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Saad EE, Michel R, Borahay MA. Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and uterine fibroids: Role in collagen synthesis. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 2024; 75:93-100. [PMID: 37839993 PMCID: PMC10922281 DOI: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2023.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Uterine fibroids (UF), also called uterine leiomyoma, is one of the most prevalent uterine tumors. UF represents a serious women's health global problem with a significant physical, emotional, and socioeconomic impact. Risk factors for UF include racial disparities, age, race, hormonal factors, obesity, and lifestyle (diet, physical activity, and stress. There are several biological contributors to UF pathogenesis such as cellular proliferation, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation. This review addresses tumor immune microenvironment as a novel mediator of ECM deposition. Polarization of immune microenvironment towards the immunosuppressive phenotype has been associated with ECM deposition. Immunosuppressive cells include M2 macrophage, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and Th17 cells, and their secretomes include interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, IL-22, arginase 1, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1). The change in the immune microenvironment not only increase tumor growth but also aids in collagen synthesis and ECM disposition, which is one of the main hallmarks of UF pathogenesis. This review invites further investigations on the change in the UF immune microenvironment as well as a novel targeting approach instead of the traditional UF hormonal and supportive treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eslam E Saad
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Rachel Michel
- Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD 21205, USA
| | - Mostafa A Borahay
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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Smolgovsky S, Theall B, Wagner N, Alcaide P. Fibroblasts and immune cells: at the crossroad of organ inflammation and fibrosis. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2024; 326:H303-H316. [PMID: 38038714 PMCID: PMC11219060 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00545.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
The immune and fibrotic responses have evolved to work in tandem to respond to pathogen clearance and promote tissue repair. However, excessive immune and fibrotic responses lead to chronic inflammation and fibrosis, respectively, both of which are key pathological drivers of organ pathophysiology. Fibroblasts and immune cells are central to these responses, and evidence of these two cell types communicating through soluble mediators or adopting functions from each other through direct contact is constantly emerging. Here, we review complex junctions of fibroblast-immune cell cross talk, such as immune cell modulation of fibroblast physiology and fibroblast acquisition of immune cell-like functions, as well as how these systems of communication contribute to organ pathophysiology. We review the concept of antigen presentation by fibroblasts among different organs with different regenerative capacities, and then focus on the inflammation-fibrosis axis in the heart in the complex syndrome of heart failure. We discuss the need to develop anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic therapies, so far unsuccessful to date, that target novel mechanisms that sit at the crossroads of the fibrotic and immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha Smolgovsky
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Immunology Graduate Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Brandon Theall
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Immunology Graduate Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Noah Wagner
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Pilar Alcaide
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Immunology Graduate Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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Schneider AJ, Serrell EC, Grimes M, Wang S, Bushman W. Histologic inflammation and collagen content are not positively correlated in human BPH. Prostate 2023; 83:1529-1536. [PMID: 37602498 DOI: 10.1002/pros.24611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Recent clinical studies have implicated prostate inflammation and fibrosis in the development of bladder outlet obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Studies utilizing rodent models, including work in our laboratory, have shown prostate fibrosis to occur as a consequence of inflammation. However, the relationship between collagen content and inflammation in human tissue samples obtained from surgical treatment of benign prostatic hypererplasia (BPH)/LUTS has not to our knowledge been previously examined. METHODS Prostate tissue specimens from 53 patients (ages 47-88, mean 65.1) treated by open simple prostatectomy or transurethral resection of the prostate for BPH/LUTS were stained to quantitatively assess prostate inflammation and collagen content. Patients with prostate cancer present in greater than 5% of the surgical specimen were excluded. Prostate volume was determined from pelvic CT scan obtained within 2 years of surgery. RESULTS Analysis of the data showed that inflammation was inversely correlated with collagen content (r = -0.28, p = 0.04). In men with prostates less than 75 cm3 inflammation increases and collagen content decreases with prostate volume (p = 0.002 and p = 0.03, respectively) while in men with prostate volume over 75 cm3 inflammation decreases and collagen content increases with prostate volume (p = 0.30 and p = 0.005, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Our data do not support the assumed positive association of prostate inflammation with collagen content. Coordinated analysis of scatter plots of inflammation and collagen content with prostate volume revealed a subset of prostates with volumes >50 cm3 prostate characterized by intense inflammation and low collagen content and it is this subgroup that appears most responsible for the inverse correlation of inflammation and collagen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Schneider
- Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Emily C Serrell
- Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Matthew Grimes
- Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sijian Wang
- Department of Statistics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Wade Bushman
- Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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D'Arcy Q, Sarna-McCarthy M, Bowen D, Soto FO, Zarringhalam K, Macoska JA. Beta-Sitosterol Alters Collagen Distribution in Prostate Fibroblasts. J Diet Suppl 2023; 21:313-326. [PMID: 37933457 DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2023.2276943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Herbal supplements containing several types of plant sterols, vitamins, and minerals, are marketed for prostate health. In the majority of these supplements, the most abundant plant sterol is saw palmetto extract or its' principal component, beta-sitosterol. In terms of prostate health, previous work almost exclusively focused on the effects of beta-sitosterol on prostatic epithelium, with little attention paid to the effects on prostatic stroma. This omission is a concern, as the abnormal accumulation of collagen, or fibrosis, of the prostatic stroma has been identified as a factor contributing to lower urinary tract symptoms and dysfunction in aging men. To address whether beta-sitosterol may be promoting prostatic fibrosis, immortalized and primary prostate stromal fibroblasts were subjected to immunoblotting, immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, ELISA, and image quantitation and analysis techniques to elucidate the effects of beta-sitosterol on cell viability and collagen expression and cellular localization. The results of these studies show that beta-sitosterol is nontoxic to prostatic fibroblasts and does not stimulate collagen production by these cells. However, beta-sitosterol alters collagen distribution and sequesters collagen within prostatic fibroblasts, likely in an age-dependent manner. This is a significant finding as prostate health supplements are used predominantly by middle aged and older men who may, then, be affected disproportionately by these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin D'Arcy
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marissa Sarna-McCarthy
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Delaney Bowen
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fidias O Soto
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kourosh Zarringhalam
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jill A Macoska
- Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, The University of MA Boston, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
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The Role of IL-13 and IL-4 in Adipose Tissue Fibrosis. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065672. [PMID: 36982747 PMCID: PMC10051142 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
White adipose tissue (WAT) fibrosis, characterized by an excess of extracellular (ECM) matrix components, is strongly associated with WAT inflammation and dysfunction due to obesity. Interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-4 were recently identified as critical mediators in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases. However, their role in WAT fibrosis is still ill-defined. We therefore established an ex vivo WAT organotypic culture system and demonstrated an upregulation of fibrosis-related genes and an increase of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and fibronectin abundance upon dose-dependent stimulation with IL-13/IL-4. These fibrotic effects were lost in WAT lacking il4ra, which encodes for the underlying receptor controlling this process. Adipose tissue macrophages were found to play a key role in mediating IL-13/IL-4 effects in WAT fibrosis as their depletion through clodronate dramatically decreased the fibrotic phenotype. IL-4-induced WAT fibrosis was partly confirmed in mice injected intraperitoneally with IL-4. Furthermore, gene correlation analyses of human WAT samples revealed a strong positive correlation of fibrosis markers with IL-13/IL-4 receptors, whereas IL13 and IL4 correlations failed to confirm this association. In conclusion, IL-13 and IL-4 can induce WAT fibrosis ex vivo and partly in vivo, but their role in human WAT remains to be further elucidated.
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Popovics P, Penniston KL. Current research and future directions in non-malignant urologic research - proceedings of the annual CAIRIBU meeting. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL UROLOGY 2022; 10:449-461. [PMID: 36636691 PMCID: PMC9831912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The Annual Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research (CAIRIBU) Meeting in 2022 highlighted basic, translational, and clinical non-malignant urology research within five main areas affecting the urinary tract: urinary dysfunction due to prostate disease, microbes and infection, bladder function and physiology, neurology and neuromuscular influences and calculi and obstruction. In this paper, we summarize main findings and future directions outlined by CAIRIBU-affiliated scientists who presented as part of the scientific sessions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Popovics
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology, Eastern Virginia Medical SchoolVA, USA
| | - Kristina L Penniston
- Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public HealthWI, USA
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