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Rižner TL, Romano A. Targeting the formation of estrogens for treatment of hormone dependent diseases-current status. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1155558. [PMID: 37188267 PMCID: PMC10175629 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1155558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Local formation and action of estrogens have crucial roles in hormone dependent cancers and benign diseases like endometriosis. Drugs that are currently used for the treatment of these diseases act at the receptor and at the pre-receptor levels, targeting the local formation of estrogens. Since 1980s the local formation of estrogens has been targeted by inhibitors of aromatase that catalyses their formation from androgens. Steroidal and non-steroidal inhibitors have successfully been used to treat postmenopausal breast cancer and have also been evaluated in clinical studies in patients with endometrial, ovarian cancers and endometriosis. Over the past decade also inhibitors of sulfatase that catalyses the hydrolysis of inactive estrogen-sulfates entered clinical trials for treatment of breast, endometrial cancers and endometriosis, with clinical effects observed primarily in breast cancer. More recently, inhibitors of 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1, an enzyme responsible for formation of the most potent estrogen, estradiol, have shown promising results in preclinical studies and have already entered clinical evaluation for endometriosis. This review aims to provide an overview of the current status of the use of hormonal drugs for the major hormone-dependent diseases. Further, it aims to explain the mechanisms behind the -sometimes- observed weak effects and low therapeutic efficacy of these drugs and the possibilities and the advantages of combined treatments targeting several enzymes in the local estrogen formation, or drugs acting with different therapeutic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tea Lanišnik Rižner
- Laboratory for Molecular Basis of Hormone-Dependent Diseases and Biomarkers, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- *Correspondence: Tea Lanišnik Rižner, ; Andrea Romano,
| | - Andrea Romano
- GROW Department of Gynaecology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)/GROW-School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Tea Lanišnik Rižner, ; Andrea Romano,
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Mier-Cabrera J, Cruz-Orozco O, de la Jara-Díaz J, Galicia-Castillo O, Buenrostro-Jáuregui M, Parra-Carriedo A, Hernández-Guerrero C. Polymorphisms of TNF-alpha (− 308), IL-1beta (+ 3954) and IL1-Ra (VNTR) are associated to severe stage of endometriosis in Mexican women: a case control study. BMC Womens Health 2022; 22:356. [PMID: 36028805 PMCID: PMC9413921 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-022-01941-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent and chronic inflammatory disease affecting up to 10% of women. It is the result of a combined interaction of genetic, epigenetic, environmental, lifestyle, reproductive and local inflammatory factors. In this study, we investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to TNF-alpha (TNF, rs1800629) and IL-1beta (IL1B, rs1143634) and variable number tandem repeat polymorphism mapping to IL1-Ra (IL1RN intron 2, rs2234663) genetic loci are associated with risk for endometriosis in a Mexican mestizo population.
Methods
This study included 183 women with confirmed endometriosis (ENDO) diagnosed after surgical laparoscopy and 186 women with satisfied parity and without endometriosis as controls (CTR). PCR/RFLP technique was used for genotyping SNPs (rs1800629 and rs1143634); PCR for genotyping rs2234663.
Results
We found no statistical differences in age between groups nor among stages of endometriosis and the CTR group. We observed no difference in genotype and allele frequencies, nor carriage rate between groups in none of the three studied polymorphisms. The prevalence of TNF*2-allele heterozygotes (p = 0.025; OR 3.8), TNF*2-allele (p = 0.029; OR 3.4), IL1B*2-allele heterozygotes (p = 0.044; OR 2.69) and its carriage rate (p = 0.041; OR 2.64) in endometriosis stage IV was higher than the CTR group. Surprisingly, the carriage rate of IL1RN*2-allele (ENDO: p = 0.0004; OR 0.4; stage I: p = 0.002, OR 0.38; stage II: p = 0.002, OR 0.35; stage III: p = 0.003, OR 0.33), as well as the IL1RN*2-allele frequencies (ENDO: p = 0.0008, OR 0.55; I: p = 0.037, OR 0.60; II: p = 0.002, OR 0.41; III: p = 0.003, OR 0.38) were lower than the CTR group. Women with endometriosis stage IV (severe) had frequencies more alike to the CTR group in the IL1RN*2 allele frequency (31.2% vs. 27.2%) and carriage rate (37.5% vs. 41.9%).
Conclusion
Although these polymorphisms are not associated with the risk of endometriosis, Mexican mestizo women with severe stage of endometriosis have higher frequencies of TNF*2-, IL1B*2- and IL1RN*2-alleles, which may explain a possible correlation with disease severity rather than predisposition or risk.
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Evaluation of Soluble CD90: Potential for Diagnostic Significance in Endometriosis Patients. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:9345858. [PMID: 35769819 PMCID: PMC9236764 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9345858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Background Endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating gynecologic disorder, driven by endocrine and immune dysfunctions, which lead to poor endometrial differentiation and attenuated fertility. Escape from immune surveillance and involvement of inflammatory mechanisms appear to be factors in disease progression. Current diagnostic guidelines for endometriosis still lack an efficient biomarker. Here, we report a study on two previously unexplored factors as potential biomarkers for endometriosis. Methods A case-control study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of serum CD90 and CD83 levels in endometriosis patients (cases validated by surgical and histological examination) compared to healthy controls. Serum was collected from age-matched females and analyzed by ELISA. Results Comparison of endometriosis patients to the control group showed significantly elevated levels of serum CD90 (1160 ± 856 pg/mL vs. 334 ± 228 pg/mL; ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). A threshold value of 479.4 pg/mL was defined based on the control results, and the diagnostic efficiency of the test was estimated. The obtained sensitivity (70.4%), specificity (92.9%), positive predictive value (90.5%), and negative predictive value (76.5%) rated the test as one with promising diagnostic potential. In contrast, the analysis of serum CD83 levels showed comparable values in both groups, suggesting no association with patient status. Conclusion Elevated soluble CD90 in human serum is associated with endometriosis, which suggests its putative clinical significance as a biomarker in screening and/or diagnosis of the disease.
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Da Costa KDA, Malvezzi H, Dobo C, Neme RM, Filippi RZ, Aloia TPA, Prado ER, Meola J, Piccinato CDA. Site-Specific Regulation of Sulfatase and Aromatase Pathways for Estrogen Production in Endometriosis. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:854991. [PMID: 35591944 PMCID: PMC9110888 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.854991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Endometriosis is a highly prevalent gynecological disease characterized by lesions in different sites. Regulation of specific estrogen pathways may favor the formation of distinct microenvironments and the progression of endometriosis. However, no study has simultaneously evaluated the gene and protein regulation of the main estrogen-synthesizing enzymes in endometriosis. Thus, our goals were to study the relationship between gene and protein expression of aromatase (CYP19A1 or ARO), steroid sulfatase (STS), and hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase (HSD17B1) in superficial (SUP), ovarian (OMA), and deep infiltrating (DIE) endometriotic lesion sites as well as in the eutopic endometrium of patients with (EE) and without (control) endometriosis in the same and large cohort of patients. The site-specific expression of these enzymes within different cells (glandular and stromal components) was also explored. The study included 108 patients surgically diagnosed with endometriosis who provided biopsies of EE and endometriotic lesions and 16 disease-free patients who collected normal endometrium tissue. Our results showed that CYP19A1 was detected in all endometriosis tissues and was in higher levels than in control. Unique patterns of the STS and HSD17B1 levels showed that they were most closely regulated in all tissues, with manifestation at greater levels in DIE compared to the other endometriotic lesion sites, OMA and SUP. Gene and protein expression of ARO, STS, and HSD17B1 occurred at different rates in endometriotic sites or EE. The distinctive levels of these estrogen-synthesizing enzymes in each endometriotic site support the hypothesis of a tissue microenvironment that can both influence and be influenced by the expression of different estrogenic pathways, locally affecting the availability of estrogen needed for maintenance and progression of endometriotic lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Cristine Dobo
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rosa Maria Neme
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
- Centro de Endometriose São Paulo, Av. República Do Líbano, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renée Zon Filippi
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Juliana Meola
- Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Carla de Azevedo Piccinato
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Carla de Azevedo Piccinato,
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Steroid Sulphatase and Its Inhibitors: Past, Present, and Future. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26102852. [PMID: 34064842 PMCID: PMC8151039 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26102852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Steroid sulphatase (STS), involved in the hydrolysis of steroid sulphates, plays an important role in the formation of both active oestrogens and androgens. Since these steroids significantly impact the proliferation of both oestrogen- and androgen-dependent cancers, many research groups over the past 30 years have designed and developed STS inhibitors. One of the main contributors to this field has been Prof. Barry Potter, previously at the University of Bath and now at the University of Oxford. Upon Prof. Potter’s imminent retirement, this review takes a look back at the work on STS inhibitors and their contribution to our understanding of sulphate biology and as potential therapeutic agents in hormone-dependent disease. A number of potent STS inhibitors have now been developed, one of which, Irosustat (STX64, 667Coumate, BN83495), remains the only one to have completed phase I/II clinical trials against numerous indications (breast, prostate, endometrial). These studies have provided new insights into the origins of androgens and oestrogens in women and men. In addition to the therapeutic role of STS inhibition in breast and prostate cancer, there is now good evidence to suggest they may also provide benefits in patients with colorectal and ovarian cancer, and in treating endometriosis. To explore the potential of STS inhibitors further, a number of second- and third-generation inhibitors have been developed, together with single molecules that possess aromatase–STS inhibitory properties. The further development of potent STS inhibitors will allow their potential therapeutic value to be explored in a variety of hormone-dependent cancers and possibly other non-oncological conditions.
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Anbar HS, Isa Z, Elounais JJ, Jameel MA, Zib JH, Samer AM, Jawad AF, El-Gamal MI. Steroid sulfatase inhibitors: the current landscape. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2021; 31:453-472. [PMID: 33783295 DOI: 10.1080/13543776.2021.1910237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Steroid sulfatase (STS) enzyme is responsible for transforming the inactive sulfate metabolites of steroid sex hormones into the active free steroids. Both the deficiency and the over-expression of STS are associated with the pathophysiology of certain diseases. This article provides the readership with a comprehensive review about STS enzyme and its recently reported inhibitors.Areas covered: In the present article, we reviewed the structure, location, and substrates of STS enzyme, physiological functions of STS, and disease states related to over-expression or deficiency of STS enzyme. STS inhibitors reported during the last five years (2016-present) have been reviewed as well.Expert opinion: Irosustat is the most successful STS inhibitor drug candidate so far. It is currently under investigation in clinical trials for treatment of estrogen-dependent breast cancer. Non-steroidal sulfamate is the most favorable scaffold for STS inhibitor design. They can be beneficial for the treatment of hormone-dependent cancers and neurodegenerative disorders without significant estrogenic side effects. Moreover, dual-acting molecules (inhibitors of STS + another synergistic mechanism) can be therapeutically efficient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanan S Anbar
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Zahraa Isa
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jana J Elounais
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mariam A Jameel
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Joudi H Zib
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Aya M Samer
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Aya F Jawad
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapeutics, Dubai Pharmacy College for Girls, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohammed I El-Gamal
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Mansoura, Mansoura, Egypt
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Malvezzi H, Marengo EB, Podgaec S, Piccinato CDA. Endometriosis: current challenges in modeling a multifactorial disease of unknown etiology. J Transl Med 2020; 18:311. [PMID: 32787880 PMCID: PMC7425005 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02471-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory hormone-dependent condition associated with pelvic pain and infertility, characterized by the growth of ectopic endometrium outside the uterus. Given its still unknown etiology, treatments usually aim at diminishing pain and/or achieving pregnancy. Despite some progress in defining mode-of-action for drug development, the lack of reliable animal models indicates that novel approaches are required. The difficulties inherent to modeling endometriosis are related to its multifactorial nature, a condition that hinders the recreation of its pathology and the identification of clinically relevant metrics to assess drug efficacy. In this review, we report and comment endometriosis models and how they have led to new therapies. We envision a roadmap for endometriosis research, integrating Artificial Intelligence, three-dimensional cultures and organ-on-chip models as ways to achieve better understanding of physiopathological features and better tailored effective treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Malvezzi
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP 05652-900 Brazil
| | - Eliana Blini Marengo
- Instituto Butanta- EstabilidadeBiotech Quality Control, São Paulo, SP 05503-900 Brazil
| | - Sérgio Podgaec
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP 05652-900 Brazil
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Barra F, Romano A, Grandi G, Facchinetti F, Ferrero S. Future directions in endometriosis treatment: discovery and development of novel inhibitors of estrogen biosynthesis. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2019; 28:501-504. [DOI: 10.1080/13543784.2019.1618269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Barra
- Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DiNOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa Italy
| | - Andrea Romano
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, GROW - School for Oncology & Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Giovanni Grandi
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Fabio Facchinetti
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Simone Ferrero
- Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DiNOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa Italy
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