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Aspetti di genetica molecolare e possibili implicazioni terapeutiche nei tumori corticosurrenalici
Get PDFBackground. The most frequent adrenocortical tumors (ACT) are benign forms defined as adrenocortical adenomas (ACA) with an estimated incidence of about 7.3%. Malignant forms, adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are rare endocrine tumors with poor prognosis and incidence of 1-2 cases per million people in the population. Currenlty ACC treatments are ineffective and substantially are based on the use of mitotane (o,p'DDD) with or without traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Because of dissimilar prognosis of ACA or ACC it is important to differentiate these two forms.
Many tumors stimulate the growth of blood vessels by the angiogenesis process. Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) over-expression in ACC and VEGF receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2) expression were found on tumor cells; these findings suggest a possible autocrine effect of VEGF for cell growth.
Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, inhibits the phosphorylation of VEGFR-2 and induces in vivo tumor growth arrest. Everolimus, a rapamycin derivative, inhibits mTOR, which is involved in cell survival and located downstream toVEGFR-2. It stops production of angiogenic growth factors in several neuroendocrine tumors.
To date few genetic alterations were identified in ACT involving adrenocortical tumorigenesis signaling pathways; in particular the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways seem to be often altered. β-catenin constitutive activation is an alteration frequently found in ACT. It is a multifunctional molecule involved in the processes of cell adhesion together with cadherin (E-cadherin and N-cadherin). Cadherins have been implicated in the development of many cancers, but information regarding their expression in the ACT is very limited.
Aim. The objective of this study is: a) to evaluate the expression of VEGF, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 in normal and tumoral adrenocortical tissues; b) to examine the effect of the two drugs, sorafenib and everolimus, in vitro on cellular viability, on apoptosis and on signal pathways of 2 stabilized lines (H295R, SW13) and in ACT primary cultures and in vivo in xenografts mouse models; c) to analyze the presence of genetic alterations in key components of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway (BRAF, H-RAS, K-RAS, N-RAS genes) and of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway (CTNNB1 and AXIN2 genes) and to investigate the β-catenin expression in relation to the cell adhesion molecules E-cadherin and N-cadherin.
Material and Methods. 24 adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC), 37 aldosterone producing adenoma (APA), 28 cortisol producing adenoma (CPA), 6 non-secreting adenomas (NSA) and 8 normal adrenal gland tissues (NA) were collected. The VEGF and its receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2) gene expression was evaluated in 63 ACT by real-time PCR. In cell lines (SW13 and H295R) and in primary ACT cultures, cell viability was observed by incubating sorafenib and everolimus in a range of concentrations from 10 µM to 0.1 nM by MTT test. By fluorescence microscopy (TUNEL) and flow cytometric analysis (Annexin-V), apoptosis was evaluated; by western blot, the involvement of PI(3)K/Akt/mTOR and in Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways was analyzed. The effects of drugs, alone or in combination, were tested in vivo in ACC xenografted models.
By high resolution melting analysis (HRM), mutation analysis was performed on 95 ACT on BRAF (exons 11 and 15), H-RAS (exons 2 and 3), N-RAS (exons 2 and 3), K-RAS (exons 2 and 3), CTNNB1 (exon 3), AXIN2 (exon 7). Only samples with altered melting curves were sequenced. Finally, by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC), β-catenin, N-cadherin and E-cadherin gene expression was evaluated in 68 ACT.
Results. VEGF, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 expression was found in both adrenocortical normal and tumoral tissues. Compared to normal adrenal glands, a significant VEGF over-expression was observed in 65% (12/18) (P = 0.049) ACC and in 61% (20/33) (P = 0.025) APA. In SW13 and H295R cell viability, sorafenib and everolimus showed a dose-dependent response, while by fluorescence (TUNEL) and by flow cytometry (Annexin V) the compounds revealed an apoptotic effect. By western blot, sorafenib induced a complete decrease in Akt, ERK1/2 and p70S6K phosphorylation, while everolimus totally abolished p70S6K phosphorylation. Out of 8 primary cultures, 3 ACC and 3 ACA significantly responded to sorafenib and everolimus treatments. In vivo experiment a significant reduction of the tumor mass and an increase in median survival (especially in xenograft subjected to combined treatment) were observed.
In HRM analisys some alterations in key components of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway were found, i.e. 2 BRAF mutations and 4 H-RAS mutations. In Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway 18 alterations in CTNNB1 gene (5 APA, 6 CPA, 2 NSA, 5 ACC) and a single mutation in AXIN2 gene in H295R cells were observed. In RT-PCR β-catenin is over-expressed in approximately 50% of ACC (12/24) and in 51% of ACA (24/47). By IHC a significant accumulation of cytoplasmic and/or nuclear β-catenin has been observed in 47% of ACC (7/15) and 33% of ACA (11/33). In all ACT expression of E-cadherin was not detected. By RT-PCR N-cadherin down-regulation has been found in 75% of ACC (18/24) and in 60% of ACA (28/47). Similar results were obtained by IHC: N-cadherin down-regulation was observed in 100% (15/15) ACC and in 55% (18/33) ACA.
Conclusion. Our data underline the importance of angiogenesis in adrenocortical tumors system. Anti-VEGF strategies, such as new tyrosine kinases and mTOR inhibitors currently used in different tumors, may represent a new therapeutic tool for adrenocortical tumors. The identification of new anti-angiogenic and Wnt/β-catenin signaling targets has contributed to a better understanding of adrenocortical tumorigenesis and to generate the basis for the development of new targeted drugs (targeted therapy)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
The Lesson Learned from the New c.2547-1G>T Mutation Combined with p.R854Q: When a Type 2N Mutation Reveals a Quantitative von Willebrand Factor Defect
No full textType 2N is a rare von Willebrand disease (VWD) variant involving an impairment in the factor VIII (FVIII) carrier function of von Willebrand factor (VWF). It has a phenotype that mimics hemophilia A, and FVIII binding to VWF (VWF:FVIIIB) is tested to differentiate between the two disorders. Type 2N VWF defects may also be associated with quantitative VWF mutations (type 2N/type 1), further complicating the identification of cases. We report on a new quantitative VWF mutation (c.2547-1G > T) revealed by a p.R854Q type 2N mutation acting as homozygous despite being carried as a heterozygous defect. The proband had near-normal VWF levels (initially ruling out a defective VWF synthesis) and slightly reduced FVIII levels, while a VWF:FVIIIB test showed significantly reduced binding. Routine tests on type 2N homozygotes or heterozygotes combined with quantitative VWF defects in our cohort showed reduced FVIII levels in both groups, but it was only in the former that the FVIII/VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) ratio was always significantly reduced. The two tests are therefore not enough to identify all forms of type 2N VWD. While relatives of type 2N homozygotes usually have normal FVIII levels and FVIII/VWF:Ag ratios, relatives of type 2N/type 1 may have high FVIII/VWF:Ag ratios, but their VWF:FVIIIB and/or VWF:FVIIIB/VWF:Ag ratios are always low. Measuring FVIII and VWF levels may therefore suggest type 2N VWD in patients carrying type 2N mutations alone, but not in type 2N combined with quantitative VWF defects. The VWF:FVIIIB test should consequently be included when exploring VWF function, whatever VWD patient's phenotype
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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