Adaptive response of resistant cancer cells to chemotherapy

Despite advances in cancer therapeutics and the integration of personalized medicine, the development of chemoresistance in many patients remains a significant contributing factor to cancer mortality. Upon treatment with chemotherapeutics, the disruption of homeostasis in cancer cells triggers the adaptive response which has emerged as a key resistance mechanism. In this review, we summarize the mechanistic studies investigating the three major components of the adaptive response, autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling, and senescence, in response to cancer chemotherapy. We will discuss the development of potential cancer therapeutic strategies in the context of these adaptive resistance mechanisms, with the goal of stimulating research that may facilitate the development of effective cancer therapy.     

MOB1A regulates glucose deprivation-induced autophagy via IL6-STAT3 pathway in gallbladder carcinoma

MOB kinase activator 1A (MOB1A) plays an important role in many diseases and cancers. Here, we observed that MOB1A was substantially overexpressed in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) tissues compared with nontumor tissues. The high expression of MOB1A was closely associated with poor survival in patients with GBC at advanced TNM stages. Furthermore, our study indicated that MOB1A promoted autophagy by activating the IL6/STAT3 signaling pathway and regulating the chemosensitivity to gemcitabine under glucose deprivation conditions both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, these findings suggested that MOB1A is critical for the development of GBC via the MOB1A-IL6/STAT3-autophagy axis.     

Association between vitiligo and subsequent risk of dementia: A population‐based cohort study

Increasing evidence suggests a positive association between autoimmune disorders and the subsequent risk of dementia, supporting the idea that neuroinflammation is a major contributor to dementia. However, whether or not adults with vitiligo have an increased risk of dementia remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between vitiligo and the subsequent risk of dementia. A total of 1320 patients with vitiligo and 5280 matched controls were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 1998 and 2011. Dementia was diagnosed by board‐certificated psychiatrists or neurologists in the follow‐up period. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) after controlling for age, sex, income‐related monthly premium, residence and comorbidities associated with dementia. The incidence rate of dementia (per 100 000 person‐years) was 502.8 among patients with vitiligo and 101.9 among the controls. Patients with vitiligo were more likely to develop any type of dementia (aHR, 5.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.30–8.51), Alzheimer’s disease (aHR, 12.22; 95% CI, 3.71–40.28) and vascular dementia (aHR, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.31–12.15) compared with the controls. In conclusion, middle‐aged and old patients with vitiligo are more likely to develop dementia compared with those without vitiligo. This novel finding reminds physicians to be more careful about signs of dementia when managing patients with vitiligo and provides the basis for further investigations that clarify the underlying mechanisms.