Review
Neurosciences
Alice Buonfiglioli, Dolores Hambardzumyan
Summary: GBM is a highly aggressive and lethal primary brain tumor, characterized by malignant growth, invasion into brain parenchyma, and resistance to therapy. The GBM microenvironment consists of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells, with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) being the most abundant non-neoplastic cells. TAMs play essential roles in promoting tumor progression by interacting with tumor cells and other non-neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment.
ACTA NEUROPATHOLOGICA COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Yuanfu Zhang, Shu Sun, Yue Qi, Yifan Dai, Yangyang Hao, Mengyu Xin, Rongji Xu, Hongyan Chen, Xiaoting Wu, Qian Liu, Congcong Kong, Guangmei Zhang, Peng Wang, Qiuyan Guo
Summary: We revealed the molecular mechanisms and biomarkers of tumor invasion and tumor microenvironment reprogramming in epithelial ovarian carcinoma, providing effective targets for suppressing tumor invasion.
JOURNAL OF OVARIAN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zixue Xuan, Ling Fang, Guobing Zhang, Xin Zhang, Jinying Jiang, Kai Wang, Ping Huang
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the impact of tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) heterogeneity on the recurrence and prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) patients. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) was used to assess the heterogeneity of CD45+ immune cells in recurrent GBM and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in TAMs. A prognostic signature based on the identified DEGs was established and validated, showing excellent predictive power for GBM patient survival. Furthermore, the important DEG LGMN was found to regulate immune cell infiltration in GBM. These findings highlight the significance of TAM heterogeneity and suggest potential therapeutic targets for GBM patients.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natalia Ochocka, Bozena Kaminska
Summary: Microglia are resident immune cells in the central nervous system, showing high plasticity. Recent single-cell technologies have revealed diverse states of microglia under homeostatic and pathological conditions. Understanding the functional and phenotypic diversity of microglia is crucial for designing future immune-modulating therapies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Yueman Zhang, Yunlu Guo, Ruqi Li, Tingting Huang, Yan Li, Wanqin Xie, Chen Chen, Weijie Chen, Jieqing Wan, Weifeng Yu, Peiying Li
Summary: Using single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers identified two microglia subclusters, CH25H(+) and OASL(+), that play important roles in ischemic stroke. CH25H(+) microglia exhibits increased phagocytosis and neuroprotective properties, while OASL(+) microglia is associated with neuroinflammation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Alireza Sohrabi, Austin E. Y. T. Lefebvre, Mollie J. Harrison, Michael C. Condro, Talia M. Sanazzaro, Gevick Safarians, Itay Solomon, Soniya Bastola, Shadi Kordbacheh, Nadia Toh, Harley I. Kornblum, Michelle A. Digman, Stephanie K. Seidlits
Summary: The mechanical properties of solid tumors play a crucial role in influencing tumor cell phenotype and invasive behavior. This study demonstrates that a soft, brain-like matrix can induce a metabolic shift in glioblastoma (GBM) cells towards glycolysis, leading to increased migration activities. These mechanical cues are transduced via CD44 and integrin receptors, resulting in metabolic and phenotypic changes in cancer cells.
Review
Immunology
Guoqing Wang, Kunhong Zhong, Zeng Wang, Zongliang Zhang, Xin Tang, Aiping Tong, Liangxue Zhou
Summary: This review discusses the characteristics and functions of TAMs in GBM, and evaluates the current state of TAMs-targeting strategies. TAMs are logical therapeutic targets for GBM, and understanding how TAMs promote GBM progression is of great significance for new immune therapeutic approaches for GBM patients.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Hsueh-Chun Wang, Wei -Chao Chang, Der -Yen Lee, Xing-Guo Li, Mien-Chie Hung
Summary: Most breast cancers are estrogen receptor-positive, but chemoresistance remains a challenge. Altered metabolite, Itaconate, may play a role in breast cancer pathogenesis and drug resistance. IRG1/Itaconate controls metabolic homeostasis and inhibits ER-positive breast cancer cell growth through inhibition of DNA synthesis and induction of apoptosis. Itaconate targets key metabolic pathways, leading to compromised biomass and energy of the cell. Understanding this regulatory pathway may contribute to more effective therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Julie Mazzolini, Sigrid Le Clerc, Gregoire Morisse, Cedric Coulonges, Jean-Francois Zagury, Dirk Sieger
Summary: This study reveals that microglia plays an active role in promoting the growth of high-grade gliomas. Using the larval zebrafish model, the researchers found that microglial morphology and functions are impaired during glioma initiation stages. Further analysis showed that the presence of pre-neoplastic cells induces an amoeboid morphology in microglia, reduces their motility and phagocytic activity, and downregulates the expression of the actin nucleation promoting factor wasla. Importantly, restoring the expression of wasla in microglia restores their morphology and functions, leading to increased phagocytosis of pre-neoplastic cells and slower tumor progression.
Article
Cell Biology
Makon-Sebastien Njock, Tina O'Grady, Olivier Nivelles, Michelle Lion, Sophie Jacques, Maureen Cambier, Stephanie Herkenne, Florian Muller, Aurelie Christian, Claire Remacle, Julien Guiot, Souad Rahmouni, Franck Dequiedt, Ingrid Struman
Summary: This study found that endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) participate in the recruitment of macrophages within the tumour in the tumour microenvironment, leading to a change in the immunomodulatory phenotype and promoting tumour growth.
JOURNAL OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jia Lu, Wei Zhou, Fangfang Dou, Chenfei Wang, Zhihua Yu
Summary: Microglia energy metabolism is suppressed during chronic A beta-tolerant processes, but pharmacological activation of TRPV1 can rescue microglial dysfunction and restore immune responses, leading to reduced amyloid pathology and reversed memory deficits in AD mice. This study suggests that TRPV1 is an important target for regulating metabolic reprogramming in microglial functions for AD treatment.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jun Ma, Clark C. Chen, Ming Li
Summary: The interaction between glioblastoma and its microenvironment, particularly involving tumor-associated macrophages and microglia, plays a crucial role in tumor development and treatment outcomes. Understanding the changes and functions of these cells may lead to new therapeutic approaches and improved prognosis for patients.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Xiaomin Wang, Yiwei Xu, Qi Sun, Xintong Zhou, Wenzhe Ma, JiBiao Wu, Jing Zhuang, Changgang Sun
Summary: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a crucial role in tumor microenvironment and their invasion in tumors is closely related to poor prognosis. However, studying TAMs' heterogeneity and developing drugs targeting them is challenging. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides an efficient detection method to reveal TAMs' heterogeneity and offers more accurate information for TAM-related studies.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Yang Liu, Ruyi Xu, Huiyao Gu, Enfan Zhang, Jianwei Qu, Wen Cao, Xi Huang, Haimeng Yan, Jingsong He, Zhen Cai
Summary: Macrophages are key regulators of tissue homeostasis, involved in tissue development, repair, and defense against pathogens. TAMs play a crucial role in the tumor microenvironment, impacting tumor initiation, growth, invasion, and metastasis. The metabolic characteristics of macrophages influence their phenotype and function, with pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages relying on glycolysis and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages more dependent on mitochondrial OXPHOS.
BIOMARKER RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Trang T. T. Nguyen, Enyuan Shang, Mike-Andrew Westhoff, Georg Karpel-Massler, Markus D. Siegelin
Summary: Glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor in adults, displays reprogrammed metabolism and utilizes various fuel sources. Blocking glycolysis may lead to the reactivation of beta-oxidation of fatty acids.
Article
Oncology
Yahaya A. Yabo, Simone P. Niclou, Anna Golebiewska
Summary: Phenotypic plasticity plays a major role in tumor heterogeneity and treatment resistance in cancer, particularly in glioblastoma (GBM). GBM cells exhibit significant intrinsic plasticity and can adapt to dynamic microenvironments. This review discusses the role of GBM plasticity in creating heterogeneous cell populations, including those with cancer stem cell properties. The article highlights the importance of genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironmental factors in regulating phenotypic heterogeneity in tumors and emphasizes the need for innovative strategies to target regulators of plasticity and mechanisms of state transitions in order to limit GBM's adaptive capacities.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Gabriela Novak, Steven Finkbeiner, Gaia Skibinski, Michela Bernini, Cristina Donato, Alexander Skupin
Summary: Studying cells from patients with mutations in PINK1 and Parkin genes successfully generated midbrain dopaminergic neurons, providing an important tool for Parkinson's disease research.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Allergy
Julia Klueber, Rebecca Czolk, Francoise Codreanu-Morel, Guillem Montamat, Dominique Revets, Maria Konstantinou, Antonio Cosma, Oliver Hunewald, Per Stahl Skov, Wim Ammerlaan, Christiane Hilger, Carsten Bindslev-Jensen, Markus Ollert, Annette Kuehn
Summary: Peripheral immune signatures during oral food challenges in patients with peanut allergy were found to correlate with clinical outcomes. These immune alterations may serve as potential biomarkers for predicting challenge outcomes, monitoring disease progression, and guiding therapy for peanut allergy.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Varun Venkataramani, Yvonne Yang, Marc Cicero Schubert, Ekin Reyhan, Svenja Kristin Tetzlaff, Niklas Wissmann, Michael Botz, Stella Judith Soyka, Carlo Antonio Beretta, Rangel Lyubomirov Pramatarov, Laura Fankhauser, Luciano Garofano, Alexander Freudenberg, Julia Wagner, Dimitar Ivanov Tanev, Miriam Ratliff, Ruifan Xie, Tobias Kessler, Dirk C. Hoffmann, Ling Hai, Yvette Doerflinger, Simone Hoppe, Yahaya A. Yabo, Anna Golebiewska, Simone P. Niclou, Felix Sahm, Anna Lasorella, Martin Slowik, Leif Doering, Antonio Iavarone, Wolfgang Wick, Thomas Kuner, Frank Winkler
Summary: A subpopulation of glioblastoma cells lacking connections with other tumor cells and astrocytes but receiving synaptic input from neurons drives whole-brain colonization. These cells resemble neuronal and neural-progenitor-like states and invade the brain using mechanisms similar to neuronal migration. Neuronal activity induces calcium signals, leading to the formation of tumor microtubes and increased invasion speed. This study reveals how neuronal mechanisms govern glioblastoma cell invasion and explains the close interlink between tumor dissemination and cellular heterogeneity.
Article
Allergy
Aurelie Poli, Anais Oudin, Arnaud Muller, Ilaria Salvato, Andrea Scafidi, Oliver Hunewald, Olivia Domingues, Petr Nazarov, Vincent Puard, Virginie Baus, Francisco Azuaje, Gunnar Dittmar, Jacques Zimmer, Tatiana Michel, Alessandro Michelucci, Simone P. Niclou, Markus Ollert
Summary: Allergic airway inflammation delays tumor growth and improves survival in a mouse model of glioblastoma by modulating microglial gene expression and enhancing adaptive immunity.
Article
Cell Biology
Delphine Sauvage, Manon Bosseler, Elodie Viry, Georgia Kanli, Anais Oudin, Guy Berchem, Olivier Keunen, Bassam Janji
Summary: This study evaluates the therapeutic benefit of combining anti-PD-1 with JQ1 in a neuroblastoma mouse model and provides pre-clinical proof of concept for a new combination immunotherapy approach that may be effective in treating high-risk childhood neuroblastoma.
Article
Acoustics
Yanrong Zhang, Jing Wang, Sara Natasha Ghobadi, Haiyan Zhou, Ai Huang, Marco Gerosa, Qingyi Hou, Olivier Keunen, Anna Golebiewska, Frezghi G. Habte, Gerald A. Grant, Ramasamy Paulmurugan, Kevin S. Lee, Max Wintermark
Summary: Transient, focal opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) combined with microbubbles can alter the composition of tumor-associated macrophages and microglia (TAMs) and induce a shift towards a more pro-inflammatory status of the immune environment in glioblastoma.
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mathematics
Taras Lukashiv, Yuliia Litvinchuk, Igor V. Malyk, Anna Golebiewska, Petr V. Nazarov
Summary: This article studies the problem of optimal control for a stochastic dynamical system with a random structure, Poisson perturbations, and random jumps. Sufficient conditions for the stability in probability are obtained using the second Lyapunov method, with a focus on constructing the corresponding functions. A general solution is provided for the problem of optimal stabilization. For a linear system with a quadratic quality function, a synthesis method of optimal control based on the solution of Riccati equations is given. In an autonomous case, a system of differential equations is constructed to obtain unknown matrices for the construction of an optimal control. The feasibility of using a small parameter for the algorithmic search of an optimal control is justified. This approach offers a novel solution to the problem of optimal stabilization for a stochastic dynamical system with a random structure, Markov switches, and Poisson perturbations.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Anna Golebiewska, Ryan C. Fields
Summary: Cancer models play a crucial role in understanding the mechanisms of tumor onset, progression, and treatment resistance, and are essential for evaluating therapies before clinical trials. This editorial invites contributions for a BMC Cancer Collection on 'Advances in pre-clinical cancer models' aiming for reliable preclinical outcomes.
Article
Oncology
Archita Biswas, Manuela Salvucci, Kate Connor, Heiko Dussmann, Steven Carberry, Michael Fichtner, Ellen King, Brona Murphy, Alice C. O'Farrell, Jane Cryan, Alan Beausang, Josephine Heffernan, Mattia Cremona, Bryan T. Hennessy, James Clerkin, Kieron J. Sweeney, Steve MacNally, Francesca Brett, Philip O'Halloran, Orna Bacon, Simon Furney, Maite Verreault, Emie Quissac, Franck Bielle, Mohammed H. Ahmed, Ahmed Idbaih, Sieger Leenstra, Ioannis Ntafoulis, Federica Fabro, Martine Lamfers, Anna Golebiewska, Frank Hertel, Simone P. Niclou, Romain Tching Chi Yen, Andreas Kremer, Gonca Dilcan, Francesca Lodi, Ingrid Arijs, Diether Lambrechts, Manasa Kalya Purushothama, Alexander Kel, Annette T. Byrne, Jochen H. M. Prehn
Summary: This study investigated molecular differences between long-term survivors (LTS) and short-term survivors (STS) of glioblastoma (GBM). Cilium gene signatures were found to be enriched in LTS tumors, while STS tumors exhibited abnormal protein expression. These findings provide potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the management of GBM.
JOURNAL OF NEURO-ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Oncology
Simone P. Niclou, Anna Golebiewska
Editorial Material
Allergy
Pilar M. Moreno-Sanchez, Andrea Scafidi, Ilaria Salvato
Article
Oncology
Andra S. Martinikova, Miroslav Stoyanov, Anna Oravetzova, Yannick P. Kok, Shibo Yu, Jana Dobrovolna, Pavel Janscak, Marcel van Vugt, Libor Macurek
Summary: Oncogene-induced replication stress is a major cause of genome instability in cancer cells. This study reveals that increased activity of PPM1D exacerbates replication stress caused by cyclin E1 overexpression, leading to abnormal cell cycle progression and accumulation of DNA copy number alterations. Pharmacological inhibition of PPM1D can alleviate replication stress-induced genome instability.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Oncology
Alamelu G. Bharadwaj, Meghan E. McLean, Margaret L. Dahn, Hannah F. Cahill, Marie-Claire D. Wasson, Raj Pranap Arun, Olivia L. Walker, Brianne M. Cruickshank, Wasundara Fernando, Jaganathan Venkatesh, Penelope J. Barnes, Gillian Bethune, Gregory Knapp, Lucy K. Helyer, Carman A. Giacomantonio, David M. Waisman, Paola Marcato
Summary: ALDH1A3 regulates the plasminogen activation pathway to promote breast cancer metastasis. Co-expression of ALDH1A3 and tPA is associated with TNBC subtype, high tumor grade, and recurrent metastatic disease.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Oncology
Nayela N. Chowdhury, Yi Yang, Ananya Dutta, Michelle Luo, Zimu Wei, Sara R. Abrahams, Alexey S. Revenko, Fenil Shah, Lindsey A. Miles, Robert J. Parmer, Bas de Laat, Alisa S. Wolberg, James P. Luyendyk, Melissa L. Fishel, Matthew J. Flick
Summary: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly fatal metastatic disease associated with robust activation of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems. Primary fibrinolytic protease plasminogen promotes PDAC tumor growth and metastatic potential through engaging plasminogen receptors on tumor cells.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Oncology
Nuria Gendrau-Sanclemente, Agnes Figueras, Kristina Gracova, Alvaro Lahiguera, Elisenda Alsina-Sanchis, Juan A. Marin-Jimenez, August Vidal, Xavier Matias-Guiu, Sergi Fernandez-Gonzalez, Marc Barahona, Lola Marti, Jordi Ponce, Francesc Vinals
Summary: High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the deadliest gynecological malignancy, spreads through transcoelomic dissemination. This study reveals that platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) is essential for the formation of tumorspheres in HGSOC. Inhibition of PDGFRβ blocks the clustering of ovarian cancer cells and prevents peritoneal dissemination.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2024)