Characterization of genetic diversity in chickpea using SSR markers,Start Codon Targeted Polymorphism (SCoT) and Conserved DNA-Derived Polymorphism (CDDP)

Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants - To evaluate the genetic diversity among 48 genotypes of chickpea comprising cultivars, landraces and internationally developed improved lines genetic...     

OPA1 cleavage depends on decreased mitochondrial ATP level and bivalent metals

OPA1, an intra-mitochondrial dynamin GTPase, is a key actor of outer and inner mitochondrial membrane dynamic. OPA1 amino-terminal cleavage by PARL and m-AAA proteases was recently proposed to participate to the mitochondrial network dynamic in a DeltaPsi(m)-dependent way, and to apoptosis. Here, by an in vitro approach combining the use of purified mitochondrial fractions and mitochondrial targeting drugs, we intended to identify the central stimulus responsible for OPA1 cleavage. We confirm that apoptosis induction and PTPore opening, as well as DeltaPsi(m) dissipation induce OPA1 cleavage. Nevertheless, our experiments evidenced that decreased mitochondrial ATP levels, either generated by apoptosis induction, DeltaPsi(m) dissipation or inhibition of ATP synthase, is the common and crucial stimulus that controls OPA1 processing. In addition, we report that ectopic iron addition activates OPA1 cleavage, whereas zinc inhibits this process. These results suggest that the ATP-dependent OPA1 processing plays a central role in correlating the energetic metabolism to mitochondrial dynamic and might be involved in the pathophysiology of diseases associated to excess of iron or depletion of zinc and ATP.     

叶酸靶向载顺铂羧甲基-β-环糊精纳米复合物的制备及对鼻咽癌的体外抑制效应

为达到鼻咽癌（nasopharyngeal carcinoma,NeC）的靶向化疗,该研究通过酰胺化反应和配位偶联技术制备叶酸（folicacid,FA）分子靶向载川页铂（cisplatin,CDDP）羧甲基-β-环糊精（carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin,CM—β—CD）纳米复合物（FA-CM—β—CD—CDDP）,采用邻苯二胺（o-phenylenediamine,OPDA）比色法检测复合物中CDDP含量,紫外分光光谱检测FA含量,透射电镜观察复合物形态,激光粒度仪测定复合物粒径大小。荧光显微镜观察NPC叶酸受体（folatereceptor,FR）阳性HNE-1细胞及FR阴性CNE-2细胞对偶联FITC的复合物的吞噬及OPDA比色法检测细胞内CDDP的浓度。通过MTT法、集落形成实验和流式细胞术检测复合物对HNE-1细胞增殖能力和凋亡的影响。研究结果显示,复合物中偶联的FA和CDDP浓度分别为340gg／mL和2mg／mL,CDDP包封率达20．00％,复合物粒径均匀且大小为157．8nm。HNE-1细胞内见较多FITC,细胞内CDDP浓度为6．24ng／mL,而CNE-2细胞内FITC较少,细胞内CDDP浓度仅约2．01ng／mL。HNE-1生长抑制率在24h明显高于对照组（CM—β—CD—CDDP）,其IC50（4．80μg／mL）明显低于对照组（6．97μg／mL）,但当所载的CDDP终浓度达到16．00μg／mL时,两组抑制率均达到80％以上;作用48h两组抑制率无明显差异。在24h,当复合物的CDDP终浓度为1．00μg／mL时,HNE—1的集落形成率为33．21％,明显低于对照组（52．27％）。当复合物的CDDP终浓度为0．25μg／mL和1．00μg／mL时,HNE-1的凋亡率分别达12．65％和22．35％,明显高于对照组（6．91％和14.21％）。研究结果表明,成功构建的FA—CM—β—CD．cDDP纳米复合物能够靶向抑制FR阳性的NPC细胞增殖并促进其凋亡。     

Custom-designed Laser-based Heating Apparatus for Triggered Release of Cisplatin from Thermosensitive Liposomes with Magnetic Resonance Image Guidance

Liposomes have been employed as drug delivery systems to target solid tumors through exploitation of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect resulting in significant reductions in systemic toxicity. Nonetheless, insufficient release of encapsulated drug from liposomes has limited their clinical efficacy. Temperature-sensitive liposomes have been engineered to provide site-specific release of drug in order to overcome the problem of limited tumor drug bioavailability. Our lab has designed and developed a heat-activated thermosensitive liposome formulation of cisplatin (CDDP), known as HTLC, to provide triggered release of CDDP at solid tumors. Heat-activated delivery in vivo was achieved in murine models using a custom-built laser-based heating apparatus that provides a conformal heating pattern at the tumor site as confirmed by MR thermometry (MRT). A fiber optic temperature monitoring device was used to measure the temperature in real-time during the entire heating period with online adjustment of heat delivery by alternating the laser power. Drug delivery was optimized under magnetic resonance (MR) image guidance by co-encapsulation of an MR contrast agent (i.e., gadoteridol) along with CDDP into the thermosensitive liposomes as a means to validate the heating protocol and to assess tumor accumulation. The heating protocol consisted of a preheating period of 5 min prior to administration of HTLC and 20 min heating post-injection. This heating protocol resulted in effective release of the encapsulated agents with the highest MR signal change observed in the heated tumor in comparison to the unheated tumor and muscle. This study demonstrated the successful application of the laser-based heating apparatus for preclinical thermosensitive liposome development and the importance of MR-guided validation of the heating protocol for optimization of drug delivery.     

布雷菲德菌素A通过线粒体凋亡途径增强顺铂抗肺癌GLC-82细胞的作用

本研究证明了线粒体凋亡途径在布雷菲德菌素A（brefeldin A,BFA）联合顺铂（cis-dichlorodiamine platinum,CDDP）抗非小细胞肺癌（non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC）中的作用。MTT结果显示,BFA对肺癌GLC-82和NCI-H1299细胞的半数有效抑制浓度（half maximal inhibitory concentration,IC50）分别是100 ng/mL和400 ng/mL,CDDP对GLC-82和NCI-H1299细胞的IC50分别是4 μg/mL和15 μg/mL;而分别采用半量的BFA和CDDP联合处理GLC-82或NCI-H1299细胞后,抑制作用均进一步加强。DAPI染色结果进一步证明了二者的协同作用——与单独用药组相比,细胞核染色质固缩加剧,核裂解碎片增多,乃至形成凋亡小体,表明细胞凋亡的发生。与单药组比较,联合用药导致肺癌GLC-82细胞线粒体膜电位显著下降;q-RT-PCR及Western印迹结果显示,在联合用药早期（24 h）,GLC-82细胞可能通过提高Bcl2表达以促进存活;而在联合用药晚期（48 h）,细胞已发生不可逆转的凋亡,Bcl2表达受抑制,同时二者通过促进Bax表达来诱导细胞色素C释放,使胱天蛋白酶 3发生剪切激活,最终诱导细胞凋亡发生。提示线粒体凋亡途径可能是BFA协同CDDP抗非小细胞肺癌的分子机制之一,为肺癌的临床治疗方案提供了更多的理论依据。     

The role of metallothionein in oncogenesis and cancer prognosis

The antiapoptotic, antioxidant, proliferative, and angiogenic effects of metallothionein (MT)-I+II has resulted in increased focus on their role in oncogenesis, tumor progression, therapy response, and patient prognosis. Studies have reported increased expression of MT-I+II mRNA and protein in various human cancers; such as breast, kidney, lung, nasopharynx, ovary, prostate, salivary gland, testes, urinary bladder, cervical, endometrial, skin carcinoma, melanoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and pancreatic cancers, where MT-I+II expression is sometimes correlated to higher tumor grade/stage, chemotherapy/radiation resistance, and poor prognosis. However, MT-I+II are downregulated in other types of tumors (e.g. hepatocellular, gastric, colorectal, central nervous system (CNS), and thyroid cancers) where MT-I+II is either inversely correlated or unrelated to mortality. Large discrepancies exist between different tumor types, and no distinct and reliable association exists between MT-I+II expression in tumor tissues and prognosis and therapy resistance. Furthermore, a parallel has been drawn between MT-I+II expression as a potential marker for prognosis, and MT-I+II's role as oncogenic factors, without any direct evidence supporting such a parallel. This review aims at discussing the role of MT-I+II both as a prognostic marker for survival and therapy response, as well as for the hypothesized role of MT-I+II as causal oncogenes.     

PAX5 gene as a novel methylation marker that predicts both clinical outcome and cisplatin sensitivity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Therapeutic strategies for esophageal cancer largely depend on histopathological assessment. To select appropriate treatments of individual patients, we examined the background molecular characteristics of tumor malignancy and sensitivity to multidisciplinary therapy. Seventy-eight surgically-resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases during 2001–2013 were examined. PAX5, a novel gene methylation marker in ESCC, was evaluated in the specimens, as methylation of this gene was identified as an extremely tumor-specific event in squamous cell carcinogenesis of head and neck. PAX5 methylation status was evaluated by quantitative MSP (QMSP) assays. Mean QMSP value was 15.7 (0–136.3) in ESCCs and 0.3 (0–8.6) in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001). The 78 cases were divided into high QMSP value (high QMSP, n = 26) and low QMSP value (low QMSP, n = 52). High QMSP cases were significantly associated with downregulated PAX5 expression (P = 0.040), and showed significantly poor recurrence-free survival [Hazard Ratio (HR) = 2.84; P = 0.005; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.39–5.81] and overall survival (HR = 3.23; P = 0.002; 95%CI: 1.52–7.01) in multivariable analyses with histopathological factors. PAX5-knockdown cells exhibited significantly increased cell proliferation and cisplatin resistance. PAX5 gene methylation can predict poor survival outcomes and cisplatin sensitivity in ESCCs and could be a useful diagnostic tool for cancer therapy selection.     

Selection for TRAIL resistance results in melanoma cells with high proliferative potential

To better understand the outcome of the interaction between TNF-related apoptosis-inducing factor (TRAIL) and tumor cells, we studied TRAIL-resistant melanoma cells resulting from prolonged exposure to TRAIL and found that they had higher proliferative activity than the parental cells both in vitro and in vivo. This was associated with reduced p53 and p21 expression and increased activation of Erk1/2 and Akt. Accelerated proliferation was not due to TRAIL-mediated signaling but appeared to be the result of selection of previously existing, characteristically distinct cells. Moreover, responses of p53 to stimulation in the TRAIL-resistant cells appeared to be impaired.