No abstract

Objective: BMI and waist circumference are used to define risk from excess body fat. Limited data in women suggest that there may be racial/ethnic differences in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) at a given BMI or waist circumference. This study tested the hypothesis that racial/ethnic differences exist in both men and women in the relationship of anthropometric measures of body composition and computed tomography (CT)-determined VAT or subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Methods and Procedures: Subjects included 66 African American, 72 Hispanic, and 47 white men and women, aged ≥45. Waist circumference and BMI were measured using standard methods. Total abdominal and L4L5 VAT and SAT were measured using CT. Results: Among both men and women, groups did not differ in waist circumference or BMI. White men had greater L4L5 VAT than African-American men, and both white and Hispanic men had greater total VAT than African-American men. Among women, Hispanics and whites had greater L4L5 VAT than African Americans, and Hispanics had greater total VAT than African Americans. The slope of the linear relationship between BMI or waist circumference and VAT was lower in African Americans than in Hispanics and/or whites. Discussion: Middle-aged and older African-American men and women had lower VAT despite similar BMI and waist circumference measurements. Altered relationships between anthropometric measures and VAT may have implications for defining metabolic risk in different populations. Different waist circumference or BMI cutoff points may be necessary to adequately reflect risk in different racial/ethnic groups.

Tumor-derived exosomes are emerging mediators of tumorigenesis and tissue-specific metastasis. Proteomic profiling has identified Annexin A2 as one of the most highly expressed proteins in exosomes; however, studies focused on the biological role of exosomal-AnnexinA2 (exo-AnxA2) are still lacking. In this study, mechanistic insight was sought regarding exo-AnxA2 and its function in angiogenesis and breast cancer metastasis. Multiple in vitro and in vivo techniques were used to study the role of exo-AnxA2 in angiogenesis. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Western blotting, exo-AnxA2 expression was characterized in normal and breast cancer cells. In addition, organ specific metastatic breast cancer cells and animal models were used to define the role exo-AnxA2 in breast cancer metastasis. Results revealed that exo-AnxA2 expression is significantly higher in malignant cells than normal and pre-metastatic breast cancer cells. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that exo-AnxA2 promotes tPA-dependent angiogenesis. Furthermore, in vivo analysis indicated that metastatic exosomes create a favorable microenvironment for metastasis and exo-AnxA2 plays an important role in this process, since priming with AnxA2-depleted exosomes reduces brain (~4-fold) and lung (~2-fold) metastasis. Upon delineating the mechanism it was discovered that exo-AnxA2 causes macrophage-mediated activation of the p38MAPK, NF-κB, and STAT3 pathways and increased secretion of IL-6 and TNF-alpha. These data demonstrate an important role for exo-AnxA2 in breast cancer pathogenesis.

Of all the gynecologic tumors, ovarian cancer (OC) is known to be the deadliest. Advanced‐stages of OC are linked with high morbidity and low survival rates despite the immense amount of research in the field. Shortage of promising screening tools for early‐stage detection is one of the major challenges linked with the poor survival rate for patients with OC. In OC, therapeutic management is used with multidisciplinary approaches that includes debulking surgery, chemotherapy, and (rarely) radiotherapy. Recently, there is an increasing interest in using immunomodulation for treating OC. Relapse rates are high in this malignancy and averages around every 2‐years. Further treatments after the relapse are more intense, increasing the toxicity, resistance to chemotherapy drugs, and financial burden to patients with poor quality‐of‐life. A procedure that has been studied to help reduce the morbidity rate involves pre‐sensitizing cancer cells with standard therapy in order to produce optimal results with minimum dosage. Utilizing such an approach, platinum‐based agents are effective due to their increased response to platinum‐based chemotherapy in relapsed cases. These chemo‐drugs also help address the issue of drug resistance. After conducting an extensive search with available literature and the resources for clinical trials, information is precisely documented on current research, biomarkers, options for treatment and clinical trials. Several schemes for enhancing the therapeutic responses for OC are discussed systematically in this review with an attempt in summarizing the recent developments in this exciting field of translational/clinical research.

Annexin A2 (AnxA2), a Ca 2؉ -dependent phospholipid-binding protein, is known to associate with the plasma membrane and the endosomal system. Within the plasma membrane, AnxA2 associates in a Ca 2؉ dependent manner with cholesterolrich lipid raft microdomains. Here, we show that the association of AnxA2 with the lipid rafts is influenced not only by intracellular levels of Ca 2؉ but also by N-terminal phosphorylation at tyrosine 23. Binding of AnxA2 to the lipid rafts is followed by the transport along the endocytic pathway to be associated with the intralumenal vesicles of the multivesicular endosomes. AnxA2-containing multivesicular endosomes fuse directly with the plasma membrane resulting in the release of the intralumenal vesicles into the extracellular environment, which facilitates the exogenous transfer of AnxA2 from one cell to another. Treatment with Ca 2؉ ionophore triggers the association of AnxA2 with the specialized microdomains in the exosomal membrane that possess raft-like characteristics. Phosphorylation at Tyr-23 is also important for the localization of AnxA2 to the exosomal membranes. These results suggest that AnxA2 is trafficked from the plasma membrane rafts and is selectively incorporated into the lumenal membranes of the endosomes to escape the endosomal degradation pathway. The Ca 2؉ -dependent exosomal transport constitutes a novel pathway of extracellular transport of AnxA2.