Diagnosis and therapy of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Traditional Chinese medicine for oral squamous cell carcinoma: A Bayesian network meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND

Traditional Chinese medicine is frequently used for malignant tumors in China, but in clinical practice, most practitioners choose appropriate Chinese medicines based on personal experience. In our study, Bayesian network meta-analysis will be used to identify differences in efficacy and safety between diverse traditional Chinese drugs for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

METHODS

Relevant randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled clinical trials were searched from Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Excerpt Medica Database, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Scientific Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang Database from their establishment to September 2020. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by 2 researchers. Aggregate Data Drug Information System and R software were used for data synthesis. The evidentiary grade of the results will be also evaluated.

RESULTS

The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and provide reliable evidence for different traditional Chinese drugs on OSCC.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings will provide reference for evaluating the efficacy and safety of different traditional Chinese medicine for OSCC, and provide a helpful evidence for clinicians to formulate the best adjuvant treatment strategy for OSCC patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

INPLASY202090082.

Acute effects of sono-activated photocatalytic titanium dioxide nanoparticles on oral squamous cell carcinoma

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a new treatment modality using ultrasound to activate certain chemical sensitizers for cancer therapy. In this study, effects of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on human oral squamous cell line HSC-2 were investigated. Viability of HSC-2 cells after 0, 0.1, 1, or 3s of HIFU irradiation with 20, 32, 55 and 73Wcm(-2) intensities in the presence or absence of TiO2 was measured immediately after the exposures in vitro. Immediate effects of HIFU (3s, 73Wcm(-2)) combined with TiO2 on solid tumors were also examined by histological study. Cytotoxic effect of HIFU+TiO2in vitro was significantly higher than that of TiO2 or HIFU alone with the tendency to increase for higher HIFU intensity, duration, and TiO2 concentration in the suspension. In vivo results showed significant necrosis and tissue damage in HIFU and HIFU+TiO2 treated samples. However, penetration of TiO2 nanoparticles into the cell cytoplasm was only observed in HIFU+TiO2 treated tissues. In this study, our findings provide a rational basis for the development of an effective HIFU based sonodynamic activation method. This approach offers an attractive non-invasive therapy technique for oral cancer in future.

RNAi-mediated downregulation of oral cancer overexpressed 1 (ORAOV1) inhibits vascular endothelial cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation

BACKGROUND

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the top ten tumors threatening human health. Oral cancer overexpressed 1 (ORAOV1) identified within chromosomal region 11q13, one of the most frequently amplified regions in OSCC, has been suggested as a novel candidate oncogene in OSCC, regulating cell cycle, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of ORAOV1 in OSCC-induced angiogenesis in vitro.

METHODS

EA.hy926 human endothelial cells were co-cultured with OSCC cells (HSC-3 and SCC-25) transfected with ORAOV1-specific shRNA to downregulate ORAOV1 expression, and analyzed for proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation by specific assays.

RESULTS

EA.hy926 endothelial cells co-cultured with ORAOV1-deficient OSCC cells exhibited significantly lower proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as the activity in tube formation compared to that in the control cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show, for the first time, that ORAOV1 expressed by OSCC cells promotes tube formation by endothelial cells, indicating its involvement in OSCC angiogenesis. Considering the importance of neovascularization in tumor development and metastasis, these findings suggest that targeting ORAOV1 may be a potential therapeutic strategy against OSCC.

Proteomic approaches and identification of novel therapeutic targets for alcoholism

Recent studies have shown that gene regulation is far more complex than previously believed and does not completely explain changes at the protein level. Therefore, the direct study of the proteome, considerably different in both complexity and dynamicity to the genome/transcriptome, has provided unique insights to an increasing number of researchers. During the past decade, extraordinary advances in proteomic techniques have changed the way we can analyze the composition, regulation, and function of protein complexes and pathways underlying altered neurobiological conditions. When combined with complementary approaches, these advances provide the contextual information for decoding large data sets into meaningful biologically adaptive processes. Neuroproteomics offers potential breakthroughs in the field of alcohol research by leading to a deeper understanding of how alcohol globally affects protein structure, function, interactions, and networks. The wealth of information gained from these advances can help pinpoint relevant biomarkers for early diagnosis and improved prognosis of alcoholism and identify future pharmacological targets for the treatment of this addiction.

Near infrared imaging of EGFR of oral squamous cell carcinoma in mice administered arsenic trioxide

Background

The effectiveness of near-infrared imaging (NIR) interrogation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression as a sensitive biomarker of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) response to arsenic trioxide therapy was studied in mice.

Material and Methods

A431 OSCC in vitro were exposed to 0 µM, 0.5 µM, 2.5 µM, or 5 µM of As₂O₃ for 0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry confirmed EGFR expression and demonstrated a sensitivity dose-related signal decline with As₂O₃ treatment. Next, mice with pharynx-implanted A431 cells received As₂O₃ i.p. every 48 h at 0.0, 0.5, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg/day (n = 6/group) from day 0 to 10. An intravenous NIR probe, EGF-Cy5.5, was injected at baseline and on days 4, 8, and 12 for dynamic NIR imaging. Tumor volume and body weights were measured three times weekly.

Results

In vitro, A431 EGFR expression was well appreciated in the controls and decreased (p<0.05) with increasing As₂O₃ dose and treatment duration. In vivo EGFR NIR tumor signal intensity decreased (p<0.05) in As₂O₃ treated groups versus controls from days 4 to 12, consistent with increasing dosage. Tumor volume diminished in a dose-related manner while body weight was unaffected. Immunohistochemical staining of excised tumors confirmed that EGFR expression was reduced by As₂O₃ treatment in a dose responsive pattern.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates for the first time that OSCC can be interrogated in vivo by NIR molecular imaging of the EGFR and that this biomarker is effective for the longitudinal assessment of OSCC response to As₂O₃ treatment.

The status of EGFR CA SSR1 is a potential prognostic factor for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

The EGFR is an oncogene known to be involved in the development and progression of many cancers. It has been reported that the expression of EGFR and EGFR CA simple sequence repeat 1 (CA SSR1) repeat numbers in tumors can be useful prognostic factors in several cancer types. The objective of the present study was to analyze whether the EGFR polymorphism can be a useful prognostic factor in OSCC in the Taiwanese population. OSCC tissues were collected from 47 patients by surgical excision. The genotyping of EGFR were performed with the ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer. OSCC patients had a tendency toward an allelic imbalance of CA SSR1. The results also suggested that OSCC patients who were homozygous for CA SSR1 had a poorer prognosis than those who were heterozygous (P<0.001). Besides, patients with an allelic imbalance of CA SSR1 had significantly lower overall and disease free survival rates than those without, using the Kaplan-Meier method (P<0.001). This suggests that the status of CA SSR1 has the potential to be a useful prognosis factor in OSCC.

Molecular targets of alcohol action: Translational research for pharmacotherapy development and screening

Alcohol abuse and dependence are multifaceted disorders with neurobiological, psychological, and environmental components. Research on other complex neuropsychiatric diseases suggests that genetically influenced intermediate characteristics affect the risk for heavy alcohol consumption and its consequences. Diverse therapeutic interventions can be developed through identification of reliable biomarkers for this disorder and new pharmacological targets for its treatment. Advances in the fields of genomics and proteomics offer a number of possible targets for the development of new therapeutic approaches. This brain-focused review highlights studies identifying neurobiological systems associated with these targets and possible pharmacotherapies, summarizing evidence from clinically relevant animal and human studies, as well as sketching improvements and challenges facing the fields of proteomics and genomics. Concluding thoughts on using results from these profiling technologies for medication development are also presented.

Inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor-overexpressing cancer cells by camptothecin, 20-(N,N-diethyl) glycinate

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) represents a prognostic marker for short survival of patients and therapy resistance of tumors. Despite clinical usefulness of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, resistance can develop. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel EGFR inhibitors. Camptothecins have been characterized as inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase I (TOP1), although a correlation between TOP1 expression and activity is not well established in clinical biopsies. Hence, other targets may also be relevant. By molecular docking, we found that camptothecin 20-N,N-glycinate (CPTg) and camptothecin (CPT) bind to the same pharmacophore at EGFR as erlotinib, albeit to partly different amino acids. To validate the in silico results, CPT and CPTg were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity and downstream signaling mechanisms in U87MG glioblastoma cell lines transduced with different expression vectors for EGFR. All transduced cell lines were more susceptible to CPTg or CPT than the non-transduced cells, indicating a preferential activity towards EGFR-expressing tumor cells. Microarray-based mRNA hybridizations were performed in treated a non-treated cell lines. Subsets of genes were commonly regulated between the cell lines. By pathway analyses, we ranked canonical pathways according to differential gene expression after drug treatment. The pathways for G2/M DNA damage checkpoint regulation, aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling, and xenobiotic metabolism and endoplasmatic reticulum stress were top ranked. In conclusion, binding of CPTg and CPT to the erlotinib pharmacophore and preferential cytotoxicity towards EGFR-overexpressing cells indicate susceptibility towards erlotinib-resistant tumors. Multiple mechanisms may account for cytotoxicity of these camptothecins.

Inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor over-expressing cancer cells by the aphorphine-type isoquinoline alkaloid, dicentrine

The extraordinary relevance of EGFR in tumour biology makes it an exquisite molecular target for tumour therapy. Despite considerable success with these EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in cancer therapy, resistance against these chemical compounds develops owing to the selection of point-mutated variants of EGFR. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the identification of novel EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors for treating tumours with such EGFR mutants. We found a preferential cytotoxicity of dicentrine towards U87MG.DeltaEGFR-transduced with a constitutively deletion-activated EGFR expression vector as compared to non-transduced wild-type U87MG cells. As determined by microarray-based mRNA expression profiling, this preferential cytotoxicity was accompanied with an activation of BRCA1-mediated DNA damage response, p53 signalling, G1/S and G2/M cell cycle regulation, and aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathways. The activation of these signalling routes might be explained by the fact that dicentrine intercalates DNA and induces DNA strand break by inhibition of DNA topoisomerases. The cell cycle might be arrested by dicentrine-induced DNA lesions.

From traditional Chinese medicine to rational cancer therapy

Many natural products and derivatives thereof belong to the standard repertoire of cancer chemotherapy. Examples are Vinca alkaloids, taxanes and camptothecins. In recent years, the potential of natural products from plants, notably from medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been recognized by the scientific community in the Western world. To provide an example of the most recent developments in this field, we have selected several compounds, namely artesunate, homoharringtonine, arsenic trioxide and cantharidin, that are found in natural TCM products and that have the potential for use in cancer therapy. Controlled clinical studies have shown that homoharringtonine and arsenic trioxide can exert profound activity against leukaemia. Increased knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of TCM-derived drugs and recent developments in their applications demonstrate that the combination of TCM with modern cutting-edge technologies provides an attractive strategy for the development of novel and improved cancer therapeutics.