干细胞扩增及肝向分化过程中相关指标及其检测方法

背景:干细胞在组织工程学、再生医学、细胞治疗以及药物研究方面具有巨大的应用前景。近年来,以生物人工肝为例的应用研究需要大规模扩增出高质量的干细胞并最终定向分化为肝(样)细胞。如何通过此途径高效获得一致性、功能性完好并且标志物均匀表达的分化细胞,是需要解决的关键问题。目的:对干细胞扩增及肝向分化过程相关检测指标与检测方法进行综述,总结已应用于在线检测的指标与方法,讨论部分指标与方法应用于在线检测的局限性,并对未来有望应用于在线检测的指标和检测技术进行展望。方法:由第一作者检索1990至2019年PubMed数据库、Web of Science核心合集、Elsevier数据库、中国知网等收录的与干细胞扩增及肝向分化过程相关的文献。英文检索词为“stem cells,expansion,hepatic differentiation,monitoring,real-time online”,中文检索词为“干细胞,扩增,肝向分化,监测,实时在线”,共计检索93篇文章,最终筛选了符合标准的53篇进行综述。结果与结论:干细胞扩增及肝向分化过程的相关检测指标与检测方法众多,其中扩增过程的检测指标主要涉及干细胞多能性的保持、代谢活性、存活率以及转癌趋势。肝向分化过程因细胞种类而异,其中多能干细胞和中胚层谱系成体多能干细胞要先向内胚层定向分化,再分化为成熟肝(样)细胞,而以肝干/祖细胞为主的内胚层谱系成体多能干细胞可直接分化为成熟肝(样)细胞。分化过程不同阶段细胞的特异性标志物、存活率以及代谢活性是检测的重点。目前,基于大型生化检测分析设备的检测方法虽然可靠性高,但面临实时性差、成本高、难以集成小型化等问题。未来,干细胞扩增及肝向分化过程中关键检测指标的筛选、检测标准的量化以及自动化在线检测的实现,需要重点研究。

Comprehensive Understanding of Immune Cells in The Pathogenesis of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is the most common chronic liver disease,defined by several phases,ranging from benign fat accumulation to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.Although NAFLD is a disease of disordered metabolism,it also involves several immune cell-mediated inflammatory processes,either promoting and/or suppressing hepatocyte inflammation through the secretion of pro-inflammatory and/or anti-inflammatory factors to influence the NAFLD process.However,the underlying disease mechanism and the role of immune cells in NAFLD are still under investigation,leaving many open-ended questions.In this review,we presented the recent concepts about the interplay of immune cells in the onset and pathogenesis of NAFLD.We also highlighted the specific non-immune cells exhibiting immunological properties of therapeutic significance in NAFLD.We hope that this review will help guide the development of future NAFLD therapeutics.

Anti-proliferative activity of phlorotannin extracts from brown algae Laminaria japonica Aresch

In this study, we evaluated the anti-proliferative activity of phlorotannins derived from brown algae Laminariajaponica Aresch extracts on the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell （BEL-7402） and on routine leukemic cells （P388） by MTT assay. Cells were incubated with 100 μg/mL of the phlorotannin extract （PE） for 48 h. The inhibitory rate of PE on BEL-7402 and P388 cells was 30.20±1.16% and 43.44±1.86%, respectively, and the half-inhibitory concentration of PE （IC50） on P388 and BEL-7402 cells was 120 μg/mL and 〉200 μg/mL, respectively. Microscopic observation shows that the morphologic features of tumor cells treated with PE and 5-fluorouracil are markedly different from the normal control group. The inhibitory rate of fraction A2 isolated from PE by sephadex LH-20 for BEL-7402 and P388 cells at the sample concentration of 70.42 μg/mL was 61.96±7.02% and 40.47±8.70%, respectively. The apoptosis peak for fraction A2 was the most profound of all fractions used in the flow cytometry assay. The results indicate that the anti-proliferative of this algal extract is associated with the total phlorotannin content.

Quantitative proteomic analysis for high-throughput screening of differential glycoproteins in hepatocellular carcinoma serum

Objective： Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Novel serum biomarkers are required to increase the sensitivity and specificity of serum screening for early HCC diagnosis. This study employed a quantitative proteomic strategy to analyze the differential expression of serum glycoproteins between HCC and normal control serum samples. Methods： Lectin affinity chromatography （LAC） was used to enrich glycoproteins from the serum samples. Quantitative mass spectrometric analysis combined with stable isotope dimethyl labeling and 2D liquid chromatography （LC） separations were performed to examine the differential levels of the detected proteins between HCC and control serum samples. Western blot was used to analyze the differential expression levels of the three serum proteins. Results： A total of 2,280 protein groups were identified in the serum samples from HCC patients by using the 2D LC-MS/MS method. Up to 36 proteins were up-regulated in the HCC serum, whereas 19 proteins were down-regulated. Three differential glycoproteins, namely, fibrinogen gamma chain （FGG）, FOS-like antigen 2 （FOSL2）, and a-l, 6-mannosylglycoprotein 6-^-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase B （MGATSB） were validated by Western blot. All these three proteins were up-regulated in the HCC serum samples. Conclusion： A quantitative glycoproteomic method was established and proven useful to determine potential novel biomarkers for HCC.

Expression and significance of tumor-related genes in HCC

AIM: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of DEK, cyclin D1, insulin-like growth factor Ⅱ (IGF-Ⅱ), glypican 3 (GPC3), ribosomal phosphoprotein 0 (rpPO) mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its paraneoplastic tissues. METHODS: The expression of mRNAs of DEK, cyclin D1, IGF-Ⅱ, GPC3 and rpP0 mRNA was detected in HCC and its paraneoplastic tissues by multiplex RT-PCR. RESULTS: By the simplex RT-PCR, the overexpression of mRNAs of DEK, cyclin D1, IGF-Ⅱ, GPC3, rpP0 mRNA in HCC and its paraneoplastic tissues was 78.1%, 87.5%, 87.5%, 75.0%, 81.3% and 15.6%, 40.6%, 37.5%, 21.9%, 31.3% respectively (P<0.05). By the multiplex RT-PCR, at least one of the mRNAs was detected in all HCC samples and in 75.0% of paraneoplastic samples (P>0.05). However, all these five mRNAs were found in 68.8% of HCC samples, but only in 9.4% of paraneoplastic tissues (P<0.05). The positive expression of mRNAs of DEK, cyclin D1, IGF-Ⅱ, GPC3, rpP0 in well- and poorly-differentiated HCC was 89.0%, 66.7%, 66.7%, 66.7%, 77.8% and 73.9%, 95.7%, 95.7%, 95.7%, 82.6%, respectively (P>0.05). The expression of these genes in HCCs with α-feto protein (AFP) negative and positive was 90.0%, 80.0%, 90.0%, 90.0%, 90.0% and 72.7%, 86.3%, 77.3%, 90.9%, 68.2% respectively (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression of DEK, cyclin D1, IGF-Ⅱ, GPC3, rpP0 mRNA in HCC is much higher in HCC than in its paraneoplastic tissues. Multiplex RT-PCR assay is an effective, sensitive, accurate, and cost-effective diagnostic method of HCC.

Intratumoral sampling variability in hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report

The differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and regenerative liver nodules and other primary liver tumors may be very difficult, particularly when performed on liver biopsies. Difficulties in histological typing may be often minimized by immunohistochemistry. Among the numerous markers proposed, CK18, Hep Par1 and glypican 3 （GPC3） are considered the most useful in HCC diagnosis. Here we report a case of HCC in a 72-year-old male with HBV- related chronic liver disease, characterized by a marked morphological and immunohistochemical intratumoral variability. In this case, tumor grading ranged from areas extremely well differentiated, similar to regenerative nodule, to undifferentiated regions, with large atypical multinucleated cells. While almost all sub nodules were immunostained by Hep Par 1, immunoreactivity for glypican 3 and for Ckl8 was patchy, with negative tumor region adjacent to the highly immunoreactive areas. Our case stresses the relevance of sampling variability in the diagnosis of HCC, and indicates that caution should be taken in grading an HCC and in the interpretation of immunohistochemical stains when only small core biopsies from liver nodules are available.

Expression and alteration of insulin-like growth factor II-messenger RNA in hepatoma tissues and peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the clinical values of serum free insulin-like growth factor Ⅱ (IGF-Ⅱ) levels and IGF-Ⅱ mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and peripheral blood for diagnosis of HCC and monitoring of extrahepatic metastasis.METHODS: Total RNAs were extracted from HCC tissues or peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with HCC, liver diseases devoid of cancer, non-hepatic tumors,and healthy controls, respectively. IGF-Ⅱ cDNAs were synthesized through random primers and reversetranscriptase, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and confirmed by DNA sequencing analysis. Serum free IGF-Ⅱ levels in patients with different liver diseases were analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.RESULTS: The amplified fragments of IGF-Ⅱ mRNA by RT-PCR were identical to originally designed ones with a size of 170 bp and confirmed by sequencing analysis.The dilution experiments revealed that the lowest sensitivity of our system was 2 ng/L of total RNA. The positive frequencies of IGF-Ⅱ mRNA were 100% in HCC tissues,53.3% in para-cancerous tissues, and 0% in non-cancerous tissues, respectively. The serum free IGF-Ⅱ levels were significantly higher in HCC than those in chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. The positive frequency of circulating IGF-Ⅱ mRNA was 34.2% in HCC, no amplified fragment was found in other liver diseases, extrahepatic tumors,and normal controls, respectively. The circulating IGF-Ⅱ mRNA correlated with the stage of HCC, and its positive rate was 100% in HCC with extrahepatic metastasis and 35.5% in HCC with AFP-negative. No significant correlation was found between tumor sizes and circulating IGF-Ⅱ mRNA fragment.CONCLUSION: The abnormal expressions of free IGF-Ⅱ and IGF-Ⅱ mRNA are useful tumor markers for HCC diagnosis, differentiation of extrahepatic metastasis and monitoring postoperative recurrence.

Effects of ethanol on insulin-like growth factor-Ⅰ system in primary cultured rat hepatocytes: Implications of JNK1/2 and alcoholdehydrogenase

AIM: To evaluate the effects of ethanol on the insulin- like growth factor-Ⅰ (IGF-Ⅰ) system involved in c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK1/2) and alcoholdehydrogenase (ADH) activity in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. METHODS: Hepatocytes isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats were incubated with various concentrations of ethanol for different durations of time. The cells were pretreated with SP600125 (10 μmol/L) and 4-MP (200 μmol/L), and then treated with ethanol (200 mmol/L). We then measured IGF-Ⅰ secretion, IGF-Ⅰ mRNA expression, cell viability and JNK1/2 activity by radioimmunoassay, RT-PCR, MTT assay and Western blot, respectively (n = 6). RESULTS: Ethanol induced the activity of phospho (p)-JNK1/2, reaching a maximum at 60 min and then decreasing at 180 min. The effects of ethanol on the IGF-Ⅰ system were increased at 60 min (secretion: 7.11 ± 0.59 ng/mg protein vs 4.91 ± 0.51 ng/mg, mRNA expression: 150.2% ± 10.2% vs 101.5% ± 11.3%, P = 0.045) and then decreased at 180 min (secretion: 3.89 ± 0.25 ng/mg vs 5.4 ± 0.54 ng/mg protein; mRNA expression: 41.5% ± 10.4% vs 84.7% ± 12.1%, P = 0.04), however cell viability was decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. SP600125 blocked the ethanol-induced changes (at 60 min). Additionally, 4-methylpyrazole prevented the ethanol-induced decreases in the IGF-Ⅰ system, cell viability and p-JNK1/2 activity (at 180 min). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that ethanol- induced p-JNK1/2 activation is associated with the IGF-Ⅰ system and cell viability in hepatocytes. Furthermore, alcohol dehydrogenase is involved in the relationship between ethanol-induced inactivation of p-JNK1/2 and the changes of the IGF-Ⅰ system and cell viability.

Highly sensitive light-up near-infrared fluorescent probe for detection and imaging of β-glucuronidase in human serum,living cells and tumor-bearing mice

β-Glucuronidase(GUS)plays a key role in tumor initiation,metastasis,and progression,and thus,has been proposed as a promising cancer biomarker.In this study,we designed an enzyme-activatable near-infrared(NIR)fluorescent probe(DCM-βGlcA)for the rapid and accurate detection of GUS activity in vitro,in vivo and ex vivo.The DCM-βGlcA was prepared by linking a glucuronic acid residue to dicyanomethylene-4 H-pyran(DCM).This probe exhibited significant light-up NIR fluorescent signals at 680 nm after reacting with GUS and the Stokes shift could reach 150 nm.The DCM-βGlcA showed a high sensitivity toward GUS and an excellent linear relationship at concentrations ranging between 0 and 4 U L^(-1)(R^(2)=0.9974)with the limit of detection as low as 0.19 U L^(-1).We used the DCM-βGlcA to identify GUS serum levels in both cancer patients and healthy individuals with a similar accuracy as that of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)while being easier and faster to perform.Moreover,the DCM-βGlcA was used for tracking endogenous GUS in living cells,thereby discriminating GUSoverexpressed liver cancer from normal cells.Additionally,the DCM-βGlcA was able to detect and image endogenous GUS in liver cancer tissue and tumor-bearing mouse models.These findings demonstrate the potential of the DCM-βGlcA as a promising tool for detecting and monitoring GUS activity in preclinical applications.