[Retracted] Sequential use of protein kinase inhibitors potentiates their toxicity to melanoma cells: A rationale to combine targeted drugs based on protein expression inhibition profiles.

Following the publication of this article, a concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that there appeared to be the duplication of a pair of western blots in each of Figs. 4 and 6, with the possibility of the bands in question having been resized in one of these cases. After having conducted an internal investigation, the Editorial Office also determined that there was a further instance of duplication of western bands comparing between Figs.

In Vitro Modulation of Human Foam Cell Formation and Adhesion Molecules Expression by Ginger Extracts Points to Potential Cardiovascular Preventive Agents.

Recent findings from the World Heart Federation (WHF) reported a significant increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related deaths, highlighting the urgent need for effective prevention strategies. Atherosclerosis, a key precursor to CVD, involves the accumulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and its oxidation within the endothelium, leading to inflammation and foam cell formation. Ginger extracts, known for their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, show promise in preventing CVD initiation by inhibiting LDL oxidation and reducing foam cell formation.

Bufalin Suppresses Head and Neck Cancer Development by Modulating Immune Responses and Targeting the β-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Bufalin, a cardiotonic steroid derived from the Chinese toad (Bufo gargarizans), has demonstrated potent anticancer properties across various cancer types, positioning it as a promising therapeutic candidate. However, comprehensive mechanistic studies specific to head and neck cancers have been lacking. Our study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating bufalin's mechanisms of action in head and neck cancer cells.

Correction: Krayem et al. Kinome Profiling to Predict Sensitivity to MAPK Inhibition in Melanoma and to Provide New Insights into Intrinsic and Acquired Mechanism of Resistance. 2020, , 512.

In the original article [...

ATP1A1 is a promising new target for melanoma treatment and can be inhibited by its physiological ligand bufalin to restore targeted therapy efficacy.

Despite advancements in treating metastatic melanoma, many patients exhibit resistance to targeted therapies. Our study focuses on ATP1A1, a sodium pump subunit associated with cancer development. We aimed to assess ATP1A1 prognostic value in melanoma patients and examine the impact of its ligand, bufalin, on melanoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Correction: Krayem et al. The Benefit of Reactivating p53 under MAPK Inhibition on the Efficacy of Radiotherapy in Melanoma. 2019, , 1093.

In the original article [...

Preventive and Therapeutic Effect of Metformin in Head and Neck Cancer: A Concise Review.

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a complex affection. Nowadays, conventional treatments are associated with many side effects, reducing the patient's quality of life. Recent studies suggest that metformin, a first-line treatment for diabetes, could decrease cancer incidence and improve cancer-related survival rates.

Macrophage Profiling in Head and Neck Cancer to Improve Patient Prognosis and Assessment of Cancer Cell-Macrophage Interactions Using Three-Dimensional Coculture Models.

Tumor-associated macrophages are key components of the tumor microenvironment and play important roles in the progression of head and neck cancer, leading to the development of effective strategies targeting immune cells in tumors. Our study demonstrated the prognostic potential of a new scoring system (Macroscore) based on the combination of the ratio and the sum of the high and low densities of M1 (CD80+) and M2 (CD163+) macrophages in a series of head and neck cancer patients, including a training population ( = 54) and a validation population ( = 19). Interestingly, the Macroscore outperformed TNM criteria and p16 status, showing a significant association with poor patient prognosis, and demonstrated significant predictive value for overall survival.

Targeting Prohibitins to Inhibit Melanoma Growth and Overcome Resistance to Targeted Therapies.

Despite important advances in the treatment of metastatic melanoma with the development of MAPK-targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors, the majority of patients either do not respond to therapies or develop acquired resistance. Furthermore, there is no effective targeted therapy currently available for BRAF wild-type melanomas (approximately 50% of cutaneous melanoma). Thus, there is a compelling need for new efficient targeted therapies.

The Interplay between Atherosclerosis and Cancer: Breast Cancer Cells Increase the Expression of Endothelial Cell Adhesion Markers.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide, closely followed by cancer. To investigate the impact of breast cancer cell lines (SKBR3, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231) on endothelial cell adhesion, a blended medium containing 30% breast-cancer-conditioned medium was prepared. This medium was then exposed to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and monocytes (THP-1) for 48 h.

The benefit of co-targeting PARP-1 and c-Met on the efficacy of radiotherapy in wild type BRAF melanoma.

Melanoma is known to be a radioresistant cancer. Melanoma radioresistance can be due to several factors such as pigmentation, antioxidant defenses and high Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair efficacy. However, irradiation induces intracellular translocation of RTKs, including cMet, which regulates response to DNA damage activating proteins and promotes DNA repair.

Effect of the Size and Shape of Dendronized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Bearing a Targeting Ligand on MRI, Magnetic Hyperthermia, and Photothermia Properties-From Suspension to In Vitro Studies.

Functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are increasingly being designed as a theranostic nanoplatform combining specific targeting, diagnosis by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and multimodal therapy by hyperthermia. The effect of the size and the shape of IONPs is of tremendous importance to develop theranostic nanoobjects displaying efficient MRI contrast agents and hyperthermia agent via the combination of magnetic hyperthermia (MH) and/or photothermia (PTT). Another key parameter is that the amount of accumulation of IONPs in cancerous cells is sufficiently high, which often requires the grafting of specific targeting ligands (TLs).

Bioconjugation studies of an EGF-R targeting ligand on dendronized iron oxide nanoparticles to target head and neck cancer cells.

A major challenge in nanomedicine is designing nanoplatforms (NPFs) to selectively target abnormal cells to ensure early diagnosis and targeted therapy. Among developed NPFs, iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are good MRI contrast agents and can be used for therapy by hyperthermia and as radio-sensitizing agents. Active targeting is a promising method for selective IONPs accumulation in cancer tissues and is generally performed by using targeting ligands (TL).

Regorafenib Induces Senescence and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Colorectal Cancer to Promote Drug Resistance.

Potential intrinsic resistance mechanisms to regorafenib were explored after short exposure (3 days) on five CRC cell lines (HCT-116, SW1116, LS-1034, SW480, Caco-2). The observation of senescence-like features led to the investigation of a drug-initiated phenotype switch. Following long-term exposure (12 months) of HCT-116 and SW480 cell lines to regorafenib, we developed resistant models to explore acquired resistance.

Immune Cell Density Evaluation Improves the Prognostic Values of Staging and p16 in Oropharyngeal Cancer.

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPSCCs) has continued to rise over the years, mainly due to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although they were newly reclassified in the last TNM staging system, some groups still relapse and have poor prognoses. Based on their implication in oncogenesis, we investigated the density of cytotoxic and regulatory T cells, macrophages, and Langerhans cells in relation to p16 status, staging and survival of patients.

Development of a Method for Producing oxLDL: Characterization of Their Effects on HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer Cells.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancers are the two main causes of death worldwide. The initiation and progression of atherosclerosis is, in large part, caused by oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL); interestingly, oxLDL may also play a role in cancer cell metabolism and migration. As oxLDL are generally obtained by tedious ultracentrifugation procedures, "" oxLDL were obtained by applying a purification kit to isolate LDL and VLDL from human plasma; isolating LDL from VLDL by gel permeation chromatography (GPC); and oxidating LDL through CuSO incubation.

Bufalin for an innovative therapeutic approach against cancer.

Bufalin is an endogenous cardiotonic steroid, first discovered in toad venom but also found in the plasma of healthy humans, with anti-tumour activities in different cancer types. The current review is focused on its mechanisms of action and highlights its very large spectrum of effects both in vitro and in vivo. All leads to the conclusion that bufalin mediates its effects by affecting all the hallmarks of cancer and seems restricted to cancer cells avoiding side effects.

Cytokine Landscape in Central Nervous System Metastases.

The central nervous system is the location of metastases in more than 40% of patients with lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma. These metastases are associated with one of the poorest prognoses in advanced cancer patients, mainly due to the lack of effective treatments. In this review, we explore the involvement of cytokines, including interleukins and chemokines, during the development of brain and leptomeningeal metastases from the epithelial-to-mesenchymal cell transition and blood-brain barrier extravasation to the interaction between cancer cells and cells from the brain microenvironment, including astrocytes and microglia.

Immunoscore Combining CD8, FoxP3, and CD68-Positive Cells Density and Distribution Predicts the Prognosis of Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

We assessed immune cell infiltrates to develop an immunoscore for prognosis and to investigate its correlation with the clinical data of patients with head and neck cancer. CD8, FoxP3, and CD68 markers were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 258 carcinoma samples and positive cells were counted in stromal and intra-tumoral compartments. The RStudio software was used to assess optimal cut-offs to divide the population according to survival while the prognostic value was established by using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models for each immune marker alone and in combination.

Dealing with Macrophage Plasticity to Address Therapeutic Challenges in Head and Neck Cancers.

The head and neck tumor microenvironment (TME) is highly infiltrated with macrophages. More specifically, tumor-associated macrophages (TAM/M2-like) are one of the most critical components associated with poor overall survival in head and neck cancers (HNC). Two extreme states of macrophage phenotypes are described as conducting pro-inflammatory/anti-tumoral (M1) or anti-inflammatory/pro-tumoral (M2) activities.

Understanding Molecular Mechanisms of Phenotype Switching and Crosstalk with TME to Reveal New Vulnerabilities of Melanoma.

Melanoma cells are notorious for their high plasticity and ability to switch back and forth between various melanoma cell states, enabling the adaptation to sub-optimal conditions and therapeutics. This phenotypic plasticity, which has gained more attention in cancer research, is proposed as a new paradigm for melanoma progression. In this review, we provide a detailed and deep comprehensive recapitulation of the complex spectrum of phenotype switching in melanoma, the key regulator factors, the various and new melanoma states, and corresponding signatures.