Background. Thrombospondin type 1 domain-containing 7A (THSD7A) was reported to play a procancer role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of the study was to screen the downstream functional genes of THSD7A and explore their functions in ESCC, based on the reported research into THSD7A function and on gene microarrays. Methods. We adopted quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Celigo high-content screening (HCS) technology to screen the downstream genes of THSD7A. The expression level of target genes was examined by PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The effects of these target genes on ESCC malignant biological behavior were performed in vivo and in vitro. The Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival analysis and Cox regression were used to analyze the prognostic significance of target genes in ESCC patients. Experiments in the literature on liver cancer (LC) were repeated to verify the functions of these genes in different tumors. We further explored the cancer-promoting mechanism of target genes in ESCC by sequencing of the genes’ exons. Results. Scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) was proved to be the downstream driving gene of THSD7A. SCARA5 promoted cell proliferation and migration but inhibited apoptosis in ESCC. IHC results confirmed that SCARA5 expression in ESCC exceeded that in normal tissues. The K-M survival analysis indicated that SCARA5 expression quantity was not related to prognosis, but tumor volume and T classification were both the independent prognostic factors. Repetition of experiments in LC in the literature confirmed that SCARA5 had exactly opposite functions in EC and LC. Conclusion. SCARA5 was related to the development and occurrence of ESCC. Our findings suggested that it was a potentially diagnostic individualized therapeutic target for ESCC in the future and that its application could possibly be combined with that of upstream THSD7A gene.

Background The ratio of hemoglobin to red blood cell distribution width (HRR) can reflect the degree of oxidative stress and systemic inflammatory response in the body, and is a potential indicator to predict the prognosis of patients with cardiac arrest (CA). Methods We retrospectively analyzed 126 patients successfully resuscitated after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Patients were grouped according to their survival status at discharge: 35 survived and 91 died. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the independent factors affecting the prognosis of patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of each independent factor for the prognosis of patients after CPR. Results The HRR in death group was lower than that in the survival group (P < 0.05), which was closely related to the prognosis of patients after CPR. The ROC curve showed that HRR < 8.555 (AUC = 0.733, sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 40.7%, P < 0.001) indicated poor prognosis after CPR. Conclusions The HRR is an independent risk factor for the prognosis in patients who underwent CPR after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. After successful resuscitation, HRR lower than 8.555 indicates poor prognosis.