Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) is an aggressive cancer with a poor survival rate and is the second most common type of primary cancer of the hepatobiliary system. At present, the molecular mechanisms of IHCC initiation and progression remain unclear. Recent evidence has indicated that long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve a crucial role in cancer development; however, the functional role of lncRNAs in IHCC has not been investigated in detail. In the present study, a marked overexpression of lncRNA colon cancer‑associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) was observed in IHCC cell lines and clinical specimens. Statistical analysis of IHCC clinicopathological characteristics and CCAT2 expression data revealed that high CCAT2 expression levels correlated with microvascular invasion, differentiation grade, tumor (T), lymph node (N), metastasis (M) and overall TNM stages of IHCC (P<0.05). Kaplan‑Meier analysis demonstrated that CCAT2 upregulation was associated with poor overall survival and progression‑free survival in IHCC. Furthermore, high CCAT2 expression was identified as an independent risk factor of IHCC poor prognosis in both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The role of CCAT2 in promoting IHCC cell proliferation, motility and invasion was further confirmed with in vitro assays. Therefore, CCAT2 may promote IHCC progression and metastasis, and may be a promising prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in IHCC.
Background: Periostin has been shown to be upregulated in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), especially in the CRSwNP patients with asthma. However, the underlying mechanism that how periostin contributes to the polyp genesis remains unclear.Methods: In this study, we collected 63 CRSwNP patients' nasal polyps (NPs) and 25 control subjects' uncinated tissues. The expressions of periostin, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and other proinflammatory cytokines were examined using IHC staining, qRT-PCR, Western blot (WB), ELISA and FACS. The eosinophil infiltration, phenotype profiles and clinical characteristics of 2 NP subtypes (eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic) were evaluated. We examined the effects and mechanisms of periostin on human nasal epithelial cells cultured at air-liquid interface (ALI).Results: The expressions of periostin in NPs with asthma were higher than without asthma and the control nasal mucosa and positively associated with the TSLP (P<0.05). And the periostin levels was positively associated with the basement membrane thickness, goblet cell hyperplasia and tissue eosinophilia polyp tissues, as well as the clinical parameters (computed tomography scores, polyp size, and polyp recurrence after endoscopic surgery). In vitro experiments show that type 2 T-helper (Th2) cytokines interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-13 and TGF-β1 stimulates epithelial cells derived from polyp tissues to produce periostin through ERK and STAT6 signal pathways (P<0.05). Autocrine or recombinant periostin activates epithelial cells to produce TSLP via NF-κB signal pathways (P<0.05). The supernatant of periostin-treated epithelial cells activates dendritic cells (DCs), which subsequently induce naïve T cells to differentiate into Th2 cells and express IL-4 and IL-13. Conclusions:Our findings indicate periostin may play an important role in the polyp genesis, which can be considered as a therapeutic target for the management of CRSwNP.
BackgroundIn recent years, tinnitus has attracted increasing research interest. However, bibliometric analysis of global research on tinnitus is rare. The objective of this study was to identify and describe the foci and developing trends of tinnitus research using a bibliometric approach.MethodsPublications related to tinnitus published from 2001 to 2020 were searched for in the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases in the Web of Science Core Collection of Clarivate Analytics. The bibliometric approach was used to estimate the searched data, and VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were used to identify and analyze research foci and trends in the field of tinnitus.ResultsA total of 5,748 articles were included. The number of publications on tinnitus has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, especially since 2010. The leading country in terms of publications and access to collaborative networks was the United States. High-frequency keywords included tinnitus, hearing loss, prevalence, management, depression, mechanism, vertigo, hearing, inferior colliculus, and noise. The analyses of keyword burst detection indicated that prevalence, anxiety, and neural network are emerging research hotspots.ConclusionIn the past 20 years, academic understanding of tinnitus has improved considerably. This study provides an objective, systematic, and comprehensive analysis of tinnitus-related literature. Furthermore, current hot spots and prospective trends in the field of tinnitus were identified. These results will assist otolaryngologists and audiologists in identifying the evolving dynamics of tinnitus research and highlight areas for prospective research.
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