Autophagy in Cancer Immunotherapy

Mechanism of salidroside regulating autophagy based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Salidroside is a natural product of phenols with a wide range of pharmacological functions, but whether it plays a role in regulating autophagy is unclear. We systematically investigated the regulatory effect and molecular mechanism of salidroside on autophagy through network pharmacology, which provided a theoretical basis for subsequent experimental research. First, the target genes of salidroside were obtained using the Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform, and the target genes were converted into standardized gene names using the Uniprot website. At the same time, autophagy-related genes were collected from GeneCards, and preliminary handling of data to obtain intersecting genes. Then, the String website was used to construct a protein-protein interaction network, and to perform the Gene Ontology functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. To observe the specific molecular mechanism by which salidroside regulates autophagy, we constructed a drug component-target genes-autophagy network. Finally, we performed molecular docking to verify the possible binding conformation between salidroside and the candidate target. By searching the database and analyzing the data, we found that 113 target genes in salidroside interact with autophagy. Salidroside regulate autophagy in relation to a number of important oncogenes and signaling pathways. Molecular docking confirmed that salidroside has high affinity with mTOR, SIRT1, and AKT1. Through network pharmacology combined with molecular docking-validated research methods, we revealed the underlying mechanism of salidroside regulation of autophagy. This study not only provides new systematic insights into the underlying mechanism of salidroside in autophagy, but also provides new ideas for network approaches for autophagy-related research.

Autophagy in cancer immunotherapy: Perspective on immune evasion and cell death interactions

Both the innate and adaptive immune systems work together to produce immunity. Cancer immunotherapy is a novel approach to tumor suppression that has arisen in response to the ineffectiveness of traditional treatments like radiation and chemotherapy. On the other hand, immune evasion can diminish immunotherapy's efficacy. There has been a lot of focus in recent years on autophagy and other underlying mechanisms that impact the possibility of cancer immunotherapy. The primary feature of autophagy is the synthesis of autophagosomes, which engulf cytoplasmic components and destroy them by lysosomal degradation. The planned cell death mechanism known as autophagy can have opposite effects on carcinogenesis, either increasing or decreasing it. It is autophagy's job to maintain the balance and proper functioning of immune cells like B cells, T cells, and others. In addition, autophagy controls whether macrophages adopt the immunomodulatory M1 or M2 phenotype. The ability of autophagy to control the innate and adaptive immune systems is noteworthy. Interleukins and chemokines are immunological checkpoint chemicals that autophagy regulates. Reducing antigen presentation to induce immunological tolerance is another mechanism by which autophagy promotes cancer survival. Therefore, targeting autophagy is of importance for enhancing potential of cancer immunotherapy.

Prognostic value of EIF5A2 in solid tumors: A meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis

Aims

In cancer biology, the aberrant overexpression of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A2 (EIF5A2) has been correlative with an ominous prognosis, thereby underscoring its pivotal role in fostering metastatic progression. Consequently, EIF5A2 has garnered significant attention as a compelling prognostic biomarker for various malignancies. Our research endeavors were thus aimed at elucidating the utility and significance of EIF5A2 as a robust indicator of cancer outcome prediction.

Method

An exhaustive search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases found relevant studies. The link between EIF5A2 and survival prognosis was examined using hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Subsequently, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases were employed to validate EIF5A2 expression across various cancer types.

Results

Through pooled analysis, we found that increased EIF5A2 expression was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival/progression-free survival/relapse-free survival (DFS/PFS/RFS). Moreover, TCGA analysis revealed that EIF5A2 was significantly upregulated in 27 types of cancer, with overexpression being linked to shorter OS in three, worse DFS in two, and worse PFS in six types of cancer. GEPIA showed that patients with EIF5A2 overexpression had reduced OS and DFS.

Conclusions

In solid tumors, EIF5A2 emerges as a reliable prognostic marker. Our meta-analysis comprehensively analyzed the prognostic value of EIF5A2 in solid tumors and assessed its efficacy as a predictive marker.

Autophagy-driven regulation of cisplatin response in human cancers: Exploring molecular and cell death dynamics

Despite the challenges posed by drug resistance and side effects, chemotherapy remains a pivotal strategy in cancer treatment. A key issue in this context is macroautophagy (commonly known as autophagy), a dysregulated cell death mechanism often observed during chemotherapy. Autophagy plays a cytoprotective role by maintaining cellular homeostasis and recycling organelles, and emerging evidence points to its significant role in promoting cancer progression. Cisplatin, a DNA-intercalating agent known for inducing cell death and cell cycle arrest, often encounters resistance in chemotherapy treatments. Recent studies have shown that autophagy can contribute to cisplatin resistance or insensitivity in tumor cells through various mechanisms. This resistance can be mediated by protective autophagy, which suppresses apoptosis. Additionally, autophagy-related changes in tumor cell metastasis, particularly the induction of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), can also lead to cisplatin resistance. Nevertheless, pharmacological strategies targeting the regulation of autophagy and apoptosis offer promising avenues to enhance cisplatin sensitivity in cancer therapy. Notably, numerous non-coding RNAs have been identified as regulators of autophagy in the context of cisplatin chemotherapy. Thus, therapeutic targeting of autophagy or its associated pathways holds potential for restoring cisplatin sensitivity, highlighting an important direction for future clinical research.

Nanoparticles in tumor microenvironment remodeling and cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy and vaccine development have significantly improved the fight against cancers. Despite these advancements, challenges remain, particularly in the clinical delivery of immunomodulatory compounds. The tumor microenvironment (TME), comprising macrophages, fibroblasts, and immune cells, plays a crucial role in immune response modulation. Nanoparticles, engineered to reshape the TME, have shown promising results in enhancing immunotherapy by facilitating targeted delivery and immune modulation. These nanoparticles can suppress fibroblast activation, promote M1 macrophage polarization, aid dendritic cell maturation, and encourage T cell infiltration. Biomimetic nanoparticles further enhance immunotherapy by increasing the internalization of immunomodulatory agents in immune cells such as dendritic cells. Moreover, exosomes, whether naturally secreted by cells in the body or bioengineered, have been explored to regulate the TME and immune-related cells to affect cancer immunotherapy. Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, activated by pH, redox, and light conditions, exhibit the potential to accelerate immunotherapy. The co-application of nanoparticles with immune checkpoint inhibitors is an emerging strategy to boost anti-tumor immunity. With their ability to induce long-term immunity, nanoarchitectures are promising structures in vaccine development. This review underscores the critical role of nanoparticles in overcoming current challenges and driving the advancement of cancer immunotherapy and TME modification.

Targeting autophagy drug discovery: Targets, indications and development trends

Autophagy plays a vital role in sustaining cellular homeostasis and its alterations have been implicated in the etiology of many diseases. Drugs development targeting autophagy began decades ago and hundreds of agents were developed, some of which are licensed for the clinical usage. However, no existing intervention specifically aimed at modulating autophagy is available. The obstacles that prevent drug developments come from the complexity of the actual impact of autophagy regulators in disease scenarios. With the development and application of new technologies, several promising categories of compounds for autophagy-based therapy have emerged in recent years. In this paper, the autophagy-targeted drugs based on their targets at various hierarchical sites of the autophagic signaling network, e.g., the upstream and downstream of the autophagosome and the autophagic components with enzyme activities are reviewed and analyzed respectively, with special attention paid to those at preclinical or clinical trials. The drugs tailored to specific autophagy alone and combination with drugs/adjuvant therapies widely used in clinical for various diseases treatments are also emphasized. The emerging drug design and development targeting selective autophagy receptors (SARs) and their related proteins, which would be expected to arrest or reverse the progression of disease in various cancers, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disorders, are critically reviewed. And the challenges and perspective in clinically developing autophagy-targeted drugs and possible combinations with other medicine are considered in the review.

The regulatory role of autophagy between TAMs and tumor cells

Cancer has become a global public health problem and its harmful effects have received widespread attention. Conventional treatments such as surgical resection, radiotherapy and other techniques are applicable to clinical practice, but new drugs are constantly being developed and other therapeutic approaches, such as immunotherapy are being applied. In addition to studying the effects on individual tumor cells, it is important to explore the role of tumor microenvironment on tumor cell development since tumor cells do not exist alone but in the tumor microenvironment. In the tumor microenvironment, tumor cells are interconnected with other stromal cells and influence each other, among which tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the most numerous immune cells. At the same time, it was found that cancer cells have different levels of autophagy from normal cells. In cancer therapy, the occurrence of autophagy plays an important role in promoting tumor cell death or inhibiting tumor cell death, and is closely related to the environment. Therefore, elucidating the regulatory role of autophagy between TAMs and tumor cells may be an important breakthrough, providing new perspectives for further research on antitumor immune mechanisms and improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

OVOL2 induces autophagy-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition by the ERK1/2 MAPK signaling in lung adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in malignant tumor progression. Recently, accumulating evidence has shown that autophagy is involved in the regulation of EMT-induced migration. Therefore, the exploration of targets to inhibit EMT by targeting autophagy is important. In this study, we found that OVO-like zinc finger 2 (OVOL2) may be a key target for regulating autophagy-induced EMT. Firstly, we found that OVOL2 expression was dramatically downregulated in LUAD. Low expression of OVOL2 is an indicator of poor prognosis in LUAD. In vitro experiments have shown that downregulation of OVOL2 expression induces EMT, thereby promoting malignant biological behavior, such as proliferation, migration, and invasion of LUAD cells. Interestingly, autophagy is a key step in regulating OVOL2 and inducing EMT. Furthermore, OVOL2 regulates autophagy through the MAPK signaling pathway, ultimately inhibiting the malignant progression of LUAD.

Neutrophil extracellular traps in central nervous system (CNS) diseases

Excessive induction of inflammatory and immune responses is widely considered as one of vital factors contributing to the pathogenesis and progression of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Neutrophils are well-studied members of inflammatory and immune cell family, contributing to the innate and adaptive immunity. Neutrophil-released neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play an important role in the regulation of various kinds of diseases, including CNS diseases. In this review, current knowledge on the biological features of NETs will be introduced. In addition, the role of NETs in several popular and well-studied CNS diseases including cerebral stroke, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and neurological cancers will be described and discussed through the reviewing of previous related studies.

EnsembleDL-ATG: Identifying autophagy proteins by integrating their sequence and evolutionary information using an ensemble deep learning framework

Autophagy is a primary mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis. The synergistic actions of autophagy-related (ATG) proteins strictly regulate the whole autophagic process. Therefore, accurate identification of ATGs is a first and critical step to reveal the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of autophagy. Current computational methods can predict ATGs from primary protein sequences, but owing to the limitations of algorithms, significant room for improvement still exists. In this research, we propose EnsembleDL-ATG, an ensemble deep learning framework that aggregates multiple deep learning models to predict ATGs from protein sequence and evolutionary information. We first evaluated the performance of individual networks for various feature descriptors to identify the most promising models. Then, we explored all possible combinations of independent models to select the most effective ensemble architecture. The final framework was built and maintained by an organization of four different deep learning models. Experimental results show that our proposed method achieves a prediction accuracy of 94.5 % and MCC of 0.890, which are nearly 4 % and 0.08 higher than ATGPred-FL, respectively. Overall, EnsembleDL-ATG is the first ATG machine learning predictor based on ensemble deep learning. The benchmark data and code utilized in this study can be accessed for free at https://github.com/jingry/autoBioSeqpy/tree/2.0/examples/EnsembleDL-ATG.

Immunotherapy: cancer immunotherapy and its combination with nanomaterials and other therapies

Immunotherapy is a new type of tumor treatment after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and can be used to manage and destroy tumor cells through activating or strengthening the immune response. Immunotherapy has the benefits of a low recurrence rate and high specificity compared to traditional treatment methods. Immunotherapy has developed rapidly in recent years and has become a research hotspot. Currently, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most effective tumor immunotherapies in clinical practice. While tumor immunotherapy brings hope to patients, it also faces some challenges and still requires continuous research and progress. Combination therapy is the future direction of anti-tumor treatment. In this review, the main focus is on an overview of the research progress of immune checkpoint inhibitors, cellular therapies, tumor vaccines, small molecule inhibitors and oncolytic virotherapy in tumor treatment, as well as the combination of immunotherapy with other treatments.

The role of cannabidiol in aging

Aging is usually considered a key risk factor associated with multiple diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Furthermore, the burden of age-related diseases has become a global challenge. It is of great significance to search for drugs to extend lifespan and healthspan. Cannabidiol (CBD), a natural nontoxic phytocannabinoid, has been regarded as a potential candidate drug for antiaging. An increasing number of studies have suggested that CBD could benefit healthy longevity. Herein, we summarized the effect of CBD on aging and analyzed the possible mechanism. All these conclusions may provide a perspective for further study of CBD on aging.

Small Molecule Inhibitors as Therapeutic Agents Targeting Oncogenic Fusion Proteins: Current Status and Clinical

Oncogenic fusion proteins, arising from chromosomal rearrangements, have emerged as prominent drivers of tumorigenesis and crucial therapeutic targets in cancer research. In recent years, the potential of small molecular inhibitors in selectively targeting fusion proteins has exhibited significant prospects, offering a novel approach to combat malignancies harboring these aberrant molecular entities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of small molecular inhibitors as therapeutic agents for oncogenic fusion proteins. We discuss the rationale for targeting fusion proteins, elucidate the mechanism of action of inhibitors, assess the challenges associated with their utilization, and provide a summary of the clinical progress achieved thus far. The objective is to provide the medicinal community with current and pertinent information and to expedite the drug discovery programs in this area.

Cathepsins in oral diseases: mechanisms and therapeutic implications

Cathepsins are a type of lysosomal globulin hydrolase and are crucial for many physiological processes, including the resorption of bone matrix, innate immunity, apoptosis, proliferation, metastasis, autophagy, and angiogenesis. Findings regarding their functions in human physiological processes and disorders have drawn extensive attention. In this review, we will focus on the relationship between cathepsins and oral diseases. We highlight the structural and functional properties of cathepsins related to oral diseases, as well as the regulatory mechanisms in tissue and cells and their therapeutic uses. Elucidating the associated mechanism between cathepsins and oral diseases is thought to be a promising strategy for the treatment of oral diseases and may be a starting point for further studies at the molecular level.

The Vault Complex Is Significantly Involved in Therapeutic Responsiveness of Endocrine Tumors and Linked to Autophagy under Chemotherapeutic Conditions

Cancers display dynamic interactions with their complex microenvironments that influence tumor growth, invasiveness, and immune evasion, thereby also influencing potential resistance to therapeutic treatments. The tumor microenvironment (TME) includes cells of the immune system, the extracellular matrix, blood vessels, and other cell types, such as fibroblasts or adipocytes. Various cell types forming this TME secrete exosomes, and molecules thereby released into the TME have been shown to be important mediators of cellular communication and interplay. Specific stressors in the TME, such as hypoxia, starvation, inflammation, and damage, can furthermore induce autophagy, a fundamental cellular process that degrades and recycles molecules and subcellular components, and recently it has been demonstrated that the small non-coding vault RNA1-1 plays a role as a regulator of autophagy and the coordinated lysosomal expression and regulation (CLEAR) network. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that intra-tumoral damage following effective therapeutic treatment is linked to specific intracellular synthesis and subsequent exosomal release of vault RNAs in endocrine tumors in vitro and in vivo. While we observed a subsequent upregulation of autophagic markers under classical chemotherapeutic conditions, a downregulation of autophagy could be detected under conditions strongly involving inflammatory cascades.

Exploiting Autophagy-Dependent Neoantigen Presentation in Tumor Microenvironment

Autophagy constitutes a well-known homeostatic and catabolic process that is responsible for degradation and recycling of cellular components. It is a key regulatory mechanism for several cellular functions, whereas its dysregulation is associated with tumorigenesis, tumor-stroma interactions and resistance to cancer therapy. A growing body of evidence has proven that autophagy affects the tumor microenvironment, while it is also considered a key factor for function of several immune cells, such as APCs, T-cells, and macrophages. Moreover, it is implicated in presentation of neo-antigens of tumor cells in both MHC-I and MHC-II in dendritic cells (DCs) in functional activity of immune cells by creating T-cell memory, as well as in cross-presentation of neo-antigens for MHC-I presentation and the internalization process. Currently, autophagy has a crucial role in immunotherapy. Emergence of cancer immunotherapy has already shown some remarkable results, having changed therapeutic strategy in clinical practice for several cancer types. Despite these promising long-term responses, several patients seem to lack the ability to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Thus, autophagy through neo-antigen presentation is a potential target in order to strengthen or attenuate the effects of immunotherapy against different types of cancer. This review will shed light on the recent advances and future directions of autophagy-dependent neo-antigen presentation and consequently its role in immunotherapy for malignant tumors.

Recent Update and Drug Target in Molecular and Pharmacological Insights into Autophagy Modulation in Cancer Treatment and Future Progress

Recent evidence suggests that autophagy is a governed catabolic framework enabling the recycling of nutrients from injured organelles and other cellular constituents via a lysosomal breakdown. This mechanism has been associated with the development of various pathologic conditions, including cancer and neurological disorders; however, recently updated studies have indicated that autophagy plays a dual role in cancer, acting as a cytoprotective or cytotoxic mechanism. Numerous preclinical and clinical investigations have shown that inhibiting autophagy enhances an anticancer medicine's effectiveness in various malignancies. Autophagy antagonists, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, have previously been authorized in clinical trials, encouraging the development of medication-combination therapies targeting the autophagic processes for cancer. In this review, we provide an update on the recent research examining the anticancer efficacy of combining drugs that activate cytoprotective autophagy with autophagy inhibitors. Additionally, we highlight the difficulties and progress toward using cytoprotective autophagy targeting as a cancer treatment strategy. Importantly, we must enable the use of suitable autophagy inhibitors and coadministration delivery systems in conjunction with anticancer agents. Therefore, this review briefly summarizes the general molecular process behind autophagy and its bifunctional role that is important in cancer suppression and in encouraging tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy and metastasis regulation. We then emphasize how autophagy and cancer cells interacting with one another is a promising therapeutic target in cancer treatment.

Phenolic Extract from Extra Virgin Olive Oil Induces Different Anti-Proliferative Pathways in Human Bladder Cancer Cell Lines

Regular consumption of olive oil is associated with protection against chronic-degenerative diseases, such as cancer. Epidemiological evidence indicates an inverse association between olive oil intake and bladder cancer risk. Bladder cancer is among the most common forms of cancer; in particular, the transitional cell carcinoma histotype shows aggressive behavior. We investigated the anti-proliferative effects of a phenolic extract prepared from an extra virgin olive oil (EVOOE) on two human bladder cancer cell lines, namely RT112 and J82, representing the progression from low-grade to high-grade tumors, respectively. In RT112, the EVOOE reduced cell viability (IC50 = 240 μg/mL at 24 h), triggering a non-protective form of autophagy, evidenced by the autophagosome formation and the increase in LC-3 lipidation. In J82, EVOOE induced a strong decrease in cell viability after 24 h of treatment (IC50 = 65.8 μg/mL) through rapid and massive apoptosis, assessed by Annexin V positivity and caspase-3 and -9 activation. Moreover, in both bladder cancer cell lines, EVOOE reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species, but this antioxidant effect was not correlated with its anti-proliferative outcomes. Data obtained suggest that the mixture of phenolic compounds in extra virgin olive oil activates different anti-proliferative pathways.