'Two-faces' of hyaluronan, a dynamic barometer of disease progression in tumor microenvironment

Redox Properties of Mn(III)porphyrins in Hyaluronan Oxidative Degradation: Single Electron Transfer Mechanism

Cationic Mn(III)-meso-tetraarylporphyrin derivatives, substituted in para position with different size alkyl chains, were investigated to function as antioxidants in free-radical degradation of high-molar-mass hyaluronan by the methods of rotational viscometry and oximetry. The results of rotational viscometry showed that MnTM-4-PyP5+, MnTE-4-PyP5+, MnTPr-4-PyP5+, MnTPen-4-PyP5+ and MnTHep-4-PyP5+ showed high efficiency in decomposing H2O2, and reducing of peroxidized hyaluronan. When using oxygen electrode, MnTE-4-PyP5+, MnTPr-4-PyP5+, MnTPen-4-PyP5+, and MnTHep-4-PyP5+ applied to function as protective antioxidants in hyaluronan degradation, the uptake of dissolved oxygen from the reaction milieu was rapid, followed by continual increase in oxygen concentration up to the end of the measurement. However, when especially MnTE-4-PyP5+, MnTPr-4-PyP5+, and MnTPen-4-PyP5+ were examined as hyaluronan chain-breaking antioxidants, after short-term dissolved oxygen uptake, almost no increase in oxygen concentration was shown.

Beyond stiffness: deciphering the role of viscoelasticity in cancer evolution and treatment response

There is increasing evidence that cancer progression is linked to tissue viscoelasticity, which challenges the commonly accepted notion that stiffness is the main mechanical hallmark of cancer. However, this new insight has not reached widespread clinical use, as most clinical trials focus on the application of tissue elasticity and stiffness in diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical planning. Therefore, there is a need to advance the fundamental understanding of the effect of viscoelasticity on cancer progression, to develop novel mechanical biomarkers of clinical significance. Tissue viscoelasticity is largely determined by the extracellular matrix (ECM), which can be simulatedin vitrousing hydrogel-based platforms. Since the mechanical properties of hydrogels can be easily adjusted by changing parameters such as molecular weight and crosslinking type, they provide a platform to systematically study the relationship between ECM viscoelasticity and cancer progression. This review begins with an overview of cancer viscoelasticity, describing how tumor cells interact with biophysical signals in their environment, how they contribute to tumor viscoelasticity, and how this translates into cancer progression. Next, an overview of clinical trials focused on measuring biomechanical properties of tumors is presented, highlighting the biomechanical properties utilized for cancer diagnosis and monitoring. Finally, this review examines the use of biofabricated tumor models for studying the impact of ECM viscoelasticity on cancer behavior and progression and it explores potential avenues for future research on the production of more sophisticated and biomimetic tumor models, as well as their mechanical evaluation.

Deciphering Drug Resistance: Investigating the Emerging Role of Hyaluronan Metabolism and Signaling and Tumor Extracellular Matrix in Cancer Chemotherapy

Hyaluronan (HA) has gained significant attention in cancer research for its role in modulating chemoresistance. This review aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which HA contributes to chemoresistance, focusing on its interactions within the tumor microenvironment. HA is abundantly present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and binds to cell-surface receptors such as CD44 and RHAMM. These interactions activate various signaling pathways, including PI3K/Akt, MAPK, and NF-κB, which are implicated in cell survival, proliferation, and drug resistance. HA also influences the physical properties of the tumor stroma, enhancing its density and reducing drug penetration. Additionally, HA-mediated signaling contributes to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process associated with increased metastatic potential and resistance to apoptosis. Emerging therapeutic strategies aim to counteract HA-induced chemoresistance by targeting HA synthesis, degradation, metabolism, or its binding to CD44. This review underscores the complexity of HA's role in chemoresistance and highlights the potential for HA-targeted therapies to improve the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutics.

Hyaluronic Acid Interacting Molecules Mediated Crosstalk between Cancer Cells and Microenvironment from Primary Tumour to Distant Metastasis

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a prominent component of the extracellular matrix, and its interactions with HA-interacting molecules (HAIMs) play a critical role in cancer development and disease progression. This review explores the multifaceted role of HAIMs in the context of cancer, focusing on their influence on disease progression by dissecting relevant cellular and molecular mechanisms in tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment. Cancer progression can be profoundly affected by the interactions between HA and HAIMs. They modulate critical processes such as cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and proliferation. The TME serves as a dynamic platform in which HAIMs contribute to the formation of a unique niche. The resulting changes in HA composition profoundly influence the biophysical properties of the TME. These modifications in the TME, in conjunction with HAIMs, impact angiogenesis, immune cell recruitment, and immune evasion. Therefore, understanding the intricate interplay between HAIMs and HA within the cancer context is essential for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Targeting these interactions offers promising avenues for cancer treatment, as they hold the potential to disrupt critical aspects of disease progression and the TME. Further research in this field is imperative for advancing our knowledge and the treatment of cancer.

Metabolomics analysis reveals novel serum metabolite alterations in cancer cachexia

Background

Cachexia is a body wasting syndrome that significantly affects well-being and prognosis of cancer patients, without effective treatment. Serum metabolites take part in pathophysiological processes of cancer cachexia, but apart from altered levels of select serum metabolites, little is known on the global changes of the overall serum metabolome, which represents a functional readout of the whole-body metabolic state. Here, we aimed to comprehensively characterize serum metabolite alterations and analyze associated pathways in cachectic cancer patients to gain new insights that could help instruct strategies for novel interventions of greater clinical benefit.

Methods

Serum was sampled from 120 metastatic cancer patients (stage UICC IV). Patients were grouped as cachectic or non-cachectic according to the criteria for cancer cachexia agreed upon international consensus (main criterium: weight loss adjusted to body mass index). Samples were pooled by cachexia phenotype and assayed using non-targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Normalized metabolite levels were compared using t-test (p < 0.05, adjusted for false discovery rate) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Machine-learning models were applied to identify metabolite signatures for separating cachexia states. Significant metabolites underwent MetaboAnalyst 5.0 pathway analysis.

Results

Comparative analyses included 78 cachectic and 42 non-cachectic patients. Cachectic patients exhibited 19 annotable, significantly elevated (including glucose and fructose) or decreased (mostly amino acids) metabolites associating with aminoacyl-tRNA, glutathione and amino acid metabolism pathways. PLS-DA showed distinct clusters (accuracy: 85.6%), and machine-learning models identified metabolic signatures for separating cachectic states (accuracy: 83.2%; area under ROC: 88.0%). We newly identified altered blood levels of erythronic acid and glucuronic acid in human cancer cachexia, potentially linked to pentose-phosphate and detoxification pathways.

Conclusion

We found both known and yet unknown serum metabolite and metabolic pathway alterations in cachectic cancer patients that collectively support a whole-body metabolic state with impaired detoxification capability, altered glucose and fructose metabolism, and substrate supply for increased and/or distinct metabolic needs of cachexia-associated tumors. These findings together imply vulnerabilities, dependencies and targets for novel interventions that have potential to make a significant impact on future research in an important field of cancer patient care.

Targeting glioblastoma tumor hyaluronan to enhance therapeutic interventions that regulate metabolic cell properties

Despite extensive advances in cancer research, glioblastoma (GBM) still remains a very locally invasive and thus challenging tumor to treat, with a poor median survival. Tumor cells remodel their microenvironment and utilize extracellular matrix to promote invasion and therapeutic resistance. We aim here to determine how GBM cells exploit hyaluronan (HA) to maintain proliferation using ligand-receptor dependent and ligand-receptor independent signaling. We use tissue engineering approaches to recreate the three-dimensional tumor microenvironment in vitro, then analyze shifts in metabolism, hyaluronan secretion, HA molecular weight distribution, as well as hyaluronan synthetic enzymes (HAS) and hyaluronidases (HYAL) activity in an array of patient derived xenograft GBM cells. We reveal that endogenous HA plays a role in mitochondrial respiration and cell proliferation in a tumor subtype dependent manner. We propose a tumor specific combination treatment of HYAL and HAS inhibitors to disrupt the HA stabilizing role in GBM cells. Taken together, these data shed light on the dual metabolic and ligand - dependent signaling roles of hyaluronan in glioblastoma.

Significance

The control of aberrant hyaluronan metabolism in the tumor microenvironment can improve the efficacy of current treatments. Bioengineered preclinical models demonstrate potential to predict, stratify and accelerate the development of cancer treatments.

Hyaluronic acid metabolism and chemotherapy resistance: recent advances and therapeutic potential

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a major component of the extracellular matrix, providing essential mechanical scaffolding for cells and, at the same time, mediating essential biochemical signals required for tissue homeostasis. Many solid tumors are characterized by dysregulated HA metabolism, resulting in increased HA levels in cancer tissues. HA interacts with several cell surface receptors, such as cluster of differentiation 44 and receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility, thus co-regulating important signaling pathways in cancer development and progression. In this review, we describe the enzymes controlling HA metabolism and its intracellular effectors emphasizing their impact on cancer chemotherapy resistance. We will also explore the current and future prospects of HA-based therapy, highlighting the opportunities and challenges in the field.

The extracellular matrix - immune microenvironment crosstalk in cancer therapy: Challenges and opportunities

Targeting the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) by cancer immunotherapy has led to improved patient outcomes. However, response to these treatments is heterogeneous and cancer-type dependant. The therapeutic activity of classical cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical oncology is modulated by alterations of the TIME. A major regulator of immune cell function and resistance to both immune and classical therapies is the extracellular matrix (ECM). Concurrently, cancer therapies reshape the TIME as well as the ECM, causing both pro- and anti-tumour responses. Accordingly, the TIME-ECM crosstalk presents attractive opportunities to improve therapy outcomes. Here, we review the molecular crosstalk between the TIME and the ECM in cancer and its implications in cancer progression and clinical intervention. Additionally, we discuss examples and future directions of ECM and TIME co-targeting in combination with oncological therapies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

Effects of Hyaluronan on Breast Cancer Aggressiveness

The expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in breast cancer cells is critical for determining tumor aggressiveness and targeting therapies. The presence of such receptors allows for the use of antagonists that effectively reduce breast cancer growth and dissemination. However, the absence of such receptors in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) reduces the possibility of targeted therapy, making these tumors very aggressive with a poor outcome. Cancers are not solely composed of tumor cells, but also include several types of infiltrating cells, such as fibroblasts, macrophages, and other immune cells that have critical functions in regulating cancer cell behaviors. In addition to these cells, the extracellular matrix (ECM) has become an important player in many aspects of breast cancer biology, including cell growth, motility, metabolism, and chemoresistance. Hyaluronan (HA) is a key ECM component that promotes cell proliferation and migration in several malignancies. Notably, HA accumulation in the tumor stroma is a negative prognostic factor in breast cancer. HA metabolism depends on the fine balance between HA synthesis by HA synthases and degradation yielded by hyaluronidases. All the different cell types present in the tumor can release HA in the ECM, and in this review, we will describe the role of HA and HA metabolism in different breast cancer subtypes.