Pyroptosis in glioma: Current management and future application

Circular RNAs in glioma progression: Fundamental mechanisms and therapeutic potential: A review

Gliomas are the most common primary malignant brain tumors, characterized by aggressive invasion, limited therapeutic options, and poor prognosis. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the median survival of glioma patients remains disappointingly low. Therefore, identifying glioma-associated therapeutic targets and biomarkers is of significant clinical importance. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of naturally occurring long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), notable for their stability and evolutionary conservation. Increasing evidence indicates that circRNA expression is dysregulated in gliomas compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues and contributes to the regulation of glioma-related biological processes. Furthermore, numerous circRNAs function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, mediating glioma initiation, progression, and resistance to temozolomide (TMZ). Mechanistically, circRNAs regulate glioma biology through diverse pathways, including acting as miRNA sponges, binding RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), modulating transcription, and even encoding functional peptides. These features highlight the potential of circRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets for glioma. This review summarizes the dysregulation and functions of circRNAs in glioma and explores key mechanisms through which they mediate tumor progression, including DNA damage repair, programmed cell death (PCD), angiogenesis, and metabolic reprogramming. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive perspective on the multifaceted roles of circRNAs in glioma and to highlight their potential for translational application in targeted therapy.

Comprehensive analysis of the role of Caspases in glioma

Caspases (CASPs) are attractive targets for cancer therapy. Many prognostic models based on gene signatures include genes from the CASPs family in diffuse glioma. CASP3, CASP4 and CASP6 in glioma have been studied individually. However, specialized comprehensive analysis of the roles of CASPs family in glioma is lacking. Therefore, this study utilized bioinformatics methods to investigate this issue. CASP1-10 expressionlevels were significantly up-regulated in LGG and GBM and glioma, and varied significantly across different clinical subgroups of glioma and LGG and various cell types, and most of CASP1-10 members showed significant differences in recurrence status of LGG. 10 signatures (CASP1-10) were associated with poor overall survival (OS) in glioma and LGG and GBM. However, pan-cancer survival analysis showed that CASP1-10 were associated with the prognosis of LGG, but not GBM. CASP1-10 were related to poor prognosis of glioma and LGG, except for CASP9, which was the opposite of a protective factor. CASP1-10 were independent prognostic factors for OS in glioma and LGG, except for CASP5, and also for recurrence-free survival (RFS) in LGG. Most of CASP1-10 were also independent prognostic factors for disease-specific survival (DSS) and progression-free interval (PFI) and had diagnostic value in glioma and LGG. Genetic alterations of CASP1-10 genes set were associated with poor prognosis in LGG. CASP1-10 were involved in immune infiltration and programmed cell death in glioma and LGG and GBM, and might promote the apoptosis of immune cells. Compared to GBM, CASP1-10 had a more significant impact on the prognosis, cancer-related pathways, and immune infiltration in LGG, indicating that CASP1-10 might play important roles in the recurrence and progression of LGG, and might be promising therapeutic targets for LGG. Therefore, it is speculated that natural caspase inhibitor p35 may be a promising drug for the treatment of glioma, especially for LGG.

GSDM family and glioma

Biomarkers play a central role in diagnosing, prognosis, and therapeutic management of gliomas, a diverse group of malignancies arising from glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. Among the various emerging biomarkers, the gasdermin protein family has attracted attention for its involvement in pyroptosis. Understanding the expression and function of GSDM in gliomas may provide new insights into tumor behavior and new avenues for therapeutic intervention. This review discusses the GSDM family's significance as a glioma biomarker, explores its dual role in tumor suppression, and highlights its potential utility in clinical practice as a novel target for glioma therapy.

Integrative analysis of immunogenic PANoptosis and experimental validation of cinobufagin-induced activation to enhance glioma immunotherapy

BACKGROUND

Glioma, particularly glioblastoma (GBM), is a highly aggressive tumor with limited responsiveness to immunotherapy. PANoptosis, a form of programmed cell death merging pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis, plays an important role in reshaping the tumor microenvironment (TME) and enhancing immunotherapy effectiveness. This study investigates PANoptosis dynamics in glioma and explores the therapeutic potential of its activation, particularly through natural compounds such as cinobufagin.

METHODS

We comprehensively analyzed PANoptosis-related genes (PANoRGs) in multiple glioma cohorts, identifying different PANoptosis patterns and constructing the PANoptosis enrichment score (PANoScore) to evaluate its relationship with patient prognosis and immune activity. Cinobufagin, identified as a PANoptosis activator, was evaluated for its ability to induce PANoptosis and enhance anti-tumor immune responses both in vitro and in vivo GBM models.

RESULTS

Our findings indicate that high PANoScore gliomas showed increased immune cell infiltration, particularly effector T cells, and enhanced sensitivity to immunotherapies. Cinobufagin effectively induced PANoptosis, leading to increased immunogenic cell death, facilitated tumor-associated microglia/macrophages (TAMs) polarization towards an M1-like phenotype while augmenting CD4+/CD8 + T cell infiltration and activation. Importantly, cinobufagin combined with anti-PD-1 therapy exhibited significant synergistic effects and prolonged survival in GBM models.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of PANoptosis-targeting agents, such as cinobufagin, in combination with immunotherapy, offering a promising approach to convert "cold" tumors into "hot" ones and improving glioma treatment outcomes.

Prognostic significance and gene co-expression network of CD16A and FGL2 in gliomas

Introduction

The CD16A protein encoding gene FcγRIIIa (FCGR3A) and its potential ligand Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) are involved in various cell physiological activities on the extracellular surface. Aberrant expression of these genes has been linked to tumorigenesis.

Methods

To assess the prognostic significance of FCGR3A and FGL2 transcription expression in glioma and explore their roles in glioma initiation and progression, we utilized multiple online databases, including TCGA, GEPIA, CGGA, cBioPortal, TISCH, LinkedOmics, Ivy Glioblastoma Atlas Project, and Human Protein Atlas.

Results

Our analysis revealed that FCGR3A and FGL2 expression was significantly correlated with clinical variables such as age, tumor type, WHO grade, histology, IDH-1 mutation, and 1p19q status. A strong correlation was also observed between the transcriptional expression levels of FCGR3A and FGL2. High expression of both genes predicted poor prognosis in primary and recurrent glioma patients, particularly those with lower grade gliomas. Cox regression analysis further confirmed that elevated expression of FCGR3A and FGL2 were independent prognostic factors for shorter overall survival in glioma patients. Gene co-expression network analysis suggested that FCGR3A, FGL2, and their co-expressed genes were involved in inflammatory activities and tumor-related signaling pathways. Additionally, tissue microarrays from glioma patients at Tiantan Hospital showed significantly higher FCGR3A protein expression in high-grade gliomas compared to low-grade gliomas.

Discussion

In conclusion, our findings suggest that FCGR3A and FGL2 could serve as promising prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for glioma patients.

Icaritin Exerts Anti-Cancer Effects through Modulating Pyroptosis and Immune Activities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Icaritin (ICT), a natural compound extracted from the dried leaves of the genus Epimedium, possesses antitumor and immunomodulatory properties. However, the mechanisms through which ICT modulates pyroptosis and immune response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. This study demonstrated that ICT exhibits pyroptosis-inducing and anti-hepatocarcinoma effects. Specifically, the caspase1-GSDMD and caspase3-GSDME pathways were found to be involved in ICT-triggered pyroptosis. Furthermore, ICT promoted pyroptosis in co-cultivation of HepG2 cells and macrophages, regulating the release of inflammatory cytokines and the transformation of macrophages into a proinflammatory phenotype. In the Hepa1-6+Luc liver cancer model, ICT treatment significantly increased the expression of cleaved-caspase1, cleaved-caspase3, and granzyme B, modulated cytokine secretion, and stimulated CD8+ T cell infiltration, resulting in a reduction in tumor growth. In conclusion, the findings in this research suggested that ICT may modulate cell pyroptosis in HCC and subsequently regulate the immune microenvironment of the tumor. These observations may expand the understanding of the pharmacological mechanism of ICT, as well as the therapy of liver cancer.