Cell-specific expression of the transcriptional regulator RHAMM provides a timing mechanism that controls appropriate wound re-epithelialization

Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility Receptor (HMMR) Overexpression Is Correlated with Poor Survival in Patients with B-ALL

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant neoplasm with the highest incidence in the pediatric population. Although the 5-year overall survival is greater than 85%, in emerging countries such as Mexico, the mortality rate is high. In Mexico, B-ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer; different characteristics suggest the presence of the disease; however, the prognosis is dependent on clinical and laboratory features, and no adverse prognostic molecular marker for B-ALL has yet been identified. The present research aimed to identify the prognostic value of HMMR expression in pediatric patients with B-ALL. The differential expression profile of B-ALL cells was determined via in silico analysis, and HMMR expression was subsequently measured via qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The results were statistically analyzed via the ROUT test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z test, and Mann-Whitney U test. ROC curves and the Youden index were constructed, and Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted. We found that HMMR expression was increased in B-ALL patients (p < 0.0001). We observed that high expression was related to poor prognosis (p < 0.05). We observed that high expression was related to poor prognosis (p < 0.05). The increase in HMMR expression could be a potential early molecular prognostic marker and/or a new target in childhood B-ALL patients.

Topical hADSCs-HA Gel Promotes Skin Regeneration and Angiogenesis in Pressure Ulcers by Paracrine Activating PPARβ/δ Pathway

Background

Pressure ulcer is common in the bedridden elderly with high mortality and lack of effective treatment. In this study, human-adipose-derived-stem-cells-hyaluronic acid gel (hADSCs-HA gel) was developed and applied topically to treat pressure ulcers, of which efficacy and paracrine mechanisms were investigated through in vivo and in vitro experiments.

Methods

Pressure ulcers were established on the backs of C57BL/6 mice and treated topically with hADSCs-HA gel, hADSCs, hyaluronic acid, and normal saline respectively. The rate of wound closure was observed continuously during the following 14 days and the wound samples were obtained for Western blot, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and proteomic analysis. Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and human venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) under normal or hypoxic conditions were treated with conditioned medium of human ADSCs (ADSC-CM), then CCK-8, scratch test, tube formation, and Western blot were conducted to evaluate the paracrine effects of hADSCs and to explore the underlying mechanism.

Results

The in vivo data demonstrated that hADSCs-HA gel significantly accelerated the healing of pressure ulcers by enhancing collagen expression, angiogenesis, and skin proliferation. The in vitro data revealed that hADSCs strengthened the proliferation and wound healing capabilities of HDFs and HUVECs, meanwhile promoted collagen secretion and tube formation through paracrine mode. ADSC-CM was also proved to exert protective effects on hypoxic HDFs and HUVECs. Besides, the results of proteomic analysis and Western blot elucidated that lipid metabolism and PPARβ/δ pathway mediated the healing effect of hADSCs-HA gel on pressure ulcers.

Conclusion

Our research showed that topical application of hADSCs-HA gel played an important role in dermal regeneration and angiogenesis. Therefore, hADSCs-HA gel exhibited the potential as a novel stem-cell-based therapeutic strategy of treating pressure ulcers in clinical practices.

Network medicine based approach for identifying the type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and triple negative breast cancer interactome: Finding the hub of hub genes

The increasing prevalence of multi-morbidities, particularly the incidence of breast cancer in diabetic/osteoarthritic patients emphasize on the need for exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms resulting in carcinogenesis. To address this, present study employed a systems biology approach to identify switch genes pivotal to the crosstalk between diseased states resulting in multi-morbid conditions. Hub genes previously reported for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), osteoarthritis (OA), and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), were extracted from published literature and fed into an integrated bioinformatics analyses pipeline. Thirty-one hub genes common to all three diseases were identified. Functional enrichment analyses showed these were mainly enriched for immune and metabolism associated terms including advanced glycation end products (AGE) pathways, cancer pathways, particularly breast neoplasm, immune system signalling and adipose tissue. The T2DM-OA-TNBC interactome was subjected to protein-protein interaction network analyses to identify meta hub/clustered genes. These were prioritized and wired into a three disease signalling map presenting the enriched molecular crosstalk on T2DM-OA-TNBC axes to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying disease-disease interactions. Deciphering the molecular bases for the intertwined metabolic and immune states may potentiate the discovery of biomarkers critical for identifying and targeting the immuno-metabolic origin of disease.

Hyaluronic Acid Interacting Molecules Mediated Crosstalk between Cancer Cells and Microenvironment from Primary Tumour to Distant Metastasis

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a prominent component of the extracellular matrix, and its interactions with HA-interacting molecules (HAIMs) play a critical role in cancer development and disease progression. This review explores the multifaceted role of HAIMs in the context of cancer, focusing on their influence on disease progression by dissecting relevant cellular and molecular mechanisms in tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment. Cancer progression can be profoundly affected by the interactions between HA and HAIMs. They modulate critical processes such as cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and proliferation. The TME serves as a dynamic platform in which HAIMs contribute to the formation of a unique niche. The resulting changes in HA composition profoundly influence the biophysical properties of the TME. These modifications in the TME, in conjunction with HAIMs, impact angiogenesis, immune cell recruitment, and immune evasion. Therefore, understanding the intricate interplay between HAIMs and HA within the cancer context is essential for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Targeting these interactions offers promising avenues for cancer treatment, as they hold the potential to disrupt critical aspects of disease progression and the TME. Further research in this field is imperative for advancing our knowledge and the treatment of cancer.

RHAMM regulates MMTV-PyMT-induced lung metastasis by connecting STING-dependent DNA damage sensing to interferon/STAT1 pro-apoptosis signaling

BACKGROUND

RHAMM is a multifunctional protein that is upregulated in breast tumors, and the presence of strongly RHAMM+ve cancer cell subsets associates with elevated risk of peripheral metastasis. Experimentally, RHAMM impacts cell cycle progression and cell migration. However, the RHAMM functions that contribute to breast cancer metastasis are poorly understood.

METHODS

We interrogated the metastatic functions of RHAMM using a loss-of-function approach by crossing the MMTV-PyMT mouse model of breast cancer susceptibility with Rhamm-/- mice. In vitro analyses of known RHAMM functions were performed using primary tumor cell cultures and MMTV-PyMT cell lines. Somatic mutations were identified using a mouse genotyping array. RNA-seq was performed to identify transcriptome changes resulting from Rhamm-loss, and SiRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing was used to establish cause and effect of survival mechanisms in vitro.

RESULTS

Rhamm-loss does not alter initiation or growth of MMTV-PyMT-induced primary tumors but unexpectedly increases lung metastasis. Increased metastatic propensity with Rhamm-loss is not associated with obvious alterations in proliferation, epithelial plasticity, migration, invasion or genomic stability. SNV analyses identify positive selection of Rhamm-/- primary tumor clones that are enriched in lung metastases. Rhamm-/- tumor clones are characterized by an increased ability to survive with ROS-mediated DNA damage, which associates with blunted expression of interferon pathway and target genes, particularly those implicated in DNA damage-resistance. Mechanistic analyses show that ablating RHAMM expression in breast tumor cells by siRNA knockdown or CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing blunts interferon signaling activation by STING agonists and reduces STING agonist-induced apoptosis. The metastasis-specific effect of RHAMM expression-loss is linked to microenvironmental factors unique to tumor-bearing lung tissue, notably high ROS and TGFB levels. These factors promote STING-induced apoptosis of RHAMM+ve tumor cells to a significantly greater extent than RHAMM-ve comparators. As predicted by these results, colony size of Wildtype lung metastases is inversely related to RHAMM expression.

CONCLUSION

RHAMM expression-loss blunts STING-IFN signaling, which offers growth advantages under specific microenvironmental conditions of lung tissue. These results provide mechanistic insight into factors controlling clonal survival/expansion of metastatic colonies and has translational potential for RHAMM expression as a marker of sensitivity to interferon therapy.

One-Pot Synthesis of Bioadhesive Double-Network Hydrogel Patch as Disposable Wound Dressing

Inventions of materials to achieve biocompatibility, bioadhesion, and easy manufacturing are the urgent demand for promoting wound healing in clinical treatment. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is probably the ideal candidate for current dressing materials due to its well-known biocompatibility. However, the unavoidable problem for HA dressings is their inherent low adhesiveness to wounds, which severely impairs their treatment efficacy, especially during body movement. Here, we report a one-pot facile fabrication of hybrid double-network polydopamine-HA (PDA-HA) hydrogel with significantly enhanced adhesiveness compared to the HA hydrogel. Besides the easy manufacturing and promoted effectiveness, the PDA-HA hydrogel could be vacuum-dried to form a patch, further benefitting from the convenience for storage and distribution. When applied on the wound, the PDA-HA patch quickly rehydrated by absorbing exudate and stuck tightly to the wound. The applied PDA-HA patches keep the wounds covered for more than 7 days against strenuous exercise. Thus, mouse full-thickness wounds treated with the PDA-HA patches exhibited increased healing rates, where epithelization was finished within 14 days. Moreover, the hydrogel dressing exhibited promoting effects on vascularization and cell proliferation/migration. Together with the easy manufacturing procedure, good adhesion/adaptation, and promotion of wound healing, the PDA-HA patch holds great potential for future clinical translation.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes promote murine skin wound healing by neutrophil and macrophage modulations revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing

Introduction

Full-thickness skin wound healing remains a serious undertaking for patients. While stem cell-derived exosomes have been proposed as a potential therapeutic approach, the underlying mechanism of action has yet to be fully elucidated. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSC-Exosomes) on the single-cell transcriptome of neutrophils and macrophages in the context of wound healing.

Methods

Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing, the transcriptomic diversity of neutrophils and macrophages was analyzed in order to predict the cellular fate of these immune cells under the influence of hucMSC-Exosomes and to identify alterations of ligand-receptor interactions that may influence the wound microenvironment. The validity of the findings obtained from this analysis was subsequently corroborated by immunofluorescence, ELISA, and qRT-PCR. Neutrophil origins were characterized based on RNA velocity profiles.

Results

The expression of RETNLG and SLC2A3 was associated with migrating neutrophils, while BCL2A1B was linked to proliferating neutrophils. The hucMSC-Exosomes group exhibited significantly higher levels of M1 macrophages (215 vs 76, p &lt; 0.00001), M2 macrophages (1231 vs 670, p &lt; 0.00001), and neutrophils (930 vs 157, p &lt; 0.00001) when compared to control group. Additionally, it was observed that hucMSC-Exosomes elicit alterations in the differentiation trajectories of macrophages towards more anti-inflammatory phenotypes, concomitant with changes in ligand-receptor interactions, thereby facilitating healing.

Discussion

This study has revealed the transcriptomic heterogeneity of neutrophils and macrophages in the context of skin wound repair following hucMSC-Exosomes interventions, providing a deeper understanding of cellular responses to hucMSC-Exosomes, a rising target of wound healing intervention.

The role of RHAMM in cancer: Exposing novel therapeutic vulnerabilities

Receptor for hyaluronic acid-mediated motility (RHAMM) is a cell surface receptor for hyaluronic acid that is critical for cell migration and a cell cycle protein involved in microtubule assembly and stability. These functions of RHAMM are required for cellular stress responses and cell cycle progression but are also exploited by tumor cells for malignant progression and metastasis. RHAMM is often overexpressed in tumors and is an independent adverse prognostic factor for a number of cancers such as breast and prostate. Interestingly, pharmacological or genetic inhibition of RHAMM in vitro and in vivo ablates tumor invasiveness and metastatic spread, implicating RHAMM as a potential therapeutic target to restrict tumor growth and improve patient survival. However, RHAMM’s pro-tumor activity is dependent on its subcellular distribution, which complicates the design of RHAMM-directed therapies. An alternative approach is to identify downstream signaling pathways that mediate RHAMM-promoted tumor aggressiveness. Herein, we discuss the pro-tumoral roles of RHAMM and elucidate the corresponding regulators and signaling pathways mediating RHAMM downstream events, with a specific focus on strategies to target the RHAMM signaling network in cancer cells.

Matrix Effectors in the Pathogenesis of Keratinocyte-Derived Carcinomas

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), referred to as keratinocyte carcinomas, are skin cancer with the highest incidence. BCCs, rarely metastasize; whereas, though generally not characterized by high lethality, approximately 2–4% of primary cSCCs metastasize with patients exhibiting poor prognosis. The extracellular matrix (ECM) serves as a scaffold that provides structural and biological support to cells in all human tissues. The main components of the ECM, including fibrillar proteins, proteoglycans (PGs), glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and adhesion proteins such as fibronectin, are secreted by the cells in a tissue-specific manner, critical for the proper function of each organ. The skin compartmentalization to the epidermis and dermis compartments is based on a basement membrane (BM), a highly specialized network of ECM proteins that separate and unify the two compartments. The stiffness and assembly of BM and tensile forces affect tumor progenitors' invasion at the stratified epithelium's stromal border. Likewise, the mechanical properties of the stroma, e.g., stiffness, are directly correlated to the pathogenesis of the keratinocyte carcinomas. Since the ECM is a pool for various growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines, its' intense remodeling in the aberrant cancer tissue milieu affects biological functions, such as angiogenesis, adhesion, proliferation, or cell motility by regulating specific signaling pathways. This review discusses the structural and functional modulations of the keratinocyte carcinoma microenvironment. Furthermore, we debate how ECM remodeling affects the pathogenesis of these skin cancers.

The Pro-fibrotic Response of Mesenchymal Leader Cells to Lens Wounding Involves Hyaluronic Acid, Its Receptor RHAMM, and Vimentin

Hyaluronic Acid/Hyaluronan (HA) is a major component of the provisional matrix deposited by cells post-wounding with roles both in regulating cell migration to repair a wound and in promoting a fibrotic outcome to wounding. Both are mediated through its receptors CD44 and RHAMM. We now showed that HA is present in the provisional matrix assembled on the substrate surface in a lens post-cataract surgery explant wound model in which mesenchymal leader cells populate the wound edges to direct migration of the lens epithelium across the adjacent culture substrate onto which this matrix is assembled. Inhibiting HA expression with 4-MU blocked assembly of FN-EDA and collagen I by the wound-responsive mesenchymal leader cells and their migration. These cells express both the HA receptors CD44 and RHAMM. CD44 co-localized with HA at their cell-cell interfaces. RHAMM was predominant in the lamellipodial protrusions extended by the mesenchymal cells at the leading edge, and along HA fibrils organized on the substrate surface. Within a few days post-lens wounding the leader cells are induced to transition to αSMA+ myofibroblasts. Since HA/RHAMM is implicated in both cell migration and inducing fibrosis we examined the impact of blocking HA synthesis on myofibroblast emergence and discovered that it was dependent on HA. While RHAMM has not been previously linked to the intermediate filament protein vimentin, our studies with these explant cultures have shown that vimentin in the cells’ lamellipodial protrusions regulate their transition to myofibroblast. PLA studies now revealed that RHAMM was complexed with both HA and vimentin in the lamellipodial protrusions of leader cells, implicating this HA/RHAMM/vimentin complex in the regulation of leader cell function post-wounding, both in promoting cell migration and in the transition of these cells to myofibroblasts. These results increase our understanding of how the post-wounding matrix environment interacts with receptor/cytoskeletal complexes to determine whether injury outcomes are regenerative or fibrotic.

Epidermal Hyaluronan in Barrier Alteration-Related Disease

In skin, although the extracellular matrix (ECM) is highly developed in dermis and hypodermis, discrete intercellular spaces between cells of the living epidermal layers are also filled with ECM components. Herein, we review knowledge about structure, localization and role of epidermal hyaluronan (HA), a key ECM molecule. HA is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan non-covalently bound to proteins or lipids. Components of the basal lamina maintain some segregation between the epidermis and the underlying dermis, and all epidermal HA is locally synthesized and degraded. Functions of HA in keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation are still controversial. However, through interactions with partners, such as the TSG-6 protein, HA is involved in the formation, organization and stabilization of the epidermal ECM. In addition, epidermal HA is involved in the formation of an efficient epidermal barrier made of cornified keratinocytes. In atopic dermatitis (AD) with profuse alterations of the epidermal barrier, HA is produced in larger amounts by keratinocytes than in normal skin. Epidermal HA inside AD lesional skin is located in enlarged intercellular spaces, likely as the result of disease-related modifications of HA metabolism.

RHAMM Is a Multifunctional Protein That Regulates Cancer Progression

The functional complexity of higher organisms is not easily accounted for by the size of their genomes. Rather, complexity appears to be generated by transcriptional, translational, and post-translational mechanisms and tissue organization that produces a context-dependent response of cells to specific stimuli. One property of gene products that likely increases the ability of cells to respond to stimuli with complexity is the multifunctionality of expressed proteins. Receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM) is an example of a multifunctional protein that controls differential responses of cells in response-to-injury contexts. Here, we trace its evolution into a sensor-transducer of tissue injury signals in higher organisms through the detection of hyaluronan (HA) that accumulates in injured microenvironments. Our goal is to highlight the domain and isoform structures that generate RHAMM's function complexity and model approaches for targeting its key functions to control cancer progression.

Proteomics and lipidomics reveal the protective mechanism of dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation for photoaging

Chronic ultraviolet radiation exposure could induce photoaging, and even carcinogenesis. Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation has proved to alleviate photoaging and cutaneous carcinoma. Although the exact mechanism remains poorly elucidated, accumulated evidence suggests that the alleviation effect of n-3 PUFA for photoaging is a multifactorial procession characterized by different pathways. Here, we performed a whole-genome proteomics and lipidomics analyses using a self-constructed photoaging mouse model with n-3 PUFA or n-6 PUFA supplementation. Significant alleviation of photoaging was observed, and a total of 88 differentially expressed proteins and 152 differentially expressed lipids were identified in mice with n-3 PUFA supplementation. We found that n-3 PUFA may alleviate photoaging by upregulating Hmmr (hyaluronic acid receptor) expression, which can decrease Mmp9 expression, reducing collagen degradation. As most proteins were associated with lipogenesis and lipid metabolism, we further analyzed the lipidomics data, finding that most triglycerides (93%) showed a significant increase in the n-3 PUFA supplementation group. Our proteomics and lipidomics results indicate that the protective mechanism of n-3 PUFA for photoaging is complicated. Furthermore, the effect of elevated triglycerides by n-3 PUFA supplementation in counteracting skin photoaging cannot be ignored, which will become a new prime target in anti-photoaging.