Urea Stress: Myo-inositol's efficacy to counteract destabilization of TIM-beta-globin complex by urea is as good as that of the methylamine
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
Authors: Wahiduzzaman; Hassan, Md Imtaiyaz; Islam, Asimul; Ahmad, Faizan
Abstract
Do kidney osmolytes counteract the deleterious effects of urea on kidney proteins? To answer this question, we measured guanidinium chloride (GdmCl)-induced denaturation of triose phosphate isomerase-beta-globin subunit complex (TIM-O-globin) from sheep kidney in the presence of various concentrations of urea and each of kidney osmolytes (glycine betaine, myo-inositol and sorbitol) alone and in combination at pH 7.5 and 25 degrees C. Analysis of GdmCl-induced denaturation curve at a given osmolyte (or urea) concentration gave Delta G(D)(0) (Gibbs free energy change in the absence of GdmCl). For a co-solute (CO), a linear plot of Delta G(D)(0) (difference between values of Delta G(D)(0) in the presence and absence of CO) against [CO] (molar concentration of CO) yielded m-value (=delta Delta Delta G(D)(0)/delta[CO]). m-value for urea (m(urea)) and that for the osmolyte (m(osm)) were used to determine [urea]:[osmolyte], the molar ratio for the perfect counteraction of the denaturing effect of urea on the protein stability by an osmolyte. For each osmolyte, we tested this ratio for the perfect counteraction. It was observed that glycine betaine and myo-inositol provide perfect counteraction at the predicted molar ratio whereas sorbitol fails to do so. Furthermore, urea and GdmCl induced a two-state denaturation, and both TIM and beta-globin have identical thermodynamic stability. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Prediagnostic circulating inflammation biomarkers and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A case-cohort study in Japan
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
Authors: Aversa, John; Song, Minkyo; Shimazu, Taichi; Inoue, Manami; Charvat, Hadrien; Yamaji, Taiki; Sawada, Norie; Pfeiffer, Ruth M.; Karimi, Parisa; Dawsey, Sanford M.; Rabkin, Charles S.; Tsugane, Shoichiro; Camargo, M. Constanza
Abstract
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the predominant histologic subtype of esophageal cancer worldwide. Measurements of circulating inflammation-related biomarkers may inform etiology or provide noninvasive signatures for early diagnosis. We therefore examined levels of inflammation molecules for associations with ESCC risk. Using a case-cohort study designed within the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study, we measured baseline plasma levels of 92 biomarkers using a multiplex assay in a subcohort of 410 randomly selected participants and 66 participants with incident ESCC (including four cases that occurred in the subcohort). ESCC hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated for 2-4 quantiles of each biomarker by Cox proportional hazards regression models with age as the time metric, adjusted for sex, smoking and alcohol use. Twenty analytes were undetectable in nearly all samples. Of the remaining 72, 12 biomarkers (FGF19, ST1A1, STAMBP, AXIN1, CASP8, NT3, CD6, CDCP1, CD5, SLAMF1, OPG and CSF1) were associated with increased ESCC risk (p(trend) < 0.05) with HRs per quantile 1.28-1.65. Seven biomarkers (CXCL6, CCL23, CXCL5, TGFA, CXCL1, OSM and CCL4) were inversely associated with HRs 0.57-0.72. FGF19, CASP8, STAMBP, ST1A1 and CCL-4 met statistical significance with false discovery rate correction. Associations did not differ vs. >= 5 years between blood collection and ESCC diagnosis. CASP8, STAMBP and ST1A1 were strongly correlated (p < 0.05). Our study expands the range of inflammation molecules associated with the development of this highly lethal neoplasia. Correlations among these novel biomarkers suggest a possible shared pathway. These findings need replication and could further delineate ESCCs molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis.