MOLECULAR DESIGN OF SUGAR-FREE MIGRACIN ANALOG MIGRACINAL THAT INHIBITS OVARIAN CANCER CELL MIGRATION AND INVASION

Introduction. Cancer metastasis consists of several steps including detachment from the primary tumor, migration, invasion, transport in the blood or lymphatic vessels, attachment at the secondary site, and growth of secondary tumor. Migration and invasion areinvolved in the mechanism of all types of cancer metastasis. We previously isolated novel cellular migration inhibitor migracin A and B from a culture filtrate of Streptomyces sp. Migracin A was shown to inhibit IGF-1-mediated cellular migration and invasion in ovarian carcinoma cells. However, it is difficult to prepare large amount of migracin A. Migracin A consists of substituted benzene and an alkylated sugar moiety. In the present research, we have designed and synthesized a simplified dialdehydederivative of migracin called migracinal having no sugar moiety. Material and methods. Migracinal was purchased from Techno Chem Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. Migracinal was prepared from 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (2,4-DHBA). The structure was confirmed by proton and carbon NMR spectra and ESI mass spectroscopy. The antitumor activity of the new derivative was studied by standard tests under conditions in vitro. Results. Migracinal inhibited cellular migration and invasion in ovarian clear cell carcinoma ES-2 cells. It also inhibited IGF-1 expression as migracin A. Moreover, it induced anoikis rather than apoptosis in ES-2 cells.Conclusions. Migracinal is easier to prepare than migracins, and it may be useful for the mechanistic study and suppression of metastasis. Введение. Процесс метастазирования рака состоит из нескольких этапов: отсоединение клеток от первичной опухоли, миграцию, инвазию, перемещение в крови или лимфатических сосудах, присоединение и рост вторичной опухоли. Механизмы миграции и инвазии универсальны для всех видов рака. Ранее из культуры Streptomyces SP мы выделили Migracin А и В - новые ингибиторы клеточной миграции. Было продемонстрировано как Migracin А ингибирует IGF-1-опосредованную миграцию и инвазию клеток рака яичников. Однако большое количество Migracin А, состоящего из замещенного бензола и алкилированного углеводного фрагмента, синтезировать трудоемко. В настоящем исследовании мы разработали и синтезировали упрощенное производное диальдегида Migracin, не имеющего углеводного компонента, названное Migracinal. Материалы и методы. Migracin приобретался у компании «ТехноХим Co., Лтд» (Токио, Япония). Производное Migracinal получали взаимодействием Migracin с 2,4-дигидроксибензалдегидом. Структура была подтверждена спектрами ЯМР и масс-спектроскопией. Противоопухолевая активность нового производного изучалась стандартными тестами в условиях in vitro. Результаты. Установлено, что Migracinal ингибирует клеточную миграцию и инвазию клеток ES-2 рака яичника и аналогично Migracin A ингибирует IGF-1 экспрессию. Кроме того, он индуцировал аноикис, а не апоптоз в клетках ES-2.Заключение. Синтез Migracinal легче в сравнении с Migracin, а спектр противоопухолевой активности идентичен, что может быть использовано для подавления процессов метастазирования.

Induced cancer stem-like cells as a model for biological screening and discovery of agents targeting phenotypic traits of cancer stem cell

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) retain the capacity to propagate themselves through self-renewal and to produce heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells constituting the tumor. Novel drugs that target CSCs can potentially eliminate the tumor initiating cell population therefore resulting in complete cure of the cancer. We recently established a CSC-like model using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to reprogram and partially differentiate human mammary epithelial MCF-10A cells. Using the induced CSC-like (iCSCL) model, we developed a phenotypic drug assay system to identify agents that inhibit the stemness and self-renewal properties of CSCs. The selectivity of the agents was assessed using three distinct assays characterized by cell viability, cellular stemness and tumor sphere formation. Using this approach, we found that withaferin A (WA), an Ayurvedic medicine constituent, was a potent inhibitor of CSC stemness leading to cellular senescence primarily via the induction of p21Cip1 expression. Moreover, WA exhibited strong anti-tumorigenic activity against the iCSCL. These results indicate that our iCSCL model provides an innovative high throughput platform for a simple, easy, and cost-effective method to search for novel CSC-targeting drugs. Furthermore, our current study identified WA as a putative drug candidate for abrogating the stemness and tumor initiating ability of CSCs

Dysregulated Aire expression and autoimmunity

Deficiency for AIRE/Aire in both humans and mice results in the development of organ-specific autoimmune disease. We tested whether augmented and/or dysregulated AIRE/Aire expression might be also prone to the breakdown of self-tolerance. To define the effect of augmented Aire expression on the development of autoimmunity, antigen-specific clonal deletion and production of clonotypic regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the thymus were examined using mice expressing two additional copies of Aire in a heterozygous state (3xAire-knockin mice: 3xAire-KI). We found that both clonal deletion of autoreactive T cells and production of clonotypic Tregs in the thymus from 3xAire-KI were impaired in a T-cell receptor-transgenic system. Furthermore, 3xAire-KI females showed higher scores of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein than wild-type littermates, suggesting that augmented Aire expression exacerbates organ-specific autoimmunity under disease-prone conditions. In humans, we found that one patient with amyopathic dermatomyositis showed CD3–CD19– cells expressing AIRE in the peripheral blood before the treatment but not during the remission phase treated with immunosuppressive drugs. Thus, not only loss of function of AIRE/Aire but also augmented and/or dysregulated expression of AIRE/Aire should be considered for the pathogenesis of organ-specific autoimmunity. We suggest that further analyses should be pursued to establish a novel link between organ-specific autoimmune disease and dysregulated AIRE expression in clinical settings

Tokyo Guidelines 2018 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis (with videos)

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were globally disseminated and various clinical studies about the management of acute cholecystitis were reported by many researchers and clinicians from all over the world. The 1st edition of the Tokyo Guidelines 2007 (TG07) was revised in 2013. According to that revision, the TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis provided better specificity and higher diagnostic accuracy. Thorough our literature search about diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis, new and strong evidence that had been released from 2013 to 2017 was not found with serious and important issues about using TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis. On the other hand, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis has been validated in numerous studies. As a result of these reviews, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis was significantly associated with parameters including 30-day overall mortality, length of hospital stay, conversion rates to open surgery, and medical costs. In terms of severity assessment, breakthrough and intensive literature for revising severity grading was not reported. Consequently, TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading were judged from numerous validation studies as useful indicators in clinical practice and adopted as TG18/TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis without any modification. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: http://www.jshbps.jp/modules/en/index.php?content_id=47. Related clinical questions and references are also include

Delphi consensus on bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy:An evolutionary cul-de-sac or the birth pangs of a new technical framework?

Bile duct injury (BDI) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains a serious iatrogenic surgical complication. BDI most often occurs as a result of misidentification of the anatomy; however, clinical evidence on its precise mechanism and surgeons' perceptions is scarce. Surgeons from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the USA, etc. (n=614) participated in a questionnaire regarding their BDI experience and near-misses; and perceptions on landmarks, intraoperative findings, and surgical techniques. Respondents voted for a Delphi process and graded each item on a five-point scale. The consensus was built when 80% of overall responses were 4 or 5. Response rates for the first- and second-round Delphi were 60.6% and 74.9%, respectively. Misidentification of local anatomy accounted for 76.2% of BDI. Final consensus was reached on: (1) Effective retraction of the gallbladder, (2) Always obtaining critical view of safety, and (3) Avoiding excessive use of electrocautery/clipping as vital procedures; and (4) Calot's triangle area and (5) Critical view of safety as important landmarks. For (6) Impacted gallstone and (7) Severe fibrosis/scarring in Calot's triangle, bail-out procedures may be indicated. A consensus was reached among expert surgeons on relevant landmarks and intraoperative findings and appropriate surgical techniques to avoid BD

Inhibition of Late and Early Phases of Cancer Metastasis by the NF-κB Inhibitor DHMEQ Derived from Microbial Bioactive Metabolite Epoxyquinomicin: A Review

We previously designed and synthesized dehydroxyepoxyquinomicin (DHMEQ) as an inhibitor of NF-κB based on the structure of microbial secondary metabolite epoxyquinomicin C. DHMEQ showed anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity in various in vivo disease models without toxicity. On the other hand, the process of cancer metastasis consists of cell detachment from the primary tumor, invasion, transportation by blood or lymphatic vessels, invasion, attachment, and formation of secondary tumor. Cell detachment from the primary tumor and subsequent invasion are considered to be early phases of metastasis, while tumor cell attachment to the tissue and secondary tumor formation the late phases. The assay system for the latter phase was set up with intra-portal-vein injection of pancreatic cancer cells. Intraperitoneal administration of DHMEQ was found to inhibit liver metastasis possibly by decreasing the expression of MMP-9 and IL-8. Also, when the pancreatic cancer cells treated with DHMEQ were inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of mice, the metastatic foci formation was inhibited. These results indicate that DHMEQ is likely to inhibit the late phase of metastasis. Meanwhile, we have recently employed three-dimensional (3D) culture of breast cancer cells for the model of early phase metastasis, since the 3D invasion just includes cell detachment and invasion into the matrix. DHMEQ inhibited the 3D invasion of breast cancer cells at 3D-nontoxic concentrations. In this way, DHMEQ was shown to inhibit the late and early phases of metastasis. Thus, DHMEQ is likely to be useful for the suppression of cancer metastasis

A Proton Beam Therapy System Dedicated to Spot-Scanning Increases Accuracy with Moving Tumors by Real-Time Imaging and Gating and Reduces Equipment Size

PURPOSE: A proton beam therapy (PBT) system has been designed which dedicates to spot-scanning and has a gating function employing the fluoroscopy-based real-time-imaging of internal fiducial markers near tumors. The dose distribution and treatment time of the newly designed real-time-image gated, spot-scanning proton beam therapy (RGPT) were compared with free-breathing spot-scanning proton beam therapy (FBPT) in a simulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In-house simulation tools and treatment planning system VQA (Hitachi, Ltd., Japan) were used for estimating the dose distribution and treatment time. Simulations were performed for 48 motion parameters (including 8 respiratory patterns and 6 initial breathing timings) on CT data from two patients, A and B, with hepatocellular carcinoma and with clinical target volumes 14.6 cc and 63.1 cc. The respiratory patterns were derived from the actual trajectory of internal fiducial markers taken in X-ray real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy (RTRT). RESULTS: With FBPT, 9/48 motion parameters achieved the criteria of successful delivery for patient A and 0/48 for B. With RGPT 48/48 and 42/48 achieved the criteria. Compared with FBPT, the mean liver dose was smaller with RGPT with statistical significance (p<0.001); it decreased from 27% to 13% and 28% to 23% of the prescribed doses for patients A and B, respectively. The relative lengthening of treatment time to administer 3 Gy (RBE) was estimated to be 1.22 (RGPT/FBPT: 138 s/113 s) and 1.72 (207 s/120 s) for patients A and B, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This simulation study demonstrated that the RGPT was able to improve the dose distribution markedly for moving tumors without very large treatment time extension. The proton beam therapy system dedicated to spot-scanning with a gating function for real-time imaging increases accuracy with moving tumors and reduces the physical size, and subsequently the cost of the equipment as well as of the building housing the equipment