1 H qNMR Quantification of Annonaceous Acetogenins in Crude Extracts of Annona muricata L. Fruit Pulp.

INTRODUCTION: Annonaceous acetogenins (AAGs) constitute a group of environmental neurotoxins, possibly implicated in sporadic atypical Parkinsonism/dementia complexes. The recent evidencing of complex mixtures of AAGs in edible fruits and derived food products requires efficient and practical analytical tools for an estimation of human exposure. OBJECTIVE: To develop a simple method for the direct quantitation of the majority of AAGs (sub-types 1a and 1b) within crude extracts, using commonly available 1 H-NMR spectrometers, for food control. METHODOLOGY: Method development was carried out on 400 MHz and 300 MHz spectrometers, for routine application on fruits crude extracts of Annona muricata L. The method was validated with annonacin and squamocin as reference compounds. Two internal standards (ISs), fumaric acid and dimethyl fumarate, were successfully used, in deuterated methanol (CD3 OD) and deuterated chloroform (CDCl3 ), respectively. RESULTS: Quantitation was carried out using signals corresponding to the deshielded ethylenic protons characterising most AAGs, at δ 7.18 or δ 6.98 ppm in CDCl3 . The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 2.5 mM, with acceptable accuracy, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.5 mM. The AAGs contents measured in seven distinct fruit samples of Annona muricata ranged from 14 µmol to 226 µmol of AAGs per 100 g fresh pulp (i.e. 0.14 mmol to 1.3 mmol of AAGs per fruit). CONCLUSION: A simple, accurate and specific method for quantification of AAGs content was developed and validated for routine application to fruit pulp crude extracts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decentralization of Next-Generation RNA Sequencing-Based MammaPrint® and BluePrint® Kit at University Hospitals Leuven and Curie Institute Paris.

A previously developed and centrally validated MammaPrint® (MP) and BluePrint® (BP) targeted RNA next-generation sequencing (NGS) kit was implemented and validated in two large academic European hospitals. Additionally, breast cancer molecular subtypes by MP and BP RNA sequencing were compared with immunohistochemistry (IHC). Patients with early breast cancer diagnosed at University Hospitals Leuven and Curie Institute Paris were prospectively included between September 2017 and January 2018. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections were analyzed with MP and BP NGS technology at the beta sites and with both NGS and microarray technology at Agendia. Raw NGS data generated on Illumina MiSeq instruments at the beta sites were interpreted and compared with NGS and microarray data at Agendia. MP and BP NGS molecular subtypes were compared to surrogate IHC breast cancer subtypes. Equivalence of MP and BP indices was determined by Pearson's correlation coefficient. Acceptable limits were defined a priori, based on microarray data generated at Agendia between 2012 and 2016. The concordance, the Negative Percent Agreement and the Positive Percent Agreement were calculated based on the contingency tables and had to be equal to or higher than 90%. Out of 124 included samples, 48% were MP Low and 52% High Risk with microarray. Molecular subtypes were BP luminal, HER2 or basal in 82%, 8% and 10% respectively. Concordance between MP microarray at Agendia and MP NGS at the beta sites was 91.1%. Concordance of MP High and Low Risk classification between NGS at the beta sites and NGS at Agendia was 93.9%. Concordance of MP and BP molecular subtyping using NGS at the beta sites and microarray at Agendia was 89.5%. Concordance between MP and BP NGS subtyping, and IHC was 71.8% and 76.6%, for two IHC surrogate models. The MP/BP NGS kit was successfully validated in a decentralized setting.