Characterizing microbiota and metabolomics analysis to identify candidate biomarkers in lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading malignant disease and cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Most patients with lung cancer had insignificant early symptoms so that most of them were diagnosed at an advanced stage. In addition to factors such as smoking, pollution, lung microbiome and its metabolites play vital roles in the development of lung cancer. However, the interaction between lung microbiota and carcinogenesis is lack of systematically characterized and controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to excavate the features of the lung microbiota and metabolites in patients and verify potential biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis. Methods: Lung tissue flushing solutions and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples came from patients with lung cancer and non-lung cancer. The composition and variations of the microbiota and metabolites in samples were explored using muti-omics technologies including 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, metagenomics and metabolomics. Results: The metabolomics analysis indicated that 40 different metabolites, such as 9,10-DHOME, sphingosine, and cysteinyl-valine, were statistically significant between two groups (VIP > 1 and P < 0.05). These metabolites were significantly enriched into 11 signal pathways including sphingolipid, autophagy and apoptosis signaling pathway (P < 0.05). The analysis of lung microbiota showed that significant changes reflected the decrease of microbial diversity, changes of distribution of microbial taxa, and variability of the correlation networks of lung microbiota in lung cancer patients. In particular, we found that oral commensal microbiota and multiple probiotics might be connected with the occurrence and progression of lung cancer. Moreover, our study found 3 metabolites and 9 species with significantly differences, which might be regarded as the potential clinical diagnostic markers associated with lung cancer. Conclusions: Lung microbiota and metabolites might play important roles in the pathogenesis of lung cancer, and the altered metabolites and microbiota might have the potential to be clinical diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets associated with lung cancer.

Ursolic acid benzaldehyde chalcone, leads to inhibition of cell proliferation and arrests cycle in G1/G0 phase in colon cancer.

The present study investigates the effect of matrine on colon cancer cell viability and apoptosis and tumor growth in mice xenograft model. The results from MTT assay revealed a concentration and time dependent reduction in viability of HCT8 and HT29 colon cancer cells by matrine. The viability of HCT8 and HT29 cells was reduced to 24.67 and 29.32% on treatment with 4 µM/ml concentration of matrine after 48 h (P < 0.05). The results from flow cytometry revealed increase in population of HCT8 and HT29 cells to 77.6 ± 0.3 and 54.0 ± 5.4%, respectively compared to 1.4 ± 0.3 and 2.4 ± 0.7% in control on exposure to 1 µM/ml concentration of matrine. Histone H2AX phosphorylation and expression of Myt1, cyclin A2, cyclin B1 and p53 were increased in HCT8 and HT29 cells on treatment with matrine for 48 h. Matrine treatment also increased the phosphorylation of cdc2 significantly compared to control cells at 48 h (P < 0.05). Results from Annexin-V/FITC-staining showed increase in proportion of apoptotic cells in HCT8 and HT29 cells 67.52 and 68.56 on treatment with 1 µM/ml of matrine. Matrine treatment caused a marked reduction in the growth of HCT8 cell xenograft after 21 days. Thus matrine inhibits cell viability, induces apoptosis and inhibits tumor growth in colon cancer.

Crocetin treatment inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells through down-regulation of genes involved in the inflammation.

BACKGROUND: The current study was designed to investigate the effect of crocetin on the proliferation inhibition of colon cancer cells and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: MTT assay showed inhibition of proliferation of colon cancer cells in a dose based manner by crocetin treatment. At 30 µM concentration of crocetin proliferation rate of colon cancer cells was reduced to 14% after 24 h. Flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy revealed induction of apoptosis in colon cancer cells on treatment with crocetin. The tube formation was suppressed significantly in the cultures of HUVEC treated with 30 µM concentration of crocetin compared to the control cultures. RESULTS: The results from transwell assay revealed a significant reduction in the population of DU-145 cells passing through filters of transwell on treatment with crocetin compared to the control cells. Treatment of the DU-145 cells with crocetin caused a significant reduction in the expression levels of NF-κB, VEGF and MMP-9. The results from RT-PCR analysis revealed a significant reduction in the expression of genes involved in inflammation including, HMGB1, IL-6 and IL-8 on treatment of DU-145 cells with crocetin. However, the expression of NAG-1 gene was increased by crocetin treatment in DU-145 cells significantly compared to the control cells. CONCLUSION: Crocetin inhibits growth of colon cancer cells and prevents tube formation through induction of apoptosis. Therefore, crocetin can be used efficiently for the treatment of colon cancer.

Expression of claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues.

Recent data indicate that the tight junction proteins are abnormally regulated in several human cancers and the expression of these proteins is involved in the etiology and progression of cancer. To explore the expression distinction of the tight junction proteins claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 in the adjacent non-neoplastic tissues and cervical carcinoma tissues, 72 cervical carcinoma tissues and the samples of non-neoplastic tissues adjacent to the tumors were examined for expression of claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 by streptavidin-perosidase immunohistochemical staining method. The positive expression rates of claudin-5 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 31.9% (23/72) and 51.4% (37/72) respectively (P < 0.05). The positive expression rates of claudin-7 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 47.2% and 50.0% respectively (P = 1.000). The positive expression rates of claudin-8 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 54.2 % and 27.8% respectively (P < 0.01). The positive expression rates of claudin-9 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 38.9% and 56.9% respectively (P < 0.05). Thus in our study, the expression of claudin-5 and claudin-9 was down-regulated while the expression of claudin-8 was up-regulated in cervical carcinoma tissues compared with adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. The expression of claudin-7 has no obviously difference between cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. In addition, correlations between claudin-5, -8 and -9 expression with lymphatic metastasis were observed. Our study reveals that the expression of claudin-5, -8 and -9 altered between in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues.

Evaluation of Helicobacter pylori eradication and drug therapy in patients with functional dyspepsia.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori) infection and drug therapy on functional dyspepsia (FD) symptoms and gastrointestinal eosinophil count. In this study, 215 continuous FD patients fulfilling Rome III criteria were enrolled. The patients were divided into a H. pylori-positive group and a H. pylori-negative group. The H. pylori-positive group was divided into H. pylori-eradicated and H. pylori-uneradicated groups following H. pylori-eradication treatment, and the H. pylori-negative group was randomly divided into esomeprazole and teprenone treatment groups. The symptom scores of the esomeprazole group were significantly lower compared with those of the teprenone group at week 6 but not at baseline and week 2. Compared with the H. pylori-uneradicated group, eosinophil counts in the antrum and body were significantly reduced in the H. pylori-eradicated group at week 6. The number of gastric eosinophil clusters was significantly higher in the H. pylori-positive group than in the H. pylori-negative group. Eradication was associated with gastric eosinophil counts but did not affect duodenal eosinophil levels. Neither esomeprazole nor teprenone treatments reduced eosinophil levels in the stomach and duodenum of H. pylori-negative patients.