IL-23R in laryngeal cancer: a cancer immunoediting process that facilitates tumor cell proliferation and results in cisplatin resistance

Systemic Inflammation, the Peripheral Blood Transcriptome, and Primary Melanoma

Peripheral blood transcriptomes from 383 patients with newly diagnosed melanoma were subjected to differential gene expression analysis. The hypotheses were that impaired systemic immunity is associated with poorer prognosis (thicker tumors and fewer tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes) and evidence of systemic inflammation (high-sensitivity CRP and fibrinogen levels). Higher fibrinogen levels were associated with thicker primary tumors. In single-gene analysis, high-sensitivity CRP levels were significantly associated with higher blood CD274 expression (coding for PD-L1), but each was independently prognostic, with high-sensitivity CRP associated with increased mortality and higher CD274 protective, independent of age. Pathway analysis identified downregulation of immune cell signaling pathways in the blood of people with thicker tumors and notable upregulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 gene STAT1 in people with brisk tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Transcriptomic data provided evidence for increased NF-kB signaling with higher inflammatory markers but with reduction in expression of HLA class II molecules and higher CD274, suggesting that aberrant systemic inflammation is a significant mediator of reduced immune function in melanoma. In summary, transcriptomic data revealed evidence of reduced immune function in patients with thicker tumors and fewer tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes at diagnosis. Inflammatory markers were associated with thicker primaries and independently with death from melanoma, suggesting that systemic inflammation contributes to that reduced immune function.

The upregulation of VGF enhances the progression of oral squamous carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent neoplasm worldwide, necessitating a deeper understanding of its pathogenesis. VGF nerve growth factor inducible (VGF), a neuropeptide, plays critical roles in nerve and endocrine cell regulation.

METHODS

In this study, the TCGA datasets were initially screened, identifying the upregulation of VGF in various malignancies. We focused on OSCC cell lines, identifying the suppressor mRNA miR-432-5p as a negative regulator of VGF. Additionally, we examined the prognostic value of VGF expression in OSCC tumors and its impact on cellular functions.

RESULTS

VGF expression was found to be an independent prognostic predictor in OSCC tumors. Cells expressing VGF exhibited increased oncogenicity, influencing the proliferation and migration of oral mucosal fibroblast. Transcriptome analysis revealed associations between VGF and various pathological processes, including malignancies, exosome release, fibrosis, cell cycle disruption, and tumor immune suppression. Moreover, IL23R expression, a favorable OSCC prognostic factor, was inversely correlated with VGF expression. Exogenous IL23R expression was found to suppress VGF-associated mobility phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the multifaceted role of VGF in OSCC pathogenesis and introduces the miR-432-5p-VGF-IL23R regulatory axis as a critical mediator. The combined expression of VGF and IL23R emerges as a potent predictor of survival in oral carcinoma cases, suggesting potential implications for future therapeutic strategies.

IL-17 expression and prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: To investigate the roles of proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 in the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods: In all, 67 LSCC patients were enrolled to evaluate the expression of IL-17, IL-23, CD8, CD31, and vascular endothelial growth factor by immunohistochemical staining. Cumulative survival time was determined by the Kaplan-Meier approach, and prognostic variables for overall survival (OS) were identified by Cox proportional-hazards models. Results: The expression of IL-17 and IL-23 was remarkably higher in LSCC tissue than in adjacent normal (AN) tissue (P < .001). The Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM), advanced tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, poor-differentiated grade, high microvessel density (MVD) in LSCC tissues, and high IL-17 expression in AN tissues had poorer OS (all P < .05). Cox regression analysis revealed that CLNM (HR = 7.246; 95% CI: 2.598-20.208; P < .001), high MVD in tumor tissues (HR = 4.233; 95% CI: 1.482-12.092; P = .007), and low CD8 expression in AN tissues (HR = 3.996; 95% CI: 1.442-11.074; P = .008) were significantly associated with poorer OS in LSCC, while IL-17 expression in AN tissue was not. Conclusion: High IL-17 expression in AN tissues could indicate poor prognosis and may be a prognostic marker for LSCC. Low CD8 expression in AN tissues may represent poor frontline antitumor immunity and be associated with poor prognosis.

Screening and validation of potential markers associated with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma and polycystic ovary syndrome based on bioinformatics methods

Background: Endometrial cancer (UCEC) is a commonly occurring tumor in females, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is closely related to UCEC, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This article aims to explore potential molecular mechanisms in UCEC and PCOS, as well as identify prognostic genes for UCEC. Methods: Bioinformatics methods were employed to screen for DEGs in UCEC and PCOS. The shared DEGs were analyzed by constructing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using the String database and Cytoscape software. The enrichment analysis was performed using Metascape. The shared DEGs associated with the prognosis of UCEC were identified through univariate and lasso Cox regression methods. A multivariate Cox regression model was constructed and internally validated. The expression and test efficiency of the key prognostic genes were verified using external datasets for UCEC and PCOS. Furthermore, the Gepia database was utilized to analyze the expression of key prognostic genes and their correlation with the disease-free survival (RFS) of UCEC. Tumor mutation burden (TMB), immune infiltration, and the correlation of immune cells were assessed for the prognostic genes of UCEC. Results: There were 151 shared DEGs identified between UCEC and PCOS through bioinformatics screening. These shared DEGs were primarily enriched in leukocyte activation. Following model construction and verification, nine genes were determined to be prognostic for UCEC from the shared DEGs. Among them, TSPYL5, KCNJ15, RTN1, HMOX1, DCAF12L1, VNN2, and ANXA1 were confirmed as prognostic genes in UCEC through external validation. Additionally, RTN1 was identified as a key gene in both UCEC and PCOS. Gepia analysis revealed that higher expression of RTN1 was associated with RFS in UCEC. Immune infiltration analysis of the shared DEGs demonstrated significant differences in the expression of various immune cells between UCEC high and low TMB groups. The seven key prognostic genes in UCEC exhibited regulatory relationships with immune cells. Conclusion: This study identified TSPYL5, KCNJ15, RTN1, HMOX1, DCAF12L1, VNN2, and ANXA1 as the key prognostic DEGs of UCEC. These genes are associated with UCEC survival, TMB, immune cell infiltration, and immune cell regulation. Among them, RTN1 may serve as a potential biomarker for both UCEC and PCOS.

Silencing PLOD2 attenuates cancer stem cell-like characteristics and cisplatin-resistant through Integrin β1 in laryngeal cancer

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Laryngeal cancer (LC) is an aggressive malignancy resistant to drug treatments.

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Potential effects of PLOD2 against LC and to explore the possible role of PLOD2 and Integrin β1 on drug resistance in LC.

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Inhibition of PLOD2 expression could decrease P-gp and MRP1 expression.

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Regulate DDP-R LC cells stemness and tumorigenesis via activates Integrin β1.

Laryngeal cancer (LC) is an aggressive malignancy resistant to drug treatments. It has been postulated that cancer stem cells (CSCs) persist in a unique population of cancer cells involved in tumor progression and drug-resistance. In the present study, the effects of PLOD2 expression on ordinary and Cisplatin (DDP)-resistance (R) cells were investigated in TU686 and TU138 cells and Xenograft model. Cell viability, invasion and cell apoptosis, CD44 and CD133 expressions, MRP1 and P-gp expressions were measured by CCK-8 assay, Transwell, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and Western blotting respectively. The results of our study demonstrated that suppressing the expression of PLOD2 could meditate LC stem cell-like features by decrease cell viability and invasion, increase apoptotic rate, decrease CD44 and CD133 expressions via Integrin β1. Meanwhile, the inhibition of PLOD2 expression could decrease P-gp and MRP1expression thus markedly regulate DDP-R LC cells stemness and drug-resistance via Integrin β1. Our findings provided a new rationale for subsequent academic and clinical research on LC drug-resistance.

CAPRIN1 Enhances Chemoresistance and Glycolysis in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Regulation of ZIC5

Background

Cytoplasmic activation/proliferation-associated protein-1 (CAPRIN1) plays an important role in carcinogenesis, whereas its role in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma remains unclear. This study was designed to investigate the roles of CAPRIN1 in glycolysis and chemoresistance and its underlying mechanisms in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods

Cell viability was evaluated by using CCK-8 and colony formation assays. qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used to determine the expressions of target genes. Gene knockdown and overexpression cell lines were constructed by performing transfection of siRNAs and plasmids, respectively. Luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down, and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were applied to evaluate the RNA-protein interactions. The Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between gene expression and overall survival rate.

Results

An elevation of CAPRIN1 was identified to be associated with chemoresistance and poor prognosis in patients with laryngeal cancer. The increase of CAPRIN1 promoted glycolysis and chemoresistance, whereas the knockdown of CAPRIN1 inhibited glycolysis and chemoresistance in laryngeal cancer cells. The underlying mechanistic investigation revealed that CAPRIN1 promoted glycolysis and chemoresistance of laryngeal cancer cells by the regulation of Zic Family Member 5 (ZIC5).

Conclusion

CAPRIN1 promoted laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma glycolysis and chemoresistance by the regulation of ZIC5.

AQP9 and ZAP70 as immune-related prognostic biomarkers suppress proliferation, migration and invasion of laryngeal cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Laryngeal cancer represents a common malignancy that originates from the larynx, with unfavorable prognosis. Herein, this study systematically analyzed the immune signatures of laryngeal cancer and to evaluate their roles on tumor progression.

METHODS

Differentially expressed immune-related genes (IRGs) were screened between laryngeal cancer and normal tissues from TCGA dataset. Then, two prognosis-related IRGs AQP9 and ZAP70 were analyzed by a series of survival analysis. Based on them, molecular subtypes were constructed by unsupervised cluster analysis. Differences in survival outcomes, HLA expression and immune cell infiltrations were assessed between subtypes. Expression of AQP9 and ZAP70 was validated in laryngeal cancer tissues and cells by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. After silencing and overexpressing AQP9 and ZAP70, CCK-8, EdU, wound healing and transwell assays were performed in TU212 and LCC cells.

RESULTS

Totally, 315 IRGs were abnormally expressed in laryngeal cancer. Among them, AQP9 and ZAP70 were distinctly correlated to patients' prognosis. Two subtypes were developed with distinct survival outcomes, HLA expression and immune microenvironment. Low expression of AQP9 and ZAP70 was confirmed in laryngeal cancer. AQP9 and ZAP70 up-regulation distinctly suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of laryngeal cancer cells. The opposite results were investigated when their knockdown.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings revealed the roles of AQP9 and ZAP70 in progression of laryngeal cancer, and suggested that AQP9 and ZAP70 could potentially act as candidate immunotherapeutic targets for laryngeal cancer.

Identification of glioblastoma immune subtypes and immune landscape based on a large cohort

Glioblastomas (GBM) are the most common primary brain malignancy and also the most aggressive one. In addition, GBM have to date poor treatment options. Therefore, understanding the GBM microenvironment may help to design immunotherapy treatments and rational combination strategies. In this study, the gene expression profiles and clinical follow-up data were downloaded from TCGA-GBM, and the molecular subtypes were identified using ConsensusClusterPlus. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were used to evaluate the prognostic value of immune subtypes. The Graph Structure Learning method was used for dimension reduction to reveal the internal structure of the immune system. A Weighted Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify immune-related gene modules. Four immune subtypes (IS1, IS2, IS3, IS4) with significant prognosis differences were obtained. Interestingly, IS4 had the highest mutation rate. We also found significant differences in the distribution of the four subtypes at immune checkpoints, molecular markers, and immune characteristics. WGCNA identified 11 co-expressed module genes, and there were significant differences among the four subtypes. Finally, CD1A, CD1E, and IL23R genes with significant prognostic significance were selected as the final feature genes in the brown module. Overall, this study provided a conceptual framework for understanding the tumor immune microenvironment of GBM.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in the Tumor Microenvironment of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in the tumor microenvironment has been demonstrated to be of prognostic value in various cancers. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated the prognostic value of TIL in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). We performed a systematic search in PubMed for publications that investigated the prognostic value of TIL in LSCC. A meta-analysis was performed including all studies assessing the association between TIL counts in hematoxylin-eosin (HE)-stained sections, for CD8+ and/or CD3+/CD4+ TIL and overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS). The pooled meta-analysis showed a favorable prognostic role for stromal TIL in HE sections for OS (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.36–0.91, p = 0.02), and for DFS (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.34–0.94, p = 0.03). High CD8+ TIL were associated with a prolonged OS (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.4–0.97, p = 0.04) and DFS (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.34–0.94, p = 0.002). High CD3+/CD4+ TIL demonstrated improved OS (HR 0.32, 95% CI 0.16–0.9, p = 0.03) and DFS (HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.10–0.53, p = 0.0005). This meta-analysis confirmed the favorable prognostic significance of TIL in LSCC. High stromal TIL evaluated in HE sections and intra-tumoral and stromal CD3+, CD4+ and/or CD8+ TIL might predict a better clinical outcome.

Manipulation of JAK/STAT Signalling by High-Risk HPVs: Potential Therapeutic Targets for HPV-Associated Malignancies

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small, DNA viruses that cause around 5% of all cancers in humans, including almost all cervical cancer cases and a significant proportion of anogenital and oral cancers. The HPV oncoproteins E5, E6 and E7 manipulate cellular signalling pathways to evade the immune response and promote virus persistence. The Janus Kinase/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway has emerged as a key mediator in a wide range of important biological signalling pathways, including cell proliferation, cell survival and the immune response. While STAT1 and STAT2 primarily drive immune signalling initiated by interferons, STAT3 and STAT5 have widely been linked to the survival and proliferative potential of a number of cancers. As such, the inhibition of STAT3 and STAT5 may offer a therapeutic benefit in HPV-associated cancers. In this review, we will discuss how HPV manipulates JAK/STAT signalling to evade the immune system and promote cell proliferation, enabling viral persistence and driving cancer development. We also discuss approaches to inhibit the JAK/STAT pathway and how these could potentially be used in the treatment of HPV-associated disease.