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Boschetti E, Righetti PG. Low-Abundance Protein Enrichment for Medical Applications: The Involvement of Combinatorial Peptide Library Technique. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10329. [PMID: 37373476 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241210329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of low- and very low-abundance proteins in medical applications is considered a key success factor in various important domains. To reach this category of proteins, it is essential to adopt procedures consisting of the selective enrichment of species that are present at extremely low concentrations. In the past few years pathways towards this objective have been proposed. In this review, a general landscape of the enrichment technology situation is made first with the presentation and the use of combinatorial peptide libraries. Then, a description of this peculiar technology for the identification of early-stage biomarkers for well-known pathologies with concrete examples is given. In another field of medical applications, the determination of host cell protein traces potentially present in recombinant therapeutic proteins, such as antibodies, is discussed along with their potentially deleterious effects on the health of patients on the one hand, and on the stability of these biodrugs on the other hand. Various additional applications of medical interest are disclosed for biological fluids investigations where the target proteins are present at very low concentrations (e.g., protein allergens).
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Boada P, Fatou B, Belperron AA, Sigdel TK, Smolen KK, Wurie Z, Levy O, Ronca SE, Murray KO, Liberto JM, Rashmi P, Kerwin M, Montgomery RR, Bockenstedt LK, Steen H, Sarwal MM. Longitudinal serum proteomics analyses identify unique and overlapping host response pathways in Lyme disease and West Nile virus infection. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1012824. [PMID: 36569838 PMCID: PMC9784464 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1012824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Advancement in proteomics methods for interrogating biological samples has helped identify disease biomarkers for early diagnostics and unravel underlying molecular mechanisms of disease. Herein, we examined the serum proteomes of 23 study participants presenting with one of two common arthropod-borne infections: Lyme disease (LD), an extracellular bacterial infection or West Nile virus infection (WNV), an intracellular viral infection. The LC/MS based serum proteomes of samples collected at the time of diagnosis and during convalescence were assessed using a depletion-based high-throughput shotgun proteomics (dHSP) pipeline as well as a non-depleting blotting-based low-throughput platform (MStern). The LC/MS integrated analyses identified host proteome responses in the acute and recovery phases shared by LD and WNV infections, as well as differentially abundant proteins that were unique to each infection. Notably, we also detected proteins that distinguished localized from disseminated LD and asymptomatic from symptomatic WNV infection. The proteins detected in both diseases with the dHSP pipeline identified unique and overlapping proteins detected with the non-depleting MStern platform, supporting the utility of both detection methods. Machine learning confirmed the use of the serum proteome to distinguish the infection from healthy control sera but could not develop discriminatory models between LD and WNV at current sample numbers. Our study is the first to compare the serum proteomes in two arthropod-borne infections and highlights the similarities in host responses even though the pathogens and the vectors themselves are different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Boada
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Benoit Fatou
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Alexia A. Belperron
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Tara K. Sigdel
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Kinga K. Smolen
- Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Zainab Wurie
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ofer Levy
- Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shannon E. Ronca
- Division of Tropical Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- William T. Shearer Center for Human Immunobiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Kristy O. Murray
- Division of Tropical Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
- William T. Shearer Center for Human Immunobiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Juliane M. Liberto
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Priyanka Rashmi
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Maggie Kerwin
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Ruth R. Montgomery
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Linda K. Bockenstedt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Hanno Steen
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Minnie M. Sarwal
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Nilsson K, Skoog E, Edvinsson M, Mårtensson A, Olsen B. Protein biomarker profiles in serum and CSF in 158 patients with PTLDS or persistent symptoms after presumed tick-bite exposure compared to those in patients with confirmed acute neuroborreliosis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276407. [PMID: 36327322 PMCID: PMC9632922 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current diagnostics for patients with lingering symptoms categorized as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) have their limitations and may be difficult to interpret. The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate the feasibility of protein biomarker profiling as a diagnostic platform for this category of patients and to compare these results with similarly obtained results from a group of patients with acute neuroborreliosis. METHODS AND FINDINGS Two groups of patient cohorts (Cohort 1 and 2) were analyzed for biomarkers in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); the results were used for group-level comparison. Cohort 1 comprised 158 adult patients selected from 224 previously diagnosed patients, who between October 2015 and December 2018, after referral, were enrolled and structurally investigated based on defined inclusion criteria. They displayed similar lingering symptoms, with a duration of at least 6 months, after presumed previous tick-borne infection (TBI) and are fully described in a previously published study originating from the Center for Vector-borne Infections (CVI), Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Cohort 2, comprised 30 patients diagnosed at Uppsala University Hospital between 2016 and 2019 with laboratory-confirmed acute neuroborreliosis. Their proteomic results, based on serum and CSF analyses, were compared with the 158 patients in Cohort 1. The expression and the concentration of potential biomarkers in each patient's serum and CSF samples were measured based on two multiplex protein panels enabling simultaneous analysis of 92 inflammatory and neurology biomarkers. The PTLDS patient subgroup showed no nominally significant proteins compared to the other CVI patients in Cohort 1. However, CVI patients with signs of inflammation, which were evenly distributed in Cohort 1, showed 16 significantly (p <0.05) different proteins in both CSF and serum, but no association was seen with laboratory-confirmed exposure to Borrelia spp or other TBIs. When comparing the two cohorts, different protein profiles were observed, with 125/148 significantly different proteins in CSF and 93/174 in serum, in patients with laboratory confirmed acute neuroborreliosis, of which 6 in CSF and 6 in serum were significant at the p <0.001 level. CONCLUSIONS In this first comprehensive inflammatory and neurological biomarker profile study no differences in biomarker profiles were detected between patients with PTLDS and patients with similar persisting symptoms but who did not meet the PTLDS criteria, regardless of whether laboratory verified previous exposure to Borrelia or other TBI's were present. However, the expressed markers differed from those found in patients with confirmed acute neuroborreliosis, which does not support the view that PTLDS reflects an ongoing Borrelia infection. Further studies are needed to understand and assess the usefulness of biosignatures of patients with PTLDS before they can be applied in a clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Nilsson
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Clinical Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Elisabet Skoog
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marie Edvinsson
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Andreas Mårtensson
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, International Maternal and Child Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Björn Olsen
- Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Medical Sciences, Zoonosis Science Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Socarras KM, Haslund-Gourley BS, Cramer NA, Comunale MA, Marconi RT, Ehrlich GD. Large-Scale Sequencing of Borreliaceae for the Construction of Pan-Genomic-Based Diagnostics. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:1604. [PMID: 36140772 PMCID: PMC9498496 DOI: 10.3390/genes13091604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 09/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The acceleration of climate change has been associated with an alarming increase in the prevalence and geographic range of tick-borne diseases (TBD), many of which have severe and long-lasting effects-particularly when treatment is delayed principally due to inadequate diagnostics and lack of physician suspicion. Moreover, there is a paucity of treatment options for many TBDs that are complicated by diagnostic limitations for correctly identifying the offending pathogens. This review will focus on the biology, disease pathology, and detection methodologies used for the Borreliaceae family which includes the Lyme disease agent Borreliella burgdorferi. Previous work revealed that Borreliaceae genomes differ from most bacteria in that they are composed of large numbers of replicons, both linear and circular, with the main chromosome being the linear with telomeric-like termini. While these findings are novel, additional gene-specific analyses of each class of these multiple replicons are needed to better understand their respective roles in metabolism and pathogenesis of these enigmatic spirochetes. Historically, such studies were challenging due to a dearth of both analytic tools and a sufficient number of high-fidelity genomes among the various taxa within this family as a whole to provide for discriminative and functional genomic studies. Recent advances in long-read whole-genome sequencing, comparative genomics, and machine-learning have provided the tools to better understand the fundamental biology and phylogeny of these genomically-complex pathogens while also providing the data for the development of improved diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla M. Socarras
- Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Benjamin S. Haslund-Gourley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Nicholas A. Cramer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, 1112 East Clay Street, Room 101 Health Sciences Research Building, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
- Department of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
| | - Mary Ann Comunale
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Richard T. Marconi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, 1112 East Clay Street, Room 101 Health Sciences Research Building, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
- Department of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
| | - Garth D. Ehrlich
- Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, 1112 East Clay Street, Room 101 Health Sciences Research Building, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
- Center for Surgical Infections and Biofilms, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
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Baseline Gut Metagenomic Functional Gene Signature Associated with Variable Weight Loss Responses following a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention in Humans. mSystems 2021; 6:e0096421. [PMID: 34519531 PMCID: PMC8547453 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00964-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent human feeding studies have shown how the baseline taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome can determine responses to weight loss interventions. However, the functional determinants underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. We report a weight loss response analysis on a cohort of 105 individuals selected from a larger population enrolled in a commercial wellness program, which included healthy lifestyle coaching. Each individual in the cohort had baseline blood metabolomics, blood proteomics, clinical labs, dietary questionnaires, stool 16S rRNA gene sequencing data, and follow-up data on weight change. We generated additional targeted proteomics data on obesity-associated proteins in blood before and after intervention, along with baseline stool metagenomic data, for a subset of 25 individuals who showed the most extreme weight change phenotypes. We built regression models to identify baseline blood, stool, and dietary features associated with weight loss, independent of age, sex, and baseline body mass index (BMI). Many features were independently associated with baseline BMI, but few were independently associated with weight loss. Baseline diet was not associated with weight loss, and only one blood analyte was associated with changes in weight. However, 31 baseline stool metagenomic functional features, including complex polysaccharide and protein degradation genes, stress-response genes, respiration-related genes, and cell wall synthesis genes, along with gut bacterial replication rates, were associated with weight loss responses after controlling for age, sex, and baseline BMI. Together, these results provide a set of compelling hypotheses for how commensal gut microbiota influence weight loss outcomes in humans. IMPORTANCE Recent human feeding studies have shown how the baseline taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome can determine responses to dietary interventions, but the exact functional determinants underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. In this study, we set out to better understand interactions between baseline BMI, metabolic health, diet, gut microbiome functional profiles, and subsequent weight changes in a human cohort that underwent a healthy lifestyle intervention. Overall, our results suggest that the microbiota may influence host weight loss responses through variable bacterial growth rates, dietary energy harvest efficiency, and immunomodulation.
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Boschetti E, Zilberstein G, Righetti PG. Combinatorial peptides: A library that continuously probes low-abundance proteins. Electrophoresis 2021; 43:355-369. [PMID: 34498305 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
After a decade of experimental applications, it is the objective of this review to make a point on combinatorial peptide ligand libraries dedicated to low-abundance proteins from animals to plants and to microorganism proteomics. It is, thus, at the light of the recent technical developments and applications that we will examine the state of the art, its usage within the scientific community, and its openness to unexplored fields. The improvements of the methodology and its implementation in connection with analytical determinations of combinatorial peptide ligand library (CPLL)-treated samples are extensively reviewed and commented upon. Relevant examples covering few critical aspects describe the performance of the technology. Finally, a reflection on the technological future is attempted in particular by involving new concepts adapted to the limited availability of certain biological samples.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pier Giorgio Righetti
- Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
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Bobe JR, Jutras BL, Horn EJ, Embers ME, Bailey A, Moritz RL, Zhang Y, Soloski MJ, Ostfeld RS, Marconi RT, Aucott J, Ma'ayan A, Keesing F, Lewis K, Ben Mamoun C, Rebman AW, McClune ME, Breitschwerdt EB, Reddy PJ, Maggi R, Yang F, Nemser B, Ozcan A, Garner O, Di Carlo D, Ballard Z, Joung HA, Garcia-Romeu A, Griffiths RR, Baumgarth N, Fallon BA. Recent Progress in Lyme Disease and Remaining Challenges. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 8:666554. [PMID: 34485323 PMCID: PMC8416313 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.666554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease (also known as Lyme borreliosis) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with an estimated 476,000 cases per year. While historically, the long-term impact of Lyme disease on patients has been controversial, mounting evidence supports the idea that a substantial number of patients experience persistent symptoms following treatment. The research community has largely lacked the necessary funding to properly advance the scientific and clinical understanding of the disease, or to develop and evaluate innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Given the many outstanding questions raised into the diagnosis, clinical presentation and treatment of Lyme disease, and the underlying molecular mechanisms that trigger persistent disease, there is an urgent need for more support. This review article summarizes progress over the past 5 years in our understanding of Lyme and tick-borne diseases in the United States and highlights remaining challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason R. Bobe
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Brandon L. Jutras
- Department of Biochemistry, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | | | - Monica E. Embers
- Tulane University Health Sciences, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Allison Bailey
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | | | - Ying Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Mark J. Soloski
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Lyme Disease Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | | | - Richard T. Marconi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - John Aucott
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Lyme Disease Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Avi Ma'ayan
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | | | - Kim Lewis
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Alison W. Rebman
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Lyme Disease Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Mecaila E. McClune
- Department of Biochemistry, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Edward B. Breitschwerdt
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | | | - Ricardo Maggi
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Frank Yang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Bennett Nemser
- Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Stamford, CT, United States
| | - Aydogan Ozcan
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Omai Garner
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Dino Di Carlo
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Zachary Ballard
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Hyou-Arm Joung
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Albert Garcia-Romeu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Roland R. Griffiths
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Nicole Baumgarth
- Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases and the Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Brian A. Fallon
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
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Bridle TG, Kumarathasan P, Gailer J. Toxic Metal Species and 'Endogenous' Metalloproteins at the Blood-Organ Interface: Analytical and Bioinorganic Aspects. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26113408. [PMID: 34199902 PMCID: PMC8200099 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26113408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Globally, human exposure to environmental pollutants causes an estimated 9 million deaths per year and it could also be implicated in the etiology of diseases that do not appear to have a genetic origin. Accordingly, there is a need to gain information about the biomolecular mechanisms that causally link exposure to inorganic environmental pollutants with distinct adverse health effects. Although the analysis of blood plasma and red blood cell (RBC) cytosol can provide important biochemical information about these mechanisms, the inherent complexity of these biological matrices can make this a difficult task. In this perspective, we will examine the use of metalloentities that are present in plasma and RBC cytosol as potential exposure biomarkers to assess human exposure to inorganic pollutants. Our primary objective is to explore the principal bioinorganic processes that contribute to increased or decreased metalloprotein concentrations in plasma and/or RBC cytosol. Furthermore, we will also identify metabolites which can form in the bloodstream and contain essential as well as toxic metals for use as exposure biomarkers. While the latter metal species represent useful biomarkers for short-term exposure, endogenous plasma metalloproteins represent indicators to assess the long-term exposure of an individual to inorganic pollutants. Based on these considerations, the quantification of metalloentities in blood plasma and/or RBC cytosol is identified as a feasible research avenue to better understand the adverse health effects that are associated with chronic exposure of various human populations to inorganic pollutants. Exposure to these pollutants will likely increase as a consequence of technological advances, including the fast-growing applications of metal-based engineering nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristen G. Bridle
- Department of Chemistry, 2500 University Drive NW, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada;
| | - Premkumari Kumarathasan
- Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada;
| | - Jürgen Gailer
- Department of Chemistry, 2500 University Drive NW, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada;
- Correspondence:
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Cystatin M/E (Cystatin 6): A Janus-Faced Cysteine Protease Inhibitor with Both Tumor-Suppressing and Tumor-Promoting Functions. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13081877. [PMID: 33919854 PMCID: PMC8070812 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13081877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Alongside its contribution in maintaining skin homeostasis and its probable involvement in fetal and placental development, cystatin M/E (also known as cystatin 6) was first described as a tumor suppressor of breast cancer. This review aims to provide an update on cystatin M/E with particular attention paid to its role during tumorigenesis. Cystatin M/E, which is related to type 2 cystatins, displays the unique property of being a dual tight-binding inhibitor of both legumain (also known as asparagine endopeptidase) and cysteine cathepsins L, V and B, while its expression level is epigenetically regulated via the methylation of the CST6 promoter region. The tumor-suppressing role of cystatin M/E was further reported in melanoma, cervical, brain, prostate, gastric and renal cancers, and cystatin M/E was proposed as a biomarker of prognostic significance. Contrariwise, cystatin M/E could have an antagonistic function, acting as a tumor promoter (e.g., oral, pancreatic cancer, thyroid and hepatocellular carcinoma). Taking into account these apparently divergent functions, there is an urgent need to decipher the molecular and cellular regulatory mechanisms of the expression and activity of cystatin M/E associated with the safeguarding homeostasis of the proteolytic balance as well as its imbalance in cancer.
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Abstract
Lyme borreliosis is caused by a growing list of related, yet distinct, spirochetes with complex biology and sophisticated immune evasion mechanisms. It may result in a range of clinical manifestations involving different organ systems, and can lead to persistent sequelae in a subset of cases. The pathogenesis of Lyme borreliosis is incompletely understood, and laboratory diagnosis, the focus of this review, requires considerable understanding to interpret the results correctly. Direct detection of the infectious agent is usually not possible or practical, necessitating a continued reliance on serologic testing. Still, some important advances have been made in the area of diagnostics, and there are many promising ideas for future assay development. This review summarizes the state of the art in laboratory diagnostics for Lyme borreliosis, provides guidance in test selection and interpretation, and highlights future directions.
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Abstract
Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) is a tick-borne, zoonosis of adults and children caused by genospecies of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. The ailment, widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, continues to increase globally due to multiple environmental factors, coupled with increased incursion of humans into habitats that harbor the spirochete. B. burgdorferi sensu lato is transmitted by ticks from the Ixodes ricinus complex. In North America, B. burgdorferi causes nearly all infections; in Europe, B. afzelii and B. garinii are most associated with human disease. The spirochete's unusual fragmented genome encodes a plethora of differentially expressed outer surface lipoproteins that play a seminal role in the bacterium's ability to sustain itself within its enzootic cycle and cause disease when transmitted to its incidental human host. Tissue damage and symptomatology (i.e., clinical manifestations) result from the inflammatory response elicited by the bacterium and its constituents. The deposition of spirochetes into human dermal tissue generates a local inflammatory response that manifests as erythema migrans (EM), the hallmark skin lesion. If treated appropriately and early, the prognosis is excellent. However, in untreated patients, the disease may present with a wide range of clinical manifestations, most commonly involving the central nervous system, joints, or heart. A small percentage (~10%) of patients may go on to develop a poorly defined fibromyalgia-like illness, post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) unresponsive to prolonged antimicrobial therapy. Below we integrate current knowledge regarding the ecologic, epidemiologic, microbiologic, and immunologic facets of Lyme disease into a conceptual framework that sheds light on the disorder that healthcare providers encounter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin D. Radolf
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Departments of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Department of Immunology, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
| | - Klemen Strle
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, NY Department of Health, Albany NY, 12208, USA
| | - Jacob E. Lemieux
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Franc Strle
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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