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Liu X, Guo R, Li D, Wang Y, Ning J, Yang S, Yang J. Homotypic cell-in-cell structure as a novel prognostic predictor in non-small cell lung cancer and frequently localized at the invasive front. Sci Rep 2024; 14:18952. [PMID: 39147858 PMCID: PMC11327305 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69833-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Homotypic cell-in-cell structures (hoCICs) are associated with tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis and is considered a promising prognostic marker in various cancers. However, the role of hoCICs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Tumor tissue sections were obtained from 411 NSCLC patients. We analyzed the relationship between clinicopathological variables and the number of hoCICs. LASSO and multivariate Cox regression analysis were employed to identify prognostic factors for NSCLC. The impact of hoCICs on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. Prognostic models for OS and DFS were developed and validated using the C-index, time-dependent area under the curve (AUC), net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA). Among the cohort, 56% of patients had hoCICs while 44% did not. Notably, hoCICs were primarily found at the tumor invasion front. Male gender, smoking, squamous cell carcinoma, low differentiation, tumor size ≥ 3 cm, advanced TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, pleural invasion, vascular invasion, necrosis, P53 mutation, and high expression of Ki-67 were identified as relative risk factors for hoCICs. Furthermore, hoCICs was found to be a significant prognostic factor for both OS and DFS, with higher frequencies of hoCICs correlating with poorer outcomes. We constructed nomograms for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS and DFS based on hoCICs, and the calibration curves showed good agreement between the predicted and actual outcomes. The results of the C-index, time-dependent AUC, NRI, IDI, and DCA analyses demonstrated that incorporating hoCICs into the prognostic model significantly enhanced its predictive power and clinical applicability. HoCICs indicated independent perdictive value for OS and DFS in patients with NSCLC. Furthermore, the frequent localization of hoCICs at the tumor invasion front suggested a strong association between hoCICs and tumor invasion as well as metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Liu
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China
| | - Rui Guo
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China
| | - Dongxuan Li
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China
| | - Ya'nan Wang
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China
| | - Jingya Ning
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China
| | - Shuanying Yang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China.
| | - Jun Yang
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China.
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2
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Basbous S, Dif L, Dantzer C, Di-Tommaso S, Dupuy JW, Bioulac-Sage P, Raymond AA, Desdouets C, Saltel F, Moreau V. Loss of RND3/RHOE controls entosis through LAMP1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:46. [PMID: 38218945 PMCID: PMC10787830 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06420-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Entosis is a process that leads to the formation of cell-in-cell structures commonly found in cancers. Here, we identified entosis in hepatocellular carcinoma and the loss of Rnd3 (also known as RhoE) as an efficient inducer of this mechanism. We characterized the different stages and the molecular regulators of entosis induced after Rnd3 silencing. We demonstrated that this process depends on the RhoA/ROCK pathway, but not on E-cadherin. The proteomic profiling of entotic cells allowed us to identify LAMP1 as a protein upregulated by Rnd3 silencing and implicated not only in the degradation final stage of entosis, but also in the full mechanism. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between the presence of entotic cells and the metastatic potential of tumors in human patient samples. Altogether, these data suggest the involvement of entosis in liver tumor progression and highlight a new perspective for entosis analysis in medicine research as a novel therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Basbous
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
| | - Lydia Dif
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
| | - Camille Dantzer
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
| | - Sylvaine Di-Tommaso
- CHU de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
- Oncoprot Platform, UMS005, TBMCore, University of Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Jean-William Dupuy
- Oncoprot Platform, UMS005, TBMCore, University of Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
- Proteomic plateform, University of Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Paulette Bioulac-Sage
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
- CHU de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Anne-Aurélie Raymond
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
- Oncoprot Platform, UMS005, TBMCore, University of Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Chantal Desdouets
- Sorbonne University, INSERM, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers (CRC), Paris, France
| | - Frédéric Saltel
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France
- Oncoprot Platform, UMS005, TBMCore, University of Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Violaine Moreau
- University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, France.
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3
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Song J, Xu R, Zhang H, Xue X, Ruze R, Chen Y, Yin X, Wang C, Zhao Y. Cell-in-Cell-Mediated Entosis Reveals a Progressive Mechanism in Pancreatic Cancer. Gastroenterology 2023; 165:1505-1521.e20. [PMID: 37657757 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.08.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly malignancy with high intratumoral heterogeneity. There is a lack of effective therapeutics for PDAC. Entosis, a form of nonapoptotic regulated cell death mediated by cell-in-cell structures (CICs), has been reported in multiple cancers. However, the role of entosis in PDAC progression remains unclear. METHODS CICs were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. The formation of CICs was induced by suspension culture. Through fluorescence-activated cell sorting and single-cell RNA sequencing, entosis-forming cells were collected and their differential gene expression was analyzed. Cell functional assays and mouse models were used to investigate malignant phenotypes. Clinical correlations between entosis and PDAC were established by retrospective analysis. RESULTS Entosis was associated with an unfavorable prognosis for patients with PDAC and was more prevalent in liver metastases than in primary tumors. The single-cell RNA sequencing results revealed that several oncogenes were up-regulated in entosis-forming cells compared with parental cells. These highly entotic cells demonstrated higher oncogenic characteristics in vitro and in vivo. NET1, neuroepithelial cell transforming gene 1, is an entosis-related gene that plays a pivotal role in PDAC progression and is correlated with poor outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Entosis is correlated with PDAC progression, especially in liver metastasis. NET1 is a newly validated entosis-related gene and a molecular marker of poor outcomes. PDAC cells generate a highly aggressive subpopulation marked by up-regulated NET1 via entosis, which may drive PDAC progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianlu Song
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruiyuan Xu
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Pathology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Molecular Pathology Research Center, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuemin Xue
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Rexiati Ruze
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinpeng Yin
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengcheng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Medical Science Research Center, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing People's Republic of China.
| | - Yupei Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Research in Pancreatic Tumor, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China; National Science and Technology Key Infrastructure on Translational Medicine in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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4
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Jiang Z, Zheng X, Li M, Liu M. Improving the prognosis of pancreatic cancer: insights from epidemiology, genomic alterations, and therapeutic challenges. Front Med 2023; 17:1135-1169. [PMID: 38151666 DOI: 10.1007/s11684-023-1050-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer, notorious for its late diagnosis and aggressive progression, poses a substantial challenge owing to scarce treatment alternatives. This review endeavors to furnish a holistic insight into pancreatic cancer, encompassing its epidemiology, genomic characterization, risk factors, diagnosis, therapeutic strategies, and treatment resistance mechanisms. We delve into identifying risk factors, including genetic predisposition and environmental exposures, and explore recent research advancements in precursor lesions and molecular subtypes of pancreatic cancer. Additionally, we highlight the development and application of multi-omics approaches in pancreatic cancer research and discuss the latest combinations of pancreatic cancer biomarkers and their efficacy. We also dissect the primary mechanisms underlying treatment resistance in this malignancy, illustrating the latest therapeutic options and advancements in the field. Conclusively, we accentuate the urgent demand for more extensive research to enhance the prognosis for pancreatic cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichen Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
- Department of General Surgery, Division of Gastroenterology and Pancreas, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Xiaohao Zheng
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
- Department of General Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Min Li
- Department of Medicine, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA.
| | - Mingyang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China.
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5
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Liu X, Yang J. Cell-in-cell: a potential biomarker of prognosis and a novel mechanism of drug resistance in cancer. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1242725. [PMID: 37637068 PMCID: PMC10449025 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1242725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The cell-in-cell (CIC) phenomenon has received increasing attention over recent years because of its wide existence in multiple cancer tissues. The mechanism of CIC formation is considerably complex as it involves interactions between two cells. Although the molecular mechanisms of CIC formation have been extensively investigated, the process of CIC formation remains ambiguous. Currently, CIC is classified into four subtypes based on different cell types and inducing factors, and the underlying mechanisms for each subtype are distinct. Here, we investigated the subtypes of CIC and their major mechanisms involved in cancer development. To determine the clinical significance of CIC, we reviewed several clinical studies on CIC and found that CIC could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The implications of CIC on the clinical management of cancers also remain largely unknown. To clarify this aspect, in the present review, we highlight the findings of recent investigations on the causal link between CIC and cancer treatment. We also indicate the existing issues that need to be resolved urgently to provide a potential direction for future research on CIC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jun Yang
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiao Tong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
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6
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Wang R, Zhong H, Wang C, Huang X, Huang A, Du N, Wang D, Sun Q, He M. Tumor malignancy by genetic transfer between cells forming cell-in-cell structures. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:195. [PMID: 36914619 PMCID: PMC10011543 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-05707-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
Abstract
Cell-in-cell structures (CICs) refer to a type of unique structure with one or more cells within another one, whose biological outcomes are poorly understood. The present study aims to investigate the effects of CICs formation on tumor progression. Using genetically marked hepatocellular cancer cell lines, we explored the possibility that tumor cells might acquire genetic information and malignant phenotypes from parental cells undergoing CICs formation. The present study showed that the derivatives, isolated from CICs formed between two subpopulations by flow cytometry sorting, were found to inherit aggressive features from the parental cells, manifested with increased abilities in both proliferation and invasiveness. Consistently, the CICs clones expressed a lower level of E-cadherin and a higher level of Vimentin, ZEB-1, Fibronectin, MMP9, MMP2 and Snail as compared with the parental cells, indicating epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Remarkably, the new derivatives exhibited significantly enhanced tumorigenicity in the xenograft mouse models. Moreover, whole exome sequencing analysis identified a group of potential genes which were involved in CIC-mediated genetic transfer. These results are consistent with a role of genetic transfer by CICs formation in genomic instability and malignancy of tumor cells, which suggest that the formation of CICs may promote genetic transfer and gain of malignancy during tumor progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhi Wang
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Hao Zhong
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China.,Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohui Huang
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Anpei Huang
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Nannan Du
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China.,Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing, China
| | - Dong Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China. .,Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing, China.
| | - Meifang He
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
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7
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Zhu Y, Yang R, Law JH, Khan M, Yip KW, Sun Q. Editorial: Hallmark of cancer: Resisting cell death. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1069947. [PMID: 36419903 PMCID: PMC9678051 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1069947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yichao Zhu
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Risheng Yang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jacqueline H. Law
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Muhammad Khan
- Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
- *Correspondence: Qiang Sun, ; Kenneth W. Yip, ; Muhammad Khan,
| | - Kenneth W. Yip
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Qiang Sun, ; Kenneth W. Yip, ; Muhammad Khan,
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Qiang Sun, ; Kenneth W. Yip, ; Muhammad Khan,
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8
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Wang R, Zhu Y, Zhong H, Gao X, Sun Q, He M. Homotypic cell-in-cell structures as an adverse prognostic predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1007305. [PMID: 36419874 PMCID: PMC9676929 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1007305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant liver tumors. A homotypic cell-in-cell structure (hoCIC) refers to one or more cells internalized into the same type as their neighbors, which predominantly occurs in multiple tumors. The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of hoCICs in HCC and its relationship with other clinicopathological features. By immunostaining analysis of a panel of HCC tissues, we found that hoCICs were prevalent in tumor tissues (54/90) but not in para-tumor tissues (17/90). The presence of hoCICs in tumor tissues was closely associated with E-cadherin expression. The presence of CICs was identified as significantly associated with poor survival rates of patients with HCC, comparable to traditional clinicopathological parameters, such as histological grade [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.734, p = 0.320]. Multivariate Cox regression analysis further confirmed that CICs were an independent risk factor for poor survival (HR = 1.902, p = 0.047). In addition, hoCICs were the predominant contributor in a nomogram model constructed for survival prediction at 1, 3, and 5 years [the areas under the curve (AUCs) were 0.760, 0.733, and 0.794, respectively]. Stratification analysis indicated that hoCICs tend to selectively affect patients with high-grade disease (HR = 2.477, p = 0.009) and at the early TNM stage (HR = 2.351, p = 0.05). Thus, hoCICs predict poor survival of patients with HCC, particularly those with higher grades and at an early stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhi Wang
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yichao Zhu
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology; Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Zhong
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinyue Gao
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology; Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology; Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Meifang He
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
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9
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Tang M, Xu H, Huang H, Kuang H, Wang C, Li Q, Zhang X, Ge Y, Song M, Zhang X, Wang Z, Ma C, Kang J, Zhang W, Wang Y, Zhang B, Zhang X, Chen Y, Cong M, Melino G, Wang X, Zhou F, Sun Q, Shi H. Metabolism-Based Molecular Subtyping Endows Effective Ketogenic Therapy in p53-Mutant Colon Cancer. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2201992. [PMID: 36031388 PMCID: PMC9561794 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202201992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Although targeting cancer metabolism is a promising therapeutic strategy, clinical success depends on accurate molecular and metabolic subtyping. Here, this study reports two metabolism-based molecular subtypes associated with the ketogenic treatment of colon cancer: glycolytic (glycolysis+ /ketolysis- ) and ketolytic (glycolysis+ /ketolysis+ ), which are manifested by distinct profiles of metabolic enzymes and mitochondrial dysfunction, and by different responses to ketone-containing interventions in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the glycolytic subtype is able to be transformed into the ketolytic subtype in p53-mutated tumors upon glucose limitation, rendering resistance to ketogenic therapy associated with upregulation of ketolytic enzymes, such as OXCT1 by mutant p53. The allosteric activator of mutant p53 effectively blocks the rewired molecular expression and the reprogrammed metabolism, leading to the suppression of tumor growth. The findings highlight the utility of metabolic subtyping to guide ketogenic therapy in colon cancer and identify mutant p53 as a synthetic lethality target for ketogenic treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Tang
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyResearch Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008Chinese Academy of Medical Science20 Dongda StreetBeijing100071China
- Comprehensive Oncology DepartmentNational Cancer Center/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijing100021China
| | - Hui Xu
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
| | - Hongyan Huang
- Department of OncologyBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
| | - Hao Kuang
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
- Department of Radiation OncologySichuan Cancer HospitalChengdu610041China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyResearch Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008Chinese Academy of Medical Science20 Dongda StreetBeijing100071China
| | - Qinqin Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and OncologyXinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of MedicineShanghai200092China
| | - Yizhong Ge
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Mengmeng Song
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Ziwen Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Chaobing Ma
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyResearch Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008Chinese Academy of Medical Science20 Dongda StreetBeijing100071China
| | - Jinlin Kang
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
| | - Wanfang Zhang
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
| | - You Wang
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of OncologyBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
| | - Xiaowei Zhang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Yongbing Chen
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
| | - Minghua Cong
- Comprehensive Oncology DepartmentNational Cancer Center/Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijing100021China
| | - Gerry Melino
- Department of Experimental MedicineTORUniversity of Rome“Tor Vergata”Rome50‐00133Italy
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Department of PopulationFamilyand Reproductive HealthJohns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Department of PediatricsJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland21287USA
| | - Fuxiang Zhou
- Department of Radiation and Medical OncologyHubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological BehaviorsHubei Clinical Cancer Study CenterZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan430071China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of BiotechnologyResearch Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008Chinese Academy of Medical Science20 Dongda StreetBeijing100071China
| | - Hanping Shi
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery/ Department of Clinical NutritionBeijing Shijitan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijing10038China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market RegulationBeijing100038China
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10
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Cell-in-Cell: From Cell Biology to Translational Medicine. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 2022:7608521. [PMID: 36158876 PMCID: PMC9492417 DOI: 10.1155/2022/7608521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Cell-in-cell structures (CICs) refer to cytoplasmic internalization of a cell by another cell, which are found throughout various biological systems and have been a part of scientific dogma for a long time. However, neither the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon nor their possible roles in disease development have resulted in major breakthroughs until recent years. In view of the ubiquity of CICs in inflammatory tissue and tumors, it is tempting to think that these specific structures could be associated with clinical diagnosis and treatment and thus would become a new hotspot for translational medicine. Translational medicine is a new concept in the field of international biomedical research that appeared in the last 20 years, which transforms basic research into clinical application. With the growing interest in this field, this review addresses recent research on CICs and their potential clinical implications in cytomorphological diagnosis and the pathology of human diseases, while discussing as yet unanswered questions. We also put forward future directions to reduce the gap in our knowledge caused by our currently limited understanding of CICs.
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11
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Song J, Ruze R, Chen Y, Xu R, Yin X, Wang C, Xu Q, Zhao Y. Construction of a novel model based on cell-in-cell-related genes and validation of KRT7 as a biomarker for predicting survival and immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:894. [PMID: 35974300 PMCID: PMC9380297 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09983-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly malignant tumor featured with high intra-tumoral heterogeneity and poor prognosis. Cell-in-cell (CIC) structures have been reported in multiple cancers, and their presence is associated with disease progression. Nonetheless, the prognostic values and biological functions of CIC-related genes in PC remain poorly understood. Methods The sequencing data, as well as corresponding clinicopathological information of PC were collected from public databases. Random forest screening, least absolute shrinkage, and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to construct a prognostic model. The effectiveness and robustness of the model were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, survival analysis and establishing the nomogram model. Functional enrichment analyses were conducted to annotate the biological functions. The immune infiltration levels were evaluated by ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms. The expression of KRT7 (Keratin 7) was validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The CIC formation, cell clusters, cell proliferation, migration and invasion assays were applied to investigate the effects of silencing the expression of KRT7. Results A prognostic model based on four CIC-related genes was constructed to stratify the patients into the low- and high-risk subgroups. The high-risk group had a poorer prognosis, higher tumor mutation burden and lower immune cell infiltration than the low-risk group. Functional enrichment analyses showed that numerous terms and pathways associated with invasion and metastasis were enriched in the high-risk group. KRT7, as the most paramount risk gene in the prognostic model, was significantly associated with a worse prognosis of PC in TCGA dataset and our own cohort. High expression of KRT7 might be responsible for the immunosuppression in the PC microenvironment. KRT7 knockdown was significantly suppressed the abilities of CIC formation, cell cluster, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in PC cell lines. Conclusions Our prognostic model based on four CIC-related genes has a significant potential in predicting the prognosis and immune microenvironment of PC, which indicates that targeting CIC processes could be a therapeutic option with great interests. Further studies are needed to reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms and biological implications of CIC phenomenon and related genes in PC progression. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09983-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianlu Song
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China.
| | - Rexiati Ruze
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Ruiyuan Xu
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Xinpeng Yin
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Chengcheng Wang
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Qiang Xu
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China.
| | - Yupei Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China.
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12
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Choe YJ, Min JY, Lee H, Lee SY, Kwon J, Kim HJ, Lee J, Kim HM, Park HS, Cho MY, Hyun JY, Kim HM, Chung YH, Ha SK, Jeong HG, Choi I, Kim TD, Hong KS, Han EH. Heterotypic cell-in-cell structures between cancer and NK cells is associated with enhanced anti-cancer drug resistance. iScience 2022; 25:105017. [PMID: 36105584 PMCID: PMC9464952 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The heterotypic CIC structures formed of cancer and immune cells have been observed in tumor tissues. We aimed to assess the feasibility of using heterotypic CICs as a functional biomarker to predict NK susceptibility and drug resistance. The heterotypic CIC-forming cancer cells showed a lower response to NK cytotoxicity and higher proliferative ability than non-CIC cancer cells. After treatment with anticancer drugs, cancer cells that formed heterotypic CICs showed a higher resistance to anticancer drugs than non-CIC cancer cells. We also observed the formation of more CIC structures in cancer cells treated with anticancer drugs than in the non-treated group. Our results confirm the association between heterotypic CIC structures and anticancer drug resistance in CICs formed from NK and cancer cells. These results suggest a mechanism underlying immune evasion in heterotypic CIC cancer cells and provide insights into the anticancer drug resistance of cancer cells. Conformation of heterotypic CIC structures formed between cancer and NK cells Heterotypic CICs exhibit a higher proliferative ability than non-CIC cells Heterotypic CICs are associated with NK susceptibility Heterotypic CICs are involved in anticancer drug resistance
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13
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Tang M, Su Y, Zhao W, Niu Z, Ruan B, Li Q, Zheng Y, Wang C, Zhang B, Zhou F, Wang X, Huang H, Shi H, Sun Q. AIM-CICs: an automatic identification method for cell-in-cell structures based on convolutional neural network. J Mol Cell Biol 2022; 14:6649212. [PMID: 35869978 PMCID: PMC9701057 DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjac044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Edited by Luonan Chen Whereas biochemical markers are available for most types of cell death, current studies on non-autonomous cell death by entosis rely strictly on the identification of cell-in-cell structures (CICs), a unique morphological readout that can only be quantified manually at present. Moreover, the manual CIC quantification is generally over-simplified as CIC counts, which represents a major hurdle against profound mechanistic investigations. In this study, we take advantage of artificial intelligence technology to develop an automatic identification method for CICs (AIM-CICs), which performs comprehensive CIC analysis in an automated and efficient way. The AIM-CICs, developed on the algorithm of convolutional neural network, can not only differentiate between CICs and non-CICs (the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) > 0.99), but also accurately categorize CICs into five subclasses based on CIC stages and cell number involved (AUC > 0.97 for all subclasses). The application of AIM-CICs would systemically fuel research on CIC-mediated cell death, such as high-throughput screening.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Banzhan Ruan
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Qinqin Li
- Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100038, China
| | - You Zheng
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100038, China,Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2021RU008, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Fuxiang Zhou
- Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors, Hubei Clinical Cancer Study Center, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Xiaoning Wang
- National Clinic Center of Geriatric & State Key Laboratory of Kidney, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | | | | | - Qiang Sun
- Correspondence to: Qiang Sun, E-mail:
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14
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Zhu Y, Zhou W, Niu Z, Sun J, Zhang Z, Li Q, Zheng Y, Wang C, Gao L, Sun Q. Long-range enhancement of N501Y-endowed mouse infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 by the non-RBD mutations of Ins215KLRS and H655Y. Biol Direct 2022; 17:14. [PMID: 35658928 PMCID: PMC9167559 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-022-00325-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Rodents, such as mice, are vulnerable targets, and potential intermediate hosts, of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Omicron. N501Y in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Spike protein is the key mutation dictating the mouse infectivity, on which the neighboring mutations within RBD have profound impacts. However, the impacts of mutations outside RBD on N501Y-mediated mouse infectivity remain to be explored. Results Herein, we report that two non-RBD mutations derived from mouse-adapted strain, Ins215KLRS in the N-terminal domain (NTD) and H655Y in the subdomain linking S1 to S2, enhance mouse infectivity in the presence of N501Y mutation, either alone or together. This is associated with increased interaction of Spike with mouse ACE2 and mutations-induced local conformation changes in Spike protein. Mechanistically, the H655Y mutation disrupts interaction with N657, resulting in a less tight loop that wraps the furin-cleavage finger; and the insertion of 215KLRS in NTD increases its intramolecular interaction with a peptide chain that interfaced with the RBD-proximal region of the neighboring protomer, leading to a more flexible RBD that facilitates receptor binding. Moreover, the Omicron Spike that contains Ins214EPE and H655Y mutations confer mouse infectivity > 50 times over the N501Y mutant, which could be effectively suppressed by mutating them back to wild type. Conclusions Collectively, our study sheds light on the cooperation between distant Spike mutations in promoting virus infectivity, which may undermine the high infectiousness of Omicron variants towards mice. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13062-022-00325-x.
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15
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Li Q, Wang Y, Sun Q, Knopf J, Herrmann M, Lin L, Jiang J, Shao C, Li P, He X, Hua F, Niu Z, Ma C, Zhu Y, Ippolito G, Piacentini M, Estaquier J, Melino S, Weiss FD, Andreano E, Latz E, Schultze JL, Rappuoli R, Mantovani A, Mak TW, Melino G, Shi Y. Immune response in COVID-19: what is next? Cell Death Differ 2022; 29:1107-1122. [PMID: 35581387 PMCID: PMC9110941 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-022-01015-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a global pandemic for more than 2 years and it still impacts our daily lifestyle and quality in unprecedented ways. A better understanding of immunity and its regulation in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is urgently needed. Based on the current literature, we review here the various virus mutations and the evolving disease manifestations along with the alterations of immune responses with specific focuses on the innate immune response, neutrophil extracellular traps, humoral immunity, and cellular immunity. Different types of vaccines were compared and analyzed based on their unique properties to elicit specific immunity. Various therapeutic strategies such as antibody, anti-viral medications and inflammation control were discussed. We predict that with the available and continuously emerging new technologies, more powerful vaccines and administration schedules, more effective medications and better public health measures, the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control in the near future. ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Li
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Ying Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences/Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 2021RU008, 20 Dongda Street, 100071, Beijing, China
| | - Jasmin Knopf
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.,Department of Internal Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Martin Herrmann
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.,Department of Internal Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Liangyu Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences/Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingting Jiang
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Changshun Shao
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Peishan Li
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Xiaozhou He
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Fei Hua
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China
| | - Zubiao Niu
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 2021RU008, 20 Dongda Street, 100071, Beijing, China
| | - Chaobing Ma
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 2021RU008, 20 Dongda Street, 100071, Beijing, China
| | - Yichao Zhu
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 2021RU008, 20 Dongda Street, 100071, Beijing, China
| | | | - Mauro Piacentini
- Department of Biology, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Jerome Estaquier
- INSERM-U1124, Université Paris, Paris, France.,CHU de Québec - Université Laval Research Center, Québec City, QC, Canada
| | - Sonia Melino
- Department of Biology, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Felix Daniel Weiss
- Institute of Innate Immunity, University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Emanuele Andreano
- Research and Development Center, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Siena, Italy
| | - Eicke Latz
- Institute of Innate Immunity, University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn, 53127, Bonn, Germany.,Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
| | - Joachim L Schultze
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.,Genomics & Immunoregulation, LIMES-Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Rino Rappuoli
- Research and Development Center, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Siena, Italy
| | - Alberto Mantovani
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, Pieve Emanuele, 20072, Milan, Italy.,IRCCS Humanitas Clinical Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, Rozzano, 20089, Milan, Italy.,William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University, London, UK
| | - Tak Wah Mak
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.,Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, 999077, Hong Kong
| | - Gerry Melino
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn, Germany. .,Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
| | - Yufang Shi
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Institutes for Translational Medicine of Soochow University, Medical College, Suzhou, China. .,CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences/Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. .,Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
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16
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Su Y, Huang H, Luo T, Zheng Y, Fan J, Ren H, Tang M, Niu Z, Wang C, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Liang J, Ruan B, Gao L, Chen Z, Melino G, Wang X, Sun Q. Cell-in-cell structure mediates in-cell killing suppressed by CD44. Cell Discov 2022; 8:35. [PMID: 35436988 PMCID: PMC9016064 DOI: 10.1038/s41421-022-00387-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Penetration of immune cells into tumor cells was believed to be immune-suppressive via cell-in-cell (CIC) mediated death of the internalized immune cells. We unexpectedly found that CIC formation largely led to the death of the host tumor cells, but not the internalized immune cells, manifesting typical features of death executed by NK cells; we named this "in-cell killing" which displays the efficacy superior to the canonical way of "kiss-killing" from outside. By profiling isogenic cells, CD44 on tumor cells was identified as a negative regulator of "in-cell killing" via inhibiting CIC formation. CD44 functions to antagonize NK cell internalization by reducing N-cadherin-mediated intercellular adhesion and by enhancing Rho GTPase-regulated cellular stiffness as well. Remarkably, antibody-mediated blockade of CD44 signaling potentiated the suppressive effects of NK cells on tumor growth associated with increased heterotypic CIC formation. Together, we identified CIC-mediated "in-cell killing" as a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Su
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Hongyan Huang
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Tianzhi Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - You Zheng
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Fan
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - He Ren
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Tang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zubiao Niu
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Yuqi Wang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Zhengrong Zhang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Jianqing Liang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Banzhan Ruan
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Lihua Gao
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaolie Chen
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China
| | - Gerry Melino
- Departments of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
| | - Xiaoning Wang
- National Research Center of Geriatrics Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2021RU008, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, China.
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17
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Zhou L, Niu Z, Wang Y, Zheng Y, Zhu Y, Wang C, Gao X, Gao L, Zhang W, Zhang K, Melino G, Huang H, Wang X, Sun Q. Senescence as a dictator of patient outcomes and therapeutic efficacies in human gastric cancer. Cell Death Dis 2022; 8:13. [PMID: 35013121 PMCID: PMC8748965 DOI: 10.1038/s41420-021-00769-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Senescence is believed to be a pivotal player in the onset and progression of tumors as well as cancer therapy. However, the guiding roles of senescence in clinical outcomes and therapy selection for patients with cancer remain obscure, largely due to the absence of a feasible senescence signature. Here, by integrative analysis of single cell and bulk transcriptome data from multiple datasets of gastric cancer patients, we uncovered senescence as a veiled tumor feature characterized by senescence gene signature enriched, unexpectedly, in the noncancerous cells, and further identified two distinct senescence-associated subtypes based on the unsupervised clustering. Patients with the senescence subtype had higher tumor mutation loads and better prognosis as compared with the aggressive subtype. By the machine learning, we constructed a scoring system termed as senescore based on six signature genes: ADH1B, IL1A, SERPINE1, SPARC, EZH2, and TNFAIP2. Higher senescore demonstrated robustly predictive capability for longer overall and recurrence-free survival in 2290 gastric cancer samples, which was independently validated by the multiplex staining analysis of gastric cancer samples on the tissue microarray. Remarkably, the senescore signature served as a reliable predictor of chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic efficacies, with high-senescore patients benefited from immunotherapy, while low-senescore patients were responsive to chemotherapy. Collectively, we report senescence as a heretofore unrecognized hallmark of gastric cancer that impacts patient outcomes and therapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lulin Zhou
- School of Medicine, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300071, China.,Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Zubiao Niu
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Yuqi Wang
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - You Zheng
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Yichao Zhu
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Xiaoyan Gao
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, 10 TIEYI Road, Beijing, 100038, China
| | - Lihua Gao
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Immunology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Kaitai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Gerry Melino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, 00133, Italy.,DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hongyan Huang
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, 10 TIEYI Road, Beijing, 100038, China.
| | - Xiaoning Wang
- School of Medicine, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300071, China. .,Institute of Geriatrics, The second Medical Center, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aging and Geriatrics, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China. .,School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
| | - Qiang Sun
- Institute of Biotechnology, Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 20 Dongda Street, Beijing, 100071, China.
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18
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SARS-CoV-2 spike protein dictates syncytium-mediated lymphocyte elimination. Cell Death Differ 2021; 28:2765-2777. [PMID: 33879858 PMCID: PMC8056997 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-021-00782-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is highly contagious and causes lymphocytopenia, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We demonstrate here that heterotypic cell-in-cell structures with lymphocytes inside multinucleate syncytia are prevalent in the lung tissues of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. These unique cellular structures are a direct result of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as the expression of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein is sufficient to induce a rapid (~45.1 nm/s) membrane fusion to produce syncytium, which could readily internalize multiple lines of lymphocytes to form typical cell-in-cell structures, remarkably leading to the death of internalized cells. This membrane fusion is dictated by a bi-arginine motif within the polybasic S1/S2 cleavage site, which is frequently present in the surface glycoprotein of most highly contagious viruses. Moreover, candidate anti-viral drugs could efficiently inhibit spike glycoprotein processing, membrane fusion, and cell-in-cell formation. Together, we delineate a molecular and cellular rationale for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and identify novel targets for COVID-19 therapy.
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19
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Niu Z, He M, Sun Q. Molecular mechanisms underlying cell-in-cell formation: core machineries and beyond. J Mol Cell Biol 2021; 13:329-334. [PMID: 33693765 PMCID: PMC8373266 DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjab015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Zubiao Niu
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Meifang He
- Laboratory of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing 100071, China
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 2020RU009, Beijing 100071, China
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20
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Bauer MF, Hader M, Hecht M, Büttner-Herold M, Fietkau R, Distel LVR. Cell-in-cell phenomenon: leukocyte engulfment by non-tumorigenic cells and cancer cell lines. BMC Mol Cell Biol 2021; 22:39. [PMID: 34332531 PMCID: PMC8325834 DOI: 10.1186/s12860-021-00377-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research on cell-in-cell (CIC) phenomena, including entosis, emperipolesis and cannibalism, and their biological implications has increased in recent years. Homotypic and heterotypic engulfment of various target cells by numerous types of host cells has been studied in vitro and in tissue sections. This work has identified proteins involved in the mechanism and uncovered evidence for CIC as a potential histopathologic predictive and prognostic marker in cancer. Our experimental study focused on non-professional phagocytosis of leukocytes. RESULTS We studied the engulfment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from healthy donors by counting CIC structures. Two non-tumorigenic cell lines (BEAS-2B, SBLF-9) and two tumour cell lines (BxPC3, ICNI) served as host cells. Immune cells were live-stained and either directly co-incubated or treated with irradiation or with conventional or microwave hyperthermia. Prior to co-incubation, we determined leukocyte viability for each batch via Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining. All host cells engulfed their targets, with uptake rates ranging from 1.0% ± 0.5% in BxPC3 to 8.1% ± 5.0% in BEAS-2B. Engulfment rates of the cancer cell lines BxPC3 and ICNI (1.6% ± 0.2%) were similar to those of the primary fibroblasts SBLF-9 (1.4% ± 0.2%). We found a significant negative correlation between leukocyte viability and cell-in-cell formation rates. The engulfment rate rose when we increased the dose of radiotherapy and prolonged the impact time. Further, microwave hyperthermia induced higher leukocyte uptake than conventional hyperthermia. Using fluorescent immunocytochemistry to descriptively study the proteins involved, we detected ring-like formations of diverse proteins around the leukocytes, consisting, among others, of α-tubulin, integrin, myosin, F-actin, and vinculin. These results suggest the involvement of actomyosin contraction, cell-cell adhesion, and the α-tubulin cytoskeleton in the engulfment process. CONCLUSIONS Both non-tumorigenic and cancer cells can form heterotypic CIC structures by engulfing leukocytes. Decreased viability and changes caused by microwave and X-ray irradiation trigger non-professional phagocytosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike F Bauer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstraße 27, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Michael Hader
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstraße 27, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Markus Hecht
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstraße 27, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Maike Büttner-Herold
- Department of Nephropathology, Institute of Pathology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Krankenhausstraße 8-10, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Rainer Fietkau
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstraße 27, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Luitpold V R Distel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstraße 27, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany.
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21
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Wang Y, Niu Z, Zhou L, Zhou Y, Ma Q, Zhu Y, Liu M, Shi Y, Tai Y, Shao Q, Ge J, Hua J, Gao L, Huang H, Jiang H, Sun Q. Subtype-Based Analysis of Cell-in-Cell Structures in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2021; 11:670051. [PMID: 34178655 PMCID: PMC8231019 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.670051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-in-cell (CIC) structures are defined as the special structures with one or more cells enclosed inside another one. Increasing data indicated that CIC structures were functional surrogates of complicated cell behaviors and prognosis predictor in heterogeneous cancers. However, the CIC structure profiling and its prognostic value have not been reported in human esophageal squamous cell Carcinoma (ESCC). We conducted the analysis of subtyped CIC-based profiling in ESCC using "epithelium-macrophage-leukocyte" (EML) multiplex staining and examined the prognostic value of CIC structure profiling through Kaplan-Meier plotting and Cox regression model. Totally, five CIC structure subtypes were identified in ESCC tissue and the majority of them was homotypic CIC (hoCIC) with tumor cells inside tumor cells (TiT). By univariate and multivariate analyses, TiT was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for resectable ESCC, and patients with higher density of TiT tended to have longer post-operational survival time. Furthermore, in subpopulation analysis stratified by TNM stage, high TiT density was associated with longer overall survival (OS) in patients of TNM stages III and IV as compared with patients with low TiT density (mean OS: 51 vs 15 months, P = 0.04) and T3 stage (mean OS: 57 vs 17 months, P=0.024). Together, we reported the first CIC structure profiling in ESCC and explored the prognostic value of subtyped CIC structures, which supported the notion that functional pathology with CIC structure profiling is an emerging prognostic factor for human cancers, such as ESCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Wang
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zubiao Niu
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Lulin Zhou
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
- School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yongan Zhou
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Qunfeng Ma
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yichao Zhu
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Mengzhe Liu
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Yinan Shi
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
- Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yanhong Tai
- Department of Pathology, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Qiuju Shao
- Department of Radiotherapy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jianlin Ge
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Jilei Hua
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Lihua Gao
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Hongyan Huang
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Jiang
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
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22
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Su Y, Ren H, Tang M, Zheng Y, Zhang B, Wang C, Hou X, Niu Z, Wang Z, Gao X, Gao L, Jiang H, Chen Z, Luo T, Sun Q. Role and dynamics of vacuolar pH during cell-in-cell mediated death. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:119. [PMID: 33483474 PMCID: PMC7822940 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03396-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The nonautonomous cell death by entosis was mediated by the so-called cell-in-cell structures, which were believed to kill the internalized cells by a mechanism dependent on acidified lysosomes. However, the precise values and roles of pH critical for the death of the internalized cells remained undetermined yet. We creatively employed keima, a fluorescent protein that displays different excitation spectra in responding to pH changes, to monitor the pH dynamics of the entotic vacuoles during cell-in-cell mediated death. We found that different cells varied in their basal intracellular pH, and the pH was relatively stable for entotic vacuoles containing live cells, but sharply dropped to a narrow range along with the inner cell death. In contrast, the lipidation of entotic vacuoles by LC3 displayed previously underappreciated complex patterns associated with entotic and apoptotic death, respectively. The pH decline seemed to play distinct roles in the two types of inner cell deaths, where apoptosis is preceded with moderate pH decline while a profound pH decline is likely to be determinate for entotic death. Whereas the cancer cells seemed to be lesser tolerant to acidified environments than noncancerous cells, manipulating vacuolar pH could effectively control inner cell fates and switch the ways whereby inner cell die. Together, this study demonstrated for the first time the pH dynamics of entotic vacuoles that dictate the fates of internalized cells, providing a rationale for tuning cellular pH as a potential way to treat cell-in-cell associated diseases such as cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Su
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - He Ren
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Tang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - You Zheng
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Hou
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zubiao Niu
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongyi Wang
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyan Gao
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Lihua Gao
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Jiang
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaolie Chen
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Tianzhi Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China.
- Research Unit of Cell Death Mechanism, 2020RU009, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China.
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23
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Fan J, Fang Q, Yang Y, Cui M, Zhao M, Qi J, Luo R, Du W, Liu S, Sun Q. Role of Heterotypic Neutrophil-in-Tumor Structure in the Prognosis of Patients With Buccal Mucosa Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2020; 10:541878. [PMID: 33178577 PMCID: PMC7593655 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.541878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective To analyze the role of frequency of heterotypic neutrophil-in-tumor structure (FNiT) in the prognosis of patients with buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma (BMSCC). Methods In vitro, we cocultured BMSCC cell line-H157 with neutrophils to form heterotypic neutrophil-in-tumor structures, which were then subject to fluorescence staining. Clinically, 145 patients were retrospectively enrolled. Associations between FNiT and clinicopathological variables including age, sex, smoking history, drinking history, betel nut chewing, tumor stage, node stage, metastasis, disease stage, lymphovascular invasion, extranodal extension, perineural invasion, and tumor grade were analyzed by chi-square test, and the main endpoints of interest were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) which were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox model. Results Fluorescent staining results of typical heterotypic neutrophil-in-tumor structure showed that well-differentiated H157 cells had a stronger ability to internalize more neutrophils than poorly-differentiated H157 cells, with the latter often internalizing only one neutrophil or nothing. The mean FNiT was 4.2‰, with a range from 2.3‰ to 7.8‰. A total of 80 patients relapsed and 84 patients died of the disease. The 5-year RFS and DSS rate was 42% and 42%, respectively. Patients with an FNiT≥4.2‰ had a significantly higher risk for locoregional recurrence and cancer-caused death than those with an FNiT<4.2‰ (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The FNiT alone was independently significant in predicting poor RFS, and the FNiT along with tumor grade was an independent predictor for DSS. Conclusion The FNiT as a novel predictor is significantly negatively associated with both the RFS and DSS of patients with BMSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Fan
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.,Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Qigen Fang
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Meng Cui
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Ming Zhao
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jinxing Qi
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Ruihua Luo
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Wei Du
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.,Department of Anatomy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Shanting Liu
- Department of Head Neck and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
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