The present study explored the main active ingredients and the underlying mechanism of Linderae Radix the treatment of gastric cancer by network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro cell experiments. TCMSP, OMIM and GeneCards database were used to obtain the active ingredients of Linderae Radix to predict the related targets of both Linderae Radix and gastric cancer. After screening the common potential action targets, the STRING database was used to construct the PPI network for protein interaction of the two common targets. Enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG by DAVID database. Based on STRING and DAVID platform data, Cytoscape software was used to construct an "active ingredient-target" network and an "active ingredient-target-pathway" network. Molecular docking was performed using the AutoDock Vina to predict the binding of the active components to the key action targets, and finally the key targets and pathways were verified in vitro. According to the prediction results, there were 9 active components, 179 related targets of Radix Linderae, 107 common targets of Linderae Radix and gastric cancer, 693 biological processes, 57 cell compositions, and 129 molecular functions involved in the targets, and 161 signaling pathways involved in tumor antigen p53, hypoxia-indu-cible factor 1, etc. Molecular docking results showed that the core component, jimadone, had high binding activity with TP53. Finally, in an in vitro experiment, the screened radix linderae active ingredient gemmadone is used for preliminarily verifying the core targets and pathways of the human gastric cancer cell SGC-7901, The results showed that germacrone could significantly inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and induce the apoptosis of SGC-7901 by regulating the expression of p53, Bax, Bcl-2 and other key proteins. In summary, Radix Linderae can control the occurrence and development of gastric cancer through multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways, which will provide theoretical basis for further clinical discussion on the mechanism of Radix Linderae in treating gastric cancer.
Antigens, Neoplasm ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Lindera/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Network Pharmacology ; Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein

Immune-based therapies have experienced a pronounced breakthrough in the past decades as they acquired multiple US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for various indications. To date, six chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies have been permitted for the treatment of certain patients with relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies. However, several clinical trials of solid tumor CAR-T therapies were prematurely terminated, or they reported life-threatening treatment-related damages to healthy tissues. The simultaneous expression of target antigens by healthy organs and tumor cells is partly responsible for such toxicities. Alongside targeting tumor-specific antigens, targeting the aberrantly glycosylated glycoforms of tumor-associated antigens can also minimize the off-tumor effects of CAR-T therapies. Tn, T, and sialyl-Tn antigens have been reported to be involved in tumor progression and metastasis, and their expression results from the dysregulation of a series of glycosyltransferases and the endoplasmic reticulum protein chaperone, Cosmc. Moreover, these glycoforms have been associated with various types of cancers, including prostate, breast, colon, gastric, and lung cancers. Here, we discuss how underglycosylated antigens emerge and then detail the latest advances in the development of CAR-T-based immunotherapies that target some of such antigens.
Antigens, Neoplasm/chemistry* ; Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism* ; Glycosylation ; Hematologic Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods* ; Male ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/metabolism* ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; T-Lymphocytes ; United States

To examine the expressions of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), vimentin and N-cadherin in breast cancer and its molecular subtypes, and to explore the correlation among them.
 Methods: The expressions of EpCAM, vimentin and N-cadherin were detected by immunohistochemistry in 835 patients with breast cancer, and their correlations with clinical pathological features and prognosis were analyzed.
 Results: The expression rates of EpCAM, vimentin and N-cadherin in the patients were 53.4%, 11.4% and 9.7% respectively, which were increased with the increase in tumor size, histological grade, lymph node size, tumor node stage of metastases classification, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor levels (all P<0.05). The positive expression rates for EpCAM protein in luminal A, luminal B (HER2-), luminal B (HER2+), HER2 overexpression and triple-negative subtypes were 19.2%, 73.0%, 48.9%, 72.2%, and 62.1% respectively; for vimentin were 3.9%, 11.4%, 14.1%, 11.1%, and 20.5% respectively; for N-cadherin were 7.0%, 5.7%, 12.0%, 12.2% and 17.4% respectively, with statistical difference (all P<0.05). EpCAM expression was positively correlated with vimentin and N-cadherin in patients with breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.
 Conclusion: EpCAM is overexpressed in triple-negative subtype of breast cancer and it is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers, which might be related to breast cancer progression and metastasis.
Antigens, CD ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; Breast Neoplasms ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; Cadherins ; Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; Receptors, Estrogen ; Receptors, Progesterone ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms ; Vimentin

Gliomas are extremely aggressive brain tumors with a very poor prognosis. One of the more promising strategies for the treatment of human gliomas is targeted immunotherapy where antigens that are unique to the tumors are exploited to generate vaccines. The approach, however, is complicated by the fact that human gliomas escape immune surveillance by creating an immune suppressed microenvironment. In order to oppose the glioma imposed immune suppression, molecules and pathways involved in immune cell maturation, expansion, and migration are under intensive clinical investigation as adjuvant therapy. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) mediate many of these functions in immune cell types, and TLR agonists, thus, are currently primary candidate molecules to be used as important adjuvants in a variety of cancers. In animal models for glioma, TLR agonists have exhibited antitumor properties by facilitating antigen presentation and stimulating innate and adaptive immunity. In clinical trials, several TLR agonists have achieved survival benefit, and many more trials are recruiting or ongoing. However, a second complicating factor is that TLRs are also expressed on cancer cells where they can participate instead in a variety of tumor promoting activities including cell growth, proliferation, invasion, migration, and even stem cell maintenance. TLR agonists can, therefore, possibly play dual roles in tumor biology. Here, how TLRs and TLR agonists function in glioma biology and in anti-glioma therapies is summarized in an effort to provide a current picture of the sophisticated relationship of glioma with the immune system and the implications for immunotherapy.
Animals ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; chemistry ; immunology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Brain Neoplasms ; genetics ; immunology ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; immunology ; Glioma ; genetics ; immunology ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; Signal Transduction ; Toll-Like Receptors ; agonists ; genetics ; immunology

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is a tumor associated protein which is able to be a potent anticancer target, since it is highly expressed in a multitude of carcinomas, while it is present in a limited number of normal tissues. This review focuses on its role in tumor physiology, the most recent three dimensional structure features of this enzyme which has recently been elucidated. In addition, we present recent advances in the development of small inhibitors able to target CA IX for therapeutic applications.
Antigens, Neoplasm ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Carbonic Anhydrase IX ; Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Carbonic Anhydrases ; metabolism ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; enzymology

Animals ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; chemistry ; immunology ; Cancer Vaccines ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Cell Line, Tumor ; CpG Islands ; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; metabolism ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lactic Acid ; chemistry ; Leukemia ; immunology ; therapy ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; Nanoparticles ; chemistry ; Peptides ; chemistry ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Polyglycolic Acid ; chemistry ; Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer ; WT1 Proteins ; chemistry ; immunology

No abstract available.
Adult ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/administration & dosage ; Antigens, CD34/metabolism ; Antigens, CD56/metabolism ; Antigens, Neoplasm/metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism/*pathology/therapy ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/metabolism ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Doxorubicin/administration & dosage ; Ethiodized Oil/chemistry ; Hepatitis B/diagnosis ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms/*pathology/therapy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo provide guidance for clinical genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) in China.

METHODSPCR and automatic DNA sequencing were applied to obtain the genotypes of the patients and their parents in three Chinese albinism families. Prenatal gene diagnoses were performed at early pregnancy by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or by amniocentesis at mid-pregnancy.

RESULTSThe three patients were all OCA4, whose genotypes were G349R/c.870delC, G349R/P419L and G349R/D160H, respectively. The three couples had been diagnosed as carriers. In family 1, the first fetus was diagnosed as affected. Termination of pregnancy was opted following genetic counseling. The second fetus (monozygotic twin) was heterozygous only with the paternal G349R mutation. The fetus in family 2 did not get either one of the two mutations. The fetus in family 3 was heterozygous only with the paternal G349R mutation.

CONCLUSIONThis study detected three reported pathogenic mutations of the membrane associated transporter protein gene (MATP), including G349R, D160H and P419L, and identified a novel pathogenic mutation c.870delC. The prenatal gene diagnosis of OCA4 will be important to prevent the birth of affected child.

Albinism, Oculocutaneous ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; chemistry ; genetics ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Recent studies reported that thymoquinone (TQ), a component derived from the medicinal spice Nigella sativa (also called black cumin), exhibited inhibitory effects on cell proliferation of many cancer cell lines. This study was performed to investigate the anti-metastatic effect of thymoquinone on the pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that thymoquinone suppressed the migration and invasion of Panc-1 cells in a does-dependent manner. To investigate the possible mechanisms involved in these events, Western blotting analysis was performed, and found that thymoquinone significantly down-regulates NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in Panc-1 cells. In addition, metastatic model simulating human pancreatic cancer was established by orthotropic implantation of histologically intact pancreatic tumor tissue into the pancreatic wall of nude mice. And administration of thymoquinone significantly reduced tumor metastasis compared to untreated control. Furthermore, the expression of NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in tumor tissues was also suppressed after treatment with thymoquinone. Taken together, the results indicate that thymoquinone exerts anti-metastatic activity on pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo, which may be related to down-regulation of NF-kappaB and its regulated molecules such as MMP-9 protein. Consequently, these results provide important insights into thymoquinone as an antimetastatic agent for the treatment of human pancreatic cancer.
Animals ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Benzoquinones ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Nigella sativa ; chemistry ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEAs a prospective vaccine carrier, nanoparticles can protect antigens from degradation and enhance immune response. This study prepared nanovaccines with MAGE-3-derived CD4+-CD8+T cell epitope peptides, and investigated its character and antitumor effects on transplanted gastric cancer in mice.

METHODSWe adopted the self-assembly method to prepare peptide/chitosan conjugated with deoxycholic acid (chitosan-deoxycholic acid) nanoparticles. We observed the appearance of the chitosan-deoxycholic acidnanoparticles through a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and analyzed the peptide content and its release pattern by fluorescence spectrophotometry. We observed tumor-suppression efficacy in vivo through animal experiments.

RESULTSWe successfully prepared nanoparticles with MAGE-3 peptide antigen, and its encapsulation efficiency and loading level were about 37% and 17.0%, respectively. These nanoparticles presented a delayed release pattern in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at pH 7.4, and the full release time was about 48 h. In 2 mg/mL lysozyme, the nanoparticles showed a sudden release, and the full release time was about 24 h. ELISPOT and cytotoxic experiments showed that the MAGE-3 peptide loaded nanoparticles could stimulate immune response in vivo and could generate MAGE-3-targeted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and kill MAGE-3-specific tumor cells. Tumor suppression experiments showed that the regression ratio of the peptide-loaded nanoparticles group was 37.81%.

CONCLUSIONSMAGE-3 peptide/chitosan-deoxycholic acidvaccine-loaded nanoparticles can stimulate antitumor immune response in vivo and can regress the growth of mouse forestomach carcinoma cell line MFC.

Animals ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; chemistry ; immunology ; Cancer Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Chitosan ; chemistry ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Deoxycholic Acid ; chemistry ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte ; immunology ; Male ; Mice ; Nanoparticles ; Neoplasm Proteins ; chemistry ; immunology ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology ; Tumor Burden