Extrahepatic cytochrome P450 epoxygenases: pathophysiology and clinical significance in human gastrointestinal cancers

Designing cytochrome P450 enzymes for use in cancer gene therapy

Cancer is a significant global socioeconomic burden, as millions of new cases and deaths occur annually. In 2020, almost 10 million cancer deaths were recorded worldwide. Advancements in cancer gene therapy have revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment. An approach with promising potential for cancer gene therapy is introducing genes to cancer cells that encode for chemotherapy prodrug metabolizing enzymes, such as Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, which can contribute to the effective elimination of cancer cells. This can be achieved through gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT). CYP enzymes can be genetically engineered to improve anticancer prodrug conversion to its active metabolites and to minimize chemotherapy side effects by reducing the prodrug dosage. Rational design, directed evolution, and phylogenetic methods are some approaches to developing tailored CYP enzymes for cancer therapy. Here, we provide a compilation of genetic modifications performed on CYP enzymes aiming to build highly efficient therapeutic genes capable of bio-activating different chemotherapeutic prodrugs. Additionally, this review summarizes promising preclinical and clinical trials highlighting engineered CYP enzymes' potential in GDEPT. Finally, the challenges, limitations, and future directions of using CYP enzymes for GDEPT in cancer gene therapy are discussed.

The Analysis of Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets for the Occurrence and Development of Gastric Cancer Based on Bioinformatics

Objective

Gastric cancer is among the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system. This study explored the molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for gastric cancer occurrence and progression using bioinformatics.

Methods

The gastric cancer microarray dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The R package was used for data mining and screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Based on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, core targets and core subsets were screened. Then, the relationship between the expression level of the core genes and the prognosis of gastric cancer patients was analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database.

Results

Using the GSE19826 and GSE54129 datasets, a total of 550 DEGs were identified, including 248 upregulated and 302 downregulated genes. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the upregulated DEGs were mainly enriched in the extracellular matrix (ECM) organization of the biological process (BP), the collagen-containing ECM of cellular component (CC), and the ECM structural constituent of molecular function (MF). DEGs were also enriched in human papillomavirus infections, the focal adhesion pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and among others. The downregulated DEGs were mainly enriched in digestion, basal part of the cell, and aldo-keto reductase (NADP) activity. And the above pathways were enriched primarily in the metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, drug metabolism-cytochrome P450, and retinol metabolism. Five core genes, including COL1A2, COL3A1, BGN, FN1, and VCAN, were significantly highly expressed in gastric cancer patients and were associated with poor prognosis.

Conclusion

This study identified new potential molecular targets closely related to gastric cancer occurrence and development via mining public data using bioinformatics analysis methods.

Meta-Analysis on the Improvement of Symptoms and Prognosis of Gastrointestinal Tumors Based on Medical Care and Exercise Intervention

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor that originates from the epithelium of the gastric mucosa. It is the result of a combination of multiple factors, but the current research has not yet clarified its pathogenesis, so further research and exploration are needed. This article is mainly based on the meta-analysis of the improvement of gastrointestinal tumor-related symptoms and prognosis based on medical care and exercise intervention. The control group followed routine care after enrollment. In addition to routine care, patients in the intervention group exercised through assessment, formulation of exercise prescriptions, implementation of supervision, and adjustment. By viewing the subjects' physical examination reports, determine their blood routine, urine routine, blood lipids, blood sugar, liver and kidney function, and electrocardiogram examination. In this experiment, dual-contrast ultrasound in each T staging was greater than 0.8, indicating that the diagnostic method is very accurate in the preoperative diagnosis of gastric cancer T staging. The results show that exercise intervention can improve the pain of patients with gastrointestinal tumors after chemotherapy, relieve cancer-induced fatigue, and improve the quality of life.