Publications by authors named "Andrea L Casillas"
Immunotherapy has changed the treatment paradigm for many types of cancer, but immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have not shown benefit in prostate cancer (PCa). Chronic inflammation contributes to the immunosuppressive prostate tumor microenvironment (TME) and is associated with poor response to ICIs. The primary source of inflammatory cytokine production is the inflammasome.
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- Lipid droplets (LDs) are tiny storage units in cells that help them survive when there's not enough energy, and solid tumors, like prostate cancer, can gather a lot of these LDs.
- The study found that a protein called PIM1 helps increase LDs by blocking another protein called GSK3β, which lets a factor called PPARα help cells grow and multiply.
- When PIM1 is stopped, there's less LD accumulation, leading to slower tumor growth and fewer triglycerides in the body, showing how important PIM1 is for cancer cells dealing with low nutrients.
PIM kinases have important pro-tumorigenic roles and mediate several oncogenic traits, including cell proliferation, survival, and chemotherapeutic resistance. As a result, multiple PIM inhibitors have been pursued as investigational new drugs in cancer; however, response to PIM inhibitors in solid tumors has fallen short of expectations. We found that inhibition of PIM kinase activity stabilizes protein levels of all three PIM isoforms (PIM1/2/3), and this can promote resistance to PIM inhibitors and chemotherapy.
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- This study focuses on understanding how prostate cancer transitions from a non-aggressive state to an invasive one, which could improve treatment strategies for patients.
- Researchers discovered a new signaling pathway connecting low oxygen levels (hypoxia) and the PIM1 kinase to the actin cytoskeleton, crucial for cell movement.
- They found that when PIM1 modifies a protein called ABI2, it boosts cell movement and tumor invasion in prostate cancer, indicating that targeting PIM1 could be a potential therapeutic approach.
Gynecological cancers are diagnosed in over a million females worldwide, with ovarian, endometrial (uterine), and cervical the most common. Here, we highlight recent progress by bioengineers to improve screening and diagnosis for these diseases, including potential point-of-care approaches. We provide particular attention to the use of tissue engineering, biomaterials, microfluidics, and organoids to identify mechanisms regulating disease progression and predict therapeutic responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngiogenesis is essential for the sustained growth of solid tumors. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a master regulator of angiogenesis and constitutive activation of HIF-1 is frequently observed in human cancers. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms governing the activation of HIF-1 is critical for successful therapeutic targeting of tumor angiogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResistance to chemotherapy represents a major obstacle to the successful treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The goal of this study was to determine how PIM kinases impact mitochondrial dynamics, ROS production, and response to chemotherapy in lung cancer. Live-cell imaging and microscopy were used to determine the effect of PIM loss or inhibition on mitochondrial phenotype and ROS.
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- * The study aimed to investigate whether targeting PIM kinase expression in hypoxic tumors enhances the effectiveness of VEGF-targeting therapies, with findings indicating that PIM activation reduces the effectiveness of these drugs.
- * Combining PIM inhibitors with VEGF therapies led to a stronger antitumor response, reducing tumor growth and metastasis, suggesting that this approach could be promising for treating solid tumors resistant to current treatments.