Clinical values of two estrogen receptor signaling targeted lncRNAs in invasive ductal breast carcinoma

Understanding the prion-like behavior of mutant p53 proteins in triple-negative breast cancer pathogenesis: The current therapeutic strategies and future directions

Breast cancer (BC) is viewed as a significant public health issue and is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype that predominantly affects young premenopausal women. The tumor suppressor p53 playsa vital role in the cellular response to DNA damage, and its loss or mutations are commonly present in many cancers, including BC. Recent evidence suggests that mutant p53 proteins can aggregate and form prion-like structures, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of different types of malignancies, such as BC. This review provides an overview of BC molecular subtypes, the epidemiology of TNBC, and the role of p53 in BC development. We also discuss the potential implications of prion-like aggregation in BC and highlight future research directions. Moreover, a comprehensive analysis of the current therapeutic approaches targeting p53 aggregates in BC treatment is presented. Strategies including small molecules, chaperone inhibitors, immunotherapy, CRISPR-Cas9, and siRNA are discussed, along with their potential benefits and drawbacks. The use of these approaches to inhibit p53 aggregation and degradation represents a promising target for cancer therapy. Future investigations into the efficacy of these approaches against various p53 mutations or binding to non-p53 proteins should be conducted to develop more effective and personalized therapies for BC treatment.

Protooncogenic Role of ARHGAP11A and ARHGAP11B in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Two Promising Breast Cancer Biomarkers

Invasive duct carcinoma (IDC) is one of the most common types of breast cancer (BC) in women worldwide, with a high risk of malignancy, metastasis, recurrence, and death. So far, molecular patterns among IDC cases have not been fully defined. However, extensive evidence has shown that dysregulated Rho family small GTPases (Rho GTPases) including Rho GTPase activating proteins (RhoGAPs) have important roles in the invasive features of IDCs. In the current study, we analyzed the expression levels of two RhoGAP genes, ARHGAP11A and ARHGAP11B, in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) breast cancer (BRCA) and also our 51 IDC tumors compared to their matched normal tissues using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Our TCGA data analysis revealed higher expression of ARHGAP11A and ARHGAP11B in various cancers comprising BCs. Also, we found correlations between these genes and other genes in TCGA-BRCA. Moreover, our methylation analysis showed that their promotor methylation had a negative correlation with their overexpression. QPCR revealed their significant upregulation in our tumor samples. Furthermore, we found that the expression level of ARHGAP11A was considerably lower in women who were breastfeeding. Moreover, it had overexpression in cases who had regular menstrual cycles and early age (younger than 14) at menarche. However, ARHGAP11B had a higher expression in HER2-positive tumors versus HER2-positive and ER-positive tumors. Our study found possible protooncogenic roles for these genes and their involvement in IDC pathogenesis and malignancy. Therefore, they can be considered novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for IDC.

Collagen Remodeling along Cancer Progression Providing a Novel Opportunity for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a significant factor in cancer progression. Collagens, as the main component of the ECM, are greatly remodeled alongside cancer development. More and more studies have confirmed that collagens changed from a barrier to providing assistance in cancer development. In this course, collagens cause remodeling alongside cancer progression, which in turn, promotes cancer development. The interaction between collagens and tumor cells is complex with biochemical and mechanical signals intervention through activating diverse signal pathways. As the mechanism gradually clears, it becomes a new target to find opportunities to diagnose and treat cancer. In this review, we investigated the process of collagen remodeling in cancer progression and discussed the interaction between collagens and cancer cells. Several typical effects associated with collagens were highlighted in the review, such as fibrillation in precancerous lesions, enhancing ECM stiffness, promoting angiogenesis, and guiding invasion. Then, the values of cancer diagnosis and prognosis were focused on. It is worth noting that several generated fragments in serum were reported to be able to be biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, which is beneficial for clinic detection. At a glance, a variety of reported biomarkers were summarized. Many collagen-associated targets and drugs have been reported for cancer treatment in recent years. The new targets and related drugs were discussed in the review. The mass data were collected and classified by mechanism. Overall, the interaction of collagens and tumor cells is complicated, in which the mechanisms are not completely clear. A lot of collagen-associated biomarkers are excavated for cancer diagnosis. However, new therapeutic targets and related drugs are almost in clinical trials, with merely a few in clinical applications. So, more efforts are needed in collagens-associated studies and drug development for cancer research and treatment.