Alterations of Fucosyltransferase Genes and Fucosylated Glycans in Gastric Epithelial Cells Infected with Helicobacter pylori

Insights into the role of glycosyltransferase in the targeted treatment of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is a remarkably heterogeneous tumor. Despite some advances in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer in recent years, the precise treatment and curative outcomes remain unsatisfactory. Poor prognosis continues to pose a major challenge in gastric cancer. Therefore, it is imperative to identify effective targets to improve the treatment and prognosis of gastric cancer patients. It should be noted that glycosylation, a novel form of posttranslational modification, is a process capable of regulating protein function and influencing cellular activities. Currently, numerous studies have shown that glycosylation plays vital roles in the occurrence and progression of gastric cancer. As crucial enzymes that regulate glycan synthesis in glycosylation processes, glycosyltransferases are potential targets for treating GC. Hence, investigating the regulation of glycosyltransferases and the expression of associated proteins in gastric cancer cells is highly important. In this review, the related glycosyltransferases and their related signaling pathways in gastric cancer, as well as the existing inhibitors of glycosyltransferases, provide more possibilities for targeted therapies for gastric cancer.

Implementing Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) in Clinical Practice: Advantages, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

The integration of whole genome sequencing (WGS) into all aspects of modern medicine represents the next step in the evolution of healthcare. Using this technology, scientists and physicians can observe the entire human genome comprehensively, generating a plethora of new sequencing data. Modern computational analysis entails advanced algorithms for variant detection, as well as complex models for classification. Data science and machine learning play a crucial role in the processing and interpretation of results, using enormous databases and statistics to discover new and support current genotype-phenotype correlations. In clinical practice, this technology has greatly enabled the development of personalized medicine, approaching each patient individually and in accordance with their genetic and biochemical profile. The most propulsive areas include rare disease genomics, oncogenomics, pharmacogenomics, neonatal screening, and infectious disease genomics. Another crucial application of WGS lies in the field of multi-omics, working towards the complete integration of human biomolecular data. Further technological development of sequencing technologies has led to the birth of third and fourth-generation sequencing, which include long-read sequencing, single-cell genomics, and nanopore sequencing. These technologies, alongside their continued implementation into medical research and practice, show great promise for the future of the field of medicine.

Knockdown of FUT11 inhibits the progression of gastric cancer via the PI3K/AKT pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common and highly malignant tumor of the digestive tract. Members of the focused fucosyltransferase (FUT) family participate in the advancement of various types of cancer. However, research of FUT family members in the progression of GC known to be limited. The purpose of the research was to determine the function of important affiliates of the FUT family in GC and to explore its impacts on the proliferation and migration of GC cells and molecular mechanisms. For the study, fucosyltransferase11 (FUT11) was confirmed to be the only affiliate of the FUT family that was upmodulated in GC tissues and linked to poor survival according to GEPIA data. Furthermore, compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues, the expression of FUT11 was increased in GC tissues. The elevated FUT11 expression suggested that the overall survival (OS) rate of GC is low. Inhibition of FUT11 significantly reduced the proliferation and migration and suppressed the PI3K/AKT pathway by down-regulated collagen type VI alpha 3 chain (COL6A3) in GC cells. The present study has demonstrated that reinstating the expression of COL6A3 in gastric cancer (GC) cells can counteract the inhibitory impact of FUT11 knockdown on the proliferation and migration of GC cells. In conclusion, FUT11 may serve as a novel biomarker for GC, as it modulates GC cell proliferation and migration through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Pharmacological targeting of gastric mucosal barrier with traditional Chinese medications for repairing gastric mucosal injury

Introduction: The gastric mucosa (GM) is the first barrier and vital interface in the stomach that protects the host from hydrochloric acid in gastric juice and defends against exogenous insults to gastric tissues. The use of traditional Chinese medications (TCMs) for the treatment of gastric mucosal injury (GMI) has long-standing history and a good curative effect. Whereas there are poor overall reports on the intrinsic mechanisms of these TCM preparations that pharmacology uses to protect body from GMI, which is crucial to treating this disease. These existing reviews have deficiencies that limit the clinical application and development of both customary prescriptions and new drugs. Methods: Further basic and translational studies must be done to elucidate the intrinsic mechanisms of influence of these TCM preparations. Moreover, well-designed and well-conducted experiences and clinical trials are necessary to ascertain the efficacy and mechanisms of these agents. Therefore, this paper presents a focused overview of currently published literature to assess how TCMs action that facilitates the cures for GMI. It offers a whole train of current state of pharmacological evidence, identifies the pharmacological mechanisms of TCMs on GM, and highlights that remarkable capacity of TCMs to restore GM after damage. Results: These TCMs preparations promote the repair of multicomponent targets such as the gastric mucus, epithelial layer, blood flow (GMBF) and lamina propria barrier. Summary: Overall, this study has summarized the essential regulatory mechanisms and pharmacological efficacy of TCMs on new and productive therapeutic targets. Discussion: This review provides an avenue for studying various drugs with potentially promising effects on mucosal integrity, as well as subsequent pharmacological studies, clinical applications, and new drug development.

Helicobacter pylori and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Unresolved Enigma

The article describes the hypothesis that there may be a noncausal relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is related to the host mucin glycan fucosylation status in the gastrointestinal tract. The proposed hypothesis may explain why IBD is less prevalent in patients with H. pylori, and no increased risk of IBD is seen after H. pylori eradication therapy, as was shown in the study by Tanner et al.

H. pylori Infection and Virulence Factors cagA and vacA (s and m Regions) in Gastric Adenocarcinoma from Pará State, Brazil

H. pylori shows a great variability in genes associated with virulence, which may influence properties related to gastric adenocarcinoma initiation and progression. Among them, cagA and vacA show a strong positive association with the disease. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was carried out with 281 samples of gastric adenocarcinoma, collected at a cancer reference center in the Brazilian Amazon. Detection of H. pylori was proceeded by PCR of the ureA and 16S genes. Positive samples were subjected to the cagA detection and vacA typing. The bacteria were observed in 32.03% of the samples. Positivity for H. pylori was associated with advanced age (p = 0.0093) and metastases (p = 0.0073). Among the positive cases, 80% (72/90) had the cagA gene. For the “s” position of the vacA gene, 98.8% (83/84) of the bacteria had genotype s1 and 1.2% (1/84) were genotyped as s2. For the “m” position, the results were: 63.6% (56/88) with m1 genotype, 2.3% (2/88) genotyped as m2 and 34.1% (30/88) m1/m2. Virulence factors did not impact an increase in the association with age or metastases. In conclusion, H. pylori infection is associated with malignant phenotype cases of gastric adenocarcinoma, involving metastases. The virulence factors related to the cagA and vacA genes showed a high prevalence in the Brazilian Amazon.

Gastrointestinal microbiome and Helicobacter pylori: Eradicate, leave it as it is, or take a personalized benefit–risk approach?

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is generally regarded as a human pathogen and a class 1 carcinogen, etiologically related to gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastric cancer, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. However, H. pylori can also be regarded as a commensal symbiont. Unlike other pathogenic/ opportunistic bacteria, H. pylori colonization in infancy is facilitated by T helper type 2 immunity and leads to the development of immune tolerance. Fucosylated gastric mucin glycans, which are an important part of the innate and adaptive immune system, mediate the adhesion of H. pylori to the surface of the gastric epithelium, contributing to successful colonization. H. pylori may have beneficial effects on the host by regulating gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and protecting against some allergic and autoimmune disorders and inflammatory bowel disease. The potential protective role against inflammatory bowel disease may be related to both modulation of the gut microbiota and the immunomodulatory properties of H. pylori. The inverse association between H. pylori and some potentially proinflammatory and/or procarcinogenic bacteria may suggest it regulates the GI microbiota. Eradication of H. pylori can cause various adverse effects and alter the GI microbiota, leading to short-term or long-term dysbiosis. Overall, studies have shown that gastric Actinobacteria decrease after H. pylori eradication, Proteobacteria increase during short-term follow-up and then return to baseline levels, and Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus increase in the short-term and interim follow-up. Various gastric mucosal bacteria (Actinomyces, Granulicatella, Parvimonas, Peptostreptococcus, Prevotella, Rothia, Streptococcus, Rhodococcus, and Lactobacillus) may contribute to precancerous gastric lesions and cancer itself after H. pylori eradication. H. pylori eradication can also lead to dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, with increased Proteobacteria and decreased Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. The increase in gut Proteobacteria may contribute to adverse effects during and after eradication. The decrease in Actinobacteria, which are pivotal in the maintenance of gut homeostasis, can persist for > 6 mo after H. pylori eradication. Furthermore, H. pylori eradication can alter the metabolism of gastric and intestinal bacteria. Given the available data, eradication cannot be an unconditional recommendation in every case of H. pylori infection, and the decision to eradicate H. pylori should be based on an assessment of the benefit–risk ratio for the individual patient. Thus, the current guidelines based on the unconditional “test-and-treat” strategy should be revised. The most cautious and careful approach should be taken in elderly patients with multiple eradication failures since repeated eradication can cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea, including severe Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis and antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis due to Klebsiella oxytoca. Furthermore, since eradication therapy with antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors can lead to serious adverse effects and/or dysbiosis of the GI microbiota, supplementation of probiotics, prebiotics, and microbial metabolites (e.g., butyrate + inulin) should be considered to decrease the negative effects of eradication.