Diagnostic Markers For Early Detection Research Articles

Validation of Altered Umbilical Cord Blood MicroRNA Expression in Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains a significant cause of neurologic disability. Identifying infants suitable for therapeutic hypothermia (TH) within a narrow therapeutic time is difficult. No single robust biochemical marker is available to clinicians. To assess the ability of a panel of candidate microRNA (miRNA) to evaluate the development and severity of encephalopathy following perinatal asphyxia (PA). This validation study included 2 cohorts. For the discovery cohort, full-term infants with PA were enrolled at birth to the Biomarkers in Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (BiHiVE1) study (2009-2011) in Cork, Ireland. Encephalopathy grade was defined using early electroencephalogram and Sarnat score (n = 68). The BiHiVE1 cohort also enrolled healthy control infants (n = 22). For the validation cohort, the BiHiVE2 multicenter study (2013-2015), based in Cork, Ireland (7500 live births per annum), and Karolinska Huddinge, Sweden (4400 live births per annum), recruited infants with PA along with healthy control infants to validate findings from BiHiVE1 using identical recruitment criteria (n = 80). The experimental design was formulated prior to recruitment, and analysis was conducted from June 2016 to March 2017. Alterations in umbilical cord whole-blood miRNA expression. From 170 neonates, 160 were included in the final analysis. The BiHiVE1 cohort included 87 infants (21 control infants, 39 infants with PA, and 27 infants with HIE), and BiHiVE2 included 73 infants (control [n = 22], PA [n = 26], and HIE [n = 25]). The BiHiVE1 and BiHiVE2 had a median age of 40 weeks (interquartile range [IQR], 39-41 weeks) and 40 weeks (IQR, 39-41 weeks), respectively, and included 56 boys and 31 girls and 45 boys and 28 girls, respectively. In BiHiVE1, 12 candidate miRNAs were identified, and 7 of these miRNAs were chosen for validation in BiHiVE2. The BiHiVE2 cohort showed consistent alteration of 3 miRNAs; miR-374a-5p was decreased in infants diagnosed as having HIE compared with healthy control infants (median relative quantification, 0.38; IQR, 0.17-0.77 vs 0.95; IQR, 0.68-1.19; P = .009), miR-376c-3p was decreased in infants with PA compared with healthy control infants (median, 0.42; IQR, 0.21-0.61 vs 0.90; IQR, 0.70-1.30; P = .004), and mir-181b-5p was decreased in infants eligible for TH (median, 0.27; IQR, 0.14-1.41) vs 1.18; IQR, 0.70-2.05; P = .02). Altered miRNA expression was detected in umbilical cord blood of neonates with PA and HIE. These miRNA could assist diagnostic markers for early detection of HIE and PA at birth.

Evaluation of Various Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Neonatal Sepsis

Evaluation of Various Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Neonatal Sepsis

Flavivirus NS1: a multifaceted enigmatic viral protein.

Flaviviruses are emerging arthropod-borne viruses representing an immense global health problem. The prominent viruses of this group include dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus tick borne encephalitis virus and Zika Virus. These are endemic in many parts of the world. They are responsible for the illness ranging from mild flu like symptoms to severe hemorrhagic, neurologic and cognitive manifestations leading to death. NS1 is a highly conserved non-structural protein among flaviviruses, which exist in diverse forms. The intracellular dimer form of NS1 plays role in genome replication, whereas, the secreted hexamer plays role in immune evasion. The secreted NS1 has been identified as a potential diagnostic marker for early detection of the infections caused by flaviviruses. In addition to the diagnostic marker, the importance of NS1 has been reported in the development of therapeutics. NS1 based subunit vaccines are at various stages of development. The structural details and diverse functions of NS1 have been discussed in detail in this review.

PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway proteins are differently expressed in oral carcinogenesis.

PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway is associated with several cellular functions and is frequently changed in several malignancies. The aim of this study was to characterize the immunohistochemical expression pattern of components in PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), comparing to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and non-dysplastic oral tissues (NDOT). A total of 186 cases of NDOT, OED and OSCC were retrieved. Nuclear staining and cytoplasmic staining of the keratinocytes were considered positive, and the percentage of positive cells was calculated. Increased immunoreactivity from NDOT to OED and OSCC was seen for all proteins. In NDOT cases, positivity was found only for pS6 (52.9%) and p4EBP1 (13.5%). In OED, immunoreactivity was observed for pAKT (62.2%), pmTOR (28.6%), pS6 (70.8%), and p4EBP1 (42.9%). In OSCC cases, immunoreactivity was found for pAKT (83.3%), pmTOR (50%), pS6 (77.4%), and p4EBP1 (50%). The pAKT and pmTOR expression was higher in OED (<0.001, Fisher's exact test) and OSCC (<0.001, Fisher's exact test). Our study demonstrated higher pAKT and pmTOR expression during carcinogenesis of oral mucosa, differing considerably among OED and OSCC specimens when compared to NDOT. These proteins can be considered potential diagnostic markers for early detection of cancer.

Exploring Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most common form of dementia occurring in elderly population worldwide. Currently Aβ42, tau and p-tau in the cerebrospinal fluid is estimated for confirmation of AD. CSF which is being used as the potent source for biomarker screening is obtained by invasive lumbar punctures. Thus, there is an urgent need of minimal invasive methods for identification of diagnostic markers for early detection of AD. Blood serum and plasma serves as an appropriate source, due to minimal discomfort to the patients, promoting frequent testing, better follow-up and better consent to clinical trials. Hence, the need of the hour demands discovery of diagnostic and prognostic patient specific signature biomarkers by using emerging technologies of mass spectrometry, microarrays and peptidomics. In this review we summarize the present scenario of AD biomarkers such as circulatory biomarkers, blood based amyloid markers, inflammatory markers and oxidative stress markers being investigated and also some of the potent biomarkers which might be able to predict early onset of Alzheimer's and delay cognitive impairment.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Mechanistic attributes of S100A7 (psoriasin) in resistance of anoikis resulting tumor progression in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity

BackgroundSquamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (SCCOC) is the dominant origin of cancer associated mortality. Previous findings by our study reported that acquisition of anoikis resistance has a significant role in tumor progression of oral cavity. Several genes were over-expressed in anoikis-resistant cells under detached conditions which we confirmed earlier by microarray. Normal oral squamous epithelia grow adherent to a basement membrane, and when detached from the extracellular matrix, undergoes programmed cell death. The acquisition of anoikis-resistance is crucial phenomena in oral tumor advancement. In the current study, we have identified S100A7 expression as contributing factor for anoikis resistance and tumorigenicity in human oral cancer cells. Further, we have explored that elevated S100A7 expression in anoikis-sensitive oral keratinocytes and cancer cells reshape them more resistant to anoikis and apoptosis inducers via activation of cellular intrinsic and extrinsic avenue.MethodsA subset of human cancer cell lines TU167, JMAR, JMARC39, JMARC42 and MDA-MB-468 were utilized for the generation of resistant stable cell lines. Further, immunohistochemistry, western blot and immunoprecipitation, assays of apoptosis, soft agar assay, orthotopic animal model and signaling elucidation were performed to establish our hypothesis.ResultsS100A7 gene is found to be responsible for anoikis resistance and tumorigenicity in human oral cancer cells. We have observed up-regulation of S100A7 in anoikis resistant cell lines, orthotropic model and patients samples with head and neck cancer. It is also noticed that secretion of S100A7 protein in conditioned medium by anoikis resistant head & neck cancer cell and in saliva of head and neck cancer patients. Up-regulation of S100A7 expression has triggered enhanced tumorigenicity and anchorage-independent growth of cancer cells through Akt phosphorylation leading to development of aniokis resistance in head and neck cancer cells.ConclusionsThese data have led us to conclude that S100A7 is the major contributing factor in mediating anoikis-resistance of oral cancer cells and local tumor progression, and S100A7 might be useful as diagnostic marker for early detection of primary and recurrent squamous cell cancer.

Can Glypican3 be Diagnostic for Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma among Egyptian Patients?

Because of the high prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Egypt, new markers with better diagnostic performance than alpha-feto protein (AFP) are needed to help in early diagnosis. The aim of this work was to compare the clinical utility of both serum and mRNA glypican3 (GPC3) as probable diagnostic markers for HCC among Egyptian patients. A total of 60 subjects, including 40 with HCC, 10 with cirrhosis and 10 normal controls were analyzed for serum GPC3 (sGPC3) by ELISA. GPC-3 mRNA from circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells was amplified by RT-PCR. Both markers were compared to some prognostic factors of HCC, and sensitivity of both techniques was compared. Serum glypican-3 and AFP were significantly higher in the HCC group compared to cirrhotic and normal controls (p<0.001). Sensitivity and specificity were (95% each) for sGlypican-3, (82.5% and 85%) for AFP, and (100% and 90%) for Glypican3 mRNA , and (80% and 95%) for double combination between sGPC3 and AFP respectively. Both serum GPC-3 and GPC-3mRNA are promising diagnostic markers for early detection of HCC in Egyptian patients. RT- PCR proved to be more sensitive (100%) than ELISA (95%) in detecting glypican3.

Abstract B38: Epigenetic effects of viral proteins on global levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in HBV- and HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in mice

Abstract Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) have both distinct and shared pathways to mediate development of virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It has been postulated that viral encoded proteins such as HCV polyprotein or HBV X protein (HBx) induce epigenetic changes that can lead to HCC during chronic infection. 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is a recently identified cytosine variant and an intermediate in enzyme-catalyzed active DNA demethylation. 5hmC is also considered a stable epigenetic mark during embryo development and tumorigenesis. Herein, we developed a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based approach to assess global genomic 5hmC levels in tissues using several transgenic (Tg) mouse models to determine epigenetic changes induced by HBV and HCV viral proteins and role in pathogenesis of HCC. A 2-to 3-fold reduction in genomic 5hmC was observed in liver samples from both Mdr2-knockout (Mdr2-KO) mice (a model of chronic inflammation-mediated HCC) and Mdr2-KO/HCV-Tg mice (a model carrying Mdr2-KO and HCV polyprotein). Interestingly, a similar fold reduction in 5hmC was detected in (Mdr2+/-)/HCV-Tg mice, which express HCV polyprotein, but do not develop HCC. In parallel, 5hmC levels were assessed in HBx-Tg mice with high-frequency of HCC. However, reduction of 5hmC was not detectable in liver samples from HBx-Tg mice as late as 14 months of age. These results suggest that HCV polyprotein may accelerate inflammation-associated hepato-carcinogenesis in the Mdr2-KO/HCV-Tg mice. Therefore, we speculate that the HCV proteins may directly induce deconstruction of genomic 5hmC to promote HCC development. In contrast, our results in HBx-Tg mice suggest that HBx may employ a different epigenetic mechanism on 5hmC from that of HCV polyprotein. Notably, a significant change in genomic 5hmC was observed early at the pre-cancerous stages of HCC development in Mdr2-KO mice. This finding implies that, during chronic inflammation, a precipitous drop in 5hmC emerges prior to tumor formation. Therefore, 5hmC may provide an important diagnostic marker for early detection of HCC in persons with HCV chronic infection. Citation Format: Yong Jiang, Ting Nie, James Kohler, Leda Bassit, Daniel Goldenberg, Mark Feitelson, Raymond F. Schinazi. Epigenetic effects of viral proteins on global levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in HBV- and HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Jun 19-22, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(13 Suppl):Abstract nr B38.

HtrA3 as an Early Marker for Preeclampsia: Specific Monoclonal Antibodies and Sensitive High-Throughput Assays for Serum Screening

Mammalian HtrA3 (high temperature requirement A3) is a serine protease of the HtrA family. It has two isoforms [long (HtrA3-L) and short (HtrA3-S)] and is important for placental development and cancer progression. Recently, HtrA3 was identified as a potential diagnostic marker for early detection of preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy-specific disorder. Currently there are no high-throughput assays available to detect HtrA3 in human serum. In this study we generated and fully tested a panel of five HtrA3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Three mAbs recognised both HtrA3-L and HtrA3-S and the other two detected HtrA3-L only. All five mAbs were highly specific to HtrA3 and applicable in western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis of endogenous HtrA3 proteins in the mouse and human tissues. Amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assays-linked immunosorbent assays (AlphaLISAs), were developed to detect HtrA3 isoforms in picomolar levels in serum. The HtrA3 AlphaLISA detected significantly higher serum levels of HtrA3 in women at 13–14 weeks of gestation who subsequently developed preeclampsia compared to gestational-age matched controls. These HtrA3 mAbs are valuable for the development of immunoassays and characterisation of HtrA3 isoform-specific biology. The newly developed HtrA3 AlphaLISA assays are suitable for large scale screening of human serum.

An oral cancer biobank initiative: a platform for multidisciplinary research in a developing country

Identification of diagnostic markers for early detection and development of novel and therapeutic agents for effective patient management are the main motivation for cancer research. Biological specimens from large cohort and case-control studies which are crucial in providing successful research outcomes are often the limiting factor that hinders research efforts, especially in developing countries. Therefore, the Malaysian Oral Cancer Database and Tissue Bank System (MOCDTBS) were established to systematically collect large number of samples with comprehensive sociodemographic, clinicopathological, management strategies, quality of life and associated patient follow-up data to facilitate oral cancer research in Malaysia. The MOCDTBS also promotes sharing among researchers and the development of a multidisciplinary research team. The following article aims to describe the process of setting-up and managing the MOCDTBS.

Loss of RKIP expression during the carcinogenic evolution of endometrial cancer

AimsEndometrial cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide, but there is a lack of diagnostic markers for early detection of these tumours. The raf kinase inhibitory...

Identification of Cytokeratin 18 as a Biomarker of Mouse and Human Hepatosplenic Schistosomiasis

Previously, we demonstrated unique protein expression patterns in 20-week-Schistosoma mansoni-infected CBA/J mice with moderate splenomegaly syndrome (MSS) or hypersplemomegaly syndrome (HSS). To better understand the development of severe pathology, we compared the two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) proteomic signatures of livers from uninfected mice and mice infected for 6, 8, 12, or 20 weeks and found significant changes in collagen isoforms, interleukin-2 (IL-2), cytokeratin 18, hydroxyproline, S. mansoni phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, major urinary protein isoforms, and peroxiredoxin 6. Cytokeratin 18, hydroxyproline, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were chosen for analysis in mouse and human sera using targeted biochemical assays. Consistent with the liver analysis, cytokeratin 18, CTGF, and hydroxyproline were significantly elevated in sera from mice with HSS compared to those from uninfected mice or mice with MSS. Moreover, cytokeratin 18 and CTGF were found to be markers for subjects with hepatosplenic and intestinal schistosomiasis, respectively, while serum hydroxyproline was a strong indicator of fibrosis for severe HS. These findings indicate that schistosome-associated changes to the liver can be detected in the serum and reveal the potential for cytokeratin 18 to be used as a diagnostic marker for early detection of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis.

Cancer/Testis Antigen CAGE Exerts Negative Regulation on p53 Expression through HDAC2 and Confers Resistance to Anti-cancer Drugs

The role of the cancer/testis antigen CAGE in drug resistance was investigated. The drug-resistant human melanoma Malme3M (Malme3M(R)) and the human hepatic cancer cell line SNU387 (SNU387(R)) showed in vivo drug resistance and CAGE induction. Induction of CAGE resulted from decreased expression and thereby displacement of DNA methyltransferase 1(DNMT1) from CAGE promoter sequences. Various drugs induce expression of CAGE by decreasing expression of DNMT1, and hypomethylation of CAGE was correlated with the increased expression of CAGE. Down-regulation of CAGE in these cell lines decreased invasion and enhanced drug sensitivity resulting from increased apoptosis. Down-regulation of CAGE also led to decreased anchorage-independent growth. Down-regulation of CAGE led to increased expression of p53, suggesting that CAGE may act as a negative regulator of p53. Down-regulation of p53 enhanced resistance to drugs and prevented drugs from exerting apoptotic effects. In SNU387(R) cells, CAGE induced the interaction between histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and Snail, which exerted a negative effect on p53 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that CAGE, through interaction with HDAC2, exerted a negative effect on p53 expression in Malme3M(R) cells. These results suggest that CAGE confers drug resistance by regulating expression of p53 through HDAC2. Taken together, these results show the potential value of CAGE as a target for the development of cancer therapeutics.

Correction: Article on Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

In the article on diagnostic markers for early detection of ovarian cancer in the February 15, 2008, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the authors indicated that the novel blood test described has a PPV for the general population above the suggested 0.10 necessary to be used as a screening test. However, data were not provided to support this claim. The PPV of this test for the general population is 6.5%, or 0.065. Therefore, it was incorrect to suggest that this test may be used for screening the general population, and the authors do not support the use of this test for screening the general population.Visintin I, Feng Z, Longton G, Ward DC, Alvero AB, Lai Y, Tenthorey J, Leiser A, Flores-Saaib R, Yu H, Azori M, Rutherford T, Schwartz PE, Mor G. Diagnostic markers for early detection of ovarian cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2008;14:1065–72.

Correction: Article on Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Correction: Article on Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Correction: Article on Diagnostic Markers for Ovarian Cancer

In the article on diagnostic markers for early detection of ovarian cancer in the February 15, 2008 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, Table 2 was incorrect. The correct table appears here.Visintin I, Feng Z, Longton G, et al. Diagnostic markers for early Detection of ovarian cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2008;14:1065-72.

Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Early detection would significantly decrease the mortality rate of ovarian cancer. In this study, we characterize and validate the combination of six serum biomarkers that discriminate between disease-free and ovarian cancer patients with high efficiency. We analyzed 362 healthy controls and 156 newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients. Concentrations of leptin, prolactin, osteopontin, insulin-like growth factor II, macrophage inhibitory factor, and CA-125 were determined using a multiplex, bead-based, immunoassay system. All six markers were evaluated in a training set (181 samples from the control group and 113 samples from OC patients) and a test set (181 sample control group and 43 ovarian cancer). Multiplex and ELISA exhibited the same pattern of expression for all the biomarkers. None of the biomarkers by themselves were good enough to differentiate healthy versus cancer cells. However, the combination of the six markers provided a better differentiation than CA-125. Four models with <2% classification error in training sets all had significant improvement (sensitivity 84%-98% at specificity 95%) over CA-125 (sensitivity 72% at specificity 95%) in the test set. The chosen model correctly classified 221 out of 224 specimens in the test set, with a classification accuracy of 98.7%. We describe the first blood biomarker test with a sensitivity of 95.3% and a specificity of 99.4% for the detection of ovarian cancer. Six markers provided a significant improvement over CA-125 alone for ovarian cancer detection. Validation was performed with a blinded cohort. This novel multiplex platform has the potential for efficient screening in patients who are at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Diagnostic markers for early detection of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy

Diagnostic markers for early detection of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy

Genetic Deletions in Sputum as Diagnostic Markers for Early Detection of Stage I Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Analysis of molecular genetic markers in biological fluids has been proposed as a powerful tool for cancer diagnosis. We have characterized in detail the genetic signatures in primary non-small cell lung cancer, which provided potential diagnostic biomarkers for lung cancer. The aim of this study was to determine whether the genetic changes can be used as markers in sputum specimen for the early detection of lung cancer. Genetic aberrations in the genes HYAL2, FHIT, and SFTPC were evaluated in paired tumors and sputum samples from 38 patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer and in sputum samples from 36 cancer-free smokers and 28 healthy nonsmokers by using fluorescence in situ hybridization. HYAL2 and FHIT were deleted in 84% and 79% tumors and in 45% and 40% paired sputum, respectively. SFTPC was deleted exclusively in tumor tissues (71%). There was concordance of HYAL2 or FHIT deletions in matched sputum and tumor tissues from lung cancer patients (r = 0.82, P = 0.04; r = 0.84, P = 0.03), suggesting that the genetic changes in sputum might indicate the presence of the same genetic aberrations in lung tumors. Furthermore, abnormal cells were found in 76% sputum by detecting combined HYAL2 and FHIT deletions whereas in 47% sputum by cytology, of the cancer cases, implying that detecting the combination of HYAL2 and FHIT deletions had higher sensitivity than that of sputum cytology for lung cancer diagnosis. In addition, HYAL2 and FHIT deletions in sputum were associated with smoking history of cancer patients and smokers (both P < 0.05). Tobacco-related HYAL2 and FHIT deletions in sputum may constitute diagnostic markers for early-stage lung cancer.

Dengue Fever and Thrombocytopenia: A Deadly Duo.

Dengue fever (DF) is one of the most ill understood diseases of Asian Pacific countries which is associated with reversible vascular complications. These complications are part of severe manifestations of Dengue Haemorregic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) which can be prevented with early detection and appropriate interventions. Increased hematocrit, elevated liver enzymes, altered coagulation profile and decreased platelet count are some of the parameters which predicts severity of this disease. Thrombocytopenia is always considered a predictive parameter for the inpatient management of dengue fever as well as recovery parameter in DHF and DSS. We examined 28 reviews and original articles out of 175 listed in “Pub med” on Dengue Fever and thrombocytopenia to find any possible relevance with the pathophysiology of thrombocytopenia and clinical bleeding in dengue across the spectrum of disease. Correlation between platelet counts and development of clinical bleeding was also studied as well as diagnostic markers for early detection. Finally, we summarize recent reports on treatment of thrombocytopenia, including evidence for conservative use of platelet transfusions and briefly complications of platelet transfusions. Thrombocytopenia is the most common laboratory finding in dengue patients, most patients manifesting petechiae, epistaxis, and mild mucosal bleeding. Severe hemorrhage is catastrophic and associated high mortality. Close monitoring of the patient for hemorrhagic manifestations and marked thrombocytopenia is strongly recommended. Other modalities include transfusion therapy with supportive therapy.