Regulated cell death (RCD) in cancer: key pathways and targeted therapies

Targeting Apoptosis in AML: Where Do We Stand?

Simple Summary

In patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), genetic mutations can cause cells to evade regulated cell death (RCD), resulting in excessive cell proliferation. The best-known form of RCD is apoptosis, which prevents the emergence of cancer cells; disturbances in this process are an important factor in the development and progression of AML. Clearly, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of apoptosis to establish a personalized, patient-specific approach in AML therapy. Therefore, this paper comprehensively reviews the current range of AML treatment approaches related to apoptosis and highlights other promising concepts such as neddylation.

Abstract

More than 97% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) demonstrate genetic mutations leading to excessive proliferation combined with the evasion of regulated cell death (RCD). The most prominent and well-defined form of RCD is apoptosis, which serves as a defense mechanism against the emergence of cancer cells. Apoptosis is regulated in part by the BCL-2 family of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, whose balance can significantly determine cell survival. Apoptosis evasion plays a key role in tumorigenesis and drug resistance, and thus in the development and progression of AML. Research on the structural and biochemical aspects of apoptosis proteins and their regulators offers promise for new classes of targeted therapies and strategies for therapeutic intervention. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current AML treatment options related to the mechanism of apoptosis, particularly its mitochondrial pathway, and other promising concepts such as neddylation. It pays particular attention to clinically-relevant aspects of current and future AML treatment approaches, highlighting the molecular basis of individual therapies.

Small-molecule inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and more: FDA-approved novel therapeutic drugs for solid tumors from 1991 to 2021

The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has always been a forerunner in drug evaluation and supervision. Over the past 31 years, 1050 drugs (excluding vaccines, cell-based therapies, and gene therapy products) have been approved as new molecular entities (NMEs) or biologics license applications (BLAs). A total of 228 of these 1050 drugs were identified as cancer therapeutics or cancer-related drugs, and 120 of them were classified as therapeutic drugs for solid tumors according to their initial indications. These drugs have evolved from small molecules with broad-spectrum antitumor properties in the early stage to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody‒drug conjugates (ADCs) with a more precise targeting effect during the most recent decade. These drugs have extended indications for other malignancies, constituting a cancer treatment system for monotherapy or combined therapy. However, the available targets are still mainly limited to receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), restricting the development of antitumor drugs. In this review, these 120 drugs are summarized and classified according to the initial indications, characteristics, or functions. Additionally, RTK-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint-based immunotherapies are also discussed. Our analysis of existing challenges and potential opportunities in drug development may advance solid tumor treatment in the future.

The three-dimension preclinical models for ferroptosis monitoring

As a new programmed cell death process, ferroptosis has shown great potential and uniqueness in experimental and treatment-resistant cancer models. Currently, the main tools for drug research targeting ferroptosis are tumor cells cultured in vitro and tumor models established in rodents. In contrast, increasing evidence indicates that reactivity may differ from modifications in mice or humans in the process of drug screening. With the blossoming of 3D culture technology, tumor organoid culture technology has gradually been utilized. Compared with traditional 2D culture and tumor tissue xenotransplantation, tumor organoids have a significantly higher success rate. They can be cultured quickly and at a lower cost, which is convenient for gene modification and large-scale drug screening. Thus, combining 3D cell culture technology, drug monitoring, and ferroptosis analysis is necessary to develop the impact of ferroptosis-related agents in tumor treatment.

The core genes of cuproptosis assists in discerning prognostic and immunological traits of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Objective

Cuproptosis, a nascent and unique pattern of cell death, is poised to spark a new rush of biological research. Yet, the subsumed mechanism of cuproptosis in carcinoma is not wholly clarified. The exclusive aim of this work is to define a novel classification algorithm and risk-prognosis scoring framework based on the expression modalities of cuproptosis genes to monitor clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients’ prognosis and immunotherapeutic response.

Methods

We pooled ccRCC data from three large-scale databases as the training subset and gathered a panel of clinical queues, termed the Taizhou cohort, which served as the validation setup. Wilcox test was conducted for comparison of expression variation, while the cox analysis and KM curves were utilized to visualize prognosis. Unsupervised clustering analysis was used to identify cuproptosis phenotypes in ccRCC. Concurrently, LASSO regression-based computational scoring model. A step further, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to check potential biological processes and the “CIBERSORT” R package was used to estimate the proportion of immune cells. To last, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were carried out for the assay of critical genes for cuproptosis.

Results

Here, we glimpse the prognostic power of cuproptosis genes in pan-cancer by investigating 33 cancers with multi-omics data to map their genetic heterogeneity landscape. In parallel, we devoted extra attention to their strategic potential role in ccRCC, identifying two phenotypes of cuproptosis with different immune microenvironmental characteristics by pooling ccRCC data from three large-scale databases. Additionally, we compiled a cuproptosis scoring system for clinicians to determine the prognosis, immunotherapy response, and chemosensitivity of ccRCC patients. Notably, we assembled a clinical cohort sample to validate the pivotal gene for cuproptosis, FDX1, to supply more clues to translate the biological significance of cuproptosis in ccRCC.

Conclusion

In all, our investigations highlight that cuproptosis is involved in various components of ccRCC and assists in the formation of the tumor immune microenvironment. These results provide partial insights to further comprehend the molecular mechanisms of cuproptosis in ccRCC and could be helpful for the development of personalized therapeutic strategies targeting copper or cuproptosis.

Bibliometric analysis of publications on necroptosis from 2001 to 2021

Background: Necroptosis plays an important role in inflammation, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, the number of studies related to necroptosis has increased and research has become increasingly in-depth. This study aimed to summarize the research conducted since 2001 to discover hotspots and trends in the field of necroptosis.

Methods: The Web of Science Core database was used to identify global publications on necroptosis from 2001 to 2021. Bibliometric analysis was performed using Rstudio, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

Results: The number of publications related to necroptosis gradually increased from 2001 to 2021. Vandenabeele P had the most publications at 45. Yuan JY had the most citations at 5,901. Necroptosis research has been dominated by China and Chinese institutions. Cell Death and Disease had the highest number of related publications among the examined journals. Seven of the top 10 most cited papers had more than 500 citations. Necroptosis, cell death, autophagy, injury, cancer, activated B cell nuclear factor kappa-light chain enhancer, and oxidative stress were important keywords in keyword analysis. Recent research has increasingly focused on breast cancer, receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 1, modulation, pseudokinase mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein, membrane, protection, and cycle.

Conclusion: Interest in necroptosis-related research continues to increase steadily, and there is close cooperation between countries and institutions in the field of necroptosis. The study of necroptosis-related molecules and mechanisms, and the relationship between necroptosis and cancer, may be hotspots and directions in future research.