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León-Letelier RA, Dou R, Vykoukal J, Sater AHA, Ostrin E, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. The kynurenine pathway presents multi-faceted metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1256769. [PMID: 37876966 PMCID: PMC10591110 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1256769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The kynurenine pathway (KP) and associated catabolites play key roles in promoting tumor progression and modulating the host anti-tumor immune response. To date, considerable focus has been on the role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and its catabolite, kynurenine (Kyn). However, increasing evidence has demonstrated that downstream KP enzymes and their associated metabolite products can also elicit tumor-microenvironment immune suppression. These advancements in our understanding of the tumor promotive role of the KP have led to the conception of novel therapeutic strategies to target the KP pathway for anti-cancer effects and reversal of immune escape. This review aims to 1) highlight the known biological functions of key enzymes in the KP, and 2) provide a comprehensive overview of existing and emerging therapies aimed at targeting discrete enzymes in the KP for anti-cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A. León-Letelier
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Rongzhang Dou
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Jody Vykoukal
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Ali Hussein Abdel Sater
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Edwin Ostrin
- Department of General Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Samir Hanash
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Johannes F. Fahrmann
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
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Pérez de la Cruz G, Pérez de la Cruz V, Navarro Cossio J, Vázquez Cervantes GI, Salazar A, Orozco Morales M, Pineda B. Kynureninase Promotes Immunosuppression and Predicts Survival in Glioma Patients: In Silico Data Analyses of the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16030369. [PMID: 36986469 PMCID: PMC10051585 DOI: 10.3390/ph16030369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Kynureninase (KYNU) is a kynurenine pathway (KP) enzyme that produces metabolites with immunomodulatory properties. In recent years, overactivation of KP has been associated with poor prognosis of several types of cancer, in particular by promoting the invasion, metastasis, and chemoresistance of cancer cells. However, the role of KYNU in gliomas remains to be explored. In this study, we used the available data from TCGA, CGGA and GTEx projects to analyze KYNU expression in gliomas and healthy tissue, as well as the potential contribution of KYNU in the tumor immune infiltrate. In addition, immune-related genes were screened with KYNU expression. KYNU expression correlated with the increased malignancy of astrocytic tumors. Survival analysis in primary astrocytomas showed that KYNU expression correlated with poor prognosis. Additionally, KYNU expression correlated positively with several genes related to an immunosuppressive microenvironment and with the characteristic immune tumor infiltrate. These findings indicate that KYNU could be a potential therapeutic target for modulating the tumor microenvironment and enhancing an effective antitumor immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Pérez de la Cruz
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Verónica Pérez de la Cruz
- Neurobiochemistry and Behavior Laboratory, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
| | - Javier Navarro Cossio
- Neuroimmunology Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
| | - Gustavo Ignacio Vázquez Cervantes
- Neurobiochemistry and Behavior Laboratory, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
| | - Aleli Salazar
- Neuroimmunology Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
| | - Mario Orozco Morales
- Neuroimmunology Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
| | - Benjamin Pineda
- Neuroimmunology Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +52-55-5606-4040
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Bioinformatic Analysis of Kynurenine Pathway Enzymes and Their Relationship with Glioma Hallmarks. Metabolites 2022; 12:metabo12111054. [PMID: 36355137 PMCID: PMC9699055 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12111054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Indoleamine dioxygenase (IDO), a rate limiting enzyme of the tryptophan catabolism through the kynurenine pathway (KP), has been related with a lower survival and a poor patient prognosis on several solid tumors, including gliomas. However, the use of IDO inhibitors as a therapeutic strategy for tumor treatment remains controversial in clinical trials and the role of other KP enzymes on tumor progression has remained poorly understood so far. Recently, different studies on different types of cancer have pointed out the importance of KP enzymes downstream IDO. Because of this, we conducted a bioinformatic analysis of the expression of different KP enzymes and their correlation with the gene expression of molecules related to the hallmarks of cancer in transcriptomic datasets from patients with different types of brain tumors including low grade gliomas, glioblastoma multiforme, neuroblastoma, and paraganglioma and pheochromocytoma. We found that KP enzymes that drive to NAD+ synthesis are overexpressed on different brain tumors compared to brain cortex data. Moreover, these enzymes presented positive correlations with the expression of genes related to immune response modulation, angiogenesis, Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) signaling, and Rho GTPase expression. These correlations suggest the relevance of the expression of the KP enzymes in brain tumor pathogenesis.
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Chen Y, Zhang J, Yang Y, Xiang K, Li H, Sun D, Chen L. Kynurenine‐3‐monooxygenase (KMO): From its biological functions to therapeutic effect in diseases progression. J Cell Physiol 2022; 237:4339-4355. [DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yanmei Chen
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
| | - Jiahui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
| | - Yueying Yang
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
| | - Ke Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
| | - Hua Li
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
- College of Pharmacy Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Fuzhou China
| | - Dejuan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
| | - Lixia Chen
- Key Laboratory of Structure‐Based Drug Design & Discovery, Wuya College of Innovation, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Shenyang China
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Abbruzzese C, Persico M, Matteoni S, Paggi MG. Molecular Biology in Glioblastoma Multiforme Treatment. Cells 2022; 11:cells11111850. [PMID: 35681545 PMCID: PMC9180087 DOI: 10.3390/cells11111850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Abbruzzese
- Cellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy; (C.A.); (S.M.)
| | - Michele Persico
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA;
| | - Silvia Matteoni
- Cellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy; (C.A.); (S.M.)
| | - Marco G. Paggi
- Cellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy; (C.A.); (S.M.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-06-5266-2550
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Sathyasaikumar KV, Pérez de la Cruz V, Pineda B, Vázquez Cervantes GI, Ramírez Ortega D, Donley DW, Severson PL, West BL, Giorgini F, Fox JH, Schwarcz R. Cellular Localization of Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase in the Brain: Challenging the Dogma. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:315. [PMID: 35204197 PMCID: PMC8868204 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11020315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), a key player in the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation, regulates the synthesis of the neuroactive metabolites 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) and kynurenic acid (KYNA). KMO activity has been implicated in several major brain diseases including Huntington's disease (HD) and schizophrenia. In the brain, KMO is widely believed to be predominantly localized in microglial cells, but verification in vivo has not been provided so far. Here, we examined KP metabolism in the brain after depleting microglial cells pharmacologically with the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor PLX5622. Young adult mice were fed PLX5622 for 21 days and were euthanized either on the next day or after receiving normal chow for an additional 21 days. Expression of microglial marker genes was dramatically reduced on day 22 but had fully recovered by day 43. In both groups, PLX5622 treatment failed to affect Kmo expression, KMO activity or tissue levels of 3-HK and KYNA in the brain. In a parallel experiment, PLX5622 treatment also did not reduce KMO activity, 3-HK and KYNA in the brain of R6/2 mice (a model of HD with activated microglia). Finally, using freshly isolated mouse cells ex vivo, we found KMO only in microglia and neurons but not in astrocytes. Taken together, these data unexpectedly revealed that neurons contain a large proportion of functional KMO in the adult mouse brain under both physiological and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korrapati V. Sathyasaikumar
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA;
| | - Verónica Pérez de la Cruz
- Neurobiochemistry and Behavior Laboratory, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico; (V.P.d.l.C.); (G.I.V.C.); (D.R.O.)
| | - Benjamín Pineda
- Neuroimmunology Department, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico;
| | - Gustavo Ignacio Vázquez Cervantes
- Neurobiochemistry and Behavior Laboratory, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico; (V.P.d.l.C.); (G.I.V.C.); (D.R.O.)
| | - Daniela Ramírez Ortega
- Neurobiochemistry and Behavior Laboratory, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suárez”, Mexico City 14269, Mexico; (V.P.d.l.C.); (G.I.V.C.); (D.R.O.)
| | - David W. Donley
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA; (D.W.D.); (J.H.F.)
| | - Paul L. Severson
- Plexxikon Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA; (P.L.S.); (B.L.W.)
| | - Brian L. West
- Plexxikon Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA; (P.L.S.); (B.L.W.)
| | - Flaviano Giorgini
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7JA, UK;
| | - Jonathan H. Fox
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA; (D.W.D.); (J.H.F.)
| | - Robert Schwarcz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA;
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