Plasma exosomes stimulate breast cancer metastasis through surface interactions and activation of FAK signaling.

PURPOSE: The interaction between malignant cells and surrounding healthy tissues is a critical factor in the metastatic progression of breast cancer (BC). Extracellular vesicles, especially exosomes, are known to be involved in inter-cellular communication during cancer progression. In the study presented herein, we aimed to evaluate the role of circulating plasma exosomes in the metastatic dissemination of BC and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon. METHODS: Exosomes isolated from plasma of healthy female donors were applied in various concentrations into the medium of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines. Motility and invasive properties of BC cells were examined by random migration and Transwell invasion assays, and the effect of plasma exosomes on the metastatic dissemination of BC cells was demonstrated in an in vivo zebrafish model. To reveal the molecular mechanism of interaction between plasma exosomes and BC cells, a comparison between un-treated and enzymatically modified exosomes was performed, followed by mass spectrometry, gene ontology, and pathway analysis. RESULTS: Plasma exosomes stimulated the adhesive properties, two-dimensional random migration, and transwell invasion of BC cells in vitro as well as their in vivo metastatic dissemination in a dose-dependent manner. This stimulatory effect was mediated by interactions of surface exosome proteins with BC cells and consequent activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling in the tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma exosomes have a potency to stimulate the metastasis-promoting properties of BC cells. This pro-metastatic property of normal plasma exosomes may have impact on the course of the disease and on its prognosis.

Targeted Quantitative Screening of Chromosome 18 Encoded Proteome in Plasma Samples of Astronaut Candidates.

This work was aimed at estimating the concentrations of proteins encoded by human chromosome 18 (Chr 18) in plasma samples of 54 healthy male volunteers (aged 20-47). These young persons have been certified by the medical evaluation board as healthy subjects ready for space flight training. Over 260 stable isotope-labeled peptide standards (SIS) were synthesized to perform the measurements of proteins encoded by Chr 18. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) with SIS allowed an estimate of the levels of 84 of 276 proteins encoded by Chr 18. These proteins were quantified in whole and depleted plasma samples. Concentration of the proteins detected varied from 10-6 M (transthyretin, P02766) to 10-11 M (P4-ATPase, O43861). A minor part of the proteins (mostly representing intracellular proteins) was characterized by extremely high inter individual variations. The results provide a background for studies of a potential biomarker in plasma among proteins encoded by Chr 18. The SRM raw data are available in ProteomeXchange repository (PXD004374).

Regulation of Glucose Transport in Adipocytes by Interleukin-4.

Metabolic abnormalities such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus are known to be associated with adipose tissue inflammation and impaired secretion of cytokines. Anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) was found to promote insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, and reduce lipid accumulation in vivo through multiple mechanisms, including direct regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. However, little is known about its role in adipocyte glucose metabolism. This study reveals that IL-4 upregulates glucose uptake in adipocytes without additional activation of the insulin-dependent IRS1 (insulin receptor substrate 1)-Akt (protein kinase B) pathway. Moreover, the main transcription factor STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6), regulated by IL-4, was not involved in adipocyte glucose uptake. The proteomic results showed that IL-4 upregulates expression of proteins involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, renewal, and glucose oxidation. Our study provides a new hypothesis, explaining protective effects of IL-4 against metabolic abnormalities through activation of adipocytes glucose utilization and maintenance of mitochondrial function under metabolic overload conditions.

Biobanks-A Platform for Scientific and Biomedical Research.

The development of biomedical science requires the creation of biological material collections that allow for the search and discovery of biomarkers for pathological conditions, the identification of new therapeutic targets, and the validation of these findings in samples from patients and healthy people. Over the past decades, the importance and need for biobanks have increased considerably. Large national and international biorepositories have replaced small collections of biological samples. The aim of this work is to provide a basic understanding of biobanks and an overview of how biobanks have become essential structures in modern biomedical research.

Dried Blood Spot in Laboratory: Directions and Prospects.

Over the past few years, dried blood spot (DBS) technology has become a convenient tool in both qualitative and quantitative biological analysis. DBS technology consists of a membrane carrier (MC) on the surface of which a biomaterial sample becomes absorbed. Modern analytical, immunological or genomic methods can be employed for analysis after drying the sample. DBS has been described as the most appropriate method for biomaterial sampling due to specific associated inherent advantages, including the small volumes of biomaterials required, the absence of a need for special conditions for samples' storage and transportation, improved stability of analytes and reduced risk of infection resulting from contaminated samples. This review illustrates information on the current state of DBS technology, which can be useful and helpful for biomedical researchers. The prospects of using this technology to assess the metabolomic profile, assessment, diagnosis of communicable diseases are demonstrated.

Pilot data of serum proteins from children with autism spectrum disorders.

Protein profiles of 13 serum samples from children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 11 serum samples from healthy volunteers was obtained using panoramic ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. The analysis of measurements was performed using the proteomics search engine. We identified a group of 74 proteins which we term a "protein fingerprint" specific for serum samples collected from children with autism. Components of the protein fingerprint are involved in hemostasis maintenance including biological regulation, the response to stimulus, regulation of metabolism, and proteins of the immune system.

Proteomic Analysis of Cerebral Cortex Extracts from Sus scrofa with Induced Hemorrhagic Stroke.

Cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke and micro stroke, are the main causes of death in contemporary society. Hemorrhagic stroke is the fast emerging defficiency in the brain function resulting from disturbance of blood supply to the brain caused by the rapture of blood vessels (Lopez et al. in Proteomics Clin Appl 6:190-200, 2012). The influence of a model hemorrhagic stroke on white pigs with the change in the protein profile of their cortical samples 24 h and 2 months after the stroke was examined using mass-spectrometric analysis. Different proteins (n = 30) were identified, and their content was elevated. These proteins are involved in the mechanisms of neuroprotection, including compensation of oxidative stress (TXN, SNCA, PRDX6, ENO1), prevention of unwanted protein aggregation and apoptosis (PTMA, SNCA, SNCB), release of neurotransmitters (GAPDH, PEBP1) and assembly of the cytoskeleton (ACTA2, PTMA, TUBA4A, TUBA1D), etc. Also, a group of seven Ras family proteins involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation was found in the samples taken 24 h following the stroke. The relative concentrations of most of the proteins in the samples taken 2 months after the stroke demonstrate intermediate values between the control sample and the sample taken in 24 h, indicating the extinction of change in the protein profile with time. During the first 24 h after the stroke, there is an increase in protein fractions participating in exocytosis, synaptic plasticity/signaling, and support of neurotransmitter transport. Such shift in the weight of protein functional clusters can be attributed to activation of compensatory mechanisms in the body focused on neuroprotection.

Relative Abundance of Proteins in Blood Plasma Samples from Patients with Chronic Cerebral Ischemia.

A comparative protein profile analysis of 17 blood plasma samples from patients with ischemia and 20 samples from healthy volunteers was carried out using ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. The analysis of measurements was performed using the proteomics search engine OMSSA. Normalized spectrum abundance factor (NSAF) in the biological samples was assessed using SearchGUI. The findings of mass spectrometry analysis of the protein composition of blood plasma samples demonstrate that the depleted samples are quite similar in protein composition and relative abundance of proteins. By comparing them with the control samples, we have found a small group of 44 proteins characteristic of the blood plasma samples from patients with chronic cerebral ischemia. These proteins contribute to the processes of homeostasis maintenance, including innate immune response unfolding, the response of a body to stress, and contribution to the blood clotting cascade.

A semi-virtual two dimensional gel electrophoresis: IF-ESI LC-MS/MS.

A method for increasing the productivity of ESI LC-MS/MS (electrospray ionization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) was proposed and applied. After IF (isoelectric focusing) of the sample using IPG (immobilized pH gradient) strip, the strip was cut to sections, and every section was treated according to trypsinolysis protocol for MS/MS analysis. The peptides produced were further analyzed by ESI LC-MS/MS. The procedure allows to: •identify many more proteins and proteoforms compared to shotgun analysis of extracts.•build a semi-virtual 2DE map of identified proteins.

Variety and Dynamics of Proteoforms in the Human Proteome: Aspects of Markers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

We have previously developed an approach, where two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) was used, followed by sectional analysis of the whole gel using high-resolution nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ESI LC-MS/MS). In this study, we applied this approach on the panoramic analysis of proteins and their proteoforms from normal (liver) and cancer (HepG2) cells. This allowed us to detect, in a single proteome, about 20,000 proteoforms coded by more than 4000 genes. A set of 3D-graphs showing distribution of these proteoforms in 2DE maps (profiles) was generated. A comparative analysis of these profiles between normal and cancer cells showed high variability and dynamics of many proteins. Among these proteins, there are some well-known features like alpha-fetoprotein (FETA) or glypican-3 (GPC3) and potential hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) markers. More detailed information about their proteoforms could be used for generation of panels of more specific biomarkers.