Publications
13 results found
Ahmetaj-Shala B, Kawai R, Marei I, et al., 2020, A bioassay system of autologous human endothelial, smooth muscle cells and leucocytes for use in drug discovery, phenotyping and tissue engineering, The FASEB Journal, Vol: 34, Pages: 1745-1754, ISSN: 0892-6638
Purpose: Blood vessels are comprised of endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Obtaining both types of cells from vessels of living donors is not possible without invasive surgery. To address this we have devised a strategy whereby human endothelial and smooth muscle cells derived from blood progenitors from the same donor could be cultured with autologous leucocytes to generate a same donor ‘vessel in a dish’ bioassay. Basic procedures: Autologous sets of blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs), smooth muscle cells (BO-SMCs) and leucocytes were obtained from 4 donors. Cells were treated in mono and cumulative co-culture conditions. The endothelial specific mediator endothelin-1 along with interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor α, and interferon gamma-induced protein 10 were measured under control culture conditions and after stimulation with cytokines.Main findings: Co-cultures remained viable throughout. The profile of individual mediators released from cells was consistent with what we know of endothelial and smooth muscle cells cultured from blood vessels.Principle conclusions: For the first time, we report a proof of concept study where autologous blood outgrowth ‘vascular’ cells and leucocytes were studied alone and in co-culture. This novel bioassay has utility in vascular biology research, patient phenotyping, drug testing and tissue engineering.
Nteliopoulos G, Bazeos A, Claudiani S, et al., 2019, Somatic variants in epigenetic modifiers can predict failure of response to imatinib but not to second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Haematologica, Vol: 104, Pages: 2400-2409, ISSN: 0390-6078
There are no validated molecular biomarkers to identify newly-diagnosed individuals with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia likely to respond poorly to imatinib and who might benefit from first-line treatment with a more potent second-generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitor. Our inability to predict these 'high-risk' individuals reflects the poorly understood heterogeneity of the disease. To investigate the potential of genetic variants in epigenetic modifiers as biomarkers at diagnosis, we used Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing of 71 candidate genes for predicting response to tyrosine kinase-inhibitors and probability of disease progression. 124 subjects with newly-diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia began with imatinib (n=62) or second-generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitors (n=62) and were classified as responders or non-responders based on the BCRABL1 transcript levels within the first year and the European LeukemiaNet criteria for failure. Somatic variants affecting 21 genes (e.g. ASXL1, IKZF1, DNMT3A, CREBBP) were detected in 30% of subjects, most of whom were non-responders (41% non-responders, 18% responders to imatinib, 38% non-responders, 25% responders to second-generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitors). The presence of variants predicted the rate of achieving a major molecular response, event-free survival, progression-free survival and chronic-myeloid-leukaemia-related survival in the imatinib but not the second-generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitors cohort. Rare germline variants had no prognostic significance irrespective of treatment while some pre-leukaemia variants suggest a multi-step development of chronic myeloid leukaemia. Our data suggest that identification of somatic variants at diagnosis facilitates stratification into imatinib responders/non-responders, thereby allowing earlier use of second-generation tyrosine kinase-inhibitors, which, in turn, may overcome the negative impact of such variants on disease progression.
Nikolakopoulou Z, Hector LR, Creagh-Brown BC, et al., 2019, Plasma S100A8/A9 heterodimer is an early prognostic marker of acute kidney injury associated with cardiac surgery, Biomarkers in Medicine, Vol: 13, Pages: 205-218, ISSN: 1752-0363
We investigated whether plasma levels of the inflammation marker S100A8/A9, could predict acutekidney injury (AKI) onset in patients undergoing cardiac surgery necessitating cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB). Patients & methods: Plasma levels of S100A8/A9 and other neutrophil cytosolic proteins were measured in 39 patients pre- and immediately post-CPB. Results: All markers increased significantly post-CPBwith S100A8/A9, S100A12 and myeloperoxidase levels significantly higher in patients who developed AKIwithin 7 days. S100A8/A9 had good prognostic utility for AKI, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.676–0.949) and a cut-off value of 10.6 μg/ml (85.7% sensitivityand 75% specificity) irrespective of age. Conclusion: Plasma S100A8/A9 levels immediately after cardiacsurgery, can predict onset of AKI, irrespective of age.
Wahl S, Drong A, Lehne B, et al., 2016, Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity, Nature, Vol: 541, Pages: 81-+, ISSN: 0028-0836
Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide are overweight oraffected by obesity, and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes,cardiovascular disease and related metabolic and inflammatorydisturbances1,2. Although the mechanisms linking adiposity toassociated clinical conditions are poorly understood, recent studiessuggest that adiposity may influence DNA methylation3–6, a keyregulator of gene expression and molecular phenotype7. Here weuse epigenome-wide association to show that body mass index(BMI; a key measure of adiposity) is associated with widespreadchanges in DNA methylation (187 genetic loci with P<1×10−7,range P=9.2×10−8 to 6.0×10−46; n=10,261 samples). Geneticassociation analyses demonstrate that the alterations in DNAmethylation are predominantly the consequence of adiposity,rather than the cause. We find that methylation loci are enrichedfor functional genomic features in multiple tissues (P<0.05), andshow that sentinel methylation markers identify gene expressionsignatures at 38 loci (P < 9.0 × 10−6, range P = 5.5 × 10−6 to6.1×10−35, n=1,785 samples). The methylation loci identify genesinvolved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, substrate transportand inflammatory pathways. Finally, we show that the disturbancesin DNA methylation predict future development of type 2 diabetes(relative risk per 1 standard deviation increase in methylation riskscore: 2.3 (2.07–2.56); P=1.1×10−54). Our results provide newinsights into the biologic pathways influenced by adiposity, and mayenable development of new strategies for prediction and preventionof type 2 diabetes and other adverse clinical consequences of obesity
Rasiah MG, Michaeloudes C, Svermova T, et al., 2016, PLASMA SYNDECAN-1 LEVEL AS A PREDICTIVE MARKER OF VASOPLEGIA ASSOCIATED WITH SURGERY REQUIRING CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS AND POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF OXIDATIVE STRESS, British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting 2016, Publisher: BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, Pages: A9-A9, ISSN: 0040-6376
Nikolakopoulou Z, Svermova T, Chowdhury J, et al., 2016, Roundabout (Robo) receptors on pulmonary artery endothelial cells: Implications for pulmonary arterial hypertension, ERS, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Nikolakopoulou Z, Smith M, Hector LR, et al., 2013, S100A12 AS A BIOMARKER FOR NEUTROPHIL MEDIATED INFLAMMATION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC SURGERY NECESSITATING CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS, Winter Meeting of the British-Thoracic-Society, Publisher: BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, Pages: A141-A141, ISSN: 0040-6376
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- Citations: 2
Nikolakopoulou Z, Nteliopoulos G, Michael-Titus AT, et al., 2013, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids selectively inhibit growth in neoplastic oral keratinocytes by differentially activating ERK1/2., Carcinogenesis, Vol: 34, Pages: 2716-2725
The long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs)-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and its metabolite docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-inhibit cancer formation in vivo, but their mechanism of action is unclear. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) activation and inhibition have both been associated with the induction of tumour cell apoptosis by n-3 PUFAs. We show here that low doses of EPA, in particular, inhibited the growth of premalignant and malignant keratinocytes more than the growth of normal counterparts by a combination of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The growth inhibition of the oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) lines, but not normal keratinocytes, by both n-3 PUFAs was associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) autophosphorylation, a sustained phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and its downstream target p90RSK but not with phosphorylation of the PI3 kinase target Akt. Inhibition of EGFR with either the EGFR kinase inhibitor AG1478 or an EGFR-blocking antibody inhibited ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and the blocking antibody partially antagonized growth inhibition by EPA but not by DHA. DHA generated more reactive oxygen species and activated more c-jun N-terminal kinase than EPA, potentially explaining its increased toxicity to normal keratinocytes. Our results show that, in part, EPA specifically inhibits SCC growth and development by creating a sustained signalling imbalance to amplify the EGFR/ERK/p90RSK pathway in neoplastic keratinocytes to a supraoptimal level, supporting the chemopreventive potential of EPA, whose toxicity to normal cells might be reduced further by blocking its metabolism to DHA. Furthermore, ERK1/2 phosphorylation may have potential as a biomarker of n-3 PUFA function in vivo.
Nikolakopoulou Z, Creagh-Brown B, Burke-Gaffney A, et al., 2013, Decreased expression of receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) on neutrophils following surgery necessitating cardiopulmonary bypass (snCPB), 100th Annual Meeting of the American-Association-of-Immunologists, Publisher: AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS, ISSN: 0022-1767
Nikolakopoulou Z, Shaikh MH, Dehlawi H, et al., 2013, The induction of apoptosis in pre-malignant keratinocytes by omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is inhibited by albumin, TOXICOLOGY LETTERS, Vol: 218, Pages: 150-158, ISSN: 0378-4274
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- Citations: 14
Patel H, Nteliopoulos G, Nikolakopoulou Z, et al., 2011, Antibody arrays identify protein-protein interactions in chronic myeloid leukaemia, BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Vol: 152, Pages: 611-614, ISSN: 0007-1048
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- Citations: 4
Nikolakopoulou Z, Michael-Titus AT, Parkinson EK, 2009, The selective effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on normal and neoplastic oral keratinocyte apoptosis, Publisher: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH, ISSN: 1535-7163
Ghaem-Maghami S, Nikolakopoulou Z, Gabra H, et al., 2005, WT1 as a target for immunotherapy inovarian cancer, IMMUNOLOGY, Vol: 116, Pages: 40-40, ISSN: 0019-2805
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