ER-α36 Promotes the Malignant Progression of Cervical Cancer Mediated by Estrogen via HMGA2

Non-Coding RNAs Modulating Estrogen Signaling and Response to Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer

The largest part of human DNA is transcribed into RNA that does not code for proteins. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key regulators of protein-coding gene expression and have been shown to play important roles in health, disease and therapy response. Today, endocrine therapy of ERα-positive breast cancer (BC) is a successful treatment approach, but resistance to this therapy is a major clinical problem. Therefore, a deeper understanding of resistance mechanisms is important to overcome this resistance. An increasing amount of evidence demonstrate that ncRNAs affect the response to endocrine therapy. Thus, ncRNAs are considered versatile biomarkers to predict or monitor therapy response. In this review article, we intend to give a summary and update on the effects of microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) on estrogen signaling in BC cells, this pathway being the target of endocrine therapy, and their role in therapy resistance. For this purpose, we reviewed articles on these topics listed in the PubMed database. Finally, we provide an assessment regarding the clinical use of these ncRNA types, particularly their circulating forms, as predictive BC biomarkers and their potential role as therapy targets to overcome endocrine resistance.

Emerging Evidence on Membrane Estrogen Receptors as Novel Therapeutic Targets for Central Nervous System Pathologies

Nuclear- and membrane-initiated estrogen signaling cooperate to orchestrate the pleiotropic effects of estrogens. Classical estrogen receptors (ERs) act transcriptionally and govern the vast majority of hormonal effects, whereas membrane ERs (mERs) enable acute modulation of estrogenic signaling and have recently been shown to exert strong neuroprotective capacity without the negative side effects associated with nuclear ER activity. In recent years, GPER1 was the most extensively characterized mER. Despite triggering neuroprotective effects, cognitive improvements, and vascular protective effects and maintaining metabolic homeostasis, GPER1 has become the subject of controversy, particularly due to its participation in tumorigenesis. This is why interest has recently turned toward non-GPER-dependent mERs, namely, mERα and mERβ. According to available data, non-GPER-dependent mERs elicit protective effects against brain damage, synaptic plasticity impairment, memory and cognitive dysfunctions, metabolic imbalance, and vascular insufficiency. We postulate that these properties are emerging platforms for designing new therapeutics that may be used in the treatment of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. Since mERs have the ability to interfere with noncoding RNAs and to regulate the translational status of brain tissue by affecting histones, non-GPER-dependent mERs appear to be attractive targets for modern pharmacotherapy for nervous system diseases.

Characterization of fecal microbiota in cervical cancer patients associated with tumor stage and prognosis

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most frequent malignancy among women worldwide, and its prevention and treatment are evolving rapidly. The gut microbiota has been reported to play a crucial role both in the preservation of homeostasis and the development of cervical cancer. In this study, we collected fecal samples to investigate the microbial signatures in cervical cancer patients compared with healthy controls using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) testing. Our findings demonstrated a substantial difference in the gut microbiota composition of cervical cancer patients and healthy controls. The disease and stage were most significantly negatively correlated with Ruminococcus 2, which might be considered a potential clinically relevant biomarker. Functions of differential microbiomes were also analyzed, indicating significant differences in metabolisms and biosynthesis between the two groups. These findings demonstrate that patients with cervical cancer have certain species of gut microbiota that are exclusive to them and particular species have the potential to be used in the prognosis of cervical cancer.

Sex Influences Age-Related Changes in Natural Antibodies and CD5+ B-1 Cells

Natural Abs are primarily produced by B-1 cells and are essential for protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae The incidence and mortality rate for pneumococcal infection increases dramatically after age 65, disproportionately affecting males in both human and murine systems. To date, there is a significant gap in our understanding of the relationship among sex, aging, natural IgM efficacy, and the natural IgM repertoire. Our investigation demonstrates that the protective capacity of serum IgM against pneumococcal infection is maintained in IgM obtained from aged female mice but absent in IgM from aged male mice. To understand this difference in protective capacity, we examined serum Ig, discovering that the protective change was not associated with shifts in levels of phosphorylcholine (PC)- or pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide serotype 3-specific IgM. Interestingly, we observed that aged females have an increase in the total number of CD5⁺ B-1 cells, higher serum IL-5 levels, and a larger percentage of aged female CD5⁺ B-1 cells that express CD86 as compared with aged males. Furthermore, single-cell IgM repertoire analysis from peritoneal PC⁺, splenic PC⁺, and bone marrow CD5⁺ B-1 cell subsets demonstrated greater diversity with age and a higher level of germline status in female mice than previously observed in studies of aged male mice. Aged female CD5⁺ B-1 cells also expressed higher levels of transcripts associated with cell activity and self-renewal, such as Nanog and Hmga2 Taken together, these data indicate that females maintain a more diverse and active CD5⁺ B-1 cell pool and natural IgM repertoire, which has implications for sex-related susceptibility to infection and disease.