Autophagy: A challengeable paradox in cancer treatment

OBJECTIVE

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation pathway conserved in all eukaryotes from yeast to humans. This process plays a quality-control role by destroying harmful cellular components under normal conditions, maintaining cell survival, and establishing cellular adaptation under stressful conditions. Hence, there are various studies indicating dysfunctional autophagy as a factor involved in the development and progression of various human diseases, including cancer. In addition, the importance of autophagy in the development of cancer has been highlighted by paradoxical roles, as a cytoprotective and cytotoxic mechanism. Despite extensive research in the field of cancer, there are many questions and challenges about the roles and effects suggested for autophagy in cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the paradoxical roles of autophagy in different tumors and related cancer treatment options.

METHODS

In this study, to find articles, a search was made in PubMed and Google scholar databases with the keywords Autophagy, Autophagy in Cancer Management, and Drug Design.

RESULTS

According to the investigation, some studies suggest that several advanced cancers are dependent on autophagy for cell survival, so when cancer cells are exposed to therapy, autophagy is induced and suppresses the anti-cancer effects of therapeutic agents and also results in cell resistance. However, enhanced autophagy from using anti-cancer drugs causes autophagy-mediated cell death in several cancers. Because autophagy also plays roles in both tumor suppression and promotion further research is needed to determine the precise mechanism of this process in cancer treatment.

CONCLUSION

We concluded in this article, autophagy manipulation may either promote or hinder the growth and development of cancer according to the origin of the cancer cells, the type of cancer, and the behavior of the cancer cells exposed to treatment. Thus, before starting treatment it is necessary to determine the basal levels of autophagy in various cancers.

Global prevalence of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

A variety of mutations in the largest human gene, dystrophin, cause a spectrum from mild to severe dystrophin-associated muscular dystrophies. Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies are located at the severe end of the spectrum that primarily affects skeletal muscle. Progressive muscle weakness in these purely genetic disorders encourages families with a positive history for genetic counseling to prevent a recurrence, which requires an accurate prevalence of the disorder. Here, we provide a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of DMD and BMD worldwide.

Method

The current systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out using Cochrane seven-step procedure. After determining the research question and inclusion and exclusion criteria, the MagIran, SID, ScienceDirect, WoS, ProQuest, Medline (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched to find relevant studies using defined keywords and all possible keyword combinations using the AND and OR, with no time limit until 2021. The heterogeneity of studies was calculated using the I² test, and the publication bias was investigated using the Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2).

Results

A total of 25 articles involving 901,598,055 people were included. The global prevalence of muscular dystrophy was estimated at 3.6 per 100,000 people (95 CI 2.8–4.5 per 100,000 people), the largest prevalence in the Americans at 5.1 per 100,000 people (95 CI 3.4–7.8 per 100,000 people). According to the subgroup analysis, the prevalence of DMD and BMD was estimated at 4.8 per 100,000 people (95 CI 3.6–6.3 per 100,000 people) and 1.6 per 100,000 people (95 CI 1.1–2.4 per 100,000 people), respectively.

Conclusion

Knowing the precise prevalence of a genetic disorder helps to more accurately predict the likelihood of preventing its occurrence in families. The global prevalence of DMD and BMD was very high, indicating the urgent need for more attention to prenatal screening and genetic counseling for families with a positive history.

Antiproliferative effects of AAV-delivered CRISPR/Cas9-based degradation of the HPV18-E6 gene in HeLa cells

Human papillomavirus infections are associated with most cervical cancers, which are the fourth most common cancer in women. HPV-E6 protein binds to protein p53 and inhibits its function, leading to the switching of normal cells toward cancer cells. Here, we disrupted the HPV-E6 gene and investigated its effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of HeLa cells. The HPV18-E6 gene was targeted with two designed sgRNAs cloned into an AAV-CRISPR-based plasmid. The AAV-E6-CRISPR/Cas9 virions were prepared and titrated in HEK293t cells. The cleavage created in the HPV-E6 gene was detected using the T7E1 assay. Cell cycle profiling, MTT assay, and annexin V/PI staining were performed. Also, the p53 protein level was measured by Western blotting. Our data showed that disruption of the HPV-E6 gene led to increased cell apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation. A significant accumulation of infected cells in sub-G1 phase was observed in the cell profiling assay. Also, HPV-E6 gene disruption resulted in a significant increase in the level of P53 protein. Our findings indicated that AAV-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 can effectively target the HPV-E6 gene in HeLa cells, and its antiproliferative effects may provide therapeutic benefits of local administration of this gene-editing system for HPV-related cervical cancers.

Liposomes, new carriers for delivery of genes and anticancer drugs: a systematic review

Today, nanoscience has grown and developed in various fields of medicine and treatment, including cancer treatment. Currently, the existing treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, cause side effects that are unpleasant to the patient. Due to the fact that anticancer drugs cause severe and widespread side effects, liposomes are considered as new drug carriers to minimize the untimely destruction of the drug when it is delivered to the target tissue and to prevent the side effects of toxic drugs. This systematic review study examined the importance of using liposomes as new drug carriers for the delivery of genes and anticancer drugs. The articles published in English in the databases of Google scholar, WoS, PubMed, Embase, Scopus and science direct were reviewed. According to the results of this study, a new targeted nanosystem has been used for loading and delivering anticancer drugs, genes and controlled drug release which has a significant therapeutic effect compared to the same amount of free drug. In general, liposomal systems have been considered because of their capability in preserving the effect of the drug along with reducing the side effects and toxicity of the drug, especially in the case of anticancer drugs. Accumulation of the drug in a target tissue which results in a reduction of the drug entry into other tissues is the main reason for reducing the side effects of these drugs.

Circular RNA-associated ceRNA network involved in HIF-1 signalling in triple-negative breast cancer: circ_0047303 as a potential key regulator

The aggressive and highly metastatic nature of triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) causes patients to suffer from the poor outcome. HIF‐1 signalling pathway is a prominent pathway that contributes to angiogenesis and metastasis progression in tumours. On the contrary, the undeniable importance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) as multifunctional non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been identified in breast cancer. These ncRNAs owing to their high stability and specificity have been becoming a hotspot in cancer researches. circRNAs act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and compete with mRNAs for shared miRNAs, thus modulate gene expression. Since the most dysregulated biological functions in TNBC are associated with cellular invasion, understanding the molecular pathogenesis of these processes is a crucial step towards the development of new treatment approaches. The purpose of this study is to undermine the circRNA‐associated ceRNA network involved in HIF‐1 signalling in TNBC using an integrative bioinformatics approach. In the next step, the novel circ_0047303‐mediated ceRNA regulatory axes have been extracted and validated across TNBC samples. We show that circ_0047303 has the highest degree in the circRNA‐associated ceRNA network and shows a significant up‐expression in TNBC. Moreover, our results suggest that circ_0047303 could mediate the upregulation of key angiogenesis‐related genes, including HIF‐1, EIF4E2 and VEGFA in TNBC through sponging the tumour‐suppressive miRNAs. The circ_0047303 could be a promising molecular biomarker and/or therapeutic target for TNBC.

The best drug supplement for obesity treatment: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a complex disease with an increasing prevalence worldwide. There are different weight-management options for obesity treatment, including dietary control, exercise, surgery, and medication. Medications are always associated with different responses from different people. More safety and efficacy of drugs with fewer side effects are valuable for any clinical condition. In this systematic review and network meta-analysis, different anti-obesity drugs are compared to identify the most effective drug.

METHODS

All relevant studies were extracted by searching national and international databases of SID, MagIran, ProQuest, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and Google Scholar without time limit until October 2020. Finally, the meta-analysis was performed with the 11 remaining studies containing 14 different drug supplements. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated at a 95% confidence interval (CI) to evaluate the effects of each treatment group compared with placebo. A random-effect model was used to evaluate the effect of individual studies on the final result. Heterogeneity and incompatibility of the network were assessed by Cochran's Q and Higgins I², and the Net Heat chart, respectively. Data analysis was performed using R software.

RESULTS

Our results showed that there were significant mean effects in people intervened with Phentermine 15.0 mg + Topiramate 92.0 mg, Phentermine 7.5 mg + Topiramate 46.0 mg, Pramlintide, Naltrexone + Bupropion 32, and Liraglutide, with SMD effects size = - 9.1, - 7.4, - 6.5, - 5.9, - 5.35, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study was performed to compare the effect of different drugs used for weight loss in obese patients. The most effective drugs for weight loss were phentermine and topiramate, pramlintide, naltrexone, bupropion, and liraglutide compared to placebo treatment, respectively. This study provides new insights into anti-obesity drugs and hopes to shed new light on future research to manage and treat obesity.

Anti-angiogenic effects of testis-specific gene antigen 10 on primary endothelial cells

Growing evidence indicates the antitumor and antiangiogenesis activities of testis-specific gene antigen 10 (TSGA10). However, the underlying mechanisms and precise role of TSGA10 in angiogenesis are still elusive. In this study, we isolated human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and stably transfected with pcDNA3.1 carrying TSGA10 coding sequence. We demonstrated that TSGA10 over-expression significantly decreases HUVEC tubulogenesis and interconnected capillary network formation. HUVECs over-expressing TSGA10 exhibited a significant decrease in migration and proliferation rates. TSGA10 over-expression markedly decreased expression of angiogenesis-related genes, including VEGF-A, VEGFR-2, Ang-1, Ang-2, and Tie-2. Our ELISA results showed the decrease in VEGF-A mRNA expression level is associated with a significant decrease in its protein secretion. Additionally, over-expressing TSGA10 decreased expression levels of marker genes of cell migration (MMP-2, MMP-9, and SDF-1a) and proliferation (PCNA and Ki-67. Furthermore, ERK-1 and AKT phosphorylation significantly reduced in HUVECs over-expressing TSGA10. Our findings suggest a potent anti-angiogenesis activity of TSGA10 in HUVECs through down-regulation of ERK and AKT signalling pathways, and may provide therapeutic benefits for the management of different pathological angiogenesis.

TSGA10 overexpression inhibits angiogenesis of HUVECs: A HIF-2α biased perspective

Testis-specific gene antigen 10 (TSGA10) is a protein overexpressed in most cancers; except for some certain types where its expression is reduced. TSGA10 overexpression in HeLa cells has been shown to disrupt hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) axis and exert potent inhibitory effects. Since HIF-1α is structurally and biochemically similar to HIF-2α, TSGA10 is expected to bind HIF-2α and inhibit its function as well. This study elucidated that increased expression of TSGA10 in manipulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) decreased the proliferation and migration of these cells as affirmed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and wound healing tests, respectively. It also inhibited in vitro angiogenesis of these cells in 3D collagen-cytodex model. Expression levels of genes controlled by HIF-2α including autocrine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were also assessed using real-time PCR. Our bioinformatic analysis also showed that TSGA10 could bind HIF-2α. Moreover, flow cytometry results indicated a cell cycle arrest in G2/M. Therefore, this study showed that overexpression of TSGA10, as a tumor suppressor gene, in endothelial cells resulted in decreased proliferation, migration and therefore, angiogenic activity of HUVECs. Since angiogenesis is vital for tumor development and metastasis, our findings could be of clinical significance in cancer therapy.

Determination of candidate genes involved in schizophrenia using the whole-exome sequencing

OBJECTIVES

We used the whole-exome sequencing to evaluate several genes suspected of being involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

METHODS

The study sample was composed of two families. In the first family, two siblings had schizophrenia, and the parents were healthy. In the second family, two siblings had schizophrenia, while the other sibling and the parents did not.

RESULTS

Indels were detected in some genes, including SPON1, GRIA3, SMAD5, PCLO, KMT2C, SRD5A2, SEMA3B, NCOR2, GPHB5, FAM174B, CLTCL1, and TMEM216. The insertion of three nucleotides (TGA) was detected in the sequence of the PCLO gene. The mutation resulted in the insertion of aspartic acid (Asp, D) in the amino acid sequence of the PCLO protein. Indels detected in SPON1, GRIA3, SMAD5, KMT2C, SRD5A2, SEMA3B, GPHB5, CLTCL1, and TMEM216 were shown to be frameshifting. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the indels in SPON1, GRIA3, SMAD5, KMT2C, SRD5A2, SEMA3B, NCOR2, GPHB5, FAM174B, CLTCL1, and TMEM216 had a damaging effect, while the indel in PCLO had a non-damaging effect on protein function.

CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and the gene mutations identified in this study (Tab. 1, Ref, 42).

Synthesis of anticorrosion nanohybrid films based on bioinspired dopamine, L-cys/CNT@PDA through self-assembly on 304 stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl

Nanohybrid films containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully coated on 304-stainless steel (304ss) for anti-corrosion use. The nanocompositewas made by a self-assembly of poly (dopamine), wrapped with MWCNTs (CNT@PDA) through a mussel inspired method. In order to enhance the corrosion protection, an inner layer of L-cysteine, an adhesive amino acid to 304ss surface through thiol (-SH) functional group were constructed through a dip-coating process. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the double nano-layer could act as a noble anticorrosive coating in 3.5% NaCl, which was assigned to the hydrophobicity, robustness, and dense double layer coating.

Investigation of anticarcinogenic and antioxidant effects of -methylimidazole

4-methylimidazole is widely used in pharmaceuticals, photographic and agricultural chemicals. The substance is extensively found in many human and animals foods. In this research, anticancer effect of the 4-MEI was studded using MTT test using MCF-7 cell line. Effect of the 4-MEI on apoptosis or necrosis was analyzed by DNA fragmentation assay using Swiss Albino rats as a model organism. Antioxidant effect of the substance was investigated by assaying protective effect of the substance on circular plasmid DNA against H2O2 as an oxidative agent. 4-MEI showed inhibitory effect on proliferation of MCF-7 cell line by all concentrations and the decrement was significant and concentration dependent. Result of DNA fragmentation assay showed 4-MEI concentrations dependent of smear formation showing necrotic effects of the 4-MEI on mouse cells. Also, the 4-MEI showed a good antioxidant activity and protective effect against H2O2.

CONCLUSION

The result of this study showed that 4MEI has significant antioxidant and anti-cancer effect. Also, according to the result, 4-MEI has necrotic effects on mouse cells (Fig. 3, Ref. 21).

The effects of 4-MEI on cell proliferation, DNA breaking and DNA fragmentation

4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI) is a color widely found in cola drinks, roasted foods, grilled meats, coffee and other foods. This study was aimed to investigate the 4-MEI effects on the cell proliferation, purified circular DNA and DNA from cells of rats treated with the 4-MEI.In this study, mouse 3T3-L1 cell line was treated with 4-MEI at concentrations of 300, 450, 600 and 750 µg/mL for 24 hours and 48 hours periods, after that cytotoxic effect of the 4-MEI was studied by MTT test. Also, the effect of 4-MEI on purified circular DNA (pET22b) was investigated by treating of the DNA with 4-MEI concentrations of 300, 450, 600 and 750 µg/ml. DNA was extracted from liver cells of rats that have been treated with 4-MEI doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg for 10 week and it was subjected to agarose gel electrophoreses analyses.4-MEI significantly inhibited cell proliferation of 3T3-L1 cell line at highest concentration for 24 h and at all concentration for 48 h treatment time. DNA fragmentation assay showed that 4-MEI at 50 mg/kg concentration clearly produced characteristic DNA smear and no DNA laddering (200bp) was observed when mouse was exposed to 4-MEI. The results obtained from plasmid DNA damaging assay showed that 4-MEI has noeffect on the DNA, because the electrophoretic pattern of DNA treated with 4-MEI showed three bands on agarose gel electrophoresis as it was for untreated control. 4-MEI showed cytotoxic effect on 3T3-L1 cells but no effect on plasmid DNA breaking. According to DNA fragmentation assay 4-MEI has necrosis effects on mouse liver cells (Tab. 1, Fig. 4, Ref. 27).

Evaluation of migraine in patients with ischaemic stroke

An association between migraine and ischaemic stroke has been observed for many years, but the exact mechanisms by which migraine can lead to stroke are still unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of migraine headaches in patients with ischaemic stroke. In this prospective cohort study, we assessed 323 patients with ischaemic stroke; these diagnoses were assigned based on the International Headache Society criteria for migraine with or without aura. Patients were recruited without major risk factors such as stroke, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, taking oral contraceptive pills, history of drug abuse and trauma in issue of their Stroke. Data were collected via a written questionnaire upon admission and were analysed with SPSS version 16 software. Comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney's U test and chi-square and t-test. Migraine headache was present in 11.2% (36 of 323) of patients, 8.1% of women and 3.1% of men. Migraine prevalence was highest in the age over 60  years. There was a history of migraine without aura for over 2  years in 6.2% of patients with ischaemic stroke. Also, we found no significant correlation between migraine headache and location of the lesion in patients with ischaemic stroke.

Polymorphic core promoter GA-repeats alter gene expression of the early embryonic developmental genes

Protein complexes that bind to 'GAGA' DNA elements are necessary to replace nucleosomes to create a local chromatin environment that facilitates a variety of site-specific regulatory responses. Three to four elements are required for the disruption of a preassembled nucleosome. We have previously identified human protein-coding gene core promoters that are composed of exceptionally long GA-repeats. The functional implication of those GA-repeats is beginning to emerge in the core promoter of the human SOX5 gene, which is involved in multiple developmental processes. In the current study, we analyze the functional implication of GA-repeats in the core promoter of two additional genes, MECOM and GABRA3, whose expression is largely limited to embryogenesis. We report a significant difference in gene expression as a result of different alleles across those core promoters in the HEK-293 cell line. Across-species homology check for the GABRA3 GA-repeats revealed that those repeats are evolutionary conserved in mouse and primates (p<1 × 10(-8)). The MECOM core promoter GA-repeats are also conserved in numerous species, of which human has the longest repeat and complexity. We propose a novel role for GA-repeat core promoters to regulate gene expression in the genes involved in development and evolution.