Decreased expression ofVLDLRis inversely correlated with miR-200c in human colorectal cancer

Ferroptosis as a promising targeted therapy for triple negative breast cancer

PURPOSE

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a challenging subtype characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression. Standard treatment options are limited, and approximately 45% of patients develop distant metastasis. Ferroptosis, a regulated form of cell death triggered by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, has emerged as a potential targeted therapy for TNBC.

METHODS

This study utilizes a multifaceted approach to investigate the induction of ferroptosis as a therapeutic strategy for TNBC. It explores metabolic alterations, redox imbalance, and oncogenic signaling pathways to understand their roles in inducing ferroptosis, characterized by lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and altered cellular morphology. Critical pathways such as Xc-/GSH/GPX4, ACSL4/LPCAT3, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) are examined for their regulatory roles in ferroptosis and their potential dysregulation contributing to cancer cell survival and resistance.

RESULTS

Inducing ferroptosis has been shown to inhibit tumor growth, enhance the efficacy of conventional therapies, and overcome drug resistance in TNBC. Lipophilic antioxidants, GPX4 inhibitors, and inhibitors of the Xc- system have been demonstrated to be potential ferroptosis inducers. Additionally, targeting the NRF2 pathway and exploring other ferroptosis regulators, such as ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1), and the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP pathway, may offer novel therapeutic avenues.

CONCLUSION

Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms, optimize therapeutic strategies, and evaluate the safety and efficacy of ferroptosis-targeted therapies in TNBC treatment. Overall, targeting ferroptosis represents a promising approach to improving treatment outcomes and overcoming the challenges posed by TNBC.

The roles and molecular mechanisms of non-coding RNA in cancer metabolic reprogramming

One of the key features of cancer is energy metabolic reprogramming which is tightly related to cancer proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance. NcRNAs are a class of RNAs having no protein-coding potential and mainly include microRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs. Accumulated evidence has suggested that ncRNAs play an essential role in regulating cancer metabolic reprogramming, and the altered metabolic networks mediated by ncRNAs primarily drive carcinogenesis by regulating the expression of metabolic enzymes and transporter proteins. Importantly, accumulated research has revealed that dysregulated ncRNAs mediate metabolic reprogramming contributing to the generation of therapeutic tolerance. Elucidating the molecular mechanism of ncRNAs in cancer metabolic reprogramming can provide promising metabolism-related therapeutic targets for treatment as well as overcome therapeutic tolerance. In conclusion, this review updates the latest molecular mechanisms of ncRNAs related to cancer metabolic reprogramming.

Identification and validation of a glycolysis-related gene signature for depicting clinical characteristics and its relationship with tumor immunity in patients with colon cancer

Colon cancer (CC) is one of the most common gastrointestinal malignant tumors with a high mortality rate. Glycolysis is an important pathway for tumors to obtain energy. However, its role in CC remains largely unknown. In present study, we analyzed glycolysis-related gene expression to depict clinical characteristics and its relationship with tumor immunity in CC to find potential target treatments. A prognostic model based on 13 glycolysis-related genes was established by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The efficacy of the gene model was tested via survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic analysis, and principal component analysis. Furthermore, our findings revealed and validated 13 glycolysis-related genes (NUP107, SEC13, ALDH7A1, ALG1, CHPF, FAM162A, FBP2, GALK1, IDH1, TGFA, VLDLR, XYLT2, and OGDHL), which constituted a prognostic prediction model. The model exhibited clinical implication potential, had a relatively high accuracy, and was closely associated with the patients' clinical features. In particular, the tumor stage could be clearly distinguished by glycolysis-related gene signatures. Finally, a significant difference between glycolysis-related gene colon cancer immunity and sensitive immune drugs was observed. Our glycolysis-related gene model could provide the basis for potential early individualized treatment. The 13 glycolysis-related gene signature was a reliable predictive tool for the prognosis of colon cancer. Our findings could help patients select targets for individualized treatment and immunotherapy strategies. The study findings advance our understanding of the potential mechanism of glycolysis in colon cancer.

Tanshinol alleviates ulcerative colitis by promoting the expression of VLDLR

Tanshinol (TAN) is a widely used Chinese medicine ingredient with anti‐inflammatory activity. The therapeutic effect of TAN in ulcerative colitis (UC) deserves further investigation. DSS induced UC model for mice, and TAN of different concentrations was used for in vivo therapy. Colons length was measured; expression of VLDLR in colonic mucosal tissue was evaluated by qRT‐PCR, Western blot and histochemical staining. Besides, normal colorectal mucosal cell line (FHC) was treated with LPS to imitate the inflammatory process of UC in vitro. Different concentrations of TAN treated UC cell model. ELISA and qRT‐PCR were applied to examine the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐8, or IL‐1β). Flow cytometry and MTT was used to identify the apoptosis and viability of FHC cells, respectively. Afterwards, Western blot was performed to detect the expressions of Bax, Bcl‐2, Cleaved caspase‐3, and Cleaved caspase‐9 in FHC cells. VLDLR was low‐expressed in UC tissues as compared to the normal tissue. TAN could alleviate DSS‐induced colons length shortening, colonic tissue structure destruction, inflammatory response, and VLDLR expression decrease in vivo. Further study found that TAN could alleviate LPS‐induced inflammatory response, apoptosis, and viability decrease of FHC cells, and siVLDLR could partially offset the effect of TAN. TAN alleviates LPS‐induced viability decrease, apoptosis, and inflammatory response in FHC cells by promoting VLDLR expression.

Improved diagnostic value by combining plasma PON1 level with tumor biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer patients

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third among all cancers in China and improvements in screening for CRC have an important impact on prevention and control of the disease. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a calcium ion-dependent hydrolase that is widely distributed in tissue. Its diagnostic value in colorectal cancer has been reported, but the diagnostic value of combining PON1 with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), carbohydrate antigen 12-5 (CA12-5) in colorectal cancer has not been evaluated. Experiments were carried out in a total of 284 CRC patients and 90 healthy controls. The primary cohort was randomly divided into training and validation sets. The levels of PON1 in plasma of CRC patients were significantly lower than that in the healthy controls (P < 0.001). It showed excellent diagnostic value with the AUC reaching 0.750 for the training set and 0.742 for the validation set. Furthermore, combining PON1 with CEA, CA12-5, CA19-9 could better classify CRC patients (AUC rising from 0.821, 0.716, 0.712 to 0.875, 0.817 and 0.814, respectively, in the training set, from 0.818, 0.581, 0.593 to 0.854, 0.770, and 0.772 in the validation set). In conclusion, PON1 can serve as a diagnostic biomarker for CRC and raise the sensitivity and specificity when incorporated with traditional tumor biomarkers.

Interactions among lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNA in colorectal cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are longer than 200 nts non-coding transcripts and have recently emerged as one of the largest and significantly diverse RNA families whereas microRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved short single-stranded ncRNAs (∼18-22 nucleotides). As families of small and long evolutionarily conserved ncRNAs, lncRNAs activate and repress genes via a variety of mechanisms at both transcriptional and translational levels, while miRNAs regulate protein-coding gene expression mainly through mRNA degradation or silencing, These ncRNAs have been proved to be involved in multiple biological functions, such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis and apoptosis. Today, while majority of studies have focused on defining the regulatory functions of lncRNAs and miRNAs, limited information have now available for the mutual regulations of lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNA. Thus, the underlying molecular mechanisms, in particularly the interactions among lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNA in development, growth, metastasis and therapeutic potential of cancer still remain obscure. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is known as the third most common and fourth leading cancer death worldwide. Increasing evidence showed the close correlations among aberrant expressions of lncRNAs, miRNAs and the occurrence, development of CRC. This review summarize the potential links among these RNAs in following three areas: 1, The biogenesis and roles of miRNAs in CRC; 2, The biogenesis and functions of lncRNAs in CRC; 3, The interactions among lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNA in tumorigensis, growth, progression, EMT formation, chemoradiotherapy resistance, and therapeutic potential in CRC. We believe that identifying diverging lncRNAs, miRNAs and relevant genes, their interactions and complex molecular regulatory networks will provide important clues for understanding the mechanism and developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for CRC. Further efforts are warranted to bring the promise of regulating their activities into clinical utilities.