An invasion front gene expression signature for higher-risk patient selection in stage IIA MSS colon cancer.

Stage II colon cancer (CC) encompasses a heterogeneous group of patients with diverse survival experiences: 87% to 58% 5-year relative survival rates for stages IIA and IIC, respectively. While stage IIA patients are usually spared the adjuvant chemotherapy, some of them relapse and may benefit from it; thus, their timely identification is crucial. Current gene expression signatures did not specifically target this group nor did they find their place in clinical practice.

Strategies for labelling of exogenous and endogenous extracellular vesicles and their application for in vitro and in vivo functional studies.

This review presents a comprehensive overview of labelling strategies for endogenous and exogenous extracellular vesicles, that can be utilised both in vitro and in vivo. It covers a broad spectrum of approaches, including fluorescent and bioluminescent labelling, and provides an analysis of their applications, strengths, and limitations. Furthermore, this article presents techniques that use radioactive tracers and contrast agents with the ability to track EVs both spatially and temporally.

Identification of Plasmatic MicroRNA-206 as New Predictor of Early Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Catheter Ablation Using Next-generation Sequencing.

Background: Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) is indicated in patients with recurrent and symptomatic AF episodes. Despite the strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, AF recurrence after CA remains high. Identification of a novel biomarker that would predict AF recurrence would help to stratify the patients.

Optimized procedure for high-throughput transcriptome profiling of small extracellular vesicles isolated from low volume serum samples.

Objectives: Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain various signaling molecules, thus playing a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication and emerging as a promising source of biomarkers. However, the lack of standardized procedures impedes their translation to clinical practice. Thus, we compared different approaches for high-throughput analysis of small EVs transcriptome.

An Independent Validation Study of Candidate microRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers for Bevacizumab-based Therapy in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Background/aim: The monoclonal antibody bevacizumab is a standard drug used in combination with oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) or irinotecan (FOLFIRI) based chemotherapy in the first or second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Our previous study identified and subsequently validated 4 microRNAs in a small group of patients as predictors of the therapeutic response to bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy. The aim of this follow-up study is to confirm the predictive ability of these tissue miRNAs in a larger independent cohort of mCRC patients.

Barriers in systemic delivery and preclinical testing of synthetic microRNAs in animal models: an experimental study on miR-215-5p mimic.

Mus musculus is the most commonly used animal model in microRNA research; however, little is known about the endogenous miRNome of the animals used in the miRNA-targeting preclinical studies with the human xenografts. In the presented study, we evaluated the NOD/SCID gamma mouse model for the preclinical study of systemic miR-215-5p substitution with a semitelechelic poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)-methacrylamide]-based carrier conjugated with miR-215-5p-mimic via a reductively degradable disulfide bond. Murine mmu-miR-215-5p and human hsa-miR-215-5p have a high homology of mature sequences with only one nucleotide substitution.

MicroRNAs as theranostic markers in cardiac allograft transplantation: from murine models to clinical practice.

Congestive heart failure affects about 23 million people worldwide, and cardiac allograft transplantation remains one of the last options for patients with terminal refractory heart failure. Besides the infectious or oncological complications, the prognosis of patients after heart transplantation is affected by acute cellular or antibody-mediated rejection and allograft vasculopathy development. Current monitoring of both conditions requires the performance of invasive procedures (endomyocardial biopsy sampling and coronary angiography or optical coherence tomography, respectively) that are costly, time-demanding, and non-comfortable for the patient.

The food web in a subterranean ecosystem is driven by intraguild predation.

Trophic interactions of cave arthropods have been understudied. We used molecular methods (NGS) to decipher the food web in the subterranean ecosystem of the Ardovská Cave (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). We collected five arthropod predators of the species Parasitus loricatus (gamasid mites), Eukoenenia spelaea (palpigrades), Quedius mesomelinus (beetles), and Porrhomma profundum and Centromerus cavernarum (both spiders) and prey belonging to several orders.

Tumor microRNAs Identified by Small RNA Sequencing as Potential Response Predictors in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

Background/aim: Rectal cancer accounts for approximately one-third of all colorectal cancers. Currently, the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil followed by curative surgery. Unfortunately, only 20% of patients with LARC present complete pathological response after CRT, whereas in 20-40% cases the response is poor or absent.

Identification of a Diagnostic Set of Endomyocardial Biopsy microRNAs for Acute Cellular Rejection Diagnostics in Patients after Heart Transplantation Using Next-Generation Sequencing.

Introduction: Acute cellular rejection (ACR) of heart allografts represents the most common reason for graft failure. Endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) are still subject to substantial interobserver variability. Novel biomarkers enabling precise ACR diagnostics may decrease interobserver variability.

Cerebrospinal Fluid MicroRNA Signatures as Diagnostic Biomarkers in Brain Tumors.

Central nervous system (CNS) malignancies include primary tumors that originate within the CNS as well as secondary tumors that develop as a result of metastatic spread. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) were found in almost all human body fluids including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and they seem to be highly stable and resistant to even extreme conditions. The overall aim of our study was to identify specific CSF miRNA patterns that could differentiate among brain tumors.

Translational Potential of MicroRNAs for Preoperative Staging and Prediction of Chemoradiotherapy Response in Rectal Cancer.

bstract: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second cause of cancer-related deaths. Rectal cancer presents roughly one-third of all colorectal cancer cases and differs from it on both anatomical and molecular levels. While standard treatment of colon cancer patients is radical surgery, rectal cancer is usually treated with pre-operative chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision, which requires precise estimation of TNM staging.

MicroRNA Biogenesis Pathway Genes Are Deregulated in Colorectal Cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Each step of their production and maturation has to be strictly regulated, as any disruption of control mechanisms may lead to cancer. Thus, we have measured the expression of 19 genes involved in miRNAs biogenesis pathway in tumor tissues of 239 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, 17 CRC patients with liver metastases and 239 adjacent tissues using real-time PCR.

Utilization of Next Generation Sequencing in Analysis of Circulating MicroRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers for Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Carcinoma.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are short non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. MiRNAs are essential regulators of both physiological processes as of pathogeneses of many diseases, and their dysregulation was observed in many malignancies including rectal cancer. Circulating miRNAs presented in blood plasma could be potential candidates for non-invasive predictive biomarkers of the response of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer to chemoradiotherapy.

MiR-215-5p is a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer targeting EGFR ligand epiregulin and its transcriptional inducer HOXB9.

Growing evidence suggests that microRNAs are involved in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, deregulation and functioning of tumor-suppressive miR-215-5p was evaluated in CRC. In total, 448 tumor tissues and 325 paired adjacent healthy tissues collected from Czech and Spain cohorts of CRC patients have been used for miR-215-5p expression analyses.

Propionibacterium acnes biofilm is present in intervertebral discs of patients undergoing microdiscectomy.

Background: In previous studies, Propionibacterium acnes was cultured from intervertebral disc tissue of ~25% of patients undergoing microdiscectomy, suggesting a possible link between chronic bacterial infection and disc degeneration. However, given the prominence of P. acnes as a skin commensal, such analyses often struggled to exclude the alternate possibility that these organisms represent perioperative microbiologic contamination.

Expression Levels of PIWI-interacting RNA, piR-823, Are Deregulated in Tumor Tissue, Blood Serum and Urine of Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common neoplasm of adult kidney accounting for about 3% of adult malignancies. P-Element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a new class of naturally occurring, short non-coding RNAs involved in silencing of transposable elements and in sequence-specific chromatin modifications. There were preliminary data published indicating that piR-823 expression is deregulated in circulating tumor cells and tumor tissue in gastric and kidney cancer, respectively.

MiR-429 is linked to metastasis and poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma by affecting epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to be important oncogenes and tumor suppressors in wide range of cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In our study, we evaluated miRNA-429 as potential diagnostic/prognostic biomarker in 172 clear cell RCC patients and as a potential regulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro. We demonstrated that miR-429 is down-regulated in tumor tissue samples (P < 0.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition-associated microRNA/mRNA signature is linked to metastasis and prognosis in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

Clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) are genetically heterogeneous tumors presenting diverse clinical courses. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial process involved in initiation of metastatic cascade. The aim of our study was to identify an integrated miRNA/mRNA signature associated with metastasis and prognosis in ccRCC through targeted approach based on analysis of miRNAs/mRNAs associated with EMT.

Prevalence of Propionibacterium acnes in Intervertebral Discs of Patients Undergoing Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The relationship between intervertebral disc degeneration and chronic infection by Propionibacterium acnes is controversial with contradictory evidence available in the literature. Previous studies investigating these relationships were under-powered and fraught with methodical differences; moreover, they have not taken into consideration P. acnes' ability to form biofilms or attempted to quantitate the bioburden with regard to determining bacterial counts/genome equivalents as criteria to differentiate true infection from contamination.