Publications

@article{Phillips2023-zz,

title = {The long-term impacts of hearing loss, tinnitus and poor balance 

 on the quality of life of people living with and beyond cancer 

 after platinum-based chemotherapy: a literature review},

author = {Olivia R Phillips and David M Baguley and Stephanie E Pearson and Michael A Akeroyd},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-02-01},

journal = {J. Cancer Surviv.},

volume = {17},

number = {1},

pages = {40\textendash58},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

abstract = {PURPOSE: To elucidate the long-term impacts of hearing loss, 

 tinnitus and balance in people living with and beyond cancer 

 (LWBC) treated with platinum-based chemotherapy (PBCT). METHODS: 

 A literature search was conducted between March and June 2022 

 using PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Full-text 

 papers in English were included. Articles explored the impacts 

 of hearing loss, tinnitus and balance and discussed them in the 

 context of treatment. If PBCT was used in conjunction with other 

 treatments, the article was included. There were no constraints 

 on age, cancer type, publication date, location, study design or 

 data type. Sixteen studies and two reviews were included. 

 RESULTS: Hearing loss and tinnitus can cause communication 

 difficulties and subsequent social withdrawal. There were 

 deficits in cognition, child development and educational 

 performance. Employment and the ease of everyday life were 

 disrupted by hearing loss and tinnitus, whereas poor balance 

 interfered with walking and increased the risk of falls. 

 Depression and anxiety were related to ototoxicity. Most notable 

 were the differing mindsets experienced by adults LWBC with 

 ototoxicity. There was evidence of inadequate monitoring of 

 ototoxicity by clinicians and a lack of communication between 

 clinicians and patients about ototoxicity as a side effect. 

 CONCLUSIONS: Ototoxicity has a negative long-term impact on 

 multiple areas of life for adults and children LWBC. This can 

 compromise their quality of life. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER 

 SURVIVORS: Increased awareness, monitoring and education 

 surrounding these issues may lead to earlier intervention and 

 better management of ototoxicity, enhancing the quality of life 

 of people LWBC.},

keywords = {Cancer, Hearing loss, Long-term effects, Ototoxicity, Quality of   life, Survivorship, Tinnitus},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Adolf2022-ur,

title = {HLA-G and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations 

 with cancer in African populations: Implications in personal 

 medicine},

author = {Ismael Chatita Adolf and Amany Almars and Nazima Dharsee and Teddy Mselle and Gokce Akan and Irene Jeremiah Nguma and Abdolrahman S Nateri and Fatmahan Atalar},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-09-01},

journal = {Genes Dis.},

volume = {9},

number = {5},

pages = {1220\textendash1233},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {The immune system plays an important role in protecting the body 

 against malignancy. During cancer immunoediting, the immune 

 system can recognize and keep checking the tumor cells by 

 down-expression of some self-molecules or by increasing 

 expression of some novel molecules. However, the 

 microenvironment created in the course of cancer development 

 hampers the immune ability to recognize and destroy the 

 transforming cells. Human Leukocyte Antigen G (HLA-G) is 

 emerging as immune checkpoint molecule produced more by cancer 

 cells to weaken the immune response against them. HLA-G is a 

 non-classical HLA class I molecule which is normally expressed 

 in immune privileged tissues as a soluble or membrane-bound 

 protein. HLA-G locus is highly polymorphic in the non-coding 3' 

 untranslated region (UTR) and in the 5' upstream regulatory 

 region (5' URR). HLA-G expression is controlled by polymorphisms 

 located in these regions, and several association studies 

 between these polymorphic sites and disease predisposition, 

 response to therapy, and/or HLA-G protein expression have been 

 reported. Various polymorphisms are demonstrated to modulate its 

 expression and this is increasingly finding more significance in 

 cancer biology. This review focuses on the relevance of the 

 HLA-G gene and its polymorphisms in cancer development. We 

 highlight population genetics of HLA-G as evidence to espouse 

 the need and importance of exploring potential utility of HLA-G 

 in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and immunotherapy in the 

 currently understudied African population.},

keywords = {African population, Cancer, HLA-G, Immune system checkpoints, MHC, Single nucleotide polymorphism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Woodward2021-wy,

title = {Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics using an optimised 

 dual extraction process to study human brain cancer cells and 

 tissues},

author = {Alison Woodward and Alina Pandele and Salah Abdelrazig and Catherine A Ortori and Iqbal Khan and Marcos Castellanos Uribe and Sean May and David A Barrett and Richard G Grundy and Dong-Hyun Kim and Ruman Rahman},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-01},

journal = {Metabolites},

volume = {11},

number = {4},

pages = {240},

publisher = {MDPI AG},

abstract = {The integration of untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics 

 from the same population of cells or tissue enhances the 

 confidence in the identified metabolic pathways and 

 understanding of the enzyme-metabolite relationship. Here, we 

 optimised a simultaneous extraction method of metabolites/lipids 

 and RNA from ependymoma cells (BXD-1425). Relative to 

 established RNA (mirVana kit) or metabolite (sequential solvent 

 addition and shaking) single extraction methods, four 

 dual-extraction techniques were evaluated and compared 

 (methanol:water:chloroform ratios): cryomill/mirVana (1:1:2); 

 cryomill-wash/Econospin (5:1:2); rotation/phenol-chloroform 

 (9:10:1); Sequential/mirVana (1:1:3). All methods extracted the 

 same metabolites, yet rotation/phenol-chloroform did not extract 

 lipids. Cryomill/mirVana and sequential/mirVana recovered the 

 highest amounts of RNA, at 70 and 68% of that recovered with 

 mirVana kit alone. sequential/mirVana, involving RNA extraction 

 from the interphase of our established sequential solvent 

 addition and shaking metabolomics-lipidomics extraction method, 

 was the most efficient approach overall. Sequential/mirVana was 

 applied to study a) the biological effect caused by acute serum 

 starvation in BXD-1425 cells and b) primary ependymoma tumour 

 tissue. We found (a) 64 differentially abundant metabolites and 

 28 differentially expressed metabolic genes, discovering four 

 gene-metabolite interactions, and (b) all metabolites and 62% 

 lipids were above the limit of detection, and RNA yield was 

 sufficient for transcriptomics, in just 10 mg of tissue.},

keywords = {Cancer, dual-extraction, integrated omics, metabolite, RNA},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Ashworth2020-so,

title = {Peptide gels of fully-defined composition and mechanics for 

 probing cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in vitro},

author = {J C Ashworth and J L Thompson and J R James and C E Slater and S Pijuan-Galit\'{o} and K Lis-Slimak and R J Holley and K A Meade and A Thompson and K P Arkill and M Tassieri and A J Wright and G Farnie and C L R Merry},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Matrix Biol.},

volume = {85-86},

pages = {15\textendash33},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Current materials used for in vitro 3D cell culture are often 

 limited by their poor similarity to human tissue, batch-to-batch 

 variability and complexity of composition and manufacture. Here, 

 we present a ``blank slate'' culture environment based on a 

 self-assembling peptide gel free from matrix motifs. The gel can 

 be customised by incorporating matrix components selected to 

 match the target tissue, with independent control of mechanical 

 properties. Therefore the matrix components are restricted to 

 those specifically added, or those synthesised by encapsulated 

 cells. The flexible 3D culture platform provides full control 

 over biochemical and physical properties, allowing the impact of 

 biochemical composition and tissue mechanics to be separately 

 evaluated in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that the peptide gels 

 support the growth of a range of cells including human induced 

 pluripotent stem cells and human cancer cell lines. Furthermore, 

 we present proof-of-concept that the peptide gels can be used to 

 build disease-relevant models. Controlling the peptide gelator 

 concentration allows peptide gel stiffness to be matched to 

 normal breast (1 kPa), with higher stiffness favouring the 

 viability of breast cancer cells over normal breast cells. In 

 parallel, the peptide gels may be modified with matrix 

 components relevant to human breast, such as collagen I and 

 hyaluronan. The choice and concentration of these additions 

 affect the size, shape and organisation of breast epithelial 

 cell structures formed in co-culture with fibroblasts. This 

 system therefore provides a means of unravelling the individual 

 influences of matrix, mechanical properties and cell-cell 

 interactions in cancer and other diseases.},

keywords = {biomaterials, Cancer, extracellular matrix, Stem cells, Stiffness},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}