Recent developments in photonic technology provide the ability to noninvasively image cells in vivo; these new cellular imaging technologies have the potential to dramatically improve the prevention, detection, and therapy of epithelial cancers. Endoscope-compatible microscopies, such as optical coherence tomography and reflectance confocal microscopy, image reflected light, providing a three-dimensional picture of tissue microanatomy with excellent spatial resolution (1-10 micro m). However, their ability to image molecular biomarkers associated with cancer is limited. Here, we describe a new class of molecular specific contrast agents for vital reflectance imaging based on gold nanoparticles attached to probe molecules with high affinity for specific cellular biomarkers. The application of gold bioconjugates for vital imaging of precancers is demonstrated using cancer cell suspensions, three-dimensional cell cultures, and normal and neoplastic fresh cervical biopsies. We show that gold conjugates can be delivered topically for imaging throughout the whole epithelium. These contrast agents have potential to extend the ability of vital reflectance microscopies for in vivo molecular imaging. They can potentially enable combined screening, detection, and therapy of disease using inexpensive imaging systems; such tools could allow mass screening of diseases such as cancer in resource-poor settings.

https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/63/9/1999.full.pdf

Real-Time Vital Optical Imaging of Precancer Using Anti-Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Antibodies Conjugated to Gold Nanoparticles

It is well established that the large array of functions that a tumour cell has to fulfil to settle as a metastasis in a distant organ requires cooperative activities between the tumour and the surrounding tissue and that several classes of molecules are involved, such as cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules and matrix degrading enzymes, to name only a few. Furthermore, metastasis formation requires concerted activities between tumour cells and surrounding cells as well as matrix elements and possibly concerted activities between individual molecules of the tumour cell itself. Adhesion molecules have originally been thought to be essential for the formation of multicellular organisms and to tether cells to the extracellular matrix or to neighbouring cells. CD44 transmembrane glycoproteins belong to the families of adhesion molecules and have originally been described to mediate lymphocyte homing to peripheral lymphoid tissues. It was soon recognized that the molecules, under selective conditions, may suffice to initiate metastatic spread of tumour cells. The question remained as to how a single adhesion molecule can fulfil that task. This review outlines that adhesion is by no means a passive task. Rather, ligand binding, as exemplified for CD44 and other similar adhesion molecules, initiates a cascade of events that can be started by adherence to the extracellular matrix. This leads to activation of the molecule itself, binding to additional ligands, such as growth factors and matrix degrading enzymes, complex formation with additional transmembrane molecules and association with cytoskeletal elements and signal transducing molecules. Thus, through the interplay of CD44 with its ligands and associating molecules CD44 modulates adhesiveness, motility, matrix degradation, proliferation and cell survival, features that together may well allow a tumour cell to proceed through all steps of the metastatic cascade.

CD44 in cancer progression: adhesion, migration and growth regulation.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is heterogeneous. More than 400 different mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene have been identified. In a systematic review of the molecular genetics of PKU in Europe we identified 29 mutations that may be regarded as prevalent in European populations. Comprehensive regional data for these mutations were collated from all available studies. The spectrum of mutations found in individual regions results from a combination of factors including founder effect, range expansion and migration, genetic drift, and probably heterozygote advantage. Common mutations include R408W on a haplotype 2 background in Eastern Europe, IVS10-11G>A in the Mediterranean, IVS12+1G>A in Denmark and England, Y414C in Scandinavia, I65T in Western Europe, and R408W on haplotype 1 in the British Isles. Molecular data from mild hyperphenylalaninemia (MHP) patients are available from a number of countries, but it is currently not possible to calculate relative allele frequencies. The available data on PAH mutations are useful for the understanding of both the clinical features and the population genetics of PAH deficiency in Europe.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/humu.10192

Phenylketonuria mutations in Europe.

In the past decade, there has been an explosion of interest in hyaluronan, an often misunderstood, biochemically simple, yet functionally complex carbohydrate polymer that is a resident of many extracellular matrices. Previously thought of as a passive, space-filling component of the extracellular matrix, the so-called “goo” concept, hyaluronan has risen to a much higher regard in recent years, even being called “magic glue” in a recent perspective. Hyaluronan is likely to be the common thread in many morphogenetic processes, including condensation events and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation. Hyaluronan is comparatively unique as a component of the extracellular matrix as it is solely composed of carbohydrate. In order to truly understand this biopolymer, one must first understand its biosynthesis, then understand its uptake and turnover, then identify its binding proteins and receptors. Major advances have been made in all of these arenas within the past decade. Hyaluronan synthases, hyaluronidases, and the hyaladherins have been molecularly identified and cloned. Furthermore, many have now been inactivated, employing gene targeting strategies, to create mice deficient in the respective gene product function. Collectively, huge strides have been made in our understanding of the diverse biological functions for this fascinating molecule. Hyaluronan appeared in metazoans immediately prior to the arrival of the vertebrates, and may be required for the differentiation, development, and/or function of most cell lineages, structures, and tissues that we associate with vertebrates, such as the neural crest, the skeleton, including the teeth, skin, and hair, and the chambered heart. In this review, we will update the reader on the advances of the past decade and provide insight into those morphogenetic processes through which hyaluronan regulates vertebrate development. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 72:89–108, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Hyaluronan and morphogenesis

Objectives To investigate whether hyaluronan (HA) and CD44 (hereinafter HA-CD44) promotes head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) chemotherapy resistance and whether HA-CD44 promotes epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–mediated oncogenic signaling to alter chemotherapy sensitivity in HNSCC. Hyaluronan, a glycosaminoglycan component of the extracellular matrix, is a ligand for the transmembrane receptor CD44, which acts through multiple signaling pathways to influence cellular behavior. We recently determined that HA-CD44 promotes phospholipase C–mediated calcium signaling and cisplatin resistance in HNSCC. Design Cell line study. Main Outcome Measures Tumor cell growth with various chemotherapeutic drugs (methotrexate, doxorubicin hydrochloride, adriamycin, and cisplatin) was measured in the presence or absence of HA and other inhibitors of the EGFR-mediated signaling pathway. Immunoblotting was used to study EGFR signaling. Migration assays provided one measure of tumor progression. Results The addition of HA, but not HA plus anti-CD44 antibody, resulted in a 2-fold reduced ability of methotrexate and an 8-fold reduced ability of adriamycin to cause HNSCC cell death. Immunoblotting studies demonstrated that HA can promote an association between CD44 and EGFR as well as CD44-dependent activation of EGFR-mediated signaling. Migration assays demonstrated that HA-CD44 can promote tumor migration with EGFR signaling. The presence of AG1478, an EGFR inhibitor, and U0126, an extracellular signal–regulated kinase inhibitor, inhibited HA-mediated tumor growth, migration, and chemotherapy resistance. Conclusions Our results indicate that HA promotes CD44/EGFR interaction, EGFR-mediated oncogenic signaling, and chemotherapy resistance in HNSCC. Perturbation of HA-CD44–mediated signaling may be a promising and novel strategy to treat HNSCC.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/articlepdf/484219/ooa60050.pdf

Hyaluronan and the interaction between CD44 and epidermal growth factor receptor in oncogenic signaling and chemotherapy resistance in head and neck cancer.

CD44 mediates constitutive type I receptor signaling in cervical carcinoma cells.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an important error of amino acid metabolism which results in most patients from phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency. PKU displays a marked genotypic heterogeneity both within and between different populations. The aim of this study was to establish the genotypic spectrum of PKU in eastern Germany, and to compare this to the distribution of mutations in western Germany. The study population included 302 patients in 290 families who were followed at treatment centers in Berlin, Leipzig and Jena. The study showed marked genotypic variability with a total of 75 mutations, including 15 that have so far not been described (eleven missense mutations, one splicing mutation, and three small deletions). One of these novel mutations, E183Q, occurred in cis to a R408W mutation. In the non-immigrant eastern German population, the frequency of R408W accounted for 40.1% of the PKU alleles. In the immigrant Turkish population of the former West Berlin, the most prevalent mutation was IVS10-11G>A (57%). There was a marked difference of the genotypic spectrum between the population studied here and the data reported from the western part of the country. Hum Mutat 15:254–260, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia in eastern Germany: A characteristic molecular profile and 15 novel mutations

Prenatal diagnosis of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD) is performed as a routine procedure in many laboratories. The major potential problem is an incorrect diagnosis that could be obtained due to contamination with maternal tissue. We report a case of mosaicism of the X-chromosomes confined to the placenta as a possible source of confusing results in prenatal diagnosis of DMD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of this problem in a prenatal DMD diagnosis.

Pitfalls in prenatal diagnosis of DMD due to placental mosaicism of the X-chromosomes: prenatal and postnatal findings in a fetus with a deletion of exons 67-71 of the dystrophin gene.

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CD44 mediates constitutive type I receptor signaling in cervical carcinoma cells.

Phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia in eastern Germany: A characteristic molecular profile and 15 novel mutations

Pitfalls in prenatal diagnosis of DMD due to placental mosaicism of the X-chromosomes: prenatal and postnatal findings in a fetus with a deletion of exons 67-71 of the dystrophin gene.