Photonics detection of molecular-specific spatial structural alterations in cell nuclei due to chronic alcoholism and probiotics treatments on colon cancer via a light localization method using confocal imaging

TL;DR

This study uses light localization and confocal imaging to detect nanoscale structural changes in colon cancer tissues caused by chronic alcoholism and probiotics, revealing potential early biomarkers and treatment effects.

Contribution

It introduces the application of the inverse participation ratio (IPR) technique with confocal microscopy to quantify molecular-specific structural alterations in colon cancer tissues.

Findings

Alcohol increases structural disorder in colon cancer tissues.

Probiotics partially reverse alcohol-induced structural changes.

IPR effectively detects early structural alterations related to cancer progression.

Abstract

Photonics/light localization techniques are important in understanding the structural changes in biological tissues at the nano- to sub-micron scale. It is now known that structural alteration starts at the nanoscale at the beginning of cancer progression. This study examines the molecular-specific nano-structural alterations of chronic alcoholism and probiotic effects on colon cancer using a mouse model of colon cancer. Confocal microscopy and mesoscopic light-scattering analysis are applied to quantify structural changes in DNA (chromatin), cytoskeleton, and ki-67 protein cells with appropriate staining dyes. We assessed alcohol-treated and azoxymethane (AOM) with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis models, including ethanol (EtOH) and probiotic (L.Casei) treatments separately and together. The inverse participation ratio (IPR) technique was employed to quantify the degree of light localization to access the molecular-specific spatial structural disorder as a biomarker for cancer progression detection. Significant enhancement of cancer progression was observed in the alcohol-treated group, and probiotics treatment with alcohol showed partial reversal of these changes in colon cancer. The results underscore the potential of the IPR technique in detecting early structural changes in colon cancer, offering insights into the mitigating effects of probiotics on alcohol-induced enhancement of colon cancer.