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Chilimoniuk J, Erol A, Rödiger S, Burdukiewicz M. Challenges and opportunities in processing NanoString nCounter data. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:1951-1958. [PMID: 38736697 PMCID: PMC11087919 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.04.061] [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: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
NanoString nCounter is a medium-throughput technology used in mRNA and miRNA differential expression studies. It offers several advantages, including the absence of an amplification step and the ability to analyze low-grade samples. Despite its considerable strengths, the popularity of the nCounter platform in experimental research stabilized in 2022 and 2023, and this trend may continue in the upcoming years. Such stagnation could potentially be attributed to the absence of a standardized analytical pipeline or the indication of optimal processing methods for nCounter data analysis. To standardize the description of the nCounter data analysis workflow, we divided it into five distinct steps: data pre-processing, quality control, background correction, normalization and differential expression analysis. Next, we evaluated eleven R packages dedicated to nCounter data processing to point out functionalities belonging to these steps and provide comments on their applications in studies of mRNA and miRNA samples.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Erol
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Stefan Rödiger
- Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty Environment and Natural Sciences, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Michał Burdukiewicz
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Alontaga AY, Cano P, Ozakinci H, Puskas JA, Stewart PA, Welsh EA, Yoder SJ, Hicks JK, Saltos AN, Bossler AD, Haura EB, Koomen JM, Boyle TA. Implementation of a High-Accuracy Targeted Gene Expression Panel for Clinical Care. J Mol Diagn 2024; 26:685-699. [PMID: 38777037 PMCID: PMC11299514 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2024.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
This study describes the validation of a clinical RNA expression panel with evaluation of concordance between gene copy gain by a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay and high gene expression by an RNA expression panel. The RNA Salah Targeted Expression Panel (RNA STEP) was designed with input from oncologists to include 204 genes with utility for clinical trial prescreening and therapy selection. RNA STEP was validated with the nanoString platform using remnant formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded-derived RNA from 102 patients previously tested with a validated clinical NGS panel. The repeatability, reproducibility, and concordance of RNA STEP results with NGS results were evaluated. RNA STEP demonstrated high repeatability and reproducibility, with excellent correlation (r > 0.97, P < 0.0001) for all comparisons. Comparison of RNA STEP high gene expression (log2 ratio ≥ 2) versus NGS DNA-based gene copy number gain (copies ≥ 5) for 38 mutually covered genes revealed an accuracy of 93.0% with a positive percentage agreement of 69.4% and negative percentage agreement of 93.8%. Moderate correlation was observed between platforms (r = 0.53, P < 0.0001). Concordance between high gene expression and gene copy number gain varied by specific gene, and some genes had higher accuracy between assays. Clinical implementation of RNA STEP provides gene expression data complementary to NGS and offers a tool for prescreening patients for clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aileen Y Alontaga
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Pedro Cano
- Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Hilal Ozakinci
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - John A Puskas
- Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Paul A Stewart
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Eric A Welsh
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Sean J Yoder
- Molecular Genomics Core Facility, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - J Kevin Hicks
- Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Andreas N Saltos
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Aaron D Bossler
- Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Eric B Haura
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - John M Koomen
- Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida; Department of Molecular Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Theresa A Boyle
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida; Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida.
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Hirayama AV, Wright JH, Smythe KS, Fiorenza S, Shaw AN, Gauthier J, Maloney DG, Naresh KN, Yeung CCS, Turtle CJ. PD-L1 + macrophage and tumor cell abundance and proximity to T cells in the pretreatment large B-cell lymphoma microenvironment impact CD19 CAR-T cell immunotherapy efficacy. Hemasphere 2024; 8:e142. [PMID: 39113729 PMCID: PMC11303978 DOI: 10.1002/hem3.142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy has transformed the management of relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), yet durable remissions are observed in less than half of treated patients. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a key and understudied factor impacting CD19 CAR-T therapy outcomes. Using NanoString nCounter transcriptome profiling (n = 24) and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC, n = 15), we studied the TME in pretreatment biopsies from patients with LBCL undergoing CD19 CAR-T therapy. Patients who achieved complete response (CR) after CAR-T therapy demonstrated higher expression of genes associated with T-cell trafficking and function, whereas those who did not achieve CR had higher expression of genes associated with macrophages and T-cell dysfunction. Distinct patterns of immune infiltration and fibrosis in the TME were associated with CAR-T therapy outcomes, and these findings were corroborated using artificial intelligence-assisted image analyses. Patients who achieved CR had a lower proportion of the biopsy occupied by an interspersed immune infiltrate and a higher proportion of hypocellular/fibrotic regions. Furthermore, mIHC revealed lower density of CD4+ T cells and higher densities of both macrophages and tumor cells expressing PD-L1 in non-CR patients. Spatial analysis revealed that PD-1+ T cells were in close proximity to PD-L1+ macrophages or PD-L1+ tumor cells in patients who did not compared to those who did achieve CR after CAR-T therapy. These findings suggest that morphologic patterns in the TME and engagement of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis in pretreatment biopsies may impact CD19 CAR-T immunotherapy response in patients with LBCL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre V. Hirayama
- Clinical Research DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Department of MedicineUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Jocelyn H. Wright
- Clinical Research DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Kimberly S. Smythe
- Translational Science and Therapeutics DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Salvatore Fiorenza
- Clinical Research DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Faculty of Medicine and HealthThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Akira N. Shaw
- Faculty of Medicine and HealthThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Jordan Gauthier
- Clinical Research DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Department of MedicineUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - David G. Maloney
- Department of MedicineUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Translational Science and Therapeutics DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Kikkeri N. Naresh
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Translational Science and Therapeutics DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and PathologyUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Cecilia C. S. Yeung
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Translational Science and Therapeutics DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and PathologyUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Cameron J. Turtle
- Department of MedicineUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Integrated Immunotherapy Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Translational Science and Therapeutics DivisionFred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSeattleWashingtonUSA
- Faculty of Medicine and HealthThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
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Wahlstrøm KL, Balsevicius L, Hansen HF, Kvist M, Burcharth J, Skovsted G, Lykkesfeldt J, Gögenur I, Ekeloef S. Remote ischaemic preconditioning on gene expression and circulating proteins after subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy: randomized clinical trial. BJS Open 2024; 8:zrae067. [PMID: 39076000 PMCID: PMC11287053 DOI: 10.1093/bjsopen/zrae067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Surgical stress may lead to postsurgical hypercoagulability, endothelial dysfunction and systemic inflammation, which can impact on patient recovery. Remote ischaemic preconditioning is a procedure that activates the body's endogenous defences against ischaemia and reperfusion injury. Studies have suggested that remote ischaemic preconditioning has antithrombotic, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. The hypothesis was that remote ischaemic preconditioning reduces surgery-induced systemic stress response. METHOD During a 24-month period (2019-2021), adult patients undergoing subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to acute cholecystitis were randomized to remote ischaemic preconditioning or control. Remote ischaemic preconditioning was performed less than 4 h before surgery on the upper arm. It consisted of four cycles of 5 min ischaemia and 5 min reperfusion. The gene expression of 750 genes involved in inflammatory processes, oxidative stress and endothelial function was investigated preoperatively and 2-4 h after surgery in both groups. In addition, changes in 20 inflammation- and vascular trauma-associated proteins were assessed preoperatively, 2-4 h after surgery and 24 h after surgery. RESULTS A total of 60 patients were randomized. There were no statistically significant differences in gene expression 2-4 h after surgery between the groups (P > 0.05). Remote ischaemic preconditioning did not affect concentrations of circulating proteins up to 24 h after surgery (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION The study did not demonstrate any effect of remote ischaemic preconditioning on expression levels of the chosen genes or in circulating immunological cytokines and vascular trauma-associated proteins up to 24 h after subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten L Wahlstrøm
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Lukas Balsevicius
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Hannah F Hansen
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Madeline Kvist
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Jakob Burcharth
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Gry Skovsted
- Section of Experimental Animal Models, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Lykkesfeldt
- Section of Experimental Animal Models, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ismail Gögenur
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah Ekeloef
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
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Van Alsten SC, Vohra SN, Ivory JM, Hamilton AM, Gao X, Kirk EL, Butler EN, Earp HS, Reeder-Hayes KE, Hoadley KA, Carey LA, Troester MA. Differences in 21-Gene and PAM50 Recurrence Scores in Younger and Black Women With Breast Cancer. JCO Precis Oncol 2024; 8:e2400137. [PMID: 39013134 DOI: 10.1200/po.24.00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Genomic tests, such as the Oncotype Dx 21-gene and Prosigna risk of recurrence (ROR-P) assay, are commonly used for breast cancer prognostication. Emerging data suggest variability between assays, but this has not been compared in diverse populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS RNA sequencing was performed on 647 previously untreated stage I-III estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative tumors in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, which oversampled Black and younger women (age <50 years at diagnosis), using research versions of two common RNA-based prognostic assays: ROR-PR and the 21-gene recurrence score (RSR). Relative frequency differences and 95% CIs were estimated for associations with race and age, and hazards of 5-year local or distant recurrence were modeled with Cox regression. Proliferation and estrogen module scores from each assay, representing broad activity of genes in those pathways, were examined to guide interpretation of differences between tests. RESULTS Among both younger and older individuals, Black women had higher frequency of intermediate and high ROR-PR scores than non-Black women. Race was not significantly associated with RSR in either age group. High (hazard ratio [HR], 4.67 [95% CI, 1.73 to 12.70]) and intermediate (HR, 2.12 [95% CI, 0.98 to 4.62]) ROR-PR scores were associated with greater risk of recurrence, but RSR did not predict recurrence. RSR emphasized estrogen over proliferation modules, whereas ROR-PR emphasized proliferation. Higher proliferation scores were associated with younger age and Black race in both assays. Modifications to the RSR algorithm that increased emphasis on proliferation improved prognostication in this diverse population. CONCLUSION ROR-PR and the 21-gene RSR differentially emphasize estrogen-related and proliferative biology. The emphasis of 21-gene RS on estrogen-related biology and lower endocrine therapy initiation among Black women may contribute to poorer prognostic ability in heterogeneously treated populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Van Alsten
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Sanah N Vohra
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Joannie M Ivory
- Division of Oncology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Alina M Hamilton
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Xiaohua Gao
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Erin L Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Eboneé N Butler
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - H Shelton Earp
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Katherine E Reeder-Hayes
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Division of Oncology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Katherine A Hoadley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Lisa A Carey
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
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Sadikan MZ, Abdul Nasir NA, Ibahim MJ, Iezhitsa I, Agarwal R. Identifying the stability of housekeeping genes to be used for the quantitative real-time PCR normalization in retinal tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Int J Ophthalmol 2024; 17:794-805. [PMID: 38766348 PMCID: PMC11074185 DOI: 10.18240/ijo.2024.05.02] [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: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
AIM To investigate the stability of the seven housekeeping genes: beta-actin (ActB), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), 18s ribosomal unit 5 (18s), cyclophilin A (CycA), hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT), ribosomal protein large P0 (36B4) and terminal uridylyl transferase 1 (U6) in the diabetic retinal tissue of rat model. METHODS The expression of these seven genes in rat retinal tissues was determined using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in two groups; normal control rats and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The stability analysis of gene expression was investigated using geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and comparative delta-Ct (ΔCt) algorithms. RESULTS The 36B4 gene was stably expressed in the retinal tissues of normal control animals; however, it was less stable in diabetic retinas. The 18s gene was expressed consistently in both normal control and diabetic rats' retinal tissue. That this gene was the best reference for data normalisation in RT-qPCR studies that used the retinal tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Furthermore, there was no ideal gene stably expressed for use in all experimental settings. CONCLUSION Identifying relevant genes is a need for achieving RT-qPCR validity and reliability and must be appropriately achieved based on a specific experimental setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Zulfiqah Sadikan
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College Malaysia (MUCM), Bukit Baru, Melaka 75150, Malaysia
| | - Nurul Alimah Abdul Nasir
- Centre for Neuroscience Research (NeuRon), Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Sungai Buloh, Selangor 47000, Malaysia
- Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Sungai Buloh, Selangor 47000, Malaysia
| | - Mohammad Johari Ibahim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Sungai Buloh, Selangor 47000, Malaysia
| | - Igor Iezhitsa
- School of Medicine, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
- Department of Pharmacology and Bioinformatics, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd 400131, Russia
| | - Renu Agarwal
- School of Medicine, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
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Iyer DP, Moyon L, Wittler L, Cheng CY, Ringeling FR, Canzar S, Marsico A, Bulut-Karslioğlu A. Combinatorial microRNA activity is essential for the transition of pluripotent cells from proliferation into dormancy. Genome Res 2024; 34:572-589. [PMID: 38719471 PMCID: PMC11146600 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278662.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Dormancy is a key feature of stem cell function in adult tissues as well as in embryonic cells in the context of diapause. The establishment of dormancy is an active process that involves extensive transcriptional, epigenetic, and metabolic rewiring. How these processes are coordinated to successfully transition cells to the resting dormant state remains unclear. Here we show that microRNA activity, which is otherwise dispensable for preimplantation development, is essential for the adaptation of early mouse embryos to the dormant state of diapause. In particular, the pluripotent epiblast depends on miRNA activity, the absence of which results in the loss of pluripotent cells. Through the integration of high-sensitivity small RNA expression profiling of individual embryos and protein expression of miRNA targets with public data of protein-protein interactions, we constructed the miRNA-mediated regulatory network of mouse early embryos specific to diapause. We find that individual miRNAs contribute to the combinatorial regulation by the network, and the perturbation of the network compromises embryo survival in diapause. We further identified the nutrient-sensitive transcription factor TFE3 as an upstream regulator of diapause-specific miRNAs, linking cytoplasmic MTOR activity to nuclear miRNA biogenesis. Our results place miRNAs as a critical regulatory layer for the molecular rewiring of early embryos to establish dormancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhanur P Iyer
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lambert Moyon
- Computational Health Center, Helmholtz Center Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Lars Wittler
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Chieh-Yu Cheng
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Francisca R Ringeling
- Faculty of Informatics and Data Science, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Canzar
- Faculty of Informatics and Data Science, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Annalisa Marsico
- Computational Health Center, Helmholtz Center Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany;
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Van Alsten SC, Dunn MR, Hamilton AM, Ivory JM, Gao X, Kirk EL, Nsonwu-Farley JS, Carey LA, Abdou Y, Reeder-Hayes KE, Roberson ML, Wheeler SB, Emerson MA, Hyslop T, Troester MA. Disparities in OncotypeDx Testing and Subsequent Chemotherapy Receipt by Geography and Socioeconomic Status. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024; 33:654-661. [PMID: 38270534 PMCID: PMC11062804 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-23-1201] [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: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND OncotypeDx is a prognostic and predictive genomic assay used in early-stage hormone receptor-positive, HER2- (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer. It is used to inform adjuvant chemotherapy decisions, but not all eligible women receive testing. We aimed to assess variation in testing by demographics and geography, and to determine whether testing was associated with chemotherapy. METHODS For 1,615 women in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study with HR+/HER2-, Stage I-II tumors, we estimated prevalence differences (PD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for receipt of OncotypeDx genomic testing in association with and sociodemographic characteristics. We assessed associations between testing and chemotherapy receipt overall and by race. Finally, we calculated the proportion of eligible women receiving OncotypeDx by county-level rurality, census tract-level socioeconomic status, and Area Health Education Center regions. RESULTS 38% (N = 609) of potentially eligible women were tested, with lower testing prevalences in Black (31%; PD, -11%; 95% CI, -16%-6%) and low-income women (24%; PD, -20%; 95% CI, -29% to -11%) relative to non-Black and higher income women. Urban participants were less likely to be tested than rural participants, though this association varied by region. Among women with low genomic risk tumors, tested participants were 29% less likely to receive chemotherapy than untested participants (95% CI, -40% to -17%). Racial differences in chemotherapy were restricted to untested women. CONCLUSIONS Both individual and area-level socioeconomics predict likelihood of OncotypeDx testing. IMPACT Variable adoption of OncotypeDx by socioeconomics and across geographic settings may contribute to excess chemotherapy among patients with HR+/HER2- cancers. See related In the Spotlight, p. 635.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Van Alsten
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Matthew R. Dunn
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Joannie M. Ivory
- Division of Oncology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Xiaohua Gao
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Erin L. Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | | | - Lisa A. Carey
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Yara Abdou
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Katherine E. Reeder-Hayes
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Mya L. Roberson
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Stephanie B. Wheeler
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Marc A. Emerson
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | | | - Melissa A. Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
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Cristoferi I, Varol H, van Baardwijk M, Rahiem L, Lila KA, van den Bosch TPP, Baan CC, Hesselink DA, Kramann R, Minnee RC, Mustafa DAM, Reinders MEJ, Roelen DL, Shahzad-Arshad SP, Smith RN, Stubbs AP, Colvin RB, Rosales IA, Clahsen-van Groningen MC. Multiomic profiling of transplant glomerulopathy reveals a novel T-cell dominant subclass. Kidney Int 2024; 105:812-823. [PMID: 38128610 DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.11.026] [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: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Kidney transplant (KTx) biopsies showing transplant glomerulopathy (TG) (glomerular basement membrane double contours (cg) > 0) and microvascular inflammation (MVI) in the absence of C4d staining and donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) do not fulfill the criteria for chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (CA-AMR) diagnosis and do not fit into any other Banff category. To investigate this, we initiated a multicenter intercontinental study encompassing 36 cases, comparing the immunomic and transcriptomic profiles of 14 KTx biopsies classified as cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- with 22 classified as CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ through novel transcriptomic analysis using the NanoString Banff-Human Organ Transplant (B-HOT) panel and subsequent orthogonal subset analysis using two innovative 5-marker multiplex immunofluorescent panels. Nineteen genes were differentially expressed between the two study groups. Samples diagnosed with CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ showed a higher glomerular abundance of natural killer cells and higher transcriptomic cell type scores for macrophages in an environment characterized by increased expression of complement-related genes (i.e., C5AR1) and higher activity of angiogenesis, interstitial fibrosis tubular atrophy, CA-AMR, and DSA-related pathways when compared to samples diagnosed with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d-. Samples diagnosed with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- displayed a higher glomerular abundance and activity of T cells (CD3+, CD3+CD8+, and CD3+CD8-). Thus, we show that using novel multiomic techniques, KTx biopsies with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- have a prominent T-cell presence and activity, putting forward the possibility that these represent a more T-cell dominant phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iacopo Cristoferi
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Surgery, Division of HPB & Transplant Surgery, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Hilal Varol
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Myrthe van Baardwijk
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Surgery, Division of HPB & Transplant Surgery, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Layla Rahiem
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Karishma A Lila
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Thierry P P van den Bosch
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Carla C Baan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dennis A Hesselink
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rafael Kramann
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Institute of Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Nephrology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Robert C Minnee
- Department of Surgery, Division of HPB & Transplant Surgery, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dana A M Mustafa
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, the Tumor Immuno-Pathology Laboratory, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marlies E J Reinders
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dave L Roelen
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Shazia P Shahzad-Arshad
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rex N Smith
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew P Stubbs
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Robert B Colvin
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ivy A Rosales
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Marian C Clahsen-van Groningen
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Institute of Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
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10
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Hamilton AM, Walens A, Van Alsten SC, Olsson LT, Nsonwu-Farley J, Gao X, Kirk EL, Perou CM, Carey LA, Troester MA, Abdou Y. BIRC5 expression by race, age and clinical factors in breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Res 2024; 26:50. [PMID: 38515208 PMCID: PMC10956264 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-024-01792-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Survivin/BIRC5 is a proliferation marker that is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer and an attractive therapeutic target. However, BIRC5 has not been well studied among racially diverse populations where aggressive breast cancers are prevalent. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We studied BIRC5 expression in association with clinical and demographic variables and as a predictor of recurrence in 2174 participants in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS), a population-based study that oversampled Black (n = 1113) and younger (< 50 years; n = 1137) participants with breast cancer. For comparison, similar analyses were conducted in The Cancer Genome Atlas [TCGA N = 1094, Black (n = 183), younger (n = 295)]. BIRC5 was evaluated as a continuous and categorical variable (highest quartile vs. lower three quartiles). RESULTS Univariate, continuous BIRC5 expression was higher in breast tumors from Black women relative to non-Black women in both estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and ER-negative tumors and in analyses stratified by stage (i.e., within Stage I, Stage II, and Stage III/IV tumors). Within CBCS and TCGA, BIRC5-high was associated with young age (< 50 years) and Black race, as well as hormone receptor-negative tumors, non-Luminal A PAM50 subtypes, advanced stage, and larger tumors (> 2 cm). Relative to BIRC5-low, BIRC5-high tumors were associated with poor 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) among ER-positive tumors, both in unadjusted models [HR (95% CI): 2.7 (1.6, 4.6)] and after adjustment for age and stage [Adjusted HR (95% CI): 1.87 (1.07, 3.25)]. However, this relationship was not observed among ER-negative tumors [Crude HR (95% CI): 0.7 (0.39, 1.2); Adjusted HR (95% CI): 0.67 (0.37, 1.2)]. CONCLUSION Black and younger women with breast cancer have a higher burden of BIRC5-high tumors than older and non-Black women. Emerging anti-survivin treatment strategies may be an important future direction for equitable breast cancer outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina M Hamilton
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Andrea Walens
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Sarah C Van Alsten
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Linnea T Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Joseph Nsonwu-Farley
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Xiaohua Gao
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Erin L Kirk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Charles M Perou
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Lisa A Carey
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Yara Abdou
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Drive, CB# 7305, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.
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11
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Tansey MG, Boles J, Holt J, Cole C, Neighbarger N, Urs N, Uriarte-Huarte O. Locus coeruleus injury modulates ventral midbrain neuroinflammation during DSS-induced colitis. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-3952442. [PMID: 38559083 PMCID: PMC10980147 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3952442/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a decades-long prodrome, consisting of a collection of non-motor symptoms that emerges prior to the motor manifestation of the disease. Of these non-motor symptoms, gastrointestinal dysfunction and deficits attributed to central norepinephrine (NE) loss, including mood changes and sleep disturbances, are frequent in the PD population and emerge early in the disease. Evidence is mounting that injury and inflammation in the gut and locus coeruleus (LC), respectively, underlie these symptoms, and the injury of these systems is central to the progression of PD. In this study, we generate a novel two-hit mouse model that captures both features, using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to induce gut inflammation and N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) to lesion the LC. We first confirmed the specificity of DSP-4 for central NE using neurochemical methods and fluorescence light-sheet microscopy of cleared tissue, and established that DSS-induced outcomes in the periphery, including weight loss, gross indices of gut injury and systemic inflammation, the loss of tight junction proteins in the colonic epithelium, and markers of colonic inflammation, were unaffected with DSP-4 pre-administration. We then measured alterations in neuroimmune gene expression in the ventral midbrain in response to DSS treatment alone as well as the extent to which prior LC injury modified this response. In this two-hit model we observed that DSS-induced colitis activates the expression of key cytokines and chemokines in the ventral midbrain only in the presence of LC injury and the typical DSS-associated neuroimmune is blunted by pre-LC lesioning with DSP-4. In all, this study supports the growing appreciation for the LC as neuroprotective against inflammation-induced brain injury and draws attention to the potential for NEergic interventions to exert disease-modifying effects under conditions where peripheral inflammation may compromise ventral midbrain dopaminergic neurons and increase the risk for development of PD.
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12
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Boles JS, Holt J, Cole CL, Neighbarger NK, Urs NM, Huarte OU, Tansey MG. Locus coeruleus injury modulates ventral midbrain neuroinflammation during DSS-induced colitis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.12.580010. [PMID: 38405709 PMCID: PMC10888767 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.12.580010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a decades-long prodrome, consisting of a collection of non-motor symptoms that emerges prior to the motor manifestation of the disease. Of these non-motor symptoms, gastrointestinal dysfunction and deficits attributed to central norepinephrine (NE) loss, including mood changes and sleep disturbances, are frequent in the PD population and emerge early in the disease. Evidence is mounting that injury and inflammation in the gut and locus coeruleus (LC), respectively, underlie these symptoms, and the injury of these systems is central to the progression of PD. In this study, we generate a novel two-hit mouse model that captures both features, using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to induce gut inflammation and N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) to lesion the LC. We first confirmed the specificity of DSP-4 for central NE using neurochemical methods and fluorescence light-sheet microscopy of cleared tissue, and established that DSS-induced outcomes in the periphery, including weight loss, gross indices of gut injury and systemic inflammation, the loss of tight junction proteins in the colonic epithelium, and markers of colonic inflammation, were unaffected with DSP-4 pre-administration. We then measured alterations in neuroimmune gene expression in the ventral midbrain in response to DSS treatment alone as well as the extent to which prior LC injury modified this response. In this two-hit model we observed that DSS-induced colitis activates the expression of key cytokines and chemokines in the ventral midbrain only in the presence of LC injury and the typical DSS-associated neuroimmune is blunted by pre-LC lesioning with DSP-4. In all, this study supports the growing appreciation for the LC as neuroprotective against inflammation-induced brain injury and draws attention to the potential for NEergic interventions to exert disease-modifying effects under conditions where peripheral inflammation may compromise ventral midbrain dopaminergic neurons and increase the risk for development of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Sondag Boles
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Jenny Holt
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Cassandra L. Cole
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Noelle K. Neighbarger
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Nikhil M. Urs
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Oihane Uriarte Huarte
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Malú Gámez Tansey
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
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13
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Zhang J, Zhao L, Xuan S, Liu Z, Weng Z, Wang Y, Dai K, Gu A, Zhao P. Global analysis of iron metabolism-related genes identifies potential mechanisms of gliomagenesis and reveals novel targets. CNS Neurosci Ther 2024; 30:e14386. [PMID: 37545464 PMCID: PMC10848104 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS This study aimed to investigate key regulators of aberrant iron metabolism in gliomas, and evaluate their effect on biological functions and clinical translational relevance. METHODS We used transcriptomic data from multiple cross-platform glioma cohorts to identify key iron metabolism-related genes (IMRGs) based on a series of bioinformatic and machine learning methods. The associations between IMRGs and prognosis, mesenchymal phenotype, and genomic alterations were analyzed in silico. The performance of the IMRGs-based signature in predicting temozolomide (TMZ) treatment sensitivity was evaluated. In vitro and in vivo experiments were used to explore the biological functions of these key IMRGs. RESULTS HMOX1, LTF, and STEAP3 were identified as the most essential IMRGs in gliomas. The expression levels of these genes were strongly related to clinicopathological and molecular features. The robust IMRG-based gene signature could be used for prognosis prediction. These genes facilitate mesenchymal transformation, driver gene mutations, and oncogenic alterations in gliomas. The gene signature was also associated with TMZ resistance. HMOX1, LTF, and STEAP3 knockdown in glioma cells significantly reduced cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and malignant invasion. CONCLUSION The study presented a comprehensive view of key regulators underpinning iron metabolism in gliomas and provided new insights into novel therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayue Zhang
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Liang Zhao
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Shurui Xuan
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Zhiyuan Liu
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Zhenkun Weng
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, School of Public HealthNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
- Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of EducationCenter for Global Health, Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Kexiang Dai
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Aihua Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, School of Public HealthNanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
- Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of EducationCenter for Global Health, Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Peng Zhao
- Department of NeurosurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
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14
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Wang Y, Tang Y, Liu Z, Tan X, Zou Y, Luo S, Yao K. Identification of an inflammation-related risk signature for prognosis and immunotherapeutic response prediction in bladder cancer. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1216. [PMID: 38216619 PMCID: PMC10786915 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51158-9] [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: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Tumor inflammation is one of the hallmarks of tumors and is closely related to tumor occurrence and development, providing individualized prognostic prediction. However, few studies have evaluated the relationship between inflammation and the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) patients. Therefore, we constructed a novel inflammation-related prognostic model that included six inflammation-related genes (IRGs) that can precisely predict the survival outcomes of BLCA patients. RNA-seq expression and corresponding clinical data from BLCA patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Enrichment analysis was subsequently performed to determine the enrichment of GO terms and KEGG pathways. K‒M analysis was used to compare overall survival (OS). Cox regression and LASSO regression were used to identify prognostic factors and construct the model. Finally, this prognostic model was used to evaluate cell infiltration in the BLCA tumor microenvironment and analyze the effect of immunotherapy in high- and low-risk patients. We established an IRG signature-based prognostic model with 6 IRGs (TNFRSF12A, NR1H3, ITIH4, IL1R1, ELN and CYP26B1), among which TNFRSF12A, IL1R1, ELN and CYP26B1 were unfavorable prognostic factors and NR1H3 and ITIH4 were protective indicators. High-risk score patients in the prognostic model had significantly poorer OS. Additionally, high-risk score patients were associated with an inhibitory immune tumor microenvironment and poor immunotherapy response. We also found a correlation between IRS-related genes and bladder cancer chemotherapy drugs in the drug sensitivity data. The IRG signature-based prognostic model we constructed can predict the prognosis of BLCA patients, providing additional information for individualized prognostic judgment and treatment selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjun Wang
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Yi Tang
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Zhicheng Liu
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Xingliang Tan
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Yuantao Zou
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Sihao Luo
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Kai Yao
- Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
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15
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Sumiyoshi T, Wang X, Warner EW, Sboner A, Annala M, Sigouros M, Beja K, Mizuno K, Ku S, Fazli L, Eastham J, Taplin ME, Simko J, Halabi S, Morris MJ, Gleave ME, Wyatt AW, Beltran H. Molecular features of prostate cancer after neoadjuvant therapy in the phase 3 CALGB 90203 trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2024; 116:115-126. [PMID: 37676819 PMCID: PMC10777679 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The phase 3 CALGB 90203 (Alliance) trial evaluated neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy for high-risk localized prostate cancer before radical prostatectomy. We dissected the molecular features of post-treated tumors with long-term clinical outcomes to explore mechanisms of response and resistance to chemohormonal therapy. METHODS We evaluated 471 radical prostatectomy tumors, including 294 samples from 166 patients treated with 6 cycles of docetaxel plus androgen deprivation therapy before radical prostatectomy and 177 samples from 97 patients in the control arm (radical prostatectomy alone). Targeted DNA sequencing and RNA expression of tumor foci and adjacent noncancer regions were analyzed in conjunction with pathologic changes and clinical outcomes. RESULTS Tumor fraction estimated from DNA sequencing was significantly lower in post-treated tumor tissues after chemohormonal therapy compared with controls. Higher tumor fraction after chemohormonal therapy was associated with aggressive pathologic features and poor outcomes, including prostate-specific antigen-progression-free survival. SPOP alterations were infrequently detected after chemohormonal therapy, while TP53 alterations were enriched and associated with shorter overall survival. Residual tumor fraction after chemohormonal therapy was linked to higher expression of androgen receptor-regulated genes, cell cycle genes, and neuroendocrine genes, suggesting persistent populations of active prostate cancer cells. Supervised clustering of post-treated high-tumor-fraction tissues identified a group of patients with elevated cell cycle-related gene expression and poor clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Distinct recurrent prostate cancer genomic and transcriptomic features are observed after exposure to docetaxel and androgen deprivation therapy. Tumor fraction assessed by DNA sequencing quantifies pathologic response and could be a useful trial endpoint or prognostic biomarker. TP53 alterations and high cell cycle transcriptomic activity are linked to aggressive residual disease, despite potent chemohormonal therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Sumiyoshi
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Xiaofei Wang
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Evan W Warner
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Andrea Sboner
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matti Annala
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Michael Sigouros
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kevin Beja
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Kei Mizuno
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shengyu Ku
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ladan Fazli
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - James Eastham
- Urology Service at the Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mary-Ellen Taplin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Simko
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Susan Halabi
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michael J Morris
- Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Martin E Gleave
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alexander W Wyatt
- Vancouver Prostate Centre and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Himisha Beltran
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
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16
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Barth J, Yang Y, Xiao G, Wang X. MetaNorm: incorporating meta-analytic priors into normalization of NanoString nCounter data. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae024. [PMID: 38237909 PMCID: PMC10826904 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Non-informative or diffuse prior distributions are widely employed in Bayesian data analysis to maintain objectivity. However, when meaningful prior information exists and can be identified, using an informative prior distribution to accurately reflect current knowledge may lead to superior outcomes and great efficiency. RESULTS We propose MetaNorm, a Bayesian algorithm for normalizing NanoString nCounter gene expression data. MetaNorm is based on RCRnorm, a powerful method designed under an integrated series of hierarchical models that allow various sources of error to be explained by different types of probes in the nCounter system. However, a lack of accurate prior information, weak computational efficiency, and instability of estimates that sometimes occur weakens the approach despite its impressive performance. MetaNorm employs priors carefully constructed from a rigorous meta-analysis to leverage information from large public data. Combined with additional algorithmic enhancements, MetaNorm improves RCRnorm by yielding more stable estimation of normalized values, better convergence diagnostics and superior computational efficiency. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION R Code for replicating the meta-analysis and the normalization function can be found at github.com/jbarth216/MetaNorm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackson Barth
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, United States
- Department of Statistical Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, United States
| | - Yuqiu Yang
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, United States
| | - Guanghua Xiao
- Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States
| | - Xinlei Wang
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, United States
- Department of Mathematics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 United States
- Division of Data Science, College of Science, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States
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17
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Flora A, Jepsen R, Kozera EK, Woods JA, Cains GD, Radzieta M, Jensen SO, Malone M, Frew JW. Mast cells are upregulated in hidradenitis suppurativa tissue, associated with epithelialized tunnels and normalized by spleen tyrosine kinase antagonism. Exp Dermatol 2024; 33:e14894. [PMID: 37522746 DOI: 10.1111/exd.14894] [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: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Mast cells have traditionally been associated with allergic inflammatory responses; however, they play important roles in cutaneous innate immunity and wound healing. The Hidradenitis Suppurativa tissue transcriptome is associated with alterations in innate immunity and wound healing-associated pathways; however, the role of mast cells in the disease is unexplored. We demonstrate that mast cell-associated gene expression (using whole tissue RNAseq) is upregulated, and in-silico cellular deconvolution identifies activated mast cells upregulated and resting mast cells downregulated in lesional tissue. Tryptase/Chymase positive mast cells (identified using IHC) localize adjacent to epithelialized tunnels, fibrotic regions of the dermis and at perivascular sites associated with Neutrophil Extracellular Trap formation and TNF-alpha production. Treatment with Spleen Tyrosine Kinase antagonist (Fostamatinib) reduces the expression of mast cell-associated gene transcripts, associated biochemical pathways and the number of tryptase/chymase positive mast cells in lesional hidradenitis suppurativa tissue. This data indicates that although mast cells are not the most abundant cell type in Hidradenitis Suppurativa tissue, the dysregulation of mast cells is paralleled with B cell/plasma cell inflammation, inflammatory epithelialized tunnels and epithelial budding. This provides an explanation as to the mixed inflammatory activation signature seen in HS, the correlation with dysregulated wound healing and potential pathways involved in the development of epithelialized tunnels.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Flora
- Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - R Jepsen
- Holdsworth House Medical Practice, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - E K Kozera
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - J A Woods
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - G D Cains
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - M Radzieta
- South West Sydney Limb Preservation and Wound Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - S O Jensen
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - M Malone
- South West Sydney Limb Preservation and Wound Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - J W Frew
- Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Holdsworth House Medical Practice, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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18
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Hopp SC, Rogers JG, Smith S, Campos G, Miller H, Barannikov S, Kuri EG, Wang H, Han X, Bieniek KF, Weintraub ST, Palavicini JP. Multi-omics analyses reveal novel effects of PLCγ2 deficiency in the mouse brain. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.06.570499. [PMID: 38106102 PMCID: PMC10723468 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.06.570499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Phospholipase C gamma-2 (PLCγ2) catalyzes the hydrolysis of the membrane phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) to form diacylglycerol (DAG) and inositol trisphosphate (IP3), which subsequently feed into numerous downstream signaling pathways. PLCG2 polymorphisms are associated with both reduced and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and with longevity. In the brain, PLCG2 is highly expressed in microglia, where it is proposed to regulate phagocytosis, secretion of cytokines/chemokines, cell survival and proliferation. We analyzed the brains of three-month-old PLCγ2 knockout (KO), heterozygous (HET), and wild-type (WT) mice using multiomics approaches, including shotgun lipidomics, proteomics, and gene expression profiling, and immunofluorescence. Lipidomic analyses revealed sex-specific losses of total cerebrum PIP2 and decreasing trends of DAG content in KOs. In addition, PLCγ2 depletion led to significant losses of myelin-specific lipids and decreasing trends of myelin-enriched lipids. Consistent with our lipidomics results, RNA profiling revealed sex-specific changes in the expression levels of several myelin-related genes. Further, consistent with the available literature, gene expression profiling revealed subtle changes on microglia phenotype in mature adult KOs under baseline conditions, suggestive of reduced microglia reactivity. Immunohistochemistry confirmed subtle differences in density of microglia and oligodendrocytes in KOs. Exploratory proteomic pathway analyses revealed changes in KO and HET females compared to WTs, with over-abundant proteins pointing to mTOR signaling, and under-abundant proteins to oligodendrocytes. Overall, our data indicate that loss of PLCγ2 has subtle effects on brain homeostasis that may underlie enhanced vulnerability to AD pathology and aging via novel mechanisms in addition to regulation of microglia function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Hopp
- Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Juliet Garcia Rogers
- Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Sabrina Smith
- Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Gabriela Campos
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC)
| | - Henry Miller
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Savannah Barannikov
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Science, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | | | - Hu Wang
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Xianlin Han
- Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Kevin F. Bieniek
- Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Science, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Susan T. Weintraub
- Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
| | - Juan Pablo Palavicini
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
- Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
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19
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Ragazzini R, Boeing S, Zanieri L, Green M, D'Agostino G, Bartolovic K, Agua-Doce A, Greco M, Watson SA, Batsivari A, Ariza-McNaughton L, Gjinovci A, Scoville D, Nam A, Hayday AC, Bonnet D, Bonfanti P. Defining the identity and the niches of epithelial stem cells with highly pleiotropic multilineage potency in the human thymus. Dev Cell 2023; 58:2428-2446.e9. [PMID: 37652013 PMCID: PMC10957394 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.08.017] [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: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Thymus is necessary for lifelong immunological tolerance and immunity. It displays a distinctive epithelial complexity and undergoes age-dependent atrophy. Nonetheless, it also retains regenerative capacity, which, if harnessed appropriately, might permit rejuvenation of adaptive immunity. By characterizing cortical and medullary compartments in the human thymus at single-cell resolution, in this study we have defined specific epithelial populations, including those that share properties with bona fide stem cells (SCs) of lifelong regenerating epidermis. Thymic epithelial SCs display a distinctive transcriptional profile and phenotypic traits, including pleiotropic multilineage potency, to give rise to several cell types that were not previously considered to have shared origin. Using here identified SC markers, we have defined their cortical and medullary niches and shown that, in vitro, the cells display long-term clonal expansion and self-organizing capacity. These data substantively broaden our knowledge of SC biology and set a stage for tackling thymic atrophy and related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Ragazzini
- Epithelial Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, Division of Infection & Immunity, UCL, Pears Building, Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 2PP, UK
| | - Stefan Boeing
- Bioinformatics & Biostatistics, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Luca Zanieri
- Epithelial Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, Division of Infection & Immunity, UCL, Pears Building, Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 2PP, UK
| | - Mary Green
- Experimental Histopathology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Giuseppe D'Agostino
- Haematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Plasticell Limited, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2FX, UK
| | - Kerol Bartolovic
- Flow Cytometry Core, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Ana Agua-Doce
- Flow Cytometry Core, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Maria Greco
- Single Cell Facility, MRC WIMM, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Sara A Watson
- Epithelial Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Antoniana Batsivari
- Haematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Linda Ariza-McNaughton
- Haematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Asllan Gjinovci
- Epithelial Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, Division of Infection & Immunity, UCL, Pears Building, Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 2PP, UK
| | | | - Andy Nam
- NanoString Technologies Inc., Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adrian C Hayday
- Immunosurveillance Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Dominique Bonnet
- Haematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Paola Bonfanti
- Epithelial Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, Division of Infection & Immunity, UCL, Pears Building, Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 2PP, UK.
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20
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Shi Y, Olsson LT, Hoadley KA, Calhoun BC, Marron JS, Geradts J, Niethammer M, Troester MA. Predicting early breast cancer recurrence from histopathological images in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. NPJ Breast Cancer 2023; 9:92. [PMID: 37952058 PMCID: PMC10640636 DOI: 10.1038/s41523-023-00597-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Approaches for rapidly identifying patients at high risk of early breast cancer recurrence are needed. Image-based methods for prescreening hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tumor slides could offer temporal and financial efficiency. We evaluated a data set of 704 1-mm tumor core H&E images (2-4 cores per case), corresponding to 202 participants (101 who recurred; 101 non-recurrent matched on age and follow-up time) from breast cancers diagnosed between 2008-2012 in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. We leveraged deep learning to extract image information and trained a model to identify recurrence. Cross-validation accuracy for predicting recurrence was 62.4% [95% CI: 55.7, 69.1], similar to grade (65.8% [95% CI: 59.3, 72.3]) and ER status (66.3% [95% CI: 59.8, 72.8]). Interestingly, 70% (19/27) of early-recurrent low-intermediate grade tumors were identified by our image model. Relative to existing markers, image-based analyses provide complementary information for predicting early recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifeng Shi
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Linnea T Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Katherine A Hoadley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin C Calhoun
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - J S Marron
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Joseph Geradts
- Department of Pathology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Marc Niethammer
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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21
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Flora A, Jepsen R, Kozera EK, Woods JA, Cains GD, Radzieta M, Jensen SO, Malone M, Frew JW. Human dermal fibroblast subpopulations and epithelial mesenchymal transition signals in hidradenitis suppurativa tunnels are normalized by spleen tyrosine kinase antagonism in vivo. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282763. [PMID: 37922232 PMCID: PMC10624284 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Hidradenitis Suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory disease of which the pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Dermal fibroblasts have been previously identified as a major source of inflammatory cytokines, however information pertaining to the characteristics of subpopulations of fibroblasts in HS remains unexplored. Using in silico-deconvolution of whole-tissue RNAseq, Nanostring gene expression panels and confirmatory immunohistochemistry we identified fibroblast subpopulations in HS tissue and their relationship to disease severity and lesion morphology. Gene signatures of SFRP2+ fibroblast subsets were increased in lesional tissue, with gene signatures of SFRP1+ fibroblast subsets decreased. SFRP2+ and CXCL12+ fibroblast numbers, measured by IHC, were increased in HS tissue, with greater numbers associated with epithelialized tunnels and Hurley Stage 3 disease. Pro-inflammatory CXCL12+ fibroblasts were also increased, with reductions in SFRP1+ fibroblasts compared to healthy controls. Evidence of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition was seen via altered gene expression of SNAI2 and altered protein expression of ZEB1, TWIST1, Snail/Slug, E-Cadherin and N-Cadherin in HS lesional tissue. The greatest dysregulation of EMT associated proteins was seen in biopsies containing epithelialized tunnels. The use of the oral Spleen tyrosine Kinase inhibitor Fostamatinib significantly reduced expression of genes associated with chronic inflammation, fibroblast proliferation and migration suggesting a potential role for targeting fibroblast activity in HS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akshay Flora
- Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Emily K. Kozera
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jane A. Woods
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Geoffrey D. Cains
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Michael Radzieta
- South West Sydney Limb Preservation and Wound Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Slade O. Jensen
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Matthew Malone
- South West Sydney Limb Preservation and Wound Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | - John W. Frew
- Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia
- Holdsworth House Medical Practice, Sydney, Australia
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22
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Verbeke S, Bourdon A, Guegan JP, Leroy L, Chaire V, Richard E, Bessede A, Italiano A. Antitumor Effects of PRMT5 Inhibition in Sarcomas. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:2211-2220. [PMID: 37861293 PMCID: PMC10621483 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) have few therapeutic options. Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), an anticancer target, has been extensively investigated in recent years in epithelial tumors. To date, no data related to the biological role of PRMT5 inhibition and its potential effect as a treatment in STS have been reported.To investigate the therapeutic potential of PRMT5 targeting in STS, we first evaluated the prognostic value of PRMT5 expression in two different cohorts of patients with STS. We then used the potent and selective GSK3326595 (GSK595) compound to investigate the antitumor effect of the pharmacologic inhibition of PRMT5 in vitro via MTT, apoptosis, cell cycle, clonogenicity, and proliferation assays. In vivo studies were performed with two animal models to evaluate the effects of GSK595 on tumor growth. The mechanisms of action were investigated by RNA sequencing, metabolic pathway analysis, Western blotting, and glucose uptake/lactate production assays.High PRMT5 gene expression levels were significantly associated with worsened metastasis-free survival of patients with STS. GSK595 decreased the global symmetric dimethylarginine level, the proliferation rate and clonogenicity of STS cell lines in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, PRMT5 inhibition regulated aerobic glycolysis through downregulation of key enzymes of glycolysis as well as glucose uptake and lactate production.The current study demonstrated that PRMT5 regulates STS cell metabolism and thus represents a potential therapeutic target for STS. Additional studies in diverse sarcoma subtypes will be essential to confirm and expand upon these findings. SIGNIFICANCE STSs have limited therapeutic options. We show here the poor prognostic value of high PRMT5 expression in STS. Moreover, we demonstrate that the pharmacologic inhibition of PRMT5 has significant antitumor activity through the downregulation of glycolysis. Our findings support the clinical investigation of PRMT5 inhibition in STSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Verbeke
- Sarcoma Unit, Bergonié Institute, Bordeaux, France
- INSERM U1312 BRIC BoRdeaux Institute of onCology, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Aurélien Bourdon
- Sarcoma Unit, Bergonié Institute, Bordeaux, France
- INSERM U1312 BRIC BoRdeaux Institute of onCology, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Laura Leroy
- Sarcoma Unit, Bergonié Institute, Bordeaux, France
- INSERM U1312 BRIC BoRdeaux Institute of onCology, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Vanessa Chaire
- Sarcoma Unit, Bergonié Institute, Bordeaux, France
- INSERM U1312 BRIC BoRdeaux Institute of onCology, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Elodie Richard
- Service Commun des Animaleries, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Antoine Italiano
- Sarcoma Unit, Bergonié Institute, Bordeaux, France
- INSERM U1312 BRIC BoRdeaux Institute of onCology, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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23
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Egeland C, Balsevicius L, Gögenur I, Gehl J, Baeksgaard L, Garbyal RS, Achiam MP. Calcium electroporation of esophageal cancer induces gene expression changes: a sub-study of a phase I clinical trial. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:16031-16042. [PMID: 37688629 PMCID: PMC10620256 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-05357-y] [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: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In this study, we aim to investigate gene expression changes in tumor samples obtained from patients with esophageal cancer treated with calcium electroporation. Previously, local treatment with calcium electroporation has been shown to induce gene expression alterations, potentially contributing to a more tumor-hostile microenvironment. METHODS In this sub-study of a phase I clinical trial, we included five patients with esophageal cancer treated with calcium electroporation. We compared cancer-associated gene expression patterns in tumor samples before and after treatment. Furthermore, we used linear support vector regression to predict the cellular composition of tumor samples. RESULTS Using differential expression analysis, we identified the downregulation of CXCL14 and upregulation of CCL21, ANGPTL4, and CRABP2 genes. We also found a decreased predicted proportion of dendritic cells while the proportion of neutrophils was increased. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence that calcium electroporation for esophageal cancer induces local transcriptional changes and possibly alters the cellular composition of the tumor microenvironment. The results are explorative, larger studies are needed to confirm and further correlate our findings with clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Egeland
- Department of Surgery and Transplantation, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Lukas Balsevicius
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark
- Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ismail Gögenur
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Koege, Denmark
| | - Julie Gehl
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Oncology and Palliative Care, Center for Experimental Drug and Gene Electrotransfer (C*EDGE), Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Lene Baeksgaard
- Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rajendra Singh Garbyal
- Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael Patrick Achiam
- Department of Surgery and Transplantation, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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24
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Yeo N, Genenger B, Aghmesheh M, Thind A, Napaki S, Perry J, Ashford B, Ranson M, Brungs D. Sex as a Predictor of Response to Immunotherapy in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5026. [PMID: 37894393 PMCID: PMC10605413 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15205026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Approximately 3-5% of patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) develop advanced disease, accounting for roughly 1% of all cancer deaths in Australia. Immunotherapy has demonstrated significant clinical benefit in advanced CSCC in several key phase II studies; however, there are limited data for patients treated outside of clinical trials. This is particularly relevant in advanced CSCC, which is most often seen in elderly patients with significant comorbidities. Thus, we aim to describe our experience with immunotherapy in a cohort of patients with advanced CSCC in Australia. We retrospectively reviewed all advanced CSCC patients treated with immunotherapy within the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Local Health District. Among the 51 patients treated with immunotherapy, there was an objective response rate (ORR) of 53% and disease control rate (DCR) of 67%. Our most significant predictor of response was sex, with male patients more likely to have better responses compared to female patients (DCR 85% vs. 41%, p < 0.0001), as well as improved progression-free survival (HR 4.6, 95%CI 1.9-10.8, p = 0.0007) and overall survival (HR 3.0, 95%CI 1.3-7.1, p = 0.006). Differential expression analysis of 770 immune-related genes demonstrated an impaired CD8 T-cell response in female patients. Our observed ORR of 53% is similar to that described in current literature with durable responses seen in the majority of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Yeo
- Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), NSW Health, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Benjamin Genenger
- Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | | | - Amarinder Thind
- Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), NSW Health, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Sarbar Napaki
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Anatomical Pathology, Wollongong Hospital, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Southern IML/Sonic Healthcare, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Jay Perry
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Bruce Ashford
- Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), NSW Health, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Marie Ranson
- Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
| | - Daniel Brungs
- Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), NSW Health, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
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25
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Khani F, Hooper WF, Wang X, Chu TR, Shah M, Winterkorn L, Sigouros M, Conteduca V, Pisapia D, Wobker S, Walker S, Graff JN, Robinson B, Mosquera JM, Sboner A, Elemento O, Robine N, Beltran H. Evolution of structural rearrangements in prostate cancer intracranial metastases. NPJ Precis Oncol 2023; 7:91. [PMID: 37704749 PMCID: PMC10499931 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-023-00435-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Intracranial metastases in prostate cancer are uncommon but clinically aggressive. A detailed molecular characterization of prostate cancer intracranial metastases would improve our understanding of their pathogenesis and the search for new treatment strategies. We evaluated the clinical and molecular characteristics of 36 patients with metastatic prostate cancer to either the dura or brain parenchyma. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 10 intracranial prostate cancer metastases, as well as WGS of primary prostate tumors from men who later developed metastatic disease (n = 6) and nonbrain prostate cancer metastases (n = 36). This first whole genome sequencing study of prostate intracranial metastases led to several new insights. First, there was a higher diversity of complex structural alterations in prostate cancer intracranial metastases compared to primary tumor tissues. Chromothripsis and chromoplexy events seemed to dominate, yet there were few enrichments of specific categories of structural variants compared with non-brain metastases. Second, aberrations involving the AR gene, including AR enhancer gain were observed in 7/10 (70%) of intracranial metastases, as well as recurrent loss of function aberrations involving TP53 in 8/10 (80%), RB1 in 2/10 (20%), BRCA2 in 2/10 (20%), and activation of the PI3K/AKT/PTEN pathway in 8/10 (80%). These alterations were frequently present in tumor tissues from other sites of disease obtained concurrently or sequentially from the same individuals. Third, clonality analysis points to genomic factors and evolutionary bottlenecks that contribute to metastatic spread in patients with prostate cancer. These results describe the aggressive molecular features underlying intracranial metastasis that may inform future diagnostic and treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Khani
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Xiaofei Wang
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Michael Sigouros
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Vincenza Conteduca
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Medical Oncology and Biomolecular Therapy, University of Foggia, Policlinico Riuniti, Foggia, Italy
| | - David Pisapia
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sara Wobker
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sydney Walker
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Julie N Graff
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Brian Robinson
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Juan Miguel Mosquera
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrea Sboner
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olivier Elemento
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Himisha Beltran
- Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
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26
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Barna AJ, Herold Z, Acs M, Bazsa S, Gajdacsi J, Garay TM, Herold M, Madaras L, Muhl D, Nagy A, Szasz AM, Dank M. High Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Count Is Associated with Distinct Gene Expression Profile and Longer Patient Survival in Advanced Ovarian Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13684. [PMID: 37761986 PMCID: PMC10530512 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-related immunity plays a significant role in the outcome of ovarian cancer, but the exact mechanisms are not fully explored. A retrospective, real-life observational study was conducted including 57 advanced ovarian cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry for CD4+, CD8+, and CD45+ was used for assessing tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Furthermore, an immune-related gene expression assay was performed on 12-10 samples from patients with less than and more than 1-year overall survival (OS), respectively. A higher number of CD4+ (p = 0.0028) and CD45+ (p = 0.0221) immune cells within the tumor microenvironment were associated with longer OS of patients. In a multivariate setting, higher CD4+ T cell infiltration predicted longer OS (p = 0.0392). Twenty-three differentially expressed genes-involved in antigen presentation, costimulatory signaling, matrix remodeling, metastasis formation, and myeloid cell activity-were found when comparing the prognostic groups. It was found that tumor-infiltrating immune cell counts are associated with peculiar gene expression patterns and bear prognostic information in ovarian cancer. SOX11 expression emerged and was validated as a predictive marker for OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andras Jozsef Barna
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saint Pantaleon Hospital, H-2400 Dunaujvaros, Hungary
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zoltan Herold
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklos Acs
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sandor Bazsa
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saint Pantaleon Hospital, H-2400 Dunaujvaros, Hungary
| | - Jozsef Gajdacsi
- Directorate General of Medical Quality Assurance, Semmelweis University, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamas Marton Garay
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
- Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pazmany Peter Catholic University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Magdolna Herold
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology, Semmelweis University, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Lilla Madaras
- Department of Pathology, Forensic and Insurance Medicine, Semmelweis University, H-1091 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dorottya Muhl
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Akos Nagy
- Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Marcell Szasz
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Magdolna Dank
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Semmelweis University, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary
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27
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Muñoz-Braceras S, Pinal-Fernandez I, Casal-Dominguez M, Pak K, Milisenda JC, Lu S, Gadina M, Naz F, Gutierrez-Cruz G, Dell’Orso S, Torres-Ruiz J, Grau-Junyent JM, Selva-O’Callaghan A, Paik JJ, Albayda J, Christopher-Stine L, Lloyd TE, Corse AM, Mammen AL. Identification of Unique microRNA Profiles in Different Types of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy. Cells 2023; 12:2198. [PMID: 37681930 PMCID: PMC10487266 DOI: 10.3390/cells12172198] [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: 07/16/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Dermatomyositis (DM), antisynthetase syndrome (AS), immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), and inclusion body myositis (IBM) are four major types of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM). Muscle biopsies from each type of IIM have unique transcriptomic profiles. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), thereby regulating their expression and modulating transcriptomic profiles. In this study, 18 DM, 12 IMNM, 6 AS, 6 IBM, and 6 histologically normal muscle biopsies underwent miRNA profiling using the NanoString nCounter system. Eleven miRNAs were exclusively differentially expressed in DM compared to controls, seven miRNAs were only differentially expressed in AS, and nine miRNAs were specifically upregulated in IBM. No differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in IMNM. We also analyzed miRNA-mRNA associations to identify putative targets of differentially expressed miRNAs. In DM and AS, these were predominantly related to inflammation and cell cycle progression. Moreover, our analysis showed an association between miR-30a-3p, miR-30e-3p, and miR-199b-5p downregulation in DM and the upregulation of target genes induced by type I interferon. In conclusion, we show that muscle biopsies from DM, AS, and IBM patients have unique miRNA signatures and that these miRNAs might play a role in regulating the expression of genes known to be involved in IIM pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Muñoz-Braceras
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
| | - Iago Pinal-Fernandez
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Maria Casal-Dominguez
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Katherine Pak
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
| | - José César Milisenda
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
- Muscle Research Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain;
- CIBERER, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shajia Lu
- Translational Immunology Section, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (S.L.); (M.G.)
| | - Massimo Gadina
- Translational Immunology Section, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (S.L.); (M.G.)
| | - Faiza Naz
- Genomic Technology Section, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (F.N.); (G.G.-C.)
| | - Gustavo Gutierrez-Cruz
- Genomic Technology Section, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (F.N.); (G.G.-C.)
| | - Stefania Dell’Orso
- Genomic Technology Section, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (F.N.); (G.G.-C.)
| | - Jiram Torres-Ruiz
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
- Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City 14080, Mexico
| | - Josep Maria Grau-Junyent
- Muscle Research Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain;
- CIBERER, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Albert Selva-O’Callaghan
- Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Vall d’Hebron General Hospital, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Julie J. Paik
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (J.J.P.); (J.A.)
| | - Jemima Albayda
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (J.J.P.); (J.A.)
| | - Lisa Christopher-Stine
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (J.J.P.); (J.A.)
| | - Thomas E. Lloyd
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Andrea M. Corse
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
| | - Andrew L. Mammen
- Muscle Disease Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; (I.P.-F.); (M.C.-D.); (K.P.); (J.C.M.); (J.T.-R.)
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (L.C.-S.); (T.E.L.); (A.M.C.)
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (J.J.P.); (J.A.)
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28
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Formosa A, Acton E, Lee A, Turgeon P, Izhar S, Plant P, Tsoporis JN, Soussi S, Trahtemberg U, Baker A, dos Santos CC. Validation of reference gene stability for miRNA quantification by reverse transcription quantitative PCR in the peripheral blood of patients with COVID-19 critical illness. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286871. [PMID: 37643172 PMCID: PMC10464995 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgency to study the host gene response that leads to variable clinical presentations of the disease, particularly the critical illness response. miRNAs have been implicated in the mechanism of host immune dysregulation and thus hold potential as biomarkers and/or therapeutic agents with clinical application. Hence, further analyses of their altered expression in COVID-19 is warranted. An important basis for this is identifying appropriate reference genes for high quality expression analysis studies. In the current report, NanoString technology was used to study the expression of 798 miRNAs in the peripheral blood of 24 critically ill patients, 12 had COVID-19 and 12 were COVID-19 negative. A list of potentially stable candidate reference genes was generated that included ten miRNAs. The top six were analyzed using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a total of 41 patients so as to apply standard computational algorithms for validating reference genes, namely geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and RefFinder. There was general agreement among all four algorithms in the ranking of four stable miRNAs: miR-186-5p, miR-148b-3p, miR-194-5p and miR-448. A detailed analysis of their output rankings led to the conclusion that miR-186-5p and miR-148b-3p are appropriate reference genes for miRNA expression studies using PaxGene tubes in the peripheral blood of patients critically ill with COVID-19 disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Formosa
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Erica Acton
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Amy Lee
- Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Paul Turgeon
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Shehla Izhar
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pamela Plant
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jim N. Tsoporis
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sabri Soussi
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Uriel Trahtemberg
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Critical Care Department, Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel
| | - Andrew Baker
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Critical Care, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Claudia C. dos Santos
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Critical Care, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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29
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Jinna ND, Van Alsten S, Rida P, Seewaldt VL, Troester MA. Molecular features of androgen-receptor low, estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers in the Carolina breast cancer study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2023:10.1007/s10549-023-07014-x. [PMID: 37438515 PMCID: PMC10361868 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-07014-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Androgen receptor (AR) expression is absent in 40-90% of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancers. The prognostic value of AR in ER-negative patients and therapeutic targets for patients absent in AR remains poorly explored. METHODS We used an RNA-based multigene classifier to identify AR-low and AR-high ER-negative participants in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS; N = 669) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; N = 237). We compared AR-defined subgroups by demographics, tumor characteristics, and established molecular signatures [PAM50 risk of recurrence (ROR), homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), and immune response]. RESULTS AR-low tumors were more prevalent among younger (RFD = + 10%, 95% CI = 4% to 16%) participants in CBCS and were associated with HER2 negativity (RFD = - 35%, 95% CI = - 44% to - 26%), higher grade (RFD = + 17%, 95% CI = 8% to 26%), and higher risk of recurrence scores (RFD = + 22%, 95% CI = 16.1% to 28%), with similar results in TCGA. The AR-low subgroup was strongly associated with HRD in CBCS (RFD = + 33.3%, 95% CI = 23.8% to 43.2%) and TCGA (RFD = + 41.5%, 95% CI = 34.0% to 48.6%). In CBCS, AR-low tumors had high adaptive immune marker expression. CONCLUSION Multigene, RNA-based low AR expression is associated with aggressive disease characteristics as well as DNA repair defects and immune phenotypes, suggesting plausible precision therapies for AR-low, ER-negative patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita D Jinna
- Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA.
| | - Sarah Van Alsten
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Padmashree Rida
- Department of Science, Rowland Hall, Salt Lake City, UT, 84102, USA
| | - Victoria L Seewaldt
- Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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30
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Croft W, Pearce H, Margielewska-Davies S, Lim L, Nicol SM, Zayou F, Blakeway D, Marcon F, Powell-Brett S, Mahon B, Merard R, Zuo J, Middleton G, Roberts K, Brown RM, Moss P. Spatial determination and prognostic impact of the fibroblast transcriptome in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. eLife 2023; 12:e86125. [PMID: 37350578 PMCID: PMC10361717 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86125] [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: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has a poor clinical outcome and responses to immunotherapy are suboptimal. Stromal fibroblasts are a dominant but heterogenous population within the tumor microenvironment and therapeutic targeting of stromal subsets may have therapeutic utility. Here, we combine spatial transcriptomics and scRNA-Seq datasets to define the transcriptome of tumor-proximal and tumor-distal cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and link this to clinical outcome. Tumor-proximal fibroblasts comprise large populations of myofibroblasts, strongly expressed podoplanin, and were enriched for Wnt ligand signaling. In contrast, inflammatory CAFs were dominant within tumor-distal subsets and expressed complement components and the Wnt-inhibitor SFRP2. Poor clinical outcome was correlated with elevated HIF-1α and podoplanin expression whilst expression of inflammatory and complement genes was predictive of extended survival. These findings demonstrate the extreme transcriptional heterogeneity of CAFs and its determination by apposition to tumor. Selective targeting of tumor-proximal subsets, potentially combined with HIF-1α inhibition and immune stimulation, may offer a multi-modal therapeutic approach for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne Croft
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Centre for Computational Biology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Hayden Pearce
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Sandra Margielewska-Davies
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Lindsay Lim
- Cancer Research Horizons, The Francis Crick InstituteLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Samantha M Nicol
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Fouzia Zayou
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Daniel Blakeway
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Francesca Marcon
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Sarah Powell-Brett
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Brinder Mahon
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Reena Merard
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Jianmin Zuo
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Gary Middleton
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Keith Roberts
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Rachel M Brown
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Paul Moss
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
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31
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Hurson AN, Hamilton AM, Olsson LT, Kirk EL, Sherman ME, Calhoun BC, Geradts J, Troester MA. Reproducibility and intratumoral heterogeneity of the PAM50 breast cancer assay. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2023; 199:147-154. [PMID: 36892725 PMCID: PMC10147733 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-06888-1] [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: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The PAM50 assay is used routinely in clinical practice to determine breast cancer prognosis and management; however, research assessing how technical variation and intratumoral heterogeneity contribute to misclassification and reproducibility of these tests is limited. METHODS We evaluated the impact of intratumoral heterogeneity on the reproducibility of results for the PAM50 assay by testing RNA extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded breast cancer blocks sampled at distinct spatial locations. Samples were classified according to intrinsic subtype (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched, Basal-like, or Normal-like) and risk of recurrence with proliferation score (ROR-P, high, medium, or low). Intratumoral heterogeneity and technical reproducibility (replicate assays on the same RNA) were assessed as percent categorical agreement between paired intratumoral and replicate samples. Euclidean distances between samples, calculated across the PAM50 genes and the ROR-P score, were compared for concordant vs. discordant samples. RESULTS Technical replicates (N = 144) achieved 93% agreement for ROR-P group and 90% agreement on PAM50 subtype. For spatially distinct biological replicates (N = 40 intratumoral replicates), agreement was lower (81% for ROR-P and 76% for PAM50 subtype). The Euclidean distances between discordant technical replicates were bimodal, with discordant samples showing higher Euclidian distance and biologic heterogeneity. CONCLUSION The PAM50 assay achieved very high technical reproducibility for breast cancer subtyping and ROR-P, but intratumoral heterogeneity is revealed by the assay in a small proportion of cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber N Hurson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Alina M Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Linnea T Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Erin L Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Mark E Sherman
- Quantitative Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Benjamin C Calhoun
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Joseph Geradts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 253 Rosenau, CB# 7435, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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Jinna N, Van Alsten S, Rida P, Seewaldt V, Troester M. Molecular Features of Androgen-Receptor Low, Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancers in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2693555. [PMID: 36993425 PMCID: PMC10055609 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2693555/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Androgen receptor (AR) expression is absent in 40-90% of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancers. The prognostic value of AR in ER-negative patients and therapeutic targets for patients absent in AR remains poorly explored. METHODS We used an RNA-based multigene classifier to identify AR-low and AR-high ER-negative participants in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS; n=669) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; n=237). We compared AR-defined subgroups by demographics, tumor characteristics, and established molecular signatures [PAM50 risk of recurrence (ROR), homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), and immune response]. RESULTS AR-low tumors were more prevalent among Black (relative frequency difference (RFD) = +7%, 95% CI = 1% to 14%) and younger (RFD = +10%, 95% CI = 4% to 16%) participants in CBCS and were associated with HER2-negativity (RFD = -35%, 95% CI = -44% to -26%), higher grade (RFD = +17%, 95% CI = 8% to 26%), and higher risk of recurrence scores (RFD = +22%, 95% CI = 16.1% to 28%), with similar results in TCGA. The AR-low subgroup was strongly associated with HRD in CBCS (RFD = +33.3%, 95% CI = 23.8% to 43.2%) and TCGA (RFD = +41.5%, 95% CI = 34.0% to 48.6%). In CBCS, AR-low tumors had high adaptive immune marker expression. CONCLUSION Multigene, RNA-based low AR expression is associated with aggressive disease characteristics as well as DNA repair defects and immune phenotypes, suggesting plausible precision therapies for AR-low, ER-negative patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Melissa Troester
- UNC-Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Flora A, Kozera EK, Jepsen R, Gill K, Xu J, Frew JW. Baseline clinical, hormonal and molecular markers associated with clinical response to IL-23 antagonism in hidradenitis suppurativa: A prospective cohort study. Exp Dermatol 2023. [PMID: 36933897 DOI: 10.1111/exd.14789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023]
Abstract
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a complex inflammatory disease in which predicting therapeutic response remains challenging. IL-23 interacts with sex hormones but the relationships between the two in HS remains uninvestigated. To assess whether baseline clinical, hormonal or molecular markers are associated with clinical response to IL-23 antagonism with risankizumab in hidradenitis suppurativa. Twenty six individuals with Hurley stage 2/3 disease were administered risankizumab 150 mg Week 0, 4, 12. Baseline sex hormones and skin biopsies were taken. Clinical response at Week 16 assessed by the HiSCR, and differences between responders and non-responders assessed. Eighteen of 26 participants achieved HiSCR50 at week 16 (69.2%). Clinical response to IL-23 antagonism was associated with male gender, elevated total serum testosterone and decreased levels of FSH. Stratification by clinical responders/nonresponders identified differentially expressed genes including PLPP4 and MAPK10. Immunohistochemistry identified elevated numbers of CD11c, IL-17A and IL-17F positive cells compared to nonresponders. CD11c + cells significantly correlated with serum levels of total testosterone and inversely correlated with serum FSH. Clinical response to IL-23 antagonism in HS is associated with serum sex hormones, Th17 polarized inflammation in lesional tissue and CD11c + cells. These potential therapeutic biomarkers require further validation in larger cohorts but may suggest potential targeted HS therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Flora
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - E K Kozera
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - R Jepsen
- Holdsworth House Medical Practice, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - K Gill
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - J Xu
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - J W Frew
- Department of Dermatology, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Laboratory of Translational Cutaneous Medicine, Ingham Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Holdsworth House Medical Practice, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Tu CL, Chang W, Sosa JA, Koh J. Digital spatial profiling of human parathyroid tumors reveals cellular and molecular alterations linked to vitamin D deficiency. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad073. [PMID: 36992820 PMCID: PMC10042281 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine neoplastic disorder characterized by disrupted calcium homeostasis secondary to inappropriately elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. Low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) are significantly more prevalent in PHPT patients than in the general population (1-3), but the basis for this association remains unclear. We employed a spatially defined in situ whole-transcriptomics and selective proteomics profiling approach to compare gene expression patterns and cellular composition in parathyroid adenomas from vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-replete PHPT patients. A cross-sectional panel of eucalcemic cadaveric donor parathyroid glands was examined in parallel as normal tissue controls. Here, we report that parathyroid tumors from vitamin D-deficient PHPT patients (Def-Ts) are intrinsically different from those of vitamin D-replete patients (Rep-Ts) of similar age and preoperative clinical presentation. The parathyroid oxyphil cell content is markedly higher in Def-Ts (47.8%) relative to Rep-Ts (17.8%) and normal donor glands (7.7%). Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased expression of electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation pathway components. Parathyroid oxyphil cells, while morphologically distinct, are comparable to chief cells at the transcriptional level, and vitamin D deficiency affects the transcriptional profiles of both cell types in a similar manner. These data suggest that oxyphil cells are derived from chief cells and imply that their increased abundance may be induced by low vitamin D status. Gene set enrichment analysis reveals that pathways altered in Def-Ts are distinct from Rep-Ts, suggesting alternative tumor etiologies in these groups. Increased oxyphil content may thus be a morphological indicator of tumor-predisposing cellular stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Ling Tu
- Endocrine Research Unit, Department of Medicine, San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158
| | - Wenhan Chang
- Endocrine Research Unit, Department of Medicine, San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158
| | - Julie A Sosa
- Endocrine Neoplasia Laboratory, Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143
| | - James Koh
- Endocrine Neoplasia Laboratory, Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143
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de Mey W, Locy H, De Ridder K, De Schrijver P, Autaers D, Lakdimi A, Esprit A, Franceschini L, Thielemans K, Verdonck M, Breckpot K. An mRNA mix redirects dendritic cells towards an antiviral program, inducing anticancer cytotoxic stem cell and central memory CD8 + T cells. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1111523. [PMID: 36860873 PMCID: PMC9969480 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1111523] [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: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Dendritic cell (DC)-maturation stimuli determine the potency of these antigen-presenting cells and, therefore, the quality of the T-cell response. Here we describe that the maturation of DCs via TriMix mRNA, encoding CD40 ligand, a constitutively active variant of toll-like receptor 4 and the co-stimulatory molecule CD70, enables an antibacterial transcriptional program. Besides, we further show that the DCs are redirected into an antiviral transcriptional program when CD70 mRNA in TriMix is replaced with mRNA encoding interferon-gamma and a decoy interleukin-10 receptor alpha, forming a four-component mixture referred to as TetraMix mRNA. The resulting TetraMixDCs show a high potential to induce tumor antigen-specific T cells within bulk CD8+ T cells. Tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) are emerging and attractive targets for cancer immunotherapy. As T-cell receptors recognizing TSAs are predominantly present on naive CD8+ T cells (TN), we further addressed the activation of tumor antigen-specific T cells when CD8+ TN cells are stimulated by TriMixDCs or TetraMixDCs. In both conditions, the stimulation resulted in a shift from CD8+ TN cells into tumor antigen-specific stem cell-like memory, effector memory and central memory T cells with cytotoxic capacity. These findings suggest that TetraMix mRNA, and the antiviral maturation program it induces in DCs, triggers an antitumor immune reaction in cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kirsten De Ridder
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Phaedra De Schrijver
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Dorien Autaers
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Asma Lakdimi
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Arthur Esprit
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lorenzo Franceschini
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
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Hamilton AM, Van Alsten SC, Gao X, Nsonwu-Farley J, Calhoun BC, Love MI, Troester MA, Hoadley KA. Incorporating RNA-based Risk Scores for Genomic Instability to Predict Breast Cancer Recurrence and Immunogenicity in a Diverse Population. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:12-20. [PMID: 36968228 PMCID: PMC10035450 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-22-0267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
Markers of genomic instability, including TP53 status and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), are candidate biomarkers of immunogenicity and immune-mediated survival, but little is known about the distribution of these markers in large, population-based cohorts of racially diverse patients with breast cancer. In prior clinical trials, DNA-based approaches have been emphasized, but recent data suggest that RNA-based assessment can capture pathway differences conveniently and may be streamlined with other RNA-based genomic risk scores. Thus, we used RNA expression to study genomic instability (HRD and TP53 pathways) in context of the breast cancer immune microenvironment in three datasets (total n = 4,892), including 1,942 samples from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a population-based study that oversampled Black (n = 1,026) and younger women (n = 1,032). Across all studies, 36.9% of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and 92.6% of ER-negative breast cancer had presence of at least one genomic instability signature. TP53 and HRD status were significantly associated with immune expression in both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer. RNA-based genomic instability signatures were associated with higher PD-L1, CD8 T-cell marker, and global and multimarker immune cell expression. Among tumors with genomic instability signatures, adaptive immune response was associated with improved recurrence-free survival regardless of ER status, highlighting genomic instability as a candidate marker for predicting immunotherapy response. Leveraging a convenient, integrated RNA-based approach, this analysis shows that genomic instability interacts with immune response, an important target in breast cancer overall and in Black women who experience higher frequency of TP53 and HR deficiency. Significance Despite promising advances in breast cancer immunotherapy, predictive biomarkers that are valid across diverse populations and breast cancer subtypes are needed. Genomic instability signatures can be coordinated with other RNA-based scores to define immunogenic breast cancers and may have value in stratifying immunotherapy trial participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Sarah C. Van Alsten
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Xiaohua Gao
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Joseph Nsonwu-Farley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Benjamin C. Calhoun
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Michael I. Love
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Melissa A. Troester
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Katherine A. Hoadley
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Walens A, Van Alsten SC, Olsson LT, Smith MA, Lockhart A, Gao X, Hamilton AM, Kirk EL, Love MI, Gupta GP, Perou CM, Vaziri C, Hoadley KA, Troester MA. RNA-Based Classification of Homologous Recombination Deficiency in Racially Diverse Patients with Breast Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022; 31:2136-2147. [PMID: 36129803 PMCID: PMC9720427 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-22-0590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant expression of DNA repair pathways such as homologous recombination (HR) can lead to DNA repair imbalance, genomic instability, and altered chemotherapy response. DNA repair imbalance may predict prognosis, but variation in DNA repair in diverse cohorts of breast cancer patients is understudied. METHODS To identify RNA-based patterns of DNA repair expression, we performed unsupervised clustering on 51 DNA repair-related genes in the Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Cancer [TCGA BRCA (n = 1,094)] and Carolina Breast Cancer Study [CBCS (n = 1,461)]. Using published DNA-based HR deficiency (HRD) scores (high-HRD ≥ 42) from TCGA, we trained an RNA-based supervised classifier. Unsupervised and supervised HRD classifiers were evaluated in association with demographics, tumor characteristics, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS : Unsupervised clustering on DNA repair genes identified four clusters of breast tumors, with one group having high expression of HR genes. Approximately 39.7% of CBCS and 29.3% of TCGA breast tumors had this unsupervised high-HRD (U-HRD) profile. A supervised HRD classifier (S-HRD) trained on TCGA had 84% sensitivity and 73% specificity to detect HRD-high samples. Both U-HRD and S-HRD tumors in CBCS had higher frequency of TP53 mutant-like status (45% and 41% enrichment) and basal-like subtype (63% and 58% enrichment). S-HRD high was more common among black patients. Among chemotherapy-treated participants, recurrence was associated with S-HRD high (HR: 2.38, 95% confidence interval = 1.50-3.78). CONCLUSIONS HRD is associated with poor prognosis and enriched in the tumors of black women. IMPACT RNA-level indicators of HRD are predictive of breast cancer outcomes in diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Walens
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Sarah C. Van Alsten
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Linnea T. Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Markia A. Smith
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Alex Lockhart
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Xiaohua Gao
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Erin L. Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Michael I. Love
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Gaorav P. Gupta
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Charles M. Perou
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Cyrus Vaziri
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Katherine A. Hoadley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Melissa A. Troester
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Cho YE, Vorn R, Chimenti M, Crouch K, Shaoshuai C, Narayanaswamy J, Harken A, Schmidt R, Gill J, Lee H. Extracellular vesicle miRNAs in breast milk of obese mothers. Front Nutr 2022; 9:976886. [PMID: 36313069 PMCID: PMC9597365 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.976886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Breast milk has abundant extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing various biological molecules (cargo), including miRNAs. EVs are not degraded in the gastrointestinal system and circulation; thus, breast milk EVs (bEVs) are expected to interact with other organs in breastfed infants and modify the gene expression of recipient cells using miRNAs. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is a critical factor influencing the composition of breast milk. Thus, in mothers with obesity, miRNAs in bEVs can be altered, which might be associated with adverse health outcomes in infants. In this study, we examined 798 miRNAs to determine which miRNAs are altered in the bEVs of mothers with obesity and their potential impact on breastfed infants. Methods We recruited healthy nursing mothers who were either of normal weight (BMI < 25) or with obesity (BMI ≥ 30) based on their pre-pregnancy BMI, and delivered a singleton baby in the prior 6 months. EVs were isolated from breast milk with ultracentrifugation. bEV characteristics were examined by flow cytometry and fluorescence imaging of EV markers. A total of 798 miRNAs were screened using a NanoString human miRNA panel to find differentially expressed miRNAs in bEVs of mothers with obesity compared to mothers of normal weight. Results We included 65 nursing mothers: 47 of normal weight and 18 with obesity based on pre-pregnancy BMI. After bEV isolation, we confirmed the expression of various EV markers. Out of 37 EV markers, CD326 (EpCaM) was the most highly expressed in bEVs. The most abundant miRNAs in bEVs include miR-30b-5p, miR-4454, miR-494-3p, and let-7 miRNAs. Target genes of the top 10 miRNAs were associated with cancer, prolactin pathway, EGFR, ErbB, and FoxO signaling pathway. In bEVs of mothers with obesity, 19 miRNAs were differentially expressed (adjusted p < 0.05 cut-off), which include miR-575, miR-630, miR-642a-3p, and miR-652-5p. These miRNAs and their target genes were associated with neurological diseases and psychological disorders. Conclusion In this study, we characterized bEVs and demonstrated altered miRNAs in bEVs of mothers with obesity and identified the pathways of their potential target genes. Our findings will provide insight for future studies investigating the role of bEVs in breastfed infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Eun Cho
- College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States,*Correspondence: Young-Eun Cho,
| | - Rany Vorn
- School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Michael Chimenti
- College of Medicine The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Keith Crouch
- College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Chen Shaoshuai
- College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | | | - Alaria Harken
- College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Reegan Schmidt
- College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Jessica Gill
- School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States,Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Hyangkyu Lee
- Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, College of Nursing, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
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Olsson LT, Walens A, Hamilton AM, Benefield HC, Fleming JM, Carey LA, Hursting SD, Williams KP, Troester MA. Obesity and Breast Cancer Metastasis across Genomic Subtypes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022; 31:1944-1951. [PMID: 35973227 PMCID: PMC9628732 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-22-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obese women have higher risk of aggressive breast tumors and distant metastasis. However, obesity has rarely been assessed in association with metastasis in diverse populations. METHODS In the Carolina Breast Cancer Study Phase 3 (2008-2013), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), and molecular subtype [PAM50 risk-of-recurrence (ROR) score] were assessed. Obesity measures were evaluated in association with metastasis within five years of diagnosis, overall and stratified by race and ROR score. Absolute risk of metastasis and risk differences between strata were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, adjusted for age, grade, stage, race, and ER status. Relative frequency of metastatic site and multiplicity were estimated in association with obesity using generalized linear models. RESULTS High-WHR was associated with higher risk of metastasis (5-year risk difference, RD, 4.3%; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-6.5). It was also associated with multiple metastases and metastases at all sites except brain. The 5-year risk of metastasis differed by race (11.2% and 6.9% in Black and non-Black, respectively) and ROR score (19.5% vs. 6.6% in high vs. low-to-intermediate ROR-PT). Non-Black women and those with low-to-intermediate ROR scores had similar risk in high- and low-WHR strata. However, among Black women and those with high ROR, risk of metastasis was elevated among high-WHR (RDBlack/non-Black = 4.6%, RDHigh/Low-Int = 3.1%). Patterns of metastasis were similar by BMI. CONCLUSIONS WHR is associated with metastatic risk, particularly among Black women and those with high-risk tumors. IMPACT Understanding how risk factors for metastasis interact may help in tailoring care plans and surveillance among patients with breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linnea T Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Andrea Walens
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Alina M Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Halei C Benefield
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Jodie M Fleming
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
| | - Lisa A Carey
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Stephen D Hursting
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Kevin P Williams
- Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
- Co-senior authors
| | - Melissa A Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Co-senior authors
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Ertveldt T, De Beck L, De Ridder K, Locy H, de Mey W, Goyvaerts C, Lecocq Q, Ceuppens H, De Vlaeminck Y, Awad RM, Keyaerts M, Devoogdt N, D'Huyvetter M, Breckpot K, Krasniqi A. Targeted Radionuclide Therapy with Low and High-Dose Lutetium-177-Labeled Single Domain Antibodies Induces Distinct Immune Signatures in a Mouse Melanoma Model. Mol Cancer Ther 2022; 21:1136-1148. [PMID: 35499391 PMCID: PMC9377759 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-21-0791] [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: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) using probes labeled with Lutetium-177 (177Lu) represents a new and growing type of cancer therapy. We studied immunologic changes in response to TRT with 177Lu labeled anti-human CD20 camelid single domain antibodies (sdAb) in a B16-melanoma model transfected to express human CD20, the target antigen, and ovalbumin, a surrogate tumor antigen. High-dose TRT induced melanoma cell death, calreticulin exposure, and ATP-release in vitro. Melanoma-bearing mice received fractionated low and high-dose TRT via tumor targeting anti-human CD20 sdAbs, as opposed to control sdAbs. Tumor growth was delayed with both doses. Low- and high-dose TRT increased IL10 serum levels. Low-dose TRT also decreased CCL5 serum levels. At the tumor, high-dose TRT induced a type I IFN gene signature, while low-dose TRT induced a proinflammatory gene signature. Low- and high-dose TRT increased the percentage of PD-L1pos and PD-L2pos myeloid cells in tumors with a marked increase in alternatively activated macrophages after high-dose TRT. The percentage of tumor-infiltrating T cells was not changed, yet a modest increase in ovalbumin-specific CD8pos T-cells was observed after low-dose TRT. Contradictory, low and high-dose TRT decreased CD4pos Th1 cells in addition to double negative T cells. In conclusion, these data suggest that low and high-dose TRT induce distinct immunologic changes, which might serve as an anchoring point for combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ertveldt
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.,Corresponding Authors: Karine Breckpot, Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, Brussels 1090, Belgium. Phone: 322-477-4566; Fax: 322-477-4506; E-mail: ; and Thomas Ertveldt, E-mail:
| | - Lien De Beck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Kirsten De Ridder
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Hanne Locy
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Wout de Mey
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Cleo Goyvaerts
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Quentin Lecocq
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Hannelore Ceuppens
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yannick De Vlaeminck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Robin Maximilian Awad
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marleen Keyaerts
- Laboratory for In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Nuclear Medicine, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nick Devoogdt
- Laboratory for In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Matthias D'Huyvetter
- Laboratory for In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Karine Breckpot
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.,Corresponding Authors: Karine Breckpot, Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, Brussels 1090, Belgium. Phone: 322-477-4566; Fax: 322-477-4506; E-mail: ; and Thomas Ertveldt, E-mail:
| | - Ahmet Krasniqi
- Laboratory for In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
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Gómez-Carballa A, Rivero-Calle I, Pardo-Seco J, Gómez-Rial J, Rivero-Velasco C, Rodríguez-Núñez N, Barbeito-Castiñeiras G, Pérez-Freixo H, Cebey-López M, Barral-Arca R, Rodriguez-Tenreiro C, Dacosta-Urbieta A, Bello X, Pischedda S, Currás-Tuala MJ, Viz-Lasheras S, Martinón-Torres F, Salas A. A multi-tissue study of immune gene expression profiling highlights the key role of the nasal epithelium in COVID-19 severity. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 210:112890. [PMID: 35202626 PMCID: PMC8861187 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) symptoms range from mild to severe illness; the cause for this differential response to infection remains unknown. Unravelling the immune mechanisms acting at different levels of the colonization process might be key to understand these differences. We carried out a multi-tissue (nasal, buccal and blood; n = 156) gene expression analysis of immune-related genes from patients affected by different COVID-19 severities, and healthy controls through the nCounter technology. Mild and asymptomatic cases showed a powerful innate antiviral response in nasal epithelium, characterized by activation of interferon (IFN) pathway and downstream cascades, successfully controlling the infection at local level. In contrast, weak macrophage/monocyte driven innate antiviral response and lack of IFN signalling activity were present in severe cases. Consequently, oral mucosa from severe patients showed signals of viral activity, cell arresting and viral dissemination to the lower respiratory tract, which ultimately could explain the exacerbated innate immune response and impaired adaptative immune responses observed at systemic level. Results from saliva transcriptome suggest that the buccal cavity might play a key role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and dissemination in patients with worse prognosis. Co-expression network analysis adds further support to these findings, by detecting modules specifically correlated with severity involved in the abovementioned biological routes; this analysis also provides new candidate genes that might be tested as biomarkers in future studies. We also found tissue specific severity-related signatures mainly represented by genes involved in the innate immune system and cytokine/chemokine signalling. Local immune response could be key to determine the course of the systemic response and thus COVID-19 severity. Our findings provide a framework to investigate severity host gene biomarkers and pathways that might be relevant to diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Gómez-Carballa
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Rivero-Calle
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Jacobo Pardo-Seco
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - José Gómez-Rial
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; Laboratorio de Inmunología. Servicio de Análisis Clínicos. Hospital Clínico Universitario (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain
| | - Carmen Rivero-Velasco
- Intensive Medicine Department, Hospital Clìnico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
| | - Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez
- Pneumology Department, Hospital Clìnico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
| | - Gema Barbeito-Castiñeiras
- Clinical Microbiology Unit, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Hugo Pérez-Freixo
- Preventive Medicine Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Miriam Cebey-López
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ruth Barral-Arca
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Rodriguez-Tenreiro
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Ana Dacosta-Urbieta
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Xabier Bello
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Pischedda
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - María José Currás-Tuala
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Viz-Lasheras
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain
| | - Federico Martinón-Torres
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Antonio Salas
- Genetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain.
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42
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Hamilton AM, Hurson AN, Olsson LT, Walens A, Nsonwu-Farley J, Kirk EL, Abdou Y, Downs-Canner SM, Serody JS, Perou CM, Calhoun BC, Troester MA, Hoadley KA. The Landscape of Immune Microenvironments in Racially Diverse Breast Cancer Patients. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022; 31:1341-1350. [PMID: 35437570 PMCID: PMC9292136 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-21-1312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immunotherapy is a rapidly evolving treatment option in breast cancer; However, the breast cancer immune microenvironment is understudied in Black and younger (<50 years) patients. METHODS We used histologic and RNA-based immunoprofiling methods to characterize the breast cancer immune landscape in 1,952 tumors from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS), a population-based study that oversampled Black (n = 1,030) and young women (n = 1,039). We evaluated immune response leveraging markers for 10 immune cell populations, compared profiles to those in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Project [n = 1,095 tumors, Black (n = 183), and young women (n = 295)], and evaluated in association with clinical and demographic variables, including recurrence. RESULTS Consensus clustering identified three immune clusters in CBCS (adaptive-enriched, innate-enriched, or immune-quiet) that varied in frequency by race, age, tumor grade and subtype; however, only two clusters were identified in TCGA, which were predominantly comprised of adaptive-enriched and innate-enriched tumors. In CBCS, the strongest adaptive immune response was observed for basal-like, HER2-positive (HER2+), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and high-grade tumors. Younger patients had higher proportions of adaptive-enriched tumors, particularly among estrogen receptor (ER)-negative (ER-) cases. Black patients had higher frequencies of both adaptive-enriched and innate-enriched tumors. Immune clusters were associated with recurrence among ER- tumors, with adaptive-enriched showing the best and innate-enriched showing the poorest 5-year recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that immune microenvironments are intricately related to race, age, tumor subtype, and grade. IMPACT Given higher mortality among Black and young women, more defined immune classification using cell-type-specific panels could help explain higher recurrence and ultimately lead to targetable interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Amber N. Hurson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Linnea T. Olsson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Andrea Walens
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Joseph Nsonwu-Farley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Erin L. Kirk
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Yara Abdou
- Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Stephanie M. Downs-Canner
- Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Jonathan S. Serody
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Charles M. Perou
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Benjamin C. Calhoun
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Melissa A. Troester
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Katherine A. Hoadley
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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Hurson AN, Abubakar M, Hamilton AM, Conway K, Hoadley KA, Love MI, Olshan AF, Perou CM, Garcia-Closas M, Troester MA. Prognostic significance of RNA-based TP53 pathway function among estrogen receptor positive and negative breast cancer cases. NPJ Breast Cancer 2022; 8:74. [PMID: 35701440 PMCID: PMC9198049 DOI: 10.1038/s41523-022-00437-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
TP53 and estrogen receptor (ER) are essential in breast cancer development and progression, but TP53 status (by DNA sequencing or protein expression) has been inconsistently associated with survival. We evaluated whether RNA-based TP53 classifiers are related to survival. Participants included 3213 women in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS) with invasive breast cancer (stages I-III). Tumors were classified for TP53 status (mutant-like/wildtype-like) using an RNA signature. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate covariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) among ER- and TP53-defined subtypes. RNA-based results were compared to DNA- and IHC-based TP53 classification, as well as Basal-like versus non-Basal-like subtype. Findings from the diverse (50% Black), population-based CBCS were compared to those from the largely white METABRIC study. RNA-based TP53 mutant-like was associated with BCSS among both ER-negatives and ER-positives (HR (95% CI) = 5.38 (1.84-15.78) and 4.66 (1.79-12.15), respectively). Associations were attenuated when using DNA- or IHC-based TP53 classification. In METABRIC, few ER-negative tumors were TP53-wildtype-like, but TP53 status was a strong predictor of BCSS among ER-positives. In both populations, the effect of TP53 mutant-like status was similar to that for Basal-like subtype. RNA-based measures of TP53 status are strongly associated with BCSS and may have value among ER-negative cancers where few prognostic markers have been robustly validated. Given the role of TP53 in chemotherapeutic response, RNA-based TP53 as a prognostic biomarker could address an unmet need in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber N Hurson
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Mustapha Abubakar
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Alina M Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kathleen Conway
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Katherine A Hoadley
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Michael I Love
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrew F Olshan
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Charles M Perou
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Melissa A Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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44
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Rivellese F, Surace AEA, Goldmann K, Sciacca E, Çubuk C, Giorli G, John CR, Nerviani A, Fossati-Jimack L, Thorborn G, Ahmed M, Prediletto E, Church SE, Hudson BM, Warren SE, McKeigue PM, Humby F, Bombardieri M, Barnes MR, Lewis MJ, Pitzalis C. Rituximab versus tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis: synovial biopsy-based biomarker analysis of the phase 4 R4RA randomized trial. Nat Med 2022; 28:1256-1268. [PMID: 35589854 PMCID: PMC9205785 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01789-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receive highly targeted biologic therapies without previous knowledge of target expression levels in the diseased tissue. Approximately 40% of patients do not respond to individual biologic therapies and 5-20% are refractory to all. In a biopsy-based, precision-medicine, randomized clinical trial in RA (R4RA; n = 164), patients with low/absent synovial B cell molecular signature had a lower response to rituximab (anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) compared with that to tocilizumab (anti-IL6R monoclonal antibody) although the exact mechanisms of response/nonresponse remain to be established. Here, in-depth histological/molecular analyses of R4RA synovial biopsies identify humoral immune response gene signatures associated with response to rituximab and tocilizumab, and a stromal/fibroblast signature in patients refractory to all medications. Post-treatment changes in synovial gene expression and cell infiltration highlighted divergent effects of rituximab and tocilizumab relating to differing response/nonresponse mechanisms. Using ten-by-tenfold nested cross-validation, we developed machine learning algorithms predictive of response to rituximab (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74), tocilizumab (AUC = 0.68) and, notably, multidrug resistance (AUC = 0.69). This study supports the notion that disease endotypes, driven by diverse molecular pathology pathways in the diseased tissue, determine diverse clinical and treatment-response phenotypes. It also highlights the importance of integration of molecular pathology signatures into clinical algorithms to optimize the future use of existing medications and inform the development of new drugs for refractory patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felice Rivellese
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Anna E A Surace
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Katriona Goldmann
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Elisabetta Sciacca
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Cankut Çubuk
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Giovanni Giorli
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Christopher R John
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Alessandra Nerviani
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Liliane Fossati-Jimack
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Georgina Thorborn
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Manzoor Ahmed
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Edoardo Prediletto
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | | | | | | | - Paul M McKeigue
- Usher Institute, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Frances Humby
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Michele Bombardieri
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Michael R Barnes
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Myles J Lewis
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
- Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
| | - Costantino Pitzalis
- Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
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De Beck L, Awad RM, Basso V, Casares N, De Ridder K, De Vlaeminck Y, Gnata A, Goyvaerts C, Lecocq Q, San José-Enériz E, Verhulst S, Maes K, Vanderkerken K, Agirre X, Prosper F, Lasarte JJ, Mondino A, Breckpot K. Inhibiting Histone and DNA Methylation Improves Cancer Vaccination in an Experimental Model of Melanoma. Front Immunol 2022; 13:799636. [PMID: 35634329 PMCID: PMC9134079 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.799636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has improved the treatment of malignant skin cancer of the melanoma type, yet overall clinical response rates remain low. Combination therapies could be key to meet this cogent medical need. Because epigenetic hallmarks represent promising combination therapy targets, we studied the immunogenic potential of a dual inhibitor of histone methyltransferase G9a and DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in the preclinical B16-OVA melanoma model. Making use of tumor transcriptomic and functional analyses, methylation-targeted epigenetic reprogramming was shown to induce tumor cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro coinciding with transient tumor growth delay and an IFN-I response in immune-competent mice. In consideration of a potential impact on immune cells, the drug was shown not to interfere with dendritic cell maturation or T-cell activation in vitro. Notably, the drug promoted dendritic cell and, to a lesser extent, T-cell infiltration in vivo, yet failed to sensitize tumor cells to programmed cell death-1 inhibition. Instead, it increased therapeutic efficacy of TCR-redirected T cell and dendritic cell vaccination, jointly increasing overall survival of B16-OVA tumor-bearing mice. The reported data confirm the prospect of methylation-targeted epigenetic reprogramming in melanoma and sustain dual G9a and DNMT inhibition as a strategy to tip the cancer-immune set-point towards responsiveness to active and adoptive vaccination against melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lien De Beck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratory of Hematology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Robin Maximilian Awad
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Veronica Basso
- Lymphocyte Activation Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Noelia Casares
- Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Kirsten De Ridder
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yannick De Vlaeminck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alessandra Gnata
- Lymphocyte Activation Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Cleo Goyvaerts
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Quentin Lecocq
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Edurne San José-Enériz
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Stefaan Verhulst
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ken Maes
- Laboratory of Hematology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Karin Vanderkerken
- Laboratory of Hematology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Xabier Agirre
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Felipe Prosper
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Juan José Lasarte
- Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Anna Mondino
- Lymphocyte Activation Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Karine Breckpot
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
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De Ridder K, Locy H, Piccioni E, Zuazo MI, Awad RM, Verhulst S, Van Bulck M, De Vlaeminck Y, Lecocq Q, Reijmen E, De Mey W, De Beck L, Ertveldt T, Pintelon I, Timmermans JP, Escors D, Keyaerts M, Breckpot K, Goyvaerts C. TNF-α-Secreting Lung Tumor-Infiltrated Monocytes Play a Pivotal Role During Anti-PD-L1 Immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2022; 13:811867. [PMID: 35493461 PMCID: PMC9046849 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.811867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) of the PD-1 pathway revolutionized the survival forecast for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Yet, the majority of PD-L1+ NSCLC patients are refractory to anti-PD-L1 therapy. Recent observations indicate a pivotal role for the PD-L1+ tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells in therapy failure. As the latter comprise a heterogenous population in the lung tumor microenvironment, we applied an orthotopic Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) model to evaluate 11 different tumor-residing myeloid subsets in response to anti-PD-L1 therapy. While we observed significantly reduced fractions of tumor-infiltrating MHC-IIlow macrophages and monocytes, serological levels of TNF-α restored in lung tumor-bearing mice. Notably, we demonstrated in vivo and in vitro that anti-PD-L1 therapy mediated a monocyte-specific production of, and response to TNF-α, further accompanied by their significant upregulation of CD80, VISTA, LAG-3, SIRP-α and TIM-3. Nevertheless, co-blockade of PD-L1 and TNF-α did not reduce LLC tumor growth. A phenomenon that was partly explained by the observation that monocytes and TNF-α play a Janus-faced role in anti-PD-L1 therapy-mediated CTL stimulation. This was endorsed by the observation that monocytes appeared crucial to effectively boost T cell-mediated LLC killing in vitro upon combined PD-L1 with LAG-3 or SIRP-α blockade. Hence, this study enlightens the biomarker potential of lung tumor-infiltrated monocytes to define more effective ICB combination strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten De Ridder
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Hanne Locy
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Elisa Piccioni
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Miren Ibarra Zuazo
- Immunomodulation Group, Navarrabiomed, Navarrabiomed-UPNA-IdISNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Robin Maximilian Awad
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Stefaan Verhulst
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mathias Van Bulck
- Laboratory of Molecular and Medical Oncology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yannick De Vlaeminck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Quentin Lecocq
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Eva Reijmen
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Wout De Mey
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lien De Beck
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Thomas Ertveldt
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Isabel Pintelon
- Laboratory of Cell Biology & Histology, Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy (ACAM), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jean-Pierre Timmermans
- Laboratory of Cell Biology & Histology, Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy (ACAM), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - David Escors
- Immunomodulation Group, Navarrabiomed, Navarrabiomed-UPNA-IdISNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Rayne Institute, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marleen Keyaerts
- In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Karine Breckpot
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Cleo Goyvaerts
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
- *Correspondence: Cleo Goyvaerts,
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Investigating the Prognostic Relevance of Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Immune Gene Assembly in Breast Carcinoma Subtypes. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14081942. [PMID: 35454849 PMCID: PMC9031175 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14081942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We hypothesized that different BC subtypes are characterized by spatially distinct tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and that immune gene assembly of metastatic (Met) and non-metastatic (Ctrl) BCs vary across subtypes. Peritumoral, stromal and intratumoral TIL was assessed on 309 BC cases. Hot, cold and immune-excluded groups were defined, and the prognostic role of this classification was assessed. CD4+/CD8+ positivity was analyzed in 75 cases in four systematically predefined tumor regions. Immune gene expression of Met and Ctrl HER2-negative BCs was compared by using NanoString nCounter technology. The amount of TIL infiltration varied greatly within all BC subtypes. Two-third of the cases were cold tumors with no significant survival difference compared to hot tumors. A lower CD4+/CD8+ ratio at the stromal internal tumor region was significantly associated with longer distant metastasis-free survival. The differentially expressed immune genes between Met and Ctrl varied across the studied BC subtypes with TNBC showing distinct features from the luminal subtypes. The TIME is characterized by a considerable heterogeneity; however, low level of TILs does not equate to disease progression. The differences in immune gene expression observed between Met and Ctrl breast carcinomas call attention to the important role of altered immune function in BC progression.
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Minaei E, Mueller SA, Ashford B, Thind AS, Mitchell J, Perry JR, Genenger B, Clark JR, Gupta R, Ranson M. Cancer Progression Gene Expression Profiling Identifies the Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor as a Biomarker of Metastasis in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:835929. [PMID: 35480116 PMCID: PMC9035872 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.835929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) of the head and neck region is the second most prevalent skin cancer, with metastases to regional lymph nodes occurring in 2%–5% of cases. To further our understanding of the molecular events characterizing cSCC invasion and metastasis, we conducted targeted cancer progression gene expression and pathway analysis in non-metastasizing (PRI-) and metastasizing primary (PRI+) cSCC tumors of the head and neck region, cognate lymph node metastases (MET), and matched sun-exposed skin (SES). The highest differentially expressed genes in metastatic (MET and PRI+) versus non-metastatic tumors (PRI-) and SES included PLAU, PLAUR, MMP1, MMP10, MMP13, ITGA5, VEGFA, and various inflammatory cytokine genes. Pathway enrichment analyses implicated these genes in cellular pathways and functions promoting matrix remodeling, cell survival and migration, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition, which were all significantly activated in metastatic compared to non-metastatic tumors (PRI-) and SES. We validated the overexpression of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR, encoded by PLAUR) in an extended patient cohort by demonstrating higher uPAR staining intensity in metastasizing tumors. As pathway analyses identified epidermal growth factor (EGF) as a potential upstream regulator of PLAUR, the effect of EGF on uPAR expression levels and cell motility was functionally validated in human metastatic cSCC cells. In conclusion, we propose that uPAR is an important driver of metastasis in cSCC and represents a potential therapeutic target in this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Minaei
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Simon A. Mueller
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Zurich University Hospital University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bruce Ashford
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Illawarra and Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Amarinder Singh Thind
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Jenny Mitchell
- Illawarra and Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Jay R. Perry
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Benjamin Genenger
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Jonathan R. Clark
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Royal Prince Alfred Institute of Academic Surgery, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ruta Gupta
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- NSW Health Pathology, Department of Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Marie Ranson
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- *Correspondence: Marie Ranson,
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Deconstructing Immune Cell Infiltration in Human Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Spatiotemporal Evaluation. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13040589. [PMID: 35456394 PMCID: PMC9024576 DOI: 10.3390/genes13040589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-related immunity has been identified as playing a key role in the outcome of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, the exact mechanisms are only partially understood. In this study, we evaluated a total of 242 surgical specimen of CRC patients using tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry to evaluate tumor infiltrating immune cells (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD23, CD45 and CD56) and immune checkpoint markers (CTLA-4, PD-L1, PD-1) in systematically selected tumor regions and their corresponding lymph nodes, as well as in liver metastases. Additionally, an immune panel gene expression assay was performed on 12 primary tumors and 12 consecutive liver metastases. A higher number of natural killer cells and more mature B cells along with PD-1+ expressing cells were observed in the main tumor area as compared to metastases. A higher number of metastatic lymph nodes were associated with significantly lower B cell counts. With more advanced lymph node metastatic status, higher leukocyte—particularly T cell numbers—were observed. Eleven differentially expressed immune-related genes were found between primary tumors and liver metastases. Also, alterations of the innate immune response and the tumor necrosis factor superfamily pathways had been identified.
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50
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Vohra SN, Walens A, Hamilton AM, Sherman ME, Schedin P, Nichols HB, Reeder-Hayes KE, Olshan AF, Love MI, Troester MA. Molecular and Clinical Characterization of Postpartum-Associated Breast Cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study Phase I-III, 1993-2013. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022; 31:561-568. [PMID: 34810211 PMCID: PMC8901538 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-21-0940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancers in recently postpartum women may have worse outcomes, but studies examining tumor molecular features by pregnancy recency have shown conflicting results. METHODS This analysis used Carolina Breast Cancer Study data to examine clinical and molecular tumor features among women less than 50 years of age who were recently (≤10 years prior) or remotely (>10 years prior) postpartum, or nulliparous. Prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariable models. RESULTS Recently postpartum women (N = 618) were more frequently lymph node-positive [POR (95% CI): 1.66 (1.26-2.19)], estrogen receptor (ER)-negative [1.37 (1.02-1.83)], and IHC-based triple negative [1.57 (1.00-2.47)] compared with nulliparous (N = 360) women. Some differences were identified between recent versus remotely postpartum; smaller tumor size [0.67 (0.52-0.86)], p53 wildtype [0.53 (0.36-0.77)], and non-basal-like phenotype [0.53 (0.33-0.84)] were more common among recently postpartum. Recently postpartum (vs. nulliparous) had significant enrichment for adaptive immunity, T cells, B cells, CD8 T cells, activated CD8 T cells/natural killer (NK) cells, and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and higher overall immune cell scores. These differences were attenuated in remotely (compared with recently) postpartum women. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest a dominant effect of parity (vs. nulliparity) and a lesser effect of pregnancy recency on tumor molecular features, although tumor immune microenvironments were altered in association with pregnancy recency. IMPACT Our study is unique in examining tumor immune microenvironment and RNA-based markers according to time since last childbirth. Future studies should examine the interplay between tumor features, postdiagnostic treatment, and outcomes among recently postpartum women. See related commentary by McDonald et al., p. 518.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanah N. Vohra
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Andrea Walens
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Mark E. Sherman
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Pepper Schedin
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, and The Knight Cancer Institute, University of Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Hazel B. Nichols
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Katherine E. Reeder-Hayes
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Andrew F. Olshan
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Michael I. Love
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Melissa A. Troester
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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