radiation-treatment-organotypic-cultures-from-submandibular-parotid

Radiation Treatment of Organotypic Cultures from Submandibular and Parotid Salivary Glands Models Key In Vivo Characteristics

Hyposalivation and xerostomia create chronic oral complications that decrease the quality of life in head and neck cancer patients who are treated with ...

University of Arizona

The standard of care for head and neck cancer typically includes surgical resection of the tumor followed by targeted head and neck radiation. However depending on tumor location and stage, some cases may not require surgical resection while others may be treated with chemoradiation. Unfortunately, these radiation treatments cause chronic negative side effects for patients. These side effects are associated with damage to surrounding normal salivary gland tissue and include xerostomia, changes in taste and malnutrition. The underlying mechanisms of chronic radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction are unknown, however, in rodent models persistently elevated proliferation is correlated with reduced stimulated salivary flow. The rapalogue, CCI-779, has been used in other cell systems to induce autophagy and reduce proliferation, therefore the aim of this study was to determine if CCI-779 could be utilized to ameliorate chronic radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction. Four to six week old Atg5f/f; Aqp5-Cre, Atg5+/+; Aqp5-Cre and FVB mice were treated with targeted head and neck radiation. FVB mice were treated with CCI-779, chloroquine, or DMSO post-radiation. Stimulated salivary flow rates were determined and parotid and submandibular salivary gland tissues were collected for analyses. Mice with a defect in autophagy, via a conditional knockout of Atg5 in the salivary glands, display increased compensatory proliferation in the acinar cell compartment and hypertrophy at 24-72 hours following radiation. FVB mice treated with post-therapy CCI-779 have significant improvements in salivary gland physiology as determined by stimulated salivary flow rates, proliferation indices and amylase production and secretion. Consequently, post-radiation use of CCI-779 allows for improvement of salivary gland function and reestablishment of glandular homeostasis. As CCI-779 is already FDA approved for other uses, it could have a secondary use to alleviate the chronic side effects in head and neck cancer patients who have completed anti-tumor therapy. 

The Rapalogue, CCI-779, improves salivary gland function following radiation.

Replacing current refractory treatments for melanoma with new prevention and therapeutic approaches is crucial in order to successfully treat this aggressive cancer form. Melanoma develops from neural crest cells, which express tyrosinase - a key enzyme in the pigmentation pathway. The tyrosinase enzyme is highly active in melanoma cells and metabolizes polyphenolic compounds; tyrosinase expression thus makes feasible a target for polyphenol-based therapies. For example, quercetin (3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) is a highly ubiquitous and well-classified dietary polyphenol found in various fruits, vegetables, and other plant products including onions, broccoli, kale, oranges, blueberries, apples, and tea. Quercetin has demonstrated antiproliferative and proapoptotic activity in various cancer cell types. Quercetin is readily metabolized by tyrosinase into various compounds that promote anticancer activity; additionally, given that tyrosinase expression increases during tumorigenesis, and its activity is associated with pigmentation changes in both early- and late-stage melanocytic lesions, it suggests that quercetin can be used to target melanoma. In this review, we explore the potential of quercetin as an anti-melanoma agent utilizing and extrapolating on evidence from previous  studies in various human malignant cell lines and propose a "four-focus area strategy" to develop quercetin as a targeted anti-melanoma compound for use as either a preventative or therapeutic agent. The four areas of focus include utilizing quercetin to (i) modulate cellular bioreduction potential and associated signaling cascades, (ii) affect transcription of relevant genes, (iii) regulate epigenetic processes, and (iv) develop effective combination therapies and delivery modalities/protocols. In general, quercetin could be used to exploit tyrosinase activity to prevent, and/or treat, melanoma with minimal additional side effects.

Quercetin as an Emerging Anti-Melanoma Agent: A Four-Focus Area Therapeutic Development Strategy.

In the 21st Century, research is increasingly data- and computation-driven. Researchers, funders, and the larger community today emphasize the traits of openness and reproducibility. In March 2017, 13 mostly early-career research leaders who are building their careers around these traits came together with ten university leaders (presidents, vice presidents, and vice provosts), representatives from four funding agencies, and eleven organizers and other stakeholders in an NIH- and NSF-funded one-day, invitation-only workshop titled "Imagining Tomorrow's University." Workshop attendees were charged with launching a new dialog around open research - the current status, opportunities for advancement, and challenges that limit sharing. The workshop examined how the internet-enabled research world has changed, and how universities need to change to adapt commensurately, aiming to understand how universities can and should make themselves competitive and attract the best students, staff, and faculty in this new world. During the workshop, the participants re-imagined scholarship, education, and institutions for an open, networked era, to uncover new opportunities for universities to create value and serve society. They expressed the results of these deliberations as a set of 22 principles of tomorrow's university across six areas: credit and attribution, communities, outreach and engagement, education, preservation and reproducibility, and technologies. Activities that follow on from workshop results take one of three forms. First, since the workshop, a number of workshop authors have further developed and published their white papers to make their reflections and recommendations more concrete. These authors are also conducting efforts to implement these ideas, and to make changes in the university system.  Second, we plan to organise a follow-up workshop that focuses on how these principles could be implemented. Third, we believe that the outcomes of this workshop support and are connected with recent theoretical work on the position and future of open knowledge institutions.

Randy Burd

Department of Nutritional Sciences

University of Arizona

Radiation Treatment of Organotypic Cultures from Submandibular and Parotid Salivary Glands Models Key In Vivo Characteristics

Randy Burd

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Nutritional Sciences

University of Arizona

Radiation Treatment of Organotypic Cultures from Submandibular and Parotid Salivary Glands Models Key In Vivo Characteristics

Department of Nutritional Sciences