Star-related lipid transfer protein 10 (STARD10): a novel key player in alcohol-induced breast cancer progression

A pre-vaccination immune metabolic interplay determines the protective antibody response to a dengue virus vaccine

Protective immunity to dengue virus (DENV) requires antibody response to all four serotypes. Systems vaccinology identifies a multi-OMICs pre-vaccination signature and mechanisms predictive of broad antibody responses after immunization with a tetravalent live attenuated DENV vaccine candidate (Butantan-DV/TV003). Anti-inflammatory pathways, including TGF-β signaling expressed by CD68low monocytes, and the metabolites phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) positively correlate with broadly neutralizing antibody responses against DENV. In contrast, expression of pro-inflammatory pathways and cytokines (IFN and IL-1) in CD68hi monocytes and primary and secondary bile acids negatively correlates with broad DENV-specific antibody responses. Induction of TGF-β and IFNs is done respectively by PC/PE and bile acids in CD68low and CD68hi monocytes. The inhibition of viral sensing by PC/PE-induced TGF-β is confirmed in vitro. Our studies show that the balance between metabolites and the pro- or anti-inflammatory state of innate immune cells drives broad and protective B cell response to a live attenuated dengue vaccine.

Combined Alcohol Exposure and KRAS Mutation in Human Pancreatic Ductal Epithelial Cells Induces Proliferation and Alters Subtype Signatures Determined by Multi-Omics Analysis

Simple Summary

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a deadly disease wherein alcohol use increases the risk of developing this cancer. Mutations in the KRAS oncogene are required for alcohol to promote pancreatic cancer in mice, but little is known about the molecular events associated with the combined exposure of alcohol and mutant KRAS expression in pancreas cells. In this study, we use pancreas cell models with and without mutant KRAS to evaluate the impact of chronic alcohol exposure on transcription and protein expression. This study identifies numerous differentially expressed transcripts and proteins that could influence the emergence of oncogenic features, such as increased proliferation, in pancreas cells.

Abstract

Pancreatic Ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer commonly exhibiting KRAS-activating mutations. Alcohol contributes to the risk of developing PDAC in humans, and murine models have shown alcohol consumption in the context of KRAS mutation in the pancreas promotes the development of PDAC. The molecular signatures in pancreas cells altered by alcohol exposure in the context of mutant KRAS could identify pathways related to the etiology of PDAC. In this study, we evaluated the combined effects of alcohol exposure and KRAS mutation status on the transcriptome and proteome of pancreatic HPNE cell models. These analyses identified alterations in transcription and translational processes in mutant KRAS cells exposed to alcohol. In addition, multi-omics analysis suggests an increase in the correlation between mRNA transcript and protein abundance in cells exposed to alcohol with an underlying KRAS mutation. Through differential co-expression, SERPINE1 was found to be influential for PDAC development in the context of mutant KRAS and ethanol. In terms of PDAC subtypes, alcohol conditioning of HPNE cells expressing mutant KRAS decreases the Inflammatory subtype signature and increases the Proliferative and Metabolic signatures, as we previously observed in patient samples. The alterations in molecular subtypes were associated with an increased sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents gemcitabine, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. These results provide a framework for distinguishing the molecular dysregulation associated with combined alcohol and mutant KRAS in a pancreatic cell line model.

STARD3: A Prospective Target for Cancer Therapy

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in developed countries and current therapies are based on surgery, chemotherapeutic agents, and radiation. To overcome side effects induced by chemo- and radiotherapy, in recent decades, targeted therapies have been proposed in second and even first lines. Targeted drugs act on the essential pathways involved in tumor induction, progression, and metastasis, basically all the hallmark of cancers. Among emerging pathways, the cholesterol metabolic pathway is a strong candidate for this purpose. Cancer cells have an accelerated metabolic rate and require a continuous supply of cholesterol for cell division and membrane renewal. Steroidogenic acute regulatory related lipid transfer (START) proteins are a family of proteins involved in the transfer of lipids and some of them are important in non-vesicular cholesterol transportation within the cell. The alteration of their expression levels is implicated in several diseases, including cancers. In this review, we report the latest discoveries on StAR-related lipid transfer protein domain 3 (STARD3), a member of the START family, which has a potential role in cancer, focusing on the structural and biochemical characteristics and mechanisms that regulate its activity. The role of the STARD3 protein as a molecular target for the development of cancer therapies is also discussed. As STARD3 is a key protein in the cholesterol movement in cancer cells, it is of interest to identify inhibitors able to block its activity.

Genome-wide associations between alcohol consumption and blood DNA methylation: evidence from twin study

Aim: Alcohol intake alters DNA methylation profiles and methylation might mediate the association between alcohol and disease, but limited number of positive CpG sites repeatedly replicated. Materials & methods: In total, 57 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs discordant for alcohol drinking from the Chinese National Twin Registry and 158 MZ and dizygotic twin pairs in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging were evaluated. DNA methylation was detected using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Results: Among candidate CpG sites, cg07326074 was significantly correlated with drinking after adjusting for covariates in MZ twins in both datasets but not in the entire sample or dizygotic twins. Conclusion: The hypermethylation of cg07326074, located in the tumor-promoting gene C16orf59, was associated with alcohol consumption.

Dysregulation of miR-638 in the progression of cancers

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a form of short, single-stranded and non-coding RNA that is important in regulating the post-transcriptional modification of multiple downstream targets. Many miRNAs have been reported to involve in controlling the progression of human diseases, and one of them is miR-638, which play essential roles in regulating the development of human cancer. By targeting the 3'-ends of its targets, miR-638 can regulate cellular processes including proliferation, invasion, metastases, angiogenesis, apoptosis and inflammation. This review was aimed to summarize current findings on the roles of miR-638 in different human cancers based on the results from various in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies. The biogenesis process and tissue expression, followed by the roles of miR-638 in regulating the development of various human cancers by targeting different downstream targets were covered in this review. The potential applications and challenges of employing miR-638 as cancer biomarker and therapeutic agent were also discussed.