Targeting lipid metabolism for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma

The Role of Lipid Metabolism Disorders in the Development of Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer (TC) is a neoplasm with an increasing incidence worldwide. Its etiology is complex and based on a multi-layered interplay of factors. Among these, disorders of lipid metabolism have emerged as an important area of investigation. Cancer cells are metabolically reprogrammed to promote their rapid growth, proliferation, and survival. This reprogramming is associated with significant changes at the level of lipids, mainly fatty acids (FA), as they play a critical role in maintaining cell structure, facilitating signaling pathways, and providing energy. These lipid-related changes help cancer cells meet the increased demands of continued growth and division while adapting to the tumor microenvironment. In this review, we examine lipid metabolism at different stages, including synthesis, transport, and oxidation, in the context of TC and the effects of obesity and hormones on TC development. Recent scientific efforts have revealed disturbances in lipid homeostasis that are specific to thyroid cancer, opening up potential avenues for early detection and targeted therapeutic interventions. Understanding the intricate metabolic pathways involved in FA metabolism may provide insights into potential interventions to prevent cancer progression and mitigate its effects on surrounding tissues.

Targeting Nrf2 to treat thyroid cancer

Oxidative stress (OS) is recognized as a contributing factor in the development and progression of thyroid cancer. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a pivotal transcription factor involved in against OS generated by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). It governs the expression of a wide array of genes implicated in detoxification and antioxidant pathways. However, studies have demonstrated that the sustained activation of Nrf2 can contribute to tumor progression and drug resistance in cancers. The expression of Nrf2 was notably elevated in papillary thyroid cancer tissues compared to normal tissues, indicating that Nrf2 may play an oncogenic role in the development of papillary thyroid cancer. Nrf2 and its downstream targets are involved in the progression of thyroid cancer by impacting the prognosis and ferroptosis. Furthermore, the inhibition of Nrf2 can increase the sensitivity of target therapy in thyroid cancer. Therefore, Nrf2 appears to be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of thyroid cancer. This review summarized current data on Nrf2 expression in thyroid cancer, discussed the function of Nrf2 in thyroid cancer, and analyzed various strategies to inhibit Nrf2.

Repurposing EGFR Inhibitors for Oral Cancer Pain and Opioid Tolerance

Oral cancer pain remains a significant public health concern. Despite the development of improved treatments, pain continues to be a debilitating clinical feature of the disease, leading to reduced oral mobility and diminished quality of life. Opioids are the gold standard treatment for moderate-to-severe oral cancer pain; however, chronic opioid administration leads to hyperalgesia, tolerance, and dependence. The aim of this review is to present accumulating evidence that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling, often dysregulated in cancer, is also an emerging signaling pathway critically involved in pain and opioid tolerance. We presented preclinical and clinical data to demonstrate how repurposing EGFR inhibitors typically used for cancer treatment could be an effective pharmacological strategy to treat oral cancer pain and to prevent or delay the development of opioid tolerance. We also propose that EGFR interaction with the µ-opioid receptor and glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor could be two novel downstream mechanisms contributing to pain and morphine tolerance. Most data presented here support that repurposing EGFR inhibitors as non-opioid analgesics in oral cancer pain is promising and warrants further research.

Construction and validation of a metabolism-related prognostic model for thyroid cancer

Metabolic reprogramming is a common pathological process of cancer. Expression of metabolism-related genes differs in thyroid cancer (TC) patients with different prognoses. This work committed to constructing a prognostic model for TC through identifying metabolism-related signatures. Expression profiles of mRNAs and clinical data of TC, were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differential analysis was performed on mRNA expression profiles. The obtained differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were overlapped with metabolism-related genes from MSigDB database to acquire metabolism-related DEGs. Cox regression and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator analyses were performed to ascertain feature genes and to build a prognostic model for TC. The model was evaluated comprehensively through survival curve, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and Cox regression analyses combining varying clinical information. 7 key genes related to metabolism, including AWAT2, GGT6, ENTPD1, PAPSS2, CYP26A, ACY3 and PLA2G10, were identified, based on which a prognostic model was constructed. The survival analysis indicated that high-risk group presented shorter survival time than low-risk group. ROC curve results exhibited that AUC values of 3-year and 5-year survival of TC patients were both >0.70. Besides, GSEA on high/low-risk groups revealed that DEGs were mainly gathered in biological functions and signaling pathways linked with keratan sulfate catabolism and triglyceride catabolism. Combined with clinical information, Cox regression analyses unveiled that the 7-gene prognostic model can be an independent predictor. In conclusion, this model can effectively predict prognoses of TC patients, and also offer guidance for clinical treatment of TC.

Pan-cancer Analysis Reveals SRC May Link Lipid Metabolism and Macrophages

Background

SRC is a member of the membrane-associated non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase superfamily. It has been reported to mediate inflammation and cancer. However, the exact molecular mechanism involved is still not clear.

Objectives

The current study was designed to explore the prognostic landscape of SRC and further investigate the relationship between SRC and immune infiltration in pan-cancer.

Materials and Methods

Kaplan-Meier Plotter was used to detect the prognostic value of SRC in pan-cancer. Then using TIMER2.0 and CIBERSORT, the relationship between SRC and immune infiltration in pan-cancer was evaluated. Furthermore, the LinkedOmics database was used to screen SRC co-expressed genes, followed by functional enrichment of SRC co-expressed genes by Metascape online tool. STRING database and Cytoscape software were applied to construct and visualise the protein-protein interaction network of SRC co-expressed genes. MCODE plug-in was used to screen hub modules in the PPI network. The SRC co-expressed genes in hub modules were extracted, and the correlation analysis between interested SRC co-expressed genes and immune infiltration was conducted via TIMER2.0 and CIBERSORT.

Results

Our study demonstrated that SRC expression was significantly associated with overall survival and relapse-free survival in multiple cancer types. In addition, SRC expression was significantly correlated with the immune infiltration of B cells, dendritic cells, CD4⁺ T cells, macrophages, and neutrophils in pan-cancer. The expression of SRC had shown to have close correlations with M1 macrophage polarisation in LIHC, TGCT, THCA, and THYM. Moreover, the genes that co-expressed with SRC in LIHC, TGCT, THCA, and THYM were mainly enriched in lipid metabolism. Besides, correlation analysis showed that SRC co-expressed genes associated with lipid metabolism were also significantly correlated with the infiltration and polarisation of macrophages.

Conclusion

These results indicate that SRC can serve as a prognostic biomarker in pan-cancer and is related to macrophages infiltration and interacts with genes involved in lipid metabolism.

Carbohydrate, Lipid, and Apolipoprotein Biomarkers in Blood and Risk of Thyroid Cancer: Findings from the AMORIS Cohort

Background: Previous studies have examined the link between blood metabolic biomarkers and risk of thyroid cancer, with inconclusive results. We performed a cohort study based on the Swedish Apolipoprotein-Related Mortality Risk (AMORIS) Cohort, including 561,388 individuals undergoing health examinations during 1985−1996 with a follow-up of >30 years. Methods: Newly diagnosed cases of thyroid cancer were identified from the Swedish Cancer Register. We assessed the associations of nine blood biomarkers of carbohydrate, lipid, and apolipoprotein metabolism measured at the time of health examinations with the subsequent risk of thyroid cancer and demonstrated the temporal trend of these biomarkers during the 30 years before diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Results: After multivariable adjustment, there was a lower risk of thyroid cancer, per standard deviation increase in total cholesterol (TC; HR 0.91; 95%CI 0.82−0.99) and HDL-C (HR 0.86; 95%CI 0.75−0.99). During the 20 to 30 years before diagnosis, patients with thyroid cancer, as a group, demonstrated constantly lower levels of TC and HDL-C, compared to controls. Further, patients with thyroid cancer demonstrated declining levels of these biomarkers during the ten years before diagnosis, whereas controls demonstrated stable or increasing levels. Conclusions: Taken together, we found blood levels of TC and HDL-C to be associated with the risk of thyroid cancer and that there was a declining level of metabolic biomarkers during the 10 years before diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

Applications of spatially resolved omics in the field of endocrine tumors

Endocrine tumors derive from endocrine cells with high heterogeneity in function, structure and embryology, and are characteristic of a marked diversity and tissue heterogeneity. There are still challenges in analyzing the molecular alternations within the heterogeneous microenvironment for endocrine tumors. Recently, several proteomic, lipidomic and metabolomic platforms have been applied to the analysis of endocrine tumors to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms of tumor genesis, progression and metastasis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of spatially resolved proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics guided by mass spectrometry imaging and spatially resolved microproteomics directed by microextraction and tandem mass spectrometry. In this regard, we will discuss different mass spectrometry imaging techniques, including secondary ion mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and desorption electrospray ionization. Additionally, we will highlight microextraction approaches such as laser capture microdissection and liquid microjunction extraction. With these methods, proteins can be extracted precisely from specific regions of the endocrine tumor. Finally, we compare applications of proteomic, lipidomic and metabolomic platforms in the field of endocrine tumors and outline their potentials in elucidating cellular and molecular processes involved in endocrine tumors.

STRA6 Promotes Thyroid Carcinoma Progression via Activation of the ILK/AKT/mTOR Axis in Cells and Female Nude Mice

BACKGROUND

Metastasis has emerged to be an important cause for poor prognosis of thyroid carcinoma (TC) and its molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. STRA6 is a multifunctional membrane protein widely expressed in embryonic and adult tissues. The function and mechanism of STRA6 in TC remain elusive.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to explore the role of STRA6 in TC progression and provide a therapeutic target for TC.

METHODS

The expression and clinicopathological relevance of STRA6 were explored in TC. Stable STRA6-knockdown TC cells were established and used to determine the biological function of STRA6 in vitro and in vivo. RNA sequencing and co-immunoprecipitation were performed to unveil the molecular mechanism of STRA6 in TC progression. The potential of STRA6 as a therapeutic target was evaluated by lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing siRNA.

RESULTS

STRA6 was upregulated in TC and correlated with aggressive clinicopathological features, including extrathyroidal extension and lymph node metastasis, which contributed to the poor prognosis of TC. STRA6 facilitated TC progression by enhancing proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, STRA6 could interact with integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and subsequently activate the protein kinase B/mechanistic target of rapamycin (AKT/mTOR) signaling pathway. We further unveiled that STRA6 reprogrammed lipid metabolism through SREBP1, which was crucial for the metastasis of TC. Moreover, STRA6 siRNA delivered by LNPs significantly inhibited cell growth in xenograft tumor models.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates the critical roles of STRA6 contributing to TC progression via the ILK/AKT/mTOR axis, which may provide a novel prognostic marker as well as a promising therapeutic target for aggressive TC.

Upregulated SLC27A2/FATP2 in differentiated thyroid carcinoma promotes tumor proliferation and migration

Background

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) accounts for the vast majority of thyroid cancer (TC) cases. The rapidly increasing incidence of TC requires the urgent identification of new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Solute carrier family 27 member 2 (SLC27A2/FATP2) plays an essential role in lipid biosynthesis and fatty acid transport. Recent studies have confirmed its involvement in a variety of diseases, including cancer.

Methods

In this study, the expression of SLC27A2 was analyzed in cancer and paracancerous tissue samples from 98 thyroid cancer patients, and we performed ROC analysis to confirm the diagnostic value. CCK8, Transwell, and other methods were used to study its effect on DTC, and the mechanism of SLC27A2 was investigated by RNA sequencing and Western blot.

Results

The expression of SLC27A2 was upregulated in both DTC tissues and cell lines and was correlated with clinical progression. In vitro studies further confirmed that SLC27A2 knockdown attenuated the proliferation and invasion of DTC cells. Through RNA sequence analysis and gene set enrichment analysis, we found that the MAPK pathway is the main downstream signaling pathway for the regulation by SLC27A2. SLC27A2 affects cell proliferation and differentiation by inducing changes in the proto‐oncogene C‐FOS.

Conclusions

Our results show that SLC27A2 plays an important role in tumor proliferation and migration, providing a new putative target for the diagnosis and treatment of TC.

Identification of Hub lncRNAs Along With lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Network for Effective Diagnosis and Prognosis of Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in tumorigenesis and progression of different cancers and they have been potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. As the most common endocrine malignancy, precise diagnosis and prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is of great clinical significance. Here, we aim to identify new hub lncRNAs for marking PTC and constructed prognostics signatures based on lncRNA- miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) network to predict overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) respectively. Five reliable hub lncRNAs were identified by integrating differential genes of four Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) gene chips using the RobustRankAggreg (RRA) method. Based on differential analyses and interaction prediction, a lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network and a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network were established. Then a comprehensive function characterization of the five hub lncRNAs was performed, including validation dataset testing, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and functional analysis on two networks. All results suggest that these five hub lncRNAs could be potential biomarkers for marking PTC. The ceRNA network was used to identify RNAs which were associated with PTC prognosis. Two prognostic signatures were developed using univariate and step-wise multivariate Cox regression analyses and both of them were independent prognostic indicators for PTC OS and DFS. Tumor microenvironment difference analysis between high and low-risk patients showed that dendritic cells activated and macrophages M0 may be a possible target for immunotherapy of PTC. In addition, disclosing the potential drugs that may reverse the expression of hub genes may improve the prognosis of patients with PTC. Here, connectivity map (CMap) analysis indicates that three bioactive chemicals (pioglitazone, benserazide, and SB-203580) are promising therapeutic agents for PTC. So, the paper presents a comprehensive study on diagnosis, prognosis, and potential drug screening for PTC based on the five hub lncRNAs identified by us.

Y-box binding protein 1 acts as a negative regulator of stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) is a regulatory protein associated with oncogenesis and poor prognosis in patients with cancer. In the cell, YB-1 functions as a DNA and RNA binding protein that promotes or suppresses expression of target genes. The cancer-promoting activity of YB-1 is mediated through its activation of oncogenes and repression of tumor suppressor genes. Lipogenic enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) drives the production of endogenous monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in cells and protects against toxic buildup of saturated fatty acids. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is often characterized by aberrantly high SCD1 expression and cytosolic accumulation of unsaturated fatty acids. In the present study, a proteomics screen of cells treated with inhibitors of SCD1 supported a potential relationship between YB-1 and SCD1. It was revealed that the presence of MUFAs led to increased protein synthesis and increased expression of high molecular weight forms of YB-1 in ccRCC cells, but not in non-tumorigenic cells. Ectopic expression of YB-1 led to decreased expression levels of SCD1 protein and mRNA in ccRCC cell lines. Conversely, targeted knockdown of YB-1 increased SCD1 mRNA abundance. Analysis of ccRCC patient data from The Cancer Proteome Atlas database showed YB-1 expression was negatively associated with survival, whereas SCD1 was associated with improved survival. These data suggested an antagonistic relationship between YB-1 and SCD1 that may influence survival of patients with ccRCC.

Immunotherapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the worst human malignancies, with an associated median survival of only 5 months. It is resistant to conventional thyroid cancer therapies, including radioiodine and thyroid-stimulating hormone suppression. Cancer immunotherapy has emerged over the past few decades as a transformative approach to treating a wide variety of cancers. However, immunotherapy for ATC is still in the experimental stage. This review will cover several strategies of immunotherapy and discuss the possible application of these strategies in the treatment of ATC (such as targeted therapy for tumor-associated macrophages, cancer vaccines, adoptive immunotherapy, monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint blockade) with the hope of improving the prognosis of ATC in the future.

Aberrant lipid metabolism as a therapeutic target in liver cancer

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers. Progress has been made in treatment of HCC; however, improved outcomes are much needed. The increased metabolic needs of cancer cells underscore the importance of metabolic pathways in cancer cell survival. Lipid metabolism has a role in HCC development; aberrant overexpression of several key enzymes is seen in many solid human tumors. Areas covered: We discuss aberrant lipid metabolism and the promise of multiple targets, in particular related to HCC treatment. We searched PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov for published and unpublished studies from 2000 to 2019. These terms were used: lipids, fatty acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, liver cancer, HCC, de novo fatty acid synthesis, ATP citrate lyase, stearoyl CoA denaturase, fatty acid synthase, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase, CD147, KLF4, monoglyceride lipase, AMP activated protein kinase. Expert opinion: The importance of dysregulation of fatty acid synthesis in cancer is a growing area of research. HCC demonstrates significant alteration in lipid metabolism, representing great potential as a target for novel therapeutics. Various agents have demonstrated promising anti-neoplastic activity. This strategy deserves further development for improved outcomes.

Beyond EGFR inhibition: multilateral combat strategies to stop the progression of head and neck cancer

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression is common in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Targeted therapy specifically directed towards EGFR has been an area of keen interest in head and neck cancer research, as EGFR is potentially an integration point for convergent signaling. Despite the latest advancements in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics against EGFR, the survival rates of patients with advanced head and neck cancer remain disappointing due to anti-EGFR resistance. This review article will discuss recent multilateral efforts to discover and validate actionable strategies that involve signaling pathways in heterogenous head and neck cancer and to overcome anti-EGFR resistance in the era of precision medicine. Particularly, this review will discuss in detail the issue of cancer metabolism, which has recently emerged as a novel mechanism by which head and neck cancer may be successfully controlled according to different perspectives.

South Korean researchers propose novel combination strategies for overcoming drug resistance and halting the progression of head and neck cancer (HNC). Although high levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein in HNC correlate with reduced survival, patients’ response to the EGFR inhibitor cetuximab often declines rapidly after a short period of effectiveness. Hyung Kwon Byeon at Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul and colleagues review current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying cetuximab resistance. They suggest that evaluating a patient’s genetic profile and combining cetuximab with drugs that enhance the effects of inhibiting EGFR signaling pathways (with inhibitors of other EGFR family members or proteins that mediate EGFR entry to the cell nucleus, for example) as well as with agents that inhibit cancer cell metabolism could be a more effective approach for treating HNC.