p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane promotes aerobic glycolysis via reactive oxygen species-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase/M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) signaling in colorectal cancer cells

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.

Matrine restrains the development of colorectal cancer through regulating the AGRN/Wnt/β-catenin pathway

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is a common malignant digestive tract tumor. This study aimed to explore the biological role and potential underlying mechanism of matrine in colorectal cancer.

METHODS

The mRNA expression of AGRN was measured using RT-qPCR. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were determined using CCK-8, EdU, transwell assays and flow cytometry, respectively. Xenograft tumor experiment was performed to explore the action of matrine and AGRN on tumor growth in colorectal cancer in vivo. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay was applied for AGRN, β-catenin, and c-Myc expression in the tumor tissues from mice.

RESULTS

Matrine dramatically repressed cell growth and reduced the level of AGRN in colorectal cancer cells. AGRN expression was boosted colorectal cancer tissues and cells. AGRN downregulation depressed cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and enhanced cell apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. Moreover, matrine showed the anti-tumor effects on colorectal cancer cells via regulating AGRN expression. AGRN knockdown could inactivate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in colorectal cancer cells. We found that AGRN downregulation exhibited the inhibition action in the progression of colorectal cancer by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In addition, matrine could inhibit the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through regulating AGRN in colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, xenograft tumor experiment revealed that matrine treatment or AGRN knockdown repressed the development of colorectal cancer via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in vivo.

CONCLUSION

Matrine retarded colorectal cancer development by modulating AGRN to inactivate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Disorders of cancer metabolism: The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids

Abnormal energy metabolism, as one of the important hallmarks of cancer, was induced by multiple carcinogenic factors and tumor-specific microenvironments. It comprises aerobic glycolysis, de novo lipid biosynthesis, and glutamine-dependent anaplerosis. Considering that metabolic reprogramming provides various nutrients for tumor survival and development, it has been considered a potential target for cancer therapy. Cannabinoids have been shown to exhibit a variety of anticancer activities by unclear mechanisms. This paper first reviews the recent progress of related signaling pathways (reactive oxygen species (ROS), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α), and p53) mediating the reprogramming of cancer metabolism (including glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism). Then we comprehensively explore the latest discoveries and possible mechanisms of the anticancer effects of cannabinoids through the regulation of the above-mentioned related signaling pathways, to provide new targets and insights for cancer prevention and treatment.

Reprogramming of glycolysis by chemical carcinogens during tumor development

Indiscriminate usage and mismanagement of chemicals in the agricultural and industrial sectors have contaminated different environmental compartments. Exposure to these persistent and hazardous pollutants like heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides can result in various health adversities, including cancer. Chemical carcinogens follow a similar pattern of carcinogenesis, like oxidative stress, chromosomal aberration, DNA double-strand break, mismatch repair, and misregulation of oncogenic and/or tumor suppressors. Out of several cancer-associated endpoints, cellular metabolic homeostasis is the commonest to be deregulated upon chemical exposure. Chemical carcinogens hamper glycolytic reprogramming to fuel the malignant transformation of the cells and/or promote cancer progression. Several regulators like Akt, ERK, Ras, c-Myc, HIF-1α, and p53 regulate glycolysis in chemical-induced carcinogenesis. However, the deregulation of the anabolic biochemistry of glucose during chemical-induced carcinogenesis remains to be uncovered. This review comprehensively covers the environmental chemical-induced glycolytic shift during carcinogenesis and its mechanism. The focus is also to fill the major gaps associated with understanding the fairy tale between environmental carcinogens and metabolic reprogramming. Although evidence from studies regarding glycolytic reprogramming in chemical carcinogenesis provides valuable insights into cancer therapy, exposure to a mixture of toxicants and their mechanism of inducing carcinogenesis still needs to be studied.

Exploring the mechanism of action of Chinese medicine in regulating liver fibrosis based on the alteration of glucose metabolic pathways

In recent years, metabolic reprogramming in liver fibrosis has become a research hotspot in the field of liver fibrosis at home and abroad. Liver fibrosis is a pathological change caused by chronic liver injury from a variety of causes. Liver fibrosis is a common pathological feature of many chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and autoimmune hepatitis, as well as the pathogenesis of the disease. The development of chronic liver disease into cirrhosis must go through the pathological process of liver fibrosis, in which hepatic stellate cells (HSC) play an important role. Following liver injury, HSC are activated and transdifferentiated into scar-forming myofibroblasts, which drive the trauma healing response and which rely on the deposition of collagen-rich extracellular matrix to maintain tissue integrity. This reaction will continue without strict control, which will lead to excessive accumulation of matrix and liver fibrosis. The mechanisms and clinical studies of liver fibrosis have been the focus of research in liver diseases. In recent years, several studies have revealed the mechanism of HSC metabolic reprogramming and the impact of this process on liver fibrosis, in which glucose metabolic reprogramming plays an important role in the activation of HSC, and it mainly meets the energy demand of HSC activation by upregulating glycolysis. Glycolysis is the process by which one molecule of glucose is broken down into two molecules of pyruvate and produces energy and lactate under anaerobic conditions. Various factors have been found to be involved in regulating the glycolytic process of HSC, including glucose transport, intracellular processing of glucose, exosome secretion, and lactate production, etc. Inhibition of the glycolytic process of HSC can be an effective strategy against liver fibrosis. Currently, the combined action of multiple targets and links of Chinese medicine such as turmeric, comfrey, rhubarb and scutellaria baicalensis against the mechanism of liver fibrosis can effectively improve or even reverse liver fibrosis. This paper summarizes that turmeric extract curcumin, comfrey extract comfreyin, rhubarb, Subtle yang yu yin granules, Scutellaria baicalensis extract oroxylin A and cardamom extract cardamomin affect liver fibrosis by regulating gluconeogenic reprogramming. Therefore, studying the mechanism of action of TCM in regulating liver fibrosis through reprogramming of glucose metabolism is promising to explore new methods and approaches for Chinese Medicine modernization research.

Emerging role of non-coding RNAs in glucose metabolic reprogramming and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer

Metabolic reprogramming plays a critical role in colorectal cancer (CRC). It contributes to CRC by shaping metabolic phenotypes and causing uncontrolled proliferation of CRC cells. Glucose metabolic reprogramming is common in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Growing evidence has implicated the modifying effects of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in glucose metabolic reprogramming and chemoresistance in CRC. In this review, we have summarized currently published studies investigating the role of ncRNAs in glucose metabolic alterations and chemoresistance in CRC. Elucidating the interplay between ncRNAs and glucose metabolic reprogramming provides insight into exploring novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of CRC.

The Role of PKM2 in the Regulation of Mitochondrial Function: Focus on Mitochondrial Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, Dynamic, and Apoptosis. PKM2 in Mitochondrial Function

The M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) is one isoform of pyruvate kinase (PK). PKM2 is expressed at high levels during embryonic development and tumor progression and is subject to complex allosteric regulation. PKM2 is a special glycolytic enzyme that regulates the final step of glycolysis; the role of PKM2 in the metabolism, survival, and apoptosis of cancer cells has received increasing attention. Mitochondria are directly or indirectly involved in the regulation of energy metabolism, susceptibility to oxidative stress, and cell death; however, the role of PKM2 in mitochondrial functions remains unclear. Herein, we review the related mechanisms of the role of PKM2 in the regulation of mitochondrial functions from the aspects of metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS), dynamic, and apoptosis, which can be highlighted as a target for the clinical management of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Positive correlation between human exposure to organophosphate esters and gastrointestinal cancer in patients from Wuhan, China

As kinds of endocrine disruptors, organophosphate esters (OPEs) pollution in the environment had received increasing attention recently. Food and water intake were two important exposure pathways for OPEs. However, the studies about the potential association between OPEs and gastrointestinal cancer were limited. This study investigated the possible association between OPEs and gastrointestinal cancer. All cancer patients were diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer from a Grade 3 A hospital in Wuhan, China, while the control group was non-cancer healthy persons. The results showed that 6 OPEs were found in the control samples, while 8 in the samples from patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The detection frequencies of OPEs in gastrointestinal cancer patients were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01), except for triethyl phosphate (TEP) and tris (methylphenyl) phosphate (TMPP) in the gastric cancer group. The concentrations of OPEs in the control group were significantly lower than those in the gastric cancer group and colorectal cancer group (p < 0.01). In the control group and gastrointestinal cancer group, TEP was the dominant pollutant. Correlation analysis found that concentrations of TEP, tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), TMPP, tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP), and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) were associated with gastric cancer (p < 0.01), and concentrations of TEP, TCIPP, TPHP, TMPP and TEHP were associated with colorectal cancer (p < 0.01). A cluster analysis divided the 34 patients with gastric cancer and 40 patients with colorectal cancer in four groups. The results showed that the elderly male patients with gastric cancer were more sensitive to the exposure of EHDPP, while the TEP exposure was more sensitive to the relatively young gastrointestinal cancer patients. These findings indicated that OPEs might play a role in developing gastrointestinal cancer.