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Yu Cai Lim M, Kiat Ho H. Pharmacological modulation of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) as a therapeutic strategy for hypercholesterolemia. Biochem Pharmacol 2024; 220:115985. [PMID: 38154545 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Despite the availability of many therapeutic options, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia remains high. There exists a significant unmet medical need for novel drugs and/or treatment combinations to effectively combat hypercholesterolemia while minimizing adverse reactions. The modulation of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) expression via perturbation of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) - dependent pathways, primarily FXR/small heterodimer partner (SHP) and FXR/ fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-19/ fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-4 pathways, presents as a potential option to lower cholesterol levels. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the important role that CYP7A1 plays in cholesterol homeostasis and how its expression can be exploited to assert differential control of bile acid synthesis and cholesterol metabolism. Additionally, the paper also summarizes the current therapeutic options for hypercholesterolemia, and positions modulators of CYP7A1 expression, namely FGFR4 inhibitors and FXR antagonists, as emerging and distinct pharmacological agents to complement and diversify the treatment regime. Their mechanistic and clinical considerations are also extensively described to interrogate the benefits and risks associated with using FXR-mediating agents, either singularly or in combination with recognised agents such as statins to target hypercholesterolemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Yu Cai Lim
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Han Kiat Ho
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
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2
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Ye C, Swiers R, Bonner S, Barrett I. A Knowledge Graph-Enhanced Tensor Factorisation Model for Discovering Drug Targets. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2022; 19:3070-3080. [PMID: 35939454 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2022.3197320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The drug discovery and development process is a long and expensive one, costing over 1 billion USD on average per drug and taking 10-15 years. To reduce the high levels of attrition throughout the process, there has been a growing interest in applying machine learning methodologies to various stages of drug discovery and development in the recent decade, especially at the earliest stage - identification of druggable disease genes. In this paper, we have developed a new tensor factorisation model to predict potential drug targets (genes or proteins) for treating diseases. We created a three-dimensional data tensor consisting of 1,048 gene targets, 860 diseases and 230,011 evidence attributes and clinical outcomes connecting them, using data extracted from the Open Targets and PharmaProjects databases. We enriched the data with gene target representations learned from a drug discovery-oriented knowledge graph and applied our proposed method to predict the clinical outcomes for unseen gene target and disease pairs. We designed three evaluation strategies to measure the prediction performance and benchmarked several commonly used machine learning classifiers together with Bayesian matrix and tensor factorisation methods. The result shows that incorporating knowledge graph embeddings significantly improves the prediction accuracy and that training tensor factorisation alongside a dense neural network outperforms all other baselines. In summary, our framework combines two actively studied machine learning approaches to disease target identification, namely tensor factorisation and knowledge graph representation learning, which could be a promising avenue for further exploration in data-driven drug discovery.
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3
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González-Rubio S, Salgado C, Manzaneda-González V, Muñoz-Úbeda M, Ahijado-Guzmán R, Natale P, Almendro-Vedia VG, Junquera E, Barcina JO, Ferrer I, Guerrero-Martínez A, Paz-Ares L, López-Montero I. Tunable gold nanorod/NAO conjugates for selective drug delivery in mitochondria-targeted cancer therapy. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:8028-8040. [PMID: 35616261 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr02353a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Nonyl acridine orange (NAO) is a lipophilic and positively charged molecule widely used as a mitochondrial fluorescent probe. NAO is cytotoxic at micromolar concentration and might be potentially used as a mitochondria-targeted drug for cancer therapy. However, the use of NAO under in vivo conditions would be compromised by the unspecific interactions with off-target cells and negatively charged proteins present in the bloodstream. To tackle this limitation, we have synthesized NAO analogues carrying an imidazole group for their specific binding to nitrilotriacetic (NTA) functionalized gold nanorods (AuNRs). We demonstrate that AuNRs provide 104 binding sites and a controlled delivery under acidic conditions. Upon incubation with mouse embryonic fibroblasts, the endosomal acidic environment releases the NAO analogues from AuNRs, as visualized through the staining of the mitochondrial network. The addition of the monoclonal antibody Cetuximab to the conjugates enhanced their uptake within lung cancer cells and the conjugates were cytotoxic at subnanomolar concentrations (c50 ≈ 0.06 nM). Moreover, the specific interactions of Cetuximab with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) provided a specific targeting of EGFR-expressing lung cancer cells. After intravenous administration in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) mouse models, the conjugates reduced the progression of EGFR-positive tumors. Overall, the NAO-AuNRs provide a promising strategy to realize membrane mitochondria-targeted conjugates for lung cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio González-Rubio
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Cástor Salgado
- Departamento Química Orgánica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Vanesa Manzaneda-González
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Mónica Muñoz-Úbeda
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Rubén Ahijado-Guzmán
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Paolo Natale
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Víctor G Almendro-Vedia
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Elena Junquera
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - José Osío Barcina
- Departamento Química Orgánica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Ferrer
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
- Ciberonc, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrés Guerrero-Martínez
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Luis Paz-Ares
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
- Ciberonc, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Iván López-Montero
- Departamento Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Doce de Octubre (imas12), Avenida de Córdoba s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Ps. Juan XXIII 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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4
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He WP, Yang GP, Yang ZX, Shen HW, You ZS, Yang GF. Maelstrom promotes tumor metastasis through regulation of FGFR4 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in epithelial ovarian cancer. J Ovarian Res 2022; 15:55. [PMID: 35513870 PMCID: PMC9074322 DOI: 10.1186/s13048-022-00992-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing evidence has indicated that Maelstrom (MAEL) plays an oncogenic role in various human carcinomas. However, the exact function and mechanisms by which MAEL acts in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remain unclear. RESULTS This study demonstrated that MAEL was frequently overexpressed in EOC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of MAEL was positively correlated with the histological grade of tumors, FIGO stage, and pT/pN/pM status (p < 0.05), and it also acted as an independent predictor of poor patient survival (p < 0.001). Ectopic overexpression of MAEL substantially promoted invasiveness/metastasis and induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereas silencing MAEL by short hairpin RNA effectively inhibited its oncogenic function and attenuated EMT. Further study demonstrated that fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) was a critical downstream target of MAEL in EOC, and the expression levels of FGFR4 were significantly associated with MAEL. (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that overexpression of MAEL plays a crucial oncogenic role in the development and progression of EOC through the upregulation of FGFR4 and subsequent induction of EMT, and also provide new insights on its potential as a therapeutic target for EOC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Peng He
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Gui-Ping Yang
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Zun-Xian Yang
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Hong-Wei Shen
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Ze-Shan You
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Guo-Fen Yang
- Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
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5
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Sasa GBK, Xuan C, Chen M, Jiang Z, Ding X. Clinicopathological implications of lncRNAs, immunotherapy and DNA methylation in lung squamous cell carcinoma: a narrative review. Transl Cancer Res 2022; 10:5406-5429. [PMID: 35116387 PMCID: PMC8799054 DOI: 10.21037/tcr-21-1607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Objective To explore the clinicopathological impact of lncRNAs, immunotherapy, and DNA methylation in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), emphasizing their exact roles in carcinogenesis and modes of action. Background LUSC is the second most prevalent form, accounting for around 30% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, molecular-targeted treatments have significantly improved overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma patients but have had little effect on LUSC therapy. As a result, there is an urgent need to discover new treatments for LUSC that are based on existing genomic methods. Methods In this review, we summarized and analyzed recent research on the biological activities and processes of lncRNA, immunotherapy, and DNA methylation in the formation of LUSC. The relevant studies were retrieved using a thorough search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and the university's online library, among other sources. Conclusions LncRNAs are the primary components of the mammalian transcriptome and are emerging as master regulators of a number of cellular processes, including the cell cycle, differentiation, apoptosis, and growth, and are implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of cancers, including LUSC. Understanding their role in LUSC in detail may help develop innovative treatment methods and tactics for LUSC. Meanwhile, immunotherapy has transformed the LUSC treatment and is now considered the new standard of care. To get a better knowledge of LUSC biology, it is critical to develop superior modeling systems. Preclinical models, particularly those that resemble human illness by preserving the tumor immune environment, are essential for studying cancer progression and evaluating novel treatment targets. DNA methylation, similarly, is a component of epigenetic alterations that regulate cellular function and contribute to cancer development. By methylating the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes, abnormal DNA methylation silences their expression. DNA methylation indicators are critical in the early detection of lung cancer, predicting therapy efficacy, and tracking treatment resistance. As such, this review seeks to explore the clinicopathological impact of lncRNAs, immunotherapy, and DNA methylation in LUSC, emphasizing their exact roles in carcinogenesis and modes of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel B K Sasa
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Xuan
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Meiyue Chen
- The fourth affiliated hospital, Zhejiang University of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhenggang Jiang
- Department of Science Research and Information Management, Zhejiang Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xianfeng Ding
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
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6
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Liu Y, Wang C, Li J, Zhu J, Zhao C, Xu H. Novel Regulatory Factors and Small-Molecule Inhibitors of FGFR4 in Cancer. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:633453. [PMID: 33981224 PMCID: PMC8107720 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.633453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is a tyrosine kinase receptor that is a member of the fibroblast growth factor receptor family and is stimulated by highly regulated ligand binding. Excessive expression of the receptor and its ligand, especially FGF19, occurs in many types of cancer. Abnormal FGFR4 production explains these cancer formations, and therefore, this receptor has emerged as a potential target for inhibiting cancer development. This review discusses the diverse mechanisms of oncogenic activation of FGFR4 and highlights some currently available inhibitors targeting FGFR4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanan Liu
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Canwei Wang
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jifa Li
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jiandong Zhu
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Chengguang Zhao
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Huanhai Xu
- Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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7
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Hou J, Zhong Q. A novel immunogenomic prognostic signature in lung squamous carcinoma. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e24073. [PMID: 33466167 PMCID: PMC7808533 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000024073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung squamous carcinoma (LUSC) is a common subtype of lung cancer with limited available therapy and is thus associated with poor survival. Immune infiltrating cells and immune-related genes (IRGs) play a key role in the clinical outcomes of LUSC. In the present study, we aimed to develop a potential immunogenomic prognostic signature for patients with LUSC. The transcriptional profiles of 501 LUSC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 2498 IRGs from the ImmPort database were used to develop the signature by Cox regression analysis. Ten differentially expressed and survival-associated IRGs were used to develop the risk signature, which could serve as an independent prognostic and predictive factor for patients with LUSC. Furthermore, this risk signature correlated with overall survival and clinical features, including age, in patients with LUSC. In addition, we identified 25 transcription factors that may regulate 15 survival-associated IRGs, using a regulatory network. Collectively, this immunogenomic signature could be a robust prognostic tool for patients with LUSC and holds great promise as individualized immunotherapy for LUSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jili Hou
- Department of Oncology, Zhuji People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province, The Zhuji Affiliated Hospital of Shaoxing University, Zhuji 311800
| | - Qiuying Zhong
- Department of Geriatrics, The Sixth Hospital of Wuhan, Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan 430000, P.R.China
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8
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Agarwal S, Behring M, Kim H, Chandrashekar DS, Chakravarthi BVSK, Gupta N, Bajpai P, Elkholy A, Al Diffalha S, Datta PK, Heslin MJ, Varambally S, Manne U. TRIP13 promotes metastasis of colorectal cancer regardless of p53 and microsatellite instability status. Mol Oncol 2020; 14:3007-3029. [PMID: 33037736 PMCID: PMC7718953 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of TRIP13, a member of the AAA-ATPase family, is linked with various cancers, but its role in metastasis is unknown in colorectal cancer (CRC). In the current study, we investigated the role TRIP13 in experimental metastasis and its involvement in regulation of WNT/β-catenin and EGFR signaling pathways. Evaluation of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) and frozen tissues of adenomas and CRCs, along with their corresponding normal samples, showed that TRIP13 was gradually increased in its phenotypic expression from adenoma to carcinoma and that its overexpression in CRCs was independent of patient's gender, age, race/ethnicity, pathologic stage, and p53 and microsatellite instability (MSI) status. Moreover, liver metastases of CRCs showed TRIP13 overexpression as compared to matched adjacent liver tissues, indicating the biological relevance of TRIP13 in CRC progression and metastasis. TRIP13 knockdown impeded colony formation, invasion, motility, and spheroid-forming capacity of CRC cells irrespective of their p53 and MSI status. Furthermore, xenograft studies demonstrated high expression of TRIP13 contributed to tumor growth and metastasis. Depletion of TRIP13 in CRC cells decreased metastasis and it was independent of the p53 and MSI status. Furthermore, TRIP13 interacted with a tyrosine kinase, FGFR4; this interaction could be essential for activation of the EGFR-AKT pathway. In addition, we demonstrated the involvement of TRIP13 in the Wnt signaling pathway and in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Cell-based assays revealed that miR-192 and PNPT1 regulate TRIP13 expression in CRC. Additionally, RNA sequencing of CRC cells with TRIP13 knockdown identified COL6A3, TREM2, SHC3, and KLK7 as downstream targets that may have functional relevance in TRIP13-mediated tumor growth and metastasis. In summary, our results demonstrated that TRIP13 promotes tumor growth and metastasis regardless of p53 and MSI status, and indicated that it is a target for therapy of CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumit Agarwal
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Michael Behring
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Hyung‐Gyoon Kim
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | | | | | - Nirzari Gupta
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Prachi Bajpai
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Amr Elkholy
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | | | - Pran K. Datta
- Division of Hematology and OncologyDepartment of MedicineUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer CenterUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Martin J. Heslin
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer CenterUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer CenterUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
| | - Upender Manne
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer CenterUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamALUSA
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9
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Levine KM, Ding K, Chen L, Oesterreich S. FGFR4: A promising therapeutic target for breast cancer and other solid tumors. Pharmacol Ther 2020; 214:107590. [PMID: 32492514 PMCID: PMC7494643 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling pathway has long been known to cancer researchers because of its role in cell survival, proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Dysregulation of FGFR signaling is frequently reported in cancer studies, but most of these studies focus on FGFR1-3. However, there is growing evidence implicating an important and unique role of FGFR4 in oncogenesis, tumor progression, and resistance to anti-tumor therapy in multiple types of cancer. Importantly, there are several novel FGFR4-specific inhibitors in clinical trials, making FGFR4 an attractive target for further research. In this review, we focus on assessing the role of FGFR4 in cancer, with an emphasis on breast cancer. First, the structure, physiological functions and downstream signaling pathways of FGFR4 are introduced. Next, different mechanisms reported to cause aberrant FGFR4 activation and their functions in cancer are discussed, including FGFR4 overexpression, FGF ligand overexpression, FGFR4 somatic hotspot mutations, and the FGFR4 G388R single nucleotide polymorphism. Finally, ongoing and recently completed clinical trials targeting FGFRs in cancer are reviewed, highlighting the therapeutic potential of FGFR4 inhibition for the treatment of breast cancer.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Female
- Humans
- Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects
- Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use
- Biomarkers, Tumor/antagonists & inhibitors
- Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
- Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism
- Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Breast Neoplasms/enzymology
- Breast Neoplasms/genetics
- Breast Neoplasms/pathology
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Molecular Targeted Therapy
- Mutation
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/adverse effects
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4/antagonists & inhibitors
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4/genetics
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 4/metabolism
- Signal Transduction
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M Levine
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Magee-Women's Research Institute, Magee-Women's Research Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kai Ding
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Magee-Women's Research Institute, Magee-Women's Research Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Integrative Systems Biology Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lyuqin Chen
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Magee-Women's Research Institute, Magee-Women's Research Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Magee-Women's Research Institute, Magee-Women's Research Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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10
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Hong CS, Sun EG, Choi JN, Kim DH, Kim JH, Ryu KH, Shim HJ, Hwang JE, Bae WK, Kim HR, Kim KK, Jung C, Chung IJ, Cho SH. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 increases epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling by inducing amphiregulin expression and attenuates response to EGFR inhibitors in colon cancer. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:3268-3278. [PMID: 32533590 PMCID: PMC7469799 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is known to induce cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and antiapoptosis through activation of RAS/RAF/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways, which are also known as major molecular bases of colon cancer carcinogenesis related with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. However, the interaction between FGFR4 and EGFR signaling in regard to colon cancer progression is unclear. Here, we investigated a potential cross‐talk between FGFR4 and EGFR, and the effect of anti‐EGFR therapy in colon cancer treatment. To explore the biological roles of FGFR4 in cancer progression, RNA sequencing was carried out using FGFR4 transfected colon cell lines. Gene ontology data showed the upregulation of genes related to EGFR signaling, and we identified that FGFR4 overexpression secretes EGFR ligands such as amphiregulin (AREG) with consequent activation of EGFR and ErbB3. This result was also shown in in vivo study and the cooperative interaction between EGFR and FGFR4 promoted tumor growth. In addition, FGFR4 overexpression reduced cetuximab‐induced cytotoxicity and the combination of FGFR4 inhibitor (BLU9931) and cetuximab showed profound antitumor effect compared to cetuximab alone. Clinically, we found the positive correlation between FGFR4 and AREG expression in tumor tissue, but not in normal tissue, from colon cancer patients and these expressions were significantly correlated with poor overall survival in patients treated with cetuximab. Therefore, our results provide the novel mechanism of FGFR4 in connection with EGFR activation and the combination of FGFR4 inhibitor and cetuximab could be a promising therapeutic option to achieve the optimal response to anti‐EGFR therapy in colon cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Soo Hong
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Eun-Gene Sun
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Ji-Na Choi
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Dae-Hwan Kim
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Jo-Heon Kim
- Department of Pathology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Kyung-Hyun Ryu
- Department of Biological Science, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Hyun-Jeong Shim
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Jun-Eul Hwang
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Woo-Kyun Bae
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.,Combinatorial Tumor Immunotherapy MRC, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Hyeong-Rok Kim
- Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Kyung Keun Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Chaeyong Jung
- Department of Anatomy, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Ik-Joo Chung
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.,Combinatorial Tumor Immunotherapy MRC, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Sang-Hee Cho
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.,Combinatorial Tumor Immunotherapy MRC, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
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FGFR1 and FGFR4 oncogenicity depends on n-cadherin and their co-expression may predict FGFR-targeted therapy efficacy. EBioMedicine 2020; 53:102683. [PMID: 32114392 PMCID: PMC7047190 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)1 and FGFR4 have been associated with tumorigenesis in a variety of tumour types. As a therapeutic approach, their inhibition has been attempted in different types of malignancies, including lung cancer, and was initially focused on FGFR1-amplified tumours, though with limited success. METHODS In vitro and in vivo functional assessments of the oncogenic potential of downregulated/overexpressed genes in isogenic cell lines were performed, as well as inhibitor efficacy tests in vitro and in vivo in patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). mRNA was extracted from FFPE non-small cell lung cancer samples to determine the prognostic potential of the genes under study. FINDINGS We provide in vitro and in vivo evidence showing that expression of the adhesion molecule N-cadherin is key for the oncogenic role of FGFR1/4 in non-small cell lung cancer. According to this, assessment of the expression of genes in different lung cancer patient cohorts showed that FGFR1 or FGFR4 expression alone showed no prognostic potential, and that only co-expression of FGFR1 and/or FGFR4 with N-cadherin inferred a poorer outcome. Treatment of high-FGFR1 and/or FGFR4-expressing lung cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenografts with selective FGFR inhibitors showed high efficacy, but only in models with high FGFR1/4 and N-cadherin expression. INTERPRETATION Our data show that the determination of the expression of FGFR1 or FGFR4 alone is not sufficient to predict anti-FGFR therapy efficacy; complementary determination of N-cadherin expression may further optimise patient selection for this therapeutic strategy.
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