Role of sex hormones in modulating breast and ovarian cancer associated pain

The role of nitric oxide and neuroendocrine system in pain generation

Previous studies have indicated a complex interplay between the nitric oxide (NO) pain signaling pathways and hormonal signaling pathways in the body. This article delineates the role of nitric oxide signaling in neuropathic and inflammatory pain generation and subsequently discusses how the neuroendocrine system is involved in pain generation. Hormonal systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) generation of cortisol, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, calcitonin, melatonin, and sex hormones could potentially contribute to the generation of nitric oxide involved in the sensation of pain. Further research is necessary to clarify this relationship and may reveal therapeutic targets involving NO signaling that alleviate neuropathic and inflammatory pain.

Supportive care of female hormones in brain health: what and how?

Female hormones, functioning as neuroactive steroids, are utilized beyond menopausal hormone therapy. The rapid onset of allopregnanolone analogs, such as brexanolone and zuranolone, in treating depression, and the effectiveness of megestrol acetate in addressing appetite and weight gain, prompted the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the use of progesterone for treating postpartum depression and cancer-related cachexia. Progesterone has also been found to alleviate neuropathic pain in animal studies. These off-label applications offer a promising option for patients with advanced cancer who often experience various mood disorders such as depression, persistent pain, social isolation, and physical complications like cachexia. These patients have shown low tolerance to opioids and mood-regulating medications. However, the potential risks and uncertainties associated with hormone therapy treatment modalities can be daunting for both patients and medical professionals. This review aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of the non-reproductive functions and mechanisms of female hormones in brain health.

ExplORRNet: An interactive web tool to explore stage-wise miRNA expression profiles and their interactions with mRNA and lncRNA in human breast and gynecological cancers

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression that have been implicated in gynecological and breast cancers. Understanding the cancer stage-wise expression patterns of miRNAs and their interactions with other RNA molecules in cancer is crucial to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment planning. Comprehensive web tools that integrate data on the transcriptome, circulating miRNAs, and their validated targets to derive beneficial conclusions in cancer research are lacking.

Methods

Using the Shiny R package, we developed a web tool called ExplORRNet that integrates transcriptomic profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas and miRNA expression data derived from various sources, including tissues, cell lines, exosomes, serum, and plasma, available in the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differential expression analyses between normal and tumor tissue samples as well as different stages of cancer, accompanied by gene enrichment and survival analyses, can be performed using specialized R packages. Additionally, a miRNA-messenger RNA (mRNA)-long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) networks are constructed to identify regulatory modules.

Results

Our tool identifies cancer stage-wise differentially regulated miRNAs, mRNAs, and lncRNAs in gynecological and breast cancers. Survival analysis identifies miRNAs associated with patient survival, and functional enrichment analysis provides insights into dysregulated miRNA-related biological processes and pathways. The miRNA-mRNA-lncRNA networks highlight interconnected regulatory molecular modules driving cancer progression. Case studies demonstrate the utility of the ExplORRNet for studying gynecological and breast cancers.

Conclusion

ExplORRNet is an intuitive and user-friendly web tool that provides a deeper understanding of dysregulated miRNAs and their functional implications in gynecological and breast cancers. We hope our ExplORRNet tool has potential utility among the clinical and basic researchers and will be beneficial to the entire cancer genomics community to encourage and facilitate mining the rapidly growing public databases to progress the field of precision oncology. The ExplORRNet is available at https://mirna.cs.ut.ee.

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia and Reproductive Health: Assessing the Role of Sex Hormones in Disease Development

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA) is a distinctive form of cicatricial alopecia characterized by gradual hairline recession, predominantly affecting postmenopausal individuals, thus implying a potential hormonal origin. This narrative review, spanning 2000 to 2023, delves into PubMed literature, focusing on the menopausal and hormonal status of women with FFA. The objective is to unravel the intricate nature of FFA and its plausible associations with hormonal dysregulations in women. While menopause remains a pivotal demographic characteristic linked to FFA, existing data suggest that its hormonal imbalances may not fully account for the development of FFA. Conversely, substantial evidence indicates a strong association between a reduction in fertile years, particularly through surgical interventions leading to an abrupt hormonal imbalance, and FFA in women. Additionally, exposure to hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives has shown varying degrees of association with FFA. Gynecologists should maintain a heightened awareness regarding the ramifications of their interventions and their pivotal role in overseeing women's fertility, recognizing the potential influence on the progression of FFA. The recurrent theme of hormonal disruption strongly implies a causal connection between alterations in sex hormones and FFA in women. Nevertheless, this relationship's extent and underlying mechanisms remain subjects of ongoing debate.

Current Understanding on Why Ovarian Cancer Is Resistant to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

The standard treatment of ovarian cancer (OC) patients, including debulking surgery and first-line chemotherapy, is unsatisfactory because of recurrent episodes in the majority (~70%) of patients with advanced OC. Clinical trials have shown only a modest (10-15%) response of OC individuals to treatment based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The resistance of OC to therapy is caused by various factors, including OC heterogeneity, low density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), non-cellular and cellular interactions in the tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as a network of microRNA regulating immune checkpoint pathways. Moreover, ICIs are the most efficient in tumors that are marked by high microsatellite instability and high tumor mutation burden, which is rare among OC patients. The great challenge in ICI implementation is connected with distinguishing hyper-, pseudo-, and real progression of the disease. The understanding of the immunological, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of OC resistance is crucial to selecting the group of OC individuals in whom personalized treatment would be beneficial. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the selected factors inducing OC resistance and discuss the future directions of ICI-based immunotherapy development for OC patients.

The Role of Sex Hormones in Pain-Related Conditions

Millions of people are affected by pain-related conditions worldwide. Literature has consistently shown that each individual experiences and perceives pain in a unique manner due to biological, environmental, and cultural factors in which they have been raised. It has been established that biological males and females perceive pain differently and that it may be partially explained by their distinct hormonal profiles since birth, which are only further magnified during puberty. For biological males, high levels of testosterone have shown to increase their pain threshold; and for biological females, estrogen fluctuations have shown to increase pain intensity and perception. However, sex hormones have not been studied in the context of pain treatment or their impact on biochemical pathways involved in pain perception. For this purpose, the transgender community serves as a unique population to investigate the impact of hormone replacement therapy on molecular pathways involved in the perception of pain. The purpose of this review is to explore the biochemistry of hormone replacement in transgender patients who also have other pain-related conditions such as headaches, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular myalgia, and visceral pain.

Transcriptional landscape of TRPV1, TRPA1, TRPV4, and TRPM8 channels throughout human tissues

AIMS

This article aims to analyze the baseline distribution of TRPA1, TRPV1, TRPV4, and TRPM8 channels in human systems at the transcriptional level.

MAIN METHODS

Using the RNA-seq dataset from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) gene database, we investigated and compared the transcriptional levels of TRPV1, TRPA1, TRPV4 and TRPM8 found in 95 human subjects representing 33 different tissues to determine the tissue specificity of all protein-coding genes.

KEY FINDING

In this study, we observed higher transcriptional levels for TRPV1 (duodenum), TRPA1 (Urinary bladder), TRPV4 (Kidney) and TRPM8 (Prostate) compared to the other TRPs.

SIGNIFICANCE

These channels are involved in developing inflammatory and painful pathologies and seem to participate in cancer development. This information on transcriptional levels of TRPV1, TRPA1, TRPV4 and TRPM8 in human systems may provide essential suggestions for further studies on these proteins.

Chronic Administration of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Agonist (JWH-133) Increases Ectopic Ovarian Tumor Growth and Endocannabinoids (Anandamide and 2-Arachidonoyl Glycerol) Levels in Immunocompromised SCID Female Mice

Cannabinoid-based therapies are increasingly being used by cancer patients to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Recently, cannabinoids have gained increased attention for their effects on cancer growth. Indeed, the effect of CB₂ (JWH-015, JWH-133) agonists on breast cancer models have shown to reduce the size of breast cancer tumors. However, these studies assessing breast cancer progression were using CB₂ agonist administered early into the cancer progression therefore assessing their effects on already established tumors is a critical need. In our study, we evaluate tumor growth using an ectopic xenograft ovarian (SKOV-3 and OVCAR-5) cancer model. The impact of chronic (30 days) administration of CB₂ (JWH-133) agonist will be evaluated and started on 30 days of ectopic ovarian tumors. We will then evaluate and determine the mechanisms involved in ovarian cancer tumor growth by measuring levels of anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol as well as protein levels of CB₁, CB₂, ERα, ERβ, GPER, TNFα, IL-1β and IL-6 in ovarian and tumor tissues. Our results demonstrate a significant increase in ectopic ovarian tumor growth following chronic administration of JWH-133. Ovarian cancer tumor tissues chronically (30 days) treated with JWH-133 in comparison to vehicle treated groups showed an increase in endocannabinoid (AEA and 2-AG) and protein (CB₂ and TNFα) levels with a decrease in GPER protein levels. Interestingly, our study emphasizes the importance of studying the impact of cannabinoid compounds on already established tumors to improve our understanding of cannabinoid-based therapies and, therefore better address clinical needs in cancer patients.