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DJ-1 is significantly elevated in various malignancies. However, the clinical significance of DJ-1 in hormone receptor (HR)-positive (HR+) breast cancer remains unclear. We evaluated DJ-1 expression in different databases and validated in vitro assay by RT-PCR and western blot among HR+ breast cancer. The correlations between DJ-1 level and tumor-immune were calculated. Mutational landscape, enriched signaling pathways, and drug sensitivity analyses were also assessed between DJ-1 high and low-expression groups. DJ-1 was upregulated in HR+ breast cancer, and high DJ-1 expression was significantly linked with poor prognosis. DJ-1 was correlated with the expression and function of different immune cells. The low DJ-1 group showed sensitivity to paclitaxel and docetaxel, while the high-expression group showed sensitivity to doxorubicin. CTLA4 and PD-L1 were more sensitive in high-DJ-1 group. It is involved in a range of pathways and might behave as a novel biomarker of prognostic value for the immune environment and drug sensitivity in HR+ breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To evaluate the prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) remodelling index (RI) in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Methods and results We prospectively enrolled 412 idiopathic DCM patients and 130 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers who underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging between September 2013 and March 2018. RI was defined as the cubic root of the LV end-diastolic volume divided by the mean LV wall thickness on basal short-axis slice. The primary endpoint included all-cause mortality and heart transplantation. The secondary endpoint included the primary endpoint and heart failure (HF) readmission. During the median follow-up of 28.1 months (interquartile range: 19.3–43.0 months), 62 (15.0%) and 143 (34.7%) patients reached the primary and secondary endpoints, respectively. Stepwise multivariate Cox regression showed that RI [hazard ratio (HR) 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.30, P  <   0.001], late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) presence and log (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) were independent predictors of the primary endpoint, while RI (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.08–1.23, P  < 0.001) and extracellular volume were independent predictors of the secondary endpoint. The addition of RI to LV ejection fraction (EF) and LGE presence showed significantly improved global χ 2 for predicting primary and secondary endpoints (both P  < 0.001). Furthermore, RI derived from echocardiography also showed independent prognostic value for primary and secondary endpoints with clinical risk factors. Conclusions RI is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality, heart transplantation, and HF readmission in DCM patients and provides incremental prognostic value to LVEF and LGE presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a nutritional index, preoperative serum prealbumin highly correlates with surgical complications. However, the correlation between preoperative prealbumin and postoperative complications remains unclear in liver transplantation (LT).Methods: A total of 191 patients who underwent LT between 2015 and 2019 were included in the retrospective analysis. According to a cut-off value calculated from a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the patients were divided into normal and low preoperative prealbumin groups. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for postoperative complications. In addition, patients were divided into subgroups by Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and the association between preoperative prealbumin and postoperative complications was also assessed in each group.Results: A total of 111 (58.1%) patients were included in the low prealbumin group based on a cut-off value of 120 mg/L. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.754 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.678-0.832). Low prealbumin (95% CI 1.51-12.8, P = 0.007) was identified as a predictor for postoperative complications based on multivariable regression. In the low and normal prealbumin groups, the prevalence rates of postoperative complications were 27.5% and 8.0% (P = 0.003) in the MELD score ≤ 15 subgroup and 53.3% and 20.0% (P = 0.197) in the MELD score > 15 subgroup, respectively.Conclusions: Preoperative prealbumin was associated with postoperative complications in LT, and preoperative nutritional support benefitted postoperative recovery, especially for patients with low MELD scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: CircRNAs are critical gene modulators in tumor initiation and progression. However, the expression pattern and molecular pathogenesis of circRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are still poorly characterized.Methods: RNA sequencing with CIRCexplorer2 pipeline was performed to identify circRNAs in 46 tumor-normal paired tissues from OSCC patients. Another set of 48 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma samples from the MiOncoCirc database were utilized as an independent validation.Results: Of the 1276 identified high-confidence circRNAs, 154 were differentially expressed between tumor and normal tissues (log2|Fold Change|≥1 and false discovery rate < 0.05). CircRNAs expression was globally down-regulated in tumors compared to normal tissues (P = 9.44 × 10-14). Correlation analysis demonstrated that the global expression of circRNAs was positively related to tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (P = 1.10 × 10-4) and stromal signature (P = 2.70 × 10-3) whereas negatively associated with cell proliferation markers (P = 4.32 × 10-2). CircRNAs-miRNAs-mRNAs regulatory network revealed 6574 interactions, and the target genes were enriched in extracellular matrix and immune-related pathways. Survival analysis were performed on target genes in immune-related pathways, and 20 genes were significantly associated with the prognostic status of OSCC in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort. The risk model constructed with above 20 genes was associated with the prognosis status of OSCC (HR = 3.28, P = 5.06 × 10-11), and the result was validated in an independent study (GSE41613) (HR = 2.06, P = 1.73 × 10-2).Conclusion: CircRNAs showed a global down-regulation pattern in OSCC tissues, and genes regulated by circRNAs primarily involved in immune and extracellular matrix pathways, which could also affect the OSCC prognosis, indicating that they may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long axis strain (LAS) is a parameter derived from standard cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. However, the prognostic value of biventricular LAS in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is unknown. Patients with HCM (n = 384) and healthy volunteers (n = 150) were included in the study. Left ventricular (LV)-LAS was defined as the percentage change in the length measured from the epicardial border of the LV apex to the midpoint of a line connecting the mitral annulus at end-systole and end-diastole. Right ventricular (RV)-LAS represented the percentage change of length between epicardial border of the LV apex to the midpoint of a line connecting the tricuspid annulus at end-systole and end-diastole. The primary endpoint was a combination of all-cause death and sudden cardiac death aborted by appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator discharge and cardiopulmonary resuscitation after syncope. The secondary endpoint was a combination of the primary endpoint and hospitalization for congestive heart failure. Twenty-nine patients (7.6%) achieved the primary endpoint, and the secondary endpoint occurred in 66 (17.2%) patients. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, RV-LAS was an independent prognostic factor for the primary (hazard ratio (HR), 1.13) and secondary (HR, 1.11) endpoints. In the subgroup of patients with a normal RV ejection fraction (EF) (>45.0%, n = 345), impaired RV-LAS was associated with adverse outcomes and might add incremental prognostic value to RVEF and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (p < 0.01). RV-LAS is an independent predictor of adverse prognosis in HCM in addition to RVEF and TAPSE. • Long axis strain is a new parameter that is easily derived from CMR imaging. • RV-long axis strain is an independent prognostic factor in HCM. • RV-long axis strain may provide incremental value beyond RVEF in HCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]