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Su J, Song Y, Zhu Z, Huang X, Fan J, Qiao J, Mao F. Cell-cell communication: new insights and clinical implications. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2024; 9:196. [PMID: 39107318 PMCID: PMC11382761 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-024-01888-z] [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: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Multicellular organisms are composed of diverse cell types that must coordinate their behaviors through communication. Cell-cell communication (CCC) is essential for growth, development, differentiation, tissue and organ formation, maintenance, and physiological regulation. Cells communicate through direct contact or at a distance using ligand-receptor interactions. So cellular communication encompasses two essential processes: cell signal conduction for generation and intercellular transmission of signals, and cell signal transduction for reception and procession of signals. Deciphering intercellular communication networks is critical for understanding cell differentiation, development, and metabolism. First, we comprehensively review the historical milestones in CCC studies, followed by a detailed description of the mechanisms of signal molecule transmission and the importance of the main signaling pathways they mediate in maintaining biological functions. Then we systematically introduce a series of human diseases caused by abnormalities in cell communication and their progress in clinical applications. Finally, we summarize various methods for monitoring cell interactions, including cell imaging, proximity-based chemical labeling, mechanical force analysis, downstream analysis strategies, and single-cell technologies. These methods aim to illustrate how biological functions depend on these interactions and the complexity of their regulatory signaling pathways to regulate crucial physiological processes, including tissue homeostasis, cell development, and immune responses in diseases. In addition, this review enhances our understanding of the biological processes that occur after cell-cell binding, highlighting its application in discovering new therapeutic targets and biomarkers related to precision medicine. This collective understanding provides a foundation for developing new targeted drugs and personalized treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimeng Su
- Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Cancer Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ying Song
- Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Cancer Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zhipeng Zhu
- Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Cancer Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyue Huang
- Biomedical Research Institute, Shenzhen Peking University-the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Medical Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jibiao Fan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jie Qiao
- State Key Laboratory of Female Fertility Promotion, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology (Peking University Third Hospital), Beijing, China.
- Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction (Peking University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beijing, China.
| | - Fengbiao Mao
- Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
- Cancer Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
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La Salvia A, Meyer ML, Hirsch FR, Kerr KM, Landi L, Tsao MS, Cappuzzo F. Rediscovering immunohistochemistry in lung cancer. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2024; 200:104401. [PMID: 38815876 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2024.104401] [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: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Several observations indicate that protein expression analysis by immunohistochemistry (IHC) remains relevant in individuals with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when considering targeted therapy, as an early step in diagnosis and for therapy selection. Since the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS), the role of IHC in testing for NSCLC biomarkers has been forgotten or ignored. We discuss how protein-level investigations maintain a critical role in defining sensitivity to lung cancer therapies in oncogene- and non-oncogene-addicted cases and in patients eligible for immunotherapy, suggesting that IHC testing should be reconsidered in clinical practice. We also argue how a panel of IHC tests should be considered complementary to NGS and other genomic assays. This is relevant to current clinical diagnostic practice but with potential future roles to optimize the selection of patients for innovative therapies. At the same time, strict validation of antibodies, assays, scoring systems, and intra- and interobserver reproducibility is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna La Salvia
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Health (ISS), Rome 00161, Italy
| | - May-Lucie Meyer
- Center for Thoracic Oncology/Tisch Cancer Institute and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fred R Hirsch
- Center for Thoracic Oncology/Tisch Cancer Institute and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Keith M Kerr
- Aberdeen University School of Medicine & Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Lorenza Landi
- Medical Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Regina Elena", Rome, Italy
| | - Ming-Sound Tsao
- University Health Network, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Federico Cappuzzo
- Medical Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Regina Elena", Rome, Italy.
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Wu J, Sun W, Yang X, Wang H, Liu X, Chi K, Zhou L, Huang X, Mao L, Zhao S, Ding T, Meng B, Lin D. Heterogeneity of programmed death-ligand 1 expression and infiltrating lymphocytes in paired resected primary and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Mod Pathol 2022; 35:218-227. [PMID: 34493824 DOI: 10.1038/s41379-021-00903-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Metastatic tumors (MTs) may show different characteristics of the immune microenvironment from primary tumors (PTs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The heterogeneity of immune markers in metastatic NSCLC and its associated factors has not been well demonstrated. In this study, 64 surgically resected specimens of paired PTs and MTs were obtained from 28 patients with NSCLC. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF; panel including programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), Cytokeratin, CD8, and CD68) was performed on whole sections. The heterogeneity of the immune contexture of PD-L1 expression, infiltrating lymphocytes, and immune-to-tumor cell distances was quantified via digital image analysis. In a quantitative comparison of MTs and corresponding PTs, MTs showed higher PD-L1 expression levels, lower density of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and longer spatial distance between CTLs and tumor cells. Subgroup analysis, which associated clinical factors, revealed that the heterogeneity of immune markers was more obvious in extrapulmonary, metachronous, and treated MTs, while fewer differences were observed in intrapulmonary, synchronous, and untreated MTs. In particular, MTs showed significantly higher PD-L1 expression and lower lymphocyte infiltration in metastatic NSCLC with EGFR mutations. Prognosis analysis showed that an increased density of CD8+ CTLs in MTs was associated with better overall survival (OS). Therefore, significant discrepancies in PD-L1 expression and lymphocyte infiltration in metastatic NSCLC are most likely associated with temporal heterogeneity with a history of anti-treatment and correlated with EGFR mutations. The detection of immune markers in re-obtained metastatic specimens may be required for immunotherapy prediction in these patients with metastatic NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianghua Wu
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.,Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital; National Clinical Research Center of Cancer; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin; Tianjin's Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Tianjin, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Yang
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Haiyue Wang
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Xinying Liu
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Kaiwen Chi
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Lixin Zhou
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaozheng Huang
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Luning Mao
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Shuai Zhao
- Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital; National Clinical Research Center of Cancer; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin; Tianjin's Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Tianjin, China
| | - Tingting Ding
- Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital; National Clinical Research Center of Cancer; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin; Tianjin's Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Tianjin, China
| | - Bin Meng
- Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital; National Clinical Research Center of Cancer; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin; Tianjin's Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Tianjin, China
| | - Dongmei Lin
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
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Sholl LM. Biomarkers of response to checkpoint inhibitors beyond PD-L1 in lung cancer. Mod Pathol 2022; 35:66-74. [PMID: 34608245 DOI: 10.1038/s41379-021-00932-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Immunotherapy, including use of checkpoint inhibitors against PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4, forms the backbone of oncologic management for the majority of non-small cell lung carcinoma patients. However, response to these therapies varies widely, from patients who have complete resolution of metastatic disease and long-term remission, to those who rapidly progress and succumb to their cancer despite use of the newest checkpoint inhibitors. While PD-L1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry serves as the principle predictive biomarker for immunotherapy response, neither the sensitivity nor the specificity of this approach is optimal, and clinical PD-L1 testing is plagued by concerns around result reproducibility and confusion born from the proliferation of different companion diagnostic assays. At the same time, insights into tumor and host immune-specific factors that inform both prognosis and response prediction are beginning to define better immunotherapy biomarkers. Beyond immune checkpoint expression status, common themes in analyses of immunotherapy response prediction include cancer neoantigen production, the state of the antigen presentation pathway in both tumor and antigen presenting cells, the admixture of effector and suppressor immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, and the genomic drivers and comutations that can influence the all of these variables. This review will address the state of PD-L1 testing in lung cancer, the role for tumor mutation burden as a predictive biomarker, the evolving status of human leukocyte antigen/major histocompatibility complex expression as a marker of antigen presentation, approaches to tumor immune cell quantitation including by multiplex immunofluorescence, and the importance of tumor genomic profiling to ascertain oncogenic driver (EGFR, ALK, KRAS, MET, etc.) and co-mutation (STK11, KEAP1, SMARCA4) status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynette M Sholl
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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