Use of a tolerance interval approach as a statistical quality control tool for traditional Chinese medicine.

Raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are often from different resources and its final product may also be made by different sites. Therefore, variabilities from different resources such as site-to-site or within site component-to-component may be expected. Consequently, test for consistency in raw materials, in-process materials, and/or final product has become an important issue in the quality control (QC) process in TCM development. In this paper, a statistical QC process for raw materials and/or the final product of TCM is proposed based on a two sided [Formula: see text]-content, [Formula: see text]-confidence tolerance interval. More specifically, we construct the tolerance interval for a random-effects model to assess the QC of TCM products from different regions and possibly different product batches. The products can be claimed to be consistency when the constructed tolerance interval is within the permitted range. Given the region and batch effects, sample sizes can also be calculated to ensure the desired measure of goodness. An example is presented to illustrate the proposed approach.

Inhibition of cancer cell migration and invasion through suppressing the Wnt1-mediating signal pathway by G-quadruplex structure stabilizers.

WNT1 encodes a multifunctional signaling glycoprotein that is highly expressed in several malignant tumors. Patients with Wnt1-positive cancer are usually related to advanced metastasis. Here, we found that a stretch of G-rich sequences located at the WNT1 promoter region is capable of forming G-quadruplex structures. The addition of G-quadruplex structure stabilizers, BMVC and BMVC4, raises the melting temperature of the oligonucleotide formed by the WNT1 promoter G-rich sequences. Significantly, the expression of WNT1 was repressed by BMVC or BMVC4 in a G-quadruplex-dependent manner, suggesting that they can be used to modulate WNT1 expression. The role of G-quadruplex stabilizers on Wnt1-mediated cancer migration and invasion was further analyzed. The protein levels of ß-catenin, a mediator of the Wnt-mediated signaling pathway, and the downstream targets MMP7 and survivin were down-regulated upon BMVC or BMVC4 treatments. Moreover, the migration and invasion activities of cancer cells were inhibited by BMVC and BMVC4, and the inhibitory effects can be reversed by WNT1-overexpression. Thus the Wnt1 expression and its downstream signaling pathways can be regulated through the G-quadruplex sequences located at its promoter region. These findings provide a novel approach for future drug development to inhibit migration and invasion of cancer cells.

Overexpression of the pituitary tumor transforming gene induces p53-dependent senescence through activating DNA damage response pathway in normal human fibroblasts.

Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG1, securin) is involved in cell-cycle control through inhibition of sister-chromatid separation. Elevated levels of PTTG1 were found to be associated with many different tumor types that might be involved in late stage tumor progression. However, the role of PTTG1 in early stage of tumorigenesis is unclear. Here we utilized the adenovirus expression system to deliver PTTG1 into normal human fibroblasts to evaluate the role of PTTG1 in tumorigenesis. Expressing PTTG1 in normal human fibroblasts inhibited cell proliferation. Several senescence-associated (SA) phenotypes including increased SA-beta-galactosidase activities, decreased bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, and increased SA-heterochromatin foci formation were also observed in PTTG1-expressing cells, indicating that PTTG1 overexpression induced a senescent phenotype in normal cells. Significantly, the PTTG1-induced senescence is p53-dependent and telomerase-independent, which is distinctively different from that of replicative senescence. The mechanism of PTTG1-induced senescence was also analyzed. Consistent with its role in regulating sister-chromatid separation, overexpression of PTTG1 inhibited the activation of separase. Consequently, the numbers of cells with abnormal nuclei morphologies and chromosome separations were increased, which resulted in activation of the DNA damage response. Thus, we concluded that PTTG1 overexpression in normal human fibroblasts caused chromosome instability, which subsequently induced p53-dependent senescence through activation of DNA-damage response pathway.

Use of a Bayesian approach in the design and evaluation of NCE2s.

Taiwan's regulatory agency defines New Chemical Entity 2 (NCE2) as a compound drug that has been approved and marketed for ten years in a top-ten pharmaceutically-advanced country but which is new in Taiwan. To apply for registration of NCE2 in Taiwan, a clinical trial may be conducted in Taiwan to evaluate the efficacy and safety. Since the NCE2 has been approved in at least one of the top-ten pharmaceutically-advanced countries, we can borrow the information from all of the observed data from other countries to synthesize the data from both Taiwan and other countries to assess the NCE2 efficacy. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian approach that uses a mixture of prior information to help evaluate an NCE2's efficacy. Numerical examples illustrate applications of the proposed approach in different scenarios. A method for sample-size determination for such trials is also proposed.

Identification of a new class of WNT1 inhibitor: Cancer cells migration, G-quadruplex stabilization and target validation.

Developing the Wnt pathway inhibitors has been considered as a therapeutic approach for cancers and other Wnt-related diseases. Previously we found that the G-rich sequence of WNT1 promoter is capable of forming G-quadruplex structure and stabilizing agents for Wnt1-mediated signaling pathway. Using a established cell-based drug screen system that enabled the evaluation of WNT1 expression activity in a G-quadruplex structure dependent manner, we evaluated a series of 6-substituted 9-chloro-11H-indeno[1,2-c]quinolin-11-one derivatives that potentially inhibit the Wnt1-mediated signaling pathway. The most potent compound SJ26 showed repression of WNT1 activity in a G-quadruplex structure-dependent manner. Moreover, compound SJ26 inhibited the WNT1-mediated downstream signaling pathway and suppressed migration activity of cancer cells. Thus, we have identified a tetracyclic azafluorenone, SJ26, that is capable of binding to G-quadruplex DNA structure, repressing WNT1 expression, and inhibiting cell migration.

Association of pituitary tumor transforming gene expression with early oral tumorigenesis and malignant progression of precancerous lesions.

BACKGROUND: Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG1) is overexpressed in many types of human cancers and is involved in late-stage tumor progression. The role of PTTG1 in initiating tumorigenesis is unclear. METHODS: PTTG1 expression was assessed in precancerous lesions and squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity (OSCC). The association between the protein expression and clinicopathologic parameters was analyzed. The expression level of PTTG1 upon carcinogen treatment was also investigated. RESULTS: PTTG1 was overexpressed in both precancerous lesions and OSCC. The expression of PTTG1 was associated with carcinogen exposure in vivo and in vitro. PTTG1 overexpression was an independent factor for oral cancer development in precancerous lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence that PTTG1 is involved in the early stages of oral tumorigenesis. Carcinogen exposure may cause the initial induction of PTTG1 expression in oral precancerous lesions. PTTG1 overexpression is a potential prognosticator for malignant progression of oral precancerous lesions.