Lysosome activates AKT inducing cancer and metastasis

A novel pH-activated AIEgen probe for dynamic lysosome tracking and high-efficiency photodynamic therapy

A novel AIEgen molecular probe (N-3QL) with typical AIE effects, good biocompatibility, lysosome targeting, pH activation, excellent photostability, and high brightness was synthesized using two simple synthetic steps. Spectroscopic and cytotoxicity experiments indicate that N-3QL can not only be used for the dynamic monitoring of cancer cell lysosomes, but also for photodynamic therapy (PDT) ablation of cancer cells.

Molecular subtype identification and prognosis stratification based on lysosome-related genes in breast cancer

Background

Lysosomes are known to have a significant impact on the development and recurrence of breast cancer. However, the association between lysosome-related genes (LRGs) and breast cancer remains unclear. This study aims to explore the potential role of LRGs in predicting the prognosis and treatment response of breast cancer.

Methods

Breast cancer gene expression profile data and clinical information were downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases, and prognosis-related LRGs were screened for consensus clustering analysis. Lasso Cox regression analysis was used to construct risk features derived from LRGs, and immune cell infiltration, immune therapy response, drug sensitivity, and clinical pathological feature differences were evaluated for different molecular subtypes and risk groups. A nomogram based on risk features derived from LRGs was constructed and evaluated.

Results

Our study identified 176 differentially expressed LRGs that are associated with breast cancer prognosis. Based on these genes, we divided breast cancer into two molecular subtypes with significant prognostic differences. We also found significant differences in immune cell infiltration between these subtypes. Furthermore, we constructed a prognostic risk model consisting of 7 LRGs, which effectively divides breast cancer patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. Patients in the low-risk group have better prognostic characteristics, respond better to immunotherapy, and have lower sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs, indicating that the low-risk group is more likely to benefit from immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Additionally, the risk score based on LRGs is significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration, including CD8 T cells and macrophages. This risk score model, along with age, chemotherapy, clinical stage, and N stage, is an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer. Finally, the nomogram composed of these factors has excellent performance in predicting overall survival of breast cancer.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this study has constructed a novel LRG-derived breast cancer risk feature, which performs well in prognostic prediction when combined with clinical pathological features.

Development and validation of a novel lysosome-related LncRNA signature for predicting prognosis and the immune landscape features in colon cancer

Lysosomes are essential components for managing tumor microenvironment and regulating tumor growth. Moreover, recent studies have also demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs could be used as a clinical biomarker for diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. However, the influence of lysosome-related lncRNA (LRLs) on the progression of colon cancer is still unclear. This study aimed to identify a prognostic LRL signature in colon cancer and elucidated potential biological function. Herein, 10 differential expressed lysosome-related genes were obtained by the TCGA database and ultimately 4 prognostic LRLs for conducting a risk model were identified by the co-expression, univariate cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analyses. Kaplan-Meier analysis, principal-component analysis, functional enrichment annotation, and nomogram were used to verify the risk model. Besides, the association between the prognostic model and immune infiltration, chemotherapeutic drugs sensitivity were also discussed in this study. This risk model based on the LRLs may be promising for potential clinical prognosis and immunotherapeutic responses related indicator in colon cancer patients.

Lysosome-related genes: A new prognostic marker for lung adenocarcinoma

Currently, a reliable early prognostic marker has not been identified for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the most common malignancy. Recent studies demonstrated that lysosomal rupture is involved in cancer migration, progression, and immune microenvironment formation. We performed a bioinformatics analysis of lysosomal rupture to investigate whether lysosome-related genes (LRGs) are key in LUAD. The analysis identified 23 LRGs. Cytoscape visualization identified 10 core genes (CCNA2, DLGAP5, BUB1B, KIF2C, PBK, CDC20, NCAPG, ASPM, KIF4A, ANLN). With the 23 LRGs, we established a new risk scoring rule to classify patients with LUAD into high- and low-risk groups and verified the accuracy of the risk score by receiver operating characteristic curves and established a nomogram to evaluate clinical patients. Immunotherapy effectiveness between the high- and low-risk groups was evaluated based on the tumor mutational burden and analyses of immune cell infiltration and drug sensitivity. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that lysosomes were closely associated with glucose metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and the immune response in patients with LUAD. Lysosomes are a likely new therapeutic target and provide new directions and ideas for treating and managing patients with LUAD.

Identification of lysosome-related genes in connection with prognosis and immune cell infiltration for drug candidates in head and neck cancer

Lysosome dysfunction has been shown to play an important role in cancer progression. However, few research studies have reported the role of lysosomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) progression. Lysosome-related genes (LRGs) were collected from the Molecular Signatures Database. Differentially expressed lysosome-related genes (DELRGs) were identified from the TCGA-HNSCC dataset. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to identify the prognostic genes. The prognostic values and expression of hub DELRGs were further validated by GEO datasets. Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumors using Expression data and the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis were applied to evaluate the correlation between cathepsin G (CTSG) and immune infiltrates. Twenty-two DELRGs were identified. Among them, CTSG was an independent prognostic biomarker for HNSCC patients. Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that the potential mechanism of CTSG in regulating HNSCC was associated with the immune- and inflammation-related pathways. CTSG expression was highly correlated with immune cell infiltration. Finally, two potential compounds (CH and MAN) targeting CTSG protein were identified, and their reliability was validated through molecular docking analysis. CTSG was associated with immune infiltration and had prognostic value in HNSCC patients, which may be a potential biomarker for predicting the outcome of immunotherapy.

Eupalinolide J Inhibits Cancer Metastasis by Promoting STAT3 Ubiquitin-Dependent Degradation

Eupalinolide J (EJ) is an active component from Eupatorium lindleyanum DC. (EL), which was reported to have good antitumor activity via STAT3 and Akt signaling pathways. In this study, we identified Eupalinolide J (EJ) as a potential anti-cancer metastatic agent by target prediction and molecular docking technique screening. Follow-up experiments demonstrated that EJ exhibited a good inhibitory effect on cancer cell metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, and could effectively reduce the expression of STAT3, MMP-2, and MMP-9 proteins in cells, while the knockdown of STAT3 could weaken the inhibitory effect of EJ on cancer cell metastasis. Further molecular biology experiments revealed that EJ promoted STAT3 ubiquitin-dependent degradation, and thus, downregulated the expression of the metastasis-related genes MMP-2 and MMP-9. In conclusion, our study revealed that EJ, a sesquiterpene lactone from EL, could act as a STAT3 degradation agent to inhibit cancer cell metastasis and is expected to be applied in cancer therapy.

Subtypes analysis and prognostic model construction based on lysosome-related genes in colon adenocarcinoma

Background: Lysosomes are essential for the development and recurrence of cancer. The relationship between a single lysosome-related gene and cancer has previously been studied, but the relationship between the lysosome-related genes (LRGs) and colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) remains unknown. This research examined the role of lysosome-related genes in colon adenocarcinoma. Methods: 28 lysosome-related genes associated with prognosis (PLRGs) were found by fusing the gene set that is differently expressed between tumor and non-tumor in colon adenocarcinoma with the gene set that is related to lysosomes. Using consensus unsupervised clustering of PLRGs, the colon adenocarcinoma cohort was divided into two subtypes. Prognostic and tumor microenvironment (TME) comparisons between the two subtypes were then made. The PLRGs_score was constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO) method to quantify each patient's prognosis and provide advice for treatment. Lastly, Western Blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to identify MOGS expression at the protein level in colon adenocarcinoma tissues. Results: PLRGs had more somatic mutations and changes in genetic level, and the outcomes of the two subtypes differed significantly in terms of prognosis, tumor microenvironment, and enrichment pathways. Then, PLRGs_score was established based on two clusters of differential genes in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database, and external verification was performed using the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. Then, we developed a highly accurate nomogram to enhance the clinical applicability of the PLRGs_score. Finally, a higher PLRGs_score was associated with a poorer overall survival (OS), a lower tumor mutation burden (TMB), a lower cancer stem cell (CSC) index, more microsatellite stability (MSS), and a higher clinical stage. MOGS was substantially elevated at the protein level in colon adenocarcinoma as additional confirmation. Conclusion: Overall, based on PLRGs, we identified two subtypes that varied significantly in terms of prognosis and tumor microenvironment. Then, in order to forecast patient prognosis and make treatment suggestions, we developed a diagnostic model with major significance for prognosis, clinical relevance, and immunotherapy. Moreover, we were the first to demonstrate that MOGS is highly expressed in colon adenocarcinoma.

Sub-cellular sequestration of alkaline drugs in lysosomes: new insights for pharmaceutical development of lysosomal fluid

Background and purpose

Lysosomal-targeted drug delivery can open a new strategy for drug therapy. However, there is currently no universally accepted simulated or artificial lysosomal fluid utilized in the pharmaceutical industry or recognized by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).

Experimental procedure

We prepared a simulated lysosomal fluid (SLYF) and compared its composition to a commercial artificial counterpart. The developed fluid was used to test the dissolution of a commercial product (Robitussin^®) of a lysosomotropic drug (dextromethorphan) and to investigate in-vitro lysosomal trapping of two model drugs (dextromethorphan and (+/-) chloroquine).

Findings/Results

The laboratory-prepared fluid or SLYF contained the essential components for the lysosomal function in concentrations reflective of the physiological values, unlike the commercial product. Robitussin^® passed the acceptance criteria for the dissolution of dextromethorphan in 0.1 N HCl medium (97.7% in less than 45 min) but not in the SLYF or the phosphate buffer media (72.6% and 32.2% within 45 min, respectively). Racemic chloroquine showed higher lysosomal trapping (51.9%) in the in-vitro model than dextromethorphan (28.3%) in a behavior supporting in-vivo findings and based on the molecular descriptors and the lysosomal sequestration potential of both.

Conclusion and implication

A standardized lysosomal fluid was reported and developed for in-vitro investigations of lysosomotropic drugs and formulations.

Transcription profiling of feline mammary carcinomas and derived cell lines reveals biomarkers and drug targets associated with metabolic and cell cycle pathways

The molecular heterogeneity of feline mammary carcinomas (FMCs) represents a prognostic and therapeutic challenge. RNA-Seq-based comparative transcriptomic profiling serves to identify recurrent and exclusive differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across sample types and molecular subtypes. Using mass-parallel RNA-Seq, we identified DEGs and performed comparative function-based analysis across 15 tumours (four basal-like triple-negative [TN], eight normal-like TN, and three luminal B fHER2 negative [LB fHER2-]), two cell lines (CL, TiHo-0906, and TiHo-1403) isolated from the primary tumours (LB fHER2-) of two cats included in this study, and 13 healthy mammary tissue controls. DEGs in tumours were predominantly upregulated; dysregulation of CLs transcriptome was more extensive, including mostly downregulated genes. Cell-cycle and metabolic-related DEGs were upregulated in both tumours and CLs, including therapeutically-targetable cell cycle regulators (e.g. CCNB1, CCNB2, CDK1, CDK4, GTSE1, MCM4, and MCM5), metabolic-related genes (e.g. FADS2 and SLC16A3), heat-shock proteins (e.g. HSPH1, HSP90B1, and HSPA5), genes controlling centrosome disjunction (e.g. RACGAP1 and NEK2), and collagen molecules (e.g. COL2A1). DEGs specifically upregulated in basal-like TN tumours were involved in antigen processing and presentation, in normal-like TN tumours encoded G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and in LB fHER2- tumours were associated with lysosomes, phagosomes, and endosomes formation. Downregulated DEGs in CLs were associated with structural and signalling cell surface components. Hence, our results suggest that upregulation of genes enhancing proliferation and metabolism is a common feature among FMCs and derived CLs. In contrast, the dissimilarities observed in dysregulation of membrane components highlight CLs' disconnection with the tumour microenvironment. Furthermore, recurrent and exclusive DEGs associated with dysregulated pathways might be useful for the development of prognostically and therapeutically-relevant targeted panels.

Phloretin enhances autophagy by impairing AKT activation and inducing JNK-Beclin-1 pathway activation

Phloretin is a type of dihydrochalcone that is primarily found in apples and has been reported to possess various potent biological activities, such as anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Our previous study has shown that phloretin induces apoptosis in human glioblastoma. In this study, we found that phloretin induced autophagy in SH-SY5Y cells by decreasing p-AKT and p-mTOR levels in the AKT/mTOR pathway and increasing the activation of JNK, the phosphorylation of c-Jun and the expression of Beclin-1. Moreover, the upregulation of Beclin-1 was decreased by SP600125 or a siRNA against c-Jun. Furthermore, SP600125 and siRNAs against c-Jun and Beclin-1 inhibited phloretin-induced autophagy. In addition, inhibition of phloretin-induced autophagy by cotreatment with phloretin and 3-MA decreased phloretin-induced cytotoxicity to SH-SY5Y cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that the AKT/mTOR pathway and JNK-mediated Beclin-1 expression are involved in phloretin-induced autophagy. Phloretin can be used to protect neurons during phloretin treatment of glioblastoma.

Potential Role of NEU1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Study Based on Comprehensive Bioinformatical Analysis

Background: Aberrant expression of NEU1 has been identified in many malignancies. Nevertheless, the clinical significance of NEU1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: In our study, multiple databases, including ONCOMINE, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), Human Protein Atlas (HPA), Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter, MethSurv, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), and Metascape, etc., were utilized to investigate the expression, prognostic value, and function of NEU1 in HCC.

Results: ONCOMINE, GEO, and TCGA analyses revealed that NEU1 was more highly expressed in HCC compared to normal tissues. Additionally, the mRNA and protein expression levels of NEU1 were increased in liver cancer cell lines and HCC tissues, respectively. Moreover, a trend toward increased NEU1 expression with advanced stage or grade was found. Furthermore, higher mRNA expression of NEU1 was found to be remarkably correlated with worse survival in HCC patients, and multivariate Cox analysis indicated that high mRNA expression of NEU1 was an independent prognostic factor for poor prognosis of HCC patients. Also, 21 methylated CpGs were found to be significantly related to HCC prognosis. Besides, functional enrichment analyses indicated that high NEU1 expression group had lower levels of B cells, CD8⁺ T cells, NK cells, and T helper cells, etc. than the low NEU1 expression group, and NEU1 may regulate a variety of tumor-related proteins and pathways, including lysosome, spliceosome, mTOR signaling pathway and so on.

Conclusion: High expression level of NEU1 was positively correlated with unfavorable prognosis of HCC patients, which may be related to the regulation of cancer-associated pathways and the inhibition of immune function by NEU1. Thus, NEU1 could be used as a potential prognostic biomarker and target for HCC.

Local Anesthetic Lidocaine and Cancer: Insight Into Tumor Progression and Recurrence

Cancer is a leading contributor to deaths worldwide. Surgery is the primary treatment for resectable cancers. Nonetheless, it also results in inflammatory response, angiogenesis, and stimulated metastasis. Local anesthetic lidocaine can directly and indirectly effect different cancers. The direct mechanisms are inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis via regulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR and caspase-dependent Bax/Bcl2 signaling pathways or repressing cytoskeleton formation. Repression invasion, migration, and angiogenesis through influencing the activation of TNFα-dependent, Src-induced AKT/NO/ICAM and VEGF/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Moreover, the indirect influences are immune regulation, anti-inflammation, and postoperative pain relief. This review summarizes the latest evidence that revealed potential clinical benefits of lidocaine in cancer treatment to explore the probable molecular mechanisms and the appropriate dose.

Dual-Functional NIR AIEgens for High-Fidelity Imaging of Lysosomes in Cells and Photodynamic Therapy

Design and synthesis of water-soluble near-infrared (NIR) emissive fluorescent molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, perfect signal-to-noise ratio for imaging of organelle, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) functions has received enormous attention. However, the dual-functional NIR AIEgens of high-fidelity tracking lysosome and ablation cancer cells was rarely reported. Herein, a series of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) with a typical AIE effect, good biocompatibility, superior photostability, high brightness, and excellent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability were developed, which had different electronic push-pull strength and conjugate system size in the molecular structure. These AIEgens could specifically "light up" and dynamically long-term track the lysosomes in living cells and zebrafish with ultrahigh colocalization imaging Pearson's correlation coefficients (Rr: 0.9687) and overlap coefficient (R: 0.9967). Additionally, the MPAT of NIR luminescence as a photosensitizer was used for photodynamic ablation of cancer cells, owing to prompt generation of the ROS under green light irradiation (495-530 nm, 10 mW cm^-2). Hence, this research not only expands the application range of NIR AIEgens but also provides useful insights into design of split-new method for the treatment of cancer.