Malignant gliomas are a lethal type of brain tumors that poorly respond to chemotherapeutic drugs. Several therapy resistance mechanisms have been characterized. However, the response to stress through mRNA translational control has not been evaluated for this type of tumor. A potential target would involve the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF2α) that leads to assembly of stress granules (SG) which are cytoplasmic granules mainly composed by RNA binding proteins and untranslated mRNAs. We assessed whether glioma cells are capable of assembling SG after exposure to different classes of chemotherapeutic agents through evaluation of the effects of interfering in this process by impairing the eIF2α signaling. C6 and U87MG cells were exposed to bortezomib, cisplatin, or etoposide. Forced expression of a dominant negative mutant of eIF2α (eIF2α(DN)) was employed to block this pathway. We observed that exposure to drugs stimulated SG assembly. This was reduced in eIF2α(DN)-transfected cells and this strategy enhanced chemotherapeutically-induced cell death for all drugs. Our data suggest that SG assembly occurs in glioma cells in response to chemotherapeutic drugs in an eIF2α-dependent manner and this response is relevant for drug resistance. Interfering with eIF2α signaling pathway may be a potential strategy for new co-adjuvant therapies to treat gliomas.
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) derived from microbiota and is involved in a range of cell processes in a concentration-dependent manner. Low concentrations of sodium butyrate (NaBu) was shown to be proangiogenic. However, the mechanisms associated with these effects are not yet fully known. Here, we investigated the contribution of the SCFA receptor GPR43 in the proangiogenic effects of local treatment with NaBu and its effects on matrix remodeling using the sponge-induced fibrovascular tissue model in mice lacking the GPR43 gene (GPR43-KO) and the wild-type (WT). We demonstrated that NaBu (0.2 mM intraimplant) treatment enhanced the neovascularization process, blood flow, and VEGF levels in a GPR43-dependent manner in the implants. Moreover, NaBu was able to modulate matrix remodeling aspects of the granulation tissue such as proteoglycans production, collagen deposition and α-SMA expression in vivo, besides to increase TGF-b1 levels in the fibrovascular tissue, in a GPR43-dependent manner. Interestingly, NaBu directly stimulated L929 murine fibroblasts migration, and TGF-β1 and collagen production in vitro. GPR43 was found to be expressed in human dermal fibroblasts, myofibroblasts and endothelial cells. Overall, our findings evidence that the metabolite-sensing receptor GPR43 contributes to the effects of low dose of NaBu in inducing angiogenesis and matrix remodeling during granulation tissue formation. These data provide important insights for the proposition of new therapeutic approaches based on NaBu, beyond the highly explored intestinal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer purposes, as a local treatment to improve tissue repair, particularly, by modulating granulation tissue components.
Researchers are actively seeking novel targeted therapies for the brain tumour glioblastoma (GBM) as the mean survival is less than 15 months. Here we discuss the proposal that the calcitonin receptor (CT Receptor), expressed in 76–86% of patient biopsies, is expressed by both malignant glioma cells and putative glioma stem cells (GSCs), and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target. Forty-two per cent (42%) of high-grade glioma (HGG; representative of GSCs) cell lines express CT Receptor protein. CT Receptors are widely expressed throughout the life cycle of organisms and in some instances promote apoptosis. Which of the common isoforms of the CT Receptor are predominantly expressed is currently unknown, but a functional response to cell stress of the insert-positive isoform is hypothesised. A model for resistant malignancies is one in which chemotherapy plays a direct role in activating quiescent stem cells for replacement of the tumour tissue hierarchy. The putative role that the CT Receptor plays in maintenance of quiescent cancer stem cells is discussed in view of the activation of the Notch–CT Receptor–collagen V axis in quiescent muscle (satellite) stem cells. The pharmacological CT response profiles of four of the HGG cell lines were reported. Both CT responders and non-responders were sensitive to an immunotoxin based on an anti-CT Receptor antibody. The CALCR mRNA exhibits alternative splicing commonly associated with cancer cells, which could result in the atypical pharmacology exhibited by CT non-responders and an explanation of tumour suppression. Due to the inherent instability of CALCR mRNA, analysis of CT Receptor protein in patient samples will lead to improved data for the expression of CT Receptor in GBM and other cancers, and an understanding of the role and activity of the splice variants. This knowledge will aid the effective targeting of this receptor for treatment of GBM.
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