1.
Cell-free circulating mitochondrial DNA content and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic HBV infection.
Li, L, Hann, HW, Wan, S, Hann, RS, Wang, C, Lai, Y, Ye, X, Evans, A, Myers, RE, Ye, Z, et al
Scientific reports. 2016;:23992
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated a potential link between circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content and cancers. However, there is no study evaluating the association between circulating mtDNA as a non-invasive marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. We conducted a nested case-control study to determine circulating mtDNA content in serum samples from 116 HBV-related HCC cases and 232 frequency-matched cancer-free HBV controls, and evaluate the retrospective association between mtDNA content and HCC risk using logistic regression and their temporal relationship using a mixed effects model. HCC cases had significantly lower circulating mtDNA content than controls (1.06 versus 2.47, P = 1.7 × 10(-5)). Compared to HBV patients with higher mtDNA content, those with lower mtDNA content had a significantly increased risk of HCC with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-3.72, P = 0.004). Quartile analyses revealed a significant dose-dependent effect (Ptrend = 0.001) for this association. In a pilot longitudinal sub-cohort of 14 matched cases-control pairs, we observed a trend of dramatically decreased mtDNA content in cases and slightly decreased mtDNA content in controls, with a significant interaction of case-control status with time (Pinteraction = 0.049). Our findings suggest that circulating mtDNA is a potential novel non-invasive biomarker of HCC risk in HBV patients.
2.
The aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase in carcinomas.
Yang, H, Li, J, Tang, R, Li, J, Liu, Y, Ye, L, Shao, D, Jin, M, Huang, Q, Shi, J
Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition). 2015;(5):902-9
Abstract
Aspartyl-(asparaginyl)-β-hydroxylase (AAH) is a member of the α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase family that catalyzes the hydroxylation of aspartyl and asparaginyl residues epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains of protein. In human tumorous cell lines from main systems of body, including tumor cells of kidney, throat, breast, liver, bladder, cervical and ovary, the AAH can be detected at both the transcriptional level and the translational level, and moreover, the AAH expression is usually increased, which is associated with the development and progression of carcinomas. Thus, AAH may play an important role in different carcinomas and may be a potential hub in carcinogenesis. In this review, we will discuss the role of AAH in carcinomas, focusing on liver cancers and other digestive tumors, lung cancers, and tumors of nervous system.