Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paras Jain, Sugandha Bhatia, Erik W. Thompson, Mohit Kumar Jolly
Summary: Phenotypic heterogeneity is a hallmark of aggressive cancer behavior and a clinical challenge. This study suggests that fluctuations or noise in content duplication and partitioning of the SNAIL gene during cell division can explain spontaneous phenotypic switching and dynamic heterogeneity in PMC42-LA cells.
Review
Oncology
Adyasha Bijay Mishra, Sudhansu Sekhar Nishank
Summary: Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) is a process where epithelial cells transform into mesenchymal cells, increasing their motility and invasiveness, which are critical for cancer metastasis. Targeting EMP has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach, involving inhibition of key signaling pathways and specific transcription factors that regulate EMP, as well as targeting the tumor microenvironment. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown the efficacy of EMP-targeting therapies in inhibiting cancer metastasis, but further research is needed to optimize these strategies for better clinical outcomes. Overall, therapeutic targeting of EMP offers a promising approach to develop novel cancer therapies that effectively inhibit metastasis, a major cause of cancer-related deaths.
Article
Oncology
Shubhraneel Saha, Nikita Pradhan, B. Neha, Ravikiran Mahadevappa, Shilpi Minocha, Saran Kumar
Summary: Cancer is an evolutionary disease, with cancer cells continuously adapting and evolving to meet their proliferation demands. This phenomenon, known as cancer plasticity, results in the formation of multiple subtypes of cancer cells with distinct phenotypes. Modern technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing are crucial in understanding the rewiring of cancer cells. The processes and mechanisms that contribute to cancer plasticity, including genetic factors and environmental influences, have significant therapeutic implications.
SEMINARS IN CANCER BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Frank Eckerdt, Leonidas C. Platanias
Summary: GSCs play a crucial role in the recurrence and resistance of glioblastoma by promoting tumor heterogeneity and modulating the tumor environment. They interact with cells of the immune system, aiding in immune evasion of malignant cells.
Article
Oncology
Maria Braoudaki, Mohammed Saqif Ahmad, Denis Mustafov, Sara Seriah, Mohammad Naseem Siddiqui, Shoib Sarwar Siddiqui
Summary: Colorectal cancer is a common and deadly disease, and early diagnosis is crucial for patient prognosis. However, little progress has been made in identifying biomarkers for early diagnosis, resulting in high mortality rates in advanced stages. This review investigates the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in colorectal cancer, discusses their potential as personalized therapeutic approaches, and summarizes the progress in drug resistance research.
SEMINARS IN CANCER BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Beiping Zhong, Bing Cheng, Xiaoming Huang, Qian Xiao, Zhitong Niu, Yu-feng Chen, Qiang Yu, Wenyu Wang, Xiao-Jian Wu
Summary: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a crucial role in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis by inducing the expression of Leucine Rich Alpha-2-Glycoprotein 1 (LRG1), which promotes CRC migration and invasion through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The CAFs-mediated IL-6-STAT3-LRG1 axis is responsible for the up-regulation of LRG1 in CRC, and higher LRG1 expression predicts poor clinical outcomes, especially distant metastasis free survival in CRC patients.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juliane Strietz, Stella S. Stepputtis, Marie Follo, Peter Bronsert, Elmar Stickeler, Jochen Maurer
Summary: Primary breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) cultures isolated from TNBC specimens have been established and shown to grow as tumor spheres under anchorage-independent culture conditions in vitro, while reliably forming tumors in mice when transplanted in limiting dilutions in vivo. Additionally, these BCSC xenograft tumors exhibit similar architecture and gene expression to the original patient tumor, suggesting a promising model for researching BCSC biology and testing new treatment options for TNBC.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Xiaobo Zheng, Fuzhen Dai, Lei Feng, Hong Zou, Li Feng, Mingqing Xu
Summary: The interplay between epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and cancer stem cells plays a crucial role in cancer progression, affecting the aggressiveness of tumor cells and their response to treatment. Understanding the dynamic nature of EMT as a hybrid state rather than a binary model is important for unraveling the complexities of cancer biology and developing targeted therapeutic interventions.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ziyang Cui, Hope Wei, Colin Goding, Rutao Cui
Summary: Stem cell pools are homogeneous cell populations that possess self-renewal and differentiation potential. While they exhibit limited heterogeneity during homeostasis, their plasticity becomes apparent under stress, leading to changes in phenotype, constitution, metabolism, and function. Manipulating these factors offers better control of stem cell behavior and has the potential to revolutionize regenerative medicine.
Article
Biology
Kishore Hari, Varun Ullanat, Archana Balasubramanian, Aditi Gopalan, Mohit Kumar Jolly
Summary: Understanding the design principles of regulatory networks is crucial for controlling cell-fate decisions. This study reveals the existence of two 'teams' of nodes in different networks governing epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, which contribute to a bimodal phenotypic landscape with robustness to perturbations.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sultana Mehbuba Hossain, Michael R. Eccles
Summary: Melanoma, a highly heterogeneous tumor, can dynamically shift between different transcriptional states or phenotypes in a process known as phenotype switching. This switch involves changes in cell cycle states, invasiveness, signaling pathways, and immune cell composition. Melanoma cell plasticity is driven by gene expression changes in immune cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and alterations in the extracellular matrix, which contribute to metastasis and therapy resistance. This review highlights recent findings on melanoma phenotype switching, immunotherapy resistance, and the role of neural crest-like states in melanoma.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Tamir Baram, Linor Rubinstein-Achiasaf, Hagar Ben-Yaakov, Adit Ben-Baruch
Summary: Cellular heterogeneity in cancer is largely influenced by cancer cell plasticity, with inflammatory elements playing a crucial role in promoting tumor cell remodeling. Inflammation-associated myeloid cells, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and inflammatory chemokines are key factors driving forward key processes of tumor cell plasticity, including stemness/EMT, therapy resistance, and dormancy. Targeting inflammatory elements may have significant clinical benefits for cancer patients, as they are a common denominator shared by different aspects of tumor cell plasticity.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Xirui Duan, Maochao Luo, Jian Li, Zhisen Shen, Ke Xie
Summary: This review discusses the role of platinum-based drugs (PBDs)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer drug resistance and emphasizes how this novel knowledge can be exploited to overcome PBD resistance, particularly through EMT-targeted compounds.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Almira Auyez, A. Emre Sayan, Marina Kriajevska, Eugene Tulchinsky
Summary: AXL is a crucial receptor tyrosine kinase involved in various functions in cancer progression, including promoting cell survival and metastasis, suppressing immune responses, and enhancing drug resistance. By studying the molecular mechanisms of AXL, researchers can develop more effective anti-cancer therapeutics.
Review
Oncology
Mannon Geindreau, Melanie Bruchard, Frederique Vegran
Summary: Cytokines play a crucial role in the modulation of angiogenesis, which is an important process for tumor growth. This review discusses the role of cytokines in angiogenesis regulation, as well as the therapeutic approaches based on cytokine modulation and their clinical approval.
Review
Oncology
Lingyun Wu, Sugandha Saxena, Mohammad Awaji, Rakesh K. Singh
Article
Pathology
Lingyun Wu, Mohammad Awaji, Sugandha Saxena, Michelle L. Varney, Bhawna Sharma, Rakesh K. Singh
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohammad Awaji, Sugandha Saxena, Lingyun Wu, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Abhilasha Purohit, Michelle L. Varney, Sushil Kumar, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Quan P. Ly, Maneesh Jain, Surinder K. Batra, Rakesh K. Singh
Article
Oncology
Lingyun Wu, Sugandha Saxena, Paran Goel, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Cheng Wang, Rakesh K. Singh
Article
Pathology
Abhilasha Purohit, Sugandha Saxena, Michelle Varney, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Jessica A. Kozel, Audrey Lazenby, Rakesh K. Singh
Summary: This study examined the regulation of tumor angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis by host CXCR2-dependent mechanisms in PDAC. The data suggest that host CXCR2 axis plays a dynamic role in regulating tumor immune suppression, tumor growth, and metastasis.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Sugandha Saxena, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Paran Goel, Babita Tomar, Yuri Hayashi, Pranita Atri, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Paul M. Grandgenett, Michael A. Hollingsworth, Surinder K. Batra, Rakesh K. Singh
Summary: Plexin-B3, as a crucial factor associated with PC metastasis, plays a significant role in enhancing cell motility and invasiveness, and also interferes with cell division machinery and induces stem cell-like characteristics in PC cells.
Article
Oncology
Sugandha Saxena, Caitlin Molczyk, Abhilasha Purohit, Evie Ehrhorn, Paran Goel, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Pranita Atri, Sukhwinder Kaur, Paul M. Grandgenett, Michael A. Hollingsworth, Surinder K. Batra, Rakesh K. Singh
Summary: The study found that different CXCR2 ligands are highly expressed in pancreatic cancer compared to normal tissue, with CXCL5 expression being associated with poor patient survival. It was also observed that cell lines derived from metastatic sites show higher expression levels of CXCL2, 3, and 5. Immunohistochemistry analysis further showed positive staining for CXCL1, 3, and 8 in pancreatic cancer tumors, indicating their potential as diagnostic biomarkers. The expression of mouse CXCL1, 3, and 5 was also found to increase in pre-cancerous lesions and metastasis tissues.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH
(2022)