The Use of Zebrafish Xenotransplant Assays to Analyze the Role of lncRNAs in Breast Cancer

Testing the Anticancer Effect of Matcha Using Zebrafish as an Animal Model

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients show the poorest prognosis and survival and the highest metastasis prevalence among all breast cancer subtypes. Matcha has recently been associated with multiple health benefits, and in vitro studies showed the potential effect of matcha in inhibiting cancer development and metastasis. We aimed to determine the safe, non-toxic dose of matcha suitable for zebrafish and to investigate the anticancer effect of matcha on the metastasis and growth of human TBNC cells using a zebrafish xenograft model. Wild-type AB zebrafish were used to conduct multiple general toxicity assessments, including developmental, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular toxicities. The safe, non-toxic concentration of matcha was determined to be 50 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL. Afterward, the zebrafish xenograft model was successfully established for MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells. The tumor size and metastasis of the injected cancer cells were traced through CM-Dil red fluorescent dye. Upon exposure to matcha at the safe doses, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 showed a trend toward reduction in tumor size in a dose-dependent manner, indicated by quantified fluorescence. Matcha also visibly suppressed metastasis of cancer cells in the zebrafish body. Our results point to a potential dose-dependent anticancer effect of matcha on TNBC cells; however, more extended observation periods after xenotransplantation are required to confirm the long-term anticancer effect of matcha on tumor growth and metastasis.

Harnessing Peptide-Functionalized Multivalent Gold Nanorods for Promoting Enhanced Gene Silencing and Managing Breast Cancer Metastasis

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has become the cornerstone against undruggable targets and for managing metastatic breast cancer. However, an effective gene silencing approach is faced with a major challenge due to the delivery problem. In our present study, we have demonstrated efficient siRNA delivery, superior gene silencing, and inhibition of metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) using rod-shaped (aspect ratio: 4) multivalent peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles and compared them to monovalent free peptide doses. Multivalency is a new concept in biology, and tuning the physical parameters of multivalent nanoparticles can enhance gene silencing and antitumor efficacy. We explored the effect of the multivalency of shape- and size-dependent peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles in siRNA delivery. Our study demonstrates that peptide functionalization leads to reduced toxicity of the nanoparticles. Such designed peptide-functionalized nanorods also demonstrate antimetastatic efficacy in Notch1-silenced cells by preventing EMT progression in vitro. We have shown siRNA delivery in the hard-to-transfect primary cell line HUVEC and also demonstrated that the Notch1-silenced MDA-MB-231 cell line has failed to form nanobridge-mediated foci with the HUVEC in the co-culture of HUVEC and MDA-MB-231, which promote metastasis. This antimetastatic effect is further checked in a xenotransplant in vivo zebrafish model. In vivo studies also suggest that our designed nanoparticles mediated inhibition of micrometastasis due to silencing of the Notch1 gene. The outcome of our study highlights that the structure-activity relationship of multifunctional nanoparticles can be harnessed to modulate their biological activity.

Zebrafish patient-derived xenografts accurately and quickly reproduce treatment outcomes in non–small cell lung cancer patients

Zebrafish patient-derived xenograft (zPDX) models have shown great potential in predicting the short-term treatment response in various types of tumor cases. However, few studies have used zPDX models for drug screening in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to compare the treatment responses of patients with NSCLC with those of the corresponding zPDX models. Tumor cells were obtained from pleural fluid or biopsy procedures from patients with NSCLC and injected into the perivitelline space of zebrafish larvae. Then, the same antineoplastic drugs administered to the corresponding patient were tested in the successfully constructed zPDX model, for 3 days. Responses to treatment were compared. A total of 21 patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled in our study, and 13 corresponding zPDX models were successfully established. Based on the clinical medication of enrolled patients, we provided a corresponding drug treatment to these zebrafish embryos, including epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs), pemetrexed/platinum (AP), or docetaxel/platinum (DP) administration. The chemosensitivity consistency rate between the clinical responses and those obtained from zPDXs was 76.9% (10/13). There was a high correlation between patient responses and the corresponding zPDX drug responses. Thus, zPDX can accurately and quickly reproduce patient responses to treatment with EGFR TKIs, AP, and DP and has a considerable potential to serve as a biological platform for predicting treatment effect on patients with NSCLC.

Emerging Roles and Mechanisms of lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 in Human Diseases

Numerous long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as powerful regulators of human diseases. The lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 is a novel lncRNA that was recently shown to exert imperative roles in the initialization and progression of several diseases. Emerging studies have shown aberrant expression of FOXD3-AS1 and close correlation with pathophysiological traits of numerous diseases, particularly cancers. More importantly, FOXD3-AS1 was also found to ubiquitously impact a range of biological functions. This study aims to summarize the expression, associated clinicopathological features, major functions and molecular mechanisms of FOXD3-AS1 in human diseases and to explore its possible clinical applications.

Precision Medicine: Technological Impact into Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment and Decision Making

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, impacting 2.1 million women each year. The number of publications on BC is much higher than for any other type of tumor, as well as the number of clinical trials. One of the consequences of all this information is reflected in the number of approved drugs. This review aims to discuss the impact of technological advances in the diagnosis, treatment and decision making of breast cancer and the prospects for the next 10 years. Currently, the literature has described personalized medicine, but what will the treatment be called for in the coming years?