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Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy

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A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 34467

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Dr. Maria Letizia Taddei

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Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
Interests: cancer metabolism; chemo-resistance; cell invasion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reprogrammed tumour cell metabolism is considered a hallmark of cancer. Altered metabolic features of cancers cells are observed quite generally across many types of cancer with respect to normal tissues and contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of malignant properties. Several oncogenic mutations affect directly or indirectly tumorigenesis through the reprogramming of cellular metabolism. Indeed, tumour cells reprogram nutrient acquisition and metabolism through altered glucose and amino acid uptake, the use of metabolite intermediates for biosynthetic processes and NADPH production, sustained metabolic interactions with the microenvironment, and altered metabolism-driven gene regulation to satisfy their energetic demand and sustain tumour biosynthetic and redox pathways. In this Special Issue of Cells, I invite you to contribute original research articles, reviews, or shorter perspective articles on the topic of “Targeting Tumour metabolism for cancer therapy”. Understanding the metabolic basis of cancer cells is crucial to the development of targeted treatments based on metabolic anticancer therapeutics. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

deregulated up-take of nutrients

use of intermediates for biosynthetic pathways

metabolite-driven gene expression

tumour–microenvironment metabolic interactions

metabolic features of CSCs

Dr. Maria Letizia Taddei
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 8143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptomic Analysis of Colorectal Cancer Cells Treated with Oil Production Waste Products (OPWPs) Reveals Enrichment of Pathways of Mitochondrial Functionality

by Manuela Leo, Livio Muccillo, Erica Pranzini, Giovannina Barisciano, Matteo Parri, Giulia Lopatriello, Marco Carlomagno, Alice Santi, Maria Letizia Taddei and Lina Sabatino

Cells 2022, 11(24), 3992; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11243992 - 10 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

Oil production waste products (OPWPs) derive from olive mill and represent a crucial environmental problem due to their high polyphenolic content able to pollute the ground. One option to reduce the OPWPs’ environmental impact is to exploit polyphenols’ biological properties. We sought to analyze the transcriptomic variations of colorectal cancer cells exposed to the OPWPs extracts and hydroxytyrosol, the major component, to recognize unknown and ill-defined characteristics. Among the top affected pathways identified by GSEA, we focused on oxidative phosphorylation in an in vitro system. Colorectal cancer HCT116 and LoVo cells treated with hydroxytyrosol or OPWPs extracts showed enhancement of the respiratory chain complexes’ protein levels, ATP production and membrane potential, suggesting stimulation of mitochondrial functions. The major proteins involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and fusion events of mitochondrial dynamics were positively affected, as by Western blot, fostering increase of the mitochondrial mass organized in a network of elongated organelles. Mechanistically, we proved that PPARγ mediates the effects as they are mimicked by a specific ligand and impaired by a specific inhibitor. OPWP extracts and hydroxytyrosol, thus, promote mitochondrial functionality via a feed-forward regulatory loop involving the PPARγ/PGC-1α axis. These results support their use in functional foods and as adjuvants in cancer therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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19 pages, 6192 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hormonally Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Diabetic Wild Type and Carbohydrate Responsive Element Binding Protein Knockout Mice

by Vincent Nuernberger, Sharif Mortoga, Christoph Metzendorf, Christian Burkert, Katrina Ehricke, Elisa Knuth, Jenny Zimmer, Stephan Singer, Neetika Nath, Majedul Karim, Mohd Yasser, Diego F. Calvisi, Frank Dombrowski and Silvia Ribback

Cells 2021, 10(10), 2787; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10102787 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3589

Abstract

Objective: In the rat, the pancreatic islet transplantation model is an established method to induce hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), due to insulin-mediated metabolic and molecular alterations like increased glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis and the oncogenic AKT/mTOR pathway including upregulation of the transcription factor Carbohydrate-response element-binding protein (ChREBP). ChREBP could therefore represent an essential oncogenic co-factor during hormonally induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods: Pancreatic islet transplantation was implemented in diabetic C57Bl/6J (wild type, WT) and ChREBP-knockout (KO) mice for 6 and 12 months. Liver tissue was examined using histology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and Western blot analysis. Finally, we performed NGS-based transcriptome analysis between WT and KO liver tumor tissues. Results: Three hepatocellular carcinomas were detectable after 6 and 12 months in diabetic transplanted WT mice, but only one in a KO mouse after 12 months. Pre-neoplastic clear cell foci (CCF) were also present in liver acini downstream of the islets in WT and KO mice. In KO tumors, glycolysis, de novo lipogenesis and AKT/mTOR signalling were strongly downregulated compared to WT lesions. Extrafocal liver tissue of diabetic, transplanted KO mice revealed less glycogen storage and proliferative activity than WT mice. From transcriptome analysis, we identified a set of transcripts pertaining to metabolic, oncogenic and immunogenic pathways that are differentially expressed between tumors of WT and KO mice. Of 315 metabolism-associated genes, we observed 199 genes that displayed upregulation in the tumor of WT mice, whereas 116 transcripts showed their downregulated expression in KO mice tumor. Conclusions: The pancreatic islet transplantation model is a suitable method to study hormonally induced hepatocarcinogenesis also in mice, allowing combination with gene knockout models. Our data indicate that deletion of ChREBP delays insulin-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, suggesting a combined oncogenic and lipogenic function of ChREBP along AKT/mTOR-mediated proliferation of hepatocytes and induction of hepatocellular carcinoma. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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16 pages, 1743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regulation of Tumor Metabolism and Extracellular Acidosis by the TIMP-10–CD63 Axis in Breast Carcinoma

by Abdo J. Najy, Young-Suk Jung, Seongho Kim, Rafael Fridman and Hyeong-Reh C. Kim

Cells 2021, 10(10), 2721; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10102721 - 12 Oct 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2019

Abstract

A hallmark of malignant solid tumor is extracellular acidification coupled with metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis. Using the human MCF10A progression model of breast cancer, we show that glycolytic switch and extracellular acidosis in aggressive cancer cells correlate with increased expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), known to induce intracellular signal transduction through the interaction with its cell surface receptor CD63, independent of its metalloproteinase inhibitory function. We found that, in aggressive breast carcinoma, the TIMP-1–CD63 signaling axis induced a metabolic switch by upregulating the rate of aerobic glycolysis, lowering mitochondrial respiration, preventing intracellular acidification, and inducing extracellular acidosis. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a regulator of cellular pH through the hydration of metabolically released pericellular CO₂, was identified as a downstream mediator of the TIMP-1–CD63 signaling axis responsible for extracellular acidosis. Consistently with our previous study, the TIMP-1–CD63 signaling promoted survival of breast cancer cells. Interestingly, breast carcinoma cell survival was drastically reduced upon shRNA-mediated knockdown of CAIX expression, demonstrating the significance of CAIX-regulated pH in the TIMP-1–CD63-mediated cancer cell survival. Taken together, the present study demonstrates the functional significance of TIMP-1–CD63–CAXI signaling axis in the regulation of tumor metabolism, extracellular acidosis, and survival of breast carcinoma. We propose that this axis may serve as a novel therapeutic target. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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16 pages, 2976 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trafficking to the Cell Surface of Amino Acid Transporter SLC6A14 Upregulated in Cancer Is Controlled by Phosphorylation of SEC24C Protein by AKT Kinase

by Vasylyna Kovalchuk and Katarzyna A. Nałęcz

Cells 2021, 10(7), 1800; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10071800 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3234

Abstract

Cancer cells need a constant supply of nutrients. SLC6A14, an amino acid transporter B^0,+ (ATB^0,+) that is upregulated in many cancers, transports all but acidic amino acids. In its exit from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), it is recognized by the SEC24C subunit of coatomer II (COPII) for further vesicular trafficking to the plasma membrane. SEC24C has previously been shown to be phosphorylated by protein kinase B/AKT, which is hyper-activated in cancer; therefore, we analyzed the influence of AKT on SLC6A14 trafficking to the cell surface. Studies on overexpressed and endogenous transporters in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 showed that AKT inhibition with MK-2206 correlated with a transient increase of the transporter in the plasma membrane, not resulting from the inhibition of ER-associated protein degradation. Two-dimensional electrophoresis demonstrated the decreased phosphorylation of SLC6A14 and SEC24C upon AKT inhibition. A proximity ligation assay confirmed this conclusion: AKT inhibition is correlated with decreased SLC6A14 phosphothreonine and SEC24C phosphoserine. Augmented levels of SLC6A14 in plasma membrane led to increased leucine transport. These results show that the inactivation of AKT can rescue amino acid delivery through SLC6A14 trafficking to the cell surface, supporting cancer cell survival. The regulation of the ER export of the amino acid transporter seems to be a novel function of AKT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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26 pages, 31708 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oxidative Stress-Induced Unscheduled CDK1–Cyclin B1 Activity Impairs ER–Mitochondria-Mediated Bioenergetic Metabolism

by Jan-Gowth Chang, Ni Tien, Yi-Chih Chang, Meng-Liang Lin and Shih-Shun Chen

Cells 2021, 10(6), 1280; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10061280 - 21 May 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3665

Abstract

Targeting the activities of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–mitochondrial-dependent metabolic reprogramming is considered one of the most promising strategies for cancer treatment. Here, we present biochemical subcellular fractionation, coimmunoprecipitation, gene manipulation, and pharmacologic evidence that induction of mitochondria-localized phospho (p)-cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) (Thr 161)–cyclin B1 complexes by apigenin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells impairs the ER–mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox regulation of calcium (Ca⁺⁺) homeostasis through suppressing the B cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2)/BCL-2/B-cell lymphoma-extra large (BCL-x_L)-modulated anti-apoptotic and metabolic functions. Using a specific inducer, inhibitor, or short hairpin RNA for acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) demonstrated that enhanced lipid raft-associated ASM activity confers alteration of the lipid composition of lipid raft membranes, which leads to perturbation of protein trafficking, and induces formation of p110α free p85α–unphosphorylated phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 complexes in the lipid raft membranes, causing disruption of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)−protein kinase B (Akt)−GTP-ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1)-mediated signaling, thus triggering the p-CDK1 (Thr 161))–cyclin B1-mediated BCL-2 (Thr 69/Ser 87)/BCL-x_L (Ser 62) phosphorylation and accompanying impairment of ER–mitochondria-regulated bioenergetic, redox, and Ca⁺⁺ homeostasis. Inhibition of apigenin-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by a ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine blocked the lipid raft membrane localization and activation of ASM and formation of ceramide-enriched lipid raft membranes, returned PI3K−Akt−GTP-Rac1-modulated CDK1–cyclin B1 activity, and subsequently restored the BCL-2/BCL-x_L-regulated ER–mitochondrial bioenergetic activity. Thus, this study reveals a novel molecular mechanism of the pro-apoptotic activity of ASM controlled by oxidative stress to modulate the ER–mitochondrial bioenergetic metabolism, as well as suggests the disruption of CDK1–cyclin B1-mediated BCL-2/BCL-x_L oncogenic activity by triggering oxidative stress−ASM-induced PI3K−Akt−GTP-Rac1 inactivation as a therapeutic approach for NPC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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21 pages, 4915 KiB

Open AccessArticle

hTERT Downregulation Attenuates Resistance to DOX, Impairs FAK-Mediated Adhesion, and Leads to Autophagy Induction in Breast Cancer Cells

by Aleksandra Romaniuk-Drapała, Ewa Totoń, Natalia Konieczna, Marta Machnik, Wojciech Barczak, Dagmar Kowal, Przemysław Kopczyński, Mariusz Kaczmarek and Błażej Rubiś

Cells 2021, 10(4), 867; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10040867 - 10 Apr 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3555

Abstract

Telomerase is known to contribute to telomere maintenance and to provide cancer cell immortality. However, numerous reports are showing that the function of the enzyme goes far beyond chromosome ends. The study aimed to explore how telomerase downregulation in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells affects their ability to survive. Consequently, sensitivity to drug resistance, proliferation, and adhesion were assessed. The lentiviral-mediated human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) downregulation efficiency was performed at gene expression and protein level using qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Telomerase activity was evaluated using the Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol (TRAP) assay. The study revealed that hTERT downregulation led to an increased sensitivity of breast cancer cells to doxorubicin which was demonstrated in MTT and clonogenic assays. During a long-term doubling time assessment, a decreased population doubling level was observed. Interestingly, it did not dramatically affect cell cycle distribution. hTERT downregulation was accompanied by an alteration in β1-integrin- and by focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-driven pathways together with the reduction of target proteins phosphorylation, i.e., paxillin and c-Src. Additionally, autophagy activation was observed in MDA-MB-231 cells manifested by alternations in Atg5, Beclin 1, LC3II/I ratio, and p62. These results provide new evidence supporting the possible therapeutic potential of telomerase downregulation leading to induction of autophagy and cancer cells elimination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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16 pages, 43214 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SUMO-Activating Enzyme Subunit 1 (SAE1) Is a Promising Diagnostic Cancer Metabolism Biomarker of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

by Jiann Ruey Ong, Oluwaseun Adebayo Bamodu, Nguyen Viet Khang, Yen-Kuang Lin, Chi-Tai Yeh, Wei-Hwa Lee and Yih-Giun Cherng

Cells 2021, 10(1), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10010178 - 17 Jan 2021

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5358

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most diagnosed malignancies and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. This is exacerbated by its highly aggressive phenotype, and limitation in early diagnosis and effective therapies. The SUMO-activating enzyme subunit 1 (SAE1) is a component of a heterodimeric small ubiquitin-related modifier that plays a vital role in SUMOylation, a post-translational modification involving in cellular events such as regulation of transcription, cell cycle and apoptosis. Reported overexpression of SAE1 in glioma in a stage-dependent manner suggests it has a probable role in cancer initiation and progression. In this study, hypothesizing that SAE1 is implicated in HCC metastatic phenotype and poor prognosis, we analyzed the expression of SAE1 in several cancer databases and to unravel the underlying molecular mechanism of SAE1-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. Here, we demonstrated that SAE1 is over-expressed in HCC samples compared to normal liver tissue, and this observed SAE1 overexpression is stage and grade-dependent and associated with poor survival. The receiver operating characteristic analysis of SAE1 in TCGA−LIHC patients (n = 421) showed an AUC of 0.925, indicating an excellent diagnostic value of SAE1 in HCC. Our protein-protein interaction analysis for SAE1 showed that SAE1 interacted with and activated oncogenes such as PLK1, CCNB1, CDK4 and CDK1, while simultaneously inhibiting tumor suppressors including PDK4, KLF9, FOXO1 and ALDH2. Immunohistochemical staining and clinicopathological correlate analysis of SAE1 in our TMU-SHH HCC cohort (n = 54) further validated the overexpression of SAE1 in cancerous liver tissues compared with ‘normal’ paracancerous tissue, and high SAE1 expression was strongly correlated with metastasis and disease progression. The oncogenic effect of upregulated SAE1 is associated with dysregulated cancer metabolic signaling. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that SAE1 is a targetable cancer metabolic biomarker with high potential diagnostic and prognostic implications for patients with HCC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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Review

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14 pages, 1493 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Metabolic Changes in Tumor Microenvironment: How Could They Affect γδ T Cells Functions?

by Anna Maria Corsale, Marta Di Simone, Elena Lo Presti, Carmela Picone, Francesco Dieli and Serena Meraviglia

Cells 2021, 10(11), 2896; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10112896 - 26 Oct 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4866

Abstract

The metabolic changes that occur in tumor microenvironment (TME) can influence not only the biological activity of tumor cells, which become more aggressive and auto sustained, but also the immune response against tumor cells, either producing ineffective responses or polarizing the response toward protumor activity. γδ T cells are a subset of T cells characterized by a plasticity that confers them the ability to differentiate towards different cell subsets according to the microenvironment conditions. On this basis, we here review the more recent studies focused on altered tumor metabolism and γδ T cells, considering their already known antitumor role and the possibility of manipulating their effector functions by in vitro and in vivo approaches. γδ T cells, thanks to their unique features, are themselves a valid alternative to overcome the limits associated with the use of conventional T cells, such as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction, costimulatory signal and specific tumor-associated antigen recognition. Lipids, amino acids, hypoxia, prostaglandins and other metabolic changes inside the tumor microenvironment could reduce the efficacy of this important immune population and polarize γδ T cells toward IL17 producing cells that play a pro tumoral role. A deeper knowledge of this phenomenon could be helpful to formulate new immunotherapeutic approaches that target tumor metabolisms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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24 pages, 1138 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mapping the Metabolic Networks of Tumor Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts

by Jessica Karta, Ysaline Bossicard, Konstantinos Kotzamanis, Helmut Dolznig and Elisabeth Letellier

Cells 2021, 10(2), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020304 - 2 Feb 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5087

Abstract

Metabolism is considered to be the core of all cellular activity. Thus, extensive studies of metabolic processes are ongoing in various fields of biology, including cancer research. Cancer cells are known to adapt their metabolism to sustain high proliferation rates and survive in unfavorable environments with low oxygen and nutrient concentrations. Hence, targeting cancer cell metabolism is a promising therapeutic strategy in cancer research. However, cancers consist not only of genetically altered tumor cells but are interwoven with endothelial cells, immune cells and fibroblasts, which together with the extracellular matrix (ECM) constitute the tumor microenvironment (TME). Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are linked to poor prognosis in different cancer types, are one important component of the TME. CAFs play a significant role in reprogramming the metabolic landscape of tumor cells, but how, and in what manner, this interaction takes place remains rather unclear. This review aims to highlight the metabolic landscape of tumor cells and CAFs, including their recently identified subtypes, in different tumor types. In addition, we discuss various in vitro and in vivo metabolic techniques as well as different in silico computational tools that can be used to identify and characterize CAF–tumor cell interactions. Finally, we provide our view on how mapping the complex metabolic networks of stromal-tumor metabolism will help in finding novel metabolic targets for cancer treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeting Tumour Metabolism for Cancer Therapy)

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