Profilin1 sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to irradiation by inducing apoptosis and reducing autophagy

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor prognosis mainly due to lack of effective treatment options. Radiotherapy is mostly applied to locally advanced cases, although tumor radioresistance limits the effectiveness. Profilin1, a novel tumor suppressor gene, was reported to be down-regulated in various cancers and associated with tumor progression. The objective of this study was to demonstrate how profilin1 affected pancreatic cancer radiosensitivity. We showed profilin1 was down-regulated in pancreatic cancer cells after exposure to radiation, and re-expression of profilin1 suppressed tumor cell viability and increased DNA damage following irradiation. Further studies revealed that up-regulation of profilin1 facilitated apoptosis and repressed autophagy induced by irradiation, which might sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to radiation treatment. Our findings may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for sensitizing pancreatic cancer to radiotherapy.

MicroRNA-191 correlates with poor prognosis of colorectal carcinoma and plays multiple roles by targeting tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease 3

MicroRNA-191 (miR-191) is reported to be overexpressed in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), but the role of miR-191 in CRC progress remained unclear. This study demonstrated that High miR-191 expression was associated with clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis and depth of tumor invasion. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high miR-191 expression had a poor overall survival. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that miR-191 was an independent prognostic factor in patients with CRC. Furthermore, we found that tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease 3 (TIMP3) was a direct target of miR-191 in colorectal cancer SW620 cells. TIMP3 downregulation mediated by miR-191 activated matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and thus promoted invasiveness of cancer cells. Anti-miR-191 could attenuate the invasiveness, suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis by restoring TIMP3 expression. Our results suggested that miR-191 might be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target in patients with colorectal cancer.

Antidepressant drug, desipramine, alleviates allergic rhinitis by regulating Treg and Th17 cells

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is characterized by IgE-mediated immediate hypersensitivity and usually progresses to chronic nasal inflammation, with depression as one of its comorbidities. The importance of treating the depression in AR patients has been increasingly recognized. Desipramine is a representative of tricyclic-antidepressant agents. In the present study we investigate whether desipramine has therapeutic effects on AR inflammation. BALB/C mice were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA), followed by repeated challenge with OVA intranasally. Desipramine was administered orally to treat the mice. The nasal symptoms (sneezing, nasal scratching etc.) of AR were evaluated to determine the severity of AR. Cytokines in the nasal lavage fluid (NALF), including interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin 4 (IL-4) and serum OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody were measured by ELISA. The regulatory T cells (Treg) and T helper cells 17 (Th17) were quantified by flow cytometric analysis. As a result, the repeated oral administration of desipramine attenuated the nasal symptoms (sneezing and nasal rubbing) in AR mice. Desipramine also suppressed the serum OVA-specific IgE and IL-4 levels, but had no effect on IFN-gamma level. Moreover, desipramine treatment up regulated CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells, which were found down-regulated in established AR mice. Meanwhile, desipramine administration attenuated CD4+IL-17+ Th17 cells, which were significantly increased in AR mice. These results suggest that the antidepressant drug, desipramine, also has anti-allergic action, which was possibly achieved by reducing allergen-specific IgE and Th2 cytokine production and maintaining a balance between Treg and Th17 cells. Thus, this study provide the first evidence that desipramine may be utilized to treat allergic diseases, especially for those allergic patients with depression or depression patients with allergy.

Desmoplastic (collagenous) fibroma of the femur: A case report and review of the literature

Desmoplastic fibroma is a rare, benign soft-tissue tumor composed of spindled and stellate-shaped cells that are embedded in a dense collagenous stroma. Clinically, desmoplastic fibroma presents as a firm, mobile, slow-growing mass that is located in the subcutaneous tissue or near the deep aspect of the skeletal muscles. The present study describes the case of a 66-year-old female who presented with an inactive, firm, slightly tender mass in the lower medial segment of the right femur. An open biopsy was performed and the result of the pathological examination indicated a desmoplastic fibroma. The patient underwent a radical resection of the tumor and the accompanying bone, which was then reimplanted using devitalized tumor bone, self-ilium graft and homologous allograft bone transplantation, with an internal fixation by locking the compression plate. This was followed by a reconstruction of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the lateral and medial collateral ligaments. There was no evidence of local recurrence at five years post-surgery.

Gene profile identifies zinc transporters differentially expressed in normal human organs and human pancreatic cancer

Deregulated expression of zinc transporters was linked to several cancers. However, the detailed expression profile of all human zinc transporters in normal human organs and in human cancer, especially in pancreatic cancer is not available. The objectives of this study are to investigate the complete expression patterns of 14 ZIP and 10 ZnT transporters in a large number of normal human organs and in human pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines. We examined the expression patterns of ZIP and ZnT transporters in 22 different human organs and tissues, 11 pairs of clinical human pancreatic cancer specimens and surrounding normal/benign tissues, as well as 10 established human pancreatic cancer cell lines plus normal human pancreatic ductal epithelium (HPDE) cells, using real time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The results indicate that human zinc transporters have tissue specific expression patterns, and may play different roles in different organs or tissues. Almost all the ZIPs except for ZIP4, and most ZnTs were down-regulated in human pancreatic cancer tissues compared to the surrounding benign tissues. The expression patterns of individual ZIPs and ZnTs are similar among different pancreatic cancer lines. Those results and our previous studies suggest that ZIP4 is the only zinc transporter that is significantly up-regulated in human pancreatic cancer and might be the major zinc transporter that plays an important role in pancreatic cancer growth. ZIP4 might serve as a novel molecular target for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and therapy.

MicroRNA-34b inhibits pancreatic cancer metastasis through repressing Smad3

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by extremely poor prognosis because of early recurrence and metastasis, and increasing evidence supports the critical role of microRNA in cancer progression. Here we identified that microRNA-34b functioned as a tumor-suppressing microRNA by targeting oncogenic Smad3 in pancreatic cancer. As a hypovascular tumor with a potential endoplasmic reticulum stress microenvironment, miR-34b was silenced after ER stress inducer thapsigargin (Tg) treatment and negatively regulated by ER stress chaperone glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in pancreatic cancer cells. In human specimens, we found that miR-34b was down-regulated in pancreatic cancer tissues and low level of miR-34b expression was positively correlated with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, lymph-node metastasis and overall survival. Functional assays showed that over-expression of miR-34b inhibited pancreatic cancer progression in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Smad3 was demonstrated as a direct target of miR-34b and negatively regulated by miR- 34b at mRNA and protein levels. Luciferase assays confirmed that miR-34b could directly bind to the 3'untranslated region of Smad3. An inverse correlation between miR-34b and Smad3 was observed in 64 pancreatic cancer tissues. Our findings indicate that miR-34b acts as a tumor metastasis suppressor through negatively modulating Smad3, which may provide a potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer.

[Epiphysis preserving by physeal distraction for treatment of femur osteosarcoma in children]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the effectiveness and application value of epiphysis preserving by the method of physeal distraction for treatment of femur osteosarcoma in children's limb saving surgery.

METHODS

Between January 2007 and January 2011, 6 patients with femur osteosarcoma underwent epiphysis preserving operation by physeal distraction. There were 4 males and 2 females with a mean age of 11.4 years (range, 9-14 years). The mean disease duration was 4.8 months (range, 1-9 months). The pathology confirmed osteosarcoma in all patients by core needle or open biopsy, including 1 case of osteogenic sarcoma, 1 case of chondroblastic osteogenic sarcoma, 1 case of osteoblastic osteogenic sarcoma, and 3 cases of no classified osteosarcoma. The clinical stage was IIA in 1 case and IIB in 5 cases according to the Enneking staging system. All patients received 2 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before operation. Then physeal distraction was performed for 4-7 days (mean, 5.7 days) based on Cañiadell technique. After 1-2 days of physeal distraction, massive allograft bones and interlocking intramedullary nails were used to reconstruct bone defect after tumor resection. All patients received another 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy and were followed up. Bone healing, limb discrepancy, and complications were recorded. Functional outcomes were assessed by the system of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) and the range of motion (ROM) of both knee joints.

RESULTS

Superficial infection occurred in 1 case and was cured after dressing change, and primary healing was obtained in the other patients. All 6 patients were followed up 2.5 years on average (range, 1-5 years). Symptoms of pain and swelling disappeared. No complication of allograft rejection, loosening or breaking of fixation occurred. No relapse or metastasis happened during follow-up. Bone healing was observed at the metaphysis junction in 5 cases at 6-9 months after operation and in 1 case at 14 months. Delayed union happened at the diaphysis junction in all patients. Different amount of callus formation was seen at the surface of diaphysis junction, but the fracture line remained clear at 12-48 months after operation. At last follow-up, limb discrepancy was 1-3 cm in 4 patients and 3-5 cm in 2 patients; 3 patients had compensatory scoliosis, and 2 patients had claudication. The MSTS score was 27.20 +/- 1.92, showing significant difference (t= -4.12, P=0.00) when compared with preoperative score (19.60 +/- 2.74). The ROM of affected knee was (127.00 +/- 17.89)0, showing no significant differences when compared with preoperative ROM (109.00 +/- 12.45) degrees (t= -1.84, P=0.10) and with ROM of normal knee (126.00 +/- 9.62)degrees (t= 0.11, P=0.92).

CONCLUSION

Limb saving surgery by physeal distraction can be used in young patients with open epiphyseal plate, which has the advantages of simple operation, good effectiveness, and less complications.

Profilin 1 potentiates apoptosis induced by staurosporine in cancer cells

The correlation between the loss of Profilin 1 (Pfn1) with tumor progression indicated that Pfn1 is a tumor suppressor in human carcinoma. The molecular mechanisms underlying Pfn1 tumor suppression has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we showed that Pfn1 overexpression sensitizes cancer cells to apoptosis through the typical intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Mechanistically, the increased Pfn1 expression mediated the upregulation of p53R273H, one of the most common tumor-associated hotspot mutations of p53, with transactivation deletion in tumorigenesis and increased localization of p53R273H in cytoplasm. Further studies showed that mutant p53R273H was involved in apoptosis induced by Staurosporine (STS) via transcription-independent mitochondrial functions. We observed (i) the increased cytosolic localization of p53R273H, (ii) the activation of phosphorylation at Ser15, (iii) its mitochondrial localization; Pfn1 acted as a positive regulator of these processes. We also found that Pfn1 interacted with p53R273H and thus facilitated its exertion over the transcription-independent activity in the cytoplasm during drug action. Our results define a new function and mechanism of Pfn1 demonstrating that the combined effect with apoptotic agents led to a synergistic increase in apoptosis. In addition, p53R273H abrogating DNA binding was found to play a major role in the Pfn1- sensitized apoptosis through a transactivation-independent and cytosolic activity.

Up-regulation of MBD1 promotes pancreatic cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion by epigenetic down-regulation of E-cadherin

Methyl-CpG binding domain protein 1 (MBD1) has been implicated in transcriptional regulation, heterochromatin formation, genomic stability, cell-cycle progression and development. It is also predicted that MBD1 might be involved in tumor development and progression. However, whether and how MBD1 is involved in tumorigenesis, especially in pancreatic cancer (PC), is currently unknown. We found that MBD1 was significantly up-regulated in PC tissues compared with the surrounding normal tissues according to RT-PCR data. Tissue microarray (TMA) based immunohistochemical study from 58 surgically resected PC specimens indicated that higher MBD1 expression correlated with lymph node metastasis and poor survival in PC patients. Gain- and loss-of-function studies in vitro validated MBD1 as a potent oncogene promoting PC cell invasion as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, MBD1 is associated with Twist and NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), thereby forming the Twist-MBD1-SIRT1 complex on the CDH1 promoter, which resulted in reduced E-cadherin transcription activity and increased cell EMT ability. Significantly, targeting MBD1 reversed the EMT phenotype of PC and restored sensitivity to chemotherapy. Taken together, the results of our study revealed a novel function of MBD1 in PC invasion and metastasis by providing a molecular mechanism underlying MBD1-promoted EMT. Thus MBD1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for PC.

[Epiphyseal distraction for preservation of epiphysis of osteosarcoma in children]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the feasibility of the preservation of the epiphysis and joint function of the distal femur in children with osteosarcoma with epiphyseal distraction by external fixator.

METHODS

Between July 2007 and May 2011, 6 children with osteoblastic osteosarcoma of the distal femur underwent epiphyseal distraction by external fixator, combined with tumor resection and repair with massive allograft bone transplantation to preserve the epiphysis and joint function of the distal femur. There were 4 boys and 2 girls, aged from 9 to 14 years (mean, 10.5 years). According to Enneking clinical staging, 4 cases were in stage II A and 2 cases in stage II B. According to San-Julian et al. typing for metaphyseal tumor invasion, 3 cases were in type I and 3 cases in type II. The size of tumor ranged from 6 cm x 4 cm to 12 cm x 9 cm. All patients received 2 cycles of COSS 86 chemotherapy before operation and 4 cycles after operation.

RESULTS

Poor healing of incision was observed in 1 case because of rejection of allograft bone and good healing was obtained after the symptomatic treatment, healing of incision by first intention was achieved in the other children. All 6 cases were followed up 11 to 56 months (mean, 37.5 months). One case died of lung metastasis at 2 years after operation. X-ray films showed no complication of internal fixator loosening and broken or bone nonunion. According to the functional evaluation criteria of International Society of Limb Salvage (ISOLS) at last follow-up, the results were excellent in 3 cases, good in 2 cases, and fair in 1 case; the excellent and good rate was 83.3%. The length of operated limb was (62.97 +/- 7.51) cm, showing significant difference when compared with that of normal limb [(64.03 +/- 7.47) cm] (t=0.246 6, P=0.813 4).

CONCLUSION

On the premise of adaptable indication, effective chemotherapy, and thoroughly tumor resection, the epiphyseal distraction by external fixator can obtain satisfactory results in limb-length and limb function in children with osteoblastic osteosarcoma of the distal femur.

Comparative fasting bioavailability and pharmacokinetic properties of 2 formulations of glucosamine hydrochloride in healthy Chinese adult male volunteers

Glucosamine (CAS 66-84-2) hydrochloride is an amino monosaccharide indicated for the treatment of arthrosis, especially osteoarthritis of the knee joint. This study was conducted to assess and compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties, bioavailability of a newly developed dispersible tablet formulation (test) of glucosamine hydrochloride with those of an established branded capsule formulation (reference) in healthy Chinese adult male volunteers.This single-dose, randomized, open-label, 2-period crossover study was conducted in 18 healthy Chinese adult male volunteers under fasting condition. Plasma samples were collected at pre-specified times over a 12-h period following administration in each period and analyzed the plasma glucosamine concentrations by Liquid Chromatography coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method. The mean (SD) PK parameters of Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-12, and AUC0-∞ after administration of the test and reference formulations were, respectively, as follows: Cmax, 907.01 (444.22) vs. 944.40 (429.89) ng/mL, Tmax, 3.03 (0.95) vs. 3.30 (0.99) hours, AUC0-12, 2891.41 (1352.30) vs. 2889.69 (925.48) ng/mL/h, and AUC0-∞, 3029.90 (1321.36) vs. 3091.87 (870.36) ng/mL/h. The mean (SD) t1/2 was 1.10 (0.52) hours for the test formulation and 1.50 (1.17) hours for the reference formulation. On ANOVA, neither period nor sequence effects were observed for any PK properties. The relative bioavailability of the test formulation was 98.3% assessed by AUC0-12. The 90% CIs of glucosamine for the log-transformed ratios of Cmax, AUC0-12, and AUC0-∞ were 78.4-113.9%, 80.8-108.5% and 80.8-105.8%, respectively, meeting the predetermined criteria for bioequivalence of SFDA.

SU-E-J-205: Modeling Fiducial Marker Movement in Prostate

PURPOSE

To understand fiducial marker movement in prostate and to improve prostate patient positioning with fiducial markers.

METHODS

Patient planning CT and positioning CBCT were retrospectively analyzed. CBCT images were automatically registered to the corresponding CT ones based on their bony structures in Eclipse. The coordinates of the markers in the CT and CBCT were recorded. The status of bladder and rectum fillings, and gas in rectum were indexed into four levels and recorded. An algorithm was developed to optimally register the (three) fiducial markers in CBCT with those in the CT so that only the information on prostate deformation and marker migration remained. A mathematical model was built to estimate the marker migration and the relative contribution to the deformation from the status change of bladder and rectum.

RESULTS

The registration error from our optimal registration algorithm indicates the minimal patient setup error by using fiducial markers. The results from our analyzed 3 patients were average(standard deviation) = 1.10(0.40), 1.27(0.67) and 0.62(0.38) mm, but there were some fractions when the registration errors were over 2 mm. From our mathematical model, it was found that the marker migration could be as large as 2.9 mm. If 2 mm tolerance is required in such as SBRT, then soft tissue based registration may be more appreciated when the optimal registration error is greater than 2 mm or from the date when the migration is greater than 2 mm because the migrated marker may not change the location thereafter. In addition, for one investigated patient, the relative contribution to the deformation from the bladder, rectum filling and gas in the rectum is 0.43:0.31:0.26. More patient data are in analysis, and other interesting results will be reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Fiducial marker migration can be over 2 mm. The migration will Result in a conclusion that small registration error does not mean good patient positioning.