The Correlation between Lipid Metabolism Disorders and Prostate Cancer

Extrusion and chlorogenic acid treatment increase the ordered structure and resistant starch levels in rice starch with amelioration of gut lipid metabolism in obese rats

Dietary interventions are receiving increasing attention for maintaining host health and diminishing disease risk. This study endeavored to elucidate the intervention effect of chlorogenic acid coupled with extruded rice starch (CGA-ES) in mitigating lipid metabolism disorders induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in rats. First, a significant increase in resistant starch (RS) and a decrease in the predicted glycemic index (pGI) were observed in CGA-ES owing to the formation of an ordered structure (Dm, single helix, and V-type crystalline structure) and partly released CGA. Compared to a physical mixture of starch and chlorogenic acid (CGA + S), CGA-ES showed a more potent effect in alleviating lipid metabolism disorders, manifesting as reduced levels of blood glucose, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP), as well as body weight. It is correlated with an improvement in the gut microecology, featuring bacteria known for cholesterol reduction and butyrate production (Butyricicoccus, Bifidobacterium, Fusicatenibacter, Turicibacter, and Enterorhabdus), along with bile acid, butyrate and PG (PG (17:0/16:0) and PG (18:1/16:0)). The RS fraction of CGA-ES was found to be the main contributor. These findings would provide evidence for future studies to regulate lipid metabolism disorders, and even obesity using CGA-ES.

Toward a Unifying Hypothesis for Redesigned Lipid Catabolism as a Clinical Target in Advanced, Treatment-Resistant Carcinomas

We review extensive progress from the cancer metabolism community in understanding the specific properties of lipid metabolism as it is redesigned in advanced carcinomas. This redesigned lipid metabolism allows affected carcinomas to make enhanced catabolic use of lipids in ways that are regulated by oxygen availability and is implicated as a primary source of resistance to diverse treatment approaches. This oxygen control permits lipid catabolism to be an effective energy/reducing potential source under the relatively hypoxic conditions of the carcinoma microenvironment and to do so without intolerable redox side effects. The resulting robust access to energy and reduced potential apparently allow carcinoma cells to better survive and recover from therapeutic trauma. We surveyed the essential features of this advanced carcinoma-specific lipid catabolism in the context of treatment resistance and explored a provisional unifying hypothesis. This hypothesis is robustly supported by substantial preclinical and clinical evidence. This approach identifies plausible routes to the clinical targeting of many or most sources of carcinoma treatment resistance, including the application of existing FDA-approved agents.

Combination of metabolomics and network pharmacology analysis to decipher the mechanisms of total flavonoids of Litchi seed against prostate cancer

OBJECTIVES

To explore the underlying mechanism of total flavonoids of Litchi seed (TFLS) in treating prostate cancer (PCa).

METHODS

Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), EdU incorporation assay, trypan blue dye assay and colony formation assay were employed to evaluate the effect of TFLS on PCa in vitro. The xenograft mouse model was established to explore the anti-tumour effect of TFLS in vivo. Alterations in the metabolic profiles of the PC3 cells and mouse serum were obtained by untargeted metabolomics. Combination with metabolomics analysis and network pharmacology strategies, the potential targets were predicted and further validated by RT-qPCR.

KEY FINDINGS

TFLS attenuated PCa progression both in vitro and in vivo. Metabolomics results yielded from cells and serum indicated that the anti-cancer effect of TFLS was correlated with synergistic modulation of five common metabolic pathways including glycerophospholipid metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism and steroid biosynthesis. Using in silico prediction and RT-qPCR analysis, we further revealed that TFLS exerted anti-PCa activities via regulating the expressions of nine genes, including MAOA, ACHE, ALDH2, AMD1, ARG1, PLA2G10, PLA2G1B, FDFT1 and SQLE.

CONCLUSIONS

TFLS suppressed tumour proliferation in PCa, which may be associated with regulating lipid and amino acid metabolisms.

Regulatory Role of Fatty Acid Metabolism-Related Long Noncoding RNA in Prostate Cancer: A Computational Biology Study Analysis

In elderly men, prostate cancer is a leading cause of death. Tumor cells require more energy to progress than normal cells, and this energy is mainly dependent on the large amount of ATP support generated by lipid metabolism. Therefore, in this study, we focused on long noncoding RNAs related to lipid metabolism in prostate cancer to discover the biological mechanisms of lipid metabolism regulation. The TCGA-PRAD cohort was used in this study for computational biology analysis. In lipid metabolism biological pathways, 1959 long noncoding RNAs were identified by Pearson correlation coefficient analysis of protein-coding genes, then univariate regression with P values fewer than 0.05. We further identified 784 lncRNAs that were lipid metabolism-related lncRNAs considered to have prognostic value for disease-free survival. Subsequently, we constructed two lncRNA expression patterns of lipid metabolism based on these lncRNAs by nonnegative matrix dimensionality reduction. These two expression patterns showed significant differences in disease-free survival curves for those diagnosed with prostate cancer. We found significant differences in mRNA surveillance pathway and mRNA processing between C1 and C2 groups based on the WGCNA method to explore the biological characteristics of these two expression patterns. Finally, we constructed a disease-free survival (PFS) model based on these lncRNAs. The results identified lncRNAs involved in lipid metabolism and revealed differences in their expression patterns. Additionally, the results offer candidate ideas and approaches concerning the precision treatment of prostate cancer by studying lipid metabolism by candidate long noncoding RNAs.

Is There a Role of Warburg Effect in Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness? Analysis of Expression of Enzymes of Lipidic Metabolism by Immunohistochemistry in Prostate Cancer Patients (DIAMOND Study)

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is still ranked as the first cancer in the male population and evidences have suggested an alteration of glycemic and lipidic metabolism that are related to its progression and prognosis. The aim of the study is to investigate associations between enzymes' expression, especially involved in the lipidic pathway, and PCa aggressiveness. We retrospectively analyzed data from 390 patients with PCa or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Immunohistochemical slides were evaluated for the expression of proteins related to glucose and lipidic metabolism. A total of 286 were affected by PCa while 104 by BPH. We demonstrated that ATP-lyase (odds ratio [OR]: 1.71; p < 0.01), fatty acid synthase (OR: 4.82; p < 0.01), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1a (OR: 2.27; p < 0.05) were associated with androgen receptor (AR) expression. We found that steaoryl Co-A desaturase expression in PCa patients with total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL was independently associated with ISUP ≥4 (OR: 4.22; p = 0.049). We found that CPT-1a+ was associated with biochemical recurrence (hazard ratio: 1.94; p = 0.03]). Our results support the evidence that the manipulation of lipidic metabolism could serve in the future to contrast PCa progression.

Modulation of gut microbiota and lipid metabolism in rats fed high-fat diets by Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids

Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids (GP) have been reported to help prevent and improve hyperlipidemia. Modulation of the gut microbiota was proposed as underlying factor as well as a novel measure to prevent and treat hyperlipidemia. The effects of GP on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemia and gut microbiota modulation were determined in rats. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF MS-MS) indicated that GP were enriched with ganoderic acids G, B, H, A, and F. After feeding with GP supplementation, serum lipid levels including total triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly decreased in hyperlipidemic rats. Furthermore, administration of GP also has reversed the HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, including a significant increase in Alloprevotella and reduced proportion of Blautia. The result above suggests that GP would be developed as a functional food to ameliorate lipid metabolic disorders and hyperlipidemia.

Discovery of Lipid Metabolism-Related Genes for Predicting Tumor Immune Microenvironment Status and Prognosis in Prostate Cancer

Background. Reprogramming of lipid metabolism is closely associated with tumor development, serving as a common and critical metabolic feature that emerges during tumor evolution. Meanwhile, immune cells in the tumor microenvironment also undergo aberrant lipid metabolism, and altered lipid metabolism also has an impact on the function and status of immune cells, further promoting malignant biological behavior. Consequently, we focused on lipid metabolism-related genes for constructing a novel prognostic marker and evaluating immune status in prostate cancer. Methods. Information about prostate cancer patients was obtained from TCGA and GEO databases. The NMF algorithm was conducted to identify the molecular subtypes. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression analysis was applied to establish a prognostic risk signature. CIBERSORT algorithm was used to calculate immune cell infiltration levels in prostate cancer. External clinical validation data were used to validate the results. Results. Prostate cancer samples were divided into two subtypes according to the NMF algorithm. A six-gene risk signature (PTGS2, SGPP2, ALB, PLA2G2A, SRD5A2, and SLC2A4) was independent of prognosis and showed good stability. There were significant differences between risk groups of patients with respect to the infiltration of immune cells and clinical variables. Response to immunotherapy also differed between different risk groups. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of the signature genes were verified in tissue samples by qRT-PCR. Conclusion. We constructed a six-gene signature with lipid metabolism in prostate cancer to effectively predict prognosis and reflect immune microenvironment status.

Cholesterol homeostasis and cancer: a new perspective on the low-density lipoprotein receptor

BACKGROUND

Disturbance of cholesterol homeostasis is considered as one of the manifestations of cancer. Cholesterol plays an essential role in the pleiotropic functions of cancer cells, including mediating membrane trafficking, intracellular signal transduction, and production of hormones and steroids. As a single transmembrane receptor, the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) can participate in intracellular cholesterol uptake and regulate cholesterol homeostasis. It has recently been found that LDLR is aberrantly expressed in a broad range of cancers, including colon cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer. LDLR has also been found to be involved in various signaling pathways, such as the MAPK, NF-κB and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways, which affect cancer cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Moreover, LDLR may serve as an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer, and is closely related to the survival of cancer patients. However, the role of LDLR in some cancers, such as prostate cancer, remains controversial. This may be due to the lack of normal feedback regulation of LDLR expression in cancer cells and the severe imbalance between LDLR-mediated cholesterol uptake and de novo biosynthesis of cholesterol.

CONCLUSIONS

The imbalance of cholesterol homeostasis caused by abnormal LDLR expression provides new therapeutic opportunities for cancer. LDLR interferes with the occurrence and development of cancer by modulating cholesterol homeostasis and may become a novel target for the development of anti-cancer drugs. Herein, we systematically review the contribution of LDLR to cancer progression, especially its dysregulation and underlying mechanism in various malignancies. Besides, potential targeting and immunotherapeutic options are proposed.

Inhibition of Scavenger Receptor Class B Type 1 (SR-B1) Expression and Activity as a Potential Novel Target to Disrupt Cholesterol Availability in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

There have been several studies that have linked elevated scavenger receptor class b type 1 (SR-B1) expression and activity to the development and progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). SR-B1 facilitates the influx of cholesterol to the cell from lipoproteins in systemic circulation. This influx of cholesterol may be important for many cellular functions, including the synthesis of androgens. Castration-resistant prostate cancer tumors can synthesize androgens de novo to supplement the loss of exogenous sources often induced by androgen deprivation therapy. Silencing of SR-B1 may impact the ability of prostate cancer cells, particularly those of the castration-resistant state, to maintain the intracellular supply of androgens by removing a supply of cholesterol. SR-B1 expression is elevated in CRPC models and has been linked to poor survival of patients. The overarching belief has been that cholesterol modulation, through either synthesis or uptake inhibition, will impact essential signaling processes, impeding the proliferation of prostate cancer. The reduction in cellular cholesterol availability can impede prostate cancer proliferation through both decreased steroid synthesis and steroid-independent mechanisms, providing a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer. In this article, we discuss and highlight the work on SR-B1 as a potential novel drug target for CRPC management.

LncRNAs as Therapeutic Targets and Potential Biomarkers for Lipid-Related Diseases

Lipid metabolism is an essential biological process involved in nutrient adjustment, hormone regulation, and lipid homeostasis. An irregular lifestyle and long-term nutrient overload can cause lipid-related diseases, including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction (MI), obesity, and fatty liver diseases. Thus, novel tools for efficient diagnosis and treatment of dysfunctional lipid metabolism are urgently required. Furthermore, it is known that lncRNAs based regulation like sponging microRNAs (miRNAs) or serving as a reservoir for microRNAs play an essential role in the progression of lipid-related diseases. Accordingly, a better understanding of the regulatory roles of lncRNAs in lipid-related diseases would provide the basis for identifying potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for lipid-related diseases. This review highlighted the latest advances on the potential biomarkers of lncRNAs in lipid-related diseases and summarised current knowledge on dysregulated lncRNAs and their potential molecular mechanisms. We have also provided novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of lncRNAs which might serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for lipid-related diseases. The information presented here may be useful for designing future studies and advancing investigations of lncRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of lipid-related diseases.

SQLE Mediates Metabolic Reprogramming to Promote LN Metastasis in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Background

Almost all metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancers (mHSPC) will develop into metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The expression level of squalene monooxygenase (SQLE) is increased in CRPC cells and regulates cholesterol metabolism. This study verified the biological function and mechanisms of SQLE in CRPC.

Methods

The expression of SQLE in human prostate cancer cells was overexpressed or silenced and its efficacy on cell survival was determined by the MTS test. Energy metabolism phenotype test was evaluated by XF real-time ATP rate assay, XF cell mitochondrial stress test, XF glycolysis stress test and XF mito fuel flex test. Cell migration and invasion were evaluated by colony formation assays and transwell assays; the expression of mRNA and protein was assessed by RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Moreover, BALB/c nude mice model was performed to evaluate the lymph node metastasis.

Results

In our study, we found that the expression level of SQLE was significantly increased in bicalutamide-resistant-C4-2B cells compared to LNCaP cells. SQLE knockdown partly restored the sensitivity of drug-resistant cells to bicalutamide and reduced lymph node metastasis by inhibiting fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria. We also found that terbinafine, the specific inhibitor of SQLE, can enhance the sensitivity of prostate cancer cells to bicalutamide.

Conclusion

Our study revealed that SQLE is involved in the progression of castration resistance in CRPC through mediating metabolic reprogramming, presenting SQLE as a new target for the treatment of mCRPC.

Molecular mechanisms, immune cell infiltration, and potential drugs for prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

The molecular mechanisms involved in the prostate cancer and their relationship with immune cell infiltration are not fully understood. The prostate cancer patients undergoing standard androgen deprivation therapy eventually develop castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) for which there is no effective treatment currently available, and the hub genes involved in this process remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To study prostate cancer systematically and comprehensively.

METHODS

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of prostate cancer were screened in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Connectivity Map (Cmap) software was applied to discover potential treatment drugs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to obtained the hub genes, and the relationship between hub genes and immune cell infiltration was investigated. Next, RNAseq data of hormone-sensitive prostate cancer samples and CRPC samples obtained from TCGA database was further analyzed to identify DEGs. Finally, a PPI analysis was performed to obtain the hub genes.

RESULTS

A total of 319 DEGs were identified between prostate cancer samples and normal adjacent samples from TCGA database using comparative analysis. The KEGG pathway analysis showed significant correlations with drug metabolism, metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, and chemical carcinogenesis. AMACR, FOLH1 and NPY, three hub genes, were found to be upregulated. FOLH1 was positively correlated with CD8+ T cell infiltration. FOLH1, AMACR, and NPY were negatively correlated with CD4+ T cell infiltration. A total of 426 DEGs were identified from RNAseq data of hormone-sensitive prostate cancer samples and CRPC samples using further comparative analysis. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed significant correlations with arachidonic acid metabolism, PPAR signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, and metabolic pathways. The top 10 hub genes in PPI network were screened out, including PPARG, SREBF1, SCD, HMGCR, FASN, PTGS2, HMGCS2, SREBF2, FDFT1, and INSIG1. Among them, SCD and FASN are expected to be the potential therapeutic targets for CRPC.

CONCLUSIONS

AMACR, FOLH1 and NPY may be effective therapeutic targets and specific diagnostic markers for prostate cancer. AMACR, FOLH1, and NPY are also closely associated with immune cell infiltration in prostate cancer. Moreover, aminoglutethimide and resveratrol were found to be the promising drugs for treating prostate cancer. The progression of hormone-sensitive prostate cancer to CRPC may be related to arachidonic acid metabolism, PPAR signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, and other metabolic pathways. SCD and FASN are expected to be the potential therapeutic targets for CRPC.