Cholesterol Dietary Intake and Tumor Cell Homeostasis Drive Early Epithelial Tumorigenesis: A Potential Modelization of Early Prostate Tumorigenesis.

Epidemiological studies point to cholesterol as a possible key factor for both prostate cancer incidence and progression. It could represent a targetable metabolite as the most aggressive tumors also appear to be sensitive to therapies designed to decrease hypercholesterolemia, such as statins. However, it remains unknown whether and how cholesterol, through its dietary uptake and its metabolism, could be important for early tumorigenesis. Oncogene clonal induction in the Drosophila melanogaster accessory gland allows us to reproduce tumorigenesis from initiation to early progression, where tumor cells undergo basal extrusion to form extra-epithelial tumors. Here we show that these tumors accumulate lipids, and especially esterified cholesterol, as in human late carcinogenesis. Interestingly, a high-cholesterol diet has a limited effect on accessory gland tumorigenesis. On the contrary, cell-specific downregulation of cholesterol uptake, intracellular transport, or metabolic response impairs the formation of such tumors. Furthermore, in this context, a high-cholesterol diet suppresses this impairment. Interestingly, expression data from primary prostate cancer tissues indicate an early signature of redirection from cholesterol de novo synthesis to uptake. Taken together, these results reveal that during early tumorigenesis, tumor cells strongly increase their uptake and use of dietary cholesterol to specifically promote the step of basal extrusion. Hence, these results suggest the mechanism by which a reduction in dietary cholesterol could lower the risk and slow down the progression of prostate cancer.

Persistent organic pollutants promote aggressiveness in prostate cancer.

Increasing evidence points towards a causal link between exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with increased incidence and aggressivity of various cancers. Among these POPs, dioxin and PCB-153 are widely found in our environment and represent a significant source of contamination. Dioxin exposure has already been linked to cancer such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but remains to be more extensively investigated in other cancers. Potential implications of dioxin and PCB-153 in prostate cancer progression spurred us to challenge both ex vivo and in vivo models with low doses of these POPs. We found that dioxin or PCB-153 exposure increased hallmarks of growth and metastasis of prostate cancer cells ex vivo and in grafted NOD-SCID mice. Exposure induced histopathological carcinoma-like patterns in the Ptenpc-/- mice. We identified up-regulation of Acetyl-CoA Acetyltransferase-1 (ACAT1) involved in ketone bodies pathway as a potential target. Mechanistically, genetic inhibition confirmed that ACAT1 mediated dioxin effect on cell migration. Using public prostate cancer datasets, we confirmed the deregulation of ACAT1 and associated gene encoded ketone bodies pathway enzymes such as OXCT1, BDH1 and HMGCL in advanced prostate cancer. To further explore this link between dioxin and ACAT1 deregulation, we analyzed a unique prostate-tumour tissue collection from the USA veterans exposed to agent orange, known to be highly contaminated by dioxin because of industrial production. We found that ACAT1 histoscore is significantly increased in exposed patients. Our studies reveal the implication of dioxin and PCB-153 to induce a prometastatic programme in prostate tumours and identify ACAT1 deregulation as a key event in this process.

Characterization of Tensile Stress-Dependent Directional Magnetic Incremental Permeability in Iron-Cobalt Magnetic Sheet: Towards Internal Stress Estimation through Non-Destructive Testing.

Iron-Cobalt ferromagnetic alloys are promoted for electrical energy conversion in aeronautic applications, but their high magnetostrictive coefficients may result in undesired behaviors. Internal stresses can be tuned to limit magnetostriction but must be adequately assessed in a non-destructive way during production. For this, directional magnetic incremental permeability is proposed in this work. For academic purposes, internal stresses have been replaced by homogenous external stress, which is easier to control using traction/compression testbench and results in similar effects. Tests have been limited to tensile stress stimuli, the worst-case scenario for magnetic stress observation on positive magnetostriction coefficient materials. Hysteresis cycles have been reconstructed from the incremental permeability measurement for stability and reproducibility of the measured quantities. The directionality of the sensor provides an additional degree of freedom in the magnetic response observation. The study reveals that an angle of π/2 between the DC (Hsurf DC) and the AC (Hsurf AC) magnetic excitations with a flux density Ba at HsurfDC = 10 kA·m-1 constitute the ideal experimental situation and the highest correlated parameter to a homogeneous imposed tensile stress. Magnetic incremental permeability is linked to the magnetic domain wall bulging magnetization mechanism; this study thus provides insights for understanding such a mechanism.

Drosophila Accessory Gland: A Complementary In Vivo Model to Bring New Insight to Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in aging men. Despite recent progress, there are still few effective treatments to cure its aggressive and metastatic stages. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving disease initiation and progression appears essential to support the development of more efficient therapies and improve patient care. To do so, multiple research models, such as cell culture and mouse models, have been developed over the years and have improved our comprehension of the biology of the disease. Recently, a new model has been added with the use of the Drosophila accessory gland. With a high level of conservation of major signaling pathways implicated in human disease, this functional equivalent of the prostate represents a powerful, inexpensive, and rapid in vivo model to study epithelial carcinogenesis. The purpose of this review is to quickly overview the existing prostate cancer models, including their strengths and limitations. In particular, we discuss how the Drosophila accessory gland can be integrated as a convenient complementary model by bringing new understanding in the mechanisms driving prostate epithelial tumorigenesis, from initiation to metastatic formation.

Weil's Disease in an HIV-Infected Patient.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by the spirochete Leptospira. Most cases of leptospirosis are mild to moderate and self-limited. The course of disease, however, may be complicated by multiorgan dysfunction with liver and kidney failure causing Weil's disease. Leptospirosis is also rare among HIV-infected patients. We report a case of an HIV-infected patient with Weil's disease.

Exertional Rhabdomyolysis After CrossFit Exercise.

Multiple studies have reported the metabolic benefits of high-intensity exercise programs like CrossFit. If these high-intensity exercises are not done in a proper structured pattern, adverse outcomes like rhabdomyolysis can occur. Here we discuss a case of a patient who undertook one session of CrossFit exercise and developed exertional rhabdomyolysis. A 22-year-old Caucasian male presented to the emergency department with complaints of generalized body ache and passage of dark-colored urine. His symptoms began after two days of an exhaustive session of CrossFit exercise. Blood test in the emergency showed elevated creatine kinase (CK) of 132,540 units per liter (U/L), normal renal function (creatinine and blood urea nitrogen), and normal serum electrolytes. His clinical symptoms and lab findings were consistent with exertional rhabdomyolysis. He was treated with aggressive intravenous fluids and oral hydration therapy. He did not develop any complication and he was discharged on the sixth day. This case report demonstrates a possible preventable rhabdomyolysis that developed secondary to undue participation in CrossFit exercise.

Screening for liver X receptor modulators: Where are we and for what use?

Liver X receptors (LXRs) are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily that are canonically activated by oxidized derivatives of cholesterol. Since the mid-90s, numerous groups have identified LXRs as endocrine receptors that are involved in the regulation of various physiological functions. As a result, when their expression is genetically modified in mice, phenotypic analyses reveal endocrine disorders ranging from infertility to diabetes and obesity, nervous system pathologies such Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, immunological disturbances, inflammatory response, and enhancement of tumour development. Based on such findings, it appears that LXRs could constitute good pharmacological targets to prevent and/or to treat these diseases. This review discusses the various aspects of LXR drug discovery, from the tools available for the screening of potential LXR modulators to the current situational analysis of the drugs in development. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on Oxysterols, Lifelong Health and Therapeutics. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v178.16/issuetoc.

Absence of nuclear receptors LXRs impairs immune response to androgen deprivation and leads to prostate neoplasia.

Chronic inflammation is now a well-known precursor for cancer development. Infectious prostatitis are the most common causes of prostate inflammation, but emerging evidence points the role of metabolic disorders as a potential source of cancer-related inflammation. Although the widely used treatment for prostate cancer based on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) effectively decreases tumor size, it also causes profound alterations in immune tumor microenvironment within the prostate. Here, we demonstrate that prostates of a mouse model invalidated for nuclear receptors liver X receptors (LXRs), crucial lipid metabolism and inflammation integrators, respond in an unexpected way to androgen deprivation. Indeed, we observed profound alterations in immune cells composition, which was associated with chronic inflammation of the prostate. This was explained by the recruitment of phagocytosis-deficient macrophages leading to aberrant hyporesponse to castration. This phenotypic alteration was sufficient to allow prostatic neoplasia. Altogether, these data suggest that ADT and inflammation resulting from metabolic alterations interact to promote aberrant proliferation of epithelial prostate cells and development of neoplasia. This raises the question of the benefit of ADT for patients with metabolic disorders.

Sequential Ras/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways recruitment drives basal extrusion in the prostate-like gland of Drosophila.

One of the most important but less understood step of epithelial tumourigenesis occurs when cells acquire the ability to leave their epithelial compartment. This phenomenon, described as basal epithelial cell extrusion (basal extrusion), represents the first step of tumour invasion. However, due to lack of adequate in vivo model, implication of emblematic signalling pathways such as Ras/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathways, is scarcely described in this phenomenon. We have developed a unique model of basal extrusion in the Drosophila accessory gland. There, we demonstrate that both Ras/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways are necessary for basal extrusion. Furthermore, as in prostate cancer, we show that these pathways are co-activated. This occurs through set up of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Insulin Receptor (InR) dependent autocrine loops, a phenomenon that, considering human data, could be relevant for prostate cancer.

Flavonoids differentially modulate liver X receptors activity-Structure-function relationship analysis.

Liver X receptors (LXRs) α (NR1H3) and ß (NR1H2) are nuclear receptors that have been involved in the regulation of many physiological processes, principally in the control of cholesterol homeostasis, as well as in the control of the cell death and proliferation balance. These receptors are thus promising therapeutic targets in various pathologies such as dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, diabetes and/or cancers. These receptors are known to be activated by specific oxysterol compounds. The screening for LXR-specific ligands is a challenging process: indeed, these molecules should present a specificity towards each LXR-isoform. Because some natural products have significant effects in the regulation of the LXR-regulated homeostasis and are enriched in flavonoids, we have decided to test in cell culture the effects of 4 selected flavonoids (galangin, quercetin, apigenin and naringenin) on the modulation of LXR activity using double-hybrid experiments. In silico, molecular docking suggests specific binding pattern between agonistic and antagonistic molecules. Altogether, these results allow a better understanding of the ligand binding pocket of LXRα/ß. They also improve our knowledge about flavonoid mechanism of action, allowing the selection and development of better LXR selective ligands.

Individual Comparison of Cholesterol Metabolism in Normal and Tumour Areas in Radical Prostatectomy Specimens from Patients with Prostate Cancer: Results of the CHOMECAP Study.

BACKGROUND: Deregulation of cholesterol metabolism represents a hallmark of prostate cancer (PCa) and promotes its development. OBJECTIVE: To compare cholesterol metabolism on individual paired normal and tumour prostate tissues obtained from patients with PCa. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Between 2008 and 2012, normal and tumour paired tissue samples were collected from radical prostatectomy specimens from a cohort of 69 patients treated for localised PCa. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Tumour and normal tissues were subjected to gene analysis, sterol measurement, and immunohistochemistry. The Wilcoxon paired test and Spearman test were applied for comparison and correlation analyses, respectively. Principal component analysis was also carried out to investigate relationships between quantitative variables. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall, cholesterol concentrations were not significantly different between tissue pairs. However, tumour samples were significantly associated with downregulated de novo cholesterol synthesis, but exhibited 54.7% overexpression of SCARB1 that could increase high-density lipoprotein uptake in PCa. Tumour tissues showed different trafficking of available cholesterol, with significantly lower ACAT1, and an altered efflux via APOE. Furthermore, cholesterol metabolism in tumour tissues was characterised by higher accumulation of 7α-hydroxycholesterol (OHC), 7ßOHC, and 7-ketosterol, and a lower level of 27OHC. CONCLUSIONS: Focusing on individually paired prostate tissues, our results highlighted several differences between normal and tumour samples linked to a metabolic shift in cholesterol flux. PCa samples exhibited a specific tissue signature characterised by higher SCARB1 expression, higher accumulation of OHC species, and clear downregulation of de novo cholesterol synthesis. PATIENT SUMMARY: Comparing normal and tumour tissues from the same prostates, our study identified a set of alterations in prostate cancer samples in terms of their use of cholesterol. These included higher cholesterol uptake, accumulation of oxidised cholesterol derivatives, and autonomous cellular production of cholesterol. Together, these data provide promising clinical targets to fight prostate cancer.

New Insights in Prostate Cancer Development and Tumor Therapy: Modulation of Nuclear Receptors and the Specific Role of Liver X Receptors.

Prostate cancer (PCa) incidence has been dramatically increasing these last years in westernized countries. Though localized PCa is usually treated by radical prostatectomy, androgen deprivation therapy is preferred in locally advanced disease in combination with chemotherapy. Unfortunately, PCa goes into a castration-resistant state in the vast majority of the cases, leading to questions about the molecular mechanisms involving the steroids and their respective nuclear receptors in this relapse. Interestingly, liver X receptors (LXRα/NR1H3 and LXRß/NR1H2) have emerged as new actors in prostate physiology, beyond their historical roles of cholesterol sensors. More importantly LXRs have been proposed to be good pharmacological targets in PCa. This rational has been based on numerous experiments performed in PCa cell lines and genetic animal models pointing out that using selective liver X receptor modulators (SLiMs) could actually be a good complementary therapy in patients with a castration resistant PCa. Hence, this review is focused on the interaction among the androgen receptors (AR/NR3C4), estrogen receptors (ERα/NR3A1 and ERß/NR3A2), and LXRs in prostate homeostasis and their putative pharmacological modulations in parallel to the patients' support.

Role of STAT3 in Genesis and Progression of Human Malignant Gliomas.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is aberrantly activated in glioblastoma and has been identified as a relevant therapeutic target in this disease and many other human cancers. After two decades of intensive research, there is not yet any approved STAT3-based glioma therapy. In addition to the canonical activation by tyrosine 705 phosphorylation, concordant reports described a potential therapeutic relevance of other post-translational modifications including mainly serine 727 phosphorylation. Such reports reinforce the need to refine the strategy of targeting STAT3 in each concerned disease. This review focuses on the role of serine 727 and tyrosine 705 phosphorylation of STAT3 in glioma. It explores their contribution to glial cell transformation and to the mechanisms that make glioma escape to both immune control and standard treatment.

mTOR transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally regulates Npm1 gene expression to contribute to enhanced proliferation in cells with Pten inactivation.

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays essential roles in the regulation of growth-related processes such as protein synthesis, cell sizing and metabolism in both normal and pathological growing conditions. These functions of mTOR are thought to be largely a consequence of its cytoplasmic activity in regulating translation rate, but accumulating data highlight supplementary role(s) for this serine/threonine kinase within the nucleus. Indeed, the nuclear activities of mTOR are currently associated with the control of protein biosynthetic capacity through its ability to regulate the expression of gene products involved in the control of ribosomal biogenesis and proliferation. Using primary murine embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), we observed that cells with overactive mTOR signaling displayed higher abundance for the growth-associated Npm1 protein, in what represents a novel mechanism of Npm1 gene regulation. We show that Npm1 gene expression is dependent on mTOR as demonstrated by treatment of wild-type and Pten inactivated MEFs cultured with rapamycin or by transient transfections of small interfering RNA directed against mTOR. In accordance, the mTOR kinase localizes to the Npm1 promoter gene in vivo and it enhances the activity of a human NPM1-luciferase reporter gene providing an opportunity for direct control. Interestingly, rapamycin did not dislodge mTOR from the Npm1 promoter but rather strongly destabilized the Npm1 transcript by increasing its turnover. Using a prostate-specific Pten-deleted mouse model of cancer, Npm1 mRNA levels were found up-regulated and sensitive to rapamycin. Finally, we also showed that Npm1 is required to promote mTOR-dependent cell proliferation. We therefore proposed a model whereby mTOR is closely involved in the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of Npm1 gene expression with implications in development and diseases including cancer.

STAT3 Serine 727 Phosphorylation: A Relevant Target to Radiosensitize Human Glioblastoma.

Radiotherapy is an essential component of glioma standard treatment. Glioblastomas (GBM), however, display an important radioresistance leading to tumor recurrence. To improve patient prognosis, there is a need to radiosensitize GBM cells and to circumvent the mechanisms of resistance caused by interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment. STAT3 has been identified as a therapeutic target in glioma because of its involvement in mechanisms sustaining tumor escape to both standard treatment and immune control. Here, we studied the role of STAT3 activation on tyrosine 705 (Y705) and serine 727 (S727) in glioma radioresistance. This study explored STAT3 phosphorylation on Y705 (pSTAT3-Y705) and S727 (pSTAT3-S727) in glioma cell lines and in clinical samples. Radiosensitizing effect of STAT3 activation down-modulation by Gö6976 was explored. In a panel of 15 human glioma cell lines, we found that the level of pSTAT3-S727 was correlated to intrinsic radioresistance. Moreover, treating GBM cells with Gö6976 resulted in a highly significant radiosensitization associated to a concomitant pSTAT3-S727 down-modulation only in GBM cell lines that exhibited no or weak pSTAT3-Y705. We report the constitutive activation of STAT3-S727 in all GBM clinical samples. Targeting pSTAT3-S727 mainly in pSTAT3-Y705-negative GBM could be a relevant approach to improve radiation therapy.

Anticancer activity of essential oils and their chemical components - a review.

Essential oils are widely used in pharmaceutical, sanitary, cosmetic, agriculture and food industries for their bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, antiparasitical and insecticidal properties. Their anticancer activity is well documented. Over a hundred essential oils from more than twenty plant families have been tested on more than twenty types of cancers in last past ten years. This review is focused on the activity of essential oils and their components on various types of cancers. For some of them the mechanisms involved in their anticancer activities have been carried out.

NPM1 silencing reduces tumour growth and MAPK signalling in prostate cancer cells.

The chaperone nucleophosmin (NPM1) is over-expressed in the epithelial compartment of prostate tumours compared to adjacent healthy epithelium and may represent one of the key actors that support the neoplastic phenotype of prostate adenocarcinoma cells. Yet, the mechanisms that underlie NPM1 mediated phenotype remain elusive in the prostate. To better understand NPM1 functions in prostate cancer cells, we sought to characterize its impact on prostate cancer cells behaviour and decipher the mechanisms by which it may act. Here we show that NPM1 favors prostate tumour cell migration, invasion and colony forming. Furthermore, knockdown of NPM1 leads to a decrease in the growth of LNCaP-derived tumours grafted in Nude mice in vivo. Such oncogenic-like properties are found in conjunction with a positive regulation of NPM1 on the ERK1/2 (Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinases 1/2) kinase phosphorylation in response to EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor) stimulus, which is critical for prostate cancer progression following the setting of an autonomous production of the growth factor. NPM1 could then be a target to switch off specifically ERK1/2 pathway activation in order to decrease or inhibit cancer cell growth and migration.

'Auto-click' functionalization for diversified copper(I) and gold(I) NHCs.

Azide-tagged Cu(I)-NHC reacts in an 'auto-click' process to furnish complexes functionalized by 1,2,3-triazoles bearing diverse substituents. The resulting Cu(I) complexes are amenable to further transmetallation to Au(I). The whole strategy proceeds with mild conditions and constitutes an efficient entry to functionalised metal-NHCs with biorelevant moieties.

Chemical composition, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of essential oils of plants from Burkina Faso.

This research highlights the chemical composition, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of essential oils from leaves of Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum americanum, Hyptis spicigera, Lippia multiflora, Ageratum conyzoides, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Zingiber officinale. Essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Major constituents were α-terpineol (59.78%) and ß-caryophyllene (10.54%) for Ocimum basilicum; 1, 8-cineol (31.22%), camphor (12.730%), α-pinene (6.87%) and trans α-bergamotene (5.32%) for Ocimum americanum; ß-caryophyllene (21%), α-pinene (20.11%), sabinene (10.26%), ß-pinene (9.22%) and α-phellandrene (7.03%) for Hyptis spicigera; p-cymene (25.27%), ß-caryophyllene (12.70%), thymol (11.88), γ-terpinene (9.17%) and thymyle acetate (7.64%) for Lippia multiflora; precocene (82.10%)for Ageratum conyzoides; eucalyptol (59.55%), α-pinene (9.17%) and limonene (8.76%) for Eucalyptus camaldulensis; arcurcumene (16.67%), camphene (12.70%), zingiberene (8.40%), ß-bisabolene (7.83%) and ß-sesquiphellandrène (5.34%) for Zingiber officinale. Antioxidant activities were examined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) methods. O. basilicum and L. multiflora exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS tests, respectively. Anti-inflammatory properties were evaluated by measuring the inhibition of lipoxygenase activity and essential oil of Z. officinale was the most active. Anti-proliferative effect was assayed by the measurement of MTT on LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines, and SF-763 and SF-767 glioblastoma cell lines. Essential oils from A. conyzoides and L. multiflora were the most active on LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines, respectively. The SF-767 glioblastoma cell line was the most sensitive to O. basilicum and L. multiflora EOs while essential oil of A. conyzoides showed the highest activity on SF-763 cells. Altogether these results justify the use of these plants in traditional medicine in Burkina Faso and open a new field of investigation in the characterization of the molecules involved in anti-proliferative processes.