The CXC chemokines belong to a family which includes 17 different CXC members. Accumulating evidence suggests that CXC chemokines regulate tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in various types of cancers by influencing the tumor microenvironment. The different expression profiles and specific function of each CXC chemokine in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are not yet clarified. In our work, we analyzed the altered expression, interaction network, and clinical data of CXC chemokines in patients with HNSCC by using the following: the Oncomine dataset, cBioPortal, Metascape, String analysis, GEPIA, and the Kaplan–Meier plotter. The transcriptional level analysis suggested that the mRNA levels of CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXCL13 increased in HNSCC tissue samples when compared to the control tissue samples. The expression levels of CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL12, and CXCL14 were associated with various tumor stages in HNSCC. Clinical data analysis showed that high transcription levels of CXCL2, CXCL3, and CXCL12, were linked with low relapse-free survival (RFS) in HNSCC patients. On the other hand, high CXCL14 levels predicted high RFS outcomes in HNSCC patients. Meanwhile, increased gene transcription levels of CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL13, CXCL14, and CXCL17 were associated with a higher overall survival (OS) advantage in HNSCC patients, while high levels of CXCL1, and CXCL8 were associated with poor OS in all HNSCC patients. This study implied that CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL8, and CXCL12 could be used as prognosis markers to identify low survival rate subgroups of patients with HNSCC as well as be potential suitable therapeutic targets for HNSCC patients. Additionally, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL13, CXCL14, and CXCL17 could be used as functional prognosis biomarkers to identify better survival rate subgroups of patients with HNSCC.

Hetian sheep is a breed of sheep unique to the Hetian area of Xinjiang whose wool is used for producing blankets. Individual differences and hair follicle density are the key factors affecting wool production. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Hetian sheep having different wool densities to statistically analyze the wool traits and hair follicle parameters. Furthermore, the transcriptome sequencing analysis was performed on the skins with different wool densities. The results showed that wool quantity and total hair follicle density of the high wool density sheep was significantly higher than low wool density sheep. The sheepskin with high wool density was found to grow more and finer wool than sheepskin with low wool density. A total of 1,452 differentially expressed genes were screened from the two sets of samples, including 754 upregulated and 698 downregulated genes. The differentially expressed genes were involved in the TGF-β/BMP and MAPK signaling pathways related to hair growth. Eleven differentially expressed genes belonging to the KAPs and KIFs might affect the fineness of the wool. The key genes, like the TNF, MAP2K2, INHBA, FST, PTPN11, MAP3K7, KIT, and BMPR1A, were found to probably affect the growth and density of the wool. The qPCR verified eight genes related to the MAPK pathway whose gene expression trends were consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results. This study furnishes valuable resources for enhancing the quality and production of wool in the Hetian sheep.

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Background CXCL9 also known as an interferon gamma-inducible chemokine that belonging to the CXC chemokine family. It plays a role in promoting chemotaxis, inducing leukocyte differentiation and multiplication, and triggering tissue extravasation. Methods The TIMER (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource) and cancer microarray database Oncomine were used to dig at CXCL9 expression. The clinic prognostic level of CXCL9 was evaluated via Kaplan-Meier plotter. Then, Using TIMER and GEPIA, we investigated whether CXCL9 expression impacted cancer immune infiltrates. Results CXCL9 expression has been found to be significantly lower in ovarian and gastric cancers relative to normal tissues. In patients with ovarian cancer (OS HR = 0.78, P = 0.0017; PFS HR = 0.85, R = 0.015) and gastric cancer (OS HR = 0.55, P = 1.1e-08; PFS HR = 0.58, R = 7.6e-07), low CXCL9 expression was correlation to PFS (progression-free survival) and OS (poor overall survival). Furthermore, in OV and GC, CXCL9 was shown to have a close interaction with tumor-infiltrating immunity cells (B cells, CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells). CXCL9 expression, on the other hand, was shown to be closely related to several immune markers. Conclusion In OV and GC, CXCL9 mRNA level is strongly associated with prognosis and levels of penetration tumor-infiltrating immunity cell. The CXCL9 expression may also play a role in controlling TAMs (tumor-associated macrophages), DCs (Dendritic cells), CTLs (cytotoxic lymphocytes), and NK (natural killer) cells in OV and GC. CXCL9 may be seen as an independent marker that assesses the prognosis in OV and GC patients. Besides, CXCL9 expression level also can assess the immune cell subtypes of tumor microenvironment in OV and GC.

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