High cytoplasm HABP1 expression as a predictor of poor survival and late tumor stage in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients

Hyaluronic acid as a tumor progression agent and a potential chemotherapeutic biomolecule against cancer: A review on its dual role

Hyaluronic acid is a major constituent of the extracellular matrix of vertebrate tissue that provides mechanical support to cells and acts as a mediator in regulation of necessary biochemical process essential for maintenance of tissue homeostasis. The variation in quantity of hyaluronic acid content in tissues is often associated with different pathological conditions. It is associated with tumor aggression and progression as it plays crucial role in regulating different aspects of tumorigenesis and several defined hallmarks of cancer. It assists in tumor progression by undergoing extracellular remodeling to establish tumor microenvironment which restricts the delivery of cytotoxic drugs to neoplastic cells due to increase in interstitial pressure. Hyaluronic acid catabolic and anabolic genes and low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid play significant role in the establishing tumor microenvironment by assisting in cell proliferation, metastasis and invasion. On the other hand, it is also used as an effective drug-delivery platform in cancer therapies as its biocompatibility and biodegradability lower the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs and increase drug retention. High-molecular weight hyaluronic acid-bioconjugates specifically bind with hyaladherins, facilitating targeted drug delivery and also exert anti-inflammatory properties. This review also highlights the market and patent trends in the development of effective chemotherapeutic hyaluronic acid formulations and the current scenario regarding clinical trials.

Estimating Metastatic Risk of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma at Single-Cell Resolution

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by intra-tumoral heterogeneity, and patients are always diagnosed after metastasis. Thus, finding out how to effectively estimate metastatic risk underlying PDAC is necessary. In this study, we proposed scMetR to evaluate the metastatic risk of tumor cells based on single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. First, we identified diverse cell types, including tumor cells and other cell types. Next, we grouped tumor cells into three sub-populations according to scMetR score, including metastasis-featuring tumor cells (MFTC), transitional metastatic tumor cells (TransMTC), and conventional tumor cells (ConvTC). We identified metastatic signature genes (MSGs) through comparing MFTC and ConvTC. Functional enrichment analysis showed that up-regulated MSGs were enriched in multiple metastasis-associated pathways. We also found that patients with high expression of up-regulated MSGs had worse prognosis. Spatial mapping of MFTC showed that they are preferentially located in the cancer and duct epithelium region, which was enriched with the ductal cells' associated inflammation. Further, we inferred cell-cell interactions, and observed that interactions of the ADGRE5 signaling pathway, which is associated with metastasis, were increased in MFTC compared to other tumor sub-populations. Finally, we predicted 12 candidate drugs that had the potential to reverse expression of MSGs. Taken together, we have proposed scMetR to estimate metastatic risk in PDAC patients at single-cell resolution which might facilitate the dissection of tumor heterogeneity.

Clinically Relevant Biology of Hyaluronic Acid in the Desmoplastic Stroma of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is notorious for its poor outcome. The presence of a dense desmoplastic stroma is a hallmark of this malignancy, and abundant hyaluronic acid (HA) within this stroma is a common feature of PDAC. At the end of 2019, an HA-targeting drug, after initial promise, failed phase 3 clinical trials in PDAC. This failure in the face of such strong evidence for biological importance forces us to turn back to the research and seek a better understanding of HA biology in PDAC. Therefore, in this review, we reexamine what is known about HA biology, the methods used to detect and quantify HA, and the ability of the biological models in which HA has been investigated to recapitulate an HA-rich desmoplastic tumor stroma. The role of HA in PDAC relies on its complex interplay with a range of HA-associated molecules, which have not been as extensively investigated as HA itself. Therefore, using large genomic data sets, we cataloged the abundance and activity in PDAC of molecules that modulate HA synthesis, degradation, protein interactions, and receptor binding. Based on their association with clinical characteristics and individual patient outcomes, we suggest a small number of HA-associated molecules that warrant further investigation as biomarkers and drug targets.

Prognostic and functional role of hyaluronan‑binding protein 1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Hyaluronan-binding protein 1 (HABP1) is among the molecules known to bind to hyaluronan and is involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation and migration. HABP1 has been implicated in the progression of various cancers; however, there have been (to the best of our knowledge) few studies on the expression and function of HABP1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a topic that is examined in the present study. Immunohistochemical analysis of HABP1 protein was conducted in archival tissues from 105 patients with PDAC. Furthermore, the functional effect of HABP1 on proliferation, colony formation, and migration in PDAC cells was examined by knockdown of HABP1. It was revealed that HABP1 was overexpressed in 49 (46.2%) out of 105 patients with PDAC. Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with high HABP1 expression than in those with low HABP1 expression (median survival time of 12.8 months vs. 28.5 months; log-rank test, P=0.004). Knockdown of HABP1 expression in PDAC cells resulted in decreased cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration activity. Thus, HABP1 may serve as a prognostic factor in PDAC and may be of use as a novel therapeutic target.

A Complement-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Overall Survival and Immunotherapy Efficacy in Sarcoma Patients

The prognoses of sarcomas are poor and the responses of them to systemic therapies are limited and controversial. Thus, there is an urgent need to stratify the risk factors and identify the patients who may benefit from systemic therapies. Here, we developed a reliable, complement-based gene signature to predict the prognosis of sarcoma patients. Survival-related complement genes were identified by univariate Cox analyses and were used to build a gene signature, which was further selected using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator model, and determined using a stepwise Cox proportional hazards regression model. The whole sarcoma cohort of TCGA was randomly divided into a training set and a test set. The signature was constructed using the training set and validated subsequently in the test set, the whole TCGA sarcoma cohort, and another two independent cohorts from the TARGET and GEO databases, respectively. Furthermore, the prognostic value of the signature was also validated in an independent cohort from our center. This model effectively predicted prognoses across the training set, different validation cohorts, and different clinical subgroups. Next, immune cell infiltration analysis, GO and KEGG analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis were performed to explore possible underlying mechanisms of this signature. Moreover, this signature may predict the response to immunotherapy. Collectively, the current complement-related gene signature can predict overall survival and possible immunotherapy response of sarcoma patients; it may serve as a powerful prognostic tool to further optimize clinical treatment and prognosis management for sarcoma patients.

Exosome-delivered CD44v6/C1QBP complex drives pancreatic cancer liver metastasis by promoting fibrotic liver microenvironment

OBJECTIVE

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) shows a remarkable predilection for liver metastasis. Pro-oncogenic secretome delivery and trafficking via exosomes are crucial for pre-metastatic microenvironment formation and metastasis. This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of how PDAC-derived exosomes (Pex) modulate the liver microenvironment and promote metastasis.

DESIGN

C57BL/6 mice were 'educated' by tail vein Pex injection. The intrasplenic injection liver metastasis and PDAC orthotopic transplantation models were used to evaluate liver metastasis. Stable cell lines CD44v6 (CD44 variant isoform 6) or C1QBP (complement C1q binding protein) knockdown or overexpression was established using lentivirus transfection or gateway systems. A total of 142 patients with PDAC in Huashan Hospital were retrospectively enrolled. Prognosis and liver metastasis were predicted using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Pex tail vein injection induced the deposition of liver fibrotic extracellular matrix, which promoted PDAC liver metastasis. Specifically, the exosomal CD44v6/C1QBP complex was delivered to the plasma membrane of hepatic satellite cells (HSCs), leading to phosphorylation of insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling molecules, which resulted in HSC activation and liver fibrosis. Expression of Pex CD44v6 and C1QBP in PDAC patients with liver metastasis was significantly higher than in PDAC patients without liver metastasis, and simultaneous high expression of exosomal CD44v6 and C1QBP correlated with a worse prognosis and a higher risk of postoperative PDAC liver metastasis.

CONCLUSION

The Pex-derived CD44v6/C1QBP complex is essential for the formation of a fibrotic liver microenvironment and PDAC liver metastasis. Highly expressed exosomal CD44v6 and C1QBP are promising biomarkers for predicting prognosis and liver metastasis in patients with PDAC.

Noninvasive evaluation of HABP1 expression with 99mTc-labeled small-interference RNA in ovarian cancer

PURPOSE

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancers in women with a low 5-year survival rate. Evaluation of hyaluronic acid-binding protein 1 (HABP1) level can provide important information for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. In this study, we designed a novel HABP1 probe based on ^99mTc-radiolabeled small-interference RNA (siRNA) for detecting HABP1 expression noninvasively in vivo, thereby providing a new method for its diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

A specific siHABP1 was selected because of its targetability and silencing effect. A negative control siRNA (NCsiRNA) with no homology with the human genome was used. SiHABP1 and NCsiRNA were radiolabeled with ^99mTc using the bifunctional chelating agent hydrazinonicotinamide (HYNIC). The radiochemical purity and in vitro stability of the probe were determined by HPLC. The binding activity was measured by western blotting (WB) and RT-PCR. The HABP1-overexpressing human ovarian cancer cell line HO-8910 was used for cell uptake experiments, which were performed with or without transfection and measured with a gamma counter. HO8910-bearing mice were imaged at 1, 4, and 10 h, and biodistribution analysis was performed at 1, 4, 6, and 10 h after injection of ^99mTc-HYNIC-siRNA.

RESULTS

^99mTc-HYNIC-siHABP1 had high radiochemical purity and good in vitro stability, and showed the same binding capacity and silencing effect as siHABP1. SPECT imaging showed that tumors were clearly visualized at 10 h after injection of ^99mTc-HYNIC-siHABP1 but not after ^99mTc-HYNIC-NCsiRNA, implying specific binding. The biodistribution results were consistent with those of SPECT imaging.

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that ^99mTc-HYNIC-siHABP1 is a feasible probe for the noninvasive visualization of HABP1 expression in ovarian cancer.

Hypoxia-Mediated Complement 1q Binding Protein Regulates Metastasis and Chemoresistance in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Modulates the PKC-NF-κB-VCAM-1 Signaling Pathway

Objectives

Complement 1q binding protein (C1QBP/HABP1/p32/gC1qR) has been found to be overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the underlying mechanisms of high C1QBP expression and its role in TNBC remain largely unclear. Hypoxia is a tumor-associated microenvironment that promotes metastasis and paclitaxel (PTX) chemoresistance in tumor cells. In this study, we aimed to assess C1QBP expression and explore its role in hypoxia-related metastasis and chemoresistance in TNBC.

Materials and Methods

RNA-sequencing of TNBC cells under hypoxia was performed to identify C1QBP. The effect of hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF-1α) on C1QBP expression was investigated using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. The role of C1QBP in mediating metastasis, chemoresistance to PTX, and regulation of metastasis-linked vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) expression were studied using in vitro and in vivo experiments. Clinical tissue microarrays were used to verify the correlation of C1QBP with the expression of HIF-1α, VCAM-1, and RELA proto-oncogene nuclear factor-kappa B subunit (P65).

Results

We found that hypoxia-induced HIF-1α upregulated C1QBP. The inhibition of C1QBP notably blocked metastasis of TNBC cells and increased their sensitivity to PTX under hypoxic conditions. Depletion of C1QBP decreased VCAM-1 expression by reducing the amount of P65 in the nucleus and suppressed the activation of hypoxia-induced protein kinase C-nuclear factor-kappa B (PKC-NF-κB) signaling.immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of the tissue microarray showed positive correlations between the C1QBP level and those of HIF-1α, P65, and VCAM-1.

Conclusion

Targeting C1QBP along with PTX treatment might be a potential treatment for TNBC patients.

Antitumor Effect and Immune Response of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields in Pancreatic Cancer

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have emerged as a novel and effective strategy for the non-surgical and minimally invasive removal of tumors. However, the effects of nsPEFs treatment on the tumor immune microenvironment remain unknown. In this study, the changes in the morphology and function of pancreatic cancer cells after nsPEFs were assessed and the modifications in the immune profile in pancreatic cancer models were investigated. To this end, electrodes were inserted with different parameters applied to ablate the targeted tumor tissues. Tumor development was found to be inhibited, with decreased volumes post-nsPEFs treatment compared with control tumors (P < 0.05). Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed morphological changes in pancreatic cancer cells, Ki-67 staining confirmed the effects of nsPEFs on tumor growth, and caspase-3 staining indicated that nsPEFs caused apoptosis in the early stages after treatment. Three days after nsPEFs, positron emission tomography demonstrated little residual metabolic activity compared with the control group. Gene expression profiling identified significant changes in immune-related pathways. After treatment with nsPEFs, CD8⁺ T lymphocytes increased. We showed that nsPEFs led to a significant decrease in immune suppressive cells, including myeloid derived suppressor cells, T regulatory cells, and tumor-associated macrophages. In addition, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β increased (P < 0.05), while the level of IL-6 was decreased (P < 0.05). NsPEFs alleviated the immunosuppressive components in pancreatic cancer stroma, including hyaluronic acid and fibroblast activation protein-α. Our data demonstrate that tumor growth can be effectively inhibited by nsPEFs in vivo. NsPEFs significantly altered the infiltration of immune cells and triggered immune response.

Globular C1q Receptor (gC1qR/p32/HABP1) Suppresses the Tumor-Inhibiting Role of C1q and Promotes Tumor Proliferation in 1q21-Amplified Multiple Myeloma

Immunodeficiencies are widely becoming known as important features of multiple myeloma (MM) and may promote the proliferation of malignant cells as well as confer resistance to therapy. Few studies focus on the immunomodulatory effects of the complement system on MM. This study aims to explore the role of C1q in MM patients. Plasma C1q was found to be significantly reduced in MM patients, and the amount of C1q deposited around the CD138⁺ cells in bone marrow (BM) biopsy sections was observed to be much higher, especially in the subgroup with 1q21 amplification (Amp1q21). CD138⁺ cells expressed higher levels of C1q receptors (C1qRs) than CD138⁻ cells. Patients with Amp1q21 expressed higher levels of globular C1qR (gC1qR), whereas patients without Amp21 expressed higher levels of collagen tail C1qR (cC1qR). Additionally, gC1qR was noted to suppress the MM-inhibiting role of C1q in H929, U266, and MM1S. gC1qR interacts with insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3), which also suppressed the function of C1q and regulated CDC28 protein kinase regulatory subunit 1B (CKS1B) mRNA. In summary, gC1qR suppressed the MM-inhibiting role of C1q and regulated CKS1B mRNA in promoting tumor proliferation via IGF2BP3 in 1q21-amplified MM. Our findings provide novel evidence on how MM cells evade the immune system and promote survival as well as suggest possible novel targets for future therapies of MM.

LyP-1-fMWNTs enhanced targeted delivery of MBD1siRNA to pancreatic cancer cells

Functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes have been extensively gained popularity in pancreatic cancer gene therapy. LyP‐1, a peptide, has been proved to specifically bind pancreatic cancer cells. The potential therapeutic effect of LyP‐1–conjugated functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes in treating pancreatic cancer is still unknown. In this study, LyP‐1–conjugated functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes were successfully synthesized, characterized and showed satisfactory size distribution and zeta potential. Compared with functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes, cellular uptake of LyP‐1–functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes was shown to be increased. Compound of LyP‐1–functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and MBD1siRNA showed superior gene transfection efficiency. Moreover, LyP‐1‐fMWNTs/MBD1siRNA complex could significantly decrease the viability and proliferation and promoted apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. Further xenograft assays revealed that the tumour burden in the nude mice injected with LyP‐1–functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes/MBD1siRNA was significantly relieved. The study demonstrated that LyP‐1–functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes/MBD1siRNA could be a promising candidate for tumour active targeting therapy in pancreatic cancer.