In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.

Context: Upregulator of cell proliferation 4 (URG4) has been implicated in the oncogenesis of certain cancers. However, the correlation between URG4 expression and clinicopathological significance in human cancer remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated its expression and clinicopathological significance in cervical cancer patients.', 'URG4 expression was examined using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blotting in normal cervical epithelial cells, cervical cancer cells, and eight matched pairs of cervical cancer tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues from the same patient. In addition, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to examine URG4 expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 167 cervical cancer patients (FIGO stages Ib1-IIa2). Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate associations between URG4 expression and prognostic and diagnostic factors.', 'URG4 was significantly upregulated in the cervical cancer cell lines and tissues compared with the normal cells and adjacent noncancerous cervical tissues. IHC revealed high URG4 expression in 59 out of the 167 (35.13%) cervical cancer specimens. Its expression was significantly correlated with clinical stage (P < 0.0001), tumour size (P = 0.012), T classification (P = 0.023), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001) and vaginal involvement (P = 0.002). Patients with high URG4 expression, particularly those who received concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001), showed a shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared to those with the low expression of this protein. Multivariate analysis revealed that URG4 expression is an independent prognostic factor for cervical cancer patients.\Question: Is uRG4 overexpression correlated with cervical cancer progression and poor prognosis in patients with early-stage cervical cancer?
Our results demonstrated that elevated URG4 protein expression is associated with a poor outcome in patients with early-stage cervical cancer. URG4 may be a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Context: In a recent intervention study, the daily supplementation with 200 mg monomeric and oligomeric flavanols (MOF) from grape seeds for 8 weeks revealed a vascular health benefit in male smokers. The objective of the present study was to determine the impact of MOF consumption on the gene expression profile of leukocytes and to assess changes in DNA methylation.', "Gene expression profiles were determined using whole genome microarrays (Agilent) and DNA methylation was assessed using HumanMethylation450 BeadChips (Illumina). MOF significantly modulated the expression of 864 genes. The majority of the affected genes are involved in chemotaxis, cell adhesion, cell infiltration or cytoskeleton organisation, suggesting lower immune cell adhesion to endothelial cells. This was corroborated by in vitro experiments showing that MOF exposure of monocytes attenuates their adhesion to TNF--stimulated endothelial cells. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B) reporter gene assays confirmed that MOF decrease the activity of NF-B. Strong inter-individual variability in the leukocytes' DNA methylation was observed. As a consequence, on group level, changes due to MOF supplementation could not be found.\Question: Do dietary flavanols modulate the transcription of genes associated with cardiovascular pathology without changes in their DNA methylation state?
Our study revealed that an 8 week daily supplementation with 200 mg MOF modulates the expression of genes associated with cardiovascular disease pathways without major changes of their DNA methylation state. However, strong inter-individual variation in leukocyte DNA methylation may obscure the subtle epigenetic response to dietary flavanols. Despite the lack of significant changes in DNA methylation, the modulation of gene expression appears to contribute to the observed vascular health effect of MOF in humans.

Context: Liver fibrosis develops when hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are activated into collagen-producing myofibroblasts. In non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the adipokine leptin is upregulated, and promotes liver fibrosis by directly activating HSC via the hedgehog pathway. We reported that hedgehog-regulated osteopontin (OPN) plays a key role in promoting liver fibrosis. Herein, we evaluated if OPN mediates leptin-profibrogenic effects in NASH.', 'Leptin-deficient (ob/ob) and wild-type (WT) mice were fed control or methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet. Liver tissues were assessed by Sirius-red, OPN and SMA IHC, and qRT-PCR for fibrogenic genes. In vitro, HSC with stable OPN (or control) knockdown were treated with recombinant (r)leptin and OPN-neutralizing or sham-aptamers. HSC response to OPN loss was assessed by wound healing assay. OPN-aptamers were also added to precision-cut liver slices (PCLS), and administered to MCD-fed WT (leptin-intact) mice to determine if OPN neutralization abrogated fibrogenesis.', 'MCD-fed WT mice developed NASH-fibrosis, upregulated OPN, and accumulated SMA+ cells. Conversely, MCD-fed ob/ob mice developed less fibrosis and accumulated fewer SMA+ and OPN+ cells. In vitro, leptin-treated HSC upregulated OPN, SMA, collagen 11 and TGF mRNA by nearly 3-fold, but this effect was blunted by OPN loss. Inhibition of PI3K and transduction of dominant negative-Akt abrogated leptin-mediated OPN induction, while constitutive active-Akt upregulated OPN. Finally, OPN neutralization reduced leptin-mediated fibrogenesis in both PCLS and MCD-fed mice.\Question: Is osteopontin a proximal effector of leptin-mediated non-alcoholic steatohepatitis ( NASH ) fibrosis?
OPN overexpression in NASH enhances leptin-mediated fibrogenesis via PI3K/Akt. OPN neutralization significantly reduces NASH fibrosis, reinforcing the potential utility of targeting OPN in the treatment of patients with advanced NASH.