Magic angle spinning NMR-based metabolic profiling of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues

A prognostic model built on amino acid metabolism patterns in HPV-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To compare amino acid metabolism patterns between HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients and identify key genes for a prognostic model.

DESIGN

Utilizing the Cancer Genome Atlas dataset, we analyzed amino acid metabolism genes, differentiated genes between HPV statuses, and selected key genes via LASSO regression for the prognostic model. The model's gene expression was verified through immunohistochemistry in clinical samples. Functional enrichment and CIBERSORTx analyses explored biological functions, molecular mechanisms, and immune cell correlations. The model's prognostic capability was assessed using nomograms, calibration, and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 1157 key genes associated with amino acid metabolism in HNSCC and HPV status. The prognostic model, featuring genes like IQCN, SLC22A1, SYT12, and TLX3, highlighted functions in development, metabolism, and pathways related to receptors and enzymes. It significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration and outperformed traditional staging in prognosis prediction, despite immunohistochemistry results showing limited clinical identification of HPV-related HNSCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct amino acid metabolism patterns differentiate HPV-positive from negative HNSCC patients, underscoring the prognostic model's utility in predicting outcomes and guiding therapeutic strategies.

Clinical and prognostic significance analysis of glycolysis-related genes in HNSCC

BACKGROUND

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents one of the most malignant cancers worldwide, with poor survival. Experimental evidence implies that glycolysis/hypoxia is associated with HNSCC. In this study, we aimed to construct a novel glycolysis-/hypoxia-related gene (GHRG) signature for survival prediction of HNSCC.

METHODS

A multistage screening strategy was used to establish the GHRG prognostic model by univariate/least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)/step multivariate Cox regressions from The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort. A nomogram was constructed to quantify the survival probability. Correlations between risk score and immune infiltration and chemotherapy sensitivity were explored.

RESULTS

We established a 12-GHRG mRNA signature to predict the prognosis in HNSCC patients. Patients in the high-risk score group had a much worse prognosis. The predictive power of the model was validated by external HNSCC cohorts, and the model was identified as an independent factor for survival prediction. Immune infiltration analysis showed that the high-risk score group had an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Finally, the model was effective in predicting chemotherapeutic sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that the GHRG model is a robust prognostic tool for survival prediction of HNSCC. Findings of this work provide novel insights for immune infiltration and chemotherapy of HNSCC, and may be applied clinically to guide therapeutic strategies.

Lipid metabolism reprogramming in head and neck cancer

Lipid metabolism reprogramming is one of the most prominent metabolic anomalies in cancer, wherein cancer cells undergo dysregulation of lipid metabolism to acquire adequate energy, cell membrane building blocks, as well as signaling molecules essential for cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. These adaptations enable cancer cells to effectively respond to challenges posed by the tumor microenvironment, leading to cancer therapy resistance and poor cancer prognosis. Head and neck cancer, ranking as the seventh most prevalent cancer, exhibits numerous abnormalities in lipid metabolism. Nevertheless, the precise role of lipid metabolic rewiring in head and neck cancer remains unclear. In line with the LIPID MAPS Lipid Classification System and cancer risk factors, the present review delves into the dysregulated molecules and pathways participating in the process of lipid uptake, biosynthesis, transportation, and catabolism. We also present an overview of the latest advancements in understanding alterations in lipid metabolism and how they intersect with the carcinogenesis, development, treatment, and prognosis of head and neck cancer. By shedding light on the significance of metabolic therapy, we aspire to improve the overall prognosis and treatment outcomes of head and neck cancer patients.

Plasma metabolomics of oral squamous cell carcinomas based on NMR and MS approaches provides biomarker identification and survival prediction

Metabolomics has proven to be an important omics approach to understand the molecular pathways underlying the tumour phenotype and to identify new clinically useful markers. The literature on cancer has illustrated the potential of this approach as a diagnostic and prognostic tool. The present study aimed to analyse the plasma metabolic profile of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls and to compare patients with metastatic and primary tumours at different stages and subsites using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. To our knowledge, this is the only report that compared patients at different stages and subsites and replicates collected in diverse institutions at different times using these methodologies. Our results showed a plasma metabolic OSCC profile suggestive of abnormal ketogenesis, lipogenesis and energy metabolism, which is already present in early phases but is more evident in advanced stages of the disease. Reduced levels of several metabolites were also associated with an unfavorable prognosis. The observed metabolomic alterations may contribute to inflammation, immune response inhibition and tumour growth, and may be explained by four nonexclusive views-differential synthesis, uptake, release, and degradation of metabolites. The interpretation that assimilates these views is the cross talk between neoplastic and normal cells in the tumour microenvironment or in more distant anatomical sites, connected by biofluids, signalling molecules and vesicles. Additional population samples to evaluate the details of these molecular processes may lead to the discovery of new biomarkers and novel strategies for OSCC prevention and treatment.

A roadmap to high-resolution standard microcoil MAS NMR spectroscopy for metabolomics

Current microcoil probe technology has emerged as a significant advancement in NMR applications to biofluids research. It has continued to excel as a hyphenated tool with other prominent microdevices, opening many new possibilities in multiple omics fields. However, this does not hold for biological samples such as intact tissue or organisms, due to the considerable challenges of incorporating the microcoil in a magic-angle spinning (MAS) probe without relinquishing the high-resolution spectral data. Not until 2012 did a microcoil MAS probe show promise in profiling the metabolome in a submilligram tissue biopsy with spectral resolution on par with conventional high-resolution MAS (HR-MAS) NMR. This result subsequently triggered a great interest in the possibility of NMR analysis with microgram tissues and striving toward the probe development of "high-resolution" capable microcoil MAS NMR spectroscopy. This review gives an overview of the issues and challenges in the probe development and summarizes the advancements toward metabolomics.

Diindolylmethane Promotes Metabolic Crisis and Enhances the Efficacy of Centchroman in Breast Cancer: A 1H NMR-Based Approach

Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a key metabolite of indole-3-carbinol found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. DIM has been known for its anti-cancerous activity through various mechanisms. Most cancer cells, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), adapt distinct metabolic reprogramming for rapid growth and proliferation. Hence, targeting metabolic dysregulation may provide a favorable therapeutic condition for the treatment of TNBC. Earlier, we found that DIM increases the intracellular accumulation of Centchroman (CC), a potential anticancer agent, thereby enhancing the therapeutic potential of CC against breast cancer. However, the role of DIM in regulating TNBC cellular metabolism remains unknown. In the current study, we investigated the potential therapeutic interventions of DIM in TNBC and its metabolic reprogramming in enhancing the efficacy of CC. We found that DIM induced metabolic catastrophe in TNBC cells by regulating aerobic glycolysis and intermediate metabolism. Further, the DIM and CC combination significantly inhibited the TNBC tumor growth in the 4T1-syngeneic model. The inhibition of tumor growth was associated with the downregulation of key aerobic glycolysis mediators such as PKM2, GLUT1, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). This is a first-of-a-kind investigation linking DIM with aerobic glycolysis regulation and enhancing the treatment efficacy of CC against TNBC. Therefore, these findings suggest that DIM-based nutraceuticals and functional foods can be developed as adjuvant therapy for treating metabolically dysregulated TNBC.

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals that SPHK1 Promotes Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression through NF-κB Activation

BACKGROUND

Metabolic disorders are significant in the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. Changes of specific metabolites and metabolic pathways are molecular therapeutic targets. This study aims to determine the metabolic differences between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and paired adjacent noncancerous tissues (ANT) through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). SPHK1 is a key enzyme in sphingolipid metabolism. This study also investigates the potential role of SPHK1 in OSCC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study used LC-MS to analyze metabolic differences between OSCC tissues and paired ANT. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were applied to explain the significance of phospholipid metabolism pathways in the occurrence and development of OSCC. Through further experiments, we confirmed the oncogenic phenotypes of SPHK1 in vitro and in vivo, including proliferation, migration, and invasion.

RESULTS

The sphingolipid metabolic pathway was significantly activated in OSCC, and the key enzyme SPHK1 was significantly upregulated in oral cancer tissues, predicting poor OSCC prognosis. In this study, SPHK1 overexpression was associated with high-grade malignancy and poor OSCC prognosis. SPHK1 targeted NF-κB by facilitating p65 expression to regulate OSCC tumor progression and promote metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified metabolic differences between OSCC and paired ANT, explored the carcinogenic role of overexpressed SPHK1, and revealed the association of SPHK1 with poor OSCC prognosis. SPHK1 targets NF-κB signaling by facilitating p65 expression to regulate tumor progression and promote tumor metastasis, providing potential therapeutic targets for diagnosing and treating oral tumors.

Differentiation and prognostic stratification of acute myeloid leukemia by serum-based spectroscopy coupling with metabolic fingerprints

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by complex molecular and cytogenetic abnormalities. New approaches to predict the prognosis of AML have increasingly attracted attention. There were 98 non-M3 AML cases and 48 healthy controls were enrolled in the current work. Clinically routine assays for cytogenetic and molecular genetic analyses were performed on the bone marrow samples of patients with AML. Meanwhile, metabolic profiling of these AML subjects was also performed on the serum samples by combining Ag nanoparticle-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Although most of the routine biochemical test showed no significant differences between the M0-M2 and M5 groups, the metabolic profiles were significantly different either between AML subtypes or between prognostic risk subgroups. Specific SERS bands were screened to serve as potential markers for AML subtypes. The results demonstrated that the classification models for M0-M2 and M5 shared two bands (i.e., 1328 and 741 cm^-1 ), all came from nucleic acid signals. Furthermore, Metabolic profiles provided various differential metabolites responsible for different AML subtypes, and we found altered pathways mainly included energy metabolism like glycolysis, pyruvate metabolism, and metabolisms of nucleic acid bases as well as specific amino acid metabolisms. It is concluded that integration of SERS and NMR provides the rational and could be reliable to reveal AML differentiation, and meanwhile lay the basis for experimental and clinical practice to monitor disease progression and prognostic evaluation.

Diagnostic Value of 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and Breast Cancer

Cancer refers to a massive number of diseases distinguished by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the capability of infiltration and destroying the normal body tissue. It is critical to detect biomarkers that are early detectable and noninvasive to save millions of lives. The aim of the present work is to use NMR as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for cancer diseases. This study included 30 plasma and 21 urine samples of patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 25 plasma and 17 urine samples of patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC), and 9 plasma and urine samples obtained from healthy individuals as controls. They were prepared for NMR measurements; then, the metabolites were identified and the data were analyzed using multivariate statistical procedures. The OPLS-DA score plots clearly discriminated ALL, AML, and BC from healthy controls. Plots of the PLS-DA loadings and S-line plots showed that all metabolites in plasma were greater in BC than in the healthy controls, whereas lactate, O-acetylcarnitine, pyruvate, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), and glucose were higher in healthy controls than in ALL and AML. On the other hand, urine samples showed lower amounts of lactate, melatonin, pyruvate, and succinate in all of the studied types of cancer when compared to those of healthy controls. ¹H NMR can be a successful and noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of different types of cancer.

Acute hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity risk assessment of the Tibetan medicine 25 flavors of the turquoise pill based on 1H-NMR metabonomics

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

25 flavors of the turquoise pill, a traditional Tibetan medicine for the treatment of various types of hepatitis, has not been investigated on its safety, especially the component mineral turquoise, which is believed to be essential but worried for its potential toxicity.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To explore the potential acute toxicity and function of 25 flavors of the turquoise pill and turquoise, the possible mechanism of the effects of turquoise and 25 flavors of the turquoise pill were systematically studied based on 1H NMR metabolomics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The rats were administered with turquoise and 25 flavors of the turquoise pill by gavage for 7 days, and samples of serum, liver, and kidney were collected. The potential toxicity and function of turquoise and 25 flavors of the turquoise pill on the liver and kidney of SD rats were evaluated by 1H NMR metabonomics, histopathology, and biochemical indexes.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that 25 flavors of the turquoise pill could scavenge free oxygen radicals, strengthen aerobic respiration and inhibit glycolysis in the liver. It did not cause oxidative stress in the kidney with no obvious damage. By modulation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), 25 flavors of the turquoise pill can improve the utilization of glucose and promote aerobic respiration of the kidney.

CONCLUSION

Considering the high dosage and short duration used in this study relative to their typical clinical usage, administration of 25 flavors of the turquoise pill and its component mineral turquoise are safe to livers and kidneys.

Bioaccumulation, Metabolism and the Toxic Effects of Chlorfenapyr in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Chlorfenapyr is widely used as an insecticide/miticide. Tralopyril, the active metabolite of chlorfenapyr, is used as an antifouling biocide in antifouling systems, and negatively affects aquatic environments. However, it is unclear whether tralopyril is a metabolite of chlorfenapyr in aquatic vertebrates, and there is little data on the bioaccumulation and toxicity of chlorfenapyr to aquatic vertebrates. In this study, the bioaccumulation and elimination of chlorfenapyr in zebrafish were assessed, and tralopyril, the active metabolite of chlorfenapyr, was determined. The effects of chronic exposure to chlorfenapyr on zebrafish liver and brain oxidative damage, apoptosis, immune response, and metabolome were investigated. These results showed that chlorfenapyr has a high bioaccumulation in zebrafish, with bioaccumulation factors of 864.6 and 1321.9 after exposure to 1.0 and 10 μg/L chlorfenapyr for 21 days, respectively. Chlorfenapyr at these concentrations also rapidly accumulated in zebrafish, reaching 615.5 and 10336 μg/kg on the second and third days of exposure, respectively. Chlorfenapyr was degraded to tralopyril in zebrafish; therefore, both chlorfenapyr and tralopyril should be considered when evaluating the risk of chlorfenapyr to aquatic organisms. In addition, chronic exposure caused oxidative damage, apoptosis, and immune disorders in zebrafish liver. Chronic exposure also altered the levels of endogenous metabolites in liver and brain. After 9 days of depuration, some indicators of oxidative damage, apoptosis, and immunity returned to normal levels, but the concentration of endogenous metabolites in zebrafish liver was still altered. Overall, these results provide useful information for evaluating the toxicity and environmental fate of chlorfenapyr in aquatic vertebrates.

Phosphatidylserine-Gold Nanoparticles (PS-AuNP) Induce Prostate and Breast Cancer Cell Apoptosis

Prostate and breast cancer are the current leading causes of new cancer cases in males and females, respectively. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is an essential lipid that mediates macrophage efferocytosis and is dysregulated in tumors. Therefore, developing therapies that selectively restore PS may be a potential therapeutic approach for carcinogenesis. Among the nanomedicine strategies for delivering PS, biocompatible gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have an extensive track record in biomedical applications. In this study, we synthesized biomimetic phosphatidylserine-caped gold nanoparticles (PS-AuNPs) and tested their anticancer potential in breast and prostate cancer cells in vitro. We found that both cell lines exhibited changes in cell morphology indicative of apoptosis. After evaluating for histone-associated DNA fragments, a hallmark of apoptosis, we found significant increases in DNA fragmentation upon PS-AuNP treatment compared to the control treatment. These findings demonstrate the use of phosphatidylserine coupled with gold nanoparticles as a potential treatment for prostate and breast cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a phosphatidylserine-capped AuNP has been examined for its therapeutic potential in cancer therapy.

NMR-Based Metabolomics in Investigation of the Radiation Induced Changes in Blood Serum of Head and Neck Cancer Patients and Its Correlation with the Tissue Volumes Exposed to the Particulate Doses

In the present study, we analyze the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) blood serum metabolic profiles of 106 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients during radio (RT) and concurrent radio-chemotherapy (CHRT). Four different fractionation schemes were compared. The blood samples were collected weekly, from the day before the treatment until the last week of CHRT/RT. The NMR spectra were acquired on A Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer at 310 K and analyzed using multivariate methods. Seven metabolites were found significantly to be altered solely by radiotherapy: N-acetyl-glycoprotein (NAG), N-acetylcysteine, glycerol, glycolate and the lipids at 0.9, 1.3 and 3.2 ppm. The NMR results were correlated with the tissue volumes receiving a particular dose of radiation. The influence of the irradiated volume on the metabolic profile is weak and mainly limited to sparse correlations with the inflammatory markers, creatinine and the lymphocyte count in RT and the branched-chain amino-acids in CHRT. This is probably due to the optimal planning and delivery of radiotherapy improving sparing of the surrounding normal tissues and minimizing the differences between the patients (caused by the tumor location and size).

On-cell nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to probe cell surface interactions

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy allows determination of atomic-level information about intermolecular interactions, molecular structure, and molecular dynamics in the cellular environment. This may be broadly divided into studies focused on obtaining detailed molecular information in the intracellular context ("in-cell") or those focused on characterizing molecules or events at the cell surface ("on-cell"). In this review, we outline some key NMR techniques applied for on-cell NMR studies through both solution-state and solid-state NMR and survey studies that have used these techniques to uncover key information. We particularly focus on application of on-cell NMR spectroscopy to characterize ligand interactions with cell surface membrane proteins such as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), receptor tyrosine kinases, etc. These techniques allow for quantification of binding affinities, competitive binding assays, delineation of portions of ligands involved in binding, ligand bound-state conformational determination, evaluation of receptor structuring and dynamics, and inference of distance constraints characteristic of the ligand-receptor bound state. Excitingly, it is possible to avoid the barriers of production and purification of membrane proteins while obtaining directly physiologically-relevant information through on-cell NMR. We also provide a briefer survey of the applicability of on-cell NMR approaches to other classes of cell surface molecule.

Tacrolimus inhibits oral carcinogenesis through cell cycle control

Tacrolimus (TAC, FK506) is a major calcineurin inhibitor and has been commonly used in treatments of patients with organ transplants and immune diseases. Moreover, tacrolimus is recommended by the treatment guidelines for oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) such as oral lichen planus (OLP). However, whether tacrolimus increases the risk of cancer remains controversial. We observed that in a 4-Nitroquinoline N-oxide (4NQO)-induced oral carcinogenesis model, tacrolimus treatment was associated with a significantly lower ratio of cancer formation (52.94% vs. 90%) and a lower proportion of Ki67 and proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) -positive cells in lesion areas (P < 0.001). Liver, kidney, and lung functions of rats and the tumor immune microenvironment of the tongue were not affected. These observations suggest that tacrolimus blocked oral carcinogenesis through epithelial cell proliferation inhibition, independent of its immunosuppressive effects. As a processing factor, tacrolimus decreased tumor formation and cell proliferation in different stages of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) progression in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, we investigated effects on the cell cycle and expression of related proteins. Tacrolimus induced G1/S phase arrest and significantly downregulated the expression of cyclinD1, cyclinE1, and c-Myc. These results suggest that tacrolimus induces G1/S phase arrest via inhibition of cyclinD1, cyclinE1, and c-Myc expression and retards oral cell carcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Thus, application of tacrolimus is a safe therapeutic strategy for treating OPMDs.

NMR-Based Metabolomics in Cancer Research

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy offers reproducible quantitative analysis and structural identification of metabolites in various complex biological samples, such as biofluids (plasma, serum, and urine), cells, tissue extracts, and even intact organs. Therefore, NMR-based metabolomics, a mainstream metabolomic platform, has been extensively applied in many research fields, including pharmacology, toxicology, pathophysiology, nutritional intervention, disease diagnosis/prognosis, and microbiology. In particular, NMR-based metabolomics has been successfully used for cancer research to investigate cancer metabolism and identify biomarker and therapeutic targets. This chapter highlights the innovations and challenges of NMR-based metabolomics platform and its applications in cancer research.

Metabolomics of Oral/Head and Neck Cancer

Oral/head and neck cancer is the sixth most common human malignancies in the world. Despite the treatment advances in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the patient survival has not been significantly improved in the past several decades. As a new methodological approach, metabolomics may help reveal the metabolic reprogramming mechanisms underlying head and neck cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis and may be used to identify metabolite biomarkers for clinical applications of the disease. In this chapter, we briefly review recent metabolomic applications in head and neck cancer.

Metabolomics: An emerging potential approach to decipher critical illnesses

Critical illnesses contribute to the maximum morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and sepsis/septic shock are the two most common acute illnesses associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Once triggered, both have an identical underlying mechanism, portrayed by inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. The diagnosis of ARDS is based on clinical findings, laboratory tests, and radiological imaging. Blood cultures remain the gold standard for the diagnosis of sepsis, with the limitation of time delay and low positive yield. A combination of biomarkers has been proposed to diagnose and prognosticate these acute disorders with strengths and limitations, but still, the gold standard has been elusive to clinicians. In this review article, we illustrate the potential of metabolomics to unravel biomarkers that can be clinically utilized as a rapid prognostic and diagnostic tool associated with specific patient populations (ARDS and sepsis/septic shock) based on the available scientific data.

Targeted toxicometabolomics of endosulfan sulfate in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) using GC-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode

Endosulfan sulfate is a major oxidative metabolite of the chlorinated insecticide endosulfan. In this study, a targeted metabolomics approach was used to investigate the toxic mechanisms of endosulfan sulfate in adult zebrafish using the multiple reaction monitoring mode of a GC-MS/MS. The LC₅₀ of endosulfan sulfate in adult zebrafish was determined and then zebrafish were exposed to endosulfan sulfate at one-tenth the LC₅₀ (0.1LC₅₀) or the LC₅₀ for 24 and 48 h. After exposure, the fish were extracted, derivatized and analyzed by GC-MS/MS for 379 metabolites to identify 170 metabolites. Three experimental groups (control, 0.1LC₅₀ and LC₅₀) were clearly separated in PLS-DA score plots. Based on the VIP, ANOVA, and fold change results, 40 metabolites were selected as biomarkers. Metabolic pathways associated with those metabolites were identified using MetaboAnalyst 4.0 as follows: aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, valine/leucine/isoleucine biosynthesis, citrate cycle, glycerolipid metabolism, and arginine/proline metabolism. Gene expression studies confirmed the activation of citrate cycle and glycerolipids metabolism. MDA levels of the exposed group significantly increased in oxidative toxicity assay tests. Such significant perturbations of important metabolites within key biochemical pathways must result in biologically hazardous effects in zebrafish.

Integrated Non-targeted and Targeted Metabolomics Uncovers Amino Acid Markers of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: It is very important to develop potential molecular associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) malignant transformation and progression. Thus, the aim of our study was to determine the amino acid metabolic characteristics of OSCC patients and test their diagnostic value.

Experimental Design: Eight pairs of matched tumor and normal samples were collected for gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) high-throughput untargeted analysis. Another 20 cases (each case including tumor and normal tissues) were also enrolled for ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS/MS) amino acid quantitative analysis. T-test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to determine candidate markers. Principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and heat map analysis were used to verify the ability of candidate markers to distinguish tumors from normal tissues.

Results: A total of 10 amino acids biomarker were selected as OSCC candidate diagnostic biomarkers by GC-MS high-throughput untargeted metabolomics analyses [area under the curve (AUC) >0.80]. We further measured the specific concentration of these candidate amino acids biomarkers in another batch of 20 cases by UHPLC-MS/MS quantitative analysis. The result validated that nine amino acids had been detected, which had statistically significant difference (t-test, p < 0.05). Moreover, three of nine amino acid markers (glutamate, aspartic acid, and proline) displayed high sensitivity and specificity (AUC >0.90) by ROC curve analysis and obtained optimal sensitivity and specificity by binary logistic regression in the Glmnet package (AUC = 0.942).

Conclusions: In conclusion, a panel including three amino acids (glutamate, aspartic acid, and proline) was identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers of OSCC by a combination of non-targeted and targeted metabolomics methods.

Metabolic Biomarkers of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Aerodigestive Tract: A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment

Introduction. Aerodigestive squamous cell carcinomas (ASCC) constitute a major source of global cancer deaths. Patients typically present with advanced, incurable disease, so new means of detecting early disease are a research priority. Metabolite quantitation is amenable to point-of-care analysis and can be performed in ASCC surrogates such as breath and saliva. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarise progress of ASCC metabolomic studies, with an emphasis on the critical appraisal of methodological quality and reporting.

METHOD

A systematic online literature search was performed to identify studies reporting metabolic biomarkers of ASCC. This review was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the Cochrane Library and MOOSE guidelines.

RESULTS

Thirty studies comprising 2117 patients were included in the review. All publications represented phase-I biomarker discovery studies, and none validated their findings in an independent cohort. There was heterogeneity in study design and methodological and reporting quality. Sensitivities and specificities were higher in oesophageal and head and neck squamous cell carcinomas compared to those in lung squamous cell carcinoma. The metabolic phenotypes of these cancers were similar, as was the kinetics of metabolite groups when comparing blood, tissue, and breath/saliva concentrations. Deregulation of amino acid metabolism was the most frequently reported theme.

CONCLUSION

Metabolite analysis has shown promising diagnostic performance, especially for oesophageal and head and neck ASCC subtypes, which are phenotypically similar. However, shortcomings in study design have led to inconsistencies between studies. To support future studies and ultimately clinical adoption, these limitations are discussed.

In vitro and in vivo anti-Listeria effect of Succinoglycan Riclin through regulating MAPK/IL-6 axis and metabolic profiling

Infectious diseases such as Listeria monocytogenes infection pose a great threat to the health of human beings and the development of livestock and poultry farming. Currently the treatment of Listeria infection mainly relies on antibiotics, which may result in excessive antibiotic residues in livestock and poultry products, as well as causing an increase in the occurrence of zoonotic diseases. Here, we demonstrate that Succinoglycan Riclin promoted the clearance of Listeria in the in vitro and in vivo infection model. The expression and secretion of inflammatory cytokines including IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly increased after Riclin treatment upon infection. The protective effect of Riclin was mainly through activating MAPK/IL-6 axis. HO-1/IL-1β signaling pathway was less important in this process. Moreover, Riclin caused significant metabolic changes including pathways involved in glycolysis, protein synthesis and oxidative stress during Listeria infection. These results suggest a potential use of Succinoglycan Riclin as non-antibiotic preventive and therapeutic anti-microbial agent in livestock and poultry farming and human diseases.

Responses in the crucian carp (Carassius auratus) exposed to environmentally relevant concentration of 17α-Ethinylestradiol based on metabolomics

17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), a ubiquitous synthetic endocrine disrupting chemical, was the principal component of contraceptive drugs and one of common hormone medications. The detrimental impact of EE2 on the reproduction of organisms was widely recognized. However, the underlying mechanisms of physiological and metabolome effects of EE2 on freshwater fish are still unclear. This study investigated the toxic effects and related mechanisms of EE2 on freshwater fish crucian carp (Carassius auratus) based on metabolomics. Crucian carp were exposed to EE2 at environmentally relevant concentration for 9 days, 18 days, and 27 days, and the biological responses were explored through analysis of the physiological endpoints, steroid hormones, and metabolome. The physiological endpoints of crucian carp had no distinct change after EE2 exposure. However, metabolomics analysis probed significant deviation based on chemometrics, indicating that the metabolomics approach was more sensitive to the effects of EE2 at environmentally relevant concentration to freshwater fish than the traditional endpoints. The alterations of 24 metabolites in gonad and 16 metabolites in kidney were induced by treatment with EE2, respectively, which suggesting the perturbations in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, and oxidative stress. Moreover, EE2 exposure could induce the disruption of lipid metabolism and then broke the homeostasis of endogenous steroid hormones. Metabolomics provided a new strategy for the studies on contaminant exposure at a low dose in the short term and gave important information for the toxicology and mechanism of EE2.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics for cancer research

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has emerged as an effective tool in various spheres of biomedical research, amongst which metabolomics is an important method for the study of various types of disease. Metabolomics has proved its stronghold in cancer research by the development of different NMR methods over time for the study of metabolites, thus identifying key players in the aetiology of cancer. A plethora of one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR experiments (in solids, semi-solids and solution phases) are utilized to obtain metabolic profiles of biofluids, cell extracts and tissue biopsy samples, which can further be subjected to statistical analysis. Any alteration in the assigned metabolite peaks gives an indication of changes in metabolic pathways. These defined changes demonstrate the utility of NMR in the early diagnosis of cancer and provide further measures to combat malignancy and its progression. This review provides a snapshot of the trending NMR techniques and the statistical analysis involved in the metabolomics of diseases, with emphasis on advances in NMR methodology developed for cancer research.

1 H NMR-based metabolomics reveal overlapping discriminatory metabolites and metabolic pathway disturbances between colorectal tumor tissues and fecal samples

Previous studies have compared fecal metabolites from healthy and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to predict the pro-CRC signatures. However, the systemic mechanistic link between feces and colonic tissues of CRC patients is still limited. The current study was a paralleled investigation of colonic tumor tissues and their normal adjacent tissues alongside patient-matched feces by using ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with pattern recognition to investigate how fecal metabolic phenotypes are linked to the changes in colorectal tumor profiles. A set of overlapping discriminatory metabolites across feces and tumor tissues of CRC were identified, including elevated levels of lactate, glutamate, alanine, succinate and reduced amounts of butyrate. These changes could indicate the networks for metabolic pathway perturbations in CRC potentially involved in the disruptions of glucose and glycolytic metabolism, TCA cycle, glutaminolysis, and short chain fatty acids metabolism. Furthermore, changes in fecal acetate were positively correlated with alterations of glucose and myo-inositol in colorectal tumor tissues, implying enhanced energy production for rapid cell proliferation. Compared to other fecal metabolites, acetate demonstrated the highest diagnostic performance for diagnosing CRC, with an AUC of 0.843 in the training set, and a good predictive ability in the validation set. Overall, these associations provide evidence of distinct metabolic signatures and metabolic pathway disturbances between the colonic tissues and feces within the same individual, and changes of fecal metabolic signature could reflect the CRC tissue microenvironment, highlighting the significance of the distinct fecal metabolic profiles as potential novel and noninvasive relevant indicators for CRC detection.

The effects of hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers on metabolic profile following exposure to zebrafish (Danio rerio) as well as the histopathological changes

Hexaconazole and epoxiconazole are the worldwidely used fungicides. However, limited information is known about the toxicological effects of their enantiomers on aquatic organisms. In this study, zebrafish were separately exposed to 100 and 1000 μgL^-1 hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers for 21 d ¹H NMR-based metabolomics analysis showed that the exposure of low and high dose of hexaconazole enantiomers altered energy metabolism, lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism of zebrafish, with the different metabolic profiles resulted from the same dose of (+)-hexaconazole and (-)-hexaconazole. Similar to hexaconazole enantiomers, the metabolic profiles, including the changes related to energy metabolism, lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism, were demonstrated in low and high dose epoxiconazole enantiomers treatment groups. There are differences in the metabolic profiles of zebrafish between exposed to (+)-epoxiconazole and (-)-epoxiconazole of the same dose. The results of histological examination revealed that the exposure of both enantiomers for hexaconazole and epoxiconazole resulted in the similar histopathological changes. The exposure of hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers at low and high dose resulted the vacuolization and swell in the liver of the female and male zebrafish. Compared to female zebrafish, more liver damage was found in male zebrafish in the hexaconazole enantiomers exposure groups. The reduction of spermatids was observed in hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers treatment groups of both doses. Hexaconazole enantiomers exposure of low and high dose resulted the increase in the number of mature eggs, while such effect was not observed in epoxiconazole enantiomers exposure groups. Hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers exposure resulted in no changes in brains of female and male zebrafish. As a result, both triazole-based chiral bactericides, hexaconazole and epoxiconazole, have similar toxicological effects but their mechanisms of action are not exactly the same. The above results will play an important part in making the differences in toxic effects of hexaconazole and epoxiconazole enantiomers clear. What's more, it is an indispensable part for an integrated environmental risk assessment.

Metabolic characteristics revealing cell differentiation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by combining NMR spectroscopy with Raman spectroscopy

Background

The staging system of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has close relationship with the degree of cell differentiation, but most NPC patients remain undiagnosed until advanced phases. Novel metabolic markers need to be characterized to support diagnose at an early stage.

Methods

Metabolic characteristics of nasopharyngeal normal cell NP69 and two types of NPC cells, including CNE1 and CNE2 associated with high and low differentiation degrees were studied by combining ¹H NMR spectroscopy with Raman spectroscopy. Statistical methods were also utilized to determine potential characteristic metabolites for monitoring differentiation progression.

Results

Metabolic profiles of NPC cells were significantly different according to differentiation degrees. Various characteristic metabolites responsible for different differentiated NPC cells were identified, and then disordered metabolic pathways were combed according to these metabolites. We found disordered pathways mainly included amino acids metabolisms like essential amino acids metabolisms, as well as altered lipid metabolism and TCA cycle, and abnormal energy metabolism. Thus our results provide evidence about close relationship between differentiation degrees of NPC cells and the levels of intracellular metabolites. Moreover, Raman spectrum analysis also provided complementary and confirmatory information about intracellular components in single living cells. Eight pathways were verified to that in NMR analysis, including amino acids metabolisms, inositol phosphate metabolism, and purine metabolism.

Conclusions

Methodology of NMR-based metabolomics combining with Raman spectroscopy could be powerful and straightforward to reveal cell differentiation development and meanwhile lay the basis for experimental and clinical practice to monitor disease progression and therapeutic evaluation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-019-0759-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Metabolomics study of oral cancers

BACKGROUND

Oral cancer is one of the most frequently occurring cancers. Metabolic reprogramming is an important hallmark of cancer. Metabolomics characterizes all the small molecules in a biological sample, and a complete set of small molecules in such sample is referred as metabolome. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry are two widely used techniques in metabolomics studies. Increasing evidence demonstrates that metabolomics techniques can be used to explore the metabolic signatures in oral cancer. Elucidation of metabolic alterations in oral cancer is also important for the understanding of its pathological mechanisms.

AIM OF REVIEW

In this paper, we summarize the latest progress of metabolomics study in oral cancer and provide the suggestions for the future studies.

KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW

The metabolomics studies in saliva, serum, and tumor tissues revealed the existence of metabolic signatures in bio-fluids and tissues of oral cancer, and several tumor-specific metabolites identified in individual study could discriminate oral cancer from healthy controls or precancerous lesions, which are potential biomarkers for the screening or early diagnosis of oral cancer. Metabolomics study of oral cancers in the future should aim to establish a routine procedure with high sensitivity, profile intracellular metabolites to find out the metabolic characteristics of tumor cells, and investigate the mechanism behind metabolomic alterations and the metabolic response of cancer cells to chemotherapy.

Metabolomic profiling of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to the antibacterial agent triclosan

Triclosan, a widely used antibacterial and antifungal agent, is ubiquitously detected in the natural environment. There is increasing evidence that triclosan can produce cytotoxic, genotoxic, and endocrine disruptor effects in aquatic biota, including algae, crustaceans, and fish. Metabolomics can provide important information regarding molecular-level effects and toxicity of xenobiotic chemicals in aquatic organisms. The aim of the present study was to assess the toxicity of triclosan in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics. The embryos were exposed to a wide range of triclosan concentrations (10 ng/L-500 µg/L). Endogenous metabolites were extracted using acetonitrile:isopropanol:water (3:3:2, v/v/v). Derivatization of metabolites was performed prior to identification and quantification via GC-MS analysis. A total of 29 metabolites were positively identified in embryos. Univariate (one-way analysis of variance) and multivariate (principal components analysis and projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis) analyses were employed to determine metabolic profile changes in triclosan-exposed embryos. Eight metabolites were significantly altered (p < 0.05) in embryos exposed to triclosan (urea, citric acid, D-(+)-galactose, D-glucose, stearic acid, L-proline, phenylalanine, and L-glutamic acid). The results suggest that triclosan exposure can result in impairment of several pathways in developing zebrafish embryos, with implications for energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism, as well as nitrogen metabolism and gill function. These findings will benefit future risk assessments of triclosan and other contaminants of emerging concern. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:240-249. © 2018 SETAC.

Revealing Different Lung Metastatic Potentials Induced Metabolic Alterations of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes death mainly by disseminated metastasis progression and major challenge of clinical management is to distinguish lethal metastatic stage from indolent stage. It is shown that metastatic progression is closely related to cellular metabolism. But detailed metabolic alterations and molecular mechanisms still kept unclear between subtypes of different lung metastatic potentials. Methods: The current work used NMR-based metabolomics in the study of HCC cells with high malignancy but differed in lung metastatic potentials. Cell extracts and cultured media from MHCC97L and MHCC97H were utilized to reveal metabolic alterations related to metastatic potentials. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify characteristic metabolites which were used subsequently to draw the map of relative biochemical pathways by combining KEGG database. Results: The NMR spectra of both MHCC97L and MHCC97H include various signals from necessary nutritional components and metabolic intermediates. A series of characteristic metabolites were determined from both cell extracts and media. The ability on nutrient uptake varied from cell lines. Most of amino acids decreased in high metastatic cell line, so altered amino acid metabolisms and energy metabolism were revealed in high metastatic MHCC97H cell line. The majority pathways involved six essential amino acids in which the observed branched-chain amino acids together with lysine contributed to biosynthesis or degradation. Basically MHCC97H cell line could induce more active events than that of MHCC97L to progress to high metastasis with certain molecular events. Characteristic metabolites-derived classifiers performed robustly during prediction and confirmed their critical role in supporting metastasis progression. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence that NMR-metabolomics analyses of cells are able to understand metastatic characteristics accountable for biological properties. The proposed characteristic metabolites will help to understand HCC metastatic characterizations and may be filtered as potential biomarkers.

Plasma metabolite profiling and chemometric analyses of tobacco snuff dippers and patients with oral cancer: Relationship between metabolic signatures

BACKGROUND

Cancer of oral cavity is a seriously growing problem in many parts of the world. In Indian subcontinent, most of these cases have been attributed to the use of tobacco-related products. This study is focused on the identification of distinguishing metabolites of oral cancer in comparison with tobacco snuff dippers and healthy controls.

METHODS

A total of 234 plasma samples including 62 healthy controls, 81 tobacco snuff dippers, and 91 oral cancer samples were analyzed using mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine of 3326 metabolites were found to distinguish among oral cancer, tobacco snuff dippers, and healthy controls using P-value ≤.001 and fold change ≥3. Prediction model was generated with an overall accuracy of 89.3%. Two metabolites, that is, stearyl alcohol and sucrose, can be used as predictive biomarkers showing progression of tobacco snuff dippers toward oral cancer.

CONCLUSION

The unique metabolite profile gives evidence of a strong correlation between tobacco snuff dipping and oral cancer.

Propranolol Promotes Glucose Dependence and Synergizes with Dichloroacetate for Anti-Cancer Activity in HNSCC

Tumor cell metabolism differs from that of normal cells, conferring tumors with metabolic advantages but affording opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Accordingly, metabolism-targeting therapies have shown promise. However, drugs targeting singular metabolic pathways display limited efficacy, in part due to the tumor’s ability to compensate by using other metabolic pathways to meet energy and growth demands. Thus, it is critical to identify novel combinations of metabolism-targeting drugs to improve therapeutic efficacy in the face of compensatory cellular response mechanisms. Our lab has previously identified that the anti-cancer activity of propranolol, a non-selective beta-blocker, is associated with inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In response to propranolol, however, HNSCC exhibits heightened glycolytic activity, which may limit the effectiveness of propranolol as a single agent. Thus, we hypothesized that propranolol’s metabolic effects promote a state of enhanced glucose dependence, and that propranolol together with glycolytic inhibition would provide a highly effective therapeutic combination in HNSCC. Here, we show that glucose deprivation synergizes with propranolol for anti-cancer activity, and that the rational combination of propranolol and dichloroacetate (DCA), a clinically available glycolytic inhibitor, dramatically attenuates tumor cell metabolism and mTOR signaling, inhibits proliferation and colony formation, and induces apoptosis. This therapeutic combination displays efficacy in both human papillomavirus-positive (HPV(+)) and HPV(−) HNSCC cell lines, as well as a recurrent/metastatic model, while leaving normal tonsil epithelial cells relatively unaffected. Importantly, the combination significantly delays tumor growth in vivo with no evidence of toxicity. Additionally, the combination of propranolol and DCA enhances the effects of chemoradiation and sensitizes resistant cells to cisplatin and radiation. This novel therapeutic combination represents a promising treatment strategy which may overcome some of the limitations of targeting individual metabolic pathways in cancer.

Delineating metabolic dysfunction in cellular metabolism of oral submucous fibrosis using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

OBJECTIVE

To delineate the metabolism involved in oral submucous fibrosis progression towards carcinogenesis by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

METHODS

The proposed study was designed using ¹H-NMR by comparing the metabolites in the serum sample of oral submucous fibrosis (n = 20) compared to the normal group (n = 20) using ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Various statistical analysis like multivariate statistical analysis, Principle component analysis, Partial least squares Discriminant Analysis, Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to analyze potential serum metabolites.

RESULTS

The results generated from the principle component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis are sufficient to distinguish between oral submucous fibrosis group and normal group. A total of 15 significant metabolites associated with main pathways were identified, which correlated with the progression of cancer. Up-regulation of glucose metabolism-related metabolites indicated the high energy demand due to enhanced cell division rate in the oral submucous fibrosis group. A significant increase in lipid metabolism-related metabolites revealed the reprogramming of the fatty acids metabolic pathway to fulfilling the need for cell membrane formation in cancer cells. On the other hand, metabolites related to choline phosphocholine, the metabolic pathway was also altered.

CONCLUSION

Our findings could identify the differentiating metabolites in the oral submucous fibrosis group. Significant alteration in metabolites in the oral submucous fibrosis group exhibited deregulation in metabolic events. The findings reported in the study can be beneficial to further explain the molecular aspects that lead to the progression of oral submucous fibrosis towards carcinogenesis.

High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning NMR-Based Metabolomics Revealing Metabolic Changes in Lung of Mice Infected with P. aeruginosa Consistent with the Degree of Disease Severity

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a critical pathogen for human health, due to increased resistances to antibiotics and to nosocomial infections. There is an urgent need for tools allowing for better understanding mechanisms underlying the disease processes and for evaluating new therapeutic strategies with animal models. Here, we used a novel approach, applying high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HRMAS NMR) directly to lung biopsies of mice to better understand the impact of infection on the tissue at a molecular level. Mice were infected with two P. aeruginosa strains of different virulence levels. Statistical analysis applied to HRMAS NMR data allowed us to build a multivariate discriminant model to distinguish the lungs' metabolic profiles of mice, infected or not. Moreover, a second model was built to appreciate the degree of severity of infection, demonstrating sufficient sensitivity of HRMAS NMR-based metabolomics to investigate this type of infection. The metabolic features that discriminate infection statuses are dominated by some key differentially expressed metabolites that are related, respectively, to bacterial carbon metabolism (glycerophosphocholine) and to septic hypoxic stress response of host (succinate). Finally, to get closer to clinical and diagnosis issues, we proposed to build simple logistic regression models to predict the infection status on the basis of only one metabolite intensity. Thus, we have demonstrated that succinate intensity could discriminate the infected/noninfected status infection with a sensibility of 89% and a specificity of 95%, and leucine/isoleucine intensity could predict the severe/not severe status of infection with a sensibility of 100% and a specificity of 95%. We also looked for the interest of this model in order to predict the efficacy of anti- P. aeruginosa treatment. By HRMAS metabolomics analysis of lungs infected with P. aeruginosa after vaccination, we demonstrated that this model could be a useful tool to predict the efficacy of new anti- P. aeruginosa drugs. This metabolomics approach could therefore be useful both for the definition of biomarkers of severity of infection and for an earlier characterization of therapeutic efficacy.

N-terminal phosphorylation of glutaminase C decreases its enzymatic activity and cancer cell migration

The mitochondrial phosphate-activated glutaminase C (GAC) is produced by the alternative splicing of the GLS gene. Compared to the other GLS isoform, the kidney-type glutaminase (KGA), GAC is more enzymatically efficient and of particular importance for cancer cell growth. Although its catalytic mechanism is well understood, little is known about how post-translational modifications can impact GAC function. Here, we identified by mass spectrometry a phosphorylated serine at the GLS N-terminal domain (at position 95) and investigated its role on regulating GAC activity. The ectopic expression of the phosphomimetic mutant (GAC.S95D) in breast cancer cells, compared to wild-type GAC (GAC.WT), led to decreased glutaminase activity, glutamine uptake, glutamate release and intracellular glutamate levels, without changing GAC sub-cellular localization. Interestingly, cells expressing the GAC.S95D mutant, compared to GAC.WT, presented decreased migration and vimentin level, an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition marker. These results reveal that GAC is post-translationally regulated by phosphorylation, which affects cellular glutamine metabolism and glutaminase-related cell phenotype.

Metabolic signature of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: Consequences of TP53 mutation and therapeutic perspectives

There is a pressing need to identify ways of sensitising squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN) to the effects of current treatments, both from oncological and functional perspectives. Alteration to cellular metabolism is now widely considered a hallmark of the cancer phenotype; presents a potentially attractive therapeutic target in this regard; and as such has received renewed research interest in recent years. However, whilst metabolic disruption may occur to some degree in all tumours, there is undoubtedly heterogeneity and detailed study of individual tumour types is paramount if effective therapeutic strategies targeting metabolism are to be developed and effectively deployed. In this review we outline current understanding of altered tumour metabolism and how these adaptations promote tumorigenesis generally. We relate this specifically to SCCHN by focusing on several recent key studies specific to SCCHN, and by discussing the role TP53 mutation may play in this metabolic switch, given the fundamental role of this oncogenic event in SCCHN tumorigenesis. Finally, we also offer insight into the potential therapeutic implications this may have in the clinical setting and make recommendations for future study.

Predictive value of 1H MR spectroscopy and 18F-FDG PET/CT for local control of advanced oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma receiving chemoradiotherapy: a prospective study

Purpose

To determine whether pretreatment in vivo 1H magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy at 3 Tesla (T) and 18F-FDG PET/CT can offer predictive power regarding the local control of oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OHSCC) patients.

Materials and Methods

¹H MR spectroscopy was performed in addition to conventional MR imaging before definitive chemoradiotherapy in 58 patients with advanced OHSCC. The relationship of local control with the ¹H MR spectroscopy and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT parameters was analyzed.

Results

With a median follow-up of 17.6 months, 13 (22.4%) patients exhibited local failure; whereas the remaining 45 achieved local control. Kaplan-Meier analysis identified age > 60 years, creatine level on MRS ≦ 6.02 mM, glutamine and glutamate (Glx) level on MRS > 3.31 mM, and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT > 217.18 g/mL × mL as significant adverse predictors for 2-year local control. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (p=0.017), Glx level on MRS (p=0.021), and TLG on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT (p=0.028) retained their independent prognostic significance. A scoring system was constructed based on the sum of these three factors. We found that patients with scores of 2-3 had significantly poorer local control rates than patients with scores of 0-1 (33.3% versus 86.8%, p=0.003).

Conclusion

We conclude that Glx on ¹H MR spectroscopy at 3 T was the independent prognostic factor for local control of OHSCC patients treated with chemoradiotherapy, and its combination with age and TLG may help identify a subgroup of patients at high risk for developing local failure.

"Omics" in oral cancer: New approaches for biomarker discovery

OBJECTIVES

In this review paper, we explored the application of "omics" approaches in the study of oral cancer (OC). It will provide a better understanding of how "omics" approaches may lead to novel biomarker molecules or molecular signatures with potential value in clinical practice. A future direction of "omics"-driven research in OC is also discussed.

METHODS

Studies on "omics"-based approaches [genomics/proteomics/transcriptomics/metabolomics] were investigated for differentiating oral squamous cell carcinoma,oral sub-mucous fibrosis, oral leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, oral erythroplakia from normal cases. Electronic databases viz., PubMed, Springer, and Google Scholar were searched.

RESULTS

One eighty-one studies were included in this review. The review shows that the fields of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics-based marker identification have implemented advanced tools to screen early changes in DNA, RNA, protein, and metabolite expression in OC population.

CONCLUSIONS

It may be concluded that despite advances in OC therapy, symptomatic presentation occurs at an advanced stage, where various curative treatment options become very limited. A molecular level study is essential for detecting an OC biomarker at an early stage. Modern "Omics" strategies can potentially make a major contribution to meet this need.

Enantioselective bioaccumulation following exposure of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) to epoxiconazole and its effects on metabolomic profile as well as genes expression

Although epoxiconazole is the worldwidely used fungicide, limited information is known about its toxic effects and bioaccumulation behavior in freshwater ecosystems. In this study, zebrafish were exposed to epoxiconazole at concentrations of 100 and 1000 μg L^-1 for 21 d. ¹H NMR-based metabolomics analysis showed that low- and high-dose epoxiconazole exposure resulted in two similar but not identical patterns for the change of endogenous metabolites related to energy, lipid and amino acid metabolism. The expression of genes associated with mitochondrial respiratory chain, ATP synthesis and fatty acid β-oxidation were further measured to explore the reason for the disturbed energy metabolism, finding epoxiconazole had an inhibition effect on the genes expression of the above ways. Significant enantioselectivity was observed with (+)-epoxiconazole enrichment in the bioaccumulation process. These results will be of great importance in understanding the toxic effects induced by epoxiconazole and provide important basis for its comprehensive environmental assessment.

Influence of sublethal doses of acetamiprid and halosulfuron-methyl on metabolites of zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio)

Acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid pesticide, is reported to have adverse sublethal effects on non-target beneficial organisms. Halosulfuron-methyl (HM), one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture, has high ecotoxicity to aquatic plants and animals. In this study, a GC-MS-based metabolomics approach was used to investigate the toxicity of acetamiprid and HM. The Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System (AMDIS) software program and the retention index method were used to identify 51 metabolites in zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio). Changes in metabolites showed that acetamiprid and HM disturbed amino acid (e.g., leucine, valine, serine, glycine, proline, and alanine) metabolism, the TCA cycle (malic acid and fumaric acid), and the balance of neurotransmitters (glutamic acid, taurine, and glycine). The change in metabolites in the liver, head, and blood indicated that metabolites in the liver were more sensitive than those in the head and blood. Overall, on the basis of the change in metabolites, we identified a potential risk to zebra fish exposed to sublethal doses of acetamiprid and/or HM.

Short overview on metabolomics approach to study pathophysiology of oxidative stress in cancer

Association of oxidative stress with carcinogenesis is well known, but not understood well, as is pathophysiology of oxidative stress generated during different types of anti-cancer treatments. Moreover, recent findings indicate that cancer associated lipid peroxidation might eventually help defending adjacent nonmalignant cells from cancer invasion. Therefore, untargeted metabolomics studies designed for advanced translational and clinical studies are needed to understand the existing paradoxes in oncology, including those related to controversial usage of antioxidants aiming to prevent or treat cancer. In this short review we have tried to put emphasis on the importance of pathophysiology of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in cancer development in relation to metabolic adaptation of particular types of cancer allowing us to conclude that adaptation to oxidative stress is one of the main driving forces of cancer pathophysiology. With the help of metabolomics many novel findings are being achieved thus encouraging further scientific breakthroughs. Combined with targeted qualitative and quantitative methods, especially immunochemistry, further research might reveal bio-signatures of individual patients and respective malignant diseases, leading to individualized treatment approach, according to the concepts of modern integrative medicine.

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Metabolism Draws on Glutaminolysis, and Stemness Is Specifically Regulated by Glutaminolysis via Aldehyde Dehydrogenase

Cancer cells use alternate energetic pathways; however, cancer stem cell (CSC) metabolic energetic pathways are unknown. The purpose of this study was to define the metabolic characteristics of head and neck cancer at different points of its pathogenesis with a focus on its CSC compartment. UPLC-MS/MS-profiling and GC-MS-validation studies of human head and neck cancer tissue, saliva, and plasma were used in conjunction with in vitro and in vivo models to carry out this investigation. We identified metabolite biomarker panels that distinguish head and neck cancer from healthy controls, and confirmed involvement of glutamate and glutaminolysis. Glutaminase, which catalyzes glutamate formation from glutamine, and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), a stemness marker, were highly expressed in primary and metastatic head and neck cancer tissues, tumorspheres, and CSC versus controls. Exogenous glutamine induced stemness via glutaminase, whereas inhibiting glutaminase suppressed stemness in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo. Head and neck CSC (CD44hi/ALDHhi) exhibited higher glutaminase, glutamate, and sphere levels than CD44lo/ALDHlo cells. Glutaminase drove transcriptional and translational ALDH expression, and glutamine directed even CD44lo/ALDHlo cells toward stemness. Glutaminolysis regulates tumorigenesis and CSC metabolism via ALDH. These findings indicate that glutamate is an important marker of cancer metabolism whose regulation via glutaminase works in concert with ALDH to mediate cancer stemness. Future analyses of glutaminolytic-ALDH driven mechanisms underlying tumorigenic transitions may help in the development of targeted therapies for head and neck cancer and its CSC compartment.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technique in tumor metabolism

Cancer is one of the most serious diseases that cause an enormous number of deaths all over the world. Tumor metabolism has great discrimination from that of normal tissues. Exploring the tumor metabolism may be one of the best ways to find biomarkers for cancer detection, diagnosis and to provide novel insights into internal physiological state where subtle changes may happen in metabolite concentrations. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technique nowadays is a popular tool to analyze cell extracts, tissues and biological fluids, etc, since it is a relatively fast and an accurate technique to supply abundant biochemical information at molecular levels for tumor research. In this review, approaches in tumor metabolism are discussed, including sample collection, data profiling and multivariate data analysis methods etc. Some typical applications of NMR are also summarized in tumor metabolism.

1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) after exposure to diniconazole as well as its bioaccumulation behavior

As a systemic triazole fungicide, limited information is known about diniconazole. In this study, toxicological effects and bioaccumulation behavior of diniconazole in zebrafish were both evaluated to perform an overall assessment of its environmental risk towards aquatic organisms. The ¹H NMR-based metabolomics analysis revealed that 70 μg L^-1 diniconazole exposure increased valine, leucine, isoleucine, alanine, lactate and choline, accompanied by decreased glucose, creatine and taurine, in comparison to the control. In the exposure group of 300 μg L^-1 diniconazole, only down-regulated glucose and creatine were observed. The above results indicated that diniconazole disturbed energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism. Histological examination showed that the swell and vacuolization in the liver, as well as the reduction of spermatids in the diniconazole exposure groups. No enantioselectivity was observed in the bioaccumulation process of both 70 and 300 μg L^-1 diniconazole exposure groups. The above results play a vital role for a comprehensive environmental assessment of diniconazole.

Serum Metabolomics of Burkitt Lymphoma Mouse Models

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare and highly aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The mortality rate of BL patients is very high due to the rapid growth rate and frequent systemic spread of the disease. A better understanding of the pathogenesis, more sensitive diagnostic tools and effective treatment methods for BL are essential. Metabolomics, an important aspect of systems biology, allows the comprehensive analysis of global, dynamic and endogenous biological metabolites based on their nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). It has already been used to investigate the pathogenesis and discover new biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. In this study, we analyzed differences of serum metabolites in BL mice and normal mice by NMR-based metabolomics. We found that metabolites associated with energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and choline phospholipid metabolism were altered in BL mice. The diagnostic potential of the metabolite differences was investigated in this study. Glutamate, glycerol and choline had a high diagnostic accuracy; in contrast, isoleucine, leucine, pyruvate, lysine, α-ketoglutarate, betaine, glycine, creatine, serine, lactate, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine and formate enabled the accurate differentiation of BL mice from normal mice. The discovery of abnormal metabolism and relevant differential metabolites may provide useful clues for developing novel, noninvasive approaches for the diagnosis and prognosis of BL based on these potential biomarkers.

Salecan protected against concanavalin A-induced acute liver injury by modulating T cell immune responses and NMR-based metabolic profiles

Salecan, a water-soluble extracellular β-glucan produced by Agrobacterium sp. ZX09, has been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological effects. The aims of the present study were to investigate the protective effect of salecan against Concanavalin A (ConA)-induced hepatitis, a well-established animal model of immune-mediated liver injury, and to search for possible mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with salecan followed by ConA injection. Salecan treatment significantly reduced ConA-induced acute liver injury, and suppressed the expression and secretion of inflammatory cytokines including interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β in ConA-induced liver injury model. The high expression levels of chemokines and adhesion molecules such as MIP-1α, MIP-1β, ICAM-1, MCP-1 and RANTES in the liver induced by ConA were also down-regulated after salecan treatment. Salecan inhibited the infiltration and activation of inflammatory cells, especially T cells, in the liver induced by ConA. Moreover, salecan reversed the metabolic profiles of ConA-treated mice towards the control group by partly recovering the metabolic perturbations induced by ConA. Our results suggest the preventive and therapeutic potential of salecan in immune-mediated hepatitis.