Deoxyhypusine hydroxylase: A novel therapeutic target differentially expressed in short-term vs long-term survivors of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive neoplasm of the brain. Poor prognosis is mainly attributed to tumor heterogeneity, invasiveness and drug resistance. Only a small fraction of GB patients survives longer than 24 months from the time of diagnosis (ie, long-term survivors [LTS]). In our study, we aimed to identify molecular markers associated with favorable GB prognosis as a basis to develop therapeutic applications to improve patients' outcome. We have recently assembled a proteogenomic dataset of 87 GB clinical samples of varying survival rates. Following RNA-seq and mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics analysis, we identified several differentially expressed genes and proteins, including some known cancer-related pathways and some less established that showed higher expression in short-term (<6 months) survivors (STS) compared to LTS. One such target found was deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH), which is known to be involved in the biosynthesis of hypusine, an unusual amino acid essential for the function of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), which promotes tumor growth. We consequently validated DOHH overexpression in STS samples by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry. We further showed robust inhibition of proliferation, migration and invasion of GB cells following silencing of DOHH with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or inhibition of its activity with small molecules, ciclopirox and deferiprone. Moreover, DOHH silencing led to significant inhibition of tumor progression and prolonged survival in GB mouse models. Searching for a potential mechanism by which DOHH promotes tumor aggressiveness, we found that it supports the transition of GB cells to a more invasive phenotype via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related pathways.

Psychiatrists and a computer as interrogators of patients with alcohol-related illnesses: a comparison

A computer-administered 'interview' was developed for eliciting evidence relating to alcohol problems. Thirty-six volunteer male patients on their first visits to a specialist alcohol clinic were interviewed three times, by two psychiatrists and by the computer; information was sought about 72 pre-defined indicants concerning alcohol consumption, drinking behaviour, and symptoms. Each patient was asked to complete an attitude questionnaire anonymously. The extent of agreement between the evidence elicited by the computer and by the psychiatrists was quite high, and their estimated error rates were very similar, all between 10 per cent and 12 per cent in total. With respects to amounts of alcohol consumed, patients reported significantly greater amounts to the computer than they reported to the psychiatrists. The median amounts of pure ethanol consumed ranged from 1-19 kg per week calculated from reports made to one of the psychiatrists, up to 1-58 kg per week calculated from reports made to the computer. The results from the attitude questionnaire indicated a high level of acceptability to patients of computer interrogation.