Localization of gene for human p53 tumour antigen to band 17p13

Typing of Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Why it is Important?

The classification of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC), as in endometrial cancer, has shifted from the histology-based descriptors toward molecular-based identifiers. Recently, it has been reported that there are 3 genetically distinct and clinically significant subtypes of VSCC: HPV-associated VSCC, HPV-independent/p53 wild-type VSCC, and HPV-independent/p53-mutated VSCC. Each group has different prognostic implications as well as response to treatment, thus reinforcing the need for this 3-tier molecular classification. This molecular subtyping can easily be done on vulvar biopsies using p16 and p53 immunohistochemistry stains to further improve risk prediction and individualized treatment decisions, leading to better patient outcomes.

Amino acid metabolism in health and disease

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein synthesis. They are structural elements and energy sources of cells necessary for normal cell growth, differentiation and function. Amino acid metabolism disorders have been linked with a number of pathological conditions, including metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, immune diseases, and cancer. In the case of tumors, alterations in amino acid metabolism can be used not only as clinical indicators of cancer progression but also as therapeutic strategies. Since the growth and development of tumors depend on the intake of foreign amino acids, more and more studies have targeted the metabolism of tumor-related amino acids to selectively kill tumor cells. Furthermore, immune-related studies have confirmed that amino acid metabolism regulates the function of effector T cells and regulatory T cells, affecting the function of immune cells. Therefore, studying amino acid metabolism associated with disease and identifying targets in amino acid metabolic pathways may be helpful for disease treatment. This article mainly focuses on the research of amino acid metabolism in tumor-oriented diseases, and reviews the research and clinical research progress of metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases and immune-related diseases related to amino acid metabolism, in order to provide theoretical basis for targeted therapy of amino acid metabolism.

MDM2 Implications for Potential Molecular Pathogenic Therapies of Soft-Tissue Tumors

Murine double minute 2 (MDM2, gene name MDM2) is an oncogene that mainly codes for a protein that acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase, which targets the tumor suppressor protein p53 for degradation. Overexpression of MDM2 regulates the p53 protein levels by binding to it and promoting its degradation by the 26S proteasome. This leads to the inhibition of p53's ability to regulate cell cycle progression and apoptosis, allowing for uncontrolled cell growth, and can contribute to the development of soft-tissue tumors. The application of cellular stress leads to changes in the binding of MDM2 to p53, which prevents MDM2 from degrading p53. This results in an increase in p53 levels, which triggers either cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Inhibiting the function of MDM2 has been identified as a potential therapeutic strategy for treating these types of tumors. By blocking the activity of MDM2, p53 function can be restored, potentially leading to tumor cell death and inhibiting the growth of tumors. However, further research is needed to fully understand the implications of MDM2 inhibition for the treatment of soft-tissue tumors and to determine the safety and efficacy of these therapies in clinical trials. An overview of key milestones and potential uses of MDM2 research is presented in this review.

Curcumin-loaded alginate hydrogels for cancer therapy and wound healing applications: A review

Hydrogels have emerged as a versatile platform for a numerous biomedical application due to their ability to absorb a huge quantity of biofluids. In order to design hydrogels, natural polymers are an attractive option owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Due to abundance in occurrence, cost effectiveness, and facile crosslinking approaches, alginate has been extensively investigated to fabricate hydrogel matrix. Management of cancer and chronic wounds have always been a challenge for pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. In both cases, curcumin have been shown significant improvement and effectiveness. However, the innate restraints like poor bioavailability, hydrophobicity, and rapid systemic clearance associated with curcumin have restricted its clinical translations. The current review explores the cascade of research around curcumin encapsulated alginate hydrogel matrix for wound healing and cancer therapy. The focus of the review is to emphasize the mechanistic effects of curcumin with its fate inside the cells. Further, the review discusses different approaches to designed curcumin loaded alginate hydrogels along with the parameters that regulates their release behavior. Finally, the review is concluded with emphasize on some key aspect on increasing the efficacy of these hydrogels along with novel strategies to further develop curcumin loaded alginate hydrogel matrix with multifacet applications.

Structural modulation of p53TAD1-TAZ2 complex upon mutations and post-translational modification

The tumour suppressing p53 is a target for genetic alterations in human cancer. Native p53, found in latent state in cells, gets activated following various intracellular or extracellular responses. It plays imperative role in cell-cycle control, via growth-arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis, mainly regulated by post-translational modifications (PTM). However, the influence of PTMs on the activity of p53 is still under extensive experimental and computational study. There are numerous PTM sites in p53, which are reported to regulate its binding affinities with other proteins. Of the many, Thr18 at transactivational domain (TAD) of p53 is reported to amplify p53 activity upon phosphorylation. To understand the molecular basis of p53 recognition by its binding partner upon mutations and PTMs, we have exploited all atom molecular dynamic (MD) simulation of p53TAD1 bound to TAZ2 domain of p300. The MD simulation inferred that phosphorylated and mutated Thr18, as a phospho-mimic, bound with TAZ2, redistributed the charge environment of the interface, thereby modulating the stronger interactions with TAZ2 to enhance the binding efficiency. The electrostatic interactions due to different charge environment together with H-bonding and hydrophobic interaction dictate diverse binding approach between the two. The results of this computational study further explain the importance of the Thr18 as a PTM site in atomistic detail, hence shedding further light to the understanding of how PTMs are imperative for p53 activity to protect the cellular world.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

A comprehensive study of p53 protein

The protein p53 has been extensively investigated since it was found 43 years ago and has become a "guardian of the genome" that regulates the division of cells by preventing the growth of cells and dividing them, that is, inhibits the development of tumors. Initial proof of protein existence by researchers in the mid-1970s was found by altering and regulating the SV40 big T antigen termed the A protein. Researchers demonstrated how viruses play a role in cancer by employing viruses' ability to create T-antigens complex with viral tumors, which was discovered in 1979 following a viral analysis and cancer analog research. Researchers later in the year 1989 explained that in Murine Friend, a virus-caused erythroleukemia, commonly found that p53 was inactivated to suggest that p53 could be a "tumor suppressor gene." The TP53 gene, encoding p53, is one of human cancer's most frequently altered genes. The protein-regulated biological functions of all p53s include cell cycles, apoptosis, senescence, metabolism of the DNA, angiogenesis, cell differentiation, and immunological response. We tried to unfold the history of the p53 protein, which was discovered long back in 1979, that is, 43 years of research on p53, and how p53's function has been developed through time in this article.

Independent prognostic significance of TP53 mutations in adult acute myeloid leukaemia with complex karyotype

INTRODUCTION

Adult acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients with complex karyotype (CK) generally have unfavourable outcomes. CK commonly co-exists with characteristic chromosomal and genetic abnormalities such as monosomal karyotype (MK), -17 or 17p- [abn(17p)] and TP53 mutations. Their individual prognostic significance needs to be clarified.

METHODS

Seventy-three adult CK-AML patients and eleven adult non-CK-AML patients with TP53 mutations (non-CK/TP53^mu ) who were diagnosed and received therapy at our institute were enrolled. One hundred and fifty-seven AML cases retrieved from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) for validation.

RESULTS

Among CK-AML patients, those with TP53 mutations (CK/TP53^mu ) had significantly lower rates of 1-course induction complete remission (CR), 2-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and 2-year overall survival (OS) than those without TP53 mutations (CK/TP53^wt ); whereas, abn(17p) did not have the above impacts; MK was significantly associated with a lower 2-year OS rate but was not related to the rates of CR and RFS. Multivariate analysis showed that it were TP53 mutations and treating with chemotherapy alone but not MK and abn(17p) that independently predicted the adverse prognosis for RFS and OS in CK-AML. Furthermore, non-CK/TP53^mu patients showed similar rates of CR, RFS and OS to CK/TP53^mu patients. Validation using the TCGA cohort showed that CK/TP53^mu patients had a significantly lower 2-year OS rate than CK/TP53^wt patients, whereas abn(17p) and MK did not impact OS; the 2-year OS rate of patients with CK/TP53^wt was similar to that of patients with intermediate-risk cytogenetics.

CONCLUSION

Adult CK-AML patients have varied risks and TP53 mutations seem to be an independent adverse prognostic factor.

Resistance Mechanisms in Pediatric B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Despite the rapid development of medicine, even nowadays, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is still a problem for pediatric clinicians. Modern medicine has reached a limit of curability even though the recovery rate exceeds 90%. Relapse occurs in around 20% of treated patients and, regrettably, 10% of diagnosed ALL patients are still incurable. In this article, we would like to focus on the treatment resistance and disease relapse of patients with B-cell leukemia in the context of prognostic factors of ALL. We demonstrate the mechanisms of the resistance to steroid therapy and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and assess the impact of genetic factors on the treatment resistance, especially TCF3::HLF translocation. We compare therapeutic protocols and decipher how cancer cells become resistant to innovative treatments—including CAR-T-cell therapies and monoclonal antibodies. The comparisons made in our article help to bring closer the main factors of resistance in hematologic malignancies in the context of ALL.

Genetic Alterations Predict Long-Term Survival in Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreatic Head

Simple Summary

Pancreatic cancer is notorious for its poor prognosis. However, rare long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer exist. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular profile of pancreatic cancer long-term survivors, to improve the stratification and management of pancreatic cancer patients in the future. Thirty-nine pancreatic cancer patients including short-term and long-term survivors were evaluated thoroughly. Their molecular profile was analyzed using panel next generation sequencing. As a result, patients with mutations commonly found in pancreatic cancer (KRAS G12D mutations and/or TP53 nonsense and splice site mutations) showed significantly worse survival. In contrast, long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer did not show the above-mentioned mutations but did show rare mutations of KRAS (Q61H/D57N). In conclusion, long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer do have a distinct molecular profile. Further studies using larger patient cohorts are warranted to confirm these results and possibly unravel rare potential targets for targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

Background: Survival of patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (PDAC) is poor and has remained almost unchanged over the past decades. The genomic landscape of PDAC has been characterized in recent years. The aim of this study was to identify a genetic profile as a possible predictor of prolonged survival in order to tailor therapy for PDAC patients. Methods: Panel next generation sequencing (NGS) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed on paraffin-embedded tumor tissues from curatively treated PDAC patients. Tumor slides were re-evaluated with a focus on the histomorphology. Patients were subgrouped according to short and long overall (<4 years/>4 years) and disease-free (<2 years/>2 years) survival. Results: Thirty-nine patients were included in the study. Clinicopathological staging variables as well as the histomorphological subgroups were homogenously distributed between short- and long-term overall and disease-free survivors. In survival analysis, patients with the KRAS G12D mutation and patients with TP53 nonsense and splice-site mutations had a significantly worse overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Patients with long-term OS and DFS showed no KRAS G12D, no TP53 nonsense or splice-site mutations. Rare Q61H/D57N KRAS mutations were only found in long-term survivors. The allele frequency rate of KRAS and TP53 mutations in tumor cells was significantly higher in short-term disease-free survivors and overall survivors, respectively. Conclusions: NGS of PDAC revealed significant differences in survival outcome in a patient collective with homogenously distributed clinicopathological variables. Further multi-institutional studies are warranted to identify more long-term survivors to detect genetic differences suitable for targeted therapy.

MYC Expression Is Associated With p53 Expression and TP53 Aberration and Predicts Poor Overall Survival in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated MYC and p53 expression, TP53 aberration, their relationship, and their impact on overall survival (OS) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL).

METHODS

We identified 173 patients with ALL and LBL, including 12 cases of mixed-phenotype acute leukemia, 8 cases of therapy-related B-cell ALL (B-ALL), 119 cases of B-ALL, and 34 cases of T-cell ALL/LBL diagnosed from 2003 to 2019. We retrospectively assessed p53 and MYC expression by immunohistochemistry of bone marrow and correlated MYC expression with p53 expression and TP53 aberration.

RESULTS

Expression of p53 and MYC was present in 11.5% and 27.7% of ALL/LBL cases (n = 20 and n = 48), respectively. MYC expression was significantly correlated with p53 expression and TP53 aberration (P = .002 and P = .03), and p53 expression and MYC expression had an adverse impact on OS in patients with ALL/LBL (P < .05). MYC and p53 dual expression as well as combined MYC expression and TP53 aberration had a negative impact on OS in patients with ALL/LBL.

CONCLUSIONS

MYC expression is correlated with p53 overexpression, TP53 aberration, and poor OS in patients with ALL/LBL.

Genetic Events Inhibiting Apoptosis in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

Simple Summary

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Despite the genetic heterogeneity of the disease, most patients are initially treated with a combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP), but relapse occurs in ~50% of patients. One of the hallmarks of DLBCL is the occurrence of genetic events that inhibit apoptosis, which contributes to disease development and resistance to therapy. These events can affect the intrinsic or extrinsic apoptotic pathways, or their modulators. Understanding the factors that contribute to inhibition of apoptosis in DLBCL is crucial in order to be able to develop targeted therapies and improve outcomes, particularly in relapsed and refractory DLBCL (rrDLBCL). This review provides a description of the genetic events inhibiting apoptosis in DLBCL, their contribution to lymphomagenesis and chemoresistance, and their implication for the future of DLBCL therapy.

Abstract

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is curable with chemoimmunotherapy in ~65% of patients. One of the hallmarks of the pathogenesis and resistance to therapy in DLBCL is inhibition of apoptosis, which allows malignant cells to survive and acquire further alterations. Inhibition of apoptosis can be the result of genetic events inhibiting the intrinsic or extrinsic apoptotic pathways, as well as their modulators, such as the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, P53, and components of the NF-kB pathway. Mechanisms of dysregulation include upregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins and downregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins via point mutations, amplifications, deletions, translocations, and influences of other proteins. Understanding the factors contributing to resistance to apoptosis in DLBCL is crucial in order to be able to develop targeted therapies that could improve outcomes by restoring apoptosis in malignant cells. This review describes the genetic events inhibiting apoptosis in DLBCL, provides a perspective of their interactions in lymphomagenesis, and discusses their implication for the future of DLBCL therapy.

Curcumin Regulates Cancer Progression: Focus on ncRNAs and Molecular Signaling Pathways

Curcumin [(1E,6E) ‑1,7‑bis(4‑hydroxy‑3‑methoxyphenyl) hepta‑1,6‑diene‑3,5‑ dione] is a natural polyphenol derived from the rhizome of the turmeric plant Curcuma longa. Accumulated evidences have presented curcumin’s function in terms of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties, and especially anti-tumor activities. Studies demonstrated that curcumin could exert anti-tumor activity via multiple biological signaling pathways, such as PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT, MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, p53, NF-ĸB and apoptosis related signaling pathways. Moreover, Curcumin can inhibit tumor proliferation, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis by regulating tumor related non-coding RNA (ncRNA) expression. In this review, we summarized the roles of curcumin in regulating signaling pathways and ncRNAs in different kinds of cancers. We also discussed the regulatory effect of curcumin through inhibiting carcinogenic miRNA and up regulating tumor suppressive miRNA. Furthermore, we aim to illustrate the cross regulatory relationship between ncRNA and signaling pathways, further to get a better understanding of the anti-tumor mechanism of curcumin, thus lay a theoretical foundation for the clinical application of curcumin in the future.

Clinical and pathological aspects of condyloma acuminatum - review of literature and case presentation

Condyloma acuminatum (CA) is a pathology caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). It is manifested by the appearance of warts in the vulvar, pubic, and anorectal regions, but can occur in other areas. It is a common disease that can be prevented by using measures such as condoms or vaccine. Topical, local, pharmacological, surgical, and excisional therapy options are available for this pathology. Macroscopically, it appears as a vegetative tumor, with a single implantation base that branches towards the periphery, with a cauliflower appearance. CA is defined microscopically by acanthosis, parakeratosis, papillomatosis and koilocytosis. Immunohistochemical studies can detect the presence of various HPV strains or viral antigens and can emphasize certain specific characteristics; e.g., in the case presented in this study, we observed that the tumor had a fulminant evolution due to a strong vascular base identified with anti-cluster of differentiation (CD) 34 antibody, by the existence of epithelial cells with a high degree of cell proliferation, as evidenced by the anti-Ki67 antibody, the inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene and the appearance of immunolabeling for the anti-p53 antibody, by the strong immunoreactivity for p63 which reveals the existence of cells with dysplastic and neoplastic transformation potential, but also by detecting the immunolabeling for p16^INK4a that is associated with the existence of HPV. Also, the tumor was immunoreactive for cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3, partially immunoreactive for CK5/6 in the basal layer and negative for CK7, which demonstrates the squamous epithelial origin of the described tumor. Subepithelial cells of the inflammatory system have been identified, such as macrophages immunolabeled with anti-CD68 antibody, T-lymphocytes immunolabeled with anti-CD3 antibody and rare B-lymphocytes immunolabeled with anti-CD20 antibody, which demonstrates the strong cellular response to remove the virus from the structure. Surgical and excisional treatment was helpful for the patient, because she was able to resume normal sexual activity and defecation, and on the other hand, microscopic studies showed the potential for malignant transformation of CA.

Esophageal squamous cell cancer coincides with myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myelogenous leukemia: A case report and review of the literature

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, and has high incidence and mortality rates, worldwide. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a disorder of hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells, results in marrow failure, which increases the risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Few studies had reported patients who have suffered from both ESCC and MDS/AML simultaneously. To identify possible potential associations between ESCC and MDS/AML, the present case report describes a patient with both types of these tumors at the same time. Following endoscopic biopsy, the patient was revealed to have moderately differentiated SCC. MDS with excess blasts was subsequently diagnosed following bone marrow aspiration. The results of next-generation sequencing revealed that TP53 and ROS1 were both found in ESCC and MDS/AML tumors. The patient refused therapeutic intervention and died within 20 days. The current report demonstrated that hematologic malignancies presenting alongside solid tumors should be considered clinically. In addition, the report indicated that bone marrow puncture should be performed in patients with solid tumors and abnormal blood test results. Next-generation sequencing may be a useful technique for the investigation of patients with two or more neoplasms. However, more research regarding the co-existence of solid tumors with hematological malignancy are required.

Naphthoquinone Derivatives Isolated from Plants: Recent Advances in Biological Activity

Naturally occurring naphthoquinones (NQs) comprising highly reactive small molecules are the subject of increasing attention due to their promising biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, apoptosis-inducing activities, and especially anticancer activity. Lapachol, lapachone, and napabucasin belong to the NQs and are in phase II clinical trials for the treatment of many cancers. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and updated overview on the biological activities of several new NQs isolated from different species of plants reported from January 2013 to January 2020, their potential therapeutic applications and their clinical significance.

High-level MYC expression associates with poor survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and collaborates with overexpressed p53 in leukemic transformation in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome

INTRODUCTION

Patients with mutated and overexpressed p53 have an aggressive course in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Studies on the impact of MYC expression in AML are limited. This is the first study to evaluate MYC expression and p53 status in AML and MDS.

METHODS

We identified 214 patients, 101 AML, 79 MDS, and 34 negative control patients. We retrospectively assessed p53 and MYC expression by immunohistochemistry and correlated MYC expression with p53 expression and aberrational status of TP53.

RESULTS

The level of both p53 and MYC expression was significantly higher in AML (mean: 9.7%; 12.1%) and MDS (mean: 5.2%; 5.5%) patients compared with control cases (mean: 0.18%; 2.3%; P = .001-0.02). p53 and MYC expression levels were even more elevated in AML when compared to MDS patients (P < .001). MYC expression was significantly associated with p53 expression and TP53 aberration in AML patients but not in MDS patients (P < .001). p53 expression and >20% MYC expression showed an adverse impact on overall survival (OS) (P < .05) in AML patients while p53 but not MYC expression showed an adverse impact on OS in MDS patients. MYC and p53 dual expression, as well as combined MYC expression and TP53 aberration, showed negative impact on OS in AML patients. MDS patients with leukemic transformation revealed an interval increase in expression of both p53 and MYC.

CONCLUSION

High-level MYC expression associates with p53 abnormality and poor survival in AML. MYC may provide proliferative advantage for leukemic progression in p53 dependent and independent manner.

Association of PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism of TP53 with breast cancer risk in Mali and a meta-analysis

Background

Breast cancer, the most common tumor in women in Mali and worldwide has been linked to several risk factors, including genetic factors, such as the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism of TP53. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism in the susceptibility to breast cancer in the Malian population and to perform a meta-analysis to better understand the correlation with data from other populations.

Methods

We analyzed the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism in blood samples of 60 Malian women with breast cancer and 60 healthy Malian women using PCR. In addition, we performed a meta-analysis of case-control study data from international databases, including Pubmed, Harvard University Library, Genetics Medical Literature Database, Genesis Library and Web of Science. Overall, odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI from fixed and random effects models were determined. Inconsistency was used to assess heterogeneity between studies and publication bias was estimated using the funnel plot.

Results

In the studied Malian patients, a significant association of PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism with breast cancer risk was observed in dominant (A1A2 + A2A2 vs. A1A1: OR = 2.26, CI 95% = 1.08–4.73; P = 0.02) and additive (A2 vs. A1: OR = 1.87, CI 95% = 1.05–3.33; P = 0.03) models, but not in the recessive model (P = 0.38). In the meta-analysis, nineteen (19) articles were included with a total of 6018 disease cases and 4456 controls. Except for the dominant model (P = 0.15), an increased risk of breast cancer was detected with the recessive (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.15–1.85; P = 0.002) and additive (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.02–1.19; P = 0.01) models.

Conclusion

The case-control study showed that PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism of TP53 is a significant risk factor for breast cancer in Malian women. These findings are supported by data from the meta-analysis carried out on different ethnic groups around the world.

Computational modeling of cyclic peptide inhibitor-MDM2/MDMX binding through global docking and Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics simulations

MDM2 and MDMX are potential targets for p53-dependent cancer therapy. Peptides are key in cellular immunology and oncology, and cyclic peptides generally have higher half-life than their linear counterparts. However, prediction of cyclic peptide-protein binding is challenging with normal molecular simulation approaches because of high peptide flexibility. Here, we used global peptide docking, normal molecular dynamics, Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (GaMD), two-dimensional (2D) potential of mean force (PMF) profiles, and solvated interaction energy (SIE) techniques to investigate the interactions of MDM2/MDMX with three N-to-C-terminal cyclic peptide-based inhibitors. We determined the possible cyclic peptide-MDM2/MDMX complex structures via 2D PMF profiles and SIE calculations. Our findings increase the accuracy of peptide-protein structural prediction, which may facilitate cyclic peptide drug design. Advancements in the computational methods and computing power may further aid in addressing the challenges in cyclic peptide drug design. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Double Agent: SPDEF Gene with Both Oncogenic and Tumor-Suppressor Functions in Breast Cancer

The dichotomy of cancer-regulatory genes into “oncogenes (OCGs)” and “tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs)” has greatly helped us in learning molecular details of tumor biology. SPDEF, known as the prostate-derived ETS factor, is reported to play a pivotal role in normal cell development and survival, which has also been endowed with dual characteristics in cancers. Breast cancer (BC) is a highly heterogeneous disease which becomes the leading reason for cancer-related fatality among women worldwide. The involvement of SPDEF in many aspects of BC has been postulated, whereas the mechanism governing the regulation of the pro- and anti-oncogenic activities of SPDEF in BC state remains poorly defined. In this review, we summarized SPDEF as the double agent involving in expression profiles, the regulatory mechanism in BC progression, as well as the role in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of BC. The understanding of SPDEF duality has contributed to gain insight into the tumor biology and also add a new dimension to the new therapy targets for BC.

Therapeutic targeting of TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia by inhibiting HIF-1α with echinomycin

TP53 mutation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with poor prognosis. Since no targeted therapy is available to restore p53 function, it is of great interest to test whether other pathways activated by TP53 mutations can be therapeutically targeted. Here we showed HIF-1α target genes are enriched in TP53-mutated vs TP53-wild type AML. To determine the role of this activation, we tested efficacy of HIF-1α inhibitor echinomycin in TP53-mutated AML samples in vitro and in vivo. Echinomycin was broadly effective against a panel of primary AML blast cells, with low nanomolar IC₅₀s and, based on colony-forming unit assay, was 10-fold more effective in eliminating AML stem cells. Echinomycin selectively eliminated CD34⁺CD38^- AML cells. To test the therapeutic efficacy of echinomycin, we established a xenograft model of TP53-mutated AML. Echinomycin was broadly effective against xenografts from multiple AML samples in vivo, and more effective than cytarabine ₊ daunorubicin chemotherapy. Importantly, while cytarabine ₊ daunorubicin enriched for AML stem cells, echinomycin nearly eliminated this population. Using TP53-mutated AML cell line THP1 and patient-derived AML cells, we tested a new echinomycin formulation with longer half-life and significantly improved therapeutic effect. Our data suggest a novel approach to treat AML with TP53 mutations.

Identification of R249 Mutation in P53 Gene in Tumoral Tissue of Tongue Cancer

Background:

Tongue cancer is the most common malignancy of the mouth. In recent decades, reported tongue cancer incidence and mortality rates have increased all over the world while survival has not improved that sometimes is related to mutation, especially in gene P53 (such R249, R248 mutations). Hence, this study aimed to identification of R249 mutation in P53 gene of tumor tissue in tongue cancer.

Methods:

In a cross-sectional study, 48 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of tongue were selected, and mutation of R249 was investigated in sample of tumors. In addition, demographic data and medical history of patients were determined and registered in a collected data form. Finally added data were entered to computer and analyzed by SPSS software.

Results:

Polymerase-chain reaction test done on tissue samples from cancer patients showed that in a studied sample of 48 patients, 4 of them (8.3%) had R249 mutation. After selecting the codon 249 as a hotspot in oral cancer, forward and reverse primers for amplification of exon 7 were obtained from the articles.

Conclusions:

Considering the findings of our study, R249 mutation in P53 gene in patients with SCC is relatively high. Age and alcohol consumption were factors affecting incidence of the mutation. It is necessary to take an early treatment with a single lesion of tongue to prevent severe disease and prevent disease in patient's family with screening test and prevent cancer in future with gene therapy.

Phenylhexyl isothiocyanate suppresses cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis via repairing mutant P53 in human myeloid leukemia M2 cells

The aim of the present study was to investigate the specific effect and possible mechanisms of phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHI) on cell proliferation and apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia M2 cell lines. Cell proliferation in several hematological tumor cells lines following PHI treatment was evaluated in vitro using a Cell Counting Kit-8. The apoptosis and cell cycle of Kasumi-1 and SKNO-1 cells (human M2 cell lines) following exposure to PHI were examined using flow cytometry. A colony-formation assay was used to identify the inhibitory effect of PHI on Kasumi-1 cells in vitro. Furthermore, Kasumi-1 ×enograft tumor models were established. The antitumor effect of PHI was observed in vivo by measuring the size of the resulting xenograft tumors. The apoptosis of the xenograft tumor cells was measured using a TUNEL assay. Finally, protein expression levels were assessed by western blotting. PHI inhibited cell growth in 16 hematological tumor cell lines, with Kasumi-1 and SKNO-1 cells being the most sensitive. In vitro treatment induced apoptosis and inhibited cell cycle arrest at the G₀/G₁ phase in a dose- and time-dependent manner. PHI also inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in vivo. The compound increased the expression of caspases 3, 9 and 8, Fas and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Furthermore, PHI enhanced the protein expression of p53, Bax and p21 in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, PHI had a specific and notable inhibitory effect on Kasumi-1 and SKNO-1 M2 cell lines in vivo and in vitro. Treatment inhibited cell cycle arrest at the G₀/G₁ phase, and induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial and Fas death receptor pathways. PHI restored the activity of mutated P53 and reactivated the P53 pathway, highlighting it as a potential target drug for mutated P53.

TP53 Gene 72 Arg/Pro (rs1042522) Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Contribute to Increase the Risk of B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in the Sudanese Population

Objective::

This study aimed at exploring the association of TP53 72Arg/Pro polymorphism and Risk of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and to assess the correlation between TP53 72Arg/Pro polymorphism and clinical parameter, hematological profile and some biological prognostic markers among Sudanese patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Methods:

A case-control study was conducted in Khartoum state, Sudan, during the period from April 2017 to April 2018, involved 110 B-CLL patients and 80 healthy volunteers as a control group. Physical examination, Complete Blood Count and Immunophenotype were performed in all patients to confirm the diagnosis. Clinical staging such as Rai and Binet were studied. CD38 and ZAP70 were performed by Flow Cytometry. Blood samples were collected from all participants; DNA was extracted by using ANALYTIKJENA Blood DNA Extraction Kit (Germany) and analyzed TP53 codon 72Arg/Pro Polymorphism by using AS-PCR. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23.0 software (Chicago, IL, USA).

Results:

the Arg/Pro was the most frequent genotype in B-CLL patients(50%), followed by Arg/Arg (25.5%) and Pro/Pro (24.5%), whereas in healthy control group Arg/Pro was the most frequent (47.5%), followed by Arg/Arg (45%) and Pro/Pro (7.5%). Our data indicate a higher frequency of homozygous Pro/Pro in the B-CLL patients as compared to controls with an OR of 4.01 for the Pro/Pro genotype and lower frequency of Arg/Arg genotype in CLL patients as compared to controls with an OR of .42 for the Arg/Arg genotype. Also, the Pro allele showed higher risk than Arg allele (P value=0.000, OR 2.23, 95% CI=1.45-3.41). No significant association between gender, clinical staging systems (Rai, Binet), biological prognostic markers (CD38 expression or ZAP70 expression), and TP53 codon 72Arg/Pro polymorphisms, except Arg/Arg genotype tended to be associated with younger age (P =0.04).

Conclusion:

Our data suggested that Pro/Pro genotype contribute to increased susceptibility to B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia risk in our population tenfold higher than those had Arg/Arg genotype.

Therapeutic targeting of mutant p53 in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Alterations of the tumor suppressor gene TP53 are found in different cancers, in particular in carcinomas of adults. In pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), TP53 mutations are infrequent but enriched at relapse. As in most cancers, mainly DNA-binding domain missense mutations are found, resulting in accumulation of mutant p53, poor therapy response, and inferior outcome. Different strategies to target mutant p53 have been developed including reactivation of p53's wildtype function by the small molecule APR-246. We investigated TP53 mutations in cell lines and 62 B-cell precursor ALL samples and evaluated the activity of APR-246 in TP53-mutated or wildtype ALL. We identified cases with TP53 missense mutations, high (mutant) p53 expression and insensitivity to the DNA-damaging agent doxorubicin. In TP53-mutated ALL, APR-246 induced apoptosis showing strong anti-leukemia activity. APR-246 restored mutant p53 to its wildtype conformation, leading to pathway activation with induction of transcriptional targets and re-sensitization to genotoxic therapy in vitro and in vivo In addition, induction of oxidative stress contributed to APR-246-mediated cell death. In a preclinical model of patient-derived TP53-mutant ALL, APR-246 reduced leukemia burden and synergized strongly with the genotoxic agent doxorubicin, leading to superior leukemia-free survival in vivo Thus, targeting mutant p53 by APR-246, restoring its tumor suppressive function, seems to be an effective therapeutic strategy for this high-risk group of TP53-mutant ALL.

Interplay Between the Immunohistochemical Expression of P53 and the Proliferation Index in the Keratinocyte Tumors of the Skin

P53 is important for cell cycle regulation, and its overexpression is seen in malignant tumors. We examined correlation between p53 expression and cell proliferation, and its role in the pathogenesis of keratinocyte skin tumors. We used biopsies from patients with squamous cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis and keratoacanthoma. We examined crosssections stained with HE and using anti-cytokeratin, antip53 and anti-Ki67 antibodies.

Expression of p53 is found in 87, 85% of SCC, in 83. 3% of AK and 13. 4% KA. The high index of p53 expression was higher in SCC and AK compared to KA. We also observed a positive correlation between the expression of p53 and localization of the tumors. The largest proportion of subjects with AK and SCC has a high index of p53 expression on photoexposed region. We also observed that p53 expression correlates with age whereby in AK p53 expression increases with age. The high index of proliferation is most frequent in SCC and KA. Also at AK we found a strong correlation between a moderate proliferation index and tumor localization in photoexposed region. Between the proliferation index and p53 expression we observed a significant positive correlation only in SCC.

Proliferation index and the expression of p53 are useful for the differentiation of precursor keratinocyte lesions and skin carcinoma. High p53 expression has been associated with the aging and significantly correlates with the exposure to UV radiation in SCC and AK. High expression of p53 in AK and SCC supports the importance of this oncoprotein in carcinogenesis of the skin.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: understanding its molecular biology at a fine scale

Among all cancers, the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is quite high in the endemic regions. NPC is a head and neck cancer with poor survival rate, and is rare throughout most of the world but common in certain geographic areas, like southern Asia and some regions of North East India (Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram). A clear understanding of its etiology is still lacking, but NPC is widely suspected to be the result of both genetic susceptibility and exposure to environmental factors or Epstein-Barr virus infection. Diagnosis in the early stages needs a high index of clinical acumen, and, although most cross-sectional imaging investigations show the tumor with precision, confirmation is dependent on histology. This article reviews all related research reports on NPC histopathological classifications worldwide that have been published within the past 20 years. Genome-wide association studies suggested that there might be common disease mechanisms between that disease and NPC. Personalized management rules, quality assessment of life in patients, and an understanding of the essential mechanisms of recurrence could be directed toward research into recurrent NPC. Hence, this literature would offer otolaryngologists a deeper insight into the etiological and management aspects of NPC.

A Believer's Overview of Cancer Immunosurveillance and Immunotherapy

The field of tumor immunology has grown around the idea that one of the important roles of the immune system is to eliminate cancer. This idea was difficult to reconcile with the accepted notion that the immune system evolved to distinguish self from nonself and therefore tumors derived from self-tissues would not be recognized. Lack of appropriate animal models prevented experimental testing of cancer immunosurveillance. This changed with the realization that the immune system evolved to recognize danger and with the advent of mouse models deficient in one or more immune function, which showed predicted increases in susceptibility to cancer. Simultaneously, technical advances that enabled the study of the human immune system provided data for the existence of tumor-specific T cells and Abs and led to molecular identification of tumor Ags, fully validating the cancer immunosurveillance hypothesis. Immunotherapy designed to strengthen cancer immunosurveillance has achieved unprecedented clinical successes.

Effect of TP53 rs1042522 on the susceptibility of patients to oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral leukoplakia: a meta-analysis

Background

There are different and inconsistent conclusions regarding the genetic relationship between the human tumor suppressor p53 (TP53) rs1042522 polymorphism and the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oral leukoplakia (OL). Therefore, the aim of the study was to comprehensively reassess this association through the performance of an updated meta-analysis.

Methods

After searching the available databases, we systematically screened and included the eligible case-control studies, which contain the full genotype frequency data of the TP53 rs1042522 polymorphism for both OSCC/OL patients and the negative control groups. P_A (P-value of the association test) and ORs (odd ratios) with their corresponding 95% CIs (confidence intervals) were calculated to quantitatively evaluate the influence of TP53 rs1042522 on the susceptibility of patients to OSCC or OL.

Results

In total, twenty eligible case-control articles were finally enrolled. Compared with the controls, no increased or decreased risk of OSCC was observed in the cases for six genetic models including allele C vs. G (P_A = 0.741), carrier C vs. G (P_A = 0.853), homozygote CC vs. GG (P_A = 0.085), heterozygote GC vs. GG (P_A = 0.882), dominant GC + CC vs. GG (P_A = 0.969), and recessive CC vs. GG + GC (P_A = 0.980). Furthermore, no statistically significant difference between the cases and controls was detected in most subgroup meta-analyses (P_A > 0.05). For the risk of OL, we did not observe the difference between the cases and controls for most genetic models in the overall meta-analysis and subsequent subgroup analysis (P_A > 0.05). Begg’s test and Egger’s test excluded the large risk of publication bias within the included studies in the meta-analysis of OSCC. The sensitivity analysis indicated the above relatively stable results.

Conclusions

Our updated meta-analysis (based on the current evidence) shows that TP53 rs1042522 may not confer susceptibility to OSCC. In addition, for the first time, we provided evidence regarding the negative association between TP53 rs1042522 and OL risk.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12903-018-0603-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

TNFAIP8 promotes the proliferation and cisplatin chemoresistance of non-small cell lung cancer through MDM2/p53 pathway

Background

The highly refractory nature of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to chemotherapeutic drugs is an important factor resulting in its poor prognosis. Recent studies have revealed that tumour necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8) is involved in various biological and pathological processes of cells, but their underlying mechanisms in processes ranging from cancer development to drug resistance have not been fully elucidated.

Methods

TNFAIP8 expression in clinical NSCLC samples was examined through immunohistochemistry (IHC). After adjusting for patients’ characteristics with propensity score matching, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed for comparison of patients’ survival according to the TNFAIP8 level. Lentiviral transfection with TNFAIP8-specific shRNAs was used to establish stable TNFAIP8 knockdown (TNFAIP8 KD) NCI-H460, A549 and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II resistant A549 (A549/cDDP) cell lines. Cell proliferation and viability were assessed by CCK-8 assay. Cell cycle was examined by flow cytometry. Multiple pathways regulated by TNFAIP8 KD were revealed by microarray analysis.

Results

We found that high TNFAIP8 expression was associated with advanced pT stage, advanced pTNM stage, lymph node metastasis and unfavourable survival in NSCLC patients. TNFAIP8 shRNAs reduced in vitro cancer cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth. Additionally, TNFAIP8 KD increased the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, up-regulation of TNFAIP8 promoted the proliferation and drug resistance to cisplatin of NSCLC cells. TNFAIP8 influences cancer progression pathways involving the MDM2/p53 pathway. Indeed, we observed that TNFAIP8 KD mediated the MDM2 downregulation and the p53 ubiquitination, thereby decreasing the degradation of p53 protein. shRNA p53 reversed TNFAIP8 shRNA-mediated regulation of cell proliferation, cell cycle, cisplatin sensitivity, and expression levels of RAD51, a DNA repair gene.

Conclusion

Our work uncovers a hitherto unappreciated role of TNFAIP8 in NSCLC proliferation and cisplatin chemoresistance that is mediated through the MDM2/p53 pathway. These findings might offer potential therapeutic targets for reversing cisplatin resistance in NSCLC patients with high TNFAIP8 expression.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12964-018-0254-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Double agents: genes with both oncogenic and tumor-suppressor functions

The role of genetic components in cancer development is an area of interest for cancer biologists in general. Intriguingly, some genes have both oncogenic and tumor-suppressor functions. In this study, we systematically identified these genes through database search and text mining. We find that most of them are transcription factors or kinases and exhibit dual biological functions, e.g., that they both positively and negatively regulate transcription in cells. Some cancer types such as leukemia are over-represented by them, whereas some common cancer types such as lung cancer are under-represented by them. Across 12 major cancer types, while their genomic mutation patterns are similar to that of oncogenes, their expression patterns are more similar to that of tumor-suppressor genes. Their expression profile in six human organs propose that they mainly function as tumor suppressor in normal tissue. Our network analyses further show they have higher network degrees than both oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes and thus tend to be the hub genes in the protein–protein interaction network. Our mutation, expression spectrum, and network analyses might help explain why some cancer types are specifically associated with them. Finally, our results suggest that the functionally altering mutations in “double-agent” genes and oncogenes are the main driving force in cancer development, because non-silent mutations are biasedly distributed toward these two gene sets across all 12 major cancer types.

MiR-766 induces p53 accumulation and G2/M arrest by directly targeting MDM4

p53, a transcription factor that participates in multiple cellular functions, is considered the most important tumor suppressor. Previous evidence suggests that post-transcriptional deregulation of p53 by microRNAs contributes to tumorigenesis, tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. In the present study, we found that the microRNA miR-766 was aberrantly expressed in breast cancer, and that over-expression of miR-766 caused accumulation of wild-type p53 protein in multiple cancer cell lines. Supporting its role in the p53 signalling pathway, miR-766 decreased cell proliferation and colony formation in several cancer cell lines, and cell cycle analyses revealed that miR-766 causes G2 arrest. At a mechanistic level, we demonstrate that miR-766 enhances p53 signalling by directly targeting MDM4, an oncogene and negative regulator of p53. Analysis of clinical genomic data from multiple cancer types supports the relevance of miR-766 in p53 signalling. Collectively, our study demonstrates that miR-766 can function as a novel tumor suppressor by enhancing p53 signalling.

Identification of new candidate genes for retinopathy in type 2 diabetics. Valencia Study on Diabetic Retinopathy (VSDR). Report number 3

OBJECTIVE

To identify genes involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), among which include oxidative stress, extracellular matrix changes, and/or apoptosis, in order to evaluate the risk of developing this retinal disease in a type2 diabetic (DM2) population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A case-control study was carried out on 81 participants from the Valencia Study on Diabetic Retinopathy (VSDR) of both genders, with ages 25-85years. They were classified into: (i)DM2 group (n=49), with DR (+DR; n=14) and without DR (-DR; n=35), and (ii)control group (GC; n=32). The protocols included a personal interview, standardised ophthalmological examination, and blood collection (to analyse the DNA for determining the gene expression (TP53, MMP9, and SLC23A2) in the study groups. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS v22.0 program.

RESULTS

The TP53 and MMP9 genes showed a higher expression in the DM2 group compared to the GC, although the difference was only significant for the MMP9 gene (TP53: 10.40±1.20 vs. 8.23±1.36, P=.084; MMP9: 1.45±0.16 vs. 0.95±0.16, P=.036), and the SLC23A2 gene showed a significant lower expression in the DM2 vs CG (5.58±0.64 vs. 11.66±1.90, P=.026). When sub-dividing the DM2 group according to the presence of retinopathy, the expression of the TP53, MMP9 and SLC23A2 genes showed significant differences between the DM2-RD, DM2+RD and GC groups (TP53: 9.95±1.47 vs. 11.52±2.05 vs. 8.23±1.36, P=.038; MMP9: 1.47±0.20 vs. 1.41±0.27 vs. 0.95±0.16, P=.021; SLC23A2: 5.61±0.77 vs. 5.51±1.21 vs. 11.66±1.90, P=.018).

CONCLUSIONS

Genes involved in extracellular matrix integrity (MMP9) and/or apoptosis (TP53), could be considered potential markers of susceptibility to the development/progression of NPDR. Interestingly, the SLC232A2 gene (ascorbic acid transporter) can be considered a protector of the risk of the development/progression of the retinopathy.

Medicinal Plants, Effective Plant Compounds (Compositions) and their Effects on Stomach Cancer

Medicinal plants have special importance around the world. Further, they have been noticed for nutrition and illness treatment such as preparation of anticancer new drugs. Therefore, a wide range of studies have been done on different plants, and their anticancer effects have been investigated. Nowadays, cancer is the most important factor of death rate in the developed and developing countries. Among them, stomach cancer is one of the most common malignancies around the world. At present, it is recognized as the fourth common cancer and the second factor of death rate due to cancer. So far, there has been wide range of effort for cancer treatment; however, in most cases, the response to the treatment has been very weak and often accompanied improper subsidiary effects. The present problems as a consequence of chemical treatment and radiotherapy and many subsidiary problems created due to their use for patients, and also, the resistance to the current treatment has motivated researchers to apply new medicines with more effect and less toxicity. The secondary metabolisms existent in the plants have an important role in the treatment of several diseases such as cancer. This study was conducted to investigate and collect scientific results for stomach cancer and to clarify the role of medicinal plants and secondary plant compounds on its treatment.

Current Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ and Future Directions

The presentation and treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has changed substantially over the years. While previously an incidental pathologic finding in more advanced, palpable tumors, the institution of screening mammography has repositioned this disease entity as one largely diagnosed as a non-palpable lesion, often prior to any invasive disease. As DCIS is a precursor to invasive carcinoma, evolution in the approach to treatment has followed in the footsteps of that for invasive disease, including breast conservation therapy, adjuvant radiation, and use of antihormonal therapy. Survival outcomes for DCIS are very high and more recent literature has investigated tailoring therapeutic approaches to avoid overtreatment. Two important areas of ongoing clinical debate concerning overtreatment include use of preoperative MRI and the role of adjuvant radiation. The heterogeneity of the disease makes it difficult to differentiate lesions that would benefit from more aggressive treatment from those in which overtreatment could be avoided. Clinical characteristics, such as histologic appearance, age at diagnosis, and margin status at tumor excision have been established as moderate predictors of disease recurrence, but none has provided strong enough evidence as to guide consensus decisions on adjuvant therapy. Continuing research seeks to define the genetic and molecular characteristics that can predict disease course and serve as the potential targets for novel therapeutic agents. While several markers have shown promise in differentiating tumor aggressiveness, there is still much to be discovered about the precise mechanisms of disease progression and how this can be applied clinically to optimize treatment.

Comparative analysis of genes frequently regulated by drugs based on connectivity map transcriptome data

Gene expression is perturbated by drugs to different extent. Analyzing genes whose expression is frequently regulated by drugs would be useful for the screening of candidate therapeutic targets and genes implicated in side effect. Here, we obtained the differential expression number (DEN) for genes profiled in Affymetrix microarrays from the Connectivity Map project, and conducted systemic comparative computational analysis between high DEN genes and other genes. Results indicated that genes with higher down-/up-regulation number (down_h/up_h) tended to be clustered in genome, and have lower homologous gene number, higher SNP density and more disease-related SNP. Down_h and up_h were significantly enriched in cancer related pathways, while genes with lower down-/up-regulation number (down_l/up_l) were mainly involved in the development of nervous system diseases. Besides, up_h had lower interaction network degree, later developmental stage to express, higher tissue expression specificity than up_l, while down_h showed reversed tendency in comparison with down_l. Together, our analysis suggests that genes frequently regulated by drugs are more likely to be associated with disease-related functions, but the extensive activation of conserved and widely expressed genes by drugs is disfavored.

New concepts for an old problem: the diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia

BACKGROUND

Endometrial hyperplasia (EH) is a uterine pathology representing a spectrum of morphological endometrial alterations. It is predominantly characterized by an increase in the endometrial gland-to-stroma ratio when compared to normal proliferative endometrium. The clinical significance of EH lies in the associated risk of progression to endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC) and 'atypical' forms of EH are regarded as premalignant lesions. Traditional histopathological classification systems for EH exhibit wide and varying degrees of diagnostic reproducibility and, as a consequence, standardized patient management can be challenging.

OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE

EC is the most common gynaecological malignancy in developed countries. The incidence of EC is rising, with alarming increases described in the 40-44-year-old age group. This review appraises the current EH classification systems used to stratify women at risk of malignant progression to EC. In addition, we summarize the evidence base regarding the use of immunohistochemical biomarkers for EH and discuss an emerging role for genomic analysis.

SEARCH METHODS

PubMed, Medline and the Cochrane Database were searched for original peer-reviewed primary and review articles, from January 2000 to January 2016. The following search terms were used: 'endometrial hyperplasia', 'endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia', 'atypical hyperplasia', 'complex atypical hyperplasia', 'biomarker', 'immunohistochemistry', 'progression', 'genomic', 'classification' and 'stratification'.

OUTCOMES

Recent changes to EH classification reflect our current understanding of the genesis of endometrioid ECs. The concept of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) as a mutationally activated, monoclonal pre-malignancy represents a fundamental shift from the previously held notion that unopposed oestrogenic stimulation causes ever-increasing hyperplastic proliferation, with accumulating cytological atypia that imperceptibly leads to the development of endometrioid EC. Our review highlights several key biomarker candidates that have been described as both diagnostic tools for EH and markers of progression to EC. We propose that, moving forwards, a 'panel' approach of combinations of the immunohistochemical biomarkers described in this review may be more informative since no single candidate can currently fill the entire role.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS

EC has historically been considered a predominantly postmenopausal disease. Owing in part to the current unprecedented rates of obesity, we are starting to see signs of a shift towards a rising incidence of EC amongst pre- and peri-menopausal woman. This creates unique challenges both diagnostically and therapeutically. Furthering our understanding of the premalignant stages of EC development will allow us to pursue earlier diagnosis and facilitate appropriate stratification of women at risk of developing EC, permitting timely and appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Genetic alterations in Krebs cycle and its impact on cancer pathogenesis

Cancer cells exhibit alterations in many cellular processes, including oxygen sensing and energy metabolism. Glycolysis in non-oxygen condition is the main energy production process in cancer rather than mitochondrial respiration as in benign cells. Genetic and epigenetic alterations of Krebs cycle enzymes favour the shift of cancer cells from oxidative phosphorylation to anaerobic glycolysis. Mutations in genes encoding aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, fumarate hydratase, and citrate synthase are noted in many cancers. Abnormalities of Krebs cycle enzymes cause ectopic production of Krebs cycle intermediates (oncometabolites) such as 2-hydroxyglutarate, and citrate. These oncometabolites stabilize hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF1), nuclear factor like 2 (Nrf2), inhibit p53 and prolyl hydroxylase 3 (PDH3) activities as well as regulate DNA/histone methylation, which in turn activate cell growth signalling. They also stimulate increased glutaminolysis, glycolysis and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, genetic alterations in Krebs cycle enzymes are involved with increased fatty acid β-oxidations and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) induction. These altered phenomena in cancer could in turn promote carcinogenesis by stimulating cell proliferation and survival. Overall, epigenetic and genetic changes of Krebs cycle enzymes lead to the production of oncometabolite intermediates, which are important driving forces of cancer pathogenesis and progression. Understanding and applying the knowledge of these mechanisms opens new therapeutic options for patients with cancer.

A DEEP LEARNING APPROACH FOR CANCER DETECTION AND RELEVANT GENE IDENTIFICATION

Cancer detection from gene expression data continues to pose a challenge due to the high dimensionality and complexity of these data. After decades of research there is still uncertainty in the clinical diagnosis of cancer and the identification of tumor-specific markers. Here we present a deep learning approach to cancer detection, and to the identification of genes critical for the diagnosis of breast cancer. First, we used Stacked Denoising Autoencoder (SDAE) to deeply extract functional features from high dimensional gene expression profiles. Next, we evaluated the performance of the extracted representation through supervised classification models to verify the usefulness of the new features in cancer detection. Lastly, we identified a set of highly interactive genes by analyzing the SDAE connectivity matrices. Our results and analysis illustrate that these highly interactive genes could be useful cancer biomarkers for the detection of breast cancer that deserve further studies.

Association between TP53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism and Wilms' tumor risk in a Chinese population

Wilms' tumor is one of the most prevalent pediatric malignancies, ranking fourth in childhood cancer worldwide. TP53 is a critical tumor suppressor gene, which encodes a 53 kDa protein, p53. The p53 functions to protect against cancer by regulating cell cycle and apoptosis and maintaining DNA integrity. TP53 gene is highly polymorphic. Several TP53 gene polymorphisms have been considered to be associated with cancer risk. Of them, a nonsynonymous polymorphism, Arg72Pro (rs1042522 C>G), has been most extensively studied for the association with cancer risk; however, few studies have investigated its effect on Wilms' tumor. Because of the central role of p53 in cell cycle control, the TP53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism is also a good potential candidate predisposition locus for this pediatric cancer. We genotyped this polymorphism in 145 patients and 531 cancer-free controls recruited from Chinese children by Taqman methodology. Overall, our result suggested a lack of association between the TP53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism and Wilms' tumor. In the stratified analysis, we found that carriers of CG/GG genotypes had a significantly increased Wilms' tumor risk in children not older than 18 months (adjusted odds ratio =2.04, 95% confidence interval =1.003-4.13, P=0.049) compared with CC genotype carriers. Our study indicated that the TP53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism may have a weak, age-related effect on Wilms' tumor risk in Chinese children. These findings need further validations in other populations with larger sample size.

The role of p53 in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia: molecular aspects and clinical implications

TP53 gene mutations occurring in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are associated with high-risk karyotypes including 17p abnormalities, monosomal and complex cytogenetics. TP53 mutations in these disorders portend rapid disease progression and resistance to conventional therapeutics. Notably, the size of the TP53 mutant clone as measured by mutation allele burden is directly linked to overall survival (OS) confirming the importance of p53 as a negative prognostic variable. In nucleolar stress-induced ribosomopathies, such as del(5q) MDS, disassociation of MDM2 and p53 results in p53 accumulation in erythroid precursors manifested as erythroid hypoplasia. P53 antagonism by lenalidomide or other therapeutics such as antisense oligonucleotides, repopulates erythroid precursors and enhances effective erythropoiesis. These findings demonstrate that p53 is an intriguing therapeutic target that is currently under investigation in MDS and AML. This study reviews molecular advances in understanding the role of p53 in MDS and AML, and explores potential therapeutic strategies in this era of personalized medicine.

p53 and p73 Regulate Apoptosis but Not Cell-Cycle Progression in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells upon DNA Damage and Differentiation

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are fast proliferating cells capable of differentiating into all somatic cell types. In somatic cells, it is well documented that p53 is rapidly activated upon DNA damage to arrest the cell cycle and induce apoptosis. In mouse ESCs, p53 can also be functionally activated, but the precise biological consequences are not well characterized. Here, we demonstrated that doxorubicin treatment initially led to cell-cycle arrest at G2/M in ESCs, followed by the occurrence of massive apoptosis. Neither p53 nor its target gene p73 was required for G2/M arrest. Instead, p53 and p73 were fully responsible for apoptosis. p53 and p73 were also required for differentiation-induced apoptosis in mouse ESCs. In addition, doxorubicin treatment induced the expression of retinoblastoma protein in a p53-dependent manner. Therefore, both p53 and p73 are critical in apoptosis induced by DNA damage and differentiation.

•

p53/p73 are key for DNA damage-induced apoptosis but not G2/M arrest in mESCs

•

Both p53 and p73 are required for differentiation-induced apoptosis in mESCs

•

Doxorubicin induces RB via p53-mediated suppression of miR-17-92 and miR-106a-363

•

p73 expression is induced upon differentiation in mESCs

Synthetic combinations of missense polymorphic genetic changes underlying Down syndrome susceptibility

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are important biomolecular markers in health and disease. Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is the most frequently occurring chromosomal abnormality in live-born children. Here, we highlight associations between SNPs in several important enzymes involved in the one-carbon folate metabolic pathway and the elevated maternal risk of having a child with Down syndrome. Our survey highlights that the combination of SNPs may be a more reliable predictor of the Down syndrome phenotype than single SNPs alone. We also describe recent links between SNPs in p53 and its related pathway proteins and Down syndrome, as well as highlight several proteins that help to associate apoptosis and p53 signaling with the Down syndrome phenotype. In addition to a comprehensive review of the literature, we also demonstrate that several SNPs reside within the same regions as these Down syndrome-linked SNPs, and propose that these closely located nucleotide changes may provide new candidates for future exploration.

p53 represses the transcription of snRNA genes by preventing the formation of little elongation complex

The regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is important for a variety of cellular functions. ELL/EAF-containing little elongation complex (LEC) was found to be required for transcription of Pol II-dependent small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes. It was shown that the tumor suppressor p53 interacts with ELL and inhibits transcription elongation activity of ELL. Here, we show that p53 inhibits interaction between ELL/EAF and ICE1 in LEC and thereby p53 represses transcription of Pol II-dependent snRNA genes through inhibiting LEC function. Furthermore, induction of p53 expression by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation decreases the occupancy of ICE1 at Pol II-dependent snRNA genes. Consistent with the results, knockdown of p53 increased both the expression of snRNA genes and the occupancy of Pol II and components of LEC at snRNA genes. Our results indicate that p53 interferes with the interaction between ELL/EAF and ICE1 and represses transcription of snRNA genes by Pol II.