DKK-1 与肝脏恶性肿瘤的相关研究进展

肝脏恶性肿瘤包括原发性肝癌、继发性肝癌、肝母细胞瘤、肝脏淋巴瘤、肝脏血管内皮细胞肉瘤、纤维板层肝细胞癌、肝脏未分化胚胎肉瘤等发生在肝脏的恶性病变。其中原发性肝癌(primary liver cancer,PLC)是临床上最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。PLC在我国的发病人数占全球的55%,是我国第二个最常见的癌症死亡原因。由于肝脏恶性肿瘤具有隐匿性强、恶性程度高,病情进展快的特点,很多患者就诊时已到疾病中晚期,即使采取多学科综合治疗,预后也很不理想。因此,美国肝病研究学会(AASLD)和卫生部制定的《原发性肝癌诊疗规范(2011年版)》特别强调了早期筛查和早期监测对提高患者生存时间和生存质量的作用。甲胎蛋白(AFP)联合影像学检查是目前筛查肝脏恶性肿瘤的主要方法,但是AFP和影像学检查尚缺乏足够的敏感性和特异性,尤其对于早期癌症的诊断而言。DKK-1(dickkopf-1)是近年来由德国科学家新发现的一种分泌型糖蛋白。DKK-1与肝脏恶性肿瘤,尤其与原发性肝癌的早期诊断和预后判断关系密切,是最值得期待的肿瘤诊断标志物之一。本文谨对DKK-1的分子生物学特点、在恶性肿瘤中的表达以及与肝脏恶性肿瘤的关系进行综述,探讨其作为肝癌诊断蛋白标志物的研究现状及临床应用前景。     

骨髓间充质干细胞抗肝纤维化的研究进展

肝纤维化及其终末病变肝硬化已严重危害全球人类健康,虽然慢性肝病的治疗手段和抗肝纤维化药物的研究已取得了很大进展,肝移植依然是最有效的治疗方案,但器官的紧缺却是一个现实问题。目前寻找有效的干预手段进行抗肝纤维化治疗已越来越受到大家的关注。近些年,大量基础及临床研究均证实在一定条件下利用骨髓间充质干细胞(MSCs)可以抑制肝星状细胞活化诱导其凋亡,实现肝纤维化逆转。随着干细胞技术的快速发展,基于骨髓间充质干细胞(MSCs)的细胞疗法在肝纤维化治疗领域的研究与应用已成为一个充满生命力的新方向。本文将对肝纤维化及基于MSCs的治疗机制进展及其应用进行综述。     

Role of liver stem cells in hepatocarcinogenesis

Liver cancer is an aggressive disease with a high mortality rate. Management of liver cancer is strongly dependent on the tumor stage and underlying liver disease. Unfortunately, most cases are discovered when the cancer is already advanced, missing the opportunity for surgical resection. Thus, an improved understanding of the mechanisms responsible for liver cancer initiation and progression will facilitate the detection of more reliable tumor markers and the development of new small molecules for targeted therapy of liver cancer. Recently, there is increasing evidence for the “cancer stem cell hypothesis”, which postulates that liver cancer originates from the malignant transformation of liver stem/progenitor cells (liver cancer stem cells). This cancer stem cell model has important significance for understanding the basic biology of liver cancer and has profound importance for the development of new strategies for cancer prevention and treatment. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the role of liver stem cells in hepatocarcinogenesis. Our review of the literature shows that identification of the cellular origin and the signaling pathways involved is challenging issues in liver cancer with pivotal implications in therapeutic perspectives. Although the dedifferentiation of mature hepatocytes/cholangiocytes in hepatocarcinogenesis cannot be excluded, neoplastic transformation of a stem cell subpopulation more easily explains hepatocarcinogenesis. Elimination of liver cancer stem cells in liver cancer could result in the degeneration of downstream cells, which makes them potential targets for liver cancer therapies. Therefore, liver stem cells could represent a new target for therapeutic approaches to liver cancer in the near future.     

Biological significance of piRNA in liver cancer: a review

Abstract

Liver cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers in the world. In recent years, non-coding RNA has been a hot topic in liver cancer research. piRNAs (PIWI-interacting RNAs) are a new type of small non-coding RNA, which are formed by the PIWI proteins interacting with RNA. The latest research shows that piRNA and PIWI proteins are abnormally expressed in various cancers, including pancreatic, colorectal, breast, etc. piRNA plays an important regulatory role in liver cancer. In this review, we discuss the biological function of piRNAs and new progress in the development of liver cancer, and new targets and ideas for piRNA and PIWI proteins in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.     

磁性纳米粒子作用于肝癌细胞的生物学效应的研究进展

磁性纳米粒子,是一类智能型的纳米材料,因其特有的性质,被广泛应用于生物医学领域,在肝癌的治疗方面也有大量的实验性研究和成果。研究和探索磁性纳米粒子治疗肝癌的新方法和途径,有着很大的现实意义。本文就磁性纳米粒子作用于肝癌细胞的生物学效应的研究现状和进展进行总结整理,从三个方面进行了综述:磁性纳米粒子直接作用于肝癌细胞,探索磁性纳米粒子的生物相容性、在肝癌细胞的分布方式以及磁性纳米粒子本身对肝癌细胞的生物学效应的影响;磁性纳米粒子协同外加磁场(稳恒磁场、极低频交变磁场和高频交变磁场)作用于肝癌细胞;磁性纳米粒子外加修饰(磁性白蛋白纳米颗粒、纳米磁流体、磁性脂质体等),作为药物载体作用于肝癌细胞。     

Sequestosome 1/p62: across diseases

Sequestosome 1/p62 is a signal modulator or adaptor protein involved in receptor-mediated signal transduction. Sequestosome 1/p62 is gaining attention as it is involved in several diseases including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, liver and breast cancer, Paget's disease of bone, obesity and insulin resistance. In this review, we will focus on the most recent advances on the physiological function of p62 relevant to human diseases.     

The role of autophagy in liver cancer: Molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved pathway for degradation of cytoplasmic proteins and organelles via lysosome. Proteins coded by the autophagy-related genes (Atgs) are the core molecular machinery in control of autophagy. Among the various biological functions of autophagy identified so far, the link between autophagy and cancer is probably among the most extensively studied and is often viewed as controversial. Autophagy might exert a dual role in cancer development: autophagy can serve as an anti-tumor mechanism, as defective autophagy (e.g., heterozygous knockdown Beclin 1 and Atg7 in mice) promotes the malignant transformation and spontaneous tumors. On the other hand, autophagy functions as a protective or survival mechanism in cancer cells against cellular stress (e.g., nutrient deprivation, hypoxia and DNA damage) and hence promotes tumorigenesis and causes resistance to therapeutic agents. Liver cancer is one of the common cancers with well-established etiological factors including hepatitis virus infection and environmental carcinogens such as aflatoxin and alcohol exposure. In recent years, the involvement of autophagy in liver cancer has been increasingly studied. Here, we aim to provide a systematic review on the close cross-talks between autophagy and liver cancer, and summarize the current status in development of novel liver cancer therapeutic approaches by targeting autophagy. It is believed that understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the autophagy modulation and liver cancer development may provoke the translational studies that ultimately lead to new therapeutic strategies for liver cancer.     

Current progress in epigenetic research for hepatocarcinomagenesis

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the main type of primary liver cancer, and also one of the most malignant tumors. At present, the pathogenesis mechanisms of liver cancer are not entirely clear. It has been shown that inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and activation of oncogenes play a significant role in carcinogenesis, caused by the genetic and epigenetic aberrance. In the past, people generally thought that genetic mutation is a key event of tumor pathogenesis, and somatic mutation of tumor suppressor genes is in particular closely associated with oncogenesis. With deeper understanding of tumors in recent years, increasing evidence has shown that epigenetic silencing of those genes, as a result of aberrant hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoters and histone modification, is essential to carcinogenesis and metastasis. The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression caused by regulation mechanisms, other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Specific epigenetic processes include DNA methylation, genome imprinting, chromotin remodeling, histone modification and microRNA regulations. This paper reviews recent epigenetics research progress in the hepatocellular carcinoma study, and tries to depict the relationships between hepatocellular carcinomagenesis and DNA methylation as well as microRNA regulation. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CD910402) and Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No. 05DZ22201 and 08JC1416400).     

长链非编码RNA在肝细胞肝癌发病中的作用及其机制研究进展

肝细胞肝癌(HCC)是肝癌中最常见的病理类型,患者病死率高。对HCC发生发展机制的认知局限是其不良预后的重要原因。长链非编码RNA(LncRNA)是基因调控的重要组成部分,可通过表观遗传、转录调节和转录后调节等方式调控肝癌细胞的发生发展。近年来,LncRNA在肝癌发生发展中作用的研究逐渐深入,这为HCC早期诊断、病情控制和预后评估提供了新的方法和思路。本文就LncRNA在HCC中的研究进展作一综述。     

白藜芦醇的肝脏药理作用

白藜芦醇（Resveratrol,Res）是一种自然产生的含有芪类结构非黄酮类多酚化合物,主要在红葡萄酒、花生中发现。在过去几年的研究中发现白藜芦醇具有抗肿瘤、抗氧化、抗炎、降血糖、止痛、平喘等作用。有报道表明,Res对于青光眼、胰腺炎、骨关节炎等疾病具有保护作用。它可以防止和治疗心血管疾病,同时对肝脏亦有保护性作用。以下就近年来对白藜芦醇关于肝脏的药理作用的研究进展作一综述。本文主要从抗肝损伤、抗肝纤维化、抗肝癌三方面对白藜芦醇对肝脏的保护作用进行阐述。     

Ferroptosis and its interaction with tumor immune microenvironment in liver cancer

Exploring effective systemic treatments for liver cancer is still a great challenge worldwide. As a novel form of regulated cell death, ferroptosis has been paid more and more attention in the cancer research field. In recent years, targeting ferroptosis has become an encouraging strategy for liver cancer treatment. Cancer cells can be directly killed by inducing ferroptosis; in contrast, ferroptosis can also ameliorate the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment and sensitize cancers to immunotherapy. Here, we summarize fully current progress in the iron homeostasis in the liver, the internal association between imbalanced iron homeostasis and ferroptosis in liver carcinogenesis and development, as well as ferroptosis-related regulators in liver cancer. Furthermore, we discuss thoroughly the interaction between ferroptosis and tumor immune microenvironment. Finally, we provide certainly a future insight on the potential value of ferroptosis in the immunotherapy of liver cancer.     

Sieving through the cancer secretome

Cancer is among the most prevalent and serious health problems worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel cancer biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for early detection and management of the disease. The cancer secretome, encompassing all the proteins that are secreted by cancer cells, is a promising source of biomarkers as the secreted proteins are most likely to enter the blood circulation. Moreover, since secreted proteins are responsible for signaling and communication with the tumor microenvironment, studying the cancer secretome would further the understanding of cancer biology. Latest developments in proteomics technologies have significantly advanced the study of the cancer secretome. In this review, we will present an overview of the secretome sample preparation process and summarize the data from recent secretome studies of six common cancers with high mortality (breast, colorectal, gastric, liver, lung and prostate cancers). In particular, we will focus on the various platforms that were employed and discuss the clinical applicability of the key findings in these studies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: An Updated Secretome.     

Proteomics in uveal melanoma research: opportunities and challenges in biomarker discovery

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary intraocular tumor in adult humans. Despite the significant advances in diagnosis and treatment of UM in the last decades, the prognosis of UM sufferers is still poor. Metastatic liver disease is the leading cause of death in UM and can develop after a long disease-free interval, suggesting the presence of occult micrometastasis. Proteomics technology has opened new opportunities for elucidating the molecular mechanism of complex diseases, such as cancer. This article will review the recent developments in biomarker discovery for UM research by proteomics. In the last few years, the first UM proteomics-based analyses have been launched, yielding promising results. An update on recent developments on this field is presented.     

Proteomics in uveal melanoma research: opportunities and challenges in biomarker discovery

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary intraocular tumor in adult humans. Despite the significant advances in diagnosis and treatment of UM in the last decades, the prognosis of UM sufferers is still poor. Metastatic liver disease is the leading cause of death in UM and can develop after a long disease-free interval, suggesting the presence of occult micrometastasis. Proteomics technology has opened new opportunities for elucidating the molecular mechanism of complex diseases, such as cancer. This article will review the recent developments in biomarker discovery for UM research by proteomics. In the last few years, the first UM proteomics-based analyses have been launched, yielding promising results. An update on recent developments on this field is presented.     

维生素K2对肝脏的保护作用

急慢性肝损伤、肝硬化和肝癌等肝脏疾病是严重影响人类健康的重大疾病。肝脏是人体内最大的消化腺,是体内新陈代谢的中心站,也是肠道内容物及细菌代谢产物进入体内循环的必经之路。虽然由肠道吸收的很多细菌代谢产物对肝脏有伤害作用,然而越来越多的研究表明细菌产生的维生素K2对于肝脏具有保护作用。本文综述近几年来维生素K2在肝癌、肝硬化、肝再生等方面的研究进展,简要总结了维生素K2可能的作用机制,使我们看到了维生素K2防治肝脏疾病的潜力。     

Needle biopsy of the liver. A critique of four currently available methods.

There are currently four needle biopsy methods for obtaining tissue from patients with possible diffuse liver disease or cancer. These include percutaneous blind needle biopsy, a visually guided needle biopsy at laparoscopy, guided fine-needle biopsies with ultrasonography or computed tomography, and the transvenous liver biopsy. We and others have found the guided fine-needle biopsy technique to be safe, relatively cheap, and highly accurate in the diagnosis of liver cancer. Blind percutaneous biopsy should be reserved for patients with possible diffuse, noncancerous, liver disease. Guided biopsies at laparoscopy can be done if the other two methods fail to give a tissue diagnosis. The transvenous approach is useful in patients with a coagulation disorder.     

肝再生磷酸酶PRL-3在肿瘤发生过程中的机制和靶向治疗

磷酸激酶因参与多种信号通路的异常激活导致肿瘤生成和发展而受到重视,但与磷酸激酶功能相对的磷酸酶却因与底物作用的瞬时性、缺乏底物特异性等多种原因较少得到深入研究。近年来,随着研究手段的不断进步,越来越多的结果显示,磷酸酶在疾病的发生发展中同样扮演了重要角色,如肝再生磷酸酶3(PRL-3),其异常高表达在实验动物、细胞培养和患者中均被证实与癌症发生、转移和预后密切相关。目前,关于其作用机制研究虽有一定进展,但仍有许多问题需要进一步解释。本文总结了迄今为止对PRL-3结构、功能和基因表达调控的研究进展,分析了PRL-3在癌症转移中的作用机制,并简要归纳了靶向PRL-3进行癌症治疗的一些最新现状。