NF-κB2 and RELB offer prognostic information in colorectal cancer and NFKB2 rs7897947 represents a genetic risk factor for disease development

TAK1 expression is associated with increased PD-L1 and decreased cancer-specific survival in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Transforming growth factor β-activated protein kinase-1 (TAK1) plays an important role in MAPK and NFκB pathways and has been associated with colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to determine how cytoplasmic and juxtanuclear punctate staining of TAK1 relates to immune checkpoint expression and cancer specific survival in colorectal cancer.

METHODS

Protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays from primary curative colorectal cancer resected specimens. Expression levels of cytoplasmic TAK1 by QuPath digital quantification and punctate TAK1 staining was scored using a manual point scoring technique and correlated with clinicopathological features, immune checkpoint expression and cancer-specific survival. Bulk RNA sequencing was performed in specimens to determine mutational profiles and differentially expressed genes.

RESULTS

A cohort of 875 patients who had undergone colorectal cancer resection were assessed for TAK1 expression. Higher levels of cytoplasmic TAK1 expression correlated with elevated PD1 and PD-L1 expression (p < 0.010). High punctate TAK1 expression was more commonly identified in poorly differentiated colorectal cancers (p = 0.036), had dysregulated mutational and transcriptional profiles with decreased insulin-like growth factor 2(IGF2) expression (p < 0.010), and independently predicted poor cancer-specific survival (HR 2.690, 95% CI 1.419-5.100, p = 0.002). The association of punctate TAK1 expression and recurrence remained after subgroup analysis for microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (p = 0.028).

DISCUSSION

Punctate TAK1 expression is associated with worse cancer specific survival. TAK1 signalling may be an important pathway to investigate underlying mechanisms for recurrence in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer.

LRRC8A as a central mediator promotes colon cancer metastasis by regulating PIP5K1B/PIP2 pathway

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been the third most common malignancy and the second cause of cancer-related mortality. As the core of volume-sensitive chloride currents, leucine-rich repeat-containing 8A (LRRC8A) contributes to tumor progression but is not consistent, especially for whom the roles in colon carcinoma metastasis were not fully elucidated. Herein, LRRC8A proteins were found highly expressed in hematogenous metastasis from human colorectal cancer samples. The oxaliplatin-resistant HCT116 cells highly expressed LRRC8A, which was related to impaired proliferation and enhanced migration. The over-expressed LRRC8A slowed proliferation and increased migration ex vivo and in vivo. The elevated LRRC8A upregulated the focal adhesion, MAPK, AMPK, and chemokine signaling pathways via phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Inhibition of LRRC8A impeded the TNF-α signaling cascade and TNF-α-induced migration. LRRC8A binding to PIP5K1B regulated the PIP2 formation, providing a platform for LRRC8A to mediate cell signaling transduction. Importantly, LRRC8A self-regulated its transcription via NF-κB1 and NF-κB2 pathways and the upregulation of NIK/NF-κB2/LRRC8A transcriptional axis was unfavorable for colon cancer patients. Collectively, our findings reveal that LRRC8A is a central mediator in mediating multiple signaling pathways to promote metastasis and targeting LRRC8A proteins could become a potential clinical biomarker-driven treatment strategy for colon cancer patients.

Primitive genotypic characteristics in umbilical cord neutrophils identified by single-cell transcriptome profiling and functional prediction

The function and heterogeneity of neutrophils in neonatal umbilical cord blood (UCB) have not been characterized. In this study, we analyzed the neutrophils in UCB and healthy adults using single-cell RNA sequencing analysis for the first time. We found that neutrophils divided into six subpopulations (G2, G3, G4, G5a, G5b, and G5c) with different marker genes and different functions under homeostasis. Compared with healthy adults, neutrophils of UCB were more naïve and have more obvious degranulation and activation functions. Moreover, we found significant differences in the amount and function of G5b cells between healthy adults and UCB. The amount of G5b group in UCB was lower, but it has more degranulation, secretion and activation functions. In addition, we noted a new subset of G5c labeled by CD52, which almost did not exist in UCB. Besides, its differential genes were enriched in terms such as protein synthesis and mRNA transcription. Furthermore, uncharacteristic transcription factors ZNF-276, ZNF-319 and ZNF-354A were identified in our study. In summary, we first examined the heterogeneity and functional diversity of neutrophils in UCB, and these data provided new insights into the mechanism of neutrophil-mediated diseases of neonates and the wider use of neutrophils in UCB.