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Zhu S, Zou M, Li C, Tang Y, Luo H, Dong X. MC1R regulates T regulatory cell differentiation through metabolic reprogramming to promote colon cancer. Int Immunopharmacol 2024; 138:112546. [PMID: 38917522 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Until 2021, colon cancer was a leading cancer globally. Early detection improves outcomes; however, advanced cases still having poor prognosis. Therefore, an understanding of associated molecular mechanisms is crucial for developing new preventive and therapeutic strategies for colon cancer. METHODS The TCGA database was analyzed to assess melanocortin 1receptor (MC1R) expression in colon cancer and its link with patient prognosis. Further, models and diverse experimental techniques were employed to investigate the impact of MC1R on colon cancer progression and its underlying mechanism was elucidated. RESULTS In a follow-up study of clinical patients, the important role of MC1R was identified in the development of colon cancer. First, MC1R was expressed more highly in colon tumor tissues than in adjacent tissues. In addition, MC1R was associated with colon cancer prognosis, and higher expression of MC1R tended to predict a worse prognosis. This conclusion was verified in MC1R-/- mice, which showed a greater resistance to tumor growth than wild-type mice, as expected. Further investigation revealed a significant change in the portion of Tregs in MC1R-/- mice, while the portion of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells remained unchanged. The in vitro experiments revealed a weaker ability of the MC1R-/- T cells to differentiate into Tregs. Previous studies report that the functional integrity of Tregs is interwoven with cellular metabolism. Therefore, MC1R was deduced to regulate the differentiation of Tregs by reprogramming the metabolism. As expected, MC1R-/- T cells exhibited weaker mitochondrial function and a lower aerobic oxidation capacity. Concurrently, the MC1R-/- T cells had stronger limiting effects on colon cancer cells. According to these results, the MC1R inhibitor was hypothesized as a potential therapeutic agent to suppress colon cancer. The results showed that upon MC1R suppression, the tumors in the mice developed more slowly, and the mice survived longer, potentially providing a novel strategy to treat clinical colon cancer. CONCLUSION By regulating Tregs differentiation, MC1R overexpression in colon cancer correlates with poor prognosis, while MC1R inhibition shows potential as a therapeutic approach to slow tumor growth and enhance survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoliang Zhu
- Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreas and Spleen Surgery, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China
| | - Mengjie Zou
- Department of Nephrology, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China
| | - Chunxing Li
- Department of Operating Room, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China
| | - Yuntian Tang
- Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreas and Spleen Surgery, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China.
| | - Honglin Luo
- Institute of Oncology, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China.
| | - Xiaofeng Dong
- Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreas and Spleen Surgery, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China.
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Forchhammer S, Pop OT, Hahn M, Aebischer V, Seitz CM, Schroeder C, Liebmann A, Abele M, Wild H, Bien E, Kunc M, Schneider DT, Cuk K, Büttel I, Flemmig C, Peters M, Laible M, Brück P, Türeci Ö, Sahin U, Flatz L, Brecht IB. Expression of the tumor antigens NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE in pediatric and adult melanoma: a retrospective case control study. Virchows Arch 2024:10.1007/s00428-024-03846-0. [PMID: 38890171 DOI: 10.1007/s00428-024-03846-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are potential targets for T cell-based immunotherapy approaches in cutaneous melanoma. BNT111, an investigational lipoplex-formulated mRNA-based therapeutic cancer vaccine encoding melanoma TAAs NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE, is undergoing clinical testing in adults. Expression of these TAAs in pediatric melanoma is unclear but is a prerequisite for feasibility of this treatment approach in children with melanoma. Our main objective was to characterize expression of those TAAs in pediatric melanomas compared to control cohorts. In this retrospective case control study, protein and transcript expression of NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE were analyzed in a cohort of 25 pediatric melanomas, 31 melanomas of young adults, 29 adult melanomas, and 30 benign melanocytic nevi in children using immunohistochemical staining and digital pathology (QuPath) and reverse transcription quantitative PCR. Based on IHC analysis, pediatric melanomas expressed tyrosinase (100.0%), TPTE (44.0%), MAGE-A3 (12.0%), and NY-ESO-1 (8.0%). Young adult melanomas expressed tyrosinase (96.8%), NY-ESO-1 (19.4%), MAGE-A3 (19.4%), and TPTE (3.2%). Adult melanomas expressed tyrosinase (86.2%), MAGE-A3 (75.9%), NY-ESO-1 (48.3%), and TPTE (48.3%). Childhood melanocytic nevi only expressed tyrosinase (93.3%). Expression prevalence of individual TAAs did not differ between subtypes of pediatric melanoma, and no association with prognosis was found. All four TAAs were expressed in pediatric melanoma, albeit NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A3 to a lesser extent than in adult melanoma. These data support the possibility of investigating vaccines targeting these TAAs for the treatment of pediatric melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Forchhammer
- Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Liebermeisterstrasse 25, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Oltin Tiberiu Pop
- Institute for Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Hahn
- Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Liebermeisterstrasse 25, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Valentin Aebischer
- Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Liebermeisterstrasse 25, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Christian M Seitz
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Christopher Schroeder
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Liebmann
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Michael Abele
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Hannah Wild
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ewa Bien
- Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Michal Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Dominik T Schneider
- Clinic of Pediatrics, Dortmund Municipal Hospital, University Witten/Herdecke, Dortmund, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lukas Flatz
- Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Liebermeisterstrasse 25, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
- Institute for Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Ines B Brecht
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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Abele M, Forchhammer S, Eigentler TK, Popescu A, Maschke L, Lohse J, Lehrnbecher T, Behnisch W, Groll AH, Jakob M, Bernbeck B, Brecht IB, Schneider DT. Melanoma of the central nervous system based on neurocutaneous melanocytosis in childhood: A rare but fatal condition. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2024; 71:e30859. [PMID: 38225622 DOI: 10.1002/pbc.30859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Melanomas of the central nervous system (CNS) based on neurocutaneous melanocytosis (NCM) are exceptionally rare in childhood and have been described only sporadically. Rapidly progressive disease may represent a major challenge for treating physicians, especially given the limited knowledge about this condition. This analysis aimed to increase knowledge about the occurrence and treatment of these malignancies. PROCEDURE Data on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients aged 0-18 years with CNS melanoma based on NCM recorded in the German Registry for Rare Pediatric Tumors (STEP registry) were analyzed. Additionally, published case reports on this condition were analyzed. RESULTS In STEP, five patients with leptomeningeal melanoma based on NCM were identified, with a median age at melanoma diagnosis of 3.7 years. Various multimodal treatments were performed: (partial) resection (n = 4), irradiation (n = 2), trametinib (n = 3), different cytostatics (n = 2), and anti-GD2 immunotherapy (n = 1). All patients died between 0.3 and 0.8 years after diagnosis. Including published case reports, 27 patients were identified with a median age of 2.8 years at melanoma diagnosis (range: 0.2-16.6). Fourteen of 16 cases with reported data had a NRAS alteration (88%), particularly NRAS p.Q61K (85%). In the expanded cohort, no patient survived longer than 1 year after diagnosis despite multimodal therapy (including trametinib; n = 9), with a median survival of 0.4 years (range 0.1-0.9). CONCLUSIONS CNS melanomas based on NCM in childhood are aggressive malignancies without curative treatment to date. Therapeutic approaches must be individualized. Genetic tumor sequencing is essential to improve understanding of tumorigenesis and potentially identify new therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Abele
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stephan Forchhammer
- Department of Dermatology, Center for Dermatooncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas K Eigentler
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Aryana Popescu
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Linda Maschke
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Judith Lohse
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
| | - Thomas Lehrnbecher
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Hemostaseology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Behnisch
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andreas H Groll
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Marcus Jakob
- Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Hospital of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Benedikt Bernbeck
- Clinic of Pediatrics, Klinikum Dortmund, University Witten/Herdecke, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Ines B Brecht
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dominik T Schneider
- Clinic of Pediatrics, Klinikum Dortmund, University Witten/Herdecke, Dortmund, Germany
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