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W Levin

Publications and source records attributed to W Levin.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Longitudinal ctDNA tracking in early and recurrent breast cancer using an ultrasensitive structural variant-based assay: an extended analysis from the TRACER study.

BACKGROUND: Detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) following curative-intent therapy is prognostic of disease recurrence in early-stage breast cancer (EBC). An ultrasensitive structural variant (SV)-based ctDNA assay was evaluated previously in a 100-patient EBC cohort treated with neoadjuvant therapy, demonstrating high sensitivity, specificity, and a long lead-time to relapse. The stability of primary tumor-specific SVs at and after metastatic recurrence and their utility for longer-term ctDNA monitoring had not been established. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An updated retrospective analysis of ctDNA dynamics was conducted in an expanded cohort of 121 patients with EBC treated with neoadjuvant therapy. Plasma samples were collected at key clinical timepoints and serially in several patients who experienced metastatic recurrence. Clinical variables were abstracted from medical records. Associations between ctDNA detection, dynamics, and clinical outcomes were evaluated in the early-stage and metastatic settings. RESULTS: Thirty of 121 patients experienced clinical recurrence (28 distant, 2 local) over a median follow-up of 4.2 years (range 0.5-8.8; 25 ctDNA evaluable with adjuvant timepoints). All patients with detectable ctDNA in the adjuvant setting developed metastatic recurrence (22/22). Median lead time from ctDNA detection to metastatic recurrence was 346 days (range 0-1937). Among recurrent cases, 79% of primary tumor-specific SVs (n = 17 patients, tumor fraction ≥0.1%) remained detectable in plasma [range 7% (1/14 SV)-100% (15/15); median: 92%]. ctDNA dynamics in the recurrent metastatic setting demonstrated a strong relationship with radiographic outcomes in evaluable patients (n = 9). CONCLUSION: This SV-based digital PCR assay provided ultrasensitive ctDNA detection in an expanded EBC cohort, maintaining 100% positive predictive value for metastatic recurrence. In patients with recurrence, ctDNA dynamics were concordant with radiographic outcomes. Prospective studies evaluating the clinical utility of longitudinal ctDNA monitoring are warranted.

MRD↗
PubMed1977

Liver microsomal epoxide hydrase.

1. The substrate specificity of membrane-bound and purified epoxide hydrase from rat liver microsomes has been studied. Both enzyme preparations catalyzed the hydration of a variety of alkene oxidase as well as arene oxides of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 2. Unlike the membrane-bound enzyme, the rate of hydration for most of the substrates catalyzed by the purified epoxide hydrase was constant for only 1 or 2 min. The addition of dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine or heated microsomes to the incubation mixture extended the linearity of the reaction. 3. When rat liver microsomes were used as the source of the enzyme, the apparent Km values for many of the substrates were dependent on the amount of microsomes used. When purified epoxide hydrase was used as the enzyme source and benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-oxide as substrate, the apparent Km for benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-oxide was independent of enzyme concentration but dependent on added lipid concentration. Thus, in the absence of added dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine or in the presence of this lipid at a concentration below its critical micelle concentration, the observed Km for benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-oxide remained constant. However, when the lipid concentration was greater than the critical micelle concentration, the apparent Km value increased linearly with lipid concentration. These results are consistent with a model based on the partition of lipid-soluble substrate between the lipid micelle and the aqueous medium.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Hydration of arene and alkene oxides by epoxide hydrase in human liver microsomes.

The comparative hydration of styrene 7,8-oxide, octene 1,2-oxide, naphthalene 1,2-oxide, phenanthrene 9,10-oxide, benzo[a]anthracene 5,6-oxide, 3-methylcholanthrene 11,12-oxide, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene 5,6-oxide, and benzo[a, 7,8-, 9,10-, and 11,12-oxides to their respective dihydrodiols was investigated in microsomes from nine human autopsy livers. The substrate specificity of the epoxide hydrase in human liver microsomes was very similar to that of the epoxide hydrase in rat liver microsomes. Phenanthrene 9,10-oxide was the best substrate for the human and rat epoxide hydrases and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene 5,6-oxide and benzo[a-a)pyrene 11, 12-oxide were the poorest substrates. Plotting epoxide hydrase activity obtained with one substrate against epoxide hydrase activity for another substrate for each of the nine human livers revealed excellent correlations for all combinations of the 11 substrates studied (r = 0.87 to 0.99). The data suggest the presence in human liver of a single epoxide hydrase with broad substrate specificity. However, the results do not exclude the possible presence in human liver of several epoxide hydrases that are under similar regulatory control. These results suggest the need for further investigation to determine whether there is a safe epoxide of a drug whose in vivo metabolism is predictive of the capacity of different individuals to metabolize a wide variety of epoxides of drugs and environmental chemicals.

Alkenes↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of 3-methylcholanthrene treatment on phenacetin O-dealkylation in several inbred mouse strains.

An increase in the metabolism of phenacetin to N-acetyl-p-aminophenol is correlated with benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase induction by 3-methylcholanthrene among several inbred mouse strains. While the magnitude of induction of phenacetin O-dealkylation is considerably less than that of benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylation, the data indicate that in mice, the metabolism of these two substrates is under similar regulatory control.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reconstituted liver microsomal enzyme system that hydroxylates drugs, other foreign compounds, and endogenous substrates. IX. The formation of a 455-nm metabolite-cytochrome P-450 complex.

The reconstituted liver microsomal hydroxylation system was used to study the formation of a metabolite-cytochrome P-450 complex absorbing maximally at 455 nm, with benzphetamine and N-hydroxyamphetamine as substrates. Complex formation required the presence of NADPH, substrate, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, lipid, and cytochrome P-450, indicating that metabolism of the substrate is essential. In the presence of fixed amounts of lipid and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, the rate of complex formation with cytochrome P-450 isolated from phenobarbital-treated rats was much greater than that observed with cytochrome P-48 from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats or rabbits. These results are consistent with recent studies indicating that different forms of cytochrome P-450 with distinct spectral, catalytic, and immunological properties exist in liver microsomes.

Animals↗