Discovery and validation of combined biomarkers for the diagnosis of esophageal intraepithelial neoplasia and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Early diagnosis and intervention of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) can improve the prognosis. The purpose of this study was to identify biomarkers for ESCC and esophageal precancerous lesions (intraepithelial neoplasia, IEN). Based on the proteomic and genomic data of esophageal tissue including previously reported data, up-regulated proteins with copy number amplification in esophageal cancer were screened as candidate biomarkers. Five proteins, including KDM2A, RAD9A, ECT2, CYHR1 and TONSL, were confirmed by immunohistochemistry on ESCC and normal esophagus (NE). Then, we investigated the expression of 5 proteins in 236 participants (60 NEs, 93 IENs and 83 ESCCs) which were randomly divided into training set and test set. When distinguishing ESCC from NE, the area under curve (AUC) of the multiprotein model was 0.940 in the training set, while the lowest AUC of a protein was 0.735. In the test set, the results were similar. When distinguishing ESCC from IEN or distinguishing IEN from NE, the diagnostic efficiency of the multi-protein models were also improved compared with that of single protein. Our findings suggest that combined detection of KDM2A, RAD9A, ECT2, CYHR1 and TONSL can be used as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of ESCC and precancerous lesion development prediction. SIGNIFICANCE: Candidate biomarkers including KDM2A, RAD9A, ECT2, CYHR1 and TONSL screened by integrating genomic and proteomic data from the esophagus can be used as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and precancerous lesion development prediction.

Decreased plasma riboflavin is associated with poor prognosis, invasion, and metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Riboflavin deficiency confers a predisposition for esophageal cancer. The role of plasma riboflavin levels in development and prognosis of individuals with digestive tract inflammation and ulcer (DTIU), digestive tract polyps (DTPs), and ESCC is not well understood. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study, including 177 DTIU, 80 DTP, and 324 ESCC cases, to measure the plasma riboflavin levels among the three populations. Correlation between plasma riboflavin levels (categorized as ≥31.8, 6.5-31.8 and ≤6.5 nmol/L groups) and clinical characteristics, as well as survival of ESCC patients (556 cases) was analyzed. RESULTS: There was no difference in plasma riboflavin levels between DTIU, DTP, and ESCC cases (P > 0.05). Plasma riboflavin levels were inversely correlated with invasive depth (correlation coefficient = -0.09, P = 0.026) and lymph node metastasis (correlation coefficient = -0.11, P = 0.010) of ESCC, and ESCC patients with low riboflavin levels had poor recurrence-free survival (P = 0.035) and overall survival (P = 0.003). Decreased riboflavin was a prognostic factor for poor overall survival (HR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.19-3.07, P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma riboflavin levels in DTIU, DTP, and ESCC patients are similar. Plasma riboflavin levels are associated with the development and prognosis of ESCC.

Correlation of diet, microbiota and metabolite networks in inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVES: Microbiota dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been widely reported. The gut microbiota connect diet to the metabolism by producing small molecules via diverse metabolic pathways. In this study we aimed to investigate the dietary preferences of IBD patients, and to explore the interactions among gut microbiota composition, dietary components, and metabolites in relation to IBD. METHODS: Dietary preferences of IBD patients (including those with ulcerative colitis [UC] and Crohn's disease [CD]) and health controls were investigated, and their gut microbiota were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic analyses of fecal and biopsy samples. The metabolite profiles of the samples were then analyzed using gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. RESULTS: The daily intake of folic acid, niacin, vitamins C and D, calcium, and selenium differed significantly between patients with IBD and healthy controls. A decrease in long-chain (such as arachidic, and oleic acid) and medium-chain fatty acids (sebacic acid and isocaproic acid) as well as bile acid was observed in patients with IBD. Compared with healthy controls, 22 microbial species (including Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, and Clostridium clostridioforme CAG132) in the UC group and 37 microbial species (such as Bacteroides fragilis and Fusobacterium nucleatum) in the CD group were found to be correlated to diet and metabolites. Bacteroides fragilis was enriched in patients with IBD and associated with multi-nutrients, and 21 metabolites including 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and taurolithocholic acid. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an interaction network to identify key micronutrients, microbiota components and metabolites that contribute to IBD.

In vivo anti-tumor effect of hybrid vaccine of dendritic cells and esophageal carcinoma cells on esophageal carcinoma cell line 109 in mice with severe combined immune deficiency.

AIM: To develop a fusion vaccine of esophageal carcinoma cells and dendritic cells (DC) and observe its protective and therapeutic effect against esophageal carcinoma cell line 109 (EC109). METHODS: The fusion vaccine was produced by fusing traditional polyethyleneglycol (PEG), inducing cytokine, sorting CD34+ magnetic microbead marker and magnetic cell system (MACS). The liver, spleen and lung were pathologically tested after injection of the fusion vaccine. To study the therapeutic and protective effect of the fusion vaccine against tumor EC109, mice were divided immune group and therapeutic group. The immune group was divided into P, E, D and ED subgroups, immunized by phosphate buffered solution (PBS), inactivated EC109, DC and the fusion vaccine respectively, and attacked by EC109 cells. The tumor size, weight, latent period and mouse survival period were recorded and statistically analyzed. The therapeutic group was divided into four subgroups: P, inactivated EC109, D and ED subgroups, which were attacked by EC109 and then treated with PBS, inactivated EC109, DC, and EC109-DC respectively. Pathology and flow cytometry were also used to study the therapeutic effect of the fusion vaccine against EC109 cells. RESULTS: Flow cytometry showed that the expression of folate receptor (FR), EC109 (C), DCs (D) in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line (HNE1) (B) was 78.21%, 89.50%, and 0.18%, respectively. The fusion cells (C) were highly expressed. No tumor was found in the spleen, lung and liver after injection of the fusion vaccine. Human IgG was tested in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). In the immune group, the latent period was longer in EC109-DC subgroup than in other subgroups, while the tumor size and weight were also smaller than those in ED subgroup. In the therapeutic group, the tumor size and weight were smaller in ED subgroup than in P, inactivated EC109 and DC subgroups. CONCLUSION: Fusion cells are highly expressed not only in FR but also in CD80. The fusion vaccine has a distinctive protective effect against tumor EC109 and can inhibit the growth of tumor in mice, and its immune protection against tumor attack is more significant.

Expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in human gastric carcinoma.

The present report investigated the correlation between the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in gastric carcinoma patients and the clinicopathological characteristics. Forty-five samples of gastric carcinoma and distal gastric mucosa tissue, and 10 samples of healthy gastric mucosa tissue were analyzed using semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, as well as immunohistochemical and hematoxylin and eosin staining. MMP-9 protein levels in serum samples from the same patients were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The present report identified that MMP-9 expression was markedly higher in the gastric carcinoma tissue (86.67%) than in the adjacent healthy tissue (10.00%). A positive association was identified between the level of MMP-9 protein expression and the depth of cancer invasion (P<0.05). Furthermore, the preoperative serum levels of the MMP-9 protein in the gastric carcinoma tissue were correlated with the tumor-node-metastasis stage and occurrence of lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). Data from the present report indicates that MMP-9 may be key in gastric carcinoma malignancy, and implies that MMP-9 may serve as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.

Reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane potential are modulated during CDDP-induced apoptosis in EC-109 cells.

cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP), commonly know as cisplatin, is a well known DNA-damaging agent, which is highly active in suppressing the proliferation of tumor cells. However, it is not clear that CDDP can induce growth inhibition of esophagus cancer cells. Using the cell line EC-109 from the esophagus, we found that CDDP would induce apoptotic responses. The addition of CDDP to cells led to the inhibition of growth in a time- and dose-dependent manner. CDDP generated reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in cells, which brought about a reduction in the intracellular mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsim), leading to apoptosis. Our findings demonstrate that ROSs, and the resulting oxidative stress, play a pivotal role in apoptosis. Preincubation of EC-109 cells with the hydrogen-peroxide-scavenging enzyme catalase partially inhibited the following: (i) the production of ROS; (ii) the disruption of the Deltapsim; and (iii) apoptosis. These results indicate that the enhancement of the generation of ROS and the disruption of Deltapsim are events involved in the apoptotic pathway of EC-109 induced by CDDP.

[The role of reactive oxygen species in cisplatin-induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cell line EC-109].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Reactive oxygen species (ROS), in vivo oxygen metabolites and important signaling molecules, play a vital role in cell apoptosis. This study was to investigate the role of ROS in cisplatin (DDP)-induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cell line EC-109, and explore the mechanism. METHODS: EC-109 cells were treated with different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10, and 15 microg/ml) of DDP. MTT assay was used to evaluate the influence of DDP on cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to test ROS levels, intracellular mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Delta psi m), and hypodiploid apoptosis peak in EC-109 cells. Cell apoptosis after pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide-scavenging enzyme catalase (CAT) was also detected. RESULTS: DDP obviously suppressed proliferation of EC-109 cells. When treated with 0, 1, 5, 10, 15 microg/ml of DDP for 2 h, ROS levels were (3.3+/-1.0)%, (21.6+/-2.0)%, (32.6+/-3.2)%, (44.7+/-2.2)%, and (53.1+/-3.6)%, respectively; when treated for 12 h, Delta psi m were (97.2+/-1.9)%, (90.6+/-1.9)%, (85.5+/-1.4)%, (67.8+/-2.0)%, and (62.4+/-3.0)%, respectively; when treated for 24 h, cell apoptotic rates were (3.4+/-1.2)%, (16.2+/-2.3)%, (28.1+/-1.5)%, (33.2+/-3.9)%, and (45.5+/-3.8)%, respectively. Pretreatment with CAT significantly rescued cells from apoptosis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: DDP generates ROS in esophageal cancer EC-109 cells, which causes mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and Delta psi m decrease, therefore, leads to apoptosis of EC-109 cells.