scholarly journals The Role of miRNA in the Pathophysiology of Neuroendocrine Tumors

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8569
Author(s):  
Lukas Geisler ◽  
Raphael Mohr ◽  
Joeri Lambrecht ◽  
Jana Knorr ◽  
Henning Jann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuroendocrine Tumors ◽  
Response To Therapy ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Tumor Group ◽  
Tumor Stages ◽  
Established Role

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) represent a tumor group that is both rare and heterogeneous. Prognosis is largely determined by the tumor grading and the site of the primary tumor and metastases. Despite intensive research efforts, only modest advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have been achieved in recent years. For patients with non-respectable tumor stages, prognosis is poor. In this context, the development of novel diagnostic tools for early detection of NETs and prediction of tumor response to therapy as well as estimation of the overall prognosis would greatly improve the clinical management of NETs. However, identification of novel diagnostic molecules is hampered by an inadequate understanding of the pathophysiology of neuroendocrine malignancies. It has recently been demonstrated that microRNA (miRNA), a family of small RNA molecules with an established role in the pathophysiology of quite different cancer entities, may also play a role as a biomarker. Here, we summarize the available knowledge on the role of miRNAs in the development of NET and highlight their potential use as serum-based biomarkers in the context of this disease. We discuss important challenges currently preventing their use in clinical routine and give an outlook on future directions of miRNA research in NET.

scholarly journals The Duality of Caspases in Cancer, as Told through the Fly

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8927
Author(s):  
Caitlin Hounsell ◽  
Yun Fan
Keyword(s):  
Tumour Progression ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Cancer Treatments ◽  
Aspartic Proteases ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
Established Role

Caspases, a family of cysteine-aspartic proteases, have an established role as critical components in the activation and initiation of apoptosis. Alongside this a variety of non-apoptotic caspase functions in proliferation, differentiation, cellular plasticity and cell migration have been reported. The activity level and context are important factors in determining caspase function. As a consequence of their critical role in apoptosis and beyond, caspases are uniquely situated to have pathological roles, including in cancer. Altered caspase function is a common trait in a variety of cancers, with apoptotic evasion defined as a “hallmark of cancer”. However, the role that caspases play in cancer is much more complex, acting both to prevent and to promote tumourigenesis. This review focuses on the major findings in Drosophila on the dual role of caspases in tumourigenesis. This has major implications for cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with the activation of apoptosis being the end goal. However, such treatments may inadvertently have adverse effects on promoting tumour progression and acerbating the cancer. A comprehensive understanding of the dual role of caspases will aid in the development of successful cancer therapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals Review of Atypical and Anaplastic Meningiomas: Classification, Molecular Biology, and Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Anne Wilson ◽  
Lei Huang ◽  
Dinesh Ramanathan ◽  
Miguel Lopez-Gonzalez ◽  
Promod Pillai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Surgical Resection ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Adjuvant Radiation ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Atypical Meningiomas ◽  
Slow Growing

Although the majority of meningiomas are slow-growing and benign, atypical and anaplastic meningiomas behave aggressively with a penchant for recurrence. Standard of care includes surgical resection followed by adjuvant radiation in anaplastic and partially resected atypical meningiomas; however, the role of adjuvant radiation for incompletely resected atypical meningiomas remains debated. Despite maximum treatment, atypical, and anaplastic meningiomas have a strong proclivity for recurrence. Accumulating mutations over time, recurrent tumors behave more aggressively and often become refractory or no longer amenable to further surgical resection or radiation. Chemotherapy and other medical therapies are available as salvage treatment once standard options are exhausted; however, efficacy of these agents remains limited. This review discusses the risk factors, classification, and molecular biology of meningiomas as well as the current management strategies, novel therapeutic approaches, and future directions for managing atypical and anaplastic meningiomas.

scholarly journals HIF Signaling Pathway in Pheochromocytoma and Other Neuroendocrine Tumors

2014 ◽  
pp. S251-S262 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. JOCHMANOVÁ ◽  
T. ZELINKA ◽  
J. WIDIMSKÝ ◽  
K. PACAK
Keyword(s):  
Neuroendocrine Tumors ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Protein Translation ◽  
Hypoxia Inducible Factors ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
New Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Hereditary Tumor Syndromes ◽  
Cluster 2 ◽  
Chromaffin Tissue

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors controlling energy, iron metabolism, erythropoiesis, and development. Dysregulation of these proteins contributes to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Recent findings revealed the important role of HIFs in the pathogenesis of neuroendocrine tumors, especially pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL). PHEOs and PGLs are catecholamine-producing tumors arising from sympathetic- or parasympathetic-derived chromaffin tissue. To date, eighteen PHEO/PGL susceptibility genes have been identified. Based on the main signaling pathways, PHEOs/PGLs have been divided into two clusters, pseudohypoxic cluster 1 and cluster 2, rich in kinase receptor signaling and protein translation pathways. Recent data suggest that both clusters are interconnected via the HIF signaling and its role in tumorigenesis is supported by newly described somatic and germline mutations in HIF2A gene in patients with PHEOs/PGLs associated with polycythemia, and in some of them also with somatostatinoma. Moreover, HIFα signaling has also been shown to be upregulated in neuroendocrine tumors other than PHEO/PGL. Some of these tumors are components of hereditary tumor syndromes which can be associated with PHEO/PGL, but also in ileal carcinoids or melanoma. HIF signaling appears to be one of the crucial players in tumorigenesis, which could suggest new therapeutic approaches for treatment of neuroendocrine tumors.

Expression profile of MicroRNA: An Emerging Hallmark of Cancer

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 642-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uzma Zaheer ◽  
Muhammed Faheem ◽  
Ishtiaq Qadri ◽  
Nargis Begum ◽  
Hadi M. Yassine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Messenger Rnas ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Aberrant Expression ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Posttranscriptional Gene Regulation ◽  
Non Coding Rna ◽  
Prognostic Utility ◽  
Additional Level ◽  
The Stability

MicroRNA (miRNAs), a class of small, endogenous non-coding RNA molecules of about 21-24 nucleotides in length, have unraveled a new modulatory network of RNAs that form an additional level of posttranscriptional gene regulation by targeting messenger RNAs (mRNAs). These miRNAs possess the ability to regulate gene expression by modulating the stability of mRNAs, controlling their translation rates, and consequently regulating protein synthesis. Substantial experimental evidence established the involvement of miRNAs in most biological processes like growth, differentiation, development, and metabolism in mammals including humans. An aberrant expression of miRNAs has been implicated in several pathologies, including cancer. The association of miRNAs with tumor growth, development, and metastasis depicts their potential as effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Furthermore, exploitation of the role of different miRNAs as oncogenes or tumor suppressors has aided in designing several miRNA-based therapeutic approaches for treating cancer patients whose clinical trials are underway. In this review, we aim to summarize the biogenesis of miRNAs and the dysregulations in these pathways that result in various pathologies and in some cases, resistance to drug treatment. We provide a detailed review of the miRNA expression signatures in different cancers along with their diagnostic and prognostic utility. Furthermore, we elaborate on the potential employment of miRNAs to enhance cancer cell apoptosis, regress tumor progression and even overcome miRNA-induced drug resistance.

scholarly journals Therapeutic Approaches Targeting Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disorders

Biology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Jones ◽  
Jyoti Patel
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Strategies ◽  
Western World ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Cardiovascular Medicine ◽  
Cardiovascular Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Condition ◽  
Inflammatory Component ◽  
Made In

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western world and represents an enormous global health burden. Significant advances have been made in the conservative, medical and surgical management across the range of cardiovascular diseases however the inflammatory components of these diseases have traditionally been neglected. Inflammation is certainly a key component of atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory condition, but it is at least correlative and predictive of risk in many other aspects of cardiovascular medicine ranging from heart failure to outcomes following reperfusion strategies. Inflammation therefore represents significant potential for future risk stratification of patients as well as offering new therapeutic targets across cardiovascular medicine. This review explores the role of inflammation in several of the major aspects of cardiovascular medicine focusing on current and possible future examples of the targeting of inflammation in prognosis and therapy. It concludes that future directions of cardiovascular research and clinical practice should seek to identify cohorts of patients with a significant inflammatory component to their cardiovascular condition or reaction to cardiovascular intervention. These patients might benefit from therapeutic strategies mounted against the inflammatory components implicated in their condition.

scholarly journals Exosome-Mediated Signaling in Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and Tumor Progression

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Conigliaro ◽  
Carla Cicchini
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Intercellular Communication ◽  
Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Dna And Rna

Growing evidence points to exosomes as key mediators of cell–cell communication, by transferring their specific cargo (e.g., proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA molecules) from producing to receiving cells. In cancer, the regulation of the exosome-mediated intercellular communication may be reshaped, inducing relevant changes in gene expression of recipient cells in addition to microenvironment alterations. Notably, exosomes may deliver signals able to induce the transdifferentiation process known as Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). In this review, we summarize recent findings on the role of exosomes in tumor progression and EMT, highlighting current knowledge on exosome-mediated intercellular communication in tumor-niche establishment, migration, invasion, and metastasis processes. This body of evidence suggests the relevance of taking into account exosome-mediated signaling and its multifaceted aspects to develop innovative anti-tumoral therapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals Cancer Nanopharmaceuticals: Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro/In Vivo Applications

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1896
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Zielińska ◽  
Marlena Szalata ◽  
Adam Gorczyński ◽  
Jacek Karczewski ◽  
Piotr Eder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Physicochemical Characterization ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Imaging Analysis ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Single Nanoparticle

Physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and biopharmaceutical characterization tools play a key role in the assessment of nanopharmaceuticals’ potential imaging analysis and for site-specific delivery of anti-cancers to neoplastic cells/tissues. If diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches are combined in one single nanoparticle, a new platform called nanotheragnostics is generated. Several analytical technologies allow us to characterize nanopharmaceuticals and nanoparticles and their properties so that they can be properly used in cancer therapy. This paper describes the role of multifunctional nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment, describing how nanotheragnostics can be useful in modern chemotherapy, and finally, the challenges associated with the commercialization of nanoparticles for cancer therapy.

scholarly journals Argonaute Proteins Take Center Stage in Cancers

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 788
Author(s):  
Iwona Nowak ◽  
Aishe A. Sarshad
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Center Stage ◽  
Current State ◽  
Argonaute Proteins ◽  
Tumor Types ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

Argonaute proteins (AGOs) play crucial roles in RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) formation and activity. AGOs loaded with small RNA molecules (miRNA or siRNA) either catalyze endoribonucleolytic cleavage of target RNAs or recruit factors responsible for translational silencing and target destabilization. miRNAs are well characterized and broadly studied in tumorigenesis; nevertheless, the functions of the AGOs in cancers have lagged behind. Here, we discuss the current state of knowledge on the role of AGOs in tumorigenesis, highlighting canonical and non-canonical functions of AGOs in cancer cells, as well as the biomarker potential of AGO expression in different of tumor types. Furthermore, we point to the possible application of the AGOs in development of novel therapeutic approaches.

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