5-Azacytidine produces differential undercondensation of alpha,beta and classical human satellite DNAs

Fluorescencein situ hybridization employing human alphoid, beta and classical satellite DNA probes was performed on 5-azacytidine treated and untreated chromosomes obtained from human lymphocytes. The individual used in this study presented a polymorphism of constitutive heterochromatin of chromosomes 1 and 9 as revealed byin situ digestion with the restriction endonucleaseAlul. Neither the alphoid nor the beta satellite DNA domains were susceptible to condensation-inhibition by 5-azacytidine. Only the classical satellite localized on chromosome 9 was affected. The constitutive heterochromatin size polymorphism was shown to depend mainly on variations of the classical satellite DNA domain. Therefore, condensation-inhibition, as a phenomenon which may modify the natural folding of the chromatin fibre, regionally affects human constitutive heterochromatin and seems to be dependent on the heterochromatic family.     

Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome

Introduction: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a heterogeneous clonal disorder characterized by deregulation of apoptosis, dysplastic features in hematopoietic precursors, peripheral blood cytopenias and an increased risk for transformation to acute leukemia. Roughly 20% of MDS are therapy related (t-MDS), and this is considered an independent adverse prognostic factor.

Areas covered: This review based on a comprehensive literature search provides an overview on the main features of t-MDS, including its epidemiology, risk factors, molecular pathogenesis, prognostic classifications and therapy.

Expert opinion: Increasing evidence points out that the most important event in t-MDS is genetic alterations in hematopoietic stem precursor cells, however, ineffective hematopoiesis may also result from abnormalities in the bone marrow microenvironment. Thus, novel views onto the processes of t-MDS are needed such as the osteohematology concept. On the other hand, the number of people living with and beyond cancer is increasing worldwide; thus, most emphasis should be placed on preventing secondary malignancies such as t-MDS. From this review, it becomes clear that we are in urgent need not only to deepen our understanding of the leukemogenesis mechanisms induced by exposure to chemotherapy and radiation but also to translate this knowledge into clinical strategies aimed at risk reduction.     

氮杂胞苷的合成工艺研究

以氰基胍和甲酸为原料,经成盐、环合反应得到5-氮杂胞嘧啶,5-氮杂胞嘧啶经硅烷化保护后,与乙酰化的核糖成苷,再脱保护基得到氮杂胞苷。目标化合物的结构经1H-NMR、MS谱数据确证,总收率为26.6%。该工艺路线优化了反应条件、简化了操作、提高了收率。     

Influence of in vitro biomimicked stem cell ‘niche’ for regulation of proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells to myocardial phenotypes: serum starvation without aid of chemical agents and prevention of spontaneous stem cell transformation enhanced by the matrix environment

Niche appears important for preventing the spontaneous differentiation or senescence that cells undergo during in vitro expansion. In the present study, it was revealed that human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM‐MSCs) undergo senescence‐related differentiation into the myocardial lineage in vitro without any induction treatment. This phenomenon occurred over the whole population of MCSs, much different from conventional differentiation with limited frequency of occurrence, and was accompanied by a change of morphology into large, flat cells with impeded proliferation, which are the representative indications of MSC senescence. By culturing MSCs under several culture conditions, it was determined that induction treatment with 5‐azacytidine was not associated with the phenomenon, but the serum‐starvation condition, under which proliferation is severely hampered, caused senescence progression and upregulation of cardiac markers. Nevertheless, MSCs gradually developed a myocardial phenotype under normal culture conditions over a prolonged culture period and heterogeneous populations were formed. In perspectives of clinical applications, this must be prevented for fair and consistent outcomes. Hence, the biomimetic 'niche' was constituted for hBM‐MSCs by cultivating on a conventionally available extracellular matrix (ECM). Consequently, cells on ECM regained a spindle‐shape morphology, increased in proliferation rate by two‐fold and showed decreased expression of cardiac markers at both the mRNA and protein levels. In conclusion, the outcome indicates that progression of MSC senescence may occur via myocardial differentiation during in vitro polystyrene culture, and this can be overcome by employing appropriate ECM culture techniques. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Epigenetic therapy in myelodysplastic syndromes

The wide spectrum of clonal hematopoietic disorders that fall under the broad diagnostic category of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) consist of a family of bone marrow malignancies – with ineffective, inadequate, and dysplastic hematopoiesis, and with an increased risk of life‐threatening infections, bleeding, and progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – that are characterized by a deep heterogeneity on the clinical, biologic and prognostic level. The intrinsic complexity of this group of disorders and the frequent association with one or more comorbidities have limited for many years the number of effective treatment options available: most patients are, indeed, still managed by supportive care measures, with just a minority of them being eligible for allogeneic stem cell transplantation, which is still the only potentially curative modality. In the last two decades, the progressively better understanding of MDS biology has shown how an abnormal epigenetic modulation might play a crucial part in the pathogenesis and in the process of biologic evolution of these disorders. Moreover, pharmacological agents that target the so‐called epigenome have shown a significant clinical activity for diverse hematologic malignancies, including MDS. The aim of this review is to highlight recent developments within the context of current knowledge of MDS and its altered epigenetic regulation and to recall the experimental steps that have brought to the clinical development and application of epigenetic modifiers, such as azacytidine and decitabine, trying to explain the biologic rationale for their use in this setting.     

5-氮胞苷对培养大鼠骨髓基质细胞β肌球蛋白重链表达的影响 骨髓干细胞移植与心肌修复的相关效应

目的研究5-氮胞苷(5-AZ)对体外培养大鼠骨髓基质细胞(BMSC)中心肌特异性β肌球蛋白重链(β-MHC)表达的影响,探讨骨髓基质细胞向心肌样细胞分化的条件。方法体外分离培养大鼠BMSC,用不同浓度5-AZ诱导培养,以RT-PCR方法测定诱导前后β-MHC的表达。结果正常培养大鼠BMSC不表达β-MHC。经5-AZ诱导24h并继续培养后,BMSC表达β-MHC,第1～4周内由1.89±0.37增至16.41±3.63(t=0.495～5.446,P<0.01=;(1×10-7)～(1×10-5)mol/L5-AZ使β-MHC的表达由7.30±1.77增至16.28±3.72(t=0.442～2.669,P<0.01)。结论5-AZ诱导体外培养大鼠BMSC表达心肌特异性β-MHC,与诱导时间及浓度呈正相关,提示可诱导大鼠BMSC向心肌样细胞分化。     

砷与5-氮胞苷对人淋巴细胞DNA损伤的联合作用

为探讨砷和5－氮胞苷对人淋巴细胞DNA损伤及修复的联合作用，应用单细胞凝胶电泳（SCGE）技术比较研究了5－氮胞苷与砷同时和前后作用于人类淋巴细胞产生的联合毒性，结果显示10μmol/L5-氮胞苷和10μmol/L砷单独处理人淋巴细胞2h引起明显的DNA泳动（彗星尾），但两试剂引起的DNA泳动（彗星尾）间无显差异，5－氮胞苷前处理与砷后处理2h引起的彗星尾与其单独处理组比较非常显，砷前处理与5－氮胞苷后处理引起的彗星尾与其单独处理组比较无显性差异，但较对照组差异显，10μmol/L5-氮胞苷和10μmol/L砷分别单独处理2h引起了人淋巴细胞显的DNA损伤（链断裂），5－氮胞苷与砷在对淋巴细胞DNA的损伤上表现为单纯相加作用。5－氮胞苷前处理显增加了细胞对砷的基因毒性的敏感性，或砷后处理显增加了5－氮胞苷引起的DNA损伤，5－氮胞苷后处理2h显抑制了细胞对砷所致DNA损伤的修复。     

Epigenetically silenced PD-L1 confers drug resistance to anti-PD1 therapy in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma

ObjectivesThe anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy has been demonstrated safe and effective for cancer patients. However, our previous data showed that it had no obvious effects on gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA). Thus, we investigated how the expression level of the PD-L1 was affected by the anti-PD-1 therapy, because it has been demonstrated that the PD-L1 level affects the therapeutic efficient of the anti-PD-1 therapy.Materials and methodsThe mRNA and protein levels of PD-L1 in the GCA tissues and corresponding normal tissues were determined by qPCR and ELISA. Promoter methylation was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing. Finally the methylation of PD-L1 promoter was confirmed in the mice.ResultsThe level of PD-L1 was up-regulated in the GCA tissues when compared to the adjacent non-tumor tissues. The anti-PD1 therapy could reduce the PD-L1 levels in patients with cancer recurrence. The promoter of PD-L1 was more hypermethylated in the secondary GCA after the anti-PD-1 therapy when compared with the adjacent non-tumor tissues or the primary GCA without the anti-PD-1 therapy. Furthermore, the promoter methylation of PD-L1 could be induced by the anti-PD-1 therapy in the mice model. Finally, the anti-PD-1 plus DNA hypomethylating agent azacytidine could significantly suppressed the tumor growth better than the anti-PD-1 therapy.ConclusionsHere we demonstrated that the unresponsiveness of GCA to the anti-PD-1 therapy might result from the promoter methylation and down-regulation of PD-L1. The anti-PD-1 plus azacytidine might be a more promising approach to treat GCA.