TSSC3 promotes autophagy via inactivating the Src-mediated PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway to suppress tumorigenesis and metastasis in osteosarcoma, and predicts a favorable prognosis

JD-02, a novel Hsp90 inhibitor, induces ROS/SRC axis-dependent cytoprotective autophagy in colorectal cancer cells

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a tumor marker that accelerates cancer growth by disrupting protein homeostasis. However, concerns such as low clinical efficacy and drug resistance continue to be obstacles to the successful marketing of Hsp90 inhibitors. The cytoprotective function of autophagy has been identified as one of the mechanisms by which tumor cells gain resistance to chemotherapy. JD-02 was identified as a new Hsp90 inhibitor that suppressed colorectal cancer (CRC) growth by lowering client protein levels in vivo and in vitro. We found that JD-02 increased cellular autophagy, which inhibited apoptosis. JD-02 enhanced cytoprotective autophagy and regulated apoptotic suppression by increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species and inhibiting SRC protein levels, as demonstrated by quantitative proteomics, bioinformatic analysis, western blotting, and flow cytometry. This effect was reversed by autophagy inhibition. Therefore, due to the synergistic effects of Hsp90 and autophagy inhibitors in efficiently activating apoptotic pathways, they could potentially serve as promising therapeutic options for CRC.

PHLDA2 reshapes the immune microenvironment and induces drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignancy known for its unfavorable prognosis. The dysregulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME) can affect the sensitivity to immunotherapy or chemotherapy, leading to treatment failure. The elucidation of PHLDA2's involvement in HCC is imperative, and the clinical value of PHLDA2 is also underestimated. Here, bioinformatics analysis was performed in multiple cohorts to explore the phenotype and mechanism through which PHLDA2 may affect the progression of HCC. Then, the expression and function of PHLDA2 were examined via the qRT-PCR, Western Blot, and MTT assays. Our findings indicate a substantial upregulation of PHLDA2 in HCC, correlated with a poorer prognosis. The methylation levels of PHLDA2 were found to be lower in HCC tissues compared to normal liver tissues. Besides, noteworthy associations were observed between PHLDA2 expression and immune infiltration in HCC. In addition, PHLDA2 upregulation is closely associated with stemness features and immunotherapy or chemotherapy resistance in HCC. In vitro experiments showed that sorafenib or cisplatin significantly up-regulated PHLDA2 mRNA levels, and PHLDA2 knockdown markedly decreased the sensitivity of HCC cells to chemotherapy drugs. Meanwhile, we found that TGF-β induced the expression of PHLDA2 in vitro. The GSEA and in vitro experiment indicated that PHLDA2 may promote the HCC progression via activating the AKT signaling pathway. Our study revealed the novel role of PHLDA2 as an independent prognostic factor, which plays an essential role in TME remodeling and treatment resistance in HCC.

The role of programmed cell death in osteosarcoma: From pathogenesis to therapy

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a prevalent bone solid malignancy that primarily affects adolescents, particularly boys aged 14-19. This aggressive form of cancer often leads to deadly lung cancer due to its high migration ability. Experimental evidence suggests that programmed cell death (PCD) plays a crucial role in the development of osteosarcoma. Various forms of PCD, including apoptosis, ferroptosis, autophagy, necroptosis, and pyroptosis, contribute significantly to the progression of osteosarcoma. Additionally, different signaling pathways such as STAT3/c-Myc signal pathway, JNK signl pathway, PI3k/AKT/mTOR signal pathway, WNT/β-catenin signal pathway, and RhoA signal pathway can influence the development of osteosarcoma by regulating PCD in osteosarcoma cell. Therefore, targeting PCD and the associated signaling pathways could offer a promising therapeutic approach for treating osteosarcoma.

Critical role of miR-21/exosomal miR-21 in autophagy pathway

Activation of autophagy, a process of cellular stress response, leads to the breakdown of proteins, organelles, and other parts of the cell in lysosomes, and can be linked to several ailments, such as cancer, neurological diseases, and rare hereditary syndromes. Thus, its regulation is very carefully monitored. Transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms domestically or in whole organisms utilized to control the autophagic activity, have been heavily researched. In modern times, microRNAs (miRNAs) are being considered to have a part in post-translational orchestration of the autophagic activity, with miR-21 as one of the best studied miRNAs, it is often more than expressed in cancer cells. This regulatory RNA is thought to play a major role in a plethora of processes and illnesses including growth, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation. Different studies have suggested that a few autophagy-oriented genes, such as PTEN, Rab11a, Atg12, SIPA1L2, and ATG5, are all targeted by miR-21, indicating its essential role in the regulation.

Mefenamic acid exhibits antitumor activity against osteosarcoma by impeding cell growth and prompting apoptosis in human osteosarcoma cells and xenograft mice model

The study investigates the anticancer activity of mefenamic acid against osteosarcoma, shedding light on its underlying mechanisms and therapeutic potential. Mefenamic acid exhibited robust inhibitory effects on the proliferation of MG-63, HOS, and H2OS osteosarcoma cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, mefenamic acid induced cellular toxicity in MG63 cells, as evidenced by LDH leakage, reflecting its cytotoxic impact. Furthermore, mefenamic acid effectively suppressed the migration and invasion of MG-63 cells. Mechanistically, mefenamic acid induced apoptosis in MG-63 cells through mitochondrial depolarization, activation of caspase-dependent pathways, and modulation of the Bcl-2/Bax axis. Additionally, mefenamic acid promoted autophagy and inhibited the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, further contributing to its antitumor effects. The molecular docking studies provide compelling evidence that mefenamic acid interacts specifically and strongly with key proteins in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, suggesting a novel mechanism by which mefenamic acid could exert anti-osteosarcoma effects. In vivo studies using a xenograft mouse model demonstrated significant inhibition of MG-63 tumor growth without adverse effects, supporting the translational potential of mefenamic acid as a safe and effective therapeutic agent against osteosarcoma. Immunohistochemistry staining corroborated the in vivo findings, highlighting mefenamic acid's ability to suppress tumor proliferation and inhibit the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway within the tumor microenvironment. Collectively, these results underscore the promising therapeutic implications of mefenamic acid in combating osteosarcoma, warranting further investigation for clinical translation and development.

Vitexicarpin Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Metastatic Properties via the AKT-PRAS40 Pathway in Human Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma, which has poor prognosis after metastasis, is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. Therefore, plant-derived bioactive compounds are being actively developed for cancer therapy. Artemisia apiacea Hance ex Walp. is a traditional medicinal plant native to Eastern Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea. Vitexicarpin (Vitex), derived from A. apiacea, has demonstrated analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antitumour, and immunoregulatory properties; however, there are no published studies on Vitex isolated from the aerial parts of A. apiacea. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the antitumour activity of Vitex against human osteosarcoma cells. In the present study, Vitex (>99% purity) isolated from A. apiacea induced significant cell death in human osteosarcoma MG63 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner; cell death was mediated by apoptosis, as evidenced by the appearance of cleaved-PARP, cleaved-caspase 3, anti-apoptotic proteins (Survivin and Bcl-2), pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax), and cell cycle-related proteins (Cyclin D1, Cdk4, and Cdk6). Additionally, a human phosphokinase array proteome profiler revealed that Vitex suppressed AKT-dependent downstream kinases. Further, Vitex reduced the phosphorylation of PRAS40, which is associated with autophagy and metastasis, induced autophagosome formation, and suppressed programmed cell death and necroptosis. Furthermore, Vitex induced antimetastatic activity by suppressing the migration and invasion of MMP13, which is the primary protease that degrades type I collagen for tumour-induced osteolysis in bone tissues and preferential metastasis sites. Taken together, our results suggest that Vitex is an attractive target for treating human osteosarcoma.

Diallyl trisulfide inhibits osteosarcoma 143B cell migration, invasion and EMT by inducing autophagy

Background

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a compound derived from garlic, has been demonstrated its anti-cancer properties. While it has been shown to inhibit the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in various cancers, its effects on osteosarcoma (OS) cells remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of DATS on OS cells growth, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy, as well as its underlying mechanisms which was involving in the EGFR/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Methods

In this study, human osteosarcoma cells (143B) were treated with different concentrations of DATS (10, 50, 100 and 200 μM) for 24 and 48 h, respectively. Cell viability was measured using CCK8, the half lethal concentration was selected for the following experiments. Wound healing and transwell assays were performed to evaluate migration and invasion abilities, while flow cytometry was used to measure apoptosis. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and confocal imaging were employed to analyze the related mRNA and protein expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), EGFR/Phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/AKT/Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and autophagy-related markers.

Results

DATS significantly inhibited proliferation, migration and EMT in osteosarcoma cells. Additionally, DATS promoted cell apoptosis and induced autophagy, which could be rescued by the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Moreover, DATS treatment led to the inactivation of the EGFR/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in osteosarcoma cells.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that DATS inhibited osteosarcoma cell growth, migration and EMT, but inducing apoptosis and autophagy. These effects were mediated by the inactivation of the EGFR/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. These findings suggested that DATS could serve as a potential therapeutic agent for osteosarcoma treatment.

UPP1 promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression through the induction of an immunosuppressive microenvironment

The complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a crucial factor in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression. To gain deeper insights into molecular mechanisms of LUAD, we perform an integrative single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data analysis of 377,574 cells from 117 LUAD patient samples. By linking scRNA-seq data with bulk gene expression data, we identify a cluster of prognostic-related UPP1high tumor cells. These cells, primarily situated at the invasive front of tumors, display a stronger association with the immunosuppressive components in the TME. Our cytokine array analysis reveals that the upregulation of UPP1 in tumor cells leads to the increased release of various immunosuppressive cytokines, with TGF-β1 being particularly prominent. Furthermore, this UPP1 upregulation also elevates the expression of PD-L1 through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, which contributes to the suppression of CD8 + T cells. Cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) analysis provides additional evidence of the role of UPP1 in shaping the immunosuppressive nature of the TME. Using patient-derived organoids (PDOs), we discover that UPP1high tumors exhibit relatively increased sensitivity to Bosutinib and Dasatinib. Collectively, our study highlights the immunosuppressive role of UPP1 in LUAD, and these findings may provide insights into the molecular features of LUAD and facilitate the development of personalized treatment strategies.

Exploration of anti‑osteosarcoma activity of asiatic acid based on network pharmacology and in vitro experiments

Osteosarcomas are malignant bone tumors that typically originate in the epiphyses of the long bones of the extremities in adolescents. Asiatic acid has been reported to possess anti‑inflammatory, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, antitumor and antimicrobial activities. The present study used a combination of network pharmacological prediction and in vitro experimental validation to explore the potential pharmacological mechanism of asiatic acid against osteosarcoma. A total of 78 potential asiatic acid targets in osteosarcoma were identified using databases. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis indicated that the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways are essential in the treatment of osteosarcoma with asiatic acid. Molecular docking revealed binding of asiatic acid to EGFR, Caspase‑3, ESR1, HSP90AA1, IL‑6 and SRC proteins. asiatic acid inhibited proliferation through G2/M cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma cells. In addition, asiatic acid induced mitochondria‑dependent apoptosis as demonstrated by increases in Bax and VDAC1 expression, and a decrease in Bcl‑2 protein expression. The increased autophagosomes, increased LC3‑II/I ratios and decreased p62 expression in the treatment group indicated that asiatic acid triggered autophagy. In addition, asiatic acid decreased the levels of phosphorylated (p‑)PI3K/PI3K and p‑AKT/AKT, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and upregulated the levels of p‑ERK1/2/ERK1/2, p‑p38/p38 and p‑JNK/JNK in osteosarcoma cells. These results demonstrated that asiatic acid inhibited osteosarcoma cells proliferation by inhibiting PI3K/AKT and activating ROS/MAPK signaling pathways, suggesting asiatic acid is a potential agent against osteosarcoma.

Heat shock protein family A member 8 serving as a co-activator of transcriptional factor ETV4 up-regulates PHLDA2 to promote the growth of liver cancer

Heat shock protein family A member 8 (HSPA8) participates in the folding or degradation of misfolded proteins under stress and plays critical roles in cancer. In this study, we investigated the function of HSPA8 in the development of liver cancer. By analyzing the TCGA transcriptome dataset, we found that HSPA8 was upregulated in 134 clinical liver cancer tissue samples, and positively correlated with poor prognosis. IHC staining showed the nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of HSPA8 in liver cancer cells. Knockdown of HSPA8 resulted in a decrease in the proliferation of HepG2 and Huh-7 cells. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis revealed that HSPA8 bound to the promoter of pleckstrin homology-like domain family A member 2 (PHLDA2) and regulated its expression. The transcription factor ETV4 in HepG2 cells activated PHLDA2 transcription. HSPA8 and ETV4 could interact with each other in the cells and colocalize in the nucleus. From a functional perspective, we demonstrated that HSPA8 upregulated PHDLA2 through the coactivating transcription factor ETV4 to enhance the growth of liver cancer in vitro and in vivo. From a therapeutic perspective, we identified both HSPA8 and PHDLA2 as novel targets in the treatment of HCC. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that HSPA8 serves as a coactivator of ETV4 and upregulates PHLDA2, leading to the growth of HCC, and is a potential therapeutic target in HCC treatment.

Functional role of MicroRNA/PI3K/AKT axis in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary malignant bone tumor that occurs in children and adolescents, and the PI3K/AKT pathway is overactivated in most OS patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved endogenous non-protein-coding RNAs that can regulate gene expression by repressing mRNA translation or degrading mRNA. MiRNAs are enriched in the PI3K/AKT pathway, and aberrant PI3K/AKT pathway activation is involved in the development of osteosarcoma. There is increasing evidence that miRNAs can regulate the biological functions of cells by regulating the PI3K/AKT pathway. MiRNA/PI3K/AKT axis can regulate the expression of osteosarcoma-related genes and then regulate cancer progression. MiRNA expression associated with PI3K/AKT pathway is also clearly associated with many clinical features. In addition, PI3K/AKT pathway-associated miRNAs are potential biomarkers for osteosarcoma diagnosis, treatment and prognostic assessment. This article reviews recent research advances on the role and clinical application of PI3K/AKT pathway and miRNA/PI3K/AKT axis in the development of osteosarcoma.

FOSL1 transcriptionally regulates PHLDA2 to promote 5-FU resistance in colon cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Tumor drug resistance is a leading cause of tumor treatment failure. To date, the association between FOS-Like antigen-1 (FOSL1) and chemotherapy sensitivity in colon cancer is unclear. The present study investigated the molecular mechanism of FOSL1 regulating 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in colon cancer.

METHODS

FOSL1 expression in colon cancer was analyzed by bioinformatics methods, and its downstream regulatory factors were predicted. Pearson correlation analyzed the expression of FOSL1 and downstream regulatory gene. Meanwhile, the expression of FOSL1 and its downstream factor Pleckstrin Homology-Like Domain Family A Member 2 (PHLDA2) in colon cancer cell lines was measured by qRT-PCR and western blot. The regulatory relationship between FOSL1 and PHLDA2 was verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The effects of the FOSL1/PHLDA2 axis on the resistance in colon cancer cells to 5-FU were analyzed by cell experiments.

RESULTS

FOSL1 expression was evidently up-regulated in colon cancer and 5-FU resistant cells. FOSL1 was positively correlated with PHLDA2 in colon cancer. In vitro cell assays showed that low expression of FOSL1 significantly enhanced 5-FU sensitivity in colon cancer cells, significantly suppressed the proliferation of cancer cells, and induced apoptosis. Overexpression of FOSL1 presented the opposite regulatory trend. Mechanistically, FOSL1 activated PHLDA2 and up-regulated its expression. Moreover, by activating glycolysis, PHLDA2 promoted 5-Fu resistance and cell proliferation, and reduced cell apoptosis in colon cancer.

CONCLUSION

Down-regulated FOSL1 expression could enhance the 5-FU sensitivity of colon cancer cells, and FOSL1/PHLDA2 axis may be an effective target for overcoming chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer.

HRD1 Promotes Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma Metastasis by Blocking Autophagy-mediated MIEN1 Degradation

Dysregulation of autophagy has been implicated in the development of many diseases, including cancer. Here, we revealed a novel function of the E3 ubiquitin ligase HRD1 in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) metastasis by regulating autophagy. Mechanistically, HRD1 inhibits autophagy by promoting ATG3 ubiquitination and degradation. Additionally, a pro-migratory and invasive factor, MIEN1 (migration and invasion enhancer 1), was found to be autophagically degraded upon HRD1 deficiency. Importantly, both HRD1 and MIEN1 expression are upregulated and positively correlated in lung tumors. Based on these results, we proposed a novel mechanism of HRD1 function that the degradation of ATG3 protein by HRD1 leads to autophagy inhibition and MIEN1 release, thus promoting NSCLC metastasis. Therefore, our findings provided new insights into the role of HRD1 in NSCLC metastasis and new therapeutic targets for lung cancer treatment.

Autophagy and its role in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common bone malignancy and preferably occurs in children and adolescents. Despite significant advances in surgery and chemotherapy for OS over the past few years, overall survival rates of OS have reached a bottleneck. Thus, extensive researches aimed at developing new therapeutic targets for OS are urgently needed. Autophagy, a conserved process which allows cells to recycle altered or unused organelles and cellular components, has been proven to play a critical role in multiple biological processes in OS. In this article, we summarized the association between autophagy and proliferation, metastasis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy of OS, revealing that autophagy-related genes and pathways could serve as potential targets for OS therapy.

Machilin D Promotes Apoptosis and Autophagy, and Inhibits Necroptosis in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for about 90% of all head and neck cancers, the prognosis is very poor, and there are no effective targeted therapies. Herein, we isolated Machilin D (Mach), a lignin, from the roots of Saururus chinensis (S. chinensis) and assessed its inhibitory effects on OSCC. Herein, Mach had significant cytotoxicity against human OSCC cells and showed inhibitory effects against cell adhesion, migration, and invasion by inhibiting adhesion molecules, including the FAK/Src pathway. Mach suppressed the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K pathway and MAPKs, leading to apoptotic cell death. We investigated other modes of programmed cell death in these cells and found that Mach increased LC3I/II and Beclin1 and decreased p62, leading to autophagosomes, and suppressed the necroptosis-regulatory proteins RIP1 and MLKL. Our findings provide evidence that the inhibitory effects of Mach against human YD-10B OSCC cells are related to the promotion of apoptosis and autophagy and inhibition of necroptosis and are mediated via focal adhesion molecules.

Apoptosis regulation by the tyrosine-protein kinase CSK

C-terminal Src kinase (CSK) is a cytosolic tyrosine-protein kinase with an important role in regulating critical cellular decisions, such as cellular apoptosis, survival, proliferation, cytoskeletal organization and many others. Current knowledge on the CSK mechanisms of action, regulation and functions is still at an early stage, most of CSK's known actions and functions being mediated by the negative regulation of the SRC family of tyrosine kinases (SFKs) through phosphorylation. As SFKs play a vital role in apoptosis, cell proliferation and survival regulation, SFK inhibition by CSK has a pro-apoptotic effect, which is mediated by the inhibition of cellular signaling cascades controlled by SFKs, such as the MAPK/ERK, STAT3 and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Abnormal functioning of CSK and SFK activation can lead to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurological manifestations. This review describes apoptosis regulation by CSK, CSK inhibition of the SFKs and further explores the clinical relevance of CSK in important pathologies, such as cancer, autoimmune, autoinflammatory, neurologic diseases, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

Current progress and open challenges for applying tyrosine kinase inhibitors in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a mesenchymal-origin tumor that constitutes the most common primary malignant bone tumor. The survival rate of the patients has significantly improved since the introduction of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and extensive resection, but it has stagnated in recent 40 years. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have played a key part in the treatment of malignant tumors. In advanced OS, TKIs including anlotinib, apatinib, sorafenib, etc. have significantly improved the progression-free survival of patients, while the overall survival remains unchanged. The main reason is the rapid and inevitable progress of acquired drug resistance of OS. However, as the application of TKIs in OS and other tumors is still in the exploratory phase, its drug resistance mechanism and corresponding solutions are rarely reported. Hence, in this review, we summarize knowledge of the applications of TKIs, the mechanism of TKIs resistance, and the attempts to overcome TKIs resistance in OS, which are the three potentially novel insights of TKIs in OS. Because most evidence is derived from studies using animal and cell models, we also reviewed clinical trials and related bioinformatics data available in public databases, which partially improved our understanding of TKIs applications.

Long Noncoding RNA LINC00909 Induces Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Contributes to Osteosarcoma Tumorigenesis and Metastasis

Background

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant tumor that is highly metastatic with a high mortality rate. Although mounting evidence suggests that LINC00909 is strongly associated with the malignant progression of various tumors, the exact role of LINC00909 in OS remains unknown. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate the relationship between LINC00909 and the malignant progression of OS.

Methods

LINC00909 expression was measured in OS cell lines and clinical specimens using RT-qPCR assays. The effects of LINC00909 on OS proliferation, invasion, and migration were calculated both in vitro and in vivo. Apart from that, bioinformatics analyses, FISH, RIP, and luciferase reporter assays were carried out to investigate the downstream target of LINC00909. Rescue experiments were also conducted to investigate the potential mechanisms of action of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs).

Results

In this study, we found that LINC00909 was highly expressed in OS cell lines and clinical specimens. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that LINC00909 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and contributes to OS tumorigenesis and metastasis. FISH, RIP, and luciferase assays indicated that miR-875-5p is a direct target of LINC00909. Moreover, HOXD9 was validated as the downstream target of miR-875-5p in a luciferase reporter assay and western blotting experiments. Rescue experiments revealed that HOXD9 reversed the effect of LV-sh-LINC00909 on OS cells by positively regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Conclusion

Collectively, LINC00909 induces EMT and contributes to OS tumorigenesis and metastasis through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway by binding to miR-875-5p to upregulate HOXD9 expression. Targeting the LINC00909/miR-875-5p/HOXD9 axis may have potential in treating OS.

RAC3 Inhibition Induces Autophagy to Impair Metastasis in Bladder Cancer Cells via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway

Background

Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the most frequent malignant tumors globally, with a significant morbidity and mortality rate. Gene expression dysregulation has been proven to play a critical role in tumorigenesis. Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate3 (RAC3), which is overexpressed in several malignancies and promotes tumor progression, has been identified as an oncogene. However, RAC3 has important but not fully understood biological functions in cancer. Our research aims to reveal the new functions and potential mechanisms of RAC3 involved in BCa progression.

Methods

We explored the expression level of RAC3 and its relationship with prognosis by publicly accessible BCa datasets, while the correlation of RAC3 expression with clinicopathological variables of patients was analyzed. In vitro and in vivo proliferation, migration, autophagy, and other phenotypic changes were examined by constructing knockdown(KD)/overexpression(OE) RAC3 cells and their association with PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was explored by adding autophagy-related compounds.

Results

Compared with non-tumor samples, RAC3 was highly expressed in BCa and negatively correlated with prognosis. KD/OE RAC3 inhibited/promoted the proliferation and migration of BCa cells. Knockdown RAC3 caused cell cycle arrest and decreased adhesion without affecting apoptosis. Inhibition of RAC3 activates PI3K/AKT/mTOR mediated autophagy and inhibits proliferation and migration of BCa cells in vivo and in vitro. Autophagy inhibitor 3MA can partially rescue the metastasis and proliferation inhibition effect caused by RAC3 inhibition. Inhibit/activate mTOR enhanced/impaired autophagy, resulting in shRAC3-mediated migration defect exacerbated/rescued.

Conclusion

RAC3 is highly expressed in BCa. It is associated with advanced clinicopathological variables and poor prognosis. Knockdown RAC3 exerts an antitumor effect by enhancing PI3K/AKT/mTOR mediated autophagy. Targeting RAC3 and autophagy simultaneously is a potential therapeutic strategy for inhibiting BCa progression and prolonging survival.

miR-29a-3p mitigates the development of osteosarcoma through modulating IGF1 mediated PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 pathway by activating autophagy

Osteosarcoma (OS), occurring in mesenchymal tissues and with a high degree of malignancy, is most common in children and adolescents. At present, we intend to figure out the expression and functions of miR-29a-3p in OS development. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was adopted to monitor the expression of miR-29a-3p and IGF1 in OS tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Then, the 3- (4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di- phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay, colony formation experiment, western blot and Transwell assay were conducted to validate OS cell proliferation, colony formation ability, apoptosis, migration and invasion. Next, the association between miR-29a-3p and IGF1 was corroborated by the dual-luciferase reporter assay and the Pearson correlation analysis. Finally, WB was implemented to test the levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3-I/LC3-II, Beclin-1, p62, and the IGF-1R/PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 axis in OS cells. As a result, miR-29a-3p was down-regulated in OS tissues (versus adjacent non-tumor tissues) and OS cell lines. Overexpressing miR-29a-3p aggravated apoptosis, dampened cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion, and promoted autophagy of OS cells. IGF1 was identified as a target of miR-29a-3p. IGF1 induced oncogenic effects in OS by activating IGF-1R/ PI3k/Akt pathway, and it dampened the tumor-suppressive effect of miR-29a-3p on OS. Taken together, miR-29a-3p repressed the OS evolvement through inducing autophagy and inhibiting IGF1 mediated PI3k/Akt/FOXO3 pathway.

Autophagy and EMT in cancer and metastasis: Who controls whom?

Metastasis consists of hallmark events, including Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), angiogenesis, initiation of inflammatory tumor microenvironment, and malfunctions in apoptosis. Autophagy is known to play a pivotal role in the metastatic process. Autophagy has pulled researchers towards it in recent times because of its dual role in the maintenance of cancer cells. Evidence states that cells undergoing EMT need autophagy in order to survive during migration and dissemination. Additionally, it orchestrates EMT markers in certain cancers. On the other side of the coin, autophagy plays an oncosuppressive role in impeding early metastasis. This review aims to project the interrelationship between autophagy and EMT. Targeting EMT via autophagy as a useful strategy is discussed in this review. Furthermore, for the first time, we have covered the possible reciprocating roles of EMT and autophagy and its consequences in cancer metastasis.

Paeoniflorigenone regulates apoptosis, autophagy, and necroptosis to induce anti-cancer bioactivities in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Paonia suffruticosa Andr. belonging to the family Paeoniaceae and has been used as a medicinal plant in Asian countries including China, Korea, and Japan. The roots of P. suffruticosa has been used in traditional medicine in various diseases including cancer and cardiovascular, female genital, and inflammatory diseases.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) pathologically account for 90% of all head and neck cancers. However, effective targeted therapies for HNSCCs are insufficient and the prognosis is very poor, especially in patients with metastatic HNSCCs. To overcome the current limitations of available therapies for HNSCCs, pathological approaches using natural compounds are attracting attention. Our study aimed to demonstrate the anti-cancer effects of paeoniflorigenone (Paeo, 98.9% purity) isolated from the root bark of P. suffruticosa.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our scientific methodology was performed as follows: cytotoxicity, morphological changes, and apototic DNA fragmentation were analyzed using MTT, light microscopy, and TUNEL assays. Protein expression, apoptosis, necroptosis, and autophagy were analyzed using Western blot and immunofluorescence assays. Cell migration and invasion were analyzed using wound healing and Boyden chamber assays.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that Paeo significantly reduced cell proliferation and cell division, leading to caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death in human YD-10B HNSCC cells. This result was associated with PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K signaling in these cells. In addition, we investigated other programmed cell death mechanisms associated with apoptosis and found that Paeo inhibited necroptosis via dephosphorylation of key necroptotic proteins (RIP and MLKL), whereas Paeo induced autophagy via increased LC3I/II expression and autophagosome formation in human YD-10B HNSCC cells. The anti-metastatic effects of Paeo significantly suppressed cell migration and invasion in human YD-10B HNSCC cells.

CONCLUSION

Overall, our results demonstrated that the bioactive compound, Paeo, exhibited anti-cancer bioactivities in human YD-10B HNSCC cells, suggesting that Paeo may be an attractive pathological approach for patients with human HNSCCs.

Falcarindiol Stimulates Apoptotic and Autophagic Cell Death to Attenuate Cell Proliferation, Cell Division, and Metastasis through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K Pathway in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Human oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) have high cancer mortality and a 5-year survival rate lower than that of most other carcinomas. New therapeutic strategies are required for the treatment and prevention against OSCCs. An approach to cancer therapy using plant-derived natural compounds has been actively in progress as a trend. Falcarindiol (FALC), or its isolated form Ostericum koreanum Kitagawa (O. koreanum), is present in many food and dietary plants, especially in carrots, and this compound has a variety of beneficial effects. However, biological activity of FALC has not been reported in OSCCs yet. This study aimed to demonstrate the antitumor effects of FALC against OSCCs, YD-10B cells. In this study, FALC was selected as a result of screening for compounds isolated from various natural products in YD-10B cells. FALC suppressed cell growth, and FALC-induced apoptotic cell death was mainly accompanied by the dephosphorylation of PI3K, AKT, mTOR, and p70S6K. The apoptotic cell death was also associated with autophagy as evidenced by the expression of Beclin-1, the conversion of LC3-II, and the formation of autophagosome. FALC-induced autophagy was accompanied by MAPKs including ERK1/2 and p38. Furthermore, FALC caused the antimetastatic effects by inhibiting the migration and invasion of YD-10B cells. Taken together, the findings suggest the potential value of FALC as a novel candidate for therapeutic strategy against OSCCs.

Osteosarcoma and Metastasis

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy in adolescents. Its high propensity to metastasize is the leading cause for treatment failure and poor prognosis. Although the research of osteosarcoma has greatly expanded in the past decades, the knowledge and new therapy strategies targeting metastatic progression remain sparse. The prognosis of patients with metastasis is still unsatisfactory. There is resonating urgency for a thorough and deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma to develop innovative therapies targeting metastasis. Toward the goal of elaborating the characteristics and biological behavior of metastatic osteosarcoma, it is essential to combine the diverse investigations that are performed at molecular, cellular, and animal levels from basic research to clinical translation spanning chemical, physical sciences, and biology. This review focuses on the metastatic process, regulatory networks involving key molecules and signaling pathways, the role of microenvironment, osteoclast, angiogenesis, metabolism, immunity, and noncoding RNAs in osteosarcoma metastasis. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current research advances, with the hope to discovery druggable targets and promising therapy strategies for osteosarcoma metastasis and thus to overcome this clinical impasse.

Increased ATG5 Expression Predicts Poor Prognosis and Promotes EMT in Cervical Carcinoma

Cervical cancer has the second-highest incidence and mortality of female malignancy. The major causes of mortality in patients with cervical cancer are invasion and metastasis. The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process plays a major role in the acquisition of metastatic potential and motility. Autophagy-related genes (ARGs) are implicated in the EMT process, and autophagy exerts a dual function in EMT management at different phases of tumor progression. However, the role of specific ARGs during the EMT process has not yet been reported in cervical cancer. Based on the data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) sequencing database, we performed the prognosis analysis for those ARGs obtained from the Human Autophagy database. ATG5 was identified as the only important harmful marker influencing survival of cervical cancer patients by univariate Cox regression (HR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.0–2.8, p = 0.047), and the 5-years survival rate for the high- and low-ATG5 expression groups was 0.486 (0.375–0.631) and 0.782 (0.708–0.863), respectively. TCGA CESC methylation data showed that eight methylation sites of ATG5 could also be significantly associated with the overall survival (OS) of cervical cancer patients. Single-sample gene-set enrichment and gene functional enrichment results showed that ATG5 was correlated with some cancer-related pathways, such as phagocytosis-related genes, endocytosis-related genes, immune-related genes, EMT score, and some EMT signature-related genes. Next, cell migration and invasion assay and Western blot were applied to detect the function of ATG5 in EMT of cervical cancer. In cervical cancer cells, ATG5 knockdown resulted in attenuation of migration and invasion. The functional study showed that knockdown of ATG5 could reverse EMT process by P-ERK, P-NFκBp65, P-mTOR pathways, and so on. In conclusion, the present study implies that ATG5 was a major contributor to EMT regulation and poor prognosis in cervical cancer.

Lactotransferrin Downregulation Serves as a Potential Predictor for the Therapeutic Effectiveness of mTOR Inhibitors in the Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma without PTEN Mutation

Approximately 30% of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients develop metastatic spread at the first diagnosis. Therefore, identifying a useful biomarker to predict ccRCC metastasis or therapeutic effectiveness in ccRCC patients is urgently needed. Previously, we demonstrated that lactotransferrin (LTF) downregulation enhanced the metastatic potential of ccRCC. Here, we show that LTF expression conversely associates with the mTORC1 activity as simulated by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Moreover, Western blot analyses revealed that the LTF knockdown promoted, but the inclusion of recombinant human LTF protein suppressed, the phosphorylation of Akt/mTOR proteins in the detected ccRCC cells. Kaplan–Meier analyses demonstrated that the signature of combining an upregulated mTORC1 activity with a downregulated LTF expression referred to a worse overall and progression-free survival probabilities and associated with distant cancer metastasis in TCGA ccRCC patients. Furthermore, we found that the LTF-suppressed Akt/mTOR activation triggered an increased formation of autophagy in the highly metastatic ccRCC cells. The addition of autophagy inhibitor 3-methyadenine restored the LTF-suppressed cellular migration ability of highly metastatic ccRCC cells. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that the expression of the LTF and MTORC1 gene set, not the autophagy gene set, could be the useful biomarkers to predict 5-year overall survival rate and cancer progression in ccRCC patients. Significantly, the signature of combining mTORC1 upregulation and LTF downregulation was shown as an independent prognostic factor in a multivariate analysis under the progression-free survival condition using the TCGA ccRCC database. Finally, the treatment with mTOR inhibitor rapamycin predominantly reduced the formation of autophagy and ultimately mitigated the cellular migration ability of ccRCC cells with LTF knockdown. Our findings suggest that LTF downregulation is a biomarker for guiding the use of mTOR inhibitors to combat metastatic ccRCC in the clinic.

Circular RNA-Related CeRNA Network and Prognostic Signature for Patients with Osteosarcoma

Introduction

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is characterized by its relatively high morbidity in children and adolescents. Patients usually have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, resulting in poor outcomes. This study focused on building a circular RNA-based ceRNA network to develop a reliable model for OSA risk prediction.

Methods

We used the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets to explore the expression patterns of circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA in OSA. The prognostic value of circRNA host genes was assessed with data from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) database using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. We established a circRNA-related ceRNA network and annotated its biological functions. Next, we developed a prognostic risk signature based on mRNAs extracted from the ceRNA network. We also developed a prognostic model and constructed a nomogram to enhance the prediction of OSA prognosis.

Results

We identified 166 DEcircRNAs, 233 DEmiRNAs, and 1317 DEmRNAs and used them to create a circRNA-related ceRNA network. We then established a prognostic risk model consisting of four genes (MLLT11, TNFRSF11B, SLC7A7, and PARVA). Moreover, we found that inhibition of MLLT11 and SLC7A7 blocked OSA cell proliferation and migration in in vitro experiments.

Conclusion

Our study identifies crucial prognostic genes and provides a circRNA-related ceRNA network for OSA, which will contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the oncogenesis and development of OSA.

Autophagy provides a conceptual therapeutic framework for bone metastasis from prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a common malignant tumor, which can spread to multiple organs in the body. Metastatic disease is the dominant reason of death for patients with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer usually transfers to bone. Bone metastases are related to pathologic fracture, pain, and reduced survival. There are many known targets for prostate cancer treatment, including androgen receptor (AR) axis, but drug resistance and metastasis eventually develop in advanced disease, suggesting the necessity to better understand the resistance mechanisms and consider multi-target medical treatment. Because of the limitations of approved treatments, further research into other potential targets is necessary. Metastasis is an important marker of cancer development, involving numerous factors, such as AKT, EMT, ECM, tumor angiogenesis, the development of inflammatory tumor microenvironment, and defect in programmed cell death. In tumor metastasis, programmed cell death (autophagy, apoptosis, and necroptosis) plays a key role. Malignant cancer cells have to overcome the different forms of cell death to transfer. The article sums up the recent studies on the mechanism of bone metastasis involving key regulatory factors such as macrophages and AKT and further discusses as to how regulating autophagy is crucial in relieving prostate cancer bone metastasis.

Establishment of an Autophagy-Related Clinical Prognosis Model for Predicting the Overall Survival of Osteosarcoma

Purpose

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary and highly invasive bone tumor in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study is to construct a multi-gene expression feature related to autophagy, which can be used to predict the prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma. Materials and methods. The clinical and gene expression data of patients with osteosarcoma were obtained from the target database. Enrichment analysis of autophagy-related genes related to overall survival (OS-related ARGs) screened by univariate Cox regression was used to determine OS-related ARGs function and signal pathway. In addition, the selected OS-related ARGs were incorporated into multivariate Cox regression to construct prognostic signature for the overall survival (OS) of osteosarcoma. Use the dataset obtained from the GEO database to verify the signature. Besides, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were applied to further elucidate the molecular mechanisms. Finally, the nomogram is established by combining the risk signature with the clinical characteristics.

Results

Our study eventually included 85 patients. Survival analysis showed that patients with low riskScore had better OS. In addition, 16 genes were included in OS-related ARGs. We also generate a prognosis signature based on two OS-related ARGs. The signature can significantly divide patients into low-risk groups and high-risk groups, and has been verified in the data set of GEO. Subsequently, the riskScore, primary tumor site and metastasis status were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS and a nomogram were generated. The C-index of nomogram is 0.789 (95% CI: 0.703~0.875), ROC curve and calibration chart shows that nomogram has a good consistency between prediction and observation of patients.

Conclusions

ARGs was related to the prognosis of osteosarcoma and can be used as a biomarker of prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma. Nomogram can be used to predict OS of patients and improve treatment strategies.

Targeting Mps1 in combination with paclitaxel inhibits osteosarcoma progression by modulating spindle assembly checkpoint and Akt/mTOR signaling

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents and is characterized by early metastasis and frequent recurrence, which greatly affects patient prognosis and survival rates. However, the treatment of OS, its recurrence and subsequent metastasis is now at a clinical bottleneck. To explore new OS chemotherapeutic targets, investigate new therapeutic strategies and improve patient prognosis and survival rates, the roles of paclitaxel (PTX) and monopolar spindle kinase 1 (Mps1) in OS were investigated using in vivo and in vitro models. Mps1 expression was upregulated in OS samples and associated with patient survival times. Moreover, spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) activation and upregulation of Akt/mTOR signaling were both positively associated with OS progression. PTX treatment significantly inhibited Mps1 expression, as well as migration of OS cells both in vitro. In addition, the combination of Mps1 knockdown and PTX treatment inhibited OS progression in vivo. Mps1 overexpression inhibited the expression of SAC markers and upregulated Akt and mTOR expression, while Mps1 knockdown had the opposite effect. Cells subjected to combined Mps1 knockdown and PTX treatment exhibited activation of SAC and inhibition of Akt/mTOR signaling compared with Mps1 knockdown or PTX treatment alone. Based on these observations, Mps1 inhibition combined with PTX treatment may represent a potentially effective strategy for the treatment of OS.

Autophagy-Related Genes and Long Noncoding RNAs Signatures as Predictive Biomarkers for Osteosarcoma Survival

Osteosarcoma is a common malignant tumor that seriously threatens the lives of teenagers and children. Autophagy is an intracellular metabolic process mediated by autophagy-related genes (ARGs), which is known to be associated with the progression and drug resistance of osteosarcoma. In this study, RNA sequence data from TARGET and genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) databases were analyzed. A six autophagy-related long noncoding RNAs (ARLs) signature that accurately predicted the clinical outcomes of osteosarcoma patients was identified, and the relations between immune response and the ARLs prognostic signature were examined. In addition, we obtained 30 ARGs differentially expressed among osteosarcoma tissue and healthy tissue, and performed functional enrichment analysis on them. To screen for prognostic-related ARGs, univariate and LASSO Cox regression analyses were successively applied. Then, multivariate regression analysis was used to complete construction of the prognostic signature of ARGs. Based on the risk coefficient, we calculated the risk score and grouped the patients. Survival analysis showed that high-risk patients evolve with poor prognosis. And we verified the prognosis model in the GSE21257 cohort. Finally, verification was conducted by qRT-PCR and western blot to measure the expression of genes. The results show that autophagy-related marker models may provide a new therapeutic and diagnostic target for osteosarcoma.

Tumor-Suppressing STF cDNA 3 Overexpression Suppresses Renal Fibrosis by Alleviating Anoikis Resistance and Inhibiting the PI3K/Akt Pathway

BACKGROUND

Myofibroblast (MF) activation is the key event of irreversible renal interstitial fibrosis. Anoikis resistance is the hallmark of active MFs, which is conferred by continuous activation of the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway. Our previous study found that tumor-suppressing STF cDNA 3 (TSSC3) enhances the sensitivity of cells to anoikis via the PI3K/Akt pathway. Therefore, we hypothesized that TSSC3 might suppress renal interstitial fibrosis by inducing anoikis via the PI3K/Akt pathway.

METHODS

Cell anoikis was induced by the exogenous addition of RGD-containing peptides or by culturing cells in suspension. MFs were established by stimulating HK-2 renal tubular epithelial cells with transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). Lentivirus vectors were to construct a TSSC3 overexpression cell model. The effects of TSSC3 on the anoikis, growth, migration, invasion, and contraction of MFs were determined using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate assays, cell counting kit-8 assays, wound healing migration assays, matrigel invasion assays, and collagen-based contraction assays.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that TGF-β1, simultaneous with the induction of MF differentiation, confers significant protection against anoikis-induced cell death, which could be partly reversed by treatment with the PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor, LY294002. Moreover, overexpression of TSSC3 obviously impaired cell growth, cell migration, cell invasion, contraction, and anoikis resistance of MFs, and decreased the activity of the PI3K/Akt pathway and the production of extracellular matrix molecules, all of which could be attenuated by treatment with the PI3K/Akt pathway activator, 740Y-P. Taken together, this study suggested that TSSC3 attenuates the anoikis resistance and profibrogenic ability of TGF-β1-induced MF by regulating the PI3K-Akt pathway.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide a biological basis for further exploration of the therapeutic significance of targeting MF via TSSC3 in renal interstitial fibrosis.

Associations of individual and joint expressions of ERCC6 and ERCC8 with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of gastric cancer

Background

Excision repair cross-complementing group 6 and 8 (ERCC6 and ERCC8) have been implicated in ailments such as genetic diseases and cancers. However, the relationship between individual and joint expressions of ERCC6/ERCC8 and clinicopathological parameters as well as prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) still remains unclear.

Methods

In this study, protein expressions of ERCC6, ERCC8 and ERCC6-ERCC8 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 109 paired GC and para-cancerous normal tissue samples. The mRNA expression was detected in 36 pairs of tissue samples. IHC results and RNA-seq data extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used to explore the clinical value of ERCC6 and ERCC8 expression in GC. We further conducted protein-protein interaction analysis, Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, gene set enrichment analysis, and gene-gene interaction analysis to explore the function and regulation networks of ERCC6 and ERCC8 in GC.

Results

Individual and joint ERCC6/ERCC8 expression were significantly higher in adjacent normal mucosa compared with GC tissues. ERCC6 mRNA expression showed no difference in GC and paired tissues, while ERCC8 mRNA was significantly decreased in GC tissues. Protein expression of ERCC6, ERCC8, double negative ERCC6-ERCC8 and double positive ERCC6-ERCC8 and overexpressed ERCC6 mRNA were related to better clinicopathologic parameters, while overexpressed ERCC8 mRNA suggested worse parameters. Univariate survival analysis indicated that the OS was longer when ERCC6 protein expression and ERCC8 mRNA expression increased, and double negative ERCC6-ERCC8 expression was associated with a short OS. Bioinformatics analyses showed ERCC6 and ERCC8 were associated with nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway, and six and ten gene sets were figured out to be related with ERCC6 and ERCC8, respectively. KEGG pathway showed that ERCC6/ERCC8 related gene sets were mainly involved in the regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Direct physical interactions were found between ERCC6 and ERCC8.

Conclusions

Individual and joint expressions of ERCC6/ERCC8 were associated with clinical features of GC. Protein expression of ERCC6, ERCC6-ERCC8, and mRNA expression of ERCC8 were related to prognosis of GC. ERCC6 and ERCC8 primarily function in the NER pathway, and may regulate GC progression through the regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Development of a Machine Learning-Based Autophagy-Related lncRNA Signature to Improve Prognosis Prediction in Osteosarcoma Patients

Background

Osteosarcoma is a frequent bone malignancy in children and young adults. Despite the availability of some prognostic biomarkers, most of them fail to accurately predict prognosis in osteosarcoma patients. In this study, we used bioinformatics tools and machine learning algorithms to establish an autophagy-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) signature to predict the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients.

Methods

We obtained expression and clinical data from osteosarcoma patients in the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. We acquired an autophagy gene list from the Human Autophagy Database (HADb) and identified autophagy-related lncRNAs by co-expression analyses. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of the autophagy-related lncRNAs were conducted. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the prognostic value of the autophagy-related lncRNA signature and validate the relationship between the signature and osteosarcoma patient survival in an independent cohort. We also investigated the relationship between the signature and immune cell infiltration.

Results

We initially identified 69 autophagy-related lncRNAs, 13 of which were significant predictors of overall survival in osteosarcoma patients. Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that the 13 autophagy-related lncRNAs could stratify patients based on their outcomes. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses confirmed the superior prognostic value of the lncRNA signature compared to clinically used prognostic biomarkers. Importantly, the autophagy-related lncRNA signature predicted patient prognosis independently of clinicopathological characteristics. Furthermore, we found that the expression levels of the autophagy-related lncRNA signature were significantly associated with the infiltration levels of different immune cell subsets, including T cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells.

Conclusion

The autophagy-related lncRNA signature established here is an independent and robust predictor of osteosarcoma patient survival. Our findings also suggest that the expression of these 13 autophagy-related lncRNAs may promote osteosarcoma progression by regulating immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment.

Zoledronic Acid Enhanced the Antitumor Effect of Cisplatin on Orthotopic Osteosarcoma by ROS-PI3K/AKT Signaling and Attenuated Osteolysis

Osteoclasts can interact with osteosarcoma to promote the growth of osteosarcoma. Cisplatin is common in adjuvant chemotherapy of osteosarcoma. However, due to chemoresistance, the efficacy is profoundly limited. Previous studies have found that zoledronic acid (ZA) has osteoclast activation inhibition and antitumor effect. However, the combined effect of ZA and cisplatin on osteosarcoma remains unclear. In vitro, the effects of ZA and cisplatin alone or in combination on 143B cell activity, proliferation, apoptosis, and ROS-PI3K/AKT signaling were detected. At the same time, the effect of ZA and cisplatin on osteoclast formation, survival, and activity was detected by TRAP staining and bone plate absorption test. These were further verified in mice. The results showed that in vitro, compared with the single treatment and control, the combination of ZA and cisplatin could significantly inhibit the activity and proliferation of 143B cells and induced their apoptosis and further promoted the generation of ROS and inhibited the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT. ROS scavenger and the agonist of the PI3K/AKT pathway could reverse these results. In addition, cisplatin in synergy with ZA could significantly inhibit osteoclast formation and survival to reduce bone plate absorption. In vivo, compared with the single group, the tumor volume and cell proliferation were significantly reduced, apoptosis and necrosis of tumor cells increased, and TRAP⁺ osteoclasts and osteolysis destruction decreased in the combined group. In conclusion, ZA enhanced the antitumor effect of cisplatin on osteosarcoma by ROS-PI3K/AKT signaling, reducing the chemoresistance and osteoclast activation to enhance chemotherapy and inhibit osteolysis. And this present study raised the possibility that combining ZA and cisplatin may represent a novel strategy against osteosarcoma.

Systematic profiling of diagnostic and prognostic value of autophagy-related genes for sarcoma patients

BACKGROUND

Autophagy-related genes (ARGs) have been confirmed to have an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor microenvironment formation. Nevertheless, a systematic analysis of ARGs and their clinical significance in sarcoma patients is lacking.

METHODS

Gene expression files from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) were used to select differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Differentially expressed ARGs (DEARGs) were determined by matching the DEG and HADb gene sets, which were evaluated by functional enrichment analysis. Unsupervised clustering of the identified DEARGs was conducted, and associations with tumor microenvironment (TME), immune checkpoints, and immune cells were analyzed simultaneously. Two prognostic signatures, one for overall survival (OS) and one for disease-free survival (DFS), were established and validated in an independent set.

RESULTS

In total, 84 DEARGs and two clusters were identified. TME scores, five immune checkpoints, and several types of immune cells were found to be significantly different between two clusters. Two prognostic signatures incorporating DEARGs showed favorable discrimination and were successfully validated. Two nomograms combining signature and clinical variables were generated. The C-indexes were 0.818 and 0.747 for the OS and DFS nomograms, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive analyses of the ARG landscape in sarcoma showed novel ARGs related to carcinogenesis and the immune microenvironment. These findings have implications for prognosis and therapeutic responses, which reveal novel potential prognostic biomarkers, promote precision medicine, and provide potential novel targets for immunotherapy.

CHRDL2 promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and metastasis through the BMP-9/PI3K/AKT pathway

Various studies demonstrated that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their antagonists contribute to the development of cancers. Chordin-like 2 (CHRDL2) is a member of BMP antagonists. However, the role and its relative mechanism of CHRDL2 in osteosarcoma remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that the expression of CHRDL2 was significantly upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines compared with adjacent tissues and human normal osteoblast. Inhibition of CHRDL2 decreased the proliferation and colony formation of osteosarcoma cells in vitro, as well as the migration and invasion. CHRDL2 overexpression induced the opposite effects. CHRDL2 can bind with BMP-9, thus decreasing BMP-9 expression and the combination to its receptor protein kinase ALK1. It was predicted that BMP-9 regulates PI3K/AKT pathways using gene set enrichment analysis. Inhibition of CHRDL2 decreased the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway, while overexpression of CHRDL2 upregulated the activation. Increasing the expression of BMP-9 reversed the effects of CHRDL2 overexpression on the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway, as well as the proliferation and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells. Take together, our present study revealed that CHRDL2 upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines, and promoted osteosarcoma cell proliferation and metastasis through the BMP-9/PI3K/AKT pathway. CHRDL2 maybe an oncogene in osteosarcoma, as well as novel biomarker for the diagnosis of osteosarcoma.

ETAR silencing ameliorated neurovascular injury after SAH in rats through ERK/KLF4-mediated phenotypic transformation of smooth muscle cells

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating cerebrovascular disease which has a high morbidity and mortality. The phenotypic transformation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) lead to neurovascular injury after SAH. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential role of ET-1/ET_AR on the phenotypic transformation of SMCs after SAH. The models of SAH were established in vivo and vitro. We observed ET-1 secretion by endothelial cells was increased, and the phenotypic transformation of SMCs was aggravated after SAH. Knocking down ET_AR inhibited the phenotypic transformation of SMCs, decreased the migration ability of SMCs in vitro. Moreover, Knocking down ET_AR ameliorated cerebral ischaemia and alleviated dysfunction of neurological function in vivo. In addition, Exogenous ET-1 increased the migration ability of SMCs and aggravated the phenotypic transformation of SMCs in vitro, which were partly reversed by the antagonist of Erk1/2 - SCH772984. Taken together, our results demonstrated that endothelial ET-1 aggravated the phenotypic transformation of SMCs after SAH. Knocking down ET_AR inhibited the phenotypic transformation of SMCs through ERK/KLF4 thus ameliorating neurovascular injury after SAH. We also revealed that ET-1/ET_AR is a potential therapeutic target after SAH.

11-O-Galloyl Bergenin from Corylopsis coreanas Leaves Induces Autophagy and Apoptosis in Human Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone-forming tumor, wherein most patients with high grade osteosarcomas are treated with chemotherapy. Despite this, survival for metastatic or relapsed osteosarcoma patients has remained at an overall 5-year survival rate of 20%. In particular, the extracts of Corylopsis coreana (Korean winter hazel), a cultivated woody plant in South Korea, have shown beneficial anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-osteoclastic, and antihyperuricemic properties. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate the antitumor activities and underlying mechanism of 11-O-Galloyl bergenin (OGAL) isolated from Corylopsis coreanas leaves in human osteosarcoma cells. Herein, we found that OGAL inhibited MG63 cell proliferation and induced cellular apoptosis as evidenced by cleaved-PARP, cleaved-caspase 3, TUNEL-positive cells, and Annexin V-positive cells. Specifically, OGAL-induced apoptosis was accompanied by p53 and p21 upregulation, BAX expression, and decreased Bcl-2 and cdk2. Moreover, OGAL induced autophagy via AKT inactivation, LC3II upregulation, and MG63 cell autophagosome formation. OGAL-induced autophagy was also accompanied by increased p38 phosphorylation, whereas JNK and ERK1/2 activities were found to be unaffected upon examining the MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, wound healing and Boyden chamber assays showed that OGAL suppressed MG63 cell migration and invasion. Given these findings, this study provided evidence that OGAL has antitumor effects by apoptosis and autophagy enhancement through increased p53, AKT, and p38 signaling, suggesting that OGAL may be a potential therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma treatment.

Aurora-B knockdown inhibits osteosarcoma metastasis by inducing autophagy via the mTOR/ULK1 pathway

Background

Autophagy plays an essential role in metastasis of malignancies. Although our studies showed that Aurora-B facilitate pulmonary metastasis in OS, the mechanism of Aurora-B kinase on autophagy and metastasis in OS has not been explored.

Methods

Clinical-pathological parameters and follow-up information was collected in OS patients. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect Aurora-B and LC3 protein in OS tissues. Short hairpin RNA transfection was used to silence Aurora-B in OS cells. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect Aurora-B mRNA expression in OS cells. Aurora-B and autophagy related protein were measured by Western blot. Transmission electron microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy were performed to observe the formation of autophagosomes and autolysosomes. Migratory and invasive ability of OS cells were measured by Wound healing and transwell assays. Orthotopic xenograft model was used to evaluate the effect of autophagy mediated by Aurora-B inhibition on pulmonary metastasis of OS.

Results

The elevated expression of Aurora-B protein in OS tissues negatively associated with the overall survival of OS patients. Further investigation has found that Aurora-B expression was negatively correlative with autophagy related protein LC3 in OS patient tissues. Knockdown Aurora-B stimulates autophagy and inhibits migratory and invasive ability of OS cells. Mechanistically, Aurora-B knockdown suppressed the mTOR/ULK1 signaling pathway and reactivation of the mTOR/ULK1 pathway decreased autophagy level. Furthermore, the inhibition effect of silencing Aurora-B on migration and invasion of OS was reversed by chloroquine and mTOR activator in vitro and vivo.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that silencing of Aurora-B stimulate autophagy via decreasing mTOR/ULK1 and result in inhibiting OS metastasis. Targeted Aurora-B/mTOR/ULK1 pathway may be a promising treatment strategy for OS patients.

Extracellular Collagen Mediates Osteosarcoma Progression Through an Integrin α2β1/JAK/STAT3 Signaling Pathway

Background

Osteosarcoma development is a complex set which is determined by various factors. Many patients suffered from sustained osteosarcoma growth and revealed poor response to clinical interventions. However, the underlying mechanisms of osteosarcoma development still remain unclear.

Methods

In our study, we isolated osteosarcoma tissues from clinical patients, which were divided into high degree group (stage G1~G2) and low degree group (stage G0). The expression of type I collagen, integrin and STAT3 in tumor tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence. The collagen-induced cells proliferation was detected by CCK8 and colony formation analysis. The activation of JAK/STAT3 signal was examined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The anticancer effects of integrin α2β1 peptide were analyzed by Sao-2-bearing mice model.

Results

Our results implicated that type I collagen could facilitate malignant osteosarcoma development in patients. In vitro, 2D collagen culture also efficiently mediated the stemness up-regulation of osteosarcoma cells, resulting in the strengthened capability of cells proliferation and tumorigenesis. In mechanism, we found that type I collagen could facilitate the activation of JAK/STAT3 signals through integrin α2β1, which elicited tumor-sustained growth and cancer relapse. In tumor-bearing mice model, integrin α2β1 signals inhibitor significantly suppressed the osteosarcoma cells proliferation and their tumorigenic ability, which improved the outcome of chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated that type I collagen could mediate osteosarcoma development through an integrin α2β1/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. Blockade of integrin α2β1 by α2β1 inhibitor efficiently improved outcome of chemotherapy/radiotherapy, which provided new insights for eradicating tumors in clinic.

NDUFA4L2 Regulated by HIF-1α Promotes Metastasis and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Osteosarcoma Cells Through Inhibiting ROS Production

Osteosarcoma (OS) accounts for a large proportion of the types of bone tumors that are newly diagnosed, and is a relatively common bone tumor. However, there are still no effective treatments for this affliction. One interesting avenue is related to the mitochondrial NDUFA4L2 protein, which is encoded by the nuclear gene and is known to be a critical mediator in the regulation of cell survival. Thus, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of NDUFA4L2 upon the metastasis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition of OS. We found that NDUFA4L2 protein expression was upregulated in hypoxic conditions. We also used 2-ME and DMOG, which are HIF-1α inhibitors and agonists, respectively, to assess the effects related to decreasing or increasing HIF-1α expression. 2-ME caused a significant decrease of NDUFA4L2 expression and DMOG had the opposite effect. It was obvious that down-regulation of NDUFA4L2 had a direct interaction with the apoptosis of OS cells. Western blotting, wound healing analyses, Transwell invasion assays, and colony formation assays all indicated and supported the conclusion that NDUFA4L2 promoted OS cell migration, invasion, proliferation, and the epithelial–mesenchymal transition. During experiments, we incidentally discovered that autophagy and the ROS inhibitor could be used to facilitate the rescuing of tumor cells whose NDUFA4L2 was knocked down. Our findings will help to further elucidate the dynamics underlying the mechanism of OS cells and have provided a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of OS.

Development of a novel immune-related genes prognostic signature for osteosarcoma

Immune-related genes (IRGs) are responsible for osteosarcoma (OS) initiation and development. We aimed to develop an optimal IRGs-based signature to assess of OS prognosis. Sample gene expression profiles and clinical information were downloaded from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. IRGs were obtained from the ImmPort database. R software was used to screen differentially expressed IRGs (DEIRGs) and functional correlation analysis. DEIRGs were analyzed by univariate Cox regression and iterative LASSO Cox regression analysis to develop an optimal prognostic signature, and the signature was further verified by independent cohort (GSE39055) and clinical correlation analysis. The analyses yielded 604 DEIRGs and 10 hub IRGs. A prognostic signature consisting of 13 IRGs was constructed, which strikingly correlated with OS overall survival and distant metastasis (p < 0.05, p < 0.01), and clinical subgroup showed that the signature’s prognostic ability was independent of clinicopathological factors. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses also supported its prognostic value. In conclusion, we developed an IRGs signature that is a prognostic indicator in OS patients, and the signature might serve as potential prognostic indicator to identify outcome of OS and facilitate personalized management of the high-risk patients.

Knockdown of CircCRIM1 Inhibits HDAC4 to Impede Osteosarcoma Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion and Facilitate Autophagy by Targeting miR-432-5p

BACKGROUND

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) serve for a genre of considerable modulatory molecules that have been largely researched in human cancers. However, the contribution of circRNA cysteine-rich transmembrane bone morphogenetic protein regulator 1 (circCRIM1) to osteosarcoma (OS) is completely unclear.

METHODS

All the RNA levels were examined via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cellular proliferation and migration/invasion were, respectively, analyzed using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-y1)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and transwell assay. The determination of all protein expression was administrated by Western blot. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used for proving the target combination. The exploration of circCRIM1 in vivo was performed by xenograft assay.

RESULTS

In OS tissues and cells, circCRIM1 was differentially up-regulated. Functionally, cell proliferation, migration and invasion were suppressed while autophagy was promoted after circCRIM1 was down-regulated in OS cells. Mechanistically, mircoRNA-432-5p (miR-432-5p) was a miRNA target of circCRIM1 and the inhibitory effect of circCRIM1 knockdown on OS progression was achieved by targeting miR-432-5p. Moreover, histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) was a downstream gene of miR-432-5p and circCRIM1 targeted miR-432-5p to up-regulate HDAC4 level. MiR-432-5p inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion but enhanced autophagy of OS cells through down-regulating HDAC4. In vivo, knockdown of circCRIM1 decreased OS growth via acting on the miR-432-5p/HDAC4 axis.

CONCLUSION

Our findings elucidated the oncogenic function of circCRIM1 in OS via the regulation of the miR-432-5p/HDAC4 axis, affording a novel view about how circRNA participated in OS development.

The Impact of Icariside II on Human Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation, Mobility, and Autophagy via PI3K-AKT-mTOR Signaling Pathway

Introduction

The flavonol glycoside icariside II (ICA II) has been shown to exhibit a range of anti-tumor properties. Herein, we evaluated the impact of ICA II on human prostate cancer cell proliferation, motility, and autophagy, and we further evaluated the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects.

Methods

We treated DU145 human prostate cancer cells with a range of ICA II doses and then assessed their proliferation via CCK-8 assay, while flow cytometry was used to monitor apoptosis and cell cycle progression. We further utilized wound healing and transwell assays to probe the impact of ICA II on migration and invasion, and assessed autophagy via laser confocal fluorescence microscopy. Western blotting was further utilized to measure LC3-II/I, Beclin-1, P70S6K, PI3K, AKT, mTOR, phospho-AKT, phospho-mTOR, and phospho-P70S6K levels, with qRT-PCR being used to evaluate the expression of specific genes at the mRNA level.

Results

We found that ICA II was capable of mediating the dose- and time-dependent suppression of DU145 cell proliferation, causing these cells to enter a state of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. We further determined that ICA II treatment was associated with significant impairment of prostate cancer cell migration and invasion, whereas autophagy was enhanced in treated cells relative to untreated controls.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that ICA II treatment is capable of suppressing human prostate tumor cell proliferation and migration while enhancing autophagy via modulating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. As such, ICA II may be an ideal candidate drug for the treatment of prostate cancer.

[Aurora kinase-B silencing promotes apoptosis of osteosarcoma 143B cells by ULK1 phosphorylation-induced autophagy]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of Aurora kinase B (AURKB) silencing-induced autophagy on apoptosis of osteosarcoma 143B cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODS

Human osteosarcoma 143B cells were transfected with Lv/shAURKB or the negative control vector Lv/shScrambled followed by treatment with chloroquine (CQ) for 24 h. Western blotting was performed to detect the protein expression levels of AURKB, P62, LC3, cleaved caspase-3, Bcl-2, and P-ULK1^Ser555. Transmission electron microscopy and LC3 dual-label fluorescence method were used to trace the autophagosomes in 143B cells to assess cell autophagy, and the cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry and TUNEL assay. Co-immunoprecipitation assay was used to detect the interaction between AURKB and ULK1.

RESULTS

The ratio of autophagy-related proteins LC3 II/I and the number of autophagosomes were significantly increased in 143B cells after transfection with Lv/shAURKB (P < 0.05), which significantly increased the expression of cleaved caspase-3 and reduced the expression of Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Combined treatment of the cells with Lv/shAURKB and the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine obviously restored the expressions of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Transfection with Lv/shAURKB significantly increased the apoptosis rate of 143B cells (P < 0.05), and this effect was significantly antagonized by combined treatment with chloroquine (P < 0.05). AURKB silencing strongly activated the phosphorylation of the autophagy-initiating protein ULK1^Ser555 in 143B cells (P < 0.05). The results of co-immunoprecipitation assay confirmed when AURKB was immunoprecipitated, ULK1 also precipitated.

CONCLUSIONS

Silencing AURKB can induce autophagy by activating ULK1^Ser555 phosphorylation to promote apoptosis in 143B cells.

Bone Microenvironment and Osteosarcoma Metastasis

The bone microenvironment is an ideal fertile soil for both primary and secondary tumors to seed. The occurrence and development of osteosarcoma, as a primary bone tumor, is closely related to the bone microenvironment. Especially, the metastasis of osteosarcoma is the remaining challenge of therapy and poor prognosis. Increasing evidence focuses on the relationship between the bone microenvironment and osteosarcoma metastasis. Many elements exist in the bone microenvironment, such as acids, hypoxia, and chemokines, which have been verified to affect the progression and malignance of osteosarcoma through various signaling pathways. We thoroughly summarized all these regulators in the bone microenvironment and the transmission cascades, accordingly, attempting to furnish hints for inhibiting osteosarcoma metastasis via the amelioration of the bone microenvironment. In addition, analysis of the cross-talk between the bone microenvironment and osteosarcoma will help us to deeply understand the development of osteosarcoma. The cellular and molecular protagonists presented in the bone microenvironment promoting osteosarcoma metastasis will accelerate the exploration of novel therapeutic strategies towards osteosarcoma.

Exosomal cargos modulate autophagy in recipient cells via different signaling pathways

Vesicular system of mammalian cells is composed of two intracellular and extracellular vesicles systems, which contributes to the intra/intercellular communication and cellular homeostasis. These systems mediate transferring of biological molecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids inside the cytoplasm, and between the cells. By the present study, authors describe molecular crosslink between exosome biogenesis and autophagy and take a certain focus on the autophagic cargos of exosomes and signaling pathways involved in exosome-induced autophagy in target cells and vice versa. Autophagy the generation of double-phospholipid vesicles, is a process that engulfs damaged proteins and organelles, share molecular similarity and function synergy with exosomes biogenesis for degradation or exocytosis of certain cargo. Exosomes, the smallest subtype of extracellular vesicles, originating from the membrane of the multivesicular body located inside cells demonstrate key roles in the intracellular and intercellular communication. Growing evidence demonstrates the interaction between exosome biogenesis and autophagy both at intertwined molecular pathways and crossbred vesicles known as amphisomes. Crosstalk between exosome biogenesis and autophagy contributes to maintain cellular homeostasis under external and internal stresses. Moreover, these processes can modulate each other via different signaling pathways. Exosomes contain autophagic cargos that induce autophagy via the cascade of molecular events in target cells, which called here exosome-induced autophagy. Taken together, crosstalk between exosome biogenesis and autophagy plays pivotal roles in cell homeostasis. Shedding light on the interaction between endomembrane systems may promote our knowledge about the relation between exosome and autophagy pathways in lysosome-related disorders against treatments; proposing a theoretical approach for therapy.