简介：AbstractNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is emerging as the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. It refers to a range of liver conditions affecting people who drink little or no alcohol. NAFLD comprises non-alcoholic fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more aggressive form of NAFLD. NASH is featured by steatosis, lobular inflammation, hepatocyte injury, and various degrees of fibrosis. Although much progress has been made over the past decades, the pathogenic mechanism of NAFLD remains to be fully elucidated. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) is a nuclear hormone receptor that is highly expressed in hepatocytes. Hepatic HNF4α expression is markedly reduced in NAFLD patients and mouse models of NASH. HNF4α has been shown to regulate bile acid, lipid, glucose, and drug metabolism. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of NAFLD with a focus on the regulation of HNF4α and the role of hepatic HNF4α in NAFLD. Several lines of evidence have shown that hepatic HNF4α plays a key role in the initiation and progression of NAFLD. Recent data suggest that hepatic HNF4α may be a promising target for treatment of NAFLD.

简介：AbstractBackground:NOTCH1 mutation is an essential molecular biologic aberration in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CLL patients with NOTCH1 mutation have shown an unfavorable survival and a poor response to chemoimmunotherapy. This study aims to present the mechanisms of adverse prognosis caused by NOTCH1 mutation from the perspective of the splicing factor heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNPA1).Methods:The microarray data in Gene Expression Omnibus datasets were analyzed by bioinformatics and the function of hnRNPA1 was checked by testing the proliferation and apoptosis of CLL-like cell lines. Afterward, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were applied to explore the relationship among NOTCH1, c-Myc, and hnRNPA1.Results:RNA splicing was found to play a vital part in NOTCH1-mutated CLL cells; hence, hnRNPA1 was selected as the focus of this study. Higher expression of hnRNPA1 validated in primary NOTCH1-mutated CLL samples could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in CLL. The expression of hnRNPA1 increased when NOTCH1 signaling was activated by transfection with NOTCH1 intracellular domain (NICD)-overexpressed adenovirus vector and declined after NOTCH1 signaling was inhibited by NOTCH1-shRNA. Higher expression of c-Myc was observed in NICD-overexpressed cells and hnRNPA1 expression was downregulated after applying c-Myc inhibitor 10058-F4. Moreover, in NICD-overexpressed cells, hnRNPA1 expression decreased through c-Myc inhibition.Conclusion:Overexpression of c-Myc-dependent hnRNPA1 could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in NOTCH1- mutated CLL cells, which might partly account for the poor prognosis of patients with NOTCH1 mutation.

简介：AbstractBackground:Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors that progress owing to varied enviromental and genetic risk factors. Viral infections are threatening and adept at altering the expression of cellular transcription factors such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and deregulation of other cellular proteins like NF kappa B inhibitor alpha (IκBα). The present study was conducted to detect high-risk genotypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) and protein expression of NF-κB signaling pathway in HNC patients with HPV infection.Methods:For HPV detection, genomic DNA from 152 HNC tumors was extracted formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue DNA kit. For genotyping, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a general primer, HPV type-specific primers and agarose gel electrophoresis were performed. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was also performed on 4-μm thick tissue sections using HPV E6 monoclonal antibody. Protein expression analysis of NF-κB signaling pathway including p50, p65, and IκBα was performed using IHC.Results:PCR analysis showed that 24.3% (37/152) of HNC cases were HPV positive. Among HPV positive, 86.5% (32/37) were tobacco users, while among HPV negative, 66.9% (77/115) were tobacco users. A significant association of HPV positivity and tobacco user was observed by univariate analysis [P < 0.01; odds ratio (OR): 0.310, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.110 to 0.870]. More HPV positive patients were with poor oral hygiene (78.3%) when compared with patients with good oral hygiene (21.6%) [P < 0.03, OR: 2.440, 95% CI: 1.650 to 3.600]. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that age, tobacco use and oral hygiene are significant predictors (P < 0.02). PCR and IHC staining results confirmed that HPV16 was predominant among HNC cases (64.8%) when compared with HPV18 (35.2%). Expression of NF-κB proteins (p50, p65, and IκBα inhibitor) were also observed in HPV and non-HPV infected HNC tissues. IHC expression of p50, and p65 showed nuclear staining, while IκBα inhibitor showed cytoplasmic staining. Protein expression in HPV cases was higher as compared to HPV naive cases (P < 0.05).Conclusions:From the study, it can be established that the use of tobacco, oral hygiene, and HPV infection may be synergistically involved in modulating the expression of NF-κB signaling pathway for the development and progression of HNC in the Pakistani population.

简介：AbstractObjective:This study aimed at investigating the expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) related signal pathways in liver tissues of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy animal models.Methods:Estrogen (EE)-induced cholestasis and a placental ischemia-reperfusion (IR) model were established in pregnant rats. All pregnant rats were divided into four groups by random number table: EE-IR group (n= 6), EE-sham group (n = 6), control-IR group (n= 6) and control-sham group (n= 6). Liver expression of mTOR, its upstream regulator DNA damage response-1 (REDD1), and downstream factor glucose transporter type-1 (GLUT1), accompanied by NF-κB (p65 is the most important component), its activator toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and inhibitor IκBα, were detected by western blot analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The intergroup comparisons were performed with a one-way analysis of variance, the comparisons among groups were analyzed with the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test.Results:Giving pregnant rats EE alone reduced the hepatic expression of IκBα (0.72 ± 0.20 vs. 1.01 ± 0.07, P= 0.008). Meanwhile, giving pregnant rats placental IR alone increased liver levels of REDD1 (3.24 ± 0.98 vs. 1.06 ± 0.24, P= 0.025), GLUT1 (2.37 ± 0.82 vs. 1.09 ± 0.10, P= 0.039), TLR4 (2.12 ± 0.29 vs. 1.20 ± 0.28, P= 0.010), and p65 (2.09 ± 0.85 vs. 1.04 ± 0.06, P= 0.023), and decreased hepatic mTOR (0.50 ± 0.07 vs. 1.01 ± 0.03, P= 0.001) and IκBα (0.61 ± 0.08 vs. 1.01 ± 0.07, P= 0.014) expression. Subjecting EE-treated rats to placental IR did not further alter liver levels of GLUT1 (2.02 ± 0.45 vs. 1.79 ± 0.39, P= 0.240), TLR4 (2.10 ± 0.74 vs. 1.60 ± 0.36, P= 0.129), or p65 (2.41 ± 0.83 vs. 1.65 ± 0.46, P= 0.145), whereas it did decrease hepatic mTOR (0.42 ± 0.09 vs. 0.90 ± 0.14, P= 0.008) and IκBα (0.43 ± 0.09 vs. 0.72 ± 0.20, P= 0.004) expression and enhance REDD1 expression (4.46 ± 0.65 vs. 2.05 ± 0.47, P= 0.009). Placental IR stress did impact the hepatic expression of REDD1-mTOR-GLUT1 and TLR4/NF-κB/IκBα in pregnant rats.Conclusion:Placental IR-induced hepatic GLUT1, TLR4, and p65 alternation, which responded efficiently in control rats, were impaired in EE-induced ICP rats.