Approach, Application, and Bioethics of mtDNA Sequencing in Cancer.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is more vulnerable to mutations and associated with many solid tumors. Through mtDNA sequencing, we can find useful information on the mutations implicated in diseases and can better define the impact of mitochondrial dysfunction on the process of carcinogenesis. In current article, we will discuss the current approaches of mtDNA sequencing and the challenges we should overcome, their applications in various cancers, and the potential bioethics problems we should face in the application of mtDNA sequencing in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

The root of Actinidia chinensis inhibits hepatocellular carcinomas cells through LAMB3.

The root of Actinidia chinensis, as traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation in numerous cancer cells. However, the mechanisms underlying its inhibitory activity remain unclear. Death rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are increasing, but therapies for advanced HCC are not well developed.

Lung Cancer Heterogeneity and New Strategies for Drug Therapy.

Lung cancer heterogeneity plays an important role in the development of drug resistance. Comprehensive molecular characterizations of lung cancer can describe hereditary and somatic gene changes, mutation, and heterogeneity. We discuss heterogeneity specificity, characterization, and roles of PIK3CD, TP53, and KRAS, as well as target-driven therapies and strategies applied in clinical trials based on a proposed precise self-validation system.

Innate and Adaptive Immune Cell Metabolism in Tumor Microenvironment.

During an immune response, leukocytes undergo major changes in growth and function that are tightly coupled to dynamic shifts in metabolic processes. Immunometabolism is an emerging field that investigates the interplay between immunological and metabolic processes. The immune system has a key role to play in controlling cancer initiation and progression.

Selection of AECOPD-specific immunomodulatory biomarkers by integrating genomics and proteomics with clinical informatics.

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) as a serious event has high mortality and medical costs. Systemic inflammation and immune response are the major factors influencing the outcome and quality of patient with AECOPD. On basis of identification and validation of AECOPD-specific inflammatory biomarkers, the present study aimed to identify AECOPD-specific immunomodulatory mediators by evaluating dynamic genomic and proteomic profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma in patients with AECOPD on day 1, 3, and 10 after the hospital admission, to compare with healthy controls or patients with stable COPD.

Autophagy and inflammation.

Autophagy is a homeostatic mechanism involved in the disposal of damaged organelles, denatured proteins as well as invaded pathogens through a lysosomal degradation pathway. Recently, increasing evidences have demonstrated its role in both innate and adaptive immunity, and thereby influence the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. The detection of autophagy machinery facilitated the measurement of autophagy during physiological and pathophysiological processes.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced CCN1 production enhances interleukin-6 secretion in bronchial epithelial cells.

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) is a clinical complication caused by primary or secondary lung injury, as well as by systemic inflammation. Researches regarding molecular pathophysiology of ALI/ARDS are immerging with an ultimate aim towards developing prognostic molecular biomarkers and molecule-based therapy. However, the molecular mechanisms concerning ALI/ARDS are still not completely understood.

Broad Th2 neutralization and anti-inflammatory action of pentosan polysulfate sodium in experimental allergic rhinitis.

Background: Th2 cytokines like interleukin-4, -5, and -13 are regarded as important drivers of the immunopathology underlying allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma. The present study explores the capacity of pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS), a semi-synthetic heparin-like macromolecular carbohydrate, to bind Th2 cytokines and exert biological neutralization in vitro, as well as anti-inflammatory actions in vivo.

Methodology: The capacity of PPS to bind recombinant Th2 cytokines was tested with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology and biological Th2 neutralization was assessed by Th2-dependent proliferation assays.

Circumventing intratumoral heterogeneity to identify potential therapeutic targets in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Identifying target genetic mutations in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for therapy is made challenging by intratumoral heterogeneity. Circulating cell-free DNAs (cfDNA) may contain a more complete mutational spectrum compared to a single tumor sample. This study aimed to identify the most efficient strategy to identify all the mutations within heterogeneous HCCs.

Genome analyses identify the genetic modification of lung cancer subtypes.

Lung cancer is a highly intricate and heterogeneous disease with genomic diversity in each subtype. Global analyses of gene expression and sequencing provided us new understanding of the genetic variation between small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), including adenocarcinoma (ADC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The genetic variations of lung cancer subtypes in genomic studies were integrated and further analyzed using bioinformatics methods.

Regulatory roles of epigenetic modulators, modifiers and mediators in lung cancer.

Lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths can be initiated and progressed by the interaction between dynamically genetic and epigenetic elements, although mechanisms mediating lung cancer development and progression remain unclear. Tumor progenitor genes may contribute to lung carcinogenesis and cancer progression, are epigenetically disrupted at the early stages of malignancies even before mutations, and alter cell differentiation throughout tumor evolution. The present review explores potential roles and mechanisms of epigenetic modulators, modifiers and mediators in the development of lung cancer.

Roles of tumor heterogeneity in the development of drug resistance: A call for precision therapy.

The drug resistance limits the optimal efficacy of drugs during target therapies for lung cancer and requires the development of precision medicine to identify and develop new highly selective drugs and more precise tailoring of medicine to the target population. Lung cancer heterogeneity as a potential cause of drug resistance to targeted therapy may foster tumor evolution and adaptation and fade personalized-medicine strategies. The present review elucidates the influence of tumor heterogeneity on drug efficacy and resistance, and discusses potential strategies to combat heterogeneity for cancer treatment.

Tomorrow's genome medicine in lung cancer.

Tomorrow's genome medicine in lung cancer should focus more on the homogeneity and heterogeneity of lung cancer which play an important role in the development of drug resistance, genetic complexity, as well as confusion and difficulty of early diagnosis and therapy. Chromosome positioning and repositioning may contribute to the sensitivity of lung cancer cells to therapy, the heterogeneity associated with drug resistance, and the mechanism of lung carcinogenesis. The CCCTC-binding factor plays critical roles in genome topology and function, increased risk of carcinogenicity, and potential of lung cancer-specific mediations.

New strategies for targeting drug combinations to overcome mutation-driven drug resistance.

Targeted therapies are suggested as an effective alternative for patients with cancer that harbor mutations, but treatment outcomes are frequently limited by primary or acquired drug resistance. The present review describes potential mechanisms of primary or acquired drug resistances to provide a resource for considering how to be overcome. We focus on strategies of targeted drug combinations to minimize the development of drug resistance within the context how resistance develops.

Genomic mechanisms of transformation from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to lung cancer.

Genetic variations in COPD and lung cancer may be one of the molecular mechanisms responsible for COPD-lung cancer transformation. The present review highlights main genetic variations co-existed in COPD and lung cancer and integrates the varied genes into four molecular mechanisms, e.g.

Metabolic reprogramming of carcinoma-associated fibroblasts and its impact on metabolic heterogeneity of tumors.

Tumor metabolism is characterized with up-regulated glucose uptake and glycolytic rate of tumor cells as the source of ATP and tumors growth, and regulated by a poorly defined combination of cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Metabolic heterogeneity of human tumors is dependent upon the mutational status of specific oncogenes and influenced by tumor microenvironment. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) adapt in a dynamic manner to the metabolic needs of cancer cells, associated with tumorigenesis and resistance to treatments.

Roles of Telocytes in the Development of Angiogenesis.

Telocytes are cells with telopodes, which distinguish them from other interstitial cells. According to the study of lung, it was confirmed that telocytes were mainly distributed in the alveolar interstitial tissues connected tightly with alveolar epithelia cells and participated in the structure of air-blood barrier, in the small vein and bronchioles and in the interstitial space of smooth muscle participated in the frame structure of the blood and bronchioles. Telocytes are positive to CD34 and C-kit which expressed on the surface of hemopoietic stem cells, and are proposed to participate in the angiogenesis.

The History of Telocyte Discovery and Understanding.

Telocytes (TCs) are identified as a peculiar cell type of interstitial cells in various organs. The typical features of TCs from the other cells are the extending cellular process as telopodes with alternation of podomeres and podoms. Before the year of 2010, TCs were considered as interstitial Cajal-like cells because of the similar morphology and immunohistochemical features with interstitial cells of Cajal which were found more than 100 years ago and considered to be pacemakers for gut motility.

Regulatory mechanisms of TGF-β1-induced fibrogenesis of human alveolar epithelial cells.

Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by an extensive activation of fibrogenic cells and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, probably through the epithelial- to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and ECM production. The present study investigates potential mechanism by which TGF-β1 induces EMT and ECM production in the fibrogenesis of human lung epithelial cells during pulmonary fibrosis.

Drug resistance in ALK-positiveNon-small cell lungcancer patients.

Patients are diagnosed as anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive, i.e. exhibiting the ALK rearrangement, and comprise 3-7% of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases.

Roles of immune microenvironment heterogeneity in therapy-associated biomarkers in lung cancer.

Lung cancer development is a complex and dynamic progression with cancer cell mutations itself and its' orchestrate with the tumor microenvironment. Targeted therapies have been stated to heterogeneous lung cancer mutations while have a modest consequence. The tumor immune microenvironment influences lung cancer outcome by balancing the suppressive versus cytotoxic responses.