Here is a paper analyzing the intriguing possibility that epigenetic drugs may increase the immunogenic profile of mesothelioma, thereby enhancing the ability of an immune response to target the tumor.
HDAC inhibitors and demethylating agents open the chromatin into a conformation that facilitates transcription not only of tumor suppressors but also of tumor antigens, such as NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A1 and MAGE-A3.
The Board of iMig deeply regrets that the Quebec Government has provided the loan guarantee that enables resumption of asbestos mining in Canada. It is further regretted that the majority market for the such asbestos is likely to be the developing countries. Our previous statement on the matter stands as below:
We, the Board of iMig, wish to expand on our position, in response to the points summarized in the New York Times article of February 3, 2011 (see article link in menu at right).
We strongly disagree with Mr. Coulombe’s …
The expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors has been linked to disease prognosis of various cancers. The expression and role of chemokines and their receptors in mesothelioma is not well known. In this article by Tong Li et.al, the authors report that the chemokine CXCL12 (stromal derived factor 1) and the receptor CXCR4 were overexpressed in mesothelioma samples from 41 patients and in cell lines. CXCR4 was found in almost all mesotheliomas (97%) and CXCL12 in 78%; another receptor CXCR7 was only weakly expressed. CXCL12 binding to CXCR4 may mediate …
The chemoresistance of solid tumors such as mesothelioma may be better studied in vitro 3D models because multicellular spheroids acquire multicellular resistance that may recapitulate the stubborn chemoresistance seen in vivo.
Dr. Xiang et al. recently used multicellular spheroids to test the efficacy of the recombinant anti-mesothelin immunotoxin SS1P in spheroids. The authors compared 2D (monolayer) and 3D (multicellular spheroid) mesothelioma cultures of the cell line NCI-H226 and found that, regardless of equal mesothelin expression in 2D and in 3D, SS1P was at least 100 times less cytotoxic in spheroids compared …
