Search

Transcriptomes and growth physiologies of the hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima and an antibiotic-resistant spontaneous mutant were compared prior to and following exposure to chloramphenicol. While the wild-type response was similar to that of mesophilic bacteria, reduced susceptibility of the mutant was attributed to five mutations in 23S rRNA and phenotypic preconditioning to chloramphenicol.

The phylum Crenarchaeota includes hyperthermophilic micro-organisms subjected to dynamic thermal conditions. Previous transcriptomic studies of Sulfolobus solfataricus identified vapBC6 as a heat-shock (HS)-inducible member of the Vap toxin–antitoxin gene family. In this study, the inactivation of the vapBC6 operon by targeted gene disruption produced two recessive phenotypes related to fitness, HS sensitivity and a heat-dependent reduction in the rate of growth. In-frame vapBC6 deletion mutants were analyzed to examine the respective roles of each protein. Since vapB6 transcript abundance was elevated in the vapC6 deletion, the VapC6 toxin appears to regulate abundance of its cognate antitoxin. In contrast, vapC6 transcript abundance was reduced in the vapB6 deletion. A putative intergenic terminator may underlie these observations by coordinating vapBC6 expression. As predicted by structural modeling, recombinant VapC6 produced using chaperone cosynthesis exhibited heat-dependent ribonucleolytic activity toward S. solfataricus total RNA. This activity could be blocked by addition of preheated recombinant VapB6. In vivo transcript targets were identified by assessing the relative expression of genes that naturally respond to thermal stress in VapBC6-deficient cells. Preferential increases were observed for dppB-1 and tetR, and preferential decreases were observed for rpoD and eIF2 gamma. Specific VapC6 ribonucleolytic action could also be demonstrated in vitro toward RNAs whose expression increased in the VapBC6-deficient strain during heat shock. These findings provide a biochemical mechanism and identify cellular targets underlying VapBC6-mediated control over microbial growth and survival at temperature extremes.

Purpose Patients with early-stage, resectable, non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are at risk for recurrent disease, and 5-year survival rates do not exceed 75%. Angiogenesis inhibitors have shown clinical activity in patients with late-stage NSCLC, raising the possibility that targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in earlier-stage disease may be beneficial. This proof-of-concept study examined safety and efficacy of short-term, preoperative pazopanib monotherapy in patients with operable stage I/II NSCLC. Patients and Methods Patients scheduled for resection received oral pazopanib 800 mg/d for 2 to 6 weeks preoperatively. Tumor response was measured by high-resolution computed tomography, permitting estimation of change in tumor volume and diameter. Gene-expression profiling was performed on 77 pre- and post-treatment lung samples from 34 patients. Results Of 35 patients enrolled, 33 (94%) had clinical stage I NSCLC and two (6%) had clinical stage II NSCLC. Median treatment duration was 16 days (range, 3 to 29 days). Thirty patients (86%) achieved tumor-volume reduction after pazopanib treatment. Two patients achieved tumor-volume reduction ≥ 50%, and three patients had partial response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Pazopanib was generally well tolerated. The most common adverse events included grade 2 hypertension, diarrhea, and fatigue. One patient developed pulmonary embolism 11 days after surgery. Several pazopanib target genes and other angiogenic factors were dysregulated post-treatment. Conclusion Short-duration pazopanib was generally well tolerated and demonstrated single-agent activity in patients with early-stage NSCLC. Several target genes were dysregulated after pazopanib treatment, validating target-specific response and indicating a persistent pazopanib effect on lung cancer tissue. Further clinical evaluation of pazopanib in NSCLC is planned.

Approximately one-third of the open reading frames encoded in the Sulfolobus solfataricus genome were differentially expressed within 5 min following an 80 to 90°C temperature shift at pH 4.0. This included many toxin-antitoxin loci and insertion elements, implicating a connection between genome plasticity and metabolic regulation in the early stages of stress response.

Research on aflatoxin (AF) production has traditionally focused on defining the AF biosynthetic pathway with the goal of identifying potential targets for intervention. To understand the effect of nitrogen source, carbon source, temperature, and pH on the regulation of AF biosynthesis, a targeted cDNA microarray consisting of genes associated with AF production over time was employed. Expression profiles for genes involved in AF biosynthesis grouped into five clades. A putative regulon was identified consisting of 20 genes that were induced in the conducive nitrogen and pH treatments and the non-conducive carbon and temperature treatments, as well as four other putative regulons corresponding to each of the four variables studied. Seventeen genes exhibited consistent induction/repression profiles across all the experiments. One of these genes was consistently downregulated with AF production. Overexpression of this gene resulted in repression of AF biosynthesis. The cellular function of this gene is currently unresolved.

Reolysin, a type 3 reovirus, is a ubiquitous double-stranded RNA virus that exhibits selective oncolytic activity in ras-activated tumor cells and is non-pathogenic in humans. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that Reolysin (reo) is synergistic when used in combination with gemcitabine (gem) and other commonly used cytotoxic agents against human colon carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. To determine the molecular pathways associated with gem/reo synergy, we exposed HCT116 cells, a human colon carcinoma cell line, to gem, reo, or the combination for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs in triplicate. The drug concentrations used were those found to be synergistic in previous in vitro studies (24 pfu/cell reo and/or 4nM gem). We harvested the cells, extracted RNA and performed microarray analysis using the HU133 2.0 plus array (Affymetrix). Gene expression data analysis was performed using GeneSpring GX 7.3.1 (Agilent Technologies). Raw intensity data were imported and preprocessed using the RMA algorithm. Data was then transformed, chips were normalized to the 50th percentile and raw data were filtered with a 2 fold minimum gene expression cutoff. Each experiment was run in triplicate and gene expression levels were averaged among replicates. We performed a 2-way ANOVA to test for time and treatment effects. The genes presenting the most significant treatment effects (160 genes, p Further analyses were performed comparing the combination of gem/reo to gem alone. Approximately 300 genes were significantly (2 fold change, p Single agent gemcitabine has proven to be inactive in colon cancer, yet HCT116 cells treated with a combination of gem and reo proved to be an effective pre-clinical therapy in these experiments. This enhanced preclinical efficacy is potentially due to an enhancement of tumor surveillance by the immune system. Clinical trials with Reolysin in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs are ongoing. Understanding the mechanisms associated with cytotoxic synergy will allow us to better select drug combinations for specific tumors. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1646.