Project description:The regulatory gene pathways underlying the loss of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia are unknown and were explored using pangenomic transcriptome profiling. Gene expression profiles (Human Gene 1.0 ST) of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue were studied in gastrointestinal cancer patients with (N=13) or without (N=14) cachexia. Data analyses were performed using the Affymetrix GeneChip Operating Software (GCOS) Version 1.4.
Project description:Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is a metabolic syndrome characterized by progressive depletion of adipose and muscle tissue which cannot be corrected by conventional nutritional therapy. Adipose tissue, as an important energy storage, could appear obvious loss in early stage of CAC, which becomes a negative factor affecting the quality of life, efficacy of chemotherapy and so on. In order to identify differentially expressed RNAs in adipose tissue of CAC patients with noncachexia patients, we chose three gastric cancer patients with remarkable weight loss as CAC group and three gastric cancer patients without significant weight change within half a year as the control group. We resected a small subcutaneous adipose tissue from the abdomen of these six patients at time of surgery and completed transcriptome sequencing using Illumina platform. Compared with NCBI genome detabase, etc, we finally identified 386 differentially expressed mRNAs, 410 differentially expressed lncRNAs, 66 differentially expressed cirRNAs and 98 differentially expressed miRNAs. We hoped to provide more bases for follow-up study of adipose metabolism in cachexia.
Project description:The regulatory gene pathways underlying the loss of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia are unknown and were explored using pangenomic transcriptome profiling.
Project description:Cancer cachexia is a devastating metabolic syndrome characterized by systemic inflammation and massive muscle and adipose tissue wasting. Although cancer cachexia is responsible for approximately one third of cancer deaths, no effective therapies are available and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.We have found that (+)-JQ1 administration protects tumor-bearing mice from body weight loss, muscle and adipose tissue wasting. Remarkably, in C26-tumor bearing mice (+)-JQ1 administration dramatically prolongs survival, without directly affecting tumor growth. By ChIP-seq analyses, we unveil that the BET proteins directly promote the muscle atrophy program during cachexia. Consistently, BET pharmacological blockade prevents the activation of catabolic genes associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and decreases IL6 systemic levels. Overall, these findings indicate that BET may represent a promising therapeutic target in the management of cancer cachexia.
Project description:The cancer anorexia cachexia syndrome is a systemic metabolic disorder characterized by the catabolism of stored nutrients in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue that is particularly prevalent in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Loss of skeletal muscle results in functional impairments and increased mortality. The aim of the current study was to characterize the changes in systemic metabolism in a genetically engineered mouse model of NSCLC. We show that a portion of these animals develop loss of skeletal muscle, loss of adipose tissue, and increased inflammatory markers mirroring the human cachexia syndrome. Using non-cachexic and fasted animals as controls, we report a unique cachexia metabolite phenotype that includes the dependent ketone production by the liver. In this setting, glucocorticoid levels rise and correlate with skeletal muscle degradation and hepatic markers of gluconeogenesis. Restoring prevents the loss of skeletal muscle mass and body weight. These results demonstrate how targeting hepatic metabolism can prevent muscle wasting in lung cancer, and provide evidence for a novel therapeutic strategy.
Project description:Cancer cachexia, highly prevalent in lung cancer, is a debilitating syndrome characterized by involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass, and is associated with poor clinical outcome, decreased survival and negative impact on on tumor therapy. Here we sought to identify the muscle gene profile and pathways regulated in cachexia. Vastus lateralis muscle was obtained of newly diagnosed treatment-naïve NSCLC patients with cachexia (n = 8) and matched healthy controls (n = 8). Self-reported weight loss and body composition measurements defined cachexia status. RNA sequencing was performed on the Illumina NovasSeq 6000.
Project description:Cancer cachexia is a severe systemic wasting disease that negatively affects quality of life and survival in patients with cancer. To date, treating cancer cachexia is still a major unmet clinical need. We recently discovered the destabilization of the AMPK complex in adipose tissue as a key event in cachexia-related adipose tissue dysfunction and developed an AAV-based approach to prevent AMPK degradation and prolong cachexia-free survival. Here, we show the development and optimization of a prototypic peptide, Pen-X-ACIP, where the AMPK stabilizing peptide ACIP is fused to the cell-penetrating peptide moiety penetratin via a propargylic glycine linker to enable late-stage functionalization using click chemistry. Pen-X-ACIP was efficiently taken up by adipocytes, inhibited lipolysis and restored AMPK signaling. Tissue uptake assays showed a favorable uptake profile into adipose tissue upon intraperitoneal injection. Systemic delivery of Pen-X-ACIP into tumor-bearing animals prevented the progression of cancer cachexia without affecting tumor growth, and preserved body weight and adipose tissue mass with no discernable side effects in other peripheral organs, thereby achieving proof-of-concept. As Pen-X-ACIP also exerted its anti-lipolytic activity in human adipocytes, it now provides a promising platform for further (pre)clinical development towards a novel, first-in-class approach against cancer cachexia.