bims-cabrim Biomed News
on Cancer-brain interactions: molecular mechanisms
Issue of 2022–10–16
two papers selected by
Bojana Milutinovic, MD Anderson Cancer Center
  1. Environmental enrichment counteracts the effects of glioma in primary visual cortex.
  2. Nerve Density and Neuronal Biomarkers in Cancer.
  1. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 Oct 11. pii: S0969-9961(22)00286-8. [Epub ahead of print] 105894
    Environmental enrichment counteracts the effects of glioma in primary visual cortex.
    Maria Amalia Di Castro, Stefano Garofalo, Eleonora De Felice, Nicolò Meneghetti, Erika Di Pietro, Alessandro Mormino, Alberto Mazzoni, Matteo Caleo, Laura Maggi, Cristina Limatola.
      Experience-dependent neuronal changes and brain plasticity occur throughout life as animals adapt to their environment. Structural, morphological, and cellular modifications promoted by exposure to environmental enrichment (EE) have been reported to improve neuronal functions, increase hippocampal neurogenesis, ameliorate memory tasks and cognitive performance, and have beneficial effects on several brain diseases, including cancer. We specifically addressed the role of the EE in counteracting neuronal dysfunction in mice bearing glioma in the primary visual cortex. By recording spontaneous and evoked currents with patch clamp techniques in acute slices obtained from standard and enriched-housed mice, we found that the presence of glioma globally reduced the excitatory and inhibitory transmissions in the peritumoral area. The exposure to an enriched environment counteracts the tumor-mediated depression of both excitatory and inhibitory neuronal activities, with a more pronounced impact on evoked transmission. The effect of EE on glioma was also associated with reduced tumor cell proliferation. These results elucidate the impact of EE on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission of the primary visual cortex in control and glioma-bearing mice.
    Keywords:  Environmental enrichment; Glioma; Peritumoral neurons; Synaptic transmission
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105894
  2. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Oct 01. pii: 4817. [Epub ahead of print]14(19):
    Nerve Density and Neuronal Biomarkers in Cancer.
    Shahrukh R Ali, Madeleine Jordan, Priyadharsini Nagarajan, Moran Amit.
      Certain histologic characteristics of neurons, novel neuronal biomarkers, and nerve density are emerging as important diagnostic and prognostic tools in several cancers. The tumor microenvironment has long been known to promote tumor development via promoting angiogenesis and cellular proliferation, but new evidence has shown that neural proliferation and invasion in the tumor microenvironment may also enable tumor growth. Specific neuronal components in peripheral nerves and their localization in certain tumor sites have been identified and associated with tumor aggressiveness. In addition, dense neural innervation has been shown to promote tumorigenesis. In this review, we will summarize the histological components of a nerve, explore the neuronal biomarkers found in tumor sites, and discuss clinical correlates between tumor neurobiology and patient prognosis.
    Keywords:  cancer; neoplasms; nerve density; nerve pathology; nerve tissue; nerves; neural factors; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14194817
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