Arsenic trioxide suppresses tumour growth in squamous cell lung carcinoma

This journal suppl. entitled: 20th Medical Research Conference; Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong KongINTRODUCTION: Squamous cell lung carcinoma (SCC) belongs to the second most common subtype in non–small-cell lung carcinoma. Recently, doublet chemotherapy regimens remain the cornerstone of first-line systemic treatment. Therefore, new therapeutic approach is urgently needed. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is a traditional Chinese medicine which has multiple anti-cancer mechanisms including apoptosis. ATO has been used clinically in acute promyelocytic leukaemia. ATO has been shown to induce apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma …published_or_final_versio

Massive degradation in FGFR/Akt/Erk signaling by arsenic trioxide and FGFR inhibitor PD173074 in squamous cell lung carcinoma SK-MES-1

This journal suppl. entitled: 20th Medical Research Conference; Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong KongINTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is the top cancer killer. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represents the second most common histological subtype of lung cancer. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been demonstrated to inhibit tumour growth in lung adenocarcinoma and initiate apoptosis in acute promyelocytic leukaemia. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor (FGFR) amplification is shown in some SCC. FGFR inhibitor (eg PD173074) has been …published_or_final_versio

Social patterning in adiposity in adolescence: prospective observations from the chinese birth cohort ‘‘Children of 1997’’

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Developing a platform of environmental omics for the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis

Session Track: Aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicologyOral presentationConference Theme: Science across bridges, borders and boundariesThe green-lipped mussel Perna viridis is an important marine biomonitor species in pollution monitoring and ecotoxicological studies in Asia-Pacific region, and considered as a subtropical equivalent biomonitor of the temperate Mytilus species. However, the genomic information of P. viridis is still largely unexplored when compared with Mytilus species. This study aimed to establish a transcriptomic profile of P. viridis using the next generation sequencing technology and provide a good representative set of genomic information for elucidation of toxic mechanisms upon pollution stresses and identification of a suite of suitable biomarkers for monitoring marine pollution and environmental stresses. To obtain a wide spectrum of environmental-associated transcripts, adult mussels (4-5 cm shell length) were collected from different locations in Hong Kong and from those after 24-hour exposures to various challenges of physical stresses and chemical pollutants, so as to cover a wide range of stress-associated transcription patterns for future environmental studies. Two males and females from each location and from each treatment were chosen for obtaining the three target tissues (i.e., hepatopancreas, gill and adductor muscle). For each sex and each tissue type, a total RNA sample was extracted from pooled tissues from the field and laboratory treated mussels. The RNA sample was subjected to cDNA library construction, followed by the RNA-sequencing using a Solexa GAIIx (Illumina). Including the splicing variants, a de novo assembly of a total length of 295,064,579 base-pair (bp) contig was obtained, with 233,257 contigs assembled of an average size of 1264 bp. The 192,879 non-redundant assembled transcripts were blasted against the NCBI nr database and three molluscan EST databases, and resulted in 44,713 transcripts with at least a blast hit, and having a top match with the sequences from the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (27,651 transcripts). A total of 5,131 transcripts were assigned with KEGG annotation involving in 329 pathways. Based on multivariate statistical analysis, expression patterns of genes from stress associated responses and detoxification were strongly tissue-specific but the differences between genders were little. The anticipated genomic database generated from this study will further strengthen the role of P. viridis as a universal marine biomonitor in the Asia-Pacific region.published_or_final_versio

Short- and medium-term outcomes of accelerated infant growth in a Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort.

1. In a large, population representative,Chinese birth cohort, higher birth weight and rapid growth, particularly at 0-3 months, were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) at 7 years. 2. Boys born heavy who had grown fast had the highest BMI, but rapid growth had the largest impact in lighter-born boys. 3. Rapid growth at 0-3 months or 3-12 months was not associated with a compensatory lower risk of serious infectious morbidity. 4. The ability to grow fast may be an embodiment of good health status, rather than fast growth being causally protective.published_or_final_versio

DNA barcoding of marine organisms from trawl fishery in Hong Kong

Poster presentation: P-14Biodiversity PatternsEffective conservation management can only be formulated and implemented with a thorough understanding on biodiversity in the region of interest. Yet the alpha diversity of many areas remains understudied. In the present study, DNA barcoding was employed to identify marine fish and crustacean species from trawl fishery in Hong Kong waters. A total of 140 fish specimens and 106 crustacean specimens were sampled from 12 collection sites in the eastern, southern and western waters of Hong Kong in 2012. Based on morphology, the fishes are identified into 76 ...postprin

E2F1 Downregulation by Arsenic Trioxide in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Nonetheless preliminary data have suggested potential activity of ATO in solid tumors including lung cancer. This study aimed to examine the underlying mechanisms of ATO in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. Using a panel of 7 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, the effects of ATO treatment on cell viability, expression of E2F1 and its downstream targets, phosphatidylserine externalization, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and alteration of apoptotic/anti-apoptotic factors were studied. Tumor growth inhibition in vivo was investigated using a nude mouse xenograft model. ATO decreased cell viability with clinically achievable concentrations (8 uM) in all cell lines investigated. This was accompanied by reduced expression of E2F1, cyclin A2, skp2, c-myc, thymidine kinase and ribonucleotide reductase M1, while p-c-Jun was upregulated. Cell viability was significantly decreased with E2F1 knockdown. Treatment with ATO resulted in phosphatidylserine externalization in H23 cells and mitochondrial membrane depolarization in all cell lines, associated with truncation of Bid, downregulation of Bcl-2, upregulation of Bax and Bak, caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Using a H358 xenograft model, the tumor growth was suppressed in the ATO treatment group during 8 days of treatment, associated with downregulation of E2F1 and upregulation of truncated Bid and cleaved caspase-3. In conclusion, ATO has potent in vitro and in vivo activity in lung adenocarcinoma, partially mediated through E2F1 downregulation and apoptosis.published_or_final_versio

De novo transcriptome analysis of Perna viridis highlights tissue-specific patterns for environmental studies

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Infant growth during the first year of life and age at puberty onset: Hong Kong’s "Children of 1997" birth cohort

published_or_final_version6th World Congress on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, Santiago, Chile, 19 - 22 November 2009. In Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 2009, v. 1 n. S1, p. S13

Intensive chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support in the treatment of leukemia relapse after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: clinical results and chimerism findings

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