Plasma and erythrocyte ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids are associated with multiple inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in breast cancer

Association of erythrocyte fatty acid compositions with the risk of pancreatic cancer: A case-control study

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most fatal malignancies, which has attracted scientists to investigate its etiology and pathogenesis. Nevertheless, the association between erythrocyte fatty acids and PC risk remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between levels of erythrocyte fatty acids and PC risk. The erythrocyte fatty acid compositions of 105 PC patients and 120 controls were determined by gas chromatography. Cases and controls were frequency matched by age and sex. Multivariable conditional logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline were applied to estimate the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (OR, 95% CI) of erythrocyte fatty acids and PC risk. Our main findings indicated a significant negative association between levels of erythrocyte total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and the risk of PC (ORT3-T1 = 0.30 [0.14, 0.63] and ORT3-T1 = 0.15 [0.06, 0.33], respectively). In contrast, erythrocyte n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA) levels, were positively associated with PC incidence (RT1-T3 = 4.24 [1.97, 9.46] and ORT1-T3 = 4.53 [2.09, 10.20]). Total saturated fatty acid (SFA), especially high levels of palmitic acid (16:0), was positively associated with the risk of PC (ORT3-T1 = 3.25 [1.53, 7.08]). Our findings suggest that levels of different types of fatty acids in erythrocytes may significantly alter PC susceptibility. Protective factors against PC include unsaturated fatty acids such as n-3 PUFA and MUFA.

Integrating Proteomics and Lipidomics for Evaluating the Risk of Breast Cancer Progression: A Pilot Study

Metastasis is a serious and often life-threatening condition, representing the leading cause of death among women with breast cancer (BC). Although the current clinical classification of BC is well-established, the addition of minimally invasive laboratory tests based on peripheral blood biomarkers that reflect pathological changes in the body is of utmost importance. In the current study, the serum proteome and lipidome profiles for 50 BC patients with (25) and without (25) metastasis were studied. Targeted proteomic analysis for concertation measurements of 125 proteins in the serum was performed via liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC-MRM MS) using the BAK 125 kit (MRM Proteomics Inc., Victoria, BC, Canada). Untargeted label-free lipidomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), in both positive and negative ion modes. Finally, 87 serum proteins and 295 lipids were quantified and showed a moderate correlation with tumor grade, histological and biological subtypes, and the number of lymph node metastases. Two highly accurate classifiers that enabled distinguishing between metastatic and non-metastatic BC were developed based on proteomic (accuracy 90%) and lipidomic (accuracy 80%) features. The best classifier (91% sensitivity, 89% specificity, AUC = 0.92) for BC metastasis diagnostics was based on logistic regression and the serum levels of 11 proteins: alpha-2-macroglobulin, coagulation factor XII, adiponectin, leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, Ig mu chain C region, apolipoprotein C-IV, carbonic anhydrase 1, apolipoprotein A-II, apolipoprotein C-II and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein 1.

Improved fatty acid profile reduces body fat and arterial stiffness in obese adolescents upon combinatorial intervention with exercise and dietary restriction

Objective

In order to examine the effect of 4-week combinatorial intervention with exercise training and dietary restriction on serum fatty acids, and to explore the correlation of intervention-induced improvement of serum fatty acid profile with the reduction of body fat and arterial stiffness.

Methods

Thirty-three obese adolescents were randomized into the intervention (n = 19) and control (n = 14) groups. The participants from the intervention group were subjected to 4-week combinatorial intervention with exercise training and dietary restriction while the participants from the control group maintained regular activities and diet habits. Anthropometry, serum fatty acids and arterial stiffness were measured before and after 4-week intervention.

Results

The participants upon combinatorial intervention revealed the improved body compositions and serum fatty acid profile, and reduced arterial stiffness when compared with their basal levels and the control participants (p < 0.05). Moreover, the decrease in myristic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, palmitoleic acid, and dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, was associated with the reduction in body fat. A positive correlation between arachidonic acid and left brachial ankle pulse velocity was observed, and the increase in docosahexaenoic acid was associated with the reduction of left brachial ankle pulse wave velocity and the enhancement of right ankle brachial index.

Conclusion

The 4-week combinatorial intervention is a useful strategy to improve serum fatty acid profile along with the reduction of body fat and arterial stiffness in obese adolescents.

Bioelectrical impedance vector applied to body composition evaluation of women survivors of breast cancer: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the changes in the body composition of the women survivors of breast cancer and its association with clinical staging, using the bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), over five years of follow-up.

METHODS

At baseline time 114 patients (T0) were selected and after 5 years (T1) of follow-up (n = 35) data of weight, body mass index, waist circumference, phase angle, resistance/height, reactance/height, %fat free mass and %fat mass were monitored. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) and the vector displacement assessment took place according to the initial and advanced clinical staging (CS 1 and 2, respectively) and time of follow-up and have been showed using mean graph and RXc score graph.

RESULTS

Patients on CS 1 showed a reduction in reactance/height, phase angle, %fat free mass and an increase in %fat mass. The same group presented during the follow-up significant vector displacement by mean graph and a change to the 95% ellipse by the RXc score graph.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with breast cancer in the initial CS showed a more significant displacement of bioelectric vectors, indicating worsening in body composition.

Effect of Metformin on Breast Density in Overweight/Obese Premenopausal Women

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the effects of metformin on breast density in overweight/obese premenopausal women.

METHODS

Overweight/obese premenopausal women (n=120) were randomly assigned to the metformin or placebo group, and all women received lifestyle interventions. The outcomes included weight, BMI, FPG, FIN, glucose, HOMA-IR, LDL-C, HDL-C, TG, TC, SBP, DBP, FSH, E, AD, and the BIRADS grade, and the incidence of breast cancer was assessed by pathological biopsy and BIRADS grade greater than 4.

RESULTS

In total, 120 overweight/obese women completed the 1-year trial. Seven patients had a BIRADS grade greater than 4, including 5 patients who were biopsy positive, in the control group, and 2 patients had a BIRADS grade greater than 4, including 1 patient who was biopsy positive, in the metformin group. Compared with those in the control group, the body weight, BMI, FIN, FPG, HOMA-IR, TC, BIRADS grade and positive pathological biopsy rate in the metformin group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while AD was significantly increased (P<0.05). The correlation analysis indicated that the BIRADS grade was significantly correlated with weight, BMI, FPG, FIN, HOMA-IR, SBP, AD and the positive pathological biopsy rate, and the positive pathological biopsy rate was significantly correlated with weight, BMI, HOMA-IR, SBP, AD and BIRADS grade. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the BIRADS grade was significantly correlated with the positive pathological biopsy rate and AD and that the positive pathological biopsy rate was significantly correlated with the BIRADS grade.

CONCLUSION

As adjunctive therapy, the combination of lifestyle changes and metformin was found to be a safe strategy for improving related metabolic markers and increasing adiponectin. The BIRADS grade was significantly correlated with the positive pathological biopsy rate and AD, and the positive pathological biopsy rate was significantly correlated with the BIRADS grade.

Erythrocyte ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are inversely associated with the risk of oral cancer: a case-control study

OBJECTIVES

Evidence about ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) and oral cancer risk were limited. We aimed to evaluate the association of erythrocyte ω-3 PUFAs with the risk of oral cancer in a population from China.

METHODS

Erythrocyte ω-3 PUFAs of 236 oral cancer patients and 300 controls were determined by gas chromatography. Restricted cubic spline and logistic regression were used to analyze the association between erythrocyte ω-3 PUFAs and oral cancer risk. The crude and adjusted OR with 95% CI was calculated. Stratification analysis was performed to explore the potential interaction between ω-3 PUFAs and other traditional risk factors such as smoking and drinking.

RESULTS

Eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA), docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) and ω-3 index were negatively but non-linearly related to risk of oral cancer as observed by restricted cubic spline. The adjusted OR of EPA, DHA, and ω-3 index were 0.52 (95% CI: 0.35-0.76), 0.19 (95% CI: 0.08-0.44), 0.20 (95% CI: 0.09-0.44), respectively. Stratification analysis showed that the adverse correlation between EPA and oral cancer was only significant in the non-smoking group, while the adverse correlation of ɑ-linolenic acid (ALA), EPA, and DHA were only significant in the non-drinking group. General multiplicative interactions were observed between ω-3 PUFAs and smoking or drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Adverse but non-linear associations were observed between erythrocyte EPA, DHA, ω-3 index, and oral cancer risk. Additionally, there were multiplicative interactions between ω-3 PUFAs and other behavior factors such as smoking and drinking. The protective effect of ω-3 PUFAs maybe more significant in the non-smoking or non-drinking population.

Lipidomics Reveals the Therapeutic Effects of EtOAc Extract of Orthosiphon stamineus Benth. on Nephrolithiasis

Background

Nephrolithiasis is a systemic metabolic disease with a high prevalence worldwide and is closely related to lipid-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation. Orthosiphon stamineus Benth. (OS) is a traditional medicinal herb mainly containing flavonoids, caffeic acid derivatives, and terpenoids, which has the effect of treating urinary stones. However, the active ingredients of OS for the treatment of kidney stones and their regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. As a powerful antioxidant, flavonoids from herbs can mitigate calcium oxalate stone formation by scavenging radical. Thus, this work focused on EtOAc extract of OS (EEOS, mainly flavonoids) and aimed to reveal the potential intrinsic mechanism of EEOS in the treatment of kidney stones disease.

Methods

Firstly, 75% ethanol extract of OS was further extracted with EtOAc to obtain EtOAc extract containing 88.82% flavonoids. Secondly, the extract was subjected to component analysis and used in animal experiments. Then, an untargeted lipidomics based on ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with TripleTOF 5600 mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF-MS) was performed to test the lipid changes of kidneys in the control group, model group and EEOS treatment groups. Finally, multivariate statistical analysis was used to identify differences between the lipid profiles of mice in the model group and the EEOS group.

Results

Fifty-one lipid metabolites were significantly different between the mice in the model group and the EEOS intervention group, including glycerophosphocholines, glycerophosphoethanolamines, glycerophosphoinositols, and glycerophosphoglycerols. And the composition of glycerophospholipids-esterified ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and glycerophospholipid subclasses in the kidneys of the EEOS group significantly changed compared to model group.

Conclusions

The EEOS can inhibit the stones formation by improving oxidative stress and inflammation mediated by glycerophospholipid metabolism. This study reveals the potential mechanism of EEOS for kidney stones treatment at the lipid molecule level, providing a new direction for further study of the efficacy of OS.