Profiling the proteomics in honeybee worker brains submitted to the proboscis extension reflex.

The proboscis extension reflex (PER) is an unconditioned stimulus (US) widely used to access the ability of honeybees to correlate it with a conditioned stimulus (CS) during learning and memory acquisition. However, little is known about the biochemical/genetic changes in worker honeybee brains induced by the PER alone. The present investigation profiled the proteomic complement associated with the PER to further the understanding of the major molecular transformations in the honeybee brain during the execution of a US. In the present study, a quantitative shotgun proteomic approach was employed to assign the proteomic complement of the honeybee brain. The results were analyzed under the view of protein networking for different processes involved in PER behavior. In the brains of PER-stimulated individuals, the metabolism of cyclic/heterocyclic/aromatic compounds was activated in parallel with the metabolism of nitrogenated compounds, followed by the up-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism, the proteins involved with the anatomic and cytoskeleton; the down-regulation of the anatomic development and cell differentiation in other neurons also occurred. SIGNIFICANCE: The assay of proboscis extension reflex is frequently used to access honeybees' ability to correlate an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus (such as an odor) to establish learning and memory acquisition. The reflex behavior of proboscis extension was associated with various conditioned stimuli, and the biochemical/genetic evaluation of the changes occurring in honeybee brains under these conditions reflect the synergistic effects of both insect manipulations (training to answer to an unconditioned stimulus and training to respond to a conditioned stimulus). Little or no information is available regarding the biochemical changes stimulated by an unconditioned stimulus alone, such as the proboscis extension reflex. The present investigation characterizes the proteomic changes occurring in the brains of honeybee workers submitted to proboscis extension reflex. A series of metabolic and cellular processes were identified to be related to the reflex of an unconditioned stimulus. This strategy may be reproduced to further understand the processes of learning and memory acquisition in honeybees.

Colorectal cancer DNA methylation patterns from patients in Manaus, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation is commonly linked with the silencing of the gene expression for many tumor suppressor genes. As such, determining DNA methylation patterns should aid, in times to come, in the diagnosis and personal treatment for various types of cancers. Here, we analyzed the methylation pattern from five colorectal cancer patients from the Amazon state in Brazil for four tumor suppressor genes, viz.: DAPK, CDH1, CDKN2A, and TIMP2 by employing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific to methylation. Efforts in the study of colorectal cancer are fundamental as it is the third most of highest incidence in the world. RESULTS: Tumor biopsies were methylated in 1/5 (20%), 2/5 (40%), 4/5 (80%), and 4/5 (80%) for CDH1, CDKN2A, DAPK, and TIMP2 genes, respectively. The margin biopsies were methylated in 3/7 (43%), 2/7 (28%), 7/7 (100%), and 6/7 (86%) for CDH1, CDKN2A, DAPK, and TIMP2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed DAPK and TIMP2 to be methylated in most samples from both tumor tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic margins; thus presenting distinct methylation patterns. This emphasizes the importance of better understanding of the relation of these patterns with cancer in the context of different populations.

Exploring the proteomic landscape of a gastric cancer biopsy with the shotgun imaging analyzer.

Accessing localized proteomic profiles has emerged as a fundamental strategy to understand the biology of diseases, as recently demonstrated, for example, in the context of determining cancer resection margins with improved precision. Here, we analyze a gastric cancer biopsy sectioned into 10 parts, each one subjected to MudPIT analysis. We introduce a software tool, named Shotgun Imaging Analyzer and inspired in MALDI imaging, to enable the overlaying of a protein's expression heat map on a tissue picture. The software is tightly integrated with the NeXtProt database, so it enables the browsing of identified proteins according to chromosomes, quickly listing human proteins never identified by mass spectrometry (i.e., the so-called missing proteins), and the automatic search for proteins that are more expressed over a specific region of interest on the biopsy, all of which constitute goals that are clearly well-aligned with those of the C-HPP. Our software has been able to highlight an intense expression of proteins previously known to be correlated with cancers (e.g., glutathione S-transferase Mu 3), and in particular, we draw attention to Gastrokine-2, a "missing protein" identified in this work of which we were able to clearly delineate the tumoral region from the "healthy" with our approach. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000584.

Long-term outcome in patients with recurrent malignant glioma treated with Perillyl alcohol inhalation.

AIM: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the long-term response and toxicity of recurrent malignant glioma patients to inhalation chemotherapy with perillyl alcohol (POH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The cohort included 117 men and 81 women with primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM; n=154), grade III astrocytoma (AA; n=26) and anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO; n=5). POH inhalation schedule 4-times daily started with 66.7 mg/dose; 266 mg/day and escalated up to 133.4 mg/dose; 533.6 mg/day. Clinical toxicity and overall survival following treatment were compared with tumor size, topography, extent of peritumoral edema and histological classification. RESULTS: Adhesion to the protocol was high (>95%), POH (533.6 mg/daily) occasionally caused nose soreness but rarely nosebleed. Tumor size, peritumoral edema and the oligodendroglial component influenced response to treatment. CONCLUSION: After 4 years under exclusive POH treatment, 19% of patients still remain in clinical remission. Long-term POH inhalation chemotherapy is a safe and non-invasive strategy efficient for recurrent malignant glioma.

Chemo-resistant protein expression pattern of glioblastoma cells (A172) to perillyl alcohol.

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is by far the most malignant glioma. We have introduced a new treatment for GBMs that comprises the inhalation of a naturally occurring terpene with chemotherapeutic properties known as perillyl alcohol (POH). Clinical trial results on recurrent GBM patients showed that POH extends the average life by more than eight months, temporarily slows tumor growth, and in some cases even decreases tumor size. After approximately seven months, the tumor continues to grow and leads to a dismal prognosis. To investigate how these tumors become resistant to POH, we generated an A172 human glioblastoma cell culture tolerant to 0.06 mM of POH (A172r). We used Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) to compare the protein expression profile of A172r cells to the established glioblastoma A172 cell line. Our results include a list of identified proteins unique to either the resistant or the nonresistant cell line. These proteins are related to cellular growth, negative apoptosis regulation, Ras pathway, and other key cellular functions that could be connected to the underlying mechanisms of resistance.