IL1RN and KRT13 Expression in Bladder Cancer: Association with Pathologic Characteristics and Smoking Status

The past, present, and future of immunotherapy for bladder tumors

Bladder cancer is a prominent cancer worldwide with a relatively low survival rate for patients with increased stage and metastasis. Current treatments are based on surgical removal, bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Immunotherapy, and platinum-based chemotherapy. However, treatment resistance due to genetic instability of bladder tumors, as well as intolerance to treatment adverse effects leads to the necessity to further treatment options. New advancements in immunotherapy are on the rise for treatment of various cancers and specifically has shown promise in the treatment of bladder cancer. This review summarizes these new advancements in treatment options involving cytokines and cytokine blockade. Such a study might be helpful for urologists to manage patients with bladder cancer more effectively.

Distinct Roles of m5C RNA Methyltransferase NSUN2 in Major Gynecologic Cancers

RNA methylation has recently emerged as an important category of epigenetic modifications, which plays diverse physiopathological roles in various cancers. Recent studies have confirmed the presence of 5-methylcytosine (m5C) modification on mammalian mRNAs, mainly modified by NOP2/Sun RNA methyltransferase family member 2 (NSUN2), but little is known about the underlying functions of m5C. Gynecologic cancers are malignancies starting from women’s reproductive organs. The prevalence of gynecologic cancers leads to a massive economic burden and public health concern. In this study, we investigated the potential biological functions of NSUN2 in common gynecologic cancers including cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer. Remarkably, distinct scenarios were found. The levels of NSUN2 did not show alteration in endometrial cancer, and in ovarian cancer, depletion of upregulated NSUN2 did not reduce carcinogenesis in cancer cells, suggesting that the upregulated NSUN2 might be an incidental effect. On the contrary, NSUN2 played a role in tumorigenesis of cervical cancer; depletion of upregulated NSUN2 notably inhibited migration and invasion of cancer cells, and only wild-type but not catalytically inactive NSUN2 rescued these malignant phenotypes of cancer cells. Mechanistically, NSUN2 promoted migration and invasion by leading to m5C methylation on keratin 13 (KRT13) transcripts, and methylated KRT13 transcripts would be recognized and stabilized by an m5C reader, Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1). Collectively, these results not only displayed the nature of diversity among human malignancies, but also demonstrated a novel NSUN2-dependent m5C-YBX1-KRT13 oncogenic regulatory pathway.

miR-122-5p downregulation attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by targeting IL1RN

MicroRNAs (miRs) and inflammatory cytokines can induce acute lung injury (ALI), which can develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome in severe cases. Previous research has revealed that miR-122-5p participates in the development of ALI, and that its expression is positively associated with ALI. However, the mechanism by which miR-122-5p contributes to ALI remains to be determined. In the current study, TargetScan and dual luciferase reporter gene assays were used to confirm that IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN) was a target of miR-122-5p. Subsequently, by referring to previous literature, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI cell model was established. A549 cells were transfected with mimic control or miR-122-5p mimics for 24 h, and 10 µg LPS was used to treat the transfected cells for 12 h. The results revealed that miR-122-5p mimics decreased cell viability and promoted apoptosis. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assays indicated that miR-122-5p mimics increased LDH release. ELISA demonstrated that miR-122-5p mimics promoted TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 expression levels. A549 cells were transfected with inhibitor control, miR-122-5p inhibitor, miR-122-5p inhibitor + control-small interfering (si)RNA or miR-122-5p inhibitor + IL1RN-siRNA for 24 h, after which the cells were treated with 10 µg LPS for 12 h. The results revealed that the effects of the miR-122-5p inhibitor were the opposite of those of the miR-122-5p mimic. All the effects of miR-122-5p inhibitor on LPS-treated A549 cells were significantly reversed by IL1RN-siRNA. Overall, the results highlighted miR-122-5p as a potential novel target for the treatment of ALI.

The Role of Interleukin-1-Receptor-Antagonist in Bladder Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

Background: The interleukin-1-receptor antagonist IL1RA (encoded by the IL1RN gene) is a potent competitive antagonist to interleukin-1 (IL1) and thereby is mainly involved in the regulation of inflammation. Previous data indicated a role of IL1RA in muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) as well as an IL1-dependent decrease in tissue barrier function, potentially contributing to cancer cell invasion. Objective: Based on these observations, here we investigated the potential roles of IL1RA, IL1A, and IL1B in bladder cancer cell invasion in vitro. Methods: Cell culture, real-time impedance sensing, invasion assays (Boyden chamber, pig bladder model), qPCR, Western blot, ELISA, gene overexpression. Results: We observed a loss of IL1RA expression in invasive, high-grade bladder cancer cell lines T24, UMUC-3, and HT1197 while IL1RA expression was readily detectable in the immortalized UROtsa cells, the non-invasive bladder cancer cell line RT4, and in benign patient urothelium. Thus, we modified the invasive human bladder cancer cell line T24 to ectopically express IL1RA, and measured changes in cell migration/invasion using the xCELLigence Real-Time-Cell-Analysis (RTCA) system and the Boyden chamber assay. The real-time observation data showed a significant decrease of cell migration and invasion in T24 cells overexpressing IL1RA (T24-IL1RA), compared to cells harboring an empty vector (T24-EV). Concurrently, tumor cytokines, e.g., IL1B, attenuated the vascular endothelial barrier, which resulted in a reduction of the Cell Index (CI), an impedance-based dimensionless unit. This reduction could be reverted by the simultaneous incubation with IL1RA. Moreover, we used an ex vivo porcine organ culture system to evaluate cell invasion capacity and showed that T24-IL1RA cells showed significantly less invasive capacity compared to parental T24 cells or T24-EV. Conclusions: Taken together, our results indicate an inverse correlation between IL1RA expression and tumor cell invasive capacity and migration, suggesting that IL1RA plays a role in bladder carcinogenesis, while the exact mechanisms by which IL1RA influences tumor cells migration/invasion remain to be clarified in future studies. Furthermore, we confirmed that real-time impedance sensing and the porcine ex vivo organ culture methods are powerful tools to discover differences in cancer cell migration and invasion.

Bladder cancer-derived interleukin-1 converts the vascular endothelium into a pro-inflammatory and pro-coagulatory surface

Background

Bladder cancer cells orchestrate tumour progression by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines modulate the local tumour microenvironment and increase the susceptibility of tumour distant tissues for metastasis. Here, we investigated the impact of human bladder cancer cell derived factors on the ability to modulate and activate human vascular endothelial cells.

Methods

The pro-inflammatory and pro-coagulatory potential of four different bladder cancer cell lines was accessed by qRT-PCR arrays and ELISA. Modulation and activation of endothelial cells was studied in microfluidic devices. Clinical relevance of our findings was confirmed by immune histology in tissue samples of bladder cancer patients and public transcriptome data.

Results

The unbalanced ratio between interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in the secretome of bladder cancer cells converted the quiescent vascular endothelium into a pro-adhesive, pro-inflammatory, and pro-coagulatory surface. Microfluidic experiments showed that tumour cell induced endothelial cell activation promoted leukocyte recruitment and platelet adhesion. Human bladder cancer tissue analysis confirmed that loss of IL-1ra and elevated IL-1 expression was associated with enhanced cancer progression.

Conclusions

Our data indicate that IL-1 and IL-1ra were dysregulated in bladder cancer and could facilitate tumour dissemination through endothelial cell activation. Targeting the IL-1/IL-1ra axis might attenuate tumour-mediated inflammation and metastasis formation.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-020-07548-z.

Prognostic biomarkers related to breast cancer recurrence identified based on Logit model analysis

BACKGROUND

This study intended to determine important genes related to the prognosis and recurrence of breast cancer.

METHODS

Gene expression data of breast cancer patients were downloaded from TCGA database. Breast cancer samples with recurrence and death were defined as poor disease-free survival (DFS) group, while samples without recurrence and survival beyond 5 years were defined as better DFS group. Another gene expression profile dataset (GSE45725) of breast cancer was downloaded as the validation data. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between better and poor DFS groups, which were then performed function enrichment analysis. The DEGs that were enriched in the GO function and KEGG signaling pathway were selected for cox regression analysis and Logit regression (LR) model analysis. Finally, correlation analysis between LR model classification and survival prognosis was analyzed.

RESULTS

Based on the breast cancer gene expression profile data in TCGA, 540 DEGs were screened between better DFS and poor DFS groups, including 177 downregulated and 363 upregulated DEGs. A total of 283 DEGs were involved in all GO functions and KEGG signaling pathways. Through LR model screening, 10 important feature DEGs were identified and validated, among which, ABCA3, CCL22, FOXJ1, IL1RN, KCNIP3, MAP2K6, and MRPL13, were significantly expressed in both groups in the two data sets. ABCA3, CCL22, FOXJ1, IL1RN, and MAP2K6 were good prognostic factors, while KCNIP3 and MRPL13 were poor prognostic factors.

CONCLUSION

ABCA3, CCL22, FOXJ1, IL1RN, and MAP2K6 may serve as good prognostic factors, while KCNIP3 and MRPL13 may be poor prognostic factors for the prognosis of breast cancer.

Key Genes in Stomach Adenocarcinoma Identified via Network Analysis of RNA-Seq Data

RNA-seq data of stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) were analyzed to identify critical genes in STAD. Meanwhile, relevant small molecule drugs, transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) were also investigated. Gene expression data of STAD were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Differential analysis was performed with package edgeR. Relationships with correlation coefficient > 0.6 were retained in the gene co-expression network. Functional enrichment analysis was performed for the genes in the network with DAVID and KOBASS 2.0. Modules were identified using Cytoscape. Relevant small molecules drugs, transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) were revealed by using CMAP and WebGestalt databases. A total of 520 DEGs were identified between 285 STAD samples and 33 normal controls, including 244 up-regulated and 276 down-regulated genes. A gene co-expression network containing 53 DEGs and 338 edges was constructed, the genes of which were significantly enriched in focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction and vascular smooth muscle contraction pathways. Three modules were identified from the gene co-expression network and they were associated with skeletal system development, inflammatory response and positive regulation of cellular process, respectively. A total of 20 drugs, 9 TFs and 6 miRNAs were acquired that may regulate the DEGs. NFAT-COL1A1/ANXA1, HSF2-FOS, SREBP-IL1RN and miR-26-COL5A2 regulation axes may be important mechanisms for STAD.