Polyphenol nanocomplex modulates lactate metabolic reprogramming and elicits immune responses to enhance cancer therapeutic effect.

Cancer lactate metabolic reprogramming induces an elevated level of extracellular lactate and H+, leading to an acidic immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TEM). High lactic acid level may affect the metabolic programs of various cells that comprise an antitumor immune response, therefore, restricting immune-mediated tumor destruction, and leading to therapeutic resistance and unsatisfactory prognosis. Here, we report a metal-phenolic coordination-based nanocomplex loaded with a natural polyphenol galloflavin, which inhibits the function of lactate dehydrogenase, reducing the production of lactic acid, and alleviating the acidic immunosuppressive TME. Besides, the co-entrapped natural polyphenol carnosic acid and the synthetic PEG-Ce6 polyphenol derivative (serving as a photosensitizer) could induce immunogenic cancer cell death upon laser irradiation, which further activates immune system and promotes immune cell recruitment and infiltration in tumor tissues. We demonstrated that this nanocomplex-based combinational therapy could reshape the TME and elicit immune responses in a murine breast cancer model, which provides a promising strategy to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of drug-resistant breast cancer.

A highly potent small-molecule antagonist of exportin-1 selectively eliminates CD44+CD24- enriched breast cancer stem-like cells.

Breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSCs) have been suggested as the underlying cause of tumor recurrence, metastasis and drug resistance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here, we report the discovery and biological evaluation of a highly potent small-molecule antagonist of exportin-1, LFS-1107. We ascertained that exportin-1 (also named as CRM1) is a main cellular target of LFS-1107 by nuclear export functional assay, bio-layer interferometry binding assay and C528S mutant cell line. We found that LFS-1107 significantly inhibited TNBC tumor cells at low-range nanomolar concentration and LFS-1107 can selectively eliminate CD44+CD24- enriched BCSCs. We demonstrated that LFS-1107 can induce the nuclear retention of Survivin and consequent strong suppression of STAT3 transactivation abilities and the expression of downstream stemness regulators. Administration of LFS-1107 can strongly inhibit tumor growth in mouse xenograft model and eradicate BCSCs in residual tumor tissues. Moreover, LFS-1107 can significantly ablate the patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) of TNBC as compared to a few approved cancer drugs. Lastly, we revealed that LFS-1107 can enhance the killing effects of chemotherapy drugs and downregulate multidrug resistance related protein targets. These new findings provide preclinical evidence of defining LFS-1107 as a promising therapeutic agent to deplete BCSCs for the treatment of TNBC.

Effect of ZnCl2 assisted chemical bath deposition on preferred orientations and optical properties of ZnO films.

Using zinc chloride as an additive assisted with conventional solutions of zinc acetate dihydrate and hexamethylenetetramine, the synthesis of ZnO films by chemical bath deposition was investigated and characterized by x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. ZnO films with (0002), (101̄2), (112̄2), (112̄0), and (101̄0) preferential growth orientation were prepared by changing the concentration of the introduced zinc chloride. The results of UV-Vis spectrophotometry show that the ZnO films with different preferential growth orientations have optical transmittance of more than 80% in the visible light region. Results from PL show that compared to the typical polar (0002) preferential growth orientation of ZnO, other films with different preferential growth orientations have different visible emissions. It was also confirmed that the concentration of Cl- can affect the defects and preferred orientations of ZnO films. This work enriches the fabrication of ZnO films with different preferential growth orientations and also provides new ideas for the fabrication of ZnO-based transparent nanodevices.

Targeting SOST using a small-molecule compound retards breast cancer bone metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer metastasis to the bone can be exacerbated by osteoporosis, is associated with poor long-term survival, and has limited therapeutic options. Sclerostin (SOST) is an endogenous inhibitor of bone formation, and an attractive target for treatment of osteoporosis. However, it is unclear whether SOST can be used as a therapeutic target for bone metastases of breast cancer, and whether small molecule compounds that target SOST in breast cancer cells can inhibit breast cancer bone metastasis. METHODS: SOST expression in 442 breast cancer tissues was characterized by immunohistochemistry and statistically analyzed for the association with breast cancer bone metastases. Bone metastatic breast cancer SCP2 cells were induced for SOST silencing or overexpression and their bone metastatic behaviors were tested in vitro and in vivo. To identify potential therapeutics, we screened inhibitors of the interaction of SOST with STAT3 from a small chemical molecule library and tested the inhibitory effects of one inhibitor on breast cancer growth and bone metastasis in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We found that up-regulated SOST expression was associated with breast cancer bone metastases and worse survival of breast cancer patients. SOST silencing significantly reduced the bone metastatic capacity of SCP2 cells. SOST interacted with STAT3 to enhance the TGF-ß/KRAS signaling, increasing both tumor growth and bone metastasis. Treatment with one lead candidate, S6, significantly inhibited the growth of breast-cancer organoids and bone metastasis in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight a new class of potential therapeutics for treatment of bone metastasis in breast cancer.

CEMIP as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer patients.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate whether CEMIP plays any role in the survival outcome of breast cancer (BC) patients, as well as to explore the regulatory mechanism of CEMIP in BC. Methods: We evaluated the expression and prognostic effect of CEMIP in BC patients using the Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN, and Kaplan-Meier plotter databases. Additionally, we detected CEMIP mRNA and protein levels in BC and normal tissues via PCR and western blotting analyses. Through immunochemistry analysis, we quantified CEMIP expression in 233 samples from BC patients. We then analyzed the link between the survival outcomes and CEMIP expression based on these clinical samples. Furthermore, we explored the immune-related molecules regulated by CEMIP and its coexpressed genes using the STRING database. Results: CEMIP expression was higher in BC tissues than in normal tissues. Patients with high CEMIP mRNA levels had a worse survival outcome. Similarly, patients expressing CEMIP had significantly shorter overall survival and disease-free survival than those not expressing the protein (P < 0.01). Some lymphocytes, immune inhibitors, immune stimulators, MHC molecules, chemokines, and chemokine receptors can be regulated by CEMIP, and CEMIP and its coexpressed genes can participate in the hyaluronan biosynthetic process, hyaluronan catabolic process, and other related biological processes in the progression of BC. Conclusion: Compared to normal tissues, BC tissues had higher number of CEMIP transcripts. CEMIP expression was associated with an adverse prognosis. CEMIP and its coexpressed genes can participate in the progression of BC. Therefore, CEMIP may be a potential biomarker for the treatment of BC patients.

HCK can serve as novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for Breast Cancer patients.

The role of HCK expression in the prognosis of breast cancer patients is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to explore the clinical implications of HCK expression in breast cancer. We assessed HCK expression and genetic variations in breast cancer using Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN, and cBioPortal databases. Then, immunochemistry was used to analyze HCK expression in breast cancer specimens, non-cancer tissues and metastatic cancer tissues. Consequently, we evaluated the effect of HCK expression on survival outcomes set as disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Finally, STRING, Coexpedia, and TISIDB database were explored to identify the molecular functions and regulation pathways of HCK. We found that breast cancer tissues have more HCK mRNA transcripts than non-cancer tissues. Patients with HCK expression had significantly shorter DFS and OS. The ratio of HCK expression was higher in cancer tissues than in non-cancer tissues. These results from STRING database, FunRich software, and TISIDB database showed that HCK was involved in mediating multiple biological processes including immune response-regulating signaling pathway, cell growth and maintenance through multiple signaling pathways including epithelial to mesenchymal transition, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and focal adhesion. Overall, HCK may be an oncogene in the development of breast cancer and thus may as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer.

FSIP1 enhances the therapeutic sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer patients by activating the Nanog pathway.

CDK4/6 inhibitors are routinely recommended agents for the treatment of advanced HR+HER2- breast cancer. However, their therapeutic effectiveness in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains controversial. Here, we observed that the expression level of fibrous sheath interacting protein 1 (FSIP1) could predict the treatment response of TNBC to CDK4/6 inhibitors. High FSIP1 expression level was related to a poor prognosis in TNBC, which was associated with the ability of FSIP1 to promote tumor cell proliferation. FSIP1 downregulation led to slowed tumor growth and reduced lung metastasis in TNBC. FSIP1 knockout caused cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and reduced treatment sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibitors by inactivating the Nanog/CCND1/CDK4/6 pathway. FSIP1 could form a complex with Nanog, protecting it from ubiquitination and degradation, which may facilitate the rapid cell cycle transition from G0/G1 to S phase and exhibit enhanced sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Our findings suggest that TNBC patients with high FSIP1 expression levels may be suitable candidates for CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment.

Dalpiciclib partially abrogates ER signaling activation induced by pyrotinib in HER2+HR+ breast cancer.

Recent evidences from clinical trials (NCT04486911) revealed that the combination of pyrotinib, letrozole, and dalpiciclib exerted optimistic therapeutic effect in treating HER2+HR+ breast cancer; however, the underlying molecular mechanism remained elusive. Through the drug sensitivity test, the drug combination efficacy of pyrotinib, tamoxifen, and dalpiciclib to BT474 cells was tested. The underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated using immunofluorescence, Western blot analysis, immunohistochemical staining, and cell cycle analysis. Potential risk factor that may indicate the responsiveness to drug treatment in HER2+/HR+ breast cancer was identified using RNA-sequence and evaluated using immunohistochemical staining and in vivo drug susceptibility test. We found that pyrotinib combined with dalpiciclib exerted better cytotoxic efficacy than pyrotinib combined with tamoxifen in BT474 cells. Degradation of HER2 could enhance ER nuclear transportation, activating ER signaling pathway in BT474 cells, whereas dalpiciclib could partially abrogate this process. This may be the underlying mechanism by which combination of pyrotinib, tamoxifen, and dalpiciclib exerted best cytotoxic effect. Furthermore, CALML5 was revealed to be a risk factor in the treatment of HER2+/HR+ breast cancer and the usage of dalpiciclib might overcome the drug resistance to pyrotinib + tamoxifen due to CALML5 expression. Our study provided evidence that the usage of dalpiciclib in the treatment of HER2+/HR+ breast cancer could partially abrogate the estrogen signaling pathway activation caused by anti-HER2 therapy and revealed that CALML5 could serve as a risk factor in the treatment of HER2+/HR+ breast cancer.

KCNJ15 deficiency promotes drug resistance via affecting the function of lysosomes.

The altered lysosomal function can induce drug redistribution which leads to drug resistance and poor prognosis for cancer patients. V-ATPase, an ATP-driven proton pump positioned at lysosomal surfaces, is responsible for maintaining the stability of lysosome. Herein, we reported that the potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 15 (KCNJ15) protein, which may bind to V-ATPase, can regulate the function of lysosome. The deficiency of KCNJ15 protein in breast cancer cells led to drug aggregation as well as reduction of drug efficacy. The application of the V-ATPase inhibitor could inhibit the binding between KCNJ15 and V-ATPase, contributing to the amelioration of drug resistance. Clinical data analysis revealed that KCNJ15 deficiency was associated with higher histological grading, advanced stages, more metastases of lymph nodes, and shorter disease free survival of patients with breast cancer. KCNJ15 expression level is positively correlated with a high response rate after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Moreover, we revealed that the small molecule drug CMA/BAF can reverse drug resistance by disrupting the interaction between KCNJ15 and lysosomes. In conclusion, KCNJ15 could be identified as an underlying indicator for drug resistance and survival of breast cancer, which might guide the choice of therapeutic strategies.

KK-LC-1 as a therapeutic target to eliminate ALDH+ stem cells in triple negative breast cancer.

Failure to achieve complete elimination of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) stem cells after adjuvant therapy is associated with poor outcomes. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) is a marker of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), and its enzymatic activity regulates tumor stemness. Identifying upstream targets to control ALDH+ cells may facilitate TNBC tumor suppression. Here, we show that KK-LC-1 determines the stemness of TNBC ALDH+ cells via binding with FAT1 and subsequently promoting its ubiquitination and degradation. This compromises the Hippo pathway and leads to nuclear translocation of YAP1 and ALDH1A1 transcription. These findings identify the KK-LC-1-FAT1-Hippo-ALDH1A1 pathway in TNBC ALDH+ cells as a therapeutic target. To reverse the malignancy due to KK-LC-1 expression, we employ a computational approach and discover Z839878730 (Z8) as an small-molecule inhibitor which may disrupt KK-LC-1 and FAT1 binding. We demonstrate that Z8 suppresses TNBC tumor growth via a mechanism that reactivates the Hippo pathway and decreases TNBC ALDH+ cell stemness and viability.

NUSAP1 Could be a Potential Target for Preventing NAFLD Progression to Liver Cancer.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has gradually emerged as the most prevalent cause of chronic liver diseases. However, specific changes during the progression of NAFLD from non-fibrosis to advanced fibrosis and then hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unresolved. Here, we firstly identify the key gene linking NAFLD fibrosis and HCC through analysis and experimental verification. Methods: Two GEO datasets (GSE89632, GSE49541) were performed for identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with NAFLD progression from non-fibrosis to early fibrosis and eventually to advanced fibrosis. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were integrated to explore the potential function of the DEGs and hub genes. The expression of NUSAP1 was confirmed in vivo and in vitro NAFLD models at mRNA and protein level. Then, cell proliferation and migration under high fat conditions were verified by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and wound-healing assays. The lipid content was measured with Oil Red O staining. Finally, the analysis of clinical survival curves was performed to reveal the prognostic value of the crucial genes among HCC patients via the online web-tool GEPIA2 and KM plotter. Results: 5510 DEGs associated with non-fibrosis NAFLD, 3913 DEGs about NAFLD fibrosis, and 739 DEGs related to NAFLD progression from mild fibrosis to advanced fibrosis were identified. Then, a total of 112 common DEGs were found. The result of enrichment analyses suggested that common DEGs were strongly associated with the glucocorticoid receptor pathway, regulation of transmembrane transporter activity, peroxisome, and proteoglycan biosynthetic process. Six genes, including KIAA0101, NUSAP1, UHRF1, RAD51AP1, KIF22, and ZWINT, were identified as crucial candidate genes via the PPI network. The expression of NUSAP1 was validated highly expressed in vitro and vivo NAFLD models at mRNA and protein level. NUSAP1 silence could inhibit the ability of cell proliferation, migration and lipid accumulation in vitro. Finally, we also found that NUSAP1 was significantly up-regulated at transcriptional and protein levels, and associated with poor survival and advanced tumor stage among HCC patients. Conclusion: NUSAP1 may be a potential therapeutic target for preventing NAFLD progression to liver cancer.

Binding blockade between TLN1 and integrin ß1 represses triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Integrin family are known as key gears in focal adhesion for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) metastasis. However, the integrin independent factor TLN1 remains vague in TNBC. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed based on TCGA database and Shengjing Hospital cohort. Western blot and RT-PCR were used to detect the expression of TLN1 and integrin pathway in cells. A small-molecule C67399 was screened for blocking TLN1 and integrin ß1 through a novel computational screening approach by targeting the protein-protein binding interface. Drug pharmacodynamics were determined through xenograft assay. Results: Upregulation of TLN1 in TNBC samples correlates with metastasis and worse prognosis. Silencing TLN1 in TNBC cells significantly attenuated the migration of tumour cells through interfering the dynamic formation of focal adhesion with integrin ß1, thus regulating FAK-AKT signal pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation. Targeting the binding between TLN1 and integrin ß1 by C67399 could repress metastasis of TNBC. Conclusions: TLN1 overexpression contributes to TNBC metastasis and C67399 targeting TLN1 may hold promise for TNBC treatment. Funding: This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81872159, 81902607, 81874301), Liaoning Colleges Innovative Talent Support Program (Name: Cancer Stem Cell Origin and Biological Behaviour), Outstanding Scientific Fund of Shengjing Hospital (201803), and Outstanding Young Scholars of Liaoning Province (2019-YQ-10).

Association of human breast cancer CD44-/CD24- cells with delayed distant metastasis.

Tumor metastasis remains the main cause of breast cancer-related deaths, especially delayed breast cancer distant metastasis. The current study assessed the frequency of CD44-/CD24- breast cancer cells in 576 tissue specimens for associations with clinicopathological features and metastasis and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. The results indicated that higher frequency (≥19.5%) of CD44-/CD24- cells was associated with delayed postoperative breast cancer metastasis. Furthermore, CD44-/CD24-triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells spontaneously converted into CD44+/CD24-cancer stem cells (CSCs) with properties similar to CD44+/CD24-CSCs from primary human breast cancer cells and parental TNBC cells in terms of stemness marker expression, self-renewal, differentiation, tumorigenicity, and lung metastasis in vitro and in NOD/SCID mice. RNA sequencing identified several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in newly converted CSCs and RHBDL2, one of the DEGs, expression was upregulated. More importantly, RHBDL2 silencing inhibited the YAP1/USP31/NF-κB signaling and attenuated spontaneous CD44-/CD24- cell conversion into CSCs and their mammosphere formation. These findings suggest that the frequency of CD44-/CD24- tumor cells and RHBDL2 may be valuable for prognosis of delayed breast cancer metastasis, particularly for TNBC.