The stromal microenvironment endows pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with spatially specific invasive and metastatic phenotypes

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in a variety of cancers. However, the role of tumor stroma in nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PanNETs) is often neglected. Profiling the heterogeneity of CAFs can reveal the causes of malignant phenotypes in NF-PanNETs. Here, we found that patients with high stromal proportion had poor prognosis, especially for that with infiltrating stroma (stroma and tumor cells that presented an infiltrative growth pattern and no regular boundary). In addition, myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs), characterized by FAP+ and α-SMAhigh, were spatially closer to tumor cells and promoted the EMT and tumor growth. Intriguingly, only tumor cells which were spatially closer to myCAFs underwent EMT. We further elucidated that myCAFs stimulate TGF-β expression in nearby tumor cells. Then, TGF-β promoted the EMT in adjacent tumor cells and promoted the expression of myCAFs marker genes in tumor cells, resulting in distant metastasis. Our results indicate that myCAFs cause spatial heterogeneity of EMT, which accounts for liver metastasis of NF-PanNETs. The findings of this study might provide possible targets for the prevention of liver metastasis.

Resveratrol and p53: How are they involved in CRC plasticity and apoptosis?

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC), which is mainly caused by epigenetic and lifestyle factors, is very often associated with functional plasticity during its development. In addition, the malignant plasticity of CRC cells underscores one of their survival abilities to functionally adapt to specific stresses, including inflammation, that occur during carcinogenesis. This leads to the generation of various subsets of cancer cells with phenotypic diversity and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), formation of cancer cell stem cells (CSCs) and metabolic reprogramming. This can enhance cancer cell differentiation and facilitate tumorigenic potential, drug resistance and metastasis.

AIM OF REVIEW

The tumor protein p53 acts as one of the central suppressors of carcinogenesis by regulating its target genes, whose proteins are involved in the plasticity of cancer cells, autophagy, cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA repair. The aim of this review is to summarize the latest published research on resveratrol's effect in the prevention of CRC, its regulatory actions, specifically on the p53 pathway, and its treatment options.

KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW

Resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol, is a potent inducer of a variety of tumor-controlling. However, the underlying mechanisms linking the p53 signaling pathway to the functional anti-plasticity effect of resveratrol in CRC are still poorly understood. Therefore, this review discusses novel relationships between anti-cellular plasticity/heterogeneity, pro-apoptosis and modulation of tumor protein p53 signaling in CRC oncogenesis, as one of the crucial mechanisms by which resveratrol prevents malignant phenotypic changes leading to cell migration and drug resistance, thus improving the ongoing treatment of CRC.

Modulation of lung cancer cell plasticity and heterogeneity with the restoration of cisplatin sensitivity by neurotensin antibody

Overall survival of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has significantly improved with platinum-based salt treatments and recently with targeted therapies and immunotherapies. However, treatment failure occurs due to acquired or emerging tumor resistance. We developed a monoclonal antibody against the proform of neurotensin (LF-NTS mAb) that alters the homeostasis of tumors overexpressing NTSR1. Neurotensin is frequently overexpressed along with its high affinity receptor (NTSR1) in tumors from epithelial origins. This ligand/receptor complex contributes to the progression of many tumor types by activation of the cellular effects involved in tumor progression (proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion). We demonstrate that LF-NTS mAb operates on the plasticity of tumor cells overexpressing NTSR1 and lowers their aggressiveness. The mAb enables the restoration of platinum-based therapies responsiveness, while also decreasing metastatic processes. Efficacy dosage with long-term treatment showed no obvious adverse events, while demonstrating improvement in the performance status. Our data suggests that LF-NTS mAb is an ideal candidate to be safely added to the conventional standard of care in order to improve its efficacy.

Adaptive Stress Responses During Tumor Metastasis and Dormancy

To survive inhospitable environments, tumor cells are forced to remodel their signaling pathways by altering transcription, translation, and post-translational modifications. This adaptation is regulated in a spatial and temporal manner and gives rise to individual tumor cells with distinct gene expression and metabolic signatures. Such phenotypic heterogeneity is the result of tumor cell plasticity, which-together with the genetic background of the tumor-determines whether cells resist environmental stress, enter dormancy, or metastasize. This review summarizes our understanding of how tumor cells exploit the cellular stress response to balance proliferation, differentiation, and survival signals, and to remodel local and distant environments. We focus in particular on tumor metastasis, which is the greatest impediment to clinical management of cancers today.

Tumor cell vascular mimicry: Novel targeting opportunity in melanoma

In 1999, the American Journal of Pathology published an article, entitled "Vascular channel formation by human melanoma cells in vivo and in vitro: vasculogenic mimicry" by Maniotis and colleagues, which ignited a spirited debate for several years and earned the journal's distinction of a "citation classic" (Maniotis et al., 1999). Tumor cell vasculogenic mimicry (VM), also known as vascular mimicry, describes the plasticity of aggressive cancer cells forming de novo vascular networks and is associated with the malignant phenotype and poor clinical outcome. The tumor cells capable of VM share the commonality of a stem cell-like, transendothelial phenotype, which may be induced by hypoxia. Since its introduction as a novel paradigm for melanoma tumor perfusion, many studies have contributed new findings illuminating the underlying molecular pathways supporting VM in a variety of tumors, including carcinomas, sarcomas, glioblastomas, astrocytomas, and melanomas. Of special significance is the lack of effectiveness of angiogenesis inhibitors on tumor cell VM, suggesting a selective resistance by this phenotype to conventional therapy. Facilitating the functional plasticity of tumor cell VM are key proteins associated with vascular, stem cell, extracellular matrix, and hypoxia-related signaling pathways--each deserving serious consideration as potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic indicators of the aggressive, metastatic phenotype. This review highlights seminal findings pertinent to VM, including the effects of a novel, small molecular compound, CVM-1118, currently under clinical development to target VM, and illuminates important molecular pathways involved in the suppression of this plastic, aggressive phenotype, using melanoma as a model.