Blocking MMP-12-modulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition by repurposing penfluridol restrains lung adenocarcinoma metastasis via uPA/uPAR/TGF-β/Akt pathway

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer: A Focus on Itraconazole, a Hedgehog Inhibitor

Cancer, and the resulting mortality from it, is an ever-increasing concern in global health. Cancer mortality stems from the metastatic progression of the disease, by dissemination of the tumor cells. Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, the major hypothesis purported to be the origin of metastasis, confers mesenchymal phenotype to epithelial cells in a variety of contexts, physiological and pathological. EMT in cancer leads to rise of cancer-stem-like cells, drug resistance, relapse, and progression of malignancy. Inhibition of EMT could potentially attenuate the mortality. While novel molecules for inhibiting EMT are underway, repurposing drugs is also being considered as a viable strategy. In this review, Itraconazole is focused upon, as a repurposed molecule to mitigate EMT. Itraconazole is known to inhibit Hedgehog signaling, and light is shed upon the existing evidence, as well as the questions remaining to be answered.

Interleukin-1β Inhibits Ovarian Cancer Cell Proliferation and Metastasis Through the MAPK/MMP12 Pathway

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a gynecological tumor with high mortality. Despite aggressive treatment, survival rates for patients with advanced EOC are low, and more effective methods of diagnosis and treatment are urgently needed. Inflammation and cancer are strongly associated; however, the mechanisms that mediate this relationship are not fully understood. In this study, we found that the expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a proinflammatory cytokine, increased in an ovarian cancer tissue microarray (TMA) and inhibited A2780 and SKOV3 cell viability and metastasis. Recombinant IL-1β protein and the overexpression of IL-1β decreased the proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. IL-1β deficiency promoted proliferation and metastasis. Moreover, transcriptome sequencing revealed that IL-1β downregulates the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP12). The signaling pathway involving MAPK/AP-1/MMP12 is involved in IL-1β-regulated ovarian cancer progression. Overall, we found that the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β inhibits ovarian cancer cell viability and metastasis. These findings provided deeper insights into inflammation and cancer progression.

Collagen remodeling-mediated signaling pathways and their impact on tumor therapy

In addition to their traditional roles in maintaining tissue morphology and organ development, emerging evidence suggests that collagen (COL) remodeling-referring to dynamic changes in the quantity, stiffness, arrangements, cleavage states, and homo-/hetero-trimerization of COLs-serves as a key signaling mechanism that governs tumor growth and metastasis. COL receptors act as switches, linking various forms of COL remodeling to different cell types during cancer progression, including cancer cells, immune cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the signaling pathways mediated by COL arrangement, cleavage, and trimerization states (both homo- and hetero-), as well as the roles of the primary COL receptors-integrin, DDR1/2, LAIR-1/2, MRC2, and GPVI-in cancer progression. We also discuss the latest therapeutic strategies targeting COL fragments, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and COL receptors, including integrins, DDR1/2, and LAIR1/2. Understanding the pathways modulated by COL remodeling and COL receptors in various pathological contexts will pave the way for developing new precision therapies.

Repurposing the antipsychotic drug penfluridol for cancer treatment (Review)

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases and the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the improved survival rates of cancer in recent years, the current available treatments often face resistance and side effects. Drug repurposing represents a cost‑effective and efficient alternative to cancer treatment. Recent studies revealed that penfluridol (PF), an antipsychotic drug, is a promising anticancer agent. In the present study, a scoping review was conducted to ascertain the anticancer properties of PF. For this, a literature search was performed using the Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases with the search string 'penfluridol' AND 'cancer'. A total of 23 original articles with in vivo and/or in vitro studies on the effect of PF on cancer were included in the scoping review. The outcome of the analysis demonstrated the anticancer potential of PF. PF significantly inhibited cell proliferation, metastasis and invasion while inducing apoptosis and autophagy in vivo and across a spectrum of cancer cell lines, including breast, lung, pancreatic, glioblastoma, gallbladder, bladder, oesophageal, leukaemia and renal cancers. However, research on PF derivatives with high anticancer activities and reduced neurological side effects may be necessary.

RON receptor tyrosine kinase as a critical determinant in promoting tumorigenic behaviors of bladder cancer cells through regulating MMP12 and HIF-2α pathways

The RON receptor tyrosine kinase is critical in the pathogenesis of various cancer types, however, its role in bladder cancer invasive growth is still largely unknown. Here, we found that over 90% of bladder cancer samples exhibit elevated levels of RON expression, with significantly higher expression levels observed in invasive bladder cancer compared to non-invasive bladder cancer. In vitro, RON activation resulted in increased bladder cancer cell migration and invasiveness. Results from mRNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis further demonstrated that MMP12, a downstream molecule of RON, is functionally involved in regulating RON-mediated bladder cancer cell migration and invasiveness. The underlying mechanism appeared to be the RON-mediated inhibition of HIF-2α ubiquitination, which is channeled through the activation of the JNK signaling pathway. Consequently, the activated JNK pathway increased MMP12 expression, ultimately driving bladder cancer cell migration and invasion. As evident in bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter assays, the RON mRNA at its 3'-untranslated regions specifically interacted with hsa-miR-659-3p. The binding of hsa-miR-659-3p downregulated the RON gene expression, attenuating the receptor-mediated tumorigenic activities of bladder cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, aberrant RON expression in bladder cancer cells and MMP12 and HIF-2α activities form a functional axis that causes increased bladder cancer cell migration and invasion. The fact that hsa-miR-659-3p downregulates RON expression indicates its critical role in attenuating RON-mediated tumorigenic effect on bladder cancer cells. These findings highlight the importance of RON targeting as a therapeutic means for potential bladder cancer therapy.

Single-cell landscape identified SERPINB9 as a key player contributing to stemness and metastasis in non-seminomas

Embryonal carcinoma (EC), characterized by a high degree of stemness similar to that of embryonic stem cells, is the most malignant subtype within non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). However, the mechanisms underlying its malignancy remain unknown. In this study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze four non-seminoma samples. Our differential expression analysis revealed high expression of SERPINB9 in metastatic EC cells. We conducted in vitro experiments to further investigate SERPINB9's role in the progression of EC. Functionally, the knockdown of SERPINB9 in NCCIT and NTERA-2 leads to a diminished migratory capability and decreased cis-platin resistance, as demonstrated by Transwell migration assay and drug sensitivity assay. Moreover, embryoid bodies showed reduced size and lower OCT4 expression, alongside heightened expression of differentiation markers AFP, ACTA2, and CD57 in shSERPINB9 cells. In vivo, the role of SERPINB9 in maintaining cancer stemness was validated by the limiting dilution assay. Mechanistically, Bulk RNA-seq further showed downregulation of ERK1/2 signaling and WNT signaling pathways with concomitant upregulation of differentiation pathways subsequent to SERPINB9 knockdown. Additionally, the analysis indicated increased levels of cytokines linked to tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), such as IL6, IL11, IL15, CCL2, CCL5, and CXCL13 in shSERPINB9 cells, which were further validated by ELISA. Our research indicates that SERPINB9 plays a key role in driving tumor progression by enhancing tumor stemness and suppressing TLS. This study stands as the first to elucidate the molecular signature of non-seminomas at a single-cell level, presenting a wealth of promising targets with substantial potential for informing the development of future therapeutic interventions.

Limited Alleviation of Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency by Deletion of Matrix Metalloproteinase 12

Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) is the only known enzyme that degrades cholesteryl esters and triglycerides at an acidic pH. In LAL deficiency (LAL-D), dysregulated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP-12) has been described. The overexpression of MMP-12 in myeloid lineage cells causes an immune cell dysfunction resembling that of Lal knockout (Lal KO) mice. Both models develop progressive lymphocyte dysfunction and expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor (CD11b+ Gr-1+) cells. To study whether MMP-12 might be a detrimental contributor to the pathology of LAL-D, we have generated Lal/Mmp12 double knockout (DKO) mice. The phenotype of Lal/Mmp12 DKO mice closely resembled that of Lal KO mice, while the weight and morphology of the thymus were improved in Lal/Mmp12 DKO mice. Cytological examination of blood smears showed a mildly reversed lymphoid-to-myeloid shift in DKO mice. Despite significant decreases in CD11b+ Ly6G+ cells in the peripheral blood, bone marrow, and spleen of Lal/Mmp12 DKO mice, the hematopoietic bone marrow progenitor compartment and markers for neutrophil chemotaxis were unchanged. Since the overall severity of LAL-D remains unaffected by the deletion of Mmp12, we conclude that MMP-12 does not represent a viable target for treating the inflammatory pathology in LAL-D.

Chemical profile, in vitro pharmacological activity and Satureja cuneifolia Ten. evaluation of essential oil based on distillation time

The medicinal plant Satureja cuneifolia Ten. was widely utilized as spice, tea and traditional medicine. The objective of the current study was to examine the chemical composition and in vitro biological activities (LOX, MMP-1, and MMP-12 enzyme inhibition activity and cytotoxicity on A549 cell line) of Satureja cuneifolia extracts and essential oils. The essential oils of the flowering aerial parts were hydro-distilled at four different distillation times (5, 30, 60, and 180 min) using the Clevenger apparatus. The total essential oil and four fragments were compared in terms of the major component, yield, and distillation time. Volatile compounds of the infusion were extracted by using HS-SPME. Ethanolic extract had the strongest inhibition activity on the LOX enzyme (84.50%), while the essential oils exhibited more cytotoxic activity on the A549 cell line than the extracts. The oils and the infusion were analyzed using GC-MS and the primary chemicals identified by LC-MS/MS.

MicroRNA-181b attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses in pulpitis via the PLAU/AKT/NF-κB axis

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of microRNA (miRNA)-181b in the inflammatory response in pulpitis.

METHODS

Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and immunofluorescence techniques were used to determine the miRNA-181b and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (PLAU) expression levels in inflamed human dental pulp tissues (HDPTs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human dental pulp cells (hDPCs). The targets of miRNA-181b were identified and confirmed using a bioinformatics analysis, RNA sequencing, and dual-luciferase gene reporter assays. The effect of miRNA-181b or PLAU on proinflammatory cytokine expression in hDPCs was examined using qRT-PCR and western blotting. RNA sequencing was conducted to examine the signaling pathways implicated in miRNA-181b-mediated pulpitis. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to determine the miRNA-181b /PLAU/AKT/NF-κB signaling axis in pulpitis. A rat pulpitis model was created to observe the histopathological changes in the dental pulp tissue after the topical application of miRNA-181b agomir.

RESULTS

A significant decrease in miRNA-181b and an increase in PLAU were observed in HDPTs compared to the healthy controls, and these two factors showed a negative correlation. MiRNA-181b directly targeted PLAU. The miRNA-181b inhibitor resulted in a significant upregulation of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, whereas the knockdown of PLAU reversed this proinflammatory effect. Conversely, PLAU overexpression prevented the anti-inflammatory effects of the miRNA-181b mimics. Mechanistically, miRNA-181b inhibited the AKT/NF-κB pathway by targeting PLAU. In vivo application of the miRNA-181b agomir to inflamed pulp tissue alleviated inflammation.

CONCLUSION

MiRNA-181b targets PLAU, negatively regulating pro-inflammatory cytokine expression via the AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway.

MMP12 is a Potential Predictive and Prognostic Biomarker of Various Cancers Including Lung Adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to explore the clinical value of matrix metalloproteinases 12 (MMP12) in multiple cancers, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

METHODS

Using >10,000 samples, this retrospective study demonstrated the first pan-cancer analysis of MMP12. The expression of MMP12 between cancer groups and their control groups was analyzed using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. The clinical significance of MMP12 expression in multiple cancers was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves, Kaplan-Meier curves, and univariate Cox analysis. A further LUAD-related analysis based on 4565 multi-center and in-house samples was performed to verify the findings regarding MMP12 in pan-cancer analysis partly.

RESULTS

MMP12 mRNA is highly expressed in 13 cancers compared to their controls, and the MMP12 protein level is elevated in some of these cancers (e.g., colon adenocarcinoma) (P < .05). MMP12 expression makes it feasible to distinguish 21 cancer tissues from normal tissues (AUC = 0.86). A high MMP12 expression is a prognosis risk factor in eight cancers, such as adrenocortical carcinoma (hazard ratio >1, P < .05). The elevated MMP12 expression is also a prognosis protective factor in breast-invasive carcinoma and colon adenocarcinoma (hazard ratio <1, P < .05). Some pan-cancer findings regarding MMP12 are verified in LUAD-MMP12 expression is upregulated in LUAD at both the mRNA and protein levels (P < .05), has the potential to distinguish LUAD with considerable accuracy (AUC = .91), and plays a risk prognosis factor for patients with the disease (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

MMP12 is highly expressed in most cancers and may serve as a novel biomarker for the prediction and prognosis of numerous cancers.

Sustaining the Activation of EGFR Signal by Inflammatory Cytokine IL17A Prompts Cell Proliferation and EGFR-TKI Resistance in Lung Cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a typical inflammation-associated cancer, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common pathological subtype. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) mutations are the most common driver mutations of LUAD, and they have been identified as important therapeutic targets by EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)-17A, and IL-17A-producing cells were reported to be elevated in the tumor microenvironment and peripheral blood of NSCLC patients and to be correlated with tumor progression and poor prognoses. However, the pathophysiological role of IL-17A in NSCLC remains unclear, although some studies suggested its involvement in cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Herein, we observed that expressions of IL-17A and its receptor, IL-17 receptor C (IL-17RC), were elevated in LUAD tissues and were correlated with poor survival in different lung cancer cohorts. In LUAD cells with mutant EGFR, the IL-17A/IL-17RC axis was shown to enhance phosphorylation of EGFR and Met, thereby promoting proliferation and resistance to EGFR-TKIs such as afatinib. In LUAD cells with wild-type (WT) EGFR, we found that the IL-17A/IL-17RC axis enhanced EGF-induced EGFR activation and cell proliferation through causing impairment of EGF-induced EGFR lysosomal degradation. Collectively, our results indicated diverse impacts of the IL-17A/IL-17RC axis on EGFR activation in LUAD cells with WT and mutant EGFR and suggested that developing therapeutic strategies against IL-17A/IL-17RC would be valuable for LUAD treatment.

The Emerging Role of MMP12 in the Oral Environment

Matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP12), or macrophage metalloelastase, plays important roles in extracellular matrix (ECM) component degradation. Recent reports show MMP12 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. To date, this review represents the latest comprehensive overview of MMP12 in various oral diseases, such as periodontitis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD), orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Furthermore, the current knowledge regarding the distribution of MMP12 in different tissues is also illustrated in this review. Studies have implicated the association of MMP12 expression with the pathogenesis of several representative oral diseases, including periodontitis, TMD, OSCC, OTM, and bone remodelling. Although there may be a potential role of MMP12 in oral diseases, the exact pathophysiological role of MMP12 remains to be elucidated. Understanding the cellular and molecular biology of MMP12 is essential, as MMP12 could be a potential target for developing therapeutic strategies targeting inflammatory and immunologically related oral diseases.

Genomic and immunogenomic analysis of three prognostic signature genes in LUAD

BACKGROUND

Searching for immunotherapy-related markers is an important research content to screen for target populations suitable for immunotherapy. Prognosis-related genes in early stage lung cancer may also affect the tumor immune microenvironment, which in turn affects immunotherapy.

RESULTS

We analyzed the differential genes affecting lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy through the Cancer Treatment Response gene signature DataBase (CTR-DB), and set a threshold to obtain a total of 176 differential genes between response and non-response to immunotherapy. Functional enrichment analysis found that these differential genes were mainly involved in immune regulation-related pathways. The early-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) prognostic model was constructed through the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database, and three target genes (MMP12, NFE2, HOXC8) were screened to calculate the risk score of early-stage LUAD. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that the model had good prognostic value, and the validation set (GSE50081, GSE11969 and GSE42127) from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) analysis indicated that the model had good stability, and the risk score was correlated with immune infiltrations to varying degrees. Multi-type survival analysis and immune infiltration analysis revealed that the transcriptome, methylation and the copy number variation (CNV) levels of the three genes were correlated with patient prognosis and some tumor microenvironment (TME) components. Drug sensitivity analysis found that the three genes may affect some anti-tumor drugs. The mRNA expression of immune checkpoint-related genes showed significant differences between the high and low group of the three genes, and there may be a mutual regulatory network between immune checkpoint-related genes and target genes. Tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) analysis found that three genes were associated with immunotherapy response and maybe the potential predictors to immunotherapy, consistent with the CTR-DB database analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

From the perspective of data mining, this study suggests that MMP12, NFE2, and HOXC8 may be involved in tumor immune regulation and affect immunotherapy. They are expected to become markers of immunotherapy and are worthy of further experimental research.

A Potential Anticancer Mechanism of Finger Root (Boesenbergia rotunda) Extracts against a Breast Cancer Cell Line

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer women suffer from worldwide in 2020 and the 4th leading cause of cancer death. Boesenbergia rotunda is an herb with high potential as an anticancer agent. This study explores the potential bioactive compounds in B. rotunda as anti-breast cancer agents using in silico and in vitro approaches. The in silico study was used for active compound analysis, selection of anticancer compound candidates, prediction of target protein, functional annotation, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation, respectively. The in vitro study was conducted by measurement toxicity, rhodamine 123, and apoptosis assays on T47D cells. Based on the KNApSAcK database, B. rotunda contained 20 metabolites, which are dominated by chalcone and flavonoid groups. Seven of them were predicted to have anticancer activity, namely, sakuranetin, cardamonin, alpinetin, 2S-pinocembrin, 7.4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavanone, 5.6-dehydrokawain, and pinostrobin chalcone. These compounds targeted proteins related to cancer progression pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, FOXO, JAK/STAT, and estrogen signaling pathways. Therefore, these compounds are predicted to inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of cancer cells through their interactions with MMP12, MMP13, CDK4, JAK3, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and KCNA3. Anticancer activity of B. rotunda through in vitro study confirmed that B. rotunda extract is strong cytotoxic and induces apoptosis of breast cancer cell lines. This study concludes that Boesenbergia rotunda has potency as an anticancer candidate.

Nanotechnology and Matrix Metalloproteinases in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Cancer is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This great mortality is due to its late diagnosis when the disease is already at advanced stages. Although the efforts made to develop more effective treatments, around 90% of cancer deaths are due to metastasis that confers a systemic character to the disease. Likewise, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are endopeptidases that participate in all the events of the metastatic process. MMPs’ augmented concentrations and an increased enzymatic activity have been considered bad prognosis markers of the disease. Therefore, synthetic inhibitors have been created to block MMPs’ enzymatic activity. However, they have been ineffective in addition to causing considerable side effects. On the other hand, nanotechnology offers the opportunity to formulate therapeutic agents that can act directly on a target cell, avoiding side effects and improving the diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment of cancer. The goal of the present review is to discuss novel nanotechnological strategies in which MMPs are used with theranostic purposes and as therapeutic targets to control cancer progression.

Matrix metalloproteinase 12 is an independent prognostic factor predicting postoperative relapse of conventional renal cell carcinoma - a short report

Purpose

Approximately 15% of clinically localised conventional renal cell carcinomas (cRCC) develop metastases within 5 years of follow-up. Sarcomatous cRCC is a highly malignant cancer of the kidney. The aim of our study was to identify biomarkers for estimating the postoperative progression of cRCCs.

Methods

Global microarray-based gene expression analysis of RCCs with and without sarcomatous changes revealed that a high MMP12 expression was associated with a sarcomatous histology. Additionally, we analysed MMP12 expression using a multi-tissue array comprising 736 cRCC patients without metastasis at the time of surgery. The median follow-up time was 66 ± 29 months.

Results

Immunohistochemistry revealed MMP12 expression in 187 of 736 cRCCs with good follow-up data. Subsequent Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients with MMP12 positive tumours exhibited a significantly shorter tumour-free survival (p < 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis a weak to strong MMP12 expression indicated a 2.4–2.8 times higher risk of postoperative tumour relapse (p < 0.001; p < 0.003, respectively).

Conclusions

MMP12 may serve as a biomarker to estimate postoperative cRCC relapse and as a possible target for penfluridol therapy.