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Fonseca LMD, Diniz-Lima I, da Costa Santos MAR, Franklim TN, da Costa KM, Santos ACD, Morrot A, Decote-Ricardo D, Valente RDC, Freire-de-Lima CG, Dos Reis JS, Freire-de-Lima L. Bittersweet Sugars: How Unusual Glycan Structures May Connect Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Multidrug Resistance in Cancer. MEDICINES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:36. [PMID: 37367731 DOI: 10.3390/medicines10060036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Cancer cells are characterized by metabolic reprogramming, which enables their survival in of-ten inhospitable conditions. A very well-documented example that has gained attraction in re-cent years and is already considered a hallmark of transformed cells is the reprogramming of carbohydrate metabolism. Such a feature, in association with the differential expression of en-zymes involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates, generically known as glycosyltransfer-ases, contributes to the expression of structurally atypical glycans when compared to those ex-pressed in healthy tissues. The latest studies have demonstrated that glycophenotypic alterations are capable of modulating multifactorial events essential for the development and/or progres-sion of the disease. Herein, we will address the importance of glycobiology in modern medi-cine, focusing on the ability of unusual/truncated O-linked glycans to modulate two complex and essential phenomena for cancer progression: the acquisition of the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype and the activation of molecular pathways associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, an event deeply linked with cancer metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Marques da Fonseca
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Israel Diniz-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | | | - Tatiany Nunes Franklim
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Kelli Monteiro da Costa
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Ariely Costa Dos Santos
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Morrot
- Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
- Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Debora Decote-Ricardo
- Instituto de Veterinária, Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 23890-000, Brazil
| | - Raphael do Carmo Valente
- Núcleo Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Campus Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro 25250-470, Brazil
| | - Celio Geraldo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Jhenifer Santos Dos Reis
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
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Diniz-Lima I, da Fonseca LM, Dos Reis JS, Decote-Ricardo D, Morrot A, Previato JO, Previato LM, Freire-de-Lima CG, Freire-de-Lima L. Non-self glycan structures as possible modulators of cancer progression: would polysaccharides from Cryptococcus spp. impact this phenomenon? Braz J Microbiol 2023; 54:907-919. [PMID: 36840821 PMCID: PMC10235250 DOI: 10.1007/s42770-023-00936-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are responsible for a large number of annual deaths. Most cases are closely related to patients in a state of immunosuppression, as is the case of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Cancer patients are severely affected by the worrisome proportions that an IFI can take during cancer progression, especially in an already immunologically and metabolically impaired patient. There is scarce knowledge about strategies to mitigate cancer progression in these cases, beyond conventional treatment with antifungal drugs with a narrow therapeutic range. However, in recent years, ample evidence has surfaced describing the possible interferences that IFI may have both on the progression of pre-existing cancers and in the induction of newly transformed cells. The leading gambit for modulation of tumor progression comes from the ability of fungal virulence factors to modulate the host's immune system, since they are found in considerable concentrations in the tumor microenvironment during infection. In this context, cryptococcosis is of particular concern, since the main virulence factor of the pathogenic yeast is its polysaccharide capsule, which carries constituents with high immunomodulatory properties and cytotoxic potential. Therefore, we open a discussion on what has already been described regarding the progression of cryptococcosis in the context of cancer progression, and the possible implications that fungal glycan structures may take in both cancer development and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Israel Diniz-Lima
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Marques da Fonseca
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Jhenifer Santos Dos Reis
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Debora Decote-Ricardo
- Departamento de Microbiologia E Imunologia Veterinária, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 23890-000, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Morrot
- Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
- Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, 21040-360, Brazil
| | - Jose Osvaldo Previato
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Lucia Mendonça Previato
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Celio Geraldo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil.
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Pulmonary Fibrosis and Hypereosinophilia in TLR9-/- Mice Infected by Cryptococcus gattii. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11090987. [PMID: 36145419 PMCID: PMC9505093 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11090987] [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: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus gattii is a worldwide-distributed basidiomycetous yeast that can infect immunocompetent hosts. However, little is known about the mechanisms involved in the disease. The innate immune response is essential to the control of infections by microorganisms. Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is an innate immune receptor, classically described as a non-methylated DNA recognizer and associated with bacteria, protozoa and opportunistic mycosis infection models. Previously, our group showed that TLR9-/- mice were more susceptible to C. gattii after 21 days of infection. However, some questions about the innate immunity involving TLR9 response against C. gattii remain unknown. In order to investigate the systemic cryptococcal infection, we evaluated C57BL/6 mice and C57BL/6 TLR9-/- after intratracheal infection with 104C. gattii yeasts for 21 days. Our data evidenced that TLR9-/- was more susceptible to C. gattii. TLR9-/- mice had hypereosinophilia in pulmonary mixed cellular infiltrate, severe bronchiolitis and vasculitis and type 2 alveolar cell hyperplasia. In addition, TLR9-/- mice developed severe pulmonary fibrosis and areas with strongly birefringent fibers. Together, our results corroborate the hypothesis that TLR9 is important to support the Th1/Th17 response against C. gattii infection in the murine experimental model.
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Abstract
Cryptococcosis is a disease caused by the pathogenic fungi Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii, both environmental fungi that cause severe pneumonia and may even lead to cryptococcal meningoencephalitis. Although C. neoformans affects more fragile individuals, such as immunocompromised hosts through opportunistic infections, C. gattii causes a serious indiscriminate primary infection in immunocompetent individuals. Typically seen in tropical and subtropical environments, C. gattii has increased its endemic area over recent years, largely due to climatic factors that favor contagion in warmer climates. It is important to point out that not only C. gattii, but the Cryptococcus species complex produces a polysaccharidic capsule with immunomodulatory properties, enabling the pathogenic species of Cryptococccus to subvert the host immune response during the establishment of cryptococcosis, facilitating its dissemination in the infected organism. C. gattii causes a more severe and difficult-to-treat infection, with few antifungals eliciting an effective response during chronic treatment. Much of the immunopathology of this cryptococcosis is still poorly understood, with most studies focusing on cryptococcosis caused by the species C. neoformans. C. gattii became more important in the epidemiological scenario with the outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, which resulted in phylogenetic studies of the virulent variant responsible for the severe infection in the region. Since then, the study of cryptococcosis caused by C. gattii has helped researchers understand the immunopathological aspects of different variants of this pathogen.
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