The RAGE/multiligand axis: a new actor in tumor biology

The prognostic implications and tumor-promoting functions of CHSY3 in gastric cancer

Chondroitin sulfate synthase 3 (CHSY3) is an important enzyme that regulates glycosylation, but its role in tumors has not been determined. Here, we showed that high CHSY3 expression promotes proliferation in gastric cancer (GC) cells and is associated with poor prognosis in GC patients. We analyzed the immunohistochemistry data of 150 gastric cancer patients to determine the clinicopathological and survival significance of CHSY3. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the colocalization of CHSY3 with infiltrating immune cells. Additionally, CHSY3 was predominantly found in tumor tissues and showed higher abundance compared to matched adjacent tissues. High CHSY3 expression was associated with more advanced tumor stage, higher recurrence risk and worse survival. Immunohistochemistry and bioinformatic analysis revealed that CHSY3 expression was significantly positively correlated with tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) infiltration. Moreover, after knocking down CHSY3, the proliferation of cells was decreased, and the migration ability was reduced, as shown by scratch, monoclonal and transwell assays. In conclusion, this study revealed that CHSY3 has a tumor-promoting effect on GC, suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy against this disease.

Advanced Glycation End Products and Health: A Systematic Review

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have garnered significant attention due to their association with chronic diseases and the aging process. The prevalence of geriatric diseases among young individuals has witnessed a notable surge in recent years, potentially attributed to the accelerated pace of modern life. The accumulation of AGEs is primarily attributed to their inherent difficulty in metabolism, which makes them promising biomarkers for chronic disease detection. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements and findings in AGE research. The discussion is divided into two main sections: endogenous AGEs (formed within the body) and exogenous AGEs (derived from external sources). Various aspects of AGEs are subsequently summarized, including their production pathways, pathogenic mechanisms, and detection methods. Moreover, this review delves into the future research prospects concerning AGEs. Overall, this comprehensive review underscores the importance of AGEs in the detection of chronic diseases and provides a thorough understanding of their significance. It emphasizes the necessity for further research endeavors to deepen our comprehension of AGEs and their implications for human health.

HIF-1α Mediates Immunosuppression and Chemoresistance in Colorectal Cancer by Inhibiting CXCL9, -10 and -11

Uncertainty exists regarding the mechanisms by which hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) control CD8+T-cell migration into tumor microenvironments. Here, we found that HIF-1α knockdown or overexpression resulted in increased or decreased CXCL9, -10, and -11 expression in vitro, respectively. Gene Set Variation Analysis revealed that elevated HIF-1α levels correlated with a poor prognosis, severe pathological stage, and an absence of CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. HIF-1α was inversely associated with pathways beneficial to anti-tumor immunotherapy and cytokine/chemokine function. In vivo, inhibiting HIF-1α or its upstream regulator BIRC2 significantly suppressed tumor growth and promoted CD8+ T-cell infiltration. CXCR3 neutralizing antibodies reversed these effects, implicating the involvement of CXCL9, -10, and -11/CXCR3 axis. The presence of HIF-1α weakened the upregulation of CXCL9, -10, and -11 by bleomycin and doxorubicin. Combining HIF-1α inhibition with bleomycin promoted CD8+ T-cell infiltration and tumor suppression in vivo. Moreover, doxorubicin could upregulate CXCL9, -10 and -11 by suppressing HIF-1α. Our findings highlight the potential of HIF-1α inhibition to improve CRC microenvironments and increase chemotherapy sensitivity.

The RAGE Axis: A Relevant Inflammatory Hub in Human Diseases

In 1992, a transcendental report suggested that the receptor of advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) functions as a cell surface receptor for a wide and diverse group of compounds, commonly referred to as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), resulting from the non-enzymatic glycation of lipids and proteins in response to hyperglycemia. The interaction of these compounds with RAGE represents an essential element in triggering the cellular response to proteins or lipids that become glycated. Although initially demonstrated for diabetes complications, a growing body of evidence clearly supports RAGE's role in human diseases. Moreover, the recognizing capacities of this receptor have been extended to a plethora of structurally diverse ligands. As a result, it has been acknowledged as a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) and functionally categorized as the RAGE axis. The ligation to RAGE leads the initiation of a complex signaling cascade and thus triggering crucial cellular events in the pathophysiology of many human diseases. In the present review, we intend to summarize basic features of the RAGE axis biology as well as its contribution to some relevant human diseases such as metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, autoimmune, and chronic airways diseases, and cancer as a result of exposure to AGEs, as well as many other ligands.

AGEs and RAGE: metabolic and molecular signatures of the glycation-inflammation axis in malignant or metastatic cancers

From attributing mutations to cancers with the advent of cutting-edge genetic technology in recent decades, to re-searching the age-old theory of intrinsic metabolic shift of cancers (Warburg's glycolysis), the quest for a precise panacea for mainly the metastatic cancers, remains incessant. This review delineates the advanced glycation end product (AGE)-receptor for AGE (RAGE) pathway driven intricate oncogenic cues, budding from the metabolic (glycolytic) reliance of tumour cells, branching into metastatic emergence of malignancies. Strong AGE-RAGE concomitance in metastasis, chemo-resistance and cancer resurgence adversely incite disease progression and patient mortality. At the conjunction of metabolic and metastatic shift of cancers, are the "glycolytically" generated AGEs and AGE-activated RAGE, instigating aberrant molecular pathways, culminating in aggressive malignancies. AGEs as by-products of metabolic insurgence, modify the metabolome, epigenome and microbiome, besides coercing the inter-, intra- and extra-cellular micro-milieu conducive for oncogenic events like epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). AGE-RAGE synergistically elicit ATP surge for surplus energy, autophagy for apoptotic evasion and chemo-resistance, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) for meta-inflammation and angiogenesis, high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) for immune tolerance, S100 proteins for metastasis, and p53 protein attenuation for tumour suppression. AGEs are pronouncedly reported in invasive forms of breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers, higher in patients with cancer than healthy counterparts, and higher in advanced stage than localized phase. Hence, the investigation of person-specific presence of AGEs, soluble RAGE and AGE-activated RAGE can be advocated as impending bio-markers for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes, to predict cancer risk in patients with diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome as well as general population, to monitor prognosis and metastasis in patients with cancer, and to reckon complications in cancer survivors. Furthermore, clinical reports of exogenous (dietary) and endogenous (internally formed) AGEs in cancer patients, and contemporary clinical trials involving AGE-RAGE axis in cancer are underlined with theranostic implications.

Implications of receptor for advanced glycation end products for progression from obesity to diabetes and from diabetes to cancer

Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are chronic pathologies with a high incidence worldwide. They share some pathological mechanisms, including hyperinsulinemia, the production and release of hormones, and hyperglycemia. The above, over time, affects other systems of the human body by causing tissue hypoxia, low-grade inflammation, and oxidative stress, which lay the pathophysiological groundwork for cancer. The leading causes of death globally are T2DM and cancer. Other main alterations of this pathological triad include the accumulation of advanced glycation end products and the release of endogenous alarmins due to cell death (i.e., damage-associated molecular patterns) such as the intracellular proteins high-mobility group box protein 1 and protein S100 that bind to the receptor for advanced glycation products (RAGE) - a multiligand receptor involved in inflammatory and metabolic and neoplastic processes. This review analyzes the latest advanced reports on the role of RAGE in the development of obesity, T2DM, and cancer, with an aim to understand the intracellular signaling mechanisms linked with cancer initiation. This review also explores inflammation, oxidative stress, hypoxia, cellular senescence, RAGE ligands, tumor microenvironment changes, and the “cancer hallmarks” of the leading tumors associated with T2DM. The assimilation of this information could aid in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to lower the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases.

Characterization of RAGE and CK2 Expressions in Human Fetal Membranes

At the feto-maternal interface, fetal membranes (FM) play a crucial role throughout pregnancy. FM rupture at term implicates different sterile inflammation mechanisms including pathways activated by the transmembrane glycoprotein receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. As the protein kinase CK2 is also implicated in the inflammation process, we aimed to characterize the expressions of RAGE and the protein kinase CK2 as a candidate regulator of RAGE expression. The amnion and choriodecidua were collected from FM explants and/or primary amniotic epithelial cells throughout pregnancy and at term in spontaneous labor (TIL) or term without labor (TNL). The mRNA and protein expressions of RAGE and the CK2α, CK2α', and CK2β subunits were investigated using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assays. Their cellular localizations were determined with microscopic analyses, and the CK2 activity level was measured. RAGE and the CK2α, CK2α', and CK2β subunits were expressed in both FM layers throughout pregnancy. At term, RAGE was overexpressed in the amnion from the TNL samples, whereas the CK2 subunits were expressed at the same level in the different groups (amnion/choriodecidua/amniocytes, TIL/TNL), without modification of the CK2 activity level and immunolocalization. This work paves the way for future experiments regarding the regulation of RAGE expression by CK2 phosphorylation.

Contributions of the receptor for advanced glycation end products axis activation in gastric cancer

Compelling shreds of evidence derived from both clinical and experimental research have demonstrated the crucial contribution of receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) axis activation in the development of neoplasms, including gastric cancer (GC). This new actor in tumor biology plays an important role in the onset of a crucial and long-lasting inflammatory milieu, not only by supporting phenotypic changes favoring growth and dissemination of tumor cells, but also by functioning as a pattern-recognition receptor in the inflammatory response to Helicobacter pylori infection. In the present review, we aim to highlight how the overexpression and activation of the RAGE axis contributes to the proliferation and survival of GC cells as and their acquisition of more invasive phenotypes that promote dissemination and metastasis. Finally, the contribution of some single nucleotide polymorphisms in the RAGE gene as susceptibility or poor prognosis factors is also discussed.

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) and Its Ligands S100A8/A9 and High Mobility Group Box Protein 1 (HMGB1) Are Key Regulators of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells

Immunotherapies including checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (CBI) and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) have revolutionized cancer treatment for patients with certain cancers. However, these treatments are not effective for all cancers, and even for those cancers that do respond, not all patients benefit. Most cancer patients have elevated levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that are potent inhibitors of antitumor immunity, and clinical and animal studies have demonstrated that neutralization of MDSCs may restore immune reactivity and enhance CBI and CAR-T immunotherapies. MDSCs are homeostatically regulated in that elimination of mature circulating and intratumoral MDSCs results in increased production of MDSCs from bone marrow progenitor cells. Therefore, targeting MDSC development may provide therapeutic benefit. The pro-inflammatory molecules S100A8/A9 and high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) and their receptor RAGE are strongly associated with the initiation and progression of most cancers. This article summarizes the literature demonstrating that these molecules are integrally involved in the early development, accumulation, and suppressive activity of MDSCs, and postulates that S100A8/A9 and HMGB1 serve as early biomarkers of disease and in conjunction with RAGE are potential targets for reducing MDSC levels and enhancing CBI and CAR-T immunotherapies.

Association between diabetes and cancer. Current mechanistic insights into the association and future challenges

Compelling pieces of epidemiological, clinical, and experimental research have demonstrated that Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor associated with increased cancer incidence and mortality in many human neoplasms. In the pathophysiology context of DM, many of the main classical actors are relevant elements that can fuel the different steps of the carcinogenesis process. Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, metabolic inflammation, and dyslipidemia are among the classic contributors to this association. Furthermore, new emerging actors have received particular attention in the last few years, and compelling data support that the microbiome, the epigenetic changes, the reticulum endoplasmic stress, and the increased glycolytic influx also play important roles in promoting the development of many cancer types. The arsenal of glucose-lowering therapeutic agents used for treating diabetes is wide and diverse, and a growing body of data raised during the last two decades has tried to clarify the contribution of therapeutic agents to this association. However, this research area remains controversial, because some anti-diabetic drugs are now considered as either promotors or protecting elements. In the present review, we intend to highlight the compelling epidemiological shreds of evidence that support this association, as well as the mechanistic contributions of many of these potential pathological mechanisms, some controversial points as well as future challenges.

Receptor of advanced glycation end-products axis and gallbladder cancer: A forgotten connection that we should reconsider

Compelling evidence derived from clinical and experimental research has demonstrated the crucial contribution of chronic inflammation in the development of neoplasms, including gallbladder cancer. In this regard, data derived from clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated that the receptor of advanced glycation end-products (RAGE)/AGEs axis plays an important role in the onset of a crucial and long-lasting inflammatory milieu, thus supporting tumor growth and development. AGEs are formed in biological systems or foods, and food-derived AGEs, also known as dietary AGEs are known to contribute to the systemic pool of AGEs. Once they bind to RAGE, the activation of multiple and crucial signaling pathways are triggered, thus favoring the secretion of several proinflammatory cytokines also involved in the promotion of gallbladder cancer invasion and migration. In the present review, we aimed to highlight the relevance of the association between high dietary AGEs intakes and high risk for gallbladder cancer, and emerging data supporting that dietary intervention to reduce gallbladder cancer risk is a very attractive approach that deserves much more research efforts.

Strategies for Efficient Targeting of Tumor Collagen for Cancer Therapy

Simple Summary

The tumor microenvironment encompasses the cellular and extracellular matrix components that support and shape the three-dimensional framework in which solid tumors develop and grow. The extracellular matrix of the tumor is characterized by increased deposition and aberrant architecture of collagen fibers. Therefore, as a key mechanical component of the tumor microenvironment, collagen plays a critical role in cancer progression, metastasis, and therapeutic response. To boost the efficacy of current anticancer therapies, including immunotherapy, innovative approaches should take into account strategies directed against the dysregulated non-cancer cell stromal components. In the current review, we provide an overview of the principal approaches to target tumor collagen to provide therapeutic benefits.

Abstract

The tumor stroma, which comprises stromal cells and non-cellular elements, is a critical component of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The dynamic interactions between the tumor cells and the stroma may promote tumor progression and metastasis and dictate resistance to established cancer therapies. Therefore, novel antitumor approaches should combine anticancer and anti-stroma strategies targeting dysregulated tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM remodeling is a hallmark of solid tumors, leading to extensive biochemical and biomechanical changes, affecting cell signaling and tumor tissue three-dimensional architecture. Increased deposition of fibrillar collagen is the most distinctive alteration of the tumor ECM. Consequently, several anticancer therapeutic strategies have been developed to reduce excessive tumor collagen deposition. Herein, we provide an overview of the current advances and challenges of the main approaches aiming at tumor collagen normalization, which include targeted anticancer drug delivery, promotion of degradation, modulation of structure and biosynthesis of collagen, and targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts, which are the major extracellular matrix producers.