Project description:The reason why prostate cancer is significantly more common in Western than Asian men is unknown. Using a genome-wide approach to compare the genomic changes in prostate cancer tissues, we determined that those from Chinese patients lack key somatic genomic changes commonly found in Western patients, including the 21q22.2-22.3 deletion which causes the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion gene, and 10q deletion which leads to PTEN inactivation. The results were confirmed and their consequence on ERG expression was identified by study of a large series of Chinese and UK samples using tissue-microarrays. Subsequently, we identified significant AR genotype differences between UK and Chinese prostate cancer patients. The identification of specific somatic genomic differences in cancers from distinct populations may provide an opportunity to identify cancer-causing or protective factors.
Project description:<p>While the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has risen drastically in Western countries over the last 40 years, a similar trend has not been observed for EAC in China. Here we analyzed mutational spectrum, copy number alterations, and structural variants from whole-genome sequencing of ten Chinese EAC tumor samples and their matched normals, and compared them to EAC tumor specimens from Western countries previously reported. The mutational burden in Chinese EAC was significantly lower than that found in EAC from Western countries. The hallmark A>C mutational signature observed at high frequency in EAC from Western countries, which linked to acid reflux, is completely absent in Chinese samples. Furthermore, none of Chinese samples showed evidence of chromothripsis and genome doubling that often found in EAC from Western countries. In summary, Chinese EAC tumor samples revealed distinct genomic profiles and signatures, suggesting that Chinese EAC may arise from a different etiological pathway.</p>
Project description:Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. Asia has a high incidence of gastric cancer globally. South Korea, Mongolia, Japan and China are the four countries with the highest incidence of gastric cancer in the world. Gansu province in China has the estimated age-standardized incidence rates and mortality rates by Chinese standard population of 62.34/100,000 and 36.94/100,000, respectively, in 2012, which are much higher than the average level of China (22.06/100,000 and 15.16/100,000) in the same year. As a high incidence area of gastric cancer in China, Wuwei city in Gansu province has the prevalence of gastric cancer almost 5 times higher than the average level nationwide. In this study, the cancer tissues and matched adjacent normal mucosa tissues of 5 patients with early gastric cancers who were treated with ESD in Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital and the First Hospital of Lanzhou University were collected. All of the patients are from Gansu, China. MicroRNA array was used to find the differences in microRNAs expression profile between the early gastric cancer tissues and the para-cancer normal tissues. It is expected to explore the reasons of the abnormal high incidence of gastric cancer in Gansu Province, China, from the aspect of microRNAs expression profile characteristics.
Project description:Purpose: Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and the third leading cause of cancer related deaths among men living in developed countries. Biomarkers that predict disease outcome at the time of initial diagnosis would aid management of the disease. Experimental design: Proteins extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embeddded sections were identified either using LC-MALDI MS/MS of tryptic digests or after separation by one- or two-dimensional electrophoresis. A list of potential biomarker candidates, based on proposed associations with prostate cancer, was derived from the 320 identified proteins. Results: Four of the candidates: annexin A2, peroxiredoxin-1, prostate-specific antigen and zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, were examined by Western blotting of extracts of biopsies from men whom there was 10-year disease outcome data. Multiplexed Western blotting using cocktails of antibodies and fluor-labeled detection reagents showed that annexin A2 provided the best prediction of risk of metastatic disease. Conclusions and clinical relevance: This pilot study indicates that tumour expression of ANXA2 in diagnostic biopsies of a prostate cancer is predictive for the metastatic potential of that cancer. The potential of protein profiling of each cancer is to lead to an overall reduction in mortality from metastatic prostate cancer as well as reduced treatment associated morbidity.
Project description:Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant carcinoma that develops in men in Western countries. Up to 30% of patients continue to suffer from disease progression following radical prostatectomy. Therefore, better prognostic markers and molecular targets for cancer treatment are needed. MicroRNA (miRNA) has the potential to be used as biomarkers and as a therapeutic target for the treatment of various cancers, including PCa. Here, to determine how miRNA is involved in PCa progression, we investigated the miRNA expression profiles of 3 PCa cell lines, namely PC3, DU145, and LNCaP, and 2 normal prostate cell lines, namely RWPE-1 and PrSc, using miRNA microarrays.
Project description:Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant carcinoma that develops in men in Western countries. Up to 30% of patients continue to suffer from disease progression following radical prostatectomy. Therefore, better prognostic markers and molecular targets for cancer treatment are needed. MicroRNA (miRNA) has the potential to be used as biomarkers and as a therapeutic target for the treatment of various cancers, including PCa. Here, to determine how miRNA is involved in PCa progression, we investigated the miRNA expression profiles of 3 PCa cell lines, namely PC3, DU145, and LNCaP, and 2 normal prostate cell lines, namely RWPE-1 and PrSc, using miRNA microarrays. We investigated miRNA genes that were significantly upregulated in PCa cell lines (PC3, DU145, LNCaP) compared with normal cell lines (RWPE-1, PrSc).
Project description:The breast cancer incidence has been increasing in China, with the earlier age of onset compared with Western countries. Traditional Chinese medicine has been provided as one of the major source of anti-cancer drugs. Ginseng is one of the most common traditional medicines in China. Ginsenosides, the saponins in the plant Panax (ginseng) are the major active components responsible for their chemopreventive effects from cancer. However, the mechanisms by which ginsenosides exert their anti-cancer effect remain elusive. By combining TMT-based quantitation with TiO2-based phosphopeptide enrichment, we performed a quantitative analysis of the changes of the phosphoproteomes in ginsenoside Rg3-treated breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. We were able to quantitate 5,140 phosphorylation sites on 2,041 phosphoproteins. Our data show that the phosphorylation status of 13 sites was changed in MDA-MB-231 cells upon Rg3 treatment. The perturbed phosphoproteins are CPSF7, EEF2, HIRIP3, MAGED2, MPRIP, MYCBP2, PAWR, PPP1R12A, RANBP2, SEPT9, TMPO, and UFL1. These proteins are involved in various biological processes, including protein synthesis, cell division, and inhibition of NF-κB signaling. Our study revealed that Rg3 exerts its anti-cancer effects through a combination of different signaling pathways.
Project description:Background - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading in China and more than 30 countries over last two months. COVID-19 has multiple characteristics distinct from other infectious diseases, including high infectivity during incubation, time delay between real dynamics and daily observed number of confirmed cases, and the intervention effects of implemented quarantine and control measures. Methods - We develop a Susceptible, Un-quanrantined infected, Quarantined infected, Confirmed infected (SUQC) model to characterize the dynamics of COVID-19 and explicitly parameterize the intervention effects of control measures, which is more suitable for analysis than other existing epidemic models. Results - The SUQC model is applied to the daily released data of the confirmed infections to analyze the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei (excluding Wuhan), China (excluding Hubei) and four first-tier cities of China. We found that, before January 30, 2020, all these regions except Beijing had a reproductive number R &gt; 1, and after January 30, all regions had a reproductive number R lesser than 1, indicating that the quarantine and control measures are effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The confirmation rate of Wuhan estimated by our model is 0.0643, substantially lower than that of Hubei excluding Wuhan (0.1914), and that of China excluding Hubei (0.2189), but it jumps to 0.3229 after February 12 when clinical evidence was adopted in new diagnosis guidelines. The number of unquarantined infected cases in Wuhan on February 12, 2020 is estimated to be 3,509 and declines to 334 on February 21, 2020. After fitting the model with data as of February 21, 2020, we predict that the end time of COVID-19 in Wuhan and Hubei is around late March, around mid March for China excluding Hubei, and before early March 2020 for the four tier-one cities. A total of 80,511 individuals are estimated to be infected in China, among which 49,510 are from Wuhan, 17,679 from Hubei (excluding Wuhan), and the rest 13,322 from other regions of China (excluding Hubei). Note that the estimates are from a deterministic ODE model and should be interpreted with some uncertainty. Conclusions - We suggest that rigorous quarantine and control measures should be kept before early March in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and before late March in Hubei. The model can also be useful to predict the trend of epidemic and provide quantitative guide for other countries at high risk of outbreak, such as South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran.
Project description:Prostate-specific antigen, a blood serum biomarker of prostate cancer, lacks specificity and prognostic significance, so considerable efforts are devoted to developing novel biomarkers. Seminal plasma, due to its proximity to prostate, is a promising fluid for biomarker discovery and non-invasive diagnostics. In this study, we investigated if seminal plasma proteins could increase specificity of detecting primary prostate cancer and discriminate between high- and low-grade cancers. To select 148 most promising biomarker candidates, we combined proteins identified through five independent data mining or experimental approaches: tissue transcriptomics, seminal plasma proteomics, cell secretomics, tissue specificity and androgen regulation. A rigorous biomarker development pipeline based on targeted proteomics assays was designed to evaluate the most promising candidates. We qualified 77 and verified 19 proteins in seminal plasma of 67 negative biopsy and 155 prostate cancer patients. Verification revealed a prostate-specific, secreted and androgen-regulated protein-glutamine gamma-glutamyltransferase 4 (TGM4), which could predict prostate cancer on biopsy and outperformed age and serum PSA. Machine-learning approaches also revealed improved multi-marker combinations for diagnosis and prognosis. In the independent verification set measured by an in-house ELISA, TGM4 was up-regulated 3.7-fold (P=0.006) and revealed AUC 0.66 for detecting prostate cancer on biopsy for patients serum PSA≥4 ng/mL and age≥50. Low levels of TGM4 (120 pg/mL) were detected in blood serum, but could not differentiate between negative biopsy, prostate cancer or prostate inflammation. To conclude, performance of TGM4 warrants its further investigation within the distinct genomic subtypes of prostate cancer and evaluation for the inclusion into emerging multi-biomarker panels.