Novel therapeutic strategies for spinal osteosarcomas

At the dawn of the third millennium, cancer has become the bane of twenty-first century man, and remains a predominant public health burden, affecting welfare and life expectancy globally. Spinal osteogenic sarcoma, a primary spinal malignant tumor, is a rare and challenging neoplastic disease to treat. After the conventional therapeutic modalities of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery have been exhausted, there is currently no available alternative therapy in managing cases of spinal osteosarcoma. The defining signatures of tumor survival are characterised by cancer cell ability to stonewall immunogenic attrition and apoptosis by various means. Some of these biomarkers, namely immune-checkpoints, have recently been exploited as druggable targets in osteosarcoma and many other different cancers. These promising strides made by the use of reinvigorated immunotherapeutic approaches may lead to significant reduction in spinal osteosarcoma disease burden and corresponding reciprocity in increase of survival rates. In this review, we provide the background to spinal osteosarcoma, and proceed to elaborate on contribution of the complex ecology within tumor microenvironment giving arise to cancerous immune escape, which is currently receiving considerable attention. We follow this section on the tumor microenvironment by a brief history of cancer immunity. Also, we draw on the current knowledge of treatment gained from incidences of osteosarcoma at other locations of the skeleton (long bones of the extremities in close proximity to the metaphyseal growth plates) to make a case for application of immunity-based tools, such as immune-checkpoint inhibitors and vaccines, and draw attention to adverse upshots of immune-checkpoint blockers as well. Finally, we describe the novel biotechnique of CRISPR/Cas9 that will assist in treatment approaches for personalized medication.This work is funded by a grant (MPP 320133) from the American University of Beirut to Dr. Ali H. Eid

Changes of Gut-Microbiota-Liver Axis in Hepatitis C Virus Infection

The gut–liver-axis is a bidirectional coordination between the gut, including microbial residents, the gut microbiota, from one side and the liver on the other side. Any disturbance in this crosstalk may lead to a disease status that impacts the functionality of both the gut and the liver. A major cause of liver disorders is hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection that has been illustrated to be associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis at different stages of the disease progression. This dysbiosis may start a cycle of inflammation and metabolic disturbance that impacts the gut and liver health and contributes to the disease progression. This review discusses the latest literature addressing this interplay between the gut microbiota and the liver in HCV infection from both directions. Additionally, we highlight the contribution of gut microbiota to the metabolism of antivirals used in HCV treatment regimens and the impact of these medications on the microbiota composition. This review sheds light on the potential of the gut microbiota manipulation as an alternative therapeutic approach to control the liver complications post HCV infection

Changes of Gut-Microbiota-Liver Axis in Hepatitis C Virus Infection

The gut–liver-axis is a bidirectional coordination between the gut, including microbial residents, the gut microbiota, from one side and the liver on the other side. Any disturbance in this crosstalk may lead to a disease status that impacts the functionality of both the gut and the liver. A major cause of liver disorders is hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection that has been illustrated to be associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis at different stages of the disease progression. This dysbiosis may start a cycle of inflammation and metabolic disturbance that impacts the gut and liver health and contributes to the disease progression. This review discusses the latest literature addressing this interplay between the gut microbiota and the liver in HCV infection from both directions. Additionally, we highlight the contribution of gut microbiota to the metabolism of antivirals used in HCV treatment regimens and the impact of these medications on the microbiota composition. This review sheds light on the potential of the gut microbiota manipulation as an alternative therapeutic approach to control the liver complications post HCV infection