Role of HIF-1α/ERRα in Enhancing Cancer Cell Metabolism and Promoting Resistance of Endometrial Cancer Cells to Pyroptosis

Glucose metabolism reprogramming in gynecologic malignant tumors

The incidence and mortality of gynecological tumors are progressively increasing due to factors such as obesity, viral infection, unhealthy habits, as well as social and economic pressures. Consequently, it has emerged as a significant threat to women's health. Numerous studies have revealed the remarkable metabolic activity of tumor cells in glycolysis and its ability to influence malignant biological behavior through specific mechanisms. Therefore, it is crucial for patients and gynecologists to comprehend the role of glycolytic proteins, regulatory molecules, and signaling pathways in tumorigenesis, progression, and treatment. This article aims to review the correlation between abnormal glucose metabolism and gynecologic tumors including cervical cancer (CC), endometrial carcinoma (EC), and ovarian cancer (OC). The findings from this research will provide valuable scientific insights for early screening, timely diagnosis and treatment interventions while also aiding in the prevention of recurrence among individuals with gynecological tumors.

Exercise and Ischemia-Activated Pathways in Limb Muscle Angiogenesis and Vascular Regeneration

Exercise has a profound effect on cardiovascular disease, particularly through vascular remodeling and regeneration. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is one such cardiovascular condition that benefits from regular exercise or rehabilitative physical therapy in terms of slowing the progression of disease and delaying amputations. Various rodent pre-clinical studies using models of PAD and exercise have shed light on molecular pathways of vascular regeneration. Here, I review key exercise-activated signaling pathways (nuclear receptors, kinases, and hypoxia inducible factors) in the skeletal muscle that drive paracrine regenerative angiogenesis. The rationale for highlighting the skeletal muscle is that it is the largest organ recruited during exercise. During exercise, skeletal muscle releases several myokines, including angiogenic factors and cytokines that drive tissue vascular regeneration via activation of endothelial cells, as well as by recruiting immune and endothelial progenitor cells. Some of these core exercise-activated pathways can be extrapolated to vascular regeneration in other organs. I also highlight future areas of exercise research (including metabolomics, single cell transcriptomics, and extracellular vesicle biology) to advance our understanding of how exercise induces vascular regeneration at the molecular level, and propose the idea of "exercise-mimicking" therapeutics for vascular recovery.

Pyroptosis: the dawn of a new era in endometrial cancer treatment

Endometrial cancer (EC) is a malignancy of the inner epithelial lining of the uterus. While early-stage EC is often curable through surgery, the management of advanced, recurrent and metastatic EC poses significant challenges and is associated with a poor prognosis. Pyroptosis, an emerging form of programmed cell death, is characterized by the cleavage of gasdermin proteins, inducing the formation of extensive gasdermin pores in the cell membrane and the leakage of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-18 (IL-18), consequently causing cell swelling, lysis and death. It has been found to be implicated in the occurrence and progression of almost all tumors. Recent studies have demonstrated that regulating tumor cells pyroptosis can exploit synergies function with traditional tumor treatments. This paper provides an overview of the research progress made in molecular mechanisms of pyroptosis. It then discusses the role of pyroptosis and its components in initiation and progression of endometrial cancer, emphasizing recent insights into the underlying mechanisms and highlighting unresolved questions. Furthermore, it explores the potential value of pyroptosis in the treatment of endometrial cancer, considering its current application in tumor radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

ERRα promotes glycolytic metabolism and targets the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD pathway to regulate pyroptosis in endometrial cancer

BACKGROUND

Tumor cells can resist chemotherapy-induced pyroptosis through glycolytic reprogramming. Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) is a central regulator of cellular energy metabolism associated with poor cancer prognosis. Herein, we refine the oncogenic role of ERRα in the pyroptosis pathway and glycolytic metabolism.

METHODS

The interaction between ERRα and HIF-1α was verified using co-immunoprecipitation. The transcriptional binding sites of ERRα and NLRP3 were confirmed using dual-luciferase reporter assay and cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag). Flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, cell mito stress test, and extracellular acidification rate analysis were performed to investigate the effects of ERRα on the pyroptosis pathway and glycolytic metabolism. The results of these experiments were further confirmed in endometrial cancer (EC)-derived organoids and nude mice. In addition, the expression of ERRα-related pyroptosis genes was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus database.

RESULTS

Triggered by a hypoxic microenvironment, highly expressed ERRα could bind to the promoter of NLRP3 and inhibit caspase-1/GSDMD signaling, which reduced inflammasome activation and increased pyroptosis resistance, thereby resulting in the resistance of cancer cells to cisplatin. Moreover, ERRα activated glycolytic rate-limiting enzyme to bridge glycolytic metabolism and pyroptosis in EC. This phenomenon was further confirmed in EC-derived organoids and nude mice. CUT & Tag sequencing and The Cancer Genome Atlas database analysis showed that ERRα participated in glycolysis and programmed cell death, which resulted in EC progression.

CONCLUSIONS

ERRα inhibits pyroptosis in an NLRP3-dependent manner and induces glycolytic metabolism, resulting in cisplatin resistance in EC cells.

ERRα Up-Regulates Invadopodia Formation by Targeting HMGCS1 to Promote Endometrial Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) plays an important role in endometrial cancer (EC) progression. However, the biological roles of ERRα in EC invasion and metastasis are not clear. This study aimed to investigate the role of ERRα and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase 1 (HMGCS1) in regulating intracellular cholesterol metabolism to promote EC progression. ERRα and HMGCS1 interactions were detected by co-immunoprecipitation, and the effects of ERRα/HMGCS1 on the metastasis of EC were investigated by wound-healing and transwell chamber invasion assays. Cellular cholesterol content was measured to verify the relationship between ERRα and cellular cholesterol metabolism. Additionally, immunohistochemistry was performed to confirm that ERRα and HMGCS1 were related to EC progression. Furthermore, the mechanism was investigated using loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays or treatment with simvastatin. High expression levels of ERRα and HMGCS1 promoted intracellular cholesterol metabolism for invadopodia formation. Moreover, inhibiting ERRα and HMGCS1 expression significantly weakened the malignant progression of EC in vitro and in vivo. Our functional analysis showed that ERRα promoted EC invasion and metastasis through the HMGCS1-mediated intracellular cholesterol metabolism pathway, which was dependent on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway. Our findings suggest that ERRα and HMGCS1 are potential targets to suppress EC progression.

The Regulatory Role of Lipid Metabolism in Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the 6th most common carcinoma as well as the 2nd most common malignancy worldwide in women. It is closely related to fat content, and dyslipidemia is among the most significant metabolic changes in this cancer. Therefore, further understanding of the regulation mechanism in lipid metabolism of endometrial cancer is conducive to the development of better therapeutic strategies and methods. Here, we systematically review the signaling pathways that regulate lipid metabolism in endometrial cancer and the research progress of drugs and targeted therapies that act on lipid metabolism by retrieving relevant articles. The underlying mechanism of occurrence and development of endometrial cancer is relatively clear and comprehensively reviewed here. But following more research studies will help to illuminate more specific regulatory roles of lipid metabolism in endometrial cancer and explore new possible mechanisms, prognostic and therapeutic targets, and subsequent drugs. Our review will provide a full view for the following investigation of lipid metabolism in endometrial cancer.