Proteomic Profiling of Small Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from the Plasma of Vietnamese Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Reveals Some Potential Biomarkers

Background: Considering the poor prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the objective of this study was to examine the potential of plasma-derived vesicles as a source of lung cancer-specific proteins. Extracellular vesicle (EV) cargos are specific to the source cells, hence they have the potential of being a source of cancer-specific proteins.  Methods: The proteins differently expressed in cancer were determined and derived from EVs isolated from the plasma of NSCLC patients at the National Lung Hospital. To this end, purification was done using gel filtration chromatography and ultracentrifugation. In addition, nano liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was used for analyzing. Results: Fifty-seven EV-derived proteins related to NSCLC were highlighted in this research. Some of them have not been addressed before, such as EEF1A1 (elongation factor 1-α1), KPNB1 (Importin subunit beta 1), SRC (proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase) and ACTC1 (actin, alpha cardiac muscle 1). This list was further confirmed through a comparison with ExoCarta and Vesiclepedia. Conclusion: This study is the first work to show the involvement of several novel proteins of small EV (EEF1A1, KPNB1, SRC, and ACTC1) in the progression of NSCLC. The results suggested that they could serve as novel biomarkers for non-small cell lung cancer in the future.     

Angiotensin (1−7) peptide replacement therapy with plasma transfusion in COVID-19

AimTo determine whether convalescent angiotensin (1?7) peptide replacement therapy with plasma (peptide plasma) transfusion can be beneficial in the treatment of critically ill patients with severe coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.Study designCase series of 9 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who met the following criteria: severe pneumonia with rapid progression and continuously high viral load despite antiviral treatment.Peptide plasma: Plasma with angiotensin (1?7) content 8–10 times higher than healthy plasma donors was obtained from suitable donors. Peptide plasma transfusion was applied to 9 patients whose clinical status and/or laboratory profile deteriorated and who needed intensive care for 2 days.ResultsIn our COVID-19 cases, favipiravir, low molecular weight heparin treatment, which is included in the treatment protocol of the ministry of health, was started. Nine patients with oxygen saturation of 93% and below despite nasal oxygen support, whose clinical and/or laboratory deteriorated, were identified. The youngest of the cases was 36 years old, and the oldest patient was 85 years old. 6 of the 9 cases had male gender. 3 cases had been smoking for more than 10 years. 4 cases had at least one chronic disease.In all of our cases, SARS CoV2 lung involvement was bilateral and peptide plasma therapy was administered in cases when oxygen saturation was 93% and below despite nasal oxygen support of 5 liters/minute and above, and intensive care was required. Although it was not reflected in the laboratory parameters in the early period, 8 patients whose saturations improved with treatment were discharged without the need for intensive care. However, a similar response was not obtained in one case. Oxygen requirement increased gradually and, he died in intensive care process. An increase of the platelet count was observed in all cases following the peptide plasma treatment.ConclusionIn this preliminary case series of 9 critically ill patients with COVID-19, administration of plasma containing angiotensin (1?7) was followed by improvement in their clinical status. The limited sample size and study design preclude a definitive statement about the potential effectiveness of this treatment, and these observations require evaluation in clinical trials.     

Cardioprotective effects of sinomenine in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model

BackgroundIschemia reperfusion (I/R) play an imperative role in the expansion of cardiovascular disease. Sinomenine (SM) has been exhibited to possess antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. The aim of the study was scrutinized the cardioprotective effect of SM against I/R injury in rat.MethodsRat were randomly divided into normal control (NC), I/R control and I/R + SM (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), respectively. Ventricular arrhythmias, body weight and heart weight were estimated. Antioxidant, inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory mediators and plasmin system indicator were accessed.ResultsPre-treated SM group rats exhibited the reduction in the duration and incidence of ventricular fibrillation, ventricular ectopic beat (VEB) and ventricular tachycardia along with suppression of arrhythmia score during the ischemia (30 and 120 min). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) altered the level of antioxidant parameters. SM treatment significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the level of creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK) and troponin I (Tnl). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the tissue factor (TF), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and plasma fibrinogen (Fbg) and inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators.ConclusionOur result clearly indicated that SM plays anti-arrhythmia effect in I/R injury in the rats via alteration of oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction.     

Emerging innovations in cold plasma therapy against cancer: A paradigm shift

Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality, accounting for ～ 9.5 million deaths globally in 2018. The spectrum of conventional treatment for cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, cold plasma therapy surfaced as a novel technique in the treatment of cancer. The FDA approval of the first trial for the use of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in cancer therapy in 2019 is evidence of this. This review highlights the mechanisms of action of CAP. Additionally, its applications in anticancer therapy have been reviewed. In summary, this article will introduce the readers to the exciting field of plasma oncology and help them understand the current status and prospects of plasma oncology.     

Discovery and validation of plasma proteomic biomarkers relating to brain amyloid burden by SOMAscan assay

IntroductionPlasma proteins have been widely studied as candidate biomarkers to predict brain amyloid deposition to increase recruitment efficiency in secondary prevention clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease. Most such biomarker studies are targeted to specific proteins or are biased toward high abundant proteins.Methods4001 plasma proteins were measured in two groups of participants (discovery group = 516, replication group = 365) selected from the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's disease Multimodal Biomarker Discovery study, all of whom had measures of amyloid.ResultsA panel of proteins (n = 44), along with age and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4, predicted brain amyloid deposition with good performance in both the discovery group (area under the curve = 0.78) and the replication group (area under the curve = 0.68). Furthermore, a causal relationship between amyloid and tau was confirmed by Mendelian randomization.DiscussionThe results suggest that high-dimensional plasma protein testing could be a useful and reproducible approach for measuring brain amyloid deposition.     

Rapid and sensitive HPLC-MS/MS method for quantitative determination of isochlorogenic acid B in rat plasma and its application in pharmacokinetic study

Asensitive LC-ESI-MS/MS method for determination of isochlorogenic acid B in rat plasma was developed and validated in the present study. Plasma samples were prepared by a simple protein precipitation with methanol containing resveratrol as internal standard (IS). The chromatographic separation was performed on a Zorbax SB-C₁₈ column (3.5 μm, 2.1 mm×100 mm, Agilent, USA) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min using methanol/water containing 0.1% formic acid (v/v) as mobile phase. The detectionwas performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer equipped with Electronic Spray Ion by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) of the transitions at m/z 515.3→352.9 for isochlorogenic acid B and m/z 227.1→143.1 for IS, respectively. The calibration curve of the method was linear over the range of 5–2500 ng/mL (r² = 0.9982). The intra- and inter-day precisions (R.S.D.%) were less than 12.46%, and the accuracy (R.E.%) was within ±5.80%. Isochlorogenic acid B was sufficiently stable under all relevant analytical conditions. The validated method was successfully applied to the plasma pharmacokinetic studies of isochlorogenic acid B in rats. It was found that isochlorogenic acid B had non-linear pharmacokinetic characteristics in rats within the dosage ranges from 5 to 20 mg/kg.     

Next Generation Sequencing-based Validation of the Revised International Staging System for Multiple Myeloma: An Analysis of the MMRF CoMMpass Study

IntroductionThe clinical application of the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) for multiple myeloma may be limited by heterogeneity in clinical interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) practices for detecting chromosomal abnormalities (CAs). Next generation sequencing (NGS)-based FISH (Seq-FISH) has demonstrated improved sensitivity and similar specificity relative to clinical FISH, and provides a standardized, single-pass method for identifying high-risk CAs. To date, calculating R-ISS stage using Seq-FISH (R-ISS-NGS) has not been validated.Patients and MethodsWe identified 672 patients with sufficient data to calculate R-ISS-NGS from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) CoMMpass Study. R-ISS-NGS was calculated from original ISS stage, lactate dehydrogenase, and CAs detected by Seq-FISH. Endpoints included overall survival and progression-free survival. We conducted multivariate analyses controlling for age and gender in order to compare outcomes across stages I to III of both the original ISS and R-ISS-NGS.ResultsThe median follow-up was 24 months. The R-ISS-NGS resulted in significant redistribution of patients into stage II, relative to the original ISS. With respect to stage I, R-ISS-NGS stages II and III of were associated with worse progression-free survival or overall survival, more so than the staging schema of the ISS, thus validating the use of Seq-FISH in staging.ConclusionUsing CAs detected by Seq-FISH and data from the CoMMpass study, we validated the R-ISS with a large, generalizable cohort. This study validates the substitution of Seq-FISH for clinical FISH, especially in large registry studies. Additionally, use of the validated R-ISS-NGS will strengthen outcomes research generated from the CoMMpass study.