No abstract

Abstract. Xu W, Bi Y, Sun Z, Li J, Guo L, Yang T, Wu G, Shi L, Feng Z, Qiu L, Li Q, Guo X, Luo Z, Lu J, Shan Z, Yang W, Ji Q, Yan L, Li H, Yu X, Li S, Zhou Z, Lv X, Liang Z, Lin S, Zeng L, Yan J, Ji L, Weng J (The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou; Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing; Zhongda Hospital, Institute of Diabetes, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing; Objective. Progressive b-cell dysfunction hinders the maintenance of glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes, but comparative data on b-cell-protective therapies are lacking in the early stage of type 2 diabetes. Here we evaluated the comparative glycaemic efficacy and impact on b-cell function of three antihyperglycaemic agents that have a b-cell-protective effect, exenatide, insulin and pioglitazone, in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes.Design and methods. In this 48-week, multicentre, parallel-group study, 416 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned 1 : 1 : 1 to receive exenatide, insulin or pioglitazone. The primary end-point was the change in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline. Secondary end-points included effects on weight, blood pressure, lipid profiles and b-cell function assessed by homeostasis model assessment, fasting proinsulin:insulin (PI/I), disposition index (DI) and acute insulin response (AIR).Results. At week 48, mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] HbA 1c changes from baseline were À1.8% (À1.55% to À2.05%) with exenatide, À1.7% (À1.52% to À1.96%) with insulin and À1.5% (À1.23% to À1.71%) with pioglitazone. Treatment differences were À0.20% (95% CI À0.46% to 0.06%) for exenatide versus insulin (P = 0.185), and À0.37% (95% CI À0.63% to À0.12%) for exenatide versus pioglitazone (P = 0.002). Significant improvements from baseline in AIR, PI/I and DI were observed with all treatments, with the greatest improvements in DI, as well as weight, blood pressure and lipid profile, observed with exenatide.Conclusions. All three agents showed efficacy regarding glycaemic control and metabolic benefits; however, exenatide showed the greatest efficacy. b-cell function improved in all treatment groups; hence, early initiation of b-cell-protective therapy may halt the decline in b-cell function in type 2 diabetes.

Exosomes or other extracellular vesicles released from cells play an important role in cell-to-cell communication by transferring bio-information (DNA, coding/non-coding RNA, and proteins), which indicates parental cell status to recipient cells in the extracellular environment. Increasingly, evidence shows that tumor-derived exosomes mediate tumor pre-metastatic niche (PMN) remodeling to establish a supportive and receptive niche to promote tumor cell colonization and metastasis. Uptake of genetic information by target cells in the extracellular environment triggers epigenetic changes that contribute to PMN formation. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of exosomes-mediated reprogramming of cells in PMN formation.

No abstract

Maintenance treatment after first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is a priority strategy. However, which medicine is chosen is controversial. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of maintenance treatment with metronomic capecitabine vs observation. In this randomized controlled trial, patients who completed 18 weeks of induction chemotherapy with XELOX and achieved disease control were randomly assigned centrally (1:1) to receive maintenance therapy with metronomic chemotherapy or observation until disease progression. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival from randomization; secondary endpoints included overall survival and safety. Analyses were performed by intention to treat. Between January 1st, 2017 and December 31th 2018, 48 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive maintenance treatment with metronomic capecitabine (n = 25) or only observation (n = 23). The median progression-free survival in the metronomic capecitabine group was 5.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.25–6.07) months vs 3.98 (95%CI 3.71–4.24) months in the observation group (hazard ratio 0.11, 95% [CI] 0.04–0.26, P = .000). There was no statistically significant difference in median overall survival: 23.82 (95% CI 22.38–25.25) months in the metronomic capecitabine group vs 21.81 (95% CI 20.23–23.38) months in the observation group (hazard ratio 0.49, 95% CI 0.21–1.11, P = .087). Subgroup analyses were generally consistent with the primary finding. Similar safety profiles were observed in both arms. The most frequent adverse events in metronomic capecitabine group included neutropenia, diarrhea, hand-foot skin reaction, and mucositis. Maintenance therapy with metronomic capecitabine can be considered an alternative option following first-line chemotherapy of XELOX in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with controlled toxicities.

Aberrant reactivation of the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway promotes prostate cancer (PC) growth and progression by regulating cancer-related genes through its downstream effectors GLI1 and GLI2. Therefore, targeting the SHH-GLI pathway provides an alternative approach to avoid cancer progression. The aim of this study was to delineate the underlying molecular mechanisms by which GDC-0449 (a SMO receptor inhibitor) and GANT-61 (a GLI transcription factor inhibitor) regulate cellular proliferation and self-renewal in human PC stem cells (ProCSCs). Inhibition of the SHH signaling pathway by GANT-61 induced apoptosis with more efficacy than by GDC-0449 in ProCSCs and PC cell lines. GLI1 and GLI2 expression, promoter-binding activity and GLI-responsive luciferase reporter activity were all decreased with either GDC-0449 or GANT-61 treatment. Expression of Fas, DR4, DR5, and cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP were increased, whereas levels of PDGFR-α and Bcl-2 were reduced. Double knockout of GLI1 and GLI2 using shRNA abolished the effects observed with either GDC-0449 or GANT-61 treatment. Collectively, our results showed that GANT-61 and GDC-0449 induced ProCSC apoptosis by directly or indirectly inhibiting the activities of the GLI family transcription factors, may enhance the efficacy of PC treatment.

CRL4, a well-defined E3 ligase, has been reported to be upregulated and is proposed to be a potential drug target in ovarian cancers. However, the biological functions of CRL4 and the underlying mechanism regulating cancer chemoresistance are still largely elusive. Here, we show that CRL4 is considerably increased in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells, and CRL4 knockdown with shRNAs is able to reverse cisplatin-resistance of ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, CRL4 knockdown markedly inhibits the expression of BIRC3, one of the inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). Besides, lower expression level of BIRC3 is associated with better prognosis of ovarian cancer patients, and BIRC3 knockdown in ovarian cancer cells can recover their sensitivity to cisplatin. More importantly, we demonstrate that CRL4 regulates BIRC3 expression by mediating the STAT3, but not the PI3K pathway. Therefore, our results identified CRL4 as an important factor in ovarian cancer chemoresistance, suggesting that CRL4 and BIRC3 may serve as novel therapeutic targets for relapsed patients after treatment with cisplatin and its derivative to overcome the bottle neck of ovarian cancer chemoresistance.

The higher tumor-infiltrating Tregs counts are closely associated with the improved prognostic effects of colon carcinoma. Tregs play different roles in cancer nest and cancer stroma. And the appearance of Tregs in cancer nest is a promising independent risk factor for overall survival in colon carcinoma. FOXP3-positive cancer cells may also be a risk factor for overall survival in colon carcinoma.