Association between the expression of IL-10 and T cell activation proteins loss in early breast cancer patients

Prognostic Impact of Acute and Chronic Inflammatory Interleukin Signatures in the Tumor Microenvironment of Early Breast Cancer

Interleukins play dual roles in breast cancer, acting as both promoters and inhibitors of tumorigenesis within the tumor microenvironment, shaped by their inflammatory functions. This study analyzed the subtype-specific prognostic significance of an acute inflammatory versus a chronic inflammatory interleukin signature using microarray-based gene expression analysis. Correlations between these interleukin signatures and immune cell markers (CD8, IgKC, and CD20) and immune checkpoints (PD-1) were also evaluated. This study investigated the prognostic significance of an acute inflammatory IL signature (IL-12, IL-21, and IFN-γ) and a chronic inflammatory IL signature (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, and CXCL1) for metastasis-free survival (MFS) using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses in a cohort of 461 patients with early breast cancer. Correlations were analyzed using the Spearman-Rho correlation coefficient. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that the prognostic significance of the acute inflammatory IL signature was specifically pronounced in the basal-like subtype (p = 0.004, Log Rank). This signature retained independent prognostic significance in multivariate Cox regression analysis (HR 0.463, 95% CI 0.290-0.741; p = 0.001). A higher expression of the acute inflammatory IL signature was associated with longer MFS. The chronic inflammatory IL signature showed a significant prognostic effect in the whole cohort, with higher expression associated with shorter MFS (p = 0.034). Strong correlations were found between the acute inflammatory IL signature and CD8 expression (ρ = 0.391; p < 0.001) and between the chronic inflammatory IL signature and PD-1 expression (ρ = 0.627; p < 0.001). This study highlights the complex interaction between acute and chronic inflammatory interleukins in breast cancer progression and prognosis. These findings provide insight into the prognostic relevance of interleukin expression patterns in breast cancer and may inform future therapeutic strategies targeting the immune-inflammatory axis.

How Different Are the Molecular Mechanisms of Nodal and Distant Metastasis in Luminal A Breast Cancer?

Lymph node status is one of the best prognostic factors in breast cancer, however, its association with distant metastasis is not straightforward. Here we compare molecular mechanisms of nodal and distant metastasis in molecular subtypes of breast cancer, with major focus on luminal A patients. We analyze a new cohort of 706 patients (MMCI_706) as well as an independent cohort of 836 primary tumors with full gene expression information (SUPERTAM_HGU133A). We evaluate the risk of distant metastasis, analyze targetable molecular mechanisms in Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and identify relevant inhibitors. Lymph node positivity is generally associated with NF-κB and Src pathways and is related to high risk (OR: 5.062 and 2.401 in MMCI_706 and SUPERTAM_HGU133A, respectively, p < 0.05) of distant metastasis in luminal A patients. However, a part (≤15%) of lymph node negative tumors at the diagnosis develop the distant metastasis which is related to cell proliferation control and thrombolysis. Distant metastasis of lymph node positive patients is mostly associated with immune response. These pro-metastatic mechanisms further vary in other molecular subtypes. Our data indicate that the management of breast cancer and prevention of distant metastasis requires stratified approach based on targeted strategies.

The effect of interleukin 10 polymorphisms on breast cancer susceptibility in Han women in Shaanxi Province

Background

Previous studies have reported on several genetic variants related to breast cancer, but a substantial proportion of mutation loci have not yet been identified. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and susceptibility to breast cancer in Shaanxi Han women in China.

Methods

Six SNPs were genotyped in 530 breast cancer patients and 628 healthy women from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University Hospital. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by unconditional logistic regression analysis to assess the association between breast cancer risk and polymorphisms of six loci.

Results

Two SNPs, rs3024490 and rs1800871, were found to be significantly different between breast cancer patients and healthy women. These SNPs also increased the risk of breast cancer in co-dominant and dominant models. Moreover, another SNP, rs1554286, was significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in the co-dominant model. Functional assessments indicated that these three variants may influence the expression and transcription factor binding of IL-10.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that variants of IL-10 may be likelihood risk factors for the development and progression of breast cancer. Future studies should replicate this study and evaluate functional assessments in Chinese Han women and women from other regions.

Role of interleukin-10 in the regulation of tumorigenicity of a T cell lymphoma

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a cytokine that is produced by a variety of immune cells and is known to inhibit T helper cell type 1 (T(H)1) responses, which are essential to combat tumors. In the present study, we used LSA, a T cell lymphoma cell line that expresses IL-10, to study the role of this cytokine in its tumorigenesis. To this end, LSA cells were modified to overexpress IL-10 or to block its expression via Ret-off-IL-10 vector transfection. Interestingly, blocking IL-10 expression using Ret-off-IL-10 antisense inhibited the growth of LSA in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice. Also, overexpression of IL-10 in LSA cells using Ret-off-IL-10 sense significantly increased LSA tumorigenicity. Additionally, administration of antibodies against IL-10 significantly inhibited LSA tumor growth in vivo. Together, our data stress the importance of tumor-produced IL-10 in regulating the tumorigenicity of this T cell lymphoma, and suggest that antagonizing IL-10 expression in IL-10 secreting lymphomas may have significant potential in their treatment.

Heat shock protein 27 differentiates tolerogenic macrophages that may support human breast cancer progression

Tumor cells release several factors that can help the progression of the tumor by directly supporting tumor growth and/or suppressing host antitumor immunity. Here, we report that human primary breast tumor cells not only express elevated levels of heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) at the intracellular level but also release extremely high levels of Hsp27 compared with the same patients' serum Hsp27 levels, predicting an acutely increased concentration of soluble Hsp27 in the human breast tumor microenvironment (HBTM). We demonstrate that Hsp27 levels in the HBTM can be extremely elevated as evidenced by high soluble Hsp27 levels in patients' tumor interstitial fluid. Because increasing numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) in the HBTM negatively correlate to patients' clinical outcomes and we have previously reported the immunoregulatory activity of soluble Hsp27, here, we tested for any specific effects of soluble Hsp27 on human monocyte to macrophage differentiation. We demonstrate that soluble Hsp27 causes the differentiation of monocytes to macrophages with immuno-tolerizing phenotypes (HLA-DRlow, CD86low, PD-L1high, ILT2high, and ILT4high). We detected the presence of TAMs with similar phenotypes in breast cancer patients. Hsp27-differentiated macrophages induce severe unresponsiveness/anergy in T cells. Moreover, these macrophages lose tumoricidal activity but become extremely proangiogenic, inducing significant neovascularization, a process that is critically important for tumor growth. Thus, our data demonstrate a novel immune escape and tumor growth-supporting mechanism mediated by soluble Hsp27 that may be operative in human breast cancer.