Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP-1) in tissues with a diagnosis of childhood lymphoma

Prognostic Role of Tumor Microenvironment in DLBCL and Relation to Patients’ Clinical Outcome: A Clinical and Immunohistochemical Study

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the most common type of lymphoma in Egypt with an unfavorable prognosis. The tumor microenvironment is rich in immune response either T cells or macrophages. The current study is aimed at testing CD4, CD8, CD68, and MMP9 immunohistochemistry of DLBCL activities with the prognosis of the tumor. The results showed no positive relation between T cell and macrophage reaction to the tumor prognosis suggesting that this reaction is part of the tumor process and not a defense mechanism from the surrounding stroma.

Integrin-specific hydrogels as adaptable tumor organoids for malignant B and T cells

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders of B and T cell origin that are treated with chemotherapy drugs with variable success rate that has virtually not changed over decades. Although new classes of chemotherapy-free epigenetic and metabolic drugs have emerged, durable responses to these conventional and new therapies are achieved in a fraction of cancer patients, with many individuals experiencing resistance to the drugs. The paucity in our understanding of what regulates the drug resistance phenotype and establishing a predictive indicator is, in great part, due to the lack of adequate ex vivo lymphoma models to accurately study the effect of microenvironmental cues in which malignant B and T cell lymphoma cells arise and reside. Unlike many other tumors, lymphomas have been neglected from biomaterials-based microenvironment engineering standpoint. In this study, we demonstrate that B and T cell lymphomas have different pro-survival integrin signaling requirements (αvβ3 and α4β1) and the presence of supporting follicular dendritic cells are critical for enhanced proliferation in three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. We engineered adaptable 3D tumor organoids presenting adhesive peptides with distinct integrin specificities to B and T cell lymphoma cells that resulted in enhanced proliferation, clustering, and drug resistance to the chemotherapeutics and a new class of histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), Panobinostat. In Diffuse Large B cell Lymphomas, the 3D microenvironment upregulated the expression level of B cell receptor (BCR), which supported the survival of B cell lymphomas through a tyrosine kinase Syk in the upstream BCR pathway. Our integrin specific ligand functionalized 3D organoids mimic a lymphoid neoplasm-like heterogeneous microenvironment that could, in the long term, change the understanding of the initiation and progression of hematological tumors, allow primary biospecimen analysis, provide prognostic values, and importantly, allow a faster and more rational screening and translation of therapeutic regimens.

Circulating mediators of inflammation and immune activation in AIDS-related non-hodgkin lymphoma

BACKGROUND

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most common AIDS-related malignancy in developed countries. An elevated risk of developing NHL persists among HIV-infected individuals in comparison to the general population despite the advent of effective antiretroviral therapy. The mechanisms underlying the development of AIDS-related NHL (A-NHL) are not fully understood, but likely involve persistent B-cell activation and inflammation.

METHODS

This was a nested case-control study within the ongoing prospective Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Cases included 47 HIV-positive male subjects diagnosed with high-grade B-cell NHL. Controls were matched to each case from among participating HIV-positive males who did not develop any malignancy. Matching criteria included time HIV+ or since AIDS diagnosis, age, race and CD4+ cell count. Sera were tested for 161 serum biomarkers using multiplexed bead-based immunoassays.

RESULTS

A subset of 17 biomarkers, including cytokines, chemokines, acute phase proteins, tissue remodeling agents and bone metabolic mediators was identified to be significantly altered in A-NHL cases in comparison to controls. Many of the biomarkers included in this subset were positively correlated with HIV viral load. A pathway analysis of our results revealed an extensive network of interactions between current and previously identified biomarkers.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support the current hypothesis that A-NHL develops in the context of persistent immune stimulation and inflammation. Further analysis of the biomarkers identified in this report should enhance our ability to diagnose, monitor and treat this disease.