Short Immobilization in a Sling Does Not Lead to Increased Salivary Cortisol Levels in Pigs.

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the potential stress developed in farm hybrid pigs and miniature laboratory pigs briefly restrained in a sling, by measuring salivary cortisol levels. The study was performed in 20 healthy pigs grouped into three groups: group HYB-F: hybrid female pigs (n = 12), housed at the CREBA facility (Lleida, Spain); group MIN-F: Specipig miniature female pigs (n = 4), housed at the CREBA facility; group MIN-M: Specipig miniature male pigs (n = 4), housed at the Almirall facility (Barcelona, Spain). Upon arrival, the animals were enrolled in a social habituation and training program, which included habituation to a restraint sling.

Clinical value of perioperative levels of DNA and mRNA in plasma of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: The current challenge on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is to finding a non-invasive biomarker for improving their diagnostic and therapeutic management. In the present study, we analyzed the clinical value of plasma levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and RNA (cfRNA) of two genes: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT).

Materials And Methods: We recruited 82 patients with RCC, and 20 healthy subjects.

Does hemofiltration protect the brain after head trauma? An experimental study in rabbits.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most frequent and severe neurological diseases. In the last few decades, significant advances have been made in TBI pathophysiology and monitoring, however new treatments have not emerged. Although the central nervous system (CNS) has been historically defined as an immunologically privileged organ, recent studies show the increasingly predominant role of inflammatory and apoptotic phenomena in the pathogenesis of TBI.

Liquid biopsy by NGS: Differential presence of exons (DPE) is related to metastatic potential in a colon-cancer model in the rat.

Differential presence of exons (DPE) is a method of interpretation of exome sequencing, which has been proposed to design a predictive algorithm with clinical value in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The goal of the present study was to examine the reproducibility in a rat model of metastatic colon cancer. DHD/K12-TRb cells were injected in syngenic immunocompetent BD-IX rats.

A new minimally invasive porcine model for the study of intrahepatic bile duct dilatation.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) procedures are becoming more frequent nowadays and novel techniques are on the rise. These procedures require high technical experience and complex endoscopic skills. The goal of this study was to develop a new minimally invasive animal model of bile duct dilatation in the pig, in order to offer a new tool for endoscopic and surgical therapy training and to test new therapeutic strategies.

Effects of negative-pressure therapy with and without ropivacaine instillation in the early evolution of severe peritonitis in pigs.

Purpose: The abdomen is the second most common source of sepsis and secondary peritonitis, which likely lead to death. In the present study, we hypothesized that instillation of local anesthetics into the peritoneum might mitigate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in the open abdomen when combined with negative-pressure therapy (NPT) to treat severe peritonitis.

Methods: We performed a study in 21 pigs applying a model of sepsis based on ischemia/reperfusion and fecal spread into the peritoneum.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of the detection of hTERT mRNA in renal tumors.

Introduction: Elevated mRNA expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT mRNA) is common in many types of tumors, participating in tumor growth and progression. Such expression has not been sufficiently examined in renal cancer. The goal of the present study was to quantify it and analyze its possible clinical value in the management of this pathology.

Increased Serine and One-Carbon Pathway Metabolism by PKCλ/ι Deficiency Promotes Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

Increasingly effective therapies targeting the androgen receptor have paradoxically promoted the incidence of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), the most lethal subtype of castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa), for which there is no effective therapy. Here we report that protein kinase C (PKC)λ/ι is downregulated in de novo and during therapy-induced NEPC, which results in the upregulation of serine biosynthesis through an mTORC1/ATF4-driven pathway. This metabolic reprogramming supports cell proliferation and increases intracellular S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) levels to feed epigenetic changes that favor the development of NEPC characteristics.

The Secretion of miR-200s by a PKCζ/ADAR2 Signaling Axis Promotes Liver Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer.

Most colorectal cancer (CRC)-related deaths are due to liver metastases. PKCζ is a tumor suppressor in CRC with reduced expression in metastasis. Given the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating cellular plasticity, we performed an unbiased screening and identified the miR-200 family as the most relevant miRNAs downregulated by PKCζ deficiency.

Further the liquid biopsy: Gathering pieces of the puzzle of genometastasis theory.

Metastasis is the major cause of mortality in cancer disease and still constitutes one of the most controversial mechanism, not yet fully understood. What is almost beyond doubt is that circulatory system is crucial for cancer propagation. Regarding this system, much attention has been recently paid to liquid biopsy.

E1a is an exogenous in vivo tumour suppressor.

The E1a gene from adenovirus has become a major tool in cancer research. Since the discovery of E1a, it has been proposed to be an oncogene, becoming a key element in the model of cooperation between oncogenes. However, E1a's in vivo behaviour is consistent with a tumour suppressor gene, due to the block/delay observed in different xenograft models.

Potential clinical significance of perioperative levels of mRNA in plasma from patients with cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx.

Background: The use of plasma as a "liquid biopsy" has gained increasing attention. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of the perioperative detection and quantitation of mRNAs encoding human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in plasma from patients with cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx.

Methods: We recruited 47 patients with laryngeal cancer and 2 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer, plus 27 healthy subjects.

KRAS G12V Mutation Detection by Droplet Digital PCR in Circulating Cell-Free DNA of Colorectal Cancer Patients.

KRAS mutations are responsible for resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy in colorectal cancer patients. These mutations sometimes appear once treatment has started. Detection of KRAS mutations in circulating cell-free DNA in plasma ("liquid biopsy") by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has emerged as a very sensitive and promising alternative to serial biopsies for disease monitoring.

Circulating DNA and Survival in Solid Tumors.

Background: The ability to undertake molecular analysis to inform on prognosis and predictors of response to therapy is limited by accessibility of tissue. Measurement of total circulating free DNA (cfDNA) or circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in peripheral blood may allow easier access to tumor material and help to predict clinical outcomes.

Methods: A systematic review of electronic databases identified publications exploring the association between cfDNA or ctDNA and overall survival (OS) in solid tumors.

'Green mice' display limitations in enhanced green fluorescent protein expression in retina and optic nerve cells.

Characterization of retinal cells, cell transplants and gene therapies may be helped by pre-labeled retinal cells, such as those transfected with vectors for green fluorescent protein expression. The aim of this study was to analyze retinal cells and optic nerve components from transgenic green mice (GM) with the 'enhanced' green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene under the control of the CAG promoter (a chicken β-actin promoter and a cytomegalovirus enhancer). The structural analysis and electroretinography recordings showed a normal, healthy retina.

Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum (CNAPS): applications in oncology.

The presence of small amounts of circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum (CNAPS) is not a new finding. The verification that such amounts are significantly increased in cancer patients, and that CNAPS might carry a variety of genetic and epigenetic alterations related to cancer development and progression, has aroused great interest in the scientific community in the last decades. Such alterations potentially reflect changes that occur during carcinogenesis, and include DNA mutations, loss of heterozygosity, viral genomic integration, disruption of microRNA, hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes, and changes in the mitochondrial DNA.

Quantitation of cell-free DNA and RNA in plasma during tumor progression in rats.

Background: To clarify the implications of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) in the plasma in neoplastic disease, it is necessary to determine the kinetics of their release into the circulation.

Methods: To quantify non-tumor and tumor DNA and RNA in the plasma of tumor-bearing rats and to correlate such levels with tumor progression, we injected DHD/K12-PROb colon cancer cells subcutaneously into syngenic BD-IX rats. Rats were sacrificed and their plasma was analyzed from the first to the eleventh week after inoculation.

Biological role of cell-free nucleic acids in cancer: the theory of genometastasis.

The phenomenon of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) circulating in plasma has opened new areas of research for the study of the pathobiology of many diseases, particularly cancer. The detection, quantitation and qualitative analysis of such cfNA have had an increasing interest and utility for diagnosis and management of many kinds of cancer, at least as complementary tools. The origin of cfNA is not yet established, although it is probable that there are more than one.

Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum: an intriguing phenomenon.

The phenomenon of circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum (CNAPS) has opened many new research lines, which may be framed within two areas of translational research: the development of new techniques for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis; and the study of the pathobiology of many diseases, particularly of cancer. The detection, quantization, and quality analysis of CNAPS have increasingly been found to be interesting and useful in the diagnosis and management of a number of pathologies, at least as complementary tools. The high potential value of CNAPS and the lack of knowledge about their origin and implications have aroused a great interest in many researchers, especially in the last two decades.

Oncogenic transformation induced by cell-free nucleic acids circulating in plasma (genometastasis) remains after the surgical resection of the primary tumor: a pilot study.

Background: The oncogenic transformation by cell-free nucleic acids circulating in plasma has been named as genometastasis. The feasibility of this phenomenon has been demonstrated and now it is necessary to value the impact of this phenomenon and to determine what conditions could promote or inhibit it. The goal of this study was to examine the transforming ability of plasma from colorectal cancer patients in a long-term follow-up after the surgical excision of the primary tumor, and to try correlate it with the clinical picture of patients.

Transformation of non-tumor host cells during tumor progression: theories and evidence.

Introduction: Most cancer deaths are due to the development of metastases and this phenomenon is still a hard challenge for researchers. A number of theories have tried to unravel the metastatic machinery, but definitive results that link the evidence with conventional concepts of metastatic disease remain to be reported.

Areas Covered: Considerable evidence suggests interactions between tumor cells and host cells that might be essential for tumor progression and metastasis.

NIH-3T3 fibroblasts cultured with plasma from colorectal cancer patients generate poorly differentiated carcinomas in mice.

The ability of cells to undergo cellular transitions, in particular, to switch between epithelial and mesenchymal states, might be highly advantageous during the progression of carcinoma. Using histological and immunohistochemical techniques, we here show that the injection into mice of spontaneously transformed NIH-3T3 cells generated fusocellular sarcomas, whereas NIH-3T3 cells that had been transformed by culturing with plasma from colorectal cancer patients gave rise to tumors that phenotypically resembled the carcinomas of the original cancer patients. Thus, plasma from cancer patients is able to transform NIH-3T3 fibroblasts into malignant epithelial-like cells, suggesting that such cells might undergo mesenchymal to epithelial transition during plasma-induced transformation.

Effects of wire-bottom caging on heart rate, activity and body temperature in telemetry-implanted rats.

Some experimental procedures are associated with placement of animals in wire-bottom cages. The goal of this study was to evaluate stress-related physiological parameters (heart rate [HR], body temperature [BT], locomotor activity [LA], body weight [BW] and food consumption) in rats under two housing conditions, namely in wire-bottom cages and in bedding-bottom cages. Telemetry devices were surgically implanted in male Sprague-Dawley rats.