The Ketogenic Diet Is an Effective Adjuvant to Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Malignant Glioma

INTRODUCTION: The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that alters metabolism by increasing the level of ketone bodies in the blood. KetoCal® (KC) is a nutritionally complete, commercially available 4:1 (fat:carbohydrate+protein) ketogenic formula that is an effective non-pharmacologic treatment for the management of refractory pediatric epilepsy. Diet-induced ketosis causes changes to brain homeostasis that have potential for the treatment of other neurological diseases such as malignant gliomas. METHODS: We used an intracranial bioluminescent mouse model of malignant glioma. Following implantation animals were maintained on standard diet (SD) or KC. The mice received 2×4 Gy of whole brain radiation and tumor growth was followed by in vivo imaging. RESULTS: Animals fed KC had elevated levels of β-hydroxybutyrate (p = 0.0173) and an increased median survival of approximately 5 days relative to animals maintained on SD. KC plus radiation treatment were more than additive, and in 9 of 11 irradiated animals maintained on KC the bioluminescent signal from the tumor cells diminished below the level of detection (p<0.0001). Animals were switched to SD 101 days after implantation and no signs of tumor recurrence were seen for over 200 days. CONCLUSIONS: KC significantly enhances the anti-tumor effect of radiation. This suggests that cellular metabolic alterations induced through KC may be useful as an adjuvant to the current standard of care for the treatment of human malignant gliomas

FGFR1-Induced Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition through MAPK/PLCγ/COX-2-Mediated Mechanisms

Tumour invasion and metastasis is the most common cause of death from cancer. For epithelial cells to invade surrounding tissues and metastasise, an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is required. We have demonstrated that FGFR1 expression is increased in bladder cancer and that activation of FGFR1 induces an EMT in urothelial carcinoma (UC) cell lines. Here, we created an in vitro FGFR1-inducible model of EMT, and used this model to identify regulators of urothelial EMT. FGFR1 activation promoted EMT over a period of 72 hours. Initially a rapid increase in actin stress fibres occurred, followed by an increase in cell size, altered morphology and increased migration and invasion. By using site-directed mutagenesis and small molecule inhibitors we demonstrated that combined activation of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phospholipase C gamma (PLCγ) pathways regulated this EMT. Actin stress fibre formation was regulated by PLCγ activation, and was also important for the increase in cell size, migration and altered morphology. MAPK activation regulated migration and E-cadherin expression, indicating that combined activation of PLCγand MAPK is required for a full EMT. We used expression microarrays to assess changes in gene expression downstream of these signalling cascades. COX-2 was transcriptionally upregulated by FGFR1 and caused increased intracellular prostaglandin E2 levels, which promoted migration. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that FGFR1 activation in UC cells lines promotes EMT via coordinated activation of multiple signalling pathways and by promoting activation of prostaglandin synthesis

Protein tyrosine phosphatases in glioma biology

Gliomas are a diverse group of brain tumors of glial origin. Most are characterized by diffuse infiltrative growth in the surrounding brain. In combination with their refractive nature to chemotherapy this makes it almost impossible to cure patients using combinations of conventional therapeutic strategies. The drastically increased knowledge about the molecular underpinnings of gliomas during the last decade has elicited high expectations for a more rational and effective therapy for these tumors. Most studies on the molecular pathways involved in glioma biology thus far had a strong focus on growth factor receptor protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) and phosphatidylinositol phosphatase signaling pathways. Except for the tumor suppressor PTEN, much less attention has been paid to the PTK counterparts, the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) superfamily, in gliomas. PTPs are instrumental in the reversible phosphorylation of tyrosine residues and have emerged as important regulators of signaling pathways that are linked to various developmental and disease-related processes. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on PTP involvement in gliomagenesis. So far, the data point to the potential implication of receptor-type (RPTPδ, DEP1, RPTPμ, RPTPζ) and intracellular (PTP1B, TCPTP, SHP2, PTPN13) classical PTPs, dual-specific PTPs (MKP-1, VHP, PRL-3, KAP, PTEN) and the CDC25B and CDC25C PTPs in glioma biology. Like PTKs, these PTPs may represent promising targets for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the treatment of high-grade gliomas

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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Design of Aqueous Processed Thick LiFePO4 Composite Electrodes for High-Energy Lithium Battery

International audienceSmall-amplitude oscillatory rheology is used to probe the microstructure present in aqueous composite electrode slurries for lithium batteries. The materials prepared with carboxymethyl cellulose as the thickener displays a solidlike behavior due to the buildup of a three-dimensional network of colloidal carbon black (CB) particles bridged by the polymeric chains. This network is able to support and inhibit the settling of the larger LiFePO4 particles. Thus a homogeneous morphology is achieved in the dried composite electrode and good electrochemical performance is displayed both at low and high rates. Contrarily, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose is observed to create weaker bonds between the CB particles and the materials prepared with this thickener display a liquidlike behavior. Then, the setting of the LiFePO4 particles results in a concentration gradient, and thus poor electronic wiring and electrochemical performance, unless drying is accelerated by heating

A RHIZOBIUM-MELILOTI FERREDOXIN (FDXN) PURIFIED FROM ESCHERICHIA-COLI DONATES ELECTRONS TO RHODOBACTER-CAPSULATUS NITROGENASE

RIEDEL KU, JOUANNEAU Y, MASEPOHL B, Pühler A, KLIPP W. A RHIZOBIUM-MELILOTI FERREDOXIN (FDXN) PURIFIED FROM ESCHERICHIA-COLI DONATES ELECTRONS TO RHODOBACTER-CAPSULATUS NITROGENASE. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY. 1995;231(3):742-746.The fdxN gene from Rhizobium meliloti encoding a bacterial-type ferredoxin (FdxN) was expressed in Escherichia coil under the control of the lac promoter. The fdxN gene product was purified under anaerobic conditions by ion-exchange chromatography and gel-filtration steps using an antiserum raised against an FdxN-LacZ fusion protein as a detection system. The purified ferredoxin was shown to be identical to the predicted R. meliloti FdxN protein in its amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence. Chemical determination of the iron content revealed 8.6+/-0.6 mol Fe/mol FdxN. The ultraviolet/visible absorption spectrum of the FdxN protein in the oxidized form exhibited maxima at 284 nm and 378 nm, with an A(378)/A(284) ratio of 0.7. EPR spectroscopy revealed a rhombic signal when FdxN was partially reduced, and a broad signal indicative of spin-spin interaction when fully reduced, suggesting the presence of two Fe-S clusters/ferredoxin polypeptide. Our data suggest that FdxN contains two [4Fe-4S] clusters. Purified FdxN was able to mediate electron transport between illuminated chloroplasts and Rhodobacter capsulatus nitrogenase in vitro

Is LiFePO4 stable in water ? Toward greener li-ion batteries

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