LIMD2 Regulates Key Steps of Metastasis Cascade in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Cells via MAPK Crosstalk

Advances in 3D Culture Models to Study Exosomes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, exhibits distinct subtypes with varying pathological, genetic, and clinical characteristics. Despite advancements in breast cancer treatments, its histological and molecular heterogeneity pose a significant clinical challenge. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a highly aggressive subtype lacking targeted therapeutics, adds to the complexity of breast cancer treatment. Recent years have witnessed the development of advanced 3D culture technologies, such as organoids and spheroids, providing more representative models of healthy human tissue and various malignancies. These structures, resembling organs in structure and function, are generated from stem cells or organ-specific progenitor cells via self-organizing processes. Notably, 3D culture systems bridge the gap between 2D cultures and in vivo studies, offering a more accurate representation of in vivo tumors' characteristics. Exosomes, small nano-sized molecules secreted by breast cancer and stromal/cancer-associated fibroblast cells, have garnered significant attention. They play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication, influencing tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. The 3D culture environment enhances exosome efficiency compared to traditional 2D cultures, impacting the transfer of specific cargoes and therapeutic effects. Furthermore, 3D exosomes have shown promise in improving therapeutic outcomes, acting as potential vehicles for cancer treatment administration. Studies have demonstrated their role in pro-angiogenesis and their innate therapeutic potential in mimicking cellular therapies without side effects. The 3D exosome model holds potential for addressing challenges associated with drug resistance, offering insights into the mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance and serving as a platform for drug screening. This review seeks to emphasize the crucial role of 3D culture systems in studying breast cancer, especially in understanding the involvement of exosomes in cancer pathology.

LIMD2 is the Signature of Cell Aging-immune/Inflammation in Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is an age-dependent cardiovascular disease in which cell aging, immunity, and inflammatory factors alter the course; however, cell aging-immune/inflammation signatures in AMI have not been investigated.

METHODS

Based on the GEO database to obtain microRNA (miRNA) sequencing, mRNA sequencing and single-cell sequencing data, and utilizing the Seurat package to identify AMI-associated cellular subpopulations. Subsequently, differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were screened to establish a network of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). Senescence and immunity scores were calculated by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms, and the Hmisc package was used to screen for genes with the highest correlation with senescence and immunity scores. Finally, protein-protein interaction (PPI) and molecular docking analyses were performed to predict potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of AMI.

RESULTS

Four cell types (Macrophage, Fibroblast, Endothelial cells, CD8 T cells) were identified in AMI, and CD8 T cells exhibited the lowest cell aging activity. A ceRNA network of miRNAs- mNRA interactions was established based on the overlapping genes in differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) target genes and differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs). Twenty-four marker genes of CD8 T cells were observed. LIMD2 was identified as cell aging- immune/inflammation-related hub gene in AMI. This study also identified a potential therapeutic network of DB03276-LIMD2-AMI, which showed excellent and stable binding status between DB03276-LIMD2.

CONCLUSION

This study identified LIMD2 as a cell aging-immune/inflammation-related hub gene. The understanding of the pathogenesis and therapeutic mechanisms of AMI was enriched by the ceRNA network and DB03276-LIMD2-LAMI therapeutic network.

Identification and validation of a novel signature based on T cell marker genes to predict prognosis, immunotherapy response and chemotherapy sensitivity in head and neck squamous carcinoma by integrated analysis of single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing

T cells are among the most potent anti-tumor cells that are found in humans. Our study sought to develop a reliable signature incorporating T cell marker genes (TMGs) for predicting the prognosis and therapy responsiveness of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. We downloaded scRNA-seq data from the GSE181919 to identify TMGs. Subsequently, we devised a 12 TMG signature in the TCGA HNSCC cohort by using LASSO analysis. Patients with high-risk scores were shown to experience unfavorable progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival, which was validated in the GSE65858 cohort. Additionally, the nomogram integrated risk score and clinical features are more suitable for clinical application. The enrichment analyses of both pathways and functions showed that high- and low-risk patients had functionally related distinctions. Furthermore, analysis of the immunological landscape confirmed that the low-risk patients had a larger percentage of infiltrating immune cells as well as a higher incidence rate of immune-related events. In the meantime, a greater IPS score and expression of immune checkpoint genes suggested significantly favorable responsiveness to immunotherapy in low-risk patients. On the other hand, the high-risk patients had a greater degree of sensitivity to the chemotherapy agents, which included paclitaxel, gemcitabine, docetaxel, and cisplatin. Our finding revealed that this TMG signature independently functioned as a prognostic marker and guided individualized immunotherapy and chemotherapy selection for patients with HNSCC.

Exosomes as a Nano-Carrier for Chemotherapeutics: A New Era of Oncology

Despite the considerable advancements in oncology, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Drug resistance mechanisms acquired by cancer cells and inefficient drug delivery limit the therapeutic efficacy of available chemotherapeutics drugs. However, studies have demonstrated that nano-drug carriers (NDCs) can overcome these limitations. In this sense, exosomes emerge as potential candidates for NDCs. This is because exosomes have better organotropism, homing capacity, cellular uptake, and cargo release ability than synthetic NDCs. In addition, exosomes can serve as NDCs for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic chemotherapeutic drugs. Thus, this review aimed to summarize the latest advances in cell-free therapy, describing how the exosomes can contribute to each step of the carcinogenesis process and discussing how these nanosized vesicles could be explored as nano-drug carriers for chemotherapeutics.

The Specifically Androgen-Regulated Gene (SARG) Promotes Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC) Lymphatic Metastasis Through Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C (VEGF-C) and VEGF Receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) Axis

The papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) metastasizes through lymphatic spread, but the follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) metastasis occurs by following hematogenous spread. To date, the molecular mechanism underlying different metastatic routes between PTC and FTC is still unclear. Here, we showed that specifically androgen-regulated gene (SARG) was significantly up-regulated in PTC, while obviously down-regulated in FTC through analyzing the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Immunohistochemistry assay verified that the PTC lymph node metastasis was associated with higher levels of SARG protein in clinical PTC patient samples. SARG-knockdown decreased TPC-1 and CGTH-W3 cells viability and migration significantly. On the contrary, SARG-overexpressed PTC cells possessed more aggressive migratory ability and viability. In vivo, SARG overexpression dramatically promoted popliteal lymph node metastasis of xenografts from TPC-1 cells mouse footpad transplanting. Mechanistically, SARG overexpression and knockdown significantly increased and decreased the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and VEGF receptor 3 (VEGFR-3), respectively, thereby facilitating or inhibiting the tube formation in HUVECs. The tube formation experiment showed that SARG overexpression and knockdown promoted or inhibited the number of tube formations in HUVEC cells, respectively. Taken together, we showed for the first time the differential expression profile of SARG between PTC and FTC, and SARG promotes PTC lymphatic metastasis via VEGF-C/VEGFR-3 signal. It indicates that SARG may represent a target for clinical intervention in lymphatic metastasis of PTC.

Gene Editing with CRISPR/Cas Methodology and Thyroid Cancer: Where Are We?

Simple Summary

The advent of genomic editing with CRISPR/Cas9 has transformed the way we manipulate the genome, and has facilitated the investigation of tumor cell biology in vitro and in vivo. Not only we can modify genome sequence to blunt an overactivated gene or correct a mutation, but also we may modulate gene expression using CRISPR/Cas system. In this review, we present the basics of CRISPR/Cas methodology, its components and how to start a CRISPR/Cas experiment; Moreover, we present how CRISPR/Cas methodology has been applied to study the function of coding and noncoding genes in thyroid cancer and provided insights into cancer biology.

Abstract

Important advances on the role of genetic alterations in thyroid cancer have been achieved in the last two decades. One key reason is linked to the development of technical approaches that allowed for the mimicking of genetic alterations in vitro and in vivo and, more recently, the gene editing methodology. The CRISPR/Cas methodology has emerged as a tangible tool for editing virtually any DNA sequence in the genome. To induce a double-strand break and programmable gene editing, Cas9 endonuclease is guided by a single-guide RNA (sgRNA) that is complementary to the target sequence in DNA. The gene editing per se occurs as the cells repair the broken DNA and may erroneously change the original DNA sequence. In this review, we explore the principles of the CRISPR/Cas system to facilitate an understanding of the mainstream technique and its applications in gene editing. Furthermore, we explored new applications of CRISPR/Cas for gene modulation without changing the DNA sequence and provided a Dry Lab experience for those who are interested in starting “CRISPRing” any given gene. In the last section, we will discuss the progress in the knowledge of thyroid cancer biology fostered by the CRISPR/Cas gene editing tools.

LIM domain-containing 2 (LIMD2) promotes the progress of ovarian cancer via the focal adhesion signaling pathway

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer. In this study, we aimed to explore the role and potential mechanism of LIMD2 during the progression of OC. The expression of LIMD2 was analyzed by GEPIA (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis) database. Western blot and real-time PCR were applied to detect the gene expression of LIMD2 in OC cell lines. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, transwell, wound healing assays, and tumor xenograft experiments were used to evaluate the function of LIMD2 in vitro and vivo. Further, the LIMD2-associated pathways in OC were predicted by RNA-seq analysis, and the involvement of the corresponding cell signaling activities were confirmed by Western blot. We found that LIMD2 was high expressed in OC. Additionally, we found that silencing of LIMD2 inhibited OC cell proliferation in vitro and reduced the growth of its xenograft tumors. Moreover, knockdown of LIMD2 significantly decreased the migration of OC cells. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that pathways regulating extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interactions and focal adhesion signaling, were deregulated by LIMD2. Particularly, we confirmed that reducing LIMD2 could decrease the expression of Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) pathway related molecules. In conclusion, LIMD2 promotes the proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo, potentially through regulating the focal adhesion signaling pathway.

ErbB inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy for triple-positive breast cancer: a network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Evidence on the effectiveness of ErbB inhibitor interventions for women with triple-positive breast cancer (TPBC) is scarce. Exposure to hormone receptors was reported to eclipse targeted intervention effectiveness. Here, we aimed to explore the optimum targeted regimen for TPBC.

METHODS

We conducted a thorough search of the literature focusing on neoadjuvant targeted therapy with both hormone receptor-positive and HER2 (ErbB2)-positive patients and performed a network meta-analysis comparing the regimens using a random-effects model. The rate of pathological complete response (pCR) (ypT0/is) was the primary outcome. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the association among twelve regimens.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included. Significantly more TPBC patients receiving ado-trastuzumab emtansine plus lapatinib experienced pCR events than other patients. In the high-performance ranking of the twelve regimens, ado-trastuzumab emtansine plus lapatinib (TDM-1+L) ranked top, followed by ado-trastuzumab emtansine (TDM-1), trastuzumab plus carboplatin, taxanes and pertuzumab (TCHP), trastuzumab plus docetaxel and lapatinib (THL), trastuzumab, taxanes and pertuzumab (THP), ado-trastuzumab emtansine plus pertuzumab (TDM1+P), trastuzumab plus taxanes (TH), trastuzumab plus taxanes and neratinib, taxanes plus pertuzumab (HP), taxanes and neratinib (HN), trastuzumab plus lapatinib (TL), trastuzumab plus pertuzumab (TP) in sequence.

CONCLUSION

Double-targeted therapy in chemotherapy-based regimens was associated with better pCR than single-targeted therapy, and TDM-1+L stood out. For either single-targeted or double-targeted therapies, regimens free of chemotherapy were always worse than those with targeted therapy. Our data support guidelines that recommend combinations of chemotherapies plus targeted therapies in the neoadjuvant setting for early TPBC.

Exosomes in the Tumor Microenvironment: From Biology to Clinical Applications

Cancer is one of the most important health problems and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the advances in oncology, cancer heterogeneity remains challenging to therapeutics. This is because the exosome-mediated crosstalk between cancer and non-cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) contributes to the acquisition of all hallmarks of cancer and leads to the formation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exhibit resistance to a range of anticancer drugs. Thus, this review aims to summarize the role of TME-derived exosomes in cancer biology and explore the clinical potential of mesenchymal stem-cell-derived exosomes as a cancer treatment, discussing future prospects of cell-free therapy for cancer treatment and challenges to be overcome.