TNF-α differentially modulates subunit levels of respiratory electron transport complexes of ER/PR +ve/-ve breast cancer cells to regulate mitochondrial complex activity and tumorigenic potential

Research progress of flavonoids targeting estrogen receptor in the treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) stands as the most prevalent malignancy among women. Targeting the estrogen receptor (ER) or ER pathway is one of the important approaches for ER+ BC treatment. As a class of phytoestrogens, flavonoids possess notable anti-tumor properties and hold immense potential in regulating ER signaling. In this review, we reported the recent advances in both in vitro and in vivo studies of flavonoids and their synthetic derivatives targeting the ER signaling pathway, including the target and mechanism of action of these molecules, as well as their structure-activity relationship. Based on the available literature, the beneficial effects of flavonoids as ER targeting agents are promising but they require further in vitro and in vivo studies to enable its translation from bench to bedside. This review will provide valuable guidance and insights for the future development of drugs targeting the ER pathway.

Ultrasound genomics related mitochondrial gene signature for prognosis and neoadjuvant chemotherapy resistance in triple negative breast cancer

Background

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) significantly enhances clinical outcomes in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); however, chemoresistance frequently results in treatment failure. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms underlying resistance and accurately predicting this phenomenon are crucial for improving treatment efficacy.

Methods

Ultrasound images from 62 patients, taken before and after neoadjuvant therapy, were collected. Mitochondrial-related genes were extracted from a public database. Ultrasound features associated with NAC resistance were identified and correlated with significant mitochondrial-related genes. Subsequently, a prognostic model was developed and evaluated using the GSE58812 dataset. We also assessed this model alongside clinical factors and its ability to predict immunotherapy response.

Results

A total of 32 significant differentially expressed genes in TNBC across three groups indicated a strong correlation with ultrasound features. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses identified six genes as independent risk factors for TNBC prognosis. Based on these six mitochondrial-related genes, we constructed a TNBC prognostic model. The model's risk scores indicated that high-risk patients generally have a poorer prognosis compared to low-risk patients, with the model demonstrating high predictive performance (p = 0.002, AUC = 0.745). This conclusion was further supported in the test set (p = 0.026, AUC = 0.718). Additionally, we found that high-risk patients exhibited more advanced tumor characteristics, while low-risk patients were more sensitive to common chemotherapy drugs and immunotherapy. The signature-related genes also predicted immunotherapy response with a high accuracy of 0.765.

Conclusion

We identified resistance-related features from ultrasound images and integrated them with genomic data, enabling effective risk stratification of patients and prediction of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy in patients with TNBC.

Mitochondrial bioenergetics of breast cancer

Breast cancer cells exhibit metabolic heterogeneity based on tumour aggressiveness. Glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration are two major metabolic pathways for ATP production. The oxygen flux, oxygen tension, proton leakage, protonmotive force, inner mitochondrial membrane potential, ECAR and electrochemical proton gradient maintain metabolic homeostasis, ATP production, ROS generation, heat dissipation, and carbon flow and are referred to as "sub-domains" of mitochondrial bioenergetics. Tumour aggressiveness is influenced by these mechanisms, especially when breast cancer cells undergo metastasis. These physiological parameters for healthy mitochondria are as crucial as energy demands for tumour growth and metastasis. The instant energy demands are already elucidated under Warburg effects, while these parameters may have dual functionality to maintain cellular bioenergetics and cellular health. The tumour cell might maintain these mitochondrial parameters for mitochondrial health or avoid apoptosis, while energy production could be a second priority. This review focuses explicitly on the crosstalk between metabolic domains and the utilisation of these parameters by breast cancer cells for their progression. Some major interventions are discussed based on mitochondrial bioenergetics that need further investigation. This review highlights the pathophysiological significance of mitochondrial bioenergetics and the regulation of its sub-domains by breast tumour cells for uncontrolled proliferation.

Genetic deletion or pharmacologic inhibition of histone deacetylase 6 protects the heart against ischaemia/reperfusion injury by limiting tumour necrosis factor alpha-induced mitochondrial injury in experimental diabetes

AIMS

The histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) inhibitor, tubastatin A (TubA), reduces myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) in type 1 diabetic rats. It remains unclear whether HDAC6 regulates MIRI in type 2 diabetic animals. Diabetes augments the activity of HDAC6 and the generation of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and impairs mitochondrial complex I (mCI). Here, we examined how HDAC6 regulates TNF-α production, mCI activity, mitochondria, and cardiac function in type 1 and type 2 diabetic mice undergoing MIRI.

METHODS AND RESULTS

HDAC6 knockout, streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic, and obese type 2 diabetic db/db mice underwent MIRI in vivo or ex vivo in a Langendorff-perfused system. We found that MIRI and diabetes additively augmented myocardial HDAC6 activity and generation of TNF-α, along with cardiac mitochondrial fission, low bioactivity of mCI, and low production of adenosine triphosphate. Importantly, genetic disruption of HDAC6 or TubA decreased TNF-α levels, mitochondrial fission, and myocardial mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels in ischaemic/reperfused diabetic mice, concomitant with augmented mCI activity, decreased infarct size, and improved cardiac function. Moreover, HDAC6 knockout or TubA treatment decreased left ventricular dilation and improved cardiac systolic function 28 days after MIRI. H9c2 cardiomyocytes with and without HDAC6 knockdown were subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in the presence of high glucose. Hypoxia/reoxygenation augmented HDAC6 activity and TNF-α levels and decreased mCI activity. These negative effects were blocked by HDAC6 knockdown.

CONCLUSION

HDAC6 is an essential negative regulator of MIRI in diabetes. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic inhibition of HDAC6 protects the heart from MIRI by limiting TNF-α-induced mitochondrial injury in experimental diabetes.

Influence of Type 2 Diabetes and Adipose Tissue Dysfunction on Breast Cancer and Potential Benefits from Nutraceuticals Inducible in Microalgae

Breast cancer (BC) represents the most prevalent cancer in women at any age after puberty. From a pathogenetic prospective, despite a wide array of risk factors being identified thus far, poor metabolic health is emerging as a putative risk factor for BC. In particular, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) provides a perfect example bridging the gap between poor metabolic health and BC risk. Indeed, T2DM is preceded by a status of hyperinsulinemia and is characterised by hyperglycaemia, with both factors representing potential contributors to BC onset and progression. Additionally, the aberrant secretome of the dysfunctional, hypertrophic adipocytes, typical of obesity, characterised by pro-inflammatory mediators, is a shared pathogenetic factor between T2DM and BC. In this review, we provide an overview on the effects of hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinemia, hallmarks of type 2 diabetes mellitus, on breast cancer risk, progression, treatment and prognosis. Furthermore, we dissect the role of the adipose-tissue-secreted adipokines as additional players in the pathogenesis of BC. Finally, we focus on microalgae as a novel superfood and a source of nutraceuticals able to mitigate BC risk by improving metabolic health and targeting cellular pathways, which are disrupted in the context of T2DM and obesity.

Mitochondrial inhibitors: a new horizon in breast cancer therapy

Breast cancer, due to resistance to standard therapies such as endocrine therapy, anti-HER2 therapy and chemotherapy, continues to pose a major health challenge. A growing body of research emphasizes the heterogeneity and plasticity of metabolism in breast cancer. Because differences in subtypes exhibit a bias toward metabolic pathways, targeting mitochondrial inhibitors shows great potential as stand-alone or adjuvant cancer therapies. Multiple therapeutic candidates are currently in various stages of preclinical studies and clinical openings. However, specific inhibitors have been shown to face multiple challenges (e.g., single metabolic therapies, mitochondrial structure and enzymes, etc.), and combining with standard therapies or targeting multiple metabolic pathways may be necessary. In this paper, we review the critical role of mitochondrial metabolic functions, including oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and fatty acid and amino acid metabolism, in metabolic reprogramming of breast cancer cells. In addition, we outline the impact of mitochondrial dysfunction on metabolic pathways in different subtypes of breast cancer and mitochondrial inhibitors targeting different metabolic pathways, aiming to provide additional ideas for the development of mitochondrial inhibitors and to improve the efficacy of existing therapies for breast cancer.

TNF-α induced NF-κB mediated LYRM7 expression modulates the tumor growth and metastatic ability in breast cancer

Tumor microenvironment (TME) of solid tumors including breast cancer is complex and contains a distinct cytokine pattern including TNF-α, which determines the progression and metastasis of breast tumors. The metastatic potential of triple negative breast cancer subtypes is high as compared to other subtypes of breast cancer. NF-κB is key transcription factor regulating inflammation and mitochondrial bioenergetics including oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes which determine its oxidative capacity and generating reducing equivalents for synthesis of key metabolites for proliferating breast cancer cells. The differential metabolic adaptation and OXPHOS function of breast cancer subtypes in inflammatory conditions and its contribution to metastasis is not well understood. Here we demonstrated that different subunits of NF-κB are differentially expressed in subtypes of breast cancer patients. RELA, one of the major subunits in regulation of the NF-κB pathway is positively correlated with high level of TNF-α in breast cancer patients. TNF-α induced NF-κB regulates the expression of LYRM7, an assembly factor for mitochondrial complex III. Downregulation of LYRM7 in MDA-MB-231 cells decreases mitochondrial super complex assembly and enhances ROS levels, which increases the invasion and migration potential of these cells. Further, in vivo studies using Infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against TNF-α showed decreased expression of LYRM7 in tumor tissue. Large scale breast cancer databases and human patient samples revealed that LYRM7 levels decreased in triple negative breast cancer patients compared to other subtypes and is determinant of survival outcome in patients. Our results indicate that TNF-α induced NF-κB is a critical regulator of LYRM7, a major factor for modulating mitochondrial functions under inflammatory conditions, which determines growth and survival of breast cancer cells.

The activator protein-1 complex governs a vascular degenerative transcriptional programme in smooth muscle cells to trigger aortic dissection and rupture

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Stanford type A aortic dissection (AD) is a degenerative aortic remodelling disease marked by an exceedingly high mortality without effective pharmacologic therapies. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) lining tunica media adopt a range of states, and their transformation from contractile to synthetic phenotypes fundamentally triggers AD. However, the underlying pathomechanisms governing this population shift and subsequent AD, particularly at distinct disease temporal stages, remain elusive.

METHODS

Ascending aortas from nine patients undergoing ascending aorta replacement and five individuals undergoing heart transplantation were subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing. The pathogenic targets governing the phenotypic switch of SMCs were identified by trajectory inference, functional scoring, single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering, regulon, and interactome analyses and confirmed using human ascending aortas, primary SMCs, and a β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate-induced AD model.

RESULTS

The transcriptional profiles of 93 397 cells revealed a dynamic temporal-specific phenotypic transition and marked elevation of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) complex, actively enabling synthetic SMC expansion. Mechanistically, tumour necrosis factor signalling enhanced AP-1 transcriptional activity by dampening mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Targeting this axis with the OXPHOS enhancer coenzyme Q10 or AP-1-specific inhibitor T-5224 impedes phenotypic transition and aortic degeneration while improving survival by 42.88% (58.3%-83.3% for coenzyme Q10 treatment), 150.15% (33.3%-83.3% for 2-week T-5224), and 175.38% (33.3%-91.7% for 3-week T-5224) in the β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate-induced AD model.

CONCLUSIONS

This cross-sectional compendium of cellular atlas of human ascending aortas during AD progression provides previously unappreciated insights into a transcriptional programme permitting aortic degeneration, highlighting a translational proof of concept for an anti-remodelling intervention as an attractive strategy to manage temporal-specific AD by modulating the tumour necrosis factor-OXPHOS-AP-1 axis.

Changes in Rat Mammary Tissue Architecture Following Pregnancy/Lactation Exposure to Glyphosate Alone or with 2,4-D and Dicamba

The current study aimed to assess the possible endocrine disruptor effects on rat mammary tissue and reproductive organs during pregnancy and lactation when exposed to low doses of glyphosate and its combination with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and dicamba. The study involved the exposure of pregnant Wistar rats to various regulatory-relevant doses of glyphosate, ranging from gestational day 6 until fine of the lactation period. Glyphosate doses corresponded to the European Union's glyphosate-acceptable daily intake (ADI; 0.5mg/kg bw/day) and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL; 50mg/kg bw/day). The dose of the mixture of glyphosate, dicamba, and 2,4-D was at the European Union ADI for each herbicide namely 0.5, 0.002, and 0.3mg/kg bw/day, respectively. In the animals exposed to glyphosate NOAEL serum estradiol levels were increased compared to untreated animals, along with an upregulation of TNF-?, MMP-2, and MMP-9 as measured in mammary gland homogenates compared to non-treated animals. Moreover, in this group, a focally acute inflammatory infiltrate was observed in the mammary gland. Our study showed that short-term exposure to glyphosate at doses that are set as safe by regulators and thus without risk corroborated with a particular physiological state as gestation and lactation, can give rise to inflammatory changes in breast tissue in rats. These findings support the need for further evaluation of glyphosate and mixtures of glyphosate with other pesticides for public health protection, especially for those categories vulnerable to the potential endocrine disruptor properties of these pesticides such as pregnant women, newborns, and children.

Mitochondrial Metabolism: A New Dimension of Personalized Oncology

Energy is needed by cancer cells to stay alive and communicate with their surroundings. The primary organelles for cellular metabolism and energy synthesis are mitochondria. Researchers recently proved that cancer cells can steal immune cells' mitochondria using nanoscale tubes. This finding demonstrates the dependence of cancer cells on normal cells for their living and function. It also denotes the importance of mitochondria in cancer cells' biology. Emerging evidence has demonstrated how mitochondria are essential for cancer cells to survive in the harsh tumor microenvironments, evade the immune system, obtain more aggressive features, and resist treatments. For instance, functional mitochondria can improve cancer resistance against radiotherapy by scavenging the released reactive oxygen species. Therefore, targeting mitochondria can potentially enhance oncological outcomes, according to this notion. The tumors' responses to anticancer treatments vary, ranging from a complete response to even cancer progression during treatment. Therefore, personalized cancer treatment is of crucial importance. So far, personalized cancer treatment has been based on genomic analysis. Evidence shows that tumors with high mitochondrial content are more resistant to treatment. This paper illustrates how mitochondrial metabolism can participate in cancer resistance to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Pretreatment evaluation of mitochondrial metabolism can provide additional information to genomic analysis and can help to improve personalized oncological treatments. This article outlines the importance of mitochondrial metabolism in cancer biology and personalized treatments.

Mitochondrial metabolism: a predictive biomarker of radiotherapy efficacy and toxicity

INTRODUCTION

Radiotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment. Clinical studies revealed a heterogenous response to radiotherapy, from a complete response to even disease progression. To that end, finding the relative prognostic factors of disease outcomes and predictive factors of treatment efficacy and toxicity is essential. It has been demonstrated that radiation response depends on DNA damage response, cell cycle phase, oxygen concentration, and growth rate. Emerging evidence suggests that altered mitochondrial metabolism is associated with radioresistance.

METHODS

This article provides a comprehensive evaluation of the role of mitochondria in radiotherapy efficacy and toxicity. In addition, it demonstrates how mitochondria might be involved in the famous 6Rs of radiobiology.

RESULTS

In terms of this idea, decreasing the mitochondrial metabolism of cancer cells may increase radiation response, and enhancing the mitochondrial metabolism of normal cells may reduce radiation toxicity. Enhancing the normal cells (including immune cells) mitochondrial metabolism can potentially improve the tumor response by enhancing immune reactivation. Future studies are invited to examine the impacts of mitochondrial metabolism on radiation efficacy and toxicity. Improving radiotherapy response with diminishing cancer cells' mitochondrial metabolism, and reducing radiotherapy toxicity with enhancing normal cells' mitochondrial metabolism.

In-vivo anticancer efficacy of self-targeted methotrexate-loaded polymeric nanoparticles in solid tumor-bearing rat

Here, cytotoxicity and antitumor efficacy against a chemically (N-methyl-N-nitrosourea) generated mammary tumor in rats were assessed using methotrexate-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (Meth-Cs-NPs). Meth-Cs-NPs intravenous administrated resulted in noticeably decreased tumor incidence, multiplicity, and weight. Further, kidney function tests for the treated groups resulted in noticeably decreased ALP (Meth-Cs-NPs; 244 ± 15, diseases control; 403 ± 14 U/L), Creatinine (Meth-Cs-NPs; 0.81 ± 0.05, diseases control; 2 ± 0.05 mg/dl), and Urea (Meth-Cs-NPs; 56.62 ± 5, diseases control; 113 ± 6 mg/dl) levels, close to a normal control group. Similarly, liver function tests showed significantly decreased serum biomarkers, SGPT (Meth-Cs-NPs; 40 ± 1.8, diseases control; 84 ± 1.9 U/L) and SGOT (Meth-Cs-NPs; 15 ± 2, diseases control; 55 ± 4 U/L) levels in treated groups as compared to the untreated group (diseases control). From the results, pro-inflammatory cytokines were also markedly reduced in the treated group such as, TNF-α (Meth-Cs-NPs; 17.31 ± 1.15, diseases control; 36.9 ± 5 pg/mL), IL-1β (Meth-Cs-NPs; 433.3 ± 66.5, diseases control; 1540 ± 131.1 pg/mL), and IL-6 (Meth-Cs-NPs; 1515 ± 53, diseases control; 2200.6 ± 69 pg/mL) levels. Whereas Meth-Cs-NPs not only helped in lowering tumor multiplicity rates but also decrease inflammation. The studies could be successfully performed in chemically induced mammary tumors due to their easy, quick tumor growth and low mortality rates in rat models. According to the current study, Meth-Cs-NPs have high treatment potency and represent a possible therapeutic alternative for breast cancer treatment.

TNF-Alpha Promotes an Inflammatory Mammary Microenvironment That Favors Macrophage and Epithelial Migration in a CCL2- and Mitochondrial-ROS-Dependent Manner

The influence of an inflammatory microenvironment on tumorigenesis has been widely accepted. Systemic conditions that favor the onset of an inflammatory landscape predispose the progression of breast cancer. Under obesity conditions, the endocrine function of adipose tissue is one of the main determinants of the production of local and systemic inflammatory mediators. Although these mediators can stimulate tumorigenesis and recruit inflammatory cells, as macrophages, the mechanism involved remains poorly understood. In the present work, we describe that the TNFα treatment of mammary preadipocytes from human normal patients blocks adipose differentiation and promotes the generation of pro-inflammatory soluble factors. The latter stimulate the mobilization of THP-1 monocytes and MCF-7 epithelial cancer cells in an MCP1/CCL2- and mitochondrial-ROS-dependent manner. Together, these results reaffirm the contribution of an inflammatory microenvironment and mtROS in the progression of breast cancer.

Phytochemical Composition and Biological Activities of Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.: A Potential Candidate as Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitor, and Cytotoxic Agent

Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh. (Asteraceae), which has a wide distribution area in Turkey, is a medicinally important plant. Eighty percent methanol extracts of the leaf, flower head, and root parts of A. minus were prepared and their sub-fractions were obtained. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic (high-performance liquid chromatography) techniques were used to assess the phytochemical composition. The extracts were evaluated for antioxidant activity by diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil radical (DPPH^●), 2,2′-Azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS^●+) radical scavenging, and β-carotene linoleic acid bleaching assays. Furthermore, the extracts were subjected to α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipoxygenase, and tyrosinase enzyme inhibition tests. The cytotoxic effects of extracts were investigated on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. The richest extract in terms of phenolic compounds was identified as the ethyl acetate sub-fraction of the root extract (364.37 ± 7.18 mg_GAE/g_extact). Furthermore, chlorogenic acid (8.855 ± 0.175%) and rutin (8.359 ± 0.125%) were identified as the primary components in the leaves’ ethyl acetate sub-fraction. According to all methods, it was observed that the extracts with the highest antioxidant activity were the flower and leaf ethyl acetate fractions. Additionally, ABTS radical scavenging activity of roots’ ethyl acetate sub-fraction (2.51 ± 0.09 mmol/L Trolox) was observed to be as effective as that of flower and leaf ethyl acetate fractions at 0.5 mg/mL. In the β-carotene linoleic acid bleaching assay, leaves’ methanol extract showed the highest antioxidant capacity (1422.47 ± 76.85) at 30 min. The enzyme activity data showed that α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition of leaf dichloromethane extract was moderately high, with an 87.12 ± 8.06% inhibition value. Lipoxygenase enzyme inhibition was weakly detected in all sub-fractions. Leaf methanol extract, leaf butanol, and root ethyl acetate sub-fractions showed 99% tyrosinase enzyme inhibition. Finally, it was discovered that dichloromethane extracts of leaves, roots, and flowers had high cytotoxic effects on the MDA-MB-231 cell line, with IC50 values of 21.39 ± 2.43, 13.41 ± 2.37, and 10.80 ± 1.26 µg/mL, respectively. The evaluation of the plant extracts in terms of several bioactivity tests revealed extremely positive outcomes. The data of this study, in which all parts of the plant were investigated in detail for the first time, offer promising results for future research.

Emerging Roles of COX7RP and Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation in Breast Cancer

Metabolic alterations are critical events in cancers, which often contribute to tumor pathophysiology. While aerobic glycolysis is a known characteristic of cancer-related metabolism, recent studies have shed light on mitochondria-related metabolic pathways in cancer biology, including oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), amino acid and lipid metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, and redox regulation. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women; thus, elucidation of breast cancer-related metabolic alteration will help to develop cancer drugs for many patients. We here aim to define the contribution of mitochondrial metabolism to breast cancer biology. The relevance of OXPHOS in breast cancer has been recently defined by the discovery of COX7RP, which promotes mitochondrial respiratory supercomplex assembly and glutamine metabolism: the latter is also shown to promote nucleic acid and fatty acid biosynthesis as well as ROS defense regulation. In this context, the estrogen-related receptor (ERR) family nuclear receptors and collaborating coactivators peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1 (PGC-1) are essential transcriptional regulators for both energy production and cancer-related metabolism. Summarizing recent findings of mitochondrial metabolism in breast cancer, this review will aim to provide a clue for the development of alternative clinical management by modulating the activities of responsible molecules involved in disease-specific metabolic alterations.