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BharathwajChetty B, Sajeev A, Vishwa R, Aswani BS, Alqahtani MS, Abbas M, Kunnumakkara AB. Dynamic interplay of nuclear receptors in tumor cell plasticity and drug resistance: Shifting gears in malignant transformations and applications in cancer therapeutics. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2024; 43:321-362. [PMID: 38517618 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-024-10171-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Recent advances have brought forth the complex interplay between tumor cell plasticity and its consequential impact on drug resistance and tumor recurrence, both of which are critical determinants of neoplastic progression and therapeutic efficacy. Various forms of tumor cell plasticity, instrumental in facilitating neoplastic cells to develop drug resistance, include epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) alternatively termed epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, the acquisition of cancer stem cell (CSC) attributes, and transdifferentiation into diverse cell lineages. Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) that play an essential role in regulating a multitude of cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. NRs have been implicated to play a critical role in modulating gene expression associated with tumor cell plasticity and drug resistance. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of how NRs regulate these key aspects of cancer biology. We discuss the diverse mechanisms through which NRs influence tumor cell plasticity, including EMT, stemness, and metastasis. Further, we explore the intricate relationship between NRs and drug resistance, highlighting the impact of NR signaling on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapies. We also discuss the emerging therapeutic strategies targeting NRs to overcome tumor cell plasticity and drug resistance. This review also provides valuable insights into the current clinical trials that involve agonists or antagonists of NRs modulating various aspects of tumor cell plasticity, thereby delineating the potential of NRs as therapeutic targets for improved cancer treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bandari BharathwajChetty
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Anjana Sajeev
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Ravichandran Vishwa
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Babu Santha Aswani
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India
| | - Mohammed S Alqahtani
- Radiological Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Abbas
- Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ajaikumar B Kunnumakkara
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India.
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Musicco C, Signorile A, Pesce V, Loguercio Polosa P, Cormio A. Mitochondria Deregulations in Cancer Offer Several Potential Targets of Therapeutic Interventions. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10420. [PMID: 37445598 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondria play a key role in cancer and their involvement is not limited to the production of ATP only. Mitochondria also produce reactive oxygen species and building blocks to sustain rapid cell proliferation; thus, the deregulation of mitochondrial function is associated with cancer disease development and progression. In cancer cells, a metabolic reprogramming takes place through a different modulation of the mitochondrial metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid oxidation, the Krebs cycle, glutamine and heme metabolism. Alterations of mitochondrial homeostasis, in particular, of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitophagy, dynamics, redox balance, and protein homeostasis, were also observed in cancer cells. The use of drugs acting on mitochondrial destabilization may represent a promising therapeutic approach in tumors in which mitochondrial respiration is the predominant energy source. In this review, we summarize the main mitochondrial features and metabolic pathways altered in cancer cells, moreover, we present the best known drugs that, by acting on mitochondrial homeostasis and metabolic pathways, may induce mitochondrial alterations and cancer cell death. In addition, new strategies that induce mitochondrial damage, such as photodynamic, photothermal and chemodynamic therapies, and the development of nanoformulations that specifically target drugs in mitochondria are also described. Thus, mitochondria-targeted drugs may open new frontiers to a tailored and personalized cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Musicco
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies (IBIOM), CNR, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Anna Signorile
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Vito Pesce
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Paola Loguercio Polosa
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Antonella Cormio
- Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy
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Zhang B, Li Y, Zhu X, Chen Z, Huang X, Gong T, Zheng W, Bi Z, Zhu C, Qian J, Li X, Jin C. OncoVee™-MiniPDX-guided anticancer treatment for HER2-negative intermediate-advanced gastric cancer patients: a single-arm, open-label phase I clinical study. Discov Oncol 2023; 14:46. [PMID: 37093368 PMCID: PMC10126180 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-023-00661-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chemotherapy is the main treatment strategy for patients with advanced HER2-negative gastric cancer (GC); yet, many patients do not respond well to treatment. This study evaluated the sensitivity of a mini patient-derived xenograft (MiniPDX) animal model in patients with HER2-negative intermediate-advanced GC. METHODS In this single-arm, open-label clinical study, we consecutively recruited patients with HER2-negative advanced or recurrent GC from September 2018 to July 2021. Tumor tissues were subjected to MiniPDX drug sensitivity tests for screening individualized anti-tumor drugs; appropriate drug types or combinations were selected based on drug screening results. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and safety, and the secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS A total of 17 patients were screened, and 14 eligible patients were included.The median follow-up time was 9 (2-34) months. The median PFS time was 14.1 (2-34) months, the median OS time was 16.9 (2-34) months, ORR was 42.9% (6/14), and DCR was 92.9% (13/14). The most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) were fatigue (14 (100%)), anorexia (13 (93%)) and insomnia (12 (86%)), and the most common grade 3 or worse TRAE was fatigue (6 (43%)), and anorexia (6 (43%)). The occurrence rate of myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, abnormal liver enzymes, and other grade 3-4 chemotherapy adverse reactions were relatively low, and no grade 5 treatment-related adverse events occurred. CONCLUSION Screening HER2-negative medium-advanced GC/GJC chemotherapy regimens and targeted drugs based on MiniPDX animal models showed good tumor activity and safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baonan Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Yuzhen Li
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Xiaodan Zhu
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Zhe Chen
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Xiaona Huang
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Tingjie Gong
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Weiwang Zheng
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Zhenle Bi
- Department of Medical, Co. Ltd. Shanghai, Shanghai LIDE Biotech, China
| | - Chenyang Zhu
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Jingyi Qian
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Li
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China
| | - Chunhui Jin
- Department of Oncology, Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 8 West Zhongnan Road, Wuxi, 214071, China.
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Avena P, De Luca A, Chimento A, Nocito MC, Sculco S, La Padula D, Zavaglia L, Giulietti M, Hantel C, Sirianni R, Casaburi I, Pezzi V. Estrogen Related Receptor Alpha (ERRα) a Bridge between Metabolism and Adrenocortical Cancer Progression. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:3885. [PMID: 36010877 PMCID: PMC9406166 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14163885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and highly aggressive tumor associated with a very poor prognosis, mostly due to a high risk of recurrence and limited therapeutic options. The identification of “master regulators” of the metabolic changes occurring in cancer cells could offer new targets for innovative therapies. Such a strategy has never been used against ACC progression. In this study, we identify ERRα as key player in ACC metabolism and its targeting can prevent progression to a more aggressive phenotype. The development of new therapeutic strategies to selectively target ERRα in the adrenal with a selective antagonist would hinder ACC progression, avoiding off-target effects. Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic changes that occur in adrenocortical cancer (ACC) cells in response to the modulation of Estrogen Related Receptor (ERR)α expression and the impact on ACC progression. Proteomics analysis and metabolic profiling highlighted an important role for ERRα in the regulation of ACC metabolism. Stable ERRα overexpression in H295R cells promoted a better mitochondrial fitness and prompted toward a more aggressive phenotype characterized by higher Vimentin expression, enhanced cell migration and spheroids formation. By contrast, a decrease in ERRα protein levels, by molecular (short hairpin RNA) and pharmacological (inverse agonist XCT790) approaches modified the energetic status toward a low energy profile and reduced Vimentin expression and ability to form spheroids. XCT790 produced similar effects on two additional ACC cell lines, SW13 and mitotane-resistant MUC-1 cells. Our findings show that ERRα is able to modulate the metabolic profile of ACC cells, and its inhibition can strongly prevent the growth of mitotane-resistant ACC cells and the progression of ACC cell models to a highly migratory phenotype. Consequently, ERRα can be considered an important target for the design of new therapeutic strategies to fight ACC progression.
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