Androgen receptor promotes the migration and invasion of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma cells through the upregulation of MMP-9 and COX-2

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms of Lipophilic Fractions from Polyscias fruticosa Leaves Based on Network Pharmacology, In Silico, and In Vitro Approaches

Polyscias fruticosa leaf (PFL) has been used in food and traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatism, ischemia, and neuralgia. However, the lipophilic components of PFL and their biological properties remain unknown. This study, integrating network pharmacology analysis with in silico and in vitro approaches, aimed to elucidate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of lipophilic extracts from PFL. A total of 71 lipophilic compounds were identified in PFL using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses showed that key active compounds, mainly phytosterols and sesquiterpenes, were responsible for regulating core target genes, such as PTGS2, TLR4, NFE2L2, PRKCD, KEAP1, NFKB1, NR1l2, PTGS1, AR, and CYP3A4, which were mostly enriched in oxidative stress and inflammation-related pathways. Furthermore, lipophilic extracts from PFL offered powerful antioxidant capacities, as evident in our cell-free antioxidant assays. These extracts also provided a protection against oxidative stress by inducing the expression of catalase and heme oxygenase-1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, lipophilic fractions from PFL showed anti-inflammatory potential in downregulating the level of pro-inflammatory factors in LPS-treated macrophages. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of lipophilic extracts from PFL, which can be used as a fundamental basis for developing nutraceuticals and functional foods.

ORY-1001, a KDM1A inhibitor, inhibits proliferation, and promotes apoptosis of triple negative breast cancer cells by inactivating androgen receptor

Breast cancer (BC), which is widely considered as the most common cancer in women around the world, evokes ~1.7 million new BC cases and 522,000 BC-related deaths each year. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is clinically confirmed as one of the most aggressive subtypes of BC. ORY-1001, a clinically used lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) inhibitor, was investigated herein to confirm its role in the progression of TNBC and reveal the potential mechanism. After treatment with ORY-1001 in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells, the cell proliferation and apoptosis were respectively measured by CCK-8 and TUNEL assays. The expression of proliferation- and apoptosis-associated proteins was tested by means of western blot analysis. Then, R1881, an androgen receptor (AR) agonist, was used to evaluate whether the effects of ORY-1001 on proliferation and apoptosis of TNBC cells was mediated by regulating AR. Results indicated that ORY-1001 treatment restrained the proliferation while enhanced the apoptosis of BC cells, accompanied by the change of proliferation- and apoptosis-related proteins expression. Furthermore, ORY-1001 reduced the level of AR in BC cells. After the activation of AR by R1881, the decreased proliferation and enhanced apoptosis of BC cells triggered by ORY-1001 intervention were partially abolished. In conclusion, this paper has presented the first evidence to suggest that ORY-1001 inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of TNBC cells by suppressing AR expression, which may constitute the theoretical basis for the clinical use of ORY-1001 in the treatment of this disease.

High Consumption of Green Tea Suppresses Urinary Tract Recurrence of Urothelial Cancer via Down-regulation of Human Antigen-R Expression in Never Smokers

BACKGROUND/AIM

Smoking is a risk factor for carcinogenesis and progression of urothelial cancer (UC). Green tea polyphenol inhibits these malignant behaviors and suppresses human antigen R (HuR) expression, which is associated with malignant aggressiveness. This study aimed to clarify the anti-cancer effects of green tea based on the smoking status of UC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Three hundred and sixty (260 with bladder cancer, BC and 100 with upper tract UC) patients were divided into three groups based on consumption of green tea: low (<1 cup/day, n=119), middle (1-4 cup/day, n=160), and high (>5 cup/day, n=81). HuR immunoreactivity was evaluated immunohistochemically in formalin-fixed specimens.

RESULTS

In never smokers, multivariate analysis showed that the frequency of green tea consumption was a significant predictor (middle: hazard ratio, HR, 0.36, p=0.002; high: HR, 0.20, p=0.003) of urinary tract recurrence. A high consumption of green tea was associated with low rates of urinary tract recurrence and up-grading in UC patients. In BC, high consumption was associated with a lower risk of up-grading (p=0.011) and up-staging (p=0.041) in recurrent cancer. HuR expression in the high-consumption group was lower (p=0.019) than that in other groups. These significant findings were not detected in ever smokers.

CONCLUSION

High consumption of green tea suppressed urinary tract recurrence and the risks of up-grading and up-staging by recurrence in never smokers. Our results suggested that HuR expression played important roles in such mechanisms.

Androgen enhances the activity of ETS-1 and promotes the proliferation of HCC cells

The expression of androgen receptor (AR) has been detected in hepatocellular cancer (HCC). However, there is no universal model detailing AR’s function and mechanism in HCC. This study’s results show that treatment with dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an endogenous androgen, promoted HCC cells’ proliferation and up-regulated the transcription factor activity of ETS-1 (E26 transformation specific sequence 1), which mediates the migration and invasion of cancer cells via protein-protein interaction between AR and ETS-1. Results from luciferase assays showed that ETS-1’s activity was significantly up-regulated following androgen treatment. AR mediated ETS-1’s DHT-induced transcription factor activity. A potential protein-protein interaction between ETS-1 and AR was identified via glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The mechanisms’ data indicated that enhancing AR activity increases ETS-1’s activity by modulating its cytoplasmic/nuclear translocation and recruiting ETS-1 to its target genes’ promoter. Moreover, while overexpression of AR significantly increased the proliferation or in vitro migration or invasion of HepG2 cells in the presence of androgen, inhibiting AR’s activity reduced these abilities. Thus, AR’s function as a novel ETS-1 co-activator or potentially therapeutic target of HCC has been demonstrated.

Gender differences in incidence and outcomes of urothelial and kidney cancer

A gender discrepancy exists in the incidence of both urothelial and kidney carcinomas, with more men presenting with these cancers than women. Men have a threefold greater risk of developing bladder cancer than women, but female gender has been identified as an independent adverse prognostic factor for both recurrence and progression of this disease. In particular, women with bladder cancer are often diagnosed with a higher tumour stage than men. Conclusive data on the influence of gender on outcomes of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma are currently lacking, although men seem to have a higher disease incidence, whereas survival outcomes might be independent of gender. Patients with renal cell carcinoma are more often men and they typically have larger tumours and higher stage and grade disease than women with this cancer. Smoking habits, tumour biology, occupational risk factors and sex steroid hormones and their receptors could have a role in these observed gender disparities. The majority of data support the theory that gender influences incidence and prognosis of urothelial and kidney cancers; men and women are different genetically and socially, making the consideration of gender a key factor in the clinical decision-making process. Thus, the inclusion of this variable in validated prognostic tables and nomograms should be discussed as a matter of importance.

NDRG2 controls COX-2/PGE₂-mediated breast cancer cell migration and invasion

N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2), which is known to have tumor suppressor functions, is frequently down-regulated in breast cancers and potentially involved in preventing the migration and invasion of malignant tumor cells. In the present study, we examined the inhibitory effects of NDRG2 overexpression, specifically focusing on the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the migration of breast cancer cells. NDRG2 overexpression in MDA-MB-231 cells inhibited the expression of the COX-2 mRNA and protein, the transcriptional activity of COX-2, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, which were induced by a treatment with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling attenuated by NDRG2 expression resulted in a decrease in PMA-induced COX-2 expression. Interestingly, the inhibition of COX-2 strongly suppressed PMA-stimulated migration and invasion in MDA-MB-231-NDRG2 cells. Moreover, siRNA-mediated knockdown of NDRG2 in MCF7 cells increased the COX-2 mRNA and protein expression levels and the PMA-induced COX-2 expression levels. Consistent with these results, the migration and invasion of MCF7 cells treated with NDRG2 siRNA were significantly enhanced following treatment with PMA. Taken together, our data show that the inhibition of NF-κB signaling by NDRG2 expression is able to suppress cell migration and invasion through the down-regulation of COX-2 expression.

Androgen receptor expression predicts decreased survival in early stage triple-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

A subset of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been reported to express androgen receptor (AR); however, the clinical significance of AR expression in TNBC is unclear.

METHODS

We examined immunohistochemical expression of AR in a large cohort of TNBC cases and correlated its expression with clinicopathologic features and clinical outcome.

RESULTS

AR expression was found in 17.7% (87/492) of TNBCs. Positive expression of AR showed significant correlation with older age (p < 0.001), apocrine histology (p = 0.001), and lower histologic grade (p < 0.001). AR was a poor prognostic marker for overall survival (OS) in univariate (p = 0.026) and multivariate (p = 0.008) analyses. In the lymph node-negative (n = 316) subgroup, AR expression was a significant predictor of worse OS and disease-free survival (DFS) in both univariate (p = 0.028 and 0.011) and multivariate (p = 0.024 and 0.01, respectively) analyses. AR expression also was a prognostic factor in pT1 subgroup (OS, p = 0.007; DFS, p = 0.01); however, its prognostic value was not observed in TNBC patients with lymph node metastasis or tumor size larger than pT1.

CONCLUSIONS

AR-expressing TNBCs represent a distinct breast cancer subgroup with adverse clinical outcome and AR blockade could be a potential endocrine therapy for these TNBC patients. Evaluation of AR status may provide additional information on prognosis and treatment in patients with TNBC.

Summary of the 8th Annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank: Collaborating to move research forward

OBJECTIVES

The 8th Annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank (BCAN-TT) brought together a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates in an effort to advance bladder cancer research.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

With the theme of "Collaborating to Move Research Forward," the meeting included three panel presentations and seven small working groups.

RESULTS

The panel presentations and interactive discussions focused on three main areas: gender disparities, sexual dysfunction, and targeting novel pathways in bladder cancer. Small working groups also met to identify projects for the upcoming year, including: (1) improving enrollment and quality of clinical trials; (2) collecting data from multiple institutions for future research; (3) evaluating patterns of care for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer; (4) improving delivery of care for muscle-invasive disease; (5) improving quality of life for survivors; (6) addressing upper tract disease; and (7) examining the impact of health policy changes on research and treatment of bladder cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The goal of the BCAN-TT is to advance the care of patients with bladder cancer and to promote collaborative research throughout the year. The meeting provided ample opportunities for collaboration among clinicians from multiple disciplines, patients and patient advocates, and industry representatives.

Androgen receptor (AR) differential roles in hormone-related tumors including prostate, bladder, kidney, lung, breast and liver

The androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in many cell types and the androgen/AR signaling has been found to have important roles in modulating tumorigenesis and metastasis in several cancers including prostate, bladder, kidney, lung, breast and liver. However, whether AR has differential roles in the individual cells within these tumors that contain a variety of cell types remains unclear. Generation of AR knockout (ARKO) mouse models with deletion of AR in selective cells within tumors indeed have uncovered many unique AR roles in the individual cell types during cancer development and progression. This review will discuss the results obtained from various ARKO mice and different human cell lines with special attention to the cell type- and tissue-specific ARKO models. The understanding of various results showing the AR indeed has distinct and contrasting roles in each cell type within many hormone-related tumors (as stimulator in bladder, kidney and lung metastases vs as suppressor in prostate and liver metastases) may eventually help us to develop better therapeutic approaches by targeting the AR or its downstream signaling in individual cell types to better battle these hormone-related tumors in different stages.