Conditional Ror1 knockout reveals crucial involvement in lung adenocarcinoma development and identifies novel HIF-1α regulator

Role of the Ror family receptors in Wnt5a signaling

Ror-family receptors, Ror1 and Ror2, are type I transmembrane proteins that possess an extracellular cysteine-rich domain, which is conserved throughout the Frizzled-family receptors and is a binding site for Wnt ligands. Both Ror1 and Ror2 function primarily as receptors or co-receptors for Wnt5a to activate the β-catenin-independent, non-canonical Wnt signaling, thereby regulating cell polarity, migration, proliferation, and differentiation depending on the context. Ror1 and Ror2 are expressed highly in many tissues during embryogenesis but minimally or scarcely in adult tissues, with some exceptions. In contrast, Ror1 and Ror2 are expressed in many types of cancers, and their high expression often contributes to the progression of the disease. Therefore, Ror1 and Ror2 have been proposed as potential targets for the treatment of the malignancies. In this review, we provide an overview of the regulatory mechanisms of Ror1/Ror2 expression and discuss how Wnt5a-Ror1/Ror2 signaling is mediated and regulated by their interacting proteins.

Bioinformatics analysis and in vivo validation study of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.)G.H.Sungetal against lung adenocarcinoma

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the main types of lung cancer. Ophiocordyceps sinensis has many potentially useful pharmacologic features, such as lung protection, and both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was conducted to investigate-using bioinformatics and in vivo experimental validation-the possible role of O. sinensis against LUAD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We obtained important targets of O. sinensis for the treatment of LUAD using network pharmacology techniques and deep mining of the TCGA database, and validated them by molecular docking techniques and in vivo experiments.

RESULTS

Through bioinformatics analysis and research, we screened BRCA1 and CCNE1 as important biomarkers for LUAD and as core targets of O. sinensis against LUAD. The non-small cell lung cancer signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and HIF-1 signaling pathway are potentially important pathways of O. sinensis against LUAD. The molecular docking results showed good binding between the active components in O. sinensis and the two core targets, and the in vivo experimental validation results indicated that O. sinensis had good inhibitory effects in the Lewis lung cancer (LLC) model.

CONCLUSIONS

BRCA1 and CCNE1 are crucial biomarkers for LUAD and are important targets for O. sinensis to exert anti-LUAD effects.

Antitumor activity of a ROR1 × CD3 bispecific antibody in non-small cell lung cancer

Over the last decade, immuno-oncologic drugs especially CD3-engaging bispecific antibodies (biAbs) are experiencing fast-paced evolution, but big challenges still exist in the clinical development of biAbs in solid tumors, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we choose a ROR1 × CD3 biAb in scFv-Fc format, named R11 × v9 biAb, to investigate its tumor-inhibiting role in NSCLC. Notably, the ROR1-engaging arm binds both human and mouse ROR1. We found that R11 × v9 biAb specifically binds T cells and tumor cells simultaneously, and dose-dependent cytotoxicity was detected for various ROR1+ NSCLC cell lines. Further, R11 × v9 biAb mediated T-cell derived proinflammatory cytokine secretion, boosted granzyme B and perforin production from CD8+ T cells, and recruited more CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells into the tumor tissues. The antitumor activity of R11 × v9 biAb was confirmed in two xenograft mouse models of ROR1+ NSCLC. Importantly, no harmful side effects were observed in these in vivo studies, warranting further preclinical and clinical studies of R11 × v9 biAb in NSCLC.

The signaling pathways activated by ROR1 in cancer

The receptor tyrosine kinase orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is a receptor for WNT5A and related Wnt proteins, that play an important role during embryonic development by regulating cell migration, cell polarity, neural patterning, and organogenesis. ROR1 exerts these functions by transducing signals from the Wnt secreted glycoproteins to the intracellular Wnt/PCP and Wnt/Ca⁺⁺ pathways. Investigations in adult human cells, particularly cancer cells, have demonstrated that besides these two pathways, the WNT5A/ROR1 axis can activate a number of signaling pathways, including the PI3K/AKT, MAPK, NF-κB, STAT3, and Hippo pathways. Moreover, ROR1 is aberrantly expressed in cancer and was associated with tumor progression and poor survival by promoting cell proliferation, survival, invasion, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and metastasis. Consequently, numerous therapeutic tools to target ROR1 are currently being evaluated in cancer patients. In this review, we will provide a detailed description of the signaling pathways regulated by ROR1 in cancer and their impact in tumor progression.

ROR2 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by hyperactivating ERK in melanoma

Receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) is a protein with important functions during embryogenesis that is dysregulated in human cancer. An intriguing feature of this receptor is that it plays opposite roles in different tumor types either promoting or inhibiting tumor progression. Understanding the complex role of this receptor requires a more profound exploration of both the altered biological and molecular mechanisms. Here, we describe that ROR2 promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by inducing cadherin switch and the upregulation of the transcription factors ZEB1, Twist, Slug, Snail, and HIF1A, together with a mesenchymal phenotype and increased migration. We show that ROR2 activates both p38 and ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways independently of Wnt5a. Further, we demonstrated that the upregulation of EMT-related proteins depends on the hyperactivation of the ERK pathway far above the typical high constitutive activity observed in melanoma. In addition, ROR2 also promoted ERK phosphorylation, EMT, invasion, and necrosis in xenotransplanted mice. ROR2 also associates with EMT in tumor samples from melanoma patients where analysis of large cohorts revealed that increased ROR2 levels are linked to EMT signatures. This important role of ROR2 translates into melanoma patient' s prognosis since elevated ROR2 levels reduced overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival of patients with lymph node metastasis. In sum, these results demonstrate that ROR2 contributes to melanoma progression by inducing EMT and necrosis and can be an attractive therapeutic target for melanoma.

A Prognostic Risk Score Based on Hypoxia-, Immunity-, and Epithelialto-Mesenchymal Transition-Related Genes for the Prognosis and Immunotherapy Response of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the most common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is associated with poor prognosis. However, current stage-based clinical methods are insufficient for survival prediction and decision-making. This study aimed to establish a novel model for evaluating the risk of LUAD based on hypoxia, immunity, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene signatures.

Methods: In this study, we used data from TCGA-LUAD for the training cohort and GSE68465 and GSE72094 for the validation cohorts. Immunotherapy datasets GSE135222, GSE126044, and IMvigor210 were obtained from a previous study. Using bioinformatic and machine algorithms, we established a risk model based on hypoxia, immune, and EMT gene signatures, which was then used to divide patients into the high and low risk groups. We analyzed differences in enriched pathways between the two groups, following which we investigated whether the risk score was correlated with stemness scores, genes related to m6A, m5C, m1A and m7G modification, the immune microenvironment, immunotherapy response, and multiple anti-cancer drug sensitivity.

Results: Overall survival differed significantly between the high-risk and low-risk groups (HR = 4.26). The AUCs for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.763, 0.766, and 0.728, respectively. In the GSE68465 dataset, the HR was 2.03, while the AUCs for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.69, 0.651, and 0.618, respectively. The corresponding values in the GSE72094 dataset were an HR of 2.36 and AUCs of 0.653, 0.662, and 0.749, respectively. The risk score model could independently predict OS in patients with LUAD, and highly correlated with stemness scores and numerous m6A, m5C, m1A and m7G modification-related genes. Furthermore, the risk model was significantly correlated with multiple immune microenvironment characteristics. In the GSE135222 dataset, the HR was 4.26 and the AUC was 0.702. Evaluation of the GSE126044 and IMvigor210 cohorts indicated that PD-1/PD-LI inhibitor treatment may be indicated in patients with low risk scores, while anti-cancer therapy with various drugs may be indicated in patients with high risk scores.

Conclusion: Our novel risk model developed based on hypoxia, immune, and EMT gene signatures can aid in predicting clinical prognosis and guiding treatment in patients with LUAD.

Tyrosine Kinase ROR1 as a Target for Anti-Cancer Therapies

Receptor tyrosine kinase ROR1 plays an essential role in embryogenesis and is overexpressed in many types of malignant tumors. Studies have demonstrated that it plays an important role in oncogenesis by activating cell survival signaling events, particularly the non-canonical WNT signaling pathway. Antibody-based immunotherapies targeting ROR1 have been developed and evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies with promising outcomes. However, small molecule inhibitors targeting ROR1 are underappreciated because of the initial characterization of ROR1 as a peusdokinase. The function of ROR1 as a tyrosine kinase remains poorly understood, although accumulating evidence have demonstrated its intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. In this review, we analyzed the structural and functional features of ROR1 and discussed therapeutic strategies targeting this kinase.

Conditional Ror1 knockout reveals crucial involvement in lung adenocarcinoma development and identifies novel HIF-1α regulator

We previously reported that ROR1 is a crucial downstream gene for the TTF‐1/NKX2‐1 lineage‐survival oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma, while others have found altered expression of ROR1 in multiple cancer types. Accumulated evidence therefore indicates ROR1 as an attractive molecular target, though it has yet to be determined whether targeting Ror1 can inhibit tumor development and growth in vivo. To this end, genetically engineered mice carrying homozygously floxed Ror1 alleles and an SP‐C promoter–driven human mutant EGFR transgene were generated. Ror1 ablation resulted in marked retardation of tumor development and progression in association with reduced malignant characteristics and significantly better survival. Interestingly, gene set enrichment analysis identified a hypoxia‐induced gene set (HALLMARK_HYPOXIA) as most significantly downregulated by Ror1 ablation in vivo, which led to findings showing that ROR1 knockdown diminished HIF‐1α expression under normoxia and clearly hampered HIF‐1α induction in response to hypoxia in human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. The present results directly demonstrate the importance of Ror1 for in vivo development and progression of lung adenocarcinoma, and also identify Ror1 as a novel regulator of Hif‐1α. Thus, a future study aimed at the development of a novel therapeutic targeting ROR1 for treatment of solid tumors such as seen in lung cancer, which are frequently accompanied with a hypoxic tumor microenvironment, is warranted.