Two routes of direct intercellular communication in brain cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 478 (6) ◽  
pp. 1283-1286
Author(s):  
Daniel D. Azorín ◽  
Frank Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Brain Cancer ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Tumor Resistance ◽  
Tunneling Nanotubes ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Membrane Tube ◽  
Biochemical Journal ◽  
Culture Model ◽  
Health And Disease

Glioblastoma is a particularly challenging disease characterized by the connection of tumor cells to functional multicellular networks that effectively resist therapies. In this issue of Biochemical Journal, Pinto et al. report the discovery of two distinct classes of intercellular membrane tube connections, tunneling nanotubes and tumor microtubes, in the same state-of-the-art culture model of patient-derived glioblastoma material. These findings contribute to our understanding of the heterogeneity of intercellular membrane tubes in health and disease, and pave the way for future functional studies on their various roles for disease progression and tumor resistance.

scholarly journals The Caspase-1/IL-18 Axis of the Inflammasome in Tumor Cells: A Modulator of the Th1/Tc1 Response of Tumor-Infiltrating T Lymphocytes in Colorectal Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Linda Bilonda Mutala ◽  
Cécile Deleine ◽  
Matilde Karakachoff ◽  
Delphine Dansette ◽  
Kathleen Ducoin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
T Lymphocytes ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Explant Culture ◽  
T Cell Response ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Innate And Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Caspase 1 ◽  
Culture Model

In colorectal cancer (CRC), a high density of T lymphocytes represents a strong prognostic marker in subtypes of CRC. Optimized immunotherapy strategies to boost this T-cell response are still needed. A good candidate is the inflammasome pathway, an emerging player in cancer immunology that bridges innate and adaptive immunity. Its effector protein caspase-1 matures IL-18 that can promote a T-helper/cytotoxic (Th1/Tc1) response. It is still unknown whether tumor cells from CRC possess a functional caspase-1/IL-18 axis that could modulate the Th1/Tc1 response. We used two independent cohorts of CRC patients to assess IL-18 and caspase-1 expression by tumor cells in relation to the density of TILs and the microsatellite status of CRC. Functional and multiparametric approaches at the protein and mRNA levels were performed on an ex vivo CRC explant culture model. We show that, in the majority of CRCs, tumor cells display an activated and functional caspase-1/IL-18 axis that contributes to drive a Th1/Tc1 response elicited by TILs expressing IL-18Rα. Furthermore, unsupervised clustering identified three clusters of CRCs according to the caspase-1/IL-18/TIL density/interferon gamma (IFNγ) axis and microsatellite status. Together, our results strongly suggest that targeting the caspase-1/IL-18 axis can improve the anti-tumor immune response in subgroups of CRC.

scholarly journals Combined Effect of IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R Expression on Prognosis of Patients with Laryngeal Cancer

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 1041-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Tao ◽  
Tianchang Tao ◽  
Neil Gross ◽  
Xuyun Peng ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Laryngeal Cancer ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Interleukin 12 ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Functional Studies

Background/Aims: This study aimed to pathologically elucidate the roles of interleukin-12 receptor (IL-12R) β2 and interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) expression in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment and to determine their combined effect on prognosis of laryngeal cancer (LC). Methods: The tumor-cell expression scores and TIL positivity ratiosof IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R in matched LC and normal laryngeal tissue samples from 61 LC patients were measured via immunohistochemistry (IHC). We adopted a linear regression model to analyze the correlation between IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R expression in tumor cells and TIL ratios. TheKaplan-Meier log-rank test and Cox regression hazard ratios were used to analyze survival. Results: LC tumor cells had a higher IL-12Rβ2 expression and TIL ratio than IL-23R expression and TIL ratio. The significant correlations between IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R expression and TIL ratios were identified in LC tissues, particularly in well-differentiated LC. Furthermore, either high tumor cell IL-12Rβ2 or low IL-23R expression had better survival than its corresponding low or high expression, respectively. Similar results did for IL-12Rβ2 ratio and IL-23R ratio. Finally, patients with both high IL-12Rβ2 and low IL-23R had the best prognosis among any other combined groups with both gene expression (HR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.0-0.8). Likewise, patients with positive ratios of high IL-12Rβ2 and low IL-23R TILs had the best survival (HR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.0-0.4). Conclusion: IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R create a homeostasis within the tumor cells and TILs, and this homeostasis affects prognosis. While the intrinsic mechanisms of epigenetic immunoediting for IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R remain unknown, additional larger and functional studies are warranted for validation.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Understanding the Mechanisms of Elemene in Reversing Drug Resistance in Tumor Cells: A Review

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (19) ◽  
pp. 5792
Author(s):  
Tiantian Tan ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Ruhua Luo ◽  
Rongrong Wang ◽  
Liyan Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Tumor Resistance ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Common ◽  
Abcb1 Transporter

Malignant tumors are life-threatening, and chemotherapy is one of the common treatment methods. However, there are often many factors that contribute to the failure of chemotherapy. The multidrug resistance of cancer cells during chemotherapy has been reported, since tumor cells’ sensitivity decreases over time. To overcome these problems, extensive studies have been conducted to reverse drug resistance in tumor cells. Elemene, an extract of the natural drug Curcuma wenyujin, has been found to reverse drug resistance and sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy. Mechanisms by which elemene reverses tumor resistance include inhibiting the efflux of ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1(ABCB1) transporter, reducing the transmission of exosomes, inducing apoptosis and autophagy, regulating the expression of key genes and proteins in various signaling pathways, blocking the cell cycle, inhibiting stemness, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and so on. In this paper, the mechanisms of elemene’s reversal of drug resistance are comprehensively reviewed.

scholarly journals Tunneling Nanotubes and the Eye: Intercellular Communication and Implications for Ocular Health and Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly R. Chinnery ◽  
Kate E. Keller
Keyword(s):  
Eye Diseases ◽  
Cellular Communication ◽  
Tunneling Nanotubes ◽  
Extracellular Milieu ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Aqueous Environments ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Ocular Health

Cellular communication is an essential process for the development and maintenance of all tissues including the eye. Recently, a new method of cellular communication has been described, which relies on formation of tubules, called tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). These structures connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells and allow the direct transport of cellular cargo between cells without the need for secretion into the extracellular milieu. TNTs may be an important mechanism for signaling between cells that reside long distances from each other or for cells in aqueous environments, where diffusion-based signaling is challenging. Given the wide range of cargoes transported, such as lysosomes, endosomes, mitochondria, viruses, and miRNAs, TNTs may play a role in normal homeostatic processes in the eye as well as function in ocular disease. This review will describe TNT cellular communication in ocular cell cultures and the mammalian eye in vivo, the role of TNTs in mitochondrial transport with an emphasis on mitochondrial eye diseases, and molecules involved in TNT biogenesis and their function in eyes, and finally, we will describe TNT formation in inflammation, cancer, and stem cells, focusing on pathological processes of particular interest to vision scientists.

scholarly journals A novel human cell culture model to study visceral smooth muscle phenotypic modulation in health and disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (4) ◽  
pp. C598-C607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rianne D. W. Vaes ◽  
Linda van den Berk ◽  
Bas Boonen ◽  
David P. J. van Dijk ◽  
Steven W. M. Olde Damink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Phenotypic Modulation ◽  
Culture Model ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Visceral Smooth Muscle

Adaptation of the smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype is essential for homeostasis and is often involved in pathologies of visceral organs (e.g., uterus, bladder, gastrointestinal tract). In vitro studies of the behavior of visceral SMCs under (patho)-physiological conditions are hampered by a spontaneous, uncontrolled phenotypic modulation of visceral SMCs under regular tissue culture conditions. We aimed to develop a new visceral SMC culture model that allows controlled phenotypic modulation. Human uterine SMCs [ULTR and telomerase-immortalized human myometrial cells (hTERT-HM)] were grown to confluency and kept for up to 6 days on regular tissue culture surfaces or basement membrane (BM) matrix-coated surfaces in the presence of 0–10% serum. mRNA and protein expression and localization of SMC-specific phenotype markers and their transcriptional regulators were investigated by quantitative PCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. Maintaining visceral SMCs confluent for 6 days increased α-smooth muscle actin (1.9-fold) and smooth muscle protein 22-α (3.1-fold), whereas smooth muscle myosin heavy chain was only slightly upregulated (1.3-fold). Culturing on a BM matrix-coated surface further increased these proteins and also markedly promoted mRNA expression of γ-smooth muscle actin (15.0-fold), smoothelin (3.5-fold), h-caldesmon (5.2-fold), serum response factor (7.6-fold), and myocardin (8.1-fold). Whereas additional serum deprivation only minimally affected contractile markers, platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor β1 consistently reduced versus increased their expression. In conclusion, we present a simple and reproducible visceral SMC culture system that allows controlled phenotypic modulation toward both the synthetic and the contractile phenotype. This may greatly facilitate the identification of factors that drive visceral SMC phenotypic changes in health and disease.

scholarly journals Toward Targeting Antiapoptotic MCL-1 for Cancer Therapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-313
Author(s):  
Gemma L. Kelly ◽  
Andreas Strasser
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Tissue Homeostasis ◽  
Clinical Testing ◽  
Malignant Cells ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Genome Analyses

Apoptosis is critical for embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and the removal of infected or otherwise dangerous cells. It is controlled by three subgroups of the BCL-2 protein family—the BH3-only proteins that initiate cell death; the effectors of cell killing, BAX and BAK; and the antiapoptotic guardians, including MCL-1 and BCL-2. Defects in apoptosis can promote tumorigenesis and render malignant cells refractory to anticancer therapeutics. Activation of cell death by inhibiting antiapoptotic BCL-2 family members has emerged as an attractive strategy for cancer therapy, with the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax leading the way. Large-scale cancer genome analyses have revealed frequent amplification of the locus encoding antiapoptotic MCL-1 in human cancers, and functional studies have shown that MCL-1 is essential for the sustained survival and expansion of many types of tumor cells. Structural analysis and medicinal chemistry have led to the development of three distinct small-molecule inhibitors of MCL-1 that are currently undergoing clinical testing.

scholarly journals Functional Studies on Viable Circulating Tumor Cells

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Pantel ◽  
Catherine Alix-Panabières
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Cancer Diagnostics ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Liquid Biopsies ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Functional Studies

AbstractBACKGROUNDResearch on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as new biomarkers has received great attention over the past decade. In particular, the capture and analysis of CTCs as “liquid biopsies” provides the possibility to avoid invasive tissue biopsies, with obvious implications in cancer diagnostics.CONTENTThe focus of this review is to describe and discuss how functional studies on viable CTCs can enlarge the spectrum of applications of liquid biopsies, with emphasis on breast, prostate, colon, and lung cancer as the major tumor entities in industrialized countries. The low number of CTCs in the peripheral blood of most cancer patients makes challenging the in vitro culture of CTCs. Epithelial tumor cells are difficult to culture, even when starting with millions of tumor cells. Recently, several groups have achieved important advances in the in vitro and in vivo expansion of CTCs from cancer patients at very advanced stages with higher amounts of CTCs. Here, we present current technologies to enrich and detect viable human CTCs, including positive and negative enrichment strategies that are based on antigen expression and physical properties of CTCs. We also discuss published data about functional studies on CTCs that use in vitro and in vivo models.SUMMARYFunctional analyses on CTCs offer the possibility to identify the biological properties of metastatic cells, including the identification of metastasis-initiating cells. Moreover, CTC-derived cell lines and xenografts might reveal new therapeutic targets and can be used for drug screening.

scholarly journals TIGAR's promiscuity

2014 ◽  
Vol 458 (3) ◽  
pp. e5-e7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan P. Bolaños
Keyword(s):  
Cell Metabolism ◽  
Glucose Consumption ◽  
Pentose Phosphate ◽  
Regulator Protein ◽  
Biochemical Journal ◽  
Cellular Context ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Rigorous Study ◽  
Cancer Cell Metabolism

TIGAR [TP53 (tumour protein 53)-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator] protein is known for its ability to inhibit glycolysis, shifting glucose consumption towards the pentose phosphate pathway to promote antioxidant protection of cancer cells. According to sequence homology and activity analyses, TIGAR was initially considered to be a fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase; it has thus received much attention in cancer cell metabolism, given its dependence on p53 and the key role of F26BP (fructose 2,6-bisphosphate) at modulating glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. However, in a rigorous study published in this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Gerin and colleagues report that recombinant TIGAR is a 23BPG (2,3-bisphosphoglycerate) phosphatase, although it also dephosphorylates other carboxylic acid-phosphate esters and, weakly, F26BP. As such, inhibition of endogenous TIGAR leads to a dramatic increase in cellular 23BPG, influencing F26BP to a lower extent that depends on the cellular context. These results challenge the currently held notion that TIGAR modulates glycolysis through decreasing F26BP, and opens a yet unrecognized function(s) for TIGAR-mediated 23BPG control of cellular metabolism in health and disease.

scholarly journals The Research Progress of SiRNA Targeting Notch1 on Tumor Cells: A Mini Review of the State of the Art

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-166
Author(s):  
Lanfen Huo ◽  
◽  
Shaoling Wu ◽  
Zhonghai Chi ◽  
Xindong Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cells ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Research Progress
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