Circulating APRIL levels are correlated with advanced disease and prognosis in rectal cancer patients

Altered expression of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and soluble receptors in patients with colorectal cancer, and correlation with treatment outcome

Insofar as they play an important role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC), this study analyzes the serum profile of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and soluble receptors in patients with CRC and cancer-free controls as possible CRC signatures. Serum levels of 65 analytes were measured in patients with CRC and age- and sex-matched cancer-free controls using the ProcartaPlex Human Immune Monitoring 65-Plex Panel. Of the 65 tested analytes, 8 cytokines (CSF-3, IFN-γ, IL-12p70, IL-18, IL-20, MIF, TNF-α and TSLP), 8 chemokines (fractalkine, MIP-1β, BLC, Eotaxin-1, Eotaxin-2, IP-10, MIP-1a, MIP-3a), 2 growth factors (FGF-2, MMP-1), and 4 soluble receptors (APRIL, CD30, TNFRII, and TWEAK), were differentially expressed in CRC. ROC analysis confirmed the high association of TNF-α, BLC, Eotaxin-1, APRIL, and Tweak with AUC > 0.70, suggesting theranostic application. The expression of IFN-γ, IL-18, MIF, BLC, Eotaxin-1, Eotaxin-2, IP-10, and MMP1 was lower in metastatic compared to non-metastatic CRC; only AUC of MIF and MIP-1β were > 0.7. Moreover, MDC, IL-7, MIF, IL-21, and TNF-α are positively associated with tolerance to CRC chemotherapy (CT) (AUC > 0.7), whereas IL-31, Fractalkine, Eotaxin-1, and Eotaxin-2 were positively associated with resistance to CT. TNF-α, BLC, Eotaxin-1, APRIL, and Tweak may be used as first-line early detection of CRC. The variable levels of MIF and MIP-1β between metastatic and non-metastatic cases assign prognostic nature to these factors in CRC progression. Regarding tolerance to CT, MDC, IL-7, MIF, IL-21, and TNF-α are key when down-regulated or resistant to treatment is observed.

Expression of Immune-Related and Inflammatory Markers and Their Prognostic Impact in Colorectal Cancer Patients

The tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer (CRC) is heterogenous; thus, it is likely that multiple immune-related and inflammatory markers are simultaneously expressed in the tumor. The aim of this study was to identify immune-related and inflammatory markers expressed in freshly frozen CRC tissues and to investigate whether they are related to the clinicopathological features and prognosis of CRC. Seventy patients with CRC who underwent curative surgical resection between December 2014 and January 2017 were included in this study. Tissue samples were obtained from tumor and non-tumor areas in the patients' colons. The concentrations of immune-related markers (APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, LAG-3, PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4) and inflammatory markers (CHIT, MMP-3, osteocalcin, pentraxin-3, sTNF-R1, and sTNF-R2) in the samples were measured using the Bio-plex Multiplex Immunoassay system. The concentrations of APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, and MMP-3 in the samples were significantly high; thus, we conducted analyses based on the cut-off values for these three markers. The high-APRIL/TNFSH13-expression group showed a significantly higher rate of metastatic lesions than the low-expression group, whereas the high-MMP-3-expression group had higher CEA levels, more lymph node metastases, and more advanced disease stages than the low-expression group. The five-year disease-free survival of the high-MMP-3-expression group was significantly shorter than that of the low-expression group (65.1% vs. 90.2%, p = 0.033). This study provides evidence that the APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, and MMP-3 pathway is overexpressed in CRC tissues and is associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features and poor prognosis in CRC patients. These markers could serve as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for CRC.

Role of the APRIL molecule in solid tumors

The APRIL molecule, produced by immune cells, their precursors, and cancer cells, is one of the important factors that influences the process of survival and proliferation of cancer cells. In the present review, we summarize the current knowledge on the effects of APRIL on human cancer development and develop a scheme demonstrating the mechanism of the action of APRIL on solid tumors. Understanding the effects of APRIL, including the intracellular signal transduction pathway, may be key for the use of this protein as a biomarker of the cancer process. The correlations observed between APRIL levels and cancer parameters (e.g., disease stage and presence of malignant phenotypes) indicate that APRIL may play an important role, not only in the diagnostic process, but also as a therapeutic target in various cancers.

Serum Levels of APRIL Increase in Patients with Glioma, Meningioma and Schwannoma

Objective:

Brain tumors are of high mortality and morbidity for which there is still no cure. The TNF family cytokine, A Proliferation Inducing Ligand (APRIL), is shown to help proliferation and development of tumor cells. We assessed serum levels of APRIL in patients with glioma, meningioma and schwannoma in comparison to healthy individuals.

Methods:

Peripheral blood samples of 68 patients with brain tumors, divided into three groups of gliomas (n=25), meningiomas (n=30) and schwannomas (n=13), as well as 45 healthy individuals were obtained. Serum samples were prepared and stored in -40°C until usage. Using a commercial ELISA method, APRIL concentration was measured in each serum sample. The obtained data were then analyzed using SPSS software.

Results:

APRIL serum levels were higher in all patients compared to the controls (P<0.001). Moreover, APRIL serum levels were higher in each of the tumor bearing groups (gliomas, meningiomas and schwannomas) in comparison to the controls (P<0.001, <0.001 and =0.001, respectively). Comparing APRIL between the patients groups showed no significant difference. Age and gender showed no significant correlation with serum APRIL levels, although the age of patients in glioma group was significantly lower than controls (P=0.017). The serum APRIL levels in gliomas with histological grade showed no difference, but in meningiomas, it was lower in tumors with higher grades (P= 0.011).

Conclusion:

Increased serum levels of APRIL in patients with meningioma and schwannoma as well as glioma may indicate a common role of this cytokine in brain tumors.

No strict requirement for eosinophils for bone marrow plasma cell survival

Lasting antibody responses are maintained by long-lived plasma cells, which are thought to lodge in the BM in specialized survival niches. Eosinophils have been reported to function as a critical component of the BM survival niche where they are thought to provide pro-survival signals to nearby plasma cells. Recent study shows that many BM plasma cells are recently generated and chiefly short-lived cells, raising the possibility that rare plasma cell-eosinophil interactions are a rate-limiting step needed to establish lasting humoral immunity. To address these issues, we examined the impact of eosinophil depletion on short- and long-lived BM plasma cells in the context of antibody responses induced by both T-cell dependent and T-cell independent antigens. Surprisingly, our results failed to support a role for eosinophils in either plasma cell generation or survival. These studies included examination of plasma cell frequencies in mice lacking eosinophils either after antibody-mediated depletion, or due to mutation of the GATA1 locus.

APRIL and BCMA promote human multiple myeloma growth and immunosuppression in the bone marrow microenvironment

Here we show that overexpression or activation of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) by its ligand, a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), promotes human multiple myeloma (MM) progression in vivo. BCMA downregulation strongly decreases viability and MM colony formation; conversely, BCMA overexpression augments MM cell growth and survival via induction of protein kinase B (AKT), MAPK, and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling cascades. Importantly, BCMA promotes in vivo growth of xenografted MM cells harboring p53 mutation in mice. BCMA-overexpressing tumors exhibit significantly increased CD31/microvessel density and vascular endothelial growth factor compared with paired control tumors. These tumors also express increased transcripts crucial for osteoclast activation, adhesion, and angiogenesis/metastasis, as well as genes mediating immune inhibition including programmed death ligand 1, transforming growth factor β, and interleukin 10. These target genes are consistently induced by paracrine APRIL binding to BCMA on MM cells, which is blocked by an antagonistic anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody hAPRIL01A (01A). 01A is cytotoxic against MM cells even in the presence of protective bone marrow (BM) myeloid cells including osteoclasts, macrophages, and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. 01A further decreases APRIL-induced adhesion and migration of MM cells via blockade of canonical and noncanonical NF-κB pathways. Moreover, 01A prevents in vivo MM cell growth within implanted human bone chips in SCID mice. Finally, the effect of 01A on MM cell viability is enhanced by lenalidomide and bortezomib. Taken together, these data delineate new molecular mechanisms of in vivo MM growth and immunosuppression critically dependent on BCMA and APRIL in the BM microenvironment, further supporting targeting this prominent pathway in MM.