Decreased concentrations of intracellular signaling proteins in colon cancer patients with BRAF mutations

Consultation on UTUC II Stockholm 2022: diagnostic and prognostic methods-what's around the corner?

PURPOSE

To map current literature and provide an overview of upcoming future diagnostic and prognostic methods for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), including translational medical science.

METHODS

A scoping review approach was applied to search the literature. Based on the published literature, and the experts own experience and opinions consensus was reached through discussions at the meeting Consultation on UTUC II in Stockholm, September 2022.

RESULTS

The gene mutational profile of UTUC correlates with stage, grade, prognosis, and response to different therapeutic strategies. Analysis of pathway proteins downstream of known pathogenic mutations might be an alternative approach. Liquid biopsies of cell-free DNA may detect UTUC with a higher sensitivity and specificity than urinary cytology. Extracellular vesicles from tumour cells can be detected in urine and may be used to identify the location of the urothelial carcinoma in the urinary tract. 3D microscopy of UTUC samples may add information in the analysis of tumour stage. Chemokines and chemokine receptors were linked to overall survival and responsiveness to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which is potentially also of interest in UTUC.

CONCLUSION

Current diagnostic methods for UTUC have shortcomings, especially concerning prognostication, which is important for personalized treatment decisions. There are several upcoming methods that may be of interest for UTUC. Most have been studied for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, and it is important to keep in mind that UTUC is a different entity and not all methods are adaptable or applicable to UTUC.

2'-Fucosyllactose Suppresses Angiogenesis and Alleviates Toxic Effects of 5-Fu in a HCT116 Colon Tumor-Bearing Model

The present study was aimed at examining the anti-tumor effects and molecular mechanisms of 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL). At the beginning, the viabilities of four types of colon cancer cells were analyzed after exposure to increasing concentrations of 2'-FL, and HCT116 cells were selected as the sensitive ones, which were applied in the further experiments; then, interestingly, 2'-FL (102.35 µM) was found to induce apoptosis of HCT116 cells, which coincides with significant changes in VEGFA/VEGFR2/p-PI3K/p-Akt/cleaved Caspase3 proteins. Next, in a tumor-bearing nude mouse model, HCT116 was chosen as the sensitive cell line, and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) was chosen as the positive medicine. It was noteworthy that both 2'-FL group (2.41 ± 0.57 g) and 2'FL/5-Fu group (1.22 ± 0.35 g) had a significantly lower tumor weight compared with the control (3.87 ± 0.79 g), suggesting 2'-FL could inhibit colon cancer. Since 2'-FL reduced the number of new blood vessels and the malignancy of tumors, we confirmed that 2'-FL effectively inhibited HCT116 tumors, and its mechanism was achieved by regulating the VEGFA/VEGFR2/PI3K/Akt/Caspase3 pathway. Moreover, though HE staining and organ index measurement, 2'-FL was validated to alleviate toxic effects on liver and kidney tissue when combining with 5-Fu. In conclusion, 2'-FL had certain anti-tumor and detoxification effects.

Mutation patterns and prognostic analysis of BRAF/KRAS/PIK3CA in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Aberrant gene expression and abnormal signaling pathways often occur in patients with colorectal cancer, in which mutations in B-Raf Proto-Oncogene (BRAF), KRAS Proto-Oncogene (KRAS), and Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic Subunit Alpha (PIK3CA) are quite common. In this study, the relationship between BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA mutations and clinicopathologic features and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients was investigated.

METHODS

One hundred and fifty patients with colorectal cancer admitted to Affiliated people's Hospital (Fujian Provincial People's Hospital), Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were collected and grouped according to the mutation patterns of BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA. The association between BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA mutations and pathological factors (age, sex, etc.) was analyzed using the Chi-square test. Subsequently, survival analysis was performed to screen the impact factors of overall survival time by Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curve, and Cox regression model was established for the selected factors.

RESULTS

BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA mutations were not associated with age, sex, and alcoholism. K-M curve and log-rank test results demonstrated that among the factors included in this study, overall survival rate of colorectal cancer patients was only associated with mutation factors. The prognosis of KRAS+/PIK3CA-/BRAF-mutant and KRAS-/PIK3CA-/BRAF+mutant patients was better than that of KRAS+/PIK3CA+/BRAF-mutant patients.

CONCLUSION

The mutant patterns of BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA were not related to the general and clinicopathological features of patients. The mutant pattern could be used as an independent prognostic factor for colorectal cancer.

Nm23-H1 activator phenylbutenoid dimer exerts cytotoxic effects on metastatic breast cancer cells by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction only under glucose starvation

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) has become an attractive target in anti-cancer studies in recent years. In this study, we found that a small molecule phenylbutenoid dimer NMac1 (Nm23-H1 activator 1), (±)-trans-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-4-[(E)-3,4-dimethoxystyryl]cyclohex-1-ene, a previously identified anti-metastatic agent, has novel anti-proliferative effect only under glucose starvation in metastatic breast cancer cells. NMac1 causes significant activation of AMPK by decreasing ATP synthesis, lowers mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ΔΨm), and inhibits oxygen consumption rate (OCR) under glucose starvation. These effects of NMac1 are provoked by a consequence of OXPHOS complex I inhibition. Through the structure–activity relationship (SAR) study of NMac1 derivatives, NMac24 was identified as the most effective compound in anti-proliferation. NMac1 and NMac24 effectively suppress cancer cell proliferation in 3D-spheroid in vivo-like models only under glucose starvation. These results suggest that NMac1 and NMac24 have the potential as anti-cancer agents having cytotoxic effects selectively in glucose restricted cells.

Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Detection Using Electrochemical Immunosensor

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been declared an international public health crisis. It is essential to develop diagnostic tests that can quickly identify infected individuals to limit the spread of the virus and assign treatment options. Herein, we report a proof-of-concept label-free electrochemical immunoassay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus via the spike surface protein. The assay consists of a graphene working electrode functionalized with anti-spike antibodies. The concept of the immunosensor is to detect the signal perturbation obtained from ferri/ferrocyanide measurements after binding of the antigen during 45 min of incubation with a sample. The absolute change in the [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- current upon increasing antigen concentrations on the immunosensor surface was used to determine the detection range of the spike protein. The sensor was able to detect a specific signal above 260 nM (20 µg/mL) of subunit 1 of recombinant spike protein. Additionally, it was able to detect SARS-CoV-2 at a concentration of 5.5 × 105 PFU/mL, which is within the physiologically relevant concentration range. The novel immunosensor has a significantly faster analysis time than the standard qPCR and is operated by a portable device which can enable on-site diagnosis of infection.