The dysregulation and clinical relevance of lncRNAs MYOSLID and SFTA1P in colorectal cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a very common cancer worldwide. CRC is characterized by some changes in the expression of oncogenic and tumor suppressor genes. These changes are associated with dysregulation of non-coding RNAs, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNAs are heterogeneous non-coding molecules without open reading frames. LncRNAs have been established as regulators in the development of CRC and clinical biomarkers for the CRC detection. In this project, we investigated the expression changes of two new lncRNAs named SFTA1P and MYOSLID in CRC patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

30 samples of CRC tissue and 30 samples of normal tissue adjacent to the cancer tissue were obtained from patients. RNA extraction from tissue samples was performed using RNAX plus. ExcelRT™ Reverse Transcription Kit (SymBio, Korea) was used for cDNA synthesis. RealQ Plus 2x Master Mix Green Without ROX™ was used to perform a quantitative PCR (qPCR). REST, and SPSS software were used for statistical analysis.

RESULT

Our result demonstrated that lncRNAs MYOSLID and SFTA1P were significantly up-regulated in tumor tissues compared to healthy tissues with a fold change of 13.43 and 5.33 (P < 0.05) respectively. Based on the analysis of ROC curve, MYOSLID (AUC = 0.946, P < 0.0001, SE =0.0035) and SFTA1P (AUC = 0.800, P < 0.0001, SE = 0.059) were indicated as potential clinical hallmarks for CRC patients.

CONCLUSION

According to the results obtained from this research, lncRNAs SFTA1P and MYOSLID can be suggested as molecular biomarkers for the CRC diagnosis.

Validation of gene expression profiles of candidate genes using low density array in peripheral blood of tobacco consuming head and neck cancer patients and auto/taxi drivers with preneoplastic lesions

TaqMan Low-Density Array (TLDA) based Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR) of selected genes showed increased expression of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) metabolizing cytochrome P450s (CYPs), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and associated transcription factors in biopsy and peripheral blood samples isolated from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients when compared to the controls. The genes involved in DNA repair, signal transduction pathway, EMT pathway, apoptosis, and cell adhesion/motility were found to be altered in both peripheral blood and biopsy samples of HNSCC patients. Transcription profiles in blood isolated from auto/taxi drivers, with pre-neoplastic lesions and history of tobacco use, also showed similar alterations. The present TLDA data thus demonstrates that low-density array of selected genes in peripheral blood has the potential to be used as a surrogate for providing insight into cancer progression pathways and possibly as an early biomarker for monitoring tobacco induced HNSCC.

Pattern-based sensing of triple negative breast cancer cells with dual-ligand cofunctionalized gold nanoclusters

Early detection of breast cancer is a critical component in patient prognosis and establishing effective therapy regimens. Here, we developed an easily accessible yet potentially powerful sensor to detect cancer cell targets by utilizing seven dual-ligand cofunctionalized gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) as both effective cell recognition elements and signal transducers. On the basis of this AuNC multichannel sensor, we have successfully distinguished healthy, cancerous and metastatic human breast cells with excellent reproducibility and high sensitivity. Triple negative breast cancer cells (TNBCs), which exhibit low expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, were identified. The high accuracy of the blind breast cell sample tests further validates the practical application of the sensor array. In addition, the versatility of the sensor array is further justified by identifying amongst distinct cell types, different cell concentrations and cell mixtures. Notably, the drug-resistant cancer cells can also be efficiently discriminated. Furthermore, the dual-ligand cofunctionalized AuNCs can efficiently differentiate different cells from the peripheral blood of tumor-free and tumor-bearing mice. Taken together, this fluorescent AuNCs based array provides a powerful cell analysis tool with potential applications in biomedical diagnostics.

Gene expression profiling of peripheral blood cells: new insights into Ewing sarcoma biology and clinical applications

Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a group of highly aggressive small round cell tumors of bone or soft tissue with high metastatic potential and low cure rate. ES tumors are associated with a rapid osteolysis and necrosis. The currently accepted clinical prognostic parameters do not accurately predict survival of high-risk patients. Moreover, neither the subtype of EWS-FLI1/ERG in the tumor, nor the detection of fusion transcripts in the peripheral blood (PB) samples, has prognostic value in ES patients. We evaluated the prevalence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in 34 adult ES patients. Since CTCs were confirmed in only small subset of patients, we further explored the expression profiles of PB leukocytes using a panel of genes associated with immune system status and increased tumor invasiveness. Moreover, we analyzed the alterations of the routine blood tests in the examined cohort of patients and correlated our findings with the clinical outcome. A uniform decrease in ZAP70 expression in PB cells among all ES patients, as compared to healthy individuals, was observed. Monocytosis and the abnormal expression of CDH2 and CDT2 genes in the PB cells significantly correlated with poor prognosis in ES patients. Our study supports the previously proposed hypothesis of systemic nature of ES. Based on the PB cell expression profiles, we propose a mechanism by which immune system may be involved in intensification of osteoclastogenesis and disease progression in ES patients. Moreover, we demonstrate the prognostic value of molecular PB testing at the time of routine histopathological diagnosis.

Mixtures of Uncaria and Tabebuia extracts are potentially chemopreventive in CBA/Ca mice: a long-term experiment

A long-term experimental animal model was developed by our research group for the evaluation of potential chemopreventive effects. The inhibitory effects of agents on carcinogen (7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) induced molecular epidemiological biomarkers, in this case the expression of key onco/suppressor genes were investigated. The expression pattern of c-myc, Ha-ras, Bcl-2, K-ras protooncogene and p53 tumour suppressor gene were studied to elucidate early carcinogenic and potential chemopreventive effects. The consumption of so-called Claw of Dragon tea (CoD™ tea) containing the bark of Uncaria guianensis, Cat's Claw (Uncaria sp. U. tomentosa) and Palmer trumpet-tree (Tabebuia sp. T. avellanedae) was able to decrease the DMBA-induced onco/suppressor gene overexpression in a short-term animal experiment. In a following study CBA/Ca mice were treated with 20 mg/kg bw DMBA intraperitoneally (i.p.) and the expression patterns of onco/suppressor genes were examined at several time intervals. According to the examined gene expression patterns in this long-term experiment the chemopreventive effect of CoD™ tea consumption could be confirmed.