GDC-0941 and CXCL8 (3-72) K11R/G31P combination therapy confers enhanced efficacy against breast cancer

Aim: Herein is presented the combined effect of PI3K inhibitor (GDC-0941) and CXCR1/2 analogue (G31P) in breast cancer. Materials & methods: Breast cancer cell lines and xenograft model were employed to test the efficacy of the combination therapy. Results: GDC-0941+G31P treatment substantially inhibited multiplication of all the breast cancer cell lines used in this study (BT474, HCC1954 and 4T1). Even though single therapies caused a meaningful S-phase cell cycle arrest, the inhibition effect was more potent with the combined treatment. Similarly, enhanced apoptosis accompanied GDC-0941+G31P treatment. Furthermore, the migration ability of the breast cancer cell lines were significantly curtailed by the combination therapy compared with the single treatments. Conclusion: The findings suggest that combination treatment involving PI3K inhibitor and CXCR1/2 analogue (G31P) could be a potent therapeutic option for breast cancer treatment.

Properties of Cosmic Helium Isotopes Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station of ^{3}He and ^{4}He fluxes are presented. The measurements are based on 100 million ^{4}He nuclei in the rigidity range from 2.1 to 21 GV and 18 million ^{3}He from 1.9 to 15 GV collected from May 2011 to November 2017. We observed that the ^{3}He and ^{4}He fluxes exhibit nearly identical variations with time. The relative magnitude of the variations decreases with increasing rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio is measured for the first time. Below 4 GV, the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio was found to have a significant long-term time dependence. Above 4 GV, the ^{3}He/^{4}He flux ratio was found to be time independent, and its rigidity dependence is well described by a single power law ∝R^{Δ} with Δ=-0.294±0.004. Unexpectedly, this value is in agreement with the B/O and B/C spectral indices at high energies.

HMGA2 Modulates the TGFβ/Smad, TGFβ/ERK and Notch Signaling Pathways in Human Lens Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Multiple signaling pathways coordinately promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in lens epithelial cells (LECs), where transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ)-mediated signaling plays a central role. But the mechanism of crosstalk among these pathways remains obscure. The objective of this study is to investigate the regulatory effect of the high mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2) on the signaling pathways in lens fibrosis.

METHODS

The human anterior capsulorhexis specimens were collected. The human SRA01/04 LEC line was cultured and treated with recombinant human TGFβ2 (5ng/ml). For inhibition of signaling pathways, a selective inhibitor SB431542, U0126 or DAPT was added to LECs respectively. The specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) were transfected to LECs for gene silence. The mRNAs expressions were measured by realtime PCR and the proteins expressions were determined by western blot and immunofluorescent staining.

RESULTS

HMGA2 and EMT markers α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), fibronectin (FN) and collagen type I (Col I) were overexpressed in human ASC specimens and TGFβ2 stimulated EMT in LECs. While blockage of EMT by a selective inhibitor of TGFβ/Smad, TGFβ/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or Notch signaling pathway could significantly inhibited HMGA2 protein expression. And silence of HMGA2 by siRNA could significantly inhibit TGFβ2 induced expression of EMT markers including FN, Col I, collagen type IV (Col IV), key transcription factors Snail and Slug, and remarkably upregulate the epithelial markers E-cadherin and tight junction protein (ZO-1). In addition, silence of HMGA2 gene could abrogate TGFβ2 induced phosphorylation of Smad2, Smad3 as well as ERK1/2. Blockage of HMGA2 could also inhibit the upregulation of Jagged1, Notch2, and Notch3 induced by TGFβ2.

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that HMGA2 functions as a shared effector in TGFβ2- induced lens fibrosis, modulating the signaling network necessary for EMT in a positive feedback loop.

Safety and Efficacy of Aspirin Desensitization Combined With Long-Term Aspirin Therapy in Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

OBJECTIVES

To assess the safety and efficacy of Aspirin desensitization combined with long-term Aspirin therapy in patients with Aspirinexacerbated respiratory disease (AERD).

METHODS

We searched the PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases from inception to October 2018 for articles in English. We only included randomized controlled trials and parallel or cross-over studies in which adults with AERD were randomly assigned to undergo Aspirin desensitization and receive long-term Aspirin therapy or placebo.

RESULTS

A total of 869 citations were retrieved, and 6 studies met the criteria for analysis. All studies indicated that nasal symptoms, asthma symptoms, or both improved significantly after Aspirin desensitization. In addition, most studies reported a decline in corticosteroid dosage (oral and inhaled). The 4 studies that reported nasal polyps did not demonstrate a change in nasal polyps with Aspirin therapy compared with placebo. The dropout rates in all studies reviewed ranged from 5.8% to 55.7%, and the most common adverse events were gastrointestinal symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Clearly, Aspirin desensitization and treatment are beneficial for AERD patients, with relief of nasal symptoms, improvement in asthma control, decrease in daily corticosteroid use, and no fatal adverse events. However, the long-term adverse effects of Aspirin desensitization and optimal dosage of Aspirin merit further investigation.

Author Correction: Macrophages confer resistance to PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 in breast cancer through the activation of NF-κB signaling

Since publication of this article, the authors have noticed the following errors: (1) Fig. 3c, the image is correct but the authors mistakenly provided incorrect figure legend. The correct figure legend is included below along with the original figure. (2) Supplementary Fig. S2, the authors mistakenly provided the data from ELISA analysis of TNFα and IL-6 in media from co-cultured 4T1 and RAW264.7 cells. As stated in the main text, data from ELISA analysis of TNFα and IL-6 in 4T1 tumors from Balb/c mice treated with GDC-0941 should be provided. The correct figure and figure legend are included below. (3) The authors noticed an error in the manuscript in which "RAW276.7" should be "RAW264.7". The corrections do not alter the conclusions of the paper. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei induced by low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm accompanied by rectal cancer: a case report and literature review

Background

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a disease involving the peritoneum characterized by the production of large quantities of mucinous ascites. PMP has a low incidence, is difficult to diagnose, and has a guarded prognosis. PMP induced by low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm is extremely rare, and PMP accompanied by rectal cancer is even rarer.

Case presentation

We present a unique case of a 70-year-old male with PMP induced by low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm accompanied by rectal cancer. The patient’s clinical, surgical, and histologic data were reviewed. The patient had persistent distended abdominal pain without radiating lower back pain, abdominal distension for 1 month, and no exhaustion or defecation for 4 days. A transabdominal ultrasound-guided biopsy was performed on the first day. The patient received an emergency exploratory laparotomy because of increased abdominal pressure. We performed cytoreductive surgery, enterolysis, intestinal decompression, special tumour treatment and radical resection of rectal carcinoma. The postoperative course was uneventful. The postoperative histological diagnoses were PMP, low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm and rectal medium differentiated adenocarcinoma. At the 1-year follow-up visit, no tumour recurrence was observed by computed tomography (CT). We also performed a literature review.

Conclusions

We should be aware that PMP can rarely be accompanied by rectal cancer, which represents an easily missed diagnosis and increases the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, there are some typical characteristics of PMP with respect to diagnosis and treatment.

Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Electrons

Precision results on cosmic-ray electrons are presented in the energy range from 0.5 GeV to 1.4 TeV based on 28.1×10^{6} electrons collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station. In the entire energy range the electron and positron spectra have distinctly different magnitudes and energy dependences. The electron flux exhibits a significant excess starting from 42.1_{-5.2}^{+5.4}  GeV compared to the lower energy trends, but the nature of this excess is different from the positron flux excess above 25.2±1.8  GeV. Contrary to the positron flux, which has an exponential energy cutoff of 810_{-180}^{+310}  GeV, at the 5σ level the electron flux does not have an energy cutoff below 1.9 TeV. In the entire energy range the electron flux is well described by the sum of two power law components. The different behavior of the cosmic-ray electrons and positrons measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is clear evidence that most high energy electrons originate from different sources than high energy positrons.

[Effect of aspirin on breast cancer stem cells and stemness of breast cancer]

Objective: To explore the effect of aspirin on the stemness of breast cancer cells and apoptosis induction of breast cancer stem cells. Methods: The 4T1 cells cultured with stem cell culture medium were screened, and immunofluorescence technique, flow cytometry and tumor-forming experiment in vivo were applied to test stem cell characteristics of the tumor spheres. After dealt with aspirin, the apoptosis rate of 4T1 stem cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. The 4T1 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with aspirin, then flow cytometry analysis was used to detect the expression of aldehydedehy drogenase1 (ALDH1), and the expression of stemness genes was tested by Western blot . Then, after culturing the cells with medium containing basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), B27 and N2, the ability of sphere-forming was observed and recorded by microscopy. In vivo BALB/c mice inoculated with 4T1 stem cells were randomly divided into the control group, 10 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg aspirin groups. After 10 days, the mice were dealt with aspirin or NS for 15 days, then the tumor growth was observed and recorded. Results: The ratio of ALDH1 positive cells was up to 78.55%, and 4T1 tumor sphere had a postive expression of ALDH1 and sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2). In vivo tumorigenesis abilities of tumor sphere with 1×10(2) 4T1 stem cells could be 75%, while the ratio of normal cells was zero. The ratio of Aspirin-induced apoptosis of 4T1 stem cells at early stage and and late stage increased from 0.36% to 21.61%, and from 4.21% to 21.38%, respectively. Flow cytometry and Western blot assay results indicated that aspirin could reduce the expression of ALDH1, SOX2, octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) and NANOG in 4T1 cells. Sphere-forming experiments results showed that aspirin could inhibit sphere forming ability of breast cancer cells. In vivo, aspirin inhibited the growth of tumors with a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Aspirin could induce apoptosis of cancer stem cells and reduce stemness of breast cancer, and thus play a growth-inhibiting action on breast cancer.

Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Positrons

Precision measurements of cosmic ray positrons are presented up to 1 TeV based on 1.9 million positrons collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station. The positron flux exhibits complex energy dependence. Its distinctive properties are (a) a significant excess starting from 25.2±1.8  GeV compared to the lower-energy, power-law trend, (b) a sharp dropoff above 284_{-64}^{+91}  GeV, (c) in the entire energy range the positron flux is well described by the sum of a term associated with the positrons produced in the collision of cosmic rays, which dominates at low energies, and a new source term of positrons, which dominates at high energies, and (d) a finite energy cutoff of the source term of E_{s}=810_{-180}^{+310}  GeV is established with a significance of more than 4σ. These experimental data on cosmic ray positrons show that, at high energies, they predominantly originate either from dark matter annihilation or from other astrophysical sources.

Construction, identification, and immunogenic assessments of an HSV-1 mutant vaccine with a UL18 deletion

HSV-1 is a mucosal and nerve pathogen, whose morbidity shows an increasing tendency. Although several antiviral drugs exist, there is no cure for viral latency for virtually all carriers. There is an urgent need for an HSV-1 vaccine to control infection and limit its spread and recurrence. The UL18 gene, encoding a vital component of capsids, is one of the essential genes of HSV-1. Deletion of UL18 from HSV-1 may be exploited as a new approach to develop an attenuated vaccine. The purpose of this study was to construct a DNA vaccine with a full-length UL18 gene deletion of the HSV-1 genome that can induce an effective immune response. A UL18-knockdown plasmid (BAC-HSV-1ΔUL18) was constructed using the bacterial markerless gene knockout system, consisting of the functional pREDI plasmid and BAC-HSV-1 plasmid. Mice were immunized weekly for 3 weeks, and at 1 week post immunization, blood and splenocyte samples of vaccinated and control groups of mice were prepared for immunogenicity assessment. The level of immune response was evaluated using a DTH assay, cytokine determination, and splenocyte proliferation assay. Combination of the pREDI plasmid and BAC-HSV-1 plasmid provides an effective bacterial markerless gene knockout system. Using two-step homologous recombination with the UL18 homologous recombination fragment constructed by multistep PCR amplification, BAC-HSV-1ΔUL18 plasmid vaccine was successfully constructed and was found to significantly enhance cellular immune responses.

A novel FGFR1-binding peptide attenuates the degeneration of articular cartilage in adult mice

OBJECTIVE

We previously reported that genetic ablation of (Fibroblast Growth Factors Receptors) FGFR1 in knee cartilage attenuates the degeneration of articular cartilage in adult mice, which suggests that FGFR1 is a potential targeting molecule for osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we identified R1-P1, an inhibitory peptide for FGFR1 and investigated its effect on the pathogenesis of OA in mice induced by destabilization of medial meniscus (DMM).

DESIGN

Binding ability between R1-P1 and FGFR1 protein was evaluated by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) and molecular docking. Alterations in cartilage were evaluated histologically. The expression levels of molecules associated with articular cartilage homeostasis and FGFR1 signaling were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The chondrocyte apoptosis was detected by terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay.

RESULTS

R1-P1 had highly binding affinities to human FGFR1 protein, and efficiently inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 pathway in mouse primary chondrocytes. In addition, R1-P1 attenuated the IL-1β induced significant loss of proteoglycan in full-thickness cartilage tissue from human femur head. Moreover, this peptide can significantly restore the IL-1β mediated loss of proteoglycan and type II collagen (Col II) and attenuate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP13) in mouse primary chondrocytes. Finally, intra-articular injection of R1-P1 remarkably attenuated the loss of proteoglycan and the destruction of articular cartilage and decreased the expressions of extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading enzymes and apoptosis in articular chondrocytes of mice underwent DMM surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

R1-P1, a novel inhibitory peptide for FGFR1, attenuates the degeneration of articular cartilage in adult mice, which is a potential leading molecule for the treatment of OA.

Patient-derived xenograft mouse models: A high fidelity tool for individualized medicine

Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models involve the direct transfer of fresh human tumor samples into immunodeficient mice following surgical resection or other medical operations. Gene expression in tumors may be maintained by serial passages of tumors from mouse to mouse. These models aid research into tumor biology and pharmacology without manual manipulation of cell cultures in vitro. and are widely used in individualized cancer therapy/translational medicine, drug development and coclinical trials. PDX models exhibit higher predictive values for clinical outcomes than cell line-derived xenograft models and genetically engineered mouse models. However, PDX models are associated with certain challenges in clinical application. The present study reviewed current collections of PDX models and assessed the challenges and future directions of this field.

Inhibition of BTF3 sensitizes luminal breast cancer cells to PI3Kα inhibition through the transcriptional regulation of ERα

Selective phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitors are being actively tested in clinical trials for ERα-positive (ER+) breast cancer due to the presence of activating PIK3CA mutations. However, recent studies have revealed that increased ERα transcriptional activity limits the efficacy of PI3K inhibitor monotherapy for ER + breast cancers. Herein, we report the identification of BTF3 as an oncogenic transcription factor that regulates ERα expression in luminal breast cancers. Our TCGA analysis reveals high expression levels of BTF3 in luminal/ER + breast cancer and cell line models harboring ERα overexpression. Concordantly, BTF3 expression is highly and strongly associated with ESR1 expression in multiple breast cancer cohorts. We further show that BTF3 promotes the proliferation, survival and migration of ER + breast cancer cells by modulating ESR1 expression and ERα-dependent transcription. Moreover, BTF3 knockdown sensitizes ER + breast cancer cells to the PI3Kα inhibitor BYL-719 in both in vitro and in vivo models. Together, our findings highlight a novel role of BTF3 in modulation of ERα-dependent transcriptional activity and its potential as a predictive marker for the response to PI3K-targeted therapy in ER + breast cancer.

TMEM45B is a novel predictive biomarker for prostate cancer progression and metastasis

It is urgently needed to explore the clinical relevance of TMEM45B expression and Prostate cancer(PCa), and determine the predictive significance of TMEM45B as a biomarker for PCa patients.Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of PCa with different metastatic potential (LTL-418, LTL-313B, LTL-313H and LTL-331) were developed. The gene expression microarray of LTL-313H and LTL-313B, which derived from a single PCa patient, was performed to identify the candidate biomarker gene, TMRM45B. MSKCC and TCGA PCa patient cohorts were introduced to analyzed the clinical significance of TMEM45B expression. Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that there was a significant increase of TMEM45B expression in high metastatic potential tumor lines LTL-313H and LTL-331 compared with the other two low metastatic potential tumor lines(LTL-418, LTL-313B). In MSKCC PCa cohort, the mRNA level of TMEM45B in patients with metastasis was significantly higher than that in primary PCa (P=0.001) and begin prostate hyperplasia (BPH) patients (P<0.001). In addition, the increased TMEM45B expression was positively related with a higher possibility of biochemical recurrence (P=0.016), distant metastasis occurrence(P<0.001) and overall patient survival (P=0.07). Moreover, TMEM45B expression was considered as an independent risk factor for metastasis of PCa based on multivariate logistic regression. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with elevated TMEM45B had a shorter biochemical recurrence free survival (RFS). For primary PCa patients, subgroup analysis showed that there was a significant association between TMEM45B expression and clinical features in primary PCa cohort. Meanwhile, cases with elevated TMEM45B were more likely to develop metastasis compared to the normal group among N0 primary PCa patients (P=0.010). Primary PCa patient cohort TCGA was used to validate the results, and an obvious relationship was found between TMEM45B and clinical characteristic of PCa (T/N stage, Gleason score, Recurrence / Progress). Furthermore, a significant poor disease free survival (DFS) was investigated in high-level of TMEM45B patients compared with the other remaining cases (P=0.007). Taken together, the increased expression of TMEM45B appears to be significantly associated with prostate carcinoma progression and metastasis which provide a new prognostic biomarker for predicting metastatic potential of PCa patients, especially for primary PCa.

Observation of Complex Time Structures in the Cosmic-Ray Electron and Positron Fluxes with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We present high-statistics, precision measurements of the detailed time and energy dependence of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux and positron flux over 79 Bartels rotations from May 2011 to May 2017 in the energy range from 1 to 50 GeV. For the first time, the charge-sign dependent modulation during solar maximum has been investigated in detail by leptons alone. Based on 23.5×10^{6} events, we report the observation of short-term structures on the timescale of months coincident in both the electron flux and the positron flux. These structures are not visible in the e^{+}/e^{-} flux ratio. The precision measurements across the solar polarity reversal show that the ratio exhibits a smooth transition over 830±30 days from one value to another. The midpoint of the transition shows an energy dependent delay relative to the reversal and changes by 260±30 days from 1 to 6 GeV.

Precision Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Nitrogen and its Primary and Secondary Components with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precision measurement of the nitrogen flux with rigidity (momentum per unit charge) from 2.2 GV to 3.3 TV based on 2.2×10^{6} events is presented. The detailed rigidity dependence of the nitrogen flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index rapidly hardens at high rigidities and becomes identical to the spectral indices of primary He, C, and O cosmic rays above ∼700  GV. We observed that the nitrogen flux Φ_{N} can be presented as the sum of its primary component Φ_{N}^{P} and secondary component Φ_{N}^{S}, Φ_{N}=Φ_{N}^{P}+Φ_{N}^{S}, and we found Φ_{N} is well described by the weighted sum of the oxygen flux Φ_{O} (primary cosmic rays) and the boron flux Φ_{B} (secondary cosmic rays), with Φ_{N}^{P}=(0.090±0.002)×Φ_{O} and Φ_{N}^{S}=(0.62±0.02)×Φ_{B} over the entire rigidity range. This corresponds to a change of the contribution of the secondary cosmic ray component in the nitrogen flux from 70% at a few GV to <30% above 1 TV.