No abstract

1H NMR is used to detect alterations in metabolites and their linkage to metabolic processes in a number of pathological conditions including breast cancer. Inositol 1, 4, 5 trisphosphate (IP3R) receptor is an intracellular calcium channel known to regulate metabolism and cellular bioenergetics. Its expression is up regulated in a number of cancers. However, its linkage to metabolism in disease conditions has not been evaluated. This study was designed to determine the association if any, of these metabolites with altered expression of IP3R in breast cancer. We used 1H NMR to identify metabolites in the serum of breast cancer patients (n = 27) and performed Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction analysis for quantifying the expression of IP3R type 3 and type 2 in tissues from breast cancer patients (n = 40). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) clearly distinguished patients with high/low IP3R expression from healthy subjects. The present study revealed high expression of IP3R type 2 and type 3 in human breast tumor tissue compared to adjacent non-tumorous tissue. Moreover, patients with ≥ 2-fold increase in IP3R (high IP3R group) had significantly higher concentration of metabolic intermediates compared to those with < 2-fold increase in IP3R (low IP3R group). We observed an increase in lipoprotein content and the levels of metabolites like lactate, lysine and alanine and a decrease in the levels of pyruvate and glucose in serum of high IP3R group patients when compared to those in healthy subjects. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to show the clinical utility of metabolites. In addition to the human studies, functional relevance of IP3Rs in causing metabolic disruption was observed in MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 cells. Results from our studies bring forth the importance of metabolic (or metabolomics) profiling of serum by 1H NMR in conjunction with tissue expression studies for characterizing breast cancer patients. The results from this study provide new insights into relationship of breast cancer metabolites with IP3R.

The modulation of mitochondrial functions is important for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Mitochondria essentially depend on the import of RNAs and proteins encoded by the nuclear genome. MicroRNAs encoded in the nucleus can translocate to mitochondria and target the genome, affecting mitochondrial function. Here, we analyzed the role of miR-4485 in the regulation of mitochondrial functions. We showed that miR-4485 translocated to mitochondria where its levels varied in response to different stress conditions. A direct binding of miR-4485 to mitochondrial 16S rRNA was demonstrated. MiR-4485 regulated the processing of pre-rRNA at the 16S rRNA-ND1 junction and the translation of downstream transcripts. MiR-4485 modulated mitochondrial complex I activity, the production of ATP, ROS levels, caspase-3/7 activation, and apoptosis. Transfection of a miR-4485 mimic downregulated the expression of regulatory glycolytic pathway genes and reduced the clonogenic ability of breast cancer cells. Ectopic expression of miR-4485 in MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells decreased the tumorigenicity in a nude mouse xenograft model. Furthermore, levels of both precursor and mature miR-4485 are decreased in tumor tissue of breast cancer patients. We conclude that the mitochondria-targeted miR-4485 may act as a tumor suppressor in breast carcinoma cells by negatively regulating mitochondrial RNA processing and mitochondrial functions.

Emerging evidences suggest that chronic inflammation is one of the major causes of tumorigenesis. The role of inflammation in regulation of breast cancer progression is not well established. Recently Mediator of IRF3 Activation (MITA) protein has been identified that regulates NF-κB and IFN pathways. Role of MITA in the context of inflammation and cancer progression has not been investigated. In the current report, we studied the role of MITA in the regulation of cross talk between cell death and inflammation in breast cancer cells. The expression of MITA was significantly lower on in estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer cells than ER negative cells. Similarly, it was significantly down regulated in tumor tissue as compared to the normal tissue. The overexpression of MITA in MCF-7 and T47D decreases the cell proliferation and increases the cell death by activation of caspases. MITA positively regulates NF-κB transcription factor, which is essential for MITA induced cell death. The activation of NF-κB induces TNF-α production which further sensitizes MITA induced cell death by activation of death receptor pathway through capsase-8. MITA expression decreases the colony forming units and migration ability of MCF-7 cells. Thus, our finding suggests that MITA acts as a tumor suppressor which is down regulated during tumorigenesis providing survival advantage to tumor cell.

The reports of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) associated with extrapulmonary diseases are increasing in tertiary care hospitals. Despite a significant increase in knowledge about NTM infections, they still represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The aim of this study is to know the prevalence of NTN among extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases in tertiary care centers in Northern India. A total of 227 culture positive isolates from 756 cases were tested for niacin production and catalase assay. BIO-LINE SD Ag MPT64 TB test and final identification and differentiation between MTBC and different species of NTM were further confirmed by GenoType Mycobacterium CM/AS assay. 71 cases (9.3%) were positive for AFB by ZN staining and 227 cases (30.1%) were positive for mycobacteria by culture. Niacin production and catalase activity were negative in 62/227 (27.4%) strains and after using a panel of different biochemicals and final confirmation by GenoType Mycobacterium CM assay. Out of 227 cultures tested, 165 (72.6%) strains were confirmed as M. tuberculosis complex, and 62 (27.4%) were confirmed as NTM. The most common NTM species identified were M. fortuitum 17 (27.5%) and M. intracellulare 13 (20.9%). The rapid identification of NTM species may help in targeted therapy and management of the diseases.