Zinc treatment reverses and anti-Zn-regulated miRs suppress esophageal carcinomas in vivo.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a deadly disease with few prevention or treatment options. ESCC development in humans and rodents is associated with Zn deficiency (ZD), inflammation, and overexpression of oncogenic microRNAs: miR-31 and miR-21. In a ZD-promoted ESCC rat model with upregulation of these miRs, systemic antimiR-31 suppresses the miR-31-EGLN3/STK40-NF-κB-controlled inflammatory pathway and ESCC.

Abrogation of esophageal carcinoma development in miR-31 knockout rats.

MicroRNA-31 (miR-31) is overexpressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a deadly disease associated with dietary Zn deficiency and inflammation. In a Zn deficiency-promoted rat ESCC model with miR-31 up-regulation, cancer-associated inflammation, and a high ESCC burden following -nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA) exposure, systemic antimiR-31 delivery reduced ESCC incidence from 85 to 45% ( = 0.038) and miR-31 gene knockout abrogated development of ESCC ( = 1 × 10).

Integration of metabolomics, transcriptomics, and microRNA expression profiling reveals a miR-143-HK2-glucose network underlying zinc-deficiency-associated esophageal neoplasia.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in humans is a deadly disease associated with dietary zinc (Zn)-deficiency. In the rat esophagus, Zn-deficiency induces cell proliferation, alters mRNA and microRNA gene expression, and promotes ESCC. We investigated whether Zn-deficiency alters cell metabolism by evaluating metabolomic profiles of esophageal epithelia from Zn-deficient and replenished rats sufficient rats, using untargeted gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry ( = 8/group).

Repression of Esophageal Neoplasia and Inflammatory Signaling by Anti-miR-31 Delivery In Vivo.

Background: Overexpression of microRNA-31 (miR-31) is implicated in the pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a deadly disease associated with dietary zinc deficiency. Using a rat model that recapitulates features of human ESCC, the mechanism whereby Zn regulates miR-31 expression to promote ESCC is examined.

Methods: To inhibit in vivo esophageal miR-31 overexpression in Zn-deficient rats (n = 12-20 per group), locked nucleic acid-modified anti-miR-31 oligonucleotides were administered over five weeks.

Dysregulation of miR-31 and miR-21 induced by zinc deficiency promotes esophageal cancer.

Zinc deficiency (ZD) increases the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In a rat model, chronic ZD induces an inflammatory gene signature that fuels ESCC development. microRNAs regulate gene expression and are aberrantly expressed in cancers.

Zinc supplementation suppresses 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced rat oral carcinogenesis.

Dietary zinc (Zn) deficiency is implicated in the pathogenesis of human oral-esophageal cancers. In rats, Zn deficiency causes increased cell proliferation and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) overexpression and enhances oral carcinogenesis by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (NQO). Zn replenishment reverses all these effects.

Zinc deficiency activates S100A8 inflammation in the absence of COX-2 and promotes murine oral-esophageal tumor progression.

Zinc (Zn)-deficiency (ZD) is implicated in the pathogenesis of human oral-esophageal cancers. Previously, we showed that in ZD mice genetic deletion of cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) enhances N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced forestomach carcinogenesis. By contrast, Cox-2 deletion offers protection in Zn-sufficient (ZS) mice.

The automation of clinical trial serious adverse event reporting workflow.

Background: The reporting of serious adverse events is a requirement when conducting a clinical trial involving human subjects, necessary for the protection of the participants. The reporting process is a multi-step procedure, involving a number of individuals from initiation to final review, and must be completed in a timely fashion.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to automate the adverse event reporting process, replacing paper-based processes with computer-based processes, so that personnel effort and time required for serious adverse event reporting was reduced, and the monitoring of reporting performance and adverse event characteristics was facilitated.

Prevention of upper aerodigestive tract cancer in zinc-deficient rodents: inefficacy of genetic or pharmacological disruption of COX-2.

Zinc deficiency in humans is associated with an increased risk of upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer. In rodents, zinc deficiency predisposes to carcinogenesis by causing proliferation and alterations in gene expression. We examined whether in zinc-deficient rodents, targeted disruption of the cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 pathway by the COX-2 selective inhibitor celecoxib or by genetic deletion prevent UADT carcinogenesis.