85% des patients atteints de cancer du pancréas présentent au diagnostic des formes avancées de la maladie qui empêchent leur prise en charge thérapeutique efficace. Il est donc urgent de mettre en évidence des marqueurs diagnostics permettant de détecter plus tôt ces cancers, mais également leur rechute, afin d'améliorer leur prise en charge. Les miARNs (micro acides ribonucléiques) sont des biomarqueurs du cancer du pancréas, présentant une valeur clinique démontrée pour la détection précoce des tumeurs et le suivi de la réponse au traitement. Cependant, les méthodes actuelles d'extraction et de détection de ces molécules ne sont pas adaptées à une utilisation clinique. Les nouvelles technologies issues des méthodes de micro et nanofabrication ont le potentiel de permettre la mise en place de tests diagnostiques, offrant un haut degré de portabilité et de robustesse, une lecture en temps réel, et à bas coût. Nous proposons ici une plateforme nanofluidique couplée à une détection en fluorescence permettant la mesure en temps réel d'interactions moléculaires en milieu hyper-confiné. Nous décrivons dans un premier temps la plateforme de détection via un modèle théorique à une dimension basé sur la dynamique moléculaire permettant de prédire la capture spécifique des miARNs dans un nanocanal fonctionnalisé. L'originalité du système réside dans une accroche non homogène des miARNs sur la surface du capteur. Ainsi, nous démontrons que l'étude du profil spatial d'hybridation engendré permet de déterminer l'affinité du miARN capturé avec la séquence sonde en une seule étape, sans lavage. Nous démontrons également l'excellente spécificité du biocapteur qui permet la discrimination rapide (moins de 10 minutes) de SND (single nucleotide difference). Les performances du dispositif pour des applications au plus près des problématiques biologiques dans le cadre de la détection du cancer du pancréas sont enfin discutées : les effets de la préparation d'échantillon types biofluides complexes sur l'extraction de miARNs sont étudiés, puis deux approches permettant la détection de miARNs endogènes sont décrites et comparées, conduisant à la détection de miARNs extraits de cultures cellulaires modèles du cancer du pancréas. / 85% of patients affected by pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDA) are diagnosed at an advanced stage, preventing effective care and curative treatments. Therefore, it is urgent to identify reliable biomarkers for the early detection of disease status, including relapse. MiRNAs (micro ribonucleic acids) are biomarkers of PDA, with demonstrated clinical value for early detection of tumors and monitoring of response to treatment. However, current methods of extraction and detection of miRNA are not compatible with clinical use. New technologies derived from micro and nanofabrication methods have the potential to facilitate the implementation of diagnostic tests, by offering a high degree of portability and robustness, short time to results at low cost. Here, we propose a nanofluidic platform coupled to fluorescence detection for the real time measurement of molecular interactions in a confined environment. We first describe the detection platform via a one-dimension theoretical model based on molecular dynamics to predict the capture of miRNAs into biofunctionalized nanochannels. The originality of the system lies in the non-homogeneous hybridization of miRNA targets onto the sensor. We demonstrate that the analysis of the spatial hybridization profile enables the determination of the affinity of the captured miRNA with the probe sequence in a wash-free single step. We then show the rapid discrimination (less than 10 minutes) of single nucleotide difference (SND) using this strategy. The performance of the device in the context of pancreatic cancer detection is discussed: the effect of sample preparation of complex biofluids is studied and two labeling approaches compatible with the detection of endogenous miRNAs are described and compared, leading to the detection of miRNAs extracted from model cell cultures of pancreatic cancer.

The clinical potential of pharmacological ascorbate (P-AscH-; IV delivery achieving mM concentrations in blood) as an adjuvant in cancer therapy is being re-evaluated. At mM concentrations, P-AscH- is thought to exhibit anti-cancer activity via generation of a flux of H2O2 in tumors, which leads to oxidative distress. Here, we use cell culture models of pancreatic cancer, MIA PaCa-2, PANC-1, and 339 cells, to examine the effects of P-AscH- on DNA damage, and downstream consequences, including changes in bioenergetics. We have found that the high flux of H2O2 produced by P-AscH- induces both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage. In response to this DNA damage, we observed that poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is hyperactivated, as determined by increased formation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymer. Using our unique absolute quantitation, we found that the P-AscH--mediated the overactivation of PARP-1, which results in consumption of NAD+, and subsequently depletion of ATP (potential energy crisis) leading to mitotic cell death. Time-course studies with MIA PaCa-2 cells showed that the level of NAD+ and ATP were reduced by 80% immediately after a 1-h exposure to P-AscH- (4 mM; 14 pmol cell-1); both species returned to near basal levels within 24 h. In parallel with these metabolic and energetic restorations, the lesions in nuclear DNA were removed within 3 h; however, even after 24 h, lesions in mitochondrial DNA were only partially repaired. We have also found that the Chk1 pathway has a major role in the maintenance of genomic integrity following treatment with P-AscH-. Hence, combinations of P-AscH- and Chk1 inhibitors could have the potential to improve outcomes of cancer treatment. Hyperactivation of PARP-1 and DNA repair are ATP-consuming processes. Using a Seahorse XF96 Analyzer, we observed no changes in OCR or ECAR/PPR following treatment with P-AscH-. OCR and ECAR/PPR together indicate the rate of production of intracellular ATP; therefore, the rate of production is unchanged after challenge with P-AscH-. Thus, the severe decrease in ATP is due solely to increased demand. Genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of PARP-1 preserved both NAD+ and ATP; however, the toxicity of P-AscH- remained. These data indicate that loss of NAD+ and ATP are secondary factors in the toxicity of P-AscH-, and damage to DNA is the primary factor. These preclinical findings can guide the best use of P-AscH- as an adjuvant in cancer therapy.

L'hétérogénéité de l'adénocarcinome canalaire pancréatique (ADCP) est l'obstacle majeur au traitement efficace des patients. En effet, les caractéristiques cliniques et la sensibilité aux traitements sont associés à un phénotype donné et sont plutôt régis à un niveau transcriptomique. Nous avons donc analysé le transcriptome de xénogreffes provenant des patients (Patients Derived Xenografts : PDX) lors des biopsies de tumeurs ou de pièces chirurgicales. Après extraction d’ARN, nous avons trouvé une signature moléculaire capable de diviser les patients en deux groupes, en fonction de leur survie. Nous avons également montré que la réponse autraitement pouvait être prédite par l‘analyse transcriptomique. Nous avons ensuite analysé les tumeurs et leurs stromas, et mis en évidence deux soustypesde stromas et deux sous-types de tumeurs, définis par la transcriptomique basée sur l'ARN, ou la méthylation de l'ADN. Nous avons étudié la réponse aux traitements administrés seuls ou en combinaison avec des chimiothérapies de routine. Nous avons mis en évidence des sous-groupes de patients plus chimiosensibles à certains traitements. Tous ces résultats sont encourageants,mais pas encore applicables en pratique clinique. Nous développons maintenant les organoïdes, véritable représentation de la tumeur en 3dimensions. Contrairement aux PDX, les organoïdes nous permettent d'obtenir des résultats rapidement exploitables. Nous pensons que dans un avenir proche, le traitement des cancers du pancréas sera précédé d'une caractérisation moléculaire étendue afin de sélectionner les traitements les plus appropriés et de pouvoir enfin proposer une médecine personnalisée. / Heterogeneity of Pancreatic Ductal AdenoCarcinoma (PDAC) has become the majorimpediment to the effective treatment of patients. Clinical outcome and sensitivity to treatments are associated with a given phenotype and associated at a transcriptomic level. Recent data indicate that studying the expressionof a selected gene set could inform selection of the most appropriate treatments.We areoptimizing this approach by analysing transcriptome of Patient-Derived Xenografts (PDX)from surgical as well as endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA)biopsies of tumors, as a source of RNA. We have found a molecularsignature capable of dividing patients into two groups, function of theirsurvival.Independently, we have shown that treatment response pattern can also be foundat a transcriptomic level. We thenanalysed tumors and their stromas, and have found two sub-types of stromas and two sub-types of tumors. These wereindinstinctly defined by RNAseq-based transcriptomics, or DNA methylation. We also studied response to treatments administered alone or incombination to routine chemotherapies. All these results are encouraging, but not yetapplicable in clinical pratice. We are now developing the PDAC Biopsy DerivedPancreatic Cancer Organoids (BDPCO): BDPCO culture represents an excellent source of “exvivo” material. Unlike PDX, which take many months to grow, BDPCO allow us to obtainexploitable material rapidly useful for clinical application. We are convinced that in the near future, the treatment ofpancreatic cancers will be preceded by an extensive molecular characterization of cancercells in order to select the most appropriate treatments.

Pancreatic cancer kills over 1700 people each year in Australia. In 2000, there were 1908 new cases diagnosed and it remains one of the least treatable malignancies. In the USA, it was the fourth leading cause of cancer death in 2004, with 31,860 new cases and 31,270 recorded deaths. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel, potentially useful treatment for locally advanced pancreatic cancer with only limited research and clinical work addressing this until now. PDT induces non-thermal, cytotoxic and ischaemic injury to a targeted volume of tissue. During PDT, a photosensitizer is activated by non-thermal light in the presence of oxygen, generating cytotoxic oxygen species and inducing cellular injury and microvascular occlusion. The aim of this thesis was to conduct an animal safety study using two second generation photosensitizers, talaporfin sodium and verteporfin, to assess the risks of pancreatic PDT by looking at injury to organs adjacent to the pancreas and assessing recovery from PDT treatment of the pancreas. The Syrian Golden hamster animal model was used to compare the results of this research to previous work by other authors. The study design incorporated a number of additional experiments, including quantitative tissue fluorescence techniques, plasma level analysis and histopathology techniques. The methods for the animal safety study were similar to the approach used in the clinical setting and provided vital data on the likely risks and side effects of phototherapy in humans. The first study, looking at talaporfin sodium, found likely risks of duodenal injury, gastric injury and death with a limited effect on normal pancreas at photosensitizer doses likely to be employed for pancreatic cancer PDT. The second study, using verteporfin, found similar results with a more potent effect on the normal pancreas at studied drug doses. Both agents had short drug-light intervals, ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours, reducing the need for pre-treatment hospitalization and short photosensitivity periods of about one to two weeks. Some animals suffered minor cutaneous photosensitivity injuries. A human pancreatic cancer PDT pilot study is feasible and the risks and complications should be acceptable.

Sequence-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes can be used for gene silencing in mammalian cells and as mechanistic probes for determining gene function. Transfection of siRNA for specificity protein 1 (Sp1) in MCF-7 or ZR-75 cells decreased Sp1 protein in nuclear extracts, and immunohistochemical analysis showed that Sp1 protein in transfected MCF-7 cells was barely detectable. Decreased Sp1 protein in MCF-7 was accompanied by a decrease in basal and estrogen-induced transactivation and cell cycle progression. These results clearly demonstrate the key role of Sp1 protein in regulating growth and gene expression of breast cancer cells. The aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) is a ligand-activated nuclear transcription factor. siRNA for the AhR decreased TCDD-induced CYP1A1 protein, CYP1A1dependent activity, and luciferase activity in cells transfected with an Ah-responsive construct. 17β-Estradiol (E2) induces proliferation of MCF-7 cells, and this response is inhibited in cells cotreated with E2 plus TCDD. The effects of TCDD on E2-induced cell cycle progression were partially blocked in MCF-7 cells transfected with siRNA for AhR. The decrease in AhR protein in MCF-7 cells was also accompanied by increased G0/G1 → S phase progression. Surprisingly, TCDD alone induced G0/G1 → S phase progression and exhibited estrogenic activity in MCF-7 cells transfected with siRNA for the AhR. In contrast, degradation of the AhR in HepG2 liver cancer cells resulted in decreased G0/G1 → S phase progression, and this was accompanied by decreased expression of cyclin D1, cyclin E, cdk2 and cdk4. In the absence of ligand, the AhR exhibits growth inhibitory (MCF-7) and growth promoting (HepG2) activity that is cell context-dependent. Sp family proteins play a complex role in regulation of pancreatic cancer cells growth and expression of genes required for growth, angiogenesis and apoptosis. Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 cooperatively activate VEGF promoter constructs in these cells; however, only Sp3 regulates cell proliferation. siRNA for Sp3 inhibits phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein, blocks G0/G1 → S phase progression of Panc-1 cells, and upregulates p27 protein/promoter activity. Thus, Sp3 plays a critical role in angiogenesis (VEGF upregulation) and the proliferation of Panc-1 cells by a novel mechanism of Sp3-dependent suppression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27.

Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC) is a cancer syndrome characterized by clustering of pancreatic cancer in families, but most FPC cases do not have a known genetic etiology. Understanding genetic predisposition to pancreatic cancer is important for improving screening as well as treatment. The central aim of this thesis is to identify candidate susceptibility genes for FPC, and I used three approaches of increasing resolution. First, based on a candidate-gene approach, I hypothesized that BRCA1 is inactivated by loss-of-heterozygosity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma of germline mutation carriers. I demonstrated that 5/7 pancreatic tumors from BRCA1-mutation carriers show LOH, compared to only 1/9 sporadic tumors, suggesting that BRCA1 inactivation is involved in tumorigenesis in germline mutation carriers. Second, I hypothesized that the germline genomes of FPC subjects differ in copy-number profile from healthy genomes, and that regions affected by rare deletions or duplications in FPC subjects overlap candidate tumor-suppressors or oncogenes. I found no significant difference in the global copy-number profile of FPC and control genomes, but I identified 93 copy-number variable genomic regions unique to FPC subjects, overlapping 88 genes of which several have functional roles in cancer development. I investigated one duplication to sequence the breakpoints, but I found that this duplication did not segregate with disease in the affected family. Third, I hypothesized that in a family with multiple pancreatic cancer patients, genes containing rare variants shared by the affected members constitute susceptibility genes. Using next-generation sequencing to capture most bases in coding regions of the genome, I interrogated the germline exome of three relatives who died of pancreatic cancer and a relative who is healthy at advanced age. I identified a short-list of nine candidate genes with unreported mutations shared by the three affected relatives and absent in the unaffected relative, of which a few had functional relevance to tumorigenesis. I performed Sanger sequencing to screen an unrelated cohort of approximately 70 FPC patients for mutations in the top two candidate genes, but I found no additional rare variants in those genes. In conclusion, I present a list of candidate FPC susceptibility genes for further validation and investigation in future studies.

Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC) is a cancer syndrome characterized by clustering of pancreatic cancer in families, but most FPC cases do not have a known genetic etiology. Understanding genetic predisposition to pancreatic cancer is important for improving screening as well as treatment. The central aim of this thesis is to identify candidate susceptibility genes for FPC, and I used three approaches of increasing resolution. First, based on a candidate-gene approach, I hypothesized that BRCA1 is inactivated by loss-of-heterozygosity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma of germline mutation carriers. I demonstrated that 5/7 pancreatic tumors from BRCA1-mutation carriers show LOH, compared to only 1/9 sporadic tumors, suggesting that BRCA1 inactivation is involved in tumorigenesis in germline mutation carriers. Second, I hypothesized that the germline genomes of FPC subjects differ in copy-number profile from healthy genomes, and that regions affected by rare deletions or duplications in FPC subjects overlap candidate tumor-suppressors or oncogenes. I found no significant difference in the global copy-number profile of FPC and control genomes, but I identified 93 copy-number variable genomic regions unique to FPC subjects, overlapping 88 genes of which several have functional roles in cancer development. I investigated one duplication to sequence the breakpoints, but I found that this duplication did not segregate with disease in the affected family. Third, I hypothesized that in a family with multiple pancreatic cancer patients, genes containing rare variants shared by the affected members constitute susceptibility genes. Using next-generation sequencing to capture most bases in coding regions of the genome, I interrogated the germline exome of three relatives who died of pancreatic cancer and a relative who is healthy at advanced age. I identified a short-list of nine candidate genes with unreported mutations shared by the three affected relatives and absent in the unaffected relative, of which a few had functional relevance to tumorigenesis. I performed Sanger sequencing to screen an unrelated cohort of approximately 70 FPC patients for mutations in the top two candidate genes, but I found no additional rare variants in those genes. In conclusion, I present a list of candidate FPC susceptibility genes for further validation and investigation in future studies.

Abstract ¡@¡@Biosensor chip has a lot of advantages, such as label-free, ultra-sensitive, highly selective, fast and real-time detection. Fabricating biosensor chip has great benefits for gene-detection, protein-detection, medical diagnosis and development of new medicine. This research will integrate the biomedical, chemistry, and physics, and also combined with biochemical technology and semiconductor technology to produce biosensor chip. ¡@¡@We use microelectronic semiconductor process technology to fabricate silicon nanowire field effect transistors (SiNW-FET). The source-drain current versus the voltage curve (Isd-Vsd) shows that the contact pad and the silicon nanowire form ohmic contact. And then we use chemical surface modification technologies to modified biotin on SiNW-FET to detect streptavidin. ¡@¡@In addition, we also grow AlGaN/GaN film by MBE, and fabricate nitride¡Vbased high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) by microelectronic semiconductor process technology. In this study, we apply HEMT in biosensor for pancreatic cancer marker CA19-9 antigen. And we modify pancreatic cancer marker CA19-9 antibody on the biosensor chip surface to detect pancreatic cancer marker CA19-9 antigen molecule. ¡@¡@Most of biomolecules are with weak charges, which can form chemical gating effect and change the conductance of p-type SiNW. And according to the streptavidin microfluidic measurement of biotin-modified SiNW-FET, the detection limit of streptavidin was 10-9 M. And the detection limit of pancreatic cancer marker CA19-9 antigen for N-HEMT biosensor was 150 U/mL.

Abstract Although the critical role of the small GTPases Ras and Ral in oncogenesis has been well documented, much remains to be investigated about the molecular mechanism by which these GTPases regulate malignant transformation. The work under this thesis made two major contributions to this field. The first is the discovery that K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB are required for the maintenance of the high levels of the anti-apoptotic protein survivin in some human cancer cells, and the second is the demonstration that down regulation of K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB, but not Raf-1 or Akt1/2, stabilizes the tumor suppressor p53 and reactivates it to inhibit malignant transformation in human cancer cells with mutant K-Ras and wild type p53. Here we found that depletion of K-Ras leads to decreased survivin levels in human cancer cells that harbor mutant K-Ras but not those with wild type Ras. The mechanism by which this occurs involves ubiquitination and subsequent proteasome-mediated degradation of survivin. The presence of mutant K-Ras alone was not sufficient to predict the effects of RalA/B depletion on survivin levels. Indeed, depletion of RalA and/or RalB reduces survivin levels in human cancer cells with wild type p53 and mutant K-Ras, but not in those with mutant p53 and/or wild type K-Ras. The functional relevance of these findings to malignant transformation was further supported by the demonstration that compromising the expression of survivin by siRNA leads to reduction of mutant K-Ras-driven invasion and anchorage-independent growth. Furthermore, in this thesis, we have discovered that down regulation of K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB using siRNA leads to increased levels of functional p53 that is capable of regulating its target genes. The mechanism by which depleting K-Ras, RalA and RalB increases the levels of p53 involves an increase in the half-life of the p53 protein concurrent with an increase in the phosphorylation of serine-15 of p53, a marker of p53 stability. Finally, we demonstrated that depletion of K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB interferes with cell cycle progression, anchorage-independent growth and invasion in a p53-dependent manner. In summary, the studies suggest that mutant K-Ras contributes to the maintenance of the aberrantly-high survivin levels by regulating its stability, and that the ability of mutant K-Ras to induce malignant transformation is, at least in part, dependent of these high levels of survivin. The work of this thesis also suggests that the expression of K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB proteins is critical to maintain low levels of p53, and that down regulation of these GTPases reactivates p53 by significantly enhancing its stability, and this contributes to suppression of malignant transformation.

Pomegranate extract (PE) is a standardized whole fruit extract of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a fruit with known anti inflammatory and anti cancer properties. In the present study, the effects of PE on two different cell lines of human pancreatic cancer cells, AsPC-1 and PANC-1 were examined. Both cell lines are epithelial cancers but differ morphologically and in their response to treatment with PE. PE inhibited proliferation of both cancer cell lines in a dose dependent and time dependent manner. The reason for this was the potency of PE to cause significant cell cycle arrest in the pancreatic cancer cells, which was noted to be cell specific. AsPC-1 was arrested in G₂ phase while PANC-1 was arrested in G₀/G₁phase of the cell cycle. PE also checked the viability of confluent cancer cells in a concentration dependent manner. In case of AsPC-1 this was due to the action of PE to induce apoptosis, as demonstrated by the Annexin-V assay. In case of PANC-1, a highly invading cancer greatly affected by the presence of surface stem cell markers CD44⁺/CD24⁺, PE was capable of modifying the stem cell markers and induce an increase in the non tumorigenic sub population of cells. A study was also conducted to look at the action of PE in causing inhibition of pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, in comparison to a clinically used chemotherapeutic agent, Paclitaxel. The results indicated that the effect of PE, at clinically feasible doses was superior to that of clinically used doses of Paclitaxel. This data suggests that PE, which is proven to be a safe dietary supplement, looks promising in the prevention and treatment of human pancreatic cancer cells without the side effects of standard drug therapy and could possibly have a role in controlling stem cancer cell population / text