Glycosylation markers in cancer

Post-Translational Modifications in Tumor-Associated Antigens as a Platform for Novel Immuno-Oncology Therapies

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are generated by adding small chemical groups to amino acid residues after the translation of proteins. Many PTMs have been reported to correlate with tumor progression, growth, and survival by modifying the normal functions of the protein in tumor cells. PTMs can also elicit humoral and cellular immune responses, making them attractive targets for cancer immunotherapy. This review will discuss how the acetylation, citrullination, and phosphorylation of proteins expressed by tumor cells render the corresponding tumor-associated antigen more antigenic and affect the immune response in multiple cancers. In addition, the role of glycosylated protein mucins in anti-cancer immunotherapy will be considered. Mucin peptides in combination with stimulating adjuvants have, in fact, been utilized to produce anti-tumor antibodies and vaccines. Finally, we will also outline the results of the clinical trial exploiting glycosylated-MUC1 as a vaccine in different cancers. Overall, PTMs in TAAs could be considered in future therapies to result in lasting anti-tumor responses.

Protein Glycosylation as Biomarkers in Gynecologic Cancers

Gynecologic cancers are the leading cause of death in women. Endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer are the three main types of gynecologic cancers. Poor prognoses and high mortality rates of advanced-stage cancer are still challenges of all three types. Diagnostic tools for early cancer detection could be the cornerstone for further cancer treatment and prevention. Glycosylation plays a vital role in cell proliferation, adhesion, motility, and angiogenesis, and is aberrantly expressed in cancer cells. Alterations of glycosylation may represent promising biomarkers with potential diagnostic and monitoring applications, as well as disease prognosis. Many glycosylated biomarkers, including glycoprotein, glycan, and enzyme, were discovered and well-studied for application in gynecologic cancers. Some of them have been developed as targets for cancer treatment. The use of certain biomarkers for diagnostics and monitoring of gynecologic cancers has clinical advantages, as it is quantitative, comparable, convenient, and inexpensive. However, one of the single markers have sufficient sensitivity for the screening of gynecologic cancers. In this review, we introduced the details of glycosylation and the current application of glycosylated biomarkers in these three cancers. Moreover, we also reviewed the different roles of each biomarker in other cancers and aimed to understand these glycosylated biomarkers comprehensively.

Screening and Identification of Key Biomarkers in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: Evidence from a Bioinformatic Analysis

Purpose: To identify key biomarkers in the metastasis of uveal melanoma (UM). Methods: The microarray datasets GSE27831 and GSE22138 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and functional enrichment analyses were performed. A protein−protein interaction network was constructed, and four algorithms were performed to increase the reliability of hub genes. Biomarker analysis and metastasis-free survival analysis were performed to screen and verify prognostic hub genes. Results: A total of 138 DEGs were identified, consisting of 71 downregulated genes and 67 upregulated genes. Four genes (ROBO1, FMN1, FYN and FXR1) were selected as hub genes. Biomarker analysis and metastasis-free survival analysis showed that ROBO1, FMN1, FYN and FXR1 were factors affecting the metastasis and metastasis-free survival of UM (all p < 0.05). High expression of ROBO1 and low expression of FMN1 were associated with longer metastasis-free survival. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox analyses in GSE 27831 indicated that ROBO1 was an independent factor affecting metastasis and metastasis-free survival of UM (p = 0.010 and p = 0.009), while ROBO1 and FMN1 were independent factors affecting metastasis and metastasis-free survival of UM in GSE22138 (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: ROBO1, FMN1, FYN and FXR1 should be regarded as diagnostic biomarkers for the metastasis of UM, especially ROBO1 and FMN1. High expression of ROBO1 and low expression of FMN1 were associated with longer metastasis-free survival. This study may facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the metastasis of UM.

The Role of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Cholangiocarcinoma: A Systematic Review

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) play an essential role in various malignancies, but their role in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains to be elucidated. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the association between SNPs and CCA, focusing on tumorigenesis and prognosis. A systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane database for the association between SNPs and CCA, including literature published between January 2000 and April 2022. This systematic review compiles 43 SNPs in 32 genes associated with CCA risk, metastatic progression and overall prognosis based on 34 studies. Susceptibility to CCA was associated with SNPs in genes related to inflammation (PTGS2/COX2, IL6, IFNG/IFN-γ, TNF/TNF-α), DNA repair (ERCC1, MTHFR, MUTYH, XRCC1, OGG1), detoxification (NAT1, NAT2 and ABCC2), enzymes (SERPINA1, GSTO1, APOBEC3A, APOBEC3B), RNA (HOTAIR) and membrane-based proteins (EGFR, GAB1, KLRK1/NKG2D). Overall oncological prognosis was also related to SNPs in eight genes (GNB3, NFE2L2/NRF2, GALNT14, EGFR, XRCC1, EZH2, GNAS, CXCR1). Our findings indicate that multiple SNPs play different roles at various stages of CCA and might serve as biomarkers guiding treatment and allowing oncological risk assessment. Considering the differences in SNP detection methods, patient ethnicity and corresponding environmental factors, more large-scale multicentric investigations are needed to fully determine the potential of SNP analysis for CCA susceptibility prediction and prognostication.

β-1,3-Glucan/chitin unmasking in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant, Δmnn9, promotes immune response and resistance of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) to Vibrio coralliilyticus infection

Yeast cells can play a crucial role in immune activation in fish and shellfish predominantly due to the cell wall component β-1,3-glucan, providing protection against bacterial or viral infections. However, the immunostimulatory capacity of dietary yeast cells remains poorly studied in bivalves. To understand the role of yeast cell wall components (mannan, β-glucan and chitin) as immune activators, this study characterized the surface carbohydrate exposure of the wild-type baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (WT) and its Δmnn9 mutant, which presents a defective mannan structure, and compared these profiles with that of β-glucan particles, using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled lectin binding analysis. Then, a first trial evaluated the immunological response in Crassostrea gigas juveniles after being fed for 24 h with an algae-based diet (100A) and its 50% substituted version (based on dry weight) with WT (50A50WT) and Δmnn9 (50A50Y), and the posterior resistance of the juveniles against Vibrio coralliilyticus infection (trial 1). The mRNA expression was measured for β-glucan-binding protein (CgβGBP), Toll-like receptor 4 (CgTLR4), C-type lectin receptor 3 (CgCLec-3), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (CgMyD88), nuclear factor-kappa B (CgNFκB), lysozyme (CgLys), interleukin 17-5 (CgIL17-5), and superoxide dismutase (CgSOD), in oysters, before and 24 h after the bacterial inoculation. A second trial tested the effect of incorporating Δmnn9 into the 100A diet for 24 h at different substitution levels: 0, 5, 10, 25, and 50% (100A, 95A5Y, 90A10Y, 75A25Y, and 50A50Y), followed by the bacterial challenge with V. coralliilyticus (trial 2). Our findings showed that the outer cell wall surface of WT is largely composed of mannan, while Δmnn9 presents high exposure of β-glucan and chitin, exhibiting similar FITC-lectin binding profiles (fluorescence intensity) to β-glucan particles. A significantly higher survival after the bacterial challenge was observed in oysters fed on 50A50Y compared to those fed 50A50WT and 100A in trial 1. This better performance of 50A50Y was supported by significantly higher gene expressions of CgLys, CgSOD, CgMyD88, and CgβGBP compared to 100A, and CgSOD and CgNFκB in relation to those fed on 50A50WT, prior to the bacterial inoculation. Furthermore, improved survival was observed in oysters fed 50A50Y compared to those offered lower Δmnn9 levels and 100A in trial 2. The superior performance of Δmnn9-fed oysters is mostly associated with the elevated presence of unmasked β-glucans on Δmnn9 cell wall surface, facilitating their interactions with oyster hemocytes. Further studies are needed to evaluate administration dose and frequency of Δmnn9 to develop strategies for long-term feeding.

The Glycosylation of Immune Checkpoints and Their Applications in Oncology

Tumor therapies have entered the immunotherapy era. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have achieved tremendous success, with some patients achieving long-term tumor control. Tumors, on the other hand, can still accomplish immune evasion, which is aided by immune checkpoints. The majority of immune checkpoints are membrane glycoproteins, and abnormal tumor glycosylation may alter how the immune system perceives tumors, affecting the body's anti-tumor immunity. Furthermore, RNA can also be glycosylated, and GlycoRNA is important to the immune system. Glycosylation has emerged as a new hallmark of tumors, with glycosylation being considered a potential therapeutic approach. The glycosylation modification of immune checkpoints and the most recent advances in glycosylation-targeted immunotherapy are discussed in this review.

Identification of glycogene signature as a tool to predict the clinical outcome and immunotherapy response in breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer is one of the most important diseases in women around the world. Glycosylation modification correlates with carcinogenesis and roles of glycogenes in the clinical outcome and immune microenvironment of breast cancer are unclear.

Methods

A total of 1297 breast cancer and normal cases in the TCGA and GTEx databases were enrolled and the transcriptional and survival information were extracted to identify prognostic glycogenes using Univariate Cox, LASSO regression, Multivariate Cox analyses and Kaplan-Meier method. The immune infiltration pattern was explored by the single sample gene set enrichment method. The HLA and immune checkpoint genes expression were also compared in different risk groups. The expressions of a glycogene MGAT5 as well as its products were validated by immunohistochemistry and western blotting in breast cancer tissues and cells.

Results

A 19-glycogene signature was identified to separate breast cancer patients into high- and low-risk groups with distinct overall survival rates (P < 0.001). Compared with the high-risk group, proportion of naive B cells, plasma cells and CD8⁺ T cells increased in the low-risk group (P < 0.001). Besides, expressions of HLA and checkpoint genes, such as CD274, CTLA4, LAG3 and TIGIT3, were upregulated in low-risk group. Additionally, highly expressed MGAT5 was validated in breast cancer tissues and cells. Downstream glycosylation products of MGAT5 were all increased in breast cancer.

Conclusions

We identified a 19-glycogene signature for risk prediction of breast cancer patients. Patients in the low-risk group demonstrated a higher immune infiltration and better immunotherapy response. The validation of MGAT5 protein suggests a probable pathway and target for the development and treatment of breast cancer.

Targeting glycans for CAR therapy: The advent of sweet CARs

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has created a paradigm shift in the treatment of hematologic malignancies but has not been as effective toward solid tumors. For such tumors, the primary obstacles facing CAR T cells are scarcity of tumor-specific antigens and the hostile and complex tumor microenvironment. Glycosylation, the process by which sugars are post-translationally added to proteins or lipids, is profoundly dysregulated in cancer. Abnormally glycosylated glycoproteins expressed on cancer cells offer unique targets for CAR T therapy as they are specific to tumor cells. Tumor stromal cells also express abnormal glycoproteins and thus also have the potential to be targeted by glycan-binding CAR T cells. This review will discuss the state of CAR T cells in the therapy of solid tumors, the cancer glycoproteome and its potential for use as a therapeutic target, and the landscape and future of glycan-binding CAR T cell therapy.

The O-glycosylating enzyme GALNT2 acts as an oncogenic driver in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (GALNTs), the enzymes that initiate mucin-type O-glycosylation, are closely associated with tumor occurrence and progression. However, a comprehensive analysis of GALNTs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is lacking.

METHODS

The expression profiles and prognostic values of the GALNT family members in NSCLC were analyzed using publicly available databases. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were applied to assess the biological function of GALNT2 in NSCLC. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics approaches were employed to uncover the regulatory mechanism of GALNT2.

RESULTS

Among the family members of GALNTs, only GALNT2 was frequently overexpressed in NSCLC tissues and was positively correlated with poor prognosis. In vitro assays showed that GALNT2 knockdown repressed NSCLC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, but induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Correspondently, GALNT2 overexpression exerted the opposite effects. In vivo experiments demonstrated that knockdown of GALNT2 restrained tumor formation in nude mice. Mechanistic investigations revealed that GALNT2 modified the O-glycosylation of ITGA5 and affected the activation of the PI3K/Akt and MAPK/ERK pathways. Further studies showed that miR-30d was a negative regulator of GALNT2.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that GALNT2 is an oncogene in NSCLC and has the potential as a target for NSCLC therapy.

INHBB is a novel prognostic biomarker and correlated with immune infiltrates in gastric cancer

Inhibin subunit beta B (INHBB) is a potential prognostic biomarker for a variety of cancers. However, its role in gastric cancer (GC) remains elusive. The differential expression data of INHBB in tumor and normal tissues were extracted from several databases and genetic alterations of INHBB were assessed by cBioPortal. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the survival rate of patients with GC with INHBB and association with clinical features in GC. Cox regression analysis was used to explore the prognostic value of clinical indicators and INHBB in GC, and a nomogram prognostic model was established. In addition, the predictive validity of the nomogram model was assessed by time-depended receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves. Functional enrichment analyses were conducted to functionally annotate INHBB. Notably, we found that the quantitative assessment of immune cell subpopulation infiltration correlated with INHBB expression. INHBB expression is upregulated in GC and is correlated with several clinical features including prognostic indicators and a histological type. Genetic alterations were observed in INHBB, its DNA methylation level was negatively correlated with INHBB expression. High INHBB expression is associated with a poor prognosis and is an independent risk factor for prognosis in GC, along with age and residual tumor. The nomogram model showed a good prediction ability and was validated by time-depended ROC and calibration curves. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that INHBB-associated genes were enriched in tumor microenvironment Gene Ontology (GO) terms and were correlated with tumor-associated pathways. INHBB has a regulatory function in immune cell infiltration, especially macrophage infiltration in GC. Specifically, patients with GC with high INHBB expression and high macrophage infiltration have a worse prognosis. INHBB expression was negatively correlated with the expression of chemokines/chemokine receptors and plays a regulatory role in immunoinhibitor/immunostimulator-involved pathways. INHBB is a potential prognostic biomarker for GC and may drive the abnormal activity of critical cancer-associated pathways, potentially contributing to immune cell infiltration to promote GC development.

The role and potential mechanism of O-Glycosylation in gastrointestinal tumors

Glycosylation is a critical post-translational modification (PTM) that affects the function of proteins and regulates cell signaling, thereby regulating various biological processes. Protein oxygen-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) glycosylation modifications are glycochemical modifications that occur within cells in the signal transduction and are frequently found in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Due to the rapid and reversible addition and removal, O-GlcNAc modifications are able to reversibly compete with certain phosphorylation modifications, immediately regulate the activity of proteins, and participate in kinds of cellular metabolic and signal transduction pathways, playing a pivotal role in the regulation of tumors, diabetes, and other diseases. This article provided a brief overview of O-GlcNAc glycosylation modification, introduced its role in altering the progression and immune response regulation of gastrointestinal tumors, and discussed its potential use as a marker of tumor neogenesis.

Cancer glycomics offers potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in the framework of 3P medicine

Glycosylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications (PTMs) in a protein, and is the most abundant and diverse biopolymer in nature. Glycans are involved in multiple biological processes of cancer initiation and progression, including cell-cell interactions, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, tumor invasion and metastasis, tumor angiogenesis, and immune regulation. As an important biomarker, tumor-associated glycosylation changes have been extensively studied. This article reviews recent advances in glycosylation-based biomarker research, which is useful for cancer diagnosis and prognostic assessment. Truncated O-glycans, sialylation, fucosylation, and complex branched structures have been found to be the most common structural patterns in malignant tumors. In recent years, immunochemical methods, lectin recognition-based methods, mass spectrometry (MS)-related methods, and fluorescence imaging-based in situ methods have greatly promoted the discovery and application potentials of glycomic and glycoprotein biomarkers in various cancers. In particular, MS-based proteomics has significantly facilitated the comprehensive research of extracellular glycoproteins, increasing our understanding of their critical roles in regulating cellular activities. Predictive, preventive and personalized medicine (PPPM; 3P medicine) is an effective approach of early prediction, prevention and personalized treatment for different patients, and it is known as the new direction of medical development in the 21st century and represents the ultimate goal and highest stage of medical development. Glycosylation has been revealed to have new diagnostic, prognostic, and even therapeutic potentials. The purpose of glycosylation analysis and utilization of biology is to make a fundamental change in health care and medical practice, so as to lead medical research and practice into a new era of 3P medicine.

A novel glycosyltransferase-related lncRNA signature correlates with lung adenocarcinoma prognosis

Background

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the most fatal cancers in the world. Previous studies have shown the increase in glycosylation level, and abnormal expressions of related enzymes are closely related to various cancers. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in the proliferation, metabolism, and migration of cancer cells, but the underlying role of glycosyltransferase (GT)-related lncRNAs in LUAD remains to be elucidated.

Methods

We abstracted 14,056 lncRNAs from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset and 257 GT-related genes from the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) database. Univariate, LASSO-penalized, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to construct a GT-related lncRNA prognosis model.

Results

A total of 2,726 GT-related lncRNAs were identified through Pearson's correlation analysis, and eight of them were utilized to construct a GT-related lncRNA model. The overall survival (OS) of the low-risk group continued to be superior to that of the high-risk group according to the subgroups classified by clinical features. The risk model was proved to have independent prognostic characteristics for LUAD by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The status of the tumor immune microenvironment and the relevant immunotherapy response was significantly different between the two risk groups. The candidate drugs aimed at LUAD subtype differentiation were identified.

Conclusion

We constructed a risk model comprising eight GT-related lncRNAs which was identified as an independent predictor of prognoses to predict patient survival and guide-related treatments for patients with LUAD.

Relapsed and refractory yolk sac tumor of the peritoneum (mesentery): A case report and literature review

Background

Extragonadal yolk sac tumor (YST) of peritoneum is a rare malignancy.

Case Description

A 37-year-old Chinese woman was admitted to hospital with a 3-month abdominal pain 4 years ago. Alpha-fetoprotein was 228,499.0 ng/mL. Computed tomography scan revealed a massive mass in the left lower abdomen. Exploratory laparotomy exposed a huge mesenteric mass. Then, mesenteric tumor resection, partial sigmoidectomy, and single-lumen fistula of sigmoid colon were performed. Postoperative pathologic diagnosis reported a stage IV mesenteric YST. After surgery, the patient received 6 courses of BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin) chemotherapy. Seven months later, the patient underwent stoma reversion of sigmoid colon and received another 2 courses of BEP chemotherapy. Three months after the last chemotherapy, liver metastases were diagnosed. She subsequently underwent 3 surgeries, radiotherapy for liver metastases, and multiple tiers of palliative chemotherapies, including TP (docetaxel and carboplatin), VIP (ifosfamide, cisplatin, and etoposide), TIP (paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin), and so on. After the third surgery (left hepatic lesion resection and right iliac lymph node resection), she received 4 cyclic chemotherapies of BEP´ (boanmycin, etoposide, and cisplatin) without pulmonary toxic side effects.

Conclusion

Postoperative histopathology and immunohistochemistry are gold standards for the diagnosis of peritoneal YST. The standard first-line treatment is surgery plus BEP chemotherapy. Second-line therapy regimens and above, including VIP and TIP, improve the prognosis of recurrent germ cell tumors. This relapsed and refractory patient with peritoneal YST benefits from the secondary BEP´ chemotherapy.

RUNX3-Regulated GALNT6 Promotes the Migration and Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Mediating O-Glycosylation of MUC1

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Dysregulation of messenger RNAs (mRNA) has been recognized to be associated with HCC carcinogenesis and development. Polypeptide GalNAc Transferase 6 (GALNT6), an O-type glycosyltransferase, has been confirmed as tumor promoter in different cancers. However, the function of GALNT6 in HCC remains to be studied.

Methods

RT-qPCR and western blot experiments were, respectively, performed for evaluating RNA expressions and protein levels. Supported by bioinformatics analysis, mechanism assays were conducted for validating the potential relation between different genes. Functional assays were implemented to analyze HCC cell migration and invasion after different transfections.

Results

GALNT6 was aberrantly upregulated in HCC cells. Knockdown of GALNT6 could repress HCC cell migration and invasion. RUNX3 was verified to bind to GALNT6 promoter and activate GALNT6 transcription. GALNT6 depletion led to inhibited O-glycosylation and aggravated degradation of MUC1. MUC1 overexpression could rescue the impeded HCC cell migration and invasion induced by GALNT6 knockdown.

Conclusion

To sum up, GALNT6 transcriptionally activated by RUNX3 mediated the O-glycosylation of MUC1, thus exerting promoting influence on HCC cell migration and invasion.

A Glycosyltransferase-Related Signature for Predicting Overall Survival in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Here, we establish a prognostic signature based on glycosyltransferase-related genes (GTRGs) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

Methods: The prognostic signature of GTRGs was constructed via univariate and multivariate Cox analyses after obtaining the expression patterns of GTRGs from the TCGA. A nomogram based on the signature and clinical parameters was established to predict the survival of each HNSCC patient. Potential mechanisms were explored through gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoints, immunotherapy, and tumor mutational burden (TMB) analyses. The expression differences and prognostic efficacy of the signature were verified through the gene expression omnibus (GEO) and several online databases.

Results: The prognostic signature was constructed based on five glycosyltransferases (PYGL, ALG3, EXT2, FUT2, and KDELC1) and validated in the GSE65858 dataset. The pathways enriched in the high- and low-risk groups were significantly different. The high-risk group had higher tumor purity; lower infiltration of immune cells, such as CD8⁺ T cells and Tregs; higher cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) infiltration; lower immune function; and lower checkpoint expression. The signature can also be applied to distinguish whether patients benefit from immunotherapy. In addition, the high-risk group had a higher TMB and more gene mutations, including those in TP53, CSMD1, CDKN2A, and MUC17.

Conclusion: We propose a prognostic signature based on glycosyltransferases for HNSCC patients that may provide potential targets and biomarkers for the precise treatment of HNSCC.

An N-glycoproteomic site-mapping analysis reveals glycoprotein alterations in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Aberrant glycosylation has been recognized as a hallmark of cancer and N-glycosylation is one of the main types of glycosylation in eukaryotes. Although N-glycoproteomics has made contributions to the discovery of biomarkers in a variety of cancers, less is known about the abnormal glycosylation signatures in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods

In this study, we reported the proteomics and N-glycoproteomic site-mapping analysis of eight pairs of ESCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. With zic-HILIC enrichment, TMT-based isobaric labeling, LC–MS/MS analysis, differentially expressed N-glycosylation was quantitatively characterized. Lectin affinity enrichment combined with western blot was used to validate the potential biomarkers in ESCC.

Results

A series of differentially expressed glycoproteins (e.g., LAMP2, PLOD2) and enriched signaling pathways (e.g., metabolism-related pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion) were identified. Besides that, seven significantly enriched motifs were found from the identified N-glycosylation sites. Three clusters were identified after conducting the dynamic profiling analysis of glycoprotein change during lymph node metastasis progression. Further validation found that the elevated fucosylation level of ITGB1, CD276 contributed to the occurrence and development of ESCC, which might be the potential biomarkers in ESCC.

Conclusion

In summary, we characterized the N-glycosylation and N-glycoprotein alterations associated with ESCC. The typical changes in glycoprotein expression and glycosylation occupancy identified in our study will not only be used as ESCC biomarkers but also improve the understanding of ESCC biology.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-022-03489-2.

Comprehensive Plasma N-Glycoproteome Profiling Based on EThcD-sceHCD-MS/MS

Glycoproteins are involved in a variety of biological processes. More than one-third of the plasma protein biomarkers of tumors approved by the FDA are glycoproteins, and could improve the diagnostic specificity and/or sensitivity. Therefore, it is of great significance to perform the systematic characterization of plasma N-glycoproteome. In previous studies, we developed an integrated method based on the combinatorial peptide ligand library (CPLL) and stepped collision energy/higher energy collisional dissociation (sceHCD) for comprehensive plasma N-glycoproteome profiling. Recently, we presented a new fragmentation method, EThcD-sceHCD, which outperformed sceHCD in the accuracy of identification. Herein, we integrated the combinatorial peptide ligand library (CPLL) into EThcD-sceHCD and compared the performance of different mass spectrometry dissociation methods (EThcD-sceHCD, EThcD, and sceHCD) in the intact N-glycopeptide analysis of prostate cancer plasma. The results illustrated that EThcD-sceHCD was better than EThcD and sceHCD in the number of identified intact N-glycopeptides (two-folds). A combination of sceHCD and EThcD-sceHCD methods can cover almost all glycoproteins (96.4%) and intact N-glycopeptides (93.6%), indicating good complementarity between the two. Our study has great potential for medium- and low-abundance plasma glycoprotein biomarker discovery.

A novel ALG10/TGF-β positive regulatory loop contributes to the stemness of colorectal cancer

The roles of asparagine-linked glycosylation (ALG) members in tumorigenic process have been widely explored. However, their effects in colorectal cancer progression are still confusing. Here, we screened 12 ALGs' expression through online datasets and found that ALG10 was mostly upregulated in colorectal cancer tissues. We found that ALG10 knockdown significantly suppressed the expression of stemness markers, ALDH activity, and sphere-formation ability. In vivo tumorigenic analysis indicated that ALG10 knockdown attenuated the tumor-initiating ability and chemoresistance of colorectal cancer cells. Further mechanistic studies showed that ALG10 knockdown suppressed the activity of TGF-β signaling by reducing TGFBR2 glycosylation, which was necessary for ALG10-mediated effects on colorectal cancer stemness; Conversely, TGF-β signaling activated ALG10 gene promoter activity through Smad2's binding to ALG10 gene promoter and TGF-β signaling promoted the stemness of colorectal cancer cells in an ALG10-dependent manner. This work identified a novel ALG10/TGF-β positive regulatory loop responsible for colorectal cancer stemness.

Bisimidazolium Salt Glycosyltransferase Inhibitors Suppress Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression In Vitro and In Vivo

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer death, and the disease progression has been related to glycophenotype modifications. Previously synthesized bisimidazolium salts (C20 and C22) have been shown to selectively inhibit the activity of glycosyltransferases in cultured cancer cell homogenates. The current study investigated the anticancer effects of C20/C22 and the possible pathways through which these effects are achieved. The therapeutic value of C20/C22 in terms of inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as well as inducing apoptosis, were examined with hepatic cancer cell line HepG2 and a xenograft mouse model. C20/C22 treatment downregulated the synthesis of SLex and Ley sugar epitopes and suppressed selectin-mediated cancer cell metastasis. C20/C22 inhibited HepG2 proliferation, induced cell-cycle arrest, increased intracellular ROS level, led to ER stress, and eventually induced apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway. Furthermore, C20/C22 upregulated the expressions of death receptors DR4 and DR5, substantially increasing the sensitivity of HepG2 to TRAIL-triggered apoptosis. In vivo, C20/C22 effectively inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis in the xenograft mouse model without adverse effects on major organs. In summary, C20 and C22 are new promising anti-hepatic cancer agents with multiple mechanisms in controlling cancer cell growth, metastasis, and apoptosis, and they merit further development into anticancer drugs.

Chemoprevention of Lung Cancer with a Combination of Mitochondria-Targeted Compounds

Simple Summary

Previous reports showed that mitochondria-targeted honokiol and mitochondria-targeted lonidamine potently inhibit complex-I- and complexes-I/II-induced respiration and cancer cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of combining mitochondria-targeted honokiol and mitochondria-targeted lonidamine treatments for lung cancer prevention. We found that their combination exhibited striking tumor inhibition in the benzo[a]pyrene-induced murine lung tumor model without causing detectable side effects. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we found combined treatment has a clear advantage in that it can significantly inhibit two oncogenic pathways—STAT3 signaling and AKT/mTOR/p70S6K signaling. Such dual inhibition may contribute to the greater efficacy of the combined drug treatment. Therefore, the combination provides a novel option for lung cancer chemoprevention.

Abstract

Combined treatment targeting mitochondria may improve the efficacy of lung cancer chemoprevention. Here, mitochondria-targeted honokiol (Mito-HNK), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I and STAT3 phosphorylation, and mitochondria-targeted lonidamine (Mito-LND), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complexes I/II and AKT/mTOR/p70S6K signaling, were evaluated for their combinational chemopreventive efficacy on mouse lung carcinogenesis. All chemopreventive treatments began one-week post-carcinogen treatment and continued daily for 24 weeks. No evidence of toxicity (including liver toxicity) was detected by monitoring serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase enzymes. Mito-HNK or Mito-LND treatment alone reduced tumor load by 56% and 48%, respectively, whereas the combination of Mito-HNK and Mito-LND reduced tumor load by 83%. To understand the potential mechanism(s) of action for the observed combinatorial effects, single-cell RNA sequencing was performed using mouse tumors treated with Mito-HNK, Mito-LND, and their combination. In lung tumor cells, Mito-HNK treatment blocked the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial complex ǀ, oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, and STAT3 signaling. Mito-LND inhibited the expression of genes for mitochondrial complexes I/II, oxidative phosphorylation, and AKT/mTOR/p70S6K signaling in lung tumor cells. In addition to these changes, a combination of Mito-HNK with Mito-LND decreased arginine and proline metabolism, N-glycan biosynthesis, and tryptophan metabolism in lung tumor cells. Our results demonstrate that Mito-LND enhanced the antitumor efficacy of Mito-HNK, where both compounds inhibited common targets (oxidative phosphorylation) as well as unique targets for each agent (STAT3 and mTOR signaling). Therefore, the combination of Mito-HNK with Mito-LND may present an effective strategy for lung cancer chemoprevention.

CHSY3 can be a Poor Prognostic Biomarker and Mediates Immune Evasion in Stomach Adenocarcinoma

Background: Chondroitin sulphate synthase 3 (CHSY3) is an important enzyme that regulates glycosylation, but it has not been reported in tumours. This study explored for the first time the oncological features of CHSY3 in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD).

Methods: We analysed CHSY3 expression in STAD through the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and verified our findings by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot experiments. The prognostic value of CHSY3 in STAD was analysed through the biological aspects of CHSY3 in STAD, such as communal clinical follow-up survival data, methylation sites, tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) and immune cell surface checkpoints. Finally, the immune-evasion potential of CHSY3 in STAD was assessed on the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) website and immunohistochemical staining experiment.

Results:CHSY3 overexpression in STAD was associated with a poor prognosis based on immunohistochemical staining and Western blot experiments. Multivariate Cox analysis suggested that CHSY3 could be an independent prognostic risk factor. Pathway enrichment and TIME analysis demonstrated that CHSY3 up-regulated mesenchymal activation and immune activation signals in STAD, while TIDE assessment revealed that the risk of immune evasion was significantly higher in the high CHSY3 expression group than in the low CHSY3 expression group. Risk model scores based on CHSY3-associated immune cell surface checkpoints also presented poor prognosis, and immune evasion was significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group.

Conclusions: This study analysed CHSY3 from multiple biological perspectives and revealed that CHSY3 can be a biomarker of poor prognosis and mediates the TIME immune-evasion status in STAD.

B4GALT5 high expression associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

B4GALT5 is postulated to be an important protein in sugar metabolism that catalyzes the synthesis of lactosylceramide (LacCer). However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown.

METHOD

We characterized the expression of B4GALT5 in HCC tissue compared to normal tissue, and explored its function of B4GALT5 in HCC by enrichment analysis based on its co-expressed gene set. Next, we checked whether B4GALT5 expression is correlated to immune infiltration level and clinical prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally, we verified the expression of B4GALT5 using clinical samples evaluated by RT-PCR, and conducted in vitro experiments with B4GALT5-knockdown HCC cells to investigate the function of B4GALT5 in the HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

RESULTS

We found B4GALT5 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly high in HCC tissue compared to normal tissue. The enrichment analysis of the gene sets that co-expressed with B4GALT5 showed specificity in HCC-related pathways and functions. Also, the expression pattern of B4GALT5 was significantly related to the immune infiltration level, especially CD4+ T cell and macrophage cells. B4GALT5 higher mRNA expression was associated with poor overall survival (OS) in HCC patients. Furthermore, In vitro experiments showed that depletion of B4GALT5 significantly inhibited HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. This study revealed the function and its mediated pathways of B4GALT5 in HCC, indicating that B4GALT5 may serve as a prognostic biomarker of HCC.

Protein post-translational modifications in the regulation of cancer hallmarks

Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, the major mechanism of protein function regulation, play important roles in regulating a variety of cellular physiological and pathological processes. Although the classical PTMs, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination and methylation, have been well studied, the emergence of many new modifications, such as succinylation, hydroxybutyrylation, and lactylation, introduces a new layer to protein regulation, leaving much more to be explored and wide application prospects. In this review, we will provide a broad overview of the significant roles of PTMs in regulating human cancer hallmarks through selecting a diverse set of examples, and update the current advances in the therapeutic implications of these PTMs in human cancer.

Hyperglycemia alters N-glycans on colon cancer cells through increased production of activated monosaccharides

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is both, correlated and a known risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). Besides favoring the incidence of CRC, DM also accelerates its progression, worsening its prognosis. Previously, hyperglycemia, the DM hallmark, has been shown to lead to aberrant glycosylation of CRC cells, heightening their malignancy both in vivo and in vitro. Here we use mass spectrometry to elucidate the composition and putative structures of N-glycans expressed by MC38 cultured in normoglycemic (LG) and hyperglycemic-like conditions (HG). N-glycans, 67, were identified in MC38 cells cultured in LG and HG. The cells grown in HG showed a greater abundance of N-glycans when compared to LNG cells, without changes in the proportion of sialylated, fucosylated and mannosylated N-glycans. Among the identified N-glycans, 16 were differentially expressed, mostly mannosylated and fucosylated, with a minority of them being sialylated. Metabolomics analysis indicates that the alterations observed in the N-glycosylation may be mostly due to increase of the activated monosaccharides pool, through an increased glucose entrance into the cells. The alterations found here corroborate data from the literature regarding the progression of CRC, advocating for development or repositioning of effective treatments against CRC in diabetic patients.

Endoscopic Applications of Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) in Cancers of the Digestive and Respiratory Tracts

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a newly developed and promising therapy that specifically destroys target cells by irradiating antibody-photo-absorber conjugates (APCs) with NIR light. APCs bind to target molecules on the cell surface, and when exposed to NIR light, cause disruption of the cell membrane due to the ligand release reaction and dye aggregation. This leads to rapid cell swelling, blebbing, and rupture, which leads to immunogenic cell death (ICD). ICD activates host antitumor immunity, which assists in killing still viable cancer cells in the treated lesion but is also capable of producing responses in untreated lesions. In September 2020, an APC and laser system were conditionally approved for clinical use in unresectable advanced head and neck cancer in Japan, and are now routine in appropriate patients. However, most tumors have been relatively accessible in the oral cavity or neck. Endoscopes offer the opportunity to deliver light deeper within hollow organs of the body. In recent years, the application of endoscopic therapy as an alternative to surgery for the treatment of cancer has expanded, providing significant benefits to inoperable patients. In this review, we will discuss the potential applications of endoscopic NIR-PIT, especially in thoracic and gastrointestinal cancers.

Prognostic Analysis of Postoperative Survival for Ruptured Hepatocellular Carcinoma with or without Cirrhosis

Background and Aims

Conflicting results are often observed in the prognosis of patients with ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC), and there are currently very few studies on the long-term postoperative outcomes of ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma patients. This study aimed to distinguish between the postoperative prognosis of rHCC patients with cirrhosis (rHCC-C) and those without cirrhosis (rHCC-NC) using some serum markers.

Methods

We collected the data of 151 rHCC patients treated at our centers from January 2010 to March 2021. 62 had no cirrhosis, and 89 had cirrhosis. The prognosis of rHCC-C and rHCC-NC groups was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. We used multivariate Cox regression to analyze prognostic factors in rHCC patients, and subgroup analysis was performed on the two groups of patients.

Results

The long-term prognosis of rHCC-NC patients was better than that of rHCC-C patients. Tumor diameter, Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stage, HBsAg, positive Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies, elevated creatinine, and elevated T-bilirubin were prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in rHCC-C patients. However, only alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) > 92 ng/mL was a prognostic factor for OS in rHCC-NC patients. In noncirrhotic patients, HBsAg positivity was only associated with OS. Similarly, the presence or absence of microvascular invasion (MVI) also had different results in the two groups.

Conclusions

There are differences in serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, the presence of microvascular invasion (MVI), and HBsAg positivity between rHCC-C and rHCC-NC patients, indicating that the analysis of these prognostic factors may help improve the management of rHCC patients and provide a direction for future treatment options.

Serum tumor markers level and their predictive values for solid and micropapillary components in lung adenocarcinoma

Background

This study aims to reveal the serum tumor marker (STM) levels in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) histological subtypes and evaluate their values in predicting the solid and micropapillary components (SMC).

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 3100 invasive LUAD patients between January 2017 and December 2020. Associations between preoperative STMs (CEA, CYFRA21‐1, CA199, CA724, NSE, AFP) and LUAD subtypes were evaluated. Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the independent predictors. Predictive models for SMC were constructed and AUC (area under the curve) was calculated.

Results

CEA and CYFRA21‐1 levels differed across the LUAD histological subtypes, with the SPA (solid‐predominant adenocarcinoma) having the highest level and the LPA (lepidic‐predominant adenocarcinoma) harboring the lowest level (p <0.001). Tumors with SMC also had higher CEA and CYFRA21‐1 levels than those absence of SMC. Gender, tumor size, CEA, Ki‐67, EGFR mutation (solid components only), and tumor differentiation were significantly independently associated with the containing of SMC. Patients were split into two data sets (training set: 2017–2019 and validation set: 2020). The model with gender and tumor size yielded an AUC of 0.723 (training set) and 0.704 (validation set) for the solid component. Combination of CEA, gender, and tumor size led to a significant increase in the predictive accuracy (training set: 0.771, p = 0.009; validation set: 0.747, p = 0.034). The AUC of the model for micropapillary component with only gender and tumor size was 0.699 and 0.711 in the training set and validation set, respectively. Integration of CEA with gender and tumor size significantly improved the predictive performance with an AUC of 0.746 (training set, p = 0.045) and 0.753 (validation set, p <0.001).

Conclusion

Serum CEA and CYFRA21‐1 varied considerably according to LUAD histological subtypes. The combination of serum CEA and other factors showed prominent values in predicting the SMC.

Metabolism and global protein glycosylation are differentially expressed in healthy and osteoarthritic equine carpal synovial fluid

BACKGROUND

Carpal osteochondral fragmentation and subsequent post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) are leading causes of wastage in the equine athlete. Identification of synovial fluid biomarkers could contribute to the diagnosis and understanding of osteoarthritis (OA) pathophysiology.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed metabolic and glycosylation pathways in synovial fluid from healthy horses and horses with naturally occurring carpal OA.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional, in vivo metabolomics and glycomics study.

METHODS

In cohort 1, carpal synovial fluid (n = 12 horses; n = 6 healthy, n = 6 OA) was analysed using high-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). In cohort 2 (n = 40 horses; n = 20 healthy, n = 20 OA), carpal synovial fluid was analysed using lectin microarrays and a lubricin sandwich ELISA.

RESULTS

Metabolomic analysis identified >4900 LC-MS features of which 84 identifiable metabolites were differentially expressed (P < .05) between healthy and OA joints, including key pathways related to inflammation (histidine and tryptophan metabolism), oxidative stress (arginine biosynthesis) and collagen metabolism (lysine metabolism). Principle Component Analysis and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis demonstrated separation between healthy and OA synovial fluid. Lectin microarrays identified distinct glycosylation patterns between healthy and OA synovial fluid, including increased Core 1/Core 3 O-glycosylation, increased α-2,3 sialylation and decreased α-1,2 fucosylation in OA. O-glycans predominated over N-glycans in all synovial fluid samples, and synovial fluid lubricin was increased in OA joints as compared to controls.

MAIN LIMITATIONS

The sample size in cohort 1 was limited, and there is inherent variation in severity and duration of joint injury in naturally occurring OA. However, LC-MS identified up to 5000 unique features.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest new potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for equine OA. Future targeted metabolomic and glycomic studies should be performed to verify these results. Lectin microarrays could be investigated as a potential screening tool for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of equine OA.

Membrane linked RNA glycosylation as new trend to envision epi-transcriptome epoch

RNAs play several prominent roles in the cellular environment ranging from structural, messengers, translators, and effector molecules. RNA molecules while performing these roles are associated with several chemical modifications occurring post-transcriptionally, responsible for these supporting vital functions. The recent documentation of surface RNA modification with sialic acid residues has sparked advancement to the framework of RNA modifications. Glycan modification of surface RNA which was previously known to modify only proteins and lipids has opened new vistas to explore how these surface RNA modifications affect the cellular responses and phenotype. This paradigm shift in RNA biology with a vision of "glycans being all over the cells" has posed the field with a repertoire of questions and has given headway to the RNA world hypothesis. The review provides a comprehensive overview of glycoRNA discovery with a conceptual understanding of its previous underlying discoveries and their biological consequences with possible insights into the dynamic influence of this modification on their molecular versatility deciding cancer-immunology fate with potential implications of these glycosylation in cellular interaction, signaling, immune regulation, cancer evasion and proliferation.

Construction and investigation of β3GNT2-associated regulatory network in esophageal carcinoma

Background

Glycosyltransferases play a crucial role in various cancers. β1, 3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 2, a polylactosamine synthase, is an important member of the glycosyltransferase family. However, the biological function and regulatory mechanism of β3GNT2 in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) is still poorly understood.

Methods

The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases were used for gene expression and prognosis analysis. Quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect the expression of β3GNT2 in ESCA cell lines and tissues. In vitro assays and xenograft tumor models were utilized to evaluate the impact of β3GNT2 on ESCA progression. The downstream effectors and upstream regulators of β3GNT2 were predicted by online software and verified by functional experiments.

Results

We found that β3GNT2 was highly expressed in ESCA tissues and positively correlated with poor prognosis in ESCA patients. β3GNT2 expression was closely associated with the tumor size, TNM stage, and overall survival of ESCA patients. Functionally, β3GNT2 promoted ESCA cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro, as well as tumorigenesis in vivo. Mechanistically, β3GNT2 knockdown decreased the expression of the polylactosamine on EGFR. Knockdown of β3GNT2 also inhibited the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Meanwhile, the JAK/STAT inhibitor could partly reverse the biological effects caused by β3GNT2 overexpression. Moreover, β3GNT2 expression was positively regulated by CREB1 and negatively regulated by miR-133b. Both CREB1 and miR-133b was involved in the β3GNT2-mediated ESCA progression.

Conclusions

Our study, for the first time, reveals the importance of β3GNT2 in ESCA progression and offers a potential therapeutic target for ESCA.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11658-022-00306-y.

Comprehensive Analysis to Identify the Encoded Gens of Sodium Channels as a Prognostic Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The SCN family as the encoded gens of sodium channels has been proven to participate in development of cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the prognostic value of the SCN family is unclear. The results of the UALCAN database had showed that SCN2A/4A/5A/8A mRNA were highly expressed in tumour tissues, while SCN1A/7A/11A mRNA were expressed at low levels (p < 0.05), furthermore, the expression of SCN4A and SCN7A had the similar levels in microarray analysis result. The pan-tumour analysis showed that SCN7A expression was stably lower in tumours than SCN4A expression by TIMER. Both SCN4A and SCN7A were related to tumour grade, nodal metastatic status, histological subtype, patient race, individual cancer stages and TP53 mutation status to varying degrees. The Kaplan–Meier plotter demonstrated that high SCN4A mRNA expression was correlated with better overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and progression-free survival (PFS) and that high expression of SCN7A mRNA was associated with better OS; however, in Asians, higher SCN4A was correlated with better OS and DSS, and higher SCN7A was well correlated with better OS, recurrence-free survival (RFS), DSS and PFS. Analysis of data from cBioPortal showed that mutation of SCN7A was related to RFS and PFS. The protein expression of SCN4A and SCN7A had been detected by Immunohistochemistry. Univariate survival analysis revealed that high SCN7A protein expression was significantly linked to better OS (p = 0.001) and RFS (p = 0.003). Moreover, SCN7A displayed as an independent prognostic factor by multivariate analysis. In addition, a lower methylation level indicated a poor outcome. Pathway and functional enrichment analysis predicted a relationship between SCN7A and the PI3K pathway. In conclusion, there are significant and stable changes in SCN4A and SCN7A expression in HCC. SCN7A expression has better prognostic value and might participate in HCC progression.

Surface glycan targeting for cancer nano-immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy is an emerging therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. Most of the immunotherapeutics approved by the FDA regulate the innate immune system and associated immune cell activity, with immune check inhibitors in particular having transformed the field of cancer immunotherapy due to their significant clinical potential. However, previously reported immunotherapeutics have exhibited undesirable side effects, including autoimmune toxicity and inflammation. Controlling these deleterious responses and designing therapeutics that can precisely target specific regions are thus crucial to improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. Recent studies have reported that cancer cells employ glycan-immune checkpoint interactions to modulate immune cell activity. Thus, the recognition of cancer glycan moieties such as sialoglycans may improve the anticancer activity of immune cells. In this review, we discuss recent advances in cancer immunotherapies involving glycans and glycan-targeting technologies based on nanomaterial-assisted local delivery systems.

The High Prevalence of Short-Term Elevation of Tumor Markers Due to Hyperglycemia in Diabetic Patients

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between diabetes and cancer is uncertain. However, tumor markers in diabetic patients are significantly elevated. The prevalence of diabetic inpatients with elevation of tumor markers and its relationship to blood glucose is needed to be studied.

METHODS

A total of 102 diabetic inpatients were included in this study. We collected information from diabetic inpatients and tested tumor markers. Patients with elevation of tumor markers were rechecked.

RESULTS

We found that up to 73.3% of diabetic inpatients had one or more tumor markers elevated. The proportion of diabetic inpatients with higher than normal cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1) was 54.5%. Most of them did not return to normal after controlling the blood glucose. A short-term elevation of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was present in 15.8% of diabetic inpatients, and 19.8% of diabetic inpatients had a short-term elevation of carbohydrate antigen. CEA and carbohydrate antigen including CA19-9, CA72-4, CA125 and CA15-3 returned to normal or became significantly reduced within 2 weeks after good control of blood glucose.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that the elevation of tumor markers was common in diabetic inpatients, especially those with poor blood glucose control. It indicated that re-checking the tumor markers after controlling blood glucose might be better than conducting large-scale test for cancer.

Embryos, cancers, and parasites: Potential applications to the study of reproductive biology in view of their similarity as biological phenomena

Background

At present, there are so many living things on the earth. Most of these organisms have a reproductive strategy called sexual reproduction. Among organisms that reproduce sexually, mammals have an extremely complex and seemingly unnatural method of reproduction, or viviparity.

Methods

As an approach to understanding the nature of viviparity, the author have tried to outline the common life phenomena of embryos, cancers, and parasites based on the literature to date, with internal parasites as the keyword.

Main findings

Embryo, cancer, and parasite are constituted as a systemic interaction with the host (mother). Based on these facts, the author proposed the hypothesis that in the case of mammals, "the fetus is essentially harmful to the mother", and that the parasitic fetus grows by skillfully evading the mother's foreign body exclusion mechanism.

Conclusion

Comparative studies of "embryos", "cancers", and "parasites" as foreign bodies have the potential to produce unexpected discoveries in their respective fields. It is important to consider the evolutionary time axis that the basic structure of our mammalian body arose over 200 million years from the Mesozoic Triassic, the period immediately after the Paleozoic Era, when life on Earth became massively extinct.

Prospects and Challenges of the Study of Anti-Glycan Antibodies and Microbiota for the Monitoring of Gastrointestinal Cancer

Over the past decades, a large amount of data has been accumulated in various subfields of glycobiology. However, much clinically relevant data and many tools are still not widely used in medicine. Synthetic glycoconjugates with the known structure of glycans are an accurate tool for the study of glycan-binding proteins. We used polyacrylamide glycoconjugates (PGs) including PGs with tumour-associated glycans (TAGs) in immunoassays to assess the prognostic potential of the serum level of anti-glycan antibodies (AG Abs) in gastrointestinal cancer patients and found an association of AG Abs with survival. The specificity of affinity-isolated AG Abs was investigated using synthetic and natural glycoconjugates. AG Abs showed mainly a low specificity to tumour-associated and tumour-derived mucins; therefore, the protective role of the examined circulating AG Abs against cancer remains a challenge. In this review, our findings are analysed and discussed in the context of the contribution of bacteria to the AG Abs stimulus and cancer progression. Examples of the influence of pathogenic bacteria colonising tumours on cancer progression and patient survival through mechanisms of interaction with tumours and dysregulated immune response are considered. The possibilities and problems of the integrative study of AG Abs and the microbiome using high-performance technologies are discussed.

ST8SIA1 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells by blocking the JAK/STAT signaling pathway

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is the most common malignant tumor of the urinary system, with distant metastasis of the tumor being the main cause of death. The identification of an effective biomarker may provide a novel direction for BLCA diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the present study was to screen the BLCA-related genes involved in sialyl transferase (ST) dysregulation and to investigate the functional mechanisms of α-2,8-ST1 (ST8SIA1) in BLCA cells. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis databases suggested that the mRNA expression levels of ST8SIA1 were decreased in BLCA tissues compared with normal tissues, which was also demonstrated using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. The expression levels of ST8SIA1 were negatively associated with the pathological grade and invasiveness of BLCA. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression levels of ST8SIA1 were lower in BLCA cell lines than in a normal urothelial cell line. CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound healing, colony formation and Transwell assays indicated that ST8SIA1 overexpression attenuated the proliferation, migration and invasion of T24 and 5637 BLCA cells. Further experiments revealed that ST8SIA1 could inhibit the phosphorylation of Janus kinase (JAK)2 and STAT3, as well as decrease the expression levels of JAK/STAT pathway-targeting signal molecules, including MMP2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cyclin D1 and Bcl2 in two BLCA cell lines. In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to indicate that the antitumor effect of ST8SIA1 in BLCA cells was mediated by the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, and the results provided a novel target for the diagnosis and treatment of BLCA.

A novel mechanism for C1GALT1 in the regulation of gastric cancer progression

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly aggressive and lethal disease around the world. High expression of core 1 β 1, 3-galactosyltransferase 1 (C1GALT1), the primary enzyme responsible for protein O-glycosylation, plays a critical role in gastric carcinogenesis. However, proteins that can be O-glycosylated by C1GALT1 in GC have not been completely elucidated. Also, the mechanism leading to its upregulation in GC is currently unknown.

Results

Using public databases and our patient samples, we confirmed that C1GALT1 expression was upregulated at both the mRNA and protein levels in GC tissues. Elevated expression of C1GALT1 protein was closely associated with advanced TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor recurrence, and poor overall survival. With gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we demonstrated that C1GALT1 promoted GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. By employing lectin pull-down assay and mass spectrometry, integrin α5 was identified as a new downstream target of C1GALT1 in GC. C1GALT1 was able to modify O-linked glycosylation on integrin α5 and thereby modulate the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Functional experiments indicated that integrin α5 inhibition could reverse C1GALT1-mediated tumor growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, transcription factor SP1 was found to bind to the C1GALT1 promoter region and activated its expression. Further investigation proved that miR-152 negatively regulated C1GALT1 expression by directly binding to its 3′ -UTR.

Conclusions

Our findings uncover a novel mechanism for C1GALT1 in the regulation of GC progression. Thus, C1GALT1 may serve as a promising target for the diagnosis and treatment of GC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13578-021-00678-2.

Combining functional metagenomics and glycoanalytics to identify enzymes that facilitate structural characterization of sulfated N-glycans

BACKGROUND

Sulfate modification of N-glycans is important for several biological functions such as clearance of pituitary hormones or immunoregulation. Yet, the prevalence of this N-glycan modification and its functions remain largely unexplored. Characterization of N-glycans bearing sulfate modifications is hampered in part by a lack of enzymes that enable site-specific detection of N-glycan sulfation. In this study, we used functional metagenomic screening to identify enzymes that act upon sulfated N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Using multiplexed capillary gel electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (xCGE-LIF) -based glycoanalysis we proved their ability to act upon GlcNAc-6-SO4 on N-glycans.

RESULTS

Our screen identified a sugar-specific sulfatase that specifically removes sulfate from GlcNAc-6-SO4 when it is in a terminal position on an N-glycan. Additionally, in the absence of calcium, this sulfatase binds to the sulfated glycan but does not remove the sulfate group, suggesting it could be used for selective isolation of sulfated N-glycans. Further, we describe isolation of a sulfate-dependent hexosaminidase that removes intact GlcNAc-6-SO4 (but not asulfated GlcNAc) from a terminal position on N-glycans. Finally, the use of these enzymes to detect the presence of sulfated N-glycans by xCGE-LIF is demonstrated.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates the feasibility of using functional metagenomic screening combined with glycoanalytics to discover enzymes that act upon chemical modifications of glycans. The discovered enzymes represent new specificities that can help resolve the presence of GlcNAc-6-SO4 in N-glycan structural analyses.

O-GlcNAcylation in early stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia; protocol development for flow cytometry

BACKGROUND

Recent studies proved that metabolic changes in malignant disorders have an impact on protein glycosylation, however, only a few attempts have been made so far to use O-GlcNAc analysis as a prognostic tool. Glucose metabolism is reported to be altered in hematological malignancies thus, we hypothesized that monitoring intracellular O-GlcNAc levels in Rai stage 0-I (Binet A) CLL patients could give deeper insights regarding subtle metabolic changes of progression which are not completely detected by the routine follow-up procedures.

OBJECTIVE

In this proof of concept study we established a flow cytometric detection method for the assessment of O-GlcNAcylation as a possible prognostic marker in CLL malignancy which was supported by fluorescence microscopy.

METHODS

Healthy volunteers and CLL patients were recruited for this study. Lymphocytes were isolated, fixed and permeabilised by various methods to find the optimal experimental condition for O-GlcNAc detection by flow cytometry. O-GlcNAc levels were measured and compared to lymphocyte count and various blood parameters including plasma glucose level.

RESULTS

The protocol we developed includes red blood cell lysis, formalin fixation, 0.1% Tween 20 permeabilisation and employs standardized cell number per sample and unstained controls. We have found significant correlation between O-GlcNAc levels and WBC (R2= 0.8535, p< 0.0029) and lymphocyte count (R2= 0.9225, p< 0.0006) in CLL patients. Interestingly, there was no such correlation in healthy individuals (R2= 0.05664 for O-GlcNAc vs WBC and R2= 0.04379 for O-GlcNAc vs lymphocytes).

CONCLUSION

Analyzing O-GlcNAc changes in malignant disorders, specifically in malignant hematologic diseases such as CLL, could be a useful tool to monitor the progression of the disease.

Correlation Between Serum Tumor Marker Levels and Connective Tissue Disease-Related Interstitial Lung Disease

Objective

The main aims of this study were to explore the relationships between serum tumor markers and connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) and to evaluate the clinical value of tumor markers for investigating interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD).

Methods

The study included 235 patients with CTD (90 CTD without ILDs, 145 CTD-ILD). Clinical information and the levels of inflammatory and tumor markers, including carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA125, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA153, and cytokeratin 19 fragments (CYFRA21-1), were obtained in all the patients.

Results

A significant difference between CTD with or without ILD and higher levels of tumor markers was observed in the CTD-ILD group, including CA19-9 (p<0.001), CEA (p<0.001), CA153 (p<0.001), and CYFRA21-1 (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in serum tumor marker levels in the various types of CTD (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, inflammatory myositis, systemic sclerosis, and mixed connective tissue disease). The levels of CA153 [odds ratio (OR)=1.159] and CYFRA21-1 (OR=2.269) were clearly related to the risk of CTD-ILD. The diagnostic value of CA153 [area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.736] and CYFRA21-1 (AUC=0.718) was confirmed for ILDs in CTD patients, at cut-off values of 9.45 U/mL and 2.13 ng/mL, respectively.

Conclusion

There is a positive correlation between serum tumor marker levels and CTD-ILD. Higher levels of CA153 and CYFRA21-1 suggest an increased risk of developing ILD and may therefore be useful as biomarkers for detecting CTD-ILD in the clinical setting.

Near Infrared Photoimmunotherapy; A Review of Targets for Cancer Therapy

Simple Summary

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a newly developed cancer treatment that uses an antibody-photoabsorber (IRDye700DX) conjugate (APC) that is activated by NIR light irradiation. A major benefit of NIR-PIT is that only APC-bound cancer cells that are exposed to NIR light are killed by NIR-PIT; thus, minimal damage occurs in adjacent normal cells. NIR-PIT has now been applied to many cancers expressing various cell-surface target proteins using monoclonal antibodies designed to bind to them. Moreover, NIR-PIT is not limited to tumor antigens but can also be used to kill specific host cells that create immune-permissive environments in which tumors grow. Moreover, multiple targets can be treated simultaneously with NIR-PIT using a cocktail of APCs. NIR-PIT has great potential to treat a wide variety of cancers by targeting appropriate tumor cells, immune cells, or both, and can be augmented by other immunotherapies.

Abstract

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a newly developed cancer treatment that uses an antibody-photoabsorber (IRDye700DX) conjugate (APC) that is activated by NIR light irradiation. In September 2020, the first APC and laser system were conditionally approved for clinical use in Japan. A major benefit of NIR-PIT is that only APC-bound cancer cells that are exposed to NIR light are killed by NIR-PIT; thus, minimal damage occurs in adjacent normal cells. These early trials have demonstrated that in addition to direct cell killing, there is a significant therapeutic host immune response that greatly contributes to the success of the therapy. Although the first clinical use of NIR-PIT targeted epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), many other targets are suitable for NIR-PIT. NIR-PIT has now been applied to many cancers expressing various cell-surface target proteins using monoclonal antibodies designed to bind to them. Moreover, NIR-PIT is not limited to tumor antigens but can also be used to kill specific host cells that create immune-permissive environments in which tumors grow. Moreover, multiple targets can be treated simultaneously with NIR-PIT using a cocktail of APCs. NIR-PIT can be used in combination with other therapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, to enhance the therapeutic effect. Thus, NIR-PIT has great potential to treat a wide variety of cancers by targeting appropriate tumor cells, immune cells, or both, and can be augmented by other immunotherapies.

A Novel Serum Glycobiomarker for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Cholangiocarcinoma Detected by Butea monosperma Agglutinin

Plant lectins are widely used in medical glycosciences and glycotechnology. Many lectin-based techniques have been applied for the detection of disease-associated glycans and glycoconjugates. In this study, Butea monosperma agglutinin (BMA), a lectin purified from seeds of the medicinal plant Butea monosperma, was used for the detection of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA)-associated glycans. Expression of BMA-binding N-acetyl galactosamine/galactose (GalNAc/Gal)-associated glycan (BMAG) in CCA tissues was determined using BMA lectin histochemistry; the results showed that BMAG was undetectable in normal bile ducts and drastically increased in preneoplastic bile ducts and CCA. The study in hamsters showed that an increase of BMAG was associated with carcinogenesis of CCA. Using an in-house double BMA sandwich enzyme-linked lectin assay, BMAG was highly detected in the sera of CCA patients. The level of serum BMAG in CCA patients (N = 83) was significantly higher than non-CCA controls (N = 287) and it was applicable for diagnosis of CCA with 55.4% sensitivity, 81.9% specificity, and 76.0% accuracy. A high level of serum BMAG (≥82.5 AU/mL) was associated with unfavorable survival of CCA patients; this information suggested the potential of serum BMAG as a poor prognostic indicator of CCA. In summary, BMAG was aberrantly expressed in preneoplastic bile ducts and CCA, it was also highly detected in patient serum which potentially used as a marker for diagnosis and prognostic prediction of CCA.

Stroma Involvement in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An Overview Focusing on Extracellular Matrix Proteins

Pancreatic cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is predicted to become second in 2030 in industrialized countries if no therapeutic progress is made. Among the different types of pancreatic cancers, Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is by far the most represented one with an occurrence of more than 90%. This specific cancer is a devastating malignancy with an extremely poor prognosis, as shown by the 5-years survival rate of 2–9%, ranking firmly last amongst all cancer sites in terms of prognostic outcomes for patients. Pancreatic tumors progress with few specific symptoms and are thus at an advanced stage at diagnosis in most patients. This malignancy is characterized by an extremely dense stroma deposition around lesions, accompanied by tissue hypovascularization and a profound immune suppression. Altogether, these combined features make access to cancer cells almost impossible for conventional chemotherapeutics and new immunotherapeutic agents, thus contributing to the fatal outcomes of the disease. Initially ignored, the Tumor MicroEnvironment (TME) is now the subject of intensive research related to PDAC treatment and could contain new therapeutic targets. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge in the field by focusing on TME composition to understand how this specific compartment could influence tumor progression and resistance to therapies. Attention will be paid to Tenascin-C, a matrix glycoprotein commonly upregulated during cancer that participates to PDAC progression and thus contributes to poor prognosis.

Development of a Novel Prognostic Signature Based on Antigen Processing and Presentation in Patients with Breast Cancer

Background: Complex antigen processing and presentation processes are involved in the development and progression of breast cancer (BC). A single biomarker is unlikely to adequately reflect the complex interplay between immune cells and cancer; however, there have been few attempts to find a robust antigen processing and presentation-related signature to predict the survival outcome of BC patients with respect to tumor immunology. Therefore, we aimed to develop an accurate gene signature based on immune-related genes for prognosis prediction of BC. Methods: Information on BC patients was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Gene set enrichment analysis was used to confirm the gene set related to antigen processing and presentation that contributed to BC. Cox proportional regression, multivariate Cox regression, and stratified analysis were used to identify the prognostic power of the gene signature. Differentially expressed mRNAs between high- and low-risk groups were determined by KEGG analysis. Results: A three-gene signature comprising HSPA5 (heat shock protein family A member 5), PSME2 (proteasome activator subunit 2), and HLA-F (major histocompatibility complex, class I, F) was significantly associated with OS. HSPA5 and PSME2 were protective (hazard ratio (HR) < 1), and HLA-F was risky (HR > 1). Risk score, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and PD-L1 were independent prognostic indicators. KIT and ACACB may have important roles in the mechanism by which the gene signature regulates prognosis of BC. Conclusion: The proposed three-gene signature is a promising biomarker for estimating survival outcomes in BC patients.

Changes in Protein Glycosylation in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Glycosylation is an important posttranslational modification of proteins, and it has a profound influence on diverse life processes. An abnormal polysaccharide structure and mutation of the glycosylation pathway are closely correlated with human cancer progression. Glycoproteins such as EGFR, E-cadherin, CD44, PD-1/PD-L1, B7-H3 and Muc1 play important roles in the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and their levels of glycosylation and changes in glycosyl structure are closely linked to HNSCC progression and malignant transformation. The regulation of protein glycosylation in HNSCC provides potential strategies to control cancer stem cell (CSC) subgroup expansion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor-related immunity escape and autophagy. Glycoproteins with altered glycosylation can be used as biomarkers for the early diagnosis, monitoring and prognostication of HNSCC. However, the glycobiology of cancer is still a new field that needs to be deeply studied, especially in HNSCC.