Background/Aims: CD24 is a highly glycosylated mucin-like antigen on the cell surface, which has recently emerged as a novel oncogene and metastasis promoter. We performed bioinformatics analysis to investigate whether CD24 can serve as a prognostic indicator in breast cancer. Methods: CD24 expression was assessed using SAGE Genie tools and Oncomine analysis. The PrognoScan database, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, and bc-GenExMiner were used to identify the prognostic roles of CD24 in breast cancer. Results: We found that CD24 was more frequently overexpressed in breast cancer than in normal breast tissue and correlated with worse prognosis. Meanwhile, high CD24 expression was associated with increased risk of HER2, basal-like, triple-negative breast cancer, and higher Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grade. Data mining in multiple big databases confirmed a positive correlation between CD24 mRNA expression and SDC1 mRNA expression in breast cancer tissue. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CD24 overexpression is more common in breast cancer than in corresponding normal tissue. In addition, CD24 and SDC1 can serve as prognostic indicators for breast cancer. However, large-scale and comprehensive research is needed to further confirm these results.

Increasing evidences suggest that inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Numerous inflammatory cytokines and related genes mediate adverse cardiovascular events in patients with CAD, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and Homer in the present study. The study was carried out on 163 CAD patients at different stages and 68 controls. The gene expression of Homer1, Homer2, Homer3, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the peripheral blood leukocytes were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The mRNA levels of Homer1, IL-1β, and TNF-α in CAD patients were significantly higher than those in the control group, but not Homer2 and Homer3. However, there was no considerable difference in the mRNA levels of Homer1, IL-1β, and TNF-α among AMI, UAP, and SAP three subgroups of CAD. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that Homer1 had a better diagnostic value for UAP patients compared with IL-1β and TNF-α. Like IL-1β and TNF-α, Homer1 may also be an important participant of atherosclerotic plaque development and eventually rupture. The results of the present study may provide an important basis for diagnosing CAD patients, and provide new therapeutic targets for CAD.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as onset of menopause characterized by amenorrhea, hypergonadotropism, and hypoestrogenism, before the age of 40 years. The POI is increasing, which seriously affects the quality of patients’ life. Due to its diversity of pathogenic factors, complex pathogenesis and limited treatment methods, the search for finding effective treatment of POI has become a hotspot. Stem cells are characterized by the ability of self-renewal and differentiation and play an important role in the regeneration of injured tissues, which is therapy is expected to be used in the treatment of POI. The aim of this review is to summarize the pathogenic mechanisms and the research progress of POI treatment with stem cells from different sources.

Background: MTHFD2 is a folate-coupled metabolic enzyme, which has been proved to participant in the metabolic reprogramming and tumor cell-sustaining proliferative capacity. However, the function of MTHFD2 in the development of ovarian cancer and its potential molecular mechanisms is still unclear. Materials and methods: The expression, various mutations, prognosis, and related network signaling pathways of MTHFD2 were analyzed using bioinformatics-related websites, including Oncomine, GEPIA, UCSC, cBioPortal, KM Plotter, TISIDB and TIMER. The prognostic value of MTHFD2 expression was validated by our own ovarian cancer samples using RT-qPCR. The migration ad invasion of ovarian cancer cells were further analyzed by CCK-8 and transwell assay. The Western-blot assay was performed to explore the protein levels of MTHFD2 and MOB1A. Results: We obtained the following important results. (1) MTHFD2 expression was markedly up-regulated in ovarian cancer than normal samples. (2) Among patients with ovarian cancer, those with higher MTHFD2 expression was associated with lower survival rate. (3) The major mutation type of MTHFD2 in ovarian cancer samples was missense mutation. (4) MTHFD2 knockdown inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, as well as the expression of MOB1A in vitro. Conclusion: MTHFD2, as a NAD + -dependent enzyme, accelerated tumor progression by up-regulating MBO1A, suggesting that this protein may be an independent prognostic factor and a potential therapeutic target for future ovarian cancer treatments.

Midkine (MK) has been reported as the potential novel diagnostic biomarker for cancer in several studies, but their results were controversial. Therefore, we performed a diagnostic meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic value of serum MK in cancer patients. A systematic electronic and manual search was performed for relevant literatures through several databases up to June 1, 2017. The quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. All analyses were conducted using stata12.0 software. Ten studies collectively included 1119 cancer patients and 1441 controls met the eligible criteria. The summary estimates were: sensitivity 0.78 (95% CI = 0.68–0.85), specificity 0.83 (95% CI = 0.72–0.90), positive likelihood ratio 4,54 (95% CI = 2.64–7.80), negative likelihood 0.27 (95% CI = 0.18–0.40), diagnostic odds ratio 16.79 (95% CI = 7.17–39.33), and area under the curve 0.87 (95% CI = 0.84–0.89). Publication bias was suggested by Deeks’ funnel plot asymmetry test (P = 0.92). According to our results, serum MK has greater diagnostic value in diagnosing cancer, however, more reliable studies in larger cohort should be conducted to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of serum MK.

Background: Homer scaffolding protein 1 (Homer1) is a postsynaptic scaffold protein that regulates the structure and function of excitatory synaptic as well as its intracellular signal transduction. However, the role of Homer1 in colorectal cancer as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms has not been elucidated. Materials and Methods: To evaluate the alternations of gene expression during colorectal cancer, Homer1 expression was analyzed using the gene expression profiling interactive analysis and Oncomine analyses. The prognostic value of Homer1 expression was validated by our own colorectal cancer specimens using RT-PCR. Then, the cell viability, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cell lines were detected by CCK-8 and transwell assay. Results: We obtained the following important results. (1) Homer1 expression was significantly higher in colorectal cancer than normal samples. (2) Among patients with colorectal cancer, those with higher Homer1 expression had a lower survival rate. (3) The major mutation type of Homer1 in colorectal cancer samples was missense mutation. (4) Homer1 was able to promote colorectal cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through up-regulating G3BP1 in vitro. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Homer1 may play a role in malignancy of colorectal cancer mainly through the G3BP1 signaling pathway, which might be a potential indicator of poor prognosis.