Turning strength into weakness: protein degradation and autophagy as therapeutic targets in glioblastoma?

peer reviewe

How to move a “fried egg”: membrane blebbing in oligodendrogliomas

peer reviewe

Irradiation to Improve the Response to Immunotherapeutic Agents in Glioblastomas.

PurposeGlioblastoma (GBM) remains an incurable disease despite extensive treatment with surgical resection, irradiation, and temozolomide. In line with many other forms of aggressive cancers, GBM is currently under consideration as a target for immunotherapy. However, GBM tends to be nonimmunogenic and exhibits a microenvironment with few or no effector T cells, a relatively low nonsynonymous somatic mutational load, and a low predicted neoantigen burden. GBM also exploits a multitude of immunosuppressive strategies.Methods and materialsA number of immunotherapeutic approaches have been tested with disappointing results. A rationale exists to combine immunotherapy and radiation therapy, which can induce an immunogenic form of cell death with T-cell activation and tumor infiltration.ResultsVarious immunotherapy agents, including immune checkpoint modulators, transforming growth factor beta receptor inhibitors, and indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase inhibitors, have been evaluated with irradiation in preclinical GBM models, with promising results, and are being further tested in clinical trials.ConclusionsThis review aims to present the basic rationale behind this emerging complementary therapeutic approach in GBM, appraise the current preclinical and clinical data, and discuss the future challenges in improving the antitumor immune response

Critical appraisal of the side population assay in stem cell and cancer stem cell research.

peer reviewedThe "Side Population" (SP) discrimination assay is a flow cytometry method used to detect stem cells based on the dye efflux properties of ABC transporters. We discuss the SP assay and its applications in stem cell biology, with an emphasis on the technical challenges related to sample preparation, data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. We highlight the value of multicolor phenotyping, the impact of DNA ploidy, and the importance of distinguishing graft versus host cells for an appropriate SP discrimination. To improve the consistency and reliability of data between laboratories, we propose a set of recommendations for SP assay data reporting

A novel multilayer immunoisolating encapsulation system overcoming protrusion of cells

Application of alginate-microencapsulated therapeutic cells is a promising approach for diseases that require a local and constant supply of therapeutic molecules. However most conventional alginate microencapsulation systems are associated with low mechanical stability and protrusion of cells which is associated with higher surface roughness and limits their clinical application. Here we have developed a novel multilayer encapsulation system that prevents cells from protruding from capsules. The system was tested using a therapeutic protein with anti-tumor activity overexpressed in mammalian cells. The cell containing core of the multilayer capsule was formed by flexible alginate, creating a cell sustaining environment. Surrounded by a poly-L-lysine layer the flexible core was enveloped in a high-G alginate matrix that is less flexible and has higher mechanical stability, which does not support cell survival. The cells in the core of the multilayer capsule did not show growth impairment and protein production was normal for periods up to 70 days in vitro. The additional alginate layer also lowered the surface roughness compared to conventional cell containing alginate-PLL capsules. Our system provides a solution for two important, often overlooked phenomena in cell encapsulation: preventing cell protrusion and improving surface roughness

Fisetin protects against cardiac cell death through reduction of ROS production and caspases activity

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Reperfusion is considered as an optimal therapy following cardiac ischemia. However, the promotion of a rapid elevation of O2 levels in ischemic cells produces high amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to myocardial tissue injury. This phenomenon is called ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). We aimed at identifying new and effective compounds to treat MI and minimize IRI. We previously studied heart regeneration following myocardial injury in zebrafish and described each step of the regeneration process, from the day of injury until complete recovery, in terms of transcriptional responses. Here, we mined the data and performed a deep in silico analysis to identify drugs highly likely to induce cardiac regeneration. Fisetin was identified as the top candidate. We validated its effects in an in vitro model of MI/IRI in mammalian cardiac cells. Fisetin enhances viability of rat cardiomyocytes following hypoxia/starvation - reoxygenation. It inhibits apoptosis, decreases ROS generation and caspase activation and protects from DNA damage. Interestingly, fisetin also activates genes involved in cell proliferation. Fisetin is thus a highly promising candidate drug with clinical potential to protect from ischemic damage following MI and to overcome IRI.This work was supported by FNR, the Luxembourg National Research Fund, FNR-CORE INFUSED project. At the NorLux Laboratory and the Proteome and Genome Research Unit of LIH, it was also supported by funding from Luxembourg’s Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR).S

Gender balance and suitable positive actions to promote gender equality among healthcare professionals in neuro-oncology: The EANO positive action initiative

Background The proportion of women among healthcare and biomedical research professionals in neuro-oncology is growing. With changes in cultural expectations and work-life balance considerations, more men aspire to nonfull-time jobs, yet, leadership positions remain dominated by men. Methods The European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) disparity committee carried out a digital survey to explore gender balance and actions suitable to promote gender equality. The survey was distributed among EANO members in 2021, with responses analyzed descriptively. Results In total, 262 participants completed the survey (141 women, 53.8%; median age 43). Respondents were neurosurgeons (68, 26.0%); neurologists (67, 25.6%), medical oncologists (43, 16.4%), or other healthcare or research professionals; 208 participants (79.4%) worked full-time. Positive action to enforce the role of women in neuro-oncology was deemed necessary by 180 participants (68.7%), but only 28 participants (10.7%) agreed that women only should be promoted until gender balance is reached. A majority of respondents (162, 61.8%) felt that women with an equivalent CV should be prioritized over men to reach gender balance. If in the future the balance favored women at higher positions, 112 respondents (42.7%) agreed to apply positive action for men. The top indicators considered relevant to measure gender balance were: salary for similar positions (183/228, 80.3%), paid overtime (176/228, 77.2%), number of permanent positions (164/228, 71.9%), protected time for research (161/227, 70.9%), and training opportunities (157/227, 69.2%). Conclusions Specific indicators may help to measure and promote gender balance and should be considered for implementation among healthcare professionals in neuro-oncology

Carboxypeptidase E transmits its anti-migratory function in glioma cells via transcriptional regulation of cell architecture and motility regulating factors.

peer reviewedGlioblastoma (GBM), the most frequent and aggressive malignant primary brain tumor, is characterized by a highly invasive growth. In our previous study we showed that overexpression of Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) mitigated glioma cell migration. In the present study we aimed at deciphering the regulatory mechanisms of the secreted form of CPE (sCPE). By transcriptome analysis and inhibition of signaling pathways involved in the regulation of cell growth and motility, we discovered that overexpression of sCPE was accompanied by differential regulation of mRNAs connected to the motility-associated networks, among others FAK, PAK, Cdc42, integrin, STAT3 as well as TGF-β. Especially SLUG was downregulated in sCPE-overexpressing glioma cells, paralleled by reduced expression of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP) and, in consequence, by decreased cell migration. Expression of SLUG was regulated by ERK since inhibition of ERK reverted sCPE-mediated SLUG downregulation and enhanced cell motility. In a mouse glioma model, overexpression of sCPE significantly prolonged survival. Our results implicate a novel role for sCPE that mainly affects the expression of motility-associated genes via several signal pathways

Hub genes in a pan-cancer co-expression network show potential for predicting drug responses [version 2; referees: 2 approved]

Background: The topological analysis of networks extracted from different types of “omics” data is a useful strategy for characterizing biologically meaningful properties of the complex systems underlying these networks. In particular, the biological significance of highly connected genes in diverse molecular networks has been previously determined using data from several model organisms and phenotypes. Despite such insights, the predictive potential of candidate hubs in gene co-expression networks in the specific context of cancer-related drug experiments remains to be deeply investigated. The examination of such associations may offer opportunities for the accurate prediction of anticancer drug responses.  Methods: Here, we address this problem by: a) analyzing a co-expression network obtained from thousands of cancer cell lines, b) detecting significant network hubs, and c) assessing their capacity to predict drug sensitivity using data from thousands of drug experiments. We investigated the prediction capability of those genes using a multiple linear regression model, independent datasets, comparisons with other models and our own in vitro experiments. Results: These analyses led to the identification of 47 hub genes, which are implicated in a diverse range of cancer-relevant processes and pathways. Overall, encouraging agreements between predicted and observed drug sensitivities were observed in public datasets, as well as in our in vitro validations for four glioblastoma cell lines and four drugs. To facilitate further research, we share our hub-based drug sensitivity prediction model as an online tool. Conclusions: Our research shows that co-expression network hubs are biologically interesting and exhibit potential for predicting drug responses in vitro. These findings motivate further investigations about the relevance and application of our unbiased discovery approach in pre-clinical, translationally-oriented research

Altered metabolic landscape in IDH‐mutant gliomas affects phospholipid, energy, and oxidative stress pathways

Heterozygous mutations in NADP‐dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDH) define the large majority of diffuse gliomas and are associated with hypermethylation of DNA and chromatin. The metabolic dysregulations imposed by these mutations, whether dependent or not on the oncometabolite D‐2‐hydroxyglutarate (D2HG), are less well understood. Here, we applied mass spectrometry imaging on intracranial patient‐derived xenografts of IDH‐mutant versus IDH wild‐type glioma to profile the distribution of metabolites at high anatomical resolution in situ. This approach was complemented by in vivo tracing of labeled nutrients followed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) analysis. Selected metabolites were verified on clinical specimen. Our data identify remarkable differences in the phospholipid composition of gliomas harboring the IDH1 mutation. Moreover, we show that these tumors are characterized by reduced glucose turnover and a lower energy potential, correlating with their reduced aggressivity. Despite these differences, our data also show that D2HG overproduction does not result in a global aberration of the central carbon metabolism, indicating strong adaptive mechanisms at hand. Intriguingly, D2HG shows no quantitatively important glucose‐derived label in IDH‐mutant tumors, which suggests that the synthesis of this oncometabolite may rely on alternative carbon sources. Despite a reduction in NADPH, glutathione levels are maintained. We found that genes coding for key enzymes in de novo glutathione synthesis are highly expressed in IDH‐mutant gliomas and the expression of cystathionine‐β‐synthase (CBS) correlates with patient survival in the oligodendroglial subtype. This study provides a detailed and clinically relevant insight into the in vivo metabolism of IDH1‐mutant gliomas and points to novel metabolic vulnerabilities in these tumors