Electrospun EU/HPMC nanofibers decorated by ZIF-8 nanoparticle as the advanced electrochemical biosensor modifier for sensitive and selective detection of c-MET cancer biomarker in human plasma sample

This research presents a selective and sensitive electrochemical biosensor for the detection of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-MET). The biosensing is based on a modification of the SPCE (screen-printed carbon electrode) with the electrospun nanofiber containing eudragit (EU), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and Zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) nanoparticles. EU/HPMC/ZIF-8 nanofibers have presented a high capability of electron transfer, and more active surface area than bare SPCE due to synergistic effects between EU, HPMC, and ZIF-8. On the other hand, EU/HPMC nanofibers provided high porosity, flexible structures, high specific surface area, and good mechanical strength. The presence of ZIF-8 nanoparticles improved the immobilization of anti-c-MET on the modified SPCE and also resulted in increasing the conductivity. By c-MET incubation on the modified SPCE, c-MET was connected to anti-c-MET, and consequently the electrochemical signal of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- as the anion redox probe was reduced. In order to investigate the structural and morphological characteristics and elemental composition of electrospun nanofibers, various characterization methods including FE-SEM, XRD, FTIR, and EDS were used. Under optimum conditions with a working potential range -0.3-0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), linear range (LR), correlation coefficient (R2), sensitivity, and limit of detection (LOD) were acquired at 100 fg/mL-100 ng/mL, 0.9985, 53.28 μA/cm2.dec, and 1.28 fg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the mentioned biosensor was investigated in a human plasma sample to determine c-MET and showed ideal results including reproducibility, stability, and good selectivity against other proteins.

Proteomic identification of biomarkers in maternal plasma that predict the outcome of rescue cerclage for cervical insufficiency

Objective

We sought to identify plasma protein biomarkers that are predictive of the outcome of rescue cerclage in patients with cervical insufficiency.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included 39 singleton pregnant women undergoing rescue cerclage for cervical insufficiency (17–25 weeks) who gave plasma samples. Three sets of pooled plasma samples from controls (cerclage success, n = 10) and cases (cerclage failure, n = 10, defined as spontaneous preterm delivery at <33 weeks) were labeled with 6-plex tandem mass tag (TMT) reagents and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Differentially expressed proteins between the two groups were selected from the TMT-based quantitative analysis. Multiple reaction monitoring-mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) analysis was further used to verify the candidate proteins of interest in patients with cervical insufficiency in the final cohort (n = 39).

Results

From MRM-MS analysis of the 40 proteins showing statistically significant changes (P < 0.05) from the TMT-based quantitative analysis, plasma IGFBP-2, PSG4, and PGLYRP2 levels were found to be significantly increased, whereas plasma MET and LXN levels were significantly decreased in women with cerclage failure. Of these, IGFBP-2, PSG4, and LXN levels in plasma were independent of cervical dilatation. A multiple-biomarker panel was developed for the prediction of cerclage failure, using a stepwise regression procedure, which included the plasma IGFBP-2, PSG4, and LXN (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.916). The AUC for this multiple-biomarker panel was significantly greater than the AUC for any single biomarker included in the multi-biomarker model.

Conclusions

Proteomic analysis identified useful and independent plasma biomarkers (IGFBP-2, PSG4, and LXN; verified by MRM) that predict poor pregnancy outcome following rescue cerclage. Their combined analysis in a multi-biomarker panel significantly improved predictability.

Phase I and Biomarker Study of Plerixafor and Bevacizumab in Recurrent High-Grade Glioma

Purpose: Although antiangiogenic therapy for high-grade glioma (HGG) is promising, responses are not durable. Correlative clinical studies suggest that the SDF-1α/CXCR4 axis may mediate resistance to VEGFR inhibition. Preclinical data have demonstrated that plerixafor (a reversible CXCR4 inhibitor) could inhibit glioma progression after anti-VEGF pathway inhibition. We conducted a phase I study to determine the safety of plerixafor and bevacizumab in recurrent HGG.Patients and Methods: Part 1 enrolled 23 patients with a 3 × 3 dose escalation design to a maximum planned dose of plerixafor 320 μg/kg subcutaneously on days 1 to 21 and bevacizumab 10 mg/kg intravenously on days 1 and 15 of each 28-day cycle. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples were obtained for pharmacokinetic analyses. Plasma and cellular biomarkers were evaluated before and after treatment. Part 2 enrolled 3 patients and was a surgical study to determine plerixafor's penetration in tumor tissue.Results: In Part 1, no dose-limiting toxicities were seen at the maximum planned dose of plerixafor + bevacizumab. Treatment was well tolerated. After plerixafor 320 μg/kg treatment, the average CSF drug concentration was 26.8 ± 19.6 ng/mL. Plerixafor concentration in resected tumor tissue from patients pretreated with plerixafor was 10 to 12 μg/g. Circulating biomarker data indicated that plerixafor + bevacizumab induces rapid and persistent increases in plasma SDF-1α and placental growth factor. Progression-free survival correlated with pretreatment plasma soluble mesenchymal-epithelial transition receptor and sVEGFR1, and overall survival with the change during treatment in CD34⁺ progenitor/stem cells and CD8 T cells.Conclusions: Plerixafor + bevacizumab was well tolerated in HGG patients. Plerixafor distributed to both the CSF and brain tumor tissue, and treatment was associated with biomarker changes consistent with VEGF and CXCR4 inhibition. Clin Cancer Res; 24(19); 4643-9. ©2018 AACR.

[Correlation Research on HGF and c-Met of Chronic Erosive Gastritis Patients]

Objective To observe the correlation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and Hepato- cyte growth factor receptor (c-Met ) in serum and gastric mucosa tissues of chronic erosive gastritis pa- tients. Methods Totally 70 patients with chronic erosive gastritis were selected and assigned to turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome group and Gan-wei disharmony syndrome group, HGF expression level of ser- um,and HGF,c-Met expression level of gastric mucosa tissues were measured;the correlation of HGF and c-Met in gastric mucosa tissues, and the correlation of HGF in serum and gastric mucosa tissues were analyzed. Results The expression level of HGF and c-Met in turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome group was higher than that in Gan-wei disharmony syndrome group (P <0. 05) ; the expression level of HGF in gastric mucosa tissues was positively correlated with c-Met(r =0. 831 , P <0. 05) ; the expression level of HGF in serum was positively correlated with that of gastric mucosa tissues(r =0. 656, P <0. 05). Conclusions There was correlation between turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome of Chronic Erosive Gastri- tis patients and the expression level of HGF and c-Met.

Association of hepatocyte-derived growth factor receptor/caudal type homeobox 2 co-expression with mucosal regeneration in active ulcerative colitis

AIM: To characterize the regeneration-associated stem cell-related phenotype of hepatocyte-derived growth factor receptor (HGFR)-expressing cells in active ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODS: On the whole 38 peripheral blood samples and 38 colonic biopsy samples from 18 patients with histologically proven active UC and 20 healthy control subjects were collected. After preparing tissue microarrays and blood smears HGFR, caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2), prominin-1 (CD133) and Musashi-1 conventional and double fluorescent immunolabelings were performed. Immunostained samples were digitalized using high-resolution Mirax Desk instrument, and analyzed with the Mirax TMA Module software. For semiquantitative counting of immunopositive lamina propria (LP) cells 5 fields of view were counted at magnification × 200 in each sample core, then mean ± SD were determined. In case of peripheral blood smears, 30 fields of view with 100 μm diameter were evaluated in every sample and the number of immunopositive cells (mean ± SD) was determined. Using 337 nm UVA Laser MicroDissection system at least 5000 subepithelial cells from the lamina propria were collected. Gene expression analysis of HGFR, CDX2, CD133, leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5), Musashi-1 and cytokeratin 20 (CK20) were performed in both laser-microdisscted samples and blood samples by using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTS: By performing conventional and double fluorescent immunolabelings confirmed by RT-PCR, higher number of HGFR (blood: 6.7 ± 1.22 vs 38.5 ± 3.18; LP: 2.25 ± 0.85 vs 9.22 ± 0.65; P < 0.05), CDX2 (blood: 0 vs 0.94 ± 0.64; LP: 0.75 ± 0.55 vs 2.11 ± 0.75; P < 0.05), CD133 (blood: 1.1 ± 0.72 vs 8.3 ± 1.08; LP: 11.1 ± 0.85 vs 26.28 ± 1.71; P < 0.05) and Musashi-1 (blood and LP: 0 vs scattered) positive cells were detected in blood and lamina propria of UC samples as compared to controls. HGFR/CDX2 (blood: 0 vs 1 ± 0.59; LP: 0.8 ± 0.69 vs 2.06 ± 0.72, P < 0.05) and Musashi-1/CDX2 (blood and LP: 0 vs scattered) co-expressions were found in blood and lamina propria of UC samples. HGFR/CD133 and CD133/CDX2 co-expressions appeared only in UC lamina propria samples. CDX2, Lgr5 and Musashi-1 expressions in UC blood samples were not accompanied by CK20 mRNA expression.

CONCLUSION: In active UC, a portion of circulating HGFR-expressing cells are committed to the epithelial lineage, and may participate in mucosal regeneration by undergoing mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition.

Changes in colorectal carcinoma genomes under anti-EGFR therapy identified by whole-genome plasma DNA sequencing

Monoclonal antibodies targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), such as cetuximab and panitumumab, have evolved to important therapeutic options in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). However, almost all patients with clinical response to anti-EGFR therapies show disease progression within a few months and little is known about mechanism and timing of resistance evolution. Here we analyzed plasma DNA from ten patients treated with anti-EGFR therapy by whole genome sequencing (plasma-Seq) and ultra-sensitive deep sequencing of genes associated with resistance to anti-EGFR treatment such as KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and EGFR. Surprisingly, we observed that the development of resistance to anti-EGFR therapies was associated with acquired gains of KRAS in four patients (40%), which occurred either as novel focal amplifications (n = 3) or as high level polysomy of 12p (n = 1). In addition, we observed focal amplifications of other genes recently shown to be involved in acquired resistance to anti-EGFR therapies, such as MET (n = 2) and ERBB2 (n = 1). Overrepresentation of the EGFR gene was associated with a good initial anti-EGFR efficacy. Overall, we identified predictive biomarkers associated with anti-EGFR efficacy in seven patients (70%), which correlated well with treatment response. In contrast, ultra-sensitive deep sequencing of KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, and EGFR did not reveal the occurrence of novel, acquired mutations. Thus, plasma-Seq enables the identification of novel mutant clones and may therefore facilitate early adjustments of therapies that may delay or prevent disease progression.

Targeted therapies based on characteristics of the tumor genome are increasingly being offered to patients with cancer. For example, colorectal carcinomas that are wild type for KRAS are frequently treated with monoclonal antibodies targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). However, almost all patients with clinical response to anti-EGFR therapies develop resistance and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Because of the instability of tumor genomes the status of predictive biomarkers, such as the KRAS gene, can change during the course of disease. So-called “liquid biopsies”, e.g. analyses of circulating tumor DNA, provide genetic follow-up data non-invasively from peripheral blood. When using whole genome sequencing of plasma DNA (plasma-Seq) we observed that specific copy number changes of genes, such as KRAS, MET, or ERBB2, can be acquired under therapy and determine responsiveness to therapy. In fact, our data suggest that non-invasive genome profiling is capable of predicting responsiveness or emerging resistance to anti-EGFR therapy in the majority of cases. Hence, non-invasive testing of the current status of the tumor genome can help reduce of harm from erroneous therapeutic decisions and optimize treatment for maximal efficacy and minimal side effects, which is important for decreasing metastasized CRC-related morbidity and mortality.

ADAM10/17-dependent release of soluble c-Met correlates with hepatocellular damage

The signalling pathway elicited by hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met is indispensable for liver development and regeneration. It has been described that c-Met is released from the cell surface by a disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10) resulting in a soluble c-Met form known as sMet. Using the human hepatocellular HepG2 and hepatic stellate cell LX2 lines we show that sMet is released from the cell surface of liver cells by both ADAM17 and ADAM10, with ADAM17 appearing to be the major proteinase. Moreover, using a mouse model of 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl- 1,4-dihydroxycollidine (DDC)-induced hepatobiliary obstruction we show that serum levels of sMet correlate well with the liver damage state and consecutive regeneration as well as with established markers of liver damage such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin. However, sMet exhibited remarkably better correlation with liver damage and inflammation than did serum tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), whose shedding is also mediated by ADAM proteolytic activity. Our results indicate that the proteolytic activity of ADAM10/17 is essential for regulating HGF/c-Met signalling during acute liver damage and following regeneration and that the differential serum levels of sMet together with expression of c-Met/HGF might be a useful indicator not only for damage, but also for ongoing liver regeneration.

[Biomarkers in the detection of minimal systemic dissemination in lung cancer patients]

INTRODUCTION

Minimal systemic disease (MSD) means the presence of circulating or disseminated tumour cells in mesenchymal compartments of a patientts' body (lymphatic nodes, blood or bone marrow). The aim of our pilot study was to identify sensitive and specific markers for MSD detection in 50 lung cancer patients, who underwent curative surgery in the I. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and Faculty Hospital Olomouc in 2009 and 2010.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Absolute gene expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR1), lung-specific X protein (LUNX) and hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-met) was determined in peripheral blood, bone marrow and pulmonary blood of 50 lung cancer patients using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR).

RESULTS

(1) The LUNX marker is specific and sensitive for MSD detection in lung cancer patients. (2) The CEA positivity for MSD in the bone marrow correlated significantly with histopathological grading (GI-GIII). (3) Higher expression of CEA and c-met was found in pulmonary blood of patients with hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy. (4) Higher expression of MSD markers (CEA in bone marrow, c-met in peripheral blood and LUNX in pulmonary blood) correlated with higher pTNM classification.

CONCLUSION

Minimal systemic disease detection in lung cancer patients is technically feasible using sufficiently sensitive and specific markers for RT-PCR. Minimal systemic disease detection can be used to guide further systemic treatment. This theory must be validated in a larger group of patients and correlated with clinical data, especially with survival data.

Plasma level of soluble c-Met is tightly associated with the clinical risk of preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to examine the relevance of the soluble form c-Met (sMet) with the clinical risk for severe preeclampsia.

STUDY DESIGN

This prospective case-control study was performed by using plasma derived from 44 preeclamptic and 51 uncomplicated pregnant women. Plasma concentration of sMet was measured with specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the predictive values were determined based on the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis.

RESULTS

Plasma s-Met level in normal pregnant women changed in a gestation-dependent manner, peaking at weeks 19-24. In women with severe preeclampsia, the circulating sMet level was significantly lower than that in the gestational stage-matched controls during gestational weeks 15-30. The ROC curve analysis revealed a significant correlation between plasma sMet level and the risk of developing severe preeclampsia.

CONCLUSION

Plasma sMet could serve as a potential biomarker for predicting severe preeclampia at early second trimester of pregnancy.

Combined Detection of CEA, CK-19 and c-met mRNAs in Peripheral Blood: A Highly Sensitive Panel for Potential Molecular Diagnosis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE

Detection of tumor-related mRNA in blood has become a potential cancer diagnostic approach. However, the sensitivity of single-marker assays is not high enough for clinical applications. The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a multimarker panel for molecular diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 (CK-19), c-met and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) B1 mRNAs were quantified by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in 34 tumor tissues and 69 peripheral blood samples of NSCLC patients.

RESULTS

All four markers displayed high overexpression rates (range 82.3-97.1%) in NSCLC tumors. When used as single markers in blood for NSCLC diagnosis, CEA, CK-19, c-met and hnRNP B1 could only reach sensitivities of 52.2, 50.7, 42 and 17.4%, respectively. However, the sensitivity was enhanced up to 85.5% when CEA, CK-19 and c-met were combined in a 3-marker panel. Moreover, the expression of c-met and hnRNP B1 in blood was significantly correlated with patients' pathological stages.

CONCLUSIONS

The combined detection of CEA, CK-19 and c-met mRNAs in blood provided a valuable tool for molecular diagnosis of NSCLC. In addition, our results also suggested that hnRNP B1 was not a valuable diagnostic marker but a potential prognostic marker for NSCLC.

Overexpression of circulating c-met messenger RNA is significantly correlated with nodal stage and early recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The c-met receptor and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor have been shown to be involved in tumor invasiveness and metastasis. Overexpression of c-met has been demonstrated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines, but the expression of c-met in peripheral blood (circulating c-met) has not been addressed. The molecular monitoring of circulating c-met could be helpful for selecting patients for adjuvant therapy.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the expression of circulating c-met in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to assess its prognostic implications.

METHODS

We quantified the levels of c-met messenger RNA (mRNA) in paired tumor and normal lung tissues and their peripheral bloods in 45 patients with NSCLC by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The expression status of c-met protein in tumor tissues was further evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

c-Met mRNA was significantly higher by 1.5 to 11 times in 34 of 45 tumor tissues (75.5%) than it was in their normal counterparts by real-time PCR. A comparison of this assay to immunohistochemistry suggested that real-time PCR was more sensitive than immunohistochemistry (27 of 45 tumor tissues, 60.0%) for the detection of c-met (p = 0.016). Of these patients with overexpression of c-met in tumors, 67.6% (23 of 34 patients) expressed higher amounts of circulating c-met by 1.4 to 8 times that of the normal control subjects. In addition, overexpression of circulating c-met was significantly correlated with nodal (N) stage (p = 0.011), but weakly correlated with tumor (T) stage (p = 0.056) and overall stages (p = 0.054) in patients with NSCLC. However, no correlations were found among circulating c-met and other factors such as age, gender, and pathologic types. Moreover, by univariate analysis, circulating c-met overexpression and pathologic stages (including T and N stages) were the most important factors correlated with early recurrence (p < 0.05). Only the circulating c-met remained as an independent predictor of early recurrence (hazard ratio, 3.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 13.33; p = 0.027) after Cox regression multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Overexpression of circulating c-met is significantly correlated with the N stage and early recurrence. Moreover, early recurrence is frequently noted in patients with overexpression of circulating c-met, indicating that circulating c-met is an independent negative prognostic indicator in NSCLC.

Discovery of diphenylcarbamate derivatives as highly potent and selective IP receptor agonists: orally active prostacyclin mimetics. Part 3

The new classes of diphenylcarbamate derivatives with a tetrahydronaphthalene skeleton as highly potent and selective IP agonists have been discovered. The optimized diphenylcarbamate type compound FK-788: (R)-4 exhibited potent antiaggregative potency with an IC50 of 18 nM and high binding affinity for the human recombinant IP receptor with K(i) values of 20 nM and selectivity for human IP over all other members of the human prostanoid receptor family. Compound (R)-4 was shown to exhibit good pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs, and also good bioavailability in healthy volunteers.

[Significance of current bio- and molecular-markers in urological cancers]

In order to reconfirm their diagnostic and predictive significance, bio- and molecular-markers of urological cancers (prostate, urothelial, kidney, and testicular cancer) are reviewed. In prostate cancer, although prostatic specific antigen (PSA) is a gold standard marker for its screening and monitoring, recent studies have revealed that PSA-related markers have additional information for patients with a gray zone PSA score. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) may provide new applications for detection of high-grade cancer or microscopic circulating prostate cancer cells in the blood. In urothelial cancers, several urinary markers are available and may be helpful in the diagnosis of lower-grade urothelial cancers, which have a low sensitivity of urinary cytology. In testicular cancer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are essential markers not only to determine the tumor stage but also the prognosis of the patient. In renal cell carcinoma (RCC), unfortunately, no definitive biomarker is available for its diagnosis and monitoring. Thus, we must find new specific bio- and molecular-markers that reflect the biological activity of RCC.

Improvement of endothelial dysfunction by angiotensin II blockade accompanied by induction of vascular hepatocyte growth factor system in diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a unique growth factor with many protective functions. Previously, we demonstrated that HGF stimulated growth of endothelial cells without replication of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and that angiotensin (Ang) II significantly decreased local HGF production in VSMC. Moreover, we also reported that high glucose significantly decreased local vascular HGF production. Therefore, we examined effects of Ang II blockade on vascular HGF expression and endothelial injury in diabetic hypertensive rats. An angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (quinapril) and an Ang II type 1 receptor antagonist (GA-0113) or vehicle was administrated to diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-DM), in whom diabetes was induced by streptozotocin. Endothelial function was evaluated by the vasodilator response to acetylcholine, and the expression of vascular HGF and its receptor, c-met, was examined by immunohistochemistry. Both quinapril and GA-0113 significantly improved the vasodilator response to acetylcholine ( P < 0.01), while vehicle did not as compared to untreated normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). We next examined the effects of Ang II blockade on vascular HGF expression in SHR-DM. Importantly, the vascular HGF level was markedly decreased in SHR-DM as compared to WKY, while Ang II blockade by quinapril or GA-0113 significantly increased positive staining for HGF in SHR-DM. Similarly, staining of its specific receptor, c-met, was less in the blood vessels of SHR-DM as compared to WKY. In contrast, Ang II blockade also significantly increased c-met production in SHR-DM. The present data demonstrated the improvement of endothelial dysfunction by Ang II blockade in SHR-SM, accompanied by an increase in vascular HGF and c-met.

Vascular origin of a soluble truncated form of the hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-met)

Hepatocyte growth factor (scatter factor) is an angiogenic growth factor that binds to its cellular transmembrane receptor, c-met. Both HGF and c-met are expressed by vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, where HGF may exert autocrine and paracrine effects. We have found that human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) release a soluble, truncated form of c-met. Receptor shedding was induced by treatment of the cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and by the ligand, HGF. Shedding was inhibited by cycloheximide, a metalloproteinase inhibitor, and protein kinase C inhibitors. The soluble form of c-met was able to bind HGF, although with reduced affinity (K(d) approximately 10 nmol/L) compared with the membrane bound receptor. Conditioned medium containing soluble c-met inhibited the induction of Akt phosphorylation by HGF in HUVECs. The soluble truncated form of c-met was detectable in the plasma of 5 healthy volunteers. The shedding of c-met may represent a novel mechanism for regulating the mitogenic, motogenic, and morphogenic effects of hepatocyte growth factor.

Detection of occult metastatic breast cancer cells in blood by a multimolecular marker assay: correlation with clinical stage of disease

Currently, molecular markers offer the unique opportunity to identify occult metastasis in early stage cancer patients not otherwise detected with conventional staging techniques. To date, well-characterized molecular tumor markers to detect occult breast cancer cells in blood are limited. Because breast tumors are heterogeneous in tumor marker expression, we developed a "multimarker" reverse transcription-PCR assay combined with the highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence automated detection system. Breast cancer cell lines (n = 7), primary breast tumors (n = 25), and blood from normal donors (n = 40) and breast cancer patients [n = 65; American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages I-IV] were assessed for four mRNA tumor markers: beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG), oncogene receptor (c-Met), beta 1-->4-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase, and a tumor-associated antigen (MAGE-A3). None of the tumor markers were expressed in any normal donor bloods. Breast cancer cell lines and primary breast tumors expressed beta-hCG, c-Met, beta 1-->4-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase, and MAGE-A3 mRNA. Of the 65 breast cancer patient blood samples assessed, 2, 3, 15, 49, and 31% expressed 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0 of the mRNA tumor markers, respectively. At least two markers were expressed in 20% of the blood specimens. The addition of a combination of markers enhanced detection of systemic metastasis by 32%. In patient blood samples, the MAGE-A3 marker correlated significantly with tumor size (P = 0.0004) and AJCC stage (P = 0.007). The combination of beta-hCG and MAGE-A3 mRNA markers correlated significantly with tumor size (P = 0.04), and the marker combination c-Met and MAGE-A3 showed a significant correlation with tumor size (P = 0.005) as well as AJCC stage (P = 0.018). A multimarker reverse transcription-PCR assay that correlates with known clinicopathological prognostic parameters may have potential clinical utility by monitoring tumor progression with a blood test.

Hepatocyte growth factor is a regulator of monocyte-macrophage function

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent paracrine mediator of stromal/epithelial interactions, which is secreted as a matrix-associated inactive precursor (pro-HGF) and locally activated by tightly controlled urokinase cleavage. It induces proliferation and motility in epithelial and endothelial cells, and plays a role in physiological and pathological processes involving invasive cell growth, such as angiogenesis and parenchymal regeneration. We now report that HGF induces directional migration and cytokine secretion in human monocytes. Monocyte activation by endotoxin and IL-1beta results in the up-regulation of the HGF receptor expression and in the induction of cell-associated pro-HGF convertase activity, thus enhancing cell responsiveness to the factor. Furthermore, we provide evidence for the secretion of biologically active HGF by activated monocytes, implying an autocrine stimulation. Altogether, these data indicate that monocyte function is modulated by HGF in a paracrine/autocrine manner, and provide a new link between stromal environment and mononuclear phagocytes.