Biomedical subjects

Qin Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Qin Liu.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Prognostic value and immune landscape implications of using a novel homologous recombination repair pathway signature in prostate cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

ObjectiveAlthough the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway plays a critical role in the treatment of prostate cancer, its prognostic value remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to identify HRR pathway-related biomarkers with clinical utility for prognosis prediction and treatment guidance.MethodsWe analyzed genomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese patients with prostate cancer in a retrospective cohort study using a comprehensive multiomics approach to characterize a novel HRR-related prognostic signature and its immune implications.ResultsIn the Chinese cohort, 25.6% of the patients exhibited homologous recombination deficiency scores >42, whereas 27.3% carried ≥1 HRR gene mutation. We established a prognostic HRR signature (homologous recombination deficiency score >32, HRR gene mutations, and Signature 3) associated with poor outcomes. Compared with The Cancer Genome Atlas data, the Chinese cohort demonstrated a higher prevalence of HRR signature. Patients with HRR signatures demonstrated significantly increased genomic instability markers, including segment number, alteration burden, aneuploidy score, and intratumor heterogeneity. The HRR signature was associated with higher neoantigen load but reduced T cell receptor (TCR) evenness. Immunologically, HRR-positive tumors were associated with computationally inferred immune profiles suggestive of reduced immune activity, characterized by depletion of T-helper 17 cell; downregulation of TLR4/PDCD1LG2 expression; and upregulation of ARG1, IFNG, KIR2DL3, and CXCL9. However, these findings are descriptive and require experimental validation.ConclusionOur findings identify a clinically relevant HRR signature that warrants investigation as a potential predictive biomarker for prostate cancer prognosis and treatment response. This biomarker provides new insights for personalized therapy and may help optimize patient outcomes.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

A systematic review of international/national guidelines for the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Convergence and divergence of recommendations.

Increasing numbers of clinical practice guidelines have been published by international/national groups for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), providing valuable references for clinicians in making evidence-based decisions on treatment. However, there are substantial discrepancies in various recommendations, leading to uncertainties in choosing the optimal strategies. The authors systematically searched databases and organizational websites for NPC guidelines published between January 2000 and November 2025. All identified guidelines underwent quality appraisal; in total, 26 clinical practice guidelines rated recommended for use were included. The recommendations covering all management aspects (diagnosis, staging, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, follow-up surveillance, biomarkers, and salvage of recurrent/metastatic diseases) were summarized and comparatively analyzed for consistency and disparities. Strong consensus exists for diagnostic workup, staging systems, and induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy for advanced disease, whereas marked disparities exist on radiotherapy details, particularly target volume delineation, elective coverage extent, and dose specifications. Although systemic therapy strategies for different stage groups were mostly consistent, substantial disparities exist in alternative options and treatment details. This first comprehensive systematic synthesis of international NPC guidelines provides a practical reference for clinicians to understand all recommendations and select optimal options based on local resources and expertise while identifying current controversies that demand future research for further standardization and harmonization.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Comparative metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling of flavonoid diversity and antioxidant capacity in three Isatis species.

Flavonoids are key bioactive compounds in plants with significant health benefits. This study employs an integrated multi-omics approach to investigate flavonoid diversity and antioxidant capacity across three Isatis species: I. oblongata, I. tinctoria, and I. indigotica. Metabolomic profiling identified 200 flavonoids, with glycosides being the most abundant class. I. tinctoria exhibited the highest total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity, strongly correlated with the accumulation of 53 core differential flavonoid metabolites, most of which were glycosylated derivatives. Transcriptomic analysis revealed coordinated upregulation of phenylpropanoid pathway genes and specific UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) in I. tinctoria, providing a genetic basis for its enhanced glycoside production. The study establishes a clear genotype-metabolite-phenotype linkage, highlighting glycosylation as a key mechanism underlying flavonoid-driven antioxidant superiority in Isatis. Although the current evidence is primarily correlative, the consistent and strong associations across independent transcriptomic, metabolomic, and antioxidant datasets provide a robust foundation for this conclusion. These findings offer new insights into the metabolic evolution and regulatory networks of flavonoids, with implications for breeding and metabolic engineering of high-value medicinal plants.

Flavonoids↗

PubMed2026

TRIM49 Deficiency Stabilizes a Galectin-3/EGR1 Transcriptional Complex That Drives Invasiveness of Gastric Adenocarcinoma.

UNLABELLED: Tissue invasion is an initiating step of the cancer metastatic cascade. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying intracellular signaling pathway rewiring that activates downstream transcriptional machinery to drive invasiveness could help identify improved strategies to prevent and treat metastasis. Through an unbiased genome-wide CRISPR screen in a mouse model of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, tripartite motif-containing protein 49 (TRIM49), was identified as a potent suppressor of cancer invasiveness. In two thirds of GAC, TRIM49 expression was downregulated in invading cancer cells, in which TRIM49 deficiency correlated with deeper tumor infiltration and lymph node metastasis and was indicative of shorter overall patient survival. In multiple orthotopic GAC mouse models, TRIM49-deficient cancer cells were highly infiltrative, leading to multiorgan metastasis. Mechanistically, galectin-3, a putative regulator of cancer invasion, was stabilized in TRIM49-deficient cancer, largely because of the failure to undergo TRIM49-mediated polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Consequently, galectin-3 assembled a complex with EGR1, thereby regulating transcriptional activities of a proinvasive gene module. As the galectin-3/EGR1 complex acted as a key node relaying proinvasive signaling, its disruption using GB1107, an oral galectin-3 inhibitor, suppressed tissue infiltration and metastasis of patient-derived xenografts. Taken together, a proinvasive galectin-3/EGR1 transcriptional complex was exploited by TRIM49-deficient GAC to fuel tissue invasion, representing an Achilles' heel that is potentially targetable to prevent metastasis. SIGNIFICANCE: A proinvasion galectin-3/EGR1 transcriptional complex is a therapeutic vulnerability in the highly invasive TRIM49-deficient gastric adenocarcinoma, which can be disrupted by the oral galectin-3 inhibitor GB1107 to prevent cancer spreading.

Stomach Neoplasms↗

PubMed2024

Effects of initial corncob particle size on the short-term composting for preparation of cultivation substrates for Pleurotus ostreatus.

The short-term composting based on corncob for preparing Pleurotus ostreatus cultivation medium originated from agricultural production practices and so lacked systematic investigation. In this study, the influences of a Dafen (15 mm, DFT) and Xiaofen (5 mm, XFT) initial particle size (IPS) of corncob on the microbial succession and compost quality were examined. Results demonstrated that XFT compost was better suited for mushroom cultivation due to its high biological efficiency of 70 % and the absence of contamination. The composting microbes differed significantly between the DFT and XFT composts. During composting, the genera of Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Lactobacillus, Streptomyces, and Paenibacillus were majorly found in the DFT compost, while Acinetobacter, Lactobacillus, Puccinia, Bacteroides, and Bacillus genera dominated the XFT compost. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that throughout the thermophilic phase, XFT compost had much greater relative abundances of sequences relevant to energy, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism than DFT compost. Analysis of network correlations and Mantel tests indicated that IPS reduction could increase microbial interactions. Overall, adjusting the IPS of corncob to 5 mm increased microbial interactions, improved compost quality, and thereby boosted the P. ostreatus yield. These findings will be pertinent in optimizing the composting process of cultivation medium for P. ostreatus.

Composting↗