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Chronic ethanol abuse is known to increase susceptibility to infections after injury, in part, by modification of macrophage function. Several intracellular signalling mechanisms are involved in the initiation of inflammatory responses, including the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. In this study, we investigated the systemic and hepatic effect of chronic ethanol feeding on in vivo activation of NF-κB in NF-κB(EGFP) reporter gene mice. Specifically, the study focused on Kupffer cell proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and activation of NF-κB after chronic ethanol feeding followed by in vitro stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that chronic ethanol upregulated NF-κB activation and increased hepatic and systemic proinflammatory cytokine levels. Similarly, LPS-stimulated IL-1 β release from whole blood was significantly enhanced in ethanol-fed mice. However, LPS significantly increased IL-6 and TNF-α levels. These results demonstrate that chronic ethanol feeding can improve the responsiveness of macrophage LPS-stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α production and indicate that this effect may result from ethanol-induced alterations in intracellular signalling through NF-κB. Furthermore, LPS and TNF-α stimulated the gene expression of different inflammatory mediators, in part, in a NF-κB-dependent manner.
Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCs) are suitable for bone tissue engineering. Comparative data regarding the needs of BMC for the adhesion on biomaterials and biocompatibility to various biomaterials are lacking to a large extent. Therefore, we evaluated whether a surface coating would enhance BMC adhesion and analyze the biocompatibility of three different kinds of biomaterials. BMCs were purified from human bone marrow aspirate samples. Beta tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP, without coating or coated with fibronectin or human plasma), demineralized bone matrix (DBM), and bovine cancellous bone (BS) were assessed. Seeding efficacy on β-TCP was 95% regardless of the surface coating. BMC demonstrated a significantly increased initial adhesion on DBM and β-TCP compared to BS. On day 14, metabolic activity was significantly increased in BMC seeded on DBM in comparison to BMC seeded on BS. Likewise increased VEGF-synthesis was observed on day 2 in BMC seeded on DBM when compared to BMC seeded on BS. The seeding efficacy of BMC on uncoated biomaterials is generally high although there are differences between these biomaterials. Beta-TCP and DBM were similar and both superior to BS, suggesting either as suitable materials for spatial restriction of BMC used for regenerative medicine purposes in vivo.
AIM: To evaluate and compare the effect of combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and arterial administration of Bletilla striata (a Chinese traditional medicine against liver tumor) versus TACE alone for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in ACI rats.
METHODS: Subcapsular implantation of a solid Morris hepatoma 3 924A (2 mm3) in the liver was carried out in 30 male ACI rats. Tumor volume (V1) was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on day 13 after implantation. The following different agents of interventional treatment were injected after retrograde catheterization via gastroduodenal artery (on day 14), namely, (A) TACE (0.1 mg mitomycin + 0.1 ml Lipiodol) + Bletilla striata (1.0 mg) (n=10); (B) TACE + Bletilla striata (1.0 mg) + ligation of hepatic artery (n=10), (C) TACE alone (control group, n=10). Tumor volume (V2) was assessed by MRI (on day 13 after treatment) and the tumor growth ratio (V2/V1) was calculated.
RESULTS: The mean tumor volume before (V1) and after (V2) treatment was 0.0355 cm3 and 0.2248 cm3 in group A, 0.0374 cm3 and 0.0573 cm3 in group B, 0.0380 cm3 and 0.3674 cm3 in group C, respectively. The mean ratio (V2/V1) was 6.2791 in group A, 1.5324 in group B and 9.1382 in group C. Compared with the control group (group C), group B showed significant inhibition of tumor growth (P<0.01), while group A did not (P>0.05). None of the animals died during implantation or in the postoperative period.
CONCLUSION: Combination of TACE and arterial administration of Bletilla striata plus ligation of hepatic artery is more effective than TACE alone in the treatment of HCC in rats.
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Growing evidence indicates that tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are responsible for tumor growth and progression. Conventional chemotherapeutics do not sufficiently eliminate TICs, leading to tumor relapse. We aimed to gain insight into TIC biology by comparing the transcriptome of primary TIC cultures and their normal stem cell counterparts to uncover expression differences.
Methods: We established colonosphere cultures derived from the resection of paired specimens of primary tumor and normal mucosa in patients with CRC. These colonospheres, enriched for TICs, were used for differential transcriptome analyses to detect new targets for a TIC-directed therapy. Effects of target inhibition on CRC cells were studied in vitro and in vivo.
Results: Pathway analysis of the regulated genes showed enrichment of genes central to PI3K/AKT and Wnt-signaling. We identified CD133 as a marker for a more aggressive CRC subpopulation enriched with TICs in SW480 CRC cells in an in vivo cancer model. Treatment of CRC cells with the selective AKT inhibitor MK-2206 caused a decrease in cell proliferation, particularly in the TIC fraction, resulting in a significant reduction of the stemness capacity to form colonospheres in vitro and to initiate tumor formation in vivo. Consequently, MK-2206 treatment of mice with established xenograft tumors exhibited a significant deceleration of tumor progression. Primary patient-derived tumorsphere growth was significantly inhibited by MK-2206.
Conclusion: This study reveals that AKT signaling is critical for TIC proliferation and can be efficiently targeted by MK-2206 representing a preclinical therapeutic strategy to repress colorectal TICs.
Despite a high clinical need for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, targeted therapies are still limited. The multifunctional enzyme Transglutaminase 2 (TGM2), which harbors transamidation and GTPase activity, has been implicated in the development and progression of different types of human cancers. However, the mechanism and role of TGM2 in colorectal cancer are poorly understood. Here, we present TGM2 as a promising drug target.
In primary patient material of CRC patients, we detected an increased expression and enzymatic activity of TGM2 in colon cancer tissue in comparison to matched normal colon mucosa cells. The genetic ablation of TGM2 in CRC cell lines using shRNAs or CRISPR/Cas9 inhibited cell expansion and tumorsphere formation. In vivo, tumor initiation and growth were reduced upon genetic knockdown of TGM2 in xenotransplantations. TGM2 ablation led to the induction of Caspase-3-driven apoptosis in CRC cells. Functional rescue experiments with TGM2 variants revealed that the transamidation activity is critical for the pro-survival function of TGM2. Transcriptomic and protein–protein interaction analyses applying various methods including super-resolution and time-lapse microscopy showed that TGM2 directly binds to the tumor suppressor p53, leading to its inactivation and escape of apoptosis induction.
We demonstrate here that TGM2 is an essential survival factor in CRC, highlighting the therapeutic potential of TGM2 inhibitors in CRC patients with high TGM2 expression. The inactivation of p53 by TGM2 binding indicates a general anti-apoptotic function, which may be relevant in cancers beyond CRC.
Background and Purpose. Leukocyte migration into alveolar space plays a critical role in pulmonary inflammation resulting in lung injury. Acute ethanol (EtOH) exposure exerts anti-inflammatory effects. The clinical use of EtOH is critical due to its side effects. Here, we compared effects of EtOH and ethyl pyruvate (EtP) on neutrophil adhesion and activation of cultured alveolar epithelial cells (A549). Experimental Approach. Time course and dose-dependent release of interleukin- (IL-) 6 and IL-8 from A549 were measured after pretreatment of A549 with EtP (2.5–10 mM), sodium pyruvate (NaP, 10 mM), or EtOH (85–170 mM), and subsequent lipopolysaccharide or IL-1beta stimulation. Neutrophil adhesion to pretreated and stimulated A549 monolayers and CD54 surface expression were determined. Key Results. Treating A549 with EtOH or EtP reduced substantially the cytokine-induced release of IL-8 and IL-6. EtOH and EtP (but not NaP) reduced the adhesion of neutrophils to monolayers in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. CD54 expression on A549 decreased after EtOH or EtP treatment before IL-1beta stimulation. Conclusions and Implications. EtP reduces secretory and adhesive potential of lung epithelial cells under inflammatory conditions. These findings suggest EtP as a potential treatment alternative that mimics the anti-inflammatory effects of EtOH in early inflammatory response in lungs.
Background: Measurement of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) advanced the diagnostic and prognostic potential for prostate cancer (PCa). However, due to PSA’s lack of specificity, novel biomarkers are needed to improve risk assessment and ensure optimal personalized therapy. A set of protein molecules as potential biomarkers was therefore evaluated in serum of PCa patients.
Methods: Serum samples from patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RPE) for biopsy-proven PCa without neoadjuvant treatment were compared to serum samples from healthy subjects. Preliminary screening of 119 proteins in 10 PCa patients and 10 controls was carried out by the Proteome Profiler Antibody Array. Those markers showing distinct differences between patients and controls were then further evaluated by ELISA in the serum of 165 PCa patients and 19 controls. Uni- and multivariate as well as correlation analysis were performed to test the capability of these molecules to detect disease and predict pathological outcome.
Results: Screening showed that soluble (s)E-cadherin, E-selectin, MMP2, MMP9, TIMP1, TIMP2, Galectin and Clusterin warranted further evaluation. sE-Cadherin, TIMP1, Galectin and Clusterin were significantly over- and MMP9 under-expressed in PCa compared to controls. The concentration of sE-cadherin, MMP2 and Clusterin correlated negatively and that of MMP9 and TIMP1 positively with the Gleason Sum at prostatectomy. Only sE-cadherin significantly correlated with the highest Gleason pattern. Compared to serum PSA, sE-cadherin provided an independent and better matching predictive ability for discriminating PCas with an upgrade at RPE and aggressive tumors with a Gleason Sum ≥7.
Conclusions: sE-cadherin performed most favorably from a large panel of serum proteins in terms of diagnostic and predictive potential in curatively treatable PCa. sE-cadherin merits further investigation as a biomarker for PCa.
Purpose: Prostate specific antigen is not reliable in diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa), making the identification of novel, precise diagnostic biomarkers important. Since chemokines are associated with more aggressive disease and poor prognosis in diverse malignancies, we aimed to investigate the diagnostic relevance of chemokines in PCa.
Materials and methods: Preoperative and early postoperative serum samples were obtained from 39 consecutive PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Serum from 15 healthy volunteers served as controls. Concentrations of CXCL12, CXCL13, CX3CL1, CCL2, CCL5, and CCL20 were measured in serum by Luminex. The expression activity of CXCR3, CXCR4, CXCR5, CXCR7, CXCL12, CXCL13, CX3CR1, CXCL1, CCR2, CCR5, CCR6, CCR7, CCL2, and CCL5 mRNA was assessed in tumor and adjacent normal tissue of prostatectomy specimens by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The associations of these chemokines with clinical and histological parameters were tested.
Results: The gene expression activity of CCL2 and CCR6 was significantly higher in tumor tissue compared to adjacent normal tissue. CCL2 was also significantly higher in the blood samples of PCa patients, compared to controls. CCL5, CCL20, and CX3CL1 were lower in patient serum, compared to controls. CCR2 tissue mRNA was negatively correlated with the Gleason score and grading.
Conclusion: Chemokines are significantly modified during tumorigenesis of PCa, and CCL2 is a promising diagnostic biomarker.
Pathologic data indicate that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection might be associated with the pathogenesis of several human malignancies. However, no definitive evidence of a causal link between HCMV infection and cancer dissemination has been established to date. This study describes the modulation of the invasive behavior of NCAM-expressing tumor cell lines by HCMV. Neuroblastoma (NB) cells, persistently infected with the HCMV strain AD169 (UKF-NB-4AD169 and MHH-NB-11AD169), were added to endothelial cell monolayers and adhesion and penetration kinetics were measured. The 140- and 180-kDa isoforms of the adhesion receptor NCAM were evaluated by flow cytometry, Western blot, and reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The relevance of NCAM for tumor cell binding was proven by treating NB with NCAM antisense oligonucleotides or NCAM transfection. HCMV infection profoundly increased the number of adherent and penetrated NB, compared to controls. Surface expression of NCAM was significantly lower on UKF-NB-4AD169 and MHH-NB-11AD169, compared to mock-infected cells. Western-blot and RT-PCR demonstrated reduced protein and RNA levels of the 140- and 180-kDa isoform. An inverse correlation between NCAM expression and adhesion capacity of NB has been shown by antisense and transfection experiments. We conclude that HCMV infection leads to downregulation of NCAM receptors, which is associated with enhanced tumor cell invasiveness.
