Noninvasive nucleic acid-based approaches to monitor placental health and predict pregnancy-related complications

During pregnancy, the placenta releases a variety of nucleic acids (including deoxyribonucleic acid, messenger ribonucleic acid, or microribonucleic acids) either as a result of cell turnover or as an active messaging system between the placenta and cells in the maternal body. The profile of released nucleic acids changes with the gestational age and has been associated with maternal and fetal parameters. It also can directly reflect pathological changes in the placenta. Nucleic acids may therefore provide a rich source of novel biomarkers for the prediction of pregnancy complications. However, their utility in the clinical setting depends, first, on overcoming some technical considerations in their quantification, and, second, on developing a better understanding of the factors that influence their function and abundance.

The IFN-β 1b effect on Cu Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) in peripheral mononuclear blood cells of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients and in neuroblastoma SK-N-BE cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease leading to axonal injury. Even if the etiology of MS is still unknown the disease begins with inflammation involving autoreactive T lymphocytes activation in genetically susceptible subjects. Interferon beta-1b (IFN β 1b) is one of the most used drug in the MS therapy. The results obtained in this study show that the concentration of SOD1 in CSF of relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) patients, evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), is decreased compared to pathological controls. Moreover, the Western blotting analysis demonstrated that SOD1 in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in healthy controls was significantly higher compared to MS subjects before starting DMT therapy. In addition IFN β 1b therapy causes an increase of intracellular SOD1 protein as well as mRNA levels in PBMC. Moreover, the treatment of neuroblastoma SK-N-BE cells with IFN β 1b increased SOD1 protein and mRNA levels; these data also suggest that neuroprotective effect of this physiological molecule is, at least in part, carried out through its effect on SOD1. This study demonstrate that DMT therapy is able to increase SOD1 expression in PBMC of RR-MS patients. Therefore, the effectiveness of DMT therapy can be ascribed, at least in part, to an increased levels of this antioxidant enzyme as further confirmed by in vitro studies in SK-N-BE cells.

Circulating Messenger RNA Profiling with Microarray and Next-generation Sequencing: Cross-platform Comparison

BACKGROUND

Circulating mRNA is a less invasive and more easily accessed source of samples for biomedical research and clinical applications. However, it is of poor quality. We explored and compared the ability of two high-throughput platforms for the profiling of circulating mRNA regarding their ability to retrieve useful information out of this type of samples.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Circulating mRNAs from three non-small cell lung cancer patients and three healthy controls were analyzed by the cDNA-mediated annealing, selection, extension, and ligation (DASL) assay and high-throughput RNA sequencing (RSEQ). Twelve genes were selected for further confirmation by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

RESULTS

The overall expression profiles derived from the two platforms showed modest-to-moderate correlation. Genes with higher expression levels had higher cross-platform concordance than those of medium- and low-expression levels. In addition, the pathway signatures identified by gene set enrichment analysis from both platforms were in agreement. The RT-q PCR results for the selected genes correlated well with that of RSEQ.

CONCLUSION

Genes with higher expression levels have cross-platform concordance and can be potential biomarkers. Furthermore, RSEQ is a better tool for profiling circulating mRNAs.

TIPE2 mRNA Level in PBMCs Serves as a Novel Biomarker for Predicting Short-Term Mortality of Acute-on-Chronic Hepatitis B Liver Failure: A Prospective Single-Center Study

It remains difficult to accurately predicate short-term mortality of acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure (ACHBLF). Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2) is a novel identified negative regulator of immune response and we have previously demonstrated TIPE2 play an essential role in the pathogenesis of ACHBLF. We therefore aimed to evaluate the diagnosis value of TIPE2 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for predicting 3-month mortality of ACHBLF patients. This prospective study consisted of 108 ACHBLF patients from March 2009 to May 2013 as training cohort and 63 ACHBLF patients from June 2013 to December 2014 as validation cohort. Forty-two patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 22 healthy volunteers were also included as controls. The mRNA level of TIPE2 in PBMCs was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Univariate analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were performed to identify independent risk factors to 3-month mortality. Area under the receptor operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was performed to assess diagnostic value of TIPE2 mRNA in training and validation cohort. The level of TIPE2 mRNA was significantly higher in ACHBLF patients (median (interquartile): 6.5 [3.7, 9.6]) compared with CHB (2.3 [1.6, 3.7]) and healthy controls (0.4 [0.3, 0.6]; both P < 0.05). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses showed 5 independent risk factors associated with 3-month mortality of ACHBLF: white blood cells (HR = 1.058, 95% CI: 1.023-1.095), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (HR = 2.541, 95% CI: 1.378-4.686), hepatic encephalopathy (HR = 1.848, 95% CI: 1.028-3.321), model for end-stage liver diseases (MELD) score (HR = 1.062, 95% CI: 1.009-1.118), and TIPE2 mRNA (HR = 1.081, 95% CI: 1.009-1.159). An optimal cut-off point 6.54 of TIPE2 mRNA showed sensitivity of 74.63%, specificity of 90.24%, positive predictive value of 92.5%, and negative predictive value of 67.3% for predicting 3-month mortality in training cohort. Furthermore, TIPE2 mRNA plus MELD performed better than MELD alone for predicting 3-month mortality in training (AUROC, 0.853 vs 0.722, P < 0.05) and validation cohort (AUROC, 0.909 vs 0.717, P < 0.001). TIPE2 mRNA level might be a novel biomarker in predicting 3-month mortality of ACHBLF. Combination of TIPE2 mRNA and MELD would improve the diagnostic value of MELD alone in predicting 3-month mortality of patients with ACHBLF.

Is there a correlation between peripheral blood expression of angiogenic transcriptional factors/receptors and colorectal cancer?

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a correlation between peripheral blood expression of angiogenic transcriptional factors/receptors and colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS

Eighty six blood samples collected from patients with CRC (N=42), adenomas and/or hyperplastic polyps(AP, N=30) and individuals without colon pathology (control group/CTR, N=14) were used for this study. Twelve transcription factors and receptors were assessed by qRT-PCR in a case-control study. The molecules with a minimum of 30% differences in gene expression for CRC and AP compared to CTR were then analyzed separately for each sample. Gene expression was evaluated relatively to the CTR after normalization to the large ribosomal protein PO (RPLPO) housekeeping gene, and the differential expression between studied groups was assessed by ANOVA.

RESULTS

Seven out of 12 genes presented differences in expression between 10-29% in CRC and/or AP compared to CTR. Considering the selection criteria, we further individually evaluated the levels of expression of 5 genes that had a minimum of 30% expression in the case-control study. Our data showed a significant up-regulation of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) C in the blood of the patients with CRC compared to CTR (p=0.007). Likewise, clusterin (CLU) was significantly up-regulated both in CRC and AP groups compared to healthy subjects (p=0.01). For VEGFR1, PDGFRA and TGFB1 we didn't find significantly differential expression between any of the studied groups, even if increased levels were observed in both CRC and AP vs CTR.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study indicated that increased blood level of PDGFC mRNA was associated with the presence of CRC (p=0.007). Additionally, high levels of circulating CLU mRNA were observed in both malignant and benign colorectal pathologies.

Procoagulant and proinflammatory effects of red blood cells on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated monocytes

BACKGROUND

We aimed to evaluate the mechanisms underlying the effects of red blood cells (RBCs) on the reactivity of monocytes to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation.

METHODS

Measurements of tissue factor (TF) antigen and activity were performed on freshly isolated white blood cells (WBCs)/platelets resuspended in heparinized plasma, as well as cultured monocytic cells.

RESULTS

In a dose-dependent manner, RBCs significantly enhanced LPS-induced TF activity and antigen levels in blood monocytes; potentiation of TF activity by both human and murine RBCs did not require the presence of neutrophils and/or platelets. We also measured the levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), the key proinflammatory chemokine that binds to duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) on RBC surface, in plasma and RBC lysates after the incubation of RBCs with WBC/platelets; at the concentrations corresponding to normal blood counts, RBCs exerted a significant influence on the free plasma levels of MCP-1, with about two-thirds of detectable MCP-1 post-LPS stimulation being associated with RBCs. Critically, DARC-deficient murine RBCs failed to enhance LPS-induced TF activity, confirming the mechanistic significance of RBC-DARC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reports a novel mechanism by which RBCs promote procoagulant and proinflammatory sequelae of WBC exposure to LPS, likely mediated by RBC-DARC in the microenvironment(s) that bring monocytes and RBCs in close proximity.

Urinary Hepcidin Levels in Iron-Deficient and Iron-Supplemented Piglets Correlate with Hepcidin Hepatic mRNA and Serum Levels and with Body Iron Status

Among livestock, domestic pig (Sus scrofa) is a species, in which iron metabolism has been most intensively examined during last decade. The obvious reason for studying the regulation of iron homeostasis especially in young pigs is neonatal iron deficiency anemia commonly occurring in these animals. Moreover, supplementation of essentially all commercially reared piglets with iron entails a need for monitoring the efficacy of this routine practice followed in the swine industry for several decades. Since the discovery of hepcidin many studies confirmed its role as key regulator of iron metabolism and pointed out the assessment of its concentrations in biological fluids as diagnostic tool for iron-related disorder. Here we demonstrate that urine hepcidin-25 levels measured by a combination of weak cation exchange chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (WCX-TOF MS) are highly correlated with mRNA hepcidin expression in the liver and plasma hepcidin-25 concentrations in anemic and iron-supplemented 28-day old piglets. We also found a high correlation between urine hepcidin level and hepatic non-heme iron content. Our results show that similarly to previously described transgenic mouse models of iron disorders, young pigs constitute a convenient animal model to explore accuracy and relationship between indicators for assessing systemic iron status.

A robust blood gene expression-based prognostic model for castration-resistant prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is associated with wide variations in survival. Recent studies of whole blood mRNA expression-based biomarkers strongly predicted survival but the genes used in these biomarker models were non-overlapping and their relationship was unknown. We developed a biomarker model for CRPC that is robust, but also captures underlying biological processes that drive prostate cancer lethality.

METHODS

Using three independent cohorts of CRPC patients, we developed an integrative genomic approach for understanding the biological processes underlying genes associated with cancer progression, constructed a novel four-gene model that captured these changes, and compared the performance of the new model with existing gene models and other clinical parameters.

RESULTS

Our analysis revealed striking patterns of myeloid- and lymphoid-specific distribution of genes that were differentially expressed in whole blood mRNA profiles: up-regulated genes in patients with worse survival were overexpressed in myeloid cells, whereas down-regulated genes were noted in lymphocytes. A resulting novel four-gene model showed significant prognostic power independent of known clinical predictors in two independent datasets totaling 90 patients with CRPC, and was superior to the two existing gene models.

CONCLUSIONS

Whole blood mRNA profiling provides clinically relevant information in patients with CRPC. Integrative genomic analysis revealed patterns of differential mRNA expression with changes in gene expression in immune cell components which robustly predicted the survival of CRPC patients. The next step would be validation in a cohort of suitable size to quantify the prognostic improvement by the gene score upon the standard set of clinical parameters.

Evaluation of a novel multiplex RT-qPCR assay for the quantification of leukemia-associated BCR-ABL1 translocation

Although monitoring of BCR-ABL1 translocation has become an established practice in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the detection limit of the BCR-ABL1 transcripts needs more standardization. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical performances of a novel assay for the quantification of BCR-ABL1 fusion transcripts (e13a2 and e14a2) and ABL1 in a single reaction. This assay is based on the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in multiplex format. In a retrospective comparative clinical study performed in a reference laboratory, RNA was extracted from 48 CML patient blood samples with various BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios and RT-qPCR was performed using either MAScIR assay or the RT-qPCR simplex reference assay used in routine clinical testing. The comparative clinical results showed high qualitative and quantitative concordance (correlation coefficient >0.95) between MAScIR and the reference assays. The present study illustrates the utility of MAScIR assay as a sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective quantitative device to monitor the BCR-ABL1 ratios by RT-qPCR on whole blood of diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) leukemia patients. This test could be used as an aid in the assessment of molecular response to available treatments.

The potential of tumor-derived exosomes for noninvasive cancer monitoring

Tumor-derived exosomes (TEX) are emerging as a new type of cancer biomarker. TEX are membrane-bound, virus-size vesicles of endocytic origin present in all body fluids of cancer patients. Based on the expanding albeit incomplete knowledge of their biogenesis, secretion by tumor cells and cancer cell-specific molecular and genetic contents, TEX are viewed as promising, clinically-relevant surrogates of cancer progression and response to therapy. Preliminary proteomic, genetic and functional profiling of tumor cell-derived or cancer plasma-derived exosomes confirms their unique characteristics. Alterations in protein or nucleic acid profiles of exosomes in plasma of cancer patients responding to therapies appear to correlate with clinical endpoints. However, methods for TEX isolation and separation from the bulk of human plasma-derived exosomes are not yet established and their role as biomarkers remains to be confirmed. Further development and validation of TEX as noninvasive, liquid equivalents of tumor biopsies are necessary to move this effort forward.

[Noninvasive prenatal screen of trisomy-21 using maternal plasma fetal free RNA allelic ratio]

OBJECTIVE

Through the detections of the heterozygote frequencies tests of fetal specific genes PLAC4 and COL6A2 mRNA alleles in plasma of pregnant women, to explore its possibility of application in the noninvasive prenatal screenings of trisomy-21.

METHODS

A toltal of 500 cases (males and females 250 cases respectively)of Han ethnic groups with Henan Provice of China who were subject to the physical checkup clinic of the Third Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University from June to December, 2013 were selected as the healthy physical checkup group, and such techniques as DNA sequencing and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were adopted to the determinations of the heterozygote frequencies of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the PLAC4 and COL6A2 genes in the maternal peripheral blood in the healthy physical checkup group, and the differential comparisons of the determination results of the SNP heterozygote frequencies and the corresponding heterozygote frequencies in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database; 30 cases of healthy pregnant women who spontaneously underwent pregnancy checkups at the maternity clinic were randomly selected as the healthy pregnancy group, and real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription-PCR technique was adopted for determining the expression levels of PLAC4 and COL6A2 mRNA in the peripheral blood of pregnant women of 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 14 weeks and 16 weeks; 40 cases of the same phase were selected for acting as the specimens for the karyotype analyses of the amniotic fluid cells, among which 20 cases were trisomy-21, and the 20 cases of the negative control group, and reverse transcription-multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (RT-MLPA) technique was adopted for screening the fetal trisomy-21.

RESULTS

(1) The allele heterozygote frequencies of the SNP of the healthy physical checkup group: determinations of the genotypes and hybrid rates of the 10 SNP sites of the PLAC4 and COL6A2 genes indicated that those with higher heterozygote frequencies were respectively rs7717, rs559, rs1044598, rs59066201 and rs1042917, with population coverage of 98%. Among them, the allele hybrid rates of rs59066201 were never seen in the NCBI database; in the respective comparisons of the allele hybrid rates of rs8130833, rs9977003 and rs7844 with the hybrid rates of the NCBI database, the variations had statistical significance (P < 0.05). (2) The expression levels of PLAC4 and COL6A2 mRNA of the different pregnancy weeks of the healthy pregnancy group: the levels of PLAC4 mRNA in the peripheral blood of women of 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 14 weeks and 16 weeks of pregnancy were respectively 7.22 ± 1.05, 8.02 ± 1.41, 9.51 ± 1.69, 11.33 ± 2.11 and 13.31 ± 2.58, with their expression levels rising along with the increase of the pregnancy weeks; among them, the comparison of pregnancy 8 weeks and pregnancy 10 weeks, the variations had no statistical significance (P > 0.05); in the mutual comparisons among the expression levels of the various pregnancy weeks, the variations had statistical significance (P < 0.05). The expression levels of COL6A2 mRNA in 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 14 weeks and 16 weeks were respectively 8.95 ± 1.28, 11.19 ± 1.36, 15.00 ± 1.58, 16.87 ± 1.72 and 18.96 ± 2.79, with their expression levels rising along with the increase of the pregnancy weeks, and in the mutual comparisons between the expression levels of the various pregnancy weeks, the variations all had statistical significance (P < 0.05). (3) Prenatal screenings of trisomy-21 in the validation group of the trisome: a total of 5 sites of rs7717, rs559, rs1044598, rs59066201 and rs1042917 were selected from the allele heterozygote frequencies of SNP sites were selected from the subjects of the healthy physical checkup group, and 10 cases of trisomy-21 specimens and 10 cases of negative CTR specimens were accurately determined, with the sensitivity reached 80% (17/20), and the specificity reached 90% (18/20). One case of the trisomy-21 and two negative cases were both homozygotes, and among the trisomy-21 specimens of two cases, only one SNP was a heterozygote, and it was impossible to conduct screenings on these 5 cases, with the screening accuracy reaching 100% (35/35).

CONCLUSIONS

Fetal specific genes PLAC4 and COL6A2 mRNA are expressed in the peripheral blood of pregnant women in different gestational age; its expression level increases with the increase of gestational age. Among them, five SNP including rs7717, rs559, rs1044598, rs59066201 and rs1042917 show highest heterogeneity rate, which is different from the corresponding heterogeneity rate in NCBI database. RT-MLPA technology is a rapid, effective, noninvasive and low cost method of prenatal screening 21 trisomy.

Circulating RNAs as new biomarkers for detecting pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat and has a high mortality rate. It is difficult to diagnose early, mainly due to the lack of screening imaging modalities and specific biomarkers. Consequently, it is important to develop biomarkers that enable the detection of early stage tumors. Emerging evidence is accumulating that tumor cells release substantial amounts of RNA into the bloodstream that strongly resist RNases in the blood and are present at sufficient levels for quantitative analyses. These circulating RNAs are upregulated in the serum and plasma of cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, compared with healthy controls. The majority of RNA biomarker studies have assessed circulating microRNAs (miRs), which are often tissue-specific. There are few reports of the tumor-specific upregulation of other types of small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as small nucleolar RNAs and Piwi-interacting RNAs. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), such as HOTAIR and MALAT1, in the serum/plasma of pancreatic cancer patients have also been reported as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Among tissue-derived RNAs, some miRs show increased expression even in pre-cancerous tissues, and their expression profiles may allow for the discrimination between a chronic inflammatory state and carcinoma. Additionally, some miRs and lncRNAs have been reported with significant alterations in expression according to disease progression, and they may thus represent potential candidate diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers that may be used to evaluate patients once detection methods in peripheral blood are well established. Furthermore, recent innovations in high-throughput sequencing techniques have enabled the discovery of unannotated tumor-associated ncRNAs and tumor-specific alternative splicing as novel and specific biomarkers of cancers. Although much work is required to clarify the release mechanism, origin of tumor-specific circulating RNAs, and selectivity of carrier complexes, and technical advances must also be achieved, such as creating a consensus normalization protocol for quantitative data analysis, circulating RNAs are largely unexplored and might represent novel clinical biomarkers.

The histone deacetylase sirtuin 2 is a new player in the regulation of platelet function

BACKGROUND

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in signaling in many cell types. However, little is known about the participation of HDACs, particularly sirtuins (SIRTs), in platelet reactivity.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the role of HDACs in platelets, we examined the effects of SIRT inhibition on platelet function and protein acetylation in human platelets.

METHODS

We used washed platelets obtained from healthy subjects. Cambinol (SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitor), AGK2 (specific SIRT2 inhibitor) and EX527 (specific SIRT1 inhibitor) were used as SIRT inhibitors. Platelets were stimulated with collagen, thrombin, or U46619, and platelet responses were determined according to optical aggregometry findings, dense granule release, and cytosolic calcium levels (Fura-2AM fluorescence). Protein acetylation and phosphorylation were assessed by immunoblotting.

RESULTS

SIRT inhibition remarkably reduced platelet responses (aggregation, granule release, and cytosolic calcium level; P < 0.05). SIRT2 was present in platelets at the level of mRNA and protein, and its specific inhibition reduced platelet responses. The acetylated protein pattern observed in resting platelets changed during platelet aggregation. Inhibition of SIRT2 increased the acetylation of Akt kinase, which in turn blocked agonist-induced Akt phosphorylation and glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation, which are markers of Akt activity. Finally, collagen-induced aggregation provoked Akt acetylation.

CONCLUSIONS

Regulation of protein acetylation by SIRT2 plays a central role in platelet function. The effects of SIRT2 are mediated in part by the acetylation and inhibition of Akt. These results open a new avenue for research into the control of platelet function, and may help to identify new therapeutic targets.

Increased messenger RNA levels of the mesenchymal cadherin-11 in the peripheral blood of systemic sclerosis patients correlate with diffuse skin involvement

OBJECTIVES

Cadherin-11 is a cell-cell adhesion molecule also involved in cellular migration and invasion. Experimental studies implicated this molecule in inflammatory arthritis and fibrosing conditions. Moreover, cadherin-11 protein is hyper-expressed on fibroblasts and macrophages in the skin of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, whereas the respective mRNA levels correlate with skin thickness. Herein, we searched for possible cadherin-11 expression also in cells that circulate in SSc peripheral blood.

METHODS

Cadherin-11 mRNA was quantified by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 3 ml blood samples obtained from 71 SSc patients (aged 53±2 years, 65 women) and 35 control non-SSc patients with Raynaud's phenomenon.

RESULTS

Cadherin-11 mRNA transcripts were detected in blood samples from 39% of patients with diffuse SSc, versus 16% of those with limited SSc, versus 6% and 16% of patients with idiopathic or associated with other connective tissue diseases Raynaud's phenomenon, respectively (p=0.049). Cadherin-11 mRNA levels in SSc patients were increased by 3.74-fold comparing to controls (p=0.036). By multivariate logistic regression analysis we found that diffuse skin involvement correlated, independently of age, gender, disease duration, lung involvement, digital ulcers, inflammatory indices or anti-Scl-70 autoantibody presence, with cadherin-11 mRNA positivity (p=0.028), but also with increased cadherin-11 mRNA levels (≥3-fold of non-SSc levels, p=0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

Cadherin-11 may be hyper-expressed in the peripheral blood of diffuse SSc patients. Studies on the origin and possible pathogenic function of these circulating cells may shed light into the complex disease pathogenesis and further support the notion that cadherin-11 is a potential therapeutic target in SSc.

Two distinct effector memory cell populations of WT1 (Wilms' tumor gene 1)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in acute myeloid leukemia patients

Wilms' tumor gene 1 (WT1) protein is a promising tumor-associated antigen for cancer immunotherapy. We have been performing WT1 peptide vaccination with good clinical responses in over 750 patients with leukemia or solid cancers. In this study, we generated single-cell gene-expression profiles of the effector memory (EM) subset of WT1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in peripheral blood of nine acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with WT1 peptide vaccine, in order to discriminate responders (WT1 mRNA levels in peripheral blood decreased to undetectable levels, decreased but stayed at abnormal levels, were stable at undetectable levels, or remained unchanged from the initial abnormal levels more than 6 months after WT1 vaccination) from non-responders (leukemic blast cells and/or WT1 mRNA levels increased relative to the initial state within 6 months of WT1 vaccination) prior to WT1 vaccination. Cluster and principal component analyses performed using 83 genes did not discriminate between responders and non-responders prior to WT1 vaccination. However, these analyses revealed that EM subset of WT1-specific CTLs could be divided into two groups: the "activated" and "quiescent" states; in responders, EM subset of the CTLs shifted to the "quiescent" state, whereas in non-responders, those shifted to the "activated" state following WT1 vaccination. These results demonstrate for the first time the existence of two distinct EM states, each of which was characteristic of responders or non-responders, of WT1-specific CTLs in AML patients, and raises the possibility of using advanced gene-expression profile analysis to clearly discriminate between responders and non-responders prior to WT1 vaccination.

Systemic signs of neutrophil mobilization during clinically stable periods and during exacerbations in smokers with obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND

It is still unclear whether signs of neutrophil mobilization in the blood of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease represent true systemic events and how these relate to bacterial colonization in the airways. In this study, we evaluated these issues during clinically stable periods and during exacerbations in smokers with obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic bronchitis (OPD-CB).

METHODS

Over a period of 60 weeks for each subject, blood samples were repeatedly collected from 60 smokers with OPD-CB during clinically stable periods, as well as during and after exacerbations. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and neutrophil elastase (NE) protein and mRNA, growth of bacteria in sputum, and clinical parameters were analyzed. Ten asymptomatic smokers and ten never-smokers were included as controls.

RESULTS

We found that, during clinically stable periods, neutrophil and NE protein concentrations were increased in smokers with OPD-CB and in the asymptomatic smokers when compared with never-smokers. During exacerbations, neutrophil and MPO protein concentrations were further increased in smokers with OPD-CB, without a detectable increase in the corresponding mRNA during exacerbations. However, MPO and NE protein and mRNA displayed positive correlations. During exacerbations, only increased neutrophil concentrations were associated with growth of bacteria in sputum. Among patients with low transcutaneous oxygen saturation during exacerbations, PaO2 (partial oxygen pressure) correlated with concentrations of MPO and NE protein and neutrophils in a negative manner.

CONCLUSION

There are signs of systemic neutrophil mobilization during clinically stable periods and even more so during exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this condition, MPO and NE may share a cellular origin, but its location remains uncertain. Factors other than local bacteria, including hypoxemia, may be important for driving systemic signs of neutrophil mobilization.

Mouse genetic background impacts both on iron and non-iron metals parameters and on their relationships

Iron is reported to interact with other metals. In addition, it has been shown that genetic background may impact iron metabolism. Our objective was to characterize, in mice of three genetic backgrounds, the links between iron and several non-iron metals. Thirty normal mice (C57BL/6, Balb/c and DBA/2; n = 10 for each group), fed with the same diet, were studied. Quantification of iron, zinc, cobalt, copper, manganese, magnesium and rubidium was performed by ICP/MS in plasma, erythrocytes, liver and spleen. Transferrin saturation was determined. Hepatic hepcidin1 mRNA level was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. As previously reported, iron parameters were modulated by genetic background with significantly higher values for plasma iron parameters and liver iron concentration in DBA/2 and Balb/c strains. Hepatic hepcidin1 mRNA level was lower in DBA/2 mice. No iron parameter was correlated with hepcidin1 mRNA levels. Principal component analysis of the data obtained for non-iron metals indicated that metals parameters stratified the mice according to their genetic background. Plasma and tissue metals parameters that are dependent or independent of genetic background were identified. Moreover, relationships were found between plasma and tissue content of iron and some other metals parameters. Our data: (i) confirms the impact of the genetic background on iron parameters, (ii) shows that genetic background may also play a role in the metabolism of non-iron metals, (iii) identifies links between iron and other metals parameters which may have implications in the understanding and, potentially, the modulation of iron metabolism.

Circulating Hepatocellular Cells are a Bad Prognostic Factor for HCC Patients

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells (CHCCs) may be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We investigated the relationship between CHCCs and hepatoma patients' survival period after different managements.

METHODOLOGY

Peripheral blood (5 ml) samples were obtained from 93 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and from 33 control subjects (9 with liver cirrhosis after hepatitis B, 14 with chronic hepatitis B, 10 with healthy people) between January 1st, 2009 and December 31, 2012. To detect CHCCs in peripheral blood, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) messenger RNA (mRNA) was amplified from total RNA extracted from whole blood by RT-PCR.

RESULTS

AFPmRNA was detected in 49 blood samples from the HCC patients (49/93, 53.0%). In contrast, there were no clinical control subjects whose samples showed detectable AFPmRNA. The presence of AFPmRNA in blood seemed to be correlated with the tumor stage (by TNM classification) of HCC, the serum AFP value, and the presence of intrahepatic metastasis, portal vein thrombosis, tumor diameter and/or distant metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of AFP mRNA in peripheral blood may be an indicator of CHCCs, which might predict hematogenous spreading metastasis in patients with HCC and may be as a bad prognostic factor for HCC patients.

The role of circulating platelet transcripts

Our understanding of platelets, anucleate cells with a traditional role in hemostasis and inflammation, has developed greatly over the last decade. Platelets' role in the systemic response of the body to vascular injury, inflammation, and infection has expanded as has our understanding of their importance to the body's regulation of these processes. One recently explored mechanism by which platelets regulate the body's inflammatory and immune response is through its endogenous RNA. Platelets' messenger RNA (mRNAs) and microRNA (miRNAs) profiles have been shown to reflect disease and disease risk factors and have been correlated with select human clinical phenotypes. Developing an understanding of platelet transcripts in the circulation elucidates how platelets function in both their traditional thrombotic role and non-traditional functions and may have widespread implications in several fields including thrombosis, infection, cancer, and systemic inflammation.

[Quantitative detection of plasma level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

To quantitatively measure plasma level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and explore its implications for NPC diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

With 24 healthy volunteers serving as controls, the plasma level of hTERT mRNA was detected in 33 NPC patients by real-time PCR before and after treatments with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and its association with the clinicopathological parameters of the patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

The NPC patients showed a significantly higher mean plasma level of hTERT mRNA than the healthy volunteers (10.75 ± 4.29 vs 0.95 ± 0.37, P<0.05). The plasma hTERT mRNA level in the NPC patients was significantly correlated with clinical staging, tumor size, and degree of nodal metastasis (P<0.05) but with gender or age (P>0.05). In patients with stage I and II NPC, the plasma hTERT mRNA level decreased significantly after radiotherapy (5.60 ± 2.33 vs 3.43 ± 1.42); in patients in advanced stages (III and IV), plasma hTERT mRNA level decreased significantly from 12.68 ± 3.08 to 10.68 ± 2.48 (P<0.05) after chemotherapy and to 3.13 ± 1.69 (P<0.05) after radiotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy can effectively suppress elevated plasma hTERT mRNA levels in NPC patients. Plasma hTERT mRNA level is closely related to the clinicopathological factors and provides important information for early diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation of NPC.

A novel method for room temperature distribution and conservation of RNA and DNA reference materials for guaranteeing performance of molecular diagnostics in onco-hematology: A GBMHM study

OBJECTIVES

Performance of methods used for molecular diagnostics must be closely controlled by regular analysis of internal quality controls. However, conditioning, shipping and long lasting storage of nucleic acid controls remain problematic. Therefore, we evaluated the minicapsule-based innovative process developed by Imagene (Evry, France) for implementing DNA and RNA controls designed for clonality assessment of lymphoproliferations and BCR-ABL1 mRNA quantification, respectively.

DESIGN & METHODS

DNA samples were extracted from 12 cell lines selected for giving specific amplifications with most BIOMED-2 PCR tubes. RNA samples were extracted from 8 cell line mixtures expressing various BCR-ABL1 transcript levels. DNA and RNA were encapsulated by Imagene and shipped at room temperature to participating laboratories. Biologists were asked to report quality data of recovered nucleic acids as well as PCR results.

RESULTS

Encapsulated nucleic acids samples were easily and efficiently recovered from minicapsules. The expected rearrangements at immunoglobulin, T-cell receptor and BCL2 loci were detected in DNA samples by all laboratories. Quality of RNA was consistent between laboratories and met the criteria requested for quantification of BCR-ABL1 transcripts. Expression levels measured by the 5 laboratories were within ±2 fold interval from the corresponding pre-encapsulation reference value. Moreover aging studies of encapsulated RNA simulating up to 100 years storage at room temperature show no bias in quantitative outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, Imagene minicapsules are suitable for storage and distribution at room temperature of genetic material designed for proficiency control of molecular diagnostic methods based on end point or real-time quantitative PCR.

IL-17 mRNA expression and cytomegalovirus infection in liver transplant patients

OBJECTIVES

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) establishes a lifelong, asymptomatic infection in immunocompetent hosts. Interleukin-17 producing CD4+ T-cells (Th-17) are a subtype of CD4+ T-cells. The precise role of Th-17 responses during cytomegalovirus replication has not been elucidated, although recent studies suggest that infections such as murine cytomegalovirus induce a Th-17 response. Th-17 cells also have been associated with allograft rejection and autoimmune diseases. In this study, we tried to find the relation of cytomegalovirus infection and interleukin 17 (IL-17) cytokine in liver-transplanted patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two groups of patients were evaluated in this study. The first group consisted of 54 cytomegalovirus uninfected livertransplanted patients, and the second group consisted of 15 cytomegalovirus-infected patients. Three ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-treated blood samples were collected from each patient on days 1, 4 and 7 post liver transplant. For diagnosing cytomegalovirus infection antigenemia and Taq-Man real-time polymerase chain reaction protocols were used. Also, to determine the expression level of IL-17 gene, an in-house SYBR green real-time polymerase chain reaction technique was used.

RESULTS

Using antigenemia and also Taq-Man real-time polymerase chain reaction helps find active cytomegalovirus infection, and the load of cytomegalovirus in each patient. The first group of patients showed that IL-17 expression level was down-regulated after day 4 of sampling. But in cytomegalovirus-infected patients, IL-17 expression level was increased significantly. The results between IL-17 gene expression level between the 2 groups of patients showed that IL-17 expression level significantly increased in second group during day 4 (P = .038) and 7 (P = .009) postliver transplant.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant increase of IL-17 mRNA levels in cytomegalovirus-infected group compared with the uninfected one reinforced the role of IL-17 as a proinflammatory cytokine dealing with cytomegalovirus infection in liver transplanted patients.

De novo transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes from the Chinese goose: gene discovery and immune system pathway description

Background

The Chinese goose is one of the most economically important poultry birds and is a natural reservoir for many avian viruses. However, the nature and regulation of the innate and adaptive immune systems of this waterfowl species are not completely understood due to limited information on the goose genome. Recently, transcriptome sequencing technology was applied in the genomic studies focused on novel gene discovery. Thus, this study described the transcriptome of the goose peripheral blood lymphocytes to identify immunity relevant genes.

Principal Findings

De novo transcriptome assembly of the goose peripheral blood lymphocytes was sequenced by Illumina-Solexa technology. In total, 211,198 unigenes were assembled from the 69.36 million cleaned reads. The average length, N50 size and the maximum length of the assembled unigenes were 687 bp, 1,298 bp and 18,992 bp, respectively. A total of 36,854 unigenes showed similarity by BLAST search against the NCBI non-redundant (Nr) protein database. For functional classification, 163,161 unigenes were comprised of three Gene Ontology (Go) categories and 67 subcategories. A total of 15,334 unigenes were annotated into 25 eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOGs) categories. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database annotated 39,585 unigenes into six biological functional groups and 308 pathways. Among the 2,757 unigenes that participated in the 15 immune system KEGG pathways, 125 of the most important immune relevant genes were summarized and analyzed by STRING analysis to identify gene interactions and relationships. Moreover, 10 genes were confirmed by PCR and analyzed. Of these 125 unigenes, 109 unigenes, approximately 87%, were not previously identified in the goose.

Conclusion

This de novo transcriptome analysis could provide important Chinese goose sequence information and highlights the value of new gene discovery, pathways investigation and immune system gene identification, and comparison with other avian species as useful tools to understand the goose immune system.

CIRCULATING THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE RECEPTOR MESSENGER RNA AS A MARKER OF TUMOR AGGRESSIVENESS IN PATIENTS WITH PAPILLARY THYROID MICROCARCINOMA

BACKGROUND

We have previously shown that thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor messenger RNA (TSHR mRNA) is detectable in the peripheral blood of patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTmC). The aim of this study was to analyze the utility of TSHR mRNA status as a marker of tumor aggressiveness in patients with PTmC.

METHODS

Preoperative TSHR mRNA values were obtained in 152 patients who underwent thyroidectomy and were found to have PTmC on final pathology. Clinical parameters were analyzed from an institutional review board-approved database using χ(2) and t tests.

RESULTS

Preoperatively, TSHR mRNA was detected in the peripheral blood in 46% of patients, which was less than that for macroscopic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (80%) but higher than for benign thyroid disease (18%) (P<.001). The focus of cancer was larger in the TSHR mRNA-positive group compared to the negative group (0.41 vs. 0.30 cm, respectively, P = .015). The prevalence of tall-cell variant was higher in the TSHR mRNA positive group. The rates of lymph node (LN) metastasis (16% vs. 10%), multifocality (46% vs. 49%), and extra-thyroidal extension (10% vs. 5%) were similar between the TSHR mRNA-positive and-negative groups, respectively. In patients 45 years or older, rate of LN metastasis was higher in those who were TSHR mRNA positive (10%) versus negative (2%) (P = .039). TSHR mRNA positivity predicted a higher likelihood of radioactive iodine treatment (36% vs. 17%, P = .009) postoperatively.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that TSHR mRNA, which is a marker of circulating thyroid cancer cells, is detectable in about half of patients with PTmC. The positivity of this marker predicts a higher likelihood of LN involvement in patients with PTmC who are 45 years or older.

Preliminary study of high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1(HMGB1) in ankylosing spondylitis patients

OBJECTIVES

To compare the serum levels of high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB1) between patients with AS and healthy controls, and evaluate its association with disease activities and functional abilities; to investigate the cell surface receptors related to HMGB1 in AS patients.

METHODS

The HMGB1 serum levels from71 previously untreated AS patients and 40 healthy controls were detected by ELISA method. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), erythrocytesedimentationrate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were assessed on these participants. The mRNA expression of HMGB1 and its relevant cell surface receptors RAGE, TLR2, TLR4, and IL-1Racp complex were analysed by RT-PCR.

RESULTS

The HMGB1 serum levels from AS patients were significantly higher than those from healthy controls and remarkably positive correlated with BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI, CRP, and ESR. ASDAS showed more correlated to HMGB1 serum levels than BASDAI. Besides, the expression of TLR2, TLR4, and IL-1Racp from PBMCs revealed significant correlations with the expression of HMGB1.

CONCLUSIONS

HMGB1 might be a good laboratory index for the evaluation of disease activities and disease severity in AS patients. Further, extracellular HMGB1 play its inflammatory role mainly via the expression of cell surface receptors TLR2, TLR4 and IL-1RAcP complex.

Prognostic impact of blood biomarkers TS and DPD in neoadjuvant-treated esophageal cancer patients

BACKGROUND/AIM

The prognostic value of TS (thymidylate synthase) and DPD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase) RNA expression in the blood of patients with esophageal cancer is not known. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the significance of these molecular alterations in the blood as a prognostic marker for patients with neoadjuvant-treated esophageal cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 29 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (cT3-T4, Nx, M0) were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by a transthoracic resection (curative transthoracic en bloc esophagectomy, RO). Peripheral blood samples were drawn before initiation of therapy. The analysis was performed using quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The histomorphological regressions grading after neoadjuvant therapy was defined as follows: major response (MaR)=less than 10% vital tumor tissue, minor response (MiR)=more than 10% vital tumor tissue.

RESULTS

Nineteen out of 29 patients (65.5%) had a MiR and 10 (34.5%) had a MaR. The median survival of patients was 2.08 years (range=0.15-4.53). Among the tested genes, the RNA expression of TS was significantly associated with prognosis of patients. Patients with TS expression above 0.78 had a median survival of 1.1 years (range=0.21-3.96) compared to 2.6 years (range=0.15 to 4.53) in patients with TS expression lower than 0.78 (p=0.031, log rank test). There was no association between clinical variables (e.g., tumor stage, gender, age, etc.) and the RNA expression of TS in the serum.

CONCLUSION

The RNA expression of TS in the blood is a potential prognostic marker in patients with neoadjuvant-treated esophageal cancer. The significance of these molecular alterations as non-invasive prognostic marker for esophageal cancer should be evaluated in prospective studies.

Expression of glucocorticoid receptor isoforms and associations with serine/arginine-rich protein 30c and 40 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) isoforms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), confirm the main GR isoforms involving in glucocorticoids (GC) resistance, and explore the associations of GR isoforms with serine/arginine-rich protein (SRp) 30c and SRp40.

METHODS

Seventy patients with SLE and thirty-eight age- and sex-matched controls were recruited. All patients received prednisone (0.5-1 mg/kg/d) as their routine therapy. According to the therapeutic effect, patients were divided into glucocorticoid-resistant (GCR) and glucocorticoid-sensitive (GCS) groups. Transcript levels of GRα, GRβ, GRγ, GR-P, SRp30c and SRp40 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by real-time PCR. GRα and GRβ proteins were detected by western blotting. Trial registration number is ChiCTR-RCH-12002808.

RESULTS

Four GR transcripts in SLE patients showed the following trend: GRα (51.85%) > GR-P (23.78%) > GRγ (13.08%) >GRβ (0.03%). GR-P transcript and ratio of GRα/GR-P in SLE patients were significantly higher than that in controls (p<0.05). GRα transcript and protein as well as SRp40 transcript in GCS group were significantly higher than that in the GCR group before GC treatment (p<0.05). In the GCS group, GRα transcript and SRp40 transcript were significantly higher after GC treatment than that before GC treatment (p<0.05). In the GCR group, GR-P transcript was significantly higher after GC treatment than that before GC treatment (p<0.05). Positive correlation between SRp40 and GRα transcript was found (p<0.05). Additionally, SLE Disease Activity Index scores were significantly negatively correlated with GRα transcript and protein expression (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrated that the decreased expression of GRα might be the evidence of high disease activity and help to predict GC resistance. GR-P isoform might be implicated in the development of resistance. Additionally, the preliminary finding suggested that SRp40 might be associated with GRα transcripts in SLE patients.

Evaluation of viremia, proviral load and cytokine profile in naturally feline immunodeficiency virus infected cats treated with two different protocols of recombinant feline interferon omega

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FIV-infected cats were treated with two protocols of rFeIFN-ω (sub-cutaneous vs oral).

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The cytokine profile was evaluated in FIV-cats undergoing rFeIFN-ω therapy.

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There was a decrease of IL-6 mRNA expression in cats treated with the oral protocol.

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There was a reduction of IL-6 plasma levels in cats treated subcutaneously.

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Independently of the protocol, rFeIFN seems to reduce pro-inflammatory stimuli.

This study assesses viremia, provirus and blood cytokine profile in naturally FIV-infected cats treated with two distinct protocols of interferon omega (rFeIFN-ω).

Samples from FIV-cats previously submitted to two single-arm studies were used: 7/18 received the licensed/subcutaneous protocol (SC) while 11/18 were treated orally (PO). Viremia, provirus and blood mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, Interferon-γ and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α were monitored by Real-Time qPCR. Concurrent plasma levels of IL-6, IL-12p40 and IL-4 were assessed by ELISA.

IL-6 plasma levels decreased in the SC group (p = 0.031). IL-6 mRNA expression (p = 0.037) decreased in the PO group, albeit not sufficiently to change concurrent plasma levels. Neither viremia nor other measured cytokines changed with therapy. Proviral load increased in the SC group (p = 0.031), which can be justified by a clinically irrelevant increase of lymphocyte count.

Independently of the protocol, rFeIFN-ω seems to act on innate immunity by reducing pro-inflammatory stimulus.

Circulating metastasis associated in colon cancer 1 transcripts in gastric cancer patient plasma as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of circulating Metastasis Associated in Colon Cancer 1 (MACC1) transcripts in plasma of gastric cancer patients.

METHODS: We provide for the first time a blood-based assay for transcript quantification of the metastasis inducer MACC1 in a prospective study of gastric cancer patient plasma. MACC1 is a strong prognostic biomarker for tumor progression and metastasis in a variety of solid cancers. We conducted a study to define the diagnostic and prognostic power of MACC1 transcripts using 76 plasma samples from gastric cancer patients, either newly diagnosed with gastric cancer, newly diagnosed with metachronous metastasis of gastric cancer, as well as follow-up patients. Findings were controlled by using plasma samples from 54 tumor-free volunteers. Plasma was separated, RNA was isolated, and levels of MACC1 as well as S100A4 transcripts were determined by quantitative RT-PCR.

RESULTS: Based on the levels of circulating MACC1 transcripts in plasma we significantly discriminated tumor-free volunteers and gastric cancer patients (P < 0.001). Levels of circulating MACC1 transcripts were increased in gastric cancer patients of each disease stage, compared to tumor-free volunteers: patients with tumors without metastasis (P = 0.005), with synchronous metastasis (P = 0.002), with metachronous metastasis (P = 0.005), and patients during follow-up (P = 0.021). Sensitivity was 0.68 (95%CI: 0.45-0.85) and specificity was 0.89 (95%CI: 0.77-0.95), respectively. Importantly, gastric cancer patients with high circulating MACC1 transcript levels in plasma demonstrated significantly shorter survival when compared with patients demonstrating low MACC1 levels (P = 0.0015). Furthermore, gastric cancer patients with high circulating transcript levels of MACC1 as well as of S100A4 in plasma demonstrated significantly shorter survival when compared with patients demonstrating low levels of both biomarkers or with only one biomarker elevated (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Levels of circulating MACC1 transcripts in plasma of gastric cancer patients are of diagnostic value and are prognostic for patient survival in a prospective study.

Useful biomarkers for assessing the adverse health effects of PCBs in allergic children: pediatric molecular epidemiology

The incidences of childhood allergies have been increasing in recent years in many parts of the world. The development of allergic disorders is attributed to a complex series of interactions between individuals' genetic backgrounds and their immune and psychoneurotic responses to environmental factors. Among the various possible environmental causes of childhood allergies, the early exposure of developing infants to air pollutants and the presence of persistent chemical pollutants such as pesticides have been suggested most frequently. Therefore, it is very important to obtain epidemiological evidence of direct associations between clearly defined adverse health effects and exposure to low levels of pollutants. However, there are no useful biomarkers for assessing such associations. Thus, we planned to establish reliable health-related biomarkers that could be used to investigate these relationships in children. The serum concentrations of several sub-types of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were found to be significantly correlated with interleukin (IL)-8 mRNA expression among asthmatic children. In addition, IL-22 mRNA expression was found to be particularly useful for detecting the effects of environmental pollutants, especially PCB congeners, in a sub-population of vulnerable children who exhibited positive immunoglobulin E (IgE) responses to milk or egg. Furthermore, we detected significant differences in IL-22 mRNA expression between the IgE-negative non-asthmatic subjects and the asthmatic children who exhibited positive IgE reactions toward egg or milk. In conclusion, IL-8 and IL-22 mRNA expressions could be useful biomarkers for detecting sub-populations of children who are particularly vulnerable to the adverse health effects of environmental pollutants, especially PCBs.

Influence of age and physical fitness on miRNA-21, TGF-β and its receptors in leukocytes of healthy women

The TGF-β superfamily has been shown to play an important role in a wide range of physiological as well as pathological processes including ageing, immune modulation, atherosclerosis and cancer development. The aim of the current study was to investigate (i) whether TGF-β signalling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) would differ between young and old females and (ii) whether physical performance parameters of elderly women would be related to the expression of TGF-β or its receptors. Sixteen healthy young (22-28 years; YF) and 90 healthy older (65-92 years; OF) females participated in the study. In addition to several components of health-related physical fitness, circulating CRP and TGF-β levels were determined together with the mRNA expression of TGF-β, TGF-βRI, TGF-βRII, and miRNA-21 (known to interfere with TGF-β signalling) in PBMCs. Physical fitness as determined by 6-minutes walking test (YF:median 932 (range 573-1254) m; OF:360 (114-558) m), handgrip strength (YF: 32 (24-39) kg; OF:18(10-30) kg), relative isokinetic peak torque of knee extensors (YF:1.9 (1.2- 2.3) Nm/kg; OF:1.0 (0.2-1.9) Nm/kg and flexors (YF: 1.1 (0.7- 1.5) Nm/kg; OF: 0.5 (0.2-1.0) Nm/kg was substantially lower in older women (p<0.001 for all comparisons). These changes were paralleled by an increase in hs-CRP (YF: 0.9 (0.1-4.3)mg/L; OF: 2.3 (0.3-56.7)mg/L,p<0.001). Serum levels of TGF-β and TGF-β mRNA levels from PBMCs did not differ between young and old women whereas, both TGF- βRI/GAPDH (YF: 4.07 (1.38-14.60); OF: 2.08 (0.14-28.81); p=0.020) and TGF-βRII/GAPDH levels (YF: 3.16 (1.14- 10.25); OF: 1.71 (0.51-14.86); p=0.020) were lower with respect to old age. In elderly women, only TGF-βRΙ expression correlated negatively with miRNA-21 expression in PBMCs (ρ=-0.315; p=0.004). Interestingly, hs-CRP and miRNA correlated positively with handgrip strength (ρ=0.237 and ρ=243, p<0.05), while none of the TGF-β-related parameters were related to physical performance. The results suggest that age affects TGF-β signalling in leukocytes by altering the expression levels of its receptors. These changes seem to occur independently of physical fitness of old women.

Drug-induced mRNA signatures are enriched for the minority of genes that are highly heritable

The blood gene expression signatures are used as biomarkers for immunological and non- immunological diseases. Therefore, it is important to understand the variation in blood gene expression patterns and the factors (heritable/non-heritable) that underlie this variation. In this paper, we study the relationship between drug effects on the one hand, and heritable and non-heritable factors influencing gene expression on the other. Understanding of this relationship can help select appropriate targets for drugs aimed at reverting disease phenotypes to healthy states. In order to estimate heritable and non-heritable effects on gene expression, we use Twin-ACE model on a gene expression dataset MuTHER, measured in blood samples from monozygotic and dizygotic twins. In order to associate gene expression with drug effects, we use CMap database. We show that, even though the expressions of most genes are driven by non-heritable factors, drugs are more likely to influence expression of genes, driven by heritable rather than non-heritable factors. We further study this finding in the context of a gene regulatory network. We investigate the relationship between the drug effects on gene expression and propagation of heritable and non-heritable factors through regulatory networks. We find that the decisive factor in determining whether a gene will be influenced by a drug is the flow of heritable effects supplied to the gene through regulatory network.

Circadian rhythms of cellular immunity in rheumatoid arthritis: a hypothesis-generating study

OBJECTIVES

The circadian rhythm of clinical symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been primarily attributed to circadian variations in humoral factors and hormones. In this study, we investigated circadian rhythms of cellular immunity in RA (CiRA study).

METHODS

Peripheral blood of female postmenopausal patients with active RA (DAS 28 ≥ 4.2) (n=5) and female postmenopausal non-RA controls (n=5) was collected every 2 hours for 24 hours and analysed by flow cytometry, cytokine multiplex suspension array and quantitative RT-PCR of clock gene expression in isolated CD14+ monocytes. Endogenous circadian rhythms of macrophages were investigated by BMAL1-luciferase bioluminescence. Significance of circadian rhythms was tested by Cosinor analysis.

RESULTS

We found (i) circadian rhythms in the relative frequency of peripheral blood cell populations that were present in postmenopausal non-RA controls but absent in patients with active RA, (ii) circadian rhythms that were absent in non-RA controls but present in patients with RA and (iii) circadian rhythms that were present in both groups but with differences in peak phase or amplitude or amplitude/magnitude. The circadian rhythm in expression of the clock genes PER2 and PER3 in CD14+ monocytes was lost in patients with RA. The amplitude of BMAL1-luciferase bioluminescence tended to be lower in patients with RA than in non-RA controls.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that (i) in RA some immune cell populations lose their normal circadian rhythms whereas others establish new 'inflammatory' circadian rhythms and (ii) these findings provide a good basis for further identifying pathophysiological aspects of RA chronobiology with potential therapeutic implications.

Molecular genomic- and transcriptional-aspects of a teleost TRAF6 homolog: Possible involvement in immune responses of Oplegnathus fasciatus against pathogens

Tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) is a crucial docking molecule for TNFR superfamily and Interleukin-1 receptor/Toll-like receptor (IL-1R/TLR) superfamily. As an adaptor protein in pathogen-induced signaling cascades, TRAF6 modulates both adaptive- and innate-immunity. In order to understand the immune responses of teleost TRAF6, Oplegnathus fasciatus TRAF6-like gene (OfTRAF6) was identified and characterized. Genomic length of OfTRAF6 (4 kb), obtained by means of a genomic BAC library, spanned seven exons which represented a putative coding sequence of 1716 bp and encoded 571 amino acids (aa) with an estimated molecular weight of 64 kDa. This putative protein demonstrated the classical tetra-domain architecture composed of a zinc finger RING-type profile, two zinc finger TRAF-type profiles, a coiled-coil region and a MATH domain. While the sequence similarity with human TRAF6 was 66.5%, OfTRAF6 shared a higher overall similarity with teleost homologs (∼75-92%). Phylogeny of TRAF-family was examined and TRAF6-subfamily appeared to be the precursor of other subfamilies. In addition, the clustering pattern confirmed that OfTRAF6 is a novel member of TRAF6subfamily. Based on comparative genomic analysis, we found that vertebrate TRAF6 exhibits two distinct structures in teleost and tetrapod lineages. An intron-loss event has probably occurred in TRAF6 gene during the evolution of tetrapods from teleosts. Inspection of putative OfTRAF6 promoter revealed the presence of several immune responsive transcription factor binding sites. Real-time qPCR assay detected OfTRAF6 transcripts in eleven juvenile fish tissues with higher levels in peripheral blood cells followed by liver. Putative role of OfTRAF6 in response to flagellin, LPS, poly I:C, pathogenic bacteria (Edwardsiella tarda and Streptococcus iniae) and rock bream iridovirus (RBIV) was profiled in different tissues and OfTRAF6 revealed up-regulated transcript levels. Altogether, these findings implicate that OfTRAF6 is not only involved in flagellin-induced signaling cascade, but also contributes to the antibacterial- and antiviral-responses.

Significance of detecting circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells in peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma patients by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and its clinical value: a retrospective study

AIMS AND BACKGROUND

Circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells may be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We investigated the relationship between circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells and hepatoma patient survival after different managements and survival periods.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN

Peripheral vein blood (5 ml) samples were obtained from 113 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and from 33 control subjects (9 with liver cirrhosis after hepatitis B, 14 with chronic hepatitis B, 10 healthy individuals) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. To detect circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells in peripheral blood, alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was amplified from total RNA extracted from whole blood by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

Alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was detected in 59 blood samples from the hepatocellular carcinoma patients (59/113, 52.2%). In contrast, there were no clinical control subjects whose samples showed detectable alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA. The presence of alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA in blood seemed to be correlated with the stage (by TNM classification) of hepatocellular carcinoma, serum alpha-fetoprotein value, and the presence of intrahepatic metastasis, portal vein thrombosis, tumor diameter and/or distant metastasis. In addition, alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was detected in the blood of 25 patients showing distant metastasis at extrahepatic organs (100%), in contrast to 32 of 88 cases without metastasis (36.4%). All the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were followed. Seventeen patients with resection of a T 2 stage hepatocellular carcinoma had a survival of 3.2 years after surgical management, 38 cases with resection of a T3 stage hepatocellular carcinoma had a 1.3-year survival, and only 37 cases with T4 stage disease after different treatments except surgery survived for 0.6 years (P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA in peripheral blood may be an indicator of circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which might predict hematogenous spreading metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and may be a poor prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Dynamic and extensive metabolic state-dependent regulation of cytokine expression and circulating levels

Cytokines play diverse and critical roles in innate and acquired immunity, and several function within the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues to modulate energy metabolism. The extent to which changes in energy balance impact the expression and circulating levels of cytokines (many of which have pleiotropic functions) has not been systematically examined. To investigate metabolism-related changes in cytokine profiles, we used a multiplex approach to assess changes in 71 circulating mouse cytokines in response to acute (fasting and refeeding) and chronic (high-fat feeding) alterations in whole body metabolism. Refeeding significantly decreased serum levels of IL-22, IL-1α, soluble (s)IL-2Rα, and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3), but markedly increased granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), IL-1β, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL2), sIL-1RI, lipocalin-2, pentraxin-3, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1), and serum amyloid protein (SAP) relative to the fasted state. Interestingly, only a few of these changes paralleled the alterations in expression of their corresponding mRNAs. Functional studies demonstrated that central delivery of G-CSF increased, whereas IL-22 decreased, food intake. Changes in food intake were not accompanied by acute alterations in orexigenic (Npy and Agrp) and anorexigenic (Pomc and Cart) neuropeptide gene expression in the hypothalamus. In the context of chronic high-fat feeding, circulating levels of chemokine (C-X-C) ligand (CXCL1), serum amyloid protein A3 (SAA3), TIMP-1, α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), and A2M were increased, whereas IL-12p40, CCL4, sCD30, soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), CCL12, CCL20, CX3CL1, IL-16, IL-22, and haptoglobin were decreased relative to mice fed a control low-fat diet. These results demonstrate that both short- and long-term changes in whole body metabolism extensively alter cytokine expression and circulating levels, thus providing a foundation and framework for further investigations to ascertain the metabolic roles for these molecules in physiological and pathological states.

Comparison of whole blood RNA preservation tubes and novel generation RNA extraction kits for analysis of mRNA and MiRNA profiles

Background

Whole blood expression profiling is frequently performed using PAXgene (Qiagen) or Tempus (Life Technologies) tubes. Here, we compare 6 novel generation RNA isolation protocols with respect to RNA quantity, quality and recovery of mRNA and miRNA.

Methods

3 PAXgene and 3 Tempus Tubes were collected from participants of the LIFE study with (n = 12) and without (n = 35) acute myocardial infarction (AMI). RNA was extracted with 4 manual protocols from Qiagen (PAXgene Blood miRNA Kit), Life Technologies (MagMAX for Stabilized Blood Tubes RNA Isolation Kit), and Norgen Biotek (Norgen Preserved Blood RNA Purification Kit I and Kit II), and 2 (semi-)automated protocols on the QIAsymphony (Qiagen) and MagMAX Express-96 Magnetic Particle Processor (Life Technologies). RNA quantity and quality was determined. For biological validation, RNA from 12 representative probands, extracted with all 6 kits (n = 72), was reverse transcribed and mRNAs (matrix metalloproteinase 9, arginase 1) and miRNAs (miR133a, miR1), shown to be altered by AMI, were analyzed.

Results

RNA yields were highest using the Norgen Kit I with Tempus Tubes and lowest using the Norgen Kit II with PAXgene. The disease status was the second major determinant of RNA yields (LIFE-AMI 11.2 vs. LIFE 6.7 µg, p<0.001) followed by the choice of blood collection tube. (Semi-)automation reduced overall RNA extraction time but did not generally reduce hands-on-time. RNA yields and quality were comparable between manual and automated extraction protocols. mRNA expression was not affected by collection tubes and RNA extraction kits but by RT/qPCR reagents with exception of the Norgen Kit II, which led to mRNA depletion. For miRNAs, expression differences related to collection tubes (miR30b), RNA isolation (Norgen Kit II), and RT/qRT reagents (miR133a) were observed.

Conclusion

We demonstrate that novel generation RNA isolation kits significantly differed with respect to RNA recovery and affected miRNA but not mRNA expression profiles.

Latest developments in the treatment of lipoprotein (a)

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of treatment options for Lp(a) lowering.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies confirmed that lifestyle intervention and statins do not affect Lp(a) levels, whereas Lp(a) is lowered by oestrogens, niacin, and lipoprotein apheresis. Cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitors and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 antibodies, currently studied in phase 3 trials, also lower Lp(a) concentrations by 30-50%. However, all of these compounds have modifying effects on multiple lipoprotein classes. An antisense oligonucleotide directed to apolipoprotein (a) has recently been developed to specifically lower circulating Lp(a) levels. This compound lowers Lp(a) mRNA up to 90%, and Lp(a) levels up to 82% in human volunteers independent of Lp(a) levels at baseline.

SUMMARY

Multiple agents, including the next generation RNA-based antisense therapeutics have Lp(a) lowering properties. However, it remains to be established whether lowering Lp(a) reduces cardiovascular disease events with specific Lp(a) lowering therapies.

Baseline MxA mRNA expression predicts interferon beta response in multiple sclerosis patients

BACKGROUND

Myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA) is a molecule induced after interferon-beta injection, mostly used to evaluate its bioactivity. There is little available data on clinical utility of baseline MxA mRNA status. The objective of the study is to investigate whether baseline MxA mRNA expression can predict relapse and disease progression in multiple sclerosis patients treated with interferon-beta.

METHODS

Baseline blood samples were obtained before the first interferon-beta dose was administered to evaluate MxA mRNA expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Demographic and clinical variables were prospectively recorded to define treatment responder and non responder groups.

RESULTS

104 patients were included in the study. Baseline MxA mRNA expression was significantly lower in the group of patients who met the definition of responders (1.07 vs 1.95, Student t test, p<0.0001). A threshold of 1.096 was established using Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis to differentiate between responders and non-responders (sensitivity 73.9%, specificity 69.0%). Survival analysis using this threshold showed that time to next relapse (p<0.0001) and to EDSS progression (p = 0.01) were significantly higher in patients with lower MxA titers.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that baseline MxA mRNA levels may be useful for predicting whether multiple sclerosis patients will respond or not to interferon-beta treatment.

Detection of tumor cell-specific mRNA and protein in exosome-like microvesicles from blood and saliva

The discovery of disease-specific biomarkers in oral fluids has revealed a new dimension in molecular diagnostics. Recent studies have reported the mechanistic involvement of tumor cells derived mediators, such as exosomes, in the development of saliva-based mRNA biomarkers. To further our understanding of the origins of disease-induced salivary biomarkers, we here evaluated the hypothesis that tumor-shed secretory lipidic vesicles called exosome-like microvesicles (ELMs) that serve as protective carriers of tissue-specific information, mRNAs, and proteins, throughout the vasculature and bodily fluids. RNA content was analyzed in cell free-saliva and ELM-enriched fractions of saliva. Our data confirmed that the majority of extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) in saliva were encapsulated within ELMs. Nude mice implanted with human lung cancer H460 cells expressing hCD63-GFP were used to follow the circulation of tumor cell specific protein and mRNA in the form of ELMs in vivo. We were able to identify human GAPDH mRNA in ELMs of blood and saliva of tumor bearing mice using nested RT-qPCR. ELMs positive for hCD63-GFP were detected in the saliva and blood of tumor bearing mice as well as using electric field-induced release and measurement (EFIRM). Altogether, our results demonstrate that ELMs carry tumor cell-specific mRNA and protein from blood to saliva in a xenografted mouse model of human lung cancer. These results therefore strengthen the link between distal tumor progression and the biomarker discovery of saliva through the ELMs.

Biomarkers for monitoring pre-analytical quality variation of mRNA in blood samples

There is an increasing need for proper quality control tools in the pre-analytical phase of the molecular diagnostic workflow. The aim of the present study was to identify biomarkers for monitoring pre-analytical mRNA quality variations in two different types of blood collection tubes, K₂EDTA (EDTA) tubes and PAXgene Blood RNA Tubes (PAXgene tubes). These tubes are extensively used both in the diagnostic setting as well as for research biobank samples. Blood specimens collected in the two different blood collection tubes were stored for varying times at different temperatures, and microarray analysis was performed on resultant extracted RNA. A large set of potential mRNA quality biomarkers for monitoring post-phlebotomy gene expression changes and mRNA degradation in blood was identified. qPCR assays for the potential biomarkers and a set of relevant reference genes were generated and used to pre-validate a sub-set of the selected biomarkers. The assay precision of the potential qPCR based biomarkers was determined, and a final validation of the selected quality biomarkers using the developed qPCR assays and blood samples from 60 healthy additional subjects was performed. In total, four mRNA quality biomarkers (USP32, LMNA, FOSB, TNRFSF10C) were successfully validated. We suggest here the use of these blood mRNA quality biomarkers for validating an experimental pre-analytical workflow. These biomarkers were further evaluated in the 2^nd ring trial of the SPIDIA-RNA Program which demonstrated that these biomarkers can be used as quality control tools for mRNA analyses from blood samples.

Detection of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer patients using multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and specific primers for MGB, PTHRP and KRT19 correlation with clinicopathological features

AIM

The aim of this study was to correlate the clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients with the positive detection of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHRP), cytokeratin protein 19 (KRT19) and mammaglobin (MGB) using a multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay developed to detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Peripheral blood samples were collected from 54 breast cancer patients and 20 healthy blood donors. Subsequently, the samples were processed for RNA extraction and analyzed for the expression of PTHRP, KRT19 and MGB using specific primers and multiplex RT-PCR.

RESULTS

The positive detection rates in breast cancer patients for PTHRP, KRT19 and MGB were 68.5%, 63% and 22.2% and for healthy donors 10%, 0% and 10%, respectively. The statistical analysis revealed that PTHRP- and KRT19-positive detections correlated with the diagnosis of breast cancer while the combined positive detections of PTHRP-plus-KRT19 correlated with the presence of distant metastasis, especially with bone metastasis. Moreover, positive detections of KRT19 correlated with high proliferation rate of breast cancer tumors. MGB-positive detections did not add any diagnostic advantage in such analysis.

CONCLUSION

Multiplex-PCR based detection of CTCs using PTHRP and KRT19 primers can provide useful information for the disease.

[Transcripts of satellite DNA in blood plasma: probable markers of tumor growth]

A recent study of human normal and tumor tissues revealed a high transcriptional activity of pericentromeric satellite DNA repeats (they produce half of all transcripts in tumor cells that is many times higher than in normal ones). It was found also that the two subtypes of satellite DNA (HSATII and GSATII) are transcribed reciprocally, i.e. there is a sharp prevalence of HSATII transcription in tumors, while GSATII transcription prevails in the corresponding normal tissues. As different RNAs are present in blood plasma, and some of them serve as effectivetumor markers, we attempted for the first time to evaluate satellite HSATII and GSATII RNAs in the blood plasma of healthy donors and cancer patients. The RT-PCR protocol designed for this purpose allowed us to detect transcripts of both HSATII and GSATII repeats. As it has been shown, HSATII transcripts are more abundant than GSATII ones in plasma of healthy donors and vice versa in plasma of cancer patients; these ratios being diametrically opposed to those that exist within the cells. Some suggestions concerning origins of circulating satellite RNAs and their probable role as tumor markers are discussed.

Effect of anabolic implants on adrenal cortisol synthesis in feedlot beef cattle implanted early or late in the finishing phase

Implantation of anabolic steroids to increase growth rate in beef cattle impacts adrenal glucocorticoid production. The mechanism by which combination androgen and estrogen implants reduce cortisol biosynthesis in heifers is not clear. The objective of this study was to identify whether pituitary or adrenal gene expression and liver enzyme activity may contribute to altered serum cortisol concentrations in heifers receiving a combination implant. On d 0 of a 122-d finishing phase, 187 predominantly Angus heifers (361 kg) approximately 14 months old were randomly assigned to one of three implant groups: (1) non-implanted control, (2) implanted at the beginning of the finishing phase (d 0; early implant) with a combination implant (200mg TBA+20mg E2; Revalor 200®), and (3) implanted during the late stage of the finishing phase (d 56; late implant) with Revalor 200®. At d 56, body weight (BW) was greater (P<0.0001) for the early implanted heifers (456 ± 1.9 kg) compared to 437 and 435 (± 1.8) kg for control and late implanted heifers, respectively. Final BW (d 122) was similar between both implanted groups and heavier than non-implanted controls (P<0.0001). Serum cortisol was similar among groups at d 0 (P=0.86) however, by d 28 heifers receiving the combination implant had reduced (P<0.05) serum cortisol concentrations (31.2 ng/mL) compared to controls (49.4 ng/mL) and late (48.2 ng/mL) groups. On d 84 cortisol was similar (P=0.75) among implanted heifers and was less (P<0.01) than non-implanted heifers. Expression of pituitary and adrenal genes involved in glucocorticoid synthesis was evaluated at d 28/29 or 84/85; however, despite decreased serum cortisol in implanted heifers, no change in mRNA expression was demonstrated. Liver CYP3A enzyme activity at d 28/29 was decreased 59% in early implanted heifers compared to control heifers (P=0.01). Additionally, at d 84/85 AKR1C activity was greatest (P=0.01) in control heifers compared to both implanted groups. Data suggest that components of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are influenced by exposure to exogenous hormones and this should be recognized when considering cortisol levels as a marker for stress response.

Evaluation of Toll-Like receptor 2 and 4 RNA expression and the cytokine profile in postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the gene expression of Toll-Like (TLR-2 and TLR-4) receptors and cytokine profile in postmenopausal women with or without metabolic syndrome (MetS).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 311 Brazilian women (age≥45 years and amenorrhea≥12 months) were included. Women showing three or more of the following diagnostic criteria were diagnosed as positive for MetS: waist circumference>88 cm, triglycerides≥150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol<50 mg/dL, blood pressure≥130/85 mmHg, and fasting glucose≥100 mg/dL. The expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in peripheral blood was evaluated by RNA extraction and subsequent real time PCR analysis. The cytokine profile, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins 1β, 6, and 10, were measured by ELISA.

RESULTS

The expression of TLR-2 RNA was demonstrated in 32.5% and TLR-4 in 20.6% of the subjects. There was no association between the expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 and the presence or absence of MetS (P>0.05). A greater production of IL-6 was associated with TLR-2 and TLR-4 expressions and greater production of TNF-α was associated only with TLR-2 expression (P>0.05). Only the lower quartile of IL-10 was associated with the presence of the MetS (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

TLR-2 and TLR-4 expressions were associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α, with no association with biomarkers of MetS. The low concentrations of IL-10 may suggest an anti-inflammatory modulation in postmenopausal women with MetS.

CCL2 induction by 1,25(OH)2D3 in dendritic cells from healthy donors and multiple sclerosis patients

CCL2 plays a pivotal role in the recruitment of different immune cells to sites of inflammation and evidence indicates its involvement in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. MS lesions are characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate, whose nature is controlled by chemokines and cytokines, and elevated expression of CCL2 has been found in acute and chronic MS plaques within the brain. Vitamin D deficiency is currently considered one of the main environmental MS risk factors. In this study we analyzed the role of 1,25(OH)2D3, the bioactive vitamin D metabolite, in the regulation of CCL2 expression by dendritic cells (DC) obtained from healthy donors and relapsing-remitting MS patients. We report that 1,25(OH)2D3, as well as 25OHD3, its main blood precursor, induce the secretion of high levels of CCL2. 1,25(OH)2D3-induced CCL2 levels are comparable to those secreted in response to a classical DC maturation stimulus. Moreover, we observed that 1,25(OH)2D3 is able to induce a significant CCL2 secretion in DC obtained from relapsing-remitting MS patients, although CCL2 levels in these latter are lower with respect to healthy controls. The cause(s) of this apparently defective response of DC from patients and its consequences in the context of MS remain to be elucidated. However, we propose CCL2 as a molecular player contributing to the immunomodulatory activity of 1,25(OH)2D3 on DC, and hypothesize a role for this chemokine in the response of MS patients to vitamin D therapy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled '16th Vitamin D Workshop'.

Similar source of differential blood mRNAs in lung cancer and pulmonary inflammatory diseases: calls for improved strategy for identifying cancer-specific biomarkers

BACKGROUND

Many studies try to identify cancer diagnostic biomarkers by comparing peripheral whole blood (PWB) of cancer samples and healthy controls, explicitly or implicitly assuming that such biomarkers are potential candidate biomarkers for distinguishing cancer from nonmalignant inflammation-associated diseases.

METHODS

Multiple PWB gene expression profiles for lung cancer/inflammation-associated pulmonary diseases were used for differential mRNAs identification and comparison and for proportion estimation of PWB cell subtypes.

RESULTS

The differentially expressed genes (DE genes) between lung cancer/inflammation-associated pulmonary patients and healthy controls were reproducibly identified in different datasets. For these DE genes observed in lung cancer/inflammation-associated pulmonary diseases, more than 90.2% were differentially expressed between myeloid cells and lymphoid cells, with at least 96.8% having consistent directions of regulation (up- or down-regulations) in myeloid cells compared to lymphoid cells, explainable by the shifted populations of PWB cell subtypes under the disease conditions. The comparison of DE genes for lung cancer and inflammation-associated pulmonary diseases showed that the overlapping genes were 100% consistent in the sense of direction of regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

The differential blood mRNAs observed in lung cancer and in inflammation-associated pulmonary diseases were similar, both mainly reflecting the difference between myeloid cells and lymphoid cells predominantly determined by PWB cell population shifts. Thus, the strategy of comparing cancer with healthy controls may provide little information of the ability of the identified candidate biomarkers in discriminating cancer from inflammation-associated pulmonary diseases.

Placental expression of proBNP/NT-proBNP and plasma levels of NT-proBNP in early- and late-onset preeclampsia

BACKGROUND

Levels of plasma N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are elevated in preeclampsia. In this study, the possibility that the placenta produces and releases proBNP/NT-proBNP was explored. Plasma levels of NT-proBNP in early- and late-onset preeclampsia were also measured.

METHODS

Placental proBNP mRNA in early-onset preeclampsia (n = 7), late-onset preeclampsia (n = 8), and controls of similar gestational age (n = 10) was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. ProBNP/NT-proBNP protein was studied in placental samples with immunohistochemistry (n = 8) and tissue culture (n = 2). Plasma levels of NT-proBNP were measured in early-onset preeclampsia (n = 18), late-onset preeclampsia (n = 20), and relevant controls (n = 36).

RESULTS

Transcripts of proBNP mRNA were found in 20 out of 25 samples, there were no differences in expression between the groups. ProBNP/NT-proBNP protein was observed in maternal spiral arteries and in syncytiotrophoblasts in all placental samples. After placental tissue culture, there were measurable amounts of NT-proBNP in the culture media. Women with both early- (365 [14-9815] pg/ml) and late-onset preeclampsia (176 [33-2547] pg/ml) had higher levels of NT-proBNP than their controls (P < 0.001). There was a tendency toward higher levels of NT-proBNP in women with early-onset preeclampsia than in women with late-onset preeclampsia (P = 0.057).

CONCLUSION

The results indicate possible placental production and release of proBNP/NT-proBNP into the maternal circulation.

α-Klotho is an acute phase protein and altered by restraint stress in mice

OBJECTIVE

To identify whether α-Klotho is a kind of acute phase protein and alternation in the level of protein and mRNA under restraint stress.

METHOD

48 mice were divided into three groups of 16: 1h, 10h and 20 h treat time group. Each group included restraint stress and control subgroup with same number animals (n = 8). ELISA was utilized in the assay of serum α-Klotho and corticosterone, RT-PCR was occupied in the detection of the expression of α-Klotho mRNA in renal tissue.

RESULT

α-Klotho protein concentration of control group 1h, 10h and 20 h was 757.71 ± 333.93 pg/ml, 687.38 ± 342.79 pg/ml and 912.90 ± 337.8 pg/ml, respectively. While the concentration of restraint stress group 1h, 10h and 20 h was 726.40 ± 342.79 pg/ml, 1261.54 ± 442.71 pg/ml, and 1696.18 ± 404.11 pg/ml. There was no significant difference among 1h, 10h and 20 h control groups (P > 0.05) as well as 1h treat time subgroup. Compared with respective control group, the difference of restraint stress group in 10h and 20 h treat time group was significant (P < 0.05). The expression of α-Klotho mRNA was slightly downregulated even when the mice underwent a 1 hour restraint stress, though without significance (p > 0.05). Prominent fold change, 2.02 and 2.46, happened in 10h and 20 h restraint group with significance (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), respectively.

CONCLUSION

α-Klotho is a kind of acute phase protein. The serum α-Klotho protein is promoted while the α-Klotho mRNA is downregulated under the constraint stress.

Disrupted TH17/Treg balance in patients with chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a leading cause of disability and costs in health care systems worldwide. Despite extensive research, the exact pathogenesis of CLBP, particularly the individual risk of chronification remains unclear. To investigate a possible role of the adaptive immune system in the pathophysiology of CLBP, we analyzed T cell related cytokine profiles, T cell related mRNA expression patterns and the distribution of T cell subsets in 37 patients suffering from nonspecific CLBP before and after multimodal therapy in comparison to 25 healthy controls. Serum patterns of marker cytokines were analyzed by Luminex technology, mRNA expression of cytokines and specific transcription factors was measured by real-time PCR, and distribution of TH1-, TH2-, TH17- and regulatory T cell (Tregs) subsets was determined by multicolor flow cytometry. We found that CLBP patients exhibit an increased number of anti-inflammatory Tregs, while pro-inflammatory TH17 cells are decreased, resulting in an altered TH17/Treg ratio. Accordingly, FoxP3 and TGF-β-mRNA expression was elevated, while expression of IL-23 was reduced. Serum cytokine analyses proved to be unsuitable to monitor the adaptive immune response in CLBP patients. We further show that even after successful therapy with lasting reduction of pain, T cell subset patterns remained altered after a follow-up period of 6 months. These findings suggest an involvement of TH17/Treg cells in the pathogenesis of CLBP and emphasize the importance of these cells in the crosstalk of pain and immune response.

Trial Registration

German Clinical Trial Register: Registration Trial DRKS00005954.