Upregulated CXCL14 is associated with poor survival outcomes and promotes ovarian cancer cells proliferation

DC-derived CXCL10 promotes CTL activation to suppress ovarian cancer

This study investigates the role of dendritic cells (DCs), with a focus on their CXCL10 marker gene, in the activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) within the ovarian cancer microenvironment and its impact on disease progression. Utilizing scRNA-seq data and immune infiltration analysis, we identified a diminished DC presence in ovarian cancer. Gene analysis pinpointed CXCL10 as a key regulator in OV progression via its influence on DCs and CTLs. Prognostic analysis and in vitro experiments substantiated this role. Our findings reveal that DC-derived CXCL10 significantly affects CTL activation and proliferation. Reduced CXCL10 levels hinder CTL cytotoxicity, promoting ovarian cancer cell migration and invasion. Experimental studies using animal models have provided further evidence that the capacity of CTLs to suppress tumor development is significantly diminished when treated with DCs that have low expression of CXCL10. Dendritic cell-derived CXCL10 emerges as a pivotal factor in restraining ovarian cancer growth and metastasis through the activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. This study sheds light on the crucial interplay within the ovarian cancer microenvironment, offering potential therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer treatment.

PAX6/CXCL14 regulatory axis promotes the repair of corneal injury by enhancing corneal epithelial cell proliferation

BACKGROUND

Corneal injuries, often leading to severe vision loss or blindness, have traditionally been treated with the belief that limbal stem cells (LSCs) are essential for repair and homeostasis, while central corneal epithelial cells (CCECs) were thought incapable of such repair. However, our research reveals that CCECs can fully heal and maintain the homeostasis of injured corneas in rats, even without LSCs. We discovered that CXCL14, under PAX6's influence, significantly boosts the stemness, proliferation, and migration of CCECs, facilitating corneal wound healing and homeostasis. This finding introduces CXCL14 as a promising new drug target for corneal injury treatment.

METHODS

To investigate the PAX6/CXCL14 regulatory axis's role in CCECs wound healing, we cultured human corneal epithelial cell lines with either increased or decreased expression of PAX6 and CXCL14 using adenovirus transfection in vitro. Techniques such as coimmunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence staining, western blot, real-time PCR, cell colony formation, and cell cycle analysis were employed to validate the axis's function. In vivo, a rat corneal epithelial injury model was developed to further confirm the PAX6/CXCL14 axis's mechanism in repairing corneal damage and maintaining corneal homeostasis, as well as to assess the potential of CXCL14 protein as a therapeutic agent for corneal injuries.

RESULTS

Our study reveals that CCECs naturally express high levels of CXCL14, which is significantly upregulated by PAX6 following corneal damage. We identified SDC1 as CXCL14's receptor, whose engagement activates the NF-κB pathway to stimulate corneal repair by enhancing the stemness, proliferative, and migratory capacities of CCECs. Moreover, our research underscores CXCL14's therapeutic promise for corneal injuries, showing that recombinant CXCL14 effectively accelerates corneal healing in rat models.

CONCLUSION

CCECs play a critical and independent role in the repair of corneal injuries and the maintenance of corneal homeostasis, distinct from that of LSCs. The PAX6/CXCL14 regulatory axis is pivotal in this process. Additionally, our research demonstrates that the important function of CXCL14 in corneal repair endows it with the potential to be developed into a novel therapeutic agent for treating corneal injuries.

A prognostic prediction model for ovarian cancer using a cross-modal view correlation discovery network

Ovarian cancer is a tumor with different clinicopathological and molecular features, and the vast majority of patients have local or extensive spread at the time of diagnosis. Early diagnosis and prognostic prediction of patients can contribute to the understanding of the underlying pathogenesis of ovarian cancer and the improvement of therapeutic outcomes. The occurrence of ovarian cancer is influenced by multiple complex mechanisms, including the genome, transcriptome and proteome. Different types of omics analysis help predict the survival rate of ovarian cancer patients. Multi-omics data of ovarian cancer exhibit high-dimensional heterogeneity, and existing methods for integrating multi-omics data have not taken into account the variability and inter-correlation between different omics data. In this paper, we propose a deep learning model, MDCADON, which utilizes multi-omics data and cross-modal view correlation discovery network. We introduce random forest into LASSO regression for feature selection on mRNA expression, DNA methylation, miRNA expression and copy number variation (CNV), aiming to select important features highly correlated with ovarian cancer prognosis. A multi-modal deep neural network is used to comprehensively learn feature representations of each omics data and clinical data, and cross-modal view correlation discovery network is employed to construct the multi-omics discovery tensor, exploring the inter-relationships between different omics data. The experimental results demonstrate that MDCADON is superior to the existing methods in predicting ovarian cancer prognosis, which enables survival analysis for patients and facilitates the determination of follow-up treatment plans. Finally, we perform Gene Ontology (GO) term analysis and biological pathway analysis on the genes identified by MDCADON, revealing the underlying mechanisms of ovarian cancer and providing certain support for guiding ovarian cancer treatments.

Comprehensive analysis of CXCL14 uncovers its role during liver metastasis in colon cancer

BACKGROUND

The most common cause of death for colon cancer patients is liver metastasis.

METHODS

All the data enrolled in this study were downloaded from two public databases, The Cancer Genome Atlas Program, the TCGA-COAD project and Gene Expression Omnibus, GSE41258 project. All the analysis was performed in R software.

RESULTS

In our study, we systematically explored the molecules involved in the liver metastasis process of colon cancer. The biological role of these molecules was identified through the GO and KEGG analysis. Moreover, we identified that the molecules SERPINA3, SERPINA1, MMP3, ALDH1A3, PBK and CXCL14 were the independent factors for patients survival. The CXCL14 was selected for further analysis for its most significant P value. Single-cell analysis showed that the CXCL14 was mainly expressed in the fibroblasts. Meanwhile, the biological role of fibroblasts in the colon cancer microenvironment was investigated. Further, the clinical role of CXCL14 in colon cancer was also explored. The result showed that the CXCL14 is a protective factor against colon cancer independent of other clinical parameters like age, gender, clinical stage, and TNM classifications. Then, biological enrichment analysis indicated that the CXCL14 is predominantly involved in the activating of the WNT/β/catenin pathway, pancreas beta cells, peroxisome and bile acid metabolism. Immune infiltration analysis showed that for the patients with high CXCL14 levels, the plasma B cells, CD8 + T cells, neutrophil and NK cells might infiltrate more, in contrast to B cells, monocyte and macrophages. Furthermore, we found that the patients with low CXCL14 expression might be more sensitive to etoposide, rapamycin and sunitinib.

CONCLUSIONS

Our result could improve the understanding of the liver metastasis process in colon cancer. Also, CXCL14 was identified as an underlying therapeutic target for colon cancer.

The role of CXCL family members in different diseases

Chemokines are a large family mediating a lot of biological behaviors including chemotaxis, tumor growth, angiogenesis and so on. As one member of this family, CXC subfamily possesses the same ability. CXC chemokines can recruit and migrate different categories of immune cells, regulate tumor's pathological behaviors like proliferation, invasion and metastasis, activate angiogenesis, etc. Due to these characteristics, CXCL subfamily is extensively and closely associated with tumors and inflammatory diseases. As studies are becoming more and more intensive, CXCLs' concrete roles are better described, and CXCLs' therapeutic applications including biomarkers and targets are also deeply explained. In this review, the role of CXCL family members in various diseases is summarized.

Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis constructs a CXCL model for predicting survival and immunotherapy effectiveness in ovarian cancer

Background: Immunotherapy has limited effectiveness in ovarian cancer (OC) patients, highlighting the need for reliable biomarkers to predict the effectiveness of these treatments. The C-X-C motif chemokine ligands (CXCLs) have been shown to be associated with survival outcomes and immunotherapy efficacy in cancer patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the predictive value of 16 CXCLs in OC patients.

Methods: We analyzed RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, and UCSC Xena database and conducted survival analysis. Consensus cluster analysis was used to group patients into distinct clusters based on their expression patterns. Biological pathway alterations and immune infiltration patterns were examined across these clusters using gene set variation analysis and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis. We also developed a CXCL scoring model using principal component analysis and evaluated its effectiveness in predicting immunotherapy response by assessing tumor microenvironment cell infiltration, tumor mutational burden estimation, PD-L1/CTLA4 expression, and immunophenoscore analysis (IPS).

Results: Most CXCL family genes were overexpressed in OC tissues compared to normal ovarian tissues. Patients were grouped into three distinct CXCL clusters based on their CXCL expression pattern. Additionally, using differentially expressed genes among the CXCL clusters, patients could also be grouped into three gene clusters. The CXCL and gene subtypes effectively predicted survival and immune cell infiltration levels for OC patients. Furthermore, patients with high CXCL scores had significantly better survival outcomes, higher levels of immune cell infiltration, higher IPS, and higher expression of PD-L1/CTLA4 than those with low CXCL scores.

Conclusion: The CXCL score has the potential to be a promising biomarker to guide immunotherapy in individual OC patients and predict their clinical outcomes and immunotherapy responses.

Mimicking Tumor Cell Heterogeneity of Colorectal Cancer in a Patient-derived Organoid-Fibroblast Model

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Patient-derived organoid cancer models are generated from epithelial tumor cells and reflect tumor characteristics. However, they lack the complexity of the tumor microenvironment, which is a key driver of tumorigenesis and therapy response. Here, we developed a colorectal cancer organoid model that incorporates matched epithelial cells and stromal fibroblasts.

METHODS

Primary fibroblasts and tumor cells were isolated from colorectal cancer specimens. Fibroblasts were characterized for their proteome, secretome, and gene expression signatures. Fibroblast/organoid co-cultures were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and compared with their tissue of origin, as well as on gene expression levels compared with standard organoid models. Bioinformatics deconvolution was used to calculate cellular proportions of cell subsets in organoids based on single-cell RNA sequencing data.

RESULTS

Normal primary fibroblasts, isolated from tumor adjacent tissue, and cancer associated fibroblasts retained their molecular characteristics in vitro, including higher motility of cancer associated compared with normal fibroblasts. Importantly, both cancer-associated fibroblasts and normal fibroblasts supported cancer cell proliferation in 3D co-cultures, without the addition of classical niche factors. Organoids grown together with fibroblasts displayed a larger cellular heterogeneity of tumor cells compared with mono-cultures and closely resembled the in vivo tumor morphology. Additionally, we observed a mutual crosstalk between tumor cells and fibroblasts in the co-cultures. This was manifested by considerably deregulated pathways such as cell-cell communication and extracellular matrix remodeling in the organoids. Thrombospondin-1 was identified as a critical factor for fibroblast invasiveness.

CONCLUSION

We developed a physiological tumor/stroma model, which will be vital as a personalized tumor model to study disease mechanisms and therapy response in colorectal cancer.

Accuracy of CCL20 expression level as a liquid biopsy-based diagnostic biomarker for ovarian carcinoma

Objective

The study aimed to investigate the potentiality of chemokines, including MCP-1, CCL15, CCL20, and CXCL14, as biomarkers for differential diagnosis between benign tumors and ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in women aged >18 years who had adnexal masses treated with elective surgery at the HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center, Srinakharinwirot University, between 2020 and 2021. The preoperative MCP-1, CCL15, CCL20, and CXCL14 serum levels were measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Preoperative diagnosis was defined according to the risk of malignancy index. The histological diagnosis and cancer subtype were confirmed using pathological specimens.

Results

Ninety-eight participants were preoperatively diagnosed with malignant tumors. The pathological diagnosis confirmed OC in 33 patients and disclosed 27 misdiagnosed cases, of which endometriotic cyst was the most common (44.44%). CCL20 and CA125 serum levels were significantly higher in the patients with cancer than in those with benign. In addition, CCL20 level could differentiate between benign and early-stage malignancy. Furthermore, only CCL20 levels could distinguish endometriotic cysts from OC, whereas CA125 levels could not. Concordant with the serum protein level, the increased mRNA level of CCL20 was observed in ovarian cancers comparing with that in benign tissues. We found that CCL20 levels could differentiate between benign tumors and OC with 60.61% sensitivity and 75.44% specificity at the optimal cutoff value of 38.79 pg/ml. Finally, the logistic regression model integrating CCL20, CA125, and menopause status promoted diagnostic accuracy by increasing the specificity to 91.23%.

Conclusions

Our study revealed the potential usefulness of CCL20 level as a biomarker for diagnosing early-stage OC with endometriosis differentiation. We recommend further studies to confirm the accuracy of CCL20 levels with the current diagnosis in a large patient sample.

CXCL14 Attenuates Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Progression by Regulating Immune Profiles of the Tumor Microenvironment in a T Cell-Dependent Manner

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is aggressive and has a poor overall survival due to a lack of therapeutic targets compared to other subtypes. Chemokine signature revealed that TNBC had low levels of CXCL14, an orphan homeostatic chemokine to regulate the immune network. Here, we investigated if CXCL14 plays a critical role in TNBC progression, focusing on survival rates, tumor growth and metastasis, and immune profiles in the tumor microenvironment. Analysis of human breast-cancer datasets showed that low CXCL14 expression levels were associated with poor survival rates in patients with breast cancer, particularly for TNBC subtypes. Overexpression of CXCL14 in TNBC 4T1 orthotopic mouse model significantly reduced tumor weights and inhibited lung metastasis. Furthermore, the CXCL14 overexpression altered immune profiles in the tumor microenvironment as follows: decreased F4/80+ macrophages and CD4+CD25+ Treg cells, and increased CD8+T cells in primary tumors; decreased Ly6C+ myeloid cells and CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and increased CD4+ and CD8+T cells in lung metastatic tumors. CXCL14-induced reduction of tumor growth and metastasis was diminished in T cell-deficient nude mice. Taken together, our data demonstrate that CXCL14 inhibits TNBC progression through altering immune profiles in the tumor microenvironment and it is mediated in a T cell-dependent manner. Thus, CXCL14 could be used as a biomarker for prognosis.

Polymeric Hydrogels for In Vitro 3D Ovarian Cancer Modeling

Ovarian cancer (OC) grows and interacts constantly with a complex microenvironment, in which immune cells, fibroblasts, blood vessels, signal molecules and the extracellular matrix (ECM) coexist. This heterogeneous environment provides structural and biochemical support to the surrounding cells and undergoes constant and dynamic remodeling that actively promotes tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Despite the fact that traditional 2D cell culture systems have led to relevant medical advances in cancer research, 3D cell culture models could open new possibilities for the development of an in vitro tumor microenvironment more closely reproducing that observed in vivo. The implementation of materials science and technology into cancer research has enabled significant progress in the study of cancer progression and drug screening, through the development of polymeric scaffold-based 3D models closely recapitulating the physiopathological features of native tumor tissue. This article provides an overview of state-of-the-art in vitro tumor models with a particular focus on 3D OC cell culture in pre-clinical studies. The most representative OC models described in the literature are presented with a focus on hydrogel-based scaffolds, which guarantee soft tissue-like physical properties as well as a suitable 3D microenvironment for cell growth. Hydrogel-forming polymers of either natural or synthetic origin investigated in this context are described by highlighting their source of extraction, physical-chemical properties, and application for 3D ovarian cancer cell culture.

CXC Chemokine Signaling in Progression of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Theranostic Perspectives

Patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) are often diagnosed at an advanced stage due to nonspecific symptoms and ineffective screening approaches. Although chemotherapy has been available and widely used for the treatment of advanced EOC, the overall prognosis remains dismal. As part of the intrinsic defense mechanisms against cancer development and progression, immune cells are recruited into the tumor microenvironment (TME), and this process is directed by the interactions between different chemokines and their receptors. In this review, the functional significance of CXC chemokine ligands/chemokine receptors (CXCL/CXCR) and their roles in modulating EOC progression are summarized. The status and prospects of CXCR/CXCL-based theranostic strategies in EOC management are also discussed.

CXCL14 facilitates the growth and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma cells via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

There is an urgent need to identify potential targets in anticancer therapy to improve the survival and prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer (OC). Herein, we investigated the functional significance of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 14 (CXCL14) in OC cell growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

METHODS

qRT PCR and western blotting was used to detect CXCL14 mRNA level and protein expression, respectively. The functional mechanism of CXCL14 in OC was investigated by CCK-8, colony formation and transwell assays. The migration ability of OC cell was determined using wound healing. The protein expressions of CXCL14 and β-catenin in OC tissues were determined by immumohistochemical staining.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that high levels of CXCL14 were associated with a worse prognosis in patients with OC. CXCL14 knockdown considerably restrained the growth, migration and invasion of OC cell in vitro. In contrast, ectopic CXCL14 overexpression yielded the opposite results. Investigations to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms revealed that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is involved in CXCL14-facilitated OC cell invasiveness.

CONCLUSION

These data collectively demonstrate that CXCL14 contributes to OC cell growth and metastatic potential by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

A high-throughput customized cytokinome screen of colon cancer cell responses to small-molecule oncology drugs

Inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors are molecular messengers that circulate and have the capability to modify the tumor microenvironment and impact therapeutic response. The characterization of soluble mediators as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis is of interest in oncology. We utilize the cytokinome to characterize the response of colorectal tumor cell lines to selected small-molecules in oncology as a proof-of-concept dataset with immunomodulatory analyte heat map rankings for drug and cell line combinations. We observed overall trends in drug class effects with MEK-, BRAF-, PARP-inhibitors, and Imipridones in cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor responses that may help guide therapy selection. MEK-inhibitor treatment downregulated analytes VEGF, CXCL9/MIG, and IL-8/CXCL8 and upregulated CXCL14/BRAK, Prolactin, and CCL5/RANTES. BRAF-inhibitor treatment downregulated VEGF and IL-8/CXCL8, while increasing soluble TRAIL-R2. Treatment with PARP-inhibitors decreased CXCL9/MIG, IL-8/CXCL8, CCL3/MIP-1 alpha, VEGF, and CXCL14/BRAK, while treatment increased soluble TRAIL-R2 and prolactin. Treatment with Imipridones decreased CCL3/MIP-1 alpha, VEGF, CXCL14/BRAK, IL-8/CXCL8, and Prolactin and increased CXCL5/ENA-78. We also observed differential responses to therapeutics depending on the mutational profile of the cell line. In the future, a similar but larger dataset may be utilized in the clinic to aid in the prediction of patient response to immunomodulatory therapies based on tumor genotype.

Identification of tissue-specific expression of CXCL14 in black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii)

CXCL14 is a chemokine which is orthologous in mammals and fish. CXCL14 has a functional role in different organs, with immunomodulatory functions in mammals, but its expression and function in fish is not well known. Moreover, it shows no effects related to immunity in the central nervous system or the reproductive tract in diverse species. Black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii) is an economically important fish in Asian countries, whose CXCL14 expression pattern is yet to be understood. In this study, the homology of the CXCL14 amino acid sequence in S. schlegelii was compared with that in other species, including fish. Moreover, in situ hybridization analysis revealed that it was highly expressed in the brain and ovary of S. schlegelii. Taken together, we identified for the first time, the cell-specific expression of CXCL14 in S. schlegelii.

Bioinformatics Analysis of Potential Therapeutic Targets and Prognostic Biomarkers amid CXC Chemokines in Ovarian Carcinoma Microenvironment

Background

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the leading lethal gynecologic cancers of women around the world. More than 70% of patients are diagnosed with stage III or IV with poor outcome. This is partly because of lacking early effective screening techniques and potential biomarkers of OC. CXC chemokines in tumor microenvironment (TME) and their interaction with relative receptors can excite the downstream signaling pathways to influence tumor progression. However, the role of CXC chemokines in OC has not been identified.

Methods

ONCOMINE, GEPIA, Kaplan–Meier plotter, cBioPortal, TIMER, Metascape, and LinkedOmics were applied in our study.

Results

The transcriptional levels of CXCL1/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/16/17 were significantly elevated while CXCL3 was obviously reduced in OC vs normal ovarian tissue. CXCL8/9/11/13 were correlated with clinic pathological stage. Patients with low expression of CXCL8/9/11/13 were associated with better prognosis. We also found that CXCL3 and CXC12 could be used as potential prognostic markers of OC through Kaplan–Meier plotter. Patients with high expression of CXCL3/12 had a significantly better prognosis. Their functions focus on locomotion, signaling, response to stimulus, undergoing the process of multiorganism, immune system, biological regulation, etc. The differentiated CXC chemokines mainly participate in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Our results showed that CXC chemokines were highly correlated with infiltration of immune cells. The kinase targets of differentially expressed CXC chemokines are mainly in ATM, LYN, LCK, PLK1, FYN, CDK2, and ATR.

Conclusions

Our results may provide a new insight for selecting precision biomarkers of targeted therapy of OC.

The Effect of Hypoxia on the Expression of CXC Chemokines and CXC Chemokine Receptors-A Review of Literature

Hypoxia is an integral component of the tumor microenvironment. Either as chronic or cycling hypoxia, it exerts a similar effect on cancer processes by activating hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and nuclear factor (NF-κB), with cycling hypoxia showing a stronger proinflammatory influence. One of the systems affected by hypoxia is the CXC chemokine system. This paper reviews all available information on hypoxia-induced changes in the expression of all CXC chemokines (CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL4, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL7, CXCL8 (IL-8), CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL12 (SDF-1), CXCL13, CXCL14, CXCL15, CXCL16, CXCL17) as well as CXC chemokine receptors—CXCR1, CXCR2, CXCR3, CXCR4, CXCR5, CXCR6, CXCR7 and CXCR8. First, we present basic information on the effect of these chemoattractant cytokines on cancer processes. We then discuss the effect of hypoxia-induced changes on CXC chemokine expression on the angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and recruitment of various cells to the tumor niche, including myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs), regulatory T cells (T_regs) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Finally, the review summarizes data on the use of drugs targeting the CXC chemokine system in cancer therapies.