Morphological characteristics and co-stimulatory molecule (CD80, CD86, CD40) expression in tumor infiltrating dendritic cells in human endometrioid adenocarcinoma

Heterogeneity of CD40 Expression in Different Types of High-Risk Endometrial Cancer Affects Discordant Prognostic Outcomes

Background

The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in endometrial cancer is limited. At present, the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody is only used in patients with recurrence or metastasis. CD40 is an important immune checkpoint, which is expressed in tumor cells and immune cells, but its distribution characteristics in endometrial carcinoma have not been explored.

Methods

Sixty-eight cases of primary endometrial carcinoma treated in Peking University People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020 were collected, including 28 cases of poorly differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 23 cases of serous carcinoma and 17 cases of clear cell carcinoma. The relationship of CD40 expression and PD-L1 expression with their prognosis was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

Results

We found that CD40 had higher expression in non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma, which lead to the worse prognosis. The effect of high expression of CD40 on the prognosis of endometrioid adenocarcinoma was not significantly different, and most patients with good prognosis. We found that the proportion of CD40 distribution in tumor cells and immune cells may be associated with this heterogeneity.

Conclusion

The expression of CD40 in different endometrial cancers may indicate the difference prognosis, which may become a potential target for drug treatment of non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma.

Distribution of DC Subtypes: CD83+, DC-LAMP+, CD1a+, CD1c+, CD123+, and DC-SIGN+ in the Tumor Microenvironment of Endometrial Cancers-Correlation with Clinicopathologic Features

Treatment options for endometrial cancer (EC) do not provide satisfactory survival improvement for advanced cases, hence the interest in novel therapies utilizing immunological regulatory mechanisms. Measures to modify the functionality of dendritic cells (DCs) found in TME are intensively investigated, given that DCs play a crucial role in inducing antitumor immunity. Samples of malignant endometrial neoplasms obtained from 94 patients were immunohistochemically stained with selected antibodies. Counts of positively identified DCs were correlated with clinical advancement and histological malignancy of cancers. The most prominent DC subtypes were immature DC-SIGN+ or CD123+. Mature CD83+ DCs were the fewest. We found a significant divergence of grade value distribution between cancers of different DCs' CD1a+ counts. The DC-LAMP+ count was positively associated with grade. Cancers with the least DC CD1c+ or DC CD123+ had higher pT scores than ones that were more heavily infiltrated. ECs can suppress immune cells, hence the predominance of immature DCs in our samples. Associations between DC counts and clinicopathological features of EC were observed only for a few subsets, which was plausibly due to the low diversity of the obtained samples or the small group size. Predictive abilities of particular DC immune subsets within EC's TME remain ambiguous, which calls for further research.

Ferroptosis-Related lncRNA for the Establishment of Novel Prognostic Signature and Therapeutic Response Prediction to Endometrial Carcinoma

Background

Ferroptosis is a recently described form of intentional cellular damage that is iron-dependent and separate from apoptosis, cellular necrosis, and autophagy. It has been demonstrated to be adequately regulated by long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various cancers. However, the predictive profile of ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (FRLs) in endometrial carcinoma (EC) is unknown. Herein, FRLs associated with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) prognosis were screened to predict treatment response in EC.

Methods

Samples of EC and adjacent normal tissues were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset repository. Limma and survival packages in R software were used to screen FRLs associated with the prognosis of EC. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) chord and circle plots of FRLs were also plotted. Next, FRLs screened by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method were applied to construct and validate a multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model. Nomogram plots were created to forecast the outcome of UCEC patients, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), principal component analysis (PCA), and immunoassays were performed on the prognostic models. Finally, limma, ggpubr, pRRophetic, and ggplot2 programs were used for drug sensitivity analysis of the prognostic models.

Results

A signature based on nine FRLs (CFAP58-DT, LINC00443, EMSLR, HYI-AS1, ADIRF-AS1, LINC02474, CDKN2B-AS1, LINC01629, and LINC00942) was constructed. The developed FRL prognostic model effectively discriminated UCEC patients into low-risk and high-risk groups. Immunological checkpoints CD80 and CD40 were strongly expressed in the high-risk group. In addition, the nine FRLs were all more expressed in the high-risk group compared to the low-risk group.

Conclusion

These findings significantly contribute to the understanding of the function of FRLs in UCEC and provide promising therapeutic strategies for UCEC.

Edible Oxya chinensis sinuosa-Derived Protein as a Potential Nutraceutical for Anticancer Immunity Improvement

Oxya chinensis sinuosa (Ocs) is consumed as representative edible insects in Asia, but its function in various immune systems remains unclear. This study aimed to demonstrate the immunomodulatory effect, particularly on the innate and adaptive immune response, of Ocs protein (Ocs-P) and to investigate its function as a potent anticancer immunostimulant when administered during the progression stage of colon carcinoma in tumor-bearing mice. Our in vitro results demonstrated that Ocs-P treatment induces phenotypic alteration (increased expression of surface molecules and production of Th1-polarizing cytokines and decreased antigen uptake ability) of dendritic cells (DCs) through the activation of MAPK and NF-κB-dependent signaling pathways. Additionally, Ocs-P-stimulated DCs initiated differentiation of naive T cells into IFN-γ-producing Th1-type T cells effectively and activated cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cell response. In colon carcinoma-bearing mouse models, oral administration of Ocs-P inhibited tumor growth and restored the expression of decreased surface molecules in lineage^-CD11c⁺MHC-II⁺ splenic DCs. Furthermore, Ocs-P administration enhanced the generation of multifunctional CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells expressing Th1-type cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-2) and the degranulation marker (CD107a). Collectively, these results suggest that Ocs-P demonstrates an immunostimulatory effect and may induce powerful anticancer immunity.

Immune disorder in endometrial cancer: Immunosuppressive microenvironment, mechanisms of immune evasion and immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is an emerging clinical approach that has gained traction over the past decade as a novel treatment option for lung cancer and melanoma. Notably, researchers have made marked improvements in the treatment of endometrial cancer (EC), and potential immune responses have been identified in patients with EC, thereby offering the possibility of exploring immunotherapy for EC. Nevertheless, various needs remain unmet, and immunotherapy applications in EC have yielded limited success, as only a minority of patients exhibited a clinical response. Therefore, further understanding of immune dysfunction associated with EC is still required. The present review describes recent findings regarding the immunosuppressive microenvironment of EC, with emphasis on immune evasion mechanisms and immunotherapy in EC.

A biomimetic nanoparticle-enabled toxoid vaccine against melittin

Background

Melittin, the main active peptide ingredient of bee venom, can cause severe cell membrane lysis due to its robust interaction with negatively charged phospholipids. So far, no effective anti-melittin vaccine has been developed to protect people from undesired melittin intoxication.

Methods

Herein, we prepared a polydiacetylene (PDA) nanoparticle with cell membrane-mimic surface to complex melittin, forming an anti-melittin vaccine (PDA–melittin).

Results

PDA nanoparticles could effectively combine with melittin and neutralize its toxicity. PDA–melittin nanocomplex is demonstrated to enhance melittin uptake by DCs and stimulate strong melittin-specific immunity. Mice immunized with PDA–melittin nanocomplex showed higher survival rate after exposion to melittin than untreated mice.

Conclusion

The PDA–melittin nanocomplex can efficiently and safely generate a specific immunity against melittin to protect body from melittin intoxication, providing a new method with potential clinical application for the treatment of melittin intoxication.

Tumor-Infiltrated Lymphocytes, Macrophages, and Dendritic Cells in Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma of Corpus Uteri as Potential Prognostic Factors: An Immunohistochemical Study

AIM

In the present study, we aim to investigate the presence of inflammatory immune cells lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells as prognostic factors in the clinical outcome of endometrioid adenocarcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study used data from the Belarus cancer registry and archival histological material of 82 patients with stage I to III (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2009) with retrospectively known good (survival) and poor (disease progression and death) outcomes. All cases were immunohistochemically stained for CD3, CD20, CD57, CD68, and S100. Two independent samples were compared for the characteristics of signs, and obtained results were analyzed by ROC analysis, Mantel-Cox tests. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Expressions of CD3, CD57, and CD68 were significantly higher in the good outcome group (P < 0.001) compared with the poor outcome group. There was no significant difference between CD20 and S100 in the 2 groups. All criteria showed significant difference (P < 0.001) in survival of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our study showed for the first time that the low level of expression of markers for tumor-associated T lymphocytes (CD3), NK cells (CD57), macrophages (CD68), and an increased expression of markers for tumor-associated B lymphocytes (CD20) and dendritic cells (S100) in endometrioid adenocarcinoma progression lead to poor survival outcome. The associated criteria of these immune cells may be used as predictive factors in the diagnosis of tumor progression. Our study indicates that local antitumor immune response may be applied to define risk groups to predict clinical outcomes.

Epidermal growth factor receptor and B7-H3 expression in esophageal squamous tissues correlate to patient prognosis

Biomarkers that can serve as diagnostic and prognostic indicators of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are urgently needed to help improve patient outcomes. Here, the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and costimulatory molecule B7-H3, both of which have been implicated in tumor onset and progression in certain tumors, was investigated in relation to the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with ESCC. ESCC tissue samples were analyzed for 100 patients. Tumor and patient characteristics were recorded. Tissues were investigated for EGFR and B7-H3 staining by immunohistochemistry. Patients were followed for up to 96 months to determine overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). High expression for EGFR (68.0%) and B7-H3 (66.0%) was observed in the majority of cases. High expression of either EGFR or B7-H3 was correlated with tumor invasion depth and clinical stage (P<0.05). Further, high expression of either EGFR or B7-H3 was correlated with worse survival outcomes. The estimated OS (38.1 months) and PFS (13.4 months) of patients with high expression of EGFR were lower than those of patients with low expression (69.3 and 68.1 months, P<0.05). The estimated OS (31.1 months) and PFS (13.1 months) of patients with high expression of B7-H3 were also lower than those of patients with low expression (69.3 and 66.6 months, P<0.05). Indeed, Cox multiple regression showed that OS and PFS were correlated with EGFR (relative risk =1.853, 1.875, respectively) and B7-H3 (relative risk =1.886, 2.061, respectively) (all P<0.05) expression level. Thus, EGFR and B7-H3 are highly expressed in tumor tissues of patients with ESCC. Their expression levels are correlated with tumor severity and survival, and therefore these may be viable biomarkers to aid in prognosis determination.