Editorial Material
Oncology
Xiuning Le, Monique B. Nilsson, Jacqulyne P. Robichaux, John V. Heymach
Summary: The ARTEMIS study showed that combining the VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab with the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib can significantly improve progression-free survival in patients with EGFR mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, especially in those with brain metastases and the EGFR L858R mutation. This suggests the potential benefits of tailored use of VEGF/EGFR combinations in this patient population.
Article
Immunology
Sarthak Sahoo, Sonali Priyadarshini Nayak, Kishore Hari, Prithu Purkait, Susmita Mandal, Akash Kishore, Herbert Levine, Mohit Kumar Jolly
Summary: Recent research shows that cells with hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal characteristics can have high levels of PD-L1, important for immune evasion, without needing to fully undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition. This cellular state in breast cancer is associated with resistance to anti-estrogen therapy.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Yujuan Zhang, Yu Men, Jianyang Wang, Puyuan Xing, Jun Zhao, Junling Li, Danfei Xu, Zhouguang Hui, Wei Cui
Summary: The study aimed to analyze the clinical relevance of heterogeneous phenotypes of peripheral circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The results showed that pure hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal CTCs were more strongly associated with metastasis.
JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH AND CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Xishan Chen, Renba Liang, Huan Lin, Kaihua Chen, Li Chen, Ge Tian, Xiaodong Zhu
Summary: Downregulation of CD166 inhibited CSC-related genes and decreased pEGFR and pERK expression in vitro and in vivo. The sphere formation and tumorigenesis ability of CD166-shRNA cells were significantly reduced. Additionally, EGF-stimulated CD166-shRNA cells showed an increase in CSC-like traits by activating the EGFR/ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
Article
Oncology
Amina Jouida, Marissa O'Callaghan, Cormac Mc Carthy, Aurelie Fabre, Parthiban Nadarajan, Michael P. Keane
Summary: Exosomes, as extracellular vesicles, have gained attention as potential sources of information on tumor detection and regulation of tumor progression and metastasis. This study found that exosomes from NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations could induce invasion by promoting hybrid EMT, highlighting their role in metastasis formation and establishment of the pre-metastatic niche.
Article
Oncology
Chunsheng Wang, Kewei Zhao, Shanliang Hu, Wei Dong, Yan Gong, Minghuan Li, Conghua Xie
Summary: By studying the outcomes of gefitinib and erlotinib in patients with uncommon EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), it was found that patients with compound mutations had better treatment response, with those containing exon 19 deletion or L858R mutations showing the most significant benefits in response and survival. Additionally, the gefitinib group showed superior treatment efficacy and PFS benefit compared to the erlotinib group.
Article
Oncology
Gad Rennert, Maya Gottfried, Hedy S. Rennert, Flavio Lejbkowicz, Meira Frank, Ilana Cohen, Shiri Kelt, Abed Agbarya, Elizabeta Dudnik, Julia Dudnik, Rivka Katznelson, Moshe Mishali, Natalie Maimon Rabinovich, Hovav Nechushtan, Amir Onn, Shoshana Keren Rosenberg, Mariana Wollner, Alona Zer, Jair Bar, Naomi Gronich
Summary: The study showed that TKIs provided to EGFR mutated advanced NSCLC patients resulted in significant survival benefits for at least five years, but treating non-EGFR mutated NSCLC patients with TKIs seemed detrimental. Squamous histology, smoking, male sex, and Arab ethnicity were associated with higher NSCLC mortality hazard.
TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Ying Cheng, Yong He, Wei Li, He-long Zhang, Qing Zhou, Buhai Wang, Chunling Liu, Andrew Walding, Matilde Saggese, Xiangning Huang, Minhao Fan, Jia Wang, Suresh S. Ramalingam
Summary: The FLAURA China study evaluated the efficacy of first-line osimertinib in Chinese patients with EGFRm advanced NSCLC, showing significant improvements in PFS and OS compared to comparator EGFR TKIs. Safety data were consistent with the known safety profile of osimertinib.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Sun Min Lim, Chang Gon Kim, Byoung Chul Cho
Summary: Treatment resistance to targeted agents is a significant challenge in cancer therapy and is also observed in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. Current efforts focus on delaying or overcoming acquired resistance, and targeting compensatory feedback loops along with oncogenic signaling pathways holds promise for improved outcomes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shaozheng Wang, Hejiang Guo, Jin Jia, Wen Zhang, Shanshan Gao, Hua Guan, Huan He, Pingkun Zhou
Summary: TAB182 is overexpressed in cancerous tissues and correlated with poor overall survival in lung cancer patients. It participates in DNA damage repair and endows tumour cells with radio- and chemoresistance. Its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Angelo Canciello, Adrian Cervero-Varona, Alessia Peserico, Annunziata Mauro, Valentina Russo, Andrea Morrione, Antonio Giordano, Barbara Barboni
Summary: Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) refers to the ability of cells to interconvert between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes, generating hybrid intermediate cells with mixed E and M features. These hybrid cells play key roles in physiological and pathological processes, including stemness gene expression, differentiation, wound healing, immune suppression, and cancer cell characteristics such as metastasis and therapy resistance.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pathology
Na Li, Ling Xu, Ji Zhang, Yongyu Liu
Summary: This study revealed that high expression of FHL2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with lower overall survival probability. Knockdown of FHL2 promotes cell apoptosis and inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), leading to decreased tumor volume and weight. The opposite effects were observed with FHL2 upregulation. These findings suggest that FHL2 plays a significant role in the tumorigenesis and progression of NSCLC.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mengmeng Niu, Jing Xu, Yang Liu, Yuhuang Li, Tao He, Liangping Ding, Yajun He, Yong Yi, Fengtian Li, Rongtian Guo, Ya Gao, Rui Li, Luping Li, Mengyuan Fu, Qingyong Hu, Yangkun Luo, Chunyan Zhang, Kewei Qin, Jianqiao Yi, Shuhan Yu, Jian Yang, Hu Chen, Liang Wang, Zhonghan Li, Biao Dong, Shiqian Qi, Liang Ouyang, Yujun Zhang, Yang Cao, Zhi-Xiong Jim Xiao
Summary: The study shows that FBXL2 targets EGFR and TKI-resistant mutants for degradation, which inhibits EGFR-driven NSCLC growth and TKI resistance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Andres F. Cardona, Camila Ordonez-Reyes, Alejandro Ruiz-Patino, Juan Esteban Garcia-Robledo, Lucia Zatarain Barron, Gonzalo Recondo, Leonardo Rojas, Luis Corrales, Claudio Martin, Feliciano Barron, Carolina Sotelo, July Rodriguez, Luisa Ricaurte, Christian Rolfo, Jenny Avila, Diana Mayorga, Pilar Archila, Jorge Otero, Luis Mas, Maritza Bermudez, Tatiana Gamez, Hernan Carranza, Carlos Vargas, Rafael Rosell, Oscar Arrieta
Summary: The addition of bevacizumab to EGFR-TKIs resulted in a significantly higher overall response rate and longer progression-free survival in advanced NSCLC patients with EGFR mutation and BIM deletion. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.
JCO PRECISION ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Giovanni Rossi, Emanuele Barabino, Alessandro Fedeli, Gianluca Ficarra, Simona Coco, Alessandro Russo, Vincenzo Adamo, Francesco Buemi, Lodovica Zullo, Mariella Dono, Giuseppa De Luca, Luca Longo, Maria Giovanna Dal Bello, Marco Tagliamento, Angela Alama, Giuseppe Cittadini, Paolo Pronzato, Carlo Genova
Summary: The study developed a machine learning model using radiomics analysis of CT scans to identify EGFR mutant patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, showing good accuracy in multiple validation sets. Additionally, the study confirmed the association between radiomic features and the development of T790M during treatment with EGFR inhibitors.
Article
Parasitology
Valentina Fustaino, Roberto Gimmelli, Alessandra Guidi, Sara Lentini, Fulvio Saccoccia, Greta Petrella, Daniel Oscar Cicero, Giovina Ruberti
Summary: This article introduces the etiology of schistosomiasis, the way parasites acquire nutrients, and the optimal conditions for in vitro culture. The researchers used H-1-NMR spectroscopy to analyze the metabolic changes in S. mansoni under different culture conditions and discovered specific metabolic pathways modulated by different experimental conditions.
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Dario Presutti, Tarun Agarwal, Atefeh Zarepour, Nehar Celikkin, Sara Hooshmand, Chinmay Nayak, Matineh Ghomi, Ali Zarrabi, Marco Costantini, Birendra Behera, Tapas Kumar Maiti
Summary: Nanozymes, particularly transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs)-based nanozymes, show great potential in healthcare and diagnostics due to their unique nano-architecture, tunable semiconducting properties, and compatibility with modification strategies. Recent advances in TMDC-based nanozymes for biosensing and therapeutic applications are discussed, along with synthesis strategies, enzymatic properties, current challenges, and future prospects.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Enke Baldini, Dario Presutti, Pasqualino Favoriti, Simonetta Santini, Giuliana Papoff, Chiara Tuccilli, Raffaella Carletti, Cira Di Gioia, Eleonora Lori, Iulia Catalina Ferent, Federica Gagliardi, Antonio Catania, Daniele Pironi, Domenico Tripodi, Vito D'Andrea, Salvatore Sorrenti, Giovina Ruberti, Salvatore Ulisse
Summary: Increased expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system is associated with aggressive traits of cancer. A specific uPA inhibitor, WX-340, showed reduced cell adhesion and invasiveness in vitro and in vivo. However, it may not have significant therapeutic effects on the growth of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC).
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mariapaola Izzo, Jonathan Battistini, Claudia Provenzano, Fabio Martelli, Beatrice Cardinali, Germana Falcone
Summary: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a common muscular dystrophy that primarily affects skeletal and cardiac muscles, as well as the central nervous system. The disease is caused by the expansion of CTG repeats in the DMPK gene, leading to the production of a toxic CUG transcript. By directly targeting the CTG genomic tract, the expanded CUG transcript, or downstream signaling molecules, molecular therapeutic strategies show promise in treating DM1.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Beatrice Cardinali, Claudia Provenzano, Mariapaola Izzo, Christine Voellenkle, Jonathan Battistini, Georgios Strimpakos, Elisabetta Golini, Silvia Mandillo, Ferdinando Scavizzi, Marcello Raspa, Alessandra Perfetti, Denisa Baci, Dejan Lazarevic, Jose Manuel Garcia-Manteiga, Genevieve Gourdon, Fabio Martelli, Germana Falcone
Summary: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated therapeutic gene editing shows promise in treating monogenic diseases like myotonic dystrophies. Recent studies have successfully applied this technology to delete the pathogenic CTG-repeat expansion in the DMPK gene, leading to beneficial effects on disease hallmarks. An approach using specific proguide RNAs and a dual-vector system has enabled efficient and inducible gene editing in cells and tissues relevant to myotonic dystrophy.
MOLECULAR THERAPY-NUCLEIC ACIDS
(2022)
Letter
Infectious Diseases
Guido Antonelli, Daniele Focosi, Ombretta Turriziani, Marco Tuccori, Rossella Brandi, Silvia Fillo, Camilla Ajassa, Florigio Lista, Claudio M. Mastroianni
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Stefano Federico, Tuhina Khan, Anna Fontana, Simone Brogi, Rosaria Benedetti, Federica Sarno, Gabriele Carullo, Alex Pezzotta, Akella Prasanth Saraswati, Eugenia Passaro, Luca Pozzetti, Alessandro Papa, Nicola Relitti, Sandra Gemma, Stefania Butini, Anna Pistocchi, Anna Ramunno, Fabrizio Vincenzi, Katia Varani, Vanessa Tatangelo, Laura Patrussi, Cosima T. Baldari, Simona Saponara, Beatrice Gorelli, Stefania Lamponi, Massimo Valoti, Fulvio Saccoccia, Marialaura Giannaccari, Giovina Ruberti, Daniel Herp, Manfred Jung, Lucia Altucci, Giuseppe Campiani
Summary: The search for new therapeutic tools for cancer treatment is a challenging task for medicinal chemists. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes, particularly HDAC6 and HDAC8, are valuable targets in this regard. A study has developed polypharmacological agents that inhibit both hHDAC6 and hHDAC8, which shows potential for the treatment of cancer. These compounds demonstrate nanomolar inhibitory potency against the targeted enzymes and exhibit selectivity in their action.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fulvio Saccoccia, Luca Pozzetti, Roberto Gimmelli, Stefania Butini, Alessandra Guidi, Giuliana Papoff, Marialaura Giannaccari, Simone Brogi, Viviana Scognamiglio, Sandra Gemma, Giovina Ruberti, Giuseppe Campiani
Summary: Parasitic diseases, such as schistosomiasis, pose a significant global health burden, particularly in impoverished regions. A study has identified two novel schistosomicidal spiroindoline derivatives that can selectively inhibit the activity of the schistosome enzyme HDAC8, paving the way for the development of improved HDAC8-selective allosteric inhibitors. This finding is important for the development of new treatments for parasitic diseases.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ingrid Cifola, Federica Fratini, Beatrice Cardinali, Valentina Palmieri, Giuliana Gatti, Tommaso Selmi, Sara Donzelli, Andrea Sacconi, Valeriana Cesarini, Hany E. Marei, Massimilano Papi, Giovanni Blandino, Carlo Cenciarelli, Germana Falcone, Igea D'Agnano
Summary: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a common and aggressive brain tumor with limited treatment options. The heterogeneity of GBM tumor cells, especially the cancer stem cells (CSCs), plays a crucial role in clinical outcomes. This study explored the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in CSCs and GBM tumor cells, finding that the miRNA and protein content of EVs differ, with GBM-sEVs enriched for tumor suppressor miRNAs and oncoproteins, and CSC-sEVs enriched for pro-tumor miRNAs and proteins related to sternness, cell proliferation, and apoptosis.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chiara Bazzichetto, Michele Milella, Ilaria Zampiva, Francesca Simionato, Carla Azzurra Amoreo, Simonetta Buglioni, Chiara Pacelli, Loredana Le Pera, Teresa Colombo, Emilio Bria, Massimo Zeuli, Donatella Del Bufalo, Isabella Sperduti, Fabiana Conciatori
Summary: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) plays an important role in colorectal cancer and its high levels are significantly correlated with shorter overall survival and progression-free survival. Circulating IL-8 represents an important prognostic factor in colorectal cancer.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chiara Pacelli, Alice Rossi, Michele Milella, Teresa Colombo, Loredana Le Pera
Summary: Precision medicine in oncology has made significant progress, but many cancer driver genes are still difficult to target with drugs. RNA-based methods, such as antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), can induce targeted exon skipping (ES) and provide a promising alternative. This work presents a comprehensive computational procedure for developing ES-based cancer treatments, including target-exon selection, in silico prediction of ES products, and identification of optimal ASOs for experimental validation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)