STMN1 accumulation is associated with dysplastic and neoplastic lesions in patients with ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative Colitis-Derived Colonoid Culture: A Multi-Mineral-Approach to Improve Barrier Protein Expression

BACKGROUND

Recent studies demonstrated that Aquamin®, a calcium-, magnesium-rich, multi-mineral natural product, improves barrier structure and function in colonoids obtained from the tissue of healthy subjects. The goal of the present study was to determine if the colonic barrier could be improved in tissue from subjects with ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODS

Colonoid cultures were established with colon biopsies from 9 individuals with UC. The colonoids were then incubated for a 2-week period under control conditions (in culture medium with a final calcium concentration of 0.25 mM) or in the same medium supplemented with Aquamin® to provide 1.5 - 4.5 mM calcium. Effects on differentiation and barrier protein expression were determined using several approaches: phase-contrast and scanning electron microscopy, quantitative histology and immunohistology, mass spectrometry-based proteome assessment and transmission electron microscopy.

RESULTS

Although there were no gross changes in colonoid appearance, there was an increase in lumen diameter and wall thickness on histology and greater expression of cytokeratin 20 (CK20) along with reduced expression of Ki67 by quantitative immunohistology observed with intervention. In parallel, upregulation of several differentiation-related proteins was seen in a proteomic screen with the intervention. Aquamin®-treated colonoids demonstrated a modest up-regulation of tight junctional proteins but stronger induction of adherens junction and desmosomal proteins. Increased desmosomes were seen at the ultrastructural level. Proteomic analysis demonstrated increased expression of several basement membrane proteins and hemidesmosomal components. Proteins expressed at the apical surface (mucins and trefoils) were also increased as were several additional proteins with anti-microbial activity or that modulate inflammation. Finally, several transporter proteins that affect electrolyte balance (and, thereby affect water resorption) were increased. At the same time, growth and cell cycle regulatory proteins (Ki67, nucleophosmin, and stathmin) were significantly down-regulated. Laminin interactions, matrix formation and extracellular matrix organization were the top three up-regulated pathways with the intervention.

CONCLUSION

A majority of individuals including patients with UC do not reach the recommended daily intake for calcium and other minerals. To the extent that such deficiencies might contribute to the weakening of the colonic barrier, the findings employing UC tissue-derived colonoids here suggest that adequate mineral intake might improve the colonic barrier.

Stathmin! An immunohistochemical analysis of the novel marker in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia

BACKGROUND

Stathmin is an intracellular phosphoprotein that controls the microtubule dynamics by further regulating proper attachment and alignment of chromosomes in a dividing cell. Thus, any mutation or aberrantly expressed protein that reduces the fidelity of spindle assembly will enhance chromosomal instability contributing to aneuploidy. Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma is an extensively studied malignancy that occurs due to accumulated genetic changes due to carcinogens. The current study is done to evaluate the stathmin role and its expression in OSCC and Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED).

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of stathmin in OSCC and Oral dysplasia and also to correlate the expression of Stathmin with respect to the different histopathological grades of OED and OSCC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

30 neutral buffered formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues of Oral Leukoplakia/OED and 30 FFPE tissues of OSCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry with stathmin antibody. Five fields of each case with 300 cells were examined and a mean percentage of positive-stained slides were determined. The percentages were recorded accordingly with their respective histological grades. The results were analysed statistically.

RESULTS

The results of the present study demonstrated higher mean values of stathmin in tissues with OSCC (2.50) compared to leukoplakia (2.11) and normal tissues (0.00) with a high level of statistical significance (0.0001). There is also an increase in the percentage levels of stathmin with increase in the histological grade of differentiation in OSCC as well as leukoplakia.

CONCLUSION

The present study found a statistical correlation between increased grades of the disease with expression levels of stathmin. This confirms that stathmin expression can contribute to disease progression and that stathmin might have a potential role as an early diagnostic biomarker and can be a therapeutic target for OSCC. <br />.

Role of microRNA/Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Axis in the Metastasis of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is the 11th most common diagnosed cancer, and a number of factors including environmental and genetic ones participate in BC development. Metastasis of BC cells into neighboring and distant tissues significantly reduces overall survival of patients with this life-threatening disorder. Recently, studies have focused on revealing molecular pathways involved in metastasis of BC cells, and in this review, we focus on microRNAs (miRNAs) and their regulatory effect on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) mechanisms that can regulate metastasis. EMT is a vital process for migration of BC cells, and inhibition of this mechanism restricts invasion of BC cells. MiRNAs are endogenous non-coding RNAs with 19-24 nucleotides capable of regulating different cellular events, and EMT is one of them. In BC cells, miRNAs are able to both induce and/or inhibit EMT. For regulation of EMT, miRNAs affect different molecular pathways such as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), Snail, Slug, ZEB1/2, CD44, NSBP1, which are, discussed in detail this review. Besides, miRNA/EMT axis can also be regulated by upstream mediators such as lncRNAs, circRNAs and targeted by diverse anti-tumor agents. These topics are also discussed here to reveal diverse molecular pathways involved in migration of BC cells and strategies to target them to develop effective therapeutics.