Project description:1. Evaluate the diagnostic value of long noncoding RNA (CCAT1) expression by RT-PCR in peripheral blood in colorectal cancer patients versus normal healthy control personal.
2. Evaluate the clinical utility of detecting long noncoding RNA (CCAT1) expression in diagnosis of colorectal cancer patients & its relation to tumor staging.
3. Evaluate the clinical utility of detecting long noncoding RNA (CCAT1) expression in precancerous colorectal diseases.
4. Compare long noncoding RNA (CCAT1) expression with traditional marker; carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
Project description:The aim of this study is to test Eicosapentaenoic acid’s effects on markers relevant to colorectal carcinogenesis, RNA and DNA profiles, and the possibility that Eicosapentaenoic Acid treatment might be associated with changes of the gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis.
Project description:Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder in the lower part of the digestive system. Despite of many functional studies, the hidden mechanisms of this complex disease limit complete remission. Here, we investigated transcriptomic signature of ulcerative colitis using RNA sequencing obtained from 15 active (inflamed), 15 inactive (non-inflamed) samples of ulcerative colitis, and 15 healthy controls. The transcriptomics profiling revealed that inflammatory transcriptomic signature was highly enriched in active samples compared to inactive or healthy control samples. However, this bulk RNAseq cannot provide the cell type information, which play a key role in such a chronic inflammation. To overcome this limitation, we borrowed the power of single cell RNAseq. Deconvolution of bulk RNAseq based on the single cell expression estimated active UC enriched cell types including inflammatory fibroblast and inflammatory monocytes. This integrative approach using bulk and single cell transcriptomics provide not only target genes but also target cell types of ulcerative colitis for therapeutic purpose.
Project description:Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Colitis-associated dysplasia (flat or polypoid) continues to be a reliable marker for CRC in these patients. However, flat lesions are often missed during endoscopy and can rapidly progress to high-grade dysplasia or cancer. microRNAs (miRs), small non-coding RNAs, have emerged as a valuable diagnostic biomarker of human cancer due to their ease of detection and stability. The goal of this study was to identify a miR signature that can serve as a reliable biomarker for the early detection of colitis-associated dysplasia in patients with long-standing colitis.
Project description:Ulcerative Colitis is an autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation in the colon and the rectum. Althoung extensively researched, the underlying molecular mechanisms of Ulcerative Colitis remain elusive. Especially, there is a lack of understanding about regulatory non-coding miRNA expression during Ulcerative Colitis. Therefore, we performed high-throughput miRNA profiling of colon tissue biopsies from XX patients with active Ulcerative Colitis, XX patients with quiescent Ulcerative Colitis and XX Symptomatic Control individuals.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.