Cancer cells alter their metabolism for the production of precursors of macromolecules. However, the control mechanisms underlying this reprogramming are poorly understood. Here we show that metabolic reprogramming of colorectal cancer is caused chiefly by aberrant MYC expression. Multiomics-based analyses of paired normal and tumor tissues from 275 patients with colorectal cancer revealed that metabolic alterations occur at the adenoma stage of carcinogenesis, in a manner not associated with specific gene mutations involved in colorectal carcinogenesis. MYC expression induced at least 215 metabolic reactions by changing the expression levels of 121 metabolic genes and 39 transporter genes. Further, MYC negatively regulated the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and maintenance but positively regulated genes involved in DNA and histone methylation. Knockdown of MYC in colorectal cancer cells reset the altered metabolism and suppressed cell growth. Moreover, inhibition of MYC target pyrimidine synthesis genes such as CAD, UMPS, and CTPS blocked cell growth, and thus are potential targets for colorectal cancer therapy.ne of the prominent characteristics of rapidly growing tumor cells is their capacity to sustain high rates of glycolysis for ATP generation irrespective of oxygen availability, termed the Warburg effect (1). Recent studies have shown that cancer cells shift metabolic pathways to facilitate the uptake and incorporation of abundant nutrients, such as glucose and glutamine (2, 3), into cell building blocks, such as nucleotides, amino acids, and lipids, that are essential for highly proliferating cells (4). This seems to be a universal characteristic of highly malignant tumors (5), independent of their carcinogenetic origin (6). Understanding how cancer cells reprogram metabolism can stimulate the development of new approaches in cancer therapy.Although there is now substantial information about how these pathways are regulated, most existing studies on cancer metabolism have used in vitro cell lines. In addition to genetic and epigenetic alterations, altered tumor microenvironment (e.g., blood flow, oxygen and nutrient supply, pH distribution, redox state, and inflammation) plays a profound role in modulating tumor cell metabolism (7-9). Therefore, a systematic characterization of in vivo metabolic pathways was deemed necessary to understand how metabolic phenotypes are regulated in intact human tumors.Here we applied multiomics-based approaches [i.e., metabolomics, target sequencing of cancer-related genes, transcriptomics, and methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIPseq)] to paired normal and tumor tissues obtained from 275 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and uncovered the details of which factors contributed, and when they contributed, to metabolic reprogramming in colorectal cancer. The results were confirmed by analysis of colorectal tissue from Apc mutant mice and cancer cell lines.

Objectives-Beneficial effects of angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers have been indicated for patients with diabetic nephropathy. We investigated the effects of an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker, telmisartan, on intrarenal angiotensin II levels and the progression of albuminuria or glomerular injury in type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats with microalbuminuria. Methods and Results-OtsukaLong-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats were randomly treated with telmisartan (10 mg/kg/day, orally), hydralazine (25 mg/kg/day in drinking water) or vehicle from the initiation of albuminuria (13 weeks old). At this age, Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats showed low but detectable albuminuria (1.0±0.1 mg/day) and higher systolic blood pressure, postprandial blood glucose and kidney angiotensin II levels than age-matched nondiabetic LongEvans Tokushima Otsuka rats. At 35 weeks of age, vehicle-treated Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats did not show apparent glomerular injury or tubulointerstitial fibrosis but did exhibit severe albuminuria (72.6±5.9 mg/day) and accumulation of cytoplasmic granules containing albumin in podocytes. Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats also showed higher systolic blood pressure, postprandial blood glucose, collagen gene expression, desmin staining (a marker of podocyte injury) and angiotensin II levels than Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats. Treatment with telmisartan did not affect postprandial blood glucose but decreased systolic blood pressure, collagen gene expression, desmin staining and angiotensin II levels. Telmisartan also prevented the development of albuminuria (0.6±0.1 mg/day at 35 weeks old) and accumulation of cytoplasmic granules. Hydralazine treatment Conclusion-The present results suggest the contribution of augmented intrarenal angiotensin II levels to the initiation and progression of albuminuria as well as podocyte abnormalities in type 2 diabetic rats. Angiotensin II blockade may inhibit the transition from microalbuminuria to overt nephropathy through prevention of intrarenal angiotensin II augmentation, independently of changes in blood pressure and glucose levels.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) not only impedes the influx of intravascular substances from blood to brain, but also promotes transport of substances from blood to brain or from brain to blood through several transport systems such as carrier-mediated transport, active efflux transport, and receptor-mediated transport systems. The multidrug resistance transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ATP-dependent efflux pump and contributes to efflux of undesirable substances such as amyloid-beta:(Abeta) proteins from the brain into the blood as well as many drugs such as anti-cancer drugs. The inhibition of P-gp has favorable and unfavorable effects on living bodies. P-gp deficiency at the BBB induces the increase of Abeta:deposition in the brain of an Alzheimer disease mouse model. It is also known that the Abeta:deposition is inversely correlated with P-gp expression in the brains of elderly non-demented humans. However, the transient inhibition of P-gp by antidepressants enables medicines such as anti-cancer drugs to enter the brain. Concerning Abeta:clearance in the brain, the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is a major efflux transporter for Abeta, while the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a major influx transporter for Abeta:across the BBB. Dysfunction of the BBB with efflux and influx transporters may contribute to the pathogenesis of some degenerative neuronal disorders. This review will focus on several transporters and discuss how medicines pass the BBB to reach the brain parenchyma.

New findings on flow or drainage pathways of brain interstitial fluid and cerebrospinal fluid have been made. The interstitial fluid flow has an effect on the passage of blood-borne substances in the brain parenchyma, especially in areas near blood-brain barrier (BBB)-free regions. Actually, blood-borne substances can be transferred in areas with intact BBB function, such as the hippocampus, the corpus callosum, periventricular areas, and medial portions of the amygdala, presumably through leaky vessels in the subfornical organs or the choroid plexus. Increasing evidence indicates that dysfunction of the BBB function may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of vascular dementia. Accordingly, we have examined which insults seen in patients suffering from vascular dementia have an effect on the BBB using experimental animal models exhibiting some phenotypes of vascular dementia. The BBB in the hippocampus was clearly deteriorated in Mongolian gerbils exposed to acute ischemia followed by reperfusion and also in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) showing hypertension. The BBB in the corpus callosum was clearly deteriorated in Wistar rats with permanent ligation of the bilateral common carotid arteries showing chronic hypoperfusion. The BBB in the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb was mildly deteriorated in aged senescence accelerated prone mice (SAMP8) showing cognitive dysfunction. The BBB in the hippocampus was mildly deteriorated in aged animals with hydrocephalus. Mild endothelial damage was seen in hyperglycemic db/db mice. In addition, mRNA expression of osteopontin, matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), and CD36 was increased in vessels showing BBB damage in hypertensive SHRSP. As osteopontin, MMP-13 and CD36 are known to be related to brain injury and amyloid β accumulation or clearance, BBB damage followed by increased gene expression of these molecules not only contributes to the pathogenesis of vascular dementia, but also bridges the gap between vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Vascular permeability and endothelial glycocalyx were examined in young adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), stroke-prone SHR (SHRSP), and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) as a control, in order to determine earlier changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the hypothalamus in chronic hypertension. These rats were injected with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as an indicator of vascular permeability. Brain slices were developed with a chromogen and further examined with cationized ferritin, a marker for evaluating glycocalyx. Staining for HRP was seen around vessels in the hypothalamus of SHR and SHRSP, but was scarce in WKY. The reaction product of HRP appeared in the abluminal pits of endothelial cells and within the basal lamina of arterioles, showing increased vascular permeability in the hypothalamus of SHR and SHRSP, whereas there were no leaky vessels in the frontal cortex of SHR and SHRSP, or in both areas of WKY. The number of cationized ferritin particles binding to the capillary endothelial cells was decreased in the hypothalamus of SHR and SHRSP, while the number decreased in the frontal cortex of SHRSP, compared with those in WKY. Cationized ferritin binding was preserved in some leaky arterioles, while it was scarce or disappeared in other leaky vessels. These findings suggest that BBB disruption occurs in the hypothalamus of 3-month-old SHR and SHRSP, and that endothelial glycocalyx is markedly damaged there without a close relationship to the early changes in the BBB.