Relative imbalances in the expression of catechol-O-methyltransferase and cytochrome P450 in breast cancer tissue and their association with breast carcinoma

Precise Therapy Using the Selective Endogenous Encapsidation for Cellular Delivery Vector System

Interindividual variability in drug response is a major problem in the prescription of pharmacological treatments. The therapeutic effect of drugs can be influenced by human genes. Pharmacogenomic guidelines for individualization of treatment have been validated and used for conventional dosage forms. However, drugs can often target non-specific areas and produce both desired and undesired pharmacological effects. The use of nanoparticles, liposomes, or other available forms for drug formulation could help to overcome the latter problem. Virus-like particles based on retroviruses could be a potential envelope for safe and efficient drug formulations. Human endogenous retroviruses would make it possible to overcome the host immune response and deliver drugs to the desired target. PEG10 is a promising candidate that can bind to mRNA because it is secreted like an enveloped virus-like extracellular vesicle. PEG10 is a retrotransposon-derived gene that has been domesticated. Therefore, formulations with PEG10 may have a lower immunogenicity. The use of existing knowledge can lead to the development of suitable drug formulations for the precise treatment of individual diseases.

Multiomics reveals new biomarkers and mechanistic insights into the combined toxicity effects of 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl and atrazine exposures in MCF-7 cells

Humans are constantly exposed to complicated chemical mixtures from the environment and food rather than being exposed to a single pollutant. The underlying mechanisms of the complicated combined toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are still mainly unexplored. In this study, two representative EDCs, 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153) and atrazine (ATZ), were selected to explore their combined effects on MCF-7 cell proliferation at environmental exposure concentrations by an integrated analysis of metabolomics and transcriptomics. The results showed that 1 μM ATZ and PCB153 combined exposure significantly accelerated MCF-7 cell growth by 18.2%. More than 400 metabolites detected by UHPLC-QTOF/MS were used to observe metabolism differences induced by binary mixtures. Metabolomics analysis verified that ATZ and PCB153 exposure alone or in combination could have an additive effect on metabolism and induce significant disruption to glycolysis, purine metabolism and the TCA cycle, which provide energy demand and biosynthetic substrates for cell proliferation. Compared to PCB153 and ATZ exposure alone, a combined effect was observed in purine and pyrimidine metabolic pathways. Hexokinase 3 (HK3) and cytochrome P450 19 subfamily A1 (CYP19A1) were identified as differentially expressed genes based on transcriptomic analysis. By integrating metabolome and transcriptome analysis, the proliferation effects of ATZ and PCB153 were induced at low doses in MCF-7 cells through potential interference with the downstream transcription signaling of CYP19A1. Furthermore, molecular docking indicated that PCB153 and ATZ directly affected CYP19A1. Altogether, the regulation of pivotal metabolites and differentially expressed genes could provide helpful information to reveal the mechanism by which PCB153 and ATZ affect MCF-7 cell proliferation.

Genetic and Proteinic Linkage of MAO and COMT with Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders and Cancers of the Oral Cavity and Pharynx

Simple Summary

The prevention and treatment of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx are currently important issues for national health. Currently, the incidence of oral cavity and pharynx cancers is globally the highest in Taiwanese men. Regarding the occurrence of oral cavity and pharynx cancers and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), no report has ascertained how betel quid (BQ) can induce the expression of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). We aimed to explore the role and clinical significance of specific markers of BQ exposure and human susceptibility to MAO and COMT. Our findings highlight the association of MAO and COMT biomarkers to risks of oral and pharyngeal cancers and OPMD. These novel findings will provide important strategies for disease prevention, early clinical diagnosis, and treatment effectiveness, and will offer a strong foundation to reduce BQ-related cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx and OPMD.

Abstract

Betel quid (BQ), a group I human carcinogen, strongly contributes to an increased risk of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) and cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx. This study was conducted to discover whether monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) variants play a potential role in the risk assessment of oral cavity and pharynx cancers and OPMD, particularly among BQ users. We applied a case–control study to confirm the polymorphism of MAO and COMT using single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We used qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine MAO and COMT expression. Carriers of the MAOA rs6323 G-allele, MAOB rs6324 G-allele, and COMT rs4633 C/C-genotype had a prominently increased risk of oral cavity and pharynx cancers (AOR = 56.99; p < 0.001). Compared to adjacent noncancerous tissues, a significant downregulation of MAO and COMT expression was exhibited in cancerous tissues (p < 0.01). Furthermore, in different cell models, MAO and COMT expression was significantly downregulated with an increased dose of arecoline (p < 0.01). In personalized preventive medicine for oral and pharyngeal cancers, our findings are the first to demonstrate the potential role of lower MAO and COMT expression levels, with the risk polymorphisms utilized as clinical biomarkers.

New insights of CYP1A in endogenous metabolism: a focus on single nucleotide polymorphisms and diseases

Cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), one of the major CYP subfamily in humans, not only metabolizes xenobiotics including clinical drugs and pollutants in the environment, but also mediates the biotransformation of important endogenous substances. In particular, some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for CYP1A genes may affect the metabolic ability of endogenous substances, leading to some physiological or pathological changes in humans. This review first summarizes the metabolism of endogenous substances by CYP1A, and then introduces the research progress of CYP1A SNPs, especially the research related to human diseases. Finally, the relationship between SNPs and diseases is discussed. In addition, potential animal models for CYP1A gene editing are summarized. In conclusion, CYP1A plays an important role in maintaining the health in the body.

Chemotherapy pro-drug activation by biocatalytic virus-like nanoparticles containing cytochrome P450

This work shows, for the first time, the encapsulation of a highly relevant protein in the biomedical field into virus-like particles (VLPs). A bacterial CYP variant was effectively encapsulated in VLPs constituted of coat protein from cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV). The catalytic VLPs are able to transform the chemotherapeutic pro-drug, tamoxifen, and the emerging pro-drug resveratrol. The chemical nature of the products was identified, confirming similar active products than those obtained with human CYP. The enzymatic VLPs remain stable after the catalytic reaction. The potential use of these biocatalytic nanoparticles as targeted CYP carriers for the activation of chemotherapy drugs is discussed.

Relationship between CYP1A1 polymorphisms and invasion and metastasis of breast cancer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between CYP1A1 genetic polymorphisms and the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer.

METHODS

The CYP1A1 gene polymorphism (an T-C transversion at nucleotide position 3801) was detected by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism in 80 cases with breast cancer and 60 samples of normal breast tissue. The difference in genotypic distribution frequency between the groups, the correlation between the genotypes and the factors related to prognosis were analyzed.

RESULTS

The incidence of homozygous and variant genotypes had no difference between the breast cancer group and controls group (P=0.746). The proportion of variant genotype increased as clinical stage (P=0.006) advanced, as well as with increased numbers of lymph node metastases (P=0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with breast cancer there is a correlation between the CYP1A1 CC allele and some factors indicating poor prognosis, including more lymph node metastases as well as a more advanced clinical stage.

Thymoquinone regulates gene expression levels in the estrogen metabolic and interferon pathways in MCF7 breast cancer cells

New drugs are continuously being developed for the treatment of patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Thymoquinone is one of the drugs that exhibits anticancer characteristics based on in vivo and in vitro models. This study further investigates the effects of thymoquinone on human gene expression using cDNA microarray technology. The quantification of RNA samples was carried out using an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyser to determine the RNA integrity number (RIN). The Agilent Low Input Quick Amplification Labelling kit was used to generate cRNA in two-color microarray analysis. Samples with RIN >9.0 were used in this study. The universal human reference RNA was used as the common reference. The samples were labelled with cyanine-3 (cye-3) CTP dye and the universal human reference was labelled with cyanine-5 (cye-5) CTP dye. cRNA was purified with the RNeasy Plus Mini kit and quantified using a NanoDrop 2000c spectrophotometer. The arrays were scanned data analysed using Feature Extraction and GeneSpring software. Two-step qRT-PCR was selected to determine the relative gene expression using the High Capacity RNA-to-cDNA kit. The results from Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, indicated that 8 GO terms were related to biological processes (84%) and molecular functions (16%). A total of 577 entities showed >2-fold change in expression. Of these entities, 45.2% showed an upregulation and 54.7% showed a downregulation in expression. The interpretation of single experiment analysis (SEA) revealed that the cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP1A1) and UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1 family, polypeptide A8 (UGT1A8) genes in the estrogen metabolic pathway were downregulated significantly by 43- and 11‑fold, respectively. The solute carrier family 7 (anionic amino acid transporter light chain, xc-system), member 11 (SLC7A11) gene in the interferon pathway, reported to be involved in the development of chemoresistance, was downregulated by 15‑fold. The interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats (IFIT)1, IFIT2, IFIT3, interferon, α-inducible protein (IFI)6 (also known as G1P3), interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9, ISGF3), 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1, 40/46 kDa (OAS1) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) genes all showed changes in expression following treatment with thymoquinone. The caspase 10, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase (CASP10) gene was activated and the protein tyrosine phosphatase, receptor type, R (PTPRR) and myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) genes were upregulated in the classical MAPK and p38 MAPK pathways. These findings indicate that thymquinone targets specific genes in the estrogen metabolic and interferon pathways.

Polymorphisms in hormone metabolism and growth factor genes and mammographic density in Norwegian postmenopausal hormone therapy users and non-users

INTRODUCTION

Mammographic density (MD) is one of the strongest known breast cancer risk factors. Estrogen and progestin therapy (EPT) has been associated with increases in MD. Dense breast tissue is characterized by increased stromal tissue and (to a lesser degree) increased numbers of breast epithelial cells. It is possible that genetic factors modify the association between EPT and MD, and that certain genetic variants are particularly important in determining MD in hormone users. We evaluated the association between MD and 340 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from about 30 candidate genes in hormone metabolism/growth factor pathways among women who participated in the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) in 2004.

METHODS

We assessed MD on 2,036 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 69 years using a computer-assisted method (Madena, University of Southern California) in a cross-sectional study. We used linear regression to determine the association between each SNP and MD, adjusting for potential confounders. The postmenopausal women were stratified into HT users (EPT and estrogen-only) and non-users (never HT).

RESULTS

For current EPT users, there was an association between a variant in the prolactin gene (PRL; rs10946545) and MD (dominant model, Bonferroni-adjusted P (Pb) = 0.0144). This association remained statistically significant among current users of norethisterone acetate (NETA)-based EPT, a regimen common in Nordic countries. Among current estrogen-only users (ET), there was an association between rs4670813 in the cytochrome P450 gene (CYP1B1) and MD (dominant model, Pb = 0.0396). In never HT users, rs769177 in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene and rs1968752 in the region of the sulfotransferase gene (SULT1A1/SULT1A2), were significantly associated with MD (Pb = 0.0202; Pb = 0.0349).

CONCLUSIONS

We found some evidence that variants in the PRL gene were associated with MD in current EPT and NETA users. In never HT users, variants in the TNF and SULT1A1/SULT1A2 genes were significantly associated with MD. These findings may suggest that several genes in the hormone metabolism and growth factor pathways are implicated in determining MD.