Jia Zhang , Runting Yin , Yongwang Xue , Rong Qin , Xuequan Wang , Shuming Wu , Jun Zhu , Yan-Shuang Li , Cai Zhang , Yuan Wei
{"title":"Advances in the study of epithelial mesenchymal transition in cancer progression: Role of miRNAs","authors":"Jia Zhang , Runting Yin , Yongwang Xue , Rong Qin , Xuequan Wang , Shuming Wu , Jun Zhu , Yan-Shuang Li , Cai Zhang , Yuan Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been extensively studied for its roles in tumor metastasis, the generation and maintenance of cancer stem cells and treatment resistance. Epithelial mesenchymal plasticity allows cells to switch between various states within the epithelial-mesenchymal spectrum, resulting in a mixed epithelial/mesenchymal phenotypic profile. This plasticity underlies the acquisition of multiple malignant features during cancer progression and poses challenges for EMT in tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the microenvironment affect numerous signaling processes through diverse mechanisms, influencing physiological activities. This paper reviews recent advances in EMT, the role of different hybrid states in tumor progression, and the important role of miRNAs in EMT. Furthermore, it explores the relationship between miRNA-based EMT therapies and their implications for clinical practice, discussing how ongoing developments may enhance therapeutic outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 69-90"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143789327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alessandro Maria Morelli , Ann Saada , Felix Scholkmann
{"title":"Myelin: A possible proton capacitor for energy storage during sleep and energy supply during wakefulness","authors":"Alessandro Maria Morelli , Ann Saada , Felix Scholkmann","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There are several physiological reasons why biological organisms sleep. One key one concerns brain metabolism. In our article we discuss the role of metabolism in myelin, based on the recent discovery that myelin contains mitochondrial components that enable the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). These mitochondrial components in myelin probably originate from vesiculation of the mitochondrial membranes in form from mitochondrial derived vesicles (MDVs). We hypothesize that myelin acts as a proton capacitor, accumulating energy in the form of protons during sleep and converting it to ATP via OXPHOS during wakefulness. Empirical evidence supporting our hypothesis is discussed, including data on myelin metabolic activity, MDVs, and allometric scaling between white matter volume and sleep duration in mammals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 91-101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143744519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Polina Vertegel , Pavel Milkin , Anton Murashko , Mikhail Parker , Kristina Peranidze , Natalia Emashova , Sergiy Minko , Vladimir Reukov
{"title":"Cell detachment: A review of techniques, challenges, and opportunities for advancing biomedical research and applications","authors":"Polina Vertegel , Pavel Milkin , Anton Murashko , Mikhail Parker , Kristina Peranidze , Natalia Emashova , Sergiy Minko , Vladimir Reukov","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Culturing living cells outside the body is a complex process involving various techniques. Despite advances, harvesting cells remains challenging, especially in light of new emerging and scaled-up cell culture technologies. Enzymatic adherent cell harvesting is the most used and robust technology but can harm cells. Non-enzymatic detachment methods offer advantages but also present challenges. Thermo-responsive polymers require precise control of the molecular characteristics and thickness of the thermoresponsive films, which makes this method less robust and more expensive. This review highlights the importance of controlling harvested cell quality and its relationship to cell binding and detachment mechanisms. Many alternative methods have not been extensively analyzed, and their impact on cell quality beyond standard viability assays is not yet known. Developing robust cell harvesting methods for bioreactor microcarriers is a rapidly growing challenge as the cell manufacturing industry expands. Microcarriers with stimuli-responsive coatings face challenges similar to those observed for laboratory-scale cell dishes and bring an additional aspect of the need for microbead recycling consideration. All that together underlines the importance of the research in biomaterials and biotechnology for cell manufacturing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 50-68"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143537855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancing targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer: Leveraging molecular abberrations for therapeutic success","authors":"Tanvi Gupta , Mohd Murtaza","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly with poor prognosis and overall survival rate due to the dense stroma in the tumors which often is challenging for the delivery of drug to penetrate deep inside the tumor bed and usually results in the progression of cancer. The conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery shows a minimal benefit in the survival due to the drug resistance, poor penetration, less radiosensitivity or recurrence of tumor. There is an urgent demand to develop molecular-level targeted therapies to achieve therapeutic efficacy in the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. The precision oncology focuses on the unique attributes of the patient such as epigenome, proteome, genome, microbiome, lifestyle and diet habits which contributes to promote oncogenesis. The targeted therapy helps to target the mutated proteins responsible for controlling growth, division and metastasis of tumor in the cancer cells. It is very important to consider all the attributes of the patient to provide the suitable personalized treatment to avoid any severe side effects. In this review, we have laid emphasis on the precision medicine; the utmost priority is to improve the survival of cancer patients by targeting molecular mutations through transmembrane proteins, inhibitors, signaling pathways, immunotherapy, gene therapy or the use of nanocarriers for the delivery at the tumor site. It will become beneficial therapeutic window to be considered for the advanced stage pancreatic cancer patients to prolong their survival rate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 19-32"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143484597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Skeletogenesis and acupuncture points","authors":"Evgeniy Andreyev, Volodymyr Krasnoholovets","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The formation of the embryo begins with a “calcium wave” that contributes to the creation of heterogeneities, and then some of them solidify. The further development and a collective information architecture of the embryo is controlled by the so-called morphogenetic field, whose nature is mainly associated with a physical inerton field that is a substructure of the quantum mechanical matter waves, which plays the role of information field in biological systems. The inerton field takes on the function of organising the geometry and topology of the developing system, which we associate with the concept of positional information. Hence, any extended element or system in the body can be specified by certain relative coordinates, or radius vectors drawn from the origin to a given point. Such special points we associate with the patterns of formation of the musculoskeletal system. This work demonstrates an unequivocal correspondence between the functional formations that exist within the bony structures of the skeleton, which we can name ossification centres, or points, and classical acupuncture areas, which involve a number of nerves, muscles, vessels, and tendons. Histologically, there are various kinds of endings around the acupoints and their complexity is responsible for the acupuncture sensation in these places. It is shown that each ossification centre can be associated with a multiple of two number of acupuncture areas located in the immediate vicinity of the ossification centre. With this approach, all 1112 generally recognised acupuncture points find their ossification centres on the tubular bones and axial skeleton.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 33-49"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143470252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cellular senescence as a key player in chronic heart failure pathogenesis: Unraveling mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities","authors":"Shuqing Zhao , Yu Zhang , Ying Zhao , Xiaohui Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the final stage of heart disease and is caused by various factors. Unfortunately, CHF has a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate. Recent studies have found that aging is a significant risk factor for the development of CHF and that cellular senescence plays a vital role in its development. This article reviews different types of cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction in senescent cells, autophagy in senescent cells, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and epigenetic regulation, to provide new perspectives on the research and treatment of CHF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 8-18"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143442812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jie Zhou , Yuan-Kun Gou , Dong Guo , Ming-Yi Wang , Peng Liu
{"title":"Roles of gastric cancer-derived exosomes in the occurrence of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma","authors":"Jie Zhou , Yuan-Kun Gou , Dong Guo , Ming-Yi Wang , Peng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gastric cancer (GC), particularly in East Asia, is among the most prevalent cancers with high mortality rates. According to recent epidemiological data, patients with GC account for over a quarter of all cancer incidences and approximately one third of cancer-related deaths in East Asia. Liver metastasis (LM) is not only a common form of GC distant metastasis but also poses a major challenge to the prognosis and treatment of patients with advanced GC. Increasing evidence has shown that the gut-liver axis plays a pivotal role in maintaining the stomach-liver-gut homeostasis. Exosomes are small secreted vesicles enriched with specific proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. These vesicles exhibit significant activities in signal transmission to adjacent or distant cells in the gut-liver axis, as well as in remodeling the tumor microenvironment. Some research have pointed out that exosomes promote LM of various cancers. However, there still lack of complete and systematic review on how exosomes affect GC-LM. In this article, we present a comprehensive description to explore the role of GC-derived exosomes in the occurrence and development of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiqiang Li , Weiming Wang , Zipeng Lin , Zhenyu Liu , Ruilin Zhang , Runwen Li , Jie Zhang , Youkun Zheng , Dalian Qin , Ya Wu , Yong Liu
{"title":"Vinculin: A new target for the diagnosis and treatment of disease","authors":"Jiqiang Li , Weiming Wang , Zipeng Lin , Zhenyu Liu , Ruilin Zhang , Runwen Li , Jie Zhang , Youkun Zheng , Dalian Qin , Ya Wu , Yong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vinculin, a crucial adhesion plaque protein, plays a significant role in cell morphology and tissue development. Dysregulation of focal adhesion proteins has been linked to numerous diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and cancer. Recent studies increasingly highlight vinculin's involvement in the progression of these diseases; however, a comprehensive review remains lacking. Therefore, an in-depth and timely review is essential to consolidate the latest findings on vinculin's role in disease mechanisms. This study aims to examine how vinculin coordinates a complex network of signaling pathways across various pathological contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"195 ","pages":"Pages 157-166"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ildefonso M. De la Fuente , Jesus M. Cortes , Iker Malaina , Gorka Pérez-Yarza , Luis Martinez , José I. López , Maria Fedetz , Jose Carrasco-Pujante
{"title":"The main sources of molecular organization in the cell. Atlas of self-organized and self-regulated dynamic biostructures","authors":"Ildefonso M. De la Fuente , Jesus M. Cortes , Iker Malaina , Gorka Pérez-Yarza , Luis Martinez , José I. López , Maria Fedetz , Jose Carrasco-Pujante","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One of the most important goals of contemporary biology is to understand the principles of the molecular order underlying the complex dynamic architecture of cells. Here, we present an overview of the main driving forces involved in the cellular molecular complexity and in the emergent functional dynamic structures, spanning from the most basic molecular organization levels to the complex emergent integrative systemic behaviors. First, we address the <em>molecular information processing</em> which is essential in many complex fundamental mechanisms such as the epigenetic memory, alternative splicing, regulation of transcriptional system, and the adequate self-regulatory adaptation to the extracellular environment. Next, we approach the biochemical <em>self-organization</em>, which is central to understand the emergency of metabolic rhythms, circadian oscillations, and spatial traveling waves. Such a complex behavior is also fundamental to understand the temporal compartmentalization of the cellular metabolism and the dynamic regulation of many physiological activities. Numerous examples of biochemical <em>self-organization</em> are considered here, which show that practically all the main physiological processes in the cell exhibit this type of dynamic molecular organization. Finally, we focus on the biochemical <em>self-assembly</em> which, at a primary level of organization, is a basic but important mechanism for the order in the cell allowing biomolecules in a disorganized state to form complex aggregates necessary for a plethora of essential structures and physiological functions. In total, more than 500 references have been compiled in this review. Due to these main sources of order, systemic functional structures emerge in the cell, driving the metabolic functionality towards the biological complexity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"195 ","pages":"Pages 167-191"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142980661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Songlin Wu , Abdel Nasser B Singab , Guimei Lin , Yulu Wang , Huaibo Zhu , Guang Yang , Jiaqi Chen , Jiaxuan Li , Peiyao Li , Di Zhao , Jing Tian , Lan Ye
{"title":"The regulatory role of integrin in gastric cancer tumor microenvironment and drug resistance","authors":"Songlin Wu , Abdel Nasser B Singab , Guimei Lin , Yulu Wang , Huaibo Zhu , Guang Yang , Jiaqi Chen , Jiaxuan Li , Peiyao Li , Di Zhao , Jing Tian , Lan Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gastric cancer (GC) remains a significant global health burden due to its high aggressiveness, early metastasis, and poor prognosis. Despite advances in chemotherapy and targeted therapies, drug resistance remains a major obstacle to improving patient outcomes. Integrins, a family of transmembrane receptors, play a pivotal role in mediating tumor growth, invasion, and drug resistance by interacting with the tumor microenvironment (TME) and regulating signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin, FAK, and MAPK. This review highlights the critical functions of various integrin subunits (e.g., α5, αv, β1, β3, β6) in promoting GC progression and their involvement in chemoresistance mechanisms. Additionally, integrins modulate immune cell infiltration and stromal cell interactions within the TME, further complicating GC treatment. Emerging evidence suggests that targeting integrins, either through inhibitors or integrin-specific therapeutic strategies, holds potential in overcoming drug resistance and improving clinical outcomes. This review underscores the need for further exploration of integrins as therapeutic targets in GC and suggests promising avenues for integrin-based therapies in personalized medicine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"195 ","pages":"Pages 130-136"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142973361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}