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Georgopoulos AP, James LM. Association between brain cancer immunogenetic profile and in silico immunogenicities of 11 viruses. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21528. [PMID: 38057480 PMCID: PMC10700375 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48843-6] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Several viruses including human herpes viruses (HHVs), human polyomavirus JCV, and human papilloma virus (HPV) have been implicated in brain cancer, albeit inconsistently. Since human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is centrally involved in the human immune response to viruses and has been implicated in brain cancer, we evaluated in silico the immunogenicity between 69 Class I HLA alleles with epitopes of proteins of 9 HHVs, JCV, and HPV with respect to a population-based HLA-brain cancer profile. We found that immunogenicity varied widely across HLA alleles with HLA-C alleles exhibiting the highest immunogenicity, and that immunogenicity scores were negatively associated with the population-based HLA-brain cancer profile, particularly for JCV, HHV6A, HHV5, HHV3, HHV8, and HHV7. Consistent with the role of HLA in foreign antigen elimination, the findings suggest that viruses with proteins of high HLA immunogenicity are eliminated more effectively and, consequently, less likely to cause brain cancer; conversely, the absence of highly immunogenic HLA may allow the viral antigens to persist, contributing to cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis VAMC, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Lisa M James
- The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis VAMC, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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James LM, Georgopoulos AP. Positive Association Between the Immunogenetic Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Profiles of Multiple Sclerosis and Brain Cancer. Neurosci Insights 2023; 18:26331055231214543. [PMID: 38046672 PMCID: PMC10693228 DOI: 10.1177/26331055231214543] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has documented elevated risk of brain cancer in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Separately, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) has been implicated in protection or susceptibility for both conditions. The aim of the current study was to assess a possible role of shared immunogenetic influence on risk of MS and brain cancer. We first identified an immunogenetic profile for each condition based on the covariance between the population frequency of 127 high-resolution HLA alleles and the population prevalence of each condition in 14 Continental Western European countries and then evaluated the correspondence between MS and brain cancer immunogenetic profiles. Also, since each individual carries 12 HLA alleles (2 × 6 genes), we estimated HLA protection and susceptibility for MS and brain cancer at the individual level. We found that the immunogenetic profiles of MS and brain cancer were highly correlated overall (P < .001) and across all 6 HLA genes with the strongest association observed for DRB1, followed by DQB1 and HLA-A. These findings of immunogenetic overlap between MS and brain cancer are discussed in light of the role of HLA in the immune system response to viruses and other foreign antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M James
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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James LM, Georgopoulos AP. Immunogenetic Profiles and Associations of Breast, Cervical, Ovarian, and Uterine Cancers. Cancer Inform 2023; 22:11769351221148588. [PMID: 36684415 PMCID: PMC9846304 DOI: 10.1177/11769351221148588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly recognized that the human immune response influences cancer risk, progression, and survival; consequently, there is growing interest in the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA), genes that play a critical role in initiating the immune response, on cancer. Recent evidence documented clustering of cancers based on immunogenetic profiles such that breast and ovarian cancers clustered together as did uterine and cervical cancers. Here we extend that line of research to evaluate the HLA profile of those 4 cancers and their associations. Specifically, we evaluated the associations between the frequencies of 127 HLA alleles and the population prevalences of breast, ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancer in 14 countries in Continental Western Europe. Factor analysis and hierarchical clustering were used to evaluate groupings of cancers based on their immunogenetic profiles. The results documented highly similar immunogenetic profiles for breast and ovarian cancers that were characterized predominantly by protective HLA effects. In addition, highly similar immunogenetic profiles for cervical and uterine cancers were observed that were, conversely, characterized by susceptibility effects. In light of the role of HLA in host immune system protection against non-self antigens, these findings suggest that certain cancers may be associated with similar contributory factors such as viral oncoproteins or neoantigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M James
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health
Care System, The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, MN,
USA,Department of Neuroscience, University
of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of
Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health
Care System, The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, MN,
USA,Department of Neuroscience, University
of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of
Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA,Department of Neurology, University of
Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA,Apostolos P Georgopoulos, Department of
Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Brain Sciences Center
(11B), Minneapolis VAHCS, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.
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James LM, Georgopoulos AP. Immunogenetic clustering of 30 cancers. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7235. [PMID: 35508592 PMCID: PMC9068692 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11366-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes have been implicated in cancer risk and shared heritability of different types of cancer. In this immunogenetic epidemiological study we first computed a Cancer-HLA profile for 30 cancer types characterized by the correlation between the prevalence of each cancer and the population frequency of 127 HLA alleles, and then used multidimensional scaling to evaluate the possible clustering of those Cancer-HLA associations. The results indicated the presence of three clusters, broadly reflecting digestive-skin-cervical cancers, reproductive and endocrine systems cancers, and brain and androgen-associated cancers. The clustering of cancer types documented here is discussed in terms of mechanisms underlying shared Cancer-HLA associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M James
- The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center (11B), Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis VAHCS, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- The HLA Research Group, Brain Sciences Center (11B), Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis VAHCS, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. .,Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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