Decitabine impact on the endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers RFC1 and FOLR1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 in human tumors.

BackgroundIn 31 solid tumor patients treated with the demethylating agent decitabine, we performed tumor biopsies before and after the first cycle of decitabine and used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to assess whether decitabine increased expression of various membrane transporters. Resistance to chemotherapy may arise due to promoter methylation/downregulation of expression of transporters required for drug uptake, and decitabine can reverse resistance in vitro. The endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers FOLR1 and RFC1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 were assessed.ResultsPre-decitabine RhoA was higher in patients who had received their last therapy >3 months previously than in patients with more recent prior therapy (P = 0.02), and varied inversely with global DNA methylation as assessed by LINE1 methylation (r = -0.58, P = 0.006). Tumor RhoA scores increased with decitabine (P = 0.03), and RFC1 also increased in patients with pre-decitabine scores ≤150 (P = 0.004). Change in LINE1 methylation with decitabine did not correlate significantly with change in IHC scores for any transporter assessed. We also assessed methylation of the RFC1 gene (alias SLC19A1). SLC19A1 methylation correlated with tumor LINE1 methylation (r = 0.45, P = 0.02). There was a small (statistically insignificant) decrease in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine, and there was a trend towards change in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine correlating with change in LINE1 methylation (r = 0.47, P <0.15). While SLC19A1 methylation did not correlate with RFC1 scores, there was a trend towards an inverse correlation between change in SLC19A1 methylation and change in RFC1 expression (r = -0.45, P = 0.19).ConclusionsIn conclusion, after decitabine administration, there was increased expression of some (but not other) transporters that may play a role in chemotherapy uptake. Larger patient numbers will be needed to define the extent to which this increased expression is associated with changes in DNA methylation

Carbon turnover in the water-soluble protein of the adult human lens.

PurposeHuman eye lenses contain cells that persist from embryonic development. These unique, highly specialized fiber cells located at the core (nucleus) of the lens undergo pseudo-apoptosis to become devoid of cell nuclei and most organelles. Ostensibly lacking in protein transcriptional capabilities, it is currently believed that these nuclear fiber cells owe their extreme longevity to the perseverance of highly stable and densely packed crystallin proteins. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of lenticular proteins is necessary to sustain cellular transparency and proper vision, yet the means by which the lens actually copes with a lifetime of oxidative stress, seemingly without any capacity for protein turnover and repair, is not completely understood. Although many years of research have been predicated upon the assumption that there is no protein turnover or renewal in nuclear fiber cells, we investigated whether or not different protein fractions possess protein of different ages by using the (14)C bomb pulse.MethodsAdult human lenses were concentrically dissected by gently removing the cell layers in water or shaving to the nucleus with a curved micrometer-controlled blade. The cells were lysed, and the proteins were separated into water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. The small molecules were removed using 3 kDa spin filters. The (14)C/C was measured in paired protein fractions by accelerator mass spectrometry, and an average age for the material within the sample was assigned using the (14)C bomb pulse.ResultsThe water-insoluble fractions possessed (14)C/C ratios consistent with the age of the cells. In all cases, the water-soluble fractions contained carbon that was younger than the paired water-insoluble fraction.ConclusionsAs the first direct evidence of carbon turnover in protein from adult human nuclear fiber cells, this discovery supports the emerging view of the lens nucleus as a dynamic system capable of maintaining homeostasis in part due to intricate protein transport mechanisms and possibly protein repair. This finding implies that the lens plays an active role in the aversion of age-related nuclear (ARN) cataract

Identification of hip fracture patients from radiographs using Fourier analysis of the trabecular structure: a cross-sectional study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Regenerative function of immune system: Modulation of muscle stem cells

Ageing is characterised by progressive deterioration of physiological systems and the loss of skeletal muscle mass is one of the most recognisable, leading to muscle weakness and mobility impairments. This review highlights interactions between the immune system and skeletal muscle stem cells (widely termed satellite cells or myoblasts) to influence satellite cell behaviour during muscle regeneration after injury, and outlines deficits associated with ageing. Resident neutrophils and macrophages in skeletal muscle become activated when muscle fibres are damaged via stimuli (e.g. contusions, strains, avulsions, hyperextensions, ruptures) and release high concentrations of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors into the microenvironment. These localised responses serve to attract additional immune cells which can reach in excess of 1 × 105 immune cell/mm3 of skeletal muscle in order to orchestrate the repair process. T-cells have a delayed response, reaching peak activation roughly 4 days after the initial damage. The cytokines and growth factors released by activated T-cells play a key role in muscle satellite cell proliferation and migration, although the precise mechanisms of these interactions remain unclear. T-cells in older people display limited ability to activate satellite cell proliferation and migration which is likely to contribute to insufficient muscle repair and, consequently, muscle wasting and weakness. If the factors released by T-cells to activate satellite cells can be identified, it may be possible to develop therapeutic agents to enhance muscle regeneration and reduce the impact of muscle wasting during ageing and disease

Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy and microphthalmia with linear skin defects syndrome: phenotypes linked by truncating variants in NDUFB11

Variants in NDUFB11, which encodes a structural component of complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC), were recently independently reported to cause histiocytoid cardiomyopathy (histiocytoid CM) and microphthalmia with linear skin defects syndrome (MLS syndrome). Here we report an additional case of histiocytoid CM, which carries a de novo nonsense variant in NDUFB11 (ENST00000276062.8: c.262C > T; p.[Arg88*]) identified using whole-exome sequencing (WES) of a family trio. An identical variant has been previously reported in association with MLS syndrome. The case we describe here lacked the diagnostic features of MLS syndrome, but a detailed clinical comparison of the two cases revealed significant phenotypic overlap. Heterozygous variants in HCCS (which encodes an important mitochondrially targeted protein) and COX7B, which, like NDUFB11, encodes a protein of the MRC, have also previously been identified in MLS syndrome including a case with features of both MLS syndrome and histiocytoid CM. However, a systematic review of WES data from previously published histiocytoid CM cases, alongside four additional cases presented here for the first time, did not identify any variants in these genes. We conclude that NDUFB11 variants play a role in the pathogenesis of both histiocytoid CM and MLS and that these disorders are allelic (genetically related)

Process evaluation for complex interventions in primary care: understanding trials using the normalization process model

Background: the Normalization Process Model is a conceptual tool intended to assist in understanding the factors that affect implementation processes in clinical trials and other evaluations of complex interventions. It focuses on the ways that the implementation of complex interventions is shaped by problems of workability and integration.Method: in this paper the model is applied to two different complex trials: (i) the delivery of problem solving therapies for psychosocial distress, and (ii) the delivery of nurse-led clinics for heart failure treatment in primary care.Results: application of the model shows how process evaluations need to focus on more than the immediate contexts in which trial outcomes are generated. Problems relating to intervention workability and integration also need to be understood. The model may be used effectively to explain the implementation process in trials of complex interventions.Conclusion: the model invites evaluators to attend equally to considering how a complex intervention interacts with existing patterns of service organization, professional practice, and professional-patient interaction. The justification for this may be found in the abundance of reports of clinical effectiveness for interventions that have little hope of being implemented in real healthcare setting

Growth factors and growth associated protein (GAP-43) in the peripheral nervous system

The factors required to stimulate short-term Schwann cell DNA synthesis in serum-free medium (containing insulin) are thoroughly analysed and compared with the growth factor requirements of long-term ''autocrine" Schwann cells. Evidence is presented to demonstrate the importance of cAMP in Schwann cell DNA synthesis. Measurements of intracellular cAMP levels by radioimmunoassay in both Schwann cell types is related to the differing mitogen requirements of these cells. Further tissue culture studies show that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays a role in Schwann cell DNA synthesis, and that cultured Schwann cells are IGF immunoreactive. Binding studies and Scatchard analysis using 125I-IGF-I provide evidence for a type 1 IGF receptor on cultured Schwann cells. An immunohistochemical analysis on the distribution of IGF in vivo in the rat sciatic nerve is reported. Dried cell preparations and and 2hr cultures are used to document the presence of IGF in the Schwann cells from embryonic to adult rats. Teased nerve preparations from postnatal rats are used to study the distribution of IGF in neurones. Results obtained suggest that IGF-I may be acting as an autocrine/paracrine Schwann cell mitogen in vivo. An immunohistochemical investigation reveals that the growth associated protein GAP-43, hitherto considered to be associated with neurones and certain CNS glia, is present in non-myelin-forming Schwann cells. Nerve sections and dried cell preparations are used to document the developmental distribution of GAP-43 in Schwann cells in vivo. Further analyses on the developmental regulation of GAP-43 expression in Schwann cells has been carried out in tissue culture. Gel electrophoresis and western blotting techniques are used to confirm the identity of Schwann cell GAP-43. Evidence that GAP-43 is widely distributed in the neurones of the adult peripheral nervous system (PNS) is provided. Immunohistochemical studies and western blotting demonstrate that GAP-43 is present in high amounts in all three sub divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of the adult rat. Taken together with known distribution of GAP-43 in areas of the CNS associated with plasticity, these findings suggest a role for GAP-43 in the plasticity of the ANS

Growth dynamics and the evolution of cooperation in microbial populations

Microbes providing public goods are widespread in nature despite running the risk of being exploited by free-riders. However, the precise ecological factors supporting cooperation are still puzzling. Following recent experiments, we consider the role of population growth and the repetitive fragmentation of populations into new colonies mimicking simple microbial life-cycles. Individual-based modeling reveals that demographic fluctuations, which lead to a large variance in the composition of colonies, promote cooperation. Biased by population dynamics these fluctuations result in two qualitatively distinct regimes of robust cooperation under repetitive fragmentation into groups. First, if the level of cooperation exceeds a threshold, cooperators will take over the whole population. Second, cooperators can also emerge from a single mutant leading to a robust coexistence between cooperators and free-riders. We find frequency and size of population bottlenecks, and growth dynamics to be the major ecological factors determining the regimes and thereby the evolutionary pathway towards cooperation.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure

Elliptic logarithms, diophantine approximation and the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture

Most, if not all, unconditional results towards the abc-conjecture rely ultimately on classical Baker's method. In this article, we turn our attention to its elliptic analogue. Using the elliptic Baker's method, we have recently obtained a new upper bound for the height of the S-integral points on an elliptic curve. This bound depends on some parameters related to the Mordell-Weil group of the curve. We deduce here a bound relying on the conjecture of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer, involving classical, more manageable quantities. We then study which abc-type inequality over number fields could be derived from this elliptic approach.Comment: 20 pages. Some changes, the most important being on Conjecture 3.2, three references added ([Mas75], [MB90] and [Yu94]) and one reference updated [BS12]. Accepted in Bull. Brazil. Mat. So