Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Browsing Department of Biomedical Engineering by Author "Agarwal, Mangilal"

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    Loading-induced antitumor capability of murine and human urine
    (Wiley, 2020-06) Wu, Di; Fan, Yao; Liu, Shengzhi; Woollam, Mark D.; Sun, Xun; Murao, Eiji; Zha, Rongrong; Prakash, Rahul; Park, Charles; Siegel, Amanda P.; Liu, Jing; Agarwal, Mangilal; Li, Bai-Yan; Yokota, Hiroki; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    While urine has been considered as a useful bio-fluid for health monitoring, its dynamic changes to physical activity are not well understood. We examined urine's possible antitumor capability in response to medium-level, loading-driven physical activity. Urine was collected from mice subjected to 5-minute skeletal loading and human individuals before and after 30-minute step aerobics. Six cancer cell lines (breast, prostate, and pancreas) and a mouse model of the mammary tumor were employed to evaluate the effect of urine. Compared to urine collected prior to loading, urine collected post-activity decreased the cellular viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells, as well as tumor weight in the mammary fat pad. Detection of urinary volatile organic compounds and ELISA assays showed that the loading-conditioned urine reduced cholesterol and elevated dopamine and melatonin. Immunohistochemical fluorescent images presented upregulation of the rate-limiting enzymes for the production of dopamine and melatonin in the brain. Molecular analysis revealed that the antitumor effect was linked to the reduction in molecular vinculin-linked molecular force as well as the downregulation of the Lrp5-CSF1-CD105 regulatory axis. Notably, the survival rate for the high expression levels of Lrp5, CSF1, and CD105 in tumor tissues was significantly lowered in the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Collectively, this study revealed that 5- or 10-minute loading-driven physical activity was sufficient to induce the striking antitumor effect by activating the neuronal signaling and repressing cholesterol synthesis. The result supported the dual role of loading-conditioned urine as a potential tumor suppressor and a source of diagnostic biomarkers.
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    Mechanical stimulations can inhibit local and remote tumor progression by downregulating WISP1
    (Wiley, 2020-09) Liu, Shengzhi; Wu, Di; Sun, Xun; Fan, Yao; Zha, Rongrong; Jalali, Aydin; Teli, Meghana; Sano, Tomonori; Siegel, Amanda; Sudo, Akihiro; Agarwal, Mangilal; Robling, Alexander; Li, Bai-Yan; Yokota, Hiroki; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Mechanical stimulations can prevent bone loss, but their effects on the tumor-invaded bone or solid tumors are elusive. Here, we evaluated the effect of knee loading, dynamic loads applied to the knee, on metastasized bone and mammary tumors. In a mouse model, tumor cells were inoculated to the mammary fat pad or the proximal tibia. Daily knee loading was then applied and metabolic changes were monitored mainly through urine. Urine samples were also collected from human subjects before and after step aerobics. The result showed that knee loading inhibited tumor progression in the loaded tibia. Notably, it also reduced remotely the growth of mammary tumors. In the urine, an altered level of cholesterol was observed with an increase in calcitriol, which is synthesized from a cholesterol derivative. In urinary proteins, knee loading in mice and step aerobics in humans markedly reduced WNT1-inducible signaling pathway protein 1, WISP1, which leads to poor survival among patients with breast cancer. In the ex vivo breast cancer tissue assay, WISP1 promoted the growth of cancer fragments and upregulated tumor-promoting genes, such as Runx2, MMP9, and Snail. Collectively, the present preclinical and human study demonstrated that mechanical stimulations, such as knee loading and step aerobics, altered urinary metabolism and downregulated WISP1. The study supports the benefit of mechanical stimulations for locally and remotely suppressing tumor progression. It also indicated the role of WISP1 downregulation as a potential mechanism of loading-driven tumor suppression.
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    Mechanical tibial loading remotely suppresses brain tumors by dopamine-mediated downregulation of CCN4
    (Springer Nature, 2021-05-24) Fan, Yao; Zha, Rongrong; Sano, Tomohiko; Zhao, Xinyu; Liu, Shengzhi; Woollam, Mark D.; Wu, Di; Sun, Xun; Li, Kexin; Egi, Motoki; Li, Fangjia; Minami, Kazumasa; Siegel, Amanda P.; Horiuchi, Takashi; Liu, Jing; Agarwal, Mangilal; Sudo, Akihiro; Nakshatri, Harikrishna; Li, Bai-Yan; Yokota, Hiroki; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Mechanical loading to the bone is known to be beneficial for bone homeostasis and for suppressing tumor-induced osteolysis in the loaded bone. However, whether loading to a weight-bearing hind limb can inhibit distant tumor growth in the brain is unknown. We examined the possibility of bone-to-brain mechanotransduction using a mouse model of a brain tumor by focusing on the response to Lrp5-mediated Wnt signaling and dopamine in tumor cells. The results revealed that loading the tibia with elevated levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, a rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis, markedly reduced the progression of the brain tumors. The simultaneous application of fluphenazine (FP), an antipsychotic dopamine modulator, enhanced tumor suppression. Dopamine and FP exerted antitumor effects through the dopamine receptors DRD1 and DRD2, respectively. Notably, dopamine downregulated Lrp5 via DRD1 in tumor cells. A cytokine array analysis revealed that the reduction in CCN4 was critical for loading-driven, dopamine-mediated tumor suppression. The silencing of Lrp5 reduced CCN4, and the administration of CCN4 elevated oncogenic genes such as MMP9, Runx2, and Snail. In summary, this study demonstrates that mechanical loading regulates dopaminergic signaling and remotely suppresses brain tumors by inhibiting the Lrp5-CCN4 axis via DRD1, indicating the possibility of developing an adjuvant bone-mediated loading therapy.
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    Pitavastatin slows tumor progression and alters urine-derived volatile organic compounds through the mevalonate pathway
    (Wiley, 2019-10-04) Wang, Luqi; Wang, Yue; Chen, Andy; Teli, Meghana; Kondo, Rika; Jalali, Aydin; Fan, Yao; Liu, Shengzhi; Zhao, Xinyu; Siegel, Amanda; Minami, Kazumasa; Agarwal, Mangilal; Li, Bai-Yan; Yokota, Hiroki; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Bone is a frequent site of metastasis from breast cancer, and a desirable drug could suppress tumor growth as well as metastasis-linked bone loss. Currently, no drug is able to cure breast cancer–associated bone metastasis. In this study, we focused on statins that are known to inhibit cholesterol production and act as antitumor agents. After an initial potency screening of 7 U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved statins, we examined pitavastatin as a drug candidate for inhibiting tumor and tumor-induced bone loss. In vitro analysis revealed that pitavastatin acted as an inhibitor of tumor progression by altering stress to the endoplasmic reticulum, down-regulating peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ, and reducing Snail and matrix metalloproteinase 9. In bone homeostasis, it blocked osteoclast development by suppressing transcription factors c-Fos and JunB, but stimulated osteoblast mineralization by regulating bone morphogenetic protein 2 and p53. In a mouse model, pitavastatin presented a dual role in tumor inhibition in the mammary fat pad, as well as in bone protection in the osteolytic tibia. In mass spectrometry–based analysis, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that were linked to lipid metabolism and cholesterol synthesis were elevated in mice from the tumor-grown placebo group. Notably, pitavastatin-treated mice reduced specific VOCs that are linked to lipid metabolites in the mevalonate pathway. Collectively, the results lay a foundation for further investigation of pitavastatin’s therapeutic efficacy in tumor-induced bone loss, as well as VOC-based diagnosis of tumor progression and treatment efficacy.—Wang, L., Wang, Y., Chen, A., Teli, M., Kondo, R., Jalali, A., Fan, Y., Liu, S., Zhao, X., Siegel, A., Minami, K., Agarwal, M., Li, B.-Y., Yokota, H. Pitavastatin slows tumor progression and alters urine-derived volatile organic compounds through the mevalonate pathway.
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    Skeletal loading regulates breast cancer-associated osteolysis in a loading intensity-dependent fashion
    (Springer Nature, 2020-02-14) Fan, Yao; Jalali, Aydin; Chen, Andy; Zhao, Xinyu; Liu, Shengzhi; Teli, Meghana; Guo, Yunxia; Li, Fangjia; Li, Junrui; Siegel, Amanda; Yang, Lianxiang; Liu, Jing; Na, Sungsoo; Agarwal, Mangilal; Robling, Alexander G.; Nakshatri, Harikrishna; Li, Bai-Yan; Yokota, Hiroki; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Osteocytes are mechanosensitive bone cells, but little is known about their effects on tumor cells in response to mechanical stimulation. We treated breast cancer cells with osteocyte-derived conditioned medium (CM) and fluid flow-treated conditioned medium (FFCM) with 0.25 Pa and 1 Pa shear stress. Notably, CM and FFCM at 0.25 Pa induced the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), but FFCM at 1 Pa induced the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This suggested that the effects of fluid flow on conditioned media depend on flow intensity. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based evaluation of Src activity and vinculin molecular force showed that osteopontin was involved in EMT and MET switching. A mouse model of tumor-induced osteolysis was tested using dynamic tibia loadings of 1, 2, and 5 N. The low 1 N loading suppressed tumor-induced osteolysis, but this beneficial effect was lost and reversed with loads at 2 and 5 N, respectively. Changing the loading intensities in vivo also led to changes in serum TGFβ levels and the composition of tumor-associated volatile organic compounds in the urine. Collectively, this study demonstrated the critical role of intensity-dependent mechanotransduction and osteopontin in tumor-osteocyte communication, indicating that a biophysical factor can tangibly alter the behaviors of tumor cells in the bone microenvironment.