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Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) participates in the autoimmune disease pathology by regulating T helper (Th) cell differentiation, NF-κB pathway, toll-like receptor 4, etc. This study intended to investigate the association of serum PCSK9 with disease activity, Th cells, and treatment response in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.Eighty-nine active AS patients were enrolled in this multicenter, prospective study. Serum was collected from AS patients at week (W)0, W4, W8, and W12, as well as from 20 osteoarthritis patients and 20 healthy controls after enrollment to detect PCSK9 by ELISA. Based on the ASAS40 response at W12, AS patients were classified as responders and non-responders.PCSK9 was increased in AS patients versus healthy controls (P 0.001) and osteoarthritis patients (P = 0.006). In AS patients, PCSK9 was positively linked with C-reactive protein (CRP) (P = 0.003) and ASDAS-CRP (P = 0.017), but not with other clinical properties (P 0.05). Besides, PCSK9 was negatively correlated with interleukin-4 (P = 0.034), positively associated with Th17 cells (P = 0.005) and interleukin-17A (P = 0.014), but did not relate to Th1 cells, interferon-γ, or Th2 cells (all P 0.05). Additionally, PCSK9 was decreased from W0 to W12 in general AS patients (P 0.001) and responders (P 0.001) but remained unchanged in non-responders (P = 0.129). Moreover, PCSK9 was lower at W4 (P = 0.045), W8 (P = 0.008), and W12 (P = 0.004) in responders versus non-responders. Furthermore, the treatment options did not affect the PCSK9 level (P 0.05).Serum PCSK9 is positively associated with disease activity and Th17 cells, while its short-term decline reflects desirable treatment response in AS patients.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most deadly cancers and is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2030. Despite extensive efforts to improve surgical treatment, limited progress has been made. Increasing evidence indicates that integrin β6 plays a crucial role in carcinoma invasion and metastasis. However, the expression and role of β6 in PDAC remain largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the expression of β6 in PDAC and its potential value as a prognostic factor and therapeutic target. β6 upregulation was identified as an independent unfavorable prognostic indicator. Integrin β6 markedly promoted the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic carcinoma cells and induced ETS1 phosphorylation in an ERK-dependent manner, leading to the upregulation of matrix metalloprotease-9, which is essential for β6-mediated invasiveness of pancreatic carcinoma cells. Accordingly, small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of integrin β6 markedly suppressed xenograft tumor growth in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that integrin β6 plays important roles in the progression of pancreatic carcinoma and contributes to reduced survival times, and may serve as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of PDAC.

Norcantharidin (NCTD) is an efficacious anti-cancer drug that has been used in China for many years, but its underlying mechanism of action is still not fully understood. In the present study, we found that NCTD could induce morphological changes in colon cancer cells, causing a transition from a spindle-shaped morphology to a typical round or oval shape, which was indicative of a mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) process. Next, we investigated the mechanism by which NCTD induced the MET process. Using a transwell assay, we found that NCTD could suppress the migratory and invasive ability of colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, NCTD suppressed the expression of integrin αvβ6, MMP-3 and MMP-9 as well as the polymerization of F-actin, further supporting its suppressive effect on migratory and invasive ability. Furthermore, the expression of αvβ6, N-cadherin, vimentin and phosphorylated ERK was decreased, while the expression of E-cadherin was up-regulated. We verified that phosphorylated Ets1 was down-regulated substantially after treatment with NCTD. Taken together, our data demonstrated that NCTD could inhibit the EMT process of colon cancer cells by inhibiting the αvβ6-ERK-Ets1 signaling pathway. This study revealed part of the mechanism through which NCTD could reverse the EMT process in colon cancer.

Background Both transcriptional factor Ets-1 and integrin αvβ6 play an important role in the development and progression of cancer. The aim of our study was to investigate the expression of Integrin αvβ6 and Ets-1, two proteins’ correlation and their clinical significance in colorectal cancerous tissues. Results The specimens were arranged into microarray using the immunohistochemistry method to investigate the expression of integrin αvβ6 and transcriptional factor Ets-1 in these tissues. Among the 158 tissue specimens, 36.07% were positive for αvβ6 expression, and 57.59% were positive for Ets-1 expression. There were obvious statistical differences existed regarding differentiation, N stage, M stage and TNM stage between αvβ6 and Ets-1 positively and negatively expressing tumors. The correlation analysis confirmed the expression of αvβ6 and Ets-1 were positively correlated in colorectal cancer. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients who were both αvβ6 and Ets-1 positive relapsed earlier than those who were both αvβ6 and Ets-1 negative; and the former group had much shorter survival time than the latter. And Cox model indicated that αvβ6 and Ets-1 were the independent prognostic factors (RR = 2.175, P = 0.012 and RR = 3.903, P < 0.001). Conclusions The expression of αvβ6 and Ets-1 were positively correlated, and their expression degrees were associated with the differentiation, N stage, M stage and TNM stage of the tumors. Hence, the combination of αvβ6 and Ets-1 can be used as a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer, especially for the early stage.

Background Both eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and integrin αvβ6 play an important role in the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of eIF4E and Integrin αvβ6, their clinical significance as well as the two proteins’ correlation in colonic carcinoma tissues. Results The expression levels of eIF4E and integrin αvβ6 were analyzed in colon cancerous and paraneoplastic tissues of 138 cases via tissue microarray (TMA)- immunohistochemistry. And their clinical significance as well as the two proteins’ correlation was also investigated. The expression of eIF4E was significantly associated with clinical TNM stage (P = 0.009), while T stage (P = 0.011) and TNM stage (P = 0.012) were significantly associated with integrin αvβ6 expression. Moderately weak correlation exists between the two proteins (r =0.299, P