MYLK4 promotes tumor progression through the activation of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling in osteosarcoma

Circadian disruption dysregulates lung gene expression associated with inflammatory lung injury

Rationale

Circadian systems drive the expression of multiple genes in nearly all cells and coordinate cellular-, tissue-, and system-level processes that are critical to innate immunity regulation.

Objective

We examined the effects of circadian rhythm disorganization, produced by light shift exposure, on innate immunity-mediated inflammatory lung responses including vascular permeability and gene expression in a C57BL/6J murine model of inflammatory lung injury.

Methods

A total of 32 C57BL/6J mice were assigned to circadian phase shifting (CPS) with intratracheal phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), CPS with intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (LPS), control (normal lighting) condition with intratracheal PBS, and control condition with intratracheal LPS. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) protein, cell counts, tissue immunostaining, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were measured in lung tissues at 2 and 10 weeks.

Measurements and results

In mice exposed to both CPS and intratracheal LPS, both BAL protein and cell counts were increased at both 2 and 10 weeks compared to mice exposed to LPS alone. Multiple DEGs were identified in CPS-LPS-exposed lung tissues compared to LPS alone and were involved in transcriptional pathways associated with circadian rhythm disruption, regulation of lung permeability, inflammation with Rap1 signaling, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton. The most dysregulated pathways included myosin light chain kinase, MAP kinase, profilin 2, fibroblast growth factor receptor, integrin b4, and p21-activated kinase.

Conclusion

Circadian rhythm disruption results in exacerbated immune response and dysregulated expression of cytoskeletal genes involved in the regulation of epithelial and vascular barrier integrity-the mechanistic underpinnings of acute lung injury. Further studies need to explore circadian disorganization as a druggable target.

Loss of Pip4k2c confers liver-metastatic organotropism through insulin-dependent PI3K-AKT pathway activation

Liver metastasis (LM) confers poor survival and therapy resistance across cancer types, but the mechanisms of liver-metastatic organotropism remain unknown. Here, through in vivo CRISPR-Cas9 screens, we found that Pip4k2c loss conferred LM but had no impact on lung metastasis or primary tumor growth. Pip4k2c-deficient cells were hypersensitized to insulin-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling and exploited the insulin-rich liver milieu for organ-specific metastasis. We observed concordant changes in PIP4K2C expression and distinct metabolic changes in 3,511 patient melanomas, including primary tumors, LMs and lung metastases. We found that systemic PI3K inhibition exacerbated LM burden in mice injected with Pip4k2c-deficient cancer cells through host-mediated increase in hepatic insulin levels; however, this circuit could be broken by concurrent administration of an SGLT2 inhibitor or feeding of a ketogenic diet. Thus, this work demonstrates a rare example of metastatic organotropism through co-optation of physiological metabolic cues and proposes therapeutic avenues to counteract these mechanisms.

Hub biomarkers in ultrasound-guided bladder cancer and osteosarcoma: Myosin light chain kinase and caldesmon

Bladder cancer and osteosarcoma are 2 types of cancers that originate from epithelial tissues inside the bladder and bone or muscle tissues. Ultrasound-guided biopsies provide crucial support for the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer and osteosarcoma. However, the relationship between myosin light chain kinase (MYLK) and caldesmon (CALD1) and bladder cancer and osteosarcoma remains unclear. The bladder cancer datasets GSE65635 and GSE100926, the osteosarcoma dataset GSE39058, were obtained from gene expression omnibus. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened and weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed. The construction and analysis of protein-protein interaction network, functional enrichment analysis, gene set enrichment analysis. Gene expression heat map was drawn and immune infiltration analysis was performed. The comparative toxicogenomics database analysis were performed to find disease most related to core gene. Western blotting experiments were performed. TargetScan screened miRNAs that regulated central DEGs. We obtained 54 DEGs. Functional enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment in terms of cellular differentiation, cartilage development, skeletal development, muscle actin cytoskeleton, actin filament, Rho GTPase binding, DNA binding, fibroblast binding, MAPK signaling pathway, apoptosis, and cancer pathways. Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that DEGs were primarily enriched in terms of skeletal development, cartilage development, muscle actin cytoskeleton, MAPK signaling pathway, and apoptosis. The immune infiltration analysis showed that when T cells regulatory were highly expressed, Eosinophils exhibited a similar high expression, suggesting a strong positive correlation between T cells regulatory and Eosinophils, which might influence the disease progression in osteosarcoma. We identified 6 core genes (SRF, CTSK, MYLK, VCAN, MEF2C, CALD1). MYLK and CALD1 were significantly correlated with survival rate and exhibited lower expression in bladder cancer and osteosarcoma samples compared to normal samples. Comparative toxicogenomics database analysis results indicated associations of core genes with osteosarcoma, bladder tumors, bladder diseases, tumors, inflammation, and necrosis. The results of Western blotting showed that the expression levels of MYLK and CALD1 in bladder cancer and osteosarcoma were lower than those in normal tissues. MYLK and CALD1 likely play a role in regulating muscle contraction and smooth muscle function in bladder cancer and osteosarcoma. The lower expression of MYLK and CALD1 is associated with poorer prognosis.

Epigenomic response to albuterol treatment in asthma-relevant airway epithelial cells

BACKGROUND

Albuterol is the first-line asthma medication used in diverse populations. Although DNA methylation (DNAm) is an epigenetic mechanism involved in asthma and bronchodilator drug response (BDR), no study has assessed whether albuterol could induce changes in the airway epithelial methylome. We aimed to characterize albuterol-induced DNAm changes in airway epithelial cells, and assess potential functional consequences and the influence of genetic variation and asthma-related clinical variables.

RESULTS

We followed a discovery and validation study design to characterize albuterol-induced DNAm changes in paired airway epithelial cultures stimulated in vitro with albuterol. In the discovery phase, an epigenome-wide association study using paired nasal epithelial cultures from Puerto Rican children (n = 97) identified 22 CpGs genome-wide associated with repeated-use albuterol treatment (p < 9 × 10-8). Albuterol predominantly induced a hypomethylation effect on CpGs captured by the EPIC array across the genome (probability of hypomethylation: 76%, p value = 3.3 × 10-5). DNAm changes on the CpGs cg23032799 (CREB3L1), cg00483640 (MYLK4-LINC01600), and cg05673431 (KSR1) were validated in nasal epithelia from 10 independent donors (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05). The effect on the CpG cg23032799 (CREB3L1) was cross-tissue validated in bronchial epithelial cells at nominal level (p = 0.030). DNAm changes in these three CpGs were shown to be influenced by three independent genetic variants (FDR < 0.05). In silico analyses showed these polymorphisms regulated gene expression of nearby genes in lungs and/or fibroblasts including KSR1 and LINC01600 (6.30 × 10-14 ≤ p ≤ 6.60 × 10-5). Additionally, hypomethylation at the CpGs cg10290200 (FLNC) and cg05673431 (KSR1) was associated with increased gene expression of the genes where they are located (FDR < 0.05). Furthermore, while the epigenetic effect of albuterol was independent of the asthma status, severity, and use of medication, BDR was nominally associated with the effect on the CpG cg23032799 (CREB3L1) (p = 0.004). Gene-set enrichment analyses revealed that epigenomic modifications of albuterol could participate in asthma-relevant processes (e.g., IL-2, TNF-α, and NF-κB signaling pathways). Finally, nine differentially methylated regions were associated with albuterol treatment, including CREB3L1, MYLK4, and KSR1 (adjusted p value < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed evidence of epigenetic modifications induced by albuterol in the mucociliary airway epithelium. The epigenomic response induced by albuterol might have potential clinical implications by affecting biological pathways relevant to asthma.

Managing the immune microenvironment of osteosarcoma: the outlook for osteosarcoma treatment

Osteosarcoma, with poor survival after metastasis, is considered the most common primary bone cancer in adolescents. Notwithstanding the efforts of researchers, its five-year survival rate has only shown limited improvement, suggesting that existing therapeutic strategies are insufficient to meet clinical needs. Notably, immunotherapy has shown certain advantages over traditional tumor treatments in inhibiting metastasis. Therefore, managing the immune microenvironment in osteosarcoma can provide novel and valuable insight into the multifaceted mechanisms underlying the heterogeneity and progression of the disease. Additionally, given the advances in nanomedicine, there exist many advanced nanoplatforms for enhanced osteosarcoma immunotherapy with satisfactory physiochemical characteristics. Here, we review the classification, characteristics, and functions of the key components of the immune microenvironment in osteosarcoma. This review also emphasizes the application, progress, and prospects of osteosarcoma immunotherapy and discusses several nanomedicine-based options to enhance the efficiency of osteosarcoma treatment. Furthermore, we examine the disadvantages of standard treatments and present future perspectives for osteosarcoma immunotherapy.

Identification and validation of an m6A-related gene signature to predict prognosis and evaluate immune features of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer, and it is accompanied by high heterogeneity. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification significantly contributes to breast cancer tumorigenesis and progression. However, how m6A-related genes affect the clinical outcomes and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of breast cancer is largely unknown. Our study developed an m6A-related gene signature on the basis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The m6A-related gene signature was constructed using univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Breast cancer patients were classified into low- and high-risk groups depending on the median risk score. The reliability and efficiency of the signature were validated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and principal component analysis (PCA). The risk score was validated as an independent indicator associated with overall survival, and a nomogram model was created to estimate the overall survival of patients with breast cancer. Functional annotation suggested that the risk score had a strong relationship with immune-related pathways. Different proportions of immune cell infiltration between the two groups were evaluated using various algorithms. The high-risk group had higher immune checkpoint expression levels. We discovered that one of the 6 prognostic genes, TMEM71, was downregulated in breast cancer tissues. In vitro experiments indicated that overexpression of TMEM71 suppressed breast cancer cell proliferation and migration. In conclusion, the m6A-related gene signature may be a sensitive biomarker for overall survival prediction and guide the individualized treatment for breast cancer patients.

Chlorinated benzothiadiazines inhibit angiogenesis through suppression of VEGFR2 phosphorylation

Angiogenesis inhibitors are a critical pharmacological tool for the treatment of solid tumors. Suppressing vascular permeability leads to inhibition of tumor growth, invasion, and metastatic potential by blocking the supply of oxygen and nutrients. Disruption of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway is a validated target for the design of antiangiogenic agents. Several VEGFR2 inhibitors have been clinically approved over the past years. Structural analysis of these clinical VEGFR2 inhibitors highlighted key functional group overlap with the benzothiadiazine core contained in a library of in-house compounds. Herein we ascribe anti-angiogenic activity to a series of chlorinated benzothiadiazines. Selected compounds show significant activity to completely ameliorate VEGF-induced endothelial cell proliferation by suppression of VEGFR2 phosphorylation. The scaffold is devoid of activity to inhibit carbonic anhydrases and generally lacks cytotoxicity across a range of cancer and non-malignant cell lines. Assay of activity at 468 kinases shows remarkable selectivity with only four kinases inhibited > 65% at 10 µM concentration, and with significant activity to inhibit TNK2/ACK1 and PKRD2 by > 90%. All four identified kinase targets are known modulators of angiogenesis, thus highlighting compound 17b as a novel angiogenesis inhibitor for further development.