Histone-deacetylase inhibitors: novel drugs for the treatment of cancer

Comprehensive modulatory effects of whole grain consumption on immune-mediated inflammation in middle-aged and elderly community residents: A real-world randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Whole grain consumption is widely recognized as a vital component of a balanced diet. Dietary fiber has been well-documented to play a crucial role in these health benefits attributed to whole grain intake. However, population-based evidence directly linking whole grain consumption to anti-inflammatory effects, especially in the context of immune-mediated inflammation, remains limited. We hypothesized that whole grain consumption promotes health by modulating immune-mediated inflammation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This study was designed as a real-world, population-based randomized controlled trial. We compared the effects of whole grain versus refined grain consumption on immune-mediated inflammation through staple food substitution, while participants maintained their usual dietary practices. The results demonstrated that whole grain consumption significantly reduced circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-22 and IL-23 compared to refined grain consumption. These reductions were associated with optimized short-chain fatty acid profiles and changes in CD4+ T cell subset distributions.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of whole grain consumption in middle-aged and elderly populations are mediated by targeting specific CD4+ T cell subsets, in addition to modulating both upstream short-chain fatty acid composition and downstream expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-22 and IL-23.

Role of histone deacetylases and their inhibitors in neurological diseases

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are zinc-dependent deacetylases that remove acetyl groups from lysine residues of histones or form protein complexes with other proteins for transcriptional repression, changing chromatin structure tightness, and inhibiting gene expression. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies have amply demonstrated the critical role of HDACs in the cell biology of the nervous system during both physiological and pathological processes and have provided new insights into the conduct of research on neurological disease targets. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies on HDAC inhibitors show promise for the treatment of various diseases. This review summarizes the regulatory mechanisms of HDAC and the important role of its downstream targets in nervous system diseases, and summarizes the therapeutic mechanisms and efficacy of HDAC inhibitors in various nervous system diseases. Additionally, the current pharmacological situation, problems, and developmental prospects of HDAC inhibitors are described. A better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of HDACs in the nervous system may reveal new targets for therapeutic interventions in diseases and help to relieve healthcare pressure through preventive measures.

Inhibition of HDAC8 mitigates AKI by reducing DNA damage and promoting homologous recombination repair

Nephrotoxicity is a major side effect of platinum-based antineoplastic drugs, and there is currently no available therapeutic intervention. Our study suggests that targeting histone deacetylase 8 could be a potential treatment for cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). In a murine model of AKI induced by cisplatin, the administration of PCI-34051, a selective inhibitor of HDAC8, resulted in significant improvement in renal function and reduction in renal tubular damage and apoptosis. Pharmacological inhibition of HDAC8 also decreased caspase-3 and PARP1 cleavage, attenuated Bax expression and preserved Bcl-2 levels in the injured kidney. In cultured murine renal epithelial cells (mRTECs) exposed to cisplatin, treatment with PCI-34051 or transfection with HDAC8 siRNA reduced apoptotic cell numbers and diminished expression of cleaved caspase-3 and PARP1; conversely, overexpression of HDAC8 intensified these changes. Additionally, PCI-34051 reduced p53 expression levels along with those for p21, p-CDK2 and γ-H2AX while preserving MRE11 expression in the injured kidney. Similarly, pharmacological and genetic inhibition of HDAC8 reduced γ-H2AX and enhanced MRE11 expression; conversely, HDAC8 overexpression exacerbated these changes in mRTECs exposed to cisplatin. These results support that HDAC8 inhibition attenuates cisplatin-induced AKI through a mechanism associated with reducing DNA damage and promoting its repair.

Histone deacetylases: potential therapeutic targets for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive disease of unknown origin and the most common interstitial lung disease. However, therapeutic options for IPF are limited, and novel therapies are urgently needed. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that participate in balancing histone acetylation activity for chromatin remodeling and gene transcription regulation. Increasing evidence suggests that the HDAC family is linked to the development and progression of chronic fibrotic diseases, including IPF. This review aims to summarize available information on HDACs and related inhibitors and their potential applications in treating IPF. In the future, HDACs may serve as novel targets, which can aid in understanding the etiology of PF, and selective inhibition of single HDACs or disruption of HDAC genes may serve as a strategy for treating PF.

Effect of Sex on Intestinal Microbial Metabolites of Hainan Special Wild Boars

The intestinal microbiota and its metabolites are essential for the health and growth development of animals. Current research indicates that sex has a certain impact on the structure and function of the intestinal microbiota, but there are few reports on sex differences in intestinal microbiota metabolites, including those of castrated male animals. This study aimed to explore the impact of sex on the intestinal microbial metabolites of Hainan special wild boars (10 entire male pigs, 10 female pigs, and 10 castrated male pigs, denoted EM, FE, and CM, respectively) by employing non-targeted metabolomics and gas chromatography. A total of 1086 metabolites were detected, with the greatest number of differential metabolites observed between EM and FE (54 differential metabolites, including 18 upregulated and 36 downregulated metabolites), the fewest between CM and FE (7 differential metabolites, including 1 upregulated and 6 downregulated metabolites), and an intermediate number between CM and EM (47 differential metabolites, including 35 upregulated and 12 downregulated metabolites). Differential metabolites were involved in more pathways between EM and FE and between CM and EM, including amino acid metabolism and digestive system pathways, whereas differential metabolites were involved in the fewest pathways between CM and FE. Correlation analysis showed Ruminococcaceae UCG-009, uncultured_bacterium_o_SAR324_cladeMarine_group_B, and Candidatus Saccharimonas contributed to the production of metabolites such as trehalose, docosatrienoic acid, D(-)-beta-hydroxy butyric acid, and acetyl-DL-leucine. The levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid were significantly higher in EM than in FE, with CM falling between the two. Streptococcus, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group showed a significant positive correlation with the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), while [Eubacterium]_coprostanoligenes_group, uncultured_bacterium_f_p-251-o5 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 showed a significant negative correlation with the generation of SCFAs. This study provides foundational data and significant insights into precision feeding strategies for Hainan special wild boars of different sexes, as well as the study of sex differences in intestinal microbial metabolites in animals.

Discovery of Novel HDAC3 Inhibitors with PD-L1 Downregulating/Degrading and Antitumor Immune Effects

Targeting the programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway is one of the most promising cancer treatment strategies. Studies have shown that HDAC inhibitors can enhance the antitumor immune response by modulating the expression of PD-L1. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of novel hydrazide-based small molecule HDAC inhibitors; among them, compound HQ-30 showed selective HDAC3 inhibition (IC50 = 89 nM) and remarkable PD-L1-degrading activity (DC50 = 5.7 μM, Dmax = 80% at 10 μM). Further studies revealed that HQ-30 induced the degradation of PD-L1 by regulating cathepsin B (CTSB) in the lysosomes. Further, HQ-30 could enhance the infiltration of CD3+ CD4+ helper T and CD3+ CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in tumors, thus activating the tumor immune microenvironment. Moreover, HQ-30 possessed a benign toxicity profile (LD50 > 1000 mg/kg) and favorable pharmacokinetic properties (F = 57%). Taken together, HQ-30 is worthy of further investigation as a small molecule-based epigenetic modulator of tumor immunotherapy.

Brain Short-Chain Fatty Acids Induce ACSS2 to Ameliorate Depressive-Like Behavior via PPARγ-TPH2 Axis

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been increasingly evidenced to be important bioactive metabolites of the gut microbiota and transducers in controlling diverse psychiatric or neurological disorders via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. However, the precise mechanism by which brain SCFAs extert multiple beneficial effects is not completely understood. Our previous research has demonstrated that the acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase short-chain family member 2 (ACSS2) is a novel target of the rapid and long-lasting antidepressant responses. Here, we show that micromolar SCFAs significantly augment both total cellular and nuclear ACSS2 to trigger tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) promoter histone acetylation and its transcription in SH-SY5Y cells. In chronic-restraint-stress-induced depression mice, neuronal ACSS2 knockdown by stereotaxic injection of adeno-associated virus in the hippocampus abolished SCFA-mediated improvements in depressive-like behaviors of mice, supporting that ACSS2 is required for SCFA-mediated antidepressant responses. Mechanistically, the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is identified as a novel partner of ACSS2 to activate TPH2 transcription. Importantly, PPARγ is also responsible for SCFA-mediated antidepressant-like effects via ACSS2-TPH2 axis. To further support brain SCFAs as a therapeutic target for antidepressant effects, d-mannose, which is a naturally present hexose, can significantly reverse the dysbiosis of gut microbiota in the chronic-restraint-stress-exposure mice and augment brain SCFAs to protect against the depressive-like behaviors via ACSS2-PPARγ-TPH2 axis. In summary, brain SCFAs can activate ACSS2-PPARγ-TPH2 axis to play the antidepressive-like effects, and d-mannose is suggested to be an inducer of brain SCFAs in resisting depression.

Advances in targeting histone deacetylase for treatment of solid tumors

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) serves as a critical molecular regulator in the pathobiology of various malignancies and have garnered attention as a viable target for therapeutic intervention. A variety of HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) have been developed to target HDACs. Many preclinical studies have conclusively demonstrated the antitumor effects of HDACis, whether used as monotherapy or in combination treatments. On this basis, researchers have conducted various clinical studies to evaluate the potential of selective and pan-HDACis in clinical settings. In our work, we extensively summarized and organized current clinical trials, providing a comprehensive overview of the current clinical advancements in targeting HDAC therapy. Furthermore, we engaged in discussions about several clinical trials that did not yield positive outcomes, analyzing the factors that led to their lack of anticipated therapeutic effectiveness. Apart from the experimental design factors, issues such as toxicological side effects, tumor heterogeneity, and unexpected off-target effects also contributed to these less-than-expected results. These challenges have naturally become significant barriers to the application of HDACis. Despite these challenges, we believe that advancements in HDACi research and improvements in combination therapies will pave the way or lead to a broad and hopeful future in the treatment of solid tumors.

Developmental Programming of the Fetal Immune System by Maternal Western-Style Diet: Mechanisms and Implications for Disease Pathways in the Offspring

Maternal obesity and over/undernutrition can have a long-lasting impact on offspring health during critical periods in the first 1000 days of life. Children born to mothers with obesity have reduced immune responses to stimuli which increase susceptibility to infections. Recently, maternal western-style diets (WSDs), high in fat and simple sugars, have been associated with skewing neonatal immune cell development, and recent evidence suggests that dysregulation of innate immunity in early life has long-term consequences on metabolic diseases and behavioral disorders in later life. Several factors contribute to abnormal innate immune tolerance or trained immunity, including changes in gut microbiota, metabolites, and epigenetic modifications. Critical knowledge gaps remain regarding the mechanisms whereby these factors impact fetal and postnatal immune cell development, especially in precursor stem cells in bone marrow and fetal liver. Components of the maternal microbiota that are transferred from mothers consuming a WSD to their offspring are understudied and identifying cause and effect on neonatal innate and adaptive immune development needs to be refined. Tools including single-cell RNA-sequencing, epigenetic analysis, and spatial location of specific immune cells in liver and bone marrow are critical for understanding immune system programming. Considering the vital role immune function plays in offspring health, it will be important to understand how maternal diets can control developmental programming of innate and adaptive immunity.

Genetics, Nutrition, and Health: A New Frontier in Disease Prevention

The field of nutrition research has traditionally focused on the effects of macronutrients and micronutrients on the body. However, it has become evident that individuals have unique genetic makeups that influence their response to food. Nutritional genomics, which includes nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, explores the interaction between an individual's genetic makeup, diet, and health outcomes. Nutrigenetics studies the impact of genetic variation on an individual's response to dietary nutrients, while nutrigenomics investigates how dietary components affect gene regulation and expression. These disciplines seek to understand the impact of diet on the genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome. It provides insights into the mechanisms underlying the effect of diet on gene expression. Nutrients can cause the modification of genetic expression through epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications. The aim of nutrigenomics is to create personalized diets based on the unique metabolic profile of an individual, gut microbiome, and genetic makeup to prevent diseases and promote health. Nutrigenomics has the potential to revolutionize the field of nutrition by combining the practicality of personalized nutrition with knowledge of genetic factors underlying health and disease. Thus, nutrigenomics offers a promising approach to improving health outcomes (in terms of disease prevention) through personalized nutrition strategies based on an individual's genetic and metabolic characteristics.

Epigenetic changes in shear-stressed endothelial cells

Epigenetic changes, particularly histone compaction modifications, have emerged as critical regulators in the epigenetic pathway driving endothelial cell phenotype under constant exposure to laminar forces induced by blood flow. However, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms governing endothelial cell behavior in this context remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted in vitro experiments using human umbilical vein endothelial cells subjected to various tensional forces simulating pathophysiological blood flow shear stress conditions, ranging from normotensive to hypertensive forces. Our study uncovers a noteworthy observation wherein endothelial cells exposed to high shear stress demonstrate a decrease in the epigenetic marks H3K4ac and H3K27ac, accompanied by significant alterations in the levels of HDAC (histone deacetylase) proteins. Moreover, we demonstrate a negative regulatory effect of increased shear stress on HOXA13 gene expression and a concomitant increase in the expression of the long noncoding RNA, HOTTIP, suggesting a direct association with the suppression of HOXA13. Collectively, these findings represent the first evidence of the role of histone-related epigenetic modifications in modulating chromatin compaction during mechanosignaling of endothelial cells in response to elevated shear stress forces. Additionally, our results highlight the importance of understanding the physiological role of HOXA13 in vascular biology and hypertensive patients, emphasizing the potential for developing small molecules to modulate its activity. These findings warrant further preclinical investigations and open new avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting epigenetic mechanisms in hypertensive conditions.

Short-Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) as a Connecting Link between Microbiota and Gut-Lung Axis-A Potential Therapeutic Intervention to Improve Lung Health

The microbiome is an integral part of the human gut, and it plays a crucial role in the development of the immune system and homeostasis. Apart from the gut microbiome, the airway microbial community also forms a distinct and crucial part of the human microbiota. Furthermore, several studies indicate the existence of communication between the gut microbiome and their metabolites with the lung airways, called "gut-lung axis". Perturbations in gut microbiota composition, termed dysbiosis, can have acute and chronic effects on the pathophysiology of lung diseases. Microbes and their metabolites in lung stimulate various innate immune pathways, which modulate the expression of the inflammatory genes in pulmonary leukocytes. For instance, gut microbiota-derived metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids can suppress lung inflammation through the activation of G protein-coupled receptors (free fatty acid receptors) and can also inhibit histone deacetylase, which in turn influences the severity of acute and chronic respiratory diseases. Thus, modulation of the gut microbiome composition through probiotic/prebiotic usage and fecal microbiota transplantation can lead to alterations in lung homeostasis and immunity. The resulting manipulation of immune cells function through microbiota and their key metabolites paves the way for the development of novel therapeutic strategies in improving the lung health of individuals affected with various lung diseases including SARS-CoV-2. This review will shed light upon the mechanistic aspect of immune system programming through gut and lung microbiota and exploration of the relationship between gut-lung microbiome and also highlight the therapeutic potential of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in the management of respiratory diseases.

Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screening to mitigate cell growth inhibition induced by histone deacetylase inhibitors in recombinant CHO cells

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (iHDACs) have been extensively studied as enhancers of therapeutic protein production in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) (rCHO) cell cultures. However, the addition of iHDACs reduces the viable cell concentration (VCC) in rCHO cell cultures, thereby reducing their potential to enhance therapeutic protein production. To mitigate the negative effects of iHDACs on VCC, screening using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9)-based single-gene knockout (KO) library in rCHO cells was performed in the presence of CI994, a member of iHDACs, and 10 potential KO genes that enhanced the VCC of CI994-treated rCHO cells were identified. Among these, Bcor was validated as a promising KO target that improved VCC without negatively affecting the specific productivity in the presence of CI994. Bcor KO increased the VCC and therapeutic protein concentrations in both batch and fed-batch cultures in the presence of CI994. Taken together, these findings highlight the potential of the whole-genome CRISPR/Cas9-based single-gene KO cell library to identify KO target genes for the development of iHDAC-resistant rCHO cells for enhanced therapeutic protein production.

Epigenetic alterations fuel brain metastasis via regulating inflammatory cascade

Brain metastasis (BrM) is a major threat to the survival of melanoma, breast, and lung cancer patients. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and sustain in the brain microenvironment. Genetic mutations and epigenetic modifications have been found to be critical in controlling key aspects of cancer metastasis. Metastasizing cells confront inflammation and gradually adapt in the unique brain microenvironment. Currently, it is one of the major areas that has gained momentum. Researchers are interested in the factors that modulate neuroinflammation during BrM. We review here various epigenetic factors and mechanisms modulating neuroinflammation and how this helps CTCs to adapt and survive in the brain microenvironment. Since epigenetic changes could be modulated by targeting enzymes such as histone/DNA methyltransferase, deacetylases, acetyltransferases, and demethylases, we also summarize our current understanding of potential drugs targeting various aspects of epigenetic regulation in BrM.

A multidimensional platform of patient-derived tumors identifies drug susceptibilities for clinical lenvatinib resistance

Lenvatinib, a second-generation multi-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved by the FDA for first-line treatment of advanced liver cancer, facing limitations due to drug resistance. Here, we applied a multidimensional, high-throughput screening platform comprising patient-derived resistant liver tumor cells (PDCs), organoids (PDOs), and xenografts (PDXs) to identify drug susceptibilities for conquering lenvatinib resistance in clinically relevant settings. Expansion and passaging of PDCs and PDOs from resistant patient liver tumors retained functional fidelity to lenvatinib treatment, expediting drug repurposing screens. Pharmacological screening identified romidepsin, YM155, apitolisib, NVP-TAE684 and dasatinib as potential antitumor agents in lenvatinib-resistant PDC and PDO models. Notably, romidepsin treatment enhanced antitumor response in syngeneic mouse models by triggering immunogenic tumor cell death and blocking the EGFR signaling pathway. A combination of romidepsin and immunotherapy achieved robust and synergistic antitumor effects against lenvatinib resistance in humanized immunocompetent PDX models. Collectively, our findings suggest that patient-derived liver cancer models effectively recapitulate lenvatinib resistance observed in clinical settings and expedite drug discovery for advanced liver cancer, providing a feasible multidimensional platform for personalized medicine.

HDAC1: An Essential and Conserved Member of the Diverse Zn2+-Dependent HDAC Family Driven by Divergent Selection Pressure

Zn2+-dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that regulate gene expression by removing acetyl groups from histone proteins. These enzymes are essential in all living systems, playing key roles in cancer treatment and as potential pesticide targets. Previous phylogenetic analyses of HDAC in certain species have been published. However, their classification and evolutionary origins across biological kingdoms remain unclear, which limits our understanding of them. In this study, we collected the HDAC sequences from 1451 organisms and performed analyses. The HDACs are found to diverge into three classes and seven subclasses under divergent selection pressure. Most subclasses show species specificity, indicating that HDACs have evolved with high plasticity and diversification to adapt to different environmental conditions in different species. In contrast, HDAC1 and HDAC3, belonging to the oldest class, are conserved and crucial in major kingdoms of life, especially HDAC1. These findings lay the groundwork for the future application of HDACs.

Pharmacophore-based virtual screening of ZINC database, molecular modeling and designing new derivatives as potential HDAC6 inhibitors

To date, many HDAC6 inhibitors have been identified and developed but none is clinically approved as of now. Through this study, we aim to obtain novel HDAC6 selective inhibitors and provide new insights into the detailed structural design of potential HDAC6 inhibitors. A HypoGen-based 3D QSAR HDAC6 pharmacophore was built and used as a query model to screen approximately 8 million ZINC database compounds. First, the ZINC Database was filtered using ADMET, followed by pharmacophore-based library screening. Using fit value and estimated activity cutoffs, a final set of 54 ZINC hits was obtained that were further investigated using molecular docking with the crystal structure of human histone deacetylase 6 catalytic domain 2 in complex with Trichostatin A (PDB ID: 5EDU). Through detailed in silico screening of the ZINC database, we shortlisted three hits as the lead molecules for designing novel HDAC6 inhibitors with better efficacy. Docking with 5EDU, followed by ADMET and TOPKAT analysis of modified ZINC hits provided 9 novel potential HDAC6 inhibitors that possess better docking scores and 2D interactions as compared to the control ZINC hit molecules. Finally, a 50 ns MD analysis run followed by Protein-Ligand Interaction Energy (PLIE) analysis of the top scored hits provided a novel molecule N1 that showed promisingly similar results to that of Ricolinostat (a known HDAC6 inhibitor). The comparable result of the designed hits to established HDAC6 inhibitors suggests that these compounds might prove to be successful HDAC6 inhibitors in future. Designed novel hits that might act as good HDAC6 inhibitors derived from ZINC database using combined molecular docking and modeling approaches.

Untargeted LC-MS/MS Metabolomics Study of HO-AAVPA and VPA on Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the biggest health problems worldwide, characterized by intricate metabolic and biochemical complexities stemming from pronounced variations across dysregulated molecular pathways. If BC is not diagnosed early, complications may lead to death. Thus, the pursuit of novel therapeutic avenues persists, notably focusing on epigenetic pathways such as histone deacetylases (HDACs). The compound N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-propylpentanamide (HO-AAVPA), a derivative of valproic acid (VPA), has emerged as a promising candidate warranting pre-clinical investigation. HO-AAVPA is an HDAC inhibitor with antiproliferative effects on BC, but its molecular mechanism has yet to be deciphered. Furthermore, in the present study, we determined the metabolomic effects of HO-AAVPA and VPA on cells of luminal breast cancer (MCF-7) and triple-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) subtypes. The LC-MS untargeted metabolomic study allowed for the simultaneous measurement of multiple metabolites and pathways, identifying that both compounds affect glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism in the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines, suggesting that other biological targets were different from HDACs. In addition, there are different dysregulate metabolites, possibly due to the physicochemical differences between HO-AAVPA and VPA.

Bortezomib and Vorinostat Therapy as Maintenance Therapy Post-Autologous Transplant for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Using R-BEAM or BEAM Transplant Conditioning Regimen

INTRODUCTION

The success of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is limited by its high relapse rates. To reduce the risk of relapse, additional maintenance therapy can be added post-transplant. In a non-transplant setting at the time of initiation of this study, both bortezomib and vorinostat had been studied alone or in combination for some NHL histology and showed some clinical activity. At our center, this combination therapy post-transplant for multiple myeloma showed acceptable toxicity. Therefore, it seemed reasonable to study this combination therapy post-ASCT for NHL.

METHODS

NHL patients underwent conditioning for ASCT with rituximab, carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan/carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan. After recovery from the acute transplant-related toxicity, combination therapy with IV bortezomib and oral vorinostat (BV) was started and was given for a total of 12 (28-day) cycles.

RESULTS

Nineteen patients received BV post-ASCT. The most common toxicities were hematologic, gastrointestinal, metabolic, fatigue, and peripheral neuropathy. With a median follow-up of 10.3 years, 11 patients (58%) are alive without disease progression and 12 patients (63%) are alive.

CONCLUSIONS

BV can be given post-ASCT for NHL and produces excellent disease-free and overall survival rates.

The associations between dietary fibers intake and systemic immune and inflammatory biomarkers, a multi-cycle study of NHANES 2015-2020

Background

In recent years, there has been considerable growth in abnormal inflammatory reactions and immune system dysfunction, which are implicated in chronic inflammatory illnesses and a variety of other conditions. Dietary fibers have emerged as potential regulators of the human immune and inflammatory response. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the associations between dietary fibers intake and systemic immune and inflammatory biomarkers.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2020). Dietary fibers intake was defined as the mean of two 24-h dietary recall interviews. The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red blood cell distribution width-to-albumin ratio (RA), ferritin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) count were measured to evaluate systemic immune and inflammatory states of the body. The statistical software packages R and EmpowerStats were used to examine the associations between dietary fibers intake and systemic immune and inflammatory biomarkers.

Results

Overall, 14,392 participants were included in this study. After adjusting for age, gender, race, family monthly poverty level index, alcohol consumption, smoking status, vigorous recreational activity, body mass index, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and dietary inflammatory index, dietary fibers intake was inversely associated with SII (β = -2.19885, 95% CI: -3.21476 to -1.18294, p = 0.000248), SIRI (β = -0.00642, 95% CI: -0.01021 to -0.00263, p = 0.001738), NLR (β = -0.00803, 95% CI: -0.01179 to -0.00427, p = 0.000284), RA (β = -0.00266, 95% CI: -0.00401 to -0.00131, p = 0.000644), ferritin (β = -0.73086, 95% CI: -1.31385 to -0.14787, p = 0.020716), hs-CRP (β = -0.04629, 95% CI: -0.0743 to -0.01829, p = 0.002119), WBC (β = -0.01624, 95% CI: -0.02685 to -0.00563, p = 0.004066), neutrophils (β = -0.01346, 95% CI: -0.01929 to -0.00764, p = 0.000064). An inverse association between dietary fibers and PLR was observed in the middle (β = -3.11979, 95% CI: -5.74119 to -0.4984, p = 0.028014) and the highest tertile (β = -4.48801, 95% CI: -7.92369 to -1.05234, p = 0.016881) and the trend test (βtrend = -2.2626, 95% CI: -3.9648 to -0.5604, Ptrend = 0.0150). The observed associations between dietary fibers intake and SII, SIRI, NLR, RA, ferritin, hs-CRP, WBC, and neutrophils remained robust and consistent in the sensitivity analysis. No significant interaction by race was found.

Conclusion

Dietary fibers intake is associated with the improvement of the parameters of the immune response and inflammatory biomarkers, supporting recommendations to increase dietary fibers intake for enhanced immune health.

Epigenetic drugs as new emerging therapeutics: What is the scale's orientation of application and challenges?

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or function without altering the DNA sequence. Important factors are part of epigenetic events, such as methylation, DNA histone rearrangements, nucleosome transposition, and non-coding RNAs. Dysregulated epigenetic mechanics are associated with various cancers' initiation, development, and metastasis. It is known that the occurrence and development of cancer can be controlled by regulating unexpected epigenetic events. Epi-drugs are used singly or in combination with chemotherapy and enhance antitumor activity, reduce drug resistance, and stimulate the host immune response. Despite these benefits, epigenetic therapy as a single therapy or in combination with other drugs leads to adverse effects. This review article introduces and compares the advantages, disadvantages, and side effects of using these drugs for the first time since their introduction. Also, this article describes the mechanism of action of various epigenetic drugs. Recommendations for future use of epigenetic drugs as cancer therapeutics are suggested as an overall conclusion.

Potential Chemopreventive Role of Pterostilbene in Its Modulation of the Apoptosis Pathway

Cancer incidence keeps increasing every year around the world and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Cancer has imposed a major burden on the human population, including the deterioration of physical and mental health as well as economic or financial loss among cancer patients. Conventional cancer treatments including chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy have improved the mortality rate. However, conventional treatments have many challenges; for example, drug resistance, side effects, and cancer recurrence. Chemoprevention is one of the promising interventions to reduce the burden of cancer together with cancer treatments and early detection. Pterostilbene is a natural chemopreventive compound with various pharmacological properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, pterostilbene, due to its potential chemopreventive effect on inducing apoptosis in eliminating the mutated cells or preventing the progression of premalignant cells to cancerous cells, should be explored as a chemopreventive agent. Hence, in the review, we discuss the role of pterostilbene as a chemopreventive agent against various types of cancer via its modulation of the apoptosis pathway at the molecular levels.

The Gut Microbial Bile Acid Modulation and Its Relevance to Digestive Health and Diseases

The human gut microbiome has been linked to numerous digestive disorders, but its metabolic products have been much less well characterized, in part due to the expense of untargeted metabolomics and lack of ability to process the data. In this review, we focused on the rapidly expanding information about the bile acid repertoire produced by the gut microbiome, including the impacts of bile acids on a wide range of host physiological processes and diseases, and discussed the role of short-chain fatty acids and other important gut microbiome-derived metabolites. Of particular note is the action of gut microbiome-derived metabolites throughout the body, which impact processes ranging from obesity to aging to disorders traditionally thought of as diseases of the nervous system, but that are now recognized as being strongly influenced by the gut microbiome and the metabolites it produces. We also highlighted the emerging role for modifying the gut microbiome to improve health or to treat disease, including the "engineered native bacteria'' approach that takes bacterial strains from a patient, modifies them to alter metabolism, and reintroduces them. Taken together, study of the metabolites derived from the gut microbiome provided insights into a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes, and has substantial potential for new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics of disease of, or involving, the gastrointestinal tract.

Potential of Synthetic and Natural Compounds as Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Hematological Malignancies

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are enzymes that remove or add acetyl groups to lysine residues of histones, respectively. Histone deacetylation causes DNA to more snugly encircle histones and decreases gene expression, whereas acetylation has the opposite effect. Through these small alterations in chemical structure, HATs and HDACs regulate DNA expression. Recent research indicates histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) may be used to treat malignancies, including leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, virus-associated tumors, and multiple myeloma. These data suggest that HDACis may boost the production of immune-related molecules, resulting in the growth of CD8-positive T-cells and the recognition of nonreactive tumor cells by the immune system, thereby diminishing tumor immunity. The argument for employing epigenetic drugs in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients is supported by evidence that both epigenetic changes and mutations in the epigenetic machinery contribute to AML etiology. Although hypomethylating drugs have been licensed for use in AML, additional epigenetic inhibitors, such as HDACis, are now being tested in humans. Preclinical studies evaluating the efficacy of HDACis against AML have shown the ability of specific agents, such as anobinostat, vorinostat, and tricostatin A, to induce growth arrest, apoptosis, autophagy and cell death. However, these inhibitors do not seem to be successful as monotherapies, but instead achieve results when used in conjunction with other medications. In this article, we discuss the mounting evidence that HDACis promote extensive histone acetylation, as well as substantial increases in reactive oxygen species and DNA damage in hematological malignant cells. We also evaluate the potential of various natural product-based HDACis as therapeutic agents to combat hematological malignancies.

Mutant Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 Expression Enhances Response of Gliomas to the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Belinostat

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) are drugs that target the epigenetic state of cells by modifying the compaction of chromatin through effects on histone acetylation. Gliomas often harbor a mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 or 2 that leads to changes in their epigenetic state presenting a hypermethylator phenotype. We postulated that glioma cells with IDH mutation, due to the presence of epigenetic changes, will show increased sensitivity to HDACis. This hypothesis was tested by expressing mutant IDH1 with a point alteration-converting arginine 132 to histidine-within glioma cell lines that contain wild-type IDH1. Glioma cells engineered to express mutant IDH1 produced D-2-hydroxyglutarate as expected. When assessed for response to the pan-HDACi drug belinostat, mutant IDH1-expressing glioma cells were subjected to more potent inhibition of growth than the corresponding control cells. Increased sensitivity to belinostat correlated with the increased induction of apoptosis. Finally, a phase I trial assessing the addition of belinostat to standard-of-care therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients included one patient with a mutant IDH1 tumor. This mutant IDH1 tumor appeared to display greater sensitivity to the addition of belinostat than the other cases with wild-type IDH tumors based on both standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and advanced spectroscopic MRI criteria. These data together suggest that IDH mutation status within gliomas may serve as a biomarker of response to HDACis.

Targeting HDAC3 to overcome the resistance to ATRA or arsenic in acute promyelocytic leukemia through ubiquitination and degradation of PML-RARα

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is driven by the oncoprotein PML-RARα, which recruits corepressor complexes, including histone deacetylases (HDACs), to suppress cell differentiation and promote APL initiation. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combined with arsenic trioxide (ATO) or chemotherapy highly improves the prognosis of APL patients. However, refractoriness to ATRA and ATO may occur, which leads to relapsed disease in a group of patients. Here, we report that HDAC3 was highly expressed in the APL subtype of AML, and the protein level of HDAC3 was positively associated with PML-RARα. Mechanistically, we found that HDAC3 deacetylated PML-RARα at lysine 394, which reduced PIAS1-mediated PML-RARα SUMOylation and subsequent RNF4-induced ubiquitylation. HDAC3 inhibition promoted PML-RARα ubiquitylation and degradation and reduced the expression of PML-RARα in both wild-type and ATRA- or ATO-resistant APL cells. Furthermore, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of HDAC3 induced differentiation, apoptosis, and decreased cellular self-renewal of APL cells, including primary leukemia cells from patients with resistant APL. Using both cell line- and patient-derived xenograft models, we demonstrated that treatment with an HDAC3 inhibitor or combination of ATRA/ATO reduced APL progression. In conclusion, our study identifies the role of HDAC3 as a positive regulator of the PML-RARα oncoprotein by deacetylating PML-RARα and suggests that targeting HDAC3 could be a promising strategy to treat relapsed/refractory APL.

The Impact of Histone Modifications in Endometriosis Highlights New Therapeutic Opportunities

Endometriosis is a chronic disorder of the female reproductive system which afflicts a great number of women worldwide. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) prevent the relaxation of chromatin, thereby positively or negatively modulating gene transcription. The current review aims at studying the impact of histone modifications and their therapeutic targeting in endometriosis. In order to identify relevant studies, a literature review was conducted using the MEDLINE and LIVIVO databases. The current manuscript represents the most comprehensive, up-to-date review of the literature focusing on the particular role of HDACs and their inhibitors in the context of endometriosis. HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3, Sirtuin 1, and Sirtuin 3, are the five most studied HDAC enzymes which seem to, at least partly, influence the pathophysiology of endometriosis. Both well-established and novel HDACIs could possibly represent modern, efficacious anti-endometriotic drug agents. Altogether, histone modifications and their therapeutic targeting have been proven to have a strong impact on endometriosis.

Machine learning empowered multi-stress level electromechanical phenotyping for high-dimensional single cell analysis

Microfluidics provides a powerful platform for biological analysis by harnessing the ability to precisely manipulate fluids and microparticles with integrated microsensors. Here, we introduce an imaging and impedance cell analyzer (IM2Cell), which implements single cell level impedance analysis and hydrodynamic mechanical phenotyping simultaneously. For the first time, IM2Cell demonstrates the capability of multi-stress level mechanical phenotyping. Specifically, IM2Cell is capable of characterizing cell diameter, three deformability responses, and four electrical properties. It presents high-dimensional information to give insight into subcellular components such as cell membrane, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, and nucleus. In this work, we first validate imaging and impedance-based cell analyses separately. Then, the two techniques are combined to obtain both imaging and impedance data analyzed by machine learning method, exhibiting an improved prediction accuracy from 83.1% to 95.4% between fixed and living MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Next, IM2Cell demonstrates 91.2% classification accuracy in a mixture of unlabeled MCF-10A, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Finally, an application demonstrates the potential of IM2Cell for the deformability studies of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) subpopulations without cumbersome isolation or labeling steps.

The Epigenesis of Salivary Glands Carcinoma: From Field Cancerization to Carcinogenesis

Salivary gland carcinomas (SGCs) are a diverse collection of malignant tumors with marked differences in biological activity, clinical presentation and microscopic appearance. Although the etiology is varied, secondary radiation, oncogenic viruses as well as chromosomal rearrangements have all been linked to the formation of SGCs. Epigenetic modifications may also contribute to the genesis and progression of SGCs. Epigenetic modifications are any heritable changes in gene expression that are not caused by changes in DNA sequence. It is now widely accepted that epigenetics plays an important role in SGCs development. A basic epigenetic process that has been linked to a variety of pathological as well as physiological conditions including cancer formation, is DNA methylation. Transcriptional repression is caused by CpG islands hypermethylation at gene promoters, whereas hypomethylation causes overexpression of a gene. Epigenetic changes in SGCs have been identified, and they have been linked to the genesis, progression as well as prognosis of these neoplasms. Thus, we conduct a thorough evaluation of the currently known evidence on the involvement of epigenetic processes in SGCs.

30th Annual GP2A Medicinal Chemistry Conference

The Group for the Promotion of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in Academia (GP2A) held their 30th annual conference in August 2022 in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. There were 9 keynote presentations, 10 early career researcher presentations and 41 poster presentations.

Inhibition of histone deacetylases attenuates tumor progression and improves immunotherapy in breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the common malignancies with poor prognosis worldwide. The treatment of breast cancer patients includes surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy. In recent years, immunotherapy has potentiated the survival of certain breast cancer patients; however, primary resistance or acquired resistance attenuate the therapeutic outcomes. Histone acetyltransferases induce histone acetylation on lysine residues, which can be reversed by histone deacetylases (HDACs). Dysregulation of HDACs via mutation and abnormal expression contributes to tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Numerous HDAC inhibitors have been developed and exhibited the potent anti-tumor activity in a variety of cancers, including breast cancer. HDAC inhibitors ameliorated immunotherapeutic efficacy in cancer patients. In this review, we discuss the anti-tumor activity of HDAC inhibitors in breast cancer, including dacinostat, belinostat, abexinostat, mocetinotat, panobinostat, romidepsin, entinostat, vorinostat, pracinostat, tubastatin A, trichostatin A, and tucidinostat. Moreover, we uncover the mechanisms of HDAC inhibitors in improving immunotherapy in breast cancer. Furthermore, we highlight that HDAC inhibitors might be potent agents to potentiate immunotherapy in breast cancer.

Curriculum vitae of HDAC6 in solid tumors

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is the only member of the HDAC family that resides primarily in the cytoplasm with two catalytic domains and a ubiquitin-binding domain. HDAC6 is highly expressed in various solid tumors and participates in a wide range of biological activities, including hormone receptors, the p53 signaling pathway, and the kinase cascade signaling pathway due to its unique structural foundation and abundant substrate types. Additionally, HDAC6 can function as an oncogenic factor in solid tumors, boosting tumor cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, drug resistance, stemness, and lowering tumor cell immunogenicity, so assisting in carcinogenesis. Pan-HDAC inhibitors for cancer prevention are associated with potential cardiotoxicity in clinical investigations. It's interesting that HDAC6 silencing didn't cause any significant harm to normal cells. Currently, the use of HDAC6 specific inhibitors, individually or in combination, is among the most promising therapies in solid tumors. This review's objective is to give a general overview of the structure, biological functions, and mechanism of HDAC6 in solid tumor cells and in the immunological milieu and discuss the preclinical and clinical trials of selective HDAC6 inhibitors. These endeavors highlight that targeting HDAC6 could effectively kill tumor cells and enhance patients' immunity during solid tumor therapy.

Endocannabinoids are potential inhibitors of glioblastoma multiforme proliferation

Globally, it is evident that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive malignant cancer with a high mortality rate and no effective treatment options. Glioblastoma is classified as the stage-four progression of a glioma tumor, and its diagnosis results in a shortened life expectancy. Treatment options for GBM include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgical intervention, and conventional pharmacotherapy; however, at best, they extend the patient's life by a maximum of 5 years. GBMs are considered incurable due to their high recurrence rate, despite various aggressive therapeutic approaches which can have many serious adverse effects. Ceramides, classified as endocannabinoids, offer a promising novel therapeutic approach for GBM. Endocannabinoids may enhance the apoptosis of GBM cells but have no effect on normal healthy neural cells. Cannabinoids promote atypical protein kinase C, deactivate fatty acid amide hydrolase enzymes, and activate transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and TRPV2 to induce pro-apoptotic signaling pathways without increasing endogenous cannabinoids. In previous in vivo studies, endocannabinoids, chemically classified as amide formations of oleic and palmitic acids, have been shown to increase the pro-apoptotic activity of human cancer cells and inhibit cell migration and angiogenesis. This review focuses on the biological synthesis and pharmacology of endogenous cannabinoids for the enhancement of cancer cell apoptosis, which have potential as a novel therapy for GBM. Please cite this article as: Duzan A, Reinken D, McGomery TL, Ferencz N, Plummer JM, Basti MM. Endocannabinoids are potential inhibitors of glioblastoma multiforme proliferation. J Integr Med. 2023; Epub ahead of print.

Dietary fiber from fruit waste as a potential source of metabolites in maintenance of gut milieu during ulcerative colitis: A comprehensive review

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease, particularly ulcerative colitis (UC), has increased dramatically in the past few years owing to a changed lifestyle. Despite various therapeutic treatments, management of the disease is still an issue due to several limitations, including cost and adverse reactions. In this regard, researchers and consumers are inclined towards natural herbal medicines and prophylactic agents. Of these, dietary fiber (DF) (polysaccharides) has become an important topic of interest owing to various putative health attributes, particularly for diseases associated with the large intestine, such as UC. To fulfil industrial and scientific demands of dietary fibers, waste utilization can prove advantageous. Here, the present review highlights recent comprehensive advances in dietary fiber from waste resources in improving UC. Additionally, their role in the gut-associated microbiome, pathway for metabolites synthesis, inflammation, and its mediators. Moreover, here we also discussed short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) transport and epithelial barrier function along with the mechanism of inflammation regulation. Collectively, it depicts dietary fiber from waste resources that could regulate various cellular processes and molecular mechanisms involved in perpetuating UC and can be used as a promising therapeutic candidate.

Evolution of wound-activated regeneration pathways in the plant kingdom

Regeneration serves as a self-protective mechanism that allows a tissue or organ to recover its entire form and function after suffering damage. However, the regenerative capacity varies greatly within the plant kingdom. Primitive plants frequently display an amazing regenerative ability as they have developed a complex system and strategy for long-term survival under extreme stress conditions. The regenerative ability of dicot species is highly variable, but that of monocots often exhibits extreme recalcitrance to tissue replenishment. Recent studies have revealed key factors and signals that affect cell fate during plant regeneration, some of which are conserved among the plant lineage. Among these, several members of the ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF) transcription factors have been implicated in wound signaling, playing crucial roles in the regenerative mechanisms after different types of wounding. An understanding of plant regeneration may ultimately lead to an increased regenerative potential of recalcitrant species, producing more high-yielding, multi-resistant and environmentally friendly crops and ensuring the long-term development of global agriculture.

Non-bonding energy directed designing of HDAC2 inhibitors through molecular dynamics simulation

Designing an inhibitor having strong affinity in the active site pocket is the cherished goal of structure based drug designing. To achieve this, it is considerably important to predict which structural scaffold is better suited for change to increase affinity. We have explored five HDAC2 co-crystals having PDB ligand code-SHH (vorinostat), LLX, 20Y, IWX (BRD4884) and 6EZ (BRD7232). For analyzing protein-ligand interaction at an atomistic level, we have employed the NAMD molecular dynamics (MD) package. The obtained 100 ns long MD trajectories were subjected to quantitative estimations of non-bonding energies (NBEs) for inferring their interactions with the whole protein or its composite active site (CAS). In addition, relative ΔG_bind was calculated to rank the inhibitors. These inhibitors' NBEs reveal that the phenyl moieties are the major structural scaffold where modifications should be attempted. We designed new compounds (NCs) via introducing hydroxyl groups at 4,5 position of the phenyl moiety of 6EZ, called NC1. Improvement in NC1 further encouraged us for CAP modification by isochromane and isoindoline moieties in place of oxabicyclooctane in NC1, resulting in NC2 and NC3. We also explored trifluoromethyl oxadiazole in 6EZ (NC4 and NC5) and SHH (NC6 and NC7). This moiety acts as a ZBG in NC4 while acting as a part of the foot-pocket in the rest. NC2 and NC6 have highest favorable NBEs among all studied ligands due increased favorable electrostatic contribution. We expect these NBEs data will provide atomistic level insights and benefit in designing new and improved HDAC2 inhibitors. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Clinical Utility of Azacitidine in the Management of Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Update on Patient Selection and Reported Outcomes

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is predominantly a disease of the elderly, and a significant proportion of these patients are not candidates for intensive, curative-intent therapies. Epigenetic dysregulation resulting in abnormal DNA hypermethylation is one of the hallmarks of AML pathogenesis. For the past two decades, hypomethylating agents including azacitidine (AZA) have been the mainstay of treatment for AML patients who are ineligible to receive intensive chemotherapies. As our understanding of AML disease biology has improved, several novel treatment combinations have been developed to improve the outcome of AML patients, with remarkable success. A considerable proportion of these novel combinations have utilized AZA as the backbone of their treatment scheme. In this review, we have highlighted the evolution of AML treatment, focusing on novel AZA-based treatment combinations and their clinical efficacy.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cell: A crucial player in autoimmune diseases

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are identified as a highly heterogeneous group of immature cells derived from bone marrow and play critical immunosuppressive functions in autoimmune diseases. Accumulating evidence indicates that the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases was closely related to genetic mutations and epigenetic modifications, with the latter more common. Epigenetic modifications, which involve DNA methylation, covalent histone modification, and non-coding RNA-mediated regulation, refer to inheritable and potentially reversible changes in DNA and chromatin that regulate gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. Recently, numerous reports have shown that epigenetic modifications in MDSCs play important roles in the differentiation and development of MDSCs and their suppressive functions. The molecular mechanisms of differentiation and development of MDSCs and their regulatory roles in the initiation and progression of autoimmune diseases have been extensively studied, but the exact function of MDSCs remains controversial. Therefore, the biological and epigenetic regulation of MDSCs in autoimmune diseases still needs to be further characterized. This review provides a detailed summary of the current research on the regulatory roles of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs in the development and immunosuppressive activity of MDSCs, and further summarizes the distinct role of MDSCs in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, in order to provide help for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases from the perspective of epigenetic regulation of MDSCs.

Emergence of nutrigenomics and dietary components as a complementary therapy in cancer prevention

Cancer is an illness characterized by abnormal cell development and the capability to infiltrate or spread to rest of the body. A tumor is the term for this abnormal growth that develops in solid tissues like an organ, muscle, or bone and can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymphatic systems. Nutrition is a critical and immortal environmental component in the development of all living organisms encoding the relationship between a person's nutrition and their genes. Nutrients have the ability to modify gene expression and persuade alterations in DNA and protein molecules which is researched scientifically in nutrigenomics. These interactions have a significant impact on the pharmacokinetic properties of bioactive dietary components as well as their site of action/molecular targets. Nutrigenomics encompasses nutrigenetics, epigenetics, and transcriptomics as well as other "omic" disciplines like proteomics and metabolomics to explain the vast disparities in cancer risk among people with roughly similar life style. Clinical trials and researches have evidenced that alternation of dietary habits is potentially one of the key approaches for reducing cancer risk in an individual. In this article, we will target how nutrigenomics and functional food work as preventive therapy in reducing the risk of cancer.

Bioinformatics analysis of prognostic value and immunological role of MeCP2 in pan-cancer

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2(MeCP2) is an important epigenetic regulatory factor that promotes many tumor developments, such as liver cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. So far, no pan-cancer analysis has been reported. Therefore, this study aims to explore pan-cancer's prognostic value, immune infiltration pattern, and biological function. We used bioinformatics methods to analyze the expression and prognostic significance of MeCP2, and the relationship between MeCP2 and clinicopathological parameters, genetic variation, methylation, phosphorylation, immune cell infiltration, and biological function in pan-cancer from using a public database. The results showed that expression of MeCP2 was up-regulated in 8 cancers and down-regulated in 2 cancers, which was remarkably correlated with the prognosis, pathological stage, grade and subtype of cancers. The promoter methylation level of MeCP2 DNA was decreased in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA), breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC), testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD);decreased phosphorylation of S25, S90, S92, S241, S286, S325 and S435 was found in MeCP2, such as UCEC, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OV), colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), and kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC). Furthermore, MeCP2 expression was significantly associated with multiple immunomodulators and immune cell infiltration levels across most tumors. Therefore, our pan-cancer explored the prognostic markers and immunotherapeutic value of MeCP2 in different cancers.

LC–MS Based Lipidomics Depict Phosphatidylethanolamine as Biomarkers of TNBC MDA-MB-231 over nTNBC MCF-7 Cells

Breast cancer (BC) is the first malignant neoplasm in women, with a high death rate despite early diagnoses and treatment advances. Significant differences exist between the most common BC and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC presents molecular differences such as lacking expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 proteins, making this cancer have a poor clinical prognostic and lack clear strategies for its treatment. However, growing evidence points to metabolic dysregulation as another differential process between stages and types of BC. Therefore, the study of this crucial hallmark could identify new therapeutic targets to treat this aggressive form of BC. These differences induce an in vitro exploration of the metabolic behavior of the MCF7 cells (nTNBC) and MDA-MB-231 (TNBC) cells under lipidomic based LC–MS. The results show more significant differences in lipid regulation (phosphatidylethanolamine) that could be associated with the aggressiveness and difficulties of the treatment of TNBC.

Metabolic alterations of short-chain fatty acids and TCA cycle intermediates in human plasma from patients with gastric cancer

AIMS

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced by gut microbiota from dietary fiber. Since absorbed SCFAs could be introduced into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in host cells, the relationships between SCFAs and TCA cycle intermediates might influence to energy metabolism in the human body. For this reason, information on profile changes between SCFAs and TCA cycle intermediates could help unveil pathological mechanisms of gastric cancer.

MAIN METHODS

A gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method was developed to simultaneously determine SCFAs and TCA cycle intermediates in human plasma from patients with chronic superficial gastritis (CSG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), and gastric cancer. We applied a tetra-alkyl ammonium pairing method to prevent loss of volatile SCFAs and base decarboxylation of TCA cycle intermediates during sample preparation. To assess gastric diseases, metabolic alterations of SCFAs and TCA cycle intermediates in human plasma with gastric disorders were analyzed by their plasma levels.

KEY FINDINGS

Significantly different metabolic alterations based on the plasma levels of SCFAs and TCA cycle intermediates were investigated in cancer metabolic pathways. Not only propionate and butyrate, mainly produced by gut microbiota, were significantly decreased, but also cis-aconitate, α-ketoglutarate, and fumarate were significantly increased in plasma with IM or gastric cancer, compared to CSG. Further, based on ratios of product to precursor, three metabolic pathways (succinate/propionate, succinate/α-ketoglutarate, and cis-aconitate/citrate) were supposed to be distorted between gastric diseases.

SIGNIFICANCE

In conclusion, propionate, cis-aconitate, α-ketoglutarate, and fumarate could be used to assess the progression of gastric cancer.

Molecular mechanisms of histone deacetylases and inhibitors in renal fibrosis progression

Renal fibrosis is a common progressive manifestation of chronic kidney disease. This phenomenon of self-repair in response to kidney damage seriously affects the normal filtration function of the kidney. Yet, there are no specific treatments for the condition, which marks fibrosis as an irreversible pathological sequela. As such, there is a pressing need to improve our understanding of how fibrosis develops at the cellular and molecular levels and explore specific targeted therapies for these pathogenic mechanisms. It is now generally accepted that renal fibrosis is a pathological transition mediated by extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, abnormal activation of myofibroblasts, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal tubular epithelial cells under the regulation of TGF-β. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) appear to play an essential role in promoting renal fibrosis through non-histone epigenetic modifications. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of renal fibrosis and the signaling pathways that might be involved in HDACs in renal fibrosis, and the specific mechanisms of action of various HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) in the anti-fibrotic process to elucidate HDACi as a novel therapeutic tool to slow down the progression of renal fibrosis.

Microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids: Implications for cardiovascular and metabolic disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been on the rise around the globe in the past few decades despite the existing guidelines for prevention and treatment. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the main metabolites of certain colonic anaerobic bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract and have been found to be the key metabolites in the host of CVDs. Accumulating evidence suggest that the end-products of SCFAs (including acetate, propionate, and butyrate) interact with CVDs through maintaining intestinal integrity, anti-inflammation, modulating glucolipid metabolism, blood pressure, and activating gut-brain axis. Recent advances suggest a promising way to prevent and treat CVDs by controlling SCFAs. Hence, this review tends to summarize the functional roles carried out by SCFAs that are reported in CVDs studies. This review also highlights several novel therapeutic interventions for SCFAs to prevent and treat CVDs.

Quantitative Acetylomics Uncover Acetylation-Mediated Pathway Changes Following Histone Deacetylase Inhibition in Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) target acetylated lysine residues in histone and non-histone proteins. HDACs are implicated in the regulation of genomic stability, cell cycle, cell death and differentiation and thus critically involved in tumorigenesis. Further, HDACs regulate T-cell development and HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) have been approved for clinical use in some T-cell malignancies. Still, the exact targets and mechanisms of HDAC inhibition in cancer are understudied. We isolated tumor cell lines from a transgenic mouse model of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare T-cell lymphoma, and abrogated HDAC activity by treatment with the HDACis Vorinostat and Entinostat or Cre-mediated deletion of Hdac1. Changes in overall protein expression as well as histone and protein acetylation were measured following Hdac1 deletion or pharmacological inhibition using label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We found changes in overall protein abundance and increased acetylation of histones and non-histone proteins, many of which were newly discovered and associated with major metabolic and DNA damage pathways. For non-histone acetylation, we mapped a total of 1204 acetylated peptides corresponding to 603 proteins, including chromatin modifying proteins and transcription factors. Hyperacetylated proteins were involved in processes such as transcription, RNA metabolism and DNA damage repair (DDR). The DDR pathway was majorly affected by hyperacetylation following HDAC inhibition. This included acetylation of H2AX, PARP1 and previously unrecognized acetylation sites in TP53BP1. Our data provide a comprehensive view of the targets of HDAC inhibition in malignant T cells with general applicability and could have translational impact for the treatment of ALCL with HDACis alone or in combination therapies.

Mechanism of histone deacetylases in cardiac hypertrophy and its therapeutic inhibitors

Cardiac hypertrophy is a key process in cardiac remodeling development, leading to ventricle enlargement and heart failure. Recently, studies show the complicated relation between cardiac hypertrophy and epigenetic modification. Post-translational modification of histone is an essential part of epigenetic modification, which is relevant to multiple cardiac diseases, especially in cardiac hypertrophy. There is a group of enzymes related in the balance of histone acetylation/deacetylation, which is defined as histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). In this review, we introduce an important enzyme family HDAC, a key regulator in histone deacetylation. In cardiac hypertrophy HDAC I downregulates the anti-hypertrophy gene expression, including Kruppel-like factor 4 (Klf4) and inositol-5 phosphatase f (Inpp5f), and promote the development of cardiac hypertrophy. On the contrary, HDAC II binds to myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2 (MEF2), inhibit the assemble ability to HAT and protect against cardiac hypertrophy. Under adverse stimuli such as pressure overload and calcineurin stimulation, the HDAC II transfer to cytoplasm, and MEF2 can bind to nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) or GATA binding protein 4 (GATA4), mediating inappropriate gene expression. HDAC III, also known as SIRTs, can interact not only to transcription factors, but also exist interaction mechanisms to other HDACs, such as HDAC IIa. We also present the latest progress of HDAC inhibitors (HDACi), as a potential treatment target in cardiac hypertrophy.

The potential role of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in adjuvant cancer therapy especially colorectal cancer

Cancer is a global health issue that is rising swiftly with younger people and an increased number of patients. The role of human microbiota in the pathophysiology of tumors has been paid more and more attention. Microecologics including prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics are among the best validated/proven resources for the application of microbiological prophylaxis and therapy. There is strong evidence that microecologics have anti-cancer activity and their potential association with cancer is significant. In this review, we will focus on the role of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in tumor suppression in maintaining the colon barrier, metabolism, immune regulation, inhibition of host tumor cell proliferation, and epidemiological-based recommendations. Besides, other signs illuminate the role of microecological agents to adjunct the cancer treatment and counter the toxic side effects of cancer drugs. In addition, we will explore their role in chemotherapy, where these probiotics can be used as an adjunct to chemotherapy, counteracting the toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs to minimize or optimize the therapeutic effect. In the treatment of cancer, we can see the role of prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and their application in cancer patients, and the effectiveness effect can be considered as a clinical benefit. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: A large number of studies have shown that microecologics including prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics play an important role in regulating intestinal microecology and contribute to the prevention and treatment of cancer, indicating that prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics have the potential to be used as microecological modulators in the adjuvant therapy of cancer. However, it is not clear what is the anti-tumor mechanism of these microecologics and how they antagonize the side effects of cancer chemotherapy and protect normal cells. This paper reviews the role of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in tumor suppression in maintaining the colon barrier, metabolism, immune regulation, and prevention of rapid growth of host cells, as well as their potential role in cancer chemotherapy. This review helps to better understand the relationship between prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics with immune regulation, intestinal microecology, metabolic regulation, and cell proliferation and provides strong evidence for their potential application as microecologics in cancer adjuvant therapy.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids in the Metabolism of Heart Failure – Rethinking the Fat Stigma

Heart failure (HF) remains a disease with immense global health burden. During the development of HF, the myocardium and therefore cardiac metabolism undergoes specific changes, with decreased long-chain fatty acid oxidation and increased anaerobic glycolysis, diminishing the overall energy yield. Based on the dogma that the failing heart is oxygen-deprived and on the fact that carbohydrates are more oxygen-efficient than FA, metabolic HF drugs have so far aimed to stimulate glucose oxidation or inhibit FA oxidation. Unfortunately, these treatments have failed to provide meaningful clinical benefits. We believe it is time to rethink the concept that fat is harmful to the failing heart. In this review we discuss accumulating evidence that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) may be an effective fuel for the failing heart. In contrast to long-chain fatty acids, SCFAs are readily taken up and oxidized by the heart and could serve as a nutraceutical treatment strategy. In addition, we discuss how SCFAs activate pathways that increase long chain fatty acid oxidation, which could help increase the overall energy availability. Another potential beneficial effect we discuss lies within the anti-inflammatory effect of SCFAs, which has shown to inhibit cardiac fibrosis – a key pathological process in the development of HF.

Discovery of pomalidomide-based PROTACs for selective degradation of histone deacetylase 8

Overexpression of histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) is associated with various diseases such as cancer. Thus, compounds that can modulate HDAC8 levels have therapeutic potential for these diseases. Based on the proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) strategy, we designed and synthesized a series of HDAC8 degraders by tethering an HDAC6/8 dual inhibitor with pomalidomide (a cereblon ligand). Among them, compound ZQ-23 exhibited significant and selective degradation of HDAC8 with DC₅₀ of 147 nM and D_max of 93%, and exhibited no effects on HDAC1 and HDAC3. Interestingly, we found that the degradation of target protein started at ∼2 h after treatment with ZQ-23 and the maximal degradation effect was achieved at 10 h. The HDAC8 level was partially recovered within 24 h. In addition, ZQ-23 had no degrading effects on HDAC1 and HDAC3 at all concentrations, but could dose-dependently increase the levels of acetylated SMC-3 (HDAC8 substrate). Mechanism study demonstrated that ZQ-23 degraded HDAC8 through the ubiquitin-protease pathway, rather than lysosome system. Collectively, these results suggest that ZQ-23 represents a novel PROTAC-based HDAC8 degrader worthy of further investigation.