Serum Expression of β-Catenin Is a Potential Detection Marker in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

The role of inflammatory and remodelling biomarkers in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Introduction

Biomarkers play a crucial role in evaluating the prognosis, diagnosis, and monitoring of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to compare the levels of inflammatory and remodelling biomarkers among patients with NSCLC and healthy controls (HCs) and to investigate the correlation between these biomarkers.

Material and methods

Blood samples were taken from 93 NSCLC and 84 HCs. Each sample was analysed for the inflammatory biomarkers transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2 (SMAD2) and the remodelling biomarkers Wingless-related integration site (Wnt3a) and α-catenin (CTNN-β1).

Results

The patients with NSCLC had significantly higher levels of all the measured biomarkers. In the NSCLC patients, TGF-β1 correlated significantly with SMAD2 (r = 0.34, p = 0.0008), Wnt3a (r = 0.328, p = 0.0013), and CTNN-β1 levels (r = 0.30, p = 0.004). SMAD2 correlated significantly with CTNN-β1 (r = 0.546, p = 0.0001) and Wnt3a (r = 0.598, p = 0.0001). CTNN-β1 level also correlated with the level of Wnt3a (r = 0.61, p = 0.0001). No correlation was found between biomarkers and symptom scores.

Discussion

In this study, patients with NSCLC had higher inflammatory and remodelling biomarker levels than HCs. In the NSCLC, there were significant associations between inflammatory and remodelling biomarkers. This indicates that measuring biomarkers could be valuable in the workup of NSCLC patients.

Conclusions

Our investigation showed that inflammatory and remodelling biomarkers might play a role in future immunologic response and pharmacologically targeted NSCLC therapy.

The role of miR-433-3p in vascular calcification in type 2 diabetic patients: targeting WNT/β-Catenin and RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathways

BACKGROUND

Vascular calcification (VC) is a major predictor of cardiovascular diseases that represent the principal cause of mortality among type-2 diabetic patients. Accumulating data suggest the vital role of some microRNAs on vascular calcification as an epigenetic regulator. Thus, we assessed herein, the role of serum miR-433-3p in vascular calcification in type-2 diabetic patients.

METHODS

Twenty healthy subjects (control group) and forty diabetic patients (20 without VC and 20 with VC) were involved in the study. miR-433-3p gene expression was measured. Runx2, Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), β-catenin, Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in serum were assessed by ELISA technique.

RESULTS

Diabetes patients had significantly lower levels of miR-433-3p expression in comparison to the control group, with the lowest levels being found in diabetic patients with VC. Furthermore, Runx2, β-catenin, and RANKL levels were significantly increased with concomitant lower DKK1 and OPG levels detected in the two diabetic groups especially those with VC.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, the study documented that down-regulation of miR-433-3p may contribute to the development of VC through activating WNT/β-Catenin and RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathways.

Fusobacterium nucleatum-triggered neutrophil extracellular traps facilitate colorectal carcinoma progression

BACKGROUND

Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) acts as a procarcinogenic bacterium in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) by regulating the inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME). Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which can be generated by persistent inflammation, have been recently considered to be significant contributors in promoting cancer progression. However, whether NETs are implicated in Fn-related carcinogenesis is still poorly characterized. Here, we explored the role of NETs in Fn-related CRC as well as their potential clinical significance.

METHODS

Fn was measured in tissue specimens and feces samples from CRC patients. The expression of NET markers were also detected in tissue specimens, freshly isolated neutrophils and blood serum from CRC patients, and the correlation of circulating NETs levels with Fn was evaluated. Cell-based experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanism by which Fn modulates NETs formation. In addition, we clarified the functional mechanism of Fn-induced NETs on the growth and metastasis of CRC in vitro and in vivo experiments.

RESULTS

Tissue and blood samples from CRC patients, particularly those from Fn-infected CRC patients, exhibited greater neutrophil infiltration and higher NETs levels. Fn infection induced abundant NETs production in in vitro studies. Subsequently, we demonstrated that Fn-induced NETs indirectly accelerated malignant tumor growth through angiopoiesis, and facilitated tumor metastasis, as manifested by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related cell migration, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated basement membrane protein degradation, and trapping of CRC cells. Mechanistically, the Toll-like receptor (TLR4)-reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathway and NOD-like receptor (NOD1/2)-dependent signaling were responsible for Fn-stimulated NETs formation. More importantly, circulating NETs combined with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) could predict CRC occurrence and metastasis, with areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of 0.92 and 0.85, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicated that Fn-induced NETs abundance by activating TLR4-ROS and NOD1/2 signalings in neutrophils facilitated CRC progression. The combination of circulating NETs and CEA was identified as a novel screening strategy for predicting CRC occurrence and metastasis.

Role of Circ-ITCH Gene Polymorphisms and Its Expression in Breast Cancer Susceptibility and Prognosis

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVE

Breast cancer (BC) is the first leading cause of cancer-related mortality in females worldwide. We have investigated the correlation between circ-ITCH gene polymorphisms, circ-ITCH expression, and their effect on β-catenin levels and BC development.

METHODS

Participants included 62 BC and 62 controls matched in terms of age. The circ-ITCH polymorphisms rs10485505 and rs4911154 were genotyped using whole blood samples. In addition, mRNA expression analysis of circ-ITCH was performed on BC tissues. The β-catenin levels in serum samples were measured using ELISA.

RESULTS

The qRT-PCR results demonstrated that circ-ITCH was significantly downregulated in BC compared to normal healthy tissues. The genotype distribution of rs10485505 and rs4911154 were significantly associated with BC risk. For rs10485505, genotype CT and TT were significantly associated with an increased BC risk. In contrast, there was a significant association between rs4911154, genotypes GA and AA, and an increased BC risk. Regarding the rs10485505 genotype, carriers of the T allele frequently have a poor prognosis compared to carriers of the CC genotype. Serum β-catenin in the BC patients' group was significantly higher than in the control group. The relative expression levels of circ-ITCH were remarkably decreased in the BC samples of patients carrying the A allele at rs4911154 compared to patients with a GG genotype. Conversely, β-catenin protein levels were increased in patients carrying the A allele, while rs10485505 genotype carriers of the CT and TT genotypes showed downregulation of circ-ITCH expression fold compared to the CC genotype. Contrarily, β-catenin levels markedly increased in TT and CT genotypes compared with the CC genotype.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research showed that the rs10485505 polymorphism (T allele) and the rs4911154 polymorphism (A allele) are associated with the risk and prognosis of BC. This finding may be due to the effect on the level of circ-ITCH mRNA expression in BC tissues as well as the level of β-catenin in BC patients.

Znhit1 and HIF-2α are correlated with cancer stem cell markers in breast cancer patients

Epigenetic alterations have emerged as fundamental players in development and progression of breast cancer (BC). A hypoxic tumour microenvironment regulates the stemness phenotype in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). The aim of this study was to investigate Znhit1 and HIF-2α gene expression in breast cancer tissues as well as their relation to CSCs markers LGR5, ALDH1A1 and β-catenin in tissue and serum of BC patients. The present study included 160 females divided into two groups, group I: 80 healthy females served as control group and group II: 80 breast cancer patients. Gene expression of tissue Znhit1 and HIF-2α was determined by qRT-PCR. Tissue and serum ALDH1A1, LGR5 and β-catenin levels were determined by ELISA. We found that gene expression of Znhit1 was significantly downregulated in BC tissues. Moreover, it was significantly negatively correlated with clinical stage and β-catenin levels in BC patients. Regarding HIF-2α, gene expression of HIF-2α was significantly upregulated in BC tissues. Moreover, it was significantly positively correlated with Her-2/neu expression and β-catenin levels in BC patients. Based upon our results, Znhit1 and HIF-2α may serve as novel therapeutic targets for BC therapy. Additionally, each of serum ALDH1A1, LGR5 and β-catenin may play a crucial role in non-invasive detection of BC with a high specificity and sensitivity.

Prognostic utility of the ovarian cancer secretome: a systematic investigation

BACKGROUND

Ovarian cancer is usually detected at an advanced stage with frequent recurrence. The recurrence-free survival and overall survival is influenced by the age at diagnosis, tumor stage and histological subtype. Nonetheless, quantifiable prognostic biomarkers are needed for early identification of the high-risk patients and for personalized medicine. Several studies link tumor-specific dysregulated expression of certain proteins with ovarian cancer prognosis. However, careful investigation of presence of these prognostically relevant proteins in ovarian cancer secretome is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To critically analyze the recent published data on prognostically relevant proteins for ovarian cancer and to carefully search how many of them are reported in the published ovarian cancer secretome datasets.

DESIGN

A search for relevant studies in the past 2 years was conducted in PubMed and a comprehensive list of proteins associated with the ovarian cancer prognosis was prepared. These were cross-referred to the published ovarian cancer secretome profiles. The proteins identified in the secretome were further shortlisted based on a scoring strategy employing stringent criteria.

RESULTS

A panel of seven promising secretory biomarkers associated with ovarian cancer prognosis is proposed.

CONCLUSION

Scanning the ovarian cancer secretome datasets provides the opportunity to identify if tumor-specific biomarkers could be tested as secretory biomarkers. Detecting their levels in the body fluid would be more advantageous than evaluating the expression in the tissue, since it could be monitored multiple times over the course of the disease to have a better judgment of the prognosis and response to therapy.

Cytotoxic Evaluation and Molecular Docking studies of Aminopyridine derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

BACKGROUND

The development of resistance to available anticancer drugs is increasingly becoming a major challenge and new chemical entities could be unveiled to compensate for this therapeutic failure.

OBJECTIVES

The current study demonstrated whether N-protected and deprotected amino acid derivatives of 2-aminopyridine could attenuate tumor development using colorectal cancer cell lines.

METHODS

Biological assays were performed to investigate the anticancer potential of synthesized compounds. The in silico ADME profiling and docking studies were also performed by docking the designed compounds against the active binding site of beta-catenin (CTNNB1) to analyze the binding mode of these compounds. Four derivatives 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d were selected for investigation of in vitro anticancer potential using colorectal cancer cell line HCT 116. The anti-tumor activities of synthesized compounds were further validated by evaluating the inhibitory effects of these compounds on the target protein beta-catenin through in vitro enzyme inhibitory assay.

RESULTS

The docking analysis revealed favorable binding energies and interactions with the target proteins. The in vitro MTT assay on colorectal cancer cell line HCT 116 and HT29 revealed potential anti-tumor activities with an IC50 range of 3.7-8.1µM and 3.27-7.7 µM, respectively. The inhibitory properties of these compounds on the concentration of beta-catenin by ELISA revealed significant percent inhibition of target protein at 100 µg/ml.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the synthesized compounds showed significant anti-tumor activities both in silico and in vitro, having potential for further investigating its role in colorectal cancer.

Study on the Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer by Magnetic Beads Extraction and Mass Spectrometry

Objective. This study constructed a model for the early diagnosis of gastric cancer by comparing the serum peptides profiles of patients with advanced gastric cancer and healthy people. And that model may be the potential to be applied for the efficacy evaluation and recurrence monitoring in gastric cancer. Methods. Serums of 30 healthy people and 30 advanced gastric cancer patients were matched by age and gender were collected. The serum peptide spectrum was obtained by MB-WCX concentration and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Based on the analysis of the efficiency of differential peptides in the diagnosis of gastric cancer, we first established a model for the diagnosis of gastric cancer based on differential peptides and then carried out external verification. The diagnostic reliability of this model was further tested by compared with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9). Results. In this present study, we found the expression of two peptide peaks with a molecular weight of 2863 Da and 2953 Da were significantly increased in gastric cancer serum, while the expression of two peptide peaks with a molecular weight of 1945 Da and 2082 Da were significantly decreased. Depending on the characteristics of peptide expression, we constructed a diagnostic model, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of the model established by 2953 Da/1945 Da, and found this model is significantly higher than CEA and CA19-9. Conclusion. There were some differences in serum peptides profiles between patients with advanced gastric cancer and healthy people. The serum peptide diagnostic models based on 2953 Da and 1945 Da have high diagnostic efficiency for advanced gastric cancer. Our result indicated that this model was well worth further validation for clinical diagnosis.

Regulatory Mechanism of ITGBL1 in the Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer

Integrin, beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) protein is located in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and involved in the development and metastasis of many tumors. However, the regulatory mechanism of ITGBL1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. This study was to analyze the expression profile of CRC and to identify the expression change of ITGBL1 gene at different stages of CRC. Survival analysis showed that ITGBL1 was related to the metastasis of CRC, and CRC patients with a high expression of ITGBL1 had earlier metastasis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) indicated the relationship between ITGBL1 expression and molecular events of CRC. The results indicated that a high expression of ITGBL1 was linked to Wnt signaling pathway, cell polarity, and tissue development, while a low expression of ITGBL1 was related to cellular respiration, electron transfer chain, and oxidative phosphorylation. With the expression profiles from interstitial and parenchyma CRC tissues, a comparison was made to determine the difference between high/low expression of ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling pathway, respectively, and further confirmed the close relation between ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling pathway. To determine the relation, an interaction network of ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling proteins was constructed. It was found that β-catenin interacted with multiple extracellular Wnt signals and could bind to ITGBL1. As a result, the regulatory mechanism of ITGBL1 in CRC is related to extracellular Wnt signals and may affect extracellular Wnt signals via β-catenin.