Nutrition and cancer: A review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet

It has been estimated that 30–40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle and dietary measures alone. Obesity, nutrient sparse foods such as concentrated sugars and refined flour products that contribute to impaired glucose metabolism (which leads to diabetes), low fiber intake, consumption of red meat, and imbalance of omega 3 and omega 6 fats all contribute to excess cancer risk. Intake of flax seed, especially its lignan fraction, and abundant portions of fruits and vegetables will lower cancer risk. Allium and cruciferous vegetables are especially beneficial, with broccoli sprouts being the densest source of sulforophane. Protective elements in a cancer prevention diet include selenium, folic acid, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, chlorophyll, and antioxidants such as the carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin). Ascorbic acid has limited benefits orally, but could be very beneficial intravenously. Supplementary use of oral digestive enzymes and probiotics also has merit as anticancer dietary measures. When a diet is compiled according to the guidelines here it is likely that there would be at least a 60–70 percent decrease in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, and even a 40–50 percent decrease in lung cancer, along with similar reductions in cancers at other sites. Such a diet would be conducive to preventing cancer and would favor recovery from cancer as well

Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria lactamica and Moraxella catarrhalis share cross-reactive carbohydrate antigens

Carriage of commensal bacteria species is associated with the development of natural immunity to meningococcal. disease, with lipo-oligosaccharides (LOS) of meningococci being one of the main virulence factors associated with severity of meningococcal disease. Meningococcal reference strains and isolates from the commensal species Neisseria lactamica and Moraxella catarrhalis were assessed for the presence of cross-reactive glycoconjugate antigens. Binding of human blood group antibodies of the P and Ii system to meningococcal immunotype reference strains were in accordance with the presence of known LOS carbohydrate structures. Binding studies with meningococcal immunotyping antibodies and blood group phenotyping antibodies to N. lactamica strains from different European countries showed, that a greater number of isolates obtained from native Greek and Scottish adults and children bound anti-meningococcal L(3, 7, 9) immunotyping (P < 0.001), p(K) (P = 0.035) and paragloboside (P < 0.001) blood group typing antibodies compared to isolates obtained from children of Russian immigrants in Greece. A greater number of M. catarrhalis strains isolated from children in Scotland bound anti-L(3,7,9) antibodies (38.2%) compared to strains isolated from adults (22.2%) (P = 0.017). These findings provide evidence that blood group like glycoconjugate antigens found on the commensal species N. lactamica and M. catarrhalis might be involved in the development of natural immunity to meningococcal endotoxins during childhood, and might be exploited as anti-meningococcal vaccine candidates. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Prediction of multi-cracking in sub-micron films using the coupled criterion

Sub-micron films deposited on a flexible substrate are now commonly used in electronic industry. The main damaging mode of these systems is a multi-cracking of the film under the action of thermal and mechanical stresses. This multi-cracking phenomenon is described using the coupled criterion based on the simultaneous fulfilment of an energy and a stress criteria. The coupled criterion is implemented in a representative volume element and it allows to decide whether the stress or the energy condition governs the cracking mechanism. It is found that the energy conditions predominates for very thin films whereas the stress condition can take place for thicker films. The initial density of cracks is determined and is in good agreement with the experimental measures. Further subdivisions, when increasing the load, are also predicted. Moreover, under some conditions, a master curve can rule the density of cracks function of the applied strain, showing a good agreement between predictions and experiments for a wide range of film thicknesses

A formulation of pancreatic pro-enzymes provides potent anti-tumour efficacy: a pilot study focused on pancreatic and ovarian cancer

Abstract Proteolytic enzymes have shown efficacy in cancer therapy. We present a combination of the two pro-enzymes Trypsinogen and Chymotrypsinogen A with potent in vitro and in vivo anti-tumour efficacy. A synergetic anti-tumour effect for Trypsinogen and Chymotrypsinogen A was determined at a ratio 1:6 (named PRP) using 24 human cancer cell lines. The antiangiogenic effect of PRP was analysed by matrigel-based tube formation and by fibrous capsule formation assays. Furthermore, cell invasion and wound healing assays together with qRT-PCR determination of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers were performed on human cancer cells treated with PRP. Additionally, in vivo pharmacokinetic studies were implemented and the PRP’s anti-tumour efficacy was explored against orthotopic pancreatic and ovarian cancer tumours. PRP formulation was proven to inhibit in vitro angiogenesis, tumour growth, cancer cell migration and invasiveness; and to be an effective and well tolerated in vivo anti-tumour treatment. Finally, the clinical efficacy of a suppository formulation containing both pancreatic pro-enzymes in the context of a UK Pharmaceuticals Special Scheme was evaluated in advanced cancer patients. Consequently, PRP could have relevant oncological clinical applications for the treatment of advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma and advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

High-throughput micro-characterization of RNA-protein interactions

12 p.-2 fig.-2 tabMany cellular processes depend on and are regulated by nucleic acid-protein interactions. In particular, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are involved in transcription, translation, modulating RNA polymerase activity, and stabilizing protein-RNA complexes. Furthermore, RBPs participate in the development of pathologies such as cancer and viral infections, and their dysfunction leads to mutations and the aberrant expression of noncoding RNAs. Therefore, the study of RNA-protein interactions represents a central issue for biology and biomedicine. While many valuable insights have been obtained from electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and immunoprecipitation (IP), these standard methods suffer from two main limitations: insufficient sensitivity to capture low concentration RBP-RNA complexes in vitro and identification of interactions in vivo. In recent years, high-throughput (HTP) platforms have emerged that combine methodological improvements over conventional techniques with more sensitive detection systems, thereby catalyzing the simultaneous probing and analysis of a vast amount of RBP-RNA interactions by cellular proteomics and interactomics approaches. In this chapter, we summarize a selection of state-of-the-art in vitro, in vivo, and computational HTP platforms for the discovery and characterization of RNA-protein interactions. We also reflect on the wealth of information obtained by the structural analysis of RBPs and their RNA-binding domains as a valuable resource for the rational design and implementation of new RNA-binding discovery platforms.MCV has received funding from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CTQ2015-66206-C2-2-R and SAF2015-72961-EXP) and the Regional Government of Madrid (S2017/BMD-3673).Peer reviewe