Pathogenetic role and clinical significance of interleukin-1β in cancer

Pharmacological blockade of HDAC6 attenuates cancer progression by inhibiting IL-1β and modulating immunosuppressive response in OSCC

Interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β) one of the biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is upregulated in tumor-microenvironment (TME) and associated with poor patient survival. Thus, a novel modulator of IL-1β would be of great therapeutic value for OSCC treatment. Here we report regulation of IL-1β and TME by histone deacetylase-6 (HDAC6)-inhibitor in OSCC. We observed significant upregulation of HDAC6 in 4-nitroquniline (4-NQO)-induced OSCC in mice and 4-NQO & Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated OSCC and fibroblast cells. Tubastatin A (TSA)-attenuated the OSCC progression in mice as observed improvement in the histology over tongue and esophagus, with reduced tumor burden. TSA treatment to 4-NQO mice attenuated protein expression of HDAC6, pro-and-mature-IL-1β and pro-and-cleaved-caspase-1 and ameliorated acetylated-tubulin. In support of our experimental work, human TCGA analysis revealed HDAC6 and IL-1β were upregulated in the primary tumor, with different tumor stages and grades. We found TSA modulate TME, indicated by downregulation of CD11b+Gr1+-Myeloid-derived suppressor cells, CD11b+F4/80+CD206+ M2-macrophages and increase in CD11b+F4/80+MHCII+ M1-macrophages. TSA significantly reduced the gene expression of HDAC6, IL-1β, Arginase-1 and iNOS in isolated splenic-MDSCs. FaDu-HTB-43 and NIH3T3 cells stimulated with LPS and 4-NQO exhibit higher IL-1β levels in the supernatant. Interestingly, immunoblot analysis of the cell lysate, we observed that TSA does not alter the expression as well as activation of IL-1β and caspase-1 but the acetylated-tubulin was found to be increased. Nocodazole pre-treatment proved that TSA inhibited the lysosomal exocytosis of IL-1β through tubulin acetylation. In conclusion, HDAC6 inhibitors attenuated TME and cancer progression through the regulation of IL-1β in OSCC.

Transcriptomic Integration Analyses Uncover Common Bisphenol A Effects Across Species and Tissues Primarily Mediated by Disruption of JUN/FOS, EGFR, ER, PPARG, and P53 Pathways

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a common endocrine disruptor widely used in the production of electronic, sports, and medical equipment, as well as consumer products like milk bottles, dental sealants, and thermal paper. Despite its widespread use, current assessments of BPA exposure risks remain limited due to the lack of comprehensive cross-species comparative analyses. To address this gap, we conducted a study aimed at identifying genes and fundamental molecular processes consistently affected by BPA in various species and tissues, employing an effective data integration method and bioinformatic analyses. Our findings revealed that exposure to BPA led to significant changes in processes like lipid metabolism, proliferation, and apoptosis in the tissues/cells of mammals, fish, and nematodes. These processes were found to be commonly affected in adipose, liver, mammary, uterus, testes, and ovary tissues. Additionally, through an in-depth analysis of signaling pathways influenced by BPA in different species and tissues, we observed that the JUN/FOS, EGFR, ER, PPARG, and P53 pathways, along with their downstream key transcription factors and kinases, were all impacted by BPA. Our study provides compelling evidence that BPA indeed induces similar toxic effects across different species and tissues. Furthermore, our investigation sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these toxic effects. By uncovering these mechanisms, we gain valuable insights into the potential health implications associated with BPA exposure, highlighting the importance of comprehensive assessments and awareness of this widespread endocrine disruptor.

Altered insulin sensitivity and immune function in patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Insulin resistance and chronic inflammation have been reported in patients with cancer. However, many of the underlying mechanisms and associations are yet to be unveiled. We examined both the level of insulin sensitivity and markers of inflammation in patients with colorectal cancer for comparison to controls.

METHODS

Clinical exploratory study of patients with colorectal cancer (n = 20) and matched controls (n = 10). Insulin sensitivity was quantified using the hyperinsulinemic normoglycemic clamp and blood samples were taken for quantification of several key, both intra- and extracellular, inflammatory markers. We analysed the differences in these parameters between the two groups.

RESULTS

Patients exhibited both insulin resistance (M-value, patients median (Mdn) 4.57 interquartile range (IQR) 3.49-5.75; controls Mdn 5.79 (IQR 5.20-6.81), p = 0.049), as well as increased plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β (patients Mdn 0.48 (IQR 0.33-0.58); controls Mdn 0.36 (IQR 0.29-0.42), p = 0.02) and IL-6 (patients Mdn 3.21 (IQR 2.31-4.93); controls Mdn 2.16 (IQR 1.50-2.65), p = 0.02). The latter is present despite an almost two to three fold decrease (p < 0.01) in caspase-1 activity, a facilitating enzyme of IL-1β production, within circulating immune cells.

CONCLUSION

Patients with colorectal cancer displayed insulin resistance and higher levels of plasma IL-1β and IL-6, in comparison to matched healthy controls. The finding of a seemingly disconnect between inflammasome (caspase-1) activity and plasma levels of key pro-inflammatory cytokines in cancer patients may suggest that, in parallel to dysregulated immune cells, tumour-driven inflammatory pathways also are in effect.

Inhibition of autophagy in macrophage promotes IL-1β-mediated hepatocellular carcinoma progression via inflammasome accumulation and self-recruitment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a complex and changeable tumor microenvironment. Despite emerging evidence focusing on autophagy process within immune cells, the function and regulatory mechanism of macrophage autophagy in tumor progression remains unclear. Our results of multiplex-immunohistochemistry and RNA-sequencing identified the reduced levels of autophagy in tumor macrophages in the HCC microenvironment, associated with a poor prognosis and increased microvascular metastasis in HCC patients. Specifically, HCC suppressed the macrophage autophagy initiation through the up-regulation of mTOR and ULK1 phosphorylation at Ser757. Knockdown of autophagy-related proteins to further inhibit autophagy significantly boosted the metastatic potential of HCC. Mechanistically, the accumulation of NLRP3 inflammasome mediated by autophagy inhibition promoted the cleavage, maturation, and release of IL-1β, which facilitated the HCC progression, eventually accelerating HCC metastasis via the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Autophagy inhibition provoked macrophage self-recruitment through the CCL20-CCR6 signaling was also a crucial account of HCC progression. Recruited macrophages mediated the cascade amplification of IL-1β and CCL20 to form a novel pro-metastatic positive feedback loop through promoting HCC metastasis and increased macrophage recruitment, respectively. Notably, targeting IL-1β/IL-1 receptor signaling impaired lung metastasis induced by macrophage autophagy inhibition in a mice HCC lung metastasis model. In summary, this study highlighted that inhibition of tumor macrophage autophagy facilitated HCC progression by increasing IL-1β secretion via NLRP3 inflammasome accumulation and by macrophage self-recruitment through the CCL20 signaling pathway. Interruption of this metastasis-promoting loop by IL-1β blockade may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for HCC patients.

Manipulation of the crosstalk between tumor angiogenesis and immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment: Insight into the combination therapy of anti-angiogenesis and immune checkpoint blockade

Immunotherapy has been recognized as an effective and important therapeutic modality for multiple types of cancer. Nevertheless, it has been increasing recognized that clinical benefits of immunotherapy are less than expected as evidenced by the fact that only a small population of cancer patients respond favorably to immunotherapy. The structurally and functionally abnormal tumor vasculature is a hallmark of most solid tumors and contributes to an immunosuppressive microenvironment, which poses a major challenge to immunotherapy. In turn, multiple immune cell subsets have profound consequences on promoting neovascularization. Vascular normalization, a promising anti-angiogenic strategy, can enhance vascular perfusion and promote the infiltration of immune effector cells into tumors via correcting aberrant tumor blood vessels, resulting in the potentiation of immunotherapy. More interestingly, immunotherapies are prone to boost the efficacy of various anti-angiogenic therapies and/or promote the morphological and functional alterations in tumor vasculature. Therefore, immune reprograming and vascular normalization appear to be reciprocally regulated. In this review, we mainly summarize how tumor vasculature propels an immunosuppressive phenotype and how innate and adaptive immune cells modulate angiogenesis during tumor progression. We further highlight recent advances of anti-angiogenic immunotherapies in preclinical and clinical settings to solidify the concept that targeting both tumor blood vessels and immune suppressive cells provides an efficacious approach for the treatment of cancer.

Inflammation-Driven Regulation of PD-L1 and PD-L2, and Their Cross-Interactions with Protective Soluble TNFα Receptors in Human Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Simple Summary

Immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) to PD-L1 have led to major breakthroughs in cancer therapy, but in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) success rates are rather limited. Following studies suggesting that chronic inflammation may limit ICB efficacy, we found that pro-inflammatory cytokines up-regulated the proportion of TNBC cells co-expressing the inhibitory immune checkpoint PD-L1 and its cognate PD-L2 molecule. Moreover, we demonstrated that in the context of inflammation-driven signals, PD-L1 down-regulated the cell-derived levels of sTNFR1 and sTNFR2, the soluble receptors of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα); these soluble receptors were found to exert protective/anti-metastatic effects in TNBC cells, manifested by their ability to down-regulate TNFα-induced production of pro-metastatic chemokines by TNBC cells. Our findings possibly testify for a novel mechanism of PD-L1-mediated tumor progression in which PD-L1 prevents the anti-metastatic effects of sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 in TNBC cells. This mechanism may also act in vivo, in parallel to immune suppression under inflammatory conditions.

Abstract

Pro-inflammatory cytokines play key roles in elevating cancer progression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We demonstrate that specific combinations between TNFα, IL-1β and IFNγ up-regulated the proportion of human TNBC cells co-expressing the inhibitory immune checkpoints PD-L1 and PD-L2: TNFα + IL-1β in MDA-MB-231 cells and IFNγ + IL-1β in BT-549 cells; in the latter cells, the process depended entirely on STAT1 activation, with no involvement of p65 (CRISPR-Cas9 experiments). Highly significant associations between the pro-inflammatory cytokines and PD-L1/PD-L2 expression were revealed in the TCGA dataset of basal-like breast cancer patients. In parallel, we found that the pro-inflammatory cytokines regulated the expression of the soluble receptors of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), namely sTNFR1 and sTNFR2; moreover, we revealed that sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 serve as anti-metastatic and protective factors in TNBC, reducing the TNFα-induced production of inflammatory pro-metastatic chemokines (CXCL8, CXCL1, CCL5) by TNBC cells. Importantly, we found that in the context of inflammatory stimulation and also without exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines, elevated levels of PD-L1 have down-regulated the production of anti-tumor sTNFR1 and sTNFR2. These findings suggest that in addition to its immune-suppressive activities, PD-L1 may promote disease course in TNBC by inhibiting the protective effects of sTNFR1 and sTNFR2.