Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jing Zhang, Aakriti Gupta, Kenneth B. Storey
Summary: Wood frogs can survive subzero temperatures and confront oxidative stress during freeze/thaw, with Nrf2 playing a key role in antioxidant defenses. High glucose levels affect Nrf2 binding activity but do not stimulate Nrf2 dependent gene expression, with tissue-specific responses observed in antioxidant enzymes such as Prdx2. Our study enhances understanding of the mechanisms behind wood frog freezing survival.
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Robert Wieder
Summary: Breast cancer cells can travel to the bone before being detectable in the breast, and these disseminated cells are resistant to treatment. They can remain dormant for over 20 years before recurring and causing incurable diseases. Various factors can wake up dormant cancer cells, including aging, inflammation, trauma, surgery, and psychological conditions. Efforts have been made to kill or maintain these disseminated cells, with some entering clinical trials.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Young Jin Kim, Chang-Mo Oh, Sung Keun Park, Ju Young Jung, Min-Ho Kim, Eunhee Ha, Do Jin Nam, Yeji Kim, Eun Hye Yang, Hyo Choon Lee, Soon Su Shin, Jae-Hong Ryoo
Summary: In this retrospective cohort study, the association between fasting blood glucose and the incidence of pancreatic cancer in Korea was investigated. The study found a significant association between fasting blood glucose, even in the pre-diabetic range, and the development of pancreatic cancer in Koreans.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tyler T. Cooper, Lynne-Marie Postovit
Summary: A new study shows that docetaxel-induced injury of tumour stromal cells promotes the release of cytokines, leading to the escape of dormant breast cancer cells.
Article
Oncology
Qihao Ren, Weng Hua Khoo, Alexander P. Corr, Tri Giang Phan, Peter Croucher, Sheila A. Stewart
Summary: Dormant breast cancer cells exhibit a distinct gene expression signature that may have predictive value in determining recurrence and treatment strategies.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Giulia Salvadori, Federica Zanardi, Fabio Iannelli, Riccardo Lobefaro, Claudio Vernieri, Valter D. Longo
Summary: The study demonstrates that a fasting-mimicking diet activates starvation escape pathways in TNBC cells and reduces stemness markers in CSCs, leading to decreased cell numbers and improved mouse survival. Additionally, the diet activates different survival/growth pathways in differentiated cancer cells, which can be targeted by drugs to promote tumor regression.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Raghu Vamsi Kondapaneni, Rachel Warren, Shreyas S. Rao
Summary: This study investigated the impact of chemotherapy drug paclitaxel on brain metastatic breast cancer spheroids and found that lower doses of the drug induced a dormant state and decreased proliferation, and withdrawal of the drug led to the resumption of growth, indicating the reversibility of the observed dormant state.
Article
Plant Sciences
Sourav Kumar Nandi, Niloy Chatterjee, Tanaya Roychowdhury, Ayan Pradhan, Sumaiya Moiz, Krishnendu Manna, Diptendra Kumar Sarkar, Pubali Dhar, Amitava Dutta, Soma Mukhopadhyay, Rittwika Bhattacharya
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the drug combination Kaempferol and Verapamil on markers regulating chemoevasion, tumor stemness, acidosis, and lysosome upregulation pathways under low and high glucose conditions. The results showed that the drug combination downregulated these markers and disrupted lysosomes by reducing Ca2+ release and TFEB expression under low glucose conditions. It also induced autophagy-mediated cell death through the upregulation of LC3-II and p62 in low glucose conditions.
Review
Cell Biology
Eunah Shin, Ja Seung Koo
Summary: Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women worldwide, is closely associated with glucose metabolism, with high expressions of glucose metabolism-related enzymes and transporters. The tumor microenvironment of breast cancer also involves various stromal cells, contributing to the heterogeneous metabolic status of the disease.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Maria Rosaria Ambrosio, Giusy Mosca, Teresa Migliaccio, Domenico Liguoro, Gisella Nele, Fabrizio Schonauer, Francesco D'Andrea, Federica Liotti, Nella Prevete, Rosa Marina Melillo, Carla Reale, Concetta Ambrosino, Claudia Miele, Francesco Beguinot, Vittoria D'Esposito, Pietro Formisano
Summary: This study demonstrates that high glucose levels enhance the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells and promote a pro-tumorigenic phenotype in mammary adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MAT-MSCs). The findings suggest that metabolic control may be important for reducing cancer outgrowth and preserving the functions of the adipose microenvironment.
Article
Cell Biology
Salvatore Cortellino, Alessandro Raveane, Claudia Chiodoni, Gloria Delfanti, Federica Pisati, Vanessa Spagnolo, Euplio Visco, Giuseppe Fragale, Federica Ferrante, Serena Magni, Fabio Iannelli, Federica Zanardi, Francesco Bertolini, Paolo Dellabona, Mario P. Colombo, Claudio Tripodo, Valter D. Longo
Summary: Periodic fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) can enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in breast cancer and reduce its side effects. FMD expands early exhausted effector T cells, alters cancer cell metabolism, reduces collagen deposition, and prevents hyperactivation of the immune response.
Article
Oncology
Reza Mehdizadeh, Seyed Peyman Shariatpanahi, Bahram Goliaei, Sanam Peyvandi, Curzio Ruegg
Summary: Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive subtype affecting young women, with chemotherapy as the main treatment choice. Some chemotherapies have been shown to induce immunogenic cell death and elicit an adaptive immune response. Mathematical modeling predicts a prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination effect by injecting dormant cells with active interferon signaling. This approach shows potential in suppressing tumor growth through an adaptive immune response.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marie Rebeaud, Caroline Bouche, Stephanie Dauvillier, Camille Attane, Carlo Arellano, Charlotte Vaysse, Frederique Fallone, Catherine Muller
Summary: Obesity is a negative prognostic factor for breast cancer, but the underlying biological mechanisms are largely unknown. This study suggests that altered transfer of free fatty acids (FFA) between adipocytes and tumor cells might contribute to tumor progression in obese conditions. A 3D model using a fibrin matrix is introduced as an alternative for studying the interaction between mammary adipocytes (M-Ads) and cancer cells, showing FFA transfer and its amplification by obesity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Ana B. Emiliano, Natalie R. Lopatinsky, Marko Kraljevic, Sei Higuchi, Ying He, Rebecca A. Haeusler, Gary J. Schwartz
Summary: Sleeve gastrectomy or intermittent fasting with calorie restriction produces better metabolic outcomes in females than in males. Intermittent fasting with calorie restriction increases brown adipose tissue sympathetic innervation density and improves glucose tolerance in females, irrespective of weight loss.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Mingming Zhang, Xiaoru Hu, Ye Kang, Wanfeng Xu, Xianghong Yang
Summary: The study found that fasting blood glucose levels are not significantly associated with overall survival of patients with pancreatic cancer, with only CA199 > 1000 being independently correlated with survival. The median survival in the normal glucose group was 20.5 months, while in the high blood glucose group it was 14.2 months, with no significant difference between the two groups.
Article
Ecology
Peter Rashkov, Bob W. Kooi
Summary: We introduced a compartmental host-vector model with two viral strains, temporary cross-immunity, and possible secondary infections for dengue. The study focused on the conditions for the existence of endemic equilibria where one strain displaces the other or both strains coexist. The model, described as a slow-fast system due to the different time scales of host and vector epidemiology, was reduced in dimension using the geometric singular perturbation technique. Comparisons were made between the full model and a model with quasi-steady approximation for vector dynamics, along with numerical bifurcation analysis using parameter values from literature and comparison with previous two-strain host-only models.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DYNAMICS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
N. Stollenwerk, M. Aguiar, B. W. Kooi
Summary: The Rosenzweig-MacArthur predator-prey model serves as the foundation for modeling food chains, food webs, and ecosystems, including various hidden assumptions in its derivation process. By modeling a resource-predator-prey system in a closed spatially homogeneous environment, it reveals the logistic prey population growth and allows for conservation of mass. Additionally, the model incorporates a Holling type II functional response to describe trophic interactions, with an extended deterministic model serving as a starting point for investigating stochastic effects and quasi-equilibrium distribution.
ECOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Pierre Auger, Bob Kooi, Ali Moussaoui
Summary: This study presents a model of a fish population in two connected patches and investigates the relationship between catches and prey-predator dynamics. The research reveals that although the total equilibrium population may exceed the sum of carrying capacities in isolated sites, the total catch is always equal to or less than the sum of catches in isolated fishing sites.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Jan J. Kuiper, Bob W. Kooi, Garry D. Peterson, Wolf M. Mooij
Summary: Ecologists face the challenge of integrating different approaches and theories to understand ecosystems in a changing world. Food web theory and regime shift theory provide insights into stability mechanisms from different perspectives. The stability of empirical food web models and the vulnerability of ecosystems to collapse are not consistently related. Further research is needed to bridge alternative modeling approaches in ecology.
ACTA BIOTHEORETICA
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Vanessa Steindorf, Akhil Kumar Srivastav, Nico Stollenwerk, Bob W. Kooi, Maira Aguiar
Summary: Modeling insights for epidemiological scenarios characterized by chaotic dynamics have been explored in this study, focusing on the impact of infection and immunity mechanisms on system stability and behavior. Rich dynamical structures and different bifurcation phenomena have been identified in the simplified model.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zahid Hassan, Martin Braster, Wilfred F. M. Roling, Hans Westerhoff
Summary: Arsenate-reducing microorganisms can mobilize arsenic into groundwater. A cultivation-based metagenomic strategy was developed to infer actual activities and bridge the knowledge gap between cultivation-independent and cultivation-dependent analyses. This study clarifies the mechanism for arsenic mobilization and redistribution in rural drinking water wells and highlights the potential risks and the need for appropriate bioremediation strategies. Rating: 8/10.
GEOMICROBIOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Robert N. Goldberg, Robert T. Giessmann, Peter J. Halling, Carsten Kettner, Hans Westerhoff
Summary: The measurement of apparent equilibrium constants K ' for enzyme-catalyzed reactions involves critical details that cannot be neglected in order to avoid systematic errors. Interferences, impurities, and failure to achieve equilibrium are significant factors to consider. Careful reporting of results, including substance identification, reaction specification, reaction conditions, equilibrium constant definition, nomenclature, symbols, units, and uncertainties, is of great importance. This document provides a general discussion on various aspects of equilibrium measurements and STRENDA recommendations regarding the measurements and reporting of results.
BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yanhua Liu, Hans V. Westerhoff
Summary: Inborn error of metabolism phenylketonuria (PKU) is typically caused by inactivation of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). The reduced PAH activity results in elevated phenylalanine levels and phenylpyruvate in urine. Flux balance analysis (FBA) predicts reduced growth rate in PKU, unless tyrosine is supplemented. However, the PKU phenotype is brain-specific and can be treated by phenylalanine reduction instead of tyrosine supplementation. This study presents an extended FBA model that explains the brain specificity of the disease, the role of phenylpyruvate as a biomarker, the effect of excess phenylalanine on brain pathology, and the superiority of phenylalanine deprivation as therapy.
JOURNAL OF INHERITED METABOLIC DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Mathematics
Hans V. V. Westerhoff
Summary: Dynamic variables in non-equilibrium systems of life are determined by catalytic activities, which are related to genome expression. Modulating gene expression or enzyme function through medicinal drugs is becoming increasingly important. Despite the complexity of cellular systems biology, there are simple principles guiding the control of variables such as fluxes, concentrations, and half-times. By using time-unit invariance, a multitude of laws governing the control coefficients of multiple variables by all catalytic activities can be derived. The control of these variables is determined by time, resulting in simple integer sums when the variables are at maximum, minimum, or steady states.
Article
Biology
David D. van Niekerk, Erik Rust, Frank Bruggeman, Hans V. Westerhoff, Jacky L. Snoep
Summary: By analyzing models from the JWS Online and Biomodels databases, we investigated the use of the disequilibrium ratio as an estimator for the flux control of a reaction. While no functional relationship was found, the disequilibrium ratio can still be used as an estimator for the maximal flux control of a reaction step. We further expanded the analysis by incorporating the overall pathway disequilibrium ratio in the expression, leading to explicit expressions for flux control coefficients.
Article
Biology
Hans V. Westerhoff
Summary: This article resolves the paradoxes between microbial growth rate, enzyme activity, and flux control coefficients. The study found that under optimization conditions, enzyme control coefficients can equal zero, and flux balance analysis effectively maximizes growth yield, thereby resolving these contradictions.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Yanfei Zhang, Hans V. Westerhoff
Summary: Confronted with unfavorable output processes, free-energy transducers can shift to lower gears to reduce output per unit input. This option is well-known in machines but not appreciated in biology. This study extends thermodynamic principles to explain biological gear shifting and identifies mechanisms. It shows that gear shifting optimizes performance in living systems, allowing them to switch to catabolic pathways with lower ATP stoichiometry, thereby increasing ATP synthesis flux and ensuring continued growth even in challenging conditions.
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Yanhua Liu, Hans V. Westerhoff
Summary: This study develops a method called 'dynamic competition Flux Balance Analysis' (dcFBA), which can accommodate changes in cell density caused by competition. The experiment shows that signal transduction between cells is crucial for the co-existence of diverse cell types in multicellular organisms. Moreover, mutants that lose social characteristics can outgrow other cells, suggesting that 'asocialness' rather than enhanced growth rates may characterize cancer cells and organisms causing ecological blooms.
NPJ SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Joost W. Aerts, Serban M. Sarbu, Traian Brad, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Hans V. Westerhoff
Summary: Movile Cave is a unique and challenging ecosystem where specialized prokaryotic communities can adapt to different subenvironments and respond to environmental changes in a relatively short time.
Article
Biology
Frank J. Bruggeman, Maaike Remeijer, Maarten Droste, Luis Salinas, Meike Wortel, Robert Planque, Herbert M. Sauro, Bas Teusink, Hans Westerhoff
Summary: This paper extends the scope of metabolic control analysis (MCA) to a whole-cell context, considering metabolism in the evolutionary context of growth-rate maximisation. The study shows that elementary flux modes (EFMs) naturally emerge as optimal metabolic networks in this context, and their control properties can be derived. The paper also demonstrates the estimation of flux control coefficients from proteomics and ribosome-profiling data. The findings provide insights into the control of metabolic enzymes on growth rate and contribute to the understanding of general principles in cell biochemistry.
Article
Biology
Theodoros Kyriazos, Mary Poga
Summary: This paper explores the innovative intersection of quantum mechanics and psychology, examining the potential impact of quantum principles on human emotions, cognition, and consciousness. By drawing parallels between quantum phenomena and psychological counterparts, a quantum-psychological model is proposed, reimagining the characteristics of emotional states, cognitive breakthroughs, interpersonal relationships, and the nature of consciousness. Computational models and simulations are used to explore the implications and applications of this interdisciplinary fusion, highlighting its potential benefits and inherent challenges. Approaching this emerging framework with both enthusiasm and skepticism is crucial, and rigorous empirical validation is necessary to fully realize its potential in research and therapeutic contexts.
Article
Biology
Abir U. Igamberdiev
Summary: Biological systems strive to maximize self-maintenance and adaptability by establishing stable non-equilibrium states that organize the fluxes of matter and energy and control metabolic processes. These states are realized in autopoietic structures that operate based on biological codes. The principle of thermodynamic buffering optimizes metabolic fluxes, and in developing systems, the principle transforms into increasing external work. Bauer's concept of the stable non-equilibrium state places thermodynamics within the framework of internal biological causality, providing a relational theory of biological thermodynamics.
Article
Biology
Oleg Gaidai, Vladimir Yakimov, Yuhao Niu, Zirui Liu
Summary: This study presents a new methodology for assessing pandemic risks in a national health system. The suggested approach addresses the highdimensionality and complex cross-correlations between regional observations, enabling accurate epidemiological risk forecasts for multi-regional biological and health systems.
Article
Biology
Amirreza Khalili Golmankhaneh, Suemeyye Tunc, Agnieszka Matylda Schlichtinger, Dachel Martinez Asanza, Alireza Khalili Golmankhaneh
Summary: This article introduces important concepts such as fractal calculus and fractal analysis, the calculation of squared residuals, and the determination of Aikaike's information criterion for fitting cancer-related data. The study also investigates the double-size cancer in the fractal temporal dimension with respect to various mathematical models.
