Development of targeted therapy for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck

RTKs in pathobiology of head and neck cancers

Non-communicable diseases contribute to 71% of the deaths worldwide, of which cancers rank second after cardiovascular diseases. Among all the cancers, head and neck cancers (HNC) are consequential in augmenting the global cancer incidence as well as mortality. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are emphatic for the matter that they serve as biomarkers aiding the analysis of tumor progression and metastasis as well as diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic progression in the patients. The extensive researches on HNC have made significant furtherance in numerous targeted therapies, but for the escalating therapeutic resistance. This review explicates RTKs in HNC, their signaling pathways involved in tumorigenesis, metastasis and stemness induction, the association of non-coding RNAs with RTKs, an overview of RTK based therapy and associated resistance in HNC, as well as a sneak peek into the HPV positive HNC and its therapy. The review extrapolates the cardinal role of RTKs and RTK based therapy as superior to other existing therapeutic interventions for HNC.

Radiation-induced TNFα cross signaling-dependent nuclear import of NFκB favors metastasis in neuroblastoma

Ascertaining function-specific orchestration of NFκB in response to radiation may reveal a molecular blue-print that dictates induced relapse and metastasis of the neuroblastoma. We recently demonstrated that sustained activation of NFκB caused by ionizing radiation (IR)-initiated TNFα-NFκB feedback signaling leads to radioresistance and recurrence of neuroblastoma. We investigated whether muting IR-triggered or TNFα-dependent second-signaling feedback-dependent NFκB nuclear import results in limiting IR-altered invasion and metastasis. Neuroblastoma cells were exposed to 2 Gy and incubated for 1 h or 24 h. The cells were then treated with an NFκB-targeting peptide blocker, SN50. Upon confirming the blockade in DNA-binding activity, transcription driven transactivation of NFκB and secretion of soluble TNFα, transcriptional alterations of 93 tumor invasion/metastasis genes were assessed by using QPCR profiling and then were selectively validated at the protein level. Exposure to 2 Gy induced 63, 42 and 71 genes in surviving SH-SY5Y, IMR-32 and SK-N-MC cells, respectively. Blocking post-translational nuclear import of NFκB comprehensively inhibited both initial activation of genes (62/63, 34/42 and 65/71) triggered by IR and also TNFα-mediated second signaling-dependent sustained (59/63, 32/42 and 71/71) activation of tumor invasion and metastasis signaling molecules. Furthermore, alterations in the proteins MMP9, MMP2, PYK-2, SPA-1, Dnmt3b, Ask-1, CTGF, MMP10, MTA-2, NF-2, E-Cadherin, TIMP-2 and ADAMTS1 and the results of our scratch-wound assay validate the role of post-translational NFκB in IR-regulated invasion/metastasis. These data demonstrate that IR-induced second-phase (post-translational) NFκB activation mediates TNFα-dependent second signaling and further implies that IR induced NFκB in cells that survive after treatment regulates tumor invasion/metastasis signaling.

Alpha-mangostin suppresses MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in head and neck squamous carcinoma cells

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of alpha-mangostin on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The human HNSCC cell lines were treated with alpha-mangostin and the cytotoxicity of alpha-mangostin in HNSCC was determined using the MTS assay. To determine the effect of alpha-mangostin on the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in HNSCC, gelatin zymography and RT-PCR were performed. The results showed that alpha-mangostin increased in growth inhibition of HNSCC cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with alpha-mangostin decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in a concentration-dependent manner in all cell lines. These findings suggested that alpha-mangostin might be a potential therapeutic agent for HNSCC.