S616-p-DRP1 associates with locally invasive behavior of follicular cell-derived thyroid carcinoma

Drp1: Focus on Diseases Triggered by the Mitochondrial Pathway

Drp1 (Dynamin-Related Protein 1) is a cytoplasmic GTPase protein encoded by the DNM1L gene that influences mitochondrial dynamics by mediating mitochondrial fission processes. Drp1 has been demonstrated to play an important role in a variety of life activities such as cell survival, proliferation, migration, and death. Drp1 has been shown to play different physiological roles under different physiological conditions, such as normal and inflammation. Recently studies have revealed that Drp1 plays a critical role in the occurrence, development, and aggravation of a series of diseases, thereby it serves as a potential therapeutic target for them. In this paper, we review the structure and biological properties of Drp1, summarize the biological processes that occur in the inflammatory response to Drp1, discuss its role in various cancers triggered by the mitochondrial pathway and investigate effective methods for targeting Drp1 in cancer treatment. We also synthesized the phenomena of Drp1 involving in the triggering of other diseases. The results discussed herein contribute to our deeper understanding of mitochondrial kinetic pathway-induced diseases and their therapeutic applications. It is critical for advancing the understanding of the mechanisms of Drp1-induced mitochondrial diseases and preventive therapies.

An integrated analysis of Dynamin 1 Like: A new potential prognostic indicator in hepatocellular carcinoma

Dynamin 1 Like (DNM1L), a member of dynamin superfamily capable of mediating mitochondrial outer membrane division, plays a key role in the progression of different types of tumors. However, the prognostic value, clinical significance of DNM1L and its specific mechanism involved in tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been investigated clearly. In this study, we found that the expression of DNM1L were significantly higher in HCC tissues than adjacent/normal liver tissues based on multiple data sets obtained from TCGA, GEO and ONCOMINE database, also its protein expression form Drp1 is significantly higher in HCC tissues than adjacent tissues, and is related to the degree of differentiation. Kaplan-Meier curves suggested that high DNM1L expression prominently correlated with poorer overall survival, progression-free survival, relapse-free survival and disease-specific survival. Multivariate analysis showed that higher DNM1L expression was independent prognostic factors of shorter overall survival and disease-free survival. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene set enrichment analysis analysis combined with validation experiments revealed the regulatory role of DNM1L on key molecules in the metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome p450 pathway, and DNM1L may also affects invasion and metastasis capability of HCC by mediating extracellular matrix -receptor interaction pathway. Moreover, analysis showed that higher DNM1L, CYP2C9, CYP3A4, CYP1A2 expression were associated with the resistance to sorafenib therapy. TIMER and CIBERSORT analysis indicated that the increase of DNM1L expression may affect the infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Taken together, the above results indicated that DNM1L could be able to serve as a promising independent predictor and therapeutic target for HCC patients.

Inherited Thyroid Tumors With Oncocytic Change

Familial non-medullary thyroid carcinoma (FNMTC) corresponds to 5-10% of all follicular cell-derived carcinoma (FCDTC). Oncocytic thyroid tumors have an increased incidence in the familial context in comparison with sporadic FCDTC, encompassing benign and malignant tumors in the same family presenting with some extent of cell oxyphilia. This has triggered the interest of our and other groups to clarify the oncocytic change, looking for genetic markers that could explain the emergence of this phenotype in thyroid benign and malignant lesions, focusing on familial aggregation. Despite some advances regarding the identification of the gene associated with retinoic and interferon-induced mortality 19 (GRIM-19), as one of the key candidate genes affected in the "Tumor with Cell Oxyphilia" (TCO) locus, most of the mutations follow a pattern of "private mutations", almost exclusive to one family. Moreover, no causative genetic alterations were identified so far in most families. The incomplete penetrance of the disease, the diverse benign and malignant phenotypes in the affected familial members and the variable syndromic associations create an additional layer of complexity for studying the genetic alterations in oncocytic tumors. In the present review, we summarized the available evidence supporting genomic-based mechanisms for the oncocytic change, particularly in the context of FNMTC. We have also addressed the challenges and gaps in the aforementioned mechanisms, as well as molecular clues that can explain, at least partially, the phenotype of oncocytic tumors and the respective clinico-pathological behavior. Finally, we pointed to areas of further investigation in the field of oncocytic (F)NMTC with translational potential in terms of therapy.