Predictive factors of pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To identify predictive factors connected with pathologic response in patients with breast cancer (BC) having received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). METHODS: 49 patients with BC were investigated before and after treatment in this prospective research. Different chemotherapy regimes were administered. The Miller-Payne scoring system was used to assess the tumour response. The nuclear proliferation markers Ki67 and the expression of topoisomerase IIα (Topo IIα) were evaluated. RESULTS: Six patients (12.2 %) achieved pathological complete response (pCR). Noticeable decrease of tumor cellularity was detected in all BC subtypes and pCR in the triple-negative BC (TNBC) group (p=0.007) was observed. Poorly differentiated tumors could be considered as predictive factors of pCR (p=0.07). Ki67 appeared to be a predictive marker of achieving pCR (p<0.001) with a threshold of 28% (AUC=0.89, 95% CI 0.75-0.96). The additional factor of reaching pCR was operable BC (p=0.04). The expression level of Topo IIα (p=0.50) and using different regimens of NACT (p=0.97) did not influence pCR achievement. CONCLUSION: To sum it up, poorly differentiated carcinomas with high cellularity in the primary tumor, TNBC, Ki 67 with a threshold above 28% and operable BC can be considered as early predictors of reaching pCR.

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray structure analysis of Vibrio cholerae uridine phosphorylase in complex with thymidine.

A high-resolution structure of the complex of Vibrio cholerae uridine phosphorylase (VchUPh) with its physiological ligand thymidine is important in order to determine the mechanism of the substrate specificity of the enzyme and for the rational design of pharmacological modulators. Here, the expression and purification of VchUPh and the crystallization of its complex with thymidine are reported. Conditions for crystallization were determined with an automated Cartesian Dispensing System using The Classics, MbClass and MbClass II Suites crystallization kits. Crystals of the VchUPh-thymidine complex (of dimensions ∼200-350 µm) were grown by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method in ∼7 d at 291 K. The crystallization solution consisted of 1.5 µl VchUPh (15 mg ml(-1)), 1 µl 0.1 M thymidine and 1.5 µl reservoir solution [15%(w/v) PEG 4000, 0.2 M MgCl(2).6H2O in 0.1 M Tris-HCl pH 8.5]. The crystals diffracted to 2.12 Šresolution and belonged to space group P2(1) (No. 4), with unit-cell parameters a=91.80, b=95.91, c=91.89 Å, ß=119.96°. The Matthews coefficient was calculated as 2.18 Å3 Da(-1); the corresponding solvent content was 43.74%.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray structure analysis of the laccase from Ganoderma lucidum.

The ligninolytic enzymes of the basidiomycetes play a key role in the global carbon cycle. A characteristic property of these enzymes is their broad substrate specificity, which has led to their use in various biotechnologies, thus stimulating research into the three-dimensional structures of ligninolytic enzymes. This paper presents the purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the laccase from the ligninolytic basidiomycete Ganoderma lucidum.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of the fungal laccase from Cerrena maxima.

Laccases are members of the blue multi-copper oxidase family that oxidize substrate molecules by accepting electrons at a mononuclear copper centre and transferring them to a trinuclear centre. Dioxygen binds to the trinuclear centre and, following the transfer of four electrons, is reduced to two molecules of water. Crystals of the laccase from Cerrena maxima have been obtained and X-ray data were collected to 1.9 A resolution using synchrotron radiation. A preliminary analysis shows that the enzyme has the typical laccase structure and several carbohydrate sites have been identified. The carbohydrate chains appear to be involved in stabilization of the intermolecular contacts in the crystal structure, thus promoting the formation of well ordered crystals of the enzyme. Here, the results of an X-ray crystallographic study on the laccase from the fungus Cerrena maxima are reported. Crystals that diffract well to a resolution of at least 1.9 A (R factor = 18.953%; R(free) = 23.835; r.m.s.d. bond lengths, 0.06 A; r.m.s.d. bond angles, 1.07 degrees) have been obtained despite the presence of glycan moieties. The overall spatial organization of C. maxima laccase and the structure of its copper-containing active centre have been determined by the molecular-replacement method using the laccase from Trametes versicolor (Piontek et al., 2002) as a structural template. In addition, four glycan-binding sites were identified and the 1.9 A X-ray data were used to determine the previously unknown primary structure of this protein. The identity (calculated from sequence alignment) between the C. maxima laccase and the T. versicolor laccase is about 87%. Tyr196 and Tyr372 show significant extra density at the ortho positions and this has been interpreted in terms of NO(2) substituents.

X-ray structural studies of the fungal laccase from Cerrena maxima.

Laccases are members of the blue multi-copper oxidase family. These enzymes oxidize substrate molecules by accepting electrons at a mononuclear copper centre and transferring them to a trinuclear centre. Dioxygen binds to the trinuclear centre and following the transfer of four electrons is reduced to two molecules of water. The X-ray structure of a laccase from Cerrena maxima has been elucidated at 1.9 A resolution using synchrotron data and the molecular replacement technique. The final refinement coefficients are Rcryst = 16.8% and Rfree = 23.0%, with root mean square deviations on bond lengths and bond angles of 0.015 A and 1.51 degrees , respectively. The type 1 copper centre has an isoleucine residue at the axial position and the "resting" state of the trinuclear centre comprises a single oxygen (OH) moiety asymmetrically disposed between the two type 3 copper ions and a water molecule attached to the type 2 ion. Several carbohydrate binding sites have been identified and the glycan chains appear to promote the formation of well-ordered crystals. Two tyrosine residues near the protein surface have been found in a nitrated state.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of uridine phosphorylase from Salmonella typhimurium.

The structural udp gene encoding uridine phosphorylase (UPh) was cloned from the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. S. typhimurium UPh (StUPh) was purified to apparent homogeneity and crystallized. The primary structure of StUPh has high homology to the UPh from E. coli, but the enzymes differ substantially in substrate specificity and sensitivity to the polarity of the medium. Single crystals of StUPh were grown using hanging-drop vapor diffusion with PEG 8000 as the precipitant. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.9 A resolution. Preliminary analysis of the diffraction data indicated that the crystal belonged to space group P6(1(5)), with unit-cell parameters a = 92.3, c = 267.5 A. The solvent content is 37.7% assuming the presence of one StUPh hexamer per asymmetric unit.