Modifying gap junction communication in cancer therapy.

Aim: Drug delivery is crucial for therapeutic efficacy and gap junction communication channels (GJIC) facilitate movement within the tumour. Pro-drug activation, a modality of cancer therapy leads to Ganciclovir triphosphate (GCV-TP) incorporation into newly synthesized DNA resulting in cell death. The objective was to enhance, with Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and All Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA), GJIC, crucial for drug delivery, and with combination, abrogate the observed detrimental effect of Dexamethasone (DXM).

An Assay to Assess Gap Junction Communication in Cell Lines.

This protocol was developed to assess communication in tumor cells and to provide a dependable and standardized assay for the determination of gap junction function. The method is noninvasive; in this method, the cell population under study is divided such that 1 fraction is loaded with a lipophilic cell plasma membrane permeable dye, calcein acetoxymethyl ester, that is hydrolyzed upon cellular uptake by cytoplasmic esterases to yield calcein, a fluorescent and membrane-impermeable molecule. The other fraction is loaded with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3' tetramethylindodicarbocyanine perchlorate (DiD)/1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate [Dil; DilC(3)], which is a lipophilic membrane dye that diffuses laterally to stain the entire cell membrane, is impermeable, and attains an orange-red fluorescence upon incorporation into membranes.

An approach of selecting appropriate markers from the primary tumor to enable detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare and difficult to isolate, and require selecting minimal but appropriate markers. The aim of this study was to identify markers in the primary non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue to guide isolation of CTCs from the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer.

Methods: The expression of CK-19, EGFR and MUC-1 was evaluated by RT-PCR in the NSCLC tumor and paired adjacent normal tissues from 27 patients.

Molecular pathways to therapeutics: Paradigms and challenges in oncology meeting report: Carcinogenesis 2015.

The search for the most effective therapy with minimum side effects has always been the goal of oncologists and efforts to develop such therapies through understanding disease mechanisms has been the focus of many basic scientists in cancer research, leading to a common interest of convergence. The 5(th) International Conference organized by the Carcinogenesis Foundation, USA and Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial Centre, India, was held between February 11(th) and 13(th) 2015, at ACTREC. During these proceedings, the scientific community engaged in oncology research discussed novel ideas emerging from the laboratory and their translation into improved clinical outcomes.

A unique method for isolation and solubilization of proteins after extraction of RNA from tumor tissue using trizol.

The aim of this study was to develop a systems approach to study tumor tissue. The importance of concurrent extraction of RNA, DNA, and protein is evident when genetic aberrations and the differences in the proteome and transcriptome have to be correlated. The need is magnified, as the tissue available for study is miniscule, is shared amongst investigators, and needs to support the holistic approach.

Elevated levels and fragmented nature of cellular fibronectin in the plasma of gastrointestinal and head and neck cancer patients.

Background: Tumor invasion occurs following enzymatic degradation of components of the extracellular matrix. The proteolysis-resistant domains of matrix components are likely to appear in the blood plasma during invasion, and could be used as markers of malignancy. Cellular fibronectin (cFN), a major ECM component, possesses 3 alternately spliced principal protease resistant domains; two of which, extra domain A (EDA) and III connecting segment (IIICS), were selected for this study of the nature of the plasma cFN molecules and its levels in normal subjects (n=51), and patients with gastrointestinal (G-I, n=145) or head and neck (H-N, n=127) cancers.