PPARγ activation serves as therapeutic strategy against bladder cancer via inhibiting PI3K-Akt signaling pathway

The Many Facets of PPAR-γ Agonism in Obesity and Associated Comorbidities: Benefits, Risks, Challenges, and Future Directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Obesity is strongly associated with cardiometabolic disorders and certain malignancies, emphasizing the key role of adipose tissue in human health. While incretin mimetics have shown effectiveness in glycemic control and weight loss, a holistic strategy for combating obesity and associated comorbidities remains elusive. This review explores peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) agonism as a potential therapeutic approach, highlighting its benefits, addressing its limitations, and outlining future directions for developing more effective treatment strategies.

RECENT FINDINGS

Both natural and synthetic PPAR-γ agonists hold significant therapeutic potential as insulin sensitizers, while also demonstrating anti-inflammatory properties and playing a critical role in regulating lipid metabolism. However, the clinical use of natural agonists is limited by poor bioavailability, while synthetic agents like thiazolidinediones are associated with adverse effects, including fluid retention, weight gain, and bone loss. Current research is focused on developing modified, tissue-specific PPAR-γ agonists, as well as dual PPAR-α/PPAR-γ agonists, with improved safety profiles to mitigate these side effects. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems also hold promise for enhancing bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, the transformative potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence offers opportunities to accelerate advancements in this field. PPAR-γ agonists exhibit significant potential in addressing metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. However, their clinical use is restricted by safety concerns and suboptimal pharmacokinetics. Innovations in modified PPAR-γ agonists, nanotechnology-based delivery systems, and computational tools hold promise for creating safer and more effective therapeutic options for obesity and its associated disorders.

Roburic acid inhibits lung cancer metastasis and triggers autophagy as verified by network pharmacology, molecular docking techniques and experiments

Background

Roburic acid (ROB) is a newly discovered tetracyclic triterpene acid extracted from oak galls, which has anti-inflammatory effects, but the mechanism of its anticancer effect is not clear. Our study focuses on exploring the potential mechanism of action of ROB in the treatment of lung cancer using a combination of network pharmacological prediction, molecular docking technique and experimental validation.

Methods

A network pharmacology approach was used to screen the protein targets of ROB and lung cancer, and PPI network analysis and enrichment analysis were performed on the intersecting genes. The tissue and organ distribution of the targets was also evaluated based on the BioGPS database. To ensure the reliability of the network pharmacology prediction results, we proceeded to use molecular docking technique to determine the relationship between drugs and targets. Finally, in vitro experiments with cell lines were performed to further reveal the potential mechanism of ROB for the treatment of lung cancer.

Results

A total of 83 potential targets of ROB in lung cancer were collected and further screened by using Cytoscape software, and 7 targets of PTGS2, CYP19A1, PTGS1, AR, CYP17A1, PTGES and SRD5A1 were obtained as hub genes and 7 hub targets had good binding energy with ROB. GO and KEGG analysis showed that ROB treatment of lung cancer mainly involves Arachidonic acid metabolism, Notch signaling pathway, cancer pathway and PPAR signaling pathway. The results of in vitro experiments indicated that ROB may inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells and activate the PPARγ signaling pathway, as well as induce cellular autophagy.

Conclusions

The results of this study comprehensively elucidated the potential targets and molecular mechanisms of ROB for the treatment of lung cancer, providing new ideas for further lung cancer therapy.

The Interlinking Metabolic Association between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Insights

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cancer share common risk factors including obesity, inflammation, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. High insulin levels activate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway promoting cancer cell growth, survival, proliferation, metastasis, and anti-apoptosis. The inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway for cancer remains a promising therapy; however, drug resistance poses a major problem in clinical settings resulting in limited efficacy of agents; thus, combination treatments with therapeutic inhibitors may solve the resistance to such agents. Understanding the metabolic link between diabetes and cancer can assist in improving the therapeutic strategies used for the management of cancer patients with diabetes and vice versa. This review provides an overview of shared molecular mechanisms between diabetes and cancer as well as discusses established and emerging therapeutic anti-cancer agents targeting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in cancer management.

EDIL3 alleviates Mannan-induced psoriatic arthritis by slowing the intracellular glycolysis process in mononuclear-derived dendritic cells

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an immune-mediated, chronic inflammatory joint disease that commonly occurs as a complication of psoriasis. EGF-like repeats and discoidal I-like domain 3 (EDIL3) is a secreted protein with multiple structural domains and associated with various physiological functions. In this study, we employed a mannan-induced psoriatic arthritis model to investigate the impact of EDIL3 on PsA pathogenesis. Notably, a downregulation of EDIL3 expression was observed in the PsA model, which correlated with increased disease severity. EDIL3 knockout mice exhibited a more severe phenotype of PsA, which was ameliorated upon re-infusion of recombinant EDIL3 protein. The mitigation effect of EDIL3 on PsA depends on its regulation of the activation of monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) and T-help 17 cells (Th17). After inhibiting the function of MoDCs and Th17 cells with neutralizing antibodies, the beneficial effects of EDIL3 on PsA were lost. By inducing adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and suppressing protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation, EDIL3 attenuates intracellular glycolysis in MoDCs stimulated by glucose, thereby impeding their maturation and differentiation. Moreover, it diminishes the differentiation of Th17 cells and decelerates the progression of PsA. In conclusion, our findings elucidate the role and mechanism of EDIL3 in the development of PsA, providing a new target for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Comprehensive Analysis of the Mechanism of Anoikis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), ranking as the second-leading cause of global mortality among malignancies, poses a substantial burden on public health worldwide. Anoikis, a type of programmed cell death, serves as a barrier against the dissemination of cancer cells to distant organs, thereby constraining the progression of cancer. Nevertheless, the mechanism of genes related to anoikis in HCC is yet to be elucidated.

Methods

This paper's data (TCGA-HCC) were retrieved from the database of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Differential gene expression with prognostic implications for anoikis was identified by performing both the univariate Cox and differential expression analyses. Through unsupervised cluster analysis, we clustered the samples according to these DEGs. By employing the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression analysis (CRA), a clinical predictive gene signature was generated from the DEGs. The Cell-Type Identification by Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts (CIBERSORT) algorithm was used to determine the proportions of immune cell types. The external validation data (GSE76427) were procured from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to verify the performance of the clinical prognosis gene signature. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis confirmed the expression of risk genes.

Results

In total, 23 prognostic DEGs were identified. Based on these 23 DEGs, the samples were categorized into four distinct subgroups (clusters 1, 2, 3, and 4). In addition, a clinical predictive gene signature was constructed utilizing ETV4, PBK, and SLC2A1. The gene signature efficiently distinguished individuals into two risk groups, specifically low and high, demonstrating markedly higher survival rates in the former group. Significant correlations were observed between the expression of these risk genes and a variety of immune cells. Moreover, the outcomes from the validation cohort analysis aligned consistently with those obtained from the training cohort analysis. The results of Western blotting and IHC showed that ETV4, PBK, and SLC2A1 were upregulated in HCC samples.

Conclusion

The outcomes of this paper underscore the effectiveness of the clinical prognostic gene signature, established utilizing anoikis-related genes, in accurately stratifying patients. This signature holds promise in advancing the development of personalized therapy for HCC.

Chrysin-functionalized gold nanoparticles and paclitaxel exhibit synergistic impact on lung cancer cell lines via regulating the AKT/PPAR-ϒ/β-catenin pathway

Lung cancer has become progressively widespread, posing a challenge to traditional chemotherapeutic drugs such as platinum compounds and paclitaxel (PTX) owing to growing resistance. Along with that, the chemotherapeutic drugs infer major side effects. The usage of natural compounds as chemosensitizers to boost the efficacy of these chemotherapeutic drugs and minimizing their toxicity is a plausible approach. In our investigation, we employed PTX as the standard chemotherapeutic agent and utilized chrysin-functionalized gold nanoparticles (CHR-AuNPs) to augment its cytotoxicity. Gold nanoparticles were chosen for their inherent cytotoxic properties and ability to enhance chrysin's bioavailability and solubility. Characterization of CHR-AuNP revealed spherical nanoparticles within the nano-size range (35-70 nm) with a stable negative zeta potential of -22 mV, confirmed by physicochemical analyses including UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis, and visual observation of the wine-red coloration. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay cytotoxicity studies demonstrated CHR-AuNP's superior efficacy compared to CHR alone, with synergistic effects observed in combination with PTX, validated by Compusyn software. Morphological changes indicative of apoptosis were more pronounced with combined treatment, corroborated by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EtBr) staining and Annexin V assays. Furthermore, the combination treatment amplified reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and destabilized mitochondrial membrane potential, while altering the expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins. Exploring the mechanistic pathways, we found that the drugs upregulated PPAR-γ expression while suppressing Akt and overexpressing PTEN, thereby impeding the Wnt/β-catenin pathway commonly dysregulated in lung cancer. This highlights the potential of low-dose combination therapy with PTX and CHR-AuNP as a promising strategy for addressing lung cancer's challenges.

Associations between Diabetes Mellitus and Selected Cancers

Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality and is the second leading cause of death. Diabetes mellitus is a serious and growing problem worldwide, and its prevalence continues to grow; it is the 12th leading cause of death. An association between diabetes mellitus and cancer has been suggested for more than 100 years. Diabetes is a common disease diagnosed among patients with cancer, and evidence indicates that approximately 8-18% of patients with cancer have diabetes, with investigations suggesting an association between diabetes and some particular cancers, increasing the risk for developing cancers such as pancreatic, liver, colon, breast, stomach, and a few others. Breast and colorectal cancers have increased from 20% to 30% and there is a 97% increased risk of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or endometrial cancer. On the other hand, a number of cancers and cancer therapies increase the risk of diabetes mellitus. Complications due to diabetes in patients with cancer may influence the choice of cancer therapy. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of the associations between diabetes mellitus and cancer are still unknown. The aim of this review is to summarize the association of diabetes mellitus with selected cancers and update the evidence on the underlying mechanisms of this association.

Oxidative Stress and the Nrf2/PPARγ Axis in the Endometrium: Insights into Female Fertility

Successful pregnancy depends on precise molecular regulation of uterine physiology, especially during the menstrual cycle. Deregulated oxidative stress (OS), often influenced by inflammatory changes but also by environmental factors, represents a constant threat to this delicate balance. Oxidative stress induces a reciprocally regulated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (Nrf2/PPARγ) pathway. However, increased PPARγ activity appears to be a double-edged sword in endometrial physiology. Activated PPARγ attenuates inflammation and attenuates OS to restore redox homeostasis. However, it also interferes with physiological processes during the menstrual cycle, such as hormonal signaling and angiogenesis. This review provides an elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that support the interplay between PPARγ and OS. Additionally, it offers fresh perspectives on the Nrf2/PPARγ pathway concerning endometrial receptivity and its potential implications for infertility.

Proteomic analysis of the urothelial cancer landscape

Urothelial bladder cancer (UC) has a wide tumor biological spectrum with challenging prognostic stratification and relevant therapy-associated morbidity. Most molecular classifications relate only indirectly to the therapeutically relevant protein level. We improve the pre-analytics of clinical samples for proteome analyses and characterize a cohort of 434 samples with 242 tumors and 192 paired normal mucosae covering the full range of UC. We evaluate sample-wise tumor specificity and rank biomarkers by target relevance. We identify robust proteomic subtypes with prognostic information independent from histopathological groups. In silico drug prediction suggests efficacy of several compounds hitherto not in clinical use. Both in silico and in vitro data indicate predictive value of the proteomic clusters for these drugs. We underline that proteomics is relevant for personalized oncology and provide abundance and tumor specificity data for a large part of the UC proteome ( www.cancerproteins.org ).

Dual function of activated PPARγ by ligands on tumor growth and immunotherapy

As one of the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) members, PPARγ is a ligand binding and activated nuclear hormone receptor, which is an important regulator in metabolism, proliferation, tumor progression, and immune response. Increased evidence suggests that activation of PPARγ in response to ligands inhibits multiple types of cancer proliferation, metastasis, and tumor growth and induces cell apoptosis including breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, and bladder cancer. Conversely, some reports suggest that activation of PPARγ is associated with tumor growth. In addition to regulating tumor progression, PPARγ could promote or inhibit tumor immunotherapy by affecting macrophage differentiation or T cell activity. These controversial findings may be derived from cancer cell types, conditions, and ligands, since some ligands are independent of PPARγ activity. Therefore, this review discussed the dual role of PPARγ on tumor progression and immunotherapy.

Jiawei Shengjiangsan's Effect on Renal Injury in Diabetic Nephropathy Mice is Investigated via the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the intervention mechanism of Jiawei Shengjiangsan (JWSJS) on kidney injury in diabetic nephropathy mice.

Methods

Thirty 8-week-old db/db mice were randomly divided into five groups: model group, Perindopril group, and JWSJS low-, medium-, and high-dose groups (n=6 per group) based on body weight. Additionally, a blank control group was established consisting of 6 db/m mice aged 8 weeks. The blank and model groups received daily intragastric administration of 7g/kg/d pure water. The remaining groups were assigned to JWSJS low (3.5g/kg/d), medium (7g/kg/d), high (14g/kg/d) dosage groups, and perindopril positive control group (0.48mg/kg/d) for 12 weeks. Post-experiment, serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were analyzed using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measured 24-hour urinary albumin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), TNF-α, IL-1β, VCAM-1, MCP-1, and HbA1c. Western blot assessed the protein expressions of p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-NF-κB p65, while pathological kidney changes were observed.

Results

Compared to the blank group, the model group exhibited increased SCr, BUN, 24-hour urinary albumin, serum NGAL, TNF-α, IL-1β, VCAM-1, MCP-1, HbA1c, p-PI3K, and p-Akt, alongside increased p-NF-κB p65 expression, indicating significant kidney pathology. After treatment, the JWSJS group showed decreased SCr, BUN, 24-hour urinary microalbumin, NGAL, HbA1c, TNF-α, IL-1β, VCAM-1, MCP-1 levels, increased p-PI3K and p-Akt expression (P<0.05), and reduced p-NF-κB p65 content (P<0.05). Histopathological analysis revealed that JWSJS ameliorated renal tubular epithelial cell damage, glomerular capillary and basement membrane injuries, and facilitated the repair of damaged podocytes in diabetic nephropathy mice.

Conclusion

JWSJS demonstrated efficacy in reducing renal inflammation in diabetic nephropathy mice, with its mechanism likely associated with the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor of urinary system, which can be divided into muscle-invasive BC (MIBC) and nonmuscle-invasive BC (NMIBC). The number of BC patients has been gradually increasing currently. At present, bladder tumours are diagnosed and followed-up using a combination of cystoscopic examination, cytology and histology. However, the detection of early grade tumors, which is much easier to treat effectively than advanced stage disease, is still insufficient. It frequently recurs and can progress when not expeditiously diagnosed and monitored following initial therapy for NMIBC. Treatment strategies are totally different for different stage diseases. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study new biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. In this review, we summarize the current state of biomarker development in BC diagnosis and prognosis prediction. We retrospectively analyse eight diagnostic biomarkers and eight prognostic biomarkers, in which CK, P53, PPARγ, PTEN and ncRNA are emphasized for discussion. Eight molecular subtype systems are also identified. Clinical translation of biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and treatment will hopefully improve outcomes for patients. These potential biomarkers provide an opportunity to diagnose tumors earlier and with greater accuracy, and help identify those patients most at risk of disease recurrence.

Diabetes Mellitus and Thyroid Cancers: Risky Correlation, Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Prevention

The incidences of thyroid cancer and diabetes are rapidly increasing worldwide. The relationship between thyroid cancer and diabetes is a popular topic in medicine. Increasing evidence has shown that diabetes increases the risk of thyroid cancer to a certain extent. This mechanism may be related to genetic factors, abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone secretion, oxidative stress injury, hyperinsulinemia, elevated insulin-like growth factor-1 levels, abnormal secretion of adipocytokines, and increased secretion of inflammatory factors and chemokines. This article reviews the latest research progress on the relationship between thyroid cancer and diabetes, including the association between diabetes and the risk of developing thyroid cancer, its underlying mechanisms, and potential anti-thyroid cancer effects of hypoglycemic drugs. It providing novel strategies for the prevention, treatment, and improving the prognosis of thyroid cancer.

Multi-cohort validation of Ascore: an anoikis-based prognostic signature for predicting disease progression and immunotherapy response in bladder cancer

Bladder cancer ranks as the 10th most common cancer worldwide, with deteriorating prognosis as the disease advances. While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown promise in clinical therapy in both operable and advanced bladder cancer, identifying patients who will respond is challenging. Anoikis, a specialized form of cell death that occurs when cells detach from the extracellular matrix, is closely linked to tumor progression. Here, we aimed to explore the anoikis-based biomarkers for bladder cancer prognosis and immunotherapeutic decisions. Through consensus clustering, we categorized patients from the TCGA-BLCA cohort into two clusters based on anoikis-related genes (ARGs). Significant differences in survival outcome, clinical features, tumor immune environment (TIME), and potential ICIs response were observed between clusters. We then formulated a four-gene signature, termed "Ascore", to encapsulate this gene expression pattern. The Ascore was found to be closely associated with survival outcome and served as an independent prognosticator in both the TCGA-BLCA cohort and the IMvigor210 cohort. It also demonstrated superior predictive capacity (AUC = 0.717) for bladder cancer immunotherapy response compared to biomarkers like TMB and PD-L1. Finally, we evaluated Ascore's independent prognostic performance as a non-invasive biomarker in our clinical cohort (Gulou-Cohort1) using circulating tumor cells detection, achieving an AUC of 0.803. Another clinical cohort (Gulou-Cohort2) consisted of 40 patients undergoing neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 treatment was also examined. Immunohistochemistry of Ascore in these patients revealed its correlation with the pathological response to bladder cancer immunotherapy (P = 0.004). Impressively, Ascore (AUC = 0.913) surpassed PD-L1 (AUC = 0.662) in forecasting immunotherapy response and indicated better net benefit. In conclusion, our study introduces Ascore as a novel, robust prognostic biomarker for bladder cancer, offering a new tool for enhancing immunotherapy decisions and contributing to the tailored treatment approaches in this field.

Multiomics characterization of fatty acid metabolism for the clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent malignancy and there is a lack of effective biomarkers for HCC diagnosis. Living organisms are complex, and different omics molecules interact with each other to implement various biological functions. Genomics and metabolomics, which are the top and bottom of systems biology, play an important role in HCC clinical management. Fatty acid metabolism is associated with malignancy, prognosis, and immune phenotype in cancer, which is a potential hallmark in malignant tumors. In this study, the genes and metabolites related to fatty acid metabolism were thoroughly investigated by a dynamic network construction algorithm named EWS-DDA for the early diagnosis and prognosis of HCC. Three gene ratios and eight metabolite ratios were identified by EWS-DDA as potential biomarkers for HCC clinical management. Further analysis using biological analysis, statistical analysis and document validation in the discovery and validation sets suggested that the selected potential biomarkers had great clinical prognostic value and helped to achieve effective early diagnosis of HCC. Experimental results suggested that in-depth evaluation of fatty acid metabolism from different omics viewpoints can facilitate the further understanding of pathological alterations associated with HCC characteristics, improving the performance of early diagnosis and clinical prognosis.

Identification of a bile acid and bile salt metabolism-related lncRNA signature for predicting prognosis and treatment response in hepatocellular carcinoma

Bile acids and salts have been shown to play a role in liver carcinogenesis through DNA damage, inflammation, and tumor proliferation. However, the correlation between bile acid metabolism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis remains unclear. This study aimed to identify a predictive signature of bile acid and bile salt metabolism-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) for HCC prognosis and treatment response. The study used HCC RNA-sequencing data and corresponding clinical and prognostic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A prognostic model consisting of five bile acid and bile salt metabolism-related lncRNAs was developed and evaluated in a training set, a validation set and an external set. The model demonstrated good performance in predicting HCC prognosis and was shown to be an independent biomarker for prognosis. Additionally, our study revealed a significant association between the signature and immune cell infiltration, as well as its predictive value for therapeutic responses to both immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Furthermore, three LncRNAs (LUCAT1, AL031985.3 and AC015908.3) expression levels in our signature were validated through qRT-PCR in a cohort of 50 pairs of HCC patient tumor samples and corresponding adjacent non-tumor samples, along with 10 samples of normal liver tissue adjacent to benign lesions. These findings suggest that this novel bile acid and bile salt metabolism-related lncRNA signature can independently predict the prognosis of patients with HCC and may be utilized as a potential predictor of response to treatment in this setting.

Genome-Scale Methylation Analysis Identifies Immune Profiles and Age Acceleration Associations with Bladder Cancer Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Immune profiles have been associated with bladder cancer outcomes and may have clinical applications for prognosis. However, associations of detailed immune cell subtypes with patient outcomes remain underexplored and may contribute crucial prognostic information for better managing bladder cancer recurrence and survival.

METHODS

Bladder cancer case peripheral blood DNA methylation was measured using the Illumina HumanMethylationEPIC array. Extended cell-type deconvolution quantified 12 immune cell-type proportions, including memory, naïve T and B cells, and granulocyte subtypes. DNA methylation clocks determined biological age. Cox proportional hazards models tested associations of immune cell profiles and age acceleration with bladder cancer outcomes. The partDSA algorithm discriminated 10-year overall survival groups from clinical variables and immune cell profiles, and a semi-supervised recursively partitioned mixture model (SS-RPMM) with DNA methylation data was applied to identify a classifier for 10-year overall survival.

RESULTS

Higher CD8T memory cell proportions were associated with better overall survival [HR = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.93-0.98], while higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.23-1.50), CD8T naïve (HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.04-1.41), neutrophil (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.03-1.06) proportions, and age acceleration (HR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.03-1.08) were associated with worse overall survival in patient with bladder cancer. partDSA and SS-RPMM classified five groups of subjects with significant differences in overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified associations between immune cell subtypes and age acceleration with bladder cancer outcomes.

IMPACT

The findings of this study suggest that bladder cancer outcomes are associated with specific methylation-derived immune cell-type proportions and age acceleration, and these factors could be potential prognostic biomarkers.

Single-cell profiling of murine bladder cancer identifies sex-specific transcriptional signatures with prognostic relevance

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is more common in men but more aggressive in women. Sex-based differences in cancer biology are commonly studied using a murine model with BLCA generated by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)-nitrosamine (BBN). While tumors in the BBN model have been profiled, these profiles provide limited information on the tumor microenvironment. Here, we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize cell-type specific transcriptional differences between male and female BBN-induced tumors. We found proportional and gene expression differences in epithelial and non-epithelial subpopulations between male and female tumors. Expression of several genes predicted sex-specific survival in several human BLCA datasets. We identified novel and clinically relevant sex-specific transcriptional signatures including immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and it validated the relevance of the BBN model for studying sex differences in human BLCA. This work highlights the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in the development of new and accurate cancer markers.

PI3K/Akt signaling in urological cancers: Tumorigenesis function, therapeutic potential, and therapy response regulation

In addition to environmental conditions, lifestyle factors, and chemical exposure, aberrant gene expression and mutations involve in the beginning and development of urological tumors. Even in Western nations, urological malignancies are among the top causes of patient death, and their prevalence appears to be gender dependent. The prognosis for individuals with urological malignancies remains dismal and unfavorable due to the ineffectiveness of conventional treatment methods. PI3K/Akt is a popular biochemical mechanism that is activated in tumor cells as a result of PTEN loss. PI3K/Akt escalates growth and metastasis. Moreover, due to the increase in tumor cell viability caused by PI3K/Akt activation, cancer cells may acquire resistance to treatment. This review article examines the function of PI3K/Akt in major urological tumors including bladder, prostate, and renal tumors. In prostate, bladder, and kidney tumors, the level of PI3K and Akt are notably elevated. In addition, the activation of PI3K/Akt enhances the levels of Bcl-2 and XIAP, hence increasing the tumor cell survival rate. PI3K/Akt ] upregulates EMT pathways and matrix metalloproteinase expression to increase urological cancer metastasis. Furthermore, stimulation of PI3K/Akt results in drug- and radio-resistant cancers, but its suppression by anti-tumor drugs impedes the tumorigenesis.

Extracting Potential New Targets for Treatment of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma using Bioinformatic Methods

Background

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a slow-growing malignancy that most often occurs in the salivary glands. Currently, no FDA-approved therapeutic target or diagnostic biomarker has been identified for this cancer. The aim of this study was to find new therapeutic and diagnostic targets using bioinformatics methods.

Methods

We extracted the gene expression information from two GEO datasets (including GSE59701 and GSE88804). Different expression genes between adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) and normal samples were extracted using R software. The biochemical pathways involved in ACC were obtained by using the Enrichr database. PPI network was drawn by STRING, and important genes were extracted by Cytoscape. Real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used for biomarker verification.

Results

After analyzing the PPI network, 20 hub genes were introduced to have potential as diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Among these genes, PLCG1 was presented as new biomarker in ACC. Furthermore, by studying the function of the hub genes in the enriched biochemical pathways, we found that insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor and PPARG pathways most likely play a critical role in tumorigenesis and drug resistance in ACC and have a high potential for selection as therapeutic targets in future studies.

Conclusion

In this study, we achieved the recognition of the pathways involving in ACC pathogenesis and also found potential targets for treatment and diagnosis of ACC. Further experimental studies are required to confirm the results of this study.

Combined Mek inhibition and Pparg activation Eradicates Muscle Invasive Bladder cancer in a Mouse Model of BBN-induced Carcinogenesis

Bladder cancers (BCs) can be divided into 2 major subgroups displaying distinct clinical behaviors and mutational profiles: basal/squamous (BASQ) tumors that tend to be muscle invasive, and luminal/papillary (LP) tumors that are exophytic and tend to be non-invasive. Pparg is a likely driver of LP BC and has been suggested to act as a tumor suppressor in BASQ tumors, where it is likely suppressed by MEK-dependent phosphorylation. Here we tested the effects of rosiglitazone, a Pparg agonist, in a mouse model of BBN-induced muscle invasive BC. Rosiglitazone activated Pparg signaling in suprabasal epithelial layers of tumors but not in basal-most layers containing highly proliferative invasive cells, reducing proliferation but not affecting tumor survival. Addition of trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, induced Pparg signaling throughout all tumor layers, and eradicated 91% of tumors within 7-days of treatment. The 2-drug combination also activated a luminal differentiation program, reversing squamous metaplasia in the urothelium of tumor-bearing mice. Paired ATAC-RNA-seq analysis revealed that tumor apoptosis was most likely linked to down-regulation of Bcl-2 and other pro-survival genes, while the shift from BASQ to luminal differentiation was associated with activation of the retinoic acid pathway and upregulation of Kdm6a, a lysine demethylase that facilitates retinoid-signaling. Our data suggest that rosiglitazone, trametinib, and retinoids, which are all FDA approved, may be clinically active in BASQ tumors in patients. That muscle invasive tumors are populated by basal and suprabasal cell types with different responsiveness to PPARG agonists will be an important consideration when designing new treatments.

PPARγ agonist inhibits c-Myc-mediated colorectal cancer tumor immune escape

As a master transcription factor, c-Myc plays an important role in promoting tumor immune escape. In addition, PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) regulates cell metabolism, inflammation, and tumor progression, while the effect of PPARγ on c-Myc-mediated tumor immune escape is still unclear. Here we found that cells treated with PPARγ agonist pioglitazone (PIOG) reduced c-Myc protein expression in a PPARγ-dependent manner. qPCR analysis showed that PIOG had no significant effect on c-Myc gene levels. Further analysis showed that PIOG decreased c-Myc protein half-life. Moreover, PIOG increased the binding of c-Myc to PPARγ, and induced c-Myc ubiquitination and degradation. Importantly, c-Myc increased PD-L1 and CD47 immune checkpoint protein expression and promoted tumor immune escape, while PIOG inhibited this event. These findings suggest that PPARγ agonist inhibited c-Myc-mediated tumor immune escape by inducing its ubiquitination and degradation.

Exploring the molecular mechanism of linagliptin in osteosarcoma cell lines for anti-cancer activity

BACKGROUND

Finding new applications for widely used current drugs is a fast and effective technique for discovering new anticancer chemicals. Osteosarcoma (OS), the most prevalent form of bone cancer, has several side effects that significantly lower patients' quality of life. This study aims to systematically examine the anti-cancer activity of linagliptin (LG) in the osteosarcoma cell line Saos-2.

METHODS

MTT assays and flow cytometry were used to assess cell viability and apoptosis, respectively. qPCR array experiments were carried out to determine target gene expressions and explain the molecular mechanism of LG's action.

RESULTS

Linagliptin treatment significantly decreased the viability of Saos-2 cells and hFOB1.19 cells (p < 0.001). The treatment also induced increased apoptotic effects in both Saos-2 cells (p < 0.001) and hFOB1.19 cells (p < 0.05). qPCR assays were conducted to assess cancer pathway analysis after applying specific quantities of LG to Saos-2 and hFOB1.19 cells.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study demonstrate that LG inhibits the proliferation of Saos-2 cells and induces cell death. LG supports cell death by suppressing the expression of specific genes involved in cancer pathways.

Integrative bioinformatics analysis of ACS enzymes as candidate prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in colon adenocarcinoma

Background and purpose

Acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) enzymes play an important role in the activation of fatty acids. While many studies have found correlations between the expression levels of ACS enzymes with the progression, growth, and survival of cancer cells, their role and expression patterns in colon adenocarcinoma are still greatly unknown and demand further investigation.

Experimental approach

The expression data of colon adenocarcinoma samples were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Normalization and differential expression analysis were performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene set enrichment analysis was applied to identify top enriched genes from ACS enzymes in cancer samples. Gene ontology and protein-protein interaction analyses were performed for the prediction of molecular functions and interactions. Survival analysis and receiver operating characteristic test (ROC) were performed to find potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers.

Findings/Results

ACSL6 and ACSM5 genes demonstrated more significant differential expression and LogFC value compared to other ACS enzymes and also achieved the highest enrichment scores. Gene ontology analysis predicted the involvement of top DEGs in fatty acids metabolism, while protein-protein interaction network analysis presented strong interactions between ACSLs, ACSSs, ACSMs, and ACSBG enzymes with each other. Survival analysis suggested ACSM3 and ACSM5 as potential prognostic biomarkers, while the ROC test predicted stronger diagnostic potential for ACSM5, ACSS2, and ACSF2 genes.

Conclusion and implications

Our findings revealed the expression patterns, prognostic, and diagnostic biomarker potential of ACS enzymes in colon adenocarcinoma. ACSM3, ACSM5, ACSS2, and ACSF2 genes are suggested as possible prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers.

PPARγ agonist pioglitazone enhances colorectal cancer immunotherapy by inducing PD-L1 autophagic degradation

Blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint could be an effective antitumor strategy for multiple types of cancer, but it is low response rate for colorectal cancer patients with unclear mechanism. Here we found that PPARγ agonist pioglitazone could reduce PD-L1 protein levels without effect on its gene expression. Further analysis showed that pioglitazone induced PD-L1 autophagic degradation in a PPARγ-dependent manner. Pioglitazone promoted PD-L1 translocation to lysosome by immunofluorescence analysis, which was associated with the increased binding of PPARγ to PD-L1. Moreover the combined pioglitazone with PD-1 antibody enhanced colorectal tumor immunotherapy, which was involved in reduced PD-L1 levels and increased CD8⁺ T cells. These findings suggest that PPARγ agonist could induce PD-L1 autophagic degradation resulting in increased colorectal tumor immunotherapy.

PPARγ inhibited tumor immune escape by inducing PD-L1 autophagic degradation

Blockade of the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/ programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint could increase antitumor immunotherapy for multiple types of cancer, but the response rate of patients is about 10%-40%. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) plays an important role in regulating cell metabolism, inflammation, immunity, and cancer progression, while the mechanism of PPARγ on cancer cell immune escape is still unclear. Here we found that PPARγ expression exhibits a positive correlation with activation of T cells in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by clinical analysis. Deficiency of PPARγ promoted immune escape of NSCLC by inhibiting T-cell activity, which was associated with increased PD-L1 protein level. Further analysis showed that PPARγ reduced PD-L1 expression independent of its transcriptional activity. PPARγ contains the microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) interacting region motif, which acts as an autophagy receptor for PPARγ binding to LC3, leading to degradation of PD-L1 in lysosomes, which in turn suppresses NSCLC tumor growth by increasing T-cell activity. These findings suggest that PPARγ inhibits the tumor immune escape of NSCLC by inducing PD-L1 autophagic degradation.

Development of PPARγ Agonists for the Treatment of Neuroinflammatory and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Leriglitazone as a Promising Candidate

Increasing evidence suggests that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, plays an important role in physiological processes in the central nervous system (CNS) and is involved in cellular metabolism and repair. Cellular damage caused by acute brain injury and long-term neurodegenerative disorders is associated with alterations of these metabolic processes leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. PPARγ agonists have demonstrated the potential to be effective treatments for CNS diseases in preclinical models, but to date, most drugs have failed to show efficacy in clinical trials of neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. The most likely explanation for this lack of efficacy is the insufficient brain exposure of these PPARγ agonists. Leriglitazone is a novel, blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrant PPARγ agonist that is being developed to treat CNS diseases. Here, we review the main roles of PPARγ in physiology and pathophysiology in the CNS, describe the mechanism of action of PPARγ agonists, and discuss the evidence supporting the use of leriglitazone to treat CNS diseases.

Prognostic and immune microenvironment analysis of cuproptosis-related LncRNAs in breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common tumor and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Cuproptosis is a new type of cell death, which can induce proteotoxic stress and eventually lead to cell death. Therefore, regulating copper metabolism in tumor cells is a new therapeutic approach. Long non-coding RNAs play an important regulatory role in immune response. At present, cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in breast cancer have not been reported. Breast cancer RNA sequencing, genomic mutations, and clinical data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Patients with breast cancer were randomly assigned to the train group or the test group. Co-expression network analysis, Cox regression method, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method were used to identify cuproptosis-related lncRNAs and to construct a risk prognostic model. The prediction performance of the model is verified and recognized. In addition, the nomogram was used to predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and immunoassay were used to detect the differences in biological function. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) was used to measure immunotherapy response. A total of 19 cuproptosis genes were obtained and a prognostic model based on 10 cuproptosis-related lncRNAs was constructed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed statistically significant overall survival (OS) between the high-risk and low-risk groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and principal component analysis (PCA) show that the model has accurate prediction ability. Compared with other clinical features, cuproptosis-related lncRNAs model has higher diagnostic efficiency. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that risk score was an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer patients. In addition, the nomogram model analysis showed that the tumor mutation burden was significantly different between the high-risk and low-risk groups. Of note, the additive effect of patients in the high-risk group and patients with high TMB resulted in reduced survival in breast cancer patients. Our study identified 10 cuproptosis-related lncRNAs, which may be promising biomarkers for predicting the survival prognosis of breast cancer.

DNA-Protein-Interaction (DPI)-ELISA Assay for PPAR-γ Receptor Binding

Dysregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ has been described in a plethora of pathological conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, inflammatory-related diseases, and cancer. Therefore, identifying novel drugs that are able to restore PPAR-γ activity is a current challenge, which is however slowed down by the lack of a rapid and reproducible activity assay. To date, only a few methods are able to characterize PPAR-γ activity and most of them are expensive, time-consuming, and not always quantitative.Herein, we presented a sensitive multi-well colorimetric assay, termed DNA-Protein-Interaction enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DPI-ELISA). This method is based on the ELISA principle, except that it allows to detect only activated PPAR-γ because, unlike classical ELISA, PPAR-γ is not captured by an antibody but by a double-stranded oligonucleotide probe containing its peroxisome proliferator response elements (PPRE) consensus sequence. Thus, DPI-ELISA represents a useful assay for PPAR-γ studies, as well as for the identification of novel PPAR-γ ligands for the development of innovative therapeutic approaches to human diseases where PPAR-γ signaling is dysregulated.

Lipid balance remodelling by human positive-strand RNA viruses and the contribution of lysosomes

A marked reorganization of internal membranes occurs in the cytoplasm of cells infected by single stranded positive-sense RNA viruses. Most cell compartments change their asset to provide lipids for membrane rearrangement into replication organelles, where to concentrate viral proteins and enzymes while hiding from pathogen pattern recognition molecules. Because the endoplasmic reticulum is a central hub for lipid metabolism, when viruses hijack the organelle to form their replication organelles, a cascade of events change the intracellular environment. This results in a marked increase in lipid consumption, both by lipolysis and lipophagy of lipid droplets. In addition, lipids are used to produce energy for viral replication. At the same time, inflammation is started by signalling lipids, where lysosomal processing plays a relevant role. This review is aimed at providing an overview on what takes place after human class IV viruses have released their genome into the host cell and the consequences on lipid metabolism, including lysosomes.

Engaging plasticity: Differentiation therapy in solid tumors

Cancer is a systemic heterogeneous disease that can undergo several rounds of latency and activation. Tumor progression evolves by increasing diversity, adaptation to signals from the microenvironment and escape mechanisms from therapy. These dynamic processes indicate necessity for cell plasticity. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a major role in facilitating cell plasticity in solid tumors by inducing dedifferentiation and cell type transitions. These two practices, plasticity and dedifferentiation enhance tumor heterogeneity creating a key challenge in cancer treatment. In this review we will explore cancer cell plasticity and elaborate treatment modalities that aspire to overcome such dynamic processes in solid tumors. We will further discuss the therapeutic potential of utilizing enhanced cell plasticity for differentiation therapy.

Recombinant human erythropoietin upregulates PPARγ through the PI3K/Akt pathway to protect neurons in rats subjected to oxidative stress

In vitro cell experiments have suggested that recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) activation exert protective effects on neurons. This study observed the learning and memory ability, antioxidant capacity and the ratio of apoptotic cells after rhEPO intervention and investigated the relationship among rhEPO, PI3K/Akt and PPARγ in the anti-neural oxidative stress injury process in vivo. The results showed that rhEPO significantly improved the learning and memory abilities of rats subjected to oxidative stress, enhanced the antioxidant capacity of cells, and reduced neuronal apoptosis. Then, the PI3K/Akt and PPARγ pathways were inhibited, and TUNEL staining were used to observe the changes in the effect of rhEPO. After the PI3K/Akt and PPARγ pathways were inhibited, the effect of rhEPO on rats subjected to oxidative stress was significantly weakened, suggesting that both the PI3K/Akt and PPARγ pathways are involved in the process by which rhEPO protects neurons. Finally, Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining were used to observe the changes in PI3K/Akt and PPARγ signalling proteins in the neurons after the rhEPO intervention and to explore the relationship among the three. The results showed that rhEPO significantly increased the levels of the p-Akt and PPARγ proteins and the level of the PPARγ protein in the nucleus, indicating that the PI3K/Akt pathway was located upstream of and regulates PPARγ. In conclusion, this study suggested that rhEPO activates the PI3K/Akt to upregulate PPARγ, enhance the cellular antioxidant capacity, and protect neurons in rats subjected to oxidative stress.

Development and Validation of a Novel PPAR Signaling Pathway-Related Predictive Model to Predict Prognosis in Breast Cancer

This study is aimed at exploring the potential mechanism of the PPAR signaling pathway in breast cancer (BRCA) and constructing a novel prognostic-related risk model. We used various bioinformatics methods and databases to complete our exploration in this research. Based on TCGA database, we use multiple extension packages based on the R language for data conversion, processing, and statistics. We use LASSO regression analysis to establish a prognostic-related risk model in BRCA. And we combined the data of multiple online websites, including GEPIA, ImmuCellAI, TIMER, GDSC, and the Human Protein Atlas database to conduct a more in-depth exploration of the risk model. Based on the mRNA data in TCGA database, we conducted a preliminary screening of genes related to the PPAR signaling pathway through univariate Cox analysis, then used LASSO regression analysis to conduct a second screening, and successfully established a risk model consisting of ten genes in BRCA. The results of ROC curve analysis show that the risk model has good prediction accuracy. We can successfully divide breast cancer patients into high- and low-risk groups with significant prognostic differences (P = 1.92e - 05) based on this risk model. Combined with the clinical data in TCGA database, there is a correlation between the risk model and the patient's N, T, gender, and fustat. The results of multivariate Cox regression show that the risk score of this risk model can be used as an independent risk factor for BRCA patients. In particular, we draw a nomogram that can predict the 5-, 7-, and 10-year survival rates of BRCA patients. Subsequently, we conducted a series of pancancer analyses of CNV, SNV, OS, methylation, and immune infiltration for this risk model gene and used GDSC data to investigate drug sensitivity. Finally, to gain insight into the predictive value and protein expression of these risk model genes in breast cancer, we used GEO and HPA databases for validation. This study provides valuable clues for future research on the PPAR signaling pathway in BRCA.

Development and Validation of a Novel PPAR Signaling Pathway-Related Predictive Model to Predict Prognosis in Breast Cancer

This study is aimed at exploring the potential mechanism of the PPAR signaling pathway in breast cancer (BRCA) and constructing a novel prognostic-related risk model. We used various bioinformatics methods and databases to complete our exploration in this research. Based on TCGA database, we use multiple extension packages based on the R language for data conversion, processing, and statistics. We use LASSO regression analysis to establish a prognostic-related risk model in BRCA. And we combined the data of multiple online websites, including GEPIA, ImmuCellAI, TIMER, GDSC, and the Human Protein Atlas database to conduct a more in-depth exploration of the risk model. Based on the mRNA data in TCGA database, we conducted a preliminary screening of genes related to the PPAR signaling pathway through univariate Cox analysis, then used LASSO regression analysis to conduct a second screening, and successfully established a risk model consisting of ten genes in BRCA. The results of ROC curve analysis show that the risk model has good prediction accuracy. We can successfully divide breast cancer patients into high- and low-risk groups with significant prognostic differences (P = 1.92e - 05) based on this risk model. Combined with the clinical data in TCGA database, there is a correlation between the risk model and the patient's N, T, gender, and fustat. The results of multivariate Cox regression show that the risk score of this risk model can be used as an independent risk factor for BRCA patients. In particular, we draw a nomogram that can predict the 5-, 7-, and 10-year survival rates of BRCA patients. Subsequently, we conducted a series of pancancer analyses of CNV, SNV, OS, methylation, and immune infiltration for this risk model gene and used GDSC data to investigate drug sensitivity. Finally, to gain insight into the predictive value and protein expression of these risk model genes in breast cancer, we used GEO and HPA databases for validation. This study provides valuable clues for future research on the PPAR signaling pathway in BRCA.

Network pharmacology-based study to identify the significant pathways of Lentinula edodes against cancer

Lentinula edodes (LE) is known as a good food source with potent anticancer efficacy, but its active chemical compounds and pathways against cancer have not been revealed. This study was to uncover the active chemical constituents and pathways of LE against cancer through network pharmacology. The chemical compositions were recognized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and filtered drug-like compounds (DLCs) by SwissADME. Targets related to filtered compounds were recognized by two public databases and the final overlapping targets were identified by Venn diagram. Then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) and pathway-target-compound (PTC) networks were built by RStudio. Ultimately, we recognized the key compounds and targets via molecular docking test (MDT). A total of 33 compounds from LE were accepted by Lipinski's rule were selected as DLCs. The 33 compounds were associated with 108 targets and a key target (cyclooxygenase2 [COX2]) was identified through PPI networks. Most significantly, inactivation of pathways in cancer and activation of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor signaling pathway were significant pathways of LE. On MDT, we identified a key compound (Indole, 2-methyl-3-phenyl) on COX2 related to inactivation of athways in cancer, additionally, the number of 6 ergostane steroids was associated with the two pathways might be dual efficacy to alleviate inflammation against cancer. Overall, 13 targets, 11 compounds, and 2 key pathways of LE were identified as the significant elements to treat cancer. Hence, this study shows therapeutic evidence to verify the promising clinical effect of LE on cancer, suggesting that LE might be an important mushroom against cancer. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Lentinula edodes (LE) has been used widely in cuisine as well as alternative medicines, especially, for anticancer. The LE has rich nutritional compounds including proteins, vitamins, polyphenols, and glucans, however, most of which have a critical hurdle as poor bioavailability not to be applicable for pharmaceuticals. Its main cause is very hydrophilic property. Thus, we adopted GC-MS analysis to identify lipophilic compounds to enhance cell permeability involved in bioavailability. The compounds selected from LE were confirmed by Lipinski's rule for drug-like-compounds (DLCs). Then, we retrieved targets associated with DLCs, and multiple pathways, multiple targets, and multiple compounds against cancer on network-based analysis. In summary, our study reveals the medicinal value of LE on cancer based on the multicomponents. Overall, the aim of this work is to represent the pharmacological evidence to reveal the therapeutic efficacy of AC on cancer, suggesting that DLCs from AC might be alleviators to dampen cancer.

rhEPO Upregulates the PPARγ Pathway in Long-term Cultured Primary Nerve Cells via PI3K/Akt to Delay Cell Senescence

Previous studies have confirmed that both recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ (PPARγ) activator pioglitazone can protect senescent nerve cells, and their mechanisms involve enhancing cell antioxidant capacity and reducing cell apoptosis. However, whether the PPARγ pathway is involved in the rhEPO anti-aging process in neuronal cells is still unclear. In this study, to explore the relationship between rhEPO and the PPARγ pathway at the cellular level, primary nerve cells cultured for 22 days were used to simulate the natural aging process of nerve cells. Starting on the 11th day of culture, rhEPO, LY294002, and GW9662 were added for treatment. Immunochemical methods and SA-β-gal staining were used to observe the changes in cellular antioxidant capacity and the fraction of senescent cells. The results showed that PPARγ blockade retarded the effect of rhEPO on the cellular antioxidant capacity and altered the fraction of senescent cells. It was confirmed that PPARγ was involved in rhEPO's anti-aging process in neuronal cells. Real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining were used to observe the changes in PPARγ pathway-related factors in nerve cells after rhEPO treatment. The results showed that rhEPO significantly upregulated the expression of PPARγ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), PPARγ, and nuclear PPARγ in cells but did not affect the level of phosphorylated PPARγ protein, confirming that rhEPO has the ability to upregulate the PPARγ pathway. PI3K/Akt and PPARγ pathway blockade experiments were used to explore the relationships among rhEPO, PI3K/Akt, and PPARγ. The results showed that after PPARγ blockade, rhEPO had no significant effect on the PI3K/Akt pathway-related factor p-Akt, while after PI3K/Akt blockade, rhEPO's effects on PPARγ-related factors (PGC-1α, PPARγ, and nuclear PPARγ) were significantly decreased. It is suggested that rhEPO delays the PI3K/Akt pathway in the process of neuronal senescence, which is located upstream of PPARγ regulation. In conclusion, this study confirmed that rhEPO can upregulate the expression of PGC-1α and PPARγ in cells and the level of PPARγ protein in the nucleus to enhance the antioxidant capacity of cells and delay the senescence of nerve cells through the PI3K/Akt pathway. These findings will provide ideas for finding new targets for neuroprotection research and will also provide a theoretical basis and experimental evidence for rhEPO anti-aging research in neural cells.

The Expression of PPAR Pathway-Related Genes Can Better Predict the Prognosis of Patients with Colon Adenocarcinoma

The postoperative survival time and quality of life of patients with colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) varies widely. In order to make accurate decisions after surgery, clinicians need to distinguish patients with different prognostic trends. However, we still lack effective methods to predict the prognosis of COAD patients. Accumulated evidences indicated that the inhibition of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and a portion of their target genes were associated with the development of COAD. Our study found that the expression of several PPAR pathway-related genes were linked to the prognosis of COAD patients. Therefore, we developed a scoring system (named PPAR-Riskscore) that can predict patients' outcomes. PPAR-Riskscore was constructed by univariate Cox regression based on the expression of 4 genes (NR1D1, ILK, TNFRSF1A, and REN) in tumor tissues. Compared to typical TNM grading systems, PPAR-Riskscore has better predictive accuracy and sensitivity. The reliability of the system was tested on six external validation datasets. Furthermore, PPAR-Riskscore was able to evaluate the immune cell infiltration and chemotherapy sensitivity of each tumor sample. We also combined PPAR-Riskscore and clinical features to create a nomogram with greater clinical utility. The nomogram can help clinicians make precise treatment decisions regarding the possible long-term survival of patients after surgery.

The role of tumour microenvironment-driven miRNAs in the chemoresistance of muscle-invasive bladder cancer-a review

Successful treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is challenged by the ability of cancer cells to resist chemotherapy. While enormous progress has been made toward understanding the divergent molecular mechanisms underlying chemoresistance, the heterogenous interplay between the bladder tumour and its microenvironment presents significant challenges in comprehending the occurrence of chemoresistance. The last decade has seen exponential interest in the exploration of microRNA (miRNA) as a tool in the management of chemoresistance. In this review, we highlight the miRNAs involved in the tumour microenvironment crosstalk that contributes to the chemoresistance in bladder cancer. Decrypting the role of miRNAs in the interplay beholds scope for future clinical translational application in managing the long-standing concerns of chemoresistance in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Pioglitazone, Bladder Cancer and the Presumption of Innocence

BACKGROUND

Thiazolidinediones are potent exogenous agonists of PPAR-γ, which augment the effects of insulin to its cellular targets and mainly at the level of adipose tissue. Pioglitazone, the main thiazolidinedione in clinical practice, has shown cardiovascular and renal benefits in patients with type 2 diabetes, durable reduction of glycated hemoglobulin levels, important improvements of several components of the metabolic syndrome and beneficial effects of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

OBJECTIVE

Despite all of its established advantages, the controversy for an increased risk of developing bladder cancer, combined with the advent of newer drug classes that achieved major cardiorenal effects have significantly limited its use spreading a persistent shadow of doubt for its future role.

METHODS

Pubmed, Google and Scope databases have been thoroughly searched and relevant studies were selected.

RESULTS

This paper explores thoroughly both in vitro and in vivo (animal models and humans) studies that investigated the possible association of pioglitazone with bladder cancer.

CONCLUSION

Currently the association of pioglitazone with bladder cancer cannot be based on solid evidence. This evidence cannot justify its low clinical administration, especially in the present era of individualised treatment strategies. Definite clarification of this issue is imperative and urgently anticipated from future high quality and rigorous pharmacoepidemiologic research, keeping in mind its unique mechanism of action and its significant pleiotropic effects.

PPARγ/SOD2 Protects Against Mitochondrial ROS-Dependent Apoptosis via Inhibiting ATG4D-Mediated Mitophagy to Promote Pancreatic Cancer Proliferation

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely aggressive disease with poor prognosis. Our previous study found that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) was capable of enhancing glycolysis in PDAC cells. However, whether PPARγ could promote PDAC progression remains unclear. In our present study, PPARγ was positively associated with tumor size and poor prognosis in PDAC patients. Functional assays demonstrated that PPARγ could promote the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, flow cytometry results showed that PPARγ decreased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mitochondrial ROS) production, stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and inhibited cell apoptosis via up-regulating superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), followed by the inhibition of ATG4D-mediated mitophagy. Meanwhile, the activation of PPARγ might reduce pancreatic cancer cell stemness to improve PDAC chemosensitivity via down-regulating ATG4D. Thus, these results revealed that PPARγ/SOD2 might protect against mitochondrial ROS-dependent apoptosis via inhibiting ATG4D-mediated mitophagy to promote pancreatic cancer proliferation, further improving PDAC chemosensitivity.

Network Pharmacology-Based Strategy to Investigate the Anti-Breast Cancer Mechanisms of Spatholobus suberectus Dunn

Spatholobus suberectus Dunn (SSD) possesses potential antitumor activity; however, the mechanism underlying its anti-proliferative effect on breast cancer is unclear. In this study, we explored potential SSD targets for breast cancer treatment through a network pharmacology approach. First, by integrating multiple databases, a total of 16 potential bioactive compounds and 252 targets were screened. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by analyzing breast cancer gene chip data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. By overlapping drug targets and DEGs, 33 common targets were found; their functions were further analyzed with Gene Ontology and KEGG analysis. A network of 16 compounds and 33 common targets was constructed, from which 10 hub targets were identified using CytoHubba. Based on the KEGG result and network analysis, the 33 common targets were mainly enriched in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway and PPARγ was identified as the potential target of SSD. Moreover, the 10 hub targets were correlated with prognosis and immune infiltration in breast cancer via bioinformatic analysis. Finally, molecular docking and experiments in vitro further verified the targeting ability and anti-breast cancer activity of SSD. SSD is promising in the treatment of breast cancer; PPARγ may be its potential therapeutic target.

The Relationship Between Diabetes Mellitus and Cancers and Its Underlying Mechanisms

Epidemiological studies suggest associations between diabetes mellitus and some cancers. The risk of a number of cancers appears to be increased in diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, some cancer and cancer therapies could lead to diabetes mellitus. Genetic factors, obesity, inflammation, oxidative stress, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, cancer therapies, insulin and some oral hypoglycemic drugs appear to play a role in the crosstalk between diabetes mellitus and cancers. This review summarized the associations between various types of diabetes and cancers and updated available evidence of underlying mechanisms between diabetes and cancers.

Overexpression of the PPAR-γ protein in primary Ta/T1 non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) is a well-known nuclear receptor that is activated in the nucleus to regulate several transcription factors. Its expression patterns have been examined in various types of cancer. The present study investigated the expression patterns of PPAR-γ in non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma. The expression rates of PPAR-γ, p53 and Ki-67 were compared to determine whether PPAR-γ may be considered as an immunobiomarker for bladder cancer. The intensity and extent of PPAR-γ expression were evaluated in 79 cases of non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (30 cases of papillary carcinoma low-grade, 30 cases of high-grade and 19 cases of carcinoma in situ) and 30 non-malignant cases. The nuclear overexpression of PPAR-γ was frequently observed in non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (63/79 cases) but was rarely detected in non-malignant cases (2/30 cases). The histological proliferation types of non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma revealed that PPAR-γ was more frequently overexpressed in papillary carcinoma (54/60 cases) than in carcinoma in situ (9/19 cases). Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that PPAR-γ was more useful as an immunobiomarker than p53 or Ki-67 (diagnostic odds ratios; 55.13, 16.82 and 11.13, respectively). In summary, this study demonstrated that the expression patterns of PPAR-γ were associated with histological proliferation type and that PPAR-γ was expressed in the nuclei of papillary carcinoma cells. These findings suggested that immunohistochemical staining for PPAR-γ may be used to comprehensively detect non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma.

The role of FoxO1 and its modulation with small molecules in the development of diabetes mellitus: A review

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) is one of the metabolic disorders suffered by a global human being. Certain factors, such as lifestyle and heredity, can increase a person's tendency for T2D. Various genes and proteins play a role in the development of insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes in which one central protein that is discussed in this review is FoxO1. In this review, we regard FoxO1 activation as detrimental, promote high plasma glucose level, and induce insulin resistance. Indeed, many contrasting studies arise since FoxO1 is an important protein to alleviate oxidative stress and promote cell survival, for example, also by preventing hyperglycemic-induced cell death. Inter-relation to PPARG, another important protein in metabolism, is also discussed. Ultimately, we discussed contrasting approaches of targeting FoxO1 to combat diabetes mellitus by small molecules.

Systemic PPARγ Antagonism Reduces Metastatic Tumor Progression in Adipocyte-Rich Bone in Excess Weight Male Rodents

Primary tumors are widely associated with an excess in body fat. The role of adipose tissue on tumor cell homing to bone is yet poorly defined. In this study, we aimed to assess whether bone colonization by tumor cells is favored by an adipocyte-rich bone marrow. We delineated the accompanying alterations of the bone microenvironment and established a treatment approach that interferes with high fat diet (HFD)-induced bone metastasis formation. We were able to show that adipocytes affect skeletal tumor growth in a metastatic model of breast cancer in male rats and melanoma in male mice as well as in human breast cancer bone biopsies. Indeed, HFD-induced bone marrow adiposity was accompanied by accelerated tumor progression and increased osteolytic lesions. In human bone metastases, bone marrow adiposity correlated with tumor cell proliferation. By antagonization of the adipocyte differentiation and storage pathway linked to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) with bisphenol-A-diglycidylether (BADGE), we were able to decelerate tumor progression and subsequent osteolytic damage in the bones of two distinct metastatic animal models exposed to HFD. Overall these data show that adipose tissue is a critical factor in bone metastases and cancer-induced bone loss. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Alteration of PPAR-GAMMA (PPARG; PPARγ) and PTEN gene expression in acute myeloid leukemia patients and the promising anticancer effects of PPARγ stimulation using pioglitazone on AML cells

Background

In the new era of tailored cancer treatment strategies, finding a molecule to regulate a wide range of intracellular functions is valuable. The unique property of nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ (PPARγ; PPARG) in transmitting the anti‐survival signals of the chemotherapeutic drugs has fired the enthusiasm into the application of this receptor in cancer treatment.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate the expression of PPARγ and one of its downstream targets PTEN in non‐M3 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. We also investigated the therapeutic value of PPARγ stimulation using pioglitazone in the AML‐derived U937 cell line.

Methods

The blood samples from 30 patients diagnosed with non‐M3 AML as well as 10 healthy individuals were collected and the mRNA expression levels of PPARγ and PTEN were evaluated. Additionally, we used trypan blue assay, MTT assay, and flow cytometry analysis to evaluate the anti‐leukemic effects of pioglitazone on U937 cells.

Results

While PTEN was significantly downregulated in AML patients as compared to the control group, the expression of PPARγ was increased in the patients’ group. The expression level of PPARγ was also negatively correlated with PTEN; however, it was not statistically significant. Besides, PPARγ stimulation using pioglitazone reduced survival and proliferative capacity of U937 cells through inducing apoptosis and suppression of cell transition from the G1 phase of the cell cycle.

Conclusion

The results of the present study shed more light on the importance of PPARγ and its stimulation in the therapeutic strategies of AML.

Pioglitazone mediates apoptosis in Caki cells via downregulating c-FLIP(L) expression and reducing Bcl-2 protein stability

Pioglitazone is an anti-diabetic agent used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which belongs to the thiazolidinediones (TZDs) group. TZDs target peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), which functions as a transcription factor of the nuclear hormone receptor. Pioglitazone has antitumor effects in several cancer types and could be a tool for drug therapy in various cancer treatments. Nevertheless, the molecular basis for pioglitazone-induced anticancer effects in renal cancer (RC) has not yet been elucidated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the detailed signaling pathway underlying pioglitazone-induced apoptosis in Caki cells derived from human clear cell renal cell carcinoma. As a result, it was demonstrated by flow cytometry analysis and Annexin V-propidium iodide staining that pioglitazone treatment induced apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner in Caki cells. The protein expression levels of cellular FLICE (FADD-like IL-1β-converting enzyme)-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP)_(L) and Bcl-2, which were determined by western blotting, decreased after pioglitazone treatment in Caki cells. Flow cytometry and western blot analyses demonstrated that pioglitazone-mediated apoptosis was blocked following pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk, indicating that pioglitazone-induced apoptosis was mediated via a caspase-dependent signaling pathway. However, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), did not affect pioglitazone-mediated apoptosis and degradation of c-FLIP_(L) and Bcl-2 protein. Of note, it was found by western blot analysis that Bcl-2 protein expression was downregulated by the decreased protein stability of Bcl-2 in pioglitazone-treated Caki cells. In conclusion, these findings indicated that pioglitazone-induced apoptosis is regulated through caspase-mediated degradation of FLIP_(L) and reduction of Bcl-2 protein stability, suggesting that pioglitazone is a feasible apoptotic agent that could be used in the treatment of human RC.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma: a novel therapeutic target for cognitive impairment and mood disorders that functions via the regulation of adult neurogenesis

The proliferation, differentiation, and migration of neural precursor cells occur not only during embryonic development but also within distinct regions of the adult brain through the process of adult neurogenesis. As neurogenesis can potentially regulate brain cognition and neuronal plasticity, the factors that enhance neurogenesis can be attractive therapeutic targets for improving cognitive function and regulating neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, including affective and mood disorders. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a class of ligand-activated transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. PPARγ is a target for insulin sensitizers and plays an essential role in regulating various metabolic processes, including adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis. Interestingly, evidence demonstrates the role of PPARγ activation in regulating neurogenesis. The pharmacological activation of PPARγ using specific ligands increases the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in specific brain regions, including the hippocampus, and prevents neurodegeneration and improves cognition and anxiety/depression-like behaviors in animal models. We summarize here recent reports on the role of PPARγ in adult neurogenesis, as well as the mechanisms involved, and suggest that PPARγ can serve as a potential therapeutic target for neurological and/or neurodegenerative diseases.

Drug Repurposing in Oncology: Current Evidence and Future Direction

BACKGROUND

Drug repurposing, the application of known drugs and compounds with a primary non-oncology purpose, might be an attractive strategy to offer more effective treatment options to cancer patients at a low cost and reduced time.

METHODS

This review described a total of 10 kinds of non-oncological drugs from more than 100 mechanical studies as well as evidence from population-based studies. The future direction of repurposed drug screening is discussed by using patient-derived tumor organoids.

RESULTS

Many old drugs showed previously unknown effects or off-target effects and can be intelligently applied for cancer chemoprevention and therapy. The identification of repurposed drugs needs to combine evidence from mechanical studies and population-based studies. Due to the heterogeneity of cancer, patient-derived tumor organoids can be used to screen the non-oncological drugs in vitro.

CONCLUSION

These identified old drugs could be repurposed in oncology and might be added as adjuvants and finally benefit patients with cancers.