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Murphy ZR, Bianchini EC, Smith A, Körner LI, Russell T, Reinecke D, Maarouf N, Wang Y, Golfinos JG, Miller AM, Snuderl M, Orringer DA, Evrony GD. Ultra-rapid droplet digital PCR enables intraoperative tumor quantification. MED 2025:100604. [PMID: 40010345 DOI: 10.1016/j.medj.2025.100604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2024] [Revised: 10/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2025] [Indexed: 02/28/2025]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The diagnosis and treatment of tumors often depend on molecular-genetic data. However, rapid and iterative access to molecular data is not currently feasible during surgery, complicating intraoperative diagnosis and precluding measurement of tumor cell burdens at surgical margins to guide resections. METHODS Here, we introduce Ultra-Rapid droplet digital PCR (UR-ddPCR), a technology that achieves the fastest measurement, to date, of mutation burdens in tissue samples, from tissue to result in 15 min. Our workflow substantially reduces the time from tissue biopsy to molecular diagnosis and provides a highly accurate means of quantifying residual tumor infiltration at surgical margins. FINDINGS We demonstrate UR-ddPCR assays for the IDH1 R132H and BRAF V600E clonal mutations that are present in many low-grade gliomas and melanomas, respectively, and whose intraoperative detection would shape surgical decision-making. We illustrate the clinical feasibility of UR-ddPCR by performing it intraoperatively for 22 brain tumor cases, and we further combine UR-ddPCR tumor cell percentage measurements with UR-stimulated Raman histology intraoperatively to estimate tumor cell densities ranging from >1,300 tumor cells/mm2 within a tumor core to <5 tumor cells/mm2 at tumor margins. UR-ddPCR measurements were virtually identical to standard ddPCR measurements performed on the same samples (R2 = 0.995). CONCLUSIONS The technology and workflow developed here enable intraoperative molecular-genetic assays with unprecedented speed and sensitivity. We anticipate that our method will facilitate novel point-of-care diagnostics and molecularly guided surgeries that improve clinical outcomes. FUNDING This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine institutional funds. Reagents and instruments were provided in kind by Bio-Rad.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary R Murphy
- Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience & Physiology, Institute for Systems Genetics, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, and Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emilia C Bianchini
- Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience & Physiology, Institute for Systems Genetics, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, and Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew Smith
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lisa I Körner
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Teresa Russell
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - David Reinecke
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nader Maarouf
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yuxiu Wang
- Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Brain and Spine Tumor Center, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - John G Golfinos
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Brain and Spine Tumor Center, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alexandra M Miller
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Brain and Spine Tumor Center, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA; Departments of Medicine and Neurology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matija Snuderl
- Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Brain and Spine Tumor Center, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel A Orringer
- Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Brain and Spine Tumor Center, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Gilad D Evrony
- Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience & Physiology, Institute for Systems Genetics, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, and Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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Stojanovic NM, Mitić M, Ilić J, Radić M, Radisavljević M, Baralić M, Krstić M. Natural Source of Drugs Targeting Central Nervous System Tumors-Focus on NAD(P)H Oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) Activity. Brain Sci 2025; 15:132. [PMID: 40002465 PMCID: PMC11853159 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15020132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2024] [Revised: 01/27/2025] [Accepted: 01/28/2025] [Indexed: 02/27/2025] Open
Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) tumors involve a large and diverse group of malignancies that arise from various cell types within the brain tissue. Although there are advances in treatments, CNS tumors still remain challenging, due to their complex biology and the delicate nature of the surrounding tissue. NAD(P)H O=oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is an enzyme that plays a critical role in the detoxification of quinones, protecting cells from oxidative stress. In CNS tumors this enzyme is often overexpressed, which contributes to the resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy by enhancing their antioxidant defenses. NQO1 influences the progression of CNS tumors by affecting downstream signaling pathways, such as those involving the transcription factor SNAIL, as well as others that are associated with tumor behavior. Plants represent a valuable source of numerous constituents with different chemical structures known to affect different molecular signaling pathways associated with different pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola M. Stojanovic
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
| | - Milica Mitić
- Center for Pathology, University Clinical Centre Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (M.M.); (M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (J.I.); (M.R.); (M.R.)
| | - Jovan Ilić
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (J.I.); (M.R.); (M.R.)
- Department for Neurosurgery, University Clinical Centre Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
| | - Milica Radić
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (J.I.); (M.R.); (M.R.)
- Department for Radiation Oncology, University Clinical Centre Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
| | - Miša Radisavljević
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (J.I.); (M.R.); (M.R.)
- Department for Neurosurgery, University Clinical Centre Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
| | - Marko Baralić
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia;
- Department of Nephrology, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Miljan Krstić
- Center for Pathology, University Clinical Centre Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia; (M.M.); (M.K.)
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
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3
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Burgess ER, Praditi C, Phillips E, Vissers MCM, Robinson BA, Dachs GU, Wiggins GAR. Role of Sodium-Dependent Vitamin C Transporter-2 and Ascorbate in Regulating the Hypoxic Pathway in Cultured Glioblastoma Cells. J Cell Biochem 2025; 126:e30658. [PMID: 39382087 PMCID: PMC11729540 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.30658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 10/10/2024]
Abstract
The most common and aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, is characterized by hypoxia and poor survival. The pro-tumour transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), is regulated via HIF-hydroxylases that require ascorbate as cofactor. Decreased HIF-hydroxylase activity triggers the hypoxic pathway driving cancer progression. Tissue ascorbate accumulates via the sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2 (SVCT2). We hypothesize that glioblastoma cells rely on SVCT2 for ascorbate accumulation, and that knockout of this transporter would disrupt the regulation of the hypoxic pathway by ascorbate. Ascorbate uptake was measured in glioblastoma cell lines (U87MG, U251MG, T98G) by high-performance liquid chromatography. CRISPR/Cas9 was used to knockout SVCT2. Cells were treated with cobalt chloride, desferrioxamine or 5% oxygen, with/without ascorbate, and key hypoxic pathway proteins were measured using Western blot analysis. Ascorbate uptake was cell line dependent, ranging from 1.7 to 11.0 nmol/106 cells. SVCT2-knockout cells accumulated 90%-95% less intracellular ascorbate than parental cells. The hypoxic pathway was induced by all three stimuli, and ascorbate reduced this induction. In the SVCT2-knockout cells, ascorbate had limited effect on the hypoxic pathway. This study verifies that intracellular ascorbate is required to suppress the hypoxic pathway. As patient survival is related to an activated hypoxic pathway, increasing intra-tumoral ascorbate may be of clinical interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor R. Burgess
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
- Department of Immunobiochemistry, Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunology (MI3)Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty MannheimMannheimGermany
| | - Citra Praditi
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
- Mātai Hāora, Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Elisabeth Phillips
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Margreet C. M. Vissers
- Mātai Hāora, Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Bridget A. Robinson
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
- Canterbury Regional Cancer and Haematology ServiceTe Whatu Ora, Waitaha/CanterburyChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Gabi U. Dachs
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - George A. R. Wiggins
- Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, Department of Pathology and Biomedical ScienceUniversity of Otago ChristchurchChristchurchNew Zealand
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Gao P, Li H, Qiao Y, Nie J, Cheng S, Tang G, Dai X, Cheng H. A cuproptosis-related gene DLAT as a novel prognostic marker and its relevance to immune infiltration in low-grade gliomas. Heliyon 2024; 10:e32270. [PMID: 38961981 PMCID: PMC11219321 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
DLAT has been recognized as a cuproptosis-related gene that is crucial for cuproptosis in earlier research. The study is to look at how DLAT affects individuals with low-grade glioma's prognosis and immune infiltration. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database and the TCGA database were used in this work to download RNAseq data in TPM format. DLAT was found to be overexpressed in LGG by comparing DLAT expression levels between LGG and normal brain tissue, and the expression of DLAT was verified by immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative analysis. Then, the functional enrichment analysis revealed that the biological functional pathways and possible signal transduction pathways involved were primarily focused on extracellular matrix organization, transmembrane transporter complex, ion channel complex, channel activity, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, complement and coagulation cascades, and channel activity. The level of immune cell infiltration by plasmacytoid dendritic cells and CD8 T cells was subsequently evaluated using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis, which showed that high DLAT expression was inversely connected with that level of infiltration. The link between the methylation and mRNA transcription of DLAT was then further investigated via the MethSurv database, and the results showed that DLAT's hypomethylation status was linked to a poor outcome. Finally, by evaluating the prognostic value of DLAT using the Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier technique, a column line graph was created to forecast the overall survival (OS) rate at 1, 3, and 5 years after LGG identification. The aforementioned results demonstrated that high DLAT expression significantly decreased OS and DSS, and that overexpression of DLAT in LGG was significantly linked with WHO grade, IDH status, primary therapy outcome, overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI) events. DLAT was discovered as a separate predictive sign of OS in the end. DLAT might thus represent a brand-new predictive biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Gao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, PR China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Huaixu Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Yang Qiao
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Jianyu Nie
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Sheng Cheng
- Department of Clinical Medicine, The First Clinical College of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Guozhang Tang
- Department of Clinical Medicine, The Second Clinical College of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
| | - Xingliang Dai
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
- Department of Research & Development, East China Institute of Digital Medical Engineering, Shangrao, 334000, PR China
| | - Hongwei Cheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, PR China
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Rich K, Tosefsky K, Martin KC, Bashashati A, Yip S. Practical Application of Deep Learning in Diagnostic Neuropathology-Reimagining a Histological Asset in the Era of Precision Medicine. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1976. [PMID: 38893099 PMCID: PMC11171052 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16111976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
In the past few decades, neuropathology has experienced several paradigm shifts with the introduction of new technologies. Deep learning, a rapidly progressing subfield of machine learning, seems to be the next innovation to alter the diagnostic workflow. In this review, we will explore the recent changes in the field of neuropathology and how this has led to an increased focus on molecular features in diagnosis and prognosis. Then, we will examine the work carried out to train deep learning models for various diagnostic tasks in neuropathology, as well as the machine learning frameworks they used. Focus will be given to both the challenges and successes highlighted therein, as well as what these trends may tell us about future roadblocks in the widespread adoption of this new technology. Finally, we will touch on recent trends in deep learning, as applied to digital pathology more generally, and what this may tell us about the future of deep learning applications in neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Rich
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
| | - Kira Tosefsky
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; (K.T.); (K.C.M.)
| | - Karina C. Martin
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; (K.T.); (K.C.M.)
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Ali Bashashati
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Stephen Yip
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; (K.T.); (K.C.M.)
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
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6
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Cooper WA, Tan PH. Predictive and prognostic biomarkers in solid tumours. Pathology 2024; 56:145-146. [PMID: 38212231 DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2023.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Wendy A Cooper
- Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, NSW Health Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia.
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