Exploring Oesophageal Cancer in Ethiopia: Elevated Incidence in Females and Younger Cases.

Background: Oesophageal cancer is a public health concern in Ethiopia. Identifying the incidence and demographic profile of the two histological subtypes: oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are the key steps in recognizing the disease burden and potential aetiopathological associations.

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the age and gender-specific incidence patterns of the most common subtype of oesophageal cancer in a high-incidence area of Ethiopia.

Understanding the biological processes of kidney carcinogenesis: an integrative multi-omics approach.

Biological mechanisms related to cancer development can leave distinct molecular fingerprints in tumours. By leveraging multi-omics and epidemiological information, we can unveil relationships between carcinogenesis processes that would otherwise remain hidden. Our integrative analysis of DNA methylome, transcriptome, and somatic mutation profiles of kidney tumours linked ageing, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and xenobiotic metabolism to kidney carcinogenesis.

Sodium arsenite-induced DNA methylation alterations exacerbated by p53 knockout in MCF7 cells.

Epigenetic alterations are ubiquitous across human malignancies. Thus, functional characterization of epigenetic events deregulated by environmental pollutants should enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and inform preventive strategies. Recent reports showing the presence of known cancer-driving mutations in normal tissues have sparked debate on the importance of non-mutational stressors potentially acting as cancer promoters.

Molecular and cell phenotype programs in oral epithelial cells directed by co-exposure to arsenic and smokeless tobacco.

Chronic arsenic exposure can lead to various health issues, including cancer. Concerns have been mounting about the enhancement of arsenic toxicity through co-exposure to various prevalent lifestyle habits. Smokeless tobacco products are commonly consumed in South Asian countries, where their use frequently co-occurs with exposure to arsenic from contaminated groundwater.

Epigenome-wide analysis across the development span of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: backtracking to birth.

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related mortality in children. Causes of leukemia, the most common form, are largely unknown. Growing evidence points to an origin in-utero, when global redistribution of DNA methylation occurs driving tissue differentiation.

The interplay of dietary mycotoxins and oncogenic viruses toward human carcinogenesis: a scoping review.

Background: Mycotoxins, fungal metabolites prevalent in many foods, are recognized for their role in carcinogenesis, especially when interacting with oncogenic viruses.

Objectives: This scoping review synthesizes current evidence on the human cancer risk associated with mycotoxin exposure and oncogenic virus infections.

Methods: Searches were conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science.

Exosome-Mediated Paracrine Signaling Unveils miR-1246 as a Driver of Aggressiveness in Fusion-Negative Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a pediatric cancer associated with aggressiveness and a tendency to develop metastases. Fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma (FN-RMS) is the most commonly occurring subtype of RMS, where metastatic disease can hinder treatment success and decrease survival rates. RMS-derived exosomes were previously demonstrated to be enriched with miRNAs, including miR-1246, possibly contributing to disease aggressiveness.

Aflatoxin B1 and Epstein-Barr virus-induced CCL22 expression stimulates B cell infection.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infects more than 90% of the adult population worldwide. EBV infection is associated with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) though alone is not sufficient to induce carcinogenesis implying the involvement of co-factors. BL is endemic in African regions faced with mycotoxins exposure.

Transcriptome-wide profiling identifies colon cancer-associated m6A transcripts and potential RNA methyl modifiers.

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a prevalent and crucial RNA methylation modification that plays a significant role in various biological and pathological processes. The dysregulation of m6A has been linked to the initiation, progression, and metastasis of several cancer types, including colon cancer. The transcriptome of colon cancer indeed provides insight into dysregulated coding and non-coding RNAs, but it does not reveal the mechanisms, such as m6A modifications, that determine post-transcriptional and pre-translational regulations.

Protective Mechanisms of Polyphenol-Enriched Blueberry Preparation in Preventing Inflammation in the Skin against UVB-Induced Damage in an Animal Model.

UVB significantly impacts the occurrence of cutaneous disorders, ranging from inflammatory to neoplastic diseases. Polyphenols derived from plants have been found to exhibit photoprotective effects against various factors that contribute to skin cancer. During the fermentation of the polyphenol-enriched blueberry preparation (PEBP), small oligomers of polyphenols were released, thus enhancing their photoprotective effects.

A Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium (PACE) meta-analysis highlights potential relationships between birth order and neonatal blood DNA methylation.

Higher birth order is associated with altered risk of many disease states. Changes in placentation and exposures to in utero growth factors with successive pregnancies may impact later life disease risk via persistent DNA methylation alterations. We investigated birth order with Illumina DNA methylation array data in each of 16 birth cohorts (8164 newborns) with European, African, and Latino ancestries from the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium.

Waterpipe and cigarette epigenome analysis reveals markers implicated in addiction and smoking type inference.

Waterpipe smoking is frequent in the Middle East and Africa with emerging prevalence worldwide. The epigenome acts as a molecular sensor to exposures and a crucial driver in several diseases. With the widespread use of waterpipe smoking, it is timely to investigate its epigenomic markers and their role in addiction, as a central player in disease prevention and therapeutic strategies.

Novel Probiotic Bacterium subsp. (Canan SV-53) Modulates Gut Immunity through Epigenetic Mechanisms.

Gut immune system homeostasis is crucial to overall host health. Immune disturbance at the gut level may lead to systemic and distant sites' immune dysfunction. Probiotics and prebiotics consumption have been shown to improve gut microbiota composition and function and enhance gut immunity.

Cultured Extract and subsp. (Canan SV-53) Intake Alleviates Immune Deregulation and Inflammation by Modulating Signaling Pathways and Epigenetic Mechanisms.

Puberty is a critical developmental period of life characterized by marked physiological changes, including changes in the immune system and gut microbiota development. Exposure to inflammation induced by immune stressors during puberty has been found to stimulate central inflammation and lead to immune disturbance at distant sites from the gut; however, its enduring effects on gut immunity are not well explored. Therefore, in this study, we used a pubertal lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced inflammation mouse model to mimic pubertal exposure to inflammation and dysbiosis.

Buffy coat signatures of breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort study.

Background: Epigenetic alterations are a near-universal feature of human malignancy and have been detected in malignant cells as well as in easily accessible specimens such as blood and urine. These findings offer promising applications in cancer detection, subtyping, and treatment monitoring. However, much of the current evidence is based on findings in retrospective studies and may reflect epigenetic patterns that have already been influenced by the onset of the disease.

Telomere length assessment and molecular characterization of TERT gene promoter in periampullary carcinomas.

Genetic and epigenetic alterations of the telomere maintenance machinery like telomere length and telomerase reverse transcriptase (encoded by TERT gene) are reported in several human malignancies. However, there is limited knowledge on the status of the telomere machinery in periampullary carcinomas (PAC) which are rare and heterogeneous groups of cancers arising from different anatomic sites around the ampulla of Vater. In the current study, we investigated the relative telomere length (RTL) and the most frequent genetic and epigenetic alterations in the TERT promoter in PAC and compared it with tumor-adjacent nonpathological duodenum (NDu).

Cord blood epigenome-wide meta-analysis in six European-based child cohorts identifies signatures linked to rapid weight growth.

Background: Rapid postnatal growth may result from exposure in utero or early life to adverse conditions and has been associated with diseases later in life and, in particular, with childhood obesity. DNA methylation, interfacing early-life exposures and subsequent diseases, is a possible mechanism underlying early-life programming.

Methods: Here, a meta-analysis of Illumina HumanMethylation 450K/EPIC-array associations of cord blood DNA methylation at single CpG sites and CpG genomic regions with rapid weight growth at 1 year of age (defined with reference to WHO growth charts) was conducted in six European-based child cohorts (ALSPAC, ENVIRONAGE, Generation XXI, INMA, Piccolipiù, and RHEA, N = 2003).

Bariatric surgery-induced weight loss and associated genome-wide DNA-methylation alterations in obese individuals.

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial and chronic condition of growing universal concern. It has recently been reported that bariatric surgery is a more successful treatment for severe obesity than other noninvasive interventions, resulting in rapid significant weight loss and associated chronic disease remission. The identification of distinct epigenetic patterns in patients who are obese or have metabolic imbalances has suggested a potential role for epigenetic alterations in causal or mediating pathways in the development of obesity-related pathologies.

Methylation-based markers of aging and lifestyle-related factors and risk of breast cancer: a pooled analysis of four prospective studies.

Background: DNA methylation in blood may reflect adverse exposures accumulated over the lifetime and could therefore provide potential improvements in the prediction of cancer risk. A substantial body of research has shown associations between epigenetic aging and risk of disease, including cancer. Here we aimed to study epigenetic measures of aging and lifestyle-related factors in association with risk of breast cancer.

Interrelationships and determinants of aging biomarkers in cord blood.

Background: Increasing evidence supports the concept of prenatal programming as an early factor in the aging process. DNA methylation age (DNAm age), global genome-wide DNA methylation (global methylation), telomere length (TL), and mitochondrial DNA content (mtDNA content) have independently been shown to be markers of aging, but their interrelationship and determinants at birth remain uncertain.

Methods: We assessed the inter-correlation between the aging biomarkers DNAm age, global methylation, TL and mtDNA content using Pearson's correlation in 190 cord blood samples of the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort.

Cutaneous and acral melanoma cross-OMICs reveals prognostic cancer drivers associated with pathobiology and ultraviolet exposure.

Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is causally linked to cutaneous melanoma, yet the underlying epigenetic mechanisms, known as molecular sensors of exposure, have not been characterized in clinical biospecimens. Here, we integrate clinical, epigenome (DNA methylome), genome and transcriptome profiling of 112 cutaneous melanoma from two multi-ethnic cohorts. We identify UV-related alterations in regulatory regions and immunological pathways, with multi-OMICs cancer driver potential affecting patient survival.