Wallace Bourgeois, Scott A Armstrong, Emily B Heikamp
{"title":"Epigenetic Therapies.","authors":"Wallace Bourgeois, Scott A Armstrong, Emily B Heikamp","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041637","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epigenetic therapies are emerging for pediatric cancers. Due to the relatively low mutational burden in pediatric tumors, epigenetic dysregulation and differentiation blockade is a hallmark of oncogenesis in some childhood cancers. By targeting epigenetic regulators that maintain tumor cells in a primitive developmental state, epigenetic therapies may induce differentiation. The most well-studied and clinically advanced epigenetic-targeted therapies include azacitidine and decitabine, which inhibit DNA methylation through competitive inhibition of the enzymatic activity of the DNA methyltransferase family enzymes. These DNA hypomethylating agents are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for hematologic malignancies. The discovery that DNA hypermethylation occurs in patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations has led to the development and FDA approval of IDH inhibitors for hematologic and solid tumors. Epigenetic dysregulation in pediatric tumors is also driven by changes in the \"histone code\" that either promote oncogene expression or repress tumor suppressors. Cancers whose chromatin landscape is characterized by such aberrant histone posttranslational modifications may be amenable to targeted therapies that inhibit the chromatin-modifying enzymes that read, write, and erase these histone modifications. Small molecules that inhibit the enzymatic activity of histone deacetylases, acetyltransferases, and methyltransferases have been approved for the treatment of some adult cancers, and these agents are currently under investigation in various pediatric tumors. Chromatin regulatory complexes can be hijacked by oncogenic fusion proteins that are produced by chromosomal translocations, which are common drivers in pediatric cancer. Small molecules that disrupt oncogenic fusion protein activity and their associated chromatin complexes have demonstrated remarkable promise, and this approach has become the standard treatment for a subset of leukemias driven by the PML-RARA oncogenic fusion protein. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive epigenetic dysregulation in pediatric cancer may hold the key to future success in this field, as the landscape of druggable epigenetic targets is also expanding.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142853333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Autophagy and Protein Quality Control in Parkinson's Disease.","authors":"Marta Martinez-Vicente, Miquel Vila","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041619","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041619","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autophagy is a vital cellular process responsible for the degradation of proteins, organelles, and other cellular components within lysosomes. In neurons, basal autophagy is indispensable for maintaining cellular homeostasis and protein quality control. Accordingly, lysosomal dysfunction has been proposed to be associated with neurodegeneration, and with Parkinson's disease (PD) in particular. Aging, dopamine metabolism, and PD-linked genetic mutations are thought to impair the autophagic-lysosomal pathway, disrupt cellular proteostasis, and contribute to PD pathogenesis. These alterations represent an opportunity to identify potential new therapeutic targets and disease biomarkers, thus laying the groundwork for the development of novel disease-modifying strategies for PD that are aimed at restoring cellular proteostasis and quality control systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142853331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pathophysiology of Motor Control Abnormalities in Parkinson's Disease.","authors":"Thomas Wichmann","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041616","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Research in the last few decades has brought us closer to an understanding of the brain circuit abnormalities that underlie parkinsonian motor signs. This article summarizes the current knowledge in this rapidly emerging field. Traditional observations of activity changes of basal ganglia neurons that accompany akinesia and bradykinesia have been supplemented with new knowledge regarding specific pathophysiologic changes that are associated with other parkinsonian signs, such as tremor and gait impairments. New research also emphasizes the role of non-basal ganglia structures in parkinsonism, including the pedunculopontine nucleus, the cerebellum, and the cerebral cortex, and the role of structural and functional neuroplasticity. A more detailed understanding of the brain network abnormalities that result from Parkinson's disease is necessary to arrive at more effective and specific treatments for these symptoms in parkinsonian patients through circuit interventions reaching from deep brain stimulation to genetic and chemogenetic treatments.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142853285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Functional Neuroanatomy of the Normal and Pathological Basal Ganglia.","authors":"José L Lanciego, José A Obeso","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041617","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041617","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The term \"basal ganglia\" refers to a group of interconnected subcortical nuclei engaged in motor planning and movement initiation, executive functions, behaviors, and emotions. Dopamine released from the substantia nigra is the underlying driving force keeping the basal ganglia network under proper equilibrium and, indeed, reduction of dopamine levels triggers basal ganglia dysfunction, setting the groundwork for several movement disorders. The canonical basal ganglia model has been instrumental for most of our current understanding of the normal and pathological functioning of this subcortical network. This model explains how cortical information flows through the basal ganglia nuclei back to the cortex by going through two pathways with opposing effects that together lead to the proper execution of a given movement. The basal ganglia model has paved the way for the standard clinical management of Parkinson's disease, where pharmacological and neurosurgical treatments in place collectively afford an impressive symptomatic alleviation. Although much of the model has remained, the canonical model has been enriched with new arrivals gathered from evidence provided in the last three decades. Here, we sought to provide a comprehensive review of the basal ganglia network, with emphasis on structure, connectivity patterns, and basic operational principles, both in normal and pathological conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142853335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chester E Chamberlain, Michael S German, Louis H Philipson, Mark S Anderson
{"title":"Monogenic Type 1 Diabetes: A High Yield Pool in Which to Discover New Mechanisms and Candidate Therapeutics for Type 1 Diabetes.","authors":"Chester E Chamberlain, Michael S German, Louis H Philipson, Mark S Anderson","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041601","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rare monogenic forms of disease provide a unique opportunity to understand novel pathways in human biology. With the rapid advances in genomics and next-generation sequencing, we now have the tools to interrogate the genomes of patients on a large scale to identify candidate genes in patients with rare monogenic forms of type 1 diabetes (T1D). These cases are more likely to represent genetic defects in critical pathways of immune tolerance, and the study of these patients provides a high-yield pool in which to discover new mechanisms of disease in T1D. These studies are also expected to have high translational impact for the T1D community by helping to identify at-risk individuals and provide compelling candidate targets for prevention and treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142853336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neurotrophic Factors in the Treatment of Inherited Retinal Diseases.","authors":"Laure Blouin, José-Alain Sahel, Daniel C Chung","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041665","DOIUrl":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041665","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are the leading cause of blindness in working-age individuals worldwide. Their genetic etiology is especially heterogenous, so the development of gene-specific therapies is unlikely to meet the medical needs of the entire patient community. Considering these challenges, a complementary strategy could be to develop therapies independent of the underlying gene variant causing retinal degeneration. As the retina is a neural tissue, it is in theory amenable to neuroprotective therapies that could help prolong cell survival or promote retinal function. Many neurotrophic factors have shown favorable results in preclinical animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, but unfortunately these findings have not yet translated into successful human clinical trials. The clinical development of these new therapies is mostly impeded by selection of pertinent clinical end points and time-to-readout, as the majority of IRDs show a relatively slow disease progression rate. Despite these challenges, several strategies have moved forward into clinical development.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11610752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41232935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developmental Modeling of Childhood Cancers.","authors":"Kosuke Funato, Viviane Tabar","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Growing evidence indicates that childhood cancer is a developmental disease and the oncogenic impact of mutations depends on spatiotemporal developmental contexts. This dependency leads to distinct molecular, genetic, and clinical characteristics across various cancer (sub)types. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis are not fully understood, and the development of precision medicine for childhood cancers is still an ongoing effort, partially due to their relative rarity. Therefore, it is crucial to develop and use \"developmental models\" that replicate both mutations and specific developmental contexts that determine their impact. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the growing field of developmental modeling of childhood cancers, which enhance our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and pave the way for the development of new therapeutic approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142715441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Environmental Factors in Type 1 Diabetes.","authors":"Heikki Hyöty, Jutta E Laiho, Suvi M Virtanen","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041590","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The contribution of environmental factors to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes is considered substantial, but their identification has turned out to be challenging. Large prospective studies are crucial for reliable identification of environmental risk and protective factors. However, only few large prospective birth cohort studies have been carried out. Enterovirus infections have shown quite consistent risk association with the initiation of islet autoimmunity (IA) across these studies. Also, certain dietary factors have been consistently associated with IA risk, omega-3 fatty acids inversely, and childhood cow's milk intake directly. However, the mechanisms of these associations are not fully understood, and possible causality has not been confirmed. Clinical trial programs with enterovirus vaccines and antiviral drugs are in progress to evaluate the causality of enterovirus association. The only nutritional primary prevention randomized trial, TRIGR, did not find a difference between weaning to extensively hydrolyzed versus conventional cow's milk-based infant formula.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142715444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cancer Therapies Targeting Cellular Metabolism.","authors":"Benjamin Morris, Alejandro Gutierrez","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041657","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041657","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer is caused by mutations that drive aberrant growth, proliferation, and invasion, thus overriding regulatory mechanisms that normally link these processes to organismal needs and cellular physiology. This imposes demands for the production of energy and biomass and for survival in microenvironments that are often nonphysiologic and nutrient-poor, which are met by rewiring of cellular metabolism. The resultant dependence of tumor cells on altered metabolism can induce sensitivity to specific metabolic perturbations that can be exploited for cancer therapy. Some cancers are caused by mutations that impart a novel function to metabolic enzymes, leading to the production of a tumor-promoting metabolite that is dispensable in normal cells, representing an ideal therapeutic target. Tumors can also exploit metabolic regulation of cellular immunity to evade antitumor immune responses, and deciphering this biology has revealed potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Here, we discuss a number of illustrative examples highlighting the therapeutic potential and the challenges of targeting metabolism for cancer therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142715435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum: Preclinical Modeling of Pathway-Targeted Therapy of Human Lung Cancer in the Mouse.","authors":"Aria Vaishnavi, Conan G Kinsey, Martin McMahon","doi":"10.1101/cshperspect.a041815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041815","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10452,"journal":{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142603599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}