Opioid growth factor receptor (OGFR) expression is downregulated with progression of triple negative breast cancer

Purpose: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer that accounts for approximately 15% of the newly diagnosed cancers worldwide, and disproportionately affects younger women and women of color. Although many forms of breast cancer are successfully treated, new therapies are needed for TNBC. A novel regulatory system, the opioid growth factor (OGF) – opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) axis, plays a determining role in neoplasia. OGF is an endogenous peptide that binds specifically to OGFr to inhibit cell replication. As some human cancers grow, OGFr expression is diminished, thus limiting the therapeutic efficacy of OGF. The OGF-OGFr axis is present in human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and OGF  inhibits cell replication in a dosage-related, receptor-mediated manner. Methods: The present study investigated whether OGFr protein expression in human breast cancer cell lines grown in vitro or transplanted into nude mice, changed with the stage of proliferation or size of tumor using western blotting, semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry, and DNA synthesis techniques. Results: Comparison of log and confluent TNBC cultures revealed that OGF expression was significantly decreased in confluent cultures relative to levels in log-phase cells. Western blot analyses confirmed that OGFr was reduced in confluent TNBC and MCF-7 breast cancer cells in comparison to corresponding log-phase cells. Moreover, BrdU labeling was reduced in confluent cells. Small (&lt;500 mm3) and large (&gt;1000 mm3) TNBC tumors grown in nude mice were processed for semiquantitative   measurement of OGF and OGFr. The expression of both peptide and receptor in large tumors was downregulated relative to small tumors. Conclusion: The reduced expression of the inhibitory peptide and receptor diminishes the efficacy of the OGF-OGFr axis as a biotherapy. These data suggest that the OGF-OGFr pathway is altered with cancer progression and one or more elements of this regulatory pathway may serve as biomarkers for TNBC growth.</p

Opioid growth factor receptor (OGFR) expression is downregulated with progression of triple negative breast cancer

Purpose: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer that accounts for approximately 15% of the newly diagnosed cancers worldwide, and disproportionately affects younger women and women of color. Although many forms of breast cancer are successfully treated, new therapies are needed for TNBC. A novel regulatory system, the opioid growth factor (OGF) – opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) axis, plays a determining role in neoplasia. OGF is an endogenous peptide that binds specifically to OGFr to inhibit cell replication. As some human cancers grow, OGFr expression is diminished, thus limiting the therapeutic efficacy of OGF. The OGF-OGFr axis is present in human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and OGF  inhibits cell replication in a dosage-related, receptor-mediated manner. Methods: The present study investigated whether OGFr protein expression in human breast cancer cell lines grown in vitro or transplanted into nude mice, changed with the stage of proliferation or size of tumor using western blotting, semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry, and DNA synthesis techniques. Results: Comparison of log and confluent TNBC cultures revealed that OGF expression was significantly decreased in confluent cultures relative to levels in log-phase cells. Western blot analyses confirmed that OGFr was reduced in confluent TNBC and MCF-7 breast cancer cells in comparison to corresponding log-phase cells. Moreover, BrdU labeling was reduced in confluent cells. Small (&lt;500 mm3) and large (&gt;1000 mm3) TNBC tumors grown in nude mice were processed for semiquantitative   measurement of OGF and OGFr. The expression of both peptide and receptor in large tumors was downregulated relative to small tumors. Conclusion: The reduced expression of the inhibitory peptide and receptor diminishes the efficacy of the OGF-OGFr axis as a biotherapy. These data suggest that the OGF-OGFr pathway is altered with cancer progression and one or more elements of this regulatory pathway may serve as biomarkers for TNBC growth

Ivacaftor potentiation of multiple CFTR channels with gating mutations

AbstractBackgroundThe investigational CFTR potentiator ivacaftor (VX-770) increased CFTR channel activity and improved lung function in subjects with CF who have the G551D CFTR gating mutation. The aim of this in vitro study was to determine whether ivacaftor potentiates mutant CFTR with gating defects caused by other CFTR gating mutations.MethodsThe effects of ivacaftor on CFTR channel open probability and chloride transport were tested in electrophysiological studies using Fischer rat thyroid (FRT) cells expressing different CFTR gating mutations.ResultsIvacaftor potentiated multiple mutant CFTR forms with defects in CFTR channel gating. These included the G551D, G178R, S549N, S549R, G551S, G970R, G1244E, S1251N, S1255P and G1349D CFTR gating mutations.ConclusionThese in vitro data suggest that ivacaftor has a similar effect on all CFTR forms with gating defects and support investigation of the potential clinical benefit of ivacaftor in CF patients who have CFTR gating mutations beyond G551D

Sooty Mangabey Genome Sequence Provides Insight into AIDS Resistance in a Natural SIV Host

In contrast to infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in macaques, SIV infection of a natural host, sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys), is non-pathogenic despite high viraemia. Here we sequenced and assembled the genome of a captive sooty mangabey. We conducted genome-wide comparative analyses of transcript assemblies from C. atys and AIDS-susceptible species, such as humans and macaques, to identify candidates for host genetic factors that influence susceptibility. We identified several immune-related genes in the genome of C. atys that show substantial sequence divergence from macaques or humans. One of these sequence divergences, a C-terminal frameshift in the toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) gene of C. atys, is associated with a blunted in vitro response to TLR-4 ligands. In addition, we found a major structural change in exons 3-4 of the immune-regulatory protein intercellular adhesion molecule 2 (ICAM-2); expression of this variant leads to reduced cell surface expression of ICAM-2. These data provide a resource for comparative genomic studies of HIV and/or SIV pathogenesis and may help to elucidate the mechanisms by which SIV-infected sooty mangabeys avoid AIDS

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A typology of longitudinal integrated clerkships.

CONTEXT: Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) represent a model of the structural redesign of clinical education that is growing in the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa. By contrast with time-limited traditional block rotations, medical students in LICs provide comprehensive care of patients and populations in continuing learning relationships over time and across disciplines and venues. The evidence base for LICs reveals transformational professional and workforce outcomes derived from a number of small institution-specific studies. OBJECTIVES: This study is the first from an international collaborative formed to study the processes and outcomes of LICs across multiple institutions in different countries. It aims to establish a baseline reference typology to inform further research in this field. METHODS: Data on all LIC and LIC-like programmes known to the members of the international Consortium of Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships were collected using a survey tool developed through a Delphi process and subsequently analysed. Data were collected from 54 programmes, 44 medical schools, seven countries and over 15 000 student-years of LIC-like curricula. RESULTS: Wide variation in programme length, student numbers, health care settings and principal supervision was found. Three distinct typological programme clusters were identified and named according to programme length and discipline coverage: Comprehensive LICs; Blended LICs, and LIC-like Amalgamative Clerkships. Two major approaches emerged in terms of the sizes of communities and types of clinical supervision. These referred to programmes based in smaller communities with mainly family physicians or general practitioners as clinical supervisors, and those in more urban settings in which subspecialists were more prevalent. CONCLUSIONS: Three distinct LIC clusters are classified. These provide a foundational reference point for future studies on the processes and outcomes of LICs. The study also exemplifies a collaborative approach to medical education research that focuses on typology rather than on individual programme or context

The Role of <i>Candida albicans SPT20</i> in Filamentation, Biofilm Formation and Pathogenesis

<div><p><i>Candida albicans</i> is a ubiquitous fungus, which can cause very serious and sometimes life-threatening infections in susceptible patients. We used <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> as a model host to screen a library of <i>C. albicans</i> mutants for decreased virulence and identified <i>SPT20</i> as important for virulence. The transcription co-activator <i>SPT20</i> was identified originally as a suppressor of Ty and solo δ insertion mutations, which can cause transcription defects in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>. It is resistant to the toxicity caused by overexpression of GAL4-VP16. We constructed a <i>C. albicans spt20Δ/Δ</i> mutant and found the <i>spt20Δ/Δ</i> strain was significantly less virulent than the wild-type strain SC5314 in <i>C. elegans</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), <i>Galleria mellonella</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and mice (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Morphologically, <i>spt20Δ/Δ</i> mutant cells demonstrated a “snow-flake” shape and clustered together; prolonged culture times resulted in increased size of the cluster. The clustered morphology was associated with defects in nuclei distribution, as the nuclei were not observed in many cellular compartments. In addition, the <i>C. albicans spt20Δ/Δ</i> mutant resulted in defects in hyphae and biofilm formation (compared to the wild-type strain, <i>p</i> < 0.05), and sensitivity to cell wall and osmotic stressors, and to antifungal agents. Thus our study demonstrated a role of <i>C. albicans SPT20</i> in overall morphology and distribution of nuclear material, which may cause the defects in filamentation and biofilm formation directly when this gene is deleted.</p></div