Gastric adenocarcinoma and Helicobacter pylori: correlation with p53 mutation and p27 immunoexpression

Dissecting Microbiome-Derived SCFAs in Prostate Cancer: Analyzing Gut Microbiota, Racial Disparities, and Epigenetic Mechanisms

Prostate cancer (PCa) continues to be the most diagnosed cancer and the second primary cause of fatalities in men globally. There is an abundance of scientific evidence suggesting that the human microbiome, together with its metabolites, plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and has a significant impact on the efficacy of anticancer interventions in solid and hematological cancers. These anticancer interventions include chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and targeted therapies. Furthermore, the microbiome can influence systemic and local immune responses using numerous metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Despite the lack of scientific data in terms of the role of SCFAs in PCa pathogenesis, recent studies show that SCFAs have a profound impact on PCa progression. Several studies have reported racial/ethnic disparities in terms of bacterial content in the gut microbiome and SCFA composition. These studies explored microbiome and SCFA racial/ethnic disparities in cancers such as colorectal, colon, cervical, breast, and endometrial cancer. Notably, there are currently no published studies exploring microbiome/SCFA composition racial disparities and their role in PCa carcinogenesis. This review discusses the potential role of the microbiome in PCa development and progression. The involvement of microbiome-derived SCFAs in facilitating PCa carcinogenesis and their effect on PCa therapeutic response, particularly immunotherapy, are discussed. Racial/ethnic differences in microbiome composition and SCFA content in various cancers are also discussed. Lastly, the effects of SCFAs on PCa progression via epigenetic modifications is also discussed.

A Genetic and Immunohistochemical Analysis of Helicobacter pylori Phenotypes and p27 Expression in Adenocarcinoma Patients in Jordan

Stomach (gastric) cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide and most gastric cancers are adenocarcinomas. Based on prior research, there is an association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection together with the frequency of duodenal ulcer, distal gastric adenocarcinoma, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and antral gastritis. Helicobacter pylori virulence and toxicity factors have been identified before that significantly influence the clinical outcomes of H. pylori infection and gastric adenocarcinoma. However, it remains unclear exactly how different strains of H. pylori affect gastric adenocarcinoma. Current research suggests this involves tumor suppressor genes, like p27 but also H. pylori toxic virulence proteins. Therefore, we quantified known H. pylori genotypes within adenocarcinoma patients to establish the prevalence of known toxins that include cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA) as well as vacuolating cytotoxin A (vacA) within patients of variable adenocarcinoma diagnosis. This analysis used gastrectomy samples validated for DNA viability. The incidence of H. pylori in adenocarcinoma patients in Jordan was established to be 54.5% positive (ureA gene positive) with cagA genotype occurrence at 57.1%, but also in this population study vacA gene ratios found to be 24.7%:22.1%:14.3%:14.3%. (vacAs1:vacAs2:vacAm1:vacAm2). Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), we confirmed with statistical significance that p27 was dysregulated and suppressed, within nearly all H. pylori vacA genotypes. In addition, within 24.6% of H. pylori samples analyzed was a different bacterial genotype, and curiously that p27 protein expression was retained in 12% of tested adenocarcinoma H. pylori samples. This is suggestive that p27 could be used as a prognostic indicator but also that an unknown genotype could be contributing to the regulatory effects of p27 protein within this bacterial and cellular environment that may include other virulence factors and unknown immune system regulatory changes.

The Clinical Significance and Role of CXCL1 Chemokine in Gastrointestinal Cancers

One area of cancer research is the interaction between cancer cells and immune cells, in which chemokines play a vital role. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the involvement of C-X-C motif ligand 1 (CXCL1) chemokine (also known as growth-regulated gene-α (GRO-α), melanoma growth-stimulatory activity (MGSA)) in cancer processes is lacking. To address this gap, this review provides a detailed analysis of CXCL1's role in gastrointestinal cancers, including head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)), cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), and colorectal cancer (colon cancer and rectal cancer). This paper presents the impact of CXCL1 on various molecular cancer processes, such as cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, lymph node metastasis, angiogenesis, recruitment to the tumor microenvironment, and its effect on immune system cells, such as tumor-associated neutrophils (TAN), regulatory T (T_reg) cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and macrophages. Furthermore, this review discusses the association of CXCL1 with clinical aspects of gastrointestinal cancers, including its correlation with tumor size, cancer grade, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, and patient prognosis. This paper concludes by exploring CXCL1's potential as a therapeutic target in anticancer therapy.

Microbiome and Prostate Cancer: A Novel Target for Prevention and Treatment

Growing evidence of the microbiome's role in human health and disease has emerged since the creation of the Human Microbiome Project. Recent studies suggest that alterations in microbiota composition (dysbiosis) may play an essential role in the occurrence, development, and prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa), which remains the second most frequent male malignancy worldwide. Current advances in biological technologies, such as high-throughput sequencing, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, have enabled research on the gut, urinary, and intra-prostate microbiome signature and the correlation with local and systemic inflammation, host immunity response, and PCa progression. Several microbial species and their metabolites facilitate PCa insurgence through genotoxin-mediated mutagenesis or by driving tumor-promoting inflammation and dysfunctional immunosurveillance. However, the impact of the microbiome on PCa development, progression, and response to treatment is complex and needs to be fully understood. This review addresses the current knowledge on the host-microbe interaction and the risk of PCa, providing novel insights into the intraprostatic, gut, and urinary microbiome mechanisms leading to PCa carcinogenesis and treatment response. In this paper, we provide a detailed overview of diet changes, gut microbiome, and emerging therapeutic approaches related to the microbiome and PCa. Further investigation on the prostate-related microbiome and large-scale clinical trials testing the efficacy of microbiota modulation approaches may improve patient outcomes while fulfilling the literature gap of microbial-immune-cancer-cell mechanistic interactions.

The microbiome and prostate cancer

There is growing evidence that the microbiome is involved in development and treatment of many human diseases, including prostate cancer. There are several potential pathways for microbiome-based mechanisms for the development of prostate cancer: direct impacts of microbes or microbial products in the prostate or the urine, and indirect impacts from microbes or microbial products in the gastrointestinal tract. Unique microbial signatures have been identified within the stool, oral cavity, tissue, urine, and blood of prostate cancer patients, but studies vary in their findings. Recent studies describe potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications of the microbiome, but further clinical investigation is needed. In this review, we explore the existing literature on the discovery of the human microbiome and its relationship to prostate cancer.

Proliferating Pilar Tumors: Can Immunohistochemistry Differentiate Benign and Malignant Forms?

BACKGROUND

Proliferating pilar tumor (PPT) is an adnexal tumor of purported differentiation toward the follicular outer root sheath. Immunohistochemistry has been suggested to differentiate between benign and malignant forms.

METHODS

Eleven benign (PPT) and 9 malignant PPT lesions were reviewed; Ki67, p27, and p53 were applied. The staining intensity (strong, moderate, weak, and negative), positive cell numbers, and marker indexes (%) were scored using image-analysis software (ViraSoft).

RESULTS

Overall, there was no significant correlation between Ki67 and p53 and histopathological features. However, malignant PPTs had significantly lower numbers of p27-positive cells (P = 0.030).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study includes the largest group of patients in whom image analysis of p53, Ki67, and p27 has been used to try to separate benign from malignant lesions. Although there were no significant differences regarding Ki67 and p53, malignant lesions have a statistically lower expression of p27. Further studies may be needed to determine the clinical usefulness of image analysis in this differential diagnosis.

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Virulence Potentials of Helicobacter pylori Strain KE21 Isolated from a Kenyan Patient with Gastric Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma

Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection is etiologically associated with severe diseases including gastric cancer; but its pathogenicity is deeply shaped by the exceptional genomic diversification and geographic variation of the species. The clinical relevance of strains colonizing Africa is still debated. This study aimed to explore genomic features and virulence potentials of H. pylori KE21, a typical African strain isolated from a native Kenyan patient diagnosed with a gastric cancer. A high-quality circular genome assembly of 1,648,327 bp (1590 genes) obtained as a hybrid of Illumina Miseq short reads and Oxford Nanopore MinION long reads, clustered within hpAfrica1 population. This genome revealed a virulome and a mobilome encoding more than hundred features potentiating a successful colonization, persistent infection, and enhanced disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, through an experimental infection of gastric epithelial cell lines, strain KE21 showed the ability to promote interleukin-8 production and to induce cellular alterations resulting from the injection of a functional CagA oncogene protein into the cells. This study shows that strain KE21 is potentially virulent and can trigger oncogenic pathways in gastric epithelial cells. Expended genomic and clinical explorations are required to evaluate the epidemiological importance of H. pylori infection and its putative complications in the study population.

Microbiome signatures in prostate cancer

We have established a microbiome signature for prostate cancer using an array-based metagenomic and capture-sequencing approach. A diverse microbiome signature (viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic) was observed in the prostate cancer samples compared with benign prostate hyperplasia controls. Hierarchical clustering analysis identified three distinct prostate cancer-specific microbiome signatures. The three signatures correlated with different grades, stages and scores of the cancer. Thus, microbiome signature analysis potentially provides clinical diagnosis and outcome predictions. The array data were validated by PCR and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). Specific NGS data suggested that certain viral genomic sequences were inserted into the host somatic chromosomes of the prostate cancer samples. A randomly selected group of these was validated by direct PCR and sequencing. In addition, PCR validation of Helicobacter showed that Helicobacter cagA sequences integrated within specific chromosomes of prostate tumor cells. The viral and Helicobacter integrations are predicted to affect the expression of several cellular genes associated with oncogenic processes.

Association of p53 Gene Mutation With Helicobacter pylori Infection in Gastric Cancer Patients and Its Correlation With Clinicopathological and Environmental Factors

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is also a leading cancer in Bangladesh like that of the global incidences. It is speculated that environmental, bacterial infection and molecular factors might have been carrying the key role of rising trend of the disease. This study was aimed to investigate the association of mutated p53 gene with of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, clinicopathological and some environmental factors of the gastric cancer patients.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2015 to December 2016 in a specialized cancer hospital of Bangladesh. Patients were selected randomly who were admitted for surgical intervention after diagnosis as adenocarcinoma of the stomach and physically fit for surgery. After admission proper evaluation of the patients was done. Tissue sample from the gastrectomy specimen along with the blood sample was sent to the related laboratories. After DNA extraction for p53, exons 5 and 6, they were adjusted for proper primer designing. Appropriate sequencing analysis of the result was done. Status of p53 was investigated to see their association with the result of the H. pylori, age and sex, tumor status, smoking and extra salt intake of the patients. Result of the study was calculated and analyzed by Chi-square and binomial logistic regression to find the association amongst them.

RESULTS

Among the 71 patients, mean age was 52.96 years old, male: female ratio were 48:23, age group above 41 years were 53 (74.6%), proliferative and ulceroproliferative group of the tumor dominated (87.3%). There were 52 cases with (73.2%) p53 mutation. Among the 51 H. pylori positive cases, 41 (80%) had p53 mutation (P = 0.033). Tumor size and lymph node status were found to be associated with the gene mutation (P = 0.05). Age also had strong correlation with the mutation (P = 0.015). Gene mutation was found mostly among the younger (≤ 40 years) group of patients (94.4%). Patient with extra salt intake was also found related with the mutation (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Environmental and genetic factors seem to be risk factors for gastric cancer in Bangladesh. Nationwide anti H. pylori drive and further molecular research could elicit the other risk factors which might help to reduce the gastric cancer incidences in the country after taking appropriate measures.

Diffuse Gastric Cancer: A Summary of Analogous Contributing Factors for Its Molecular Pathogenicity

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths and ranks as the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Incidence and mortality differ depending on the geographical region and gastric cancer ranks first in East Asian countries. Although genetic factors, gastric environment, and Helicobacter pylori infection have been associated with the pathogenicity and development of intestinal-type gastric cancer that follows the Correa’s cascade, the pathogenicity of diffuse-type gastric cancer remains mostly unknown and undefined. However, genetic abnormalities in the cell adherence factors, such as E-cadherin and cellular activities that cause impaired cell integrity and physiology, have been documented as contributing factors. In recent years, H. pylori infection has been also associated with the development of diffuse-type gastric cancer. Therefore, in this report, we discuss the host factors as well as the bacterial factors that have been reported as associated factors contributing to the development of diffuse-type gastric cancer.

Helicobacter pylori infection and expressions of apoptosis-related proteins p53, ASPP2 and iASPP in gastric cancer and precancerous lesions

AIMS

There has been limited information about the relations between Helicobacter pylori infection and expressions of apoptosis-related proteins p53, ASPP and iASPP in gastric cancer and precancerous lesions.

METHODS

H. pylori in gastric mucosa were identified by W-S staining and rapid urease test. Expression of apoptosis-related proteins P53, ASPP2 and iASPP in the gastric tissues were determined by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

The concentrations of H. pylori and expressions of p53 and iASPP in gastric carcinoma group and precancerous lesion group were higher than in benign gastric diseases group (P<0.05). The expressions of ASPP2 in gastric carcinoma and precancerous lesion group were lower than in benign gastric diseases group (P<0.05). The expressions of p53 and iASPP in H. pylori positive group were higher than in H. pylori negative group (P<0.05), whereas ASPP2 in H. pylori positive group were lower than in H. pylori negative group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

There was a higher rate H. pylori infection, an increased expression of apoptosis inhibitor iASPP, and decreased expression of apoptosis stimulator ASPP2 in gastric cancer or precancerous tissues. These results suggest that H. pylori may cause gastric cancer by up-regulating iASPP and down-regulating ASPP2.

Diagnostic value of serum P35 in comparison with tissue P35 in gastric adenocarcinoma and their relationship with microscopic prognostic factors

Early diagnosis of Gastric adenocarcinoma could increase survival of the patients and also remarkably reduce treatment costs. This study aimed at evaluating the diagnostic value of serum P35 in comparison with tissue P35 in gastric adenocarcinoma and their relationship with microscopic prognostic factors. In this descriptive analytical study, 35 patients (74.3% male and 25.7% female with mean age of 63.00 +/- 12.75 years with gastric adenocarcinoma were evaluated. Blood samples were taken from all patients before gastrectomy to evaluate serum P35 with ELISA method and after surgery tissue samples were gathered to evaluate tissue P35 with immunohistochemical method. The relation between tissue and serum P35 with severity of the disease and microscopic findings was assessed. Tissue P35 was negative in 57.1%, positive in 22.9% and very positive in 20%. Mean serum P35 was 1.34 +/- 0.43 mg dL(-1). There was no relation between serum P35 and adenocarcinoma type, tumor grade, vascular and neurological invasion and number of lymph node involved. Serum P35 levels significantly increased by increase in tissue P35 positivity (p = 0.004). There was significant correlation between tissue P35 and adenocarcinoma type (p = 0.006), neurological involvement (p = 0.04) and number of involved lymph nodes (p = 0.001). Although serum P35 level was higher in cases with more lymph node involvement and vascular and neural invasion, the marker was not capable to predict the involvement degree of stomach cancer. In comparison with serum P35, tissue P35 plays more significant role in these cases.

Detection of helicobacter pylori in benign laryngeal lesions by polymerase chain reaction: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Although Helicobacter Pylori (HP) was detected in some cases of chronic laryngitis, the results were not confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By this time, it has not been found in laryngeal lesions by in house PCR, the most sensitive method for detecting the genome tracks. Regarding the previous results and also few numbers of studies about the presence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions, specifically by PCR, we aimed to investigate the presence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions by in-house PCR.

METHODS

The samples were taken from 55 patients with benign laryngeal lesions and frozen in -20°C. One milliliter (ml) of lysis buffer was added to 100 mg (mg) of each sample and the tube was placed in 56°C overnight. Then DNA extraction was carried out.

RESULTS

To find HP DNA, in-house PCR was performed that revealed 5 positive results among 55 patients with benign laryngeal lesions. Of them, 3 were polyp, 1 was nodule and 1 was papilloma.

CONCLUSION

Although the number of positive results was not a lot in this study, it was in contrast with previous studies which could not find any HP tracks in benign laryngeal lesions by other methods. More studies about the prevalence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions improve judging about the effect of this infection on benign laryngeal lesions.

Pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection

Helicobacter pylori infections and clinical outcome are dependent on sophisticated interactions between the bacteria and its host. Crucial bacterial factors associated with pathogenicity comprise a type IV secretion system encoded by the cag pathogenicity island, the effector protein CagA, the vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), protease HtrA, and the adhesins BabA, SabA, and others. The high number of these factors and allelic variation of the involved genes generates a highly complex scenario and reveals the difficulties in testing the contribution of each individual factor. Much effort has been put into identifying the molecular mechanisms associated with H. pylori-associated pathogenesis using human primary tissues, Mongolian gerbils, transgenic, knockout, and other mice as well as in vitro cell model systems. Interactions between bacterial factors and host signal transduction pathways seem to be critical for mediating the induction of pathogenic downstream processes and disease development. In this review article, we discuss the most recent progress in this research field.

Gastric cancer: clinical aspects, epidemiology and molecular background

The validity and usefulness of the 7th edition of the UICC tumor node metastasis classification in the context of clinical management of gastric cancer are discussed. The most relevant new agent in gastric cancer therapy is trastuzumab for HER2-positive gastric carcinomas. This marks the success of continuous effort of translational research. Trastuzumab, initially applied in palliative settings, is currently being evaluated also in neoadjuvant treatment regimens. Several new meta-analyses support the carcinogenic effect of high salt intake and smoking in the context of Helicobacter pylori infection. Further data have become available on the efficacy of protective agents, acetyl salicylic acid/nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and antioxidants. In search for a successful prevention strategy, the focus is on the identification of individuals at high risk who demand screening (testing) and surveillance. Serological assessment of gastric mucosal abnormalities with increased risk for gastric cancer development is extensively studied, and new data are presented from Asia as well as from Europe. New high-throughput techniques combined with bioinformatic vector analysis open the gate to the identification of new potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, these approaches allow us to elucidate the interplay of bacterial virulence factors and the host's immune response as well as H. pylori-associated alterations of mucosal gene expression.

Differential expression of MYC in H. pylori-related intestinal and diffuse gastric tumors

Evidence suggests that the carcinogenic process guided by Helicobacter pylori is related to the expression of cell cycle and apoptosis proteins as BCL-2, BAX, and MYC. However, the literature is conflicting regarding the expression frequency in the histological subtypes and did not consider cagA gene presence. To investigate the expression of these proteins considering the histological subtypes of gastric cancer associated with H. pylori (cagA), a total of 89 cases were used. H. pylori infection and cagA status were determined by PCR. Immunodetection was performed for MYC, BCL-2, and BAX proteins. H. pylori was found in 95.5% of the patients, among them, 65.8% were cagA(+). Nuclear MYC was detected in 36.4%, BAX in 55.7%, while BCl-2 in just 5%. Nuclear MYC staining was significantly lower in the intestinal than diffuse subtype (p = 0.008) and was related with the presence of H. pylori cagA(+). Additionally, most of the few cases cytoplasmic MYC positive were in the intestinal subtype. In diffuse tumors, although most nuclear MYC positive cases were cagA(+), it was not significant. No difference was observed between BCL-2 or BAX expression considering the presence of cagA gene in the histological subtypes. It seems that MYC could be relevant for the diffuse tumorigenic pathway associated with H. pylori and possibly influenced by the presence of cagA gene, while in intestinal tumors, the tumorigenic pathway does not occur through the MYC expression.

Immune clearance gastric carcinoma cells in ascites by activating caspase-9-induced apoptosis

Floating gastric adenocarcinoma cells in ascitic fluid are the main cause of peritoneal dissemination. Activation of apoptosis is an important mechanism by which tumor cells are eliminated by the immune surveillance system. Hence, we examined caspase-9 expression and the apoptosis in gastric adenocarcinoma cells in ascitic fluid using immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction and in situ cell death detection kits, flow cytometry. The results revealed strong expression of caspase-9 in 58.49% (31/53) malignant cells and a relatively weak expression of caspase-9 in 41.51% (22/53) malignant cells. The proportion of apoptotic cells in 31 malignant cases with strong caspase-9 expression (35.14 ± 3.42)% was significantly higher than that in 22 malignant cases with relatively weak caspase-9 expression (17.29 ± 7.62)% or in mesothelial cells (10.76 ± 4.21%; p < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that the patients with low caspase-9 expression showed significantly shorter survival (p < 0.05) than those with high caspase-9 expression. These findings suggest that immune clearance gastric carcinoma cells in ascites activated by caspase-9 helped to improve the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.