Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance gains are similar between healthy postmenopausal women and postmenopausal breast cancer survivors after 12 weeks of resistance exercise training.(Springer Nature, 2024-11-23) Artigas-Arias M; Alegría-Molina A; Vidal-Seguel N; Muñoz-Cofre R; Carranza-Leiva J; Sepúlveda-Lara A; Vitzel KF; Huard N; Sapunar J; Salazar LA; Curi R; Marzuca-Nassr GNPurpose Resistance exercise training (RET) effectively increases skeletal muscle mass and strength in healthy postmenopausal women. However, its effects on these parameters in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors are controversial or limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of a 12-week progressive whole-body RET program on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance in healthy postmenopausal women versus postmenopausal women who survived breast cancer. Methods Thirteen healthy postmenopausal women (HEA, 54 ± 3 years, BMI 26.6 ± 2.7 kg·m2, n = 13) and eleven postmenopausal breast cancer survivors (BCS, 52 ± 5 years, BMI 26.8 ± 2.1 kg·m2, n = 11) participated in the study. Before and after the RET program, evaluations were performed on quadriceps muscle thickness, one-repetition maximum strength (1RM) for various exercises, grip strength, and physical performance. Results Both groups showed significant improvements in quadriceps muscle thickness (time effect, P < 0.001); 1RM strength for leg extension, leg press, chest press, horizontal row, and elbow extension (time effect, all P < 0.001); as well as handgrip strength (time effect, P = 0.035) and physical performance (time effect, all P < 0.001) after the 12-week RET program. There were no significant differences between the groups in response to RET for any of the outcomes measured. Conclusion Twelve weeks of RET significantly increases skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance in postmenopausal women. No differences were observed between healthy postmenopausal women and postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. These findings point out that this study’s RET promotes skeletal muscle mass, strength, and performance gains regardless of breast cancer. Pre-Print Platform Research Square: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4145715/v1; https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-4145715/v1 Clinical trial registration: NCT05690295.Item Structure-guided inhibition of the cancer DNA-mutating enzyme APOBEC3A(Springer Nature Limited, 2023-10-11) Harjes S; Kurup HM; Rieffer AE; Bayarjargal M; Filichetva J; Su Y; Hale TK; Filichev VV; Harjes E; Harris RS; Jameson GBThe normally antiviral enzyme APOBEC3A 1-4 is an endogenous mutagen in many different human cancers 5-7 , where it becomes hijacked to fuel tumor evolvability. APOBEC3A’s single-stranded DNA C-to-U editing activity 1-8 results in multiple mutagenic outcomes including signature single-base substitution mutations (isolated and clustered), DNA breakage, and larger-scale chromosomal aberrations 5-7 . Transgenic expression in mice demonstrates its tumorigenic potential. APOBEC3A inhibitors may therefore comprise a novel class of anti-cancer agents that work by blocking mutagenesis, preventing tumor evolvability, and lessening detrimental outcomes such as drug resistance and metastasis. Here we reveal the structural basis of competitive inhibition of wildtype APOBEC3A by hairpin DNA bearing 2’-deoxy-5-fluorozebularine in place of the cytidine in the TC recognition motif that is part of a three-nucleotide loop. The nuclease-resistant phosphorothioated derivatives of these inhibitors maintain nanomolar in vitro potency against APOBEC3A, localize to the cell nucleus, and block APOBEC3A activity in human cells. These results combine to suggest roles for these inhibitors to study A3A activity in living cells, potentially as conjuvants, leading toward next-generation, combinatorial anti-mutator and anti-cancer therapies.Item EP400NL is involved in PD-L1 gene activation by forming a transcriptional coactivator complex(Elsevier B V, 2023-03) Li Z; Kim H; Kim J; Park JHEP400 is an ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling enzyme that regulates DNA double-strand break repair and transcription, including cMyc-dependent gene expression. We previously showed that the N-terminal domain of EP400 increases the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs against cancer cells. As the EP400 N-terminal-Like (EP400NL) gene resides next to the EP400 gene locus, this prompted us to investigate whether EP400NL plays a similar role in transcriptional regulation to the full-length EP400 protein. We found that EP400NL forms a human NuA4-like chromatin remodelling complex that lacks both the TIP60 histone acetyltransferase and EP400 ATPase. However, this EP400NL complex displays H2A.Z deposition activity on a chromatin template comparable to the human NuA4 complex, suggesting another associated ATPase such as BRG1 or RuvBL1/RuvBL2 catalyses the reaction. We demonstrated that the transcriptional coactivator function of EP400NL is required for serum and IFNγ-induced PD-L1 gene activation. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis indicates that EP400NL contributes to cMyc-responsive mitochondrial biogenesis. Taken together, our studies show that EP400NL plays a role as a transcription coactivator of PD-L1 gene regulation and provides a potential target to modulate cMyc functions in cancer therapy.Item Nanoengineered polymers and other organic materials in lung cancer treatment: Bridging the gap between research and clinical applications(Elsevier Ltd, 2024-03-25) Jin X; Heidari G; Hua Z; Lei Y; Huang J; Wu Z; Paiva-Santos AC; Guo Z; Karimi Male H; Neisiany RE; Sillanpää M; Prakash C; Wang X; Tan Y; Makvandi P; Xu YCancer remains a major global health challenge, with increasing incidence and mortality rates projected for the coming years. Lung cancer, in particular, poses significant obstacles due to late-stage diagnosis and limited treatment options. While advancements in molecular diagnostics have been made, there is a critical need to connect the dots between laboratory and hospital for better lung cancer treatment. Systemic therapy plays a crucial role in treating advanced-stage lung cancer, and recent efforts have focused on developing innovative drug delivery techniques. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a promising approach to lung cancer treatment, offering enhanced drug delivery, active targeting, and reduced toxicity. Organic-based nanomaterials, like polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and liposomes hold great potential in this field. This review examines the application of NPs in lung cancer treatment, highlights current therapies, explores organic nanoparticle-based approaches, and discusses limitations and future perspectives in clinical translation.Item Single cases from multiple perspectives: a qualitative study comparing the experiences of patients, patients’ caregivers, surgeons, and nurses when bad news is delivered about cancer(Wolters Kluwer Health Inc, 2020-10) Matthews T; Baken D; Ross KBackground: Qualitative literature on the experiences of those delivering and receiving bad news about cancer has revealed what these parties consider important during the process across many different patient cases. The current study aims to add to this understanding by employing a “linked case" study design to directly compare the perspectives of patients, their caregivers, and health care professionals (HCPs) involved in a series of single-patient cases of breaking bad news. Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 participants (5 patients, 4 caregivers, 2 surgeons, and 2 nurses) who formed 5 linked cases. Interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and directly compared within each linked case. Results: Analyses identified 2 main superordinate themes. The first labeled “accurately perceiving and responding to needs," included HCPs recognizing and responding to patients’ and caregivers’ individual emotional and informational needs. The second labeled “carers fulfilling necessary roles," identified the various roles HCPs and patients’ caregivers took to satisfactorily meet patients’ needs. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of HCPs accurately perceiving and responding to patients’ and caregivers’ various needs and caregivers ability and willingness to fulfilling support roles in a way that aligns with their own resources and patients’ needs. This highlights the value of HCPs developing and applying interpersonal skills within bad news encounters, working as a team, and exploring caregivers’ resources for patient support.Item Using directed acyclic graphs to consider adjustment for socioeconomic status in occupational cancer studies.(B M J PUBLISHING GROUP, 2008-07) Richiardi L; Barone-Adesi F; Merletti F; Pearce NThere is an ongoing debate on whether analyses of occupational studies should be adjusted for socioeconomic status (SES). In this paper directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) were used to evaluate common scenarios in occupational cancer studies with the aim of clarifying this issue. It was assumed that the occupational exposure of interest is associated with SES and different scenarios were evaluated in which (a) SES is not a cause of the cancer under study, (b) SES is not a cause of the cancer under study, but is associated with other occupational factors that are causes of the cancer, (c) SES causes the cancer under study and is associated with other causal occupational factors. These examples illustrate that a unique answer to the issue of adjustment for SES in occupational cancer studies is not possible, as in some circumstances the adjustment introduces bias, in some it is appropriate and in others both the adjusted and the crude estimates are biased. These examples also illustrate the benefits of using DAGs in discussions of whether or not to adjust for SES and other potential confounders.