Biomimetic models to examine microenvironmental regulation of glioblastoma stem cells
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a malignant brain tumor, is the deadliest form of human cancer with low survival rates because of its highly invasive nature. In recent years, there has been a growing appreciation for the role that glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) play during tumorigenesis and tumor recurrence of GBM. GSCs are a specialized subset of GBM cells with stem cell-like features that contribute to tumor initiation and therapeutic resistance. Thus, to enhance therapeutic efficiency and improve survival, targeting GSCs and their microenvironmental niche appears to be a promising approach. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Pinaki S. Nakod, Yonghyun Kim, Shreyas S. Rao Tags: Mini-review Source Type: research
Prevention of carcinogenesis and metastasis by Artemisinin-type drugs
Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood, qinhao) is an ancient Chinese herbal remedy for pyrexia. Nowadays, artemisinin (qinghaosu) and its derivatives belong to the standard therapies against malaria worldwide, and its discovery has led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine to Youyou Tu in 2015. While most attention has been paid to the treatment of malaria, there is increasing evidence that Artemisinin-type drugs bear a considerable potential to treat and prevent cancer. Rather than reporting on therapy of cancer, this review gives a comprehensive and timely overview on the chemopreventive effects of artemisinin and its ...
Source: Cancer Letters - May 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Mohammed L. Abba, Nitin Patil, J örg Hendrik Leupold, Mohamed E.M. Saeed, Thomas Efferth, Heike Allgayer Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Trastuzumab upregulates PD-L1 as a potential mechanism of trastuzumab resistance through engagement of immune effector cells and stimulation of IFN γ secretion
Here, we report that treatment of syngeneic mouse tumors transduced to overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) with the anti-human HER2 antibody trastuzumab upregulated the level of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), an important negative regulator of T-cell response, in a transgenic mouse model immune-tolerant to human HER2. We further found that trastuzumab alone had no detectable effect on the level of PD-L1 expression in monocultures of HER2-overexpressing human breast cancer cells but upregulated PD-L1 in the same panel of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells when they were co-cultured with huma...
Source: Cancer Letters - May 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Bharat K.R. Chaganty, Songbo Qiu, Anneliese Gest, Yang Lu, Cristina Ivan, George A. Calin, Louis M. Weiner, Zhen Fan Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Aspartate beta-hydroxylase promotes cholangiocarcinoma progression by modulating RB1 phosphorylation
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly lethal and aggressive disease. Recently, IDH1/2 mutations have been identified in approximately 20% of CCAs which suggests an involvement of 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) -dependent dioxygenases in oncogenesis. We investigated if the 2-OG dependent dioxygenase, aspartate beta-hydroxylase (ASPH) was important in tumor development and growth. Immunoassays were used to clarify how ASPH modulates CCA progression by promoting phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (RB1). (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Chiung-Kuei Huang, Yoshifumi Iwagami, Jing Zou, Sarah Casulli, Shaolei Lu, Katsuya Nagaoka, Chengcheng Ji, Kousuke Ogawa, Kevin Y. Cao, Jin-Song Gao, Rolf I. Carlson, Jack R. Wands Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Mesenchymal stem cell's secretome promotes selective enrichment of cancer stem-like cells with specific cytogenetic profile
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumour initiation, metastasis and cancer recurrence, however the involvement of microenvironment is crucial. Here, we have analyzed how human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived conditioned medium (CM) affect colon and melanoma CSCs enrichment and maintenance. Our results strongly suggest that the secretome of CM-MSCs selects and maintains subpopulations with high expression of CSCs markers and ALDH1 activity, low proliferation rates with G1 phase arrest, and notably retain in vivo these properties. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Gema Jim énez, Michael Hackenberg, Purificación Catalina, Houria Boulaiz, Carmen Griñán-Lisón, María Ángel García, Macarena Perán, Elena López-Ruiz, Alberto Ramírez, Cynthia Morata-Tarifa, Esther Carrasco, Margarita Aguilera, Juan Antonio March Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Extracellular ATP drives breast cancer cell migration and metastasis via S100A4 production by cancer cells and fibroblasts
Our previous work has demonstrated that extracellular ATP is an important pro-invasive factor, and in this study, we tapped into a possible mechanism involved. We discovered that ATP could upregulate both the intracellular expression and secretion of S100A4 in breast cancer cells and fibroblasts. Apart from stimulating breast cancer cell motility via intracellular S100A4, ATP enhanced the ability of breast cancer cells to transform fibroblasts into cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-like cells, which in turn secreted S100A4 to further promote cancer cell motility. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Ying Liu, Yue-Hang Geng, Hui Yang, Han Yang, Yan-Ting Zhou, Hong-Quan Zhang, Xin-Xia Tian, Wei-Gang Fang Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Time-course analysis of microRNA-induced mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition underscores the complexity of the underlying molecular processes
Expression levels of the miR-200 family of miRNAs are significantly reduced during the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and consequent metastasis of ovarian and other cancers. Consistently, ectopic over-expression of miR-200 family miRNAs in mesenchymal-like cells reverses the process by converting treated cells to an epithelial phenotype, thereby reducing invasiveness and increasing sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. To better understand the dynamics and molecular processes underlying miRNA-induced mesenchymal-to mesenchymal transition (MET), a time-course study was conducted where miRNA-induced morphologica...
Source: Cancer Letters - May 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Loukia N. Lili, Andrew D. Huang, Mengnan Zhang, Lijuan Wang, L. DeEtte McDonald, Lilya V. Matyunina, Minati Satpathy, John F. McDonald Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Differential regulation of the pro-inflammatory biomarker, YKL-40/CHI3L1, by PTEN/Phosphoinositide 3-kinase and JAK2/STAT3 pathways in glioblastoma
Constitutive activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT signalling pathway is frequently observed in high-grade gliomas with high frequency of losing PTEN tumour suppressor. To identify transcriptomic profiles associated with a hyperactivated PI3K pathway, RNA-sequencing analysis was performed in a glioblastoma cell line stably expressing PTEN. RNA-sequencing revealed enriched transcripts of pro-inflammatory mediators, and among the genes that displayed highly differentially expression was the secreted glycoprotein YKL-40. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 3, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Yubing Wang, Chi-Wai Wong, Mingfei Yan, Lisha Li, Tian Liu, Penelope Mei-Yu Or, Stephen Kwok-Wing Tsui, Mary Miu-Yee Waye, Andrew Man-Lok Chan Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Cyclin E overexpression confers resistance to the CDK4/6 specific inhibitor palbociclib in gastric cancer cells
Palbociclib is a specific inhibitor of CDK4/6 and has been shown to provide a survival benefit in hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer. TCGA database reported that about half of gastric cancers exhibit abnormalities in cell-cycle-related molecules, suggesting that gastric cancer is a good candidate for palbociclib treatment; however, the antitumor effects and predictive markers of palbociclib in gastric cancer remain incompletely described. Herein, the effect and predictive markers of palbociclib on gastric cancer cells were investigated. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 2, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Ahrum Min, Jung Eun Kim, Yu-Jin Kim, Jee Min Lim, Seongyeong Kim, Jin Won Kim, Kyung-Hun Lee, Tae-Yong Kim, Do-Youn Oh, Yung-Jue Bang, Seock-Ah Im Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Repurposing drugs for glioblastoma: from bench to bedside
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common, aggressive and lethal type of brain tumour. It is a stage IV cancer disease with a poor prognosis, as the current therapeutic options (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) are not able to eradicate tumour cells. The approach to treat glioblastoma has not suffered major changes over the last decade and temozolomide (TMZ) remains the mainstay for chemotherapy. However, resistance mechanisms to TMZ and other chemotherapeutic agents are becoming more frequent. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 2, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Jo ão Basso, Ana Miranda, João Sousa, Alberto Pais, Carla Vitorino Tags: Mini-review Source Type: research
Editorial Board
(Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - May 1, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research
Human papilloma virus (HPV) 18 proteins E6 and E7 up-regulate ABC transporters in oropharyngeal carcinoma. Involvement of the nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) pathway
Oropharyngeal cancer incidence increased dramatically in the last decades, being infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV) a determinant of this trend. Concerning etiology, treatment response and prognosis, HPV+ and HPV- oropharyngeal cancers constitute different disease entities. The underlying molecular background is not completely understood. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters mediate the efflux of anticancer drugs and are regulated by changes in the intracellular milieu. Furthermore, a role in cancer pathogenesis besides drug transport was reported. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - April 28, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Juan Pablo Rigalli, Matthias Reichel, Guillermo Nicol ás Tocchetti, Tasmin Reuter, Gerhard Dyckhoff, Christel Herold-Mende, Johanna Weiss Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Co-targeting of BET proteins and HDACs as a novel approach to trigger apoptosis in rhabdomyosarcoma cells
Histone acetylation marks exert essential functions in regulating gene expression. These marks are written by histone acetyltransferases (HATs), removed by histone deacetylases (HDACs) and read by e.g. BET proteins. While BET inhibitors are promising new anticancer drugs, little is yet known on their antitumor activity in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). We therefore investigated the efficacy of the prototypic BET inhibitor JQ1 alone or in combination with other epigenetic modifiers, namely HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs). (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - April 27, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Julius C. En ßle, Cathinka Boedicker, Marek Wanior, Meike Vogler, Stefan Knapp, Simone Fulda Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Autophagy in glioma cells: an identity crisis with a clinical perspective
Over the last decade, autophagy has emerged as one of the critical cellular systems that control homeostasis. Besides management of normal homeostatic processes, autophagy can also be induced by tissue damage stress or by rapidly progressing tumors. During tumor progression, autophagy mediates a cellular reaction to the changes inside and outside of cells, which leads to tumor adaptation. Even though the regulation of autophagy seems universal and is a well-described process, its dysregulation and role in glioma progression remain an important topic of investigation. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - April 27, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: I.V. Ulasov, G. Lenz, M.S. Lesniak Tags: Mini-review Source Type: research
Tumor-released exosomal circular RNA PDE8A promotes invasive growth via the miR-338/MACC1/MET pathway in pancreatic cancer
Circular RNA (circ-RNA) and exosomes have recently been shown to play important roles in different tumors. However, the functions and regulatory mechanisms of exosomal circ-RNA in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumor progression remain unclear. Here, we identified a circular RNA (circ-PDE8A) from liver-metastatic PDAC cells by microarray analysis, detected its expression levels in clinical tissues and found that high circ-PDE8A expression was correlated with lymphatic invasion, TNM stage and a poor survival rate of PDAC patients. (Source: Cancer Letters)
Source: Cancer Letters - April 27, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Zhonghu Li, Wu Yanfang, Jie Li, Peng Jiang, Tao Peng, Kai Chen, Xin Zhao, Yujun Zhang, Ping Zhen, Jin Zhu, Xiaowu Li Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
