Genomic Medicine, Biomarkers, and Health Sciences最新文献

Helicobacter pylori commonly infects the human stomach lining is one of the risk factors that can lead a gastric ulcer to develop into gastric cancer. Studies have found that burdock can enhance the protection of gastrointestinal mucosa with antibacterial property that can reduce the damage of the stomach by H pylori. Great burdock essence compounds are prepared using a nanomicell formulation, which contains Arctium lappa Linn, Arnebia euchroma, and Angelica sinensis. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of great burdock essence compounds in the adjuvant treatment of H pylori infected clinical patients. Forty-four patients with gastric ulcers, 21 of whom were taking great burdock essence compounds and 23 taking placebo, were included in this study. After taking great burdock essence compounds or placebo for 1 month, ¹³C-Urea Breath Test showed 20 (20/21) patients with negative results and only one person with positive results among the burdock group; in addition, it also indicated that there were 1 6(16/23) with negative results and seven (7/23) patients with positive results among the placebo group. The statistical results also showed that the positive ¹³C-Urea Breath Test results in patients who took great burdock essence compounds were significantly lower than that of the control group (p = 0.027). It suggested that great burdock essence is an appropriate health supplement for gastric ulcer patients with H pylori infection.

Despite the availability of various methods that can isolate nucleated cells from blood or body fluids, these methods still require centrifugation and other purification devices to work. The main purpose of this study was to develop a simple cell purification and isolation device (mini-Sep) that does not require any centrifugation equipment to operate and can be used to isolate and concentrate nucleated cells from blood or body fluids for use in cell-related experiments. Mini-Sep works by using a syringe or pump to inject samples, thereby filtering out any impurities by removing residual nucleated cells and holding them in a containment space that was designed as part of the device. The results show that mini-Sep possesses the capability to isolate and concentrate nuclear cells, can be operated in simple and easy steps, and saves time typically spent on centrifugation. It can be easily adapted for use in various laboratories and places that lack laboratory equipment.

To identify any biomarkers related to the migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells, ESCC CE81T cells were used to establish the CE81T-1 subline, which demonstrates increased migration activity after Transwell screening and microarray analysis. Among the differentially expressed genes, S100A9 was most downregulated, and MAGED4, C8orf30A, and IL-8 were the most upregulated in CE81T-1 cells. The expression of these four genes at the mRNA level was validated using the ESCC CE81T and KYSE cell lines and clarified in ESCC specimens using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Among 60 pairs of ESCC specimens (normal and tumor specimens), the expression level of S100A9 mRNA was significantly lower in the tumor sections in comparison with the normal sections (p = 0.0228). In contrast, the expression level of IL-8 mRNA was significantly higher in the tumor sections in comparison with the normal sections (p = 0.0061). Furthermore, C8orf30A expression was significantly correlated with ESCC metastatic status (p = 0.0358) and associated with poorer survival (p = 0.036), as determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Functional studies revealed that S100A9 plays a suppressive role in the proliferation and migration of ESCC cells through the overexpression of ectopic S100A9 and small interfering RNA, as determined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Transwell assays. Altogether, this study reveals that C8orf30A has the potential to be used as a novel biomarker for the prognosis for ESCC metastasis and survival. Furthermore, the IL-8 and S100A9 genes may have potential in ESCC diagnosis.

Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is most commonly used as a prognostic biomarker for evaluating curatively resected colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but it has a low sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential genetic markers in CRC patients using membrane array. Fifty CRC patients were enrolled and mRNA expression in their tissues were analyzed using membrane array analysis. Seven genes were analyzed in this study, including ATP2A2, GLUT1, MMP13, MAGE-A2, MAGE-A7, MAGE-A8, and MAGE-A12. Correlations between the results of the membrane array and the clinicopathological features of these CRC patients were then evaluated. The results show that the overexpression of any three or four of these seven genes is correlated with tumor invasion depth, lymphatic invasion, advanced stage, and postoperative recurrence (all p < 0.005). Furthermore, the expression of any four genes was more significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics than the expression of only two or three genes. The combination of multiple molecular markers and the membrane array method might be useful for predicting postoperative relapse in CRC patients.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is believed to be a potential method for the early detection of cancer. The aim of this study was to employ a membrane array to develop a panel of mRNA markers for the detection of CTCs in breast cancer patients. Twenty genes with highly differentiated expression levels were selected from microarray studies. The subsequent validation analysis of 30 pairs of breast tissue samples showed that 19 genes demonstrated two-fold overexpression in cancer tissues in comparison with those in normal tissues in 80% of the paired samples. Furthermore, a membrane array experiment was conducted on blood samples from 64 normal controls and 87 breast cancer patients, and the predictive power of each gene was evaluated by analyzing the gene expression level using receiver-operating curves (ROC). Among the 20 genes selected, eight genes that demonstrated the largest areas under the curve (AUC) > 0.8 were selected as diagnostic markers. According to the ROC analysis, when setting the cut-off point of five positive genes, the genetic array of the eight markers was recognized as positive with sensitivity and specificity values of 90% and 89%, respectively. These results suggest that this mRNA marker array could be useful for detecting CTCs in breast cancer patients.

Cancer has continuously occupied the top leading cause of death in Taiwan for 29 years. Thus, scientists around the world actively devote themselves to the study of cancer therapeutics. Doxorubicin is one of the most efficient drugs in cancer therapy, but it also produces reactive oxygen species that induce serious cytotoxicity against heart cells. Quercetin, a plant-derived flavonoid, has been proven to contain potent antioxidant, antihistamine, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study is to perform an in vitro investigation into whether quercetin is capable of decreasing doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity and promoting the cell repair system in cardiomyocyte H9C2 cells. Proteomic analysis was performed to investigate the quercetin-induced responses.

The nanomicelle encapsulating the water-insoluble substances can solubilize in aqueous solution. In this study, we used nanomicelle technology to develop great burdock essence. Black semen oil extracts of Arnebia euchroma and Angelica sinensis, water extract of Arctium lappa, phospholipid, and glycerol were mixed and homogenized in a high-pressure homogenizer. The particle size of great burdock essence was 167.1 ± 0.96 nm. Concentrations of chlorogenic acid, shikonin, and ferulic acid of great burdock essence were 2.300 ± 0.605, 1.484 ± 0.009, and 1.463 ± 0.006 μg/g, respectively. The great burdock essence had nanoparticle-size molecules, which resulted in easy cellular uptake by endocytosis, and main components of three herbs. However, for more information on the health benefits of the great burdock essence, further studies are needed.

Molecular imaging using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is effective for determining the distribution of molecules of interest in specific tissues. It can determine the direct correlation between metabolite, lipid, and protein expression and histology. Principle component analysis (PCA) can reduce the dimensions of a data set while still retaining the information present in the original data set. Using PCA to process MALDI data, samples with different statuses and ion patterns on their MALDI mass spectra can be classified, grouped, and evaluated on the same score plot. The use of MALDI-TOF in combination with PCA to compare the lipid, peptide, and protein profiles of different biological specimens can then be used to diagnose disease. Because ions with significant differences between sampling regions in a tissue can be indicated using PCA, the imaging of these “interesting peaks” can be visualized by plotting the ion intensity across the tissue section.

We report our clinical experience concerning the incidental finding of a ruptured ovarian yolk sac tumor combined with hemoperitoneum in a patient with abdominal blunt injury. An girl 8 years of age visited emergency department due to vomiting and persistent abdominal pain after abdominal blunt injury. Physical examination revealed pale conjunctiva, abdominal distension, and tenderness over bilateral lower abdomen without any obvious peritoneal sign. After stabilization of her condition, one huge pelvic tumor with ascites was identified by abdominal sonography and computed tomography scan. Subsequently, hemoperitoneum was confirmed by paracentesis procedure. During exploratory laparotomy, one ruptured left ovarian tumor with bleeding was identified. Therefore, she underwent left oophorectomy and left salpingectomy. Typical structures of Schiller-Duval bodies and hyaline globules in the tumor cells were identified. Biopsy of the omental tissues also confirmed metastatic lesions of the tumor. Ovarian yolk sac tumor (FIGO Stage 3) was confirmed. She received four courses of chemotherapy after the operation and received subsequent regular follow-up at the hospital with an uneventful recovery. This case highlights the possibility of ruptured ovarian yolk sac tumor after abdominal blunt injury as the cause of internal bleeding, and it should be taken into consideration as one possible etiology of hemoperitoneum in a young girl.

Cancer is the overall leading cause of death in developed countries and also worldwide, and being able to exploit an effective anticancer drug is the aim of all cancer scientists. However, many of the synthetic drugs produced so far usually cause serious side effects, which reduces their therapeutic efficacy. Discovering new drugs or auxiliary therapies derived from natural products might thus provide a novel opportunity for cancer therapy. A recent study reported that some lethal toxins can maintain their activity after being injected into mice. We therefore used two Pseudozyma spp. and three Barnettozyma spp. to examine whether these killer yeasts can preserve their lethal effect on cancer cells under the physical environment (optimum pH, temperature and osmolality, supporting a living cell accomplishes to proliferate, metabolize, differentiate and survive). Our preliminary results showed that both Barnettozyma spp. and Pseudozyma spp. have stronger cytotoxicity against HepG2 than Chang’s liver cells. According to the results of two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), a total of 115 and 27 proteins differentially expressed by 1.5-fold or more were observed for HepG2 and Chang’s liver cells, respectively. Furthermore, we explored the mechanism involved in the effect of the lethal yeast filtrates on liver cancer cells using 2D-DIGE and mass spectrometry.