Blood-based biomarkers: diagnostic value in brain tumors (focus on gliomas)

Background

Brain tumors, especially gliomas, are known for high lethality. It is currently understood that the correlations of tumors with coagulation and inflammation have been gradually revealed.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the potential value of several reported peripheral blood parameters as comprehensively as possible, with preoperative diagnosis and identification of brain tumors (focus on gliomas).

Methods

Patients with central nervous system tumors (craniopharyngioma, ependymoma, spinal meningioma, acoustic neuroma, brain metastases, meningioma, and glioma) or primary trigeminal neuralgia admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The results of the routine coagulation factor test, serum albumin test, and blood cell test in peripheral blood were recorded for each group of patients on admission. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived NLR (dNLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), and their pairings were calculated. Their ability to identify brain tumors and their correlation with glioma grade were analyzed.

Results

A total of 698 patients were included in this retrospective case-control study. Glioma patients had higher NLR, SII, and PIV but lower LMR. The NLR in the brain metastasis group was lower than that in the control, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma groups, but the SII and PIV were higher than those in the ependymoma group. Fibrinogen, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, NLR, SII, and PIV in the GBM group were higher than those in the control group. In all comparisons, NLR and NLR + dNLR showed the greatest accuracy, with areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.7490 (0.6482-0.8498) and 0.7481 (0.6457-0.8505), respectively. PIV, dNLR + PIV, and LMR + PIV ranked second, with AUCs of 0.7200 (0.6551-0.7849), 0.7200 (0.6526-0.7874), 0.7204 (0.6530-0.7878) and 0.7206 (0.6536-0.7875), respectively.

Conclusion

NLR, PIV, and their combinations show high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of brain tumors, especially gliomas. Overall, our results provide evidence for these convenient and reliable peripheral blood markers.

Cell atlas of CCl 4-induced progressive liver fibrosis reveals stage-specific responses

Chronic liver injury leads to progressive liver fibrosis and ultimately cirrhosis, a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, there are currently no effective anti-fibrotic therapies available, especially for late-stage patients, which is partly attributed to the major knowledge gap regarding liver cell heterogeneity and cell-specific responses in different fibrosis stages. To reveal the multicellular networks regulating mammalian liver fibrosis from mild to severe phenotypes, we generated a single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas encompassing 49 919 nuclei corresponding to all main liver cell types at different stages of murine carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4)-induced progressive liver fibrosis. Integrative analysis distinguished the sequential responses to injury of hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells and endothelial cells. Moreover, we reconstructed cell-cell interactions and gene regulatory networks implicated in these processes. These integrative analyses uncovered previously overlooked aspects of hepatocyte proliferation exhaustion and disrupted pericentral metabolic functions, dysfunction for clearance by apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cells, accumulation of pro-fibrotic signals, and the switch from an anti-angiogenic to a pro-angiogenic program during CCl 4-induced progressive liver fibrosis. Our dataset thus constitutes a useful resource for understanding the molecular basis of progressive liver fibrosis using a relevant animal model.

Syngeneic homograft of framework regions enhances the affinity of the mouse anti-human epidermal receptor 2 single-chain antibody e23sFv

e23sFv is a HER2-targeted single-chain variable fragment (scFV) that was characterized as the targeting portion of a HER2-targeted tumour proapoptotic molecule in our previous study. In vitro antibody affinity maturation is a method to enhance antibody affinity either by complementarity-determining region (CDR) mutagenesis or by framework region (FR) engraftment. In the present study, the affinity of e23sFv was enhanced using two strategies. In one approach, site-directed mutations were introduced into the FRs of e23sFv (designated EMEY), and in the other approach e23sFv FRs were substituted with FRs from the most homologous screened antibodies (designated EX1 and EX2). Notably, EX1 derived from the FR engraftment strategy demonstrated a 4-fold higher affinity for HER2 compared with e23sFv and was internalized into HER2-overexpressing cells; however, EMEY and EX2 exhibited reduced affinity for HER2 and decreased internalization potential compared with EX1. The 3D structure of EX1 and the HER2-EX1 complex was acquired using molecular homology modelling and docking and the HER2 epitopes of EX1 and the molecular interaction energy of the EX1-HER2 complex were predicted. In the present study, it was demonstrated that scFv affinity improvement based on sequence alignment was feasible and effective. Moreover, the FR grafting strategy was indicated to be more effective and simple compared with site-directed mutagenesis to improve e23sFv affinity. In conclusion, it was indicated that the affinity-improved candidate EX1 may present a great potential for the diagnosis and treatment of HER2-overexpressing tumours.

Preparation and Characterization of Poly(butylene succinate)/Polylactide Blends for Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing

To obtain a new type of biodegradable material with high toughness and strength used for fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing, a series of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)-based polymer materials was prepared via blending with polylactide (PLA). The rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties as well as FDM printing performances of the blends, such as distortion, cross section, and the interlayer bond strength, were characterized. The results show that with increasing PLA content, the blends possess higher melt viscosity, larger tensile strength, and modulus, which are more suitable for FDM printing. Especially, when the content of PLA is more than 40%, distortion due to residual stress caused by volume shrinkage disappears during the printing process and thus products with good dimensional accuracy and pearl-like gloss are obtained. The results demonstrate that the blend compositions with moderate viscosity, low degree of crystallinity, and high modulus are more suitable for FDM printing. Compared with the low elongation upon breaking of commercially FDM-printed material, the PBS/PLA blend materials exhibit a typical ductile behavior with elongation of 90-300%. Therefore, besides biodegradability, the PBS/PLA blends present excellent mechanical properties and suitability as materials for FDM printing. In addition, our study is expected to provide methods for valuating the suitability of whether a thermoplastic polymer material is suitable for FDM printing or not.

Interference with NTSR1 Expression Exerts an Anti-Invasion Effect via the Jun/miR-494/SOCS6 Axis of Glioblastoma Cells

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumor and carries a poor prognosis. Previously, we found that neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) contributes to glioma progression, but the underlying mechanisms of NTSR1 in glioblastoma invasion remain to be clarified. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of NTSR1 in glioblastoma invasion.

METHODS

Cell migration and invasion were evaluated using wound-healing and transwell assays. Cell proliferation was detected using CCK-8. The expression of NTSR1, Jun, and suppressor of cytokine signaling 6 (SOCS6) was detected using western blotting. The expression of miR-494 was detected by Quantitative real-time PCR. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was performed to examine the interaction between Jun and miR-494 promoter. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blotting were performed to identify the direct regulation of SOCS6 by miR-494. An orthotopic xenograft mouse model was conducted to assess tumor growth and invasion.

RESULTS

NTSR1 knockdown attenuated the invasion of glioblastoma cells. Jun was positively regulated by NTSR1, which promoted miR-494 expression through binding to miR-494 promoter. SOCS6 was confirmed as a direct target of miR-494, thus, NTSR1-induced miR-494 upregulation resulted in SOCS6 downregulation. Both miR-494 and SOCS6 were involved in the NTSR1-induced invasion of glioblastoma cells. In vivo, tumor invasion and growth were inhibited by NTSR1 knockdown, but were restored with miR-494 overexpression.

CONCLUSION

NTSR1 knockdown inhibited glioblastoma invasion via the Jun/miR-494/SOCS6 axis.

Construction of humanized anti-HER2 single-chain variable fragments (husFvs) and achievement of potent tumor suppression with the reconstituted husFv-Fdt-tBid immunoapoptotin

As HER2 is frequently overexpressed in various malignancies, targeting HER2 is considered an efficient, highly selective antitumor therapy. HER2-targeted immunoconjugates are being developed and result in persistent remission of HER2-overexpressing tumors. However, many of the antibodies used as the targeting moiety are of murine origin and exhibit risk of inducing immunogenicity, limiting their antitumor therapeutic efficacy. Here, we humanized e23sFv, an HER2-targeting murine scFv with excellent affinity and specificity, using a human antibody consensus sequence engraftment strategy. The affinity of the initially humanized e23sFv was then rescued and improved by selective mutagenesis followed by phage-display-based affinity panning of the mutant pool. The resulting humanized e23sFv candidates (husFvs) exhibited up-to-94-fold increased affinity to recombinant HER2. The immunogenicity of e23sFv was dramatically alleviated after humanization, as indicated by the impaired production of cytokines by husFv-stimulated human PBMCs. Two internalizable husFvs with optimal affinity were applied to generate humanized immunoapoptotins by infusion with the translocation domain Fdt and the proapoptotic domain truncated Bid. The husFv-immunoapoptotins demonstrated improved HER2-targeting and tumor-killing capacities in vitro and in vivo compared with the e23sFv-immunoapoptotins and would enable the administration of multiple treatment cycles to patients, resulting in improved antitumor efficacy. Furthermore, the husFvs recognized distinct HER2 epitopes and could thus be used in combination with trastuzumab or pertuzumab to achieve robust synergistic antitumor effects in HER2-positive malignancies.

Distinct role of nuclear receptor corepressor 1 regulated de novo fatty acids synthesis in liver regeneration and hepatocarcinogenesis in mice

It is urgent that the means to improve liver regeneration (LR) be found, while mitigating the concurrent risk of hepatocarcinogenesis (HCG). Nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1) is a co-repressor of nuclear receptors, which regulates the expression level of metabolic genes; however, little is known about its potential contribution for LR and HCG. Here, we found that liver-specific NCoR1 knockout in mice (NCoR1^Δhep ) dramatically enhances LR after partial hepatectomy and, surprisingly, blocks the process of diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCG. Both RNA-sequencing and metabolic assay results revealed improved expression of Fasn and Acc2 in NCoR1^Δhep mice, suggesting the critical role of de novo fatty acid synthesis (FAS) in LR. Continual enhanced de novo FAS in NCoR1^Δhep mice resulted in overwhelmed adenosine triphosphate ATP and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) consumption and increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, which subsequently attenuated HCG through inducing apoptosis of hepatocytes at an early stage after DEN administration.

CONCLUSION

NCoR1 functions as a negative modulator for hepatic de novo FAS and mitochondria energy adaptation, playing distinct roles in regeneration or carcinogenesis. (Hepatology 2018;67:1071-1087).