Interleukin-16 polymorphisms as new promising biomarkers for risk of gastric cancer

Neutralizing IL-16 enhances the efficacy of targeting Aurora-A therapy in colorectal cancer with high lymphocyte infiltration through restoring anti-tumor immunity

Cancer cells can evade immune elimination by activating immunosuppressive signaling pathways in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Targeting immunosuppressive signaling pathways to promote antitumor immunity has become an attractive strategy for cancer therapy. Aurora-A is a well-known oncoprotein that plays a critical role in tumor progression, and its inhibition is considered a promising strategy for treating cancers. However, targeting Aurora-A has not yet got a breakthrough in clinical trials. Recent reports have indicated that inhibition of oncoproteins may reduce antitumor immunity, but the role of tumor-intrinsic Aurora-A in regulating antitumor immunity remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that in tumors with high lymphocyte infiltration (hot tumors), higher tumor-intrinsic Aurora-A expression is associated with a better prognosis in CRC patients. Mechanically, tumor-intrinsic Aurora-A promotes the cytotoxic activity of CD8+ T cells in immune hot CRC via negatively regulating interleukin-16 (IL-16), and the upregulation of IL-16 may impair the therapeutic effect of Aurora-A inhibition. Consequently, combination treatment with IL-16 neutralization improves the therapeutic response to Aurora-A inhibitors in immune hot CRC tumors. Our study provides evidence that tumor-intrinsic Aurora-A contributes to anti-tumor immunity depending on the status of lymphocyte infiltration, highlighting the importance of considering this aspect in cancer therapy targeting Aurora-A. Importantly, our results suggest that combining Aurora-A inhibitors with IL-16-neutralizing antibodies may represent a novel and effective approach for cancer therapy, particularly in tumors with high levels of lymphocyte infiltration.

Interleukin-16 genetic polymorphisms in Guangxi Chinese with hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

Our previous study has reported that interleukin-16 (IL-16) genetic polymorphisms are significantly related to chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatitis B virus-related (HBV-related) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As CHB, liver cirrhosis (LC), and HCC are development processes, this study aimed to determine genetic correlation of IL-16 polymorphisms with HBV-related LC in a Chinese population.

METHODS

IL-16 gene rs11556218, rs4072111, and rs4778889 polymorphism in 129 patients with HBV-related LC and 168 healthy individuals were genotyped via polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). PCR-RFLP results were verified by DNA sequencing.

RESULTS

The allelic and genotypic distributions of IL-16 rs11556218, rs4072111, and rs4778889 polymorphisms in HBV-related LC patients showed no significant difference from those in healthy controls. Furthermore, no relationship was observed between the haplotype distribution and susceptibility to HBV-related LC.

CONCLUSIONS

This work provided the first evidence that the IL-16 genetic polymorphisms may not be associated with HBV-related LC risk.

Association of Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms with Prostate Cancer Risk from a Study in Central China

Our study intended to investigate five cytokine gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their associations with prostate cancer risk. Genotypes of five cytokine gene SNPs were detected by MassARRAY for blood samples from a group of patients with prostate cancer (n = 90) and a control group (n = 140) in central China. The differences in tumor clinical stages, Gleason scores, and PSA values in patients with prostate cancer were also investigated. The frequencies of the five cytokine gene SNPs (L-1β rs16944, IL-4 rs2070874, IL-4rs2227284, IL-16 rs7175701, and IL-16 rs11556218) genotypes were not found to be significantly mutated in prostate cancer patients compared with the control group. In addition, for five cytokine gene SNPs genotypic comparisons, patients with different Gleason scores, clinical stages, and PSA values were grouped into two subgroups. There was also no statistically significant association in all these subgroups. Our study suggests that cytokine gene polymorphisms may not be a risk factor for prostate cancer in a central Chinese population. Nevertheless, more large-scale studies on the Chinese population are necessary to examine our conclusions. The discovery of cytokine gene polymorphisms related to prostate cancer could update our understanding of the etiology and improve our knowledge of the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer.

Genetic and molecular biology of gastric cancer among Iranian patients: an update

Background

There is a declining trend of gastric cancer (GC) incidence in the world during recent years that is related to the development of novel diagnostic methods. However, there is still a high ratio of GC mortality among the Iranian population that can be associated with late diagnosis. Despite various reports about the novel diagnostic markers, there is not any general and standard diagnostic panel marker for Iranian GC patients. Therefore, it is required to determine an efficient and general panel of molecular markers for early detection.

Main body of the abstract

In the present review, we summarized all of the reported markers until now among Iranian GC patients to pave the way for the determination of a population-based diagnostic panel of markers. In this regard, we categorized these markers in different groups based on their involved processes to know which molecular process is more frequent during the GC progression among Iranians.

Conclusion

We observed that the non-coding RNAs are the main factors involved in GC tumorigenesis in this population.

Identification of interleukin-16 production on tumor aggravation in hepatocellular carcinoma by a proteomics approach

BACKGROUND

Cytokines play an important role in the immune response, angiogenesis, cell growth, and differentiation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

OBJECTIVE

We performed a comprehensive study to identify tumor-related cytokines and pathways involved in HCC pathogenesis.

METHODS

Cytokine production was evaluated in human HCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues using an antibody-based protein array technique. We compared cytokine expression in HCC tissues with that of hepatic hemangioma (HH), liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, and noncancerous liver tissues from transplantation donors. The protein levels and localization of the candidate cytokines were analyzed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Increased expression of interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, and IL-16 was observed in HCC and paired adjacent non-tumor tissues compared with noncancerous livers. In addition, there were increased IL-16 levels in HCC tissues compared with HH. IL-16 treatment significantly increased cell proliferation in vitro. The expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and cyclin D1 was markedly increased in cells from two HCC cell lines, Huh7 and HepG2, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Phosphorylated to total ERK1/2 ratio was increased in Huh7 cells following IL-16 50 ng/ml, but not HepG2 cells. ERK phosphorylation have occurred earlier than protein accumulation at 48 h. Pretreatment with the ERK inhibitor, FR18024, or an anti-IL-16 antibody reduced the increase in IL-16 production in HCC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that cell proliferation induced by IL-16 is mediated through the ERK pathway, thus, we identified a new factor associated with HCC tumor growth.

Risk Signature of Cancer-Associated Fibroblast-Secreted Cytokines Associates With Clinical Outcomes of Breast Cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key components in tumor microenvironment (TME). The secreted products of CAFs play important roles in regulating tumor cells and further impacting clinical prognosis. This study aims to reveal the relationship between CAF-secreted cytokines and breast cancer (BC) by constructing the risk signature. We performed three algorithms to reveal CAF-related cytokines in the TCGA BC dataset and identified five prognosis-related cytokines. Then we used single-cell RNA sequencing (ScRNA-Seq) datasets of BC to confirm the expression level of these five cytokines in CAFs. METABRIC and other independent datasets were utilized to validate the findings in further analyses. Based on the identified five-cytokine signature derived from CAFs, BC patients with high-risk score (RS) had shorter overall survival than low-RS cases. Further analysis suggested that the high-RS level correlated with cell proliferation and mast cell infiltration in BCs of the Basal-like subtype. The results also indicated that the level of RS could discriminate the high-risk BC cases harboring driver mutations (i.e., PI3KCA, CDH1, and TP53). Additionally, the status of five-cytokine signature was associated with the frequency and molecular timing of whole genome duplication (WGD) events. Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) analysis among BC samples indicated that the high-RS level was associated with the increase of tumor subclones. This work demonstrated that the prognostic signature based on CAF-secreted cytokines was associated with clinical outcome, tumor progression, and genetic alteration. Our findings may provide insights to develop novel strategies for early intervention and prognostic prediction of BC.

Epidemiologic Study of Gastric Cancer in Iran: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers in Iran. Knowledge of the epidemiology of the disease is essential in planning for prevention. So this study aimed to investigate the epidemiological aspects of gastric cancer including prevalence, incidence, mortality, and risk factors of Iran.

METHODS

This systematic review study was based on articles published in both English and Persian languages during the years of 1970-2020 in international databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus) and national databases (including SID, Magiran, and IranDoc). Papers related to epidemiological aspects of the disease including mortality, prevalence, incidence, and risk entered the final review.

RESULTS

According to the studies, the minimum and maximum prevalence of gastric cancer in northwestern Iran (Ardabil) is between 0.2 and 100 per 100,000. Also, the death rate per 100,000 people ranged from 10.6 to 15.72 and the ASMR ranged from 4.2 to 32.2%. On the other hand, the incidence of GC was higher in men than in women (74.9 vs 4.6%). The GC risk ratio was 8-times higher in the elderly than in the other age groups (HR=8.0, 2.7-23.5). The incidence of gastric cancer in patients with H. pylori infection was 18-times and that of smokers 2-times higher than other populations. Low level of economic situation and food insecurity increased the odds of GC by 2.42- and 2.57-times, respectively. It should be noted that there was a direct relationship between consumption of processed red meat, dairy products, fruit juice, smoked and salty fish and legumes, strong and hot tea, and consumption of salt and gastric cancer incidence. There was also an inverse relationship between citrus consumption, fresh fruit, garlic, and gastric cancer. In addition, the mRNA genes are the most GC-related genes.

CONCLUSION

Given the high incidence of GC in Iran, changing lifestyle and decreasing consumption of preservatives in food, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, and improving the lifestyle can be effective in reducing the incidence of this disease.

Association of IL16 polymorphisms with periodontitis in Brazilians: A case- control study

Periodontitis (PD) is a chronic inflammatory process resulting from the relationship of the immune response with the components in dental plaque. Cytokines and their genetic polymorphisms seem to be involved in the immunopathogenesis of this disease. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of IL16 polymorphism with PD. A case-control study was conducted in a sample of individuals from southern Brazil. The genotyping of IL16, rs11556218 T>G, rs4072111 C>T e rs4778889 T>C, was performed using the PCR-RFLP methodology. The serum level of IL-16 was determined using an IL-16 ELISA kit for humans. SNPStats and OpenEpi software and Wilcoxon's U test were used to perform statistical analysis. IL16 rs11556218 polymorphism was significantly associated to PD in nonsmoking patients: individuals with G/G genotype were less likely to develop PD compared to the T/T genotype (OR = 0.10; Pc = 0.019, codominant model). In addition, the TTT haplotype was associated with a high risk for PD (OR = 2.45; P = 0.01). A low IL-16 serum level was observed among individuals with PD when compared to controls (P = 0.027). Thus, the IL16 rs16556218 polymorphism and the serum levels of IL-16 were associated with periodontitis in a Brazilian sample, and this was influenced by environmental factors such as smoking.

Association of functional IL16 polymorphisms with cancer and cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is a chemotactic cytokine that is found to increase in Cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL16 were associated with diseases. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate possible associations between IL16 rs4778889, rs11556218, rs4072111, and rs1131445 SNPs and the risk for cancer or CVD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was performed according to the PRISMA statement. Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were systematically reviewed, and a meta-analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

The analysis comprised 6386 individuals with cancer and 2415 with CVD. The SNP rs11556218 was significantly associated with an increased risk for cancer in Chinese in different genetic inheritance models. Also, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to show an association of rs4778889 with an increased risk of gastric cancer and rs11556218 with an increased risk of CVD in Chinese.

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis suggested that the SNPs rs11556218 and rs4778889 of IL16 were associated with an increased risk for cancer in Chinese and rs11556218 with increased risk for CVD in Chinese, highlighting the need for further studies on the impact of these polymorphisms on cancer treatment and surveillance.

Interleukins as new prognostic genetic biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Surgery is the standard treatment for early-stage NSCLC, and platinum-based chemotherapy remains as the treatment of choice for advanced-stage NSCLC patients with naïve EGFR status. However, overall 5-years relative survival rates are low. Interleukins (ILs) are crucial for processes associated with tumor development. In NSCLC, IL1B, IL6, IL12A, IL13 and IL16 gene polymorphisms may contribute to individual variation in terms of patient survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between IL gene polymorphisms and survival in NSCLC patients.

METHODS

A prospective cohorts study was performed, including 170 NSCLC patients (114 Stage IIIB-IV, 56 Stage I-IIIA). IL1B (C > T; rs1143634), IL1B (C > T; rs12621220), IL1B (C > G; rs1143623), IL1B (A > G; rs16944), IL1B (C > T; rs1143627), IL6 (C > G; rs1800795), IL12A (C > T; rs662959), IL13 (A > C; rs1881457) and IL16 (G > T; rs7170924) gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR Real-Time.

RESULTS

Patients with IL16 rs7170924-GG genotype were in higher risk of death (p = 0.0139; HR = 1.82; CI_95% = 1.13-2.94) Furthermore, carriers of the TT genotype for IL12A rs662959 presented higher risk of progression in the non-resected NSCLC patient subgroup (p = 0.0412; HR = 4.49; CI_95% = 1.06-18.99). The rest of polymorphisms showed no effect of on outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that IL16 rs7170924-GG and IL12A rs662959-TT genotypes predict higher risk of death and progression, respectively, in NSCLC patients. No influence of IL1B rs12621220, IL1B rs1143623, IL1B rs16944, IL1B rs1143627, IL6 rs1800795, IL13 rs1881457 on NSCLC clinical outcomes was found in our patients.

Association of interleukin 16 gene polymorphisms and plasma IL16 level with osteosarcoma risk

Interleukin (IL) 16 plays a key role in inflammatory diseases as well as in tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma (OS). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of IL16 polymorphisms and plasma IL16 level with OS risk in a Chinese population. We genotyped IL16 rs4778889, rs11556218, and rs4072111 in 358 patients with OS and 402 controls using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Plasma IL16 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Rs11556218 was associated with an increased risk of OS in heterozygote comparison (adjusted OR = 1.65, 95% CI, 1.23–2.21, P < 0.001), dominant model (adjusted OR = 1.66, 95% CI, 1.24–2.21, P < 0.001), and allele comparison (adjusted OR = 1.44, 95% CI, 1.14–1.81, P = 0.002). Moreover, rs11556218 TG/GG genotypes were associated with higher levels of IL16 as compared to TT genotype (P = 0.03). However, no significant association of rs4778889 and rs4072111 and OS was found. These findings suggest that rs11556218 TG/GG genotypes may be associated with increased susceptibility to OS, probably by increasing the production of IL16 level.

Association of interleukin-16 polymorphisms with disease progression and susceptibility in endometriosis

Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is a multifunctional pro-inflammatory cytokine that was previously found in association with complex disorders, and it is now cleared that this cytokine plays a critical role in regulation of cellular functions such as homoeostasis. Due to the complexity of endometriosis and its resemblance to cancer, we designed present case-control study to determine the effects of genetic polymorphisms of the human IL-16 gene on Iranian women's susceptibility to endometriosis. A total of 126 patients with endometriosis (stages I-IV) and 144 healthy women as control group were recruited to the study. We genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms of IL-16 gene (rs11556218 T>G, rs4778889 T>C, rs4072111 C>T and rs1131445 C>T). Genotyping was performed using PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Our results showed that genotype distribution in two exonic polymorphisms including rs11556218 and rs4072111 was significantly different between Endometriosis patients and healthy individuals (P < 0.05). We have also found an association between rs4072111 and rs1131445 with progression to the severe stages (III-IV) of endometriosis (P < 0.05). Finally, we may conclude that IL-16 gene polymorphisms are highly associated with increased risk of endometriosis and could be considered as a susceptibility factor for endometriosis.

Tristetraprolin inhibits gastric cancer progression through suppression of IL-33

Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an adenine/uridine (AU)-rich element (ARE)-binding protein that can induce degradation of mRNAs. In this study, we report that TTP suppresses the expression of interleukin-33 (IL-33), a tumor-promoting inflammatory cytokine, and thereby inhibits the progression of gastric cancer (GC). Overexpression of TTP decreased the level of IL-33, whereas knockdown of TTP increased IL-33 levels. We also discovered that TTP inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cell lines through regulation of IL-33. Furthermore, TTP RNA and protein levels were remarkably reduced in GC and inversely correlated with IL-33 level, and they were also closely associated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, advanced TNM stage, as well as survival rate. Taken together, these findings identified TTP as a downregulator of IL-33, and further suggest that TTP can serve as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of GC and as a potential therapeutic target for GC treatment.