FOXP3 defines regulatory T cells in human tumor and autoimmune disease

Integrative analysis of single-cell RNA-seq and gut microbiome metabarcoding data elucidates macrophage dysfunction in mice with DSS-induced ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a significant inflammatory bowel disease caused by an abnormal immune response to gut microbes. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of how immune and metabolic changes specifically contribute to this disease. Our research aims to address this gap by examining mouse colons after inducing ulcerative colitis-like symptoms. Employing single-cell RNA-seq and 16 s rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze distinct cell clusters and microbiomes in the mouse colon at different time points after induction with dextran sodium sulfate. We observe a significant reduction in epithelial populations during acute colitis, indicating tissue damage, with a partial recovery observed in chronic inflammation. Analyses of cell-cell interactions demonstrate shifts in networking patterns among different cell types during disease progression. Notably, macrophage phenotypes exhibit diversity, with a pronounced polarization towards the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype in chronic conditions, suggesting the role of macrophage heterogeneity in disease severity. Increased expression of Nampt and NOX2 complex subunits in chronic UC macrophages contributes to the inflammatory processes. The chronic UC microbiome exhibits reduced taxonomic diversity compared to healthy conditions and acute UC. The study also highlights the role of T cell differentiation in the context of dysbiosis and its implications in colitis progression, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to modulate the inflammatory response and immune balance in colitis.

Considerations and Approaches for Cancer Immunotherapy in the Aging Host

Advances in cancer immunotherapy are improving treatment successes in many distinct cancer types. Nonetheless, most tumors fail to respond. Age is the biggest risk for most cancers, and the median population age is rising worldwide. Advancing age is associated with manifold alterations in immune cell types, abundance, and functions, rather than simple declines in these metrics, the consequences of which remain incompletely defined. Our understanding of the effects of host age on immunotherapy mechanisms, efficacy, and adverse events remains incomplete. A deeper understanding of age effects in all these areas is required. Most cancer immunotherapy preclinical studies examine young subjects and fail to assess age contributions, a remarkable deficit given the known importance of age effects on immune cells and factors mediating cancer immune surveillance and immunotherapy efficacy. Notably, some cancer immunotherapies are more effective in aged versus young hosts, while others fail despite efficacy in the young. Here, we review our current understanding of age effects on immunity and associated nonimmune cells, the tumor microenvironment, cancer immunotherapy, and related adverse effects. We highlight important knowledge gaps and suggest areas for deeper enquiries, including in cancer immune surveillance, treatment response, adverse event outcomes, and their mitigation.

Unraveling the Complexities of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as effective therapeutics for multiple cancers. Nevertheless, as immunotherapeutic approaches are being extensively utilized, substantial hurdles have arisen for clinicians. These include countering ICIs resistance and ensuring precise efficacy assessments of these drugs, especially in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This review attempts to offer a holistic overview of the latest insights into the ICIs resistance mechanisms in HCC, the molecular underpinnings, and immune response. The intent is to inspire the development of efficacious combination strategies. This review also examines the unconventional response patterns, namely pseudoprogression (PsP) and hyperprogression (HPD). The prompt and rigorous evaluation of these treatment efficacies has emerged as a crucial imperative. Multiple clinical, radiological, and biomarker tests have been advanced to meticulously assess tumor response. Despite progress, precise mechanisms of action and predictive biomarkers remain elusive. This necessitates further investigation through prospective cohort studies in the impending future.

Crosstalk between Thyroid Carcinoma and Tumor-Correlated Immune Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common malignancy in the endocrine system. Although most TC can achieve a desirable prognosis, some refractory thyroid carcinomas, including radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, as well as anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, face a myriad of difficulties in clinical treatment. These types of tumors contribute to the majority of TC deaths due to limited initial therapy, recurrence, and metastasis of the tumor and tumor resistance to current clinically targeted drugs, which ultimately lead to treatment failure. At present, a growing number of studies have demonstrated crosstalk between TC and tumor-associated immune cells, which affects tumor deterioration and metastasis through distinct signal transduction or receptor activation. Current immunotherapy focuses primarily on cutting off the interaction between tumor cells and immune cells. Since the advent of immunotherapy, scholars have discovered targets for TC immunotherapy, which also provides new strategies for TC treatment. This review methodically and intensively summarizes the current understanding and mechanism of the crosstalk between distinct types of TC and immune cells, as well as potential immunotherapy strategies and clinical research results in the area of the tumor immune microenvironment. We aim to explore the current research advances to formulate better individualized treatment strategies for TC patients and to provide clues and references for the study of potential immune checkpoints and the development of immunotherapy technologies.

Aging microenvironment and antitumor immunity for geriatric oncology: the landscape and future implications

The tumor microenvironment (TME) has been extensively investigated; however, it is complex and remains unclear, especially in elderly patients. Senescence is a cellular response to a variety of stress signals, which is characterized by stable arrest of the cell cycle and major changes in cell morphology and physiology. To the best of our knowledge, senescence leads to consistent arrest of tumor cells and remodeling of the tumor-immune microenvironment (TIME) by activating a set of pleiotropic cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteinases, which constitute the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). On the one hand, the SASP promotes antitumor immunity, which enhances treatment efficacy; on the other hand, the SASP increases immunosuppressive cell infiltration, including myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs), M2 macrophages, and N2 neutrophils, contributing to TIME suppression. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the regulation of the SASP and components contributing to robust antitumor immunity in elderly individuals with different cancer types and the available therapies is necessary to control tumor cell senescence and provide greater clinical benefits to patients. In this review, we summarize the key biological functions mediated by cytokines and intercellular interactions and significant components of the TME landscape, which influence the immunotherapy response in geriatric oncology. Furthermore, we summarize recent advances in clinical practices targeting TME components and discuss potential senescent TME targets.

Noncytotoxic Roles of Granzymes in Health and Disease

Granzymes are serine proteases previously believed to play exclusive and somewhat redundant roles in lymphocyte-mediated target cell death. However, recent studies have challenged this paradigm. Distinct substrate profiles and functions have since emerged for each granzyme while their dysregulated proteolytic activities have been linked to diverse pathologies.

c-Myc-driven glycolysis polarizes functional regulatory B cells that trigger pathogenic inflammatory responses

B cells secreting IL-10 functionally are recognized as functional regulatory B (Breg) cells; however, direct evidence concerning the phenotype, regulation, and functional and clinical relevance of IL-10-secreting Breg cells in humans is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate that, although IL-10 itself is anti-inflammatory, IL-10+ functional Breg cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) display aggressive inflammatory features; these features shift their functions away from inducing CD8+ T cell tolerance and cause them to induce a pathogenic CD4+ T cell response. Functional Breg cells polarized by environmental factors (e.g., CPG-DNA) or directly isolated from patients with SLE mainly exhibit a CD24intCD27-CD38-CD69+/hi phenotype that is different from that of their precursors. Mechanistically, MAPK/ERK/P38-elicited sequential oncogenic c-Myc upregulation and enhanced glycolysis are necessary for the generation and functional maintenance of functional Breg cells. Consistently, strategies that abrogate the activity of ERK, P38, c-Myc, and/or cell glycolysis can efficiently eliminate the pathogenic effects triggered by functional Breg cells.

IFNγ signaling integrity in colorectal cancer immunity and immunotherapy

The majority of colorectal cancer patients are not responsive to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). The interferon gamma (IFNγ) signaling pathway drives spontaneous and ICB-induced antitumor immunity. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the epigenetic, genetic, and functional integrity of the IFNγ signaling pathway in the colorectal cancer microenvironment and its immunological relevance in the therapeutic efficacy of and resistance to ICB. Moreover, we discuss how to target IFNγ signaling to inform novel clinical trials to treat patients with colorectal cancer.

T Cell Immune Profiles of Blood and Tumor in Dogs Diagnosed With Malignant Melanoma

Investigation of canine T cell immunophenotypes in canine melanomas as prognostic biomarkers for disease progression or predictive biomarkers for targeted immunotherapeutics remains in preliminary stages. We aimed to examine T cell phenotypes and function in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and baseline tumor samples by flow cytometry, and to compare patient (n = 11–20) T cell phenotypes with healthy controls dogs (n = 10–20). CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, FoxP3, Ki67, granzyme B, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were used to classify T cell subsets in resting and mitogen stimulated PBMCs. In a separate patient cohort (n = 11), T cells were classified using CD3, CD4, CD8, FoxP3, and granzyme B in paired PBMC and single cell suspensions of tumor samples. Analysis of flow cytometric data of individual T cell phenotypes in PBMC revealed specific T cell phenotypes including FoxP3+ and CD25+FoxP3- populations that distinguished patients from healthy controls. Frequencies of IFN-γ+ cells after ConA stimulation identified two different patient phenotypic responses, including a normal/exaggerated IFN-γ response and a lower response suggesting dysfunction. Principle component analysis of selected T cell immunophenotypes also distinguished patients and controls for T cell phenotype and revealed a clustering of patients based on metastasis detected at diagnosis. Findings supported the overall hypothesis that canine melanoma patients display a T cell immunophenotype profile that is unique from healthy pet dogs and will guide future studies designed with larger patient cohorts necessary to further characterize prognostic T cell immunophenotypes.

The prognostic value of intratumoral and peritumoral tumor-infiltrating FoxP3+Treg cells in of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a meta-analysis

Background

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are major participants in the tumor microenvironment. The prognostic value of TILs in patients with pancreatic cancer is still controversial.

Methods

The aim of our meta-analysis was to determine the impact of FoxP3+Treg cells on the survival of pancreatic cancer patients. We searched for related studies in PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid, and Cochrane Library from the time the databases were established to Mar 30, 2017. We identified studies reporting the prognostic value of FoxP3+Treg cells in patients with pancreatic cancer. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS)/progression-free survival (PFS)/relapse-free survival (RFS) were investigated by pooling the data. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to evaluate the association between FoxP3+Treg cells and survival outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients. A total of 972 pancreatic cancer patients from 8 studies were included in our meta-analysis.

Results

High levels of infiltration with FoxP3+Treg cells were significantly associated with poor OS (HR=2.13; 95% CI 1.64–2.77; P<0.05) and poor DFS/PFS/RFS (HR=1.70; 95% CI 1.04 ~ 2.78; P< 0.05). Similar results were also observed in the peritumoral tissue; high levels of FoxP3+Treg cells were associated with poor OS (HR =2.1795% CI, CI 1.50–3.13).

Conclusion

This meta-analysis indicated that high levels of intratumoral or peritumoral FoxP3+Treg cell infiltration could be recognized as a negative factor in the prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

Infiltrating T lymphocytes and programmed cell death protein-1/programmed death-ligand 1 expression in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

To characterize T lymphocyte infiltration and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in early-stage endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC), ovarian endometriosis (OE), atypical endometriosis (AE), and deep endometriosis (DE).

DESIGN

Case-control, retrospective study.

SETTING

Research University Hospital.

PATIENT(S)

A total of 362 patients with a histologic diagnosis of EAOC, OE, AE, or DE were identified between 2000 and 2019 from Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS and Gemelli Molise SpA tissue data banks. A 1:1 propensity score-matched method yielded matched pairs of 55 subjects with EAOC, 55 patients with OE, 12 patients with AE, and 42 patients with DE, resulting in no differences in family history of cancer, parity, and use of oral contraceptives.

INTERVENTION(S)

Immunohistochemistry assays using the following primary antibodies: CD3+; CD4+; CD8+; PD-1; and PD-L1.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

To characterize T lymphocyte infiltration and PD-1/PD-L1 expression in 4 different endometriosis-related diseases.

RESULT(S)

Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer cases displayed significantly higher levels of PD-1/PD-L1 expression compared with all other endometriosis-related diseases (vs. OE vs. AE vs. DE). Moreover, a significantly lower count of infiltrating T lymphocytes was observed in EAOC cases compared with OE ones. Finally, one-third of OE cases showed a cancer-like PD-1/PD-L1 expression profile.

CONCLUSION(S)

Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer is characterized by higher levels of PD-1/PD-L1 expression compared with benign endometriosis-related diseases. This profile was found in one-third of clinically benign cases, suggesting that it develops early in the carcinogenesis process.

Immune Cell Infiltration and the Expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in Primary PDGFRA-Mutant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

PURPOSE

To characterize the immune cell profile and expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and IDO in PDGFRA-mutant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of PDGFRA-mutant GIST patients who received surgical resection in Zhongshan Hospital between January 2013 and August 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. The specimens of tissue chips were detected for immune cell infiltration and the expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and IDO by immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS

CD3⁺, CD8⁺, and CD68⁺ cells were the main infiltrating immune cells in the 42 patients included in this study. In addition, CD4⁺, CD56⁺, Foxp3⁺, and CD20⁺ cells were also observed. A higher CD8⁺ T cell count was associated with smaller tumor size and PDGFRA D842V mutation (P = 0.047, P = 0.005). A higher CD3⁺ and CD68⁺ cell count was associated with a higher mitotic index (P = 0.022, P = 0.006). CD4⁺ and CD20⁺ cell count was associated with tumor morphology (P = 0.002, P = 0.045). PD-1 expression was present in 37 (88%) samples. Eighteen samples were positive for PD-L1 expression, and it was higher in small vs. large tumors (P = 0.012) and epithelioid and mixed cell type vs. spindle cell type GISTs (P = 0.046). IDO expression was positive in all 42 patients. The number of CD4⁺ cells was significantly greater in the specimens with high IDO expression (P = 0.012).

CONCLUSION

There were abundant infiltrating immune cells in PDGFRA-mutant GISTs. PD-L1 expression was negatively associated with tumor size. The immunotherapy targeting PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint and IDO may be valuable.

Recent advances in the role of Th17/Treg cells in tumor immunity and tumor therapy

Th17 and Treg cells play an important role in regulating tissue inflammation and maintaining the stability of the immune system. They regulate inflammatory responses, participate in the occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases and tumors, and determine the disease progress. Malignant tumor is one of the diseases with the highest mortality rate in the world. However, the efficacy of traditional treatment is limited, so it is necessary to find safe and efficient treatment methods. Studies have shown that the balance of Th17/Treg cells plays a critical role in tumor progression. In this paper, we review the antitumor and tumor-suppressing effects of Th17/Treg cells, and new strategies for tumor therapy, combined with new research hotspots such as immune checkpoint therapy, miRNA-related gene therapy, and metabolic pathway regulation of Th17/Treg cell differentiation and tumor generation. The synergistic therapy is expected to be widely used in the future clinical practice, providing a new choice for the prevention and treatment of malignant tumors.

Protein-based immune profiles of basal-like vs. luminal breast cancers

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes play an important, but incompletely understood role in chemotherapy response and prognosis. In breast cancer, there appear to be distinct immune responses by subtype, but most studies have used limited numbers of protein markers or bulk sequencing of RNA to characterize immune response, in which spatial organization cannot be assessed. To identify immune phenotypes of Basal-like vs. Luminal breast cancer we used the GeoMx® (NanoString) platform to perform digital spatial profiling of immune-related proteins in tumor whole sections and tissue microarrays (TMA). Visualization of CD45, CD68, or pan-Cytokeratin by immunofluorescence was used to select regions of interest in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections. Forty-four antibodies representing stromal markers and multiple immune cell types were applied to quantify the tumor microenvironment. In whole tumor slides, immune hot spots (CD45+) had increased expression of many immune markers, suggesting a diverse and robust immune response. In epithelium-enriched areas, immune signals were also detectable and varied by subtype, with regulatory T-cell (Treg) markers (CD4, CD25, and FOXP3) being higher in Basal-like vs. Luminal breast cancer. Extending these findings to TMAs with more patients (n = 75), we confirmed subtype-specific immune profiles, including enrichment of Treg markers in Basal-likes. This work demonstrated that immune responses can be detected in epithelium-rich tissue, and that TMAs are a viable approach for obtaining important immunoprofiling data. In addition, we found that immune marker expression is associated with breast cancer subtype, suggesting possible prognostic, or targetable differences.

Cistanche tubulosa Phenylethanoid Glycosides Induce Apoptosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Mitochondria-Dependent and MAPK Pathways and Enhance Antitumor Effect through Combination with Cisplatin

Cistanche tubulosa is a type of Chinese herbal medicine and exerts various biological functions. Previous studies have been demonstrated that Cistanche tubulosa phenylethanoid glycosides (CTPG) exhibit antitumor effects on a variety of tumor cells. However, the antitumor effects of CTPG on HepG2 and BEL-7404 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells are still elusive. Our study showed that CTPG significantly inhibited the growth of HepG2 and BEL-7404 cells through the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, which was associated with the activation of MAPK pathways characterized by the up-regulated phosphorylation of p38, JNK, and ERK1/2 and mitochondria-dependent pathway characterized by the reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential. The release of cytochrome c and the cleavage of caspase-3, -7, -9, and PARP were subsequently increased by CTPG treatment. Moreover, CTPG significantly suppressed the migration of HepG2 through reducing the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor. Interestingly, CTPG not only enhanced the proliferation of splenocytes but also reduced the apoptosis of splenocytes induced by cisplatin. In H22 tumor mouse model, CTPG combined with cisplatin further inhibited the growth of H22 cells and reduced the side effects of cisplatin. Taken together, CTPG inhibited the growth of HCC through direct antitumor effect and indirect immunoenhancement effect, and improved the antitumor efficacy of cisplatin.

CTLA-4 in Regulatory T Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have obtained durable responses in many cancers, making it possible to foresee their potential in improving the health of cancer patients. However, immunotherapies are currently limited to a minority of patients and there is a need to develop a better understanding of the basic molecular mechanisms and functions of pivotal immune regulatory molecules. Immune checkpoint cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and regulatory T (Treg) cells play pivotal roles in hindering the anticancer immunity. Treg cells suppress antigen-presenting cells (APCs) by depleting immune stimulating cytokines, producing immunosuppressive cytokines and constitutively expressing CTLA-4. CTLA-4 molecules bind to CD80 and CD86 with a higher affinity than CD28 and act as competitive inhibitors of CD28 in APCs. The purpose of this review is to summarize state-of-the-art understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlining CTLA-4 immune regulation and the correlation of the ICI response with CTLA-4 expression in Treg cells from preclinical and clinical studies for possibly improving CTLA-4-based immunotherapies, while highlighting the knowledge gap.

Tumor-infiltrating B cells and T cells correlate with postoperative prognosis in triple-negative carcinoma of the breast

Background

In this study, we investigated CD20+ TILs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and their relationship with T lymphocyte subsets (CD4+, CD8+, CD25+, and FOXP3+), including their combined prognostic value using an immunohistochemical staining method.

Methods

We investigated 107 patients with TNBC for whom a full-face section stained by hematoxylin and eosin between 2006 and 2018 at Dokkyo Medical University Hospital was available.

Results

The strongest association of infiltrating CD20+ TILs was with CD4+ TILs. There was a significant relationship between CD20+ and CD4+ TILs (r = 0.177; p < 0.001), CD8+ TILs (r = 0.085; p = 0.002), and FOXP3+ TILs (r = 0.0043; p = 0.032). No significant relationships were observed between the CD20+ and CD25+ TILs (r = 0.012; p = 0.264). Multivariate analysis revealed that only the CD20+/FOXP3 ratio was an independent factor for relapse-free survival (p < 0.001) and overall survival (p < 0.001). Patients with tumors highly infiltrated by CD4+, CD8+, and CD20+ TILs had a good prognosis. In contrast, those with tumors weakly infiltrated by CD20+ TILs but highly infiltrated by CD25+ and FOXP3+ TILs had a poor prognosis.

Conclusions

CD20+ TILs may support an increase in CD4+ and CD8+ TILs, which altered the anti-tumor response, resulting in a positive prognosis. CD20+ TILs correlated with FOXP3+ Treg lymphocytes, which were reported to be correlated with a poor prognosis. Our study suggested that TIL-B cells have dual and conflicting roles in TIL-T immune reactions in TNBC.

Regulatory T cells in the bone marrow microenvironment in patients with prostate cancer

Human prostate cancer frequently metastasizes to bone marrow. What defines the cellular and molecular predilection for prostate cancer to metastasize to bone marrow is not well understood. CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells contribute to self-tolerance and tumor immune pathology. We now show that functional Treg cells are increased in the bone marrow microenvironment in prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis, and that CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling pathway contributes to Treg cell bone marrow trafficking. Treg cells exhibit active cell cycling in the bone marrow, and bone marrow dendritic cells express high levels of receptor activator of NFκB (RANK), and promote Treg cell expansion through RANK and its ligand (RANKL) signals. Furthermore, Treg cells suppress osteoclast differentiation induced by activated T cells and M-CSF, adoptive transferred Treg cells migrate to bone marrow, and increase bone mineral intensity in the xenograft mouse models with human prostate cancer bone marrow inoculation. In vivo Treg cell depletion results in reduced bone density in tumor bearing mice. The data indicates that bone marrow Treg cells may form an immunosuppressive niche to facilitate cancer bone metastasis and contribute to bone deposition, the major bone pathology in prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis. These findings mechanistically explain why Treg cells accumulate in the bone marrow, and demonstrate a previously unappreciated role for Treg cells in patients with prostate cancer. Thus, targeting Treg cells may not only improve anti-tumor immunity, but also ameliorate bone pathology in prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis.

Abundance of Regulatory T Cell (Treg) as a Predictive Biomarker for Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Regulatory CD4+ T cell (Treg), a subset of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), are known to suppress anticancer immunity but its clinical relevance in human breast cancer remains unclear. In this study, we estimated the relative abundance of Tregs in breast cancer of multiple patient cohorts by using the xCell algorithm on bulk tumor gene expression data. In total, 5177 breast cancer patients from five independent cohorts (TCGA-BRCA, GSE96058, GSE25066, GSE20194, and GSE110590) were analyzed. Treg abundance was not associated with cancer aggressiveness, patient survival, or immune activity markers, but it was lower in metastatic tumors when compared to matched primary tumors. Treg was associated with a high mutation rate of TP53 genes and copy number mutations as well as with increased tumor infiltration of M2 macrophages and decreased infiltration of T helper type 1 (Th1) cells. Pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was significantly associated with low Treg abundance in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) but not in ER-positive/Her2-negative subtype. High Treg abundance was significantly associated with high tumor expression of multiple immune checkpoint inhibitor genes. In conclusion, Treg abundance may have potential as a predictive biomarker of pCR after NAC in TNBC.

Humanized Mouse as a Tool to Predict Immunotoxicity of Human Biologics

Advancements in science enable researchers to constantly innovate and create novel biologics. However, the use of non-human animal models during the development of biologics impedes identification of precise in vivo interactions between the human immune system and treatments. Due to lack of this understanding, adverse effects are frequently observed in healthy volunteers and patients exposed to potential biologics during clinical trials. In this study, we evaluated and compared the effects of known immunotoxic biologics, Proleukin^®/IL-2 and OKT3 in humanized mice (reconstituted with human fetal cells) to published clinical outcomes. We demonstrated that humanized mice were able to recapitulate in vivo pathological changes and human-specific immune responses, such as elevated cytokine levels and modulated lymphocytes and myeloid subsets. Given the high similarities of immunological side effects observed between humanized mice and clinical studies, this model could be used to assess immunotoxicity of biologics at a pre-clinical stage, without placing research participants and/or patients at risk.

Interaction between regulatory T cells and mast cells via IL-9 and TGF-β production

Research on the immunosuppression of cancer cells has attracted much attention in recent years. The present study sought to provide a new strategy for tumor immunotherapy targeting mast cells by studying the mechanisms underlying mast cell function in cancer immunosuppression. Between January 2015 and December 2017, the tumor tissues of 40 patients with gastric cancer (GC) were collected and grouped in Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo City, China. Pathological sections were prepared and an immunofluorescence assay was performed to analyze the expression of forkhead Box Protein P3 (FOXP3), tryptase, TGFβ1, TGF-βR, IL-9, IL-9R and Oxford 40 ligand (OX40L). Then, the correlations between FOXP3 and tryptase, TGFβ1 and tryptase expression, and the expression of OX40L in patients with GC with different stages were analyzed. The results revealed that high levels of mast cells were present in patients GC, and tryptase and FOXP3 expressions were positively correlated. Mast cells regulate T regulatory (reg) cells in the gastric tumor microenvironment by secreting TGFβ1. Tregs, in turn, promote the survival of mast cells in the tumor microenvironment by producing IL-9. Furthermore, OX40L expression in mast cells was significantly associated with Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging of GC. Overall, the present study reported a positive feedback system that functions through TGFβ1 and IL-9 to allow cross-talk between Tregs and mast cells. Moreover, OX40L may be a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of GC. These results may provide a new strategy for tumor immunotherapy targeting mast cells.

Normal Aging and Its Role in Cancer Metastasis

Metastasis is the most common cause of death, with treatments failing to provide a durable response. Aging is a key prognostic factor in many cancers. Emerging data suggest that normal age-related changes in the tumor microenvironment can contribute to metastatic progression. These changes encompass secreted factors, biophysical changes, and changes in both stromal and immune cell populations. These data also highlight the importance of conducting studies in preclinical models of appropriate age. Ultimately, therapies may also need to be tailored to reflect patient age, as markers of metastatic disease differ in young and aged populations. In this review, we will discuss some of the changes that occur during aging that increase the metastatic capacity of tumor cells.

An Epigenetics-Based Hypothesis of Autoantigen Development in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Currently, we have a limited understanding of mechanisms leading to systemic lupus erythematosus, but we know that genetics, environmental factors, and epigenetics contribute to the disease. One common aspect of the various environmental triggers is that they can cause cellular stress. When extraordinary stress occurs, such as viral activation, a cell's response can include increased nucleolar volume and activity to produce more machinery (e.g., ribosomes) to help the cell recover. However, nucleolar expansion can disrupt the epigenetic control in neighboring heterochromatin that comprises the nucleolar shell. This disruption can open underlying vulnerabilities that provoke an autoimmune reaction. Here, we review the "X chromosome-nucleolus nexus" hypothesis, which explains how nucleolar stress can disrupt epigenetically silenced chromatin, especially the neighboring inactive X chromosome (aka the nucleolar satellite). Chromatin disruption can lead to the expression of sequestered DNA, such as Alu elements and fully functional LINE-1 reverse transcriptase genes. In addition, Alu transcripts can disrupt the nucleolar structural integrity, leading to nucleolar disintegration. Such disintegration can leave nucleolar components and products in autoantigenic forms, such as abnormal conformations or incomplete macromolecular assemblies. Recent research on DNA sensing pathways can now be incorporated into the hypothesis to provide further details explaining how autoantibodies to endogenous nucleic acids arise.

How the ageing microenvironment influences tumour progression

Most cancers arise in individuals over the age of 60. As the world population is living longer and reaching older ages, cancer is becoming a substantial public health problem. It is estimated that, by 2050, more than 20% of the world's population will be over the age of 60 - the economic, healthcare and financial burdens this may place on society are far from trivial. In this Review, we address the role of the ageing microenvironment in the promotion of tumour progression. Specifically, we discuss the cellular and molecular changes in non-cancerous cells during ageing, and how these may contribute towards a tumour permissive microenvironment; these changes encompass biophysical alterations in the extracellular matrix, changes in secreted factors and changes in the immune system. We also discuss the contribution of these changes to responses to cancer therapy as ageing predicts outcomes of therapy, including survival. Yet, in preclinical studies, the contribution of the aged microenvironment to therapy response is largely ignored, with most studies designed in 8-week-old mice rather than older mice that reflect an age appropriate to the disease being modelled. This may explain, in part, the failure of many successful preclinical therapies upon their translation to the clinic. Overall, the intention of this Review is to provide an overview of the interplay that occurs between ageing cell types in the microenvironment and cancer cells and how this is likely to impact tumour metastasis and therapy response.

Identification of an immune-suppressed subtype of feline triple-negative basal-like invasive mammary carcinomas, spontaneous models of breast cancer

Feline invasive mammary carcinomas are characterized by their high clinical aggressiveness, rare expression of hormone receptors, and pathological resemblance to human breast cancer, especially triple-negative breast cancer (negative to estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and epidermal growth factor receptor type 2). Recent gene expression studies of triple-negative breast cancers have highlighted their heterogeneity and the importance of immune responses in their biology and prognostic assessment. Indeed, regulatory T cells may play a crucial role in producing an immune-suppressed microenvironment, notably in triple-negative breast cancers. Feline invasive mammary carcinomas arise spontaneously in immune-competent animals, in which we hypothesized that the immune tumor microenvironment also plays a role. The aims of this study were to determine the quantity and prognostic value of forkhead box protein P3-positive peritumoral and intratumoral regulatory T cells in feline invasive mammary carcinomas, and to identify an immune-suppressed subgroup of triple-negative basal-like feline invasive mammary carcinomas. One hundred and eighty female cats with feline invasive mammary carcinomas, treated by surgery only, with 2-year follow-up post-mastectomy, were included in this study. Forkhead box protein P3, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Ki-67, epidermal growth factor receptor type 2, and cytokeratin 14 expression were assessed by automated immunohistochemistry. Peritumoral regulatory T cells were over 300 times more abundant than intratumoral regulatory T cells in feline invasive mammary carcinomas. Peritumoral and intratumoral regulatory T cells were associated with shorter disease-free interval and overall survival in both triple-negative (ER-, PR-, HER2-, N = 123 out of 180) and luminal (ER+ and/or PR+, N = 57) feline invasive mammary carcinomas. In feline triple-negative basal-like (CK14+) mammary carcinomas, a regulatory T-cell-enriched subgroup was associated with significantly poorer disease-free interval, overall survival, and cancer-specific survival than regulatory T-cell-poor triple-negative basal-like feline invasive mammary carcinomas. High regulatory T-cell numbers had strong and negative prognostic value in feline invasive mammary carcinomas, especially in the triple-negative basal-like subgroup, which might contain a "basal-like immune-suppressed" subtype, as described in triple-negative breast cancer. Cats with feline invasive mammary carcinomas may thus be interesting spontaneous animal models to investigate new strategies of cancer immunotherapy in an immune-suppressed tumor microenvironment.

Regulatory T cells in cancer immunosuppression - implications for anticancer therapy

Regulatory T (T_reg) cells, an immunosuppressive subset of CD4⁺ T cells characterized by the expression of the master transcription factor forkhead box protein P3 (FOXP3), are a component of the immune system with essential roles in maintaining self-tolerance. In addition, T_reg cells can suppress anticancer immunity, thereby hindering protective immunosurveillance of neoplasia and hampering effective antitumour immune responses in tumour-bearing hosts, thus promoting tumour development and progression. Identification of the factors that are specifically expressed in T_reg cells and/or that influence T_reg cell homeostasis and function is important to understanding cancer pathogenesis and to identifying therapeutic targets. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have provided a paradigm shift in the treatment of cancer. Most immune-checkpoint molecules are expressed in T_reg cells, but the effects of ICIs on T_reg cells, and thus the contributions of these cells to treatment responses, remain unclear. Notably, evidence indicates that ICIs targeting programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) might enhance the immunosuppressive function of T_reg cells, whereas cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors might deplete these cells. Thus, although manipulation of T_reg cells is a promising anticancer therapeutic strategy, approaches to controlling these cells require further research. Herein, we discuss novel insights into the roles of T_reg cells in cancer, which can hopefully be used to develop T_reg cell-targeted therapies and facilitate immune precision medicine.

IFN-γ: A cytokine at the right time, is in the right place

Interferon gamma has long been studied as a critical mediator of tumor immunity. In recent years, the complexity of cellular interactions that take place in the tumor microenvironment has become better appreciated in the context of immunotherapy. While checkpoint inhibitors have dramatically improved remission rates in cancer treatment, IFN-γ and related effectors continue to be identified as strong predictors of treatment success. In this review, we provide an overview of the multiple immunosuppressive barriers that IFN-γ has to overcome to eliminate tumors, and potential avenues for modulating the immune response in favor of tumor rejection.

Combined Low Densities of FoxP3+ and CD3+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Identify Stage II Colorectal Cancer at High Risk of Progression

The densities of CD3⁺ and CD8⁺ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), combined with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging, have prognostic value for patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. We compared the prognostic value of CD3⁺ and FoxP3⁺ TILs at the invasive front, TNM classifiers, and microsatellite (MS) status in a trial set of patients with stage II and III colorectal cancer (n = 413), by recursive partitioning with a classification and regression tree (CART). Significant prognostic factors and interactions were reassessed by logistic regression and Cox proportional-hazards modeling in the trial and a validation set (n = 215) of patients with stage II colorectal cancer. In the trial set, CART indicated that TIL numbers were of value only in predicting recurrence risk for stage II cancers, where low densities of FoxP3⁺ TILs ranked first and low densities of CD3⁺ TILs further stratifying risk. Multivariate analysis showed that TILs interacted with tumor stage (FoxP3⁺, P = 0.06; CD3⁺, P = 0.02) and MS instability (MSI; FoxP3⁺; P = 0.02). In stage II MS-stable cancers, concomitant low densities of both FoxP3⁺ and CD3⁺ TILs identified patients with the highest progression risk in the trial [HR 7.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.41-15.4; P < 0.001] and the validation (HR 15.16; 95% CI, 3.43-66.9; P < 0.001) sets. FoxP3⁺ and CD3⁺ TIL load in colorectal cancer was more informative than other prognostic factors before the cancer progressed to lymph nodes. This prognostic information about TILs, including FoxP3⁺ cells, suggests that randomized controlled trials might be refined to include interactions between TNM status, molecular classifiers, and postsurgical treatments.

Pleurotus ferulae polysaccharides improve the antitumor efficacy of therapeutic human papillomavirus dendritic cell-based vaccine

We previously found that Pleurotus ferulae polysaccharides (PFPS) improved the maturation and function of dendritic cells (DCs). In this study, we investigated the effects of PFPS on the antitumor efficacy of therapeutic human papillomavirus (HPV) DC-based vaccine. PFPS stimulated DCs pulsed with HPV E6/E7 peptides were used to treat tumor mice on day 5 & 12 (HPV + PFPS-DCs early) and day 12 & 19 (HPV + PFPS-DCs late) after TC-1 cell injection. Compared to control group, both HPV + PFPS-DCs early and HPV + PFPS-DCs late strategies significantly inhibited tumor growth, which was significantly correlated with the increased activation status of both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, the decreased frequencies of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and the induction of HPV-specific CD8⁺ T cell responses. The survival of tumor mice was also greatly improved by HPV + PFPS-DCs early. Moreover, HPV + PFPS-DCs early completely inhibited the growth of second challenged TC-1 cells in tumor free mice. The results showed that PFPS improved the antitumor efficacy of therapeutic HPV DC-based vaccine, suggesting that PFPS might be a potential adjuvant for DC-based vaccines. This study provides a potential strategy for developing the therapeutic DC-based vaccine against cervical cancer.

Enhancement of Antitumor Vaccination by Targeting Dendritic Cell-Related IL-10

Understanding mechanisms associated to dendritic cell (DC) functions has allowed developing new antitumor therapeutic vaccination strategies. However, these vaccines have demonstrated limited clinical results. Although the low immunogenicity of tumor antigens used and the presence of tumor-associated suppressive factors may in part account for these results, intrinsic vaccine-related factors may also be involved. Vaccines modulate DC functions by inducing activating and inhibitory signals that determine ensuing T cell responses. In this mini review, we focus on IL-10, inhibitory cytokine induced in DC upon vaccination, which defines a suppressive cell subset, discussing its implications as a potential target in combined vaccination immunotherapies.

The Tumor Microenvironment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer and Its Influence on Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer is a growing field of endeavor but reports of success have been limited for epithelial ovarian cancer. Overcoming the challenges to developing more effective therapeutic approaches lies in a better understanding of the factors in cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment that limit response to immunotherapies. This article provides an overview of some ovarian cancer cell features such as tumor-associated antigens, ovarian cancer-derived exosomes, tumor mutational burden and overexpression of immunoinhibitory molecules. Moreover, we describe relevant cell types found in epithelial ovarian tumors including immune cells (T and B lymphocytes, Tregs, NK cells, TAMs, MDSCs) and other components found in the tumor microenvironment including fibroblasts and the adipocytes in the omentum. We focus on how those components may influence responses to standard treatments or immunotherapies.

The Tumor Microenvironment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer and Its Influence on Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer is a growing field of endeavor but reports of success have been limited for epithelial ovarian cancer. Overcoming the challenges to developing more effective therapeutic approaches lies in a better understanding of the factors in cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment that limit response to immunotherapies. This article provides an overview of some ovarian cancer cell features such as tumor-associated antigens, ovarian cancer-derived exosomes, tumor mutational burden and overexpression of immunoinhibitory molecules. Moreover, we describe relevant cell types found in epithelial ovarian tumors including immune cells (T and B lymphocytes, Tregs, NK cells, TAMs, MDSCs) and other components found in the tumor microenvironment including fibroblasts and the adipocytes in the omentum. We focus on how those components may influence responses to standard treatments or immunotherapies.

The Tumor Microenvironment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer and Its Influence on Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer is a growing field of endeavor but reports of success have been limited for epithelial ovarian cancer. Overcoming the challenges to developing more effective therapeutic approaches lies in a better understanding of the factors in cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment that limit response to immunotherapies. This article provides an overview of some ovarian cancer cell features such as tumor-associated antigens, ovarian cancer-derived exosomes, tumor mutational burden and overexpression of immunoinhibitory molecules. Moreover, we describe relevant cell types found in epithelial ovarian tumors including immune cells (T and B lymphocytes, Tregs, NK cells, TAMs, MDSCs) and other components found in the tumor microenvironment including fibroblasts and the adipocytes in the omentum. We focus on how those components may influence responses to standard treatments or immunotherapies.

λ-Carrageenan improves the antitumor effect of dendritic cellbased vaccine

In this study, we investigated the effect of λ-carrageenan on the maturation and function of dendritic cells (DCs) and its adjuvant effect on DC-based vaccine. We found that λ-carrageenan dose-dependently decreased the endocytosis of DCs, promoted DC maturation and increased cytokine production through TLR4 mediated signaling pathway. λ-carrageenan treatment also enhanced the ability of DCs in the stimulating allogenic splenocyte proliferation. In TC-1 tumor mouse model, HPV peptides pulsed λ-carrageenan-DC (HPV-CGN-DC) significantly inhibited tumor growth compared with control group. The frequencies of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in spleens of tumor mice and their activation status were significantly increased in HPV-CGN-DC group, but the frequencies of natural regulatory T cells and CD11b+Gr-1+ cells were significantly decreased. Further, HPV-CGN-DC induced strong CD8+ T cell responses, which are negatively correlated with tumor volumes. The results suggested that λ-carrageenan promoted DC maturation through TLR4 signaling pathway and could be used as the adjuvant in DC-based vaccines.

Impact of autoimmune diseases on outcome of patients with early breast cancer

Our aim was to analyze the impact of a concurrent autoimmune disease on outcome of patients with early breast cancer. We reviewed medical charts of patients with a diagnosis of autoimmune diseases (AD) among a population of 17.153 cases. We categorized ADs as endocrine, rheumatic, systemic, neurological diseases and vasculitis. For each patient in the study group, we matched 2 patients. The events to determine overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) were identified from follow-up data. We identified 279 (1.62%) patients with early breast cancer and concurrent ADs. The median follow-up was 7.0 years. The 10-year OS rate was 86% (95% CI, 80% to 91%) in the study group and 90% (95% CI, 86% to 93%) for the control group (p = 0.011). In patients with ER positive/HER2 negative subtype a worse OS was observed in the study group when compared to the control group (p = 0.0046); this difference remained statistically significant when the analysis was restricted to breast cancer mortality (p = 0.045). The 10-year DFS rate was 69% (95% CI, 61% to 76%) in the study group and 72% (95% CI, 66% to 77%) for the control group (p = 0.22). Autoimmunity at diagnosis of early breast cancer is associated with worse survival.

Competing endogenous RNA network analysis of CD274, IL‑10 and FOXP3 co‑expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one of the most common types of head and neck malignant tumor; however, there is a lack of effective molecular targets for therapy. The present study detected the expression of three immunity‑associated molecules [forkhead box (FOX)3, interleukin (IL)‑10 and cluster of differentiation (CD)274] in 133 LSCC samples using immunohistochemistry (IHC); subsequently, the association between their expression and the clinical characteristics of LSCC were analyzed. Spearman's rank correlation method, Kaplan‑Meier and Cox regression model were used to analyze the correlations of the three proteins and their clinical significance. StarBase and miRTarBase databases were used to establish the competitive endogenous (ce)RNA network of the three molecules. IHC demonstrated that the positive expression rates of FOXP3, IL‑10 and CD274 were 68.4, 73.7 and 58.6% in 133 LSCC samples, respectively. In addition, it was identified that the expression of the three proteins was closely correlated with the clinical characteristics of LSCC, including lymph node metastasis and prognosis (P<0.05). There was also a significant association of co‑expression between any two proteins (P<0.001). Furthermore, the expression levels of FOXP3, IL‑10 and CD274 were negatively associated with the survival rate of patients with LSCC (P<0.05). The results of a Cox regression model suggested that the three proteins were prognostic risk factors for LSCC (P<0.05). The ceRNA network revealed that 10 microRNAs (miRs; including miR‑16‑5p and miR‑214‑3p), 123 long non‑coding RNAs (including X‑inactive specific transcript, H19 and metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1) and 408 circular RNAs (including ATP‑binding cassette subfamily C member 1 hsa_circ_001569 and ISY1 splicing factor homolog hsa_circ_001859) may regulate the expression of FOXP3, IL‑10 and CD274. The data generated from the present study may increase the understanding of the immune escape mechanisms of LSCC and may be beneficial for the development of a specific immunotherapy.

Considerations for successful cancer immunotherapy in aged hosts

Improvements in understanding cancer immunopathogenesis have now led to unprecedented successes in immunotherapy to treat numerous cancers. Although aging is the most important risk factor for cancer, most pre-clinical cancer immunotherapy studies are undertaken in young hosts. This review covers age-related immune changes as they affect cancer immune surveillance, immunopathogenesis and immune therapy responses. Declining T cell function with age can impede efficacy of age-related cancer immunotherapies, but examples of successful approaches to breach this barrier have been reported. It is further recognized now that immune functions with age do not simply decline, but that they change in potentially detrimental ways. For example, detrimental immune cell populations can become predominant during aging (notably pro-inflammatory cells), the prevalence or function of suppressive cells can increase (notably myeloid derived suppressor cells), drugs can have age-specific effects on immune cells, and attributes of the aged microenvironment can impede or subvert immunity. Key advances in these and related areas will be reviewed as they pertain to cancer immunotherapy in the aged, and areas requiring additional study and some speculations on future research directions will be addressed. We prefer the term Age Related Immune Dysfunction (ARID) as most encompassing the totality of age-associated immune changes.

Group III phospholipase A2 promotes colitis and colorectal cancer

Lipid mediators play pivotal roles in colorectal cancer and colitis, but only a limited member of the phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) subtypes, which lie upstream of various lipid mediators, have been implicated in the positive or negative regulation of these diseases. Clinical and biochemical evidence suggests that secreted PLA₂ group III (sPLA₂-III) is associated with colorectal cancer, although its precise role remains obscure. Here we have found that sPLA₂-III-null (Pla2g3 ^-/-) mice are highly resistant to colon carcinogenesis. Furthermore, Pla2g3 ^-/- mice are less susceptible to dextran sulfate-induced colitis, implying that the amelioration of colonic inflammation by sPLA₂-III ablation may underlie the protective effect against colon cancer. Lipidomics analysis of the colon revealed significant reduction of pro-inflammatory/pro-tumorigenic lysophosholipids as well as unusual steady-state elevation of colon-protective fatty acids and their oxygenated metabolites in Pla2g3 ^-/- mice. Overall, our results establish a role of sPLA₂-III in the promotion of colorectal inflammation and cancer, expand our understanding of the divergent roles of multiple PLA₂ enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract, and point to sPLA₂-III as a novel druggable target for colorectal diseases.

Norcantharidin combined with Coix seed oil synergistically induces apoptosis and inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth by downregulating regulatory T cells accumulation

The immune system plays a critical role in exerts effects in the growth and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which needs interacting approaches for effective therapy. In this study, we have found that the Norcantharidin (NCTD) + Coix lacryma-jobi seed oil (CLSO) combination exhibited more potent antitumor effects in an terms of cytotoxicity and apoptotic induction in human HepG2 and HepG2/ADM cells than NCTD or CLSO alone. In vivo, administration of NCTD+CLSO combinations significantly suppressed the formation of tumor in Hepal-1 hepatoma-bearing mice. Furthermore, we found that the in vitro co-cultures of HepG2 or HepG2/ADM cells with PBMCs from healthy donors led to an increase in the number of CD4 + CD25 + T cells. This increase was down-regulated by the combination effectively. Down-regulation of FoxP3 mRNA and protein expression occurred during the combination in the co-cultures. The amount of Tregs of Hepal-1 hepatoma-bearing mice was significantly decreased in the combination treated group. The combination down-regulated the expression of FoxP3, CTLA-4 and Tregs related cytokine (TGF-β and IL-10) in the serum of tumor bearing mice. Taken together, these results suggest that the most valuable aspect of the NCTD+CLSO combined use improves the anti-tumor activity and regulates tumor infiltrating Tregs.

Poly (I:C) alleviates obesity related pro-inflammatory status and promotes glucose homeostasis

Obesity associated insulin resistance (IR) is implicated in chronic inflammation that mediated by the immune system. Imbalance between anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory response contributes to the origins and drivers of IR. However, cells of innate and adaptive immune system participate in the pathogenesis of IR, while glucose homeostasis related immune tolerance could be compromised high fat diet (HFD) reduced metabolic disorder. Although previous studies have demonstrated that anti-inflammatory therapy has a protective role in alleviating the pro-inflammatory status in HFD induced IR, the precise mechanism is still unclear. Ploy (I:C) is a synthetic double-stranded RNA that activates innate and/or adaptive immune response via retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I), toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5). In the present study, we initially perform a novel research on the relationship between Poly (I:C) preconditioning and improved glucose metabolism in obesity related IR. Interestingly, Poly (I:C) treatment has alleviated the pro-inflammatory status and promoted glucose homeostasis during a HFD feeding. Improved insulin sensitivity is consistent with enhanced immune tolerance, which accompanied with increased Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs). Of note, Tregs have a pivotal role in orchestrating the self-balance between autoimmunity and inflammation reaction. Thus, our findings reveal that Ploy (I:C) preconditioning prevents HFD induced glucose intolerance, which may be recognized as vaccination by the host. Overall, selectively targeting precise immune regulators may lead to new classes of potentially meaningful therapies for IR in the clinical trials.

The Untold Story of Granzymes in Oncoimmunology: Novel Opportunities with Old Acquaintances

For more than 20 years perforin and granzymes (GZMs) have been recognized as key cell death executors of cytotoxic T (Tc) and natural killer (NK) cells during cancer immunosurveillance. In immune surveillance, perforin and GZMB, the most potent cytotoxic molecules, act mainly as antitumoral and anti-infectious factors. However, when expressed by immune regulatory cells they may contribute to immune evasion of specific cancer types. By contrast, the other major granzyme, GZMA, seems not to play a major role in Tc/NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity, but acts as a proinflammatory cytokine that might contribute to cancer development. Members of the GZM family also regulate other biological processes unrelated to cell death, such as angiogenesis, vascular integrity, extracellular matrix remodeling, and barrier function, all of which contribute to cancer initiation and progression. Thus, a new paradigm is emerging in the field of oncoimmunology. Can GZMs act as protumoral factors under some circumstances? We review the diverse roles of GZMs in cancer progression, and new therapeutic opportunities emerging from targeting these protumoral roles.

Preliminary study on decreasing the expression of FOXP3 with miR-155 to inhibit diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

The aim of the present study was to analyze the association between the transcription factor forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and investigate the effect of microRNA-155 (miR-155) on the generation and development of FOXP3 in DLBCL. The reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) technique was used to determine the expression of FOXP3 in the human DLBCL cell lines Ly1, Ly8 and Ly10, and in normal B cells. An immunohistochemical method was used to determine FOXP3 expression in 60 DLBCL tumor and adjacent tissues, and a retrospective analysis of FOXP3 expression in tumor tissues and clinical data was performed. The lentiviral transfection technique was used to silence the miR-155 gene in mouse A20 cells to analyze the influence of miR-155 on FOXP3 in DLBCL. The A20 cell line with a silenced miR-155 gene was used to perform a tumorigenicity assay in BALB/c mice, and to compare the tumorigenicity rate and the tumor growth rate. The results identified that the expression of the transcription factor FOXP3 in the human DLBCL cell lines was increased compared with normal B cells; FOXP3 in human DLBCL tumor issues was increased compared with the tumor-adjacent tissue, and the increased expression of FOXP3 was identified as an indicator of poor prognosis of patients with DLBCL in the middle and late period; FOXP3 level decreased subsequent to silencing miR-155 in A20 cells; A20 cells with the low-expression miR-155 gene were used to determine the tumorigenicity in BALB/c mice and it was identified that the tumorigenicity of the low-expression miR-155 gene group was decreased compared with the untransfected group. Therefore, miR-155 may be a regulatory factor of FOXP3, and miR-155 may be associated with the metastasis and prognosis of patients with DLBCL.