Biology subjects

Piessen, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Piessen, G..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

L-pentahomoserine correlates with therapy outcome in esophageal cancer and promotes metabolic adaptations that support cell survival under nutrient-deprived conditions

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is the sixth-leading cause of cancer-related death. Although pyrimidine analogue-based neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies are widely used, patient responses remain variable. Emerging evidence indicates that bacteria-derived metabolites influence tumor biology and therapy outcomes. To identify non-canonical plasma metabolites linked to cancer biology, we performed correlation analyses between untargeted metabolomics profiles and overall survival. This approach revealed a bacterial metabolite called L-pentahomoserine, or L-2-amino-5-hydroxypentanoic acid (L-2A5HPA), to be positively associated with overall survival. Notably, L-2A5HPA promoted cell survival under nutrient limitation by redirecting glucose metabolism towards aspartate and pyrimidine biosynthesis. In vitro, L-2A5HPA uptake varied among cell lines and was controlled by stereospecific transporters. Furthermore, metabolic profiling in mouse models of liver cancer showed different levels of L-2A5HPA and a strong correlation with pyrimidine intermediates, dihydroorotate and orotate. The link between L-2A5HPA, pyrimidine nucleotide metabolism, and cell survival provides mechanistic insight into its association with patient outcome. Our findings position L-2A5HPA as a metabolite with potential to become a prognostic biomarker for EAC and underscores its role in metabolic adaptation under nutrient-deprived conditions.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Transforming Esogastric Cancer Surgery Integrating SpiderMass Mass Spectrometry with Clinical and Microbiome Data for Margin Delineation and Prognosis

Esophageal-gastric cancers (EC) represent a significant global health concern, with esophageal cancer ranking seventh in terms of incidence and mortality worldwide. Gastric cancer is especially concerning, with an estimated one million new cases and 800,000 deaths annually. Late diagnoses often lead to poor outcomes, requiring critical interventions such as radical surgical resection with clear margins, in conjunction with chemotherapy, or radiotherapy to prevent recurrences and enhance survival. Thus, EC represents a significant clinical challenge, especially given the difficulty in achieving precise surgical margins in aggressive subtypes like poorly cohesive carcinoma (PCC). Moreover, pathological intraoperative margin assessment encounters significant issues, especially for PCCs, due to lacks of sensitivity for microscopic infiltration, potentially leading to recurrence and poorer patient outcomes. We address these critical limitations by integrating SpiderMass, an ambient mass spectrometry (MS) technology, with clinical metadata and microbiome profiling couple along with Machine learning. We demonstrate SpiderMass capability in real-time molecular margin delineation and identify distinct lipidomic and microbiome signatures correlating with tissue type and prognosis. Our integrative approach provides a more precise and biologically informative intraoperative diagnostic tool, significantly enhancing surgical decision-makin, to improve patient outcomes and extend survival.

cancer biology↗