IL6 inhibition of inflammatory S100A8/9 proteins is NF-κB mediated in essential thrombocythemia

Acute myocardial infarction in myeloproliferative neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies characterized by an abnormal proliferation of cells of the myeloid lineage. Affected individuals are at increased risk for cardiovascular and thrombotic events. Myocardial infarction (MI) may be one of the earliest clinical manifestations of MPNs or may be a thrombotic complication that develops during the natural course of the disease. In the present review, we examine the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and management of MI in MPNs based on the available literature. Moreover, we review potential biomarkers that could mediate the MI-MPNs crosstalk, from classical biochemical tests, e.g., lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and troponins, to pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress markers, and clonal hematopoiesis.

Platelet proteo-transcriptomic profiling validates mediators of thrombosis and proteostasis in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms

Patients with chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) including polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) exhibit unique clinical features, such as a tendency toward thrombosis and hemorrhage, and risk of disease progression to secondary bone marrow fibrosis and/or acute leukemia. Although an increase in blood cell lineage counts (quantitative features) contribute to these morbid sequelae, the significant qualitative abnormalities of myeloid cells that contribute to vascular risk are not well understood. Here, we address this critical knowledge gap via a comprehensive and untargeted profiling of the platelet proteome in a large (n= 140) cohort of patients (from two independent sites) with an established diagnosis of PV and ET (and complement prior work on the MPN platelet transcriptome from a third site). We discover distinct MPN platelet protein expression and confirm key molecular impairments associated with proteostasis and thrombosis mechanisms of potential relevance to MPN pathology. Specifically, we validate expression of high-priority candidate markers from the platelet transcriptome at the platelet proteome (e.g., calreticulin (CALR), Fc gamma receptor (FcγRIIA) and galectin-1 (LGALS1) pointing to their likely significance in the proinflammatory, prothrombotic and profibrotic phenotypes in patients with MPN. Together, our proteo-transcriptomic study identifies the peripherally-derived platelet molecular profile as a potential window into MPN pathophysiology and demonstrates the value of integrative multi-omic approaches in gaining a better understanding of the complex molecular dynamics of disease.

S100A family is a group of immune markers associated with poor prognosis and immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common human cancers with poor prognosis in the world. HCC has become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in China. It is urgent to identify novel biomarker and valid target to effectively diagnose, treat or predict the prognosis of HCC. It has been reported that S100A family is closely related to cell proliferation and migration of different cancers. However, the values of S100As in HCC remain to be further analyzed.

METHODS

We investigated the transcriptional and translational expression of S100As, as well as the value of this family in HCC patients from the various databases.

RESULTS

S100A10 was most relevant to HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

The results from HCC patients' tissues and different cells also confirmed the role of S100A10 in HCC. Furthermore, we proved that S100A10 could influenced the cell proliferation of HCC cells via ANXA2/Akt/mTOR pathway. However, it would appear that the relationship between S100A10 and HCC is complex and requires more research.

Efficacy and Safety of Tofacitinib in Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica (EAST PMR): An open-label randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a common inflammatory disease in elderly persons whose mechanism of pathogenesis has not been elucidated. Glucocorticoids are the main first-line treatments but result in numerous side effects. Therefore, there is a need to explore pathogenetic factors and identify possible glucocorticoid-sparing agents. We aimed to study the pathogenetic features of the disease and assess the efficacy and safety of Janus tyrosine kinase (JAK)-inhibitor tofacitinib in patients with PMR.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

We recruited treatment-naïve PMR patients from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, between September 2020 and September 2022. In the first cohort, we found that the gene expression patterns of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in 11 patients (10 female, 1 male, age 68.0 ± 8.3) with newly diagnosed PMR were significantly different from 20 healthy controls (17 female, 3 male, age 63.7 ± 9.8) by RNA sequencing. Inflammatory response and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction were the most notable pathways affected. We observed marked increases in expression of IL6R, IL1B, IL1R1, JAK2, TLR2, TLR4, TLR8, CCR1, CR1, S100A8, S100A12, and IL17RA, which could trigger JAK signaling. Furthermore, tofacitinib suppressed the IL-6R and JAK2 expression of CD4+T cells from patients with PMR in vitro. In the second cohort, patients with PMR were randomized and treated with tofacitinib or glucocorticoids (1/1) for 24 weeks. All PMR patients underwent clinical and laboratory examinations at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks, and PMR activity disease scores (PMR-AS) were calculated. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with PMR-AS ≤10 at weeks 12 and 24. Secondary endpoints: PMR-AS score, c-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at weeks 12 and 24. Thirty-nine patients with newly diagnosed PMR received tofacitinib, and 37 patients received glucocorticoid. Thirty-five patients (29 female, 6 male, age 64.4 ± 8.4) and 32 patients (23 female, 9 male, age 65.3 ± 8.7) patients completed the 24-week intervention, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in primary or secondary outcomes. At weeks 12 and 24, all patients in both groups had PMR-AS <10. PMR-AS, CRP, and ESR were all significantly decreased in both groups. No severe adverse events were observed in either group. Study limitations included the single-center study design with a short observation period.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that JAK signaling was involved in the pathogenesis of PMR. Tofacitinib effectively treated patients with PMR as glucocorticoid does in this randomized, monocenter, open-label, controlled trial (ChiCTR2000038253).

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This investigator-initiated clinical trial (IIT) had been registered on the website (http://www.chictr.org.cn/, ChiCTR2000038253).

Diagnostic value and mechanism of plasma S100A1 protein in acute ischemic stroke: a prospective and observational study

Background

Plasma S100A1 protein is a novel inflammatory biomarker associated with acute myocardial infarction and neurodegenerative disease's pathophysiological mechanisms. This study aimed to determine the levels of this protein in patients with acute ischemic stroke early in the disease progression and to investigate its role in the pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke.

Methods

A total of 192 participants from hospital stroke centers were collected for the study. Clinically pertinent data were recorded. The volume of the cerebral infarction was calculated according to the Pullicino formula. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to select independent influences. ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of AIS and TIA. The correlation between S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels and cerebral infarction volume was detected by Pearson correlation analysis.

Results

There were statistically significant differences in S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 among the AIS,TIA, and PE groups (S100A1, [230.96 ± 39.37] vs [185.85 ± 43.24] vs [181.47 ± 27.39], P < 0.001; NF-κB p65, [3.99 ± 0.65] vs [3.58 ± 0.74] vs [3.51 ± 0.99], P = 0.001; IL-6, [13.32 ± 1.57] vs [11.61 ± 1.67] vs [11.42 ± 2.34], P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that S100A1 might be an independent predictive factor for the diagnosis of disease (P < 0.001). The AUC of S100A1 for diagnosis of AIS was 0.818 (P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.749-0.887], cut off 181.03, Jmax 0.578, Se 95.0%, Sp 62.7%). The AUC of S100A1 for diagnosis of TIA was 0.720 (P = 0.001, 95% CI [0.592-0.848], cut off 150.14, Jmax 0.442, Se 50.0%, Sp 94.2%). There were statistically significant differences in S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 among the SCI,MCI, and LCI groups (S100A1, [223.98 ± 40.21] vs [225.42 ± 30.92] vs [254.25 ± 37.07], P = 0.001; NF-κB p65, [3.88 ± 0.66] vs [3.85 ± 0.64] vs [4.41 ± 0.45], P < 0.001; IL-6, [13.27 ± 1.65] vs [12.77 ± 1.31] vs [14.00 ± 1.40], P = 0.007). Plasma S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 were significantly different from cerebral infarction volume (S100A1, r = 0.259, P = 0.002; NF-κB p65, r = 0.316, P < 0.001; IL-6, r = 0.177, P = 0.036). There was a positive correlation between plasma S100A1 and IL-6 with statistical significance (R = 0.353, P < 0.001). There was no significant positive correlation between plasma S100A1 and NF-κB p65 (R < 0.3), but there was statistical significance (R = 0.290, P < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between IL-6 and NF-κB p65 with statistical significance (R = 0.313, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

S100A1 might have a better diagnostic efficacy for AIS and TIA. S100A1 was associated with infarct volume in AIS, and its level reflected the severity of acute cerebral infarction to a certain extent. There was a correlation between S100A1 and IL-6 and NF-κB p65, and it was reasonable to speculate that this protein might mediate the inflammatory response through the NF-κB pathway during the pathophysiology of AIS.

KLHDC7B-DT aggravates pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development via inducing cross-talk between cancer cells and macrophages

Tumor microenvironment (TME) exerts key roles in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) development. However, the factors regulating the cross-talk between PDAC cells and TME are largely unknown. In the present study, we identified a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) KLHDC7B divergent transcript (KLHDC7B-DT), which was up-regulated in PDAC and correlated with poor survival of PDAC patients. Functional assays demonstrated that KLHDC7B-DT enhanced PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Mechanistically, KLHDC7B-DT was found to directly bind IL-6 promoter, induce open chromatin structure at IL-6 promoter region, activate IL-6 transcription, and up-regulate IL-6 expression and secretion. The expression of KLHDC7B-DT was positively correlated with IL-6 in PDAC tissues. Via inducing IL-6 secretion, KLHDC7B-DT activated STAT3 signaling in PDAC cells in an autocrine manner. Furthermore, KLHDC7B-DT also activated STAT3 signaling in macrophages in a paracrine manner, which induced macrophage M2 polarization. KLHDC7B-DT overexpressed PDAC cells-primed macrophages promoted PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Blocking IL-6/STAT3 signaling reversed the effects of KLHDC7B-DT on macrophage M2 polarization and PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In conclusion, KLHDC7B-DT enhanced malignant behaviors of PDAC cells via IL-6-induced macrophage M2 polarization and IL-6-activated STAT3 signaling in PDAC cells. The cross-talk between PDAC cells and macrophages induced by KLHDC7B-DT represents potential therapeutic target for PDAC.

Identification of IL10RA by Weighted Correlation Network Analysis and in vitro Validation of Its Association With Prognosis of Metastatic Melanoma

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the major cause of death for skin cancer patients, its high metastasis often leads to poor prognosis of patients with malignant melanoma. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying metastatic melanoma remain to be elucidated. In this study we aim to identify and validate prognostic biomarkers associated with metastatic melanoma. We first construct a co-expression network using large-scale public gene expression profiles from GEO, from which candidate genes are screened out using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). A total of eight modules are established via the average linkage hierarchical clustering, and 111 hub genes are identified from the clinically significant modules. Next, two other datasets from GEO and TCGA are used for further screening of biomarker genes related to prognosis of metastatic melanoma, and identified 11 key genes via survival analysis. We find that IL10RA has the highest correlation with clinically important modules among all identified biomarker genes. Further in vitro biochemical experiments, including CCK8 assays, wound-healing assays and transwell assays, have verified that IL10RA can significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of melanoma cells. Furthermore, gene set enrichment analysis shows that PI3K-AKT signaling pathway is significantly enriched in metastatic melanoma with highly expressed IL10RA, indicating that IL10RA mediates in metastatic melanoma via PI3K-AKT pathway.