Relevance of tumor markers for prognosis and predicting therapy response in non-small cell lung cancer patients: A CEPAC-TDM biomarker substudy.

BACKGROUND: Protein tumor markers are released in high amounts into the blood in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relevance of serum tumor markers (STM) for prognosis, prediction and monitoring of therapy response in NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: In a biomarker substudy of a prospective, multicentric clinical trial (CEPAC-TDM) on 261 advanced NSCLC patients, CYFRA 21-1, CEA, SCC, NSE, ProGRP, CA125, CA15-3 and HE4 were assessed in serial serum samples and correlated with radiological response after two cycles of chemotherapy and overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: While pretherapeutic STM levels at staging did not discriminate between progressive and non-progressive patients, CYFRA 21-1, CA125, NSE and SCC at time of staging did, and yielded AUCs of 0.75, 0.70, 0.69 and 0.67 in ROC curves, respectively. High pretherapeutic CA15-3 and CA125 as well as high CYFRA 21-1, SCC, CA125 and CA15-3 levels at staging were prognostic for shorter PFS and OS -also when clinical variables were added to the models. CONCLUSIONS: STM at the time of first radiological staging and pretherapeutic CA15-3, CA125 are predictive for first-line treatment response and highly prognostic in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Missing prognostic value of soluble PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2 in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy - A CEPAC-TDM biomarker substudy.

BACKGROUND: Programmed cell death receptors and ligands in cancer tissue samples are established companion diagnostics for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relevance of soluble PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2 for estimating therapy response and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) undergoing platin-based combination chemotherapies. METHODS: In a biomarker substudy of a prospective, multicentric clinical trial (CEPAC-TDM) on advanced NSCLC patients, soluble PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2 were assessed in serial serum samples by highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and correlated with radiological response after two cycles of chemotherapy and with overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Among 243 NSCLC patients, 185 achieved response (partial remission and stable disease) and 58 non-response (progression). The distribution of PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2 at baseline (C1), prior to staging (C3) and the relative changes (C3/C1) greatly overlapped between the patient groups with response and non-response, thus hindering the discrimination between the two groups. None of the PD markers had prognostic value regarding OS. CONCLUSIONS: Neither soluble PD-1, PD-L1 nor PD-L2 did provide clinical utility for predicting response to chemotherapy and prognosis. Studies on the relevance of PD markers in ICI therapies are warranted.

Interlaboratory Validation of a DNA Metabarcoding Assay for Mammalian and Poultry Species to Detect Food Adulteration.

Meat species authentication in food is most commonly based on the detection of genetic variations. Official food control laboratories frequently apply single and multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and/or DNA arrays. However, in the near future, DNA metabarcoding, the generation of PCR products for DNA barcodes, followed by massively parallel sequencing by next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, could be an attractive alternative. DNA metabarcoding is superior to well-established methodologies since it allows simultaneous identification of a wide variety of species not only in individual foodstuffs but even in complex mixtures. We have recently published a DNA metabarcoding assay for the identification and differentiation of 15 mammalian species and six poultry species. With the aim to harmonize analytical methods for food authentication across EU Member States, the DNA metabarcoding assay has been tested in an interlaboratory ring trial including 15 laboratories. Each laboratory analyzed 16 anonymously labelled samples (eight samples, two subsamples each), comprising six DNA extract mixtures, one DNA extract from a model sausage, and one DNA extract from maize (negative control). Evaluation of data on repeatability, reproducibility, robustness, and measurement uncertainty indicated that the DNA metabarcoding method is applicable for meat species authentication in routine analysis.

Synergistic Adverse Effects of Azithromycin and Hydroxychloroquine on Human Cardiomyocytes at a Clinically Relevant Treatment Duration.

Adverse effects of drug combinations and their underlying mechanisms are highly relevant for safety evaluation, but often not fully studied. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin (AZM) were used as a combination therapy in the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the beginning of the pandemic, leading to higher complication rates in comparison to respective monotherapies. Here, we used human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) to systematically investigate the effects of HCQ, AZM, and their combination on the structure and functionality of cardiomyocytes, and to better understand the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrate synergistic adverse effects of AZM and HCQ on electrophysiological and contractile function of iPSC-CMs. HCQ-induced prolongation of field potential duration (FPDc) was gradually increased during 7-day treatment period and was strongly enhanced by combination with AZM, although AZM alone slightly shortened FPDc in iPSC-CMs. Combined treatment with AZM and HCQ leads to higher cardiotoxicity, more severe structural disarrangement, more pronounced contractile dysfunctions, and more elevated conduction velocity, compared to respective monotreatments. Mechanistic insights underlying the synergistic effects of AZM and HCQ on iPSC-CM functionality are provided based on increased cellular accumulation of HCQ and AZM as well as increased Cx43- and Nav1.5-protein levels.

Development of Non-Targeted Mass Spectrometry Method for Distinguishing Spelt and Wheat.

Food fraud, even when not in the news, is ubiquitous and demands the development of innovative strategies to combat it. A new non-targeted method (NTM) for distinguishing spelt and wheat is described, which aids in food fraud detection and authenticity testing. A highly resolved fingerprint in the form of spectra is obtained for several cultivars of spelt and wheat using liquid chromatography coupled high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Convolutional neural network (CNN) models are built using a nested cross validation (NCV) approach by appropriately training them using a calibration set comprising duplicate measurements of eleven cultivars of wheat and spelt, each. The results reveal that the CNNs automatically learn patterns and representations to best discriminate tested samples into spelt or wheat. This is further investigated using an external validation set comprising artificially mixed spectra, samples for processed goods (spelt bread and flour), eleven untypical spelt, and six old wheat cultivars. These cultivars were not part of model building. We introduce a metric called the D score to quantitatively evaluate and compare the classification decisions. Our results demonstrate that NTMs based on NCV and CNNs trained using appropriately chosen spectral data can be reliable enough to be used on a wider range of cultivars and their mixes.

Real-Time PCR Assay for the Detection and Quantification of Roe Deer to Detect Food Adulteration-Interlaboratory Validation Involving Laboratories in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

Game meat products are particularly prone to be adulterated by replacing game meat with cheaper meat species. Recently, we have presented a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the identification and quantification of roe deer in food. Quantification of the roe deer content in % (w/w) was achieved relatively by subjecting the DNA isolates to a reference real-time PCR assay in addition to the real-time PCR assay for roe deer. Aiming at harmonizing analytical methods for food authentication across EU Member States, the real-time PCR assay for roe deer has been tested in an interlaboratory ring trial including 14 laboratories from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Participating laboratories obtained aliquots of DNA isolates from a meat mixture containing 24.8% (w/w) roe deer in pork, roe deer meat, and 12 meat samples whose roe deer content was not disclosed. Performance characteristics included amplification efficiency, level of detection (LOD95%), repeatability, reproducibility, and accuracy of quantitative results. With a relative reproducibility standard deviation ranging from 13.35 to 25.08% (after outlier removal) and recoveries ranging from 84.4 to 114.3%, the real-time PCR assay was found to be applicable for the detection and quantification of roe deer in raw meat samples to detect food adulteration.

Challenging the "gold standard" of colony-forming units - Validation of a multiplex real-time PCR for quantification of viable Campylobacter spp. in meat rinses.

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading bacterial food-borne pathogen in Europe. Despite the accepted limits of cultural detection of the fastidious bacterium, the "gold standard" in food microbiology is still the determination of colony-forming units (CFU). As an alternative, a live/dead differentiating qPCR has been established, using propidium monoazide (PMA) as DNA-intercalating crosslink agent for inactivating DNA from dead, membrane-compromised cells. The PMA treatment was combined with the addition of an internal sample process control (ISPC), i.e. a known number of dead C. sputorum cells to the samples. The ISPC enables i), monitoring the effective reduction of dead cell signal by the light-activated DNA-intercalating dye PMA, and ii), compensation for potential DNA losses during processing. Here, we optimized the method for routine application and performed a full validation of the method according to ISO 16140-2:2016(E) for the quantification of live thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in meat rinses against the classical enumeration method ISO 10272-2:2017. In order to render the method applicable and cost-effective for practical application, the ISPC was lyophilized to be distributable to routine laboratories. In addition, a triplex qPCR was established to simultaneously quantify thermophilic Campylobacter, the ISPC and an internal amplification control (IAC). Its performance was statistically similar to the two duplex qPCRs up to a contamination level of 4.7 log10Campylobacter per ml of meat rinse. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the alternative method was around 20 genomic equivalents per PCR reaction, i.e. 2.3 log10 live Campylobacter per ml of sample. The alternative method passed a relative trueness study, confirming the robustness against different meat rinses, and displayed sufficient accuracy within the limits set in ISO 16140-2:2016(E). Finally, the method was validated in an interlaboratory ring trial, confirming that the alternative method was fit for purpose with a tendency of improved repeatability and reproducibility compared to the reference method for CFU determination. Campylobacter served as a model organism, challenging CFU as "gold standard" and could help in guidance to the general acceptance of live/dead differentiating qPCR methods for the detection of food-borne pathogens.

Elastic stable chest repair and its hybrid variants in 86 patients with pectus excavatum.

BACKGROUND: Complex and mature funnel chest deformities are traditionally managed with open surgical procedures. Elastic stable chest repair (ESCR) has been used successfully and safely for relapse corrections. Does pure plate osteosynthesis in ESCR allow comparable corrective potency and implant safety as hybrid methods with metal bars? METHODS: Data from 86 patients with open funnel chest correction between 2011 and 2015 were analyzed in this retrospective study. Exclusion criteria included being under 12 years of age, and having a history of septic wound healing disorder or other malignant diseases. Main groups consisted of ESCR and hybrid techniques, subgroups were primary and recurrence correction. Correction results and follow-up examinations at six and 12 weeks and at 1 year were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 38 ESCR and 48 hybrid methods were analyzed. Bar implantation was required in 77% (recurrence 34%) of patients. All patients received plates with different combinations e.g., longitudinal-sternal, costosternal and costo-sterno-costal. In all groups, follow-up uptake showed a funnel chest correction result at the anatomical level with healthy values according to the Haller index (ESCR 4.36-2.84, hybrid 6.99-2.74, P<0.001). No material dislocations were observed in any subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: ESCR and hybrid techniques represent promising and safe therapeutic approaches.

Validation of Arxula Yeast Estrogen Screen assay for detection of estrogenic activity in water samples: Results of an international interlaboratory study.

Endocrine-active substances can adversely impact the aquatic ecosystems. A special emphasis is laid, among others, on the effects of estrogens and estrogen mimicking compounds. Effect-based screening methods like in vitro bioassays are suitable tools to detect and quantify endocrine activities of known and unknown mixtures. This study describes the validation of the Arxula-Yeast Estrogen Screen (A-YES®) assay, an effect-based method for the detection of the estrogenic potential of water and waste water. This reporter gene assay, provided in ready to use format, is based on the activation of the human estrogen receptor alpha. The user-friendly A-YES® enables inexperienced operators to rapidly become competent with the assay. Fourteen laboratories from four countries with different training levels analyzed 17ß-estradiol equivalent concentrations (EEQ) in spiked and unspiked waste water effluent and surface water samples, in waste water influent and spiked salt water samples and in a mixture of three bisphenols. The limit of detection (LOD) for untreated samples was 1.8ng/L 17ß-estradiol (E2). Relative repeatability and reproducibility standard deviation for samples with EEQ above the LOD (mean EEQ values between 6.3 and 20.4ng/L) ranged from 7.5 to 21.4% and 16.6 to 28.0%, respectively. Precision results are comparable to other frequently used analytical methods for estrogens. The A-YES® has been demonstrated to be an accurate, precise and robust bioassay. The results have been included in the ISO draft standard. The assay was shown to be applicable for testing of typical waste water influent, effluent and saline water. Other studies have shown that the assay can be used with enriched samples, which lower the LOD to the pg/L range. The validation of the A-YES® and the development of a corresponding international standard constitute a step further towards harmonized and reliable bioassays for the effect-based analysis of estrogens and estrogen-like compounds in water samples.

Separation and identification of hormone-active compounds using a combination of chromatographic separation and yeast-based reporter assay.

Arxula adeninivorans-based yeast cell assays for the detection of steroid hormones demonstrated their efficiency for the determination of total hormone activity in a variety of samples using a microtiter plate format. In this study, a preliminary chromatographic separation using thin-layer chromatography plates is introduced in order to allow a rapid identification of the compounds responsible for this hormonal activity. The yeast whole cell assay can then be performed on the plate, producing a detectable signal where a steroid hormone is present. Simultaneous detection of estrogens, progestogens and androgens on the same plate in the picogram range was achieved, while keeping the assay as simple and affordable as possible. The assay requires a single incubation of the thin-layer chromatography plate and the detection of reporter protein production can be performed by fluorescence scanning of the plate at different wavelengths. The chromatographic separation allows the separation of several estrogens, androgens and progestogens, thus making its application for 'real world' samples very useful. In this work, different water-based samples from environmental origins were used to demonstrate the capacity of this new bioassay. Trials showed that most samples, with the exception of complex samples such as wastewater influent, can be assayed.

Carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin-19 fragments for assessment of therapy response in non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis evaluated whether pretherapy serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin-19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1) are predictive of response to therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and whether changes in these markers during vs pretherapy are indicative of response. METHODS: Original peer-reviewed studies enrolling adults with untreated advanced NSCLC were identified using PubMed. Two reviewers independently extracted data from eligible studies and assessed study heterogeneity and the risk of study bias. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were eligible; 11 had objective response as an end point and three evaluated clinical benefit (i.e., response and stable disease). Study bias was relatively low. Both markers showed comparable modest predictive value across studies, with baseline CYFRA 21-1 numerically better in predicting treatment benefit. A good performance in identifying objective response during treatment was seen (AUC 0.724 (95% CI 0.667-0.785) for CYFRA 21-1 and 0.728 (95% CI, 0.599-0.871) for CEA). A decline in CYFRA 21-1 levels during treatment was highly indicative for objective response (sensitivity 79.1% (95% CI 71.5-85.1)). CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive analysis of study heterogeneity and bias provides a high level of evidence for the clinical utility of CEA and CYFRA 21-1 for the prediction and monitoring of response in NSCLC.

Simultaneous detection of three sex steroid hormone classes using a novel yeast-based biosensor.

A biosensor detecting estrogens, progestogens, and androgens in complex samples and in a single step is described. Three Arxula adeninivorans yeast strains were created, each strain producing a different recombinant human hormone receptor and a different fluorescent reporter protein. These strains were then mixed to create G1212/YRC102-hHR-fluo, the biological component of the biosensor. During incubation with G1212/YRC102-hHR-fluo, hormones present in a sample bind to their target receptor, which leads to the production of a specific fluorescent protein. Three fluorescence scans of the yeast suspension determine which fluorescence protein has been produced, thus revealing which hormone receptor (estrogen, progesterone, and androgen) has been activated by the hormones or hormone mimics present in the sample. The biosensor has similar sensitivities to the existing A. adeninivorans cell-based assays. The detection of the three hormone classes in one single experiment reduces the labor and time required to assay for the three hormone classes. The biosensor was also trialed with animal serum samples for the detection of progestogens, androgens, and estrogens and gave results that correlated well with ELISA analysis in case of progestogens. These results highlight the potential usefulness of the biosensor for comprehensive determination of hormone status in samples from veterinary origin. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1539-1549. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Diagnostic Performance of Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm Against CA125 and HE4 in Connection With Ovarian Cancer: A Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether the Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) is more accurate than the human epididymis 4 (HE4) or carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) biomarkers with respect to the differential diagnosis of women with a pelvic mass. The secondary objective is to assess the performance of ROMA in early-stage ovarian cancer (OC) and late-stage OC, as well as premenopausal and postmenopausal patient populations. METHODS/MATERIALS: The PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant clinical studies. Eligibility criteria included comparison of ROMA with both HE4 and CA125 levels in OC (unspecified, epithelial, and borderline ovarian tumors), use of only validated ROMA assays, presentation of area under the curve and sensitivity/specificity data, and results from early-stage OC, late-stage OC and premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity/specificity, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) results were summarized. RESULTS: Five studies were selected comprising 1975 patients (premenopausal, n = 1033; postmenopausal, n = 925; benign, n = 1387; early stage, n = 192; and late stage, n = 313). On the basis of the AUC (95% confidence interval) data for all patients, ROMA (0.921 [0.855-0.960]) had a numerically greater diagnostic performance than CA125 (0.883 [0.771-0.950]) and HE4 (0.899 [0.835-0.943]). This was also observed in each of the subgroup populations, in particular, the postmenopausal patients and patients with early OC. The sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) results showed ROMA (sensitivity, 0.873 [0.752-0.940]; specificity, 0.855 [0.719-0.932]) to be numerically superior to CA125 (sensitivity, 0.796 [0.663-0.885]; specificity, 0.825 [0.662-0.919]) and HE4 (sensitivity, 0.817 [0.683-0.902]; specificity, 0.851 [0.716-0.928]) in all patients and for the early- and late-stage OC subgroups. Finally, the ROMA log DOR results were better than HE4 and CA125 log DOR results especially for the early-stage patient group. CONCLUSIONS: The results presented support the use of ROMA to improve clinical decision making, most notably in patients with early OC.

Development of a recombinant Arxula adeninivorans cell bioassay for the detection of molecules with progesterone activity in wastewater.

This study describes the development of a bioassay to detect the presence of progesterone and progesterone-like molecules in wastewater samples. The basis of the bioassay is the integration of the human progesterone receptor gene into the yeast Arxula adeninivorans for the constitutive synthesis of the receptor. After incubation, binding of the analyte to the receptor induces the production of a reporter protein. Two reporter proteins were compared for detection parameters such as half-maximal activity (EC50), limit of detection (LoD) and limit of quantification (LoQ). When the extracellular phytase K was used, an EC50 value of 155 ng L(-1) and a LoD of 27 ng L(-1) progesterone were obtained after 4 h incubation, while use of the fluorescent dsRED as the reporter protein, resulted in an EC50 of 320 ng L(-1) and a LoD of 65 ng L(-1) after 20 h incubation. Use of phytase K as the reporter protein offers decreased incubation time and increased sensitivity; however the dsRED reporter system is less labor-intensive. Additionally, the affinity of known agonists and antagonists of the human progesterone receptor was determined. The utility of this bioassay was confirmed by measuring total progesterone equivalent concentration of samples from a wastewater treatment plant. The A. adeninivorans-based transactivation assay was able to measure concentrations of about 311 ng L(-1) in the influent stream but could not detect progesterone activity in effluent. One key feature of the assay is the robustness of A. adeninivorans, which allows sample measurement without any sample preparation.

Kinetic Analyses of Data from a Human Serum Albumin Assay Using the liSPR System.

We used the interaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and a high-affinity antibody to evaluate binding affinity measurements by the bench-top liSPR system (capitalis technology GmbH). HSA was immobilized directly onto a carboxylated sensor layer, and the mechanism of interaction between the antibody and HSA was investigated. The bivalence and heterogeneity of the antibody caused a complex binding mechanism. Three different interaction models (1:1 binding, heterogeneous analyte, bivalent analyte) were compared, and the bivalent analyte model best fit the curves obtained from the assay. This model describes the interaction of a bivalent analyte with one or two ligands (A + L ↔ LA + L ↔ LLA). The apparent binding affinity for this model measured 37 pM for the first reaction step, and 20 pM for the second step.

Purification and immunodetection of the complete recombinant HER-2[neu] receptor produced in yeast.

For the first time, the full length recombinant HER-2[neu] receptor has been produced in a yeast (Arxula adeninivorans). It is one of the most studied membrane receptors in oncology and is involved in aggressive tumor formation. A yeast integration rDNA cassette containing the human gene coding for the HER-2[neu] protein was constructed and a screening procedure was performed to select the most productive transformant. Different detergents were tested for efficient solubilization of the membrane bound protein, with CHAPS giving the best results. To increase the yield of the recombinant protein from HER-2[neu] producing A. adeninivorans, optimal culture parameters were established for cultivation in bioreactor. The recombinant protein was subsequently assayed using ELISA and SPR immunoassays systems with antibodies raised against two different epitopes of the human receptor. In both cases, elution fractions containing the recombinant HER-2[neu] receptor successfully reacted with the immunoassays with limits of quantification below 100ngml(-1). These results demonstrate that the full length recombinant HER-2[neu] reported here has the potential to be a new standard for the detection of HER-2 type cancer.

Development and assessment of a novel Arxula adeninivorans androgen screen (A-YAS) assay and its application in analysis of cattle urine.

The novel A-YAS assay for the detection of androgenic activity in liquid samples such as urine has been developed and assessed. The assay is based on transgenic Arxula adeninivorans yeast cells as the bio-component. The cells were engineered to co-express the human androgen receptor (hAR) gene and the inducible phytase reporter gene (phyK, derived from Klebsiella sp. ASR1), under the control of an Arxula derived glucoamylase (GAA) promoter, which had been modified by the insertion of hormone-responsive elements (HREs). The Arxula transformation/expression platform Xplor®2 was used to select stable mitotic resistance marker free transformants and the most suitable cells were characterized for performance as a sensor bio-component. The assay is easy-to-use, fast (6-25 h) and is currently the most sensitive yeast-based androgen screen with an EC50, limit of detection and of quantification values for 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) of 277.1±53.0, 56.5±4.1 and 76.5±6.7 ng L(-1), respectively. Furthermore, the assay allows the determination of androgenic and anti-androgenic activity of various compounds such as naturally occurring androgens and estrogens, pharmaceuticals and biocides. The robustness of the A-YAS assay enables it to be used for analysis of complex samples such as urine. The results of the analysis of a number of cattle urine samples achieved by the A-YAS assay correlate well with GC-MS analysis of the same samples.

Novel serum nucleosomics biomarkers for the detection of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: To improve prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer, powerful blood-based biomarkers enabling for early detection are needed. As genome-wide DNA hypomethylation is associated with carcinogenesis, and cell-free DNA, thought to be of tumor origin, is found in the circulation of patients with cancer, we investigated the relevance of 5-methylcytosine-modified DNA present in cell-free circulating nucleosomes as a serum biomarker using a convenient enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum samples from 90 individuals [24 with colorectal cancer (CRC), 10 with benign colorectal diseases (BCD) and 56 healthy controls (HC)] were tested for the differential diagnostic performance of a novel ELISA for nucleosome-bound methylated DNA. Methodical features, including intra- and interassay imprecision, were tested using serum pools. To minimize interassay variability, values were transformed to adjusted optical densities and robust statistics were applied for clinical evaluation. Findings were later re-evaluated on a set of 113 patients (49 CRC, 26 BCD and 38 HC). RESULTS: Intra- and interassay reproducibility were 3.4% and 15.3%, respectively. Levels of circulating methylated DNA were significantly decreased in CRC and BCD when compared to HC (p<0.05), although there was no difference between BCD and CRC. For discrimination of CRC from HC, the area under the curve in receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.78 and sensitivities were 33% at 95% specificity and 75% at 70% specificity, respectively. The findings were generally confirmed when validated in the second set of patients. CONCLUSION: Reduced methylation of DNA on circulating nucleosomes detected by ELISA can potentially serve as a diagnostic tool in patients with CRC.

EGFL7 ligates αvß3 integrin to enhance vessel formation.

Angiogenesis, defined as blood vessel formation from a preexisting vasculature, is governed by multiple signal cascades including integrin receptors, in particular integrin αVß3. Here we identify the endothelial cell (EC)-secreted factor epidermal growth factor-like protein 7 (EGFL7) as a novel specific ligand of integrin αVß3, thus providing mechanistic insight into its proangiogenic actions in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, EGFL7 attaches to the extracellular matrix and by its interaction with integrin αVß3 increases the motility of EC, which allows EC to move on a sticky underground during vessel remodeling. We provide evidence that the deregulation of EGFL7 in zebrafish embryos leads to a severe integrin-dependent malformation of the caudal venous plexus, pointing toward the significance of EGFL7 in vessel development. In biopsy specimens of patients with neurologic diseases, vascular EGFL7 expression rose with increasing EC proliferation. Further, EGFL7 became upregulated in vessels of the stroke penumbra using a mouse model of reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion. Our data suggest that EGFL7 expression depends on the remodeling state of the existing vasculature rather than on the phenotype of neurologic disease analyzed. In sum, our work sheds a novel light on the molecular mechanism EGFL7 engages to govern physiological and pathological angiogenesis.

Evaluation and validation of a novel Arxula adeninivorans estrogen screen (nAES) assay and its application in analysis of wastewater, seawater, brackish water and urine.

A novel Arxula adeninivorans yeast estrogen screen (nAES) assay has been developed for detection of estrogenic activity in various liquid samples such as wastewater, seawater, brackish water and swine urine. Two bio-components were engineered to co-express the human estrogen receptor α (hERα) and an inducible reporter gene; either the non-conventional phytase gene (phyK, derived from Klebsiella sp. ASR1) or the non-conventional tannase gene (ATAN1, derived from Arxula). Both reporters were put under the control of an Arxula derived glucoamylase (GAA) promoter, which was modified by the insertion of two estrogen-responsive elements (EREs). The Arxula transformation/expression platform Xplor® 2, which lacks resistance markers and E. coli elements, was used to select stable mitotic transformants. They were then analyzed for robustness and suitability as the bio-component for the nAES assay. Two types of the nAES assay based on the reporter proteins phytase and tannase (nAES-P, nAES-T) were used in this work. The nAES-P type is more suitable for the analysis of seawater, brackish water and urine whereas the nAES-T type exhibited higher robustness to NaCl. Both assay types have similar characteristics for the determination of estrogen in sewage and urine samples e.g. 6-25 h assay period with detection and determination limits and EC(50) values for 17ß-estradiol of 2.8 ng L(-1), 5.9 ng L(-1), 33.2 ng L(-1) (nAES-P) and 3.1 ng L(-1), 6.7 ng L(-1) and 39.4 ng L(-1) (nAES-T). Substrate specificity and analytical measurement range (AMR) for both assay types are also similar. These characteristics show that the nAES assay based on non-conventional salt tolerant yeast is applicable for a high throughput estrogen analysis in the environmental and regulatory control sectors.