Transcriptome and proteome analysis reveals the anti-cancer properties of Hypnea musciformis marine macroalga extract in liver and intestinal cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Marine seaweeds are considered as a rich source of health-promoting compounds by the food and pharmaceutical industry. Hypnea musciformis is a marine red macroalga (seaweed) that is widely distributed throughout the world, including the Mediterranean Sea. It is known to contain various bioactive compounds, including sulfated polysaccharides, flavonoids, and phlorotannins. Recent studies have investigated the potential anticancer effects of extracts from H. musciformis demonstrating their cytotoxic effects on various cancer cell lines. The anticancer effects of these extracts are thought to be due to the presence of bioactive compounds, particularly sulfated polysaccharides, which have been shown to have anticancer and immunomodulatory effects. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie their anticancer effects and to determine their potential as therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.

METHODS

H. musciformis was collected from the Aegean Sea (Greece) and used for extract preparation. Transcriptome and proteome analysis was performed in liver and colon cancer human cell lines following treatment with H. musciformis seaweed extracts to characterize its anticancer effect in detail at the molecular level and to link transcriptome and proteome responses to the observed phenotypes in cancer cells.

RESULTS

We have identified that treatment with the seaweed extract triggers a p53-mediated response at the transcriptional and protein level in liver cancer cells, in contrast to colon cancer cells in which the effects are more associated with metabolic changes. Furthermore, we show that in treated HepG2 liver cancer cells, p53 interacts with the chromatin of several target genes and facilitates their upregulation possibly through the recruitment of the p300 co-activator.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the available evidence suggests that extracts from H. musciformis have the potential to serve as a source of anticancer agents in liver cancer cells mainly through activation of a p53-mediated anti-tumor response that is linked to inhibition of cellular proliferation and induction of cell death.

Antioxidant Activity and Inhibition of Liver Cancer Cells' Growth of Extracts from 14 Marine Macroalgae Species of the Mediterranean Sea

Macroalgae exhibit beneficial bioactivities for human health. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the antioxidant and anticancer potential of 14 macroalgae species' extracts, namely, Gigartina pistillata, Gigartina teedei, Gracilaria gracilis, Gracilaria sp., Gracilaria bursa pastoris, Colpomenia sinuosa, Cystoseira amentacea, Cystoseira barbata, Cystoseira compressa, Sargassum vulgare, Padina pavonica, Codium fragile, Ulva intestinalis, and Ulva rigida, from the Aegean Sea, Greece. The antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH, ABTS^•+, ^•OH, and O₂^•- radicals' scavenging assays, reducing power (RP), and protection from ROO^•-induced DNA plasmid damage assays. Moreover, macroalgae extracts' total polyphenol contents (TPCs) were assessed. Extracts' inhibition against liver HepG2 cancer cell growth was assessed using the XTT assay. The results showed that G. teedei extract's IC₅₀ was the lowest in DPPH (0.31 ± 0.006 mg/mL), ABTS^•+ (0.02 ± 0.001 mg/mL), ^•OH (0.10 ± 0.007 mg/mL), O₂^•- (0.05 ± 0.003 mg/mL), and DNA plasmid breakage (0.038 ± 0.002 mg/mL) and exhibited the highest RP (RP_0.5AU 0.24 ± 0.019 mg/mL) and TPC (12.53 ± 0.88 mg GAE/g dw). There was also a significant correlation between antioxidant activity and TPC. P. pavonica (IC₅₀ 0.93 ± 0.006 mg/mL) exhibited the highest inhibition against HepG2 cell growth. Conclusively, some of the tested extracts exhibited significant chemopreventive properties, and so they may be used for food products.

P–441 Semen quality and cryopreservation in adolescent transgender females

Study question

What are the semen quality and cryopreservation outcomes among adolescent transgender females at the time of fertility preservation (FP) before initiating gender-affirming hormone (GAH) treatment?

Summary answer

Semen quality is strongly reduced among adolescent transgender females before hormone therapy and their stored sperm samples are suitable for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

What is known already

The age of individuals seeking treatment for gender affirmation has fallen sharply in recent years and many of them are adolescents. Estrogen, the primary treatment for transgender women, is known to impair semen quality and fertility potential. Sperm cryopreservation enables young transgender females to circumvent GAH therapy-related fertility impairment and have genetically related children. There are recent data on semen quality among adult transgender women who preserve fertility before exposure to GAH therapy, but little is known about pubertal transgender female adolescents.

Study design, size, duration

This retrospective cohort study included 26 adolescent transgender females who underwent FP between June 2013 and October 2020.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Before initiating gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists solely or with GAH treatment, 25 adolescent transgender females were referred to FP in our Fertility Institute of a tertiary university-affiliated medical center. Pre-freezing semen parameters were compared to WHO 2010 reference values. Post-thaw semen parameters were used to determine adequate assisted reproductive technology (ART). A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of selected medical and lifestyle factors on the semen quality of our study participants.

Main results and the role of chance

The mean age at which adolescent transgender females underwent sperm cryopreservation was 16.2 ± 1.38 years. The median values of all semen parameters in our study group were significantly lower compared to the WHO data on semen quality in the general population of unscreened men, including volume (1.46 ml vs 3.2 ml, respectively, P = 0.001 ), sperm concertation (28*106/ml vs 64*106/ml, P < 0.001), total sperm number (28.2*106 vs 196*106, P < 0.001), total motility (51.6% vs 62%, P < 0.001), and normal morphology (2% vs 14%, P < 0.001). The frequency of semen abnormalities was teratozoospermia 72%, hypospermia 52%, oligozoospermia 28%, and azoospermia 4%. The median post-thaw total motile count was 0.17*106 per vial, and the quality was adequate only for ICSI in 87.7% of the thawed semen samples. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, history of depression/anxiety, medication for ADHD, and antidepressant drugs were found to correlate with hypospermia. No correlation was found between the time of FP, body mass index, autistic spectrum disorder diagnosis, cannabis use, testis tucking, or the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, estradiol, and testosterone on the semen parameters.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Because no normal values of semen in adolescents are available and the absence of a matched control group, we used WHO 2010 semen data as reference values, and they may not be representative of the adolescent population.

Wider implications of the findings: Although adolescent transgender females have poor semen quality and limited stored semen samples suitable for advanced ART interventions, even before starting GAH therapy, we highly recommend sperm cryopreservation before initiating GAH treatment and thereby prevent further impairment of sperm quality associated with the hormonal treatment.

Trial registration number

Not applicable

BRDT gene sequence in human testicular pathologies and the implication of its single nucleotide polymorphism (rs3088232) on fertility

Bromodomain testis-specific (BRDT) protein is essential for the normal process of spermatogenesis. Mutant mice that expressed truncated BRDT had impaired testicular histology with severely reduced sperm concentration and abnormal sperm morphology, while a model of knockout Brdt mice with no BRDT protein had complete meiotic arrest. A BRDT single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs3088232) was reported as being associated with infertility in men. We assessed testicular specimens of 276 azoospermic men who underwent testicular sperm extraction to search for specimens that showed spermatogenic impairments similar to those of mutant BRDT mice. Ten similar specimens were selected for BRDT gene sequencing and they revealed three NCBI-reported SNPs (rs10783071, rs3088232 and rs10747493) variously distributed among them. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that they would not affect protein activity. Further assessment of rs3088232 frequency in a large group of non-obstructive azoospermia men and fertile controls demonstrated no significant difference between them (27.2 and 21.7% respectively; p = 0.122, Fisher's exact test). We conclude that the testicular impairments observed in the 10 specimens were not a consequence of BRDT gene mutation. The association between BRDT rs3088232 and infertility that had been reported in other studies was not supported.

Involvement of the prostate and testis expression (PATE)-like proteins in sperm-oocyte interaction

BACKGROUND

The prostate and testis expression (PATE)-like family of proteins are expressed mainly in the male genital tract. They are localized in the sperm head and are homologous to SP-10, the acrosomal vesicle protein also named ACRV1. Our aim was to characterize the expression and functional role of three PATE-like proteins in the testis and ejaculated sperm.

METHODS

The expression and localization of PATE-like proteins in human testis biopsies (n= 95) and sperm cells were assessed by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining (at least 600 sperm cells per specimen). The function of the PATE protein was tested by the hemizona assay and hamster egg penetration test (HEPT).

RESULTS

PATE and PATE-M genes and proteins were present almost exclusively in germ cells in the testis: immunoflourescence showed that the percentage of germ cells positive for PATE, PATE-M and PATE-B was 85, 50 and 2%, respectively. PATE and PATE-M proteins were localized in the equatorial segment of the sperm head, while PATE-B protein was localized in the post-acrosomal region. A polyclonal antibody (Ab, at 1:50 and 1:200 dilutions) against the PATE protein did not inhibit sperm-zona binding in the hemizona assay (hemizona index of 89.6 ± 10 and 87 ± 36%, respectively). However, there was inhibition of sperm-oolemma fusion and penetration in the HEPT (penetration index: without Ab 7 ± 3.9; Ab dilution of 1:100, 4 ± 3.5; Ab dilution of 1:20, 0.6 ± 1.2, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that PATE protein is involved in sperm-oolemma fusion and penetration but not sperm-zona binding.