Xiufeng Huang

Lactate transmission from hypoxic tumor cells promotes macrophage senescence and M2 polarization via the DNMT1-NHE7 axis to accelerate endometrial cancer progression

Abstract Although hypoxia is a well-known key driver of metabolic reprogramming in endometrial cancer (EC), its role in lactate-mediated macrophage activation remains unclear. This study investigates whether hypoxia-mediated lactate metabolism reprogramming facilitated EC progression via macrophages. Our data demonstrated that hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) drives a lactate-regulated metabolic cascade, elevating glycolytic genes and monocarboxylate transporter 3 (MCT3) in EC cells to produce and export more lactate. This lactate is transported to macrophages by MCT1 to drive M2 macrophage polarization. Mechanistically, lactate induces lactylation of Histone 3 in the promoter of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) gene and activates transcription in macrophages, leading to the silencing of NHE7 gene expression, a key regulator of intracellular pH. Critically, NHE7 downregulation drives M2 polarization and senescence through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation in macrophages, ultimately facilitating EC progression. In vivo, we successfully established a xenograft tumor model using Ishikawa cells, and the data further confirmed that NHE7-overexpressing macrophages effectively abrogate exogenous lactate-accelerated xenograft tumor growth, as well as its M2 polarization and senescence. These findings uncover that hypoxia-mediated lactate production and transmission promote tumor-macrophage crosstalk via the DNMT1-NHE7 axis and EC progression, which offers novel therapeutic targets for EC.

NHE7 drives endometrial cancer progression by delaying senescence through cAMP/CREB/GRIN2B axis-mediated Ca²⁺ influx

Endometrial cancer (EC) remains a lethal gynecological malignancy with limited therapeutic options owing to unresolved pathogenesis. Cellular senescence acts as a key barrier against tumorigenesis in cancer cells, thus investigating its role in EC progression represents a pivotal research avenue to address these challenges. This study reveals the critical role of cellular senescence in EC progression through multi-omics profiling and functional validation. The integrative analysis of RNA-seq and clinical datasets identified Na

HPV16 E7 Enhances Cell Stemness via RTKN2-Mediated Activation of the NF-κB Pathway in Cervical Cancer.

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most prevalent cancers among women globally. The primary cause of CC is persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly HPV16, whose E7 oncoprotein plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis and the maintenance of stem cell-like characteristics. RTKN2 participates in the progression of various cancers. However, the precise functions of RTKN2 in regulating CC remain unclear. The effects of HPV16 E7 in CC cells were evaluated using MTT, western blotting, Transwell, and sphere formation assays. Transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analyses were used to identify the targets of HPV16 E7. The expression levels of the target (RTKN2) in clinical samples were assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The function and mechanism of RTKN2 in CC cells were investigated by the knockdown and overexpression approaches, as well as dual-luciferase reporter assay. HPV16 E7 exhibited a positive correlation on the malignant phenotype and stemness of CC cells. RTKN2 was identified as a target of HPV16 E7, and a reduction in its expression levels was caused by knockdown of HPV16 E7. The high expression of RTKN2 was associated with a poor prognosis in CC. HPV16 E7 may regulate RTKN2 expression by modulating the binding activity of E2F1 to the RTKN2 promoter. Upregulated RTKN2 activates the NF-κB signaling pathway, enhances the stemness of CC cells, and ultimately promotes malignant progression.