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James CD, Lewis RL, Fakunmoju AL, Witt AJ, Youssef AH, Wang X, Rais NM, Tadimari Prabhakar A, Machado JM, Otoa R, Bristol ML. Fibroblast Stromal Support Model for Predicting Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancer Drug Responses. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.09.588680. [PMID: 38644998 PMCID: PMC11030318 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Currently, there are no specific antiviral therapeutic approaches targeting Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), which cause around 5% of all human cancers. Specific antiviral reagents are particularly needed for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers (HPV+OPCs) whose incidence is increasing and for which there are no early diagnostic tools available. We and others have demonstrated that the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is overexpressed in HPV+OPCs, compared to HPV-negative cancers in this region, and that these elevated levels are associated with an improved disease outcome. Utilizing this HPV+ specific overexpression profile, we previously demonstrated that estrogen attenuates the growth and cell viability of HPV+ keratinocytes and HPV+ cancer cells in vitro. Expansion of this work in vivo failed to replicate this sensitization. The role of stromal support from the tumor microenvironment (TME) has previously been tied to both the HPV lifecycle and in vivo therapeutic responses. Our investigations revealed that in vitro co-culture with fibroblasts attenuated HPV+ specific estrogen growth responses. Continuing to monopolize on the HPV+ specific overexpression of ERα, our co-culture models then assessed the suitability of the selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), raloxifene and tamoxifen, and showed growth attenuation in a variety of our models to one or both of these drugs in vitro. Utilization of these SERMs in vivo closely resembled the sensitization predicted by our co-culture models. Therefore, the in vitro fibroblast co-culture model better predicts in vivo responses. We propose that utilization of our co-culture in vitro model can accelerate cancer therapeutic drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire D. James
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Rachel L. Lewis
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Alexis L. Fakunmoju
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Austin J. Witt
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Aya H. Youssef
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Xu Wang
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Nabiha M. Rais
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Apurva Tadimari Prabhakar
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - J. Mathew Machado
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Raymonde Otoa
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Molly L. Bristol
- Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA
- VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Richmond, Virginia, USA
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Qin HE, Peng L, Xu YC, Zhang ZX, Tian RF, Wan ZX, Pu DJ, Li HC, Wu F, Zheng L, Xu XS. GuiErBai: a potent inhibitor, exhibiting broadly antitumor effect against cervical cancer in vitro and in vivo. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1296588. [PMID: 38915466 PMCID: PMC11194321 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1296588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Cervical cancer (CC) ranks as the fourth most prevalent malignant tumor among women worldwide, and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality. GuiErBai (GEB), a compound preparation developed by our research team, is derived from the ancient Chinese medicine of the Miao nationality and is comprised of podophyllotoxin (PTOX), imperatorin, isoimperatorin, and A. dahurica alkaloids. These individual components have demonstrated notable efficacy in tumor treatment. However, the specific anti-tumor effect of the compound Chinese medicine GEB in the context of CC has yet to be validated. Methods: HeLa and SiHa cell lines were utilized for in vitro experiments and treated with 5 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL GEB concentrations, respectively. The cell cycle changes after GEB treatment were assessed using flow cytometry. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to observe autophagic bodies and apoptotic bodies, while MDC staining evaluated the occurrence of autophagy. CCK-8 was used to observe the effect of GEB on cell proliferation, and Transwell assays assessed cell migration and invasion. Western blotting detected cell cycle and apoptosis-related protein expression, along with the expression level of autophagy-related protein LC3I/II. Changes in ROS and mitochondrial membrane potential in cervical cancer cells following GEB treatment were determined using ROS detection and mitochondrial membrane potential detection kits. For the in vivo experiment, a nude mouse model of cervical cancer transplantation based on HeLa cells was established. Experimental animals were divided into negative control, positive control, high-dose GEB (10 mg/mL), and low-dose GEB (5 mg/mL) groups. Results: In HeLa and SiHa cell lines, the G0/G1 phase of tumor cells significantly decreased (p < 0.001), while the G2/M phase increased notably (p < 0.001) following various GEB treatments. Electron microscopy showed GEB promoted apoptotic body and autophagosome formation in both cell lines. Compared to untreated HeLa and SiHa cells, GEB-treated cells exhibited significantly reduced caspase3 protein expression, and substantially increased autophagy-related protein LC3I/II expression. GEB treatment significantly reduced migration and invasion capabilities in both cell lines (p < 0.001), while ROS content and mitochondrial membrane potential were significantly elevated (p < 0.001). GEB effectively inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation, with the optimal concentration being 10 mg/mL. A successful nude mouse model of cervical cancer transplantation was established using HeLa cells. Post-GEB treatment, the tumor volume and weight in nude mice significantly decreased (p < 0.001), with diminished expression of CD34, VEGF, and caspase3 proteins in tumor tissues. Discussion: GEB exhibits a robust antitumor effect against cervical cancer, both in vitro and in vivo, in a concentration-dependent manner, by regulating autophagy and apoptosis of tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Xian-shun Xu
- Department of Medicine, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, China
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Wang L, Yi S, Teng Y, Li W, Cai J. Role of the tumor microenvironment in the lymphatic metastasis of cervical cancer (Review). Exp Ther Med 2023; 26:486. [PMID: 37753293 PMCID: PMC10518654 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2023.12185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Lymphatic metastasis is the primary type of cervical cancer metastasis and is associated with an extremely poor prognosis in patients. The tumor microenvironment primarily includes cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, immune and inflammatory cells, and blood and lymphatic vascular networks, which can promote the establishment of lymphatic metastatic sites within immunosuppressive microenvironments or promote lymphatic metastasis by stimulating lymphangiogenesis and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation. As the most important feature of the tumor microenvironment, hypoxia plays an essential role in lymph node metastasis. In this review, the known mechanisms of hypoxia, and the involvement of stromal components and immune inflammatory cells in the tumor microenvironment of lymphatic metastasis of cervical cancer are discussed. Additionally, a summary of the clinical trials targeting the tumor microenvironment for the treatment of cervical cancer is provided, emphasizing the potential and challenges of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lufang Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Shuyan Yi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Yun Teng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Key Laboratory of Clinical In Vitro Diagnostic Techniques of Zhejiang Province; Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, P.R. China
| | - Wenhan Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Jing Cai
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
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Kurmyshkina OV, Dobrynin PV, Kovchur PI, Volkova TO. Sequencing-based transcriptome analysis reveals diversification of immune response- and angiogenesis-related expression patterns of early-stage cervical carcinoma as compared with high-grade CIN. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1215607. [PMID: 37731500 PMCID: PMC10507244 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1215607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Molecular diversity of virus-associated cervical cancer remains a relatively underexplored issue, and interrelations of immunologic and angiogenic features during the establishment of a particular landscape of the cervical cancer microenvironment are not well-characterized, especially for its earliest clinical stages, although this may provide insight into the mechanisms behind the differences in tumor aggressiveness, treatment responsiveness and prognosis. In this research, we were aimed at identifying transcriptomic landscapes of early-stage cervical carcinoma that differ substantially in their immune-related characteristics, patterns of signaling pathways and composition of the microenvironment in comparison with immediate precursor (intraepithelial) lesions. Methods We performed the Illumina platform-based RNA sequencing using a panel of fresh tissue samples that included human papillomavirus-positive cervical intraepithelial neoplastic lesions (CIN), invasive squamous carcinoma of the cervix of FIGO IA1-IIB stages, and morphologically normal epithelium. The derived transcriptomic profiles were bioinformatically analyzed and compared by patterns of signaling pathway activation, distribution of tumor-infiltrating cell populations, and genomic regions involved. Result According to hierarchical cluster analysis of the whole-transcriptome profiles, tissue samples were distributed between three groups, or gene expression patterns (the one comprising most pre-cancer cases and the other two encompassing mostly early-stage invasive cancer cases). Differentially expressed genes were retrieved in each intergroup pairwise comparison followed by Gene Ontology analysis. Gene set enrichment analysis of the two groups of tumor samples in comparison with the CIN group identified substantial differences in immunological and angiogenic properties between tumorous groups suggesting the development of different molecular phenotypes. Cell composition analysis confirmed the diverse changes in the abundancies of immune and non-immune populations and, accordingly, different impacts of the immune and stromal compartments on the tumor microenvironment in these two groups of tumors compared to CIN. Positional gene expression analysis demonstrated that the identified transcriptomic differences were linked to different chromosomal regions and co-localized with particular gene families implicated in immune regulation, inflammation, cell differentiation, and tumor invasion. Conclusions Overall, detection of different transcriptomic patterns of invasive cervical carcinoma at its earliest stages supports the diverse impacts of immune response- and angiogenesis-related mechanisms on the onset of tumor invasion and progression. This may provide new options for broadening the applicability and increasing the efficiency of target anti-angiogenic and immune-based therapy of virus-associated cervical carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga V. Kurmyshkina
- Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Innate Immunity, Institute of Medicine, Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia
| | - Pavel V. Dobrynin
- Human Genetics Laboratory, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Pavel I. Kovchur
- Department of Hospital Surgery, Oncology, Urology, Institute of Medicine, Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia
- Hospital Admitting Department, The Republican Oncological Dispensary, Petrozavodsk, Russia
| | - Tatyana O. Volkova
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Immunology and Laboratory Diagnostics, Institute of Medicine, Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia
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Shi Y, Zhang Q, Mei J, Liu J. Editorial: Multi-omics analysis in tumor microenvironment and tumor heterogeneity. Front Genet 2023; 14:1271295. [PMID: 37680200 PMCID: PMC10482244 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1271295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Shi
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi People’s Hospital, Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qinglin Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi People’s Hospital, Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jie Mei
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi People’s Hospital, Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jinhui Liu
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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Antitumor Effect of Chalcone Derivatives against Human Prostate (LNCaP and PC-3), Cervix HPV-Positive (HeLa) and Lymphocyte (Jurkat) Cell Lines and Their Effect on Macrophage Functions. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28052159. [PMID: 36903405 PMCID: PMC10004497 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28052159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Chalcones are synthetic and naturally occurring compounds that have been widely investigated as anticancer agents. In this work, the effect of chalcones 1-18 against the metabolic viability of cervical (HeLa) and prostate (PC-3 and LNCaP) tumor cell lines was tested, to compare the activity against solid and liquid tumor cells. Their effect was also evaluated on the Jurkat cell line. Chalcone 16 showed the highest inhibitory effect on the metabolic viability of the tested tumor cells and was selected for further studies. Recent antitumor therapies include compounds with the ability to influence immune cells on the tumor microenvironment, with immunotherapy being one actual goal in cancer treatment. Therefore, the effect of chalcone 16 on the expression of mTOR, HIF-1α, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10, and TGF-β, after THP-1 macrophage stimulation (none, LPS or IL-4), was evaluated. Chalcone 16 significantly increased the expression of mTORC1, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-10 of IL-4 stimulated macrophages (that induces an M2 phenotype). HIF-1α and TGF-β were not significantly affected. Chalcone 16 also decreased nitric oxide production by the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line, this effect probably being due to an inhibition of iNOS expression. These results suggest that chalcone 16 may influence macrophage polarization, inducing the pro-tumoral M2 macrophages (IL-4 stimulated) to adopt a profile closer to the antitumor M1 profile.
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Bhattacharjee R, Das SS, Biswal SS, Nath A, Das D, Basu A, Malik S, Kumar L, Kar S, Singh SK, Upadhye VJ, Iqbal D, Almojam S, Roychoudhury S, Ojha S, Ruokolainen J, Jha NK, Kesari KK. Mechanistic Role of HPV-Associated Early Proteins in Cervical Cancer: Molecular Pathways and Targeted Therapeutic Strategies. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2022; 174:103675. [DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2022.103675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
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Du H, Tang Y, Ren X, Zhang F, Yang W, Cheng L, Gao Y. A prognostic model for cervical cancer based on ferroptosis-related genes. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:991178. [PMID: 36313765 PMCID: PMC9614331 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.991178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ferroptosis is widely involved in the occurrence and development of various cancers, but a specific mechanism involving ferroptosis in cervical cancer is still unclear. METHODS Based on the expressions of ferroptosis-related genes, a prognostic model was constructed using lasso regression, and the overall predictive performance of this model was verified. An in-depth analysis of the prognostic model was then conducted. RESULTS The prognostic model showed good predictive performance in both the validation and test sets. Mechanism analysis indicated that differences in the tumor microenvironment were the basis of the predictive ability of the model. Notably, CA9 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in cervical carcinoma, tissues but not in normal cervix tissues. A pair of ceRNAs (CA9/ULBP2) could be involved in the carcinogenesis and development of cervical cancer, and the potential target might be hsa-miR-34a. In addition, predicted miRNAs and drugs for these DEGs were identified. CONCLUSIONS We constructed a prognostic model with good predictive performance, based on the expression of ferroptosis-related genes. Further research found that the ceRNA pairs of ULBP2/CA9 could regulate cervical cancer through hsa-miR-34a. These results identified the mechanism of ferroptosis in cervical cancer, and might provide novel therapeutics for cervical cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijun Du
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Department of Cardiology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yumei Tang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, China
- Shanxi Keda Research Institute, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Xiaoying Ren
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Department of Endocrinology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Department of Cardiology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Wei Yang
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Department of Cardiology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Le Cheng
- BGI-Yunnan, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: Le Cheng, ; Yunan Gao,
| | - Yunan Gao
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Department of Cardiology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- *Correspondence: Le Cheng, ; Yunan Gao,
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