Inhibition of tumor progression during allergic airway inflammation in a murine model: significant role of TGF-β

The associations between risk factors and pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

The etiological basis of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors is uncertain. We used Mendelian randomization technique to investigate the potential influence of several risk factors on the likelihood of developing pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. We admitted 8 risk factors, divided into 3 lifestyle factors and 5 chronic diseases as exposure factors. We used weighted median, simple model, weighted model, inverse-variance weighted, and the MR-Egger regression method for causal effect estimations and sensitivity analyses. We observed that genetically forecasting increased moderate to vigorous physical activity levels (OR = 5.21 [1.38-19.72], P = .015) was linked with a higher incidence of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. Allergic disease (asthma, hay fever, or eczema) (OR = 0.81 [0.66-0.99], P = .039), chronic kidney disease (OR = 0.67 [0.50-0.90], P = .008), increased sleep duration (OR = 0.07 [0.01-0.37], P = .001), and types of physical activity (e.g., swimming, cycling, keeping fit, and bowling) (OR = 0.02 [0.01-0.66], P = .029) were connected with lower incidence of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. There was no evidence that the other 3 risk factors notably correlated with pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. This study provides evidence that allergic diseases, chronic kidney disease, sleep duration, and physical activity are associated with the development of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors. The findings highlight the importance of reconsidering causality in epidemiological studies to better understand risk factors and prevention strategies for pituitary neuroendocrine tumors.

α-Mangostin inhibits DMBA/TPA-induced skin cancer through inhibiting inflammation and promoting autophagy and apoptosis by regulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in mice

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality, the treatment progress of which remains slow though. Therefore, studies identifying anti-skin cancer agents that are innocuous are urgently needed. α-Mangostin, a natural product isolated from the pericarp of mangosteen fruit, has potent anti-cancer activity. However, its role in skin cancer remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment effect of α-mangostin on skin tumorigenesis induced by 9,10-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)/TPA in mice and the potential mechanism. Treatment with α-mangostin significantly suppressed tumor formation and growth, and markedly reduced the incidence rate. α-Mangostin not only inhibited the expressions of pro-inflammatory factors, but also promoted the production of anti-inflammatory factors in tumor and blood. It induced autophagy of skin tumor and regulated the expressions of autophagy-related proteins. The protein expressions of LC3, LC3-II and Beclin1 increased whereas those of LC3-I and p62 decreased after treatment with α-mangostin. Moreover, α-mangostin promoted the apoptosis of skin tumor dose-dependently by up-regulating of Bax, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP and Bad, and down-regulating of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. Furthermore, showed α-mangostin inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling pathway, as evidenced by decreased expressions of phospho-PI3K (p-PI3K), p-Akt and p-mTOR, but did not affect the expressions of t-PI3K, t-Akt or t-mTOR. Collectively, α-mangostin suppressed murine skin tumorigenesis induced by DMBA/TPA through inhibiting inflammation and promoting autophagy and apoptosis by regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, as a potential candidate for future clinical therapy.

Allergies: diseases closely related to cancer

Allergies are hypersensitivity reactions that occur through specific type Th2 immunological mechanisms characterized by different soluble mediators, as well as specific cells of the immune system. In recent decades, evidence has emerged relating this disease with cancer development. However, most of the results of epidemiology studies have been controversial and contradictory. There are mainly two trends. While the first indicates that allergies can reduce the risk of cancer, the other indicates that they may increase this risk. The first trend can be explained by the immunosurveillance hypothesis, which states that the increased immune surveillance after the immune hyper-responsiveness can inhibit or exert a protective effect against the development of cancer. Similarly, the prophylaxis hypothesis suggests that the physical effects of allergy symptoms can prevent cancer by removing potential carcinogens. In contrast, the opposing hypothesis propose that there is a deviation of the immune response toward Th2, which favors the development of cancer, or that the process of chronic inflammation favors the generation of mutations, and therefore the development of cancer. With the purpose of understanding more about these two hypotheses, the main soluble and cellular factors of allergic diseases that could be playing a key role in the development or inhibition of cancer were considered in this review.