Pyruvate dehydrogenase B promoted the growth and migration of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Exploring the prognostic implications of cuproptosis-associated alterations in clear cell renal cell carcinoma via in vitro experiments

This study investigated the impact of novel copper ionophores on the prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and the tumor microenvironment (TME). The differential expression of 10 cuproptosis and 40 TME-pathway-related genes were measured in 531 tumor samples and 71 adjacent kidney samples in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. A risk score model was constructed with LASSO cox to predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Forest plot and function enrichment were used to study the biological function of the key genes in depth. The study found that the risk score model accurately predicted the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Patients with high scores had higher immune responses with a higher proportion of anti-tumor lymphocytes and a lower proportion of immunosuppressive M2-like macrophages. However, the high-score group also exhibited a higher proportion of T follicular helper cells and regulatory T cells. These results suggest that cuproptosis-based therapy may be worth further investigation for the treatment of ccRCC and TME. Subsequently, by using RNAi, we established the stable depletion models of FDX1 and PDHB in ccRCC cell lines 786-O and ACHN. Through CCK8, colony formation, and Transwell assays, we observed that the knockdown of FDX1 and PDHB could significantly reduce the capabilities of proliferation and migration in ccRCC cells. In conclusion, this study illuminates the potential effectiveness of copper ionophores in the treatment of ccRCC, with higher risk scores correlating with better TME immune responses. It sets the stage for future cuproptosis-based therapy research in ccRCC and other cancers, focusing on copper's role in TME.

Evaluation of the effect of dimethyl fumarate on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells using bottom-up proteomics

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have potential as a viable treatment option in the field of regenerative medicine, but MSC-based therapy needs to be more efficient. Preconditioning is a method to improve MSC-based therapy, and dimethyl fumarate (DMF) - an agent that can enhance the antioxidative capacity of cells - can be considered for preconditioning of MSCs. In this study, we treated bone marrow-derived MSCs with DMF and evaluated their proteome using bottom-up proteomics. The MSCs were exposed to 10 μM DMF for 24 h, followed by lysis with an SDS solution, digestion with trypsin using an s-trap column, and analysis using nanoLC-MS/MS, which identified 2262 proteins with confidence. Bioinformatic analysis of the identified proteins revealed 47 upregulated proteins and 81 downregulated proteins upon DMF treatment. Pathway enrichment analysis suggested a possible decrease in autophagy and a decrease in the activity of the TCA cycle, while indicating a potential increase in proliferation and antioxidant activity in DMF-treated MSCs compared to untreated MSCs. Our findings suggest that DMF can enhance the proliferation of MSCs and increase their stability, and that preconditioning could improve the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs for the treatment of regenerative diseases.

Metformin Increases the Response of Cholangiocarcinoma Cells to Gemcitabine by Suppressing Pyruvate Kinase M2 to Activate Mitochondrial Apoptosis

BACKGROUND

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant tumor with a high mortality rate. Resistance to chemotherapy remains a major challenge related to cancer treatment, and increasing the sensitivity of cancer cells to therapeutic drugs is a major focus of cancer treatment.

AIMS

We purposed to explore the role of Metformin in CCA involved in chemotherapeutic sensitivity and Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) through regulating mitochondrial apoptosis in the present study.

METHODS

CCA cell lines of HCC9810 and RBE were treated with Metformin companied with antagonists or agonists of PKM2, cells sensitivity to Gemcitabine, cell migration and invasion along with apoptosis, which is mediated by JC-1 and LDH were assayed.

RESULTS

Our results indicated that Metformin and Gemcitabine exhibit synergistic effect on inhibition of cholangiocarcinoma cell viability, cell migration and invasion as well as promotion apoptosis of cholangiocarcinoma cells. In vivo, Metformin combined with Gemcitabine has cooperation in inhibiting the growth of cholangiocarcinoma cell-derived tumors. Moreover, Metformin and Gemcitabine inhibited expression of PKM2 and PDHB in HCC9810 and RBE.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggested that Metformin may increase the response of cholangiocarcinoma cells to Gemcitabine by suppressing PKM2 to activate mitochondrial apoptosis.

Relationship between transcriptional expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase and local control of disease in patients with oral cavity carcinomas

BACKGROUND

The altered cellular metabolism is one of the hallmarks of the cancer cells, favoring the process of aerobic glycolysis, known as the Warburg effect. The pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex is one of the elements involved in this metabolic process. The present study aims to evaluate the relationship between the transcriptional expression of PDHB and the risk of local recurrence in patients with oral cavity carcinomas.

METHODS

We determined the transcriptional expression of PDHB in biopsies from 41 patients with oral cavity carcinomas treated with surgery. The PDHB expression was categorized according to the local control of the disease with a recursive partitioning analysis.

RESULTS

During the follow-up period 13 patients (31.7%) had a local recurrence of the tumor. Considering local disease control as the dependent variable, the recursive partitioning analysis classified the patients in two categories according to high (n=16, 39.0%) or low (n=25, 61.0%) PDHB expression. Five-year local recurrence-free survival for patients with high PDHB expression was 84.8% (95% CI: 65.2-100%), and for patients with low expression it was 54.3% (95% CI: 34.3-74.2 %) (P=0.034). The results of multivariate analysis showed that patients with a low PDHB expression had a 4.90 times higher risk of local recurrence of the tumor (95% CI: 1.02-22.68, P=0.042).

CONCLUSION

There is a relationship between the metabolic characteristics of the tumor and its aggressiveness. According to our results, patients with oral cavity carcinomas with low transcriptional expression levels of PDHB have a significantly higher risk of local tumor recurrence.

Cuproptosis-a potential target for the treatment of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is an age-related disease of bone metabolism marked by reduced bone mineral density and impaired bone strength. The disease causes the bones to weaken and break more easily. Osteoclasts participate in bone resorption more than osteoblasts participate in bone formation, disrupting bone homeostasis and leading to osteoporosis. Currently, drug therapy for osteoporosis includes calcium supplements, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, estrogen, calcitonin, bisphosphates, and other medications. These medications are effective in treating osteoporosis but have side effects. Copper is a necessary trace element in the human body, and studies have shown that it links to the development of osteoporosis. Cuproptosis is a recently proposed new type of cell death. Copper-induced cell death regulates by lipoylated components mediated via mitochondrial ferredoxin 1; that is, copper binds directly to the lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, resulting in lipoylated protein accumulation and subsequent loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins, leading to proteotoxic stress and eventually cell death. Therapeutic options for tumor disorders include targeting the intracellular toxicity of copper and cuproptosis. The hypoxic environment in bone and the metabolic pathway of glycolysis to provide energy in cells can inhibit cuproptosis, which may promote the survival and proliferation of various cells, including osteoblasts, osteoclasts, effector T cells, and macrophages, thereby mediating the osteoporosis process. As a result, our group tried to explain the relationship between the role of cuproptosis and its essential regulatory genes, as well as the pathological mechanism of osteoporosis and its effects on various cells. This study intends to investigate a new treatment approach for the clinical treatment of osteoporosis that is beneficial to the treatment of osteoporosis.

A combined analysis of bulk and single-cell sequencing data reveals metabolic enzyme, pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit beta (PDHB), as a prediction biomarker for the tumor immune response and immunotherapy

Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit beta (PDHB) is located in mitochondria and catalyzes the conversion of glucose-derived acetyl-CoA. The detailed roles of PDHB in human cancers is unclear. Here, through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we found that PDHB was aberrantly expressed in multiple human cancers and is associated with patients' clinical stage. The abnormal expression of PDHB was related to the prognostic values of cancers, such as kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) and kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP). The Wanderer database with clinical data from Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) showed a significant correlation between PDHB expression and the pathologic stage of KIRP patients. We also evaluated the mutation profiles of PDHB in pan-cancer, and showed its roles on the patients' prognosis. At last, from several immunity algorithms, we demonstrated that the expression of PDHB was correlated with the infiltration of various immune cells in pan-cancer. Moreover, the aberrant PDHB had effects on the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients, such as anti-PD-1. Taken together, our study demonstrated the prognostic values of PDHB in pan-cancers. PDHB may be a potential molecular marker to predicting the immune response in cancer patients.

Cuproptosis and cuproptosis-related genes in rheumatoid arthritis: Implication, prospects, and perspectives

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that severely affects patients' physical and mental health, leading to chronic synovitis and destruction of bone joints. Although various available clinical treatment options exist, patients respond with varying efficacies due to multiple factors, and there is an urgent need to discover new treatment options to improve clinical outcomes. Cuproptosis is a newly characterized form of cell death. Copper causes cuproptosis by binding to lipid-acylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, leading to protein aggregation, loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins, and eventually proteotoxic stress. Targeting copper cytotoxicity and cuproptosis are considered potential options for treating oncological diseases. The synovial hypoxic environment and the presence of excessive glycolysis in multiple cells appear to act as inhibitors of cuproptosis, which can lead to excessive survival and proliferation of multiple immune cells, such as fibroblast-like synoviocytes, effector T cells, and macrophages, further mediating inflammation and bone destruction in RA. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to elaborate and summarize the linkage of cuproptosis and key genes regulating cuproptosis to the pathological mechanisms of RA and their effects on a variety of immune cells. This study aimed to provide a theoretical basis and support for translating preclinical and experimental results of RA to clinical protocols.

Slc2a6 regulates myoblast differentiation by targeting LDHB

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a global health problem. It often leads to a decline in the differentiation capacity of myoblasts and progressive loss of muscle mass, which in turn results in deterioration of skeletal muscle function. However, effective therapies against skeletal muscle diseases are unavailable.

Methods

Skeletal muscle mass and differentiation ability were determined in db/+ and db/db mice. Transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches were used to explore the genetic mechanism regulating myoblast differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts.

Results

In this study, the relatively uncharacterized solute carrier family gene Slc2a6 was found significantly up-regulated during myogenic differentiation and down-regulated during diabetes-induced muscle atrophy. Moreover, RNAi of Slc2a6 impaired the differentiation and myotube formation of C2C12 myoblasts. Both metabolomics and RNA-seq analyses showed that the significantly differentially expressed genes (e.g., LDHB) and metabolites (e.g., Lactate) during the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts post-Slc2a6-RNAi were enriched in the glycolysis pathway. Furthermore, we show that Slc2a6 regulates the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts partly through the glycolysis pathway by targeting LDHB, which affects lactic acid accumulation.

Conclusion

Our study broadens the understanding of myogenic differentiation and offers the Slc2a6-LDHB axis as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of diabetes-associated muscle atrophy.

Metabolic Reprogramming and Immune Evasion in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor of the nasopharynx mainly characterized by geographic distribution and EBV infection. Metabolic reprogramming, one of the cancer hallmarks, has been frequently reported in NPCs to adapt to internal energy demands and external environmental pressures. Inevitably, the metabolic reprogramming within the tumor cell will lead to a decreased pH value and diverse nutritional supplements in the tumor-infiltrating micro-environment incorporating immune cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Accumulated evidence indicates that metabolic reprogramming derived from NPC cells may facilitate cancer progression and immunosuppression by cell-cell communications with their surrounding immune cells. This review presents the dysregulated metabolism processes, including glucose, fatty acid, amino acid, nucleotide metabolism, and their mutual interactions in NPC. Moreover, the potential connections between reprogrammed metabolism, tumor immunity, and associated therapy would be discussed in this review. Accordingly, the development of targets on the interactions between metabolic reprogramming and immune cells may provide assistances to overcome the current treatment resistance in NPC patients.

Downregulation of miR-181b-5p Inhibits the Viability, Migration, and Glycolysis of Gallbladder Cancer by Upregulating PDHX Under Hypoxia

Background

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a malignant cancer with poor prognosis. Evidences have shown that miRNAs are closely related to the occurrence of GBC; thus, we aimed to explore miRNAs, which plays an important role in the occurrence and development of GBC.

Methods

Microarray analysis was performed to investigate the differentially expressed miRNAs between five non-neoplastic gallbladder tissues (normal tissues) and five gallbladder tumor tissues (tumor tissues). RT-qPCR was performed to detect the level of miR-181b-5p in cells, and CCK-8 was performed to detect cell viability. Then, glucose assay kit or lactic acid assay kit was performed to detect the level of glucose consumption or lactate production. Next, transwell and wound healing assays were used to assess cell migration. In addition, dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the relationship between miR-181b-5p and PDHX. At last, Western blotting was performed to determine the protein level of PDHX.

Results

Microarray analysis suggested miR-181b-5p was significantly upregulated in GBC tumor tissue. KEGG analysis for the protein targets of miR-181b-5p indicates a close relationship existed between miR-181b-5p and glycolysis. In addition, the level of miR-181b-5p was notably increased in GBC-SD or G415 cells, compared with HIBEpiC cells. GBC cell viability was significantly decreased under hypoxia, and these decreases were exacerbated by miR-181b-5p antagomir. Moreover, glucose consumption or lactate production of GBC cells was significantly upregulated under hypoxia, whereas these increases were completely revered by miR-181b-5p antagomir. Further investigation revealed that PDHX was a direct target of miR-181b-5p.

Conclusion

In this study, downregulation of miR-181b-5p inhibits the viability, migration, and glycolysis of GBC by upregulating PDHX under hypoxia. This finding suggested that miR-181b-5p might be considered as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of GBC.

The Circadian Clock Regulates Metabolic Phenotype Rewiring Via HKDC1 and Modulates Tumor Progression and Drug Response in Colorectal Cancer

An endogenous molecular clockwork drives various cellular pathways including metabolism and the cell cycle. Its dysregulation is able to prompt pathological phenotypes including cancer. Besides dramatic metabolic alterations, cancer cells display severe changes in the clock phenotype with likely consequences in tumor progression and treatment response. In this study, we use a comprehensive systems-driven approach to investigate the effect of clock disruption on metabolic pathways and its impact on drug response in a cellular model of colon cancer progression. We identified distinctive time-related transcriptomic and metabolic features of a primary tumor and its metastatic counterpart. A mapping of the expression data to a comprehensive genome-scale reconstruction of human metabolism allowed for the in-depth functional characterization of 24 h-oscillating transcripts and pointed to a clock-driven metabolic reprogramming in tumorigenesis. In particular, we identified a set of five clock-regulated glycolysis genes, ALDH3A2, ALDOC, HKDC1, PCK2, and PDHB with differential temporal expression patterns. These findings were validated in organoids and in primary fibroblasts isolated from normal colon and colon adenocarcinoma from the same patient. We further identified a reciprocal connection of HKDC1 to the clock in the primary tumor, which is lost in the metastatic cells. Interestingly, a disruption of the core-clock gene BMAL1 impacts on HKDC1 and leads to a time-dependent rewiring of metabolism, namely an increase in glycolytic activity, as well as changes in treatment response. This work provides novel evidence regarding the complex interplay between the circadian clock and metabolic alterations in carcinogenesis and identifies new connections between both systems with pivotal roles in cancer progression and response to therapy.

MiR-363-3p suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer via targeting SphK2

Aberrant expression of miR-363-3p is seen in a wide array of cancers. The exact function of miR-363-3p in colorectal cancer (CRC), and the underlying mechanisms remain undefined. In the current study, we observed a down-regulation of miR-363-3p in CRC tissues, along with a strong correlation between low miR-363-3p levels and clinico-pathological parameters like tumor stage and lymph node metastasis. Ectopic overexpression of miR-363-3p in HT29 and HCT116 cell lines effectively inhibited cell proliferation and metastasis, and promoted apoptosis. Concurrently, miR-363-3p inhibition facilitated cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. Consistent with the in vitro findings, tumor growth and metastasis were also suppressed by the overexpression of miR-363-3p in vivo. Furthermore, miR-363-3p overexpression resulted in a significant decrease in SphK2 mRNA and protein levels, while miR-363-3p inhibition elevated SphK2 levels in CRC cell lines. Overexpression of SphK2 significantly abrogated the effects of miR-363-3p on cell growth, apoptosis, and metastasis. Taken together, our findings establish miR-363-3p as a potential tumor suppressor in CRC with SphK2 as its downstream target.

MiR-370 functions as oncogene in melanoma by direct targeting pyruvate dehydrogenase B

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence has shown that miR-370 play an important role in the development and progression of tumor. However, the role of miR-370 in melanoma remains largely unknown. The present study is designed to investigate the function of miR-370 in melanoma and to explore the molecular mechanism underlying its function.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression level of miR-370 was detected in melanoma tissues and cell lines by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effect of overexpression of miR-370 on in vitro cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion as well as glyclolysis was examined. Western blotting analysis was used to detect the influence of miR-370 on the expression of target genes, and Pearson analysis was used to calculate the correlation between the expression of targets gene and miR-370 in melanoma tissues.

RESULTS

Our study showed that miR-370 was upregulated in melanoma tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues (P<0.01). In addition, the expression of miR-370 in melanoma cell lines was also significantly higher (P<0.01). Enforced expression of miR-370 promotes melanoma cell proliferation, inhibits apoptosis and enhances invasion and glycolysis and led to downregulation of the PDHB protein. Moreover, the expression level of miR-370 in melanoma tissues showed inverse relationship with the expression level of PDHB protein.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our findings suggested that miR-370 represents a potential oncogenic miRNA and plays an important role in melanoma progression by directly targeting PDHB.