Highlights on the Role of Galectin-3 in Colorectal Cancer and the Preventive/Therapeutic Potential of Food-Derived Inhibitors

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite advances in surgical and therapeutic management, tumor metastases and resistance to therapy still represent major hurdles. CRC risk is highly modifiable by lifestyle factors, including diet, which strongly influences both cancer incidence and related mortality. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a multifaceted protein involved in multiple pathophysiological pathways underlying chronic inflammation and cancer. Its versatility is given by the ability to participate in a wide range of tumor-promoting processes, including cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions, cell growth regulation and apoptosis, and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This review provides an updated summary of preclinical and observational human studies investigating the pathogenetic role of Gal-3 in intestinal inflammation and CRC, as well as the potential of Gal-3 activity inhibition by plant-source food-derived bioactive compounds to control CRC onset/growth. These studies highlight both direct and immuno-mediated effects of Gal-3 on tumor growth and invasiveness and its potential role as a CRC prognostic biomarker. Substantial evidence indicates natural food-derived Gal-3 inhibitors as promising candidates for CRC prevention and therapy. However, critical issues, such as their bioavailability and efficacy, in controlled human studies need to be addressed to translate research progress into clinical applications.

Application on infrared spectroscopy for the analysis of total phenolic compounds in fruits

Recent studies have demonstrated the metabolic benefits of phenolic compounds on human health. However, traditional analytical methods used for quantification of total phenolic compounds are time-consuming, laborious, require a high volume of reagents, mostly toxic substances, and involve several steps that can result in systematic and instrumental errors. Spectroscopic techniques have been used as alternatives to these methods for the determination of bioactive compounds directly in the food matrix by minimal sample preparation, without using toxic reagents. Therefore, this overview presents the advantages of nondestructive methods focusing on infrared spectroscopy (IR), for the quantification of total phenolic compounds in fruits. In addition, the main difficulties in applying these spectroscopic techniques are presented, as well as a comparison between the quantification of total phenolic compounds by traditional and IR methods. This review concludes by focusing on model building, highlighting that IR data are mainly processed using the partial least-squares (PLS) regression method to predict total phenolic content. The development of portable and inexpensive IR instruments, combined with multivariate data processing, could give to the consumers a straightforward technology to evaluate the total phenolic content of fruits prior to purchase.

Downregulation of FABP5 suppresses mTOR -mediated autophagy via an increase in FASN to promote colorectal cancer progression.. [DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1961306/v1] [Cited by in Crossref: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] Background Lipid metabolism plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer, in particular, digestive system tumors such as colon cancer. Here, we investigated the role of the fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5) in colorectal cancer(CRC). Methods To this end, tissue microarray was initially used for analysis of FABP5 expression, followed by generation of stable cell lines with knockdown or overexpression of FABP5 for a series of functional assays including CCK-8, colony formation, EdU and transwell experiments. Co-IP, RNA-seq and omics-based lipid metabolism studies were further performed to explore the mechanisms of action of FABP5 in CRC. The function of FABP5 in vivo was analyzed with the aid of tumor xenograft and immunohistochemistry experiments. Results We observed marked downregulation of FABP5 in CRC. Data from functional assays revealed inhibitory effects of FABP5 on cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion as well as tumor growth in vivo. In terms of mechanistic insights, FABP5 interacted with fatty acid synthase (FASN) and activated the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, leading to a decrease in FASN expression and lipid accumulation, in turn, suppressing mTOR signaling and facilitating cell autophagy. Orlistat, a FASN inhibitor, exerted anti-cancer effects both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the upstream RNA demethylase ALKBH5 positively regulated FABP5 expression via an m6A-independent mechanism. Conclusion Our collective findings offer valuable insights into the critical role of the FABP5/FASN axis in tumor progression and uncover a potential mechanism linking lipid metabolism to development of CRC, providing novel therapeutic targets for future interventions

Background Lipid metabolism plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer, in particular, digestive system tumors such as colon cancer. Here, we investigated the role of the fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5) in colorectal cancer(CRC). Methods To this end, tissue microarray was initially used for analysis of FABP5 expression, followed by generation of stable cell lines with knockdown or overexpression of FABP5 for a series of functional assays including CCK-8, colony formation, EdU and transwell experiments. Co-IP, RNA-seq and omics-based lipid metabolism studies were further performed to explore the mechanisms of action of FABP5 in CRC. The function of FABP5 in vivo was analyzed with the aid of tumor xenograft and immunohistochemistry experiments. Results We observed marked downregulation of FABP5 in CRC. Data from functional assays revealed inhibitory effects of FABP5 on cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion as well as tumor growth in vivo. In terms of mechanistic insights, FABP5 interacted with fatty acid synthase (FASN) and activated the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, leading to a decrease in FASN expression and lipid accumulation, in turn, suppressing mTOR signaling and facilitating cell autophagy. Orlistat, a FASN inhibitor, exerted anti-cancer effects both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the upstream RNA demethylase ALKBH5 positively regulated FABP5 expression via an m6A-independent mechanism. Conclusion Our collective findings offer valuable insights into the critical role of the FABP5/FASN axis in tumor progression and uncover a potential mechanism linking lipid metabolism to development of CRC, providing novel therapeutic targets for future interventions.