At-Home Administration of Gantenerumab by Care Partners to People with Early Alzheimer's Disease: Feasibility, Safety and Pharmacodynamic Impact

BACKGROUND

Monoclonal antibodies that target amyloid-beta and remove amyloid plaques can slow cognitive and functional decline in early Alzheimer's disease. Gantenerumab is a subcutaneously administered fully-human anti-amyloid-beta monoclonal antibody with highest affinity for aggregated amyloid-beta. Since the phase 3 GRADUATE trials did not meet the primary endpoint (change from baseline to Week 116 in Clinical Dementia Rating scale - Sum of Boxes), development of gantenerumab in sporadic Alzheimer's disease was stopped and all ongoing trials were terminated early due to sponsor decision. Subcutaneous administration at the clinic or at home by care partner would be an important option for other therapies in this class in order to increase flexibility and reduce overall burden. The insights obtained from the experience with gantenerumab home administration by care partner in the phase 2 GRADUATION trial will serve to guide the ongoing efforts with other anti-amyloid-beta antibodies.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the pharmacodynamic effects on brain amyloid load of once weekly subcutaneous administration of gantenerumab and the safety and feasibility of home administration by care partners.

DESIGN

Phase 2, open-label, single arm study.

SETTING

Multicenter trial conducted in 33 sites in 8 countries from November 2020 to March 2023.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants aged 50 to 90 with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (mild cognitive impairment/mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease), and evidence of amyloid positron emission tomography positivity.

INTERVENTION

Participants could receive up to 255 mg gantenerumab once-weekly, administered subcutaneously at site or at home by healthcare professionals or non-healthcare-professional care partners.

MEASUREMENTS

The primary endpoint was the change from baseline to Week 52 and to Week 104 in brain amyloid load as measured by PET centiloid levels. The secondary endpoints were responses to the home administration questionnaire, plasma concentrations and safety.

RESULTS

The overall number of participants enrolled was 192, with a mean (standard deviation) amyloid PET load at baseline of 101.80 (29.80) centiloids. At the time of early study termination by sponsor, 149 participants had valid Week 52 amyloid PET data (primary endpoint), and 12 participants had an early termination PET within the pre-defined time range of Week 104. The mean change in amyloid PET from baseline to Week 52 and Week 104 was -26.19 centiloids (range: -75.6-15.8; n=149) and -35.48 centiloids (range: -63.2--7.0; n=12), respectively. Responses to the home administration questionnaire at Week 52 (n=148) indicated that the majority of care partners (88-97%) considered administration of study drug at home easy (30.4%) or very easy (57.4%), and convenient (25.7%) or very convenient (70.9%). Care partners felt confident (31.1%) or very confident (62.2%) and satisfied (29.7%) or very satisfied (64.9%) with giving the injection at home. Responses by care partners at Week 36 (n=72), Week 76 (n=126) and Week 104 (n=29) and participant (patient) assessment of convenience and satisfaction at these time points were similar. There were no new safety findings associated with gantenerumab administered subcutaneously once weekly at 255 mg or safety issues associated with at-home injections by non-healthcare professional care partners.

CONCLUSIONS

Once-weekly subcutaneous home administration of the anti-amyloid-beta antibody gantenerumab by non-healthcare-professional care partners to participants with early Alzheimer's disease was feasible, safe, well tolerated, and considered as a convenient option by both the care partners and participants with Alzheimer's disease. Although gantenerumab's development has been stopped due to lack of efficacy, this approach has the potential to reduce the frequency of hospital/outpatient clinic visits required for treatment with other anti-amyloid-β antibodies and can increase flexibility of drug administration for people living with Alzheimer's disease and their families.

Tumor resistance

It is suggested that evolution has equipped humans and other species with powerful and, largely non-immunological resistance mechanisms that can nip pre-neoplastic cells, as well as cells disseminating from established tumors in the bud. These mechanisms must operate while maintaining tissue structure, polarity and a large variety of cell-to-cell interactions. Altogether, they are essential for microenvironmental tissue integrity. It has further been postulated that the genes underpinning microenvironmental control are not merely alleles of known cancer susceptibility genes, but constitute sui generis systems.

Who is shocked and who survives? A multi-state analysis of the NORDIC ICD trial

Background/Purpose

The interaction between the risk of arrhythmic death and a competing non-arrhythmic risk of death in patients suitable for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation is not well understood. Commonly, identification of subpopulations with the largest benefit of ICD implantation has been performed by separate risk models for the outcomes death and appropriate shock therapy. The interrelation between the outcomes was not sufficiently studied.

Methods

Data were derived from the safety population of the multinational, prospectively randomized NORDIC ICD trial (N=1067) with real-word patients implanted with a single, dual or triple chamber ICD for primary or secondary prevention. Since all outcome adjudication was performed by an independent Clinical Event Committee supported by full telemonitoring data transmission, a high validity of ICD interventions could be achieved. To investigate the impact of baseline characteristics on time to first appropriate shock, death without prior appropriate shock therapy and death after appropriate shock therapy, a multi-state Cox model was computed. Missing data have been multiply imputed before analysis.

Results

At 36 months follow-up, 86.4% of the patients were alive (7.8% after appropriate shock). 11.0% and 2.6% patients died without or after a foregoing appropriate shock, respectively. The primary randomization allocation showed no significant effect on the 3 outcome types. Higher age (per 5 years) and NYHA functional class (≥III vs. ≤II) were associated with an increased risk of death without appropriate shock (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.14–1.50, p<0.001, and HR 2.17, 95% CI 1.26–3.74, p=0.005, fig.1, accordingly). The presence of diabetes mellitus at baseline was associated with the reduced risk of the occurrence of an appropriate shock (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.35–0.92, p=0.022). Patients with secondary prevention indication for an ICD had very high risk for an appropriate shock after ICD implantation (HR 3.21, 95% CI 2.02–5.11, p<0.001), but not for death without or with previous appropriate shock (HR 1.42, 95% CI 0.72–2.79, p=0.306, or HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.23–2.34, p=0.594 after ICD shock). Renal insufficiency and ischemic vs. nonischemic disease showed a significantly increased global effect on all three transitions (HR 1.63, 95% CI 1.18–2.24, p=0.003 and HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.06–2.20, p=0.025, respectively).

Conclusion

The new multi-state model shows the interrelation between appropriate shocks and death, as well a remarkable variation of risk factors for the transitions. Specifically, the presence of higher age and NYHA functional class ≥III at baseline were strong prognostic factors for all-cause mortality without a foregoing shock therapy, but were not predictive for an appropriate shock therapy. In this all-comer study, a significant discriminator predictive for appropriate shock therapy, but not for death was an indication for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death.

Multi-state graph for NYHA class

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by Biotronik SE & Co. KG (Berlin, Germany)

Impact of electrical cardioversion on quality of life for patients with symptomatic persistent atrial fibrillation: Is there a treatment expectation effect?

It is assumed that electrical cardioversion (ECV) improves the quality of life (QoL) of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) by restoring sinus rhythm (SR).

OBJECTIVE

We examined the effect of ECV and rhythm status on QoL of patients with symptomatic persistent AF in a randomized controlled trial.

METHOD

The elective cardioversion for prevention of symptomatic atrial fibrillation trial examined the efficacy of dronedarone around the time of ECV in maintaining SR. Quality of life was measured with the University of Toronto Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale. The primary outcome was the change in AF symptom severity (∆AFSS) score over 6 months (0-35 points, with higher scores reflecting worse QoL and a minimal clinically important difference defined as ∆AFSS ≥3 points). Multivariable linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with changes in QoL.

RESULTS

We included 148 patients with complete AFSS scores at baseline and 6 months. Over 6 months, QoL improved irrespective of rhythm status (ΔAFSS scores for patients who (i) maintained SR; (ii) had AF relapse after successful ECV; and (iii) had unsuccessful ECV were -6.8 ± 6.4 points, -4.1 ± 6.2 points, and -4.0 ± 5.8 points respectively, P < .01 for all subgroups). After adjustment of baseline covariates, maintenance of SR was associated with QoL improvement (ΔAFSS: -3.8 points, 95% CI: -6.0 to -1.6 points, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Maintenance of SR was associated with clinically relevant improvement in patients' QoL at 6 months. Patients with AF recurrence had a small but still relevant improvement in their QoL, potentially due to factors other than sinus rhythm.

Double chamber cross-talk, the ultimate double-cross

Cross-talk is a well-described phenomenon in a dual-chamber cardiovascular implantable electronic device. Far-field ventricular events are more commonly sensed in the atrial channel, the reverse is uncommon, and seeing both at the same time has never been reported. We present a case of double cross-talk in a dual-chamber Medtronic ® implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. In this report, we decipher an unusual device response to the cross-talk and describe the programming changes required to resolve it.

Transoral thyroid surgery vestibular approach: does size matter anymore?

BACKGROUND

Various approaches for endoscopic and minimally invasive thyroid operations have been reported, with some becoming popular to date. The aim of these procedures is to reduce and prevent visible scars in the neck. This led to the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) technique applicable in small thyroid specimen. To amend TOETVA and to broaden the indication for transoral thyroid surgery, our aim was to combine the TOETVA with the retroauricular endoscopic cephalic access thyroid surgery (EndoCATS) facelift approach.

METHODS

After successful implementation of the TOETVA technique in 2017, we evaluated the transoral technique regarding feasibility and safety in well-selected patients in Germany and Austria. With the combination of TOETVA and EndoCATS, we were able to optimize the extraction process of the specimen by avoiding damage to the thyroid capsule and to broaden the indication of transoral surgery by operating on thyroid glands with higher volume. Patients' characteristics, surgical outcome and complications were determined.

RESULTS

Seventy-one transoral procedures were performed in 70 patients. The TOETVA procedure was performed in 60 patients, and 10 female patients underwent TOVARA with transoral thyroid lobe mobilization and removal of the specimen via the retroauricular access. Overall, median operation time was 205 min (range 96-370 min) and permanent RLNP rate was 1% accordant to 99 nerves at risk (39 hemithyroidectomies, 29 total thyroidectomies, 2 parathyroid resections, and 1 thyroglossal cyst resection). No conversion to conventional open surgery was necessary. Long-term mental nerve injury occurred in two patients. No infection was identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Transoral thyroid and parathyroid surgery via the vestibular approach is both feasible and safe in Western Europe. The combination of the TOETVA with the retroauricular endoscopic cephalic access thyroid surgery (EndoCATS) facelift approach, called TOVARA, is a promising opportunity to allow for thyroid surgery without a visible scar in specimen with volume of more than 40 ml also.

Thirty-Six-Month Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography Results Show Continued Reduction in Amyloid Burden with Subcutaneous Gantenerumab

Previous findings from the positron emission tomography (PET) substudy of the SCarlet RoAD and Marguerite RoAD open-label extension (OLE) showed gantenerumab doses up to 1200 mg every 4 weeks administered subcutaneously resulted in robust beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaque removal over 24 months in people with prodromal-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this 36-month update, we demonstrate continued reduction, with mean (standard error) centiloid values at 36 months of -4.3 (7.5), 0.8 (6.7), and 4.7 (8.0) in the SCarlet RoAD (double-blind pooled placebo and active groups), Marguerite RoAD double-blind placebo, and Marguerite RoAD double-blind active groups respectively, representing a change of -57.0 (10.3), -90.3 (9.0), and -74.9 (10.5) centiloids respectively. These results demonstrate that prolonged gantenerumab treatment, at doses up to 1200 mg, reduces amyloid plaque levels below the amyloid positivity threshold. The ongoing GRADUATE Phase III trials will evaluate potential clinical benefits associated with gantenerumab-induced amyloid-lowering in people with early (prodromal-to-mild) AD.

Characterisation of mecA gene negative Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis milk from Northern Germany

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an important causative agent of contagious intermammary infections in dairy cattle. S. aureus is also considered as an important foodborne pathogen and cause of food poisoning cases and outbreaks worldwide. In order to understand the molecular ecology of S. aureus, the present study compared phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of 70 S. aureus isolates from bovine mastitis milk samples collected during the period from August 2001 to March 2014 in different regions of Northern Germany. The S. aureus isolates were characterised phenotypically, as well as genotypically for their genetic diversity using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing and the presence of virulence genes encoding 16 staphylococcal enterotoxins (sea-selu), toxic shock syndrome toxin (tst), thermonuclease (nuc), clumping factor (clfA and clfB), coagulase (coa) and the methicillin resistance gene mecA. A total of 16 sequence types were grouped into eight clonal complexes (CCs), and 17 spa types were identified. These included six novel sequence types and one novel spa type. The majority of bovine mastitis milk-associated sequence types belonged to the clonal complex CC5, CC97, CC133, and CC151 and showed closely related genotypes or lineages with sequence types of human origin. The genotype CC133 (ST133-t1403) was predominant, constituting 27.1% of the isolates. In addition, the S. aureus isolates displayed nine different enterotoxigenic profiles. All S. aureus were methicillin-susceptible (MSSA). The current study provides new information on phenotypic and genotypic traits of S. aureus isolates from bovine mastitis. The comparison of characteristics of isolates from the present study originating from mastitis milk showed similarities with human isolates. This might help to better understand the distribution of S. aureus in the one health context.

S18 family of mitochondrial ribosomal proteins: evolutionary history and Gly132 polymorphism in colon carcinoma

S18 family of mitochondrial ribosomal proteins (MRPS18, S18) consists of three members, S18-1 to -3. Earlier, we found that overexpression of S18-2 protein resulted in immortalization and eventual transformation of primary rat fibroblasts. The S18-1 and -3 have not exhibited such abilities. To understand the differences in protein properties, the evolutionary history of S18 family was analyzed. The S18-3, followed by S18-1 and S18-2 emerged as a result of ancient gene duplication in the root of eukaryotic species tree, followed by two metazoan-specific gene duplications. However, the most conserved metazoan S18 homolog is the S18-1; it shares the most sequence similarity with S18 proteins of bacteria and of other eukaryotic clades. Evolutionarily conserved residues of S18 proteins were analyzed in various cancers. S18-2 is mutated at a higher rate, compared with S18-1 and -3 proteins. Moreover, the evolutionarily conserved residue, Gly132 of S18-2, shows genetic polymorphism in colon adenocarcinomas that was confirmed by direct DNA sequencing.Concluding, S18 family represents the yet unexplored important mitochondrial ribosomal proteins.

GPs' assessment of cooperation with other health care providers involved in cancer care-a cross-sectional study

Cancer is a complex disease requiring the involvement of several health care providers. A possible constant in the cancer care process is the general practitioner (GP). The aim of this project was to evaluate GPs' satisfaction with cooperation with other health care providers in the cancer care process of their patients and to explore which variables are associated with higher satisfaction with cooperation with other health care providers. We considered the following health care providers: outpatient oncology specialists, physicians in relatively small hospitals (≤400 beds), physicians in relatively large hospitals (>400 beds), home care services, outpatient psycho(onco)logists/psychotherapists, hospice/palliative care units and specialised palliative home care. The cross-sectional study was carried out as a postal survey all over Germany. Data were analysed descriptively and by means of logistic regression. Overall satisfaction with cooperation with other health care providers involved in cancer care was rather high. Only cooperation with outpatient psycho(onco)logists/psychotherapists was rated as not assessable/irrelevant by a majority of GPs. For all other health care providers under review, both communication and the transfer of sufficient information in good time were associated with overall satisfaction with cooperation. Little association was found between GP and practice variables and overall satisfaction with cooperation with the considered health care providers.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) provides survival factors to EBV+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) lines and modulates cytokine induced specific chemotaxis in EBV+ DLBCL

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of malignant lymphoma, accounts for 30% of adult non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) -positive DLBCL of the elderly is a newly recognized subtype that accounts for 8-10% of DLBCLs in Asian countries, but is less common in Western populations. Five DLBCL-derived cell lines were employed to characterize patterns of EBV latent gene expression, as well as response to cytokines and chemotaxis. Interleukin-4 and interleukin-21 modified LMP1, EBNA1 and EBNA2 expression depending on cell phenotype and type of EBV latent programme (type I, II or III). These cytokines also affected CXCR4- or CCR7-mediated chemotaxis in two of the cell lines, Farage (type III) and Val (type II). Further, we investigated the effect of EBV by using dominant-negative EBV nuclear antigen 1(dnEBNA1) to eliminate EBV genomes. This resulted in decreased chemotaxis. By employing an alternative way to eliminate EBV genomes, Roscovitine, we show an increase of apoptosis in the EBV-positive lines. These results show that EBV plays an important role in EBV-positive DLBCL lines with regard to survival and chemotactic response. Our findings provide evidence for the impact of microenvironment on EBV-carrying DLBCL cells and might have therapeutic implications.

Comparative phenotypic analysis of "Clostridium neonatale" and Clostridium butyricum isolates from neonates

"Clostridium neonatale" was recently described as a new species within the Cluster I of the Clostridium genus sensu stricto. In this study, we characterized "C. neonatale" isolates (n = 42) and compared their phenotypic properties with those of Clostridium butyricum (n = 26), a close related species. Strains isolated from fecal samples of healthy neonates were tested for different phenotypic characteristics. Compared to C. butyricum, "C. neonatale" showed a significant higher surface hydrophobicity (p = 0.0047), exopolysaccharide production (p = 0.0069), aero-tolerance (p = 0.0222) and viability at 30 °C (p = 0.0006). A lower swimming ability (p = 0.0146) and tolerance against bile (0.3%) (p = 0.0494), acid (pH 4.5) (p < 0.0001), osmolarity (NaCl 5%, p = 0.0188) and temperature at 50 °C (p = 0.0013) characterized "C. neonatale" strains. Our results showed that "C. neonatale" behaves very differently from C. butyricum and suggests specific responses to environmental changes. Besides it is the first study on clinical isolates for these two anaerobic members of the newborns' gut microbiota and broadens our knowledge about their phenotypic traits.

Multilocus sequence typing of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from poultry, cattle and humans in Nigeria

AIMS

To determine the genetic diversity of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from Nigeria and to identify the association between multilocus sequence types and hosts (poultry, cattle and humans).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Isolates were identified using multiplex PCR assays. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to determine the genetic diversity of 36 Camp. jejuni and 24 Camp. coli strains isolated from poultry, cattle and humans. Of the 36 Camp. jejuni genotyped, 21 sequence types (ST) were found, 9 (43%) were new while of the 24 Camp. coli isolates genotyped, 22 STs were identified with 14 (64%) being new. The most prevalent sequence type was ST1932 followed by ST1036 and ST607 while the prevalent clonal complexes were CC-828, CC-460 and CC-353.

CONCLUSIONS

Campylobacter isolates from Nigeria were found to be diverse with novel genotypes. There was overlap of CC-828, CC-460 and CC-353 between the poultry, cattle and human isolates. Genetic exchange was also detected in two of the Camp. coli isolates.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study highlights the genetic diversity of Campylobacter strains in Nigeria, demonstrating that Camp. jejuni and Camp. coli isolates are diverse and have both local and global strains. The predominant sequence types and clonal complexes found in this study differ from other countries; this exemplifies that different predominant Campylobacter populations exist between countries.

Interferon γ is a STAT1-dependent direct inducer of BCL6 expression in imatinib-treated chronic myeloid leukemia cells

B-cell CLL/lymphoma 6 (BCL6) exerts oncogenic effects in several human hematopoietic malignancies including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), where BCL6 expression was shown to be essential for CML stem cell survival and self-renewal during imatinib mesylate (IM) treatment. As several lines of evidence suggest that interferon γ (IFNγ) production in CML patients might have a central role in the response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, we analyzed if IFNγ modulates BCL6 expression in CML cells. Although separate IFNγ or IM treatment only slightly upregulated BCL6 expression, combined treatment induced remarkable BCL6 upregulation in CML lines and primary human CD34+ CML stem cells. We proved that during combined treatment, inhibition of constitutive signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 5 activation by IM allowed the specific enhancement of the STAT1 dependent, direct upregulation of BCL6 by IFNγ in CML cells. By using colony-forming assay, we found that IFNγ enhanced the ex vivo colony or cluster-forming capacity of human CML stem cells in the absence or presence of IM, respectively. Furthermore, inhibition of the transcriptional repressor function of BCL6 in the presence of IM and IFNγ almost completely blocked the cluster formation of human CML stem cells. On the other hand, by using small interfering RNA knockdown of BCL6, we demonstrated that in an IM-treated CML line the antiapoptotic effect of IFNγ was independent of BCL6 upregulation. We found that IFNγ also upregulated several antiapoptotic members of the BCL2 and BIRC gene families in CML cells, including the long isoform of MCL1, which proved to be essential for the antiapoptotic effect of IFNγ in an IM-treated CML line. Our results suggest that combination of TKIs with BCL6 and MCL1 inhibitors may potentially lead to the complete eradication of CML stem cells.

Microbiology and foodborne pathogens in honey

Honey has been considered a relatively safe foodstuff due to its compositional properties, with infant botulism caused by Clostridium botulinum being the most prominent health risk associated with it. Our review is focused on the honey microflora along the food chain and evaluates the pathogenic potential of those microorganisms found in honey. This product may contain a great variety of bacteria and, particularly, fungi that eventually entered the food chain at an early stage (e.g., via pollen). For many of these microorganisms, opportunistic infections in humans have been recorded (e.g., infections by Staphylococcus spp., Citrobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Hafnia alvei, Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Trichoderma spp., Chaetomium spp.), although direct infections via honey were not registered.

The rise and fall of central dogmas

Stimulated by Francis Cricks "central dogma of molecular biology" open to criticism and rebuttal, five statements are formulated on current notions of tumor biology, inviting the criticism of the reader.

Effect of a nano-silver coating on the quality of fresh turkey meat during storage after modified atmosphere or vacuum packaging

Nano-silver is used in consumer products due to its antibacterial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nano-silver-coated film on the quality of turkey meat during vacuum-sealed and modified atmosphere packaging up to 12 days of storage. In the first part of the experiment, turkey breasts were packaged using either vacuum packaging or modified atmosphere packages (MAPs) and contained films with or without a nano-silver coating (control film). Parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, color (lightness L*, redness a*), myoglobin redox forms, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), biogenic amines (BAs), total viable bacterial counts, Pseudomonas species counts, and Enterobacteriaceae species counts were evaluated on storage days 4, 8, and 12. In the second part of the study, the antimicrobial effect of a nano-silver-coated film on turkey breast was evaluated after inoculation with Escherichia coli (E. coli). Turkey meat packaged with the nano-silver film exhibited lower a* values on days 1 (3.15 ± 0.62), 4 (3.90 ± 0.68), and 8 (4.27 ± 0.76) compared to the packaged meat with the control film (3.41 ± 0.73, 4.35 ± 0.94, 4.85 ± 0.89, respectively), indicating special optical properties of nanoparticles. Concerning the BAs, silver packaged meat showed higher values of tyramine on day 12 (1274 ± 392 ng/g meat) and cadaverine on day 4 (1224 ± 435 ng/g meat) compared to the normal packaged products (647 ± 576 and 508 ± 314 ng/g meat, respectively). MAP meat revealed higher L* and TBARS values and lower microbial counts than the vacuum packaged products on all days. The MAP meat also showed lower a* results on days 4 and 8 and higher metmyoglobin (metMb) values on days 8 and 12 compared to th E: vacuum products. In the inoculation study, the microbial counts of the turkey meat were comparable between the two film types. The study showed that the nano-silver coating did not exhibit any advantageous effects on the quality and microbiological parameters of the turkey meat.

Application of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for molecular identification of Trueperella pyogenes isolated from various origins

In the present study 28 Trueperella pyogenes strains isolated from various origins could successfully be identified with a newly designed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on gene cpn60 encoding chaperonin. No cross reaction could be observed with control strains representing four species of genus Trueperella and seven species of closely related genus Arcanobacterium. The present cpn60 LAMP assay might allow a reliable and low cost identification of T. pyogenes also in laboratories with less specified equipment.

Prostate cancer cells specifically reorganize epithelial cell-fibroblast communication through proteoglycan and junction pathways

Microenvironment and stromal fibroblasts are able to inhibit tumor cell proliferation both through secreted signaling molecules and direct cell-cell interactions but molecular mechanisms of these effects remain unclear. In this study, we investigated a role of cell-cell contact-related molecules (protein ECM components, proteoglycans (PGs) and junction-related molecules) in intercellular communications between the human TERT immortalized fibroblasts (BjTERT fibroblasts) and normal (PNT2) or cancer (LNCaP, PC3, DU145) prostate epithelial cells. It was shown that BjTERT-PNT2 cell coculture resulted in significant decrease of both BjTERT and PNT2 proliferation rates and reorganization of transcriptional activity of cell-cell contact-related genes in both cell types. Immunocytochemical staining revealed redistribution of DCN and LUM in PNT2 cells and significant increase of SDC1 at the intercellular contact zones between BjTERT and PNT2 cells, suggesting active involvement of the PGs in cell-cell contacts and contact inhibition of cell proliferation. Unlike to PNT2 cells, PC3 cells did not respond to BjTERT in terms of PGs expression, moderately increased transcriptional activity of junctions-related genes (especially tight junction) and failed to establish PC3-BjTERT contacts. At the same time, PC3 cells significantly down-regulated junctions-related genes (especially focal adhesions and adherens junctions) in BjTERT fibroblasts resulting in visible preference for homotypic PC3-PC3 over heterotypic PC3-BjTERT contacts and autonomous growth of PC3 clones. Taken together, the results demonstrate that an instructing role of fibroblasts to normal prostate epithelial cells is revoked by cancer cells through deregulation of proteoglycans and junction molecules expression and overall disorganization of fibroblast-cancer cell communication.

Tumor Associations of EBV--Historical Perspectives

This is a brief history of our collaborative work with Werner and Gertrude Henle, Francis Wiener, George and Yanke Manolov, and others on the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with Burkitt lymphoma and other human tumors. Special emphasis is put on the question where EBV is a true cancer virus.

Identification of Novel Epigenetic Markers of Prostate Cancer by NotI-Microarray Analysis

A significant need for reliable and accurate cancer diagnostics and prognosis compels the search for novel biomarkers that would be able to discriminate between indolent and aggressive tumors at the early stages of disease. The aim of this work was identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers for characterization of different types of prostate tumors. NotI-microarrays with 180 clones associated with chromosome 3 genes/loci were applied to determine genetic and epigenetic alterations in 33 prostate tumors. For 88 clones, aberrations were detected in more than 10% of tumors. The major types of alterations were DNA methylation and/or deletions. Frequent methylation of the discovered loci was confirmed by bisulfite sequencing on selective sampling of genes: FGF12, GATA2, and LMCD1. Three genes (BHLHE40, BCL6, and ITGA9) were tested for expression level alterations using qPCR, and downregulation associated with hypermethylation was shown in the majority of tumors. Based on these data, we proposed the set of potential biomarkers for detection of prostate cancer and discrimination between prostate tumors with different malignancy and aggressiveness: BHLHE40, FOXP1, LOC285205, ITGA9, CTDSPL, FGF12, LOC440944/SETD5, VHL, CLCN2, OSBPL10/ZNF860, LMCD1, FAM19A4, CAND2, MAP4, KY, and LRRC58. Moreover, we probabilistically estimated putative functional relations between the genes within each set using the network enrichment analysis.

Different Mechanisms of Regulation of the Warburg Effect in Lymphoblastoid and Burkitt Lymphoma Cells

Background

The Warburg effect is one of the hallmarks of cancer and rapidly proliferating cells. It is known that the hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) and MYC proteins cooperatively regulate expression of the HK2 and PDK1 genes, respectively, in the Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cell line P493-6, carrying an inducible MYC gene repression system. However, the mechanism of aerobic glycolysis in BL cells has not yet been fully understood.

Methods and Findings

Western blot analysis showed that the HIF1A protein was highly expressed in Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-positive BL cell lines. Using biochemical assays and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), we found that—unlike in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs)—the MYC protein was the master regulator of the Warburg effect in these BL cell lines. Inhibition of the transactivation ability of MYC had no influence on aerobic glycolysis in LCLs, but it led to decreased expression of MYC-dependent genes and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) activity in BL cells.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that aerobic glycolysis, or the Warburg effect, in BL cells is regulated by MYC expressed at high levels, whereas in LCLs, HIF1A is responsible for this phenomenon.

Confrontation of fibroblasts with cancer cells in vitro: gene network analysis of transcriptome changes and differential capacity to inhibit tumor growth

BACKGROUND

There is growing evidence that emerging malignancies in solid tissues might be kept under control by physical intercellular contacts with normal fibroblasts.

METHODS

Here we characterize transcriptional landscapes of fibroblasts that confronted cancer cells. We studied four pairs of in vitro and ex vivo fibroblast lines which, within each pair, differed in their capacity to inhibit cancer cells. The natural process was modeled in vitro by confronting the fibroblasts with PC-3 cancer cells. Fibroblast transcriptomes were recorded by Affymetrix microarrays and then investigated using network analysis.

RESULTS

The network enrichment analysis allowed us to separate confrontation- and inhibition-specific components of the fibroblast transcriptional response. Confrontation-specific differences were stronger and were characterized by changes in a number of pathways, including Rho, the YAP/TAZ cascade, NF-kB, and TGF-beta signaling, as well as the transcription factor RELA. Inhibition-specific differences were more subtle and characterized by involvement of Rho signaling at the pathway level and by potential individual regulators such as IL6, MAPK8, MAP2K4, PRKCA, JUN, STAT3, and STAT5A.

CONCLUSIONS

We investigated the interaction between cancer cells and fibroblasts in order to shed light on the potential mechanisms and explain the differential inhibitory capacity of the latter, which enabled both a holistic view on the process and details at the gene/protein level. The combination of our methods pointed to proteins, such as members of the Rho pathway, pro-inflammatory signature and the YAP1/TAZ cascade, that warrant further investigation via tools of experimental perturbation. We also demonstrated functional congruence between the in vitro and ex vivo models. The microarray data are made available via the Gene Expression Omnibus as GSE57199.

The effect of myoglobin crowding on the dynamics of water: an infrared study

Solutions containing 8 and 32 wt% myoglobin are studied by means of infrared spectroscopy, as a function of temperature (290 K and lower temperatures), in the mid- and far-infrared spectral range. Moreover, ultrafast time-resolved infrared measurements are performed at ambient temperature in the O-D stretching region. The results evidence that the vibrational properties of water remain the same in these myoglobin solutions (anharmonicity, vibrational relaxation lifetime…) and in neat water. However, the collective properties of the water molecules are significantly affected by the presence of the protein: the orientational time increases, the solid-liquid transition is affected in the most concentrated solution and the dynamical transition of the protein is observed, from the point of view of water, even in the least concentrated solution, proving that the water and myoglobin dynamics are coupled.

Food Safety Hazards and Microbiological Zoonoses in European Meat Imports Detected in Border Inspection in the Period 2008-2013

Microbiological contaminations and other food safety hazards are omnipresent within the European Union (EU) and a considerable risk for consumers, particularly in imported meat and meat products. The number of rejections at external EU borders has been increasing in recent years. Official authorities in each member state are therefore obliged to notify border rejections of food and animal feed due to a direct or indirect risk to human or animal health. This study explored the trends and temporal and spatial distribution of notifications on food safety hazards between January 2008 and December 2013 with a special emphasis on microbiological zoonoses in meat and meat products including poultry at border checks resulting from the rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF). Results indicated that border rejection notifications are increasing exponentially, frequently due to Salmonella in poultry and shiga-toxin-producing E. coli in meat and meat products.