Biomarkers in cancer screening,research and detection: present and future: a review

Biomarkers provide a powerful and dynamic approach to understanding the spectrum of malignancies with applications in observational and analytic epidemiology, randomized clinical trials, screening, diagnosis and prognosis. Defined as alterations in the constituents of tissues or body fluids, these markers offer a means for homogeneous classification of a disease and risk factor, and they can extend one's basic information about the underlying pathogenesis of disease. The goals in cancer research include finding biomarkers that can be used for the early detection of cancers, design individual therapies, and to identify underlying processes involved in the disease. Because so many myriad processes are involved in the diseased states, the goal is similar to ‘finding a needle in a haystack’. However, the development of many -omic technologies, such as genomics and proteomics, has allowed us to monitor a large number of key cellular pathways simultaneously. This has enabled the identification of biomarkers and signalling molecules associated with cell growth, cell death and cellular metabolism. These are also facilitating in monitoring the functional disturbance, molecular and cellular damage, and damage response. This brief review describes the development of biomarkers in cancer research and detection with emphasis on different proteomic tools for the identification and discovery of new biomarkers, different clinical assays to detect various biomarkers in different specimens, role of biomarkers in cancer screening and last but not the least, the challenges in this direction of cancer research.     

Vitamin D attenuates HMGB1-mediated neointimal hyperplasia after percutaneous coronary intervention in swine

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Intracoronary stenting is a common procedure in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Stent deployment stretches and denudes the endothelial layer,...     

Energy–water and seasonal variations in climate underlie the spatial distribution patterns of gymnosperm species richness in China

Studying the pattern of species richness is crucial in understanding the diversity and distribution of organisms in the earth. Climate and human influences are the major driving factors that directly influence the large‐scale distributions of plant species, including gymnosperms. Understanding how gymnosperms respond to climate, topography, and human‐induced changes is useful in predicting the impacts of global change. Here, we attempt to evaluate how climatic and human‐induced processes could affect the spatial richness patterns of gymnosperms in China. Initially, we divided a map of the country into grid cells of 50 × 50 km² spatial resolution and plotted the geographical coordinate distribution occurrence of 236 native gymnosperm taxa. The gymnosperm taxa were separated into three response variables: (a) all species, (b) endemic species, and (c) nonendemic species, based on their distribution. The species richness patterns of these response variables to four predictor sets were also evaluated: (a) energy–water, (b) climatic seasonality, (c) habitat heterogeneity, and (d) human influences. We performed generalized linear models (GLMs) and variation partitioning analyses to determine the effect of predictors on spatial richness patterns. The results showed that the distribution pattern of species richness was highest in the southwestern mountainous area and Taiwan in China. We found a significant relationship between the predictor variable set and species richness pattern. Further, our findings provide evidence that climatic seasonality is the most important factor in explaining distinct fractions of variations in the species richness patterns of all studied response variables. Moreover, it was found that energy–water was the best predictor set to determine the richness pattern of all species and endemic species, while habitat heterogeneity has a better influence on nonendemic species. Therefore, we conclude that with the current climate fluctuations as a result of climate change and increasing human activities, gymnosperms might face a high risk of extinction.     

A comparative study on the cellular stressors in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and pancreatic β-cells under hyperglycemic milieu

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - β-cell dysfunction is a critical determinant for both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes and β-cells are shown to be highly susceptible to cellular...     

A common chemical extractant for estimating plant-available zinc in different soil types (peaty,red and alluvial)

Summary Relative efficiency of five chemical extractants for the extraction of available Zn in four different soils and its uptake by rice seedlings was studied in a pot culture experiment. The Zn extracted by dithizone-ammonium acetate showed a significant relationship with plant uptake whereas the values for other extractants except NH₄OAc (pH4.8) did not approach the level of significance. Among the soil properties studied, pH and CaCO₃ correlated negatively and organic matter and CEC positively with Zn uptake by rice plants.Contribution from the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Dept., Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India.Lecturer and Research Scholar of the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Department, respectively.Lecturer and Research Scholar of the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Department, respectively.     

Influence of recirculation on the performance of anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR) treating hypersaline composite chemical wastewater

Influence of recirculation on the performance of anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR) was studied in the process of treating hypersaline (total dissolved inorganic solids (TDIS) approximately 26 g/l) and low biodegradable (BOD/COD approximately 0.3) composite chemical wastewater. Significant enhancement in the substrate removal efficiency and biogas yield was observed after introducing the recirculation to the system. Maximum efficiency (COD removal efficiency - 51%; SDR - 3.14 kg COD/cum-day) was observed at recirculation to feed (R/F) ratio of 2 (OLR - 6.15 kg C OD/cum-day; HLR - 2.30 cum (liquid)/cum day; UFV(A) - 0.023 m/h). Subsequent increase of R/F to 3 (OLR - 6.15 kg COD/cum-day; HLR - 3.07cum (liquid)/cum-day; UFV(A) - 0.035 m/h) resulted in reduction in COD removal efficiency (32%; SDR - 1.97 kg COD/cum-day). The enhanced performance of the system due to the introduction of recirculation was attributed to the improvement in the mass transfer between the substrate present in the bulk liquid and the attached biofilm. The hydrodynamic behavior due to recirculation mode of operation reduced the concentration gradient (substrate inhibition) of substrate and reaction by-products (VFA) resulting in mixed flow conditions.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of the mouse UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:α-3- -mannoside β-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I gene

The biosynthesis of protein-bound complex N-glycans in mammals requires a series of covalent modifications governed by a large number of specific glycosyltransferases and glycosidases. The addition of oligosaccharide to an asparagine residue on a nascent polypeptide chain begins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Oligosaccharide processing continues in the Golgi apparatus to produce a diversity of glycan structures. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:α-3- -mannoside β-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (EC 2.4.1.101; GlcNAc-TI) is a key enzyme in the process because it is essential for the conversion of high-mannose N-glycans to complex and hybrid N-glycans. We have isolated the mouse gene encoding GlcNAc-TI (Mgat-1) from a genomic DNA library. The mouse sequence is highly conserved with respect to the human and rabbit homologs and exists as a single protein-encoding exon. Mgat-1 was mapped to mouse Chromosome 11, closely linked to the gene encoding interleukin-3 by the analysis of multilocus interspecies backcrosses. RNA analyses of Mgat-1 expression levels revealed significant variation among normal tissues and cells.     

MKS and NPHP modules cooperate to establish basal body/transition zone membrane associations and ciliary gate function during ciliogenesis

Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS), nephronophthisis (NPHP), and related ciliopathies present with overlapping phenotypes and display considerable allelism between at least twelve different genes of largely unexplained function. We demonstrate that the conserved C. elegans B9 domain (MKS-1, MKSR-1, and MKSR-2), MKS-3/TMEM67, MKS-5/RPGRIP1L, MKS-6/CC2D2A, NPHP-1, and NPHP-4 proteins exhibit essential, collective functions at the transition zone (TZ), an underappreciated region at the base of all cilia characterized by Y-shaped assemblages that link axoneme microtubules to surrounding membrane. These TZ proteins functionally interact as members of two distinct modules, which together contribute to an early ciliogenic event. Specifically, MKS/MKSR/NPHP proteins establish basal body/TZ membrane attachments before or coinciding with intraflagellar transport-dependent axoneme extension and subsequently restrict accumulation of nonciliary components within the ciliary compartment. Together, our findings uncover a unified role for eight TZ-localized proteins in basal body anchoring and establishing a ciliary gate during ciliogenesis, and suggest that disrupting ciliary gate function contributes to phenotypic features of the MKS/NPHP disease spectrum.