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Nathan Goodyear

Induction of metastasis, cancer stem cell phenotype, and oncogenic metabolism in cancer... - 0 views

  • More than half of cancer patients are treated with IR at some point during their treatment
  • fractionation schedule is the delivery of 1.8–2.0 Gy per day, five days per week
  • Nuclear DNA is the primary target of IR; it causes DNA damage (genotoxic stress) by direct DNA ionization
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  • IR also indirectly induces DNA damage by stimulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production
  • IR is known to induce EMT in vitro
  • p53 is activated in response to IR-induced DNA damage
  • IR paradoxically also promotes tumour recurrence and metastasis
  • DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs)
  • cancer cells undergoing EMT acquire invasive and metastatic properties
  • changes in the tumour microenvironment (TME)
  • IR seems to induce EMT and CSC phenotypes by regulating cellular metabolism
  • EMT, stemness, and oncogenic metabolism are known to be associated with resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy
  • Hanahan and Weinberg proposed ten hallmarks of cancer that alter cell physiology to enhance malignant growth: 1) sustained proliferation, 2) evasion of growth suppression, 3) cell death resistance, 4) replicative immortality, 5) evasion of immune destruction, 6) tumour-promoting inflammation, 7) activation of invasion and metastasis, 8) induction of angiogenesis, 9) genome instability, and 10) alteration of metabolism
  • EMT is a developmental process that plays critical roles in embryogenesis, wound healing, and organ fibrosis
  • IR is known to induce stemness and metabolic alterations in cancer cells
  • transforming growth factor-β [TGF-β], epidermal growth factor [EGF]) and their associated signalling proteins (Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, nuclear-factor kappa B [NF-κB], extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK], and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase [PI3K]/Akt
  • activate EMT-inducing transcription factors, including Snail/Slug, ZEB1/δEF1, ZEB2/SIP1, Twist1/2, and E12/E47
  • Loss of E-cadherin is considered a hallmark of EMT
  • IR has been shown to induce EMT to enhance the motility and invasiveness of several cancer cells, including those of breast, lung, and liver cancer, and glioma cells
  • IR may increase metastasis in both the primary tumour site and in normal tissues under some circumstance
  • sublethal doses of IR have been shown to enhance the migratory and invasive behaviours of glioma cells
  • ROS are known to play an important role in IR-induced EMT
  • High levels of ROS trigger cell death by causing irreversible damage to cellular components such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, whereas low levels of ROS have been shown to promote tumour progression—including tumour growth, invasion, and metastasis
  • hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is involved in IR-induced EMT
  • Treatment with the N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a general ROS scavenger, prevents IR-induced EMT, adhesive affinity, and invasion of breast cancer cells
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      NAC for all patients receiving radiation therapy
  • Snail has been shown to play a crucial role in IR-induced EMT, migration, and invasion
  • IR activates the p38 MAPK pathway, which contributes to the induction of Snail expression to promote EMT and invasion
  • NF-κB signalling that promotes cell migration
  • ROS promote EMT to allow cancer cells to avoid hostile environments
  • HIF-1 is a heterodimer composed of an oxygen-sensitive α subunit and a constitutively expressed β subunit.
  • Under normoxia, HIF-1α is rapidly degraded, whereas hypoxia induces stabilisation and accumulation of HIF-1α
  • levels of HIF-1α mRNA are enhanced by activation of the PI3K/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)
  • IR is known to increase stabilisation and nuclear accumulation of HIF-1α, since hypoxia is a major condition for HIF-1 activation
  • IR induces vascular damage that causes hypoxia
  • ROS is implicated in IR-induced HIF-1 activation
  • IR causes the reoxygenation of hypoxic cancer cells to increase ROS production, which leads to the stabilisation and nuclear accumulation of HIF-1
  • IR increases glucose availability under reoxygenated conditions that promote HIF-1α translation by activating the Akt/mTOR pathway
  • The stabilised HIF-1α then translocates to the nucleus, dimerizes with HIF-1β, and increases gene expression— including the expression of essential EMT regulators such as Snail—to induce EMT, migration, and invasion
  • TGF-β signalling has been shown to play a crucial role in IR-induced EMT
  • AP-1 transcription factor is involved in IR-induced TGF-β1 expression
  • Wnt/β-catenin signalling is also implicated in IR-induced EMT
  • Notch signalling is known to be involved in IR-induced EMT
  • IR also increases Notch-1 expression [99]. Notch-1 is known to induce EMT by upregulating Snail
  • PAI-1 signalling is also implicated in IR-induced Akt activation that increases Snail levels to induce EMT
  • EGFR activation is known to be associated with IR-induced EMT, cell migration, and invasion by activating two downstream pathways: PI3K/Akt and Raf/MEK/ERK
  • ROS and RNS are also implicated in IR-induced EGFR activation
  • IR has also been shown to activate Hedgehog (Hh) signalling to induce EMT
  • IR has been shown to induce Akt activation through several signalling pathways (EGFR, C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 [CXCR4]/C-X-C motif chemokine 12 [CXCL12], plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 [PAI-1]) and upstream regulators (Bmi1, PTEN) that promote EMT and invasion
  • CSCs possess a capacity for self-renewal, and they can persistently proliferate to initiate tumours upon serial transplantation, thus enabling them to maintain the whole tumour
  • Conventional cancer treatments kill most cancer cells, but CSCs survive due to their resistance to therapy, eventually leading to tumour relapse and metastasis
  • identification of CSCs, three types of markers are utilised: cell surface molecules, transcription factors, and signalling pathway molecules
  • CSCs express distinct and specific surface markers; commonly used ones are CD24, CD34, CD38, CD44, CD90, CD133, and ALDH
  • Transcription factors, including Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, c-Myc, and Klf4,
  • signalling pathways, including those of TGF-β, Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), and JAK/STAT
  • microRNAs (miRNAs), including let-7, miR-22, miR-34a, miR-128, the miR-200 family, and miR-451
  • Non-CSCs can be reprogrammed to become CSCs by epigenetic and genetic changes
  • EMT-inducing transcription factors, such as Snail, ZEB1, and Twist1, are known to confer CSC properties
  • Signalling pathways involved in EMT, including those of TGF-β, Wnt, and Notch, have been shown to play important roles in inducing the CSC phenotype
  • TGF-β1 not only increases EMT markers (Slug, Twist1, β-catenin, N-cadherin), but also upregulates CSC markers (Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, Klf4) in breast and lung cancer cells
  • some CSC subpopulations arise independently of EMT
  • IR has been shown to induce the CSC phenotype in many cancers, including breast, lung, and prostate cancers, as well as melanoma
  • Genotoxic stress due to IR or chemotherapy promotes a CSC-like phenotype by increasing ROS production
  • IR has been shown to induce reprogramming of differentiated cancer cells into CSCs
  • In prostate cancer patients, radiotherapy increases the CD44+ cell population that exhibit CSC properties
  • IR also induces the re-expression of stem cell regulators, such as Sox2, Oct4, Nanog, and Klf4, to promote stemness in cancer cells
  • EMT-inducing transcription factors and signalling pathways, including Snail, STAT3, Notch signalling, the PI3K/Akt pathway, and the MAPK cascade, have been shown to play important roles in IR-induced CSC properties
  • STAT3 directly binds to the Snail promoter and increases Snail transcription, which induces the EMT and CSC phenotypes, in cisplatin-selected resistant cells
  • Other oncogenic metabolic pathways, including glutamine metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol, are also enhanced in many cancers
  • metabolic reprogramming
  • HIF-1α, p53, and c-Myc, are known to contribute to oncogenic metabolism
  • metabolic reprogramming
  • tumour cells exhibit high mitochondrial metabolism as well as aerobic glycolysis
  • occurring within the same tumour
  • CSCs can be highly glycolytic-dependent or oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)-dependen
  • mitochondrial function is crucial for maintaining CSC functionality
  • cancer cells depend on mitochondrial metabolism and increase mitochondrial production of ROS that cause pseudo-hypoxia
  • HIF-1 then enhances glycolysis
  • CAFs have defective mitochondria that lead to the cells exhibiting the Warburg effect; the cells take up glucose, and then secrete lactate to 'feed' adjacent cancer cells
  • lactate transporter, monocarboxylate transporter (MCT)
  • nutrient microenvironment
  • Epithelial cancer cells express MCT1, while CAFs express MCT4. MCT4-positive, hypoxic CAFs secrete lactate by aerobic glycolysis, and MCT1-expressing epithelial cancer cells then uptake and use that lactate as a substrate for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle
  • MCT4-positive cancer cells depend on glycolysis and then efflux lactate, while MCT1-positive cells uptake lactate and rely on OXPHOS
  • metabolic heterogeneity induces a lactate shuttle between hypoxic/glycolytic cells and oxidative/aerobic tumour cells
  • bulk tumour cells exhibit a glycolytic phenotype, with increased conversion of glucose to lactate (and enhanced lactate efflux through MCT4), CSC subsets depend on oxidative phosphorylation; most of the glucose entering the cells is converted to pyruvate to fuel the TCA cycle and the electron transport chain (ETC), thereby increasing mitochondrial ROS production
  • the major fraction of glucose is directed into the pentose phosphate pathway, to produce redox power through the generation of NADPH and ROS scavengers
  • HIF-1α, p53, and c-Myc, are known to contribute to oncogenic metabolism
  • regulatory molecules involved in EMT and CSCs, including Snail, Dlx-2, HIF-1, STAT3, TGF-β, Wnt, and Akt, are implicated in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells
  • HIF-1 induces the expression of glycolytic enzymes, including the glucose transporter GLUT, hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and MCT, resulting in the glycolytic switch
  • HIF-1 represses the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), which inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), thereby inhibiting mitochondrial activity
  • STAT3 has been implicated in EMT-induced metabolic changes as well
  • TGF-β and Wnt play important roles in the metabolic alteration of cancer cells
  • Akt is also implicated in the glycolytic switch and in promoting cancer cell invasiveness
  • EMT, invasion, metastasis, and stemness
  • pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), LDH, and pyruvate carboxylase (PC), are implicated in the induction of the EMT and CSC phenotypes
  • decreased activity of PKM2 is known to promote an overall shift in metabolism to aerobic glycolysis
  • LDH catalyses the bidirectional conversion of lactate to pyruvate
  • High levels of LDHA are positively correlated with the expression of EMT and CSC markers
  • IR has been shown to induce metabolic changes in cancer cells
  • IR enhances glycolysis by upregulating GAPDH (a glycolysis enzyme), and it increases lactate production by activating LDHA, which converts pyruvate to lactate
  • IR enhances glycolysis by upregulating GAPDH (a glycolysis enzyme), and it increases lactate production by activating LDHA, which converts pyruvate to lactate
  • IR also elevates MCT1 expression that exports lactate into the extracellular environment, leading to acidification of the tumour microenvironment
  • IR increases intracellular glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, fructose, and products of pyruvate (lactate and alanine), suggesting a role for IR in the upregulation of cytosolic aerobic glycolysis
  • Lactate can activate latent TGF-
  • lactate stimulates cell migration and enhances secretion of hyaluronan from CAF that promote tumour metastasis
  • promote tumour survival, growth, invasion, and metastasis; enhance the stiffness of the ECM; contribute to angiogenesis; and induce inflammation by releasing several growth factors and cytokines (TGF-β, VEGF, hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], PDGF, and stromal cell-derived factor 1 [SDF1]), as well as MMP
  • tumours recruit the host tissue’s blood vessel network to perform four mechanisms: angiogenesis (formation of new vessels), vasculogenesis (de novo formation of blood vessels from endothelial precursor cells), co-option, and modification of existing vessels within tissues.
  • immunosuppressive cells such as tumour-associated macrophages (TAM), MDSCs, and regulatory T cells, and the immunosuppressive cytokines, TGF-β and interleukin-10 (IL-10)
  • immunosuppressive cells such as tumour-associated macrophages (TAM), MDSCs, and regulatory T cells, and the immunosuppressive cytokines, TGF-β and interleukin-10 (IL-10)
  • intrinsic immunogenicity or induce tolerance
  • cancer immunoediting’
  • three phases: 1) elimination, 2) equilibrium, and 3) escape.
  • The third phase, tumour escape, is mediated by antigen loss, immunosuppressive cells (TAM, MDSCs, and regulatory T cells), and immunosuppressive cytokines (TGF-β and IL-10).
  • IR can elicit various changes in the TME, such as CAF activity-mediated ECM remodelling and fibrosis, cycling hypoxia, and an inflammatory response
  • IR activates CAFs to promote the release of growth factors and ECM modulators, including TGF-β and MMP
  • TGF-β directly influences tumour cells and CAFs, promotes tumour immune escape, and activates HIF-1 signalling
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      And now the receipts
  • MMPs degrade ECM that facilitates angiogenesis, tumour cell invasion, and metastasis
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      Receipts and mechanisms
  • IR also promotes MMP-2/9 activation in cancer cells to promote EMT, invasion, and metastasis
  • IR-induced Snail increases MMP-2 expression to promote EMT
  • Radiotherapy has the paradoxical side-effect of increasing tumour aggressiveness
  • IR promotes ROS production in cancer cells, which may induce the activation of oncogenes and the inactivation of tumour suppressors, which further promote oncogenic metabolism
  • Metabolic alterations
  • oncogenic metabolism
  • elicit various changes in the TME
  • Although IR activates an antitumour immune response, this signalling is frequently suppressed by tumour escape mechanisms
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    Important review article.
Nathan Goodyear

Role of maximum standardized uptake value in fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomog... - 0 views

  • 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) is an effective and popular technique for evaluating patients before and after breast cancer surgery.
  • Quantitative FDG-PET/CT imaging is becoming prevalent in cancer treatment as it measures glucose metabolism that reflects the growth potential and metabolic activity of malignant tumors
  • The FDG-PET/CT findings of primary lesions in colorectal and lung cancers correlate with metastasis and prognosis because FDG reflects tumor viability
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  • The technique is valuable for predicting the prognosis of patients with recurrent breast cancer and for determining and predicting the outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy
  • FDG-PET/CT is useful not only for evaluating metastasis but also for predicting the prognosis of recurrent breast cancer and measuring treatment effects
  • reports remain limited to small-scale clinical trials of about 100 patients.
  • MaxSUV, which is the most popular FDG-PET/CT value, can vary up to 30 % because of differences among PET/CT devices and among the operators who create the images
  • the degree of malignancy would increase with an increase in maxSUV when ER or HER-2 signaling is involved.
  • Factors that determine the rate of cancer progression include T-factor (tumor diameter) and N-factor (presence or absence/number of lymph node metastasis)
  • The prognostic factors applied in breast cancer can be broadly divided into those that determine staging and those that determine biological tumor characteristics
  • Prognosis was previously predicted based on T, N, and M staging, which indicates the degree of progression. However, prognosis is now predicted and treatment regimes are presently selected by also considering ER and HER-2 levels, which determine the nature of the tumor
  • maxSUV presently serves as an indicator of metabolic activity during cancer therapy. For instance, the maxSUV of primary lung and hematological cancer lesions correlates with metastasis and prognosis, whereas maxSUV also seems useful for predicting the prognosis of recurrent breast cancer and in determining and predicting the outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy
  • The maxSUV cut-off calculated from ROC curves for recurrence was 3.0
  • Factors that determine the nature of tumors also include ER, HER-2, Ki-67 labeling index, and nuclear grade
  • both ER status and maxSUV as independent prognostic factors
  • maxSUV has a closer correlation with prognosis
  • maxSUV, clinical T-factor and ER were significant prognostic factors
  • Our results showed that maxSUV has the potential to be a novel prognostic factor and that it can be used to determine future therapies
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    Retrospective, multi-facility finds maxSUV can be used in prognosis in cancer.  Others have shown benefit in recurrence risk.  MaxSUV was found to be an independent factor.
umar111

Computer Science: Computer hardware - 0 views

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    Computer Science Tuesday, April 25, 2023 Computer hardware Computer hardware is the physical components that make up a computer system. It includes everything from the central processing unit (CPU) to the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Understanding the different types of hardware and how they work together is essential for anyone who works with computers. In this article, we will explore the various components of computer hardware, including internal and external components, and the peripherals that connect to them. We will also discuss the importance of hardware maintenance, the latest advancements in computer technology, and factors to consider when choosing the right hardware for your needs. Whether you are a computer technician, a gamer, or simply someone who uses a computer for everyday tasks, this article will help you better understand the world of computer hardware. Introduction to Computer Hardware Computer hardware refers to the physical components that make up a computer system. It includes everything from the processor and memory to input/output devices such as the keyboard and monitor. In this article, we will explore the different types of computer hardware and their functions. What is Computer Hardware Computer hardware refers to the physical components of a computer system. It includes all the components that can be touched, seen, and used to interact with a computer, such as the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Hardware is different from computer software, which refers to the programs and applications that run on a computer system. History of Computer Hardware The history of computer hardware dates back to the 1820s when Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, and inventor, designed the first analytical engine, which was considered to be the first mechanical computer. With time, more complex electronic computers were developed, including the first Intel microprocessor in 1971. Since then, computer hardware has continued to evolve, becoming
Nathan Goodyear

Broad targeting of angiogenesis for cancer prevention and therapy - 0 views

  • vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), interleukin-8 (IL-8), placental growth factor (PlGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), angiopoietins (Angs) and others (reviewed in [4])
  • The switch may also involve down-regulation of endogenous inhibitors of angiogenesis such as endostatin, angiostatin or thrombospondin (reviewed in [5]) and has thus been regarded as the result of tipping the net balance between positive and negative regulators
  • There is a complex interrelationship between tumor hypoxia and tumor angiogenesis
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  • chronic hypoxia
  • acute hypoxia
  • Environmental stress as a result of low oxygen and proper nutrient deprivation, such as glucose deprivation, are capable of inducing VEGF mRNA stabilization resulting in increased levels of the secreted ligand and angiogenic growth
  • HIFalpha subunits accumulate in the cytoplasm where they bind HIFbeta to form a heterodimer that subsequently translocates to the nucleus to activate transcription of target genes, including genes important for various processes such as metabolism (glucose transporter (GLUT)-1, hexokinase (HK)-1), cell growth (cyclin (CCN)-D1 [23]) and also angiogenesis, such as erythropoietin, VEGF and PDGF [24] (summarized in Fig. 1)
  • When oxygen levels are low (hypoxia; red arrow) PHDs cannot hydroxylate HIFalphas thereby allowing them to escape pVHL-mediated degradation. HIFalpha subunits accumulate and bind to their heterodimeric partner, HIFbeta, translocate into the nucleus and activate a cascade of hypoxic signaling first by the transcription of various target genes including microRNAs that are important for tumor promoting pathways
  • c-Src is also capable of activating HIFs by indirectly inhibiting PHD activity via the NADPH oxidase/Rac pathway.
  • mTOR can also promote stabilization and HIF transcriptional activity
  • hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs), heterodimeric transcription factors composed from alpha and beta subunits, which can be rapidly stabilized to fluidly adapt to and overcome the effects of a hypoxic environment
  • Curcumin inhibits the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3, and the kinase activity of Src and FAK, which are responsible for the induction of angiogenic genes as well as endothelial cell polarity and migration
  • Curcumin also reduces the MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression, along with the suppression of growth and invasion potential of tumor cells in culture and xenograft experiments
  • The expression of angiogenic biomarkers COX-2 and serum levels of VEGF were significantly reduced in the curcumin-treated group
  • Resveratrol inhibits capillary endothelial cell growth and new blood vessel growth in animals
  • interrupting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis
  • [155] and impeding angiogenesis by suppressing VEGF expression through down-regulation of HIF-1alpha
  • resveratrol was reported to inhibit cell proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells and human osteosarcoma cells by attenuating HIF-1alpha
  • prevents cytokine-induced vascular leakage and tumor metastasis
  • The underlying molecular mechanisms include: blocking VEGF- and FGF-receptor-mediated MAPK activation, inhibiting Akt- and MAPK-driven HIF-1alpha basal expression and its induction by IGF-1, stimulating the proteasomal degradation of HIF-1alpha, inhibiting phosphatidyl inositol (PI)-3K/Akt and Ras/mitogen/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK)/ERK pathways, and activation of forkhead box (FOX)O transcription factors
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    natural compounds to attach cancer explained.
Nathan Goodyear

Substantial contribution of extrinsic risk factors to cancer development - 0 views

  • Here we provide evidence that intrinsic risk factors contribute only modestly (<10~30%) to cancer development
  • we conclude that cancer risk is heavily influenced by extrinsic factors. These results carry immense consequences for strategizing cancer prevention
  • cancers are proposed to originate from the malignant transformation of normal tissue progenitor and stem cells
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  • “Intrinsic processes” include those that result in mutations due to random errors in DNA replication whereas “extrinsic factors” are environmental factors that affect mutagenesis rates (such as UV radiation, ionizing radiation, and carcinogens
  • intrinsic factors do not play a major causal role.
  • intrinsic cancer risk should be determined by the cancer incidence for those cancers with the least risk in the entire group controlling for total stem cell divisions
  • if one or more cancers would feature a much higher cancer incidence, for example, lung cancer among smokers vs. non-smokers, then this most likely reflects additional (and probably extrinsic) risk factors (smoking in this case)
  • Particularly, for breast and prostate cancers, it has long been observed that large international geographical variations exist in their incidences (5-fold for breast cancer, 25-fold for prostate cancer)14, and immigrants moving from countries with lower cancer incidence to countries with higher cancer rates soon acquire the higher risk of their new country
  • Colorectal cancer is another high-incidence cancer that is widely considered to be an environmental disease17, with an estimated 75% or more colorectal cancer risk attributable to diet
  • melanoma, its risk ascribed to sun exposure is around 65–86%
  • non-melanoma basal and squamous skin cancers, ~90% is attributable to UV
  • 75% of esophageal cancer, or head and neck cancer are caused by tobacco and alcohol
  • HPV may cause ~90% cases in cervical cancer23, ~90% cases in anal cancer24, and ~70% in oropharyngeal cancer
  • HBV and HCV may account for ~80% cases of hepatocellular carcinoma
  • H pylori may be responsible for 65–80% of gastric cancer
  • While a few cancers have relatively large proportions of intrinsic mutations (>50%), the majority of cancers have large proportions of extrinsic mutations, for example, ~100% for Myeloma, Lung and Thyroid cancers and ~80–90% for Bladder, Colorectal and Uterine cancers, indicating substantial contributions of carcinogen exposures in the development of most cancers
  • onsistent estimate of contribution of extrinsic factors of >70–90% in most common cancer types. This concordance lends significant credibility to the overall conclusion on the role of extrinsic factors in cancer development
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    Really great read.  Cancer is a majority lifestyle disease.
Nathan Goodyear

Testosterone: a vascular hormone in health and disease - 0 views

  • Testosterone has beneficial effects on several cardiovascular risk factors, which include cholesterol, endothelial dysfunction and inflammation
  • In clinical studies, acute and chronic testosterone administration increases coronary artery diameter and flow, improves cardiac ischaemia and symptoms in men with chronic stable angina and reduces peripheral vascular resistance in chronic heart failure.
  • testosterone is an L-calcium channel blocker and induces potassium channel activation in vascular smooth muscle cells
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  • Animal studies have consistently demonstrated that testosterone is atheroprotective, whereas testosterone deficiency promotes the early stages of atherogenesis
  • there is no compelling evidence that testosterone replacement to levels within the normal healthy range contributes adversely to the pathogenesis of CVD (Carson & Rosano 2011) or prostate cancer (Morgentaler & Schulman 2009)
  • bidirectional effect between decreased testosterone concentrations and disease pathology exists as concomitant cardiovascular risk factors (including inflammation, obesity and insulin resistance) are known to reduce testosterone levels and that testosterone confers beneficial effects on these cardiovascular risk factors
  • Achieving a normal physiological testosterone concentration through the administration of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) has been shown to improve risk factors for atherosclerosis including reducing central adiposity and insulin resistance and improving lipid profiles (in particular, lowering cholesterol), clotting and inflammatory profiles and vascular function
  • It is well known that impaired erectile function and CVD are closely related in that ED can be the first clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis often preceding a cardiovascular event by 3–5 years
  • no decrease in the response (i.e. no tachyphylaxis) of testosterone and that patient benefit persists in the long term.
  • free testosterone levels within the physiological range, has been shown to result in a marked increase in both flow- and nitroglycerin-mediated brachial artery vasodilation in men with CAD
  • Clinical studies, however, have revealed either small reductions of 2–3 mm in diastolic pressure or no significant effects when testosterone is replaced within normal physiological limits in humans
  • Endothelium-independent mechanisms of testosterone are considered to occur primarily via the inhibition of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels (VOCCs) and/or activation of K+ channels (KCs) on smooth muscle cells (SMCs)
  • Testosterone shares the same molecular binding site as nifedipine
  • Testosterone increases the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and enhances nitric oxide (NO) production
  • Testosterone also inhibited the Ca2+ influx response to PGF2α
  • one of the major actions of testosterone is on NO and its signalling pathways
  • In addition to direct effects on NOS expression, testosterone may also affect phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5 (PDE5A)) gene expression, an enzyme controlling the degradation of cGMP, which acts as a vasodilatory second messenger
  • the significance of the action of testosterone on VSMC apoptosis and proliferation in atherosclerosis is difficult to delineate and may be dependent upon the stage of plaque development
  • Several human studies have shown that carotid IMT (CIMT) and aortic calcification negatively correlate with serum testosterone
  • t long-term testosterone treatment reduced CIMT in men with low testosterone levels and angina
  • neither intracellular nor membrane-associated ARs are required for the rapid vasodilator effect
  • acute responses appear to be AR independent, long-term AR-mediated effects on the vasculature have also been described, primarily in the context of vascular tone regulation via the modulation of gene transcription
  • Testosterone and DHT increased the expression of eNOS in HUVECs
  • oestrogens have been shown to activate eNOS and stimulate NO production in an ERα-dependent manner
  • Several studies, however, have demonstrated that the vasodilatory actions of testosterone are not reduced by aromatase inhibition
  • non-aromatisable DHT elicited similar vasodilation to testosterone treatment in arterial smooth muscle
  • increased endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression and phosphorylation were observed in testosterone- and DHT-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells
  • Androgen deprivation leads to a reduction in neuronal NOS expression associated with a decrease of intracavernosal pressure in penile arteries during erection, an effect that is promptly reversed by androgen replacement therapy
  • Observational evidence suggests that several pro-inflammatory cytokines (including interleukin 1β (IL1β), IL6, tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα), and highly sensitive CRP) and serum testosterone levels are inversely associated in patients with CAD, T2DM and/or hypogonadism
  • patients with the highest IL1β concentrations had lower endogenous testosterone levels
  • TRT has been reported to significantly reduce TNFα and elevate the circulating anti-inflammatory IL10 in hypogonadal men with CVD
  • testosterone treatment to normalise levels in hypogonadal men with the MetS resulted in a significant reduction in the circulating CRP, IL1β and TNFα, with a trend towards lower IL6 compared with placebo
  • parenteral testosterone undecanoate, CRP decreased significantly in hypogonadal elderly men
  • Higher levels of serum adiponectin have been shown to lower cardiovascular risk
  • Research suggests that the expression of VCAM-1, as induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα or interferon γ (IFNγ (IFNG)) in endothelial cells, can be attenuated by treatment with testosterone
  • Testosterone also inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL6, IL1β and TNFα in a range of cell types including human endothelial cells
  • decreased inflammatory response to TNFα and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human endothelial cells when treated with DHT
  • The key to unravelling the link between testosterone and its role in atherosclerosis may lay in the understanding of testosterone signalling and the cross-talk between receptors and intracellular events that result in pro- and/or anti-inflammatory actions in athero-sensitive cells.
  • testosterone functions through the AR to modulate adhesion molecule expression
  • pre-treatment with DHT reduced the cytokine-stimulated inflammatory response
  • DHT inhibited NFκB activation
  • DHT could inhibit an LPS-induced upregulation of MCP1
  • Both NFκB and AR act at the transcriptional level and have been experimentally found to be antagonistic to each other
  • As the AR and NFκB are mutual antagonists, their interaction and influence on functions can be bidirectional, with inflammatory agents that activate NFκB interfering with normal androgen signalling as well as the AR interrupting NFκB inflammatory transcription
  • prolonged exposure of vascular cells to the inflammatory activation of NFκB associated with atherosclerosis may reduce or alter any potentially protective effects of testosterone
  • DHT and IFNγ also modulate each other's signalling through interaction at the transcriptional level, suggesting that androgens down-regulate IFN-induced genes
  • (Simoncini et al. 2000a,b). Norata et al. (2010) suggest that part of the testosterone-mediated atheroprotective effects could depend on ER activation mediated by the testosterone/DHT 3β-derivative, 3β-Adiol
  • TNFα-induced induction of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin as well as MCP1 and IL6 was significantly reduced by a pre-incubation with 3β-Adiol in HUVECs
  • 3β-Adiol also reduced LPS-induced gene expression of IL6, TNFα, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2 (PTGS2)), CD40, CX3CR1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, MMP9, resistin, pentraxin-3 and MCP1 in the monocytic cell line U937 (Norata et al. 2010)
  • This study suggests that testosterone metabolites, other than those generated through aromatisation, could exert anti-inflammatory effects that are mediated by ER activation.
  • The authors suggest that DHT differentially effects COX2 levels under physiological and pathophysiological conditions in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells and via AR-dependent and -independent mechanisms influenced by the physiological state of the cell
  • There are, however, a number of systematic meta-analyses of clinical trials of TRT that have not demonstrated an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events or mortality
  • The TOM trial, which was designed to investigate the effect of TRT on frailty in elderly men, was terminated prematurely as a result of an increased incidence of cardiovascular-related events after 6 months in the treatment arm
  • trials of TRT in men with either chronic stable angina or chronic cardiac failure have also found no increase in either cardiovascular events or mortality in studies up to 12 months
  • Evidence may therefore suggest that low testosterone levels and testosterone levels above the normal range have an adverse effect on CVD, whereas testosterone levels titrated to within the mid- to upper-normal range have at least a neutral effect or, taking into account the knowledge of the beneficial effects of testosterone on a series of cardiovascular risk factors, there may possibly be a cardioprotective action
  • The effect of testosterone on human vascular function is a complex issue and may be dependent upon the underlying androgen and/or disease status.
  • the majority of studies suggest that testosterone may display both acute and chronic vasodilatory effects upon various vascular beds at both physiological and supraphysiological concentrations and via endothelium-dependent and -independent mechanisms
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    Good deep look into the testosterone and CVD link.
Nathan Goodyear

Testosterone, thrombophilia, throm... [Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2014] - PubMed - NCBI - 0 views

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    This study's conclusion is to evaluate clotting factor i.e. factor V leiden, Factor VIII, and prothrombin prior to giving Testosterone.  This small study found increased clotting in some men on Testosterone. The problem here is the dosing of Testosterone in these men was 50-160 mg.  Physiologic dosing is 5-10 mg.  The problem is doping.  One wonders if physiologic dosing was undertaken if any of the men in this study would develop clotting problems, even though they had undiagnosed hypercoagulabitliy.
Nathan Goodyear

Urinary estrogen metabolites in women at high risk for breast cancer - 0 views

  • obesity has also been linked to preferential estrogen metabolism via the 16-alpha-hydroxylation pathway; thus, a prediction of the mechanism by which obesity could increase breast cancer risk would be through a lowering of the 2:16 ratio in favor of the 16 pathway
  • increased BMI was associated with a lower 2:16 OHE ratio
  • Our data show a significant association between alcohol use, defined as at least one drink per day or an average of seven per week, and 2:16 OHE ratio
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  • An alcohol-induced rise in estrogens as a consequence of alcohol catabolism in the liver has been reported
  • The only study that looked at the association between alcohol and wine consumption in healthy women did not report a clear association
  • smoking has been reported to increase induction of the 2-hydroxylation metabolic pathway (24). However, the few epidemiological studies conducted on healthy women showed no difference in estrogen metabolites with smoking status (22) or smoking dose (20), in line with our findings.
  • Family history of a first-degree family member with breast cancer confers a 2- to 4-fold risk of developing breast cancer
  • 16% of breast cancers are due to unidentified hereditary factors
  • Estrogen metabolism occurs through enzymes whose activity is determined by the presence of specific genetic polymorphisms, thus can be defined as unique to each individual.
  • the metabolism is also influenced by a number of environmental factors, which change over a lifetime
  • significantly lower 2:16 OHE ratio in women who have known breast cancer risk factors compared with healthy women
  • There was an additional significant association specifically with BMI and alcohol use, which also supports the evidence that these factors affect estrogen metabolism
  • Profiling estrogen metabolites may identify women who are more likely to develop breast cancer within a population of women with known risk factors
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    urinary estrogen metabolites shown to provide insight into breast cancer risk.  This study suggested that a low 2:16 OHE ratio increase breast cancer risk.
Nathan Goodyear

Role of Oxidative Stress and the Microenvironment in Breast Cancer Development and Prog... - 0 views

  • oxidative stress leads to HIF-1α accumulation
  • Oxidative stress generated by breast cancer cells activates HIF-1α and NFκB in fibroblasts, leading to autophagy and lysosomal degradation of Cav-1
  • increased levels of hydrogen peroxide in exhaled breath condensate from patients with localized breast malignancy, associated with increased clinical severity
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  • Comparing mitochondrial metabolic activity revealed a difference between stroma and epithelial cells
  • Overexpression of NOX4 in normal breast epithelial cells results in cellular senescence, resistance to apoptosis, and tumorigenic transformation, as well as increased aggressiveness of breast cancer cells
  • metalloproteinases (MMP) such as MMP-2, MMP-3, and MMP-9 increase extracellular matrix turnover and are themselves activated by oxidative stress
  • Lowered expression of Cav-1 not only leads to myofibroblast conversion and inflammation but also seems to impact aerobic glycolysis, leading to secretion of high energy metabolites such as pyruvate and lactate that drive mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in cancer cells
  • Reverse Warburg Effect
  • secreted transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), fibroblast growth factor 2, and stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF1) are able to activate fibroblasts and increase cancer cell proliferation
  • oxidative stress has an important role in the initiation and preservation of breast cancer progression
  • cancer preventive role of healthy mitochondria
  • the cancer cells produce hydrogen peroxide and by driving the “Reverse Warburg Effect” initiate oxidative stress in fibroblasts. As a result of this process, fibroblasts exhibited reduced mitochondrial activity, increased glucose uptake, ROS, and metabolite production.
  • Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between unstable reactive species lacking one or more unpaired electrons (superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, reactive nitrogen species) and antioxidants
  • cancer cells are able to induce drivers of oxidative stress, autophagy and mitophagy: HIF-1α and NFκB in surrounding stroma fibro-blasts
  • Studies show that loss of Cav-1 in adjacent breast cancer stroma fibroblasts can be prevented by treatment with N-acetyl cysteine, quercetin, or metformin
  • However, diets rich in antioxidants have fallen short in sufficiently preventing cancer
  • hydrogen peroxide is one of the main factors that can push fibroblasts and cancer cells into senescence
  • It is widely held that HIF-1α function is dependent upon its location within the tumor microenvironment. It acts as a tumor promoter in CAFs and as a tumor suppressor in cancer cells
  • It was reported that overexpression of recombinant (SOD2) (Trimmer et al., 2011) or injection of SOD, catalase, or their pegylated counterparts can block recurrence and metastasis in mice
  • obstructing oxidative stress in the tumor microenvironment can lead to mitophagy and promote breast cancer shutdown is a promising discovery for the development of future therapeutic interventions.
  • Recent studies show that in the breast cancer microenvironment, oxidative stress causes mitochondrial dysfunction
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    Really fascinating article on tumor signaling. The article points to a complex signaling between cancer cells and stromal fibroblasts that results in myofibroblast transformation that increases the microenvironment favorability of cancer. This article points to oxidative stress as the primary driving force.  
Nathan Goodyear

Low-dose naltrexone targets the opioid growth factor-opioid growth factor receptor path... - 0 views

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    low-dose naltrexone (NLD) is shown to inhibit growth in vivo.  This is important as it has implications in cancer therapies.  This study found a greater benefit with LDN and exogenous opioid growth factor (OGF).
Nathan Goodyear

Testosterone deficiency syndrome and cardiovascular health: An assessment of beliefs, k... - 0 views

  • The vast majority (88%) did not screen cardiac patients for TDS.
  • Testosterone deficiency has a prevalence of 7% in the general population, rising to 20% in elderly males
  • Males with CAD have lower testosterone levels than those with normal coronary angiograms of the same age,5 suggesting that the prevalence of testosterone deficiency is much higher in the CAD population
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  • Men with hypertension, another established risk factor for CAD, have lower testosterone compared to normotensive men
  • Recent meta-analyses showed that testosterone levels are generally lower among patients with metabolic syndrome, regardless of the various definitions of metabolic syndrome that are used
  • Testosterone (total and bioavailable) and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) are inversely associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in men between the ages of 40 and 80, and this association persists across racial and ethnic backgrounds
  • ower levels of testosterone and SHBG predict a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome.
  • Low testosterone levels have been related to increased insulin resistance and cardiovascular mortality,12 even in the absence of overt type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  • testosterone levels (total and bioavailable) in middle-aged men are inversely correlated with insulin resistance
  • The Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS) demonstrated that low levels of testosterone and SHBG are independent risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes,
  • Andropausal men (age 58 ± 7 years) have a higher maximal carotid artery intima-media thickness
  • There is an inverse linear correlation between body mass index (BMI) and wait-to-hip ratio with testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels.
  • Testosterone supplementation for 1 year in hypogonadal men has been shown to cause a significant improvement in body weight, BMI, waist size, lipid profile, and C-reactive protein levels
  • TRT for 3 months in hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes significantly improved fasting insulin sensitivity, fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin.
  • Testosterone replacement can improve angina symptoms and delay the onset of cardiac ischemia, likely through a coronary vasodilator mechanism
  • ADT is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality.
  • ADT significantly increases fat mass, decreases lean body mass,29,30 increases fasting plasma insulin and decreases insulin sensitivity31 and increases serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels
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    Startling study on the knowledge of Testosterone and cardiovascular disease in general practitioners and cardiologists in Canada.  Eight-eight percent did not screen patients with cardiovascular disease for low Testosterone.  A whopping 67% of physicians did not know that low T was a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, yet 62% believed Testosterone would increase exercise tolerance. The lack of knowledge displayed by physicians today is staggering and is an indictment of the governing bodies.  This was a survey conducted in Canada so there are obvious limitations to the strength/conclusion of this study.
Nathan Goodyear

Testosterone and the Cardiovascular System: A Comprehensive Review of the Clinical Lite... - 0 views

  • Low endogenous bioavailable testosterone levels have been shown to be associated with higher rates of all‐cause and cardiovascular‐related mortality.39,41,46–47 Patients suffering from CAD,13–18 CHF,137 T2DM,25–26 and obesity27–28
  • have all been shown to have lower levels of endogenous testosterone compared with those in healthy controls. In addition, the severity of CAD15,17,29–30 and CHF137 correlates with the degree of testosterone deficiency
  • In patients with CHF, testosterone replacement therapy has been shown to significantly improve exercise tolerance while having no effect on LVEF
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  • testosterone therapy causes a shift in the skeletal muscle of CHF patients toward a higher concentration of type I muscle fibers
  • Testosterone replacement therapy has also been shown to improve the homeostatic model of insulin resistance and hemoglobin A1c in diabetics26,68–69 and to lower the BMI in obese patients.
  • Lower levels of endogenous testosterone have been associated with longer duration of the QTc interval
  • testosterone replacement has been shown to shorten the QTc interval
  • negative correlation has been demonstrated between endogenous testosterone levels and IMT of the carotid arteries, abdominal aorta, and thoracic aorta
  • These findings suggest that men with lower levels of endogenous testosterone may be at a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis.
  • Current guidelines from the Endocrine Society make no recommendations on whether patients with heart disease should be screened for hypogonadism and do not recommend supplementing patients with heart disease to improve survival.
  • The Massachusetts Male Aging Study also projects ≈481 000 new cases of hypogonadism annually in US men within the same age group
  • since 1993 prescriptions for testosterone, regardless of the formulation, have increased nearly 500%
  • Testosterone levels are lower in patients with chronic illnesses such as end‐stage renal disease, human immunodeficiency virus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, and several genetic conditions such as Klinefelter syndrome
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that men with lower levels of endogenous testosterone are more prone to develop CAD during their lifetimes
  • There are 2 major potential confounding factors that the older studies generally failed to account for. These factors are the subfraction of testosterone used to perform the analysis and the method used to account for subclinical CAD.
  • The biologically inactive form of testosterone is tightly bound to SHBG and is therefore unable to bind to androgen receptors
  • The biologically inactive fraction of testosterone comprises nearly 68% of the total testosterone in human serum
  • The biologically active subfraction of testosterone, also referred to as bioavailable testosterone, is either loosely bound to albumin or circulates freely in the blood, the latter referred to as free testosterone
  • It is estimated that ≈30% of total serum testosterone is bound to albumin, whereas the remaining 1% to 3% circulates as free testosterone
  • it can be argued that using the biologically active form of testosterone to evaluate the association with CAD will produce the most reliable results
  • English et al14 found statistically significant lower levels of bioavailable testosterone, free testosterone, and free androgen index in patients with catheterization‐proven CAD compared with controls with normal coronary arteries
  • patients with catheterization‐proven CAD had statistically significant lower levels of bioavailable testosterone
  • In conclusion, existing evidence suggests that men with CAD have lower levels of endogenous testosterone,13–18 and more specifically lower levels of bioavailable testosterone
  • low testosterone levels are associated with risk factors for CAD such as T2DM25–26 and obesity
  • In a meta‐analysis of these 7 population‐based studies, Araujo et al41 showed a trend toward increased cardiovascular mortality associated with lower levels of total testosterone, but statistical significance was not achieved (RR, 1.25
  • the authors showed that a decrease of 2.1 standard deviations in levels of total testosterone was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality
  • the relative risk of all‐cause mortality in men with lower levels of total testosterone was calculated to be 1.35
  • higher risk of cardiovascular mortality is associated with lower levels of bioavailable testosterone
  • Existing evidence seems to suggest that lower levels of endogenous testosterone are associated with higher rates of all‐cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality
  • studies have shown that lower levels of endogenous bioavailable testosterone are associated with higher rates of all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality
  • It may be possible that using bioavailable testosterone to perform mortality analysis will yield more accurate results because it prevents the biologically inactive subfraction of testosterone from playing a potential confounding role in the analysis
  • The earliest published material on this matter dates to the late 1930s
  • the concept that testosterone replacement therapy improves angina has yet to be proven wrong
  • In more recent studies, 3 randomized, placebo‐controlled trials demonstrated that administration of testosterone improves myocardial ischemia in men with CAD
  • The improvement in myocardial ischemia was shown to occur in response to both acute and chronic testosterone therapy and seemed to be independent of whether an intravenous or transdermal formulation of testosterone was used.
  • testosterone had no effect on endothelial nitric oxide activity
  • There is growing evidence from in vivo animal models and in vitro models that testosterone induces coronary vasodilation by modulating the activity of ion channels, such as potassium and calcium channels, on the surface of vascular smooth muscle cells
  • Experimental studies suggest that the most likely mechanism of action for testosterone on vascular smooth muscle cells is via modulation of action of non‐ATP‐sensitive potassium ion channels, calcium‐activated potassium ion channels, voltage‐sensitive potassium ion channels, and finally L‐type calcium ion channels
  • Corona et al confirmed those results by demonstrating that not only total testosterone levels are lower among diabetics, but also the levels of free testosterone and SHBG are lower in diabetic patients
  • Laaksonen et al65 followed 702 Finnish men for 11 years and demonstrated that men in the lowest quartile of total testosterone, free testosterone, and SHBG were more likely to develop T2DM and metabolic syndrome.
  • Vikan et al followed 1454 Swedish men for 11 years and discovered that men in the highest quartile of total testosterone were significantly less likely to develop T2DM
  • authors demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the incidence of T2DM in subjects receiving gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonist therapy. In addition, a significant increase in the rate of myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, and development of cardiovascular disease was noted in patients receiving antiandrogen therapy.67
  • Several authors have demonstrated that the administration of testosterone in diabetic men improves the homeostatic model of insulin resistance, hemoglobin A1c, and fasting plasma glucose
  • Existing evidence strongly suggests that the levels of total and free testosterone are lower among diabetic patients compared with those in nondiabetics
  • insulin seems to be acting as a stimulant for the hypothalamus to secret gonadotropin‐releasing hormone, which consequently results in increased testosterone production. It can be argued that decreased stimulation of the hypothalamus in diabetics secondary to insulin deficiency could result in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
  • BMI has been shown to be inversely associated with testosterone levels
  • This interaction may be a result of the promotion of lipolysis in abdominal adipose tissue by testosterone, which may in turn cause reduced abdominal adiposity. On the other hand, given that adipose tissue has a higher concentration of the enzyme aromatase, it could be that increased adipose tissue results in more testosterone being converted to estrogen, thereby causing hypogonadism. Third, increased abdominal obesity may cause reduced testosterone secretion by negatively affecting the hypothalamus‐pituitary‐testicular axis. Finally, testosterone may be the key factor in activating the enzyme 11‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in adipose tissue, which transforms glucocorticoids into their inactive form.
  • increasing age may alter the association between testosterone and CRP. Another possible explanation for the association between testosterone level and CRP is central obesity and waist circumference
  • Bai et al have provided convincing evidence that testosterone might be able to shorten the QTc interval by augmenting the activity of slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium channels while simultaneously slowing the activity of L‐type calcium channels
  • consistent evidence that supplemental testosterone shortens the QTc interval.
  • Intima‐media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery is considered a marker for preclinical atherosclerosis
  • Studies have shown that levels of endogenous testosterone are inversely associated with IMT of the carotid artery,126–128,32,129–130 as well as both the thoracic134 and the abdominal aorta
  • 1 study has demonstrated that lower levels of free testosterone are associated with accelerated progression of carotid artery IMT
  • another study has reported that decreased levels of total and bioavailable testosterone are associated with progression of atherosclerosis in the abdominal aorta
  • These findings suggest that normal physiologic testosterone levels may help to protect men from the development of atherosclerosis
  • Czesla et al successfully demonstrated that the muscle specimens that were exposed to metenolone had a significant shift in their composition toward type I muscle fibers
  • Type I muscle fibers, also known as slow‐twitch or oxidative fibers, are associated with enhanced strength and physical capability
  • It has been shown that those with advanced CHF have a higher percentage of type II muscle fibers, based on muscle biopsy
  • Studies have shown that men with CHF suffer from reduced levels of total and free testosterone.137 It has also been shown that reduced testosterone levels in men with CHF portends a poor prognosis and is associated with increased CHF mortality.138 Reduced testosterone has also been shown to correlate negatively with exercise capacity in CHF patients.
  • Testosterone replacement therapy has been shown to significantly improve exercise capacity, without affecting LVEF
  • the results of the 3 meta‐analyses seem to indicate that testosterone replacement therapy does not cause an increase in the rate of adverse cardiovascular events
  • Data from 3 meta‐analyses seem to contradict the commonly held belief that testosterone administration may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer
  • One meta‐analysis reported an increase in all prostate‐related adverse events with testosterone administration.146 However, when each prostate‐related event, including prostate cancer and a rise in PSA, was analyzed separately, no differences were observed between the testosterone group and the placebo group
  • the existing data from the 3 meta‐analyses seem to indicate that testosterone replacement therapy does not increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events
  • the authors correctly point out the weaknesses of their study which include retrospective study design and lack of randomization, small sample size at extremes of follow‐up, lack of outcome validation by chart review and poor generalizability of the results given that only male veterans with CAD were included in this study
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      The authors here present Total Testosterone as a "confounding" value
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      This would be HSD-II
  • the studies that failed to find an association between testosterone and CRP used an older population group
  • low testosterone may influence the severity of CAD by adversely affecting the mediators of the inflammatory response such as high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, interleukin‐6, and tumor necrosis factor–α
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    Good review of Testosterone and CHD.  Low T is associated with increased all cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, CAD, CHF, type II diabetes, obesity, increased IMT,  increased severity of CAD and CHF.  Testosterone replacement in men with low T has been shown to improve exercise tolerance in CHF, improve insulin resistance, improve HgbA1c and lower BMI in the obese.
Nathan Goodyear

Hypoxia-inducible Factor 1 Activation by Aerobic Glycolysis Implicates the Warburg Effe... - 0 views

  • HIF-1 activation is highly associated with cancer cell growth and survival, tumor development, tumor angiogenesis, and poor clinical prognosis
  • The adaptation of cancer cells to hypoxia is mediated via hypoxia-inducible Factor 1 (HIF-1),1 a key transcription factor that up-regulates a series of genes involved in glycolytic energy metabolism, angiogenesis, cell survival, and erythropoiesis. Included among these genes are vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), erythropoietin (EPO), glucose transporters (GLUT), and several glycolytic enzymes (12, 13).
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    good discussion of HIF-1alpha and cancer
Nathan Goodyear

Effects of huperzine A on memory def... [Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI - 0 views

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    Huperzine A increases production of Nerve Growth Factor and Brain derived growth Factor.
Nathan Goodyear

Low-dose naltrexone targets the opioid growth factor-opioid growth factor receptor path... - 0 views

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    LDN inhibits cell proliferation through increased opioid growth factor and receptor translation.
Nathan Goodyear

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Inflammatory Processes - 0 views

  • marine n-3 PUFAs have also been shown to alter the production of inflammatory proteins including chemokines, cytokines, growth factors and matrix proteases
  • Two transcription factors that are likely to play a role in inflammation are nuclear factor κ B (NFκB) and PPAR-γ
  • NFκB is the principal transcription factor involved in upregulation of inflammatory cytokine, adhesion molecule and cyclooxygenase-2 genes
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  • PPAR-γ, is believed to act in an anti-inflammatory manner
  • PPAR-γ directly regulates inflammatory gene expression, it also interferes with the activation of NFκB creating an intriguing interaction between these two transcription factors
  • Both NFκB and PPAR-γ may be regulated by n-3 PUFAs.
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    great review of the anti-inflammatory effects of omega 3 DHA and EPA.  EPA inhibits COX and 5-LOX and their downstream prostaglandin and leukotrienes.  EPA/DHA inhibited endotoxin-stimulated IL-6, IL-8,TNF-alpha, and NFkappaB.
Nathan Goodyear

An integrative analysis reveals coordinated reprogramming of the epigenome and the tran... - 0 views

  • contribution to the training response of the epigenome as a mediator between genes and environment
  • Differential DNA methylation was predominantly observed in enhancers, gene bodies and intergenic regions and less in CpG islands or promoters
  • highly consistent and associated modifications in methylation and expression, concordant with observed health-enhancing phenotypic adaptations, are induced by a physiological stimulus
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  • The health benefits following exercise training are elicited by gene expression changes in skeletal muscle, which are fundamental to the remodeling process
  • there is increasing evidence that more short-term environmental factors can influence DNA methylation
  • dietary factors have the potency to alter the degree of DNA methylation in different tissues, 9,10 including skeletal muscle
  • In one study, a single bout of endurance-type exercise was shown to affect methylation at a few promoter CpG sites
  • In the context of diabetes, exercise training has been shown to affect genome-wide methylation pattern in skeletal muscle,13 as well as in adipose tissue.
  • physiological stressors can indeed affect DNA methylation
  • training intervention reshapes the epigenome and induces significant changes in DNA methylation
  • the findings from this tightly controlled human study strongly suggest that the regulation and maintenance of exercise training adaptation is to a large degree associated to epigenetic changes, especially in regulatory enhancer regions
  • Endurance training [after training (T2) vs. before training (T1)] induced significant (false discovery rate, FDR< 0.05) methylation changes at 4919 sites across the genome in the trained leg
  • identified 4076 differentially expressed genes
  • a complementary approach revealed that over 600 CpG sites correlated to the increase in citrate synthase activity, an objective measure of training response (Figure S4 and Dataset S14). This might imply that some of these sites could influence the degree of training response.
  • As expected by a physiological environmental trigger on adult tissue, the observed effect size on DNA methylation was small in comparison to disease states such as cancer
  • a preferential localization outside of CpG Islands/Shelves/Shores
  • endurance training especially influences enhancers
  • negative correlation was more prominent for probes in promoter/5′UTR/1st exon regions, while gene bodies had a stronger peak of positive correlation
  • The significant changes in DNA methylation, that primarily occurred in enhancer regions, were to a large extent associated with relevant changes in gene expression
  • The main findings of this study were that 3 months of endurance training in healthy human volunteers induced significant methylation changes at almost 5000 sites across the genome and significant differential expression of approximately 4000 genes
  • DMPs that increased in methylation were mainly associated to structural remodeling of the muscle and glucose metabolism, while the DMPs with decreased methylation were associated to inflammatory/immunological processes and transcriptional regulation
  • This suggests that the changes in methylation seen with training were not a random effect across the genome but rather a controlled process that likely contributes to skeletal muscle adaptation to endurance training
  • Correlation of the changes in DNA methylation to the changes in gene expression showed that the majority of significant methylation/expression pairs were found in the groups representing either increases in expression with a concomitant decrease in methylation or vice versa
  • The fraction of genes showing both significant decrease in methylation and upregulation was 7.5% of the DEGs or 2.3% of all genes detected in muscle tissue with at least one measured DNA methylation position. Correspondingly, 7.0% of the DEGs or 2.1% of all genes showed both significant increase in methylation and downregulation
  • we show that DNA methylation changes are associated to gene expression changes in roughly 20% of unique genes that significantly changed with training
  • Examples of structural genes include COL4A1, COL4A2 and LAMA4. These genes have also been identified as important for differences in responsiveness to endurance training
  • methylation status could be part of the mechanism behind variable training response
  • Among the metabolic genes, MDH1 catalyzes the reversible oxidation of malate to oxaloacetate, utilizing the NAD/NADH cofactor system in the citric acid cycle and NDUFA8 plays an important role in transferring electrons from NADH to the respiratory chain
  • PPP1R12A,
  • In the present study, methylation predominantly changed in enhancer regions with enrichment for binding motifs for different transcription factors suggesting that enhancer methylation may be highly relevant also in exercise biology
  • Of special interest in the biology of endurance training may be that MRFs, through binding to the PGC-1α core promoter, can regulate this well-studied co-factor for mitochondrial biogenesis
  • That endurance training led to an increased methylation in enhancer regions containing motifs for the MRFs and MEFs is somewhat counterintuitive since it should lead to the repression of the action of the above discussed transcription factors
  • decrease with training in this study, including CDCH15, MYH3, TNNT2, RYR1 and SH3GLB1
  • expression of MEF2A itself decreased with training
  • this study demonstrates that the transcriptional alterations in skeletal muscle in response to a long-term endurance exercise intervention are coupled to DNA methylation changes
  • We suggest that the training-induced coordinated epigenetic reprogramming mainly targets enhancer regions, thus contributing to differences in individual response to lifestyle interventions
  • a physiological health-enhancing stimulus can induce highly consistent modifications in DNA methylation that are associated to gene expression changes concordant with observed phenotypic adaptations
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    Exercise alters gene expression via methylation--the power of epigenetics.  Interestingly, the majority of the methylation was outside the CPG island regions.  This 3 month study found methylation of 5,000 sites across the genome resulting in altered expression of apps 4,000 genes.  The altered muscle changes of the endurance training was linked to DNA methylation changes.
Nathan Goodyear

Estrogen Regulates Tumor Growth Through a Nonclassical Pathway that Includes the Transc... - 0 views

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    ER-beta inhibits prostate tumor growth through the tumor suppression factor KLF5.
Nathan Goodyear

Testosterone and glucose metabolism in men: current concepts and controversies - 0 views

  • Around 50% of ageing, obese men presenting to the diabetes clinic have lowered testosterone levels relative to reference ranges based on healthy young men
  • The absence of high-level evidence in this area is illustrated by the Endocrine Society testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency clinical practice guidelines (Bhasin et al. 2010), which are appropriate for, but not specific to men with metabolic disorders. All 32 recommendations made in these guidelines are based on either very low or low quality evidence.
  • A key concept relates to making a distinction between replacement and pharmacological testosterone therapy
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  • The presence of symptoms was more closely linked to increasing age than to testosterone levels
  • Findings similar to type 2 diabetes were reported for men with the metabolic syndrome, which were associated with reductions in total testosterone of −2.2 nmol/l (95% CI −2.41 to 1.94) and in free testosterone
  • low testosterone is more predictive of the metabolic syndrome in lean men
  • Cross-sectional studies uniformly show that 30–50% of men with type 2 diabetes have lowered circulating testosterone levels, relative to references based on healthy young men
  • In a recent cross-sectional study of 240 middle-aged men (mean age 54 years) with either type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes or without diabetes (Ng Tang Fui et al. 2013b), increasing BMI and age were dominant drivers of low total and free testosterone respectively.
  • both diabetes and the metabolic syndrome are associated with a modest reduction in testosterone, in magnitude comparable with the effect of 10 years of ageing
  • In a cross-sectional study of 490 men with type 2 diabetes, there was a strong independent association of low testosterone with anaemia
  • In men, low testosterone is a marker of poor health, and may improve our ability to predict risk
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      probably the most important point made in this article
  • low testosterone identifies men with an adverse metabolic phenotype
  • Diabetic men with low testosterone are significantly more likely to be obese or insulin resistant
  • increased inflammation, evidenced by higher CRP levels
  • Bioavailable but not free testosterone was independently predictive of mortality
  • It remains possible that low testosterone is a consequence of insulin resistance, or simply a biomarker, co-existing because of in-common risk factors.
  • In prospective studies, reviewed in detail elsewhere (Grossmann et al. 2010) the inverse association of low testosterone with metabolic syndrome or diabetes is less consistent for free testosterone compared with total testosterone
  • In a study from the Framingham cohort, SHBG but not testosterone was prospectively and independently associated with incident metabolic syndrome
  • low SHBG (Ding et al. 2009) but not testosterone (Haring et al. 2013) with an increased risk of future diabetes
  • In cross-sectional studies of men with (Grossmann et al. 2008) and without (Bonnet et al. 2013) diabetes, SHBG but not testosterone was inversely associated with worse glycaemic control
  • SHBG may have biological actions beyond serving as a carrier protein for and regulator of circulating sex steroids
  • In men with diabetes, free testosterone, if measured by gold standard equilibrium dialysis (Dhindsa et al. 2004), is reduced
    • Nathan Goodyear
       
      expensive, laborious process filled with variables
  • Low free testosterone remains inversely associated with insulin resistance, independent of SHBG (Grossmann et al. 2008). This suggests that the low testosterone–dysglycaemia association is not solely a consequence of low SHBG.
  • Experimental evidence reviewed below suggests that visceral adipose tissue is an important intermediate (rather than a confounder) in the inverse association of testosterone with insulin resistance and metabolic disorders.
  • testosterone promotes the commitment of pluripotent stem cells into the myogenic lineage and inhibits their differentiation into adipocytes
  • testosterone regulates the metabolic functions of mature adipocytes (Xu et al. 1991, Marin et al. 1995) and myocytes (Pitteloud et al. 2005) in ways that reduce insulin resistance.
  • Pre-clinical evidence (reviewed in Rao et al. (2013)) suggests that at the cellular level, testosterone may improve glucose metabolism by modulating the expression of the glucose-transported Glut4 and the insulin receptor, as well as by regulating key enzymes involved in glycolysis.
  • More recently testosterone has been shown to protect murine pancreatic β cells against glucotoxicity-induced apoptosis
  • Interestingly, a reciprocal feedback also appears to exist, given that not only chronic (Cameron et al. 1990, Allan 2013) but also, as shown more recently (Iranmanesh et al. 2012, Caronia et al. 2013), acute hyperglycaemia can lower testosterone levels.
  • There is also evidence that testosterone regulates insulin sensitivity directly and acutely
  • In men with prostate cancer commencing androgen deprivation therapy, both total as well as, although not in all studies (Smith 2004), visceral fat mass increases (Hamilton et al. 2011) within 3 months
  • More prolonged (>12 months) androgen deprivation therapy has been associated with increased risk of diabetes in several large observational registry studies
  • Testosterone has also been shown to reduce the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines in some, but not all studies, reviewed recently in Kelly & Jones (2013). It is not know whether this effect is independent of testosterone-induced changes in body composition.
  • the observations discussed in this section suggest that it is the decrease in testosterone that causes insulin resistance and diabetes. One important caveat remains: the strongest evidence that low testosterone is the cause rather than consequence of insulin resistance comes from men with prostate cancer (Grossmann & Zajac 2011a) or biochemical castration, and from mice lacking the androgen receptor.
  • Several large prospective studies have shown that weight gain or development of type 2 diabetes is major drivers of the age-related decline in testosterone levels
  • there is increasing evidence that healthy ageing by itself is generally not associated with marked reductions in testosterone
  • Circulating testosterone, on an average 30%, is lower in obese compared with lean men
  • increased visceral fat is an important component in the association of low testosterone and insulin resistance
  • The vast majority of men with metabolic disorders have functional gonadal axis suppression with modest reductions in testosterone levels
  • obesity is a dominant risk factor
  • men with Klinefelter syndrome have an increased risk of metabolic disorders. Interestingly, greater body fat mass is already present before puberty
  • Only 5% of men with type 2 diabetes have elevated LH levels
  • inhibition of the gonadal axis predominantly takes place in the hypothalamus, especially with more severe obesity
  • Metabolic factors, such as leptin, insulin (via deficiency or resistance) and ghrelin are believed to act at the ventromedial and arcuate nuclei of the hypothalamus to inhibit gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH) secretion from GNRH neurons situated in the preoptic area
  • kisspeptin has emerged as one of the most potent secretagogues of GNRH release
  • hypothesis that obesity-mediated inhibition of kisspeptin signalling contributes to the suppression of the HPT axis, infusion of a bioactive kisspeptin fragment has been recently shown to robustly increase LH pulsatility, LH levels and circulating testosterone in hypotestosteronaemic men with type 2 diabetes
  • A smaller study with a similar experimental design found that acute testosterone withdrawal reduced insulin sensitivity independent of body weight, whereas oestradiol withdrawal had no effects
  • suppression of the diabesity-associated HPT axis is functional, and may hence be reversible
  • Obesity and dysglycaemia and associated comorbidities such as obstructive sleep apnoea (Hoyos et al. 2012b) are important contributors to the suppression of the HPT axis
  • weight gain and development of diabetes accelerate the age-related decline in testosterone
  • Modifiable risk factors such as obesity and co-morbidities are more strongly associated with a decline in circulating testosterone levels than age alone
  • 55% of symptomatic androgen deficiency reverted to a normal testosterone or an asymptomatic state after 8-year follow-up, suggesting that androgen deficiency is not a stable state
  • Weight loss can reactivate the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis
  • Leptin treatment resolves hypogonadism in leptin-deficient men
  • The hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis remains responsive to treatment with aromatase inhibitors or selective oestrogen receptor modulators in obese men
  • Kisspeptin treatment increases LH secretion, pulse frequency and circulating testosterone levels in hypotestosteronaemic men with type 2 diabetes
  • change in BMI was associated with the change in testosterone (Corona et al. 2013a,b).
  • weight loss can lead to genuine reactivation of the gonadal axis by reversal of obesity-associated hypothalamic suppression
  • There is pre-clinical and observational evidence that chronic hyperglycaemia can inhibit the HPT axis
  • in men who improved their glycaemic control over time, testosterone levels increased. By contrast, in those men in whom glycaemic control worsened, testosterone decreased
  • testosterone levels should be measured after successful weight loss to identify men with an insufficient rise in their testosterone levels. Such men may have HPT axis pathology unrelated to their obesity, which will require appropriate evaluation and management.
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    Article discusses the expanding evidence of low T and Metabolic syndrome.
Nathan Goodyear

Comparative Rates of Androgen Production and Metabolism in Caucasian and Chinese Subjects - 0 views

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    In conclusion, dietary or environmental factors, and not a diminution of 5α-reductase, appear to be responsible for differences in androgen metabolism between Caucasians living in the United States and Chinese living in China.  Powerful conclusion that environmental factors play a major role in the difference in Testosterone function between caucasian men in Western countries vs. Chinese men in Eastern countries
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