Overexpression of FAM3C is associated with poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Network-Based Transcriptome Analysis Reveals FAM3C as a Novel Potential Biomarker for Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common form of malignant primary brain tumor with a high mortality rate. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical significance of Family with Sequence Similarity 3, Member C, FAM3C, in GBM using bioinformatic-integrated analysis. First, we performed the transcriptomic integration analysis to assess the expression profile of FAM3C in GBM using several data sets (RNA-sequencing and scRNA-sequencing), which were obtained from TCGA and GEO databases. By using the STRING platform, we investigated FAM3C-coregulated genes to construct the protein-protein interaction network. Next, Metascape, Enrichr, and CIBERSORT databases were used. We found FAM3C high expression in GBM with poor survival rates. Further, we observed, via FAM3C coexpression network analysis, that FAM3C plays key roles in several hallmarks of cancer. Surprisingly, we also highlighted five FAM3C‑coregulated genes overexpressed in GBM. Specifically, we demonstrated the association between the high expression of FAM3C and the abundance of the different immune cells, which may markedly worsen GBM prognosis. For the first time, our findings suggest that FAM3C not only can be a new emerging biomarker with promising therapeutic values to GBM patients but also gave a new insight into a potential resource for future GBM studies.

FAM3C in Cancer-Associated Adipocytes Promotes Breast Cancer Cell Survival and Metastasis

Adipose tissue within the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in supporting breast cancer progression. In this study, we identified FAM3 metabolism-regulating signaling molecule C (FAM3C) produced by cancer-associated adipocytes (CAA) as a key regulator of tumor progression. FAM3C overexpression in cultured adipocytes significantly reduced cell death in both adipocytes and cocultured breast cancer cells while suppressing markers of fibrosis. Conversely, FAM3C depletion in CAAs resulted in adipocyte-mesenchymal transition (AMT) and increased fibrosis within the TME. Adipocyte FAM3C expression was driven by TGFβ signaling from breast cancer cells and was reduced upon treatment with a TGFβ-neutralizing antibody. FAM3C knockdown in CAAs early in tumorigenesis in a genetically engineered mouse model of breast cancer significantly inhibited primary and metastatic tumor growth. Circulating FAM3C levels were elevated in patients with metastatic breast cancer compared with those with nonmetastatic breast cancer. These results suggest that therapeutic inhibition of FAM3C expression levels in CAAs during early tumor development could be a promising approach in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

SIGNIFICANCE

High FAM3C levels in cancer-associated adipocytes contribute to tumor-supportive niches and are tightly associated with metastatic growth, indicating that FAM3C inhibition could be beneficial for treating patients with breast cancer.

Oral squamous cell carcinomas: state of the field and emerging directions

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) develops on the mucosal epithelium of the oral cavity. It accounts for approximately 90% of oral malignancies and impairs appearance, pronunciation, swallowing, and flavor perception. In 2020, 377,713 OSCC cases were reported globally. According to the Global Cancer Observatory (GCO), the incidence of OSCC will rise by approximately 40% by 2040, accompanied by a growth in mortality. Persistent exposure to various risk factors, including tobacco, alcohol, betel quid (BQ), and human papillomavirus (HPV), will lead to the development of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), which are oral mucosal lesions with an increased risk of developing into OSCC. Complex and multifactorial, the oncogenesis process involves genetic alteration, epigenetic modification, and a dysregulated tumor microenvironment. Although various therapeutic interventions, such as chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and nanomedicine, have been proposed to prevent or treat OSCC and OPMDs, understanding the mechanism of malignancies will facilitate the identification of therapeutic and prognostic factors, thereby improving the efficacy of treatment for OSCC patients. This review summarizes the mechanisms involved in OSCC. Moreover, the current therapeutic interventions and prognostic methods for OSCC and OPMDs are discussed to facilitate comprehension and provide several prospective outlooks for the fields.

FAM3 family genes are associated with prognostic value of human cancer: a pan-cancer analysis

Family with sequence similarity three member (FAM3) plays a crucial role in the malignant development of various cancers of human. However, there remains doubtful what specific role of FAM3 family genes in pan-cancer. Our study aimed to investigate the role of FAM3 family genes in prognosis, immune subtype, tumor immune microenvironment, stemness score, and anticancer drug sensitivity of pan-cancer. We obtained data from UCSC Xena GDC and CellMiner databases, and used them to study the correlation of the expression, survival, immune subtype, tumor microenvironment, stemness score, and anticancer drug sensitivity between FAM3 family genes with pan-cancer. Furthermore, we investigated the tumor cellular functions and clinical prognostic value FAMC3 in pancreatic cancer (PAAD) using cellular experiments and tissue microarray. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell invasion, wound-healing and apoptosis assays were performed to study the effect of FAM3C on SW1990 cells' proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Immunohistochemical staining was used to study the relationship between FAM3C expression and clinical characteristics of pancreatic cancer patients. The results revealed that FAM3 family genes are significantly differential expression in tumor and adjacent normal tissues in 7 cancers (CHOL, HNSC, KICH, LUAD, LUSC, READ, and STAD). The expression of FAM3 family genes were negatively related with the RNAss, and robust correlated with immune type, tumor immune microenvironment and drug sensitivity. The expression of FAM3 family genes in pan-cancers were significantly different in immune type C1 (wound healing), C2 (IFN-gamma dominant), C3 (inflammatory), C4 (lymphocyte depleted), C5 (immunologically quiet), and C6 (TGF-beta dominant). Meanwhile, overexpression FAM3C promoted SW1990 cells proliferation, migration, invasion and suppressed SW1990 cells apoptosis. While knockdown of FAM3C triggered opposite results. High FAM3C expression was associated with duodenal invasion, differentiation and liver metastasis. In summary, this study provided a new perspective on the potential therapeutic role of FAM3 family genes in pan-cancer. In particular, FAM3C may play an important role in the occurrence and progression of PAAD.

Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening in nasopharyngeal carcinoma for radiosensitive and radioresistant genes

BACKGROUND

Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening may provide new insights into the mechanism underlying clinical radioresistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), which is remain largely unknown. Our objective was to screen the functional genes associated with radiosensitivity and radioresistance in NPC, laying a foundation for further research on its functional mechanismand.

METHODS

CRISPR-Cas9 library lentivirus screening in radiation-treated NPC cells was combined with second-generation sequence technology to identify functional genes, which were further validated in radioresistant NPC cells and patient tissues.

RESULTS

Eleven radiosensitive and radioresistant genes were screened. Among these genes, the expression of FBLN5, FAM3C, MUS81, and DNAJC17 were significantly lower and TOMM20, CDKN2AIP, SNX22, and SP1 were higher in the radioresistant NPC cells (C666-1R, 5-8FR) (p < 0.05). CALD1 was highly expressed in C666-1R. Furthermore, we found knockout of FBLN5, FAM3C, MUS81 and DNAJC17 promoted the proliferation of NPC cells, while CDKN2AIP and SP1 had the opposed results (p < 0.05). This result was verified in NPC patient tissues. Meanwhile, KEGG analysis showed that the Fanconi anemia pathway and the TGF-β signaling pathway possibly contributed to radiosensitivity or radioresistance in NPC.

CONCLUSIONS

Nine genes involved in the radiosensitivity or radioresistance of NPC: four genes for radiosensitivity (FBLN5, FAM3C, MUS81, and DNAJC17), two genes for radioresistance (CDKN2AIP, SP1), two potential radioresistant genes (TOMM20, SNX22), and a potential radiosensitive gene (CALD1). Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening for radiosensitive and radioresistant genes in NPC may provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying clinical radioresistance to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy for NPC.

Current and emerging gluconeogenesis inhibitors for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes

INTRODUCTION

In the last several decades, fueled by gene knockout and knockdown techniques, there has been substantial progress in detailing the pathways of gluconeogenesis. A host of molecules have been identified as potential targets for therapeutic intervention. A number of hormones, enzymes and transcription factors participate in gluconeogenesis. Many new agents have come into use to treat diabetes and several of these are in development to suppress gluconeogenesis.

AREAS COVERED

Herein, the author reviews agents that have been discovered and/or are in development, which control excess gluconeogenesis. The author has used multiple sources including PubMed, the preprint servers MedRxIv, BioRxIv, Research Gate, as well as Google Search and the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office to find appropriate literature.

EXPERT OPINION

It is now clear that lipid metabolism and hepatic lipogenesis play a major role in gluconeogenesis and resistance to insulin. Future efforts will focus on the duality of gluconeogenesis and adipose tissue metabolism. The exploration of therapeutic RNA agents will accelerate. The balance of clinical benefit and adverse effects will determine the future of new gluconeogenesis inhibitors.

FAM3C: an emerging biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cancer

FAM3C is a member of the FAM3 family. Recently, overexpression of FAM3C has been reported in numerous types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that elevated FAM3C and its altered subcellular localization are closely associated with tumor formation, invasion, metastasis and poor survival. Moreover, FAM3C has been found to be the regulator of various proteins that associate with cancer, including Ras, STAT3, TGF-β and LIFR. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding FAM3C, including its structure, expression patterns, regulation, physiological roles and regulatory functions in various malignancies. These findings highlight the importance of FAM3C in cancer development and provide evidence that FAM3C is a novel biomarker and potential therapeutic target for various cancers.

Overexpression of ALDH1 and EMT marker profile are linked with unfavorable outcome in head and neck cancer

Background

The aim of this research was to assess the expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and to correlate them with the clinical and histopathological parameters of a patient cohort with follow-up over an 8-year period.

Material and Methods

For this, seventeen HNSCC and non-neoplastic adjacent epithelium (AE) samples were subjected to laser microdissection and real-time PCR to evaluate the mRNA expression of ALDH1, E-cadherin (E-CAD), N-cadherin (N-CAD), and vimentin (VIM). Also, immunohistochemistry was performed for ALDH1, E-CAD, N-CAD, and VIM in the tumor center (TC), invasion front (IF), and AE of the seventeen samples. Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests were used to correlate the mRNA and immunohistochemical expression with different variables, considering p<0.05. Kaplan-Meier curves were produced for local recurrence, regional metastasis and treatment.

Results

A mRNA overexpression of ALDH1 in primary tumors was associated with regional metastasis and a high ALDH1 immunostaining was related to metastasis and a worse patient outcome. Additionally, a favorable outcome was associated with the transition phase and an unfavorable outcome was associated with EMT event. An overall 26.9 months was observed with longer survival associated with surgery and radiotherapy.

Conclusions

However, due to the intense variability inherent to the indicator proteins in the EMT process, the complete profile markers related to this biological process should be continuous investigated.

Key words:Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1, epithelial mesenchymal transition, head and neck cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, follow-up study.

Prevalence of PD-L1 expression in head and neck squamous precancerous lesions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Studies concerning programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in precancerous lesions of head and neck (HN) region have shown variable results.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed the published evidence on PD-L1 expression in HN precancerous lesions.

RESULTS

Of 1058 original articles, 14 were included in systematic review and 9 in meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of PD-L1 expression was 48.25% (confidence interval [CI] 21.07-75.98, I² 98%, tau2 0.18). PD-L1 expression appeared to be more frequent in precancerous lesions than in normal mucosa (risk ratio [RR] 1.65, CI 0.65-4.03, I² 91%, tau2 0.82) and less frequent than in invasive squamous cell carcinoma (RR 0.68, CI 0.43-1.08, I² 91%, tau2 0.22).

CONCLUSIONS

PD-L1 expression could reflect a point of balance between host immune response and cancer escape ability. High heterogeneity and moderate quality suggest that further studies with larger sample size and more rigorous case selection will allow more precise assessment of PD-L1 expression in HN precancerous lesions.

Overexpression of Malic Enzyme 2 Indicates Pathological and Clinical Significance in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Our study investigated the expression of malic enzyme 2 (ME2) in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and associated pathological and clinical pattern. We demonstrated that human OSCC tissues expressed a high level of ME2, and the overexpression of ME2 is closely connected to a high pathological grade, lymphatic metastasis, large tumor size and human papillomavirus (HPV) (P < 0.001). Similarly, high levels of ME2 expression in OSCC tissue were shown to be correlated with poor prognosis (P < 0.05). The expression of ME2 was correlated with Slug, SOX2, and aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) immunoreactivity.ME2 was shown to be overexpressed in OSCC tissue and indicated a poor prognosis for OSCC. ME2 may be correlated with several immune markers.

Overexpression of ATAD2 indicates Poor Prognosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 2 (ATAD2) is highly expressed in a variety of malignancies and can promote the proliferation of tumor cells and inhibit their differentiation. However, the expression of ATAD2 and its related mechanism in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are still unknown. Immunohistochemical staining of ATAD2, cancer stem cells (CSCs) markers and immune checkpoint molecules was conducted on human OSCC specimens to determine the expression levels of these proteins and their correlations with the clinicopathological characteristics of ATAD2 in OSCC. Moreover, the role of ATAD2 in cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were assessed by silencing ATAD2 in vitro. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ATAD2 expression in OSCC tissues was markedly higher than that in adjacent dysplastic tissues and normal mucosal tissues. Overexpression of ATAD2 was related to poor overall survival in OSCC patients. In addition, the protein expression of ATAD2 was notably correlated with the expression of B7-H4, PD-L1, CMTM6, Slug and ALDH1 in human OSCC. ATAD2 knockdown arrested the cell cycle, promoted the apoptosis, and inhibited the proliferation, migration, and EMT of OSCC cells. In conclusion, these findings revealed that ATAD2 is highly expressed in OSCC and can act as a poor prognostic indicator.