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Chen S, Tan ALM, Saad Menezes MC, Mao JF, Perry CL, Vella ME, Viswanadham VV, Kobren S, Churchill S, Kohane IS. Polygenic risk scores for autoimmune related diseases are significantly different in cancer exceptional responders. NPJ Precis Oncol 2024; 8:120. [PMID: 38796637 PMCID: PMC11127926 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-024-00613-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: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024] Open
Abstract
A small number of cancer patients respond exceptionally well to therapies and survive significantly longer than patients with similar diagnoses. Profiling the germline genetic backgrounds of exceptional responder (ER) patients, with extreme survival times, can yield insights into the germline polymorphisms that influence response to therapy. As ERs showed a high incidence in autoimmune diseases, we hypothesized the differences in autoimmune disease risk could reflect the immune background of ERs and contribute to better cancer treatment responses. We analyzed the germline variants of 51 ERs using polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis. Compared to typical cancer patients, the ERs had significantly elevated PRSs for several autoimmune-related diseases: type 1 diabetes, hypothyroidism, and psoriasis. This indicates that an increased genetic predisposition towards these autoimmune diseases is more prevalent among the ERs. In contrast, ERs had significantly lower PRSs for developing inflammatory bowel disease. The left-skew of type 1 diabetes score was significant for exceptional responders. Variants on genes involved in the T1D PRS model associated with cancer drug response are more likely to co-occur with other variants among ERs. In conclusion, ERs exhibited different risks for autoimmune diseases compared to typical cancer patients, which suggests that changes in a patient's immune set point or immune surveillance specificity could be a potential mechanistic link to their exceptional response. These findings expand upon previous research on immune checkpoint inhibitor-treated patients to include those who received chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Chen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Amelia L M Tan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Maria C Saad Menezes
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jenny F Mao
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Yale University, 51 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511-8937, USA
| | - Cassandra L Perry
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Margaret E Vella
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Vinayak V Viswanadham
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Shilpa Kobren
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Susanne Churchill
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Isaac S Kohane
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Maudsley S, Walter D, Schrauwen C, Van Loon N, Harputluoğlu İ, Lenaerts J, McDonald P. Intersection of the Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptor, GPR19, with the Aging Process. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113598. [PMID: 36362387 PMCID: PMC9653598 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113598] [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: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent one of the most functionally diverse classes of transmembrane proteins. GPCRs and their associated signaling systems have been linked to nearly every physiological process. They also constitute nearly 40% of the current pharmacopeia as direct targets of remedial therapies. Hence, their place as a functional nexus in the interface between physiological and pathophysiological processes suggests that GPCRs may play a central role in the generation of nearly all types of human disease. Perhaps one mechanism through which GPCRs can mediate this pivotal function is through the control of the molecular aging process. It is now appreciated that, indeed, many human disorders/diseases are induced by GPCR signaling processes linked to pathological aging. Here we discuss one such novel member of the GPCR family, GPR19, that may represent an important new target for novel remedial strategies for the aging process. The molecular signaling pathways (metabolic control, circadian rhythm regulation and stress responsiveness) associated with this recently characterized receptor suggest an important role in aging-related disease etiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Maudsley
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
- Correspondence:
| | - Deborah Walter
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Claudia Schrauwen
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Nore Van Loon
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - İrem Harputluoğlu
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Julia Lenaerts
- Receptor Biology Lab, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
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