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Ma P, Sun W. Integrated single-cell and bulk sequencing analyses with experimental validation identify the prognostic and immunological implications of CD226 in pan-cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:14597-14617. [PMID: 37580402 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-05268-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE CD226 (DNAM-1) is an activating receptor mainly expressed in CD8 + and NK cells. CD226 deficiency and blockade have been shown to impair tumor suppression, while enhanced CD226 expression positively correlated with the increased efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies. However, the detailed function and role of CD226 in pan-cancer are largely unknown and require further in-depth investigation. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the biological functions of CD226, its role in tumor immunity, and its potential to predict prognosis and immunotherapy response in pan-cancer. METHODS By taking advantage of single-cell and bulk sequencing analyses, we analyzed the expression profile of CD226, its correlation with patient prognosis, immune infiltration level, immune-related genes, tumor heterogeneity, and stemness in pan-cancer. We also investigated the biological functions of CD226 using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and evaluated its predictive value in response to immunotherapy and small-molecule targeted drugs. In addition, we validated the expression of CD226 in tumor-infiltrating CD8 + and NK cells and studied its association with their functions using a murine B16F10 melanoma model. RESULTS CD226 exhibited differential expression across most tumor types, and its elevated expression was associated with improved clinical outcomes in multiple cancer types. CD226 is closely correlated with numerous tumor-infiltrating immune cells, tumor stemness, and heterogeneity in most cancers. Furthermore, based on single-cell sequencing analysis, CD226 expression was found to be higher on effector CD4 + T cells than naïve CD4 + T cells, and its expression level was decreased in exhausted CD8 + T cells relative to effector CD8 + T cells in multiple cancer types. Additionally, flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that CD226 was highly correlated with the function of tumor-infiltrating NK and CD8 + T cells in murine B16F10 melanoma. Moreover, GSEA analysis revealed that CD226 was closely associated with T cell activation, natural killer cell mediated immunity, natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and T cell receptor signaling pathway. Finally, CD226 showed promising predictive potential for responsiveness to both ICB therapies and various small-molecule targeted drugs. CONCLUSION CD226 has shown great potential as an innovative biomarker for predicting patient prognosis, immune infiltration levels, and the function of tumor-infiltrating CD8 + T cells, as well as immunotherapy response. Additionally, our findings suggest that the optimal modification of CD226 expression and function, combined with current ICBs, could be a promising strategy for tumor immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Ma
- Department of Gastroenterology, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Weili Sun
- Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), 110 Pine Ave W, Montreal, QC, H2W 1R7, Canada.
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2
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Budi HS, Farhood B. Tumor microenvironment remodeling in oral cancer: Application of plant derived-natural products and nanomaterials. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 233:116432. [PMID: 37331557 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Oral cancers consist of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and other malignancies in the mouth with varying degrees of invasion and differentiation. For many years, different modalities such as surgery, radiation therapy, and classical chemotherapy drugs have been used to control the growth of oral tumors. Nowadays, studies have confirmed the remarkable effects of the tumor microenvironment (TME) on the development, invasion, and therapeutic resistance of tumors like oral cancers. Therefore, several studies have been conducted to modulate the TME in various types of tumors in favor of cancer suppression. Natural products are intriguing agents for targeting cancers and TME. Flavonoids, non-flavonoid herbal-derived molecules, and other natural products have shown promising effects on cancers and TME. These agents, such as curcumin, resveratrol, melatonin, quercetin and naringinin have demonstrated potency in suppressing oral cancers. In this paper, we will review and discuss about the potential efficacy of natural adjuvants on oral cancer cells. Furthermore, we will review the possible therapeutic effects of these agents on the TME and oral cancer cells. Moreover, the potential of nanoparticles-loaded natural products for targeting oral cancers and TME will be reviewed. The potentials, gaps, and future perspectives for targeting TME by nanoparticles-loaded natural products will also be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Setia Budi
- Department of Oral Biology, Dental Pharmacology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
| | - Bagher Farhood
- Department of Medical Physics and Radiology, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
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3
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Yang J, Ye H, Fan X, Li Y, Wu X, Zhao M, Hu Q, Ye Y, Wu L, Li Z, Zhang X, Liang C, Wang Y, Xu Y, Li Q, Yao S, You D, Zhao K, Liu Z. Artificial intelligence for quantifying immune infiltrates interacting with stroma in colorectal cancer. J Transl Med 2022; 20:451. [PMID: 36195956 PMCID: PMC9533523 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03666-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We proposed an artificial intelligence-based immune index, Deep-immune score, quantifying the infiltration of immune cells interacting with the tumor stroma in hematoxylin and eosin-stained whole-slide images of colorectal cancer. Methods A total of 1010 colorectal cancer patients from three centers were enrolled in this retrospective study, divided into a primary (N = 544) and a validation cohort (N = 466). We proposed the Deep-immune score, which reflected both tumor stroma proportion and the infiltration of immune cells in the stroma region. We further analyzed the correlation between the score and CD3+ T cells density in the stroma region using immunohistochemistry-stained whole-slide images. Survival analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazard model, and the endpoint of the event was the overall survival. Result Patients were classified into 4-level score groups (score 1–4). A high Deep-immune score was associated with a high level of CD3+ T cells infiltration in the stroma region. In the primary cohort, survival analysis showed a significant difference in 5-year survival rates between score 4 and score 1 groups: 87.4% vs. 58.2% (Hazard ratio for score 4 vs. score 1 0.27, 95% confidence interval 0.15–0.48, P < 0.001). Similar trends were observed in the validation cohort (89.8% vs. 67.0%; 0.31, 0.15–0.62, < 0.001). Stratified analysis showed that the Deep-immune score could distinguish high-risk and low-risk patients in stage II colorectal cancer (P = 0.018). Conclusion The proposed Deep-immune score quantified by artificial intelligence can reflect the immune status of patients with colorectal cancer and is associate with favorable survival. This digital pathology-based finding might advocate change in risk stratification and consequent precision medicine. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-022-03666-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Cardiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huifen Ye
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Radiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China.,The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinjuan Fan
- Department of Pathology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yajun Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaomei Wu
- Department of Radiology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Minning Zhao
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingru Hu
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yunrui Ye
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lin Wu
- Department of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Yunnan Cancer Center, Kunming, China
| | - Zhenhui Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Yunnan Cancer Center, Kunming, China
| | - Xueli Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Eye Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Changhong Liang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Radiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Yingyi Wang
- Department of Radiology, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Yao Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.,School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qian Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Su Yao
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
| | - Dingyun You
- School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, 191 West Renmin Road, Kunming, 650500, China.
| | - Ke Zhao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China. .,Department of Radiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China. .,Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Zaiyi Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China. .,Department of Radiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
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4
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Chen K, Wang S, Qi D, Ma P, Fang Y, Jiang N, Wu E, Li N. Clinical Investigations of CAR-T Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors. Front Immunol 2022; 13:896685. [PMID: 35924243 PMCID: PMC9339623 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.896685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell therapy is a distinguished targeted immunotherapy with great potential to treat solid tumors in the new era of cancer treatment. Cell therapy products include genetically engineered cell products and non-genetically engineered cell products. Several recent cell therapies, especially chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies, have been approved as novel treatment strategies for cancer. Many clinical trials on cell therapies, in the form of cell therapy alone or in combination with other treatments, in solid tumors, have been conducted or ongoing. However, there are still challenges since adverse events and the limited efficacy of cell therapies have also been observed. Here, we concisely summarize the clinical milestones of the conducted and ongoing clinical trials of cell therapy, introduce the evolution of CARs, discuss the challenges and limitations of these therapeutic modalities taking CAR-T as the main focus, and analyze the disparities in the regulatory policies in different countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Chen
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Pulmonary Immune-Related Diseases, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, China
| | - Shuhang Wang
- Clinical Cancer Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Qi
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States
| | - Peiwen Ma
- Clinical Cancer Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Fang
- Clinical Cancer Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Jiang
- Clinical Cancer Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Erxi Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States
- Texas A&M University Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, College Station, TX, United States
- LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes and Department of Oncology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Ning Li
- Clinical Cancer Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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5
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Pan S, Tang T, Wu Y, Zhang L, Song Z, Yu S. Identification and Validation of Immune-Related Prognostic Genes in the Tumor Microenvironment of Colon Adenocarcinoma. Front Genet 2022; 12:778153. [PMID: 35047006 PMCID: PMC8762242 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.778153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) has been shown to be involved in angiogenesis, tumor metastasis, and immune response, thereby affecting the treatment and prognosis of patients. This study aims to identify genes that are dysregulated in the TME of patients with colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) and to evaluate their prognostic value based on RNA omics data. We obtained 512 COAD samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and 579 COAD patients from the independent dataset (GSE39582) in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The immune/stromal/ESTIMATE score of each patient based on their gene expression was calculated using the ESTIMATE algorithm. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox regression analysis, gene functional enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis were performed. We found that immune and stromal scores were significantly correlated with COAD patients' overall survival (log rank p < 0.05). By comparing the high immune/stromal score group with the low score group, we identified 688 intersection differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the TCGA dataset (663 upregulated and 25 downregulated). The functional enrichment analysis of intersection DEGs showed that they were mainly enriched in the immune process, cell migration, cell motility, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. The hub genes were revealed by PPI network analysis. Through Kaplan-Meier and Cox analysis, four TME-related genes that were significantly related to the prognosis of COAD patients were verified in GSE39582. In addition, we uncovered the relationship between the four prognostic genes and immune cells in COAD. In conclusion, based on the RNA expression profiles of 1091 COAD patients, we screened four genes that can predict prognosis from the TME, which may serve as candidate prognostic biomarkers for COAD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Sisi Yu
- Department of Pathology, Ruian People’s Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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6
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Pan J, Weng Z, Xue C, Lin B, Lin M. The Bioinformatics-Based Analysis Identifies 7 Immune-Related Genes as Prognostic Biomarkers for Colon Cancer. Front Oncol 2021; 11:726701. [PMID: 34900677 PMCID: PMC8663025 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.726701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Colon cancer poses a great threat to human health. Currently, there is no effective treatment for colon cancer due to its complex causative factors. Immunotherapy has now become a new method for tumor treatment. In this study, 487 DEGs were screened from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and ImmPort database, and GeneOntology (GO) functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was performed. Hierarchical clustering of all samples revealed a significant correlation between colon cancer and immunity. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) algorithm was used to identify key gene modules associated with immunity in colon cancer, here, module grey60 showed the highest correlation. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database to screen hub genes, and subsequently, 7 immune-related genes the most closely associated with colon cancer were identified by differential expression in cancer and paracancer. Finally, a risk prediction model was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) COX analysis, and the accuracy of the model was validated by GSE14333. This study determined that IRF4 and TNFRSF17 were immune-related genes in colon cancer, providing immune-related prognostic biomarkers for colon cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Pan
- Department of Emergency Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Zongqi Weng
- Department of Emergency Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Chaorong Xue
- Department of Emergency Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Bingqiang Lin
- Department of Emergency Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Mengxin Lin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
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7
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Qi D, Liu Y, Li J, Huang JH, Hu X, Wu E. Salinomycin as a potent anticancer stem cell agent: State of the art and future directions. Med Res Rev 2021; 42:1037-1063. [PMID: 34786735 PMCID: PMC9298915 DOI: 10.1002/med.21870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subpopulation of cells within a tumor that can both self‐renew and differentiate into other cell types forming the heterogeneous tumor bulk. Since CSCs are involved in all aspects of cancer development, including tumor initiation, cell proliferation, metastatic dissemination, therapy resistance, and recurrence, they have emerged as attractive targets for cancer treatment and management. Salinomycin, a widely used antibiotic in poultry farming, was identified by the Weinberg group as a potent anti‐CSC agent in 2009. As a polyether ionophore, salinomycin exerts broad‐spectrum activities, including the important anti‐CSC function. Studies on the mechanism of action of salinomycin against cancer have been continuously and rapidly published since then. Thus, it is imperative for us to update its literature of recent research findings in this area. We here summarize the notable work reported on salinomycin's anticancer activities, intracellular binding target(s), effects on tumor microenvironment, safety, derivatives, and tumor‐specific drug delivery; after that we also discuss the translational potential of salinomycin toward clinical application based on current multifaceted understandings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Qi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA
| | - Yunyi Liu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Engineering for Theranostics, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Juan Li
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Engineering for Theranostics, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Jason H Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA.,Department of Surgery, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Temple, Texas, USA
| | - Xiaoxiao Hu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Engineering for Theranostics, Hunan University, Changsha, China.,Shenzhen Research Institute, Hunan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Erxi Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA.,Department of Surgery, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Temple, Texas, USA.,LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes and Department of Oncology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas A&M University College of Pharmacy, College Station, Texas, USA
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8
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Trailblazing perspectives on targeting breast cancer stem cells. Pharmacol Ther 2021; 223:107800. [PMID: 33421449 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.107800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BCa) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors affecting women's health worldwide. The recurrence and metastasis of BCa have made it a long-standing challenge to achieve remission-persistent or disease-undetectable clinical outcomes. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess the ability to self-renew and generate heterogeneous tumor bulk. The existence of CSCs has been found to be vital in the initiation, metastasis, therapy resistance, and recurrence of tumors across cancer types. Because CSCs grow slowly in their dormant state, they are insensitive to conventional chemotherapies; however, when CSCs emerge from their dormant state and become clinically evident, they usually acquire genetic traits that make them resistant to existing therapies. Moreover, CSCs also show evidence of acquired drug resistance in synchrony with tumor relapses. The concept of CSCs provides a new treatment strategy for BCa. In this review, we highlight the recent advances in research on breast CSCs and their association with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), plasticity of tumor cells, tumor microenvironment (TME), T-cell modulatory protein PD-L1, and non-coding RNAs. On the basis that CSCs are associated with multiple dysregulated biological processes, we envisage that increased understanding of disease sub-classification, selected combination of conventional treatment, molecular aberration directed therapy, immunotherapy, and CSC targeting/sensitizing strategy might improve the treatment outcome of patients with advanced BCa. We also discuss novel perspectives on new drugs and therapeutics purposing the potent and selective expunging of CSCs.
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9
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Ma J, Cheng P, Chen X, Zhou C, Zheng W. Mining of prognosis-related genes in cervical squamous cell carcinoma immune microenvironment. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9627. [PMID: 32904067 PMCID: PMC7450998 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study was to explore the effective immune scoring method and mine the novel and potential immune microenvironment-related diagnostic and prognostic markers for cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSSC). Materials and Methods The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data was downloaded and multiple data analysis approaches were initially used to search for the immune-related scoring system on the basis of Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumour tissues using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm. Afterwards, the representative genes in the gene modules correlated with immune-related scores based on ESTIMATE algorithm were further screened using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) and network topology analysis. Gene functions were mined through enrichment analysis, followed by exploration of the correlation between these genes and immune checkpoint genes. Finally, survival analysis was applied to search for genes with significant association with overall survival and external database was employed for further validation. Results The immune-related scores based on ESTIMATE algorithm was closely associated with other categories of scores, the HPV infection status, prognosis and the mutation levels of multiple CSCC-related genes (HLA and TP53). Eighteen new representative immune microenvironment-related genes were finally screened closely associated with patient prognosis and were further validated by the independent dataset GSE44001. Conclusion Our present study suggested that the immune-related scores based on ESTIMATE algorithm can help to screen out novel immune-related diagnostic indicators, therapeutic targets and prognostic predictors in CSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiong Ma
- Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Pu Cheng
- Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hang Zhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Xuejun Chen
- Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Chunxia Zhou
- Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Wei Zheng
- Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hang Zhou, China
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10
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Ansems M, Span PN. The tumor microenvironment and radiotherapy response; a central role for cancer-associated fibroblasts. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 2020; 22:90-97. [PMID: 32337377 PMCID: PMC7177030 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctro.2020.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor growth is not only dictated by events involving tumor cells, but also by the environment they reside in, the so-called tumor microenvironment (TME). In the TME, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are often the predominant cell type. CAFs were long considered to be of limited importance in the TME, but are now recognized for their pivotal role in cancer progression. Recently, it has become evident that different subsets of CAFs exist, with certain CAF subtypes having protumorigenic properties, whereas others show more antitumorigenic characteristics. Currently, the intricate interaction between the different subsets of CAFs with tumor cells, but also with immune cells that reside in the TME, is still poorly understood. This crosstalk of CAFs with tumor and immune cells in the TME largely dictates how a tumor responds to therapy and whether the tumor will eventually be eliminated, stay dormant or will progress and metastasize. Radiotherapy (RT) is a widely used and mostly very effective local cancer treatment, but CAFs are remarkably RT resistant. Although radiation does cause persistent DNA damage, CAFs do not die upon clinically applied doses of RT, but rather become senescent. Through the secretion of cytokines and growth factors they have been implicated in the induction of tumor radioresistance and recruitment of specific immune cells to the TME, thereby affecting local immune responses. In this review we will discuss the versatile role of CAFs in the TME and their influence on RT response.
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