FOXP3 autoantibody as a potential early prognostic serum biomarker in patients with cervical cancer

SOX2 Regulates lncRNA CCAT1/MicroRNA-185-3p/FOXP3 Axis to Affect the Proliferation and Self-Renewal of Cervical Cancer Stem Cells

It has been presented the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cervical cancer (CC). We aim to discuss the effect of sex-determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2)/lncRNA colon cancer-associated transcript-1 (CCAT1)/microRNA-185-3p (miR-185-3p)/forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) on the proliferation and self-renewal ability of CC stem cells. MiR-185-3p, SOX2, CCAT1 and FOXP3 expressions were tested in CC tissues and cells. The relationship between SOX2/CCAT1 expression and clinicopathological features in CC patients was verified. Loss- and gain-of-function investigations were conducted in CD44⁺HeLa cells to discuss biological functions and self-renewal capacity. Finally, the relationships among SOX2, CCAT1, FOXP3 and miR-185-3p were verified. miR-185-3p expression was decreased, while SOX2, CCAT1 and FOXP3 expressions were increased in CC tissues and cells. SOX2 and CCAT1 expressions were linked to tumor size, lymph node metastasis and international federation of gynecology and obstetrics stage of CC. Down-regulating SOX2 or CCAT1 and up-regulating miR-185-3p resulted in inhibition of proliferation, invasion, migration and cell sphere number as well as apoptosis acceleration of CD44⁺HeLa cells. SOX2 could bind to CCAT1 which affected miR-185-3p expression, and FOXP3 was targeted by miR-185-3p.

Diagnostic Value of the Survivin Autoantibody in Four Types of Malignancies

BACKGROUND

Tumor-associated antigen overexpression, which has been reported in many types of cancers, may trigger autoantibody secretion. The present study was designed to test whether levels of circulating autoantibodies to survivin protein-derived antigens is altered in liver, esophageal, breast, and lung cancers.

METHODS

Patients with liver (144), esophageal (159), breast (124), and lung cancers (267), and healthy volunteers (362) were recruited for the study, and serum samples were collected for ELISA autoantibody analysis.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, survivin autoantibody levels were significantly higher in serum from patients with breast cancer and lung cancer, but were significantly lower in serum from patients with liver cancer (p < 0.05). In stage I and II lung cancer, the best-fit areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.731 (standard error [SE] = 0.023; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.687-0.776) and the sensitivity, with 90% specificity, was 23.7%.

CONCLUSION

Analysis across four types of malignancies revealed that the survivin autoantibody had good specificity and sensitivity in lung cancer. Circulating autoantibodies to survivin could be a potential biomarker for the early lung cancer diagnosis.

Use of autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens as serum biomarkers for primary screening of cervical cancer

Serum autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have received much attention as potential biomarkers for early detection of cancers, since they can be detected in the early stages of cancers. Autoantibodies against Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Cancer Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), c-Myc, p53, heat shock protein (Hsp)27 and Hsp70 have been suggested as potential markers for detecting several types of cancer. In the present study, the seven types of antibody listed above were evaluated for detecting cervical lesions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to measure IgG levels of the autoantibodies in women with normal cytology, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I, CIN II, CIN III and cervical cancer. The increases of anti-CA15-3 and anti-CEA IgG in cervical cancer were more pronounced than the increases of the other markers, and the level of anti-CA19-9 IgG in CIN III stage was higher than in normal CIN I, CIN II or cervical cancer. A combination of ELISAs detecting anti-CA15-3, anti-CEA and anti-CA19-9 IgGs was found to reliably discriminate CINs from normal and to strongly differentiate cancer from normal (90.3% of sensitivity and 82.1% of specificity). We suggest that the combination of three ELISA may be useful for detecting cervical lesions.

Members of FOX family could be drug targets of cancers

FOX families play important roles in biological processes, including metabolism, development, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and longevity. Here we are focusing on roles of FOX members in cancers, FOX members and drug resistance, FOX members and stem cells. Finally, FOX members as drug targets of cancer treatment were discussed. Future perspectives of FOXC1 research were described in the end.