Review
Oncology
Xu Liu, Yujie Zhao, Xi Wu, Zhihui Liu, Xiaowei Liu
Summary: The promising results of immunotherapy in tumors have led to a change in the current treatment strategy for cancer. However, the limited effectiveness in a minority of patients is attributed to immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment. Recent evidence has shown that abnormal glucose metabolism plays a crucial role in tumor immune escape and can be targeted in combination with immunotherapy. By understanding the functions of glucose metabolism in tumor cells, immune cells, and the tumor microenvironment, strategies can be developed to improve tumor therapy by targeting glucose metabolism.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Qiong Wu, Jue Wei, Chen Zhao, Shihao Xiang, Min Shi, Yugang Wang
Summary: In this study, it was discovered that the long non-coding RNA EPIC1 binds to the MYC protein and its expression is elevated in human colon cancer cells. Silencing Lnc-EPIC1 inhibited cancer cell growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion, while overexpression of Lnc-EPIC1 augmented these cellular functions. The results suggest that Lnc-EPIC1 plays an important role in the progression of human colon cancer.
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Cui Guo, Lanlan Zhang, Maoyuan Zhao, Yanling Ai, Wenhao Liao, Lina Wan, Qingsong Liu, Songtao Li, Jinhao Zeng, Xiao Ma, Jianyuan Tang
Summary: Gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) is a common malignant tumor originating from gastrointestinal epithelial cells. Aberrant lipid metabolism plays a crucial role in the growth, proliferation, and metastasis of GIC cells. Natural compounds, including flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins, have shown potential in inhibiting lipid synthesis and reducing lipid accumulation in GIC, thereby inhibiting the occurrence and development of GIC. Targeting tumor lipid metabolism can be a promising approach for the treatment of GIC.
PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Manfei Pi, Huixian Kuang, Chunyan Yue, Qixuan Yang, Anqin Wu, Yuhua Li, Yehuda G. Assaraf, Dong-Hua Yang, Shaojie Wu
Summary: Cancer cell metabolism plays a crucial role in cancer progression and drug resistance. Various signal transduction pathways regulate tumor metabolism, and targeting these pathways could be a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.
DRUG RESISTANCE UPDATES
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ruimin Kong, Guojuan Sun
Summary: This article reviews the potential strategy of targeting copper metabolism in cancer treatment and discusses the role of copper in biological processes and various treatment methods. By disrupting copper homeostasis in cancer cells and inducing cell death through copper-dependent mechanisms (cuproplasia and cuprotosis), therapies with improved efficacy and reduced side effects can be developed.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xia Deng, Chenxi Wang, Yue Xia, Guoyue Yuan
Summary: Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation play crucial roles in cell function regulation, especially in the regulation of liver glucose and lipid metabolism. PTG, a protein phosphatase, serves as an important regulator in glucose and lipid metabolism.
Article
Surgery
Pu Wang, Qifei Wang, Xin Yang, Yang An, Jingyi Wang, Fangfei Nie, Bailin Pan, Hongsen Bi, Zelian Qin
Summary: Inhibiting PGK1 expression reduces the proliferation, migration, invasion, and type I collagen expression of keloid fibroblasts. This finding provides a new therapeutic strategy for keloids.
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jun Wang, Xi Liu, Yuanfeng Huang, Pan Li, Minqiang Yang, Shanshan Zeng, Danyang Chen, Qian Wang, Hao Liu, Kai Luo, Jin Deng
Summary: This study found that overexpression of NNMT is associated with acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Targeting NNMT may be a potential therapeutic strategy to overcome EGFR TKI resistance.
CELL DEATH DISCOVERY
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Parisa Badiee, Michelle F. Maritz, Benjamin Thierry
Summary: A nanoformulation of a small molecule GSK3 inhibitor has been developed as a potential alternative to antibody-based checkpoint inhibition. The nanoformulation efficiently inhibits PD-1 expression and improves the survival and proliferation of CAR-T cells, while also increasing the population of memory T cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Soumik Pal, Amit Sharma, Sam Padalumavunkal Mathew, Bithiah Grace Jaganathan
Summary: Cancer is a heterogeneous disease characterized by various genetic and phenotypic aberrations, and cancer cells meet their uncontrolled proliferation demands through metabolic reprogramming. Despite increasing understanding of tumor metabolism, therapeutic interventions targeting these specific dysregulations have been largely ineffective in clinical trials.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tao Wang, Chuqiao Yuan, Jia Liu, Liangyan Deng, Wei Li, Junling He, Honglin Liu, Liping Qu, Jianming Wu, Wenjun Zou
Summary: This study aims to explore the energy protection effect of DXXK on cardiotoxicity induced by DOX. The results showed that DXXK can treat DOX-induced cardiotoxicity through the AMPK-mediated energy protection pathway.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Longguang Jiang, Cai Yuan, Mingdong Huang
Summary: Serine proteases are a large family of enzymes critical for physiological processes, with the autolysis loop on these enzymes showing high variability and potential for regulating catalytic activity and specificity of inhibitors. The autolysis loop appears to be a sensitive allosteric site that can be targeted to develop pharmacological agents for interventions in activities such as blood coagulation.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Rakesh Kumar
Summary: A new designing strategy has discovered a bispecific therapeutic antibody co-targeting EPHA2 and EGFR, which effectively inhibits tumor cell growth in various preclinical cancer models. This antibody provides new tools to impair acquired resistance to EGFR-directed therapies or co-target EPHA2 and EGFR in human tumors.
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Liangping Su, Yitian Chen, Cheng Huang, Sangqing Wu, XiaoJuan Wang, Xinbao Zhao, Qiuping Xu, Ruipu Sun, Xiangzhan Kong, Xue Jiang, Xiaoyi Qiu, Xiaoming Huang, Minghui Wang, Ping-Pui Wong
Summary: Pancreatic and lung cancers often become resistant to chemotherapy-induced cell apoptosis, but targeting nonapoptotic-related pathways, such as pyroptosis, may provide an alternative treatment strategy. This study shows that beta 5-integrin represses chemotherapy-induced pyroptosis, leading to chemoresistance in cancers. Inhibition of Src or ceramidase can rescue the response to chemotherapy by reactivating pyroptosis in chemoresistant cancer cells.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Yi-Chao Zheng, Yan-Jia Guo, Bo Wang, Chong Wang, M. A. A. Mamun, Ya Gao, Hong-Min Liu
Summary: UBE2M and UBE2F are two enzymes in the NEDD8-conjugating pathway, playing important roles in posttranslational modification and potential cancer treatment targets.
JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Erik Knutsen, Adrian L. Harris, Maria Perander
Summary: NEAT1 is a highly abundant nuclear architectural long non-coding RNA, playing important roles in cellular stress and developmental processes. Abnormal expression of NEAT1 in many cancers may be associated with therapy resistance and poor clinical outcome.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2022)
Article
Oncology
N. P. Scott, E. J. Teoh, H. Flight, B. E. Jones, J. Niederer, L. Mustata, G. M. MacLean, P. G. Roy, D. D. Remoundos, C. Snell, C. Liu, F. Gleeson, A. L. Harris, S. R. Lord, D. R. McGowan
Summary: In this study, the uptake of F-18-fluciclovine in breast cancer was evaluated using dynamic PET/CT imaging, with a reversible one-tissue compartment model found to best describe tracer uptake. No significant differences were observed in kinetic or static parameters for different breast cancer receptor subtypes or tumor grades. There was a good correlation between kinetic and static parameters.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Rebecca L. Westbrook, Esther Bridges, Jennie Roberts, Cristina Escribano-Gonzalez, Katherine L. Eales, Lisa A. Vettore, Paul D. Walker, Elias Vera-Siguenza, Himani Rana, Federica Cuozzo, Kattri-Liis Eskla, Hans Vellama, Abeer Shaaban, Colin Nixon, Hendrik Luuk, Gareth G. Lavery, David J. Hodson, Adrian L. Harris, Daniel A. Tennant
Summary: Insufficient oxygen supply in the tumor microenvironment leads to difficulties in cancer cell proliferation. The increased activity of mitochondrial enzyme PYCR1 under hypoxic conditions is crucial for maintaining TCA cycle activity and preventing widespread cell death.
Review
Immunology
Esther Arnaiz, Adrian L. Harris
Summary: In solid tumors, hypoxia induces adaptive mechanisms in tumor cells, promotes immune evasion, resistance to therapies, and affects interferon signaling pathway, highlighting the importance of addressing hypoxic effects for successful cancer treatment.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Kathrin Schilling, Adrian L. Harris, Alex N. Halliday, Christopher J. Schofield, Helen Sheldon, Syed Haider, Fiona Larner
Summary: The study reveals differences in zinc isotope fractionation between in vitro experiments and in vivo breast cancer tissues, suggesting variations in zinc transporter levels or intracellular zinc storage mechanisms as the potential cause.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Miriam Zatovicova, Ivana Kajanova, Monika Barathova, Martina Takacova, Martina Labudova, Lucia Csaderova, Lenka Jelenska, Eliska Svastova, Silvia Pastorekova, Adrian L. Harris, Jaromir Pastorek
Summary: Hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment is a major factor in cancer progression, and low levels of oxygen may indicate treatment failure. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is a precise target in hypoxic tumors, and its presence contributes to the failure of standard therapy. Humanized antibodies against CA IX show promise as suitable therapies for hypoxic tumors, with the ability to modulate the tumor microenvironment, induce an immune response, and block metastasis formation.
CANCER & METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Hannah Bolland, Eric Vancauwenberghe, Pamela Collier, Anna M. M. Grabowska, Alan McIntyre, Adrian L. Harris, Christopher Paul Carrol, Alison A. Ritchie, Philip A. Clarke
Summary: Regions of low oxygen are commonly found in breast tumors, especially in the aggressive triple negative subtype. Metastasis is the leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. The expression of Na+ driven bicarbonate transporters (NDBTs) is increased in hypoxic breast cancer, and targeting hypoxia-induced NDBTs can reduce tumor migration, invasion, and metastasis.
Article
Cell Biology
Christos E. Zois, Anne M. Hendriks, Syed Haider, Elisabete Pires, Esther Bridges, Dimitra Kalamida, Dimitrios Voukantsis, B. Christoffer Lagerholm, Rudolf S. N. Fehrmann, Wilfred F. A. den Dunnen, Andrei I. Tarasov, Otto Baba, John Morris, Francesca M. Buffa, James S. O. McCullagh, Mathilde Jalving, Adrian L. Harris
Summary: This study reveals the significant role of glycogen metabolism in glioblastoma (GBM) cancer. Inhibition of glycogen degradation sensitizes GBM cells to high-dose ionising radiation (IR), suggesting that PYGL may serve as a potential novel target for GBM treatment.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Sunil S. Badve, Sanghee Cho, Xiaoyu Lu, Sha Cao, Soumya Ghose, Aye Aye Thike, Puay Hoon Tan, Idris Tolgay Ocal, Daniele Generali, Fabrizio Zanconati, Adrian L. Harris, Fiona Ginty, Yesim Gokmen-Polar
Summary: The study investigated the prognostic role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in multi-national cohorts from Asian and European women. It found that older women with circumferential TILs were less likely to develop second breast cancer events (BCE) at a 5-year follow-up. The spatial arrangement of TILs may serve as a better prognostic indicator in DCIS cases.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Adrian L. Harris
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Tong Yu, Archana Chandrabhan Jadhav, Jiabao B. Xu, Adrian L. L. Harris, Venugopal Nair, Wei E. E. Huang
Summary: Understanding the development of cancer resistance to therapies is crucial. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a promising oncolytic agent, but some colon cancer cells show resistance to NDV reinfection. By using Raman spectroscopic and stable isotopic techniques, we found that the resistant cells slow down their replication and divert energy to protein and lipid synthesis. Understanding metabolic reprogramming could aid in developing precision cancer treatments that target resistant cells at the single-cell level.
Article
Oncology
Simon R. Lord, Adrian L. Harris
Summary: Over the past 15 years, there has been extensive interest in repurposing the diabetes drug metformin as a cancer treatment. However, despite numerous large clinical trials in various tumor types, the results have been disappointing. This article summarizes the initial interest in metformin's potential in oncology, the current clinical program, and the lessons learned from this experience regarding further investigation of metformin in cancer.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Soumya Ghose, Sanghee Cho, Fiona Ginty, Elizabeth McDonough, Cynthia Davis, Zhanpan Zhang, Jhimli Mitra, Adrian L. Harris, Aye Aye Thike, Puay Hoon Tan, Yesim Gokmen-Polar, Sunil S. Badve
Summary: The authors developed a deep learning classification network to predict breast cancer events (BCEs) in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), providing early and accurate predictions for personalized therapy and avoiding over-treatment of low-risk patients.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Nicole D. D. Machado, Lisa C. C. Heather, Adrian L. L. Harris, Geoff S. S. Higgins
Summary: The disappointing termination of clinical trials with potent complex I inhibitors, such as IACS-010759, has raised doubts about the justification for oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors and mitochondrial targeting strategies. Analyzing the potency, tissue selectivity, and toxicity of these agents can provide insights into the lessons learned from this failure and identify new opportunities.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Oncology
G. P. Ralli, R. D. Carter, D. R. McGowan, W-C Cheng, D. Liu, E. J. Teoh, N. Patel, F. Gleeson, A. L. Harris, S. R. Lord, F. M. Buffa, J. D. Fenwick
Summary: In this study, gene set enrichment analysis was performed to identify KEGG pathways associated with FDG uptake in primary breast cancers. Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway and pathways related to immune response or inflammation were found to be associated with FDG uptake. Patlak K, a kinetic parameter, was associated with more pathways than any other imaging index. These results suggest that Patlak analysis of dynamic FDG-PET scans is advantageous for studying tumor biology.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
(2022)