CD40 expression and its prognostic significance in human gastric carcinoma

Advances in tumor microenvironment and underlying molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer: a systematic review

Bladder cancer is one of the most frequent malignant tumors of the urinary system. The prevalence of bladder cancer among men and women is roughly 5:2, and both its incidence and death have been rising steadily over the past few years. At the moment, metastasis and recurrence of advanced bladder cancer-which are believed to be connected to the malfunction of multigene and multilevel cell signaling network-remain the leading causes of bladder cancer-related death. The therapeutic treatment of bladder cancer will be greatly aided by the elucidation of these mechanisms. New concepts for the treatment of bladder cancer have been made possible by the advancement of research technologies and a number of new treatment options, including immunotherapy and targeted therapy. In this paper, we will extensively review the development of the tumor microenvironment and the possible molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer.

Somatic Mutation of FAT Family Genes Implicated Superior Prognosis in Patients With Stomach Adenocarcinoma

FAT family genes encode protocadherin, which regulates tumor cell proliferation and migration. Although transcriptional levels of FAT family members had been reported in multiple malignant tumors, the association between mutation and prognosis of the FAT family in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) has not been investigated. Herein, we performed a multi-omics integrative bioinformatics analysis using genomic and mRNA expression data to explore the role of gene mutations across the FAT family on clinical outcomes of STAD. The results showed that FAT mutations occurred in 174 of 435 (40%) of the samples. Patients with FAT mutations possessed significantly better progression-free survival (P = 0.019) and overall survival (P = 0.034) than those with non-FAT mutations, and FAT mutations exhibited significantly higher tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability. Notably, FAT mutations had a greater effect on somatic single-nucleotide variation than copy number variation and resulted in more abundant DNA damage repair (DDR) mutations. Further investigation demonstrated that FAT mutations contributed to an inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME), as indicated by significantly increased numbers of activated CD4 and CD8 T cells, and significantly decreased numbers of mast cell, plasmacytoid dendritic cell, type 2 T helper cell, and high expression of immune-promoting genes. Moreover, biological process antigen processing and presentation, DNA replication, and DDR-related pathways were significantly upregulated in patients with FAT mutations. Collectively, FAT mutations significantly improved the survival of patients with STAD by enhancing tumor immunogenicity (e.g., TMB and DDR mutations) and an inflamed TME, indicating that the FAT family might be a potential prognostic and therapeutic biomarker for STAD.

Association of the functionally significant polymorphisms of the MMP9 gene with H. pylori-positive gastric ulcer in the Caucasian population of Central Russia

Background and purpose

The study analyzed the association of functionally significant polymorphisms of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) genes with the development of gastric ulcer (GU) in Caucasians from Central Russia.

Methods

The 781 participants, including 434 patients with GU (196 Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-positive and 238 H. pylori-negative) and 347 controls (all H. pylori-negative) were recruited for the study. Ten SNPs of the MMP1 (rs1799750), MMP2 (rs243865), MMP3 (rs679620), MMP8 (rs1940475), and MMP9 (rs3918242, rs3918249, rs3787268, rs17576, rs17577, and rs2250889) genes were considered for association with GU using multiple logistic regression. The SNPs associated with GU and loci linked (r²≥0.8) to them were analyzed in silico for their functional assignments.

Results

The SNPs of the MMP9 gene were associated with H. pylori-positive GU: alleles C of rs3918249 (OR = 2.02, p_perm = 0.008) and A of rs3787268 (OR = 1.60–1.82, p_perm ≤ 0.016), and eight haplotypes of all studied MMP9 gene SNPs (OR = 1.85–2.04, p_perm ≤ 0.016) increased risk for H. pylori-positive GU. None of the analyzed SNPs was independently associated with GU and H. pylori-negative GU. Two haplotypes of the MMP9 gene (contributed by rs3918242, rs3918249, rs17576, and rs3787268) increased risk for GU (OR = 1.62–1.65, p_perm ≤ 0.006). Six loci of the MMP9 gene, which are associated with H. pylori-positive GU, and 65 SNPs linked to them manifest significant epigenetic effects, have pronounced eQTL (17 genes) and sQTL (6 genes) values.

Conclusion

SNPs of the MMP9 were associated with H. pylori-positive GU but not with H. pylori-negative GU in Caucasians of Central Russia.

Helicobacter pylori Infection-Related Long Non-Coding RNA Signatures Predict the Prognostic Status for Gastric Cancer Patients

Background

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a type I biological carcinogen, which may cause about 75% of the total incidence of gastric cancer worldwide. H. pylori infection can induce and activate the cancer-promoting signaling pathway and affect the occurrence and outcome of gastric cancer through controlling the regulatory functions of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, we have no understanding of the prognostic worth of lncRNAs for gastric cancer patients infected with H. pylori.

Method

We screened differentially expressed lncRNAs using DESeq2 method among TCGA database. And we built the H. pylori infection-related lncRNAs regulatory patterns. Then, we constructed H. pylori infection-based lncRNAs prognostic signatures for gastric cancer patients together with H. pylori infection, via uni-variable and multi-variable COX regression analyses. Based on receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, we evaluated the prediction effectiveness for this model.

Results

We identified 115 H. pylori infection-related genes were differentially expressed among H. pylori-infected gastric cancer tissues versus gastric cancer tissues. Functional enrichment analysis implies that H. pylori infection might interfere with the immune-related pathways among gastric cancer tissues. Then, we built H. pylori infection-related dys-regulated lncRNA regulatory networks. We also identified 13 differentially expressed lncRNAs were associated with prognosis for gastric cancer patients together with H. pylori infection. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the lncRNA signatures were correlated with the poor prognosis. What is more, the AUC of the lncRNA signatures was 0.712. Also, this prognostic prediction model was superior to the traditional clinical characters.

Conclusion

We successfully constructed a H. pylori-related lncRNA risk signature and nomogram associated with H. pylori-infected gastric cancer patients prognosis, and the signature and nomogram can predict the prognosis of these patients.

CD40 DNA hypermethylation in primary gastric tumors; as a novel diagnostic biomarker

AIMS

Gastric cancer (GC) remains one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide due to its poor prognosis. DNA methylation changes, as an early event during tumor progression, constitute attractive markers for cancer diagnostics. In the current study, CD40 DNA methylation was investigated in GC as a novel epigenetic biomarker.

MAIN METHODS

We first analyzed DNA methylation microarrays from the Gene Expression Omnibus database on GC samples to evaluate the potential diagnostic value of CD40 methylation. Moreover, using q-MSP, in a set of internal samples including GC primary tumors and adjacent normal specimens, CD40 DNA methylation levels were determined. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data on GC was also analyzed for further validation.

KEY FINDINGS

Our results illustrated significant CD40 hypermethylation in GC samples compared to normal specimens which was significantly correlated with the clinical stage of malignancy. Besides, the high accuracy of CD40 methylation as a diagnostic biomarker in GC was confirmed using the ROC curve analysis with an AUC value of 0.9089. Also, gene set enrichment analysis showed that CD40 is mainly involved in biological processes regulating immune response activation in GC. Further analysis of other prevalent cancer entities in TCGA showed that CD40 hypermethylation is a common event during tumor progression and could be considered as a potential biomarker for the detection of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers as well.

SIGNIFICANCE

The finding of this study suggests that CD40 methylation as a potential pan biomarker could be a valuable target for liquid biopsy application of human cancers.

CD40 is Positively Correlated with the Expression of Nucleophosmin in Cisplatin-Resistant Bladder Cancer

Objective

To verify and evaluate the value of CD40 as a noninvasive biomarker of cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer, we studied the expression of CD40 and the correlation between nucleophosmin (NPM1) and CD40 in cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer.

Methods

Three cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer cell lines (T24/0.8DDP, BIU87/0.3DDP, and PUMC-91/0.6DDP) were studied, and lentivirus was used to silence NPM1 expression. The expression of CD40 and NPM1 in three NPM1 silencing bladder cancer cell lines were detected by fluorescence microscopy and Western Blot. The effects and proteomic bioinformatics of NPM1 gene knockout on cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer cells were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gene ontology analysis (GO analysis).

Results

The NPM1 gene was successfully silenced in three drug-resistant bladder cancer cell lines by lentivirus infection. The knockdown efficiency was 70%. After NPM1 gene knockout, 492 differential proteins were detected by LC-MS, whose fold change was more than 1.5 (p < 0.05). A total of 57022 peptides, 54347 unique peptides, and 6686 protein groups were identified in all proteins of the tested cells (FDR < 0.01). Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis showed that 264 functional proteins were downregulated and 228 functional proteins were upregulated in the gene silencing group compared with those of the negative controls. By GO analysis, the proteins affected by NPM1 cover a large number of proteins with biological functions, which may play an important role in the development of tumor in 492 differential proteins. The CD40 was the most significantly downregulated protein after NPM1 silencing, with a difference of 2.6-fold change in abundance.

Conclusions

There is a positive correlation between CD40 protein and NPM1 protein in drug-resistant bladder cancer. Because NPM1 can reflect the characteristics of bladder cancer, CD40 may be a more sensitive marker for monitoring the prognosis of bladder cancer.

Regulation of cancer immune escape: The roles of miRNAs in immune checkpoint proteins

Immune checkpoint proteins (ICPs) are regulators of immune system. The ICP dysregulation silences the host immune response to cancer-specific antigens, contributing to the occurrence and progress of various cancers. MiRNAs are regulatory molecules and function in mRNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. MiRNAs that modulate the immunity via ICPs have received increasing attention. Many studies have shown that the expressions of ICPs are directly or indirectly repressed by miRNAs in multiple types of cancers. MiRNAs are also subject to regulation by ICPs. In this review, recent studies of the relationship between miRNAs and ICPs (including the PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4, ICOS, B7-1, B7-2, B7-H2, B7-H3, CD27, CD70, CD40, and CD40L) in cancer immune escape are comprehensively discussed, which provide critical detailed mechanistic insights into the functions of the miRNA-ICP axes and their effects on immune escape, and will be beneficial for the potential applications of immune checkpoint therapy and miRNA-based guidance for personalized medicine as well as for predicting the prognosis.

Promising therapeutics of gastrointestinal cancers in clinical trials

Many novel therapeutics are being developed for patients with cancers along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These emerging agents are frequently classified by their biological targets such as tumor growth pathways, tumor metabolism, microenvironment, etc. Some agents targeting cancer growth pathways are based on existing clinically validated therapeutic targets, such as regorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while other agents focus on newly identified targets, such as FGFR fusions in cholangiocarcinoma. Drugs modifying the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment have emerged as an attractive area of clinical investigation. Moreover, drugs targeting the stem-cell like qualities of cancer and the tight junction protein claudin 18.2 have generated quite a lot of excitement in the field. In this paper, we will systemically review the recent promising agents and therapeutic strategies in GI cancers.

Clinicopathological features of gastric adenocarcinoma patients with metachronous distant metastasis

Metachronous distant metastasis influences the postoperative survival of gastric adenocarcinoma patients with radical gastrectomy. We retrospectively reviewed 108 gastric adenocarcinoma patients with metachronous distant metastasis admitted to our hospital between January 2006 and December 2011. First, these patients were divided into two groups according to the time of metastasis: the early metastasis group (EMG) and late metastasis group (LMG). Second, according to the survival time after metastasis, these patients were divided into the longer survival group (LSG) and shorter survival group (SSG). Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze associations between categorical variables. Survival data were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analyses of the prognostic factors related to overall survival were conducted using the Cox stepwise proportional hazards test. Results shows that the EMG was significantly associated with depth of invasion (p = 0.005), Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) stage (p = 0.003), degree of differentiation (p = 0.002), and vascular invasion (p = 0.001). The SSG was significantly associated with depth of invasion (p = 0.026) and normal carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level of after metastasis (p = 0.003). Survival analysis showed that depth of invasion (p < 0.001), degree of differentiation (p = 0.001), and vascular invasion (p = 0.011) were independent prognostic factors for gastric adenocarcinoma patients with metachronous distant metastasis. Gastric adenocarcinoma patients with metachronous distant metastasis exhibit characteristics that can be used to effectively estimate the possibility of early distant metastasis and the prognosis of these patients.