Emerging Cancer Detection GAG

 Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with 18.1 million new cases diagnosed in 2018 alone (Cancer Statistics - NCI, 2015). However, recent advances have made it possible to detect cancer early on using specific biomarkers that are excreted in urine called Glycosaminoglycan. These biomarkers are negatively charged polysaccharide compounds that are found in every mammalian cell (Casale & Crane, 2022). They are usually responsible for promoting cell growth and proliferation, two functions that cancers typically take advantage of. The fascinating part of these molecules is their wide diversity across cell types. Through the study of urine output from known cancer patients and healthy individuals, it was found that these GAGs expressed differently between those diagnosed in stage 1 cancers vs those healthy individuals (Bratulic et al., 2022). More importantly, though, this study also found that patterns of expression in GAG could indicate what type of cancer and its location in the body to approximately 74.3% (Bratulic et al., 2022).

While this score does mean that there is a risk for overdiagnosis of cancer as well as under-diagnosis, early detection of cancer could contribute significantly towards treatment outcomes for the patient. Early detection has been associated with better outcomes for the patient (Rock et al., 2020). Better yet this new method is non-invasive for the patient, meaning it would be able to detect cancer without ever having to cut open the patient or expose them to any radiation. Overall this new technology is exciting and it will be interesting to watch how it develops.

 

Primary Source:

Bratulic, S., Limeta, A., Dabestani, S., Birgisson, H., Enblad, G., Stålberg, K., Hesselager, G., Häggman, M., Höglund, M., Simonson, O. E., Stålberg, P., Lindman, H., Bång-Rudenstam, A., Ekstrand, M., Kumar, G., Cavarretta, I., Alfano, M., Pellegrino, F., Mandel-Clausen, T., … Gatto, F. (2022). Noninvasive detection of any-stage cancer using free glycosaminoglycans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(50), e2115328119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115328119

 

Bibilogropy:

Bratulic, S., Limeta, A., Dabestani, S., Birgisson, H., Enblad, G., Stålberg, K., Hesselager, G., Häggman, M., Höglund, M., Simonson, O. E., Stålberg, P., Lindman, H., Bång-Rudenstam, A., Ekstrand, M., Kumar, G., Cavarretta, I., Alfano, M., Pellegrino, F., Mandel-Clausen, T., … Gatto, F. (2022). Noninvasive detection of any-stage cancer using free glycosaminoglycans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(50), e2115328119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115328119

Cancer Statistics—NCI (nciglobal,ncienterprise). (2015, April 2). [CgvArticle]. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics

Casale, J., & Crane, J. S. (2022). Biochemistry, Glycosaminoglycans. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544295/

Rock, C. L., Thomson, C., Gansler, T., Gapstur, S. M., McCullough, M. L., Patel, A. V., Andrews, K. S., Bandera, E. V., Spees, C. K., Robien, K., Hartman, S., Sullivan, K., Grant, B. L., Hamilton, K. K., Kushi, L. H., Caan, B. J., Kibbe, D., Black, J. D., Wiedt, T. L., … Doyle, C. (2020). American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 70(4), 245–271. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21591

Diabetes Malleus effects on fertility

 

Recently, there has been an interesting trend occurring between diabetes malleus and a decrease in spermiogenesis. Recent meta-data analysis has shown that those who have increased obesity or have been previously diagnosed with Diabetes malleus, that these individuals have a significantly lower sperm count than those who are not affected by these conditions (Zhong et al., 2021). In a recent study, a mechanism for why this phenomenon is occurring was explored. In the center of interdisciplinary research in basic sciences in New Delhi India, scientists hypothesize that there is a multi-step mechanism involved in the disruption of spermatogenesis.

First, when there is an abundance of glucose, to induce hyperglycemic conditions, this may lead to an increased release of insulin in order to store the glucose as adipose tissue. When this occurs though, cells may begin to develop insulin resistance (Boura-Halfon & Zick, 2009), this is an issue when it comes to the hypothalamus since it has been recorded that insulin is a key factor in secreting GnRH to will stimulate the secretion of LH and FSH, two hormones that are essential for the growth of the testes and the production of sperm. Therefore, if there is insulin resistance in the hypothalamus then there may be issues with spermatogenesis as well (Andlib et al., 2022).

Then, there is the use of glucose in the production of sperm. In order for sperm to be formed Sertoli cells require a steady stream of glucose in order to create and mature sperm. When under hyperglycemic conditions though, maturation of the Sertoli cells affected the surrounding tubular lumina area, decreasing its efficiency (Tavares et al., 2017). This disruption of glucose then heavily effects the cells ability to mature sperm cells, without this fertility for the individual will increase. (Andlib et al., 2022).

With these two facts combined, fertility specialist can now get a better picture of what exactly is causing the disruptions in fertility in males affected with diabetes malleus. This may change current standards of treating fertility in males by first addressing the issue of diabetes in order to get the results that they want.

 

 

Main source:

Andlib, N., Sajad, M., Kumar, R., & Thakur, S. C. (2022). Abnormalities in sex hormones and sexual dysfunction in males with diabetes mellitus: A mechanistic insight. Acta Histochemica, 125(1), 151974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2022.151974

 

Bibliography:

Andlib, N., Sajad, M., Kumar, R., & Thakur, S. C. (2022). Abnormalities in sex hormones and sexual dysfunction in males with diabetes mellitus: A mechanistic insight. Acta Histochemica, 125(1), 151974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2022.151974

Boura-Halfon, S., & Zick, Y. (2009). Phosphorylation of IRS proteins, insulin action, and insulin resistance. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 296(4), E581-591. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.90437.2008

Tavares, R. S., Portela, J. M. D., Sousa, M. I., Mota, P. C., Ramalho-Santos, J., & Amaral, S. (2017). High glucose levels affect spermatogenesis: An in vitro approach. Reproduction, Fertility, and Development, 29(7), 1369–1378. https://doi.org/10.1071/RD15475

Zhong, O., Ji, L., Wang, J., Lei, X., & Huang, H. (2021). Association of diabetes and obesity with sperm parameters and testosterone levels: A meta-analysis. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, 13(1), 109. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-021-00728-2