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Archive for the ‘Cancer and Current Therapeutics’ Category

Unwanted DNA deletions by CRISPR gene editing technology

Posted in Biological Engineering, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Genomics, Cancer Prevention: Research & Programs, Cell Biology, Clinical Genomics, DNA repair, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Gene Therapy & Gene Editing Development, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, Genomic Endocrinology, Genomic Testing: Methodology for Diagnosis, Genomics Pharmacy, Molecular Genetics & Pharmaceutical, mRNA Therapeutics, Personalized and Precision Medicine & Genomic Research, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 22, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

 

Researchers have embraced CRISPR gene-editing as a method for altering genomes, but some have reported that unwanted DNA changes may slip by undetected. The tool can cause large DNA deletions and rearrangements near its target site on the genome. Such alterations can confuse the interpretation of experimental results and could complicate efforts to design therapies based on CRISPR. The finding is in line with previous results from not only CRISPR but also other gene-editing systems.

 

CRISPR -Cas9 gene editing relies on the Cas9 enzyme to cut DNA at a particular target site. The cell then attempts to reseal this break using its DNA repair mechanisms. These mechanisms do not always work perfectly, and sometimes segments of DNA will be deleted or rearranged, or unrelated bits of DNA will become incorporated into the chromosome.

 

Researchers often use CRISPR to generate small deletions in the hope of knocking out a gene’s function. But when examining CRISPR edits, researchers found large deletions (often several thousand nucleotides) and complicated rearrangements of DNA sequences in which previously distant DNA sequences were stitched together. Many researchers use a method for amplifying short snippets of DNA to test whether their edits have been made properly. But this approach might miss larger deletions and rearrangements.

 

These deletions and rearrangements occur only with gene-editing techniques that rely on DNA cutting and not with some other types of CRISPR modifications that avoid cutting DNA. Such as a modified CRISPR system to switch one nucleotide for another without cutting DNA and other systems use inactivated Cas9 fused to other enzymes to turn genes on or off, or to target RNA. Overall, these unwanted edits are a problem that deserves more attention, but this should not stop anyone from using CRISPR. Only when people use it, they need to do a more thorough analysis about the outcome.

 

References:

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05736-3?utm_source=briefing-dy

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28561021

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30010673

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24651067

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25398350

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24838573

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25200087

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25757625

 

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Live Conference Coverage @Medcitynews Converge 2018 Philadelphia: The Davids vs. the Cancer Goliath Part 2

Posted in Best evidence, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Image Processing/Computing, Imaging-based Cancer Patient Management, interventional oncology, Medical Imaging Technology, Medical Imaging Technology, Image Processing/Computing, MRI, CT, Nuclear Medicine, Ultra Sound, Patents, Patient Experience, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Support Staff, Supportive therapies, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Live Conference Coverage @Medcitynews Converge 2018 Philadelphia: The Davids vs. the Cancer Goliath Part 2

8:40 – 9:25 AM The Davids vs. the Cancer Goliath Part 2

Startups from diagnostics, biopharma, medtech, digital health and emerging tech will have 8 minutes to articulate their visions on how they aim to tame the beast.

Start Time End Time Company
8:40 8:48 3Derm
8:49 8:57 CNS Pharmaceuticals
8:58 9:06 Cubismi
9:07 9:15 CytoSavvy
9:16 9:24 PotentiaMetrics

Speakers:
Liz Asai, CEO & Co-Founder, 3Derm Systems, Inc. @liz_asai
John M. Climaco, CEO, CNS Pharmaceuticals @cns_pharma 

John Freyhof, CEO, CytoSavvy
Robert Palmer, President & CEO, PotentiaMetrics @robertdpalmer 
Moira Schieke M.D., Founder, Cubismi, Adjunct Assistant Prof UW Madison @cubismi_inc

 

3Derm Systems

3Derm Systems is an image analysis firm for dermatologic malignancies.  They use a tele-medicine platform to accurately triage out benign malignancies observed from the primary care physician, expediate those pathology cases if urgent to the dermatologist and rapidly consults with you over home or portable device (HIPAA compliant).  Their suite also includes a digital dermatology teaching resource including digital training for students and documentation services.

 

CNS Pharmaceuticals

developing drugs against CNS malignancies, spun out of research at MD Anderson.  They are focusing on glioblastoma and Berubicin, an anthracycline antiobiotic (TOPOII inhibitor) that can cross the blood brain barrier.  Berubicin has good activity in a number of animal models.  Phase I results were very positive and Phase II is scheduled for later in the year.  They hope that the cardiotoxicity profile is less severe than other anthracyclines.  The market opportunity will be in temazolamide resistant glioblastoma.

Cubismi

They are using machine learning and biomarker based imaging to visualize tumor heterogeneity. “Data is the new oil” (Intel CEO). We need prediction machines so they developed a “my body one file” system, a cloud based data rich file of a 3D map of human body.

CUBISMI IS ON A MISSION TO HELP DELIVER THE FUTURE PROMISE OF PRECISION MEDICINE TO CURE DISEASE AND ASSURE YOUR OPTIMAL HEALTH.  WE ARE BUILDING A PATIENT-DOCTOR HEALTH DATA EXCHANGE PLATFORM THAT WILL LEVERAGE REVOLUTIONARY MEDICAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND PUT THE POWER OF HEALTH DATA INTO THE HANDS OF YOU AND YOUR DOCTORS.

 

CytoSavvy

CytoSavvy is a digital pathology company.  They feel AI has a fatal flaw in that no way to tell how a decision was made. Use a Shape Based Model Segmentation algorithm which uses automated image analysis to provide objective personalized pathology data.  They are partnering with three academic centers (OSU, UM, UPMC) and pool data and automate the rule base for image analysis.

CytoSavvy’s patented diagnostic dashboards are intuitive, easy–to-use and HIPAA compliant. Our patented Shape-Based Modeling Segmentation (SBMS) algorithms combine shape and color analysis capabilities to increase reliability, save time, and improve decisions. Specifications and capabilities for our web-based delivery system follow.

link to their white paper: https://www.cytosavvy.com/resources/healthcare-ai-value-proposition.pdf

PotentialMetrics

They were developing a diagnostic software for cardiology epidemiology measuring outcomes however when a family member got a cancer diagnosis felt there was a need for outcomes based models for cancer treatment/care.  They deliver real world outcomes for persoanlized patient care to help patients make decisions on there care by using a socioeconomic modeling integrated with real time clinical data.

Featured in the Wall Street Journal, using the informed treatment decisions they have generated achieve a 20% cost savings on average.  There research was spun out of Washington University St. Louis.

They have concentrated on urban markets however the CEO had mentioned his desire to move into more rural areas of the country as there models work well for patients in the rural setting as well.

Please follow on Twitter using the following #hash tags and @pharma_BI 

#MCConverge

#cancertreatment

#healthIT

#innovation

#precisionmedicine

#healthcaremodels

#personalizedmedicine

#healthcaredata

And at the following handles:

@pharma_BI

@medcitynews

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Live Conference Coverage @Medcitynews Converge 2018 Philadelphia: Early Diagnosis Through Predictive Biomarkers, NonInvasive Testing

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Big Data, Big Data & Analytics, BioBanking, Biomarkers & Medical Diagnostics, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Informatics, Cancer Screening, Diagnostics and Lab Tests, Meta-analysis of transcriptome data, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, Pharmacotherapy and Cell Activity, Scientific & Biotech Conferences: Press Coverage, Transcriptomics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »


5:00 – 5:45 PM Early Diagnosis Through Predictive Biomarkers, NonInvasive Testing

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

 

Diagnosing cancer early is often the difference between survival and death. Hear from experts regarding the new and emerging technologies that form the next generation of cancer diagnostics.

Moderator: Heather Rose, Director of Licensing, Thomas Jefferson University
Speakers:
Bonnie Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Veracyte @BonnieAndDx
Kevin Hrusovsky, Founder and Chairman, Powering Precision Health @KevinHrusovsky

Bonnie Anderson and Veracyte produces genomic tests for thyroid and other cancer diagnosis.  Kevin Hrusovksy and Precision Health uses peer reviewed evidence based medicine to affect precision medicine decision.

Bonnie: aim to get a truth of diagnosis.  Getting tumor tissue is paramount as well as properly preserved tissue.  They use deep RNA sequencing  and machine learning  in their clinically approved tests.

Kevin: Serial biospace entrepreneur.  Two diseases, cancer and neurologic, have been diseases which have been hardest to get reproducible and validated biomarkers of early disease.  He concentrates on protein biomarkers.

Heather:  FDA has recently approved drugs for early disease intervention.  However the use of biomarkers can go beyond patient stratification in clinical trials.

Kevin: 15 approved drugs for MS but the markers are scans looking for brain atrophy which is too late of an endpoint.  So we need biomarkers of early disease progression.  We can use those early biomarkers of disease progression so pharma can target those early biomarkers and or use those early biomarkers of disease progression  for endpoint

Bonnie: exciting time in the early diagnostics field. She prefers transcriptomics to DNA based methods such as WES or WGS (whole exome or whole genome sequencing).  It was critical to show data on the cost savings imparted by their transcriptomic based thryoid cancer diagnostic test for payers to consider this test eligible for reimbursement.

Kevin: There has been 20 million  CAT scans for  cancer but it is estimated 90% of these scans led to misdiagnosis. Biomarker  development  has revolutionized diagnostics in this disease area.  They have developed a breakthrough panel of ten protein biomarkers in serum which he estimates may replace 5 million mammograms.

All panelists agreed on the importance of regulatory compliance and the focus of new research should be on early detection.  In addition they believe that Dr. Gotlieb’s appointment to the FDA is a positive for the biomarker development field, as Dr. Gotlieb understands the potential and importance of early detection and prevention of disease.  Kevin also felt Dr. Gotlieb understands the importance of incorporating biomarkers as endpoints in clinical trials.  Over 750 phase 1,2, and 3 clinical trials use biomarker endpoints but the pharma companies still need to prove the biomarkers clinical relevance to the FDA.They also agreed it would be helpful to involve advocacy groups in putting more pressure on the healthcare providers and policy makers on this importance of diagnostics as a preventative measure.

In addition, the discovery and use of biomarkers as disease endpoints has led to a resurgence of Alzheimer’s disease drug development by companies which have previously given up on these type of neurodegenerative diseases.

Kevin feels proteomics offers great advantages over DNA-based diagnostics, especially in cancer such as ovarian cancer, where a high degree of specificity for a diagnostic test is required to ascertain if a woman should undergo prophylactic oophorectomy.  He suggests that a new blood-based protein biomarker panel is being developed for early detection of some forms of ovarian cancer.

Please follow on Twitter using the following #hash tags and @pharma_BI

#MCConverge

#cancertreatment

#healthIT

#innovation

#precisionmedicine

#healthcaremodels

#personalizedmedicine

#healthcaredata

And at the following handles:

@pharma_BI

@medcitynews

 

Please see related articles on Live Coverage of Previous Meetings on this Open Access Journal

LIVE – Real Time – 16th Annual Cancer Research Symposium, Koch Institute, Friday, June 16, 9AM – 5PM, Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Real Time Coverage and eProceedings of Presentations on 11/16 – 11/17, 2016, The 12th Annual Personalized Medicine Conference, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston

Tweets Impression Analytics, Re-Tweets, Tweets and Likes by @AVIVA1950 and @pharma_BI for 2018 BioIT, Boston, 5/15 – 5/17, 2018

BIO 2018! June 4-7, 2018 at Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/press-coverage/

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Live Coverage: MedCity Converge 2018 Philadelphia: AI in Cancer and Keynote Address

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence Applications in Health Care, Big Data, BioIT: BioInformatics, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Informatics, Cancer Vaccines: Targeting Cancer Genes for Immunotherapy, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Health Care System by Country, HealthCare IT, Immuno-Oncology & Genomics, Personalized and Precision Medicine & Genomic Research, tagged , , , , , , on July 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »


 

Live Coverage: MedCity Converge 2018 Philadelphia: AI in Cancer and Keynote Address

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

8:30 AM -9:15

Practical Applications of AI in Cancer

We are far from machine learning dictating clinical decision making, but AI has important niche applications in oncology. Hear from a panel of innovative startups and established life science players about how machine learning and AI can transform different aspects in healthcare, be it in patient recruitment, data analysis, drug discovery or care delivery.

Moderator: Ayan Bhattacharya, Advanced Analytics Specialist Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Speakers:
Wout Brusselaers, CEO and Co-Founder, Deep 6 AI @woutbrusselaers ‏
Tufia Haddad, M.D., Chair of Breast Medical Oncology and Department of Oncology Chair of IT, Mayo Clinic
Carla Leibowitz, Head of Corporate Development, Arterys @carlaleibowitz
John Quackenbush, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Center for Cancer Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Ayan: working at IBM and Thompon Rueters with structured datasets and having gone through his own cancer battle, he is now working in healthcare AI which has an unstructured dataset(s)

Carla: collecting medical images over the world, mainly tumor and calculating tumor volumetrics

Tufia: drug resistant breast cancer clinician but interested in AI and healthcareIT at Mayo

John: taking large scale datasets but a machine learning skeptic

moderator: how has imaging evolved?

Carla: ten times images but not ten times radiologists so stressed field needs help with image analysis; they have seen measuring lung tumor volumetrics as a therapeutic diagnostic has worked

moderator: how has AI affected patient recruitment?

Tufia: majority of patients are receiving great care but AI can offer profiles and determine which patients can benefit from tertiary care;

John: 1980 paper on no free lunch theorem; great enthusiasm about optimization algortihisms fell short in application; can extract great information from e.g. images

moderator: how is AI for healthcare delivery working at mayo?

Tufia: for every hour with patient two hours of data mining. for care delivery hope to use the systems to leverage the cognitive systems to do the data mining

John: problem with irreproducible research which makes a poor dataset:  also these care packages are based on population data not personalized datasets; challenges to AI is moving correlation to causation

Carla: algorithisms from on healthcare network is not good enough, Google tried and it failed

John: curation very important; good annotation is needed; needed to go in and develop, with curators, a systematic way to curate medial records; need standardization and reproducibility; applications in radiometrics can be different based on different data collection machines; developed a machine learning model site where investigators can compare models on a hub; also need to communicate with patients on healthcare information and quality information

Ayan: Australia and Canada has done the most concerning AI and lifescience, healthcare space; AI in most cases is cognitive learning: really two types of companies 1) the Microsofts, Googles, and 2) the startups that may be more pure AI

 

Final Notes: We are at a point where collecting massive amounts of healthcare related data is simple, rapid, and shareable.  However challenges exist in quality of datasets, proper curation and annotation, need for collaboration across all healthcare stakeholders including patients, and dissemination of useful and accurate information

 

9:15 AM–9:45 AM

Opening Keynote: Dr. Joshua Brody, Medical Oncologist, Mount Sinai Health System

The Promise and Hype of Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is revolutionizing oncology care across various types of cancers, but it is also necessary to sort the hype from the reality. In his keynote, Dr. Brody will delve into the history of this new therapy mode and how it has transformed the treatment of lymphoma and other diseases. He will address the hype surrounding it, why so many still don’t respond to the treatment regimen and chart the way forward—one that can lead to more elegant immunotherapy combination paths and better outcomes for patients.

Speaker:
Joshua Brody, M.D., Assistant Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine @joshuabrodyMD

Director Lymphoma therapy at Mt. Sinai

  • lymphoma a cancer with high PD-L1 expression
  • hodgkin’s lymphoma best responder to PD1 therapy (nivolumab) but hepatic adverse effects
  • CAR-T (chimeric BCR and TCR); a long process which includes apheresis, selection CD3/CD28 cells; viral transfection of the chimeric; purification
  • complete remissions of B cell lymphomas (NCI trial) and long term remissions past 18 months
  • side effects like cytokine release (has been controlled); encephalopathy (he uses a hand writing test to see progression of adverse effect)

Vaccines

  •  teaching the immune cells as PD1 inhibition exhausting T cells so a vaccine boost could be an adjuvant to PD1 or checkpoint therapy
  • using Flt3L primed in-situ vaccine (using a Toll like receptor agonist can recruit the dendritic cells to the tumor and then activation of T cell response);  therefore vaccine does not need to be produced ex vivo; months after the vaccine the tumor still in remission
  • versus rituximab, which can target many healthy B cells this in-situ vaccine strategy is very specific for the tumorigenic B cells
  • HoWEVER they did see resistant tumor cells which did not overexpress PD-L1 but they did discover a novel checkpoint (cannot be disclosed at this point)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please follow on Twitter using the following #hashtags and @pharma_BI

#MCConverge

#AI

#cancertreatment

#immunotherapy

#healthIT

#innovation

#precisionmedicine

#healthcaremodels

#personalizedmedicine

#healthcaredata

And at the following handles:

@pharma_BI

@medcitynews

 

Please see related articles on Live Coverage of Previous Meetings on this Open Access Journal

LIVE – Real Time – 16th Annual Cancer Research Symposium, Koch Institute, Friday, June 16, 9AM – 5PM, Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Real Time Coverage and eProceedings of Presentations on 11/16 – 11/17, 2016, The 12th Annual Personalized Medicine Conference, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston

Tweets Impression Analytics, Re-Tweets, Tweets and Likes by @AVIVA1950 and @pharma_BI for 2018 BioIT, Boston, 5/15 – 5/17, 2018

BIO 2018! June 4-7, 2018 at Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/press-coverage/

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Cancer threat in CRISPR/Cas9 method

Posted in Apoptosis, Apoptosis, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cancer Genomics, Cancer Prevention: Research & Programs, Cancer Screening, Cancer-Immune Interactions, Cell Biology, Cell death pathways, Cell Processing System in Cell Therapy Process Development, Clinical Genomics, DNA repair, Efficacy of Anti-Tumor T Cells, Gene Regulation, Gene Therapy & Gene Editing Development, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Human Antibody Response, Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Translational Research, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

 

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has proven to be a powerful tool for genome editing allowing for the precise modification of specific DNA sequences within a cell. Many efforts are currently underway to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system for the therapeutic correction of human genetic diseases. CRISPR/Cas9 has revolutionized our ability to engineer genomes and conduct genome-wide screens in human cells.

 

CRISPR–Cas9 induces a p53-mediated DNA damage response and cell cycle arrest in immortalized human retinal pigment epithelial cells, leading to a selection against cells with a functional p53 pathway. Inhibition of p53 prevents the damage response and increases the rate of homologous recombination from a donor template. These results suggest that p53 inhibition may improve the efficiency of genome editing of untransformed cells and that p53 function should be monitored when developing cell-based therapies utilizing CRISPR–Cas9.

 

Whereas some cell types are amenable to genome engineering, genomes of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been difficult to engineer, with reduced efficiencies relative to tumour cell lines or mouse embryonic stem cells. Using hPSC lines with stable integration of Cas9 or transient delivery of Cas9-ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), an average insertion or deletion (indel) efficiency greater than 80% was achieved. This high efficiency of insertion or deletion generation revealed that double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by Cas9 are toxic and kill most hPSCs.

 

The toxic response to DSBs was P53/TP53-dependent, such that the efficiency of precise genome engineering in hPSCs with a wild-type P53 gene was severely reduced. These results indicate that Cas9 toxicity creates an obstacle to the high-throughput use of CRISPR/Cas9 for genome engineering and screening in hPSCs. As hPSCs can acquire P53 mutations, cell replacement therapies using CRISPR/Cas9-enginereed hPSCs should proceed with caution, and such engineered hPSCs should be monitored for P53 function.

 

CRISPR-based editing of T cells to treat cancer, as scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are studying in a clinical trial, should also not have a p53 problem. Nor should any therapy developed with CRISPR base editing, which does not make the double-stranded breaks that trigger p53. But, there are pre-existing humoral and cell-mediated adaptive immune responses to Cas9 in humans, a factor which must be taken into account as the CRISPR-Cas9 system moves forward into clinical trials.

 

References:

 

https://techonomy.com/2018/06/new-cancer-concerns-shake-crispr-prognosis/

 

https://www.statnews.com/2018/06/11/crispr-hurdle-edited-cells-might-cause-cancer/

 

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/07/26/168443

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0049-z.epdf?referrer_access_token=s92jDP_yPBmDmi-USafzK9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MRjuB3dEnTctGtoy16n3DDbmISsvbln9SCISHVDd73tdQRNS7LB8qBlX1vpbLE0nK_CwKThDGcf344KR6RAm9k3wZiwyu-Kb1f2Dl7pArs5yYSiSLSdgeH7gst7lOBEh9qIc6kDpsytWLHqX_tyggu&tracking_referrer=www.statnews.com

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0050-6.epdf?referrer_access_token=2KJ0L-tmvjtQdzqlkVXWVNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Phq6GCpDlJx7lIwhCzBRjHJv0mv4zO0wzJJCeuxJjzoUWLeemH8T4I3i61ftUBkYkETi6qnweELRYMj4v0kLk7naHF-ujuz4WUf75mXsIRJ3HH0kQGq1TNYg7tk3kamoelcgGp4M7UTiTmG8j0oog_&tracking_referrer=www.statnews.com

 

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/01/05/243345

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/nmeth.4293.epdf

 

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Curation of selected topics and articles on Role of G-Protein Coupled Receptors in Chronic Disease as supplemental information for #TUBiol3373

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Autoimmune Inflammatory DIseases, Biological Networks, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Bone Disease and Musculoskeletal Disease, Ca2+ triggered activation, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Crohn's disease, Curation, Etiology, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, interventional oncology, Obesity, Pharmacotherapy and Cell Activity, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Curation of selected topics and articles on Role of G-Protein Coupled Receptors in Chronic Disease as supplemental information for #TUBiol3373

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, PhD 

Below is a series of posts and articles related to the role of G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) in various chronic diseases.  This is only a cursory collection and by no means represents the complete extensive literature on pathogenesis related to G protein function or alteration thereof.  However it is important to note that, although we think of G protein signaling as rather short lived, quick, their chronic activation may lead to progression of various disease. As to whether disease onset, via GPCR, is a result of sustained signal, loss of desensitization mechanisms, or alterations of transduction systems is an area to be investigated.

From:

Molecular Pathogenesis of Progressive Lung Diseases

Author: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

 

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD)

Inflammatory and infectious factors are present in diseased airways that interact with G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as purinergic receptors and bradykinin (BK) receptors, to stimulate phospholipase C [PLC]. This is followed by the activation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-dependent activation of IP3 channel receptors in the ER, which results in channel opening and release of stored Ca2+ into the cytoplasm. When ER Ca2+ stores are depleted a pathway for Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane is activated. This has been referred to as “capacitative Ca2+ entry”, and “store-operated calcium entry” (3). In the next step PLC mediated Ca2+ i is mobilized as a result of GPCR activation by inflammatory mediators, which triggers cytokine production by Ca2+ i-dependent activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kB (NF-kB) in airway epithelia.

 

 

 

In Alzheimer’s Disease

Important Lead in Alzheimer’s Disease Model

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator discusses findings from a research team at University of California at San Diego (UCSD) which the neuropeptide hormone corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) as having an important role in the etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). CRF activates the CRF receptor (a G stimulatory receptor).  It was found inhibition of the CRF receptor prevented cognitive impairment in a mouse model of AD.  Furthermore researchers at the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology found the loss of a protein called G protein-coupled receptor 3 (GPR3) may lower the amyloid plaque aggregation, resulting in improved cognitive function.  Additionally inhibition of several G-protein coupled receptors alter amyloid precursor processing, providing a further mechanism of the role of GPCR in AD (see references in The role of G protein-coupled receptors in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease by Amantha Thathiah and Bart De Strooper Nature Reviews Feb 2011; 12: 73-87 and read post).

 

In Cardiovascular and Thrombotic Disease

 

Adenosine Receptor Agonist Increases Plasma Homocysteine

 

and read related articles in curation on effects of hormones on the cardiovascular system at

Action of Hormones on the Circulation

 

In Cancer

A Curated History of the Science Behind the Ovarian Cancer β-Blocker Trial

 

Further curations and references of G proteins and chronic disease can be found at the Open Access journal https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com using the search terms “GCPR” and “disease” in the Search box in the upper right of the home page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lesson 9 Cell Signaling: Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information for lecture section on WNTs: #TUBioll3373

Posted in Anticancer Resistance, Apoptosis, Biochemical pathways, Biological Networks, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Breast Cancer - impalpable breast lesions, Calcium Signaling, Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cancer Genomics, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Competition in regenerative stem cell science, Curation, Loss of function gene, Phosphorylation, Scientific Publishing, Signaling, Ubiquitinylation, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Lesson 9 Cell Signaling:  Curations and Articles of reference as supplemental information for lecture section on WNTs: #TUBiol3373

Stephen J. Wiilliams, Ph.D: Curator

The following contain curations of scientific articles from the site https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com  intended as additional reference material  to supplement material presented in the lecture.

Wnts are a family of lipid-modified secreted glycoproteins which are involved in:

Normal physiological processes including

A. Development:

– Osteogenesis and adipogenesis (Loss of wnt/β‐catenin signaling causes cell fate shift of preosteoblasts from osteoblasts to adipocytes)

  – embryogenesis including body axis patterning, cell fate specification, cell proliferation and cell migration

B. tissue regeneration in adult tissue

read: Wnt signaling in the intestinal epithelium: from endoderm to cancer

And in pathologic processes such as oncogenesis (refer to Wnt/β-catenin Signaling [7.10]) and to your Powerpoint presentation

 

The curation Wnt/β-catenin Signaling is a comprehensive review of canonical and noncanonical Wnt signaling pathways

 

To review:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activating the canonical Wnt pathway frees B-catenin from the degradation complex, resulting in B-catenin translocating to the nucleus and resultant transcription of B-catenin/TCF/LEF target genes.

Fig. 1 Canonical Wnt/FZD signaling pathway. (A) In the absence of Wnt signaling, soluble β-catenin is phosphorylated by a degradation complex consisting of the kinases GSK3β and CK1α and the scaffolding proteins APC and Axin1. Phosphorylated β-catenin is targeted for proteasomal degradation after ubiquitination by the SCF protein complex. In the nucleus and in the absence of β-catenin, TCF/LEF transcription factor activity is repressed by TLE-1; (B) activation of the canonical Wnt/FZD signaling leads to phosphorylation of Dvl/Dsh, which in turn recruits Axin1 and GSK3β adjacent to the plasma membrane, thus preventing the formation of the degradation complex. As a result, β-catenin accumulates in the cytoplasm and translocates into the nucleus, where it promotes the expression of target genes via interaction with TCF/LEF transcription factors and other proteins such as CBP, Bcl9, and Pygo.

NOTE: In the canonical signaling, the Wnt signal is transmitted via the Frizzled/LRP5/6 activated receptor to INACTIVATE the degradation complex thus allowing free B-catenin to act as the ultimate transducer of the signal.

Remember, as we discussed, the most frequent cancer-related mutations of WNT pathway constituents is in APC.

This shows how important the degradation complex is in controlling canonical WNT signaling.

Other cell signaling systems are controlled by protein degradation:

A.  The Forkhead family of transcription factors

Read: Regulation of FoxO protein stability via ubiquitination and proteasome degradation

B. Tumor necrosis factor α/NF κB signaling

Read: NF-κB, the first quarter-century: remarkable progress and outstanding questions

1.            Question: In cell involving G-proteins, the signal can be terminated by desensitization mechanisms.  How is both the canonical and noncanonical Wnt signal eventually terminated/desensitized?

We also discussed the noncanonical Wnt signaling pathway (independent of B-catenin induced transcriptional activity).  Note that the canonical and noncanonical involve different transducers of the signal.

Noncanonical WNT Signaling

Note: In noncanonical signaling the transducer is a G-protein and second messenger system is IP3/DAG/Ca++ and/or kinases such as MAPK, JNK.

Depending on the different combinations of WNT ligands and the receptors, WNT signaling activates several different intracellular pathways  (i.e. canonical versus noncanonical)

 

In addition different Wnt ligands are expressed at different times (temporally) and different cell types in development and in the process of oncogenesis. 

The following paper on Wnt signaling in ovarian oncogenesis shows how certain Wnt ligands are expressed in normal epithelial cells but the Wnt expression pattern changes upon transformation and ovarian oncogenesis. In addition, differential expression of canonical versus noncanonical WNT ligands occur during the process of oncogenesis (for example below the authors describe the noncanonical WNT5a is expressed in normal ovarian  epithelia yet WNT5a expression in ovarian cancer is lower than the underlying normal epithelium. However the canonical WNT10a, overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells, serves as an oncogene, promoting oncogenesis and tumor growth.

Wnt5a Suppresses Epithelial Ovarian Cancer by Promoting Cellular Senescence

Benjamin G. Bitler,1 Jasmine P. Nicodemus,1 Hua Li,1 Qi Cai,2 Hong Wu,3 Xiang Hua,4 Tianyu Li,5 Michael J. Birrer,6Andrew K. Godwin,7 Paul Cairns,8 and Rugang Zhang1,*

A.           Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy in the US. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutics for this disease. Cellular senescence is an important tumor suppression mechanism that has recently been suggested as a novel mechanism to target for developing cancer therapeutics. Wnt5a is a non-canonical Wnt ligand that plays a context-dependent role in human cancers. Here, we investigate the role of Wnt5a in regulating senescence of EOC cells. We demonstrate that Wnt5a is expressed at significantly lower levels in human EOC cell lines and in primary human EOCs (n = 130) compared with either normal ovarian surface epithelium (n = 31; p = 0.039) or fallopian tube epithelium (n = 28; p < 0.001). Notably, a lower level of Wnt5a expression correlates with tumor stage (p = 0.003) and predicts shorter overall survival in EOC patients (p = 0.003). Significantly, restoration of Wnt5a expression inhibits the proliferation of human EOC cells both in vitro and in vivo in an orthotopic EOC mouse model. Mechanistically, Wnt5a antagonizes canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling and induces cellular senescence by activating the histone repressor A (HIRA)/promyelocytic leukemia (PML) senescence pathway. In summary, we show that loss of Wnt5a predicts poor outcome in EOC patients and Wnt5a suppresses the growth of EOC cells by triggering cellular senescence. We suggest that strategies to drive senescence in EOC cells by reconstituting Wnt5a signaling may offer an effective new strategy for EOC therapy.

Oncol Lett. 2017 Dec;14(6):6611-6617. doi: 10.3892/ol.2017.7062. Epub 2017 Sep 26.

Clinical significance and biological role of Wnt10a in ovarian cancer. 

Li P1, Liu W1, Xu Q1, Wang C1.

Ovarian cancer is one of the five most malignant types of cancer in females, and the only currently effective therapy is surgical resection combined with chemotherapy. Wnt family member 10A (Wnt10a) has previously been identified to serve an oncogenic function in several tumor types, and was revealed to have clinical significance in renal cell carcinoma; however, there is still only limited information regarding the function of Wnt10a in the carcinogenesis of ovarian cancer. The present study identified increased expression levels of Wnt10a in two cell lines, SKOV3 and A2780, using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Functional analysis indicated that the viability rate and migratory ability of SKOV3 cells was significantly inhibited following Wnt10a knockdown using short interfering RNA (siRNA) technology. The viability rate of SKOV3 cells decreased by ~60% compared with the control and the migratory ability was only ~30% of that in the control. Furthermore, the expression levels of β-catenin, transcription factor 4, lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 and cyclin D1 were significantly downregulated in SKOV3 cells treated with Wnt10a-siRNA3 or LGK-974, a specific inhibitor of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. However, there were no synergistic effects observed between Wnt10a siRNA3 and LGK-974, which indicated that Wnt10a activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in SKOV3 cells. In addition, using quantitative PCR, Wnt10a was overexpressed in the tumor tissue samples obtained from 86 patients with ovarian cancer when compared with matching paratumoral tissues. Clinicopathological association analysis revealed that Wnt10a was significantly associated with high-grade (grade III, P=0.031) and late-stage (T4, P=0.008) ovarian cancer. Furthermore, the estimated 5-year survival rate was 18.4% for patients with low Wnt10a expression levels (n=38), whereas for patients with high Wnt10a expression (n=48) the rate was 6.3%. The results of the present study suggested that Wnt10a serves an oncogenic role during the carcinogenesis and progression of ovarian cancer via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Targeting the Wnt Pathway includes curations of articles related to the clinical development of Wnt signaling inhibitors as a therapeutic target in various cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma, colon, breast and potentially ovarian cancer.

 

2.         Question: Given that different Wnt ligands and receptors activate different signaling pathways, AND  WNT ligands  can be deferentially and temporally expressed  in various tumor types and the process of oncogenesis, how would you approach a personalized therapy targeting the WNT signaling pathway?

3.         Question: What are the potential mechanisms of either intrinsic or acquired resistance to Wnt ligand antagonists being developed?

 

Other related articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

Targeting the Wnt Pathway [7.11]

Wnt/β-catenin Signaling [7.10]

Cancer Signaling Pathways and Tumor Progression: Images of Biological Processes in the Voice of a Pathologist Cancer Expert

e-Scientific Publishing: The Competitive Advantage of a Powerhouse for Curation of Scientific Findings and Methodology Development for e-Scientific Publishing – LPBI Group, A Case in Point 

Electronic Scientific AGORA: Comment Exchanges by Global Scientists on Articles published in the Open Access Journal @pharmaceuticalintelligence.com – Four Case Studies

 

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