Circulating microRNA-197-3p as a potential biomarker for asbestos exposure

Asbestos is considered the main cause of diseases in workers exposed to this mineral in the workplace as well as an environmental pollutant. The association between asbestos and the onset of different diseases has been reported, but asbestos exposure specific biomarkers are not known. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-strand, non-coding RNAs, with potential value as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive markers in liquid biopsies. Sera collected from workers ex-exposed to asbestos (WEA) fibers were compared with sera from healthy subjects (HS) of similar age, as liquid biopsies. The expression of the circulating miRNA 197-3p was investigated employing two different highly analytical PCR methods, i.e. RT-PCR and dd-PCR. MiR-197-3p levels were tested in sera from WEA compared to HS. MiR-197-3p tested dysregulated in sera from WEA (n=75) compared to HS (n=62). Indeed, miR-197-3p was found to be 2.6 times down-regulated in WEA vs. HS (p=0.0001***). In addition, an inverse correlation was detected between miR-197-3p expression level and cumulative asbestos exposure, being this miRNA down-regulated 2.1 times in WEA, with high cumulative asbestos exposure, compared to WEA with low exposure (p=0.0303*). Circulating miR-197-3p, found to be down regulated in sera from WEA, is proposed as a new potential biomarker of asbestos exposure.

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Circulating microRNA-197-3p as a potential biomarker for asbestos exposure

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-03189-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Frontini ◽

Ilaria Bononi ◽

Elena Torreggiani ◽

Giulia Di Mauro ◽

Elisa Mazzoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Asbestos Exposure ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Environmental Pollutant ◽

Circulating Microrna ◽

Liquid Biopsies ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Non Coding Rnas ◽

Low Exposure ◽

Prognostic And Predictive Markers

AbstractAsbestos is considered the main cause of diseases in workers exposed to this mineral in the workplace as well as an environmental pollutant. The association between asbestos and the onset of different diseases has been reported, but asbestos exposure specific biomarkers are not known. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-strand, non-coding RNAs, with potential value as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive markers in liquid biopsies. Sera collected from workers ex-exposed to asbestos (WEA) fibers were compared with sera from healthy subjects (HS) of similar age, as liquid biopsies. The expression of the circulating miRNA 197-3p was investigated employing two different highly analytical PCR methods, i.e. RT-qPCR and ddPCR. MiR-197-3p levels were tested in sera from WEA compared to HS. MiR-197-3p tested dysregulated in sera from WEA (n = 75) compared to HS (n = 62). Indeed, miR-197-3p was found to be 2.6 times down-regulated in WEA vs. HS (p = 0.0001***). In addition, an inverse correlation was detected between miR-197-3p expression level and cumulative asbestos exposure, being this miRNA down-regulated 2.1 times in WEA, with high cumulative asbestos exposure, compared to WEA with low exposure (p = 0.0303*). Circulating miR-197-3p, found to be down regulated in sera from WEA, is proposed as a new potential biomarker of asbestos exposure.

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Three Circulating Long Non-Coding RNAs Act as Biomarkers for Predicting NSCLC

Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1159/000430226 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 1002-1009 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Qingfeng Tang ◽

Zhenhua Ni ◽

Zhuoan Cheng ◽

Jianhua Xu ◽

Hui Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Predictive Value ◽

Tumor Biology ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Small Cell Lung ◽

Freezing And Thawing ◽

Detection Analysis ◽

Multi Stage ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Non Coding Rnas

Background/Aims: Circulating long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged recently as major players in tumor biology and may be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and as potential therapeutic targets. We explored circulating lncRNA as a predictor for the tumorigenesis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: In this study, we applied a lncRNA microarray to screen for a potential biomarker for NSCLC, utilizing RT-PCR (ABI 7900HT). A multi-stage validation and risk score formula detection analysis was used. Results: We discovered that three lncRNAs (RP11-397D12.4, AC007403.1, and ERICH1-AS1) were up regulated in NSCLC, compared with cancer-free controls, with the merged area under the curve in the training and validation sets of 0.986 and 0.861. Furthermore, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the three merged factors were 0.72 and 0.87. We confirmed stable detection of the three lncRNAs by three cycles of freezing and thawing. Conclusions: RP11-397D12.4, AC007403.1, and ERICH1-AS1 may be potential biomarkers for predicting the tumorigenesis of NSCLC in the future.

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Colonisation of the colonic mucus gel layer with butyrogenic and hydrogenotropic bacteria in health and ulcerative colitis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86166-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Helen Earley ◽

Grainne Lennon ◽

J. Calvin Coffey ◽

Desmond C. Winter ◽

P. Ronan O’Connell

Keyword(s):

Ulcerative Colitis ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Primary Energy ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Mucosal Integrity ◽

Gel Layer ◽

Active Colitis ◽

Mucus Gel ◽

By Products ◽

Total Bacteria

AbstractButyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes and is essential for mucosal integrity and repair. Butyrate deficiency as a result of colonic dysbiosis is a putative factor in ulcerative colitis (UC). Commensal microbes are butyrogenic, while others may inhibit butyrate, through hydrogenotropic activity. The aim of this study was to quantify butyrogenic and hydrogenotropic species and determine their relationship with inflammation within the colonic mucus gel layer (MGL). Mucosal brushings were obtained from 20 healthy controls (HC), 20 patients with active colitis (AC) and 14 with quiescent colitis (QUC). Abundance of each species was determined by RT-PCR. Inflammatory scores were available for each patient. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann–Whitney-U and Kruskall-Wallis tests. Butyrogenic R. hominis was more abundant in health than UC (p < 0.005), prior to normalisation against total bacteria. Hydrogenotropic B. wadsworthia was reduced in AC compared to HC and QUC (p < 0.005). An inverse correlation existed between inflammation and R. hominis (ρ − 0.460, p < 0.005) and B. wadsworthia (ρ − 0.646, p < 0.005). Other hydrogenotropic species did not widely colonise the MGL. These data support a role for butyrogenic bacteria in UC. Butyrate deficiency in UC may be related to reduced microbial production, rather than inhibition by microbial by-products.

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Circulating Cell-Free DNA in Liquid Biopsies as Potential Biomarker for Bladder Cancer: A Review

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13061448 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1448

Author(s):

Raquel Herranz ◽

Julia Oto ◽

Emma Plana ◽

Álvaro Fernández-Pardo ◽

Fernando Cana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bladder Cancer ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Predictive Biomarkers ◽

Liquid Biopsies ◽

Cell Free Dna ◽

Specific Patient ◽

Free Dna ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Cancer Types

Bladder cancer (BC) is among the most frequent cancer types in the world and is the most lethal urological malignancy. Presently, diagnostic and follow-up methods for BC are expensive and invasive. Thus, the identification of novel predictive biomarkers for diagnosis, progression, and prognosis of BC is of paramount importance. To date, several studies have evidenced that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) found in liquid biopsies such as blood and urine may play a role in the particular scenario of urologic tumors, and its analysis may improve BC diagnosis report about cancer progression or even evaluate the effectiveness of a specific treatment or anticipate whether a treatment would be useful for a specific patient depending on the tumor characteristics. In the present review, we have summarized the up-to-date studies evaluating the value of cfDNA as potential diagnostic, prognostic, or monitoring biomarker for BC in several biofluids.

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Rationale for Early Detection of EWSR1 Translocation-Associated Sarcoma Biomarkers in Liquid Biopsy

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13040824 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 824

Author(s):

Felix I. L. Clanchy

Keyword(s):

Early Detection ◽

Liquid Biopsy ◽

Residual Disease ◽

Surgical Excision ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Liquid Biopsies ◽

Societal Burden ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Mesenchymal Tumours

Sarcomas are mesenchymal tumours that often arise and develop as a result of chromosomal translocations, and for several forms of sarcoma the EWSR1 gene is a frequent translocation partner. Sarcomas are a rare form of malignancy, which arguably have a proportionally greater societal burden that their prevalence would suggest, as they are more common in young people, with survivors prone to lifelong disability. For most forms of sarcoma, histological diagnosis is confirmed by molecular techniques such as FISH or RT-PCR. Surveillance after surgical excision, or ablation by radiation or chemotherapy, has remained relatively unchanged for decades, but recent developments in molecular biology have accelerated the progress towards routine analysis of liquid biopsies of peripheral blood. The potential to detect evidence of residual disease or metastasis in the blood has been demonstrated by several groups but remains unrealized as a routine diagnostic for relapse during remission, for disease monitoring during treatment, and for the detection of occult, residual disease at the end of therapy. An update is provided on research relevant to the improvement of the early detection of relapse in sarcomas with EWSR1-associated translocations, in the contexts of biology, diagnosis, and liquid biopsy.

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Plasma Fibulin-3 as a Potential Biomarker for Patients with Asbestos-Related Diseases in the Han Population

Disease Markers ◽

10.1155/2017/1725354 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Zhaoqiang Jiang ◽

Shibo Ying ◽

Wei Shen ◽

Xianglei He ◽

Junqiang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Operating Characteristic ◽

Asbestos Exposure ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Control Group ◽

Early Screening ◽

Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves ◽

Chinese Populations ◽

Pleural Plaques ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Group A

Fibulin-3 has been reported as a potential biomarker for mesothelioma. However, little is known about the diagnostic efficacies of fibulin-3 for asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) in China. This study was to investigate the utility of fibulin-3 for asbestos exposure and ARDs. A total of 430 subjects were recruited from Southeast China, including healthy individuals, asbestos-exposed (AE) individuals, and patients with pleural plaques (PP), asbestosis, and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Plasma fibulin-3 was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Linear regression analyses were applied to explore the influencing factors of fibulin-3. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the cutoff values. The median fibulin-3 level of subjects in the mesothelioma group was higher than that in other groups. Subjects in the asbestosis group had higher median fibulin-3 level than those in the control group. A higher fibulin-3 level was found in the group with ≥10 years of asbestos exposure as compared with control groups. The AUCs of fibulin-3 for distinguishing MPM subjects from control, AE, PP, and asbestosis subjects were 0.92, 0.88, 0.90, and 0.81, respectively. Our study provided evidence that fibulin-3 could be a potential biomarker for the early screening of MPM, but not of other nonmalignant ARDs in Chinese populations.

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Colonisation of the Colonic Mucus Gel Layer With Butyrogenic and Hydrogenotropic Bacteria in Health and Ulcerative Colitis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-115020/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Helen Earley ◽

Grainne Lennon ◽

Desmond Winter ◽

Calvin Coffey ◽

Ronan O'Connell

Keyword(s):

Ulcerative Colitis ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Primary Energy ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Mucosal Integrity ◽

Gel Layer ◽

Active Colitis ◽

Mucus Gel ◽

By Products

Abstract Butyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes and is essential for mucosal integrity and repair. Butyrate deficiency as a result of colonic dysbiosis is a putative factor in ulcerative colitis (UC). Commensal microbes are butyrogenic, while others have an inhibitory effect, through hydrogenotropic activity. The aim of this study was to quantify butyrogenic and hydrogenotropic species and determine their relationship with inflammation within the colonic mucus gel layer (MGL).Mucosal brushings were obtained from 20 patients with active colitis (AC), 20 healthy controls (HC) and 14 with quiescent colitis (QUC). Abundance of each species was determined by RT-PCR. Inflammatory scores were available for each patient. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney-U and Kruskall-Wallis tests.Butyrogenic R. hominis was more abundant in health than UC (p<0.005). Hydrogenotropic B. wadsworthia was reduced in AC compared to HC and QUC (p<0.005). An inverse correlation existed between inflammation and R. hominis (ρ -0.460, p >0.005) and B. wadsworthia (ρ -0.646, p >0.005). Other hydrogenotropic species did not widely colonise the MGL. These data support a role for butyrogenic and some species of hydrogenotropic bacteria in UC. Butyrate deficiency in UC may be related to reduced microbial production, rather than inhibition by microbial by-products.

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Inverse correlation between Interleukin-34 and gastric cancer, a potential biomarker for prognosis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-26741/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qinghua Liu ◽

Ying Zhang ◽

Jiwei Zhang ◽

Kun Tao ◽

Brett D Hambly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Prognostic Factor ◽

Early Diagnosis ◽

Precision Medicine ◽

Cellular Therapy ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Independent Prognostic Factor ◽

Cancer Tissue ◽

High Morbidity ◽

Potential Biomarker

Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignancy with high morbidity/mortality, partly due to a lack of reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis. It is important to develop reliable biomarker(s) with specificity, sensitivity and convenience for early diagnosis. The role of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and survival of GC patients are controversial. Macrophage colony stimulating factor (MCSF) regulates monocytes/macrophages. Elevated MCSF is correlated with invasion, metastasis and poor survival of tumour patients. IL-34, a ligand of the MCSF receptor, acts as a “twin” to MCSF, demonstrating overlapping and complimentary actions. IL-34 involvement in tumours is controversial, possibly due to the levels of MCSF receptors. While the IL34/MCSF/MCSFR axis is very important for regulating macrophage differentiation, the specific interplay between these cytokines, macrophages and tumour development is unclear.Methods A multi-factorial evaluation could provide more objective utility, particularly for either prediction and/or prognosis of gastric cancer. Precision medicine requires molecular diagnosis to determine the specifically mutant function of tumours, and is becoming popular in the treatment of malignancy. Therefore, elucidating specific molecular signalling pathways in specific cancers facilitates the success of a precision medicine approach. Gastric cancer tissue arrays were generated from stomach samples with TNM stage, invasion depth and the demography of these patients (n = 185). Using immunohistochemistry/histopathology, MCSF, IL-34 and macrophages were determined.Results We found that IL-34 may serve as a predictive biomarker, but not as an independent, prognostic factor in GC; MCSF inversely correlated with survival of GC in TNM III‑IV subtypes. Increased CD68+TAMs were a good prognostic factor in some cases and could be used as an independent prognostic factor in male T3 stage GC.Conclusion Our data support the potency of IL-34, MCSF, TAMs and the combination of IL34/TAMs as novel biological markers for GC, and may provide new insight for both diagnosis and cellular therapy of GC.

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