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Choudhury AR, Nagesh AM, Gupta S, Chaturvedi PK, Kumar N, Sandeep K, Pandey D. MicroRNA signature of stromal-epithelial interactions in prostate and breast cancers. Exp Cell Res 2024; 441:114171. [PMID: 39029573 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2024.114171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
Stromal-epithelial communication is an absolute necessity when it comes to the morphogenesis and pathogenesis of solid tissues, including the prostate and breast. So far, signalling pathways of several growth factors have been investigated. Besides such chemical factors, non-coding RNAs such as miRNAs have recently gained much interest because of their variety and complexity of action. Prostate and breast tissues being highly responsive to steroid hormones such as androgen and estrogen, respectively, it is not surprising that a huge set of available literature critically investigated the interplay between such hormones and miRNAs, especially in carcinogenesis. This review showcases our effort to highlight hormonally-related miRNAs that also somehow perturb the regular stromal-epithelial interactions during carcinogenesis in the prostate and breast. In future, we look forward to exploring how hormonal changes in the tissue microenvironment bring about miRNA-mediated changes in stromal-epithelial interactome in carcinogenesis and cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Roy Choudhury
- Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; Department of Biology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany
| | - A Muni Nagesh
- Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Surabhi Gupta
- Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Neeraj Kumar
- Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Kumar Sandeep
- Department of Preventive Oncology, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Deepak Pandey
- Department of Reproductive Biology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
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Urciuolo F, Imparato G, Netti PA. Engineering Cell Instructive Microenvironments for In Vitro Replication of Functional Barrier Organs. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2400357. [PMID: 38695274 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202400357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Multicellular organisms exhibit synergistic effects among their components, giving rise to emergent properties crucial for their genesis and overall functionality and survival. Morphogenesis involves and relies upon intricate and biunivocal interactions among cells and their environment, that is, the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cells secrete their own ECM, which in turn, regulates their morphogenetic program by controlling time and space presentation of matricellular signals. The ECM, once considered passive, is now recognized as an informative space where both biochemical and biophysical signals are tightly orchestrated. Replicating this sophisticated and highly interconnected informative media in a synthetic scaffold for tissue engineering is unattainable with current technology and this limits the capability to engineer functional human organs in vitro and in vivo. This review explores current limitations to in vitro organ morphogenesis, emphasizing the interplay of gene regulatory networks, mechanical factors, and tissue microenvironment cues. In vitro efforts to replicate biological processes for barrier organs such as the lung and intestine, are examined. The importance of maintaining cells within their native microenvironmental context is highlighted to accurately replicate organ-specific properties. The review underscores the necessity for microphysiological systems that faithfully reproduce cell-native interactions, for advancing the understanding of developmental disorders and disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Urciuolo
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI) and Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Naples Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, Napoli, 80125, Italy
| | - Giorgia Imparato
- Centre for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care (IIT@CRIB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, L.go Barsanti e Matteucci, Napoli, 80125, Italy
| | - Paolo Antonio Netti
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI) and Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Naples Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, Napoli, 80125, Italy
- Centre for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care (IIT@CRIB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, L.go Barsanti e Matteucci, Napoli, 80125, Italy
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De Gregorio V, La Rocca A, Urciuolo F, Annunziata C, Tornesello ML, Buonaguro FM, Netti PA, Imparato G. Modeling the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in a 3D organotypic cervical neoplasia. Acta Biomater 2020; 116:209-222. [PMID: 32911106 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Here, we proposed an innovative organotypic cervical tumor model able to investigate the bi-directional crosstalk between epithelium and stroma as well as the key disease features of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in vitro. By using a modular tissue assembling approach, we developed 3D cervical stromal models composed of primary human cervical fibroblasts (HCFs) or cervical cancer-associated fibroblasts (CCAFs) embedded in their own ECM to produce 3D normal cervical-instructed stroma (NCIS) or 3D cervical cancer-instructed stroma (CCIS), respectively. Then, we demonstrate the role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in potentiating the intrinsic invasive attitude of cervical cancer derived SiHa cells and increasing their early viral gene expression by comparing the SiHa behavior when cultured on NCIS or CCIS (SiHa-NCIS or SiHa-CCIS). We proved the crucial role of the CCAFs and stromal microenvironment in the mesenchymalization of the cancer epithelial cells by analyzing several EMT markers. We further assessed the expression of the epithelial adhesion molecules, matricellular enzymes, non-collagenous proteins as well as ECM remodeling in terms of collagen fibers texture and assembly. This cervical tumor model, closely recapitulating key cervical carcinogenesis features, may provide efficient and relevant support to current approaches characterizing cancer progression and develop new anticancer therapy targeting stroma rather than cancer cells.
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Intrinsic Abnormalities of Cystic Fibrosis Airway Connective Tissue Revealed by an In Vitro 3D Stromal Model. Cells 2020; 9:cells9061371. [PMID: 32492951 PMCID: PMC7348935 DOI: 10.3390/cells9061371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cystic fibrosis is characterized by lung dysfunction involving mucus hypersecretion, bacterial infections, and inflammatory response. Inflammation triggers pro-fibrotic signals that compromise lung structure and function. At present, several in vitro cystic fibrosis models have been developed to study epithelial dysfunction but none of these focuses on stromal alterations. Here we show a new cystic fibrosis 3D stromal lung model made up of primary fibroblasts embedded in their own extracellular matrix and investigate its morphological and transcriptomic features. Cystic fibrosis fibroblasts showed a high proliferation rate and produced an abundant and chaotic matrix with increased protein content and elastic modulus. More interesting, they had enhanced pro-fibrotic markers and genes involved in epithelial function and inflammatory response. In conclusion, our study reveals that cystic fibrosis fibroblasts maintain in vitro an activated pro-fibrotic state. This abnormality may play in vivo a role in the modulation of epithelial and inflammatory cell behavior and lung remodeling. We argue that the proposed bioengineered model may provide new insights on epithelial/stromal/inflammatory cells crosstalk in cystic fibrosis, paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies.
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Zeng X, Li J, Kang LN, Xi MR, Liao GD. Potential clinical value of interleukin-31 and interleukin-33 with their receptors expression as diagnostic and predictive factors in endometrial cancer: a case-control study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY 2020; 13:1324-1332. [PMID: 32661468 PMCID: PMC7344009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the potential role of interleukin-31 and interleukin-33 in diagnosis and prognosis from endometrial cancer. Methods: Tissue samples and clinical data were collected from 260 patients with endometrial cancer and 150 control patients with benign uterine diseases. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA testing quantified the expressions of interleukin-31 and interleukin-33 and their receptors. After surgery, all patients were followed up for an average of 56.3 months. Surgical effects were evaluated based on the patients' symptoms and signs. A two-sided P value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: IL-31, IL-33 and their receptors were significantly accumulated with the progression of endometrial cancer, in comparison to the controls. Moreover, the expressions were correlated with clinical characteristics, including tumor stage, differentiation, and associated with patients' disease-free survival. Conclusions: Limited data was available between the expressions of IL-31 and IL-33 and the receptors in patients with endometrial cancer. Our study findings suggested that the expressions of IL-31 and IL-33 might become possible biomarkers for the diagnosis and prediction in endometrial cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Zeng
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityChengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of EducationChengdu 610041, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan UniversityChengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Le-Ni Kang
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of EducationChengdu 610041, China
- National Office for Maternal and Child Health Surveillance of China, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityChengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Ming-Rong Xi
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityChengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of EducationChengdu 610041, China
| | - Guang-Dong Liao
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan UniversityChengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of EducationChengdu 610041, China
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Foletti A, Fais S. Unexpected Discoveries Should Be Reconsidered in Science-A Look to the Past? Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20163973. [PMID: 31443232 PMCID: PMC6720802 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20163973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
From the past, we know how much “serendipity” has played a pivotal role in scientific discoveries. The definition of serendipity implies the finding of one thing while looking for something else. The most known example of this is the discovery of penicillin. Fleming was studying “Staphylococcus influenzae” when one of his culture plates became contaminated and developed a mold that created a bacteria-free circle. Then he found within the mold, a substance that proved to be very active against the vast majority of bacteria infecting human beings. Serendipity had a key role in the discovery of a wide panel of psychotropic drugs as well, including aniline purple, lysergic acid diethylamide, meprobamate, chlorpromazine, and imipramine. Actually, many recent studies support a step back in current strategies that could lead to new discoveries in science. This change should seriously consider the idea that to further focus research project milestones that are already too focused could be a mistake. How can you observe something that others did not realize before you? Probably, one pivotal requirement is that you pay a high level of attention on what is occurring all around you. But this is not entirely enough, since, specifically talking about scientific discoveries, you should have your mind sufficiently unbiased from mainstream infrastructures, which normally make you extremely focused on a particular endpoint without paying attention to potential “unexpected discoveries”. Research in medicine should probably come back to the age of innocence and avoid the age of mainstream reports that do not contribute to real advances in the curing of human diseases. Max Planck said “Science progresses not because scientists change their minds, but rather because scientists attached to erroneous views die, and are replaced”, and Otto Warburg used the same words when he realized the lack of acceptance of his ideas. This editorial proposes a series of examples showing, in a practical way, how unfocused research may contribute to very important discoveries in science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Foletti
- Clinical Biophysics International Research Group, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council-CNR, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Fais
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, National Institute of Health, 00133 Rome, Italy.
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Huet E, Jaroz C, Nguyen HQ, Belkacemi Y, de la Taille A, Stavrinides V, Whitaker H. Stroma in normal and cancer wound healing. FEBS J 2019; 286:2909-2920. [PMID: 30958920 DOI: 10.1111/febs.14842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
It is currently believed that stroma, the connective framework of biological tissues, plays a central role in normal wound healing and in cancer. In both these contexts, stromal cellular components such as activated fibroblasts interact with complex protein networks that include growth factors, structural protein or proteinases in order to initiate and sustain an extensive remodelling process. However, although this process is usually spatially and temporally self-limited, it is unregulated in the case of cancer and leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation and invasion within tissues, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. In this review, we outline the role of stroma in normal healing, cancer and post radiotherapy, with a particular focus on the crosstalk between normal or cancer cells and fibroblasts. Understanding these mechanisms is particularly important as several stromal components have been proposed as potential therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Huet
- Université Paris-Est, UPEC, Créteil, France.,INSERM, U955, Equipe 7, Créteil, France.,Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics Group, Charles Bell House, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UK
| | | | | | - Yazid Belkacemi
- INSERM, U955, Equipe 7, Créteil, France.,AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri Mondor, Service d'oncologie-radiothérapie et Centre Sein Henri Mondor Créteil, France
| | - Alexandre de la Taille
- INSERM, U955, Equipe 7, Créteil, France.,AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri Mondor, Service d'urologie, Créteil, France
| | - Vasilis Stavrinides
- Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics Group, Charles Bell House, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UK
| | - Hayley Whitaker
- Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics Group, Charles Bell House, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UK
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Valcz G, Patai ÁV, Kalmár A, Péterfia B, Fűri I, Wichmann B, Műzes G, Sipos F, Krenács T, Mihály E, Spisák S, Molnár B, Tulassay Z. Myofibroblast-derived SFRP1 as potential inhibitor of colorectal carcinoma field effect. PLoS One 2014; 9:e106143. [PMID: 25405986 PMCID: PMC4236006 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic changes of stromal-epithelial interactions are of key importance in the regulation of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells and morphologically normal, but genetically and epigenetically altered epithelium in normal adjacent tumor (NAT) areas. Here we demonstrated retained protein expression of well-known Wnt inhibitor, secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1) in stromal myofibroblasts and decreasing epithelial expression from NAT tissues towards the tumor. SFRP1 was unmethylated in laser microdissected myofibroblasts and partially hypermethylated in epithelial cells in these areas. In contrast, we found epigenetically silenced myofibroblast-derived SFRP1 in CRC stroma. Our results suggest that the myofibroblast-derived SFRP1 protein might be a paracrine inhibitor of epithelial proliferation in NAT areas and loss of this signal may support tumor proliferation in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Valcz
- Molecular Medicine Research Unit, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Árpád V. Patai
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexandra Kalmár
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bálint Péterfia
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - István Fűri
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Barnabás Wichmann
- Molecular Medicine Research Unit, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Györgyi Műzes
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ferenc Sipos
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tibor Krenács
- 1st Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Emese Mihály
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sándor Spisák
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Béla Molnár
- Molecular Medicine Research Unit, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Tulassay
- Molecular Medicine Research Unit, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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