Clock Gene Expression Levels and Relationship With Clinical and Pathological Features in Colorectal Cancer Patients

The clock gene machinery controls cellular metabolism, proliferation, and key functions, such as DNA damage recognition and repair. Dysfunction of the circadian clock is involved in tumorigenesis, and altered expression of some clock genes has been found in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of core clock genes in colorectal cancer (CRC). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to examine ARNTL1, CLOCK, PER1, PER2, PER3, CRY1, CRY2, Timeless (TIM), TIPIN, and CSNK1Ε expression levels in the tumor tissue and matched apparently healthy mucosa of CRC patients. In the tumor tissue of CRC patients, compared to their matched healthy mucosa, expression levels of ARNTL1 (p?=?.002), PER1 (p?=?.002), PER2 (p?=?.011), PER3 (p?=?.003), and CRY2 (p?=?.012) were lower, whereas the expression level of TIM (p?=?.044) was higher. No significant difference was observed in the expression levels of CLOCK (p?=?.778), CRY1 (p?=?.600), CSNK1Ε (p?=?.903), and TIPIN (p?=?.136). As to the clinical and pathological features, a significant association was found between low CRY1 expression levels in tumor mucosa and age (p?=?.026), and female sex (p?=?.005), whereas high CRY1 expression levels in tumor mucosa were associated with cancer location in the distal colon (p?=?.015). Moreover, high TIM mRNA levels in the tumor mucosa were prevalent whenever proximal lymph nodes were involved (p?= .013) and associated with TNM stages III–IV (p?=?.005) and microsatellite instability (p?=?.015). Significantly poorer survival rates were evidenced for CRC patients with lower expression in the tumor tissue of PER1 (p?=?.010), PER3 (p?= .010), and CSNKIE (p?=?.024). In conclusion, abnormal expression levels of core clock genes in CRC tissue may be related to the process of tumorigenesis and exert an influence on host/tumor interactions. (Author correspondence: g.mazzoccoli@tin.it)     

Crystalline 2-Ketogluconate Reductase from Acetobacter ascendens,the Second Instance of Crystalline Enzyme in Genus Acetobacter

Crystalline 2-ketogluconate reductase in genus Acetobacter was prepared from cell free extract of Acetobacter ascendens. Crystalline enzyme was purified 13,000-fold with a yield of 15%. Affinity chromatography on blue-dextran Sepharose 4B column successfully purified the enzyme. The enzyme was composed of three identical subunits with a molecular weight of 40,000. Substrate specificity of 2-ketogluconate reductase from two genera of acetic acid bacteria was compared using highly purified enzyme preparations, and it was confirmed that gluconate oxidation activity of the enzyme was intrinsically weak or absent in genus Acetobacter and intense in Gluconobacter. This fact must be a useful criterion for classification of acetic acid bacteria.     

胃息肉与幽门螺杆菌感染关系研究

目的探讨胃息肉与幽门螺杆菌（Helicobacter pylori,H.pylori）感染关系。方法对1218例胃息肉同时进行H．pylori检查患者进行回顾性分析,分析胃息肉患者H.pylori感染率、胃息肉部位与H.pylori感染关系、胃息肉病理类型与H.pylori感染关系。结果发现胃息肉Hpylori感染患者532例,Hpylori感染率为43．7％。男性胃息肉患者H.pylori感染率为47．5％（216／455）,女性Hpriori感染率感染率为41．4％（316／763）（P〉0．05）,年龄〈20岁、20～39岁、40—59岁和≥60岁胃息肉H.priori感染率分别为41．7％、44．7％、41．6％和47．2％（P〉0．05）;胃窦胃角息肉H.pylori感染率高于其他部位（胃体、胃底和贲门）（P〈0．05）;炎性和增生性胃息肉H.priori感染率高于胃底腺和腺瘤性息肉（P〈0．05）。结论H.pylori感染可能与部分胃息肉发生有一定关系,需要进一步深入研究胃息肉的发生机制。     

Germline HOXB13 p.Gly84Glu mutation and risk of colorectal cancer

Introduction: The HOXB13 pGly84Glu mutation has recently been associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer but the association of other cancer sites with this allele has not been assessed. Data has suggested that HOXB13 expression levels are decreased in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines indicating this gene may be involved in colorectal tumourigenesis. Methods: To evaluate a potential association of this mutation with CRC, we genotyped the mutation in 2695 CRC cases and 4593 controls from population-based registries in Canada and Australia. Results: The HOXB13 pGly84Glu mutation was more common in CRC cases than controls (0.48% vs. 0.17%, P = 0.02) indicating a significant association between the HOXB13 variant and CRC risk (OR = 2.8; 95%CI: 1.2–6.8). This association was attenuated but remained significant with the inclusion of previously published and publicly available genotype data. Pedigree analysis of cases and controls revealed that 7/21 HOXB13 mutation carriers had a family history of prostate cancer. Discussion: This report is the first to suggest a risk of CRC associated with mutations in the HOXB13 gene. These findings require further validation but may be of importance in the screening and genetic counseling of families known to carry the HOXB13 pGly84Glu mutation.     

Diabetes,metformin use,and colorectal cancer survival in postmenopausal women

Background: Observational studies have associated metformin use with lower colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence but few studies have examined metformin's influence on CRC survival. We examined the relationships among metformin use, diabetes, and survival in postmenopausal women with CRC in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trials and observational study. Methods: 2066 postmenopausal women with CRC were followed for a median of 4.1 years, with 589 deaths after CRC diagnosis from all causes and 414 deaths directly attributed to CRC. CRC-specific survival was compared among women with diabetes with metformin use (n = 84); women with diabetes with no metformin use (n = 128); and women without diabetes (n = 1854). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate associations among metformin use, diabetes and survival after CRC. Strategies to adjust for potential confounders included: multivariate adjustment with known predictors of colorectal cancer survival and construction of a propensity score for the likelihood of receiving metformin, with model stratification by propensity score quintile. Results: After adjusting for age and stage, CRC specific survival in women with diabetes with metformin use was not significantly different compared to that in women with diabetes with no metformin use (HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.40–1.38, p = 0.67) and to women without diabetes (HR 1.00; 95% CI 0.61–1.66, p = 0.99). Following propensity score adjustment, the HR for CRC-specific survival in women with diabetes with metformin use compared to non-users was 0.78 (95% CI 0.38–1.55, p = 0.47) and for overall survival was 0.86 (95% CI 0.49–1.52; p = 0.60). Conclusions: In postmenopausal women with CRC and DM, no statistically significant difference was seen in CRC specific survival in those who used metformin compared to non-users. Analyses in larger populations of colorectal cancer patients are warranted.     

Antihypertensive medications and survival in patients with cancer: A population-based retrospective cohort study

Background: The association between antihypertensive medications and survival in cancer patients remains unclear. Objectives: To explore the association between classes of antihypertensive drugs and survival in cancer patients. Methods: Provincial Cancer Registry data was linked with a Provincial Drug Program Information Network (DPIN) for patients with lung (n = 4241), colorectal (n = 3967), breast (n = 4019) or prostate (n = 3355) cancer between the years of 2004 and 2008. Cox regression analyses were used to compare survival of patients using beta blockers (BBs), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/receptor blockers (ACEi/ARB), calcium channel blockers (CCBs) or thiazide diuretics (TDs) to survival of patients who did not use any of these antihypertensive drugs. Survival of patients using only one class of antihypertensive drugs were compared to each other, with BBs as the reference class. Results: Compared to the antihypertensive drug non-user cohort, BBs had no effect on survival for any of the cancers. ACEi/ARBs use was weakly associated with increased deaths for breast cancer (HR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.04–1.44) and lung cancer (HR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03–1.21) patients. Deaths were also increased with CCB use in patients with breast cancer (HR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.02–1.47) and with TD use in lung cancer patients (HR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.01–1.19). There was strong evidence (p-value <0.0001) of an increase in deaths with TD use for colorectal (HR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15–1.42), and prostate (HR 1.41, 1.2–1.65) cancer patients. When including only antihypertensive drug users prescribed one drug class, lung cancer patients receiving CCBs had improved survival compared to BBs (HR 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64–0.98). Conclusions: Some classes of antihypertensive agents are associated with a decreased survival in certain cancers. The decrease could be due to more comorbidities in antihypertensive drug users. However, CCB use was associated with improved survival in lung cancer patients.     

Distinct molecular features of colorectal cancer in Ghana

Objectives: While colorectal cancer (CRC) is common, its incidence significantly varies around the globe. The incidence of CRC in West Africa is relatively low, but it has a distinctive clinical pattern and its molecular characteristics have not been studied. This study is one of the first attempts to analyze molecular, genetic, and pathological characteristics of colorectal cancer in Ghana. Methods: DNA was extracted from microdissected tumor and adjacent normal tissue of 90 paraffin blocks of CRC cases (1997–2007) collected at the University of Ghana. Microsatellite instability (MSI) was determined using fragment analysis of ten microsatellite markers. We analyzed expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins by immunohistochemistry and sequenced exons 2 and 3 of KRAS and exon 15 of BRAF. Results: MSI analysis showed 41% (29/70) MSI-High, 20% (14/70) MSI-Low, and 39% (27/70) microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors. Sequencing of KRAS exons 2 and 3 identified activating mutations in 32% (24/75) of tumors, and sequencing of BRAF exon 15, the location of the common activating mutation (V600), did not show mutations at codons 599 and 600 in 88 tumors. Conclusions: Our study found a high frequency of MSI-High colorectal tumors (41%) in Ghana. While the frequency of KRAS mutations is comparable with other populations, absence of BRAF mutations is intriguing and would require further analysis of the molecular epidemiology of CRC in West Africa.     

白介素17 与结直肠癌

结直肠癌是世界范围内的高发癌症,其发病机理尚不明确。大量研究数据表明,基因突变、表观遗传学的改变、饮食习惯以及生活方式等均是结直肠癌发生发展的高危因素。目前,普遍认为慢性炎症在肿瘤的发生发展中起重要作用。白介素17主要由T细胞的亚型Th17细胞分泌产生,能够促进肿瘤相关性炎症,使肿瘤细胞逃避免疫监控。已在胃癌、宫颈癌、食管癌、非小细胞肺癌、肝细胞肝癌、卵巢癌、黑色素瘤、淋巴瘤、乳腺癌、前列腺癌、结直肠癌等多种恶性肿瘤中发现白介素17呈高表达。现有研究表明,白介素17与肠炎和结直肠癌的发生发展密切相关。尽管尚存在争议,多数学者认为白介素17在结直肠癌的发生发展中起促进作用。本文将近年来关于IL-17在结直肠癌的发生发展中的作用以及其与结直肠癌的预后的研究成果进行总结。     

益气健脾汤联合腹腔热灌注化疗用于结直肠癌术后的临床疗效及对患者血清TK1、COX-2、sICAM-1水平的影响

目的:探讨益气健脾汤联合腹腔热灌注化疗用于结直肠癌术后的临床疗效及对患者血清胸苷激酶1 (TK1)、环氧化酶-2(COX-2)与可溶性细胞间黏附分子-1(sICAM-1)水平的影响。方法:选择本院2014年2月到2016年2月收治的结直肠癌患者62例进行回顾性分析,采用系统随机的方法降所有患者分为对照组和治疗组,每组各31例。对照组采用腹腔热灌注化疗进行治疗,治疗组采用益气健脾汤联合腹腔热灌注化疗进行治疗。观察和比较两组患者治疗后的临床疗效、生活质量改善情况、24个月内生存率、治疗前后的血清TK1、COX-2、s ICAM-1水平的变化及不良反应的发生情况。结果:治疗后,观察组患者总有效率为93.55%,明显高于对照组(77.42%,P0.05);两组患者的血清TK1、COX-2、s ICAM-1水平较治疗前显著降低(P0.05);且观察组血清TK1、COX-2、s ICAM-1水平明显低于对照组(P0.05);观察组患者生活质量改善总有效率为95.55%,明显高于对照组(77.78%,P0.05);治疗组患者24个月内生存率为67.74%,明显高于对照组患者(32.26%,P0.05)。两组不良反应的发生情况比较差异无明显统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:益气健脾汤联合腹腔热灌注化疗用于结直肠癌术后的临床疗效显著,可以有效改善患者的生存质量和预后,且安全性高,可能与其显著降低血清TK1、COX-2、s ICAM-1水平有关。