Activity of ROCKII not ROCKI promotes pulmonary metastasis of melanoma cells via modulating Smad2/3-MMP9 and FAK-Src-VEGF signalling

Preclinical to clinical utility of ROCK inhibitors in cancer

ROCK belongs to the AGC family of Ser/Thr protein kinases that are involved in many cellular processes. ROCK-driven actomyosin contractility regulates cytoskeletal dynamics underpinning cell migration, proliferation, and survival in many cancer types. ROCK1/2 play key protumorigenic roles in several subtypes and stages of cancer development. Therefore, successfully targeting ROCK and its downstream effectors presents an interesting avenue for cancer treatment. Because local use of ROCK inhibitors will reduce the side effects of systemic administration, we propose different therapeutic strategies and latest-generation ROCK inhibitors for use in the clinic.

A novel anoikis-related prognostic signature associated with prognosis and immune infiltration landscape in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Anoikis plays an essential function in tumourigenesis, whereas the role of anoikis in ccRCC remains unclear. Methods: Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) were collected from the MSigDB database. According to univariate Cox regression analysis, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm was utilized to select the ARGs associated with the overall rate (OS). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify 5 prognostic ARGs, and a risk model was established. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the OS rate of ccRCC patients. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSVA) were utilized to investigate the molecular mechanism of patients in the low- and high-risk group. ESTIMATE, CIBERSOT, and single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithms were conducted to estimate the immune infiltration landscape. Consensus clustering analysis was performed to divide the patients into different subgroups. Results: A fresh risk model was constructed based on the 5 prognostic ARGs (CHEK2, PDK4, ZNF304, SNAI2, SRC). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that the OS rate of patients with a low-risk score was significantly higher than those with a high-risk score. Consensus clustering analysis successfully clustered the patients into two subgroups, with a remarkable difference in immune infiltration landscape and prognosis. The ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and ssGSEA results illustrated a significant gap in immune infiltration landscape of patients in the low- and high-risk group. Enrichment analysis and GSVA revealed that immune-related signaling pathways might mediate the role of ARGs in ccRCC. The nomogram results illustrated that the ARGs prognostic signature was an independent prognostic predictor that distinguished it from other clinical characteristics. TIDE score showed a promising immunotherapy response of ccRCC patients in different risk subgroups and cluster subgroups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that ARGs play a carcinogenic role in ccRCC. Additionally, we firstly integrated multiple ARGs to establish a risk-predictive model. This study highlights that ARGs could be implemented as a stratification factor for individualized and precise treatment in ccRCC patients.