The senescence-associated secretory phenotype in ovarian cancer dissemination

Therapeutic approaches targeting aging and cellular senescence in Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that is manifested by a gradual loss of physical, cognitive, and mental abilities. As the disease advances, age has a major impact on the pathogenic signature of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein aggregation. This review aims to explore the intricate relationship between aging, mHTT toxicity, and cellular senescence in HD. Scientific data on the interplay between aging, mHTT, and cellular senescence in HD were collected from several academic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, and ScienceDirect. The search terms employed were "AGING," "HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE," "MUTANT HUNTINGTIN," and "CELLULAR SENESCENCE." Additionally, to gather information on the molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets, the search was extended to include relevant terms such as "DNA DAMAGE," "OXIDATIVE STRESS," and "AUTOPHAGY." According to research, aging leads to worsening HD pathophysiology through some processes. As a result of the mHTT accumulation, cellular senescence is promoted, which causes DNA damage, oxidative stress, decreased autophagy, and increased inflammatory responses. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and other substances are released by senescent cells, which may worsen the neuronal damage and the course of the disease. It has been shown that treatments directed at these pathways reduce some of the HD symptoms and enhance longevity in experimental animals, pointing to a new possibility of treating the condition. Through their amplification of the harmful effects of mHTT, aging and cellular senescence play crucial roles in the development of HD. Comprehending these interplays creates novel opportunities for therapeutic measures targeted at alleviating cellular aging and enhancing HD patients' quality of life.

Targeted radiopharmaceuticals: an underexplored strategy for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy worldwide with the highest mortality. This low survival rate can be attributed to the fact that symptoms arise only at an advanced disease stage, characterized by a (micro)metastatic spread across the peritoneal cavity. Radiopharmaceuticals, composed of a targeting moiety coupled with either a diagnostic or therapeutic radionuclide, constitute a relatively underexplored theranostic approach that may improve the current standard of care. Efficient patient stratification, follow-up and treatment are several caveats that could be addressed with theranostics to improve patient outcomes. So far, the bulk of research is situated and often halted at the preclinical level, employing murine models of primary and metastatic peritoneal disease that do not necessarily provide an accurate representation of the disease heterogeneity, (intrinsic) drug resistance or the complex physiological interactions with the tumor microenvironment. Radioimmunoconjugates with therapeutic α- and electron-emitting radionuclides have been the prevailing standard, targeting a myriad of cell-membrane markers that are expressed in the various heterogeneous histological subtypes of ovarian cancer. Evidently, several hurdles exist within preclinical research that are potentially withholding these agents from advancing into clinical practice. On the other hand, the field of nuclear medicine has also seen significant innovation to address shortcomings related to target/ligand identification, preclinical research models, radiochemistry, radiopharmacy and dosimetry, as outlined in this review. Altogether, theranostics hold great promise to answer an unmet medical need for ovarian cancer.

Prognostic Significance of SASP-Related Gene Signature of Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In this study, we developed and validated the clinical significance of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)-related gene signature and explored its association with radiation therapy (RT) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). First, we searched the three published review literature associated with SASP and selected all 81 genes to develop SASP-related gene signature. Then, 81 SASP-related genes were adapted to gene expression dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Patients with HNSCC of TCGA were classified into clusters 1 and 2 via unsupervised clustering according to SASP-related gene signature. Kaplan-Meier plot survival analysis showed that cluster 1 had a poorer prognosis than cluster 2 in 5-year overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Similarly, cluster 1 showed a worse prognosis than cluster 2 in three validation cohorts (E-MTAB-8588, FHCRC, and KHU). Cox proportional hazards regression observed that the SASP-related signature was an independent prognostic factor for patients with HNSCC. We also established a nomogram using a relevant clinical parameter and a risk score. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to assess the accuracy of the prognostic risk model and nomogram. Senescence SASP-related gene signature was associated with the response to RT. Therefore, subsequent, in vitro experiments further validated the association between SASP-related gene signature and RT in HNSCC. In conclusion, we developed a SASP-related gene signature, which could predict survival of patients with HNSCC, and this gene signature provides new clinical evidence for the accurate diagnosis and targeted RT of HNSCC.

Role of the Hypoxic-Secretome in Seed and Soil Metastatic Preparation

During tumor growth, the delivery of oxygen to cells is impaired due to aberrant or absent vasculature. This causes an adaptative response that activates the expression of genes that control several essential processes, such as glycolysis, neovascularization, immune suppression, and the cancer stemness phenotype, leading to increased metastasis and resistance to therapy. Hypoxic tumor cells also respond to an altered hypoxic microenvironment by secreting vesicles, factors, cytokines and nucleic acids that modify not only the immediate microenvironment but also organs at distant sites, allowing or facilitating the attachment and growth of tumor cells and contributing to metastasis. Hypoxia induces the release of molecules of different biochemical natures, either secreted or inside extracellular vesicles, and both tumor cells and stromal cells are involved in this process. The mechanisms by which these signals that can modify the premetastatic niche are sent from the primary tumor site include changes in the extracellular matrix, recruitment and activation of different stromal cells and immune or nonimmune cells, metabolic reprogramming, and molecular signaling network rewiring. In this review, we will discuss how hypoxia might alter the premetastatic niche through different signaling molecules.