CRISPR Cas9-mediated ablation of pyruvate carboxylase gene in colon cancer cell line HT-29 inhibits growth and migration, induces apoptosis and increases sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil and glutaminase inhibitor.

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is an important anaplerotic enzyme that replenishes the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) intermediates. It prevents the collapse of the TCA cycle upon its intermediates are removed during high anabolic demand. We have recently shown that overexpression of PC protein was associated with staging, metastasis and poor survival of colorectal cancer patients.

Targeting Cancer Metabolism and Current Anti-Cancer Drugs.

Several studies have exploited the metabolic hallmarks that distinguish between normal and cancer cells, aiming at identifying specific targets of anti-cancer drugs. It has become apparent that metabolic flexibility allows cancer cells to survive during high anabolic demand or the depletion of nutrients and oxygen. Cancers can reprogram their metabolism to the microenvironments by increasing aerobic glycolysis to maximize ATP production, increasing glutaminolysis and anabolic pathways to support bioenergetic and biosynthetic demand during rapid proliferation.

Overexpression of Pyruvate Carboxylase Is Correlated With Colorectal Cancer Progression and Supports Growth of Invasive Colon Cancer HT-29 Cell Line.

Background/aim: Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a major anaplerotic enzyme for generating oxaloacetate for the TCA cycle and also a key enzyme in gluconeogenesis, de novo fatty acid and amino acid synthesis in normal cells. Recent studies have identified PC overexpression in different cancers, such as breast and lung. However, the involvement of PC in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear.

Generation of Human Pyruvate Carboxylase Knockout Cell Lines Using Retrovirus Expressing Short Hairpin RNA and CRISPR-Cas9 as Models to Study Its Metabolic Role in Cancer Research.

We report two protocols to generate human pyruvate carboxylase knockdown and knockout cell lines using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and CRISPR-Cas9 technologies. The first protocol involved cloning of a shRNA cassette targeted to human pyruvate carboxylase (PC) under the control of a U6 promoter in a retrovirus-based vector. The stable knockdown cells were achieved following infection of retroviruses expressing shRNA in target cells followed by selecting these in medium containing puromycin.

Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Breast Cancer Cells from Thai Women.

Breast cancer is the leading female cancer worldwide and is the most frequently diagnosed in Thai women. Its potential etiologic has not been clearly identified. Several recent reports could detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in breast cancer or benign breast lesions.

Detection and Type-Distribution of Human Papillomavirus in Vulva and Vaginal Abnormal Cytology Lesions and Cancer Tissues from Thai Women.

Vulva and Vaginal cancers are rare among all gynecological cancers worldwide, including Thailand, and typically affect women in later life. Persistent high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is one of several important causes of cancer development. In this study, we focused on HPV investigation and specific type distribution from Thai women with abnormality lesions and cancers of the vulva and Vaginal.

Sourcing of the WHO human papillomavirus type 18 international standards for HPV antibody levels.

Background: HPV serology is important for studies of vaccine immunogenicity, but can not be performed in a comparable manner without international standardisation.

Objectives: To find suitable candidate sera from naturally infected persons for use as International Standards (IS) for antibodies to high-risk HPVs, with priority for HPV-18.

Study Design: 946 healthy Thai women (median age 44, range 18-83) and 61 cervical cancer patients were screened using an HPV pseudovirion-Luminex assay to detect antibodies to genital (HPV-6,-11,-16,-18,-31,-33,-45,-52,-58,-68) and non-genital HPV types (HPV-5,-15,-32,-38 and -76).

HPV16 oncoproteins promote cervical cancer invasiveness by upregulating specific matrix metalloproteinases.

Production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) for degradation of extracellular matrix is a vital step in cancer metastasis. We investigated the effects of HPV16 oncoproteins (16E6, 16E6*I and 16E7), either individually or combined, on the transcription of 7 MMPs implicated in cervical cancer invasiveness. The levels of 7 MMPs reported to be increased in cervical cancer were determined in C33A stably expressing different HPV16 oncoproteins using quantitative RT-PCR and compared with invasion ability of cell lines using in vitro invasion and wound healing assays.

Preliminary study on human papillomavirus frequency and specific type-distribution in vulva cancer from Thai women.

Vulva cancer is rare among all gynecological cancer worldwide, including Thailand, and mainly affects older women. Persistent high risk type infection of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the one important factor for developing cancer. In this study, we focused on HPV DNA investigation and type-specific distribution of HPV in 25 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples collected from Thai women with vulva cancer histologically confirmed by the National Cancer Institute, Thailand, during 2003-2011.

Frequency and type-distribution of human papillomavirus from paraffin-embedded blocks of high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia lesions in Thailand.

Cervical cancer is the most important female gynecological cancer, the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide and the second most common cancer in Thai women. The major cause of cervical cancer is persistent infection of human papillomavirus (HPV), leading to abnormal epithelial lesions, with progression to precancerous and invasive cancer. This study was conducted to investigate the frequency and type distribution of HPV in Thai women who had abnormal cytology.