Oxidative stress and inflammation are part and parcel of cisplatin‐induced nephrotoxicity. The purpose of this work is to study the role of soy isoflavone constituent, daidzein, in cisplatin‐induced renal damage. Cisplatin‐induced nephrotoxicity was evident by the histological damage in proximal tubular cells and by the increase in serum neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (NGAL), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and urinary kidney injury molecule‐1 (KIM‐1). Cisplatin‐induced cell death was shown by TUNEL staining and caspase‐3/7 activity. Daidzin treatment reduced all kidney injury markers (NGAL, BUN, creatinine, and KIM‐1) and attenuated cell death (apoptotic markers). In cisplatin‐induced kidney injury, renal oxidative/nitrative stress was manifested by the increase in lipid peroxidation and protein nitration. Cisplatin induced the reactive oxygen species‐generating enzyme NOX‐2 and impaired antioxidant defense enzyme activities such as glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Cisplatin‐induced oxidative/nitrative stress was attenuated by daidzein treatment. Cisplatin induced CD11b‐positive macrophages in kidneys and daidzein attenuated CD11b‐positive cells. Daidzein attenuated cisplatin‐induced inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin 10 (IL‐10), interleukin 18 (IL‐18), and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1). Daidzein attenuated cell death in vitro. Our data suggested that daidzein attenuated cisplatin‐induced kidney injury through the downregulation of oxidative/nitrative stress, immune cells, inflammatory cytokines, and apoptotic cell death, thus improving kidney regeneration.

The increasing incidence of bladder cancer and its high rate of recurrence over a 5-year period necessitate the need for diagnosis and surveillance amelioration. Cystoscopy and urinary cytology are the current tools, and molecular techniques such as BTA stat, NMP22, survivin mRNA, and urovysion FISH have attracted attention; however, they suffer from insufficient sensitivity or specificity. We developed a novel microfluidic approach for harvesting intact urinary-exfoliated tumor cells (UETC), either individually or in clusters, in a clean and segregated environment, which is crucial to minimize cross-contamination and misreads. To reliably and accurately identify UETC, our quantitative immunoassay involved concurrent use of two oncoproteins CK20 and CD44v6 antigen. CK20 is an intermediate filament protein overexpressed in urothelial tumors, and CD44v6 is a membrane adhesion molecule closely associated with cell invasion, tumor progression, and metastatic spread. Single-cell whole-genome sequencing on 12 captured UETCs and copy number alteration analysis showed that 11/12 (91.7%) of the immunofluorescence-identified UETCs possessed genomic instability. A total of 79 patients with bladder cancer and 43 age-matched normal controls (NC) were enrolled in the study. We detected considerably higher UETC counts in patients with bladder cancer versus the NC group [53.3 (10.7–1001.9) vs. 0.0 (0–3.0) UETCs/10 mL; P < 0.0001]. For bladder cancer detection, a stratified 10-fold cross-validation of training data reveals an overall predictive accuracy of 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.76–0.93] with an 89.8% (95% CI, 71.5%–86.4%) for sensitivity and 71.5% (95% CI, 59.7%–83.3%) for specificity. Overall, the microfluidic immunoassay demonstrates increased sensitivity and specificity compared with other techniques for the detection of bladder cancer. Significance: A unique and promising diagnostic assay for bladder cancer is proposed with potential clinical utility as a complement for cytology. Cancer Res; 78(14); 4073–85. ©2018 AACR.

Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide and has high rates of relapse and progression. Cell division cycle associated 5 (CDCA5), a substrate of the anaphase-promoting complex, was reported to be upregulated in several types of cancer; however, the function of CDCA5 in BC remains unclear. In this study, we observed that BC tissues had higher levels of CDCA5 expression than adjacent normal tissues. We also found that high CDCA5 expression in patients was associated with poor survival rates. An in vitro study showed that knockdown of CDCA5 in T24 and 5637 cells reduced cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in T24 and 5637 cells, while overexpression of CDCA5 in UMUC3 cells caused the opposite effects. In an additional experiment, we found that CDCA5 promoted cell proliferation by upregulating two key cell cycle factors, cell division cycle protein 2 (CDC2) and cyclin B1, and by activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, CDCA5 regulate cancer cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. In conclusion, CDCA5 plays a pivotal role in the proliferation of BC cells. A better understanding of CDCA5 may provide new insights into its role as a therapeutic target for BC.

Cisplatin is commonly used in neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and systemic therapy for advanced bladder cancer, but its immune-related mechanism is still unclear. Exploration of the immune effects of cisplatin in bladder cancer would complement the comprehensive mechanism of cisplatin and provide the basis for combination therapy of cisplatin and immunotherapy in bladder cancer. We confirmed the immune effects of cisplatin on T24 and TCCSUP bladder cancer cell lines in vitro and explored the important function of these immune effects in the bladder cancer microenvironment in a mice tumor model. We found cisplatin induced immune response in bladder cancer by RNA sequencing and validated that cGAS-STING signal was deeply involved in this response. Cisplatin induced cGAS-STING signal inhibited the proliferation of bladder cancer and increased the infiltration percentages of CD8+ T cells and dendritic cells in a transplantation mice tumor model. Accumulation of dsDNA and the release of chromatin bound cGAS are important to activate downstream STING. Our findings indicated a cisplatin-related immune effect in bladder cancer, and cisplatin combined with immunotherapy might have a synergistic effect for bladder cancer therapy.

Background: By regulating the functions of multiple RNAs, 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) RNA methylation, particularly mediated by NOP2, is involved in tumorigenesis and developments. However, the specific functions and potential mechanisms of m⁵C, especially involving NOP2, in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), remain unclear.

SETD2 deficiency alters the epigenetic landscape by causing depletion of H3K36me3 and plays an important role in diverse forms of cancer, most notably in aggressive and metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC). Development of an effective treatment scheme targeting SETD2-compromised cancer is urgently needed. Considering that SETD2 is involved in DNA methylation and DNA repair, a combination treatment approach using DNA hypomethylating agents (HMA) and PARP inhibitors (PARPi) could have strong antitumor activity in SETD2-deficient kidney cancer. We tested the effects of the DNA HMA 5-aza-2′-dexoxydytidine (DAC), the PARPi talazoparib (BMN-673), and both in combination in human ccRCC models with or without SETD2 deficiency. The combination treatment of DAC and BMN-673 synergistically increased cytotoxicity in vitro in SETD2-deficient ccRCC cell lines but not in SETD2-proficient cell lines. DAC and BMN-673 led to apoptotic induction, increased DNA damage, insufficient DNA damage repair, and increased genomic instability. Furthermore, the combination treatment elevated immune responses, upregulated STING, and enhanced viral mimicry by activating transposable elements. Finally, the combination effectively suppressed the growth of SETD2-deficient ccRCC in in vivo mouse models. Together, these findings indicate that combining HMA and PARPi is a promising potential therapeutic strategy for treating SETD2-compromised ccRCC. Significance: SETD2 deficiency creates a vulnerable epigenetic status that is targetable using a DNA hypomethylating agent and PARP inhibitor combination to suppress renal cell carcinoma, identifying a precision medicine–based approach for SETD2-compromised cancers.