Serum biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma

Quartz crystal microbalance-based biosensing of hepatitis B antigen using a molecularly imprinted polydopamine film

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)-based biosensors are highly attractive as rapid diagnostic devices for detecting infectious diseases. However, the fabrication of QCM-based biosensors often involves tedious processes due to the poor stability of the biological recognition elements. In this work, the simple self-polymerisation of dopamine was used to functionalise the QCM crystal surface with a molecularly imprinted polydopamine (MIPDA) sensing film for detecting the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg), a serological biomarker of hepatitis B. Recognition cavities that complemented the size and shape of HBcAg were observed on the QCM crystal surface after functionalisation with the MIPDA film. The MIPDA-QCM biosensor showed a selective affinity for HBcAg, recording frequency responses up to 7.8 folds larger towards HBcAg compared to human serum albumin at the same analyte concentrations. The biosensor response was enhanced by using the optimal concentrations of 10 mg mL^-1 of dopamine and 1 mg mL^-1 of template for MIPDA film formation, resulting in a low detection limit (0.88 μg mL^-1) that enables the detection of clinically relevant titres of HBcAg. The detection process could be completed within 10 min after sample loading without additional steps for signal amplification, highlighting the practical advantages of the MIPDA-QCM biosensor for point-of-care detection of hepatitis B.

Monitoring hepatitis B by using point-of-care testing: biomarkers, current technologies, and perspectives

Introduction: Liver diseases caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) are pandemic infectious diseases that seriously endanger human health, conventional diagnosis methods can not meet the requirements in resource-limited areas. The point of acre detection methods can easily resolve those problems. Herein, we review the most recent advances in POC-based hepatitis B detection methods and present some recommendations for future development. It aims to provide ideas for future research.Areas covered: Epidemiological data on Hepatitis B, conventional diagnostic methods for hepatitis B detection, some latest point of care detection methods for hepatitis B detection and list out the recommendations for future development.Expert opinion: This manuscript summarized traditional biomarkers of different hepatitis B stages and recent-developed POCT platforms (including microfluidic platforms and lateral-flow strips) and discuss the challenges associated with their use. Some emerging biomarkers that can be used in hepatitis B diagnosis are also listed. This manuscript has certain guiding significance to the development of hepatitis B detection.

SUMO-Activating Enzyme Subunit 1 (SAE1) Is a Promising Diagnostic Cancer Metabolism Biomarker of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most diagnosed malignancies and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. This is exacerbated by its highly aggressive phenotype, and limitation in early diagnosis and effective therapies. The SUMO-activating enzyme subunit 1 (SAE1) is a component of a heterodimeric small ubiquitin-related modifier that plays a vital role in SUMOylation, a post-translational modification involving in cellular events such as regulation of transcription, cell cycle and apoptosis. Reported overexpression of SAE1 in glioma in a stage-dependent manner suggests it has a probable role in cancer initiation and progression. In this study, hypothesizing that SAE1 is implicated in HCC metastatic phenotype and poor prognosis, we analyzed the expression of SAE1 in several cancer databases and to unravel the underlying molecular mechanism of SAE1-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. Here, we demonstrated that SAE1 is over-expressed in HCC samples compared to normal liver tissue, and this observed SAE1 overexpression is stage and grade-dependent and associated with poor survival. The receiver operating characteristic analysis of SAE1 in TCGA−LIHC patients (n = 421) showed an AUC of 0.925, indicating an excellent diagnostic value of SAE1 in HCC. Our protein-protein interaction analysis for SAE1 showed that SAE1 interacted with and activated oncogenes such as PLK1, CCNB1, CDK4 and CDK1, while simultaneously inhibiting tumor suppressors including PDK4, KLF9, FOXO1 and ALDH2. Immunohistochemical staining and clinicopathological correlate analysis of SAE1 in our TMU-SHH HCC cohort (n = 54) further validated the overexpression of SAE1 in cancerous liver tissues compared with ‘normal’ paracancerous tissue, and high SAE1 expression was strongly correlated with metastasis and disease progression. The oncogenic effect of upregulated SAE1 is associated with dysregulated cancer metabolic signaling. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that SAE1 is a targetable cancer metabolic biomarker with high potential diagnostic and prognostic implications for patients with HCC.

Quartz crystal microbalance-based biosensors as rapid diagnostic devices for infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are the ever-present threats to public health and the global economy. Accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial to impede the progression of a disease and break the chain of transmission. Conventional diagnostic techniques are typically time-consuming and costly, making them inefficient for early diagnosis of infections and inconvenient for use at the point of care. Developments of sensitive, rapid, and affordable diagnostic methods are necessary to improve the clinical management of infectious diseases. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) systems have emerged as a robust biosensing platform due to their label-free mechanism, which allows the detection and quantification of a wide range of biomolecules. The high sensitivity and short detection time offered by QCM-based biosensors are attractive for the early detection of infections and the routine monitoring of disease progression. Herein, the strategies employed in QCM-based biosensors for the detection of infectious diseases are extensively reviewed, with a focus on prevalent diseases for which improved diagnostic techniques are in high demand. The challenges to the clinical application of QCM-based biosensors are highlighted, along with an outline of the future scope of research in QCM-based diagnostics.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA for the quantitative assessment of early-stage liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rabbits

PURPOSE

To explore quantitative parameters obtained by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE MRI) with Gd-EOB-DTPA in discriminating early-stage liver fibrosis (LF) in a rabbit model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

LF was established in 60 rabbits by the injection of 50% CCl₄ oil solution, whereas 30 rabbits served as the control group. All rabbits underwent pathological examination to determine the LF stage using the METAVIR classification system. DCE MRI was performed, and quantitative parameters, including K^trans, K_ep, V_e, V_p and Re were measured and evaluated among the different LF stages using spearman correlation coefficients and receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

In all, 24, 25, and 22 rabbits had stage F0, stage F1, and stage F2 LF, respectively. K^trans (r = 0.803) increased, and K_ep (r = -0.495) and Re (r = -0.701) decreased with LF stage progression (P < 0.001), while no significant correlation was found for V_e or V_p. K^trans and Re were significantly different between all LF stage pairs compared (F0 vs. F1, F0 vs. F2, F1 vs. F2, F0 vs. F1-F2, P < 0.05). With the exception of F0 vs. F1, K_ep differed significantly between stages (P < 0.05). The AUC of K^trans was higher than that of other quantitative parameters, with an AUC of 0.92, 0.99, 0.94 and 0.92 for staging F0 vs. F1, F0 vs. F2, F1 vs. F2, and F0 vs. F1-F2, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Among quantitative parameters of Gd-EOB-DTPA DCE MRI, K^trans was the best predictor for quantitatively differentiating early-stage LF.

Secretory Clusterin as a Novel Molecular-targeted Therapy for Inhibiting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Growth

BACKGROUND

Although secretory clusterin (sCLU) plays a crucial role in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) cells proliferation, Multiple Drug Resistance (MDR), metastasis and so on, its targeted effects and exact mechanism are still unknown. This review summarizes some new progress in sCLU as a molecular-targeted therapy in the treatment of HCC.

METHODS

A systematic review of the published English-language literature about sCLU and HCC has been performed using the PubMed and bibliographic databases. Some valuable studies on sCLU in HCC progression were searched for relevant articles with the keywords: HCC, diagnosis, MDR, as molecular-targeted in treatment, and so on.

RESULTS

The incidence of the positive rate of sCLU was significantly higher in HCC tissues as compared to the surrounding tissues at mRNA or protein level, gradually increasing with tumor-nodemetastasis staging (P<0.05). Also, the abnormal level of sCLU was related to poor differentiation degree, and considered as a useful marker for HCC diagnosis or independent prognosis for patients. Hepatic sCLU could be silenced at mRNA level by specific sCLU-shRNA or by OGX-011 to inhibit cancer cell proliferation with an increase in apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, reversal MDR, alteration of cell migration or invasion behaviors, and a decrease in GSK-3β or AKT phosphorylation in vitro, as well as significant suppression of the xenograft growth by down-regulating β-catenin, p-GSK3β, and cyclinD1 expression in vivo.

CONCLUSION

Abnormal hepatic sCLU expression should not only be a new diagnostic biomarker but also a novel promising target for inhibiting HCC growth.