Insulin-Like Growth Factor-2 Is Induced Following 5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy in SW620 Human Colon Cancer Cell Line

In vitro modeling of recurrent Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans: Assessment of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy efficacy

BACKGROUND

Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, low-grade malignant tumor of the dermis with a high recurrence rate post-surgery. Current treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy, have limitations. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a promising non-invasive approach, but its efficacy in DFSP treatment remains underexplored.

METHODS

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of 5-ALA PDT using an in vitro model derived from a recurrent DFSP patient. The cells were treated with varying concentrations of 5-ALA and exposed to red light, followed by assessments of cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and expression of DFSP-related genes and proteins.

RESULTS

5-ALA PDT significantly reduced DFSP cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. It also effectively inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as suppressed angiogenic activity in conditioned media. Furthermore, 5-ALA PDT downregulated the expression of COL1A1 and PDGFRB, key genes in DFSP pathogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide the first evidence of 5-ALA PDT's in vitro anti-tumor efficacy against DFSP, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic approach for DFSP. Further studies are warranted to explore the clinical utility of 5-ALA PDT in preventing DFSP recurrence.

Engineering Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 as a microbial chassis for therapeutic and industrial applications

Genetically engineered microbes, especially Escherichia coli, have been widely used in the biosynthesis of proteins and metabolites for medical and industrial applications. As a traditional probiotic with a well-established safety record, E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) has recently emerged as a microbial chassis for generating living therapeutics, drug delivery vehicles, and microbial platforms for industrial production. Despite the availability of genetic tools for engineering laboratory E. coli K-12 and B strains, new genetic engineering systems are still greatly needed to expand the application range of EcN. In this review, we have summarized the latest progress in the development of genetic engineering systems in EcN, as well as their applications in the biosynthesis and delivery of valuable small molecules and biomacromolecules of medical and/or industrial interest, followed by a glimpse of how this rapidly growing field will evolve in the future.

THE RELEVANCE OF RS6777038 AND RS6444082 OF IGF2BP2 GENE POLYMORPHISM AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A CASE CONTROL STUDY

OBJECTIVE

The aim: We investigate IGF2BP2 gene polymorphisms (rs6777038 and rs6444082) association with T2DM of Iraqi sample.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and methods: The study involves 800 participants that divided to a healthy control group (400) and T2DM patients (400). Fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglycerides (Tgs), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-Ch), total cholesterol (T-Ch), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-Ch), and fasting insulin measured for both participant groups. IGF2BP2 gene has been genotyped for polymorphisms, rs6777038 and rs6444082 using the PCR-RFLP technique.

RESULTS

Results: Logistic regression analysis testing for rs6777038 revealed that the genotype and allele frequency differ significantly (p=0.009) between T2DM and control group. In codominant model, TT genotype carriers had higher risks for diabetes than control also in the recessive model TT genotype significantly had higher risk for diabetes than control group. The other models of rs6777038 failed to reveal significant differences. The rs6777038 genotypes as codominant model showed significant differences with phenotypic characters of BMI, insulin and HOMA-IR. As well as, this SNP as dominant model showed significant differences with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. However, rs6444082 genotypes only as dominant model reveal significant variation with HOMA-IR.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: This study confirmed the variant rs6777038 of IGF2BP2 possibly associated with T2DM risks and some anthropometric parameters such as lower fasting insulin, HOMA-IR and BMI in Iraqi T2DM participants.

Bioinformatical identification of key genes regulated by IGF2BP2-mediated RNA N6-methyladenosine and prediction of prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

The treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a malignant cancer with global spread, remains unsatisfactory, and novel prognostic biomarkers need to be identified. N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) has been found to regulate tumor initiation and progression through different mechanisms. As a dynamic and reversible messenger RNA (mRNA) modification, m⁶A can be read by insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2). IGF2BP2 targets thousands of mRNA transcripts, which may be involved in HCC progression.

Methods

In this study, we integrated 4 classes of datasets including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-LICH, m⁶A-sequencing data of HepG2 cells, and RNA-sequencing data of IGF2BP2-knockdown HepG2 cells to explore the key genes regulated by IGF2BP2-mediated m⁶A in HCC. The expression and m⁶A modification of candidates were validation in independent microarray expression profile of HCC tissue and annotated m⁶A database RMBase. The relationship of immune cell infiltration and the genes expression was estimated by CIBERSORT and TIMER.

Results

A total of 89 candidate genes were filtered. Next, cluster analysis was performed base on functions and pathways to identify the enrichment pathways. By constructing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, we found 54 nodes. Ten significant genes were filtered from the PPI. These genes were validated in data of an independent microarray and an m⁶A database. We found that the upregulation of these 10 genes was associated with poor prognosis. In addition, we showed the expression of these 10 genes was associated with the infiltration of variety of immune cell and tumor purity.

Conclusions

These identified genes may provide novel insights and facilitate the development of potential biomarkers for HCC diagnosis, as well as provide clues for IGF2BP2 inhibition therapy in HCC.

Engineering a probiotic strain of Escherichia coli to induce the regression of colorectal cancer through production of 5-aminolevulinic acid

Bacterial vectors can be engineered to generate microscopic living therapeutics to produce and deliver anticancer agents. Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (Nissle 1917) is a promising candidate with probiotic properties. Here, we used Nissle 1917 to develop a metabolic strategy to produce 5‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA) from glucose as 5‐ALA plays an important role in the photodynamic therapy of cancers. The coexpression of hemA^M and hemL using a low copy‐number plasmid led to remarkable accumulation of 5‐ALA. The downstream pathway of 5‐ALA biosynthesis was inhibited by levulinic acid (LA). Small‐scale cultures of engineered Nissle 1917 produced 300 mg l⁻¹ of 5‐ALA. Recombinant Nissle 1917 was applied to deliver 5‐ALA to colorectal cancer cells, in which it induced the accumulation of antineoplastic protoporphyrin X (PpIX) and specific cytotoxicity towards colorectal cancer cells irradiated with a 630 nm laser. Moreover, this novel combination therapy proved effective in a mouse xenograft model and was not cytotoxic to normal tissues. These findings suggest that Nissle 1917 will serve as a potential carrier to effectively deliver 5‐ALA for cancer therapy.

We combined the biosynthetic and tumor‐targeting features of the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 with PDT to deliver 5‐ALA to colorectal cancer cells. E. coli Nissle 1917 was engineered to produce 5‐ALA, and delivered 5‐ALA to colorectal cancer cells to inhibit growth.

Methadone enhances the effectiveness of 5-aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy for squamous cell carcinoma and glioblastoma in vitro

Although having shown promising clinical outcomes, the effectiveness of 5-aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and glioblastoma remains to be improved. The analgesic drug methadone is able to sensitize various tumors to chemotherapy. In this in vitro study, the influence of methadone to the effectiveness of ALA-PDT for SCC (FADU) and glioblastoma (A172) was investigated on the protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence, survival rates, apoptosis, and cell cycle phase, each with or without the presence of methadone. The production of PpIX was increased by methadone in FADU cells while it was decreased in A172 cells. The survival rates of both cell lines treated by ALA-PDT were significantly reduced by the combination with methadone (P < .05). Methadone also significantly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells and improved the effect of ALA-PDT on the cell cycle phase arrest in the G0/G1 phase (P < .05). This study demonstrates the potential of methadone to influence the cytotoxic effect of ALA-PDT for both SCC and glioblastoma cell lines.

Cancer Stem Cells: Emergent Nature of Tumor Emergency

A functional analysis of 167 genes overexpressed in Krebs-2 tumor initiating cells was performed. In the first part of the study, the genes were analyzed for their belonging to one or more of the three groups, which represent the three major phenotypic manifestation of malignancy of cancer cells, namely (1) proliferative self-sufficiency, (2) invasive growth and metastasis, and (3) multiple drug resistance. 96 genes out of 167 were identified as possible contributors to at least one of these fundamental properties. It was also found that substantial part of these genes are also known as genes responsible for formation and/or maintenance of the stemness of normal pluri-/multipotent stem cells. These results suggest that the malignancy is simply the ability to maintain the stem cell specific genes expression profile, and, as a consequence, the stemness itself regardless of the controlling effect of stem niches. In the second part of the study, three stress factors combined into the single concept of "generalized cellular stress," which are assumed to activate the expression of these genes, were defined. In addition, possible mechanisms for such activation were identified. The data obtained suggest the existence of a mechanism for the de novo formation of a pluripotent/stem phenotype in the subpopulation of "committed" tumor cells.

The Roles of Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 mRNA-Binding Protein 2 in Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) mediate the localization, stability, and translation of the target transcripts and fine-tune the physiological functions of the proteins encoded. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 2 mRNA-binding protein (IGF2BP, IMP) family comprises three RBPs, IGF2BP1, IGF2BP2, and IGF2BP3, capable of associating with IGF2 and other transcripts and mediating their processing. IGF2BP2 represents the least understood member of this family of RBPs; however, it has been reported to participate in a wide range of physiological processes, such as embryonic development, neuronal differentiation, and metabolism. Its dysregulation is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, and carcinogenesis and may potentially be a powerful biomarker and candidate target for relevant diseases. This review summarizes the structural features, regulation, and functions of IGF2BP2 and their association with cancer and cancer stem cells.

Targeted Nanomaterials for Phototherapy

Phototherapies involve the irradiation of target tissues with light. To further enhance selectivity and potency, numerous molecularly targeted photosensitizers and photoactive nanoparticles have been developed. Active targeting typically involves harnessing the affinity between a ligand and a cell surface receptor for improved accumulation in the targeted tissue. Targeting ligands including peptides, proteins, aptamers and small molecules have been explored for phototherapy. In this review, recent examples of targeted nanomaterials used in phototherapy are summarized.