Epigenetic clock and methylation studies in elephants.

Age-associated DNA-methylation profiles have been used successfully to develop highly accurate biomarkers of age ("epigenetic clocks") in humans, mice, dogs, and other species. Here we present epigenetic clocks for African and Asian elephants. These clocks were developed using novel DNA methylation profiles of 140 elephant blood samples of known age, at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species, using a custom Infinium array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40).

Bladder cancer cells secrete while normal bladder cells express but do not secrete AGR2.

Anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) is a cancer-associated secreted protein found predominantly in adenocarcinomas. Given its ubiquity in solid tumors, cancer-secreted AGR2 could be a useful biomarker in urine or blood for early detection. However, normal organs express and might also secrete AGR2, which would impact its utility as a cancer biomarker.

MCT1 Modulates Cancer Cell Pyruvate Export and Growth of Tumors that Co-express MCT1 and MCT4.

Monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) inhibition is thought to block tumor growth through disruption of lactate transport and glycolysis. Here, we show MCT1 inhibition impairs proliferation of glycolytic breast cancer cells co-expressing MCT1 and MCT4 via disruption of pyruvate rather than lactate export. MCT1 expression is elevated in glycolytic breast tumors, and high MCT1 expression predicts poor prognosis in breast and lung cancer patients.

High expression of AGR2 in lung cancer is predictive of poor survival.

Background: Anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) is a protein disulfide isomerase-like protein widely expressed in many normal tissues as well as cancers. In our study, non-neoplastic bronchial epithelial cells as well as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells express AGR2 protein.

Methods: AGR2 expression was analyzed on lung tissue microarrays.

Ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 predicts survival in subgroups of patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma: effects of gender and smoking status.

Background: Ribonucleotide reductase catalyzes the conversion of ribonucleotide diphosphates to deoxyribonucleotide diphosphates. The functional enzyme consists of two subunits - one large (RRM1) and one small (RRM2 or RRM2b) subunit. Expression levels of each subunit have been implicated in prognostic outcomes in several different types of cancers.

Prostate cancer cell phenotypes based on AGR2 and CD10 expression.

The combination of expression patterns of AGR2 (anterior gradient 2) and CD10 by prostate cancer provided four phenotypes that correlated with clinical outcome. Based on immunophenotyping, CD10(low)AGR2(high), CD10(high)AGR2(high), CD10(low)AGR2(low), and CD10(high)AGR2(low) were distinguished. AGR2(+) tumors were associated with longer recurrence-free survival and CD10(+) tumors with shorter recurrence-free survival.

Protein expression based multimarker analysis of breast cancer samples.

Background: Tissue microarray (TMA) data are commonly used to validate the prognostic accuracy of tumor markers. For example, breast cancer TMA data have led to the identification of several promising prognostic markers of survival time. Several studies have shown that TMA data can also be used to cluster patients into clinically distinct groups.

Progesterone and estrogen receptor expression and activity in human non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality in male and female patients in the US. Although it is clear that tobacco smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, about half of all women with lung cancer worldwide are never-smokers. Despite a declining smoking population, the incidence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the predominant form of lung cancer, has reached epidemic proportions particularly in women.

Expression levels of estrogen receptor beta in conjunction with aromatase predict survival in non-small cell lung cancer.

Estrogen signaling pathways may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) as evidenced by the expression of aromatase and estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) in many of these tumors. Here we examine whether ERα and ERβ levels in conjunction with aromatase define patient groups with respect to survival outcomes and possible treatment regimens. Immunohistochemistry was performed on a high-density tissue microarray with resulting data and clinical information available for 377 patients.

Differential expression of anterior gradient gene AGR2 in prostate cancer.

Background: The protein AGR2 is a putative member of the protein disulfide isomerase family and was first identified as a homolog of the Xenopus laevis gene XAG-2. AGR2 has been implicated in a number of human cancers. In particular, AGR2 has previously been found to be one of several genes that encode secreted proteins showing increased expression in prostate cancer cells compared to normal prostatic epithelium.