Novel molecular classifications of DLBCL

Double-drug loading upconversion nanoparticles for monitoring and therapy of a MYC/BCL6-positive double-hit diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a systemic hematological malignancy. Herein, through whole exome sequencing (WES), we found that DLBCL genome changes and expression characteristics are associated with various immune cells. Lenalidomide (Len) is a leading candidate for the immunomodulatory treatment of multiple myeloma in the clinic. Inspired by lenalidomide as an immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma, we constructed a multifunctional nanoplatform with therapeutic and imaging properties for DLBCL by co-loading lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Dex) with upconversion nanoparticles using a GSH-sensitive linker (named as UCNPs-Len-Dex). In vitro cell experiments proved that the UCNPs-Len-Dex had good biocompatibility and obvious antitumor efficacy. UCNPs-Len-Dex also exhibited excellent anti-tumor efficacy and imaging properties in vivo. RNA sequencing showed that UCNPs-Len-Dex targeted and activated the E3 ligase of CRBN, resulting in IKZF1/3 degradation, which inhibited MYC/BCL6-positive DLBCL and maintained the stability of the immune microenvironment. Therefore, this study provided a new monitoring and therapeutic synergetic strategy for DLBCL.

Deeping in the Role of the MAP-Kinases Interacting Kinases (MNKs) in Cancer

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-interacting kinases (MNKs) are involved in oncogenic transformation and can promote metastasis and tumor progression. In human cells, there are four MNKs isoforms (MNK1a/b and MNK2a/b), derived from two genes by alternative splicing. These kinases play an important role controlling the expression of specific proteins involved in cell cycle, cell survival and cell motility via eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) regulation, but also through other substrates such as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1, polypyrimidine tract-binding protein-associated splicing factor and Sprouty 2. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of MNK in human cancers, describing the studies conducted to date to elucidate the mechanism involved in the action of MNKs, as well as the development of MNK inhibitors in different hematological cancers and solid tumors.

Genetic alterations in B cell lymphoma subtypes as potential biomarkers for noninvasive diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and disease monitoring

Neoplastic transformation of germinal center B (GCB) cells may give rise to a variety of different B cell lymphoma subtypes, most of which show substantial heterogeneity in terms of genetic alterations and clinical features. The mutations observed in cancer-related genes in GCB cells are related to abnormalities in the immunogenetic mechanisms associated with germinal center reaction. Recent studies have rapidly identified genomic alterations in B cell lymphomas that may be useful for better subclassification, noninvasive diagnosis, and prediction of response to therapy. The WHO recognizes different lymphoma subsets classified within 2 major categories of B cell lymphoma: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), each with distinct genetic aberrations, including chromosomal translocations, copy number abnormalities, or point mutations. Next-generation sequencing-based technologies have allowed cancer researchers to identify somatic mutations and gene expression signatures at a rapid pace so that novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets, can be discovered much faster than before. Indeed, deep sequencing studies have recently revealed that lymphoma-specific somatic mutations may be detected in cell-free circulating DNA obtained from the peripheral blood of B cell lymphoma patients, suggesting the possibility of minimally invasive diagnosis, monitoring, and predicting response to therapy of B cell lymphoma patients. In this study, the current status of the recurrent genetic aberrations observed during diagnosis and/or relapse in HL and the major subtypes of B cell NHL (i.e. diffuse large B cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and Burkitt lymphoma) are discussed to shed light on their potential use as noninvasive diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and to reveal their role in lymphomagenesis as a target in therapy for newly diagnosed and chemotherapy-resistant cases.

β-TrCP1 promotes cell proliferation via TNF-dependent NF-κB activation in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a heterogeneous group of invasive disease, is the most common type of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The mechanism of its development is closely related to the constitutive activation of NF-κB. In this study, we investigated the function and the mechanism of β-TRCP1 in DLBCL. CCK8 and EdU assays showed that β-TRCP1 could promote the growth of DLBCL cells under the stimulation of TNFα. Furthermore, overexpression of β-TRCP1 enhanced NF-κB activation in the presence of TNFα. Moreover, ectopic expression of β-TRCP1 decreased IκB-α expression but increased phospho-p65 expression. In addition, β-TRCP1 promoted cell cycle progression by accelerating G1-S phase transition. We also found that silencing of β-TrCP1 increased mitoxantrone-induced cell growth arrest and apoptosis. Based on these, we proposed that the expression of β-TRCP1 promoted cell proliferation via TNF-dependent NF-κB activation in DLBCL cells.

Identification of B-cell translocation gene 1-controlled gene networks in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A study based on bioinformatics analysis

B-cell translocation gene 1 (BTG1) is a member of the BTG/transducer of Erb family. The present study evaluated the impact of BTG1 gene expression on the clinical outcome of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and investigated potential mechanisms using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The gene expression profile datasets GSE31312, GSE10846, GSE65420 and GSE87371 were downloaded from the GEO database. BTG1 expression and clinicopathological data were obtained from the GSE31312 dataset. In 498 cases, the expression of BTG1 in DLBCL was associated with treatment response (χ²=19.020; P<0.001) and International Prognostic Index score (χ²=5.320; P=0.025). Using the Kaplan-Meier method, it was identified that the expression of BTG1 was associated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) times. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that BTG1 was an independent predictive factor for OS and PFS. From the overlapping analysis of 407 BTG1-associated genes and 22,187 DLBCL-associated genes, 401 genes were identified as BTG1-associated DLBCL genes. Pathway analysis revealed that BTG1-associated DLBCL genes were associated with cancer progression and DLBCL signaling pathways. Subsequently, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed of the BTG1-associated genes, which consisted of 235 genes and 601 interactions. Additionally, 24 genes with high degrees in the network were identified as hub genes, which included genes associated with ‘ribosome’ [ribosomal protein (RP) L11, RPL3, RPS29, RPL19, RPL15 and RPL12], ‘cell cycle’ (ubiquitin carboxyl extension protein 52, ATM and Ras homolog family member H), ‘mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway’ (mitogen-activated protein kinase 1), ‘histone modification’ (ASH1-like protein) and ‘transcription/translation’ (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit E, eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 δ, transcription termination factor 1, cAMP responsive element binding protein 1 and RNA polymerase II subunit F). In conclusion, BTG1 may serve as a predictive biomarker for DLBCL prognosis. Additionally, bioinformatics analysis indicated that BTG1 may exhibit key functions in the progression and development of DLBCL.