Pingyangmycin inhibits glycosaminoglycan sulphation in both cancer cells and tumour tissues

A systematic review and network meta-analysis of the effectiveness of sclerotherapy for venous malformation

OBJECTIVE

Sclerotherapy for venous malformation has been widely used; however, no guidelines are available to assess the effectiveness of different sclerotherapy agents. We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of sclerotherapy agents for venous malformations.

METHODS

Three electronic databases were searched from their inception (1950) to April 29, 2021. Studies comparing the effectiveness of different sclerotherapy agents were included. The risk of bias within and across studies was assessed. Pairwise meta-analyses were conducted, followed by a network meta-analysis. We also assessed inconsistency and publishing bias using various approaches.

RESULTS

Seven studies with 547 patients in six arms were included in the present study. We defined the response and complete response as two separate outcomes. Significant differences were observed in four comparisons with respect to the response (ethanol vs bleomycin, ethanol vs polidocanol, ethanol vs sodium tetradecyl sulfate, polidocanol vs sodium tetradecyl sulfate). No statistically significant differences were found in the other comparisons. The evidence network revealed that for the response outcome, ethanol ranked first, followed by pingyangmycin, polidocanol, sodium morrhuate, bleomycin, and, finally, sodium tetradecyl sulfate. For the complete response outcome, pingyangmycin had the best results, followed by sodium morrhuate, polidocanol, ethanol, bleomycin, and, finally, sodium tetradecyl sulfate. Major complications, such as facial nerve palsy, serious local swelling, and necrosis, had occurred mostly in the ethanol group and rarely in the other groups. Because of the limited data, no further analysis of major complications was conducted. Our confidence in the comparisons and rankings was low. We found no verified inconsistency or publishing bias in the present study using the existing approaches.

CONCLUSIONS

Ethanol showed a significantly better response statistically compared with the other agents. However, ethanol had also resulted in the highest incidence of complications. Pingyangmycin showed the second-best response, best complete response, and a low rate of complications, respectively. Overall, pingyangmycin achieved excellent performance and balance in terms of the different outcomes. However, they could not be adequately recommended from the available data. More superior trials, especially randomized controlled trials, are needed in the future.

The Alterations and Roles of Glycosaminoglycans in Human Diseases

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a heterogeneous family of linear polysaccharides which are composed of a repeating disaccharide unit. They are also linked to core proteins to form proteoglycans (PGs). GAGs/PGs are major components of the cell surface and the extracellular matrix (ECM), and they display critical roles in development, normal function, and damage response in the body. Some properties (such as expression quantity, molecular weight, and sulfation pattern) of GAGs may be altered under pathological conditions. Due to the close connection between these properties and the function of GAGs/PGs, the alterations are often associated with enormous changes in the physiological/pathological status of cells and organs. Therefore, these GAGs/PGs may serve as marker molecules of disease. This review aimed to investigate the structural alterations and roles of GAGs/PGs in a range of diseases, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and virus infection. It is hoped to provide a reference for disease diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis, and drug development.

Determination of monosaccharide composition in human serum by an improved HPLC method and its application as candidate biomarkers for endometrial cancer

Altered glycan levels in serum have been associated with increased risk of cancer. In this study, we have developed and validated a HPLC-based method to analyze monosaccharide composition (D-mannose, Glucosamine, Galactosamine, Glucuronic acid, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-xylose, L-fucose) in human serum, with L-rhamnose, being used as internal standard. Monosaccharides obtained from hydrolyzed serum samples were derivatized by 1-Phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone. A ZORBAX XDB-C18 column(150×4.6mm) was used for chromatographic separation with 100 mM ammonium acetate buffer (NH4Ac-HAc, PH=5.5, solvent A), acetonitrile (ACN, solvent B) as a mobile phase. The calibration standard curves for the eight monosaccharides showed good linearity over the range of 2.5-500μg/mL with R² > 0.995. The relative standard deviation values for intra-day and inter-day precision were ≤ 5.49%. Recovery was 69.01-108.96%. We observed that this column exhibited high specificity and selectivity to separate monosaccharides from serum. This method was then applied to quantitatively analyze the serum monosaccharide levels in 30 patients with endometrial cancer and 30 matched healthy controls. Statistical analysis indicated that the serum monosaccharide levels were significantly higher in patients compared with healthy controls (P value< 0.0001). Overall, we report here a simple, reliable, low-cost, and reproducible HPLC method for the separation and quantification monosaccharides in the human serum, which has potential value to serve as a screening marker for endometrial cancer.

Pingyangmycin Activates Oral Carcinoma Cell Autophagy via the Phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Axis to Achieve the Purpose of Treating Oral Carcinoma

Objective

The aim of the study is to investigate the role of pingyangmycin (PYM) in oral carcinoma (OC) cell autophagy via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis.

Methods

200 μL PYM culture solution with a concentration of 100 μg/ml (low PYM (L-PYM) group), 300 μg/ml (middle PYM (M-PYM) group), 500 μg/ml (high PYM (H-PYM) group), and the same amount of conventional medium (normal control (NC)) were added to the purchased OC cell line SCC-25, respectively, and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway expression, autophagy protein levels, cell activity, and apoptosis rate were determined. Subsequently, we selected OC cells co-cultured with PYM with the concentration of the most significant intervention effect and 740Y-P, a specific activator of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis, and those treated with 740Y-P alone for the aforementioned detection.

Results

L-PYM, M-PYM, and H-PYM groups all showed decreased PI3K, AKT, mTOR, and phosphorylated protein levels (P < 0.05). Beclin1 and LC3-II protein levels and apoptosis rate of PYM-intervened OC cells increased, but the activity decreased (P < 0.05). Under 740Y-P intervention, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was activated, cell activity was increased, and the apoptosis rate and autophagy were decreased (P < 0.05). Simultaneous use of PYM and 740Y-P led to no difference in cell condition compared with NC (P > 0.05P>0.05).

Conclusion

PYM can activate OC cell autophagy by inhibiting the phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis, and thus, achieving the goal of killing tumor cells.

Novel Plasma Proteomic Biomarkers for Early Identification of Induction Chemotherapy Beneficiaries in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background

Induction chemotherapy (IC) can alleviate locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC), but effectiveness differs between patients, toxicity is problematic, and effective blood-based IC efficacy predictors are lacking. Here, we aimed to identify biomarkers for early identification of IC beneficiaries.

Methods

Sixty-four pairs of matched plasma samples collected before and after IC from LA-NPC patients including 34 responders and 30 non-responders, as well as 50 plasma samples of healthy individuals, were tested using data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry. The proteins associated with clinical traits or IC benefits were investigated by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and soft cluster analysis. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional annotations were performed to determine the potential function of the identified proteins. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the performance of candidate biomarkers in predicting IC beneficiaries.

Results

Compared with healthy individuals, 1027 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were found in the plasma of LA-NPC patients. Based on feedback from IC outcomes, 463 DEPs were identified in the pre-IC plasma between responders and non-responders. A total of 1212 DEPs represented the proteomic changes before and after IC in responders, while 276 DEPs were identified in post-IC plasma between responders and non-responders. WGCNA identified nine protein co-expression modules correlated with clinical traits. Soft cluster analysis identified four IC benefits-related protein clusters. Functional enrichment analysis showed that these proteins may play a role in IC via immunity, complement, coagulation, glycosaminoglycan and serine. Four proteins differentially expressed in all group comparisons, paraoxonase/arylesterase 1 (PON1), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), rheumatoid factor D5 light chain (v-kappa-3) and RNA helicase (DDX55), were associated with clinical traits or IC benefits. A four-protein model accurately identified potential IC beneficiaries (AUC=0.95) while diagnosing LA-NPC (AUC=0.92), and the prediction performance was verified using the models to confirm the effective IC (AUC=0.97) and evaluate IC outcome (AUC=0.94).

Conclusion

The plasma protein profiles among IC responders and non-responders were different. PON1, IGFBP3, v-kappa-3 and DDX55 could serve as potential biomarkers for early identification of IC beneficiaries for individualised treatment of LA-NPC.

Quantitative Disaccharide Profiling of Glycosaminoglycans from Two Different Preparations by PMP and Deuterated PMP Labeling

Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) fine structures from the same animal cells and tissues are controlled not only by the biosynthetic and metabolic enzymes but also by other environmental factors, such as chemicals, growth factors, nutritional factors, and isolation procedures. To facilitate direct quantitative comparison of disaccharide compositions from different GAG preparations, several stable isotope labeling strategies have been developed. In this report, 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) and deuterated d5-PMP are used for differential disaccharide labeling and profiling of chondroitin sulfate GAG by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS).

Diagnostic and prognostic value of MATN3 expression in gastric carcinoma: TCGA database mining

Backgrounds

Globally, the high morbidity and mortality of gastric carcinoma (GC) have been one of the great challenges facing humanity. However, the early diagnosis of GC is still unknown. Matrilin-3 (MATN3) is a member of the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein family. Previous studies have reported a correlation between the expression of MATN3 and bone disease. However, the role of MATN3 in GC has not been reported in depth, which can have a possible far-reaching implication for GC.

Methods

We explored the diagnostic and prognostic value and pathway enrichment of MATN3 expression in GC. Limma package conducted by R was used to analysis the difference expression data of MATN3 from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to estimate the diagnostic value of MATN3 expression. univariate and multivariate analysis were used to assess the prognostic value of MATN3, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to identify the enriched signaling pathways.

Results

MATN3 was found to be significantly higher in GC tissue samples. GC patients with high MATN3 expression had poor prognosis. Then, GSEA showed that the gene sets were correlated with signaling pathways including ECM receptor interaction, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis chondroitin sulfate, among others.

Conclusions

The study suggests that MATN3 can serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for GC.

Pingyangmycin inhibits glycosaminoglycan sulphation in both cancer cells and tumour tissues

Pingyangmycin is a clinically used anticancer drug and induces lung fibrosis in certain cancer patients. We previously reported that the negatively charged cell surface glycosaminoglycans are involved in the cellular uptake of the positively charged pingyangmycin. However, it is unknown if pingyangmycin affects glycosaminoglycan structures. Seven cell lines and a Lewis lung carcinoma‐injected C57BL/6 mouse model were used to understand the cytotoxicity of pingyangmycin and its effect on glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis. Stable isotope labelling coupled with LC/MS method was used to quantify glycosaminoglycan disaccharide compositions from pingyangmycin‐treated and untreated cell and tumour samples. Pingyangmycin reduced both chondroitin sulphate and heparan sulphate sulphation in cancer cells and in tumours. The effect was persistent at different pingyangmycin concentrations and at different exposure times. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of pingyangmycin was decreased in the presence of soluble glycosaminoglycans, in the glycosaminoglycan‐deficient cell line CHO745, and in the presence of chlorate. A flow cytometry‐based cell surface FGF/FGFR/glycosaminoglycan binding assay also showed that pingyangmycin changed cell surface glycosaminoglycan structures. Changes in the structures of glycosaminoglycans may be related to fibrosis induced by pingyangmycin in certain cancer patients.