Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in lung cancer in Wistar rats using NNK as an inducer

Elevated expression of ISY1, APOA-1, SYNE1, MTG1, and MMP10 at HCC initiation: HCC specific protein network involving interactions of key regulators of lipid metabolism, EGFR signaling, MAPK, and splicing pathways

Identification of molecular regulators of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) initiation and progression is not well understood. We chemically induced HCC in male Wistar rats by administration of diethyl nitrosamine (DEN) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AFF). Using 2D-electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analyses, we characterized differentially expressed proteins in liver tissues at early stage of HCC progression. Using RT-PCR analysis, we quantified the mRNA expression of the characterized proteins and validated the transcript expression with tumor tissues of clinically confirmed HCC patients. Using bioinformatic tools, we analyzed a network among the introduced proteins that identified their interacting partners and analyzed the molecular mechanisms associated with signaling pathways during HCC progression. We characterized a protein, namely, pre-mRNA splicing factor 1 homolog (ISY1), which is upregulated at both transcriptome and proteome levels at HCC initiation, progression, and tumor stages. We analyzed the interacting partners of ISY1, namely, APOA-1, SYNE1, MMP10, and MTG1. Real-time PCR analysis confirmed elevated expression of APOA-1 mRNA at HCC initiation, progression, and tumor stages in animals undergoing tumorigenesis. The mRNA expression of the interacting partners was validated with tumor tissues of clinically confirmed liver cancer patients; the analysis revealed significant elevation in expression of transcripts. The transcriptome and proteome analyses complement each other and dysregulation in mRNA and protein expression of these regulators may play critical role in HCC initiation and progression.

4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone provokes progression from chronic pancreatitis to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia

The risk of pancreatic cancer is higher among people who are cigarette smokers than among non-smokers; however, the action mechanisms of cigarette metabolites are not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in cigarette smoking on chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer as well as the biological mechanism of NNK causing malignant transformation. We show that smoking may promote Kras mutation and P16 promoter methylation from clinical samples and NNK markedly facilitates the growth and migration of pancreatic cancer cells via the activation of Sonic Hedgehog signaling. We demonstrate that NNK promotes acinar-to-ductal metastasis and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia in rats with chronic pancreatitis, accompanied by desmoplastic reaction and Gli1 overexpression. Together, we here present evidence that NNK provokes the progression of chronic pancreatitis toward pancreatic cancer and highlight potential strategies and targets for early prevention of pancreatic cancer and its therapeutics.

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Smoking is positively correlated with Kras mutation and P16 hypermethylation

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NNK promotes acinar-to-ductal metastasis and preneoplasia lesions in rats

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NNK promotes desmoplastic reaction and Gli1 expression in chronic pancreatitis

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NNK facilitates the growth and migration of cancer via Sonic Hedgehog signaling

Impact of COL6A4P2 gene polymorphisms on the risk of lung cancer: A case-control study

Lung cancer (LC) is a malignant tumor that poses the greatest threat to human health and life. Most studies suggested that the occurrence of LC is associated with environmental and genetic factors. We aimed to explore the association between COL6A4P2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and CHD risk in the Chinese Southern Han population. Based on the 'case-control' experimental design (510 cases and 495 controls), we conducted an association study between five candidate COL6A4P2 SNPs and the corresponding LC risk. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression to analyze the LC susceptibility under different genetic models. The results showed that COL6A4P2 rs34445363 was significantly associated with LC risk under alleles model (OR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.01-1.58, p = 0.038). In addition, rs34445363 was also significantly associated with LC risk under the log-additive model (OR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.01-1.58, p = 0.041). The results of subgroup analysis showed that rs34445363 (OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.03-1.95, p = 0.033) and rs61733464 (OR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.52-0.99, p = 0.048) were both significantly associated with LC risk in the log-additive model among participants who were ≤ 61 years old. We also found that the variation of rs34445363 (GA vs. GG, OR = 1.73, 95%CI: 1.04-2.86, p = 0.034) and rs77941834 (TA vs. TT, OR = 1.88, 95%CI: 1.06-3.34, p = 0.032) were associated with LC risk in the codominant model among female participants. Our study is the first to find that COL6A4P2 gene polymorphism is associated with LC risk in the Chinese Han population. Our study provides a basic reference for individualized LC prevention.

Differential Expression of TOM34, AL1A1, PADI2 and KLRBA in NNK Induced Lung Cancer in Wistar Rats and their Implications

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the most common cancer with a high mortality rate. The diagnosis only at advanced stages and lack of effective treatment are the main factors responsible for high mortality. Tobacco smoke is the major responsible factor for inflammation and tumor development in lungs.

OBJECTIVE

The present study was carried out to identify differentially expressed proteins and elucidate their role in carcinogenesis.

METHODS

The lung cancer was developed in Wistar rats by using NNK as carcinogen and cancer development was confirmed by histopathological examination. The 2D SDS PAGE was used to analyse total proteins and find out differentially expressed proteins in NNK treated lung tissue vis-a-vis control tissue. The findings of proteomic analysis were further validated by quantification of corresponding transcripts using Real Time PCR. Finally, Cytoscape was used to find out protein-protein interaction.

RESULTS

The histopathological examinations showed neoplasia at 9th month after NNK treatment. The proteomic analysis revealed several differentially expressed proteins, four of which were selected for further studies. (TOM34, AL1A1, PADI2 and KLRBA) that were up regulated in NNK treated lung tissue. The real time analysis showed over expression of the genes coding for the selected proteins. Thus, the proteomic and transcriptomic data corroborate each other. Further, these proteins showed interaction with the members of NF-κB family and STAT3.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that these proteins play a substantial role in the induction of lung cancer through NF-κB and STAT3 pathway. Therefore, these may have the potential to be used as therapeutic targets and for early detection of lung cancer.

Clinical Application of Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics in Lung Cancer Early Diagnosis

The current knowledge on proteomic biomarker analysis for the early diagnosis of lung cancer is summarized, underlining the diversity among the results and the current interest in translating research results into clinical practice. A MEDLINE/PubMed literature search to retrieve all the papers published in the last 10 years is performed. Proteomics studies on lung cancer have gathered evidence on the potential role of biomarkers in early diagnosis. Although promising, none of them have proved to be sufficiently reliable to achieve validation. Future research should evolve toward a multipanel analysis of proteins, considering the possibility that individual biomarkers might not be specific enough to diagnose lung cancer, but could be related to oncological conditions.

Elevated expression of cellular SYNE1, MMP10, and GTPase1 and their regulatory role in hepatocellular carcinoma progression

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy resulting in high mortality. HCC progression is associated with abnormal signal transduction that changes cell signaling pathways and ultimately leads to dysregulation of cell functions and uncontrolled cell proliferation. Present study was undertaken with the objective to identify differentially expressed proteins and quantify their transcript expression in the liver of HCC-bearing rats vis-à-vis controls and to decipher the network involving interaction of genes coding for the characterized proteins to an insight into mechanism of HCC tumorigenesis. 2D-Electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS were used to characterize differentially expressed proteins in DEN (diethylnitrosamine)-induced HCC tissue using the protocol reported by us earlier. Real-time PCR was performed to quantify the expression of transcripts for the identified proteins. GENEMANIA, an interacting network of genes coding for selected proteins, was deciphered that provided the functional role of these proteins in HCC progression. Upregulation of proteins SYNE1, MMP10, and MTG1 was observed. The mRNA quantification revealed elevated expression of their transcripts at HCC initiation, progression, and tumor stages. Network analysis showed the involvement of the genes coding for these proteins in dysregulation of signaling pathways during HCC development. The elevated expression of SYNE1, MMP10, and MTG1 suggests the role of these proteins as potential players in HCC progression and tumorigenesis.

The Goat (Capra hircus) Mammary Gland Mitochondrial Proteome: A Study on the Effect of Weight Loss Using Blue-Native PAGE and Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis

Seasonal weight loss (SWL) is the most important limitation to animal production in the Tropical and Mediterranean regions, conditioning producer’s incomes and the nutritional status of rural communities. It is of importance to produce strategies to oppose adverse effects of SWL. Breeds that have evolved in harsh climates have acquired tolerance to SWL through selection. Most of the factors determining such ability are related to changes in biochemical pathways as affected by SWL. In this study, a gel based proteomics strategy (BN: Blue-Native Page and 2DE: Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis) was used to characterize the mitochondrial proteome of the secretory tissue of the goat mammary gland. In addition, we have conducted an investigation of the effects of weight loss in two goat breeds with different levels of adaptation to nutritional stress: Majorera (tolerant) and Palmera (susceptible). The study used Majorera and Palmera dairy goats, divided in 4 sets, 2 for each breed: underfed group fed on wheat straw (restricted diet, so their body weight would be 15–20% reduced by the end of experiment), and a control group fed with an energy-balanced diet. At the end of the experimental period (22 days), mammary gland biopsies were obtained for all experimental groups. The proteomic analysis of the mitochondria enabled the resolution of a total of 277 proteins, and 148 (53%) were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. Some of the proteins were identified as subunits of the glutamate dehydrogenase complex and the respiratory complexes I, II, IV, V from mitochondria, as well as numerous other proteins with functions in: metabolism, development, localization, cellular organization and biogenesis, biological regulation, response to stimulus, among others, that were mapped in both BN and 2DE gels. The comparative proteomics analysis enabled the identification of several proteins: NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase 75 kDa subunit and lamin B1 mitochondrial (up-regulated in the Palmera breed), Guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(I)/G(S)/G(T) subunit beta-2 (up-regulated in the Majorera breed) and cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit 1, mitochondrial and Chain D, Bovine F1-C8 Sub-Complex Of Atp Synthase (down-regulated in the Majorera breed) as a consequence of weight loss.

Mammalian models of chemically induced primary malignancies exploitable for imaging-based preclinical theragnostic research

Compared with transplanted tumor models or genetically engineered cancer models, chemically induced primary malignancies in experimental animals can mimic the clinical cancer progress from the early stage on. Cancer caused by chemical carcinogens generally develops through three phases namely initiation, promotion and progression. Based on different mechanisms, chemical carcinogens can be divided into genotoxic and non-genotoxic ones, or complete and incomplete ones, usually with an organ-specific property. Chemical carcinogens can be classified upon their origins such as environmental pollutants, cooked meat derived carcinogens, N-nitroso compounds, food additives, antineoplastic agents, naturally occurring substances and synthetic carcinogens, etc. Carcinogen-induced models of primary cancers can be used to evaluate the diagnostic/therapeutic effects of candidate drugs, investigate the biological influential factors, explore preventive measures for carcinogenicity, and better understand molecular mechanisms involved in tumor initiation, promotion and progression. Among commonly adopted cancer models, chemically induced primary malignancies in mammals have several advantages including the easy procedures, fruitful tumor generation and high analogy to clinical human primary cancers. However, in addition to the time-consuming process, the major drawback of chemical carcinogenesis for translational research is the difficulty in noninvasive tumor burden assessment in small animals. Like human cancers, tumors occur unpredictably also among animals in terms of timing, location and the number of lesions. Thanks to the availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with various advantages such as ionizing-free scanning, superb soft tissue contrast, multi-parametric information, and utility of diverse contrast agents, now a workable solution to this bottleneck problem is to apply MRI for noninvasive detection, diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring on those otherwise uncontrollable animal models with primary cancers. Moreover, it is foreseeable that the combined use of chemically induced primary cancer models and molecular imaging techniques may help to develop new anticancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

Assessment of the therapeutic potential of hesperidin and proteomic resolution of diabetes-mediated neuronal fluctuations expediting Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been proposed as type III diabetes mellitus. Prognosis and early stage diagnosis of AD is essentially required in diabetes to avoid extensive irreversible neuronal damage.