Cancer immunotherapies are recently gaining attention as viable therapeutic options. There are two types of immunotherapy:passive and active. The passive immunotherapies include several treatments such as monoclonal antibodies,either alone or as antibody-drug conjugates. The active immunotherapies include cancer vaccines which utilize the patient′s own cells as antigen presenting cells and target specific cancer antigens,and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell(CAR-T)therapy which engineers a patient′s T-cells to recognize cancer antigens through chimeric antigen receptors. Recent successes include the US FDA approval of a number of cancer immunotherapies such as treatments utilizing monoclonal antibodies against immune checkpoint inhibitors,the Provenge cancer vaccine that targets prostrate cancer,and a CAR-T against relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia that was designated with breakthrough drug status,all of which has had drug companies investigating cancer immunotherapies with intense enthusiasm. In this review we discuss where the field of immune-oncology stands today,highlight the latest findings and hypothesize future directions.

Schistosoma haematobium is one of the most prevalent parasitic flatworms, infecting over 112 million people in Africa. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of natural S. haematobium populations from the human host because of the inaccessible location of adult worms in the host. We used 4 microsatellite loci to genotype individually pooled S. haematobium eggs directly from each patient sampled at 4 endemic locations in Africa. We found that the average allele number of individuals from Mali was significantly higher than that from Nigeria. In addition, no significant difference in allelic composition was detected among the populations within Nigeria; however, the allelic composition was significantly different between Mali and Nigeria populations. This study demonstrated a high level of genetic variability of S. haematobium in the populations from Mali and Nigeria, the 2 major African endemic countries, suggesting that geographical population differentiation may occur in the regions.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Child ; Female ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Mali ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Nigeria ; Schistosoma haematobium/*classification/*genetics/isolation & purification ; Schistosomiasis haematobia/*parasitology

Schistosoma haematobium is one of the most prevalent parasitic flatworms, infecting over 112 million people in Africa. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of natural S. haematobium populations from the human host because of the inaccessible location of adult worms in the host. We used 4 microsatellite loci to genotype individually pooled S. haematobium eggs directly from each patient sampled at 4 endemic locations in Africa. We found that the average allele number of individuals from Mali was significantly higher than that from Nigeria. In addition, no significant difference in allelic composition was detected among the populations within Nigeria; however, the allelic composition was significantly different between Mali and Nigeria populations. This study demonstrated a high level of genetic variability of S. haematobium in the populations from Mali and Nigeria, the 2 major African endemic countries, suggesting that geographical population differentiation may occur in the regions.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Child ; Female ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Mali ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Nigeria ; Schistosoma haematobium/*classification/*genetics/isolation & purification ; Schistosomiasis haematobia/*parasitology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the expression pattern of PH20 in primary and metastatic breast cancer and its relationship to tumor metastatic potential.

METHODSAnti-PH20 antibody was synthesized by injection of conjugated human PH20 peptides into rabbits. Immunohistochemical study was performed on 53 cases of human breast cancer. Western blot was used to detect PH20 expression in 5 cases of breast cancer with available fresh tissue. Two oligonucleotide probes were prepared for in-situ hybridization using breast tissue microarray.

RESULTSNormal breast tissue did not express PH20 (0/3), while 58.4% (31/53) of breast cancer cases did. The highest expression rate was found in metastatic foci in regional lymph nodes (83.3%), followed by primary breast cancer tissue in cases with lymph node secondaries (70.8%). The breast cancer cases with no any metastasis had an expression rate of 48.2%. The immunohistochemical staining results were further confirmed by Western blotting. In-situ hybridization showed PH20 RNA in 75% of the breast cancer tissue (21/28). Two of the 17 cases of normal breast tissue showed weak expression in some ductolobular units.

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of PH20 has a positive correlation with metastatic potential in breast cancer. It is possible that PH20 may play an important role in the invasive growth and metastasis of breast cancer cells, via mechanisms such as digestion of surrounding stromal tissue and release of FGF-2.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Animals ; Breast ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronoglucosaminidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Rabbits

AIMTo further uncover the possible mechanism of quercetin-mediated inhibitory effect on prostate cancer cells.

METHODSThe cell extracts treated with quercetin or without treatment were used for checking protein expression levels of c-Jun and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)-binding protein (CBP) by Western blotting assay. Regulatory effects of c-Jun and CBP on the function of androgen receptor (AR) were examined by cotransfection experiment. Finally, a physical interaction of c-Jun and the AR was investigated by coimmunoprecipitation.

RESULTSQuercetin dramatically induced the protein expression of c-Jun which in turn inhibited the AR function. Meanwhile, quercetin had no detectable effect on CBP expression, and the results of transient transfection demonstrated that the ectopic CBP stimulated the transcriptional activity of AR, whereas CBP-mediated stimulation could be attenuated by quercetin. Furthermore, physical interaction of c-Jun and the AR was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation result.

CONCLUSIONOverexpression of c-Jun induced by quercetin had inhibitory effect on the function of AR protein, and increased CBP expression did not reverse the inhibition by quercetin. Together, quercetin-mediated inhibition on the AR function might be not by competition with limited amount of CBP in the cell, but through a direct association of c-Jun and the AR.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; CREB-Binding Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Immunoprecipitation ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Protein Binding ; drug effects ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Quercetin ; pharmacology ; Receptors, Androgen ; genetics ; physiology ; Transfection

Gliosarcoma (GS) is a rare variant (2%) of glioblastoma (GBM) that poses clinical genomic challenges because of its poor prognosis and limited genomic information. To gain a comprehensive view of the genomic alterations in GS and to understand the molecular etiology of GS, we applied whole-exome sequencing analyses for 28 GS cases (6 blood-matched fresh-frozen tissues for the discovery set, 22 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues for the validation set) and copy-number variation microarrays for 5 blood-matched fresh-frozen tissues. TP53 mutations were more prevalent in the GS cases (20/28, 70%) compared to the GBM cases (29/90, 32%), and the GS patients with TP53 mutations showed a significantly shorter survival (multivariate Cox analysis, hazard ratio=23.9, 95% confidence interval, 2.87–199.63, P=0.003). A pathway analysis showed recurrent alterations in MAPK signaling (EGFR, RASGRF2 and TP53), phosphatidylinositol/calcium signaling (CACNA1s, PLCs and ITPRs) and focal adhesion/tight junction (PTEN and PAK3) pathways. Genomic profiling of the matched recurrent GS cases detected the occurrence of TP53 mutations in two recurrent GS cases, which suggests that TP53 mutations play a role in treatment resistance. Functionally, we found that TP53 mutations are associated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of sarcomatous components of GS. We provide the first comprehensive genome-wide genetic alternation profiling of GS, which suggests novel prognostic subgroups in GS patients based on their TP53 mutation status and provides new insight in the pathogenesis and targeted treatment of GS.
Glioblastoma ; Gliosarcoma* ; Humans ; Prevalence* ; Prognosis

Multidrug resistance (MDR), defined as the resistance of cancer cells to compounds with diverse structures and mechanisms of actions, significantly limits the efficacy of antitumor drugs. A major mechanism that mediates MDR in cancer is the overexpression of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporters. These transporters bind to their respective substrates and catalyze their efflux from cancer cells, thereby lowering the intracellular concentrations of the substrates and thus attenuating or even abolishing their efficacy. In addition, cancer cells can become resistant to drugs via mechanisms that attenuate apoptosis and cell cycle arrest such as alterations in the p53, check point kinase, nuclear factor kappa B, and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which β-elemene, a compound extracted from Rhizoma zedoariae that has clinical antitumor efficacy, overcomes drug resistance in cancer.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Apoptosis ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; Pinellia ; Sesquiterpenes

Background: and Purpose The association of dyslipidemia with stroke has been inconsistent, which may be due to differing associations within etiological stroke subtypes. We sought to determine the association of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins within stroke subtypes. Methods: Standardized incident case-control STROKE study in 32 countries. Cases were patients with acute hospitalized first stroke, and matched by age, sex and site to controls. Concentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), and apoB were measured. Non-HDL-C was calculated. We estimated multivariable odds ratio (OR) and population attributable risk percentage (PAR%). Outcome measures were all stroke, ischemic stroke (and subtypes), and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Results: Our analysis included 11,898 matched case-control pairs; 77.3% with ischemic stroke and 22.7% with ICH. Increasing apoB (OR, 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.14 per standard deviation [SD]) and LDL-C (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10 per SD) were associated with an increase in risk of ischemic stroke, but a reduced risk of ICH. Increased apoB was significantly associated with large vessel stroke (PAR 13.4%; 95% CI, 5.6 to 28.4) and stroke of undetermined cause. Higher HDL-C (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.78 per SD) and apoA1 (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.66 per SD) were associated with ischemic stroke (and subtypes). While increasing HDL-C was associated with an increased risk of ICH (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.27 per SD), apoA1 was associated with a reduced risk (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.85 per SD). ApoB/A1 (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.32 to 1.44 per SD) had a stronger magnitude of association than the ratio of LDL-C/HDL-C (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.21 to 1.31 per SD) with ischemic stroke (P<0.0001). Conclusions The pattern and magnitude of association of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins with stroke varies by etiological stroke subtype. While the directions of association for LDL, HDL, and apoB were opposing for ischemic stroke and ICH, apoA1 was associated with a reduction in both ischemic stroke and ICH. The ratio of apoB/A1 was the best lipid predictor of ischemic stroke risk.

The recent discovery of activator compounds binding to an allosteric site on the NAD

Dbait is a small double-stranded DNA molecule that has been utilized as a radiosensitizer to enhance the sensitivity of glioma to radiotherapy (RT). However, there is no effective drug delivery system to effectively overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The aim of this study was to develop a gene delivery system by using the BBB and glioma dual-targeting and microenvironment-responsive micelles (ch-K(s-s)R8-An) to deliver Dbait into glioma for RT. Angiopep-2 can target the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) that is overexpressed on brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) and glioma cells. In particular, due to upregulated matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in the tumor microenvironment, we utilized MMP-2-responsive peptides as the enzymatically degradable linkers to conjugate angiopep-2. The results showed that ch-K(s-s)R8-An micelles maintained a reasonable size (80-160 nm) with a moderate distribution and a decreased mean diameter from the cross-linking as well as exhibited low critical micelle concentration (CMC) with positive surface charge, ranging from 15 to 40 mV. The ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/pEGFP showed high gene transfection efficiency , improved uptake in glioma cells and good biocompatibility and . In addition, the combination of ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/Dbait with RT significantly inhibited the growth of U251 cells . Thus, ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/Dbait may prove to be a promising gene delivery system to target glioma and enhance the efficacy of RT on U251 cells.