYN、TIM3、CTLA4等共表达，且在耗竭CD8⁺T细胞中表达比例显著高于非耗竭细胞。结论：CD39在HCC肿瘤组织及浸润的CD8⁺T细胞中高表达，与HCC的RFS、PFS、免疫细胞浸润等紧密相关，且参与CD8⁺T细胞耗竭。     

肺腺癌诊断标志物筛选及免疫细胞浸润分析

用生物信息学方法筛选肺腺癌(Lung adenocarcinoma,LUAD)的诊断生物标志物,并分析肺腺癌中免疫细胞浸润情况。从GEO和TCGA数据库下载肺腺癌的表达数据集,利用R软件筛选肺腺癌与正常肺组织间的差异表达基因(DEGs),使用DAVID网站对DEGs进行GO及KEGG富集分析,使用STRING及Cytoscape等工具对DEGs构建蛋白相互作用网络并筛选hub基因;利用Kaplan-Meier法对DEGs进行生存分析,并对hub基因进行ROC分析筛选诊断生物标志物,利用GSEA预测有预后价值的基因参与的信号通路;并用Cibersort软件反卷积算法分析肺腺癌中免疫细胞浸润情况。共得到肺腺癌的234个DEGs,这些基因主要参与信号转导、物质代谢、免疫反应等相关信号通路;构建PPI网络筛选出的20个hub基因中8个存在预后价值(CCNA2、DLGAP5、HMMR、MMP1、MMP9、MMP13、SPP1、TOP2A),ROC分析中DLGAP5、SPP1值分别是0.703、0.706;DLGAP5、SPP1基因表达水平与肺腺癌组织浆细胞、未活化的CD4⁺记忆细胞、调节T细胞、巨噬细胞M0、M1、M2及中性粒细胞浸润密切相关(P＜0.05)。肺腺癌中DLGAP5、SPP1具有较高诊断价值且参与肺腺癌组织免疫细胞浸润;DLGAP5、SPP1基因可作为肺腺癌诊断的生物标志物,可为肺腺癌的靶向治疗研究提供新思路。     

肺腺癌预后相关miRNA生物信息学筛选及其临床意义

目的：探讨肺腺癌预后相关miRNA组学特征及其临床意义。方法：应用癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）数据库,检索人肺腺癌miRNA表达谱数据,进行差异分析,再利用Cox风险回归模型筛选预后相关miRNA;利用mirwalk分析平台,对筛选出的miRNA进行靶向调控基因预测、KEGG功能富集分析,最后,预测出预后相关miRNA的功能。结果：共筛选肺腺癌差异miRNA46个,其中,上调19个、下调27个;通过Cox生存分析筛选到预后相关miRNA有6个,即hsa-mir-21、hsa-mir-142、hsa-mir-200a高表达,hsa-mir-101、hsa-let-7c、hsa-mir-378e低表达,其中hsa-mir-21、hsa-mir-378e与肺腺癌患者不良预后有关,生存期显著缩短（P<0.05,AUC=0.618）。KEGG分析上述预后相关miRNA靶向调控基因与免疫反应通路、miRNA与癌症通路、代谢通路等有关。结论：hsa-mir-21、hsa-mir-378e与肺腺癌预后不良有关,未来经进一步临床验证有可能作为肺腺癌预后相关的分子标记物。     

狼疮性肾炎患者血清NETs、TWEAK、外周血CD4+T/CD8+T比例与疾病活动度及肾脏预后的关系

摘要 目的：探讨狼疮性肾炎（LN）患者血清中性粒细胞胞外诱捕网（NETs）、肿瘤坏死因子样凋亡微弱诱导剂（TWEAK）、外周血分化簇（CD）4⁺T/CD8⁺T比例与疾病活动度及肾脏预后的关系。方法：选取2021年8月～2022年8月川北医学院附属医院肾内科收治的LN患者137例（LN组）,根据系统性红斑狼疮疾病活动指数（SLEDAI）-2000评分分为轻度活动组（52例）、中度活动组（45例）、重度活动组（40例）。随访1年,根据肾脏相关终点事件发生情况分为预后不良组（43例）和预后良好组（94例）,另选取同期76名体检健康志愿者（对照组）。采用酶联免疫吸附法检测血清NETs、TWEAK水平,流式细胞术检测外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T比例。Spearman相关性分析LN患者血清NETs、TWEAK和外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T与SLEDAI-2000评分的相关性,多因素Logistic回归分析LN患者预后不良的因素,受试者工作特征曲线分析血清NETs、TWEAK和外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T对LN患者预后不良的预测价值。结果：与对照组比较,LN组血清NETs、TWEAK水平升高,外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T降低（P＜0.05）。轻度活动组、中度活动组、重度活动组血清NETs、TWEAK依次升高,外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T依次降低（P＜0.05）。LN患者SLEDAI-2000评分与血清NETs、TWEAK呈正相关,与外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T呈负相关（P＜0.05）。慢性肾脏病分期4期、SLEDAI-2000评分升高、NETs升高、TWEAK升高为LN患者预后不良的独立危险因素,估算肾小球滤过率升高、CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T升高为独立保护因素（P＜0.05）。血清NETs、TWEAK和外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T联合预测LN患者预后不良的曲线下面积为0.943,大于血清NETs、TWEAK和外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T单独预测的0.790、0.788、0.799（P＜0.05）。结论：LN患者血清NETs、TWEAK水平升高,外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T降低,与疾病活动度及肾脏预后不良密切相关,血清NETs、TWEAK联合外周血CD4⁺T/CD8⁺T预测LN患者肾脏预后的价值较高。     

组蛋白去乙酰化酶3对外周CD4+ T细胞分化的影响

目的 探讨组蛋白去乙酰化酶3（HDAC3）对外周CD4⁺ T细胞分化及功能的调控作用。方法 采用CD4cre酶介导Hdac3杂合基因缺失小鼠（Hdac3^fl/flCD4^cre+/-）及其野生型正常对照小鼠（Hdac3^fl/fl，WT），流式细胞术检测HDAC3缺失对外周CD4⁺和CD8⁺ T细胞比例和数量的影响；在体外佛波酯（PMA）和离子霉素（Ionomycin）刺激条件下，流式细胞术检测HDAC3缺失对CD4⁺ T细胞中IFN-γ、IL-4和IL-17A的表达以及Tfh细胞产生的影响；采用ELISA检测HDAC3缺失对小鼠血清IFN-γ、IL-4和IL-17表达的影响；分选Hdac3^fl/flCD4^cre+/-和WT小鼠外周初始CD4⁺ T细胞，分别在Th1和Th2分化条件下培养，细胞内染色检测HDAC3缺失对Th1、Th2以及Th17相关细胞因子及其特异转录因子表达的影响；采用Microarray检测HDAC3缺失对CD4⁺ T细胞分化亚群相关基因表达的影响；采用链脲佐菌素（STZ）处理小鼠构建I型糖尿病（TIDM）疾病模型，检测HDAC3缺失对T1DM发病的影响。结果 与WT小鼠相比，Hdac3^fl/flCD4^cre+/-小鼠外周CD4⁺和CD8⁺ T细胞的比例和数量显著降低。Hdac3^fl/flCD4^cre+/-小鼠CD4⁺ T细胞及血清中IFN-γ的表达显著降低，而IL-4和IL-17A的表达显著增加，Tfh细胞比例也显著增加；HDAC3缺失抑制体外培养CD4⁺ T细胞向Th1分化但促进其向Th2分化；Microarray检测发现HDAC3缺失导致Th1型细胞谱系基因表达降低，而Th2、Th17以及Tfh细胞谱系基因表达增加；在STZ诱导条件下，HDAC3缺失抑制小鼠T1DM的发生和CD4⁺ T细胞向Th1分化。结论 HDAC3促进外周CD4⁺ T细胞向Th1细胞分化并加重T1DM的发生。     

基于双层BiGRU网络的哺乳动物组织m6A甲基化位点预测

目的 N⁶-甲基化腺苷（N⁶-methyladenosine，m⁶A）是RNA中最常见、最丰富的化学修饰，在很多生物过程中发挥着重要作用。目前已经发展了一些预测m⁶A甲基化位点的计算方法。然而，这些方法在针对不同物种或不同组织时，缺乏稳健性。为了提升对不同组织中m⁶A甲基化位点预测的稳健性，本文提出一种能结合序列反向信息来提取数据更高级特征的双层双向门控循环单元（bidirectional gated recurrent unit，BiGRU）网络模型。方法 本文选取具有代表性的哺乳动物组织m⁶A甲基化位点数据集作为训练数据，通过对模型网络、网络结构、层数和优化器等进行搭配，构建双层BiGRU网络。结果 将模型应用于人类、小鼠和大鼠共11个组织的m⁶A甲基化位点预测上，并与其他方法在这11个组织上的预测能力进行了全面的比较。结果表明，本文构建的模型平均预测接受者操作特征曲线下面积（area under the receiver operating characteristic curve，AUC）达到93.72%，与目前最好的预测方法持平，而预测准确率（accuracy，ACC）、敏感性（sensitivity，SN）、特异性（specificity，SP）和马修斯相关系数（Matthews correlation coefficient，MCC）分别为90.07%、90.30%、89.84%和80.17%，均高于目前的m⁶A甲基化位点预测方法。结论 和已有研究方法相比，本文方法对11个哺乳动物组织的m⁶A甲基化位点的预测准确性均达到最高，说明本文方法具有较好的泛化能力。     

p16INK4a基因的功能及其调控

p16^INK4a蛋白能抑制CDK4和CDK6的活性,使pRb处于非磷酸化或低磷酸化状态而能与转录因子E2Fs结合,从而抑制DNA 的合成,阻止细胞由G1期进入S期.p16^INK4a的表达受Ets1和Ets2的正调控,受Bmi-1的负调控.p16^INK4a基因缺失、突变、甲基化、RNA剪接加工错误可导致细胞周期失控和癌变.应用p16^INK4a对某些肿瘤进行基因治疗的研究正在进行中.     

夏季台湾海峡南部海域上层水体的生物固氮作用

2011年6-7月,利用¹⁵N₂示踪法实测了台湾海峡南部海域的生物固氮速率,结合温度、盐度、天然颗粒物氮同位素组成的分布,分析并讨论了影响研究海域生物固氮速率的环境因素。结果表明,夏季台湾海峡南部海域的生物固氮速率介于 168-1080 nmol m^-3 d^-1之间,平均为537 nmol m^-3 d^-1,较高的生物固氮速率大多出现在次表层水体中。研究站位的积分固氮速率变化范围为11-40 μmol m^-2 d^-1,平均为23 μmol m^-2 d^-1。积分固氮速率的空间变化与不同水团的影响有关,在受黑潮水影响的海域,生物固氮速率较高,而在上升流和受河流冲淡水影响的海域,生物固氮速率较低,说明较低的水温及较高的无机氮营养盐可能会抑制研究海域的生物固氮作用。研究海域天然颗粒物δ¹⁵N与生物固氮速率之间呈现良好的负相关关系,表明天然颗粒物氮同位素组成可定性指征研究海域生物固氮作用的强弱。     

HIV/AIDS患者抗病毒治疗前HIV-1耐药情况调查及外周血CD8+T细胞CD38表达水平研究

摘要 目的：分析人免疫缺陷病毒/艾滋病（HIV/AIDS）患者抗病毒治疗前HIV-1耐药以及影响因素,探讨HIV/AIDS患者外周血CD₈⁺T细胞CD₃₈表达（CD₈⁺CD₃₈⁺T淋巴细胞百分比）与CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数的相关性。方法：选择2016年3月至2019年12月我院接诊的442例HIV/AIDS患者（HIV/AIDS组）和163例同期于我院进行体检的健康志愿者（对照组）,HIV/AIDS组扩增pol基因,进行HIV-1基因耐药分析,检测CD₈⁺CD₃₈⁺T淋巴细胞百分比、CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数、CD₈⁺T淋巴细胞计数。分析HIV/AIDS患者HIV-1耐药的影响因素,分析CD₈⁺CD₃₈⁺T淋巴细胞百分比与CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数、CD₈⁺T淋巴细胞计数相关性。结果：HIV/AIDS组442例HIV/AIDS患者中376例获得HIV-1 pol基因序列,HIV-1耐药35例,耐药率9.31%（35/376）。单因素分析结果显示耐药组和非耐药组在年龄、文化程度、感染途径、HIV病毒载量方面差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示同性性传播、注射吸毒、高HIV病毒载量是HIV/AIDS患者抗病毒治疗前HIV-1耐药的危险因素（P＜0.05）。HIV/AIDS组外周血CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数、CD₈⁺T淋巴细胞计数低于对照组（P＜0.05）,CD₈⁺CD₃₈⁺T淋巴细胞百分比高于对照组（P＜0.05）。CD₈⁺CD₃₈⁺T淋巴细胞百分比与CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数、CD₈⁺T淋巴细胞计数呈负相关（P＜0.05）。结论：抗病毒治疗前HIV/AIDS患者存在一定HIV-1耐药率,传播途径、HIV-1病毒载量与HIV-1耐药有关。CD₈⁺T细胞表面CD₃₈过表达与HIV/AIDS 患者CD₄⁺T T细胞的过度消耗有关。     

人类复制因子C4在肺腺癌进展中的初步功能探究

目的:分析人类复制因子C第四大亚基(RFC4)在肺腺癌组织和细胞中的表达,探究其在肺腺癌进展中的作用。方法:通过starBase分析癌症基因组图谱(TCGA)数据库中RFC4在肺腺癌组织中的表达;通过Kaplan-Meier plotter分析RFC4与肺腺癌的预后关系;利用人肺腺癌细胞A549、H1437和人正常肺上皮细胞BEAS-2B分析RFC4在肺腺癌细胞中的表达情况;转染RFC4 siRNA后,利用CCK-8法和Transwell法检测RFC4 siRNA对肺腺癌细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭的影响。结果:RFC4在肺腺癌组织中高表达,并与肺腺癌预后有较强的相关性,RFC4表达越高,肺腺癌患者的总生存期和无复发生存期就越低,预后较差;同样地,RFC4在肺腺癌细胞系中的表达也高于正常肺上皮细胞;RFC4 siRNA降低了肺腺癌细胞中RFC4的表达,使肺腺癌细胞的增殖、迁移侵袭能力下降。结论:RFC4在肺腺癌细胞中高表达,并促进了肺腺癌细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭,涉及的详细分子机制还须进一步探究。     

A new m6A methylation-related gene signature for prognostic value in patient with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant urological cancer in the world. Because of its characteristic of easy-recurrence and muscle-invasive, advances in our genetic understanding of bladder cancer should be translated into prognostic indicators.Methods: We investigated 16 m⁶A RNA methylation regulators from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database. The expression profile, clinical application as well as prognostic value of these genes in UC were investigated. Moreover, we further explored the correlation between RNA methylation genes and biological functions, pathways and immune status.Results: Five m⁶A-related genes (HNRNPC, YTHDF2, YTHDF1, HNRNPA2B1, METTL3) up-regulated in UC tissues, while three regulators (ZC3H13, METTL16, FTO) down-regulated in UC. FTO and YTHDF2 show biomarker potential for the prognosis of UC patients. In addition, these identified genes may related with essential functions and core molecular pathways.Conclusions: Our research shows that two m⁶A RNA methylation regulators can serve as reliable prognostic biomarkers of UC, which might be exerted as potential targets of therapeutic strategies.     

The m6A methyltransferase METTL3 modifies PGC-1α mRNA promoting mitochondrial dysfunction and oxLDL-induced inflammation in monocytes

Mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism are essential for regulating the inflammatory state of monocytes. This state is partially controlled by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), a coactivator that regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism. Disruption of these processes can also contribute to the initiation of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3)-dependent N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) methylation has recently been shown to regulate a variety of inflammatory processes. However, the role of m⁶A mRNA methylation in affecting mitochondrial metabolism in monocytes under inflammation is unclear, nor is there an established relationship between m⁶A methylation and PGC-1α. In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which METTL3 acts during oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced monocyte inflammation, where METTL3 and YTH N⁶-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2) cooperatively modify PGC-1α mRNA, mediating its degradation, decreasing PGC-1α protein levels, and thereby enhancing the inflammatory response. METTL3 coordinated with YTHDF2 to suppress the expression of PGC-1α, as well as that of cytochrome c (CYCS) and NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit C2 (NDUFC2) and reduced ATP production and oxygen consumption rate (OCR). This subsequently increased the accumulation of cellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in inflammatory monocytes. These data may provide new insights into the role of METTL3-dependent m⁶A modification of PGC-1α mRNA in the monocyte inflammation response. These data also contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of monocyte-macrophage inflammation-associated diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.     

Hypoxia blocks ferroptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma via suppression of METTL14 triggered YTHDF2-dependent silencing of SLC7A11

Residue hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells enduring hypoxic environment triggered by interventional embolization obtain more malignant potential with little clarified mechanism. The N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) biological activity plays essential roles in diverse physiological processes. However, its role under hypoxic condition remains largely unexplored. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to evaluate METTL14 expression in hypoxic HCC cells. MDA assay and electronic microscopy photography were used to evaluate ferroptosis. The correlation between SLC7A11 and METTL14 was conducted by bioinformatical analysis. Flow cytometry was used to verify the effect of SLC7A11 on ROS production. Cell counting kit-8 assay was performed to detect cells proliferation ability. Hypoxia triggered suppression of METTL14 in a HIF-1α–dependent manner potently abrogated ferroptosis of HCC cells. Mechanistic investigation identified SLC7A11 was a direct target of METTL14. Both in vitro and in vivo assay demonstrated that METTL14 induced m⁶A modification at 5’UTR of SLC7A11 mRNA, which in turn underwent degradation relied on the YTHDF2-dependent pathway. Importantly, ectopic expression of SLC7A11 strongly blocked METTL14-induced tumour-suppressive effect in hypoxic HCC. Our investigations lay the emphasis on the hypoxia-regulated ferroptosis in HCC cells and identify the HIF-1α /METTL14/YTHDF2/SLC7A11 axis as a potential therapeutic target for the HCC interventional embolization treatment.     

m6A甲基转移酶家族Fiona/METT-10/METTL16的功能

RNA碱基上的化学修饰在其功能的精准调节中发挥关键作用,其中m⁶A是自然界中最普遍的RNA修饰之一,且该修饰在调控RNA稳定性、pre-mRNA剪接、翻译等方面具有重要功能。在真核生物中,m⁶A修饰主要由两种甲基转移酶完成,其在哺乳动物中分别命名为METTL3和METTL16。与METTL3相似,METTL16的底物多种多样,包括pre-mRNA、rRNA、snRNA和lncRNA等,因此似乎难以用一种分子机理解释METTL16对不同RNA底物进行m⁶A修饰的功能。此外,METTL16还在翻译调控中发挥重要作用,但此过程不依赖其甲基转移酶活性,这进一步增加了高度保守的METTL16的功能复杂性。本综述总结了METTL16及其同源蛋白质的结构域、甲基化底物以及它们的潜在功能,着重阐述了在不同物种中关于METTL16研究结果的矛盾之处,并推测METTL16调控S-腺苷基甲硫氨酸(SAM)代谢的功能是趋同进化的一个潜在案例。     

RNA m6A reader YTHDF2 facilitates lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation and metastasis by targeting the AXIN1/Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. YTHDF2 is a reader of N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) on RNA and plays a critical role in the initiation and propagation of myeloid leukemia; however, whether YTHDF2 controls the development of LUAD remains to be explored. Here, we found that YTHDF2 was significantly upregulated in LUAD compared with paracancerous normal tissues, and YTHDF2 knockdown drastically inhibited, while its overexpression promoted, cell growth, colony formation and migration of LUAD cells in vitro. In addition, YTHDF2 knockdown significantly inhibited tumorigenesis in a murine tumor xenograft model. Through the integrative analysis of RNA-seq, m⁶A-seq, CLIP-seq, and RIP-seq datasets, we identified a set of potential direct targets of YTHDF2 in LUAD, among which we confirmed AXIN1, which encodes a negative regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as a direct target of YTHDF2. YTHDF2 promoted AXIN1 mRNA decay and subsequently activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Knockout of AXIN1 sufficiently rescued the inhibitory effect of YTHDF2 depletion on lung cancer cell proliferation, colony-formation, and migration. These results revealed YTHDF2 to be a contributor of LUAD development acting through the upregulation of the AXIN1/Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which can be a potential therapeutic target for LUAD.Subject terms: DNA methylation, Non-small-cell lung cancer