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Postwala H, Shah Y, Parekh PS, Chorawala MR. Unveiling the genetic and epigenetic landscape of colorectal cancer: new insights into pathogenic pathways. Med Oncol 2023; 40:334. [PMID: 37855910 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-023-02201-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex disease characterized by genetic and epigenetic alterations, playing a crucial role in its development and progression. This review aims to provide insights into the emerging landscape of these alterations in CRC pathogenesis to develop effective diagnostic tools and targeted therapies. Genetic alterations in signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR are pivotal in CRC development. Genetic profiling has identified distinct molecular subtypes, enabling personalized treatment strategies. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, also contribute to CRC pathogenesis by influencing critical cellular processes through gene silencing or activation. Non-coding RNAs have emerged as essential players in epigenetic regulation and CRC progression. Recent research highlights the interplay between genetic and epigenetic alterations in CRC. Genetic mutations can affect epigenetic modifications, leading to dysregulated gene expression and signaling cascades. Conversely, epigenetic changes can modulate genetic expression, amplifying or dampening the effects of genetic alterations. Advancements in understanding pathogenic pathways have potential clinical applications. Identifying genetic and epigenetic markers as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers promises more accurate risk assessment and early detection. Challenges remain, including validating biomarkers and developing robust therapeutic strategies through extensive research and clinical trials. The dynamic nature of genetic and epigenetic alterations necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their temporal and spatial patterns during CRC progression. In conclusion, the genetic and epigenetic landscape of CRC is increasingly being unraveled, providing valuable insights into its pathogenesis. Integrating genetic and epigenetic knowledge holds great potential for improving diagnostics, prognostics, and personalized therapies in CRC. Continued research efforts are vital to translate these findings into clinical practice, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humzah Postwala
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, 380009, Gujarat, India
| | - Yesha Shah
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, 380009, Gujarat, India
| | - Priyajeet S Parekh
- AV Pharma LLC, 1545 University Blvd N Ste A, Jacksonville, Florida, 32211, USA
| | - Mehul R Chorawala
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, 380009, Gujarat, India.
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Ditonno I, Novielli D, Celiberto F, Rizzi S, Rendina M, Ierardi E, Di Leo A, Losurdo G. Molecular Pathways of Carcinogenesis in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065687. [PMID: 36982759 PMCID: PMC10056005 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a genetic syndrome characterized by the presence of multiple polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and a wide range of systemic extra-intestinal manifestations. Patients affected will inevitably undergo abdominal surgery due to the malignant transformation of one or more adenomas. The pathogenesis of the disease is based on a loss of function mutation in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a tumor-suppressor gene, inherited following a Mendelian pattern. This gene is a key component of multiple cell functions that cooperate for homeostasis; when mutated, it contributes to the progression of colorectal adenoma into cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that several additional mechanisms may influence this process, such as alterations in gut microbiota composition and mucosal barrier immunity, interaction with the immune microenvironment and inflammation, the hormone estrogen, and other signaling pathways. These factors represent promising targets of future therapies and chemoprevention, aiming to alter the progressive nature of the disease and improve the quality of life of families affected. Therefore, we performed a narrative review about the current knowledge of the aforementioned pathways involved in colorectal cancer pathogenesis in FAP, exploring the genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to the development of CRC in FAP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Ditonno
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Novielli
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Francesca Celiberto
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
- Course in Organs and Tissues Transplantation and Cellular Therapies, Department of Precision Medicine Jonic Area, University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Salvatore Rizzi
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Maria Rendina
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Enzo Ierardi
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Alfredo Di Leo
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Losurdo
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Zhong X, Wang Y, Xu J, Cao H, Zhang F, Wang X. Gut microbiota signatures in tissues of the colorectal polyp and normal colorectal mucosa, and faeces. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 12:1054808. [PMID: 36704106 PMCID: PMC9871776 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1054808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Colorectal polyps are the most common precursors of colorectal cancer (CRC). The close relationship has been observed between colorectal polyps and gut microbiota. However, gut microbiota signatures among sampling sites in patients with colorectal polyps and healthy adults remain elusive. Aims To learn about gut microbiota signatures in tissues of the colorectal polyp and normal colorectal mucosa, and faeces. Methods We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analysis for the microbiota in the normal colorectal mucosa, the colorectal polyps and faeces of adults with colorectal polyps (n = 24) and in faeces and normal mucosa of healthy adults (n = 16) in this preliminary trial. Results The Ace and Chao indexes were higher in the normal colorectal mucosa and polyp tissues compared to faecal samples (P < 0.05). The composition of microbiota based on PCoA and ANOSIM analysis showed the significant differences only between faeces and tissues of the normal mucosa and polyp (P < 0.05). Based on the LEfSe analysis, the abundances of Bacteroides, Prevotella-2 and Agathobacter were higher, whereas the abundances of Haemophilus, Escherichia_Shigella, Fusobacterium and Streptococcus were lower in faeces both in patients with colorectal polyp and healthy individuals, compared with those in the normal mucosa in two groups or polyp tissues. In healthy individuals, the abundance of Fusobacterium was significantly higher in the normal colorectal mucosa than in faeces. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the abundance of Fusobacterium between the normal colorectal mucosa and polyps in patients with colorectal polyps, but it was significantly higher in the mucosa and polyps than in faeces. Remarkably, the abundance of Fusobacterium in the normal colorectal mucosa was significantly higher in healthy individuals than in the polyp group. Conclusions The microbial structure in faeces differs from that in tissues of polyp and normal mucusa. Additionally, Fusobacterium may be a normal colonizer in colonic mucosa, and an abnormal increase of Fusobacterium detected in faeces may be related with the injury of the colorectal mucosa. The difference of the faecal microbiota and mucosal microbiota should be carefully considered in studies on gut microbiota in patients with colorectal lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Zhong
- Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of West Anhui Health Vocational College, Liuan, China
| | - Jianmin Xu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Hong Cao
- Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China,Department of Nutrition, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China,*Correspondence: Feng Zhang, ; Xuesong Wang,
| | - Xuesong Wang
- Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China,Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China,*Correspondence: Feng Zhang, ; Xuesong Wang,
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Jimenez-Alesanco A, Eckhard U, Asencio Del Rio M, Vega S, Guevara T, Velazquez-Campoy A, Gomis-Rüth FX, Abian O. Repositioning small molecule drugs as allosteric inhibitors of the BFT-3 toxin from enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4427. [PMID: 36173175 PMCID: PMC9514063 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Bacteroides fragilis is an abundant commensal component of the healthy human colon. However, under dysbiotic conditions, enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) may arise and elicit diarrhea, anaerobic bacteremia, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer. Most worrisome, ETBF is resistant to many disparate antibiotics. ETBF's only recognized specific virulence factor is a zinc‐dependent metallopeptidase (MP) called B. fragilis toxin (BFT) or fragilysin, which damages the intestinal mucosa and triggers disease‐related signaling mechanisms. Thus, therapeutic targeting of BFT is expected to limit ETBF pathogenicity and improve the prognosis for patients. We focused on one of the naturally occurring BFT isoforms, BFT‐3, and managed to repurpose several approved drugs as BFT‐3 inhibitors through a combination of biophysical, biochemical, structural, and cellular techniques. In contrast to canonical MP inhibitors, which target the active site of mature enzymes, these effectors bind to a distal allosteric site in the proBFT‐3 zymogen structure, which stabilizes a partially unstructured, zinc‐free enzyme conformation by shifting a zinc‐dependent disorder‐to‐order equilibrium. This yields proBTF‐3 incompetent for autoactivation, thus ablating hydrolytic activity of the mature toxin. Additionally, a similar destabilizing effect is observed for the activated protease according to biophysical and biochemical data. Our strategy paves a novel way for the development of highly specific inhibitors of ETBF‐mediated enteropathogenic conditions. PDB Code(s): 7PND, 7POL, 7POO, 7POQ and 7POU;
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Jimenez-Alesanco
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Unit GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Ulrich Eckhard
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), Higher Scientific Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Marta Asencio Del Rio
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Unit GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Sonia Vega
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Unit GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Tibisay Guevara
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), Higher Scientific Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Adrian Velazquez-Campoy
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Unit GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), Zaragoza, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el Área Temática de Enfermedades Hepáticas Digestivas (CIBERehd), Madrid, Spain
| | - Francesc Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), Higher Scientific Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Olga Abian
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Unit GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), Zaragoza, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el Área Temática de Enfermedades Hepáticas Digestivas (CIBERehd), Madrid, Spain
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Bennedsen ALB, Furbo S, Bjarnsholt T, Raskov H, Gögenur I, Kvich L. The gut microbiota can orchestrate the signaling pathways in colorectal cancer. APMIS 2022; 130:121-139. [PMID: 35007370 DOI: 10.1111/apm.13206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Current evidence suggests that bacteria contribute to the development of certain cancers, such as colorectal cancer (CRC), partly by stimulating chronic inflammation. However, little is known about the bacterial impact on molecular pathways in CRC. Recent studies have demonstrated how specific bacteria can influence the major CRC-related pathways, i.e., Wnt, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, TGF-β, EGFR, mTOR, and p53. In order to advance the current understanding and facilitate the choice of pathways to investigate, we have systematically collected and summarized the current knowledge within bacterial altered major pathways in CRC. Several pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic bacterial species and their respective metabolites interfere with the major signaling pathways addressed in this review. Not surprisingly, some of these studies investigated known CRC drivers, such as Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Bacteroides fragilis. Interestingly, some metabolites produced by bacterial species typically considered pathogenic, e.g., Vibrio cholera, displayed anti-tumorigenic activities, emphasizing the caution needed when classifying healthy and unhealthy microorganisms. The results collectively emphasize the complexity of the relationship between the microbiota and the tumorigenesis of CRC, and future studies should verify these findings in more realistic models, such as organoids, which constitute a promising platform. Moreover, future trials should investigate the clinical potential of preventive modulation of the gut microbiota regarding CRC development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid L B Bennedsen
- Department of Surgery, Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark
| | - Sara Furbo
- Department of Surgery, Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark
| | - Thomas Bjarnsholt
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Costerton Biofilm Center, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hans Raskov
- Department of Surgery, Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark
| | - Ismail Gögenur
- Department of Surgery, Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lasse Kvich
- Department of Surgery, Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark.,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Costerton Biofilm Center, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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