1757 Identification of Ocular Sebaceous Neoplasia with Evaluation for Mismatch Repair Proteins L Schoenfield, J Anthony, R Djohan, I Lalak, M Levine, P Ng, J Perry, A Singh, T Plesec. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. Background: Recognizing sebaceous carcinoma is important because of its risk for metastasis and tumor death. Histopathology alone is often difficult because fresh tissue for oil red-O stain is not always available. Several immunohistochemical stains (IHC) have been evaluated but often the diagnosis is elusive. Furthermore, the diagnosis of a sebaceous adenoma or carcinoma raises the possibility of Lynch syndrome, a cancer predisposition syndrome. Mismatch repair protein(MMR) abnormalities are a feature of Lynch syndrome, and they can be detected with IHC for the MLH1, MSH2, PMS2, and MSH6 proteins. Design: 14 sebaceous carcinomas and 3 adenomas from the eyelid (17 specimens) from 14 patients were evaluated for oil red-O when possible as well as IHC for AR, EMA, BER-EP4, CAM5.2 for diagnosis. MMR for MLH1, MSH2, PMS2, and MSH6 by IHC were evaluated as a possible screening panel for Lynch syndrome. Two patients already had other tissue tested by PCR for microsatellite instability (MSI) for Lynch syndrome. Results: Oil red-O was done on 6 of 17 specimens and positive in 5 of the 6 (83%). AR was positive in 2 of 3 adenomas (67%) and 5 of 14 carcinomas (36%). EMA was positive in 2 of 3 adenomas (67%) and 11 of 14 carcinomas (79%). BER-EP4 was negative in all 3 adenomas and positive in 7 of 14 carcinomas (50%). CAM5.2 was positive in 1 of 3 adenomas (33%) and 8 of 14 carcinomas (57%). All 17 specimens(100%) showed positive nuclear staining for MLH1 and PMS2, indicative of normal protein expression. In 14 of 17 specimens from 12 patients, MSH2 and MSH6 were also normal. 3 specimens from 2 patients that had rare positive cells for MSH2 and MSH6. Both patients had previous colonic tumors tested for MSI and were found to be MSI-H, indicative of possible Lynch syndrome. Conclusions: Diagnosing sebaceous carcinoma is important prognostically but sometimes challenging with routine histopathology. In our experience androgen receptor (AR) was found to be confirmatory in only 36% of cases and not dependent on the size of the tumor available. The other IHC stains were of marginal benefit and not specific. While none of the cases showed complete loss of expression of a MMR protein, there were 2 patients in with only rare positive cells who had known MSI-H tumors in the colon, suggestive of Lynch syndrome. Additional studies of these eyelid tumors may elucidate the possible role of using them for screening for Lynch syndrome.

When the Pancreas

The gut microbiota, as the main member in gut microecology, is an essential mediator in health and disease. The gut microbiota interacts with various organs and systems in the body, including brain, lung, liver, bone, cardiovascular system, and others. Microbiota-derived metabolites such as the short chain fatty acid (SCFA) butyrate are primary signals, which link the gut microbiota and physiology. Recently, the gut microbiota has been identified as the origin of a number of diseases by influencing the related cell signaling pathways such as WNT/beta-catenin pathway in colorectal cancer and T cell receptor signaling in the central nervous system. Moreover, several microRNAs participate in signaling networks through the intervention of the gut microbiota. The interaction between the gut microbiota and miRNAs plays a crucial role in vascular dysfunction and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this review, we will report and discuss recent findings about the crosstalk between the gut microbiota and physical organs and how the gut microbiota and miRNAs regulate each other while influencing the host via genes, proteins, or metabolites.

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Gut Microbiota: An Integral Moderator in Health and Disease.

The prokaryotic type II CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated 9) system is rapidly revolutionizing the field of genetic engineering, allowing researchers to alter the genomes of a large range of organisms with relative ease. Experimental approaches based on this versatile technology have the potential to transform the field of cancer genetics. Here, we review current approaches for functional studies of cancer genes that are based on CRISPR-Cas, with emphasis on their applicability for the development of next-generation models of human cancer.

Applications of the CRISPR–Cas9 system in cancer biology

Human Gut Microbiota and Gastrointestinal Cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) remains an important cause of cancer death worldwide with a high mortality rate due to the fact that the majority of GC cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when the prognosis is poor and the treatment options are limited. Unfortunately, the existing circulating biomarkers for GC diagnosis and prognosis display low sensitivity and specificity and the GC diagnosis is based only on the invasive procedures such as upper digestive endoscopy. There is a huge need for less invasive or non-invasive tests but also highly specific biomarkers in case of GC. Body fluids such as peripheral blood, urine or saliva, stomach wash/gastric juice could be a source of specific biomarkers, providing important data for screening and diagnosis in GC. This review summarized the recently discovered circulating molecules such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs, which hold the promise to develop new strategies for early diagnosis of GC.

Recent advances in gastric cancer early diagnosis.

The present investigation was undertaken to assess the biodegradation of phenol by native bacteria strains isolated from coke oven processing wastewater. The strains were designated ESDSPB1, ESDSPB2 and ESDSPB3 and examined for colony morphology Gram stain characters and biochemical tests. Phenol degrading performance of all the strains was evaluated initially. One of the strains namely ESDSPB2 was found to be highly effective for the removal of phenol, which was used as sole carbon and energy source. From an initial concentration of 200 mg I(-1) it degraded to 79.84 +/- 1.23 mg l(-1). In turn the effect of temperature (20 to 45 degrees C), pH (5-10) and glucose concentration (0, 0.25 and 0.5%) on the rate of phenol degradation by that particular strain was investigated. Observations revealed that the rate of phenol biodegradation was significantly affected by pH, temperature of incubation and glucose concentration. The optimal conditions for phenol removal were found to be pH of 7 (84.63% removal), temperature, 30 degrees C (76.69% removal) and 0.25% supplemented glucose level (97.88% removal). The main significance of the study is the utilization of native bacterial strains from the waste water itself having potential of bioremediation.

Biodegradation of phenol by native microorganisms isolated from coke processing wastewater.

Gastric cancer, a malignant and highly proliferative condition, has significantly affected a large population around the globe and is known to be caused by various factors including genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences. Though the global trend of these cancers is declining, an increase in its frequency is still a threat because of changing lifestyles and dietary habits. However, genetic and epigenetic alterations related to gastric cancers also have an equivalent contribution towards carcinogenic development. DNA methylation is one of the major forms of epigenetic modification which plays a significant role in gastric carcinogenesis. Methylation leads to inactivation of some of the most important genes like DNA repair genes, cell cycle regulators, apoptotic genes, transcriptional regulators, and signalling pathway regulators; which subsequently cause uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Mutations in these genes can be used as suitable prognostic markers for early diagnosis of the disease, since late diagnosis of gastric cancers has a huge negative impact on overall patient survival. In this review, we focus on the important epigenetic mutations that contribute to the development of gastric cancer and the molecular pathogenesis underlying each of them. Methylation, acetylation, and histone modifications play an integral role in the onset of genomic instability, one of the many contributory factors to gastric cancer. This article also covers the constraints of incomplete knowledge of epigenetic factors influencing gastric cancer, thus throwing light on our understanding of the disease.

Gastric cancer and related epigenetic alterations

Background: Solid pseudopapillary tumor is a rare pancreatic neoplasm with uncertain to low malignant potential. This is an uncommon neoplasm with many pseudonyms, occurring predominantly in young woman under the age of thirty years. Aims: To study the cytomorphological features of six cases of solid and pseudopapillary epithelial neoplasm of pancreas diagnosed on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in years 2005 to 2007 and its cyto-histological correlation. Materials and Methods: Image-guided FNAs was done in these six patients preoperatively. Alcohol-fixed smears were stained with Papanicolaou stain, cytomorphological findings were evaluated and diagnosis was made. Diagnosis was later confirmed by histology in all cases. Results: All six cases show characteristic cytological features such as hypercellular smears with presence of abundant delicate papillary fragments, dyscohesive cells, monomorphic tumor cells with delicate folded nuclear membranes, and foamy macrophages in the background. Conclusions: Preoperative correct diagnosis of solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas is possible on FNAC and by doing so it helps in management of this surgically curable neoplasm.

Study of cytomorphology of solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas and its differential diagnosis

The epimutational event, i.e., ectopic methylation in tumor suppressor genes, can lead to gene silencing, thus promoting prognosis of cancer. The progression of DNA methylation is a cycle of demethylation, de novo methylation, and maintenance methylation. The enzyme responsible for maintenance of methylation status is DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), the continuous activity of which is required to maintain the pattern of epimutation; thus, its inhibition is a promising strategy for the treatment of cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to focus on the recently developed crystal structure of the catalytic site of DNMT1. Here in this study, we have used the crystal structure for the development of non-nucleoside DNMT1 inhibitors using virtual screening (VS), absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination/toxicology analysis, and molecular docking studies. In this study, VS was carried out on 48,531 natural products to create a subset of lead-like natural products. Three of them were found to form hydrogen bonds with the catalytic site of the DNMT1 (Cys 1226). Thus, this study adumbrates potential lead compounds for treatment of epimutation.

Trupti Patel

Papers

Biodegradation of phenol by native microorganisms isolated from coke processing wastewater.

Gastric cancer and related epigenetic alterations

Study of cytomorphology of solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas and its differential diagnosis

From Natural Products to Drugs for Epimutation Computer-Aided Drug Design

Pharmacological evaluation of phytochemicals from South Indian Black Turmeric (Curcuma caesia Roxb.) to target cancer apoptosis.