LRH1 as a promising prognostic biomarker and predictor of metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Unravelling the role of tumor microenvironment responsive nanobiomaterials in spatiotemporal controlled drug delivery for lung cancer therapy

Design and development of efficient drug delivery technologies that impart site-specificity is the need of the hour for the effective treatment of lung cancer. The emergence of materials science and nanotechnology partially helped drug delivery scientists to achieve this objective. Various stimuli-responsive materials that undergo degradation at the pathological tumor microenvironment (TME) have been developed and explored for drug delivery applications using nanotechnological approaches. Nanoparticles (NPs), owing to their small size and high surface area to volume ratio, demonstrated enhanced cellular internalization, permeation, and retention at the tumor site. Such passive accumulation of stimuli-responsive materials helped to achieve spatiotemporally controlled and targeted drug delivery within the tumors. In this review, we discussed various stimuli-physical (interstitial pressure, temperature, and stiffness), chemical (pH, hypoxia, oxidative stress, and redox state), and biological (receptor expression, efflux transporters, immune cells, and their receptors or ligands)-that are characteristic to the TME. We mentioned an array of biomaterials-based nanoparticulate delivery systems that respond to these stimuli and control drug release at the TME. Further, we discussed nanoparticle-based combinatorial drug delivery strategies. Finally, we presented our perspectives on challenges related to scale-up, clinical translation, and regulatory approvals.

Restored microRNA-519a enhances the radiosensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer via suppressing EphA2

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that microRNA-519a (miR-519a) acts as the tumor suppressor in various cancers, but little is known regarding its intrinsic regulatory mechanisms in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we aimed to investigate the role of miR-519a-targeted ephrinA2 receptor (EphA2) in radiosensitivity of NSCLC. MiR-519a and EphA2 expression in NSCLC and paracancerous tissues were detected using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. A549 cell line was cultured and radiation-resistant cell line A549R was constructed using fractionated X-ray irradiation of these cells at 60 Gy. Colony formation ability and radioresistance of parent strain A549 and resistant strain A549R were detected with restored miR-519a and depleted EphA2. MTT assay was used to measure cell proliferation, flow cytometry was performed for determination of cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. The migration and invasion abilities were assessed by Transwell assay. The target relationship between miR-519a and EphA2 was verified. Results suggested that miR-519a was downregulated and EphA2 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cells, and miR-519a targeted EphA2. MiR-519a expression declined, while EphA2 expression elevated in A549R cells versus A549 cells. Upregulated miR-519a and downregulated EphA2 suppressed D0, Dq, survival fraction (SF2) and N-value, arrested cells at G0/G1 phase, advanced the apoptosis and attenuated migration, proliferation, and invasion of A549 and A549R cells. Overexpression of EphA2 reversed the promotion of upregulated miR-519a on radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells. Our results revealed that miR-519a enhances radiosensitivity of NSCLC by inhibiting EphA2 expression. Moreover, miR-519a serves as a target for NSCLC treatment.

Targeting Nuclear Receptors in Lung Cancer—Novel Therapeutic Prospects

Lung cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, is the major cause of fatalities worldwide for both men and women, with an estimated 2.2 million new incidences and 1.8 million deaths, according to GLOBOCAN 2020. Although various risk factors for lung cancer pathogenesis have been reported, controlling smoking alone has a significant value as a preventive measure. In spite of decades of extensive research, mechanistic cues and targets need to be profoundly explored to develop potential diagnostics, treatments, and reliable therapies for this disease. Nuclear receptors (NRs) function as transcription factors that control diverse biological processes such as cell growth, differentiation, development, and metabolism. The aberrant expression of NRs has been involved in a variety of disorders, including cancer. Deregulation of distinct NRs in lung cancer has been associated with numerous events, including mutations, epigenetic modifications, and different signaling cascades. Substantial efforts have been made to develop several small molecules as agonists or antagonists directed to target specific NRs for inhibiting tumor cell growth, migration, and invasion and inducing apoptosis in lung cancer, which makes NRs promising candidates for reliable lung cancer therapeutics. The current work focuses on the importance of various NRs in the development and progression of lung cancer and highlights the different small molecules (e.g., agonist or antagonist) that influence NR expression, with the goal of establishing them as viable therapeutics to combat lung cancer.

LRH-1 high expression in the ovarian granulosa cells of PCOS patients

PURPOSE

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is considered one of the most common endocrine disorders with heterogeneity. There are also reports that liver receptor homolog 1 [LRH-1 or nuclear receptor subfamily 5 group A member 2] plays an important role in the reproductive system. But up to now, there are no reports related to the link with PCOS and LRH-1. In this study, we aimed to detect the LRH-1 expression in the ovarian granulosa cell (GC) of PCOS patients and explore the potential relationship between LRH-1 and PCOS.

METHODS

In all, 146 follicular fluid samples were collected in this study, including 72 from PCOS patients and 74 from control patients who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection or in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. The ovarian GCs were extracted from the patient's follicular fluid by magnetic-activated cell sorting method, and real-time quantitative PCR was used to measure the expression of LRH-1 in ovarian GCs. Then we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of LRH-1 and the clinical characteristics of the patient by using Pearson Correlation analysis.

RESULTS

The expression of LRH-1 was significantly higher in PCOS patients ovarian GCs than that in the control patients [(1.38 ± 0.47) vs (1.03 ± 0.32), t = 5.327, p < 0.0001], and it was positively correlated with antral follicles counting (r = 0.3607, p < 0.0001) and the serum anti-Mullerian hormone (r = 0.2662, p = 0.0012), luteotropic hormone (r = 0.2518, p = 0.0022), testosterone (r = 0.2794, p = 0.0006) in all patients. No statistical significance between LRH-1 and body mass index, follicle-stimulating hormone, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, progesterone.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with the control group, we found that LRH-1 was highly expressed in the ovarian GCs of PCOS patients. Our study has revealed the relationship between the LRH-1 expression and PCOS, which suggested that LRH-1 may play an important role in ovulation disorders. While this finding provided new ideas for the study of pathogenesis, it also provided a theoretical basis for the clinical diagnosis and treatment for PCOS.

LRH1 Acts as an Oncogenic Driver in Human Osteosarcoma and Pan-Cancer

Osteosarcoma (OS) that mainly occurs during childhood and adolescence is a devastating disease with poor prognosis presented by extreme metastases. Recent studies have revealed that liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH-1) plays a vital role in the metastasis of several human cancers, but its role is unknown in the metastasis of OS. In this study, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses based on high-throughput RNA-seq data revealed that LRH-1 acted a pivotal part in the positive regulation of cell migration, motility, and angiogenesis. Consistently, LRH-1 knockdown inhibited the migration of human OS cells, which was concurrent with the downregulation of mesenchymal markers and the upregulation of epithelial markers. In addition, short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting LRH-1 inactivated transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway. LRH-1 knockdown inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation, migration, and tube formation. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression was also downregulated after LRH-1 knockdown. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed that the expression of LRH-1 protein was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in normal bone tissues. We found that high LRH-1 expression was associated with poor differentiation and advanced TNM stage in OS patients using IHC. Based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, high LRH-1 expression predicts poor survival in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP), and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD). The downregulation of LRH-1 significantly hindered the migration and motility of LUSC cells. Using multi-omic bioinformatics, the positive correlation between LRH-1- and EMT-related genes was found across these three cancer types. GO analysis indicated that LRH-1 played a vital role in “blood vessel morphogenesis” or “vasculogenesis” in KIRP. Our results indicated that LRH-1 plays a tumor-promoting role in human OS, could predict the early metastatic potential, and may serve as a potential target for cancer therapy.

Another One Bites the Gut: Nuclear Receptor LRH-1 in Intestinal Regeneration and Cancer

The process of self-renewal in normal intestinal epithelium is characterized by a fine balance between proliferation, differentiation, migration, and cell death. When even one of these aspects escapes the normal control, cellular proliferation and differentiation are impaired, with consequent onset of tumorigenesis. In humans, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the main pathological manifestation of this derangement. Nowadays, CRC is the world's fourth most deadly cancer with a limited survival after treatment. Several conditions can predispose to CRC development, including dietary habits and pre-existing inflammatory bowel diseases. Given their extraordinary ability to interact with DNA, it is widely known that nuclear receptors play a key role in the regulation of intestinal epithelium, orchestrating the expression of a series of genes involved in developmental and homeostatic pathways. In particular, the nuclear receptor Liver Receptor Homolog-1 (LRH-1), highly expressed in the stem cells localized in the crypts, promotes intestine cell proliferation and renewal in both direct and indirect DNA-binding manner. Furthermore, LRH-1 is extensively correlated with diverse intestinal inflammatory pathways. These evidence shed a light in the dynamic intestinal microenvironment in which increased regenerative epithelial cell turnover, mutagenic insults, and chronic DNA damages triggered by factors within an inflammatory cell-rich microenvironment act synergistically to favor cancer onset and progression.

LRH1 Promotes Tumor Cell Proliferation and Migration and Is Correlated With Poor Prognosis in Ovarian Cancer

Background

Liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH1) plays a vital role in several human cancers, but its role in ovarian cancer (OC) remains unclear. We aimed to explore the functions of LRH1 and its clinical relevance.

Methods

LRH1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The effects of LRH1 on tumor cell proliferation, migration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) were evaluated in vitro. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis was applied to predict the functions of LRH1.

Results

RT-qPCR showed that LRH1 mRNA expression was higher in the invasive lesions (P < 0.05). LRH1 overexpression was extremely related with elevated International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (P = 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.011), peritoneal metastasis (P = 0.001), and platinum resistance (P = 0.037). Furthermore, LRH1 expression was an independent prognostic index for disease-free survival in patients with OC (P = 0.041). LRH1 overexpression (P = 0.011), FIGO stage (P < 0.001), and ascites (P = 0.015) independently affected peritoneal metastasis in patients with OC. LRH1 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and EMT of human OC cells (P < 0.05); however, it reversed cisplatin resistance. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the functions of LRH1 were associated with the PRC1 complex, nuclear ubiquitin ligase complex, and Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence of the predictive value of LRH1 on peritoneal metastasis and poor outcome and highlights the potential role of LRH1 as a biomarker for the targeted therapy of OC. Furthermore, LRH1 promotes OC cell proliferation, migration, and EMT in vitro, and its functions may be associated with PRC1 complex, nuclear ubiquitin ligase complex, and PcG proteins.

NR5A2 Promotes Cell Growth and Resistance to Temozolomide Through Regulating Notch Signal Pathway in Glioma

Background

Glioma is a fatal primary malignant tumor. We aimed to explore the effect of nuclear receptor subfamily 5 group A member 2 (NR5A2) on glioma.

Methods

NR5A2 expression in glioma tissues and cells was detected using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC)/Western blot. SPSS 22.0 was performed to explore the relationship between NR5A2 expression and glioma clinicopathologic features. The down-expressed plasmid of NR5A2 was transfected into glioma cells, and the cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were respectively determined by MTT, EdU, flow cytometry, wound healing and transwell assays. Cell cycle was analyzed using flow cytometry. Temozolomide (TMZ)-resistant glioma cells were established to define the effect of NR5A2 on drug resistance. The expressions of Notch pathway-related proteins were assessed by Western blot. Glioma nude mice model was constructed to explore the role of NR5A2 played in vivo.

Results

NR5A2 was highly expressed in glioma tissues and cell lines. NR5A2 overexpression was related to the poor prognosis of glioma patients. NR5A2 knockdown inhibited cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion, induced cell cycle arrest and promoted cell apoptosis in U138 and U251 cells. In U138/TMZ and U251/TMZ cell lines, NR5A2 upregulation enhanced TMZ resistance while NR5A2 downregulation reduced it. The knockdown of NR5A2 influenced the expressions of Notch pathway-related proteins. NR5A2 knockdown suppressed tumor growth and facilitated apoptosis in glioma mice model.

Conclusion

NR5A2 affected glioma cell malignant behaviors and TMZ resistance via Notch signaling pathway and it might be a novel target in glioma therapy.

Nuclear-mitochondrial crosstalk: On the role of the nuclear receptor liver receptor homolog-1 (NR5A2) in the regulation of mitochondrial metabolism, cell survival, and cancer

Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1, NR5A2) is an orphan nuclear receptor with widespread activities in the regulation of development, stemness, metabolism, steroidogenesis, and proliferation. Many of the LRH-1-regulated processes target the mitochondria and associated activities. While under physiological conditions, a balanced LRH-1 expression and regulation contribute to the maintenance of a physiological equilibrium, deregulation of LRH-1 has been associated with inflammation and cancer. In this review, we discuss the role and mechanism(s) of how LRH-1 regulates metabolic processes, cell survival, and cancer in a nuclear-mitochondrial crosstalk, and evaluate its potential as a pharmacological target.