The microRNA-485-3p concentration in salivary exosome-enriched extracellular vesicles is related to amyloid ß deposition in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive long-term memory loss and cognitive dysfunction. Neuroimaging tests for abnormal amyloid-ß (Aß) deposition are considered the most reliable methods for the diagnosis of AD; however, the cost for such testing is very high and generally not covered by national insurance systems. Accordingly, it is only recommended for individuals exhibiting clinical symptoms of AD supported by clinical cognitive assessments. Recently, it was suggested that dysregulated microRNA-485-3p (miRNA-485-3p) in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid is closely related to pathogenesis of AD. However, a relationship between circulating miRNA-485-3p in salivary exosome-enriched extracellular vesicles (EE-EV) and Aß deposition in the brain has not been observed. DESIGN & METHODS: Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we analyzed miRNA-485-3p concentration in salivary EE-EV. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate its predictive value for Aß positron emission tomography (Aß-PET) positivity in patients with AD. RESULTS: Our results showed that the miRNA-485-3p concentration in salivary EE-EV isolated from patients with AD was significantly increased compared with that in the healthy controls (p < 0.0001). In the analysis of all participants, the miRNA-485-3p concentration was significantly increased in Aß-PET-positive participants compared to Aß-PET-negative participants (p < 0.0001). Further analysis using only AD patients also showed that the miRNA-485-3p concentration was significantly increased in Aß-PET-positive AD patients vs. Aß-PET-negative AD patients (p = 0.0063). The ROC curve analysis for differentiating Aß-PET-positive and negative participants showed that the area under the curve for miRNA-485-3p was 0.9217. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that the miRNA-485-3p concentration in salivary EE-EV was closely related to Aß deposition in the brain and had high diagnostic accuracy for predicting Aß-PET positivity.

Recapitulation of pharmacogenomic data reveals that invalidation of SULF2 enhance sorafenib susceptibility in liver cancer.

Gene mutations play critical roles during cancer development and progression, and therefore represent targets for precision medicine. Here we recapitulated the pharmacogenomic data to delineate novel candidates for actionable mutations and therapeutic target drugs. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated that the loss-of-function of SULF2 by mutation (N491K) or inhibition enhanced sorafenib sensitivity in liver cancer cells and in vivo mouse models. This effect was mediated by deregulation of EGFR signaling and downstream expression of LCN2. We also report that the liver cancer patients non-responding to sorafenib treatment exhibit higher expression of SULF2 and LCN2. In conclusion, we suggest that SULF2 plays a key role in sorafenib susceptibility and resistance in liver cancer via deregulation of LCN2. Diagnostic or therapeutic targeting of SULF2 (e.g., OKN-007) and/or LCN2 can be a novel precision strategy for sorafenib treatment in cancer patients.

Mutations acquired by hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence give rise to an aggressive phenotype.

Recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) even after curative resection causes dismal outcomes of patients. Here, to delineate the driver events of genomic and transcription alteration during HCC recurrence, we performed RNA-Seq profiling of the paired primary and recurrent tumors from two patients with intrahepatic HCC. By comparing the mutational and transcriptomic profiles, we identified somatic mutations acquired by HCC recurrence including novel mutants of GOLGB1 (E2721V) and SF3B3 (H804Y). By performing experimental evaluation using siRNA-mediated knockdown and overexpression constructs, we demonstrated that the mutants of GOLGB1 and SF3B3 can promote cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer cells. Transcriptome analysis also revealed that the recurrent HCCs reprogram their transcriptomes to acquire aggressive phenotypes. Network analysis revealed CXCL8 (IL-8) and SOX4 as common downstream targets of the mutants. In conclusion, we suggest that the mutations of GOLGB1 and SF3B3 are potential key drivers for the acquisition of an aggressive phenotype in recurrent HCC.

Inhibition of DNA topoisomerases I and II of compounds from Reynoutria japonica.

Three anthraquinones (1, 2 and 4), three stilbenes (5, 6 and 7) and 3,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (3) were isolated from Reynoutria japonica. Their structures were identified as emodin (1), emodin-8-O-ß-D-glucoside (2), 3,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (3), citreorosein (4), cis-resveratrol (5), trans-resveratrol (6) and trans-resveratrol-5-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (7) by comparing their physicochemical and spectral data with published data. Compound 3 was isolated for the first time from the Polygonaceae family. Among the purified compounds, 3 showed more potent inhibitory activity against topoisomerase I (IC50: 4 µM) than camptothecin, as the positive control (IC50: 18 µM). Compounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 showed stronger inhibitory activities toward DNA topoisomerase II (IC50: 0.54, 14, 15, 0.77 and 3 µM, respectively) than the positive control, etoposide (IC50: 44 µM). Compounds 1 and 4 displayed weak cytotoxicities against human lung cancer (A549), ovarian cancer (SK-OV-3), human liver hepatoblastoma (HepG2) and colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cell lines.