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Zhou H, Shen Y, Zheng G, Zhang B, Wang A, Zhang J, Hu H, Lin J, Liu S, Luan X, Zhang W. Integrating single-cell and spatial analysis reveals MUC1-mediated cellular crosstalk in mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma. Clin Transl Med 2024; 14:e1701. [PMID: 38778448 PMCID: PMC11111627 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1701] [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: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma (MCA) is a distinct subtype of colorectal cancer (CRC) with the most aggressive pattern, but effective treatment of MCA remains a challenge due to its vague pathological characteristics. An in-depth understanding of transcriptional dynamics at the cellular level is critical for developing specialised MCA treatment strategies. METHODS We integrated single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics data to systematically profile the MCA tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly the interactome of stromal and immune cells. In addition, a three-dimensional bioprinting technique, canonical ex vivo co-culture system, and immunofluorescence staining were further applied to validate the cellular communication networks within the TME. RESULTS This study identified the crucial intercellular interactions that engaged in MCA pathogenesis. We found the increased infiltration of FGF7+/THBS1+ myofibroblasts in MCA tissues with decreased expression of genes associated with leukocyte-mediated immunity and T cell activation, suggesting a crucial role of these cells in regulating the immunosuppressive TME. In addition, MS4A4A+ macrophages that exhibit M2-phenotype were enriched in the tumoral niche and high expression of MS4A4A+ was associated with poor prognosis in the cohort data. The ligand-receptor-based intercellular communication analysis revealed the tight interaction of MUC1+ malignant cells and ZEB1+ endothelial cells, providing mechanistic information for MCA angiogenesis and molecular targets for subsequent translational applications. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides novel insights into communications among tumour cells with stromal and immune cells that are significantly enriched in the TME during MCA progression, presenting potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for MCA. KEY POINTS Tumour microenvironment profiling of MCA is developed. MUC1+ tumour cells interplay with FGF7+/THBS1+ myofibroblasts to promote MCA development. MS4A4A+ macrophages exhibit M2 phenotype in MCA. ZEB1+ endotheliocytes engage in EndMT process in MCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Zhou
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
- Department of Colorectal SurgeryChangzheng HospitalNaval Medical UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yiwen Shen
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Guangyong Zheng
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Beibei Zhang
- Department of DermatologyTongren HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Anqi Wang
- Department of Colorectal SurgeryChangzheng HospitalNaval Medical UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of PathologyChangzheng HospitalNaval Medical UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Hao Hu
- Department of PathologyChanghai HospitalNaval Medical UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jiayi Lin
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Sanhong Liu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Xin Luan
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Weidong Zhang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical BiologyInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine ResearchShanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineShanghaiChina
- Institute of Medicinal Plant DevelopmentChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
- School of PharmacyNaval Medical UniversityShanghaiChina
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Liu Q, Wang L, Su Y, Dong W, Wang H, Liu Y, Liu H, Liu L, Wang Y. Ultrahigh Enzyme Loading Metal-Organic Frameworks for Deep Tissue Pancreatic Cancer Photoimmunotherapy. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2305131. [PMID: 37875640 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Protein drugs hold promise in treating multiple complex diseases, including cancer. The priority of protein drug application is precise delivery of substantial bioactive protein into tumor site. Metal-organic-framework (MOF) is widely considered as a promising carrier to encapsulate protein drug owing to the noncovalent interaction between carrier and protein. However, limited loading efficiency and potential toxicity of metal ion in MOF restrict its application in clinical research. Herein, a tumor targeted collagenase-encapsulating MOF via protein-metal ion-organic ligand coordination (PMOCol ) for refining deep tissue pancreatic cancer photoimmunotherapy is developed. By an expedient method in which the ratio of metal ion, histidine residues of protein and ligand is precisely controlled, PMOCol is constructed with ultrahigh encapsulation efficiency (80.3 wt%) and can release collagenase with high enzymatic activity for tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) regulation after reaching tumor microenvironment (TME). Moreover, PMOcol exhibits intensively poorer toxicity than the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 biomineralized protein. After treatment, the pancreatic tumor with abundant ECM shows enhanced immunocyte infiltration owing to extracellular matrix degradation that improves suppressive TME. By integrating hyperthermia agent with strong near-infrared absorption (1064 nm), PMOCol can induce acute immunogenicity to host immunity activation and systemic immune memory production to prevent tumor development and recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Anhui Provincial Clinical Research Center for Hepatobiliary Diseases, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
| | - Li Wang
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China
| | - Yitan Su
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
| | - Wang Dong
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China
| | - Huiru Wang
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China
| | - Yang Liu
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China
| | - Hang Liu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Lianxin Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Anhui Provincial Clinical Research Center for Hepatobiliary Diseases, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
| | - Yucai Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P. R. China
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The involvement of collagen family genes in tumor enlargement of gastric cancer. Sci Rep 2023; 13:100. [PMID: 36596829 PMCID: PMC9810739 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25061-0] [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: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Extracellular matrix (ECM) not only serves as a support for tumor cell but also regulates cell-cell or cell-matrix cross-talks. Collagens are the most abundant proteins in ECM. Several studies have found that certain collagen genes were overexpressed in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and might serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in GC patients. However, the expression patterns of all collagen family genes in GC tissue and their functions are still not clear. With RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data, microarray data, and corresponding clinical data obtained from TCGA, GTEx, and GEO databases, bioinformatics analyses were performed to investigate the correlation between the expression patterns of collagen family genes and GC progression. We found that quite many of the collagen family genes were overexpressed in GC tissues. The increase in mRNA expression of most of these overexpressed collagen genes happened between T1 and T2 stage, which indicates the significance of collagens in tumor enlargement of GC. Notably, the mRNA expressions of these differentially expressed collagens genes were highly positively correlated. The elevated expression of a large number of collagen genes in early T stage might greatly change the composition and structure organization of ECM, contributing to ECM remodeling in GC progression.
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Vitale C, Marzagalli M, Scaglione S, Dondero A, Bottino C, Castriconi R. Tumor Microenvironment and Hydrogel-Based 3D Cancer Models for In Vitro Testing Immunotherapies. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:1013. [PMID: 35205760 PMCID: PMC8870468 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14041013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising novel therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In a relevant percentage of patients, however, clinical benefits are lower than expected, pushing researchers to deeply analyze the immune responses against tumors and find more reliable and efficient tools to predict the individual response to therapy. Novel tissue engineering strategies can be adopted to realize in vitro fully humanized matrix-based models, as a compromise between standard two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures and animal tests, which are costly and hardly usable in personalized medicine. In this review, we describe the main mechanisms allowing cancer cells to escape the immune surveillance, which may play a significant role in the failure of immunotherapies. In particular, we discuss the role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the establishment of a milieu that greatly favors cancer malignant progression and impact on the interactions with immune cells. Then, we present an overview of the recent in vitro engineered preclinical three-dimensional (3D) models that have been adopted to resemble the interplays between cancer and immune cells and for testing current therapies and immunotherapeutic approaches. Specifically, we focus on 3D hydrogel-based tools based on different types of polymers, discussing the suitability of each of them in reproducing the TME key features based on their intrinsic or tunable characteristics. Finally, we introduce the possibility to combine the 3D models with technological fluid dynamics platforms, reproducing the dynamic complex interactions between tumor cells and immune effectors migrated in situ via the systemic circulation, pointing out the challenges that still have to be overcome for setting more predictive preclinical assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Vitale
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy; (C.V.); (A.D.); (R.C.)
| | | | - Silvia Scaglione
- React4life SRL, 16121 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (S.S.)
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Electronics, Information Engineering and Telecommunications (IEIIT), 16149 Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandra Dondero
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy; (C.V.); (A.D.); (R.C.)
| | - Cristina Bottino
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy; (C.V.); (A.D.); (R.C.)
- IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy
| | - Roberta Castriconi
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy; (C.V.); (A.D.); (R.C.)
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