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Pitts SC, Schlom J, Donahue RN. Soluble immune checkpoints: implications for cancer prognosis and response to immune checkpoint therapy and conventional therapies. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2024; 43:155. [PMID: 38822401 PMCID: PMC11141022 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-024-03074-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Longitudinal sampling of tumor tissue from patients with solid cancers, aside from melanoma and a few other cases, is often unfeasible, and thus may not capture the plasticity of interactions between the tumor and immune system under selective pressure of a given therapy. Peripheral blood analyses provide salient information about the human peripheral immunome while offering technical and practical advantages over traditional tumor biopsies, and should be utilized where possible alongside interrogation of the tumor. Some common blood-based biomarkers used to study the immune response include immune cell subsets, circulating tumor DNA, and protein analytes such as cytokines. With the recent explosion of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) as a modality of treatment in multiple cancer types, soluble immune checkpoints have become a relevant area of investigation for peripheral immune-based biomarkers. However, the exact functions of soluble immune checkpoints and their roles in cancer for the most part remain unclear. This review discusses current literature on the production, function, and expression of nine soluble immune checkpoints - sPD-L1, sPD-1, sCTLA4, sCD80, sTIM3, sLAG3, sB7-H3, sBTLA, and sHVEM - in patients with solid tumors, and explores their role as biomarkers of response to ICI as well as to conventional therapies (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and surgery) in cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie C Pitts
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jeffrey Schlom
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Renee N Donahue
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Basingab FS, Alzahrani RA, Alrofaidi AA, Barefah AS, Hammad RM, Alahdal HM, Alrahimi JS, Zaher KA, Algiraigri AH, El-Daly MM, Alkarim SA, Aldahlawi AM. Herpesvirus Entry Mediator as an Immune Checkpoint Target and a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Myeloid and Lymphoid Leukemia. Biomolecules 2024; 14:523. [PMID: 38785930 PMCID: PMC11117912 DOI: 10.3390/biom14050523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) is a molecular switch that can modulate immune responses against cancer. The significance of HVEM as an immune checkpoint target and a potential prognostic biomarker in malignancies is still controversial. This study aims to determine whether HVEM is an immune checkpoint target with inhibitory effects on anti-tumor CD4+ T cell responses in vitro and whether HVEM gene expression is dysregulated in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). HVEM gene expression in tumor cell lines and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from ALL patients and healthy controls was measured using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Tumor cells were left untreated (control) or were treated with an HVEM blocker before co-culturing with CD4+ T cells in vitro in a carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-dependent proliferation assay. HVEM expression was upregulated in the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line (K562) (FC = 376.3, p = 0.086) compared with normal embryonic kidney cells (Hek293). CD4+ T cell proliferation was significantly increased in the HVEM blocker-treated K562 cells (p = 0.0033). Significant HVEM differences were detected in ALL PBMCs compared with the controls, and these were associated with newly diagnosed ALL (p = 0.0011) and relapsed/refractory (p = 0.0051) B cell ALL (p = 0.0039) patients. A significant differentiation between malignant ALL and the controls was observed in a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with AUC = 0.78 ± 0.092 (p = 0.014). These results indicate that HVEM is an inhibitory molecule that may serve as a target for immunotherapy and a potential ALL biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemah S. Basingab
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reem A. Alzahrani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Aisha A. Alrofaidi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed S. Barefah
- Hematology Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Hematology Research Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rawan M. Hammad
- Hematology Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hadil M. Alahdal
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Princes Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jehan S. Alrahimi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kawther A. Zaher
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ali H. Algiraigri
- Hematology Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Hematology Research Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mai M. El-Daly
- Special Infectious Agents Unit-BSL3, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saleh A. Alkarim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Embryonic Stem Cells Research Unit and Embryonic and Cancer Stem Cells Research Group, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alia M. Aldahlawi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
- Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia
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Mansour L, Alqahtani M, Aljuaimlani A, Al-Tamimi J, Al-Harbi N, Alomar S. Association of Polymorphisms in PD-1 and LAG-3 Genes with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2024; 60:721. [PMID: 38792904 PMCID: PMC11123055 DOI: 10.3390/medicina60050721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Background and objectives: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological malignancy characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of immature myeloid cells. Immune checkpoint molecules such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) are essential for controlling anti-tumor immune responses. This study aims to explore the correlation between specific genetic variations (SNPs) in the PDCD1 (rs2227981) and LAG3 (rs12313899) genes and the likelihood of developing AML in the Saudi population. Material and methods: total of 98 Saudi AML patients and 131 healthy controls were genotyped for the PDCD1 rs2227981 and LAG3 rs12313899 polymorphisms using TaqMan genotyping assays. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the SNPs and AML risk using several genetic models. Results: The results revealed a significant association between the PDCD1 rs2227981 polymorphism and increased AML risk. In AML patients, the frequency of the G allele was considerably greater than in healthy controls (OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.31-2.81, p = 0.00080). The GG and AG genotypes were associated with a very high risk of developing AML (p < 0.0001). In contrast, no significant association was observed between the LAG3 rs12313899 polymorphism and AML risk in the studied population. In silico analysis of gene expression profiles from public databases suggested the potential impact of PDCD1 expression levels on the overall survival of AML patients. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the association of the PDCD1 rs2227981 polymorphism with an increased risk for AML in the Saudi population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lamjed Mansour
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Building 05, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; (M.A.); (A.A.); (J.A.-T.); (N.A.-H.); (S.A.)
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Li B, Wang Q, Luo Y, Wang S, Pan S, Zhao W, Ye Z, Wu X. Peripheral Soluble Immune Checkpoint-Related Proteins Were Associated with Survival and Treatment Efficacy of Osteosarcoma Patients, a Cohort Study. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1628. [PMID: 38730580 PMCID: PMC11083464 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16091628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The immune checkpoint blockade remains obscure in osteosarcoma (OS). We aim to explore the clinical significance of soluble immune checkpoint (ICK)-related proteins in OS. METHODS We profiled 14 soluble ICK-related proteins (BTLA, GITR, HVEM, IDO, LAG-3, PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, TIM-3, CD28, CD80, CD137, CD27, and CTLA-4) in the plasma of 76 OS patients and matched controls. We evaluated the associations between the biomarkers and the risk of OS using unconditional multivariate logistic regression. The multivariate Cox model was utilized to develop the prediction model of OS. Immune subtypes were established from the identified biomarkers. Transcriptional data from GEO were analyzed to elucidate potential mechanisms. RESULTS We found that sTIM3, sCD137, sIDO, and sCTLA4 were significantly correlated with OS risk (all p < 0.05). sBTLA, sPDL2, and sCD27 were significantly associated with the risk of lung metastasis, whereas sBTLA and sTIM3 were associated with the risk of disease progression. We also established an immune subtype based on sBTLA, sPD1, sTIM3, and sPDL2. Patients in the sICK-type2 subtype had significantly decreased progression-free survival (PFS) and lung metastasis-free survival (LMFS) than those in the sICK-type1 subtype (log-rank p = 2.8 × 10-2, 1.7 × 10-2, respectively). Interestingly, we found that the trend of LMFS and PFS in the subtypes of corresponding ICK genes' expression was opposite to the results in the blood (log-rank p = 2.6 × 10-4, 9.5 × 10-4, respectively). CONCLUSION Four soluble ICK-related proteins were associated with the survival of OS patients. Soluble ICK-related proteins could be promising biomarkers for the outcomes and immunotherapy of OS patients, though more research is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binghao Li
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (B.L.); (Z.Y.)
- Clinical Research Center of Motor System Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Qinchuan Wang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, China
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yihong Luo
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Sicong Wang
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Sai Pan
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wenting Zhao
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhaoming Ye
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (B.L.); (Z.Y.)
- Clinical Research Center of Motor System Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Xifeng Wu
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China; (Y.L.); (S.W.); (S.P.); (W.Z.)
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Wojciechowicz K, Spodzieja M, Wardowska A. The BTLA-HVEM complex - The future of cancer immunotherapy. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 268:116231. [PMID: 38387336 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The BTLA-HVEM complex plays a pivotal role in cancer and cancer immunotherapy by regulating immune responses. Dysregulation of BTLA and HVEM expression contributes to immunosuppression and tumor progression across various cancer types. Targeting the interaction between BTLA and HVEM holds promise for enhancing anti-tumor immune responses. Disruption of this complex presents a valuable avenue for advancing cancer immunotherapy strategies. Aberrant expression of BTLA and HVEM adversely affects immune cell function, particularly T cells, exacerbating tumor evasion mechanisms. Understanding and modulating the BTLA-HVEM axis represents a crucial aspect of designing effective immunotherapeutic interventions against cancer. Here, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the structure and function of BTLA and HVEM, along with their interaction with each other and various immune partners. Moreover, the expression of soluble and transmembrane forms of BTLA and HVEM in different types of cancer and their impact on the prognosis of patients is also discussed. Additionally, inhibitors of the proteins binding that might be used to block BTLA-HVEM interaction are reviewed. All the presented data highlight the plausible clinical application of BTLA-HVEM targeted therapies in cancer and autoimmune disease management. However, further studies are required to confirm the practical use of this concept. Despite the increasing number of reports on the BTLA-HVEM complex, many aspects of its biology and function still need to be elucidated. This review can be regarded as an encouragement and a guide to follow the path of BTLA-HVEM research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Wojciechowicz
- Department of Physiopathology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland.
| | - Marta Spodzieja
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Poland
| | - Anna Wardowska
- Department of Physiopathology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland.
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Alqualo NO, Campos-Fernandez E, Picolo BU, Ferreira EL, Henriques LM, Lorenti S, Moreira DC, Simião MPS, Oliveira LBT, Alonso-Goulart V. Molecular biomarkers in prostate cancer tumorigenesis and clinical relevance. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2024; 194:104232. [PMID: 38101717 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2023.104232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequent type of cancer in men and assessing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) by liquid biopsy is a promising tool to help in cancer early detection, staging, risk of recurrence evaluation, treatment prediction and monitoring. Blood-based liquid biopsy approaches enable the enrichment, detection and characterization of CTCs by biomarker analysis. Hence, comprehending the molecular markers, their role on each stage of cancer development and progression is essential to provide information that can help in future implementation of these biomarkers in clinical assistance. In this review, we studied the molecular markers most associated with PCa CTCs to better understand their function on tumorigenesis and metastatic cascade, the methodologies utilized to analyze these biomarkers and their clinical significance, in order to summarize the available information to guide researchers in their investigations, new hypothesis formulation and target choice for the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalia Oliveira Alqualo
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Esther Campos-Fernandez
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Bianca Uliana Picolo
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Emanuelle Lorrayne Ferreira
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Laila Machado Henriques
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Lorenti
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Danilo Caixeta Moreira
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Maria Paula Silva Simião
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Luciana Beatriz Tiago Oliveira
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil
| | - Vivian Alonso-Goulart
- Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Goulart Filho, Institute of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlandia, MG 38400-902, Brazil.
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Andrzejczak A, Karabon L. BTLA biology in cancer: from bench discoveries to clinical potentials. Biomark Res 2024; 12:8. [PMID: 38233898 PMCID: PMC10795259 DOI: 10.1186/s40364-024-00556-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoints play a critical role in maintaining the delicate balance of immune activation in order to prevent potential harm caused by excessive activation, autoimmunity, or tissue damage. B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is one of crucial checkpoint, regulating stimulatory and inhibitory signals in immune responses. Its interaction with the herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM) plays an essential role in negatively regulating immune responses, thereby preserving immune homeostasis. In cancer, abnormal cells evade immune surveillance by exploiting checkpoints like BTLA. Upregulated BTLA expression is linked to impaired anti-tumor immunity and unfavorable disease outcomes. In preclinical studies, BTLA-targeted therapies have shown improved treatment outcomes and enhanced antitumor immunity. This review aims to provide an in-depth understanding of BTLA's biology, its role in various cancers, and its potential as a prognostic factor. Additionally, it explores the latest research on BTLA blockade in cancer immunotherapy, offering hope for more effective cancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Andrzejczak
- Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Human Diseases, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Lidia Karabon
- Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Human Diseases, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.
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Taghiloo S, Asgarian-Omran H. Current Approaches of Immune Checkpoint Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Curr Treat Options Oncol 2023; 24:1408-1438. [PMID: 37561383 DOI: 10.1007/s11864-023-01129-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
OPINION STATEMENT Increasing understanding of the complex interaction between leukemic and immune cells, which is responsible for tumor progression and immune evasion, has paved the way for the development of novel immunotherapy approaches in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). One of the well-known immune escape mechanisms of tumor cells is the up-regulation of immune checkpoint molecules. In recent years, targeting immune checkpoint receptors is the most clinically effective immunotherapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In this regard, various immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) drugs are currently been investigating for their potential effects on improving anti-tumor immune response and clinical efficacy in the hematological malignancies; however, their effectiveness in patients with CLL has shown less remarkable success, and ongoing research is focused on identifying strategies to enhance the efficacy of ICB in CLL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeid Taghiloo
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Hossein Asgarian-Omran
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
- Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
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Kuncewicz K, Bojko M, Battin C, Karczyńska A, Sieradzan A, Sikorska E, Węgrzyn K, Wojciechowicz K, Wardowska A, Steinberger P, Rodziewicz-Motowidło S, Spodzieja M. BTLA-derived peptides as inhibitors of BTLA/HVEM complex formation - design, synthesis and biological evaluation. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 165:115161. [PMID: 37473684 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoints can be divided into co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules that regulate the activation and effector functions of T cells. The co-inhibitory pathways mediated by ICPs are used by cancer cells to escape from immune surveillance, and therefore the blockade of these receptor/ligand interactions is one of the strategies used in the treatment of cancer. The two main pathways currently under investigation are CTLA-4/CD80/CD86 and PD-1/PD-L1, and the monoclonal Abs targeting them have shown potent immunomodulatory effects and activity in clinical environments. Another interesting target in cancer treatment is the BTLA/HVEM complex. Binding of BTLA protein on T cells to HVEM on cancer cells leads to inhibition of T cell proliferation and cytokine production. In the presented work, we focused on blocking the HVEM protein using BTLA-derived peptides. Based on the crystal structure of the BTLA/HVEM complex and MM/GBSA analysis performed here, we designed and synthesized peptides, specifically fragments of BTLA protein. We subsequently checked the inhibitory capacities of these compounds using ELISA and a cellular reporter platform. Two of these peptides, namely BTLA(35-43) and BTLA(33-64)C58Abu displayed the most promising properties, and we therefore performed further studies to evaluate their affinity to HVEM protein, their stability in plasma and their effect on viability of human PBMCs. In addition, the 3D structure for the peptide BTLA(33-64)C58Abu was determined using NMR. Obtained data confirmed that the BTLA-derived peptides could be the basis for future drugs and their immunomodulatory potential merits further examination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Kuncewicz
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Magdalena Bojko
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Claire Battin
- Medical University of Vienna, Institute of Immunology, Division of Immune Receptors and T cell Activation, Lazarettgasse 19, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Agnieszka Karczyńska
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Adam Sieradzan
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Emilia Sikorska
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Węgrzyn
- University of Gdańsk, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk, Abrahama 58, 80-307 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Karolina Wojciechowicz
- Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Physiopathology, Dębinki 7, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna Wardowska
- Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Physiopathology, Dębinki 7, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Peter Steinberger
- Medical University of Vienna, Institute of Immunology, Division of Immune Receptors and T cell Activation, Lazarettgasse 19, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Marta Spodzieja
- University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Chemistry, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
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Sordo-Bahamonde C, Lorenzo-Herrero S, Granda-Díaz R, Martínez-Pérez A, Aguilar-García C, Rodrigo JP, García-Pedrero JM, Gonzalez S. Beyond the anti-PD-1/PD-L1 era: promising role of the BTLA/HVEM axis as a future target for cancer immunotherapy. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:142. [PMID: 37649037 PMCID: PMC10466776 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01845-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent introduction of monoclonal antibodies targeting immune checkpoints to harness antitumor immunity has revolutionized the cancer treatment landscape. The therapeutic success of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB)-based therapies mainly relies on PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 blockade. However, the limited overall responses and lack of reliable predictive biomarkers of patient´s response are major pitfalls limiting immunotherapy success. Hence, this reflects the compelling need of unveiling novel targets for immunotherapy that allow to expand the spectrum of ICB-based strategies to achieve optimal therapeutic efficacy and benefit for cancer patients. This review thoroughly dissects current molecular and functional knowledge of BTLA/HVEM axis and the future perspectives to become a target for cancer immunotherapy. BTLA/HVEM dysregulation is commonly found and linked to poor prognosis in solid and hematological malignancies. Moreover, circulating BTLA has been revealed as a blood-based predictive biomarker of immunotherapy response in various cancers. On this basis, BTLA/HVEM axis emerges as a novel promising target for cancer immunotherapy. This prompted rapid development and clinical testing of the anti-BTLA blocking antibody Tifcemalimab/icatolimab as the first BTLA-targeted therapy in various ongoing phase I clinical trials with encouraging results on preliminary efficacy and safety profile as monotherapy and combined with other anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that the intricate signaling network constituted by BTLA/HVEM/CD160/LIGHT involved in immune response regulation, tumor development and tumor microenvironment could limit therapeutic success. Therefore, in-depth functional characterization in different cancer settings is highly recommended for adequate design and implementation of BTLA-targeted therapies to guarantee the best clinical outcomes to benefit cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Sordo-Bahamonde
- Department of Functional Biology, Immunology, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Seila Lorenzo-Herrero
- Department of Functional Biology, Immunology, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Rocío Granda-Díaz
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), Oviedo, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandra Martínez-Pérez
- Department of Functional Biology, Immunology, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Candelaria Aguilar-García
- Department of Functional Biology, Immunology, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Juan P Rodrigo
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), Oviedo, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juana M García-Pedrero
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), Oviedo, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Segundo Gonzalez
- Department of Functional Biology, Immunology, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Oviedo, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain.
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11
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Raza A, Mohsen R, Kanbour A, Zar Gul AR, Philip A, Vijayakumar S, Hydrose S, Prabhu KS, Al-Suwaidi AK, Inchakalody VP, Merhi M, Abo El-Ella DM, Tauro MA, Akbar S, Al-Bozom I, Abualainin W, Al-Abdulla R, Sirriya SA, Hassnad S, Uddin S, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Al Homsi U, Demime S. Serum immune mediators as novel predictors of response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients with high tissue-PD-L1 expression. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1157100. [PMID: 37256148 PMCID: PMC10225547 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1157100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) including anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies, have significantly changed the treatment outcomes with better overall survival, but only 15-40% of the patients respond to ICIs therapy. The search for predictive biomarkers of responses is warranted for better clinical outcomes. We aim here to identify pre-treatment soluble immune molecules as surrogate biomarkers for tissue PD-L1 (TPD-L1) status and as predictors of response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in NSCLC patients. Sera from 31 metastatic NSCLC patients, eligible for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 or combined chemoimmunotherapy, were collected prior to treatment. Analysis of soluble biomarkers with TPD-L1 status showed significant up/down regulation of the immune inhibitory checkpoint markers (sSiglec7, sSiglec9, sULBP4 and sPD-L2) in patients with higher TPD-L1 (TPD-L1 >50%) expression. Moreover, correlation analysis showed significant positive linear correlation of soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) with higher TPD-L1 expression. Interestingly, only responders in the TPD-L1 >50% group showed significant down regulation of the immune inhibitory markers (sPD-L2, sTIMD4, sNectin2 and CEA). When responders vs. non-responders were compared, significant down regulation of other immune inhibitory biomarkers (sCD80, sTIMD4 and CEA) was recorded only in responding patients. In this, the optimal cut-off values of CD80 <91.7 pg/ml and CEA <1614 pg/ml were found to be significantly associated with better progression free survival (PFS). Indeed, multivariate analysis identified the cutoff-value of CEA <1614 pg/ml as an independent predictor of response in our patients. We identified here novel immune inhibitory/stimulatory soluble mediators as potential surrogate/predictive biomarkers for TPD-L1 status, treatment response and PFS in NSCLC patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afsheen Raza
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Reyad Mohsen
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Aladdin Kanbour
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Abdul Rehman Zar Gul
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Anite Philip
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Suma Vijayakumar
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shereena Hydrose
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Kirti S. Prabhu
- Translational Research Institute (TRI), Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Aisha Khamis Al-Suwaidi
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Varghese Philipose Inchakalody
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Maysaloun Merhi
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Dina M. Abo El-Ella
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Shayista Akbar
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Issam Al-Bozom
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Wafa Abualainin
- Diagnostic Genomic Division , Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Rajaa Al-Abdulla
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shaza Abu Sirriya
- Diagnostic Genomic Division , Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Suparna Hassnad
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shahab Uddin
- Translational Research Institute and Dermatology Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad, Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Laboratory Animal Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim
- Clinical Pharmacy and Practice Department, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University (QU) Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ussama Al Homsi
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Said Demime
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
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12
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Pan S, Zhao W, Li Y, Ying Z, Luo Y, Wang Q, Li X, Lu W, Dong X, Wu Y, Wu X. Prediction of risk and overall survival of pancreatic cancer from blood soluble immune checkpoint-related proteins. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1189161. [PMID: 37256126 PMCID: PMC10225568 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1189161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Immune checkpoint inhibition holds promise as a novel treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The clinical significance of soluble immune checkpoint (ICK) related proteins have not yet fully explored in PDAC. Methods We comprehensively profiled 14 soluble ICK-related proteins in plasma in 70 PDAC patients and 70 matched healthy controls. Epidemiological data of all subjects were obtained through structured interviews, and patients' clinical data were retrieved from electronical health records. We evaluated the associations between the biomarkers with the risk of PDAC using unconditional multivariate logistic regression. Consensus clustering (k-means algorithm) with significant biomarkers was performed to identify immune subtypes in PDAC patients. Prediction models for overall survival (OS) in PDAC patients were developed using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression. Harrell's concordance index (C-index), time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve were utilized to evaluate performance of prediction models. Gene expressions of the identified ICK-related proteins in tumors from TCGA were analyzed to provide insight into underlying mechanisms. Results Soluble BTLA, CD28, CD137, GITR and LAG-3 were significantly upregulated in PDAC patients (all q < 0.05), and elevation of each of them was correlated with PDAC increased risk (all p < 0.05). PDAC patients were classified into soluble immune-high and soluble immune-low subtypes, using these 5 biomarkers. Patients in soluble immune-high subtype had significantly poorer OS than those in soluble immune-low subtype (log-rank p = 9.7E-03). The model with clinical variables and soluble immune subtypes had excellent predictive power (C-index = 0.809) for the OS of PDAC patients. Furthermore, the immune subtypes identified with corresponding genes' expression in PDAC tumor samples in TCGA showed an opposite correlation with OS to that of immune subtypes based on blood soluble ICK-related proteins (log-rank p =0.02). The immune-high subtype tumors displayed higher cytolytic activity (CYT) score than immune-low subtype tumors (p < 2E-16). Conclusion Five soluble ICK-related proteins were identified to be significantly associated with the risk and prognosis of PDAC. Patients who were classified as soluble immune-low subtype based on these biomarkers had better overall survival than those of the soluble immune-high subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai Pan
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenting Zhao
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yizhan Li
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhijun Ying
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yihong Luo
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qinchuan Wang
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiawei Li
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenjie Lu
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xin Dong
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yulian Wu
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xifeng Wu
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital and School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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13
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Sandström K, Ehrsson YT, Sellberg F, Johansson H, Laurell G. Loco-Regional Control and Sustained Difference in Serum Immune Protein Expression in Patients Treated for p16-Positive and p16-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043838. [PMID: 36835246 PMCID: PMC9961007 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The main prognostic factors for patients with head and neck cancer are the tumour site and stage, yet immunological and metabolic factors are certainly important, although knowledge is still limited. Expression of the biomarker p16INK4a (p16) in oropharyngeal cancer tumour tissue is one of the few biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of head and neck cancer. The association between p16 expression in the tumour and the systemic immune response in the blood compartment has not been established. This study aimed to assess whether there is a difference in serum immune protein expression profiles between patients with p16+ and p16- head and squamous cell carcinoma (HNCC). The serum immune protein expression profiles, using the Olink® immunoassay, of 132 patients with p16+ and p16- tumours were compared before treatment and one year after treatment. A significant difference in the serum immune protein expression profile was observed both before and one year after treatment. In the p16- group, a low expression of four proteins: IL12RB1, CD28, CCL3, and GZMA before treatment conferred a higher rate of failure. Based on the sustained difference between serum immune proteins, we hypothesise that the immunological system is still adapted to the tumour p16 status one year after tumour eradication or that a fundamental difference exists in the immunological system between patients with p16+ and p16- tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Sandström
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Felix Sellberg
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hemming Johansson
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Göran Laurell
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
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14
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Andrzejczak A, Partyka A, Wiśniewski A, Porębska I, Pawełczyk K, Ptaszkowski K, Kuśnierczyk P, Jasek M, Karabon L. The association of BTLA gene polymorphisms with non-small lung cancer risk in smokers and never-smokers. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1006639. [PMID: 36741370 PMCID: PMC9893504 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1006639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Lung cancer is the predominant cause of death among cancer patients and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type. Cigarette smoking is the prevailing risk factor for NSCLC, nevertheless, this cancer is also diagnosed in never-smokers. B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) belongs to immunological checkpoints which are key regulatory molecules of the immune response. A growing body of evidence highlights the important role of BTLA in cancer. In our previous studies, we showed a significant association between BTLA gene variants and susceptibility to chronic lymphoblastic leukemia and renal cell carcinoma in the Polish population. The present study aimed to analyze the impact of BTLA polymorphic variants on the susceptibility to NSCLC and NSCLC patients' overall survival (OS). Methods Using TaqMan probes we genotyped seven BTLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs2705511, rs1982809, rs9288952, rs9288953, rs1844089, rs11921669 and rs2633582 with the use of ViiA 7 Real-Time PCR System. Results We found that rs1982809 within BTLA is associated with NSCLC risk, where carriers of rs1982809G allele (AG+GG genotypes) were more frequent in patients compared to controls. In subgroup analyses, we also noticed that rs1982809G carriers are significantly overrepresented in never-smokers, but not in smokers compared to controls. Additionally, the global distribution of the haplotypes differed between the never-smokers and smokers, where haplotypes A G G C A, C G A C G, and C G A T G were more frequent in never-smoking patients. Furthermore, the presence rs1982809G (AG+GG genotypes) allele as well as the presence of rs9288953T allele (CT+TT genotypes) increased NSCLC risk in females' patients. After stratification by histological type, we noticed that rs1982809G and rs2705511C carriers were more frequent among adenocarcinoma patients. Moreover, rs1982809G and rs2705511C correlated with the more advanced stages of NSCLC (stage II and III), but not with stage IV. Furthermore, we showed that rs2705511 and rs1982809 significantly modified OS, while rs9288952 tend to be associated with patients' survival. Conclusion Our results indicate that BTLA polymorphic variants may be considered low penetrating risk factors for NSCLC especially in never-smokers, and in females, and are associated with OS of NSCLC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Andrzejczak
- Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Human Diseases, Department of Experimental Therapy, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland,*Correspondence: Anna Andrzejczak, ; Lidia Karabon,
| | - Anna Partyka
- Laboratory of Immunopathology, Department of Experimental Therapy, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Andrzej Wiśniewski
- Laboratory of Immunogenetics and Tissue Immunology, Department of Clinical Immunology, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Irena Porębska
- Department of Pulmonology and Lung Oncology, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Konrad Pawełczyk
- Departament of Thoracic Surgery, Lower Silesian Centre of Oncology, Pulmonology and Haematology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Kuba Ptaszkowski
- Department of Clinical Biomechanics and Physiotherapy in Motor System Disorders, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Piotr Kuśnierczyk
- Laboratory of Immunogenetics and Tissue Immunology, Department of Clinical Immunology, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Monika Jasek
- Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Human Diseases, Department of Experimental Therapy, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Lidia Karabon
- Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Human Diseases, Department of Experimental Therapy, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland,*Correspondence: Anna Andrzejczak, ; Lidia Karabon,
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15
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Dong MP, Thuy LTT, Hoang DV, Hai H, Hoang TH, Sato-Matsubara M, Hieu VN, Daikoku A, Hanh NV, Urushima H, Dat NQ, Uchida-Kobayashi S, Enomoto M, Ohtani N, Tamori A, Kawada N. Soluble Immune Checkpoint Protein CD27 Is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development in Hepatitis C Virus-Sustained Virological Response Patients. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2022; 192:1379-1396. [PMID: 35963463 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Factors affecting the probability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development even after sustained virological response (SVR) following anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy remain unelucidated. This study characterized the role of 16 soluble (s) immune checkpoint proteins in 168 HCV-SVR patients, with 47 developing HCC at the study end point. At baseline, high concentrations of 10 immune checkpoint proteins were found in the sera of the HCC group. At the study end point, levels of sCD27, sCD28, sCD40, and sCD86 in the HCC group, which were depleted following SVR, returned to higher levels than those in the non-HCC group. More importantly, patients with baseline levels of sCD27 ≥ 4104 pg/mL, sCD28 ≥ 1530 pg/mL, and sCD40 ≥ 688 pg/mL predicted a significantly greater HCC cumulative rate. Although sCD27 was elevated in patient sera, its membrane-bound form, mCD27, accumulated in the tumor and peritumor area, mainly localized in T cells. Interestingly, T-cell activation time dependently induced sCD27. Furthermore, CD70, the ligand of CD27, was robustly expressed in HCC area in which CD70 promoter methylation analysis indicated the hypomethylation compared with the nontumor pairs. Recombinant human CD27 treatment induced the proliferation of CD70-bearing HepG2 cells via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway, but not NF-κB or p38 pathway. In conclusion, these data indicate that baseline sCD27, sCD28, and sCD40 levels could be used as HCC prognostic markers in HCV-SVR patients. sCD27 likely promotes HepG2 cell growth via the CD27-CD70 axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minh Phuong Dong
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Le Thi Thanh Thuy
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Dinh Viet Hoang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Hoang Hai
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Truong Huu Hoang
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan; Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Cancer Institute, 108 Military Central Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Misako Sato-Matsubara
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Vu Ngoc Hieu
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Atsuko Daikoku
- Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ngo Vinh Hanh
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hayato Urushima
- Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ninh Quoc Dat
- Department of Pediatrics, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Sawako Uchida-Kobayashi
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Masaru Enomoto
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Naoko Ohtani
- Department of Pathophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akihiro Tamori
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Norifumi Kawada
- Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan.
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16
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Kuzevanova A, Apanovich N, Mansorunov D, Korotaeva A, Karpukhin A. The Features of Checkpoint Receptor—Ligand Interaction in Cancer and the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Their Inhibition. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10092081. [PMID: 36140182 PMCID: PMC9495440 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10092081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, certain problems have been identified in cancer immunotherapy using the inhibition of immune checkpoints (ICs). Despite the excellent effect of cancer therapy in some cases when blocking the PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) ligand and the immune cell receptors PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) and CTLA4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) with antibodies, the proportion of patients responding to such therapy is still far from desirable. This situation has stimulated the exploration of additional receptors and ligands as targets for immunotherapy. In our article, based on the analysis of the available data, the TIM-3 (T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3), LAG-3 (lymphocyte-activation gene 3), TIGIT (T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) domains), VISTA (V-domain Ig suppressor of T-cell activation), and BTLA (B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator) receptors and their ligands are comprehensively considered. Data on the relationship between receptor expression and the clinical characteristics of tumors are presented and are analyzed together with the results of preclinical and clinical studies on the therapeutic efficacy of their blocking. Such a comprehensive analysis makes it possible to assess the prospects of receptors of this series as targets for anticancer therapy. The expression of the LAG-3 receptor shows the most unambiguous relationship with the clinical characteristics of cancer. Its inhibition is the most effective of the analyzed series in terms of the antitumor response. The expression of TIGIT and BTLA correlates well with clinical characteristics and demonstrates antitumor efficacy in preclinical and clinical studies, which indicates their high promise as targets for anticancer therapy. At the same time, the relationship of VISTA and TIM-3 expression with the clinical characteristics of the tumor is contradictory, and the results on the antitumor effectiveness of their inhibition are inconsistent.
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Wojciechowicz K, Spodzieja M, Lisowska KA, Wardowska A. The role of the BTLA-HVEM complex in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Cell Immunol 2022; 376:104532. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2022.104532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Feng D, Shi X, Zhang F, Xiong Q, Wei Q, Yang L. Energy Metabolism-Related Gene Prognostic Index Predicts Biochemical Recurrence for Patients With Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy. Front Immunol 2022; 13:839362. [PMID: 35280985 PMCID: PMC8908254 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.839362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background We aimed to construct and validate an energy metabolism-related gene prognostic index (EMRGPI) to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Methods We used Lasso and COX regression analysis to orchestrate the EMRGPI in the TCGA database, and the prognostic value of EMRGPI was further validated externally using the GSE46602. All analyses were conducted with R version 3.6.3 and its suitable packages. Results SDC1 and ADH1B were finally used to construct the risk formula. We classified the 430 tumor patients in the TCGA database into two groups, and patients in the high-risk group had a higher risk of BCR than those in the low-risk group (HR: 1.98, 95%CI: 1.18-3.32, p=0.01). Moreover, in the GSE46602, we confirmed that the BCR risk in the high-risk group was 3.86 times higher than that in the low-risk group (95%CI: 1.61-9.24, p=0.001). We found that patients in the high-risk group had significantly higher proportions of residual tumor, older age, and T stage. SDC1 and ADH1B were significantly expressed low in the normal tissues when compared to the tumor tissues, which were opposite at the protein level. The spearman analysis showed that EMRGPI was significantly associated with B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, stromal score, immune score, and estimate score. In addition, the EMRGPI was positively associated with the 54 immune checkpoints, among which CD80, ADORA2A, CD160, and TNFRSF25 were significantly related to the BCR-free survival of PCa patients undergoing RP. Conclusions The EMRGPI established in this study might serve as an independent risk factor for PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dechao Feng
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xu Shi
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Facai Zhang
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiao Xiong
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiang Wei
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Feng D, Shi X, Zhang F, Xiong Q, Wei Q, Yang L. Mitochondria Dysfunction-Mediated Molecular Subtypes and Gene Prognostic Index for Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy or Radiotherapy. Front Oncol 2022; 12:858479. [PMID: 35463369 PMCID: PMC9019359 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.858479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Given the age relevance of prostate cancer (PCa) and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction (MIDS) in aging, we orchestrated molecular subtypes and identified key genes for PCa from the perspective of MIDS. Methods Cluster analysis, COX regression analysis, function analysis, and tumor immune environment were conducted. We performed all analyses using software R 3.6.3 and its suitable packages. Results CXCL14, SFRP4, and CD38 were eventually identified to classify the PCa patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset into two distinct clusters. Patients in the cluster 2 had shorter BCR-free survival than those in the cluster 1 in terms of both TCGA database and GEO dataset. We divided the patients from the TCGA database and the GEO dataset into high- and low-risk groups according to the median of MIDS-related genetic prognostic index. For patients in the TCGA database, the biochemical recurrence (BCR) risk in high-risk group was 2.34 times higher than that in low-risk group. Similarly, for patients in the GEO dataset, the risk of BCR and metastasis in high-risk group was 2.35 and 3.04 times higher than that in low-risk group, respectively. Cluster 2 was closely associated with advanced T stage and higher Gleason score for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy. For patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, the number of CD8+ T cells was significantly lower in cluster 2 than in cluster 1, while cluster 2 had significantly higher stromal score than cluster 1. For patients undergoing radical radiotherapy, cluster 2 had significantly higher level of CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, stromal score, immune score, and estimate score, but showed lower level of tumor purity than cluster 1. Conclusions We proposed distinctly prognosis-related molecular subtypes at genetic level and related formula for PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy, mainly to provide a roadmap for precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dechao Feng
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xu Shi
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Facai Zhang
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiao Xiong
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiang Wei
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Liu C, Wang P, Sun Y, Dou X, Hu X, Zou W, Sun Y, Hu Q, Yue J. Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Changes the Landscape of Soluble Immune Checkpoint Molecules in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer. Front Oncol 2022; 12:756811. [PMID: 35530332 PMCID: PMC9070897 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.756811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We aimed to investigate clinical implications of specific soluble immune checkpoint molecules (sICMs) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Methods We prospectively enrolled 30 LARC patients treated with nCRT and collected blood samples from them before, during, and after nCRT for prospective studies. Immune checkpoints often refer to T cell surface molecules influencing the immune response. Immune checkpoints, in the form of a soluble monomeric form, is widely present in blood. In the study, eight immune checkpoint-related plasma proteins, including programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), CD80, CD86, CD28, CD27, glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR), GITR ligand (GITRL), and inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS), were measured using the Luminex platform. Two independent pathologists categorized patients as the good responders and the poor responders according to Dworak tumor regression grade (TRG). Results Of the 30 patients, the levels of sPD-L1, sCD80, sCD86, sCD28, sGITR, sGITRL, sCD27, and sICOS decreased during nCRT (Pre-nCRT vs. During-nCRT, all p<0.05) but were restored after nCRT treatment (Pre-nCRT vs. Post-nCRT, all p>0.05). In the 14 good responders, the levels of sICMs, other than sGITR (p=0.081) and sGITRL (p=0.071), decreased significantly during nCRT (Pre-nCRT vs. During-nCRT, p<0.05), but they were all significantly increased after nCRT (During-nCRT vs. Post-nCRT, all p<0.05). In the 16 poor responders, only sCD80 was significantly reduced during nCRT (Pre-nCRT vs. During-nCRT, p<0.05), and none was significantly increased after nCRT (During-nCRT vs. Post-nCRT, all p<0.05). High levels of sICMs before nCRT were associated with poor response (all OR≥1). The Pre-model that incorporated the 8 sICMs before nCRT yielded a good predictive value (AUC, 0.848) and was identified as an independent predictor of treatment response (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.11-6.18; p=0.027). Conclusion Our results suggest chemoradiotherapy could influence the change of sPD-L1, sCD80, sCD86, sCD28, sGITR, sGITRL, sCD27, and sICOS in patients with LARC. The levels of the majority of soluble immune checkpoint molecules were reduced during nCRT and then restored at the end of nCRT, particularly in patients who responded well to nCRT. Combined baseline sICMs can be developed to predict treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Liu
- Department of Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
| | - Peiliang Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Yi Sun
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Xue Dou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaoyu Hu
- Department of Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
| | - Wenxue Zou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
| | - Yanlai Sun
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
| | - Qinyong Hu
- Department of Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Jinbo Yue, ; Qinyong Hu,
| | - Jinbo Yue
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
- *Correspondence: Jinbo Yue, ; Qinyong Hu,
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Tsai YT, Strauss J, Toney NJ, Jochems C, Venzon DJ, Gulley JL, Schlom J, Donahue RN. Immune correlates of clinical parameters in patients with HPV-associated malignancies treated with bintrafusp alfa. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-004601. [PMID: 35418484 PMCID: PMC9014099 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Bintrafusp alfa is a bifunctional agent consisting of an anti-human PD-L1 antibody linked to two TGFβRII. It is designed to act both as a checkpoint inhibitor and to ‘trap’ TGFβ in the tumor microenvironment. Phase I and II clinical studies demonstrated clinical activity in patients with a range of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers. The purpose of the studies reported here was the interrogation of various aspects of the peripheral immunome in patients with HPV-associated cancers, both prior to and early in the treatment regimen of bintrafusp alfa to better understand the mode of action of the agent and to help define which patients are more likely to benefit from bintrafusp alfa treatment. Patients and methods The peripheral immunome of patients (n=65) with HPV+ malignancies was analyzed both prior to treatment with bintrafusp alfa and day 14 post-treatment for levels and changes in (1) 158 different immune cell subsets, (2) multiple plasma soluble factors including analytes reflecting immune stimulatory and inhibitory status, (3) complete blood counts, and in a subset of patients (4) TCR diversity and (5) HPV-specific T-cell responses. Results Interrogation of the peripheral immunome prior to bintrafusp alfa treatment revealed several factors that associated with clinical response, including (1) higher levels of sCD27:sCD40L ratios, (2) lower levels of TGFβ1 and 12 additional factors associated with tumor mesenchymalization, and (3) higher CD8+ T cell:MDSC ratios. Analysis at 2 weeks post bintrafusp alfa revealed that eventual clinical responders had fewer increases in IL-8 levels and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and higher levels of HPV-16 specific CD8+ T cells. This study also provided information concerning differences in the peripheral immunome for patients who were naïve versus refractory to prior checkpoint inhibition therapy. While preliminary, two multivariate models developed predicted clinical benefit with 76%–91% accuracy. Conclusions These studies add insight into the mechanism of action of bintrafusp alfa and provide evidence that the interrogation of both cellular and soluble components of the peripheral immunome of patients with HPV-associated malignancies, either prior to or early in the therapeutic regimen, can provide information as to which patients are more likely to benefit with bintrafusp alfa therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yo-Ting Tsai
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Julius Strauss
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Nicole J Toney
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Caroline Jochems
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - David J Venzon
- Biostatistics and Data Management Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - James L Gulley
- Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jeffrey Schlom
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Renee N Donahue
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Palicelli A, Croci S, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Zanelli M, Chaux A, Cañete-Portillo S, Bonasoni MP, Ascani S, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Gandhi J, Nicoli D, Farnetti E, Piana S, Tafuni A, Bonacini M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review (Part 6): Correlation of PD-L1 Expression with the Status of Mismatch Repair System, BRCA, PTEN, and Other Genes. Biomedicines 2022; 10:236. [PMID: 35203446 PMCID: PMC8868626 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10020236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) is allowed in selected metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (PC) patients showing microsatellite instability/mismatch repair system deficiency (MSI-H/dMMR). BRCA1/2 loss-of-function is linked to hereditary PCs and homologous recombination DNA-repair system deficiency: poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase inhibitors can be administered to BRCA-mutated PC patients. Recently, docetaxel-refractory metastatic castration-resistant PC patients with BRCA1/2 or ATM somatic mutations had higher response rates to pembrolizumab. PTEN regulates cell cycle/proliferation/apoptosis through pathways including the AKT/mTOR, which upregulates PD-L1 expression in PC. Our systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines) investigated the potential correlations between PD-L1 and MMR/MSI/BRCA/PTEN statuses in PC, discussing few other relevant genes. Excluding selection biases, 74/677 (11%) PCs showed dMMR/MSI; 8/67 (12%) of dMMR/MSI cases were PD-L1+. dMMR-PCs included ductal (3%) and acinar (14%) PCs (all cases tested for MSI were acinar-PCs). In total, 15/39 (39%) PCs harbored BRCA1/2 aberrations: limited data are available for PD-L1 expression in these patients. 13/137 (10%) PTEN- PCs were PD-L1+; 10/29 (35%) PD-L1+ PCs showed PTEN negativity. SPOP mutations may increase PD-L1 levels, while the potential correlation between PD-L1 and ERG expression in PC should be clarified. Further research should verify how the efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in metastatic castration-resistant PCs is related to dMMR/MSI, DNA-damage repair genes defects, or PD-L1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asuncion 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Davide Nicoli
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (D.N.); (E.F.)
| | - Enrico Farnetti
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (D.N.); (E.F.)
| | - Simonetta Piana
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
| | - Alessandro Tafuni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (S.P.); (A.T.)
- Pathology Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
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Tan QH, Xie WL, Luo YT, Jiang NF, Ma AH. Ferroptosis-related mRNAs signature predicts prognosis of gastric cancer. Shijie Huaren Xiaohua Zazhi 2021; 29:1410-1420. [DOI: 10.11569/wcjd.v29.i24.1410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is a common gastrointestinal tumor with a poor prognosis. Ferroptosis is a novel form of regulated cell death that plays a critical role in tumorigenesis. Therefore, it is significant to construct a prognosis model of ferroptosis-related genes to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer and related therapeutic targets.
AIM To explore the potential prognostic value of ferroptosis-related mRNAs in gastric cancer.
METHODS Since ferroptosis is a type of cell death driven by lipid iron-dependent peroxidation, a predictive model was constructed based on differentially expressed ferroptosis-related mRNAs in gastric cancer.
RESULTS We identified four differentially expressed mRNAs (DUSP1, MYB, CAV1, and NOX4) associated with gastric cancer prognosis. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the high-risk group was associated with a poor prognosis, and risk score was an independent prognostic indicator of survival. The developed prognostic model showed superiority over conventional clinical and pathological features in predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer. In addition, the low-risk and high-risk groups showed significant differences in immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoints.
CONCLUSION A novel ferroptosis-related mRNA signature has been developed, which could precisely predict the prognosis of gastric cancer and serve as therapeutic targets for gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Huan Tan
- Shaoxing University School of Medicine, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Wang-Liang Xie
- Shaoxing University School of Medicine, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yu-Ting Luo
- Shaoxing University School of Medicine, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Ning-Fang Jiang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shaoxing People's Hospital, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - A-Huo Ma
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
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Zhang G, Luo Y. An Immune-Related lncRNA Signature to Predict the Biochemical Recurrence and Immune Landscape in Prostate Cancer. Int J Gen Med 2021; 14:9031-9049. [PMID: 34876840 PMCID: PMC8643172 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s336757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to construct an immune-related signature to provide comprehensive insights into the immune landscape of prostate cancer, which can predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) and clinical treatment. Methods Based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, a signature constructed by DEirlncRNAs pairs was determined. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, Kaplan-Meier analysis, nomogram, and decision curve analysis were used to analyze it. Then, immunophenoscore (IPS), immune cell infiltration, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and immune function were investigated. Finally, we evaluated the role of the signature in medical treatment. Results A signature constructed by 10 valid DEirlncRNAs pairs was identified in the training set and validated well in the testing and entire set. The signature was a reliable and independent prognostic indicator to predict the BCR of prostate cancer, which was better than the clinicopathological characteristics. After dividing the patients into low- and high-risk groups by median value, we found that the high-risk group had shorter BCR-free time and higher TMB levels. Furthermore, the high-risk group was negatively associated with plasma B cells and CD+8 T cells. IPS and immune functions, such as immune checkpoints and human leukocyte antigen, were significantly different between the two groups. Low-risk group was more sensitive to endocrine therapy and immunotherapy, while high-risk group was more inclined to targeted drugs. Both groups had their own sensitive chemotherapy. Conclusion We established a novel signature to predict BCR and validated its role in the immune landscape of prostate cancer, which could help patients receive personalized medical treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guian Zhang
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Luo
- Department of Urology, the Second People's Hospital of Foshan, Affiliated Foshan Hospital of Southern Medical University, Foshan, 528000, People's Republic of China
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25
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Palicelli A, Bonacini M, Croci S, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Zanelli M, Chaux A, Cañete-Portillo S, Bonasoni MP, Ascani S, De Leo A, Gandhi J, Tafuni A, Melli B. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 7: PD-L1 Expression in Liquid Biopsy. J Pers Med 2021; 11:1312. [PMID: 34945784 PMCID: PMC8709072 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11121312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Liquid biopsy is an accessible, non-invasive diagnostic tool for advanced prostate cancer (PC) patients, potentially representing a real-time monitoring test for tumor evolution and response to treatment through the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and exosomes. We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines) to describe the current knowledge about PD-L1 expression in liquid biopsies of PC patients: 101/159 (64%) cases revealed a variable number of PD-L1+ CTCs. Outcome correlations should be investigated in larger series. Nuclear PD-L1 expression by CTCs was occasionally associated with worse prognosis. Treatment (abiraterone, enzalutamide, radiotherapy, checkpoint-inhibitors) influenced PD-L1+ CTC levels. Discordance in PD-L1 status was detected between primary vs. metastatic PC tissue biopsies and CTCs vs. corresponding tumor tissues. PD-L1 is also released by PC cells through soluble exosomes, which could inhibit the T cell function, causing immune evasion. PD-L1+ PC-CTC monitoring and genomic profiling may better characterize the ongoing aggressive PC forms compared to PD-L1 evaluation on primary tumor biopsies/prostatectomy specimens (sometimes sampled a long time before recurrence/progression). Myeloid-derived suppressor cells and dendritic cells (DCs), which may have immune-suppressive effects in tumor microenvironment, have been found in PC patients circulation, sometimes expressing PD-L1. Occasionally, their levels correlated to clinical outcome. Enzalutamide-progressing castration-resistant PC patients revealed increased PD-1+ T cells and circulating PD-L1/2+ DCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.)
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Alessandro Tafuni
- Pathology Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy
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A Transcription Factor-Based Risk Model for Predicting the Prognosis of Prostate Cancer and Potential Therapeutic Drugs. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2021; 2021:6894278. [PMID: 34853602 PMCID: PMC8629613 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6894278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most critical cancers affecting men's health worldwide. The development of many cancers involves dysregulation or mutations in key transcription factors. This study established a transcription factor-based risk model to predict the prognosis of PC and potential therapeutic drugs. Materials and Methods In this study, RNA-sequencing data were downloaded and analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. A total of 145 genes related to the overall survival rate of PC patients were screened using the univariate Cox analysis. The Kdmist clustering method was used to classify prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), thereby determining the cluster related to the transcription factors. The support vector machine-recursive feature elimination method was used to identify genes related to the types of transcription factors and the key genes specifically upregulated or downregulated were screened. These genes were further analyzed using Lasso to establish a model. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used for the functional analysis. The TIMER algorithm was used to quantify the abundance of immune cells in PRAD samples. The chemotherapy response of each GBM patient was predicted based on the public pharmacogenomic database, Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC, http://www.cancerrxgene.org). The R package "pRRophetic" was applied to drug sensitivity (IC50) value prediction. Results We screened 10 genes related to prognosis, including eight low-risk genes and two high-risk genes. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.946. Patients in the high-risk score group had a poorer prognosis than those in the low-risk score group. The average area under the curve value of the model at different times was higher than 0.8. The risk score was an independent prognostic factor. Compared with the low-risk score group, early growth response-1 (EGR1), CACNA2D1, AC005831.1, SLC52A3, TMEM79, IL20RA, CRACR2A, and FAM189A2 expressions in the high-risk score group were decreased, while AC012181.1 and TRAPPC8 expressions were increased. GO and KEGG analyses showed that prognosis was related to various cancer signaling pathways. The proportion of B_cell, T_cell_CD4, and macrophages in the high-risk score group was significantly higher than that in the low-risk score group. A total of 25 classic immune checkpoint genes were screened out to express abnormally high-risk scores, and there were significant differences. Thirty mutant genes were identified; in the high- and low-risk score groups, SPOP, TP53, and TTN had the highest mutation frequency, and their mutations were mainly missense mutations. A total of 36 potential drug candidates for the treatment of PC were screened and identified. Conclusions Ten genes of both high-and low-risk scores were associated with the prognosis of PC. PC prognosis may be related to immune disorders. SPOP, TP53, and TTN may be potential targets for the prognosis of PC.
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Palicelli A, Croci S, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Zanelli M, Chaux A, Cañete-Portillo S, Bonasoni MP, Soriano A, Ascani S, Zizzo M, Castro Ruiz C, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Berney DM, Gandhi J, Nicoli D, Farnetti E, Santandrea G, Bonacini M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 5: Epigenetic Regulation of PD-L1. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12314. [PMID: 34830196 PMCID: PMC8619683 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic alterations (including DNA methylation or miRNAs) influence oncogene/oncosuppressor gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Prostate cancer (PC) displays a complex genetic and epigenetic regulation of cell-growth pathways and tumor progression. We performed a systematic literature review (following PRISMA guidelines) focused on the epigenetic regulation of PD-L1 expression in PC. In PC cell lines, CpG island methylation of the CD274 promoter negatively regulated PD-L1 expression. Histone modifiers also influence the PD-L1 transcription rate: the deletion or silencing of the histone modifiers MLL3/MML1 can positively regulate PD-L1 expression. Epigenetic drugs (EDs) may be promising in reprogramming tumor cells, reversing epigenetic modifications, and cancer immune evasion. EDs promoting a chromatin-inactive transcriptional state (such as bromodomain or p300/CBP inhibitors) downregulated PD-L1, while EDs favoring a chromatin-active state (i.e., histone deacetylase inhibitors) increased PD-L1 expression. miRNAs can regulate PD-L1 at a post-transcriptional level. miR-195/miR-16 were negatively associated with PD-L1 expression and positively correlated to longer biochemical recurrence-free survival; they also enhanced the radiotherapy efficacy in PC cell lines. miR-197 and miR-200a-c positively correlated to PD-L1 mRNA levels and inversely correlated to the methylation of PD-L1 promoter in a large series. miR-570, miR-34a and miR-513 may also be involved in epigenetic regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alessandra Soriano
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Gastroenterology Division, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zizzo
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Carolina Castro Ruiz
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Daniel M. Berney
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK;
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Davide Nicoli
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (D.N.); (E.F.)
| | - Enrico Farnetti
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (D.N.); (E.F.)
| | - Giacomo Santandrea
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
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28
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Palicelli A, Croci S, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Zanelli M, Chaux A, Cañete-Portillo S, Bonasoni MP, Soriano A, Ascani S, Zizzo M, Castro Ruiz C, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Berney DM, Gandhi J, Copelli V, Bernardelli G, Santandrea G, Bonacini M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 3: PD-L1, Intracellular Signaling Pathways and Tumor Microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12330. [PMID: 34830209 PMCID: PMC8618001 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) includes immune (T, B, NK, dendritic), stromal, mesenchymal, endothelial, adipocytic cells, extracellular matrix, and cytokines/chemokines/soluble factors regulating various intracellular signaling pathways (ISP) in tumor cells. TME influences the survival/progression of prostate cancer (PC), enabling tumor cell immune-evasion also through the activation of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. We have performed a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA guidelines, to investigate how the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is influenced by TME and ISPs. Tumor immune-escape mechanisms include suppression/exhaustion of tumor infiltrating cytotoxic T lymphocytes, inhibition of tumor suppressive NK cells, increase in immune-suppressive immune cells (regulatory T, M2 macrophagic, myeloid-derived suppressor, dendritic, stromal, and adipocytic cells). IFN-γ (the most investigated factor), TGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17, IL-15, IL-27, complement factor C5a, and other soluble molecules secreted by TME components (and sometimes increased in patients' serum), as well as and hypoxia, influenced the regulation of PD-L1. Experimental studies using human and mouse PC cell lines (derived from either androgen-sensitive or androgen-resistant tumors) revealed that the intracellular ERK/MEK, Akt-mTOR, NF-kB, WNT and JAK/STAT pathways were involved in PD-L1 upregulation in PC. Blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling by using immunotherapy drugs can prevent tumor immune-escape, increasing the anti-tumor activity of immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alessandra Soriano
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Gastroenterology Division, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zizzo
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Carolina Castro Ruiz
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Daniel M. Berney
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK;
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Valerio Copelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Giuditta Bernardelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Giacomo Santandrea
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (V.C.); (G.B.); (G.S.)
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
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29
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Palicelli A, Bonacini M, Croci S, Magi-Galluzzi C, Cañete-Portillo S, Chaux A, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Bonasoni MP, Soriano A, Ascani S, Zizzo M, Castro Ruiz C, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Berney DM, Athanazio D, Gandhi J, Cavazza A, Santandrea G, Tafuni A, Zanelli M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 1: Focus on Immunohistochemical Results with Discussion of Pre-Analytical and Interpretation Variables. Cells 2021; 10:cells10113166. [PMID: 34831389 PMCID: PMC8625301 DOI: 10.3390/cells10113166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy targeting the PD-1-PD-L1 axis yielded good results in treating different immunologically ''hot'' tumors. A phase II study revealed good therapeutic activity of pembrolizumab in selected prostatic carcinoma (PC)-patients. We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines), which analyzes the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in human PC samples and highlights the pre-analytical and interpretation variables. Interestingly, 29% acinar PCs, 7% ductal PCs, and 46% neuroendocrine carcinomas/tumors were PD-L1+ on immunohistochemistry. Different scoring methods or cut-off criteria were applied on variable specimen-types, evaluating tumors showing different clinic-pathologic features. The positivity rate of different PD-L1 antibody clones in tumor cells ranged from 3% (SP142) to 50% (ABM4E54), excluding the single case tested for RM-320. The most tested clone was E1L3N, followed by 22C3 (most used for pembrolizumab eligibility), SP263, SP142, and 28-8, which gave the positivity rates of 35%, 11-41% (depending on different scoring systems), 6%, 3%, and 15%, respectively. Other clones were tested in <200 cases. The PD-L1 positivity rate was usually higher in tumors than benign tissues. It was higher in non-tissue microarray specimens (41-50% vs. 15%), as PC cells frequently showed heterogenous or focal PD-L1-staining. PD-L1 was expressed by immune or stromal cells in 12% and 69% cases, respectively. Tumor heterogeneity, inter-institutional preanalytics, and inter-observer interpretation variability may account for result biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0522-296-864; Fax: +39-0522-296-945
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Cristina Magi-Galluzzi
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; (C.M.-G.); (S.C.-P.)
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; (C.M.-G.); (S.C.-P.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Alessandra Soriano
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Gastroenterology Division, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zizzo
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Carolina Castro Ruiz
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Daniel M. Berney
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK;
| | | | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Alberto Cavazza
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Giacomo Santandrea
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Tafuni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.P.B.); (A.C.); (G.S.); (A.T.); (M.Z.)
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Palicelli A, Croci S, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Ragazzi M, Zanelli M, Chaux A, Cañete-Portillo S, Bonasoni MP, Soriano A, Ascani S, Zizzo M, Castro Ruiz C, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Berney DM, Gandhi J, Santandrea G, Bonacini M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 4: Experimental Treatments in Pre-Clinical Studies (Cell Lines and Mouse Models). Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12297. [PMID: 34830179 PMCID: PMC8618402 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In prostate cancer (PC), the PD-1/PD-L1 axis regulates various signaling pathways and it is influenced by extracellular factors. Pre-clinical experimental studies investigating the effects of various treatments (alone or combined) may discover how to overcome the immunotherapy-resistance in PC-patients. We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines) to delineate the landscape of pre-clinical studies (including cell lines and mouse models) that tested treatments with effects on PD-L1 signaling in PC. NF-kB, MEK, JAK, or STAT inhibitors on human/mouse, primary/metastatic PC-cell lines variably down-modulated PD-L1-expression, reducing chemoresistance and tumor cell migration. If PC-cells were co-cultured with NK, CD8+ T-cells or CAR-T cells, the immune cell cytotoxicity increased when PD-L1 was downregulated (opposite effects for PD-L1 upregulation). In mouse models, radiotherapy, CDK4/6-inhibitors, and RB deletion induced PD-L1-upregulation, causing PC-immune-evasion. Epigenetic drugs may reduce PD-L1 expression. In some PC experimental models, blocking only the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway had limited efficacy in reducing the tumor growth. Anti-tumor effects could be increased by combining the PD-1/PD-L1 blockade with other approaches (inhibitors of tyrosine kinase, PI3K/mTOR or JAK/STAT3 pathways, p300/CBP; anti-RANKL and/or anti-CTLA-4 antibodies; cytokines; nitroxoline; DNA/cell vaccines; radiotherapy/Radium-223).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- International Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | | | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
| | - Alessandra Soriano
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Gastroenterology Division, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zizzo
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Carolina Castro Ruiz
- International Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Daniel M. Berney
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK;
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Giacomo Santandrea
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.R.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (G.S.)
- International Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (S.C.); (M.B.)
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Palicelli A, Bonacini M, Croci S, Magi-Galluzzi C, Cañete-Portillo S, Chaux A, Bisagni A, Zanetti E, De Biase D, Melli B, Sanguedolce F, Zanelli M, Bonasoni MP, De Marco L, Soriano A, Ascani S, Zizzo M, Castro Ruiz C, De Leo A, Giordano G, Landriscina M, Carrieri G, Cormio L, Berney DM, Gandhi J, Santandrea G, Gelli MC, Tafuni A, Ragazzi M. What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 2: Clinic-Pathologic Correlations. Cells 2021; 10:3165. [PMID: 34831388 PMCID: PMC8618408 DOI: 10.3390/cells10113165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many studies have investigated the potential prognostic and predictive role of PD-L1 in prostatic carcinoma (PC). We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines) to critically evaluate human tissue-based studies (immunohistochemistry, molecular analysis, etc.), experimental research (cell lines, mouse models), and clinical trials. Despite some controversial results and study limitations, PD-L1 expression by tumor cells may be related to clinic-pathologic features of adverse outcome, including advanced tumor stage (high pT, presence of lymph node, and distant metastases), positivity of surgical margins, high Grade Group, and castration resistance. Different PD-L1 positivity rates may be observed in matched primary PCs and various metastatic sites of the same patients. Over-fixation, type/duration of decalcification, and PD-L1 antibody clone may influence the immunohistochemical analysis of PD-L1 on bone metastases. PD-L1 seemed expressed more frequently by castration-resistant PCs (49%) as compared to hormone-sensitive PCs (17%). Some series found that PD-L1 positivity was associated with decreased time to castration resistance. Treatment with ipilimumab, cyclophosphamide/GVAX/degarelix, or degarelix alone may increase PD-L1 expression. Correlation of PD-L1 positivity with overall survival and outcomes related to tumor recurrence were rarely investigated; the few analyzed series produced conflicting results and sometimes showed limitations. Further studies are required. The testing and scoring of PD-L1 should be standardized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Palicelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Martina Bonacini
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Stefania Croci
- Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Cristina Magi-Galluzzi
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; (C.M.-G.); (S.C.-P.)
| | - Sofia Cañete-Portillo
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; (C.M.-G.); (S.C.-P.)
| | - Alcides Chaux
- Department of Scientific Research, School of Postgraduate Studies, Norte University, Asunción 1614, Paraguay;
| | - Alessandra Bisagni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Eleonora Zanetti
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Dario De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Beatrice Melli
- Fertility Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | | | - Magda Zanelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Maria Paola Bonasoni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Loredana De Marco
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Alessandra Soriano
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Gastroenterology Division, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascani
- Pathology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria di Terni, University of Perugia, 05100 Terni, Italy;
- Haematopathology Unit, CREO, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zizzo
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Carolina Castro Ruiz
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
- Surgical Oncology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;
| | - Antonio De Leo
- Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Azienda USL Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Guido Giordano
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Matteo Landriscina
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.G.); (M.L.)
| | - Giuseppe Carrieri
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Luigi Cormio
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.C.); (L.C.)
| | - Daniel M. Berney
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK;
| | - Jatin Gandhi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;
| | - Giacomo Santandrea
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Maria Carolina Gelli
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
| | - Alessandro Tafuni
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
- Pathology Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Moira Ragazzi
- Pathology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy; (A.B.); (E.Z.); (M.Z.); (M.P.B.); (L.D.M.); (G.S.); (M.C.G.); (A.T.); (M.R.)
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Khan M, Arooj S, Wang H. Soluble B7-CD28 Family Inhibitory Immune Checkpoint Proteins and Anti-Cancer Immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:651634. [PMID: 34531847 PMCID: PMC8438243 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.651634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Co-inhibitory B7-CD28 family member proteins negatively regulate T cell responses and are extensively involved in tumor immune evasion. Blockade of classical CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4) and PD-1 (programmed cell death protein-1) checkpoint pathways have become the cornerstone of anti-cancer immunotherapy. New inhibitory checkpoint proteins such as B7-H3, B7-H4, and BTLA (B and T lymphocyte attenuator) are being discovered and investigated for their potential in anti-cancer immunotherapy. In addition, soluble forms of these molecules also exist in sera of healthy individuals and elevated levels are found in chronic infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. Soluble forms are generated by proteolytic shedding or alternative splicing. Elevated circulating levels of these inhibitory soluble checkpoint molecules in cancer have been correlated with advance stage, metastatic status, and prognosis which underscore their broader involvement in immune regulation. In addition to their potential as biomarker, understanding their mechanism of production, biological activity, and pathological interactions may also pave the way for their clinical use as a therapeutic target. Here we review these aspects of soluble checkpoint molecules and elucidate on their potential for anti-cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Khan
- Department of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Sumbal Arooj
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan
| | - Hua Wang
- Department of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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Song J, Liu Y, Guan X, Zhang X, Yu W, Li Q. A Novel Ferroptosis-Related Biomarker Signature to Predict Overall Survival of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:675193. [PMID: 34291083 PMCID: PMC8287967 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.675193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for the main esophageal cancer (ESCA) type, which is also associated with the greatest malignant grade and low survival rates worldwide. Ferroptosis is recently discovered as a kind of programmed cell death, which is indicated in various reports to be involved in the regulation of tumor biological behaviors. This work focused on the comprehensive evaluation of the association between ferroptosis-related gene (FRG) expression profiles and prognosis in ESCC patients based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). ALOX12, ALOX12B, ANGPTL7, DRD4, MAPK9, SLC38A1, and ZNF419 were selected to develop a novel ferroptosis-related gene signature for GEO and TCGA cohorts. The prognostic risk model exactly classified patients who had diverse survival outcomes. In addition, this study identified the ferroptosis-related signature as a factor to independently predict the risk of ESCC. Thereafter, we also constructed the prognosis nomogram by incorporating clinical factors and risk score, and the calibration plots illustrated good prognostic performance. Moreover, the association of the risk score with immune checkpoints was observed. Collectively, the proposed ferroptosis-related gene signature in our study is effective and has a potential clinical application to predict the prognosis of ESCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahang Song
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yanhu Liu
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiang Guan
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xun Zhang
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenda Yu
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qingguo Li
- Cardiovascular Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, China
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Aubert N, Brunel S, Olive D, Marodon G. Blockade of HVEM for Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy in Humanized Mice. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13123009. [PMID: 34208480 PMCID: PMC8235544 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13123009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Current immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown limitations for immunotherapy of prostate cancer. Thus, it is crucial to investigate other immune checkpoints to prevent disease progression in patients with prostate cancer. Here, we first show that the HVEM/BTLA immune checkpoint is associated with disease progression in patients. We then show that immunotherapy aimed at targeting HVEM reduced tumor growth twofold in vivo in a humanized mouse model of the pathology. The mode of action of the therapy was dependent on CD8+ T cells and is associated with improved T cell activation and reduced exhaustion. Finally, we demonstrated that HVEM expressed by the tumor negatively regulated the anti-tumor immune response. Our results indicate that targeting HVEM might be an attractive option for patients with prostate cancer. Abstract The herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM) delivers a negative signal to T cells mainly through the B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) molecule. Thus, HVEM/BTLA may represent a novel immune checkpoint during an anti-tumor immune response. However, a formal demonstration that HVEM can represent a target for cancer immunotherapy is still lacking. Here, we first showed that HVEM and BTLA mRNA expression levels were associated with a worse progression-free interval in patients with prostate adenocarcinomas, indicating a detrimental role for the HVEM/BTLA immune checkpoint during prostate cancer progression. We then showed that administration of a monoclonal antibody to human HVEM resulted in a twofold reduction in the growth of a prostate cancer cell line in NOD.SCID.gc-null mice reconstituted with human T cells. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we showed that the therapeutic effect of the mAb depended on HVEM expression by the tumor, with no effect on graft vs. host disease or activation of human T cells in the spleen. In contrast, the proliferation and number of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes increased following treatment, and depletion of CD8+ T cells partly alleviated treatment’s efficacy. The expression of genes belonging to various T cell activation pathways was enriched in tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, whereas genes associated with immuno-suppressive pathways were decreased, possibly resulting in modifications of leukocyte adhesion and motility. Finally, we developed a simple in vivo assay in humanized mice to directly demonstrate that HVEM expressed by the tumor is an immune checkpoint for T cell-mediated tumor control. Our results show that targeting HVEM is a promising strategy for prostate cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Aubert
- Centre d’Immunologie et Maladies Infectieuses-Paris, CIMI-PARIS, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, 75013 Paris, France; (N.A.); (S.B.)
| | - Simon Brunel
- Centre d’Immunologie et Maladies Infectieuses-Paris, CIMI-PARIS, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, 75013 Paris, France; (N.A.); (S.B.)
| | - Daniel Olive
- Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, CNRS, CRCM, Tumor Immunity Team, IBISA Immunomonitoring Platform, 13009 Marseille, France;
| | - Gilles Marodon
- Centre d’Immunologie et Maladies Infectieuses-Paris, CIMI-PARIS, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, 75013 Paris, France; (N.A.); (S.B.)
- Correspondence:
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BTLA/HVEM Axis Induces NK Cell Immunosuppression and Poor Outcome in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13081766. [PMID: 33917094 PMCID: PMC8067870 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13081766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) represents the most frequent B cell malignancy in Western countries and still remains as an incurable disease. Despite recent advances in targeted therapies including ibrutinib, idelalisib or venetoclax, resistance mechanisms have been described and patients develop a progressive immunosuppression. Since immune checkpoint blockade has demonstrated to reinvigorate T and NK cell-mediated anti-tumor responses, the aim of this work was to elucidate whether this immunosuppression relies, at least in part, in BTLA/HVEM axis in patients with CLL. Our results demonstrate that BTLA and HVEM expression is deeply dysregulated on leukemic and NK cells and correlates with poor outcome. Moreover, soluble BTLA levels correlated with adverse cytogenetics and shorter time to treatment. BTLA blockade restored, at least in part, NK cell-mediated responses in patients with CLL. Altogether, our results provide the rationale to further investigate the role of BTLA/HVEM axis in the pathogenesis of CLL. Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by progressive immunosuppression and diminished cancer immunosurveillance. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB)-based therapies, a major breakthrough against cancer, have emerged as a powerful tool to reinvigorate antitumor responses. Herein, we analyzed the role of the novel inhibitory checkpoint BTLA and its ligand, HVEM, in the regulation of leukemic and natural killer (NK) cells in CLL. Flow cytometry analyses showed that BTLA expression is upregulated on leukemic cells and NK cells from patients with CLL, whereas HVEM is downregulated only in leukemic cells, especially in patients with advanced Rai-Binet stage. In silico analysis revealed that increased HVEM, but not BTLA, mRNA expression in leukemic cells correlated with diminished overall survival. Further, soluble BTLA (sBTLA) was found to be increased in the sera of patients with CLL and highly correlated with poor prognostic markers and shorter time to treatment. BTLA blockade with an anti-BTLA monoclonal antibody depleted leukemic cells and boosted NK cell-mediated responses ex vivo by increasing their IFN-γ production, cytotoxic capability, and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC). In agreement with an inhibitory role of BTLA in NK cells, surface BTLA expression on NK cells was associated with poor outcome in patients with CLL. Overall, this study is the first to bring to light a role of BTLA/HVEM in the suppression of NK cell-mediated immune responses in CLL and its impact on patient’s prognosis, suggesting that BTLA/HVEM axis may be a potential therapeutic target in this disease.
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