Blog Archive

Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

YYFZBJS inhibits colorectal tumorigenesis by remodeling gut microbiota and influence on M2 macrophage polarization in vivo and in vitro

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5338-5357. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Our previous studies indicated that the extract of Yi-Yi-Fu-Zi-Bai-Jiang-San (YYFZBJS) had potent anticancer activities by significantly inhibiting intestinal tumor development in ApcMin/+ mice. However, knowledge regarding the mechanism and effect of YYFZBJS in the prevention of colorectal cancer is limited. In this study, we aim to investigate the preventive effects of YYFZBJS in enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF)-colonized mice with azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced tumorigenesis. First, the colonic tissues of the AOM/DSS mouse models were collected for biomedical analysis, and gut microbiota profiling was detected post YYFZBJS treatment using a 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Then, antibiotic solution (Abx) mice were acclimated with AOM/DSS treatment and then fed with ETBF with or without YYFZBJS for three cyc les. As expected, the intragastric administration of YYFZBJS in the AOM/DSS mouse model significantly decreased the tumor load, the severity of disease activity index (DAI) scores, and the level of M2 macrophage markers such as CD206, Arg-1 and IL-10. Notably, the reverse of polarized macrophages induced by YYFZBJS could suppress CRC cell proliferation and infiltration, as demonstrated by the decrease of some tumor proliferation-related proteins in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, ETBF dysbiosis can contribute to colon tumor development by stimulating p-STAT3 mediated M2 macrophages polarization to promote chronic inflammation and adenoma malignant transformation, which YYFZBJS can effectively limit. Altogether, we demonstrate that ETBF dysbiosis may contribute to M2 macrophages-promoted colon carcinogenesis and progression of CRC cells, while YYFZBJS could be a promising protective agent against ETBF-mediated colorectal cancer.

PMID:34873464 | PMC:PMC8640793

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Highly potent dopamine receptor D2 antagonist ONC206 demonstrates anti-tumorigenic activity in endometrial cancer

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5374-5387. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Endometrial cancer (EC) is a highly obesity-driven cancer, with limited treatment options. ONC201 is an imipridone that selectively antagonizes the G protein-coupled receptors dopamine receptor D2 and D3 (DRD2/3) and activates human mitochondrial caseinolytic protease P (ClpP). It is a promising first-in-class small molecule that has been reported to have anti-neoplastic activity in various types of cancer through induction of the integrated stress response (ISR) as well as through stimulation of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and subsequent induction of apoptosis. ONC201 is being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials for solid tumors and hematological malignancies, including EC. ONC206 is an analog of ONC201 with nanomolar potency in Phase I clinical trials. This study evaluated the anti-tumor efficacy of ONC206 in EC cell lines and the Lkb1fl/flp53fl/fl genetically engineered mouse model of endometrioid EC. ONC206 revealed greater potency than ONC201 in the inhibition of proliferation in EC cell lines, with IC50 concentration ranges of 0.21-0.32 µM for ONC026 versus 2.14-3.53 µM for ONC201. ONC206 induced cellular stress, apoptosis and cell cycle G1 arrest, accompanied by inhibition of the AKT/mTOR/S6 pathways in EC cells. Diet-induced obesity accelerated tumor growth in Lkb1fl/flp53fl/fl mice. ONC206 inhibited EC tumor size and weight in both obese and lean mice after 4 weeks of treatment. Treatment with ONC206 led to a decrease in expression of Ki67, BCL-XL and phosphorylation of S6, as well as an increase in ClpP in endometrial tumors under both obese and lean conditions. Overall, the pre-clinical efficacy of ONC206 is promising and worthy of further exploration in clinical trials for endometrioid EC.

PMID:34873466 | PMC:PMC8640798

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Genome-wide identification of m6A-associated functional SNPs as potential functional variants for thyroid cancer

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5402-5414. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

m6A methylation has been demonstrated to be one of the most important epigenetic regulation mechanisms in cell differentiation and cancer development especially m6A derived diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers have been identified in the past several years. However, systemic investigation to the interaction between germline single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and m6A has not been conducted yet. In this study, we collected previous identified significant thyroid cancer associated SNPs from UKB cohort (358 cases and 407,399 controls) and ICR cohort (3,001 patients and 287,550 controls) and thyroid eQTL (sample size = 574 from GTEx project) and m6A-SNP (N = 1,678,126) were applied to prioritize the candidate SNPs. Finally, five candidate genes (PLEKHA8, SMUG1, CDC123, RMI2, ACSM5) were identified to be thyroid cancer associated m6A-related genetic suscepti bility. Loss and gain function studies of m6A writer proteins confirm that ACSM5 is regulated by m6A methylation of mRNA. Moreover, ACSM5 is downregulated in thyroid cancer and inversely correlated with PTC malignancy and patient survival. Together, our study highlight mRNA-seq and m6A-seq double analysis provided a novel approach to identify cancer biomarkers and understanding the heterogeneity of human cancers.

PMID:34873468 | PMC:PMC8640822

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Dual anticancer role of metformin: an old drug regulating AMPK dependent/independent pathways in metabolic, oncogenic/tumorsuppresing and immunity context

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5625-5643. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Metformin has been known to treat type 2 diabetes for decades and is widely prescribed antidiabetic drug. Recently, its anticancer potential has also been discovered. Moreover, metformin has low cost thus it has attained profound research interest. Comprehensing the complexity of the molecular regulatory networks in cancer provides a mode for advancement of research in cancer development and treatment. Metformin targets many pathways that play an important role in cancer cell survival outcome. Here, we described anticancer activity of metformin on the AMPK dependent/independent mechanisms regulating metabolism, oncogene/tumor suppressor signaling pathways together with the issue of clinical studies. We also provided brief overwiev about recently described metformin's role in cancer immunity. Insight in these complex molecular networks, will simplify application o f metformin in clinical trials and contribute to improvement of anti-cancer therapy.

PMID:34873484 | PMC:PMC8640802

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New insights into the functions of progesterone receptor (PR) isoforms and progesterone signaling

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5214-5232. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Progesterone, the ovarian steroid hormone, regulates a plentitude of biological processes in tissues ranging from the brain to bones. Recognizing the role of progesterone and its receptors in physiological processes and maladies can prevent and treat various diseases. Apart from its physiological functions, its role in developing diseases, especially breast cancer, is a recent topic of deliberation. There exists conflicting experimental and epidemiological evidence linking progesterone to breast cancer. This review tries to describe the physiological functions of progesterone and its receptors, genomic and non-genomic signaling, splice variants, and a different aspect of progesterone signaling. Furthermore, we seek to address or attempt to discuss the following pertinent questions on steroid hormone signaling; How does progesterone influence breast cancer progres sion? How does it change the molecular pathways in breast cancer with different receptor statuses, the specific role of each isoform, and how does the ER/and PR ratio affect progesterone signaling?

PMID:34873457 | PMC:PMC8640821

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DNA methylation markers in esophageal cancer: an emerging tool for cancer surveillance and treatment

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5644-5658. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most pervasive cancers in the world, with upwards of 500,000 new diagnoses, annually. Despite its prominence, advancements in the detection and treatment of EC have been marginal over the past 30 years and the survival rate continues to stay below 20%. This is due to the uncommonly heterogeneous presentation of EC which presents unprecedented challenges in improving patient survival and quality of care. However, distinct epigenetic alterations to the DNA methylome may provide an avenue to drastically improve the detection and treatment of EC. Specifically, the creation of novel biomarker panels that consist of EC-specific methylation markers have shown promise as a potential alternative to the more invasive, contemporary diagnostic methods. Additionally, growing insight into the biological and clinical properties of EC-spec ific methylation patterns have opened a window of opportunity for enhanced treatment; of growing interest is the application of "DNMT inhibitors" - a class of drugs which inhibit excessive methylation and have been shown to re-sensitize chemoresistant tumors. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the current advancements in EC DNA methylation to underscore a potential approach to its detection and treatment.

PMID:34873485 | PMC:PMC8640794

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Branching clonal evolution patterns predominate mutational landscape in multiple myeloma

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5659-5679. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Multiple Myeloma (MM) arises from malignant transformation and deregulated proliferation of clonal plasma cells (PCs) harbouring heterogeneous molecular anomalies. The effect of evolving mutations on clone fitness and their cellular prevalence shapes the progressing myeloma genome and impacts clinical outcomes. Although clonal heterogeneity in MM is well established, which subclonal mutations emerge/persist/perish with progression in MM and which of these can be targeted therapeutically remains an open question. In line with this, we have sequenced pairwise whole exomes of 62 MM patients collected at two time points, i.e., at diagnosis and on progression. Somatic variants were called using a novel ensemble approach where a consensus was deduced from four variant callers (Illumina's Dragen, Strelka2, SomaticSniper and SpeedSeq) and actionable/druggable gene target s were identified. A marked intraclonal heterogeneity was observed. Branching evolution was observed among 72.58% patients, of whom 64.51% had low TMBs (<10) and 61.29% had 2 or more founder clones. The hypermutator patients (with high TMB levels ≥10 to ≤100) showed a significant decrease in their TMBs from diagnosis (median TMB 77.11) to progression (median TMB 31.22). A distinct temporal fall in subclonal driver mutations was identified recurrently across diagnosis to progression e.g., in PABPC1, BRAF, KRAS, CR1, DIS3 and ATM genes in 3 or more patients suggesting such patients could be treated early with target specific drugs like Vemurafenib/Cobimetinib. An analogous rise in driver mutations was observed in KMT2C, FOXD4L1, SP140, NRAS and other genes. A few drivers such as FAT4, IGLL5 and CDKN1A retained consistent distribution patterns at two time points. These findings are clinically relevant and point at consideration of evaluating mu lti time point subclonal mutational landscapes for designing better risk stratification strategies and tailoring time to time risk adapted combination therapies in future.

PMID:34873486 | PMC:PMC8640818

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Targeting the oncogenic TBX3:nucleolin complex to treat multiple sarcoma subtypes

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5680-5700. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Sarcomas are diverse cancers of mesenchymal origin, with compromised clinical management caused by insufficient diagnostic biomarkers and limited treatment options. The transcription factor TBX3 is upregulated in a diverse range of sarcoma subtypes, where it plays a direct oncogenic role, and it may thus represent a novel therapeutic target. To identify versatile ways to target TBX3, we performed affinity purification coupled by mass spectrometry to identify putative TBX3 protein cofactors that regulate its oncogenic activity in sarcomas. Here we identify and validate the multifunctional phosphoprotein nucleolin as a TBX3 cofactor. We show that nucleolin is co-expressed with TBX3 in several sarcoma subtypes and their expression levels positively correlate in sarcoma patients which are associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that nucleolin and TBX3 interact in chondrosarcoma, liposarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma cells where they act together to enhance proliferation and migration and regulate a common set of tumor suppressor genes. Importantly, the nucleolin targeting aptamer, AS1411, exhibits selective anti-cancer activity in these cells and mislocalizes TBX3 and nucleolin to the cytoplasm which correlates with the re-expression of the TBX3/nucleolin target tumor suppressors CDKN1A (p21CIP1) and CDKN2A (p14ARF). Our findings provide the first evidence that TBX3 requires nucleolin to promote features of sarcomagenesis and that disruption of the oncogenic TBX3-nucleolin interaction by AS1411 may be a novel approach for treating sarcomas.

PMID:34873487 | PMC:PMC8640805

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RPL35 promotes neuroblastoma progression via the enhanced aerobic glycolysis

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5701-5714. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Neuroblastoma (NB) is an rare type of tumor that almost affects children age 5 or younger due to its rapid proliferation ability. The overall survival rate of patients with advanced NB is not satisfactory. Ribosomal proteins (RPs) play a critical role in the development and progress of cancer. However, the contribution of RPL35 in NB has not been proven. In this study, we reveal that RPL35 is upregulated in NB tissues and the upregulation of RPL35 promotes proliferation and migration of NB while RPL35 knockdown significantly restrained the proliferation of NB cells. In terms of mechanism, glycolysis was decreased and the mitochondrial respiration was increased with knockdown of RPL35 in NB cells, indicating that RPL35 function as a positive regulator in aerobic glycolysis. Importantly, our data indicated that RPL35 deficiency decreased HIF1α expression both in m RNA and protein levels. Western blot analysis showed that RPL35 knockdown has a negative regulatory effect on the ERK pathway, and RPL35 modulated aerobic glycolysis in part through its regulation of the RPL35/ERK/HIF1α axis. Overall, RPL35 functions as a positive regulator of aerobic glycolysis, and the RPL35/ERK/HIF1α axis could be a potential therapeutic target for the therapy of NB.

PMID:34873488 | PMC:PMC8640819

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RNA-seq reveals microRNA-302b as a suppressor of prostate cancer epithelial-mesenchymal transition by targeting RELA/NF-kappaB

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5715-5725. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

To identify novel biomarker(s) in prostate cancer and demonstrate the mechanistic involvements in this disease, RNA-seq was employed to reveal the differentially expressed genes in the blood samples from prostate cancer patients. Relative expression of miR-302b-3p was evaluated using real-time PCR. The potential regulation of RELA by miR-302b-3p was assessed by luciferase reporter assay. Protein levels of NF-κB, Vimentin, N-cadherin and E-cadherin, were quantified using western blotting. Transwell chamber was employed to measure cell migratory and invasive capacity, while cell attachment/detachment assay was performed to evaluated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related behavior. Xenograft tumor model was adopted to determine the anti-tumor activity of miR-302b-3p in vivo. We demonstrated miR-302b-3p was down-regulated in prostate cancer both in vivo and in vitro. We predicted and identified RELA as directly targeted by miR-302b-3p. Ectopic miR-302b-3p expression in PC-3 cells significantly suppressed cell migration, invasion, attachment, detachment capacity, which was accompanied with a decrease in the expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin, and an increase of E-cadherin expression. MiR-302b-3p-proficiency greatly delayed xenograft tumor growth and associated with favorable overall survival. Co-introduction of RELA completely abolished anti-tumor effects of miR-302b-3p, which indicated a potential genetic interaction between RELA/NF-κB and miR-302b-3p. We characterized the aberrant down-regulation of miR-302b-3p in prostate cancer and unraveled a possible involvement of miR-302b-3p/RELA signaling axis in this scenario.

PMID:34873489 | PMC:PMC8640823

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From development to cancer - an ever-increasing role of AGR2

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Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5249-5262. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Anterior gradient 2, AGR2, is a small, 20 kDa protein that plays a vital role in oxidative protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. AGR2 is involved in several signal transduction pathways that are essential for cell survival. It was initially discovered in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, where it plays an important function in embryonic development. Akin to several other developmental genes, it is also frequently deregulated in cancer, where it plays a decisive role in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. In this review, we have summarized currently known AGR2 functions, its expression and function in embryonic and cancer development, as well as its potential as a candidate tumor biomarker and promising new target for cancer immunotherapy.

PMID:34873459 | PMC:PMC8640830

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