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Yang Z, Zhang X, Zhan N, Lin L, Zhang J, Peng L, Qiu T, Luo Y, Liu C, Pan C, Hu J, Ye Y, Jiang Z, Liu X, Sun M, Zhang Y. Exosome-related lncRNA score: A value-based individual treatment strategy for predicting the response to immunotherapy in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Med 2024; 13:e7308. [PMID: 38808948 PMCID: PMC11135019 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.7308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exosomes play a crucial role in intercellular communication in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), while the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in tumorigenesis and progression. AIMS The purpose of this study is to construction a exosomes-related lncRNA score and a ceRNA network to predict the response to immunotherapy and potential targeted drug in ccRCC. METHODS Data of ccRCC patients were obtained from the TCGA database. Pearson correlation analysis was used to identify eExosomes-related lncRNAs (ERLRs) from Top10 exosomes-related genes that have been screened. The entire cohort was randomly divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort in equal scale. LASSO regression and multivariate cox regression was used to construct the ERLRs-based score. Differences in clinicopathological characteristics, immune microenvironment, immune checkpoints, and drug susceptibility between the high- and low-risk groups were also investigated. Finally, the relevant ceRNA network was constructed by machine learning to analyze their potential targets in immunotherapy and drug use of ccRCC patients. RESULTS A score consisting of 4ERLRs was identified, and patients with higher ERLRs-based score tended to have a worse prognosis than those with lower ERLRs-based score. ROC curves and multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the score could be considered as a risk factor for prognosis in both training and validation cohorts. Moreover, patients with high scores are predisposed to experience poor overall survival, a larger prevalence of advanced stage (III-IV), a greater tumor mutational burden, a higher infiltration of immunosuppressive cells, and a greater likelihood of responding favorably to immunotherapy. The importance of EMX2OS was determined by mechanical learning, and the ceRNA network was constructed, and EMX2OS may be a potential therapeutic target, possibly exerting its function through the EMX2OS/hsa-miR-31-5p/TLN2 axis. CONCLUSIONS Based on machine learning, a novel ERLRs-based score was constructed for predicting the survival of ccRCC patients. The ERLRs-based score is a promising potential independent prognostic factor that is closely correlated with the immune microenvironment and clinicopathological characteristics. Meanwhile, we screened out key lncRNAEMX2OS and identified the EMX2OS/hsa-miR-31-5p/TLN2 axis, which may provide new clues for the targeted therapy of ccRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhan Yang
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Xiaoting Zhang
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Ning Zhan
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Lining Lin
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Jingyu Zhang
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Lianjie Peng
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Tao Qiu
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Yaxian Luo
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Chundi Liu
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Chaoran Pan
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Junhao Hu
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Yifan Ye
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Zilong Jiang
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Xinyu Liu
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Mouyuan Sun
- Stomatology Hospital, School of StomatologyZhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang ProvinceHangzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of UrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouZhejiang ProvinceChina
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Liao LS, Xiao ZJ, Wang JL, Liu TJ, Huang FD, Zhong YP, Zhang X, Chen KH, Du RL, Dong MY. A Four Amino Acid Metabolism-Associated Genes (AMGs) Signature for Predicting Overall Survival Outcomes and Immunotherapeutic Efficacy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Biochem Genet 2024; 62:1577-1602. [PMID: 37658254 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-023-10502-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Metabolites are important indicators of cancer and mutations in genes involved in amino acid metabolism may influence tumorigenesis. Immunotherapy is an effective cancer treatment option; however, its relationship with amino acid metabolism has not been reported. In this study, RNA-seq data for 371 liver cancer patients were acquired from TCGA and used as the training set. Data for 231 liver cancer patients were obtained from ICGC and used as the validation set to establish a gene signature for predicting liver cancer overall survival outcomes and immunotherapeutic responses. Four reliable groups based on 132 amino acid metabolism-related DEGs were obtained by consistent clustering of 371 HCC patients and a four-gene signature for prediction of liver cancer survival outcomes was developed. Our data show that in different clinical groups, the overall survival outcomes in the high-risk group were markedly low relative to the low-risk group. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the characteristics of the 4-gene signature were independent prognostic factors for liver cancer. The ROC curve revealed that the risk characteristic is an efficient predictor for 1-, 2-, and 3-year HCC survival outcomes. The GSVA and KEGG pathway analyses revealed that high-risk score tumors were associated with all aspects of the degree of malignancy in liver cancer. There were more mutant genes and greater immune infiltrations in the high-risk groups. Assessment of the three immunotherapeutic cohorts established that low-risk score patients significantly benefited from immunotherapy. Then, we established a prognostic nomogram based on the TCGA cohort. In conclusion, the 4-gene signature is a reliable diagnostic marker and predictor for immunotherapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Sheng Liao
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathology (For Hepatobiliary Diseases) of Guangxi, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 98, Chengxiang Road, Youjiang District, Baise, 533000, Guangxi, China
- School of Medical Laboratory Medicine, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, 533000, Guangxi, China
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Zi-Jun Xiao
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Jun-Li Wang
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, 533000, Guangxi, China
| | - Ting-Jun Liu
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Feng-Die Huang
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Yan-Ping Zhong
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Ke-Heng Chen
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China
| | - Run-Lei Du
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China.
| | - Ming-You Dong
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathology (For Hepatobiliary Diseases) of Guangxi, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 98, Chengxiang Road, Youjiang District, Baise, 533000, Guangxi, China.
- School of Medical Laboratory Medicine, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, 533000, Guangxi, China.
- Modern Industrial College of Biomedicine and Great Health, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China.
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Seema Mustafa, Jansen CS, Jani Y, Evans S, Zhuang TZ, Brown J, Nazha B, Master V, Bilen MA. The Evolving Landscape of Biomarkers for Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Genitourinary Cancers. Biomark Insights 2024; 19:11772719241254179. [PMID: 38827239 PMCID: PMC11143877 DOI: 10.1177/11772719241254179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been approved for treatment of genitourinary malignancies and have revolutionized the treatment landscape of these tumors. However, despite the remarkable success of these therapies in some GU malignancies, many patients' tumors do not respond to these therapies, and others may experience significant side effects, such as immune-related adverse events (iRAEs). Accordingly, biomarkers and improved prognostic tools are critically needed to help predict which patients will respond to ICI, predict and mitigate risk of developing immune-related adverse events, and inform personalized choice of therapy for each patient. Ongoing clinical and preclinical studies continue to provide an increasingly robust understanding of the mechanisms of the response to immunotherapy, which continue to inform biomarker development and validation. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of biomarkers of the response to immunotherapy in GU tumors and their role in selection of therapy and disease monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seema Mustafa
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Caroline S Jansen
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Sean Evans
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tony Z Zhuang
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jacqueline Brown
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Bassel Nazha
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Viraj Master
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Urology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Mehmet Asim Bilen
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Xu J, Zhang W, Tong J, Liu C, Zhang Q, Cao L, Yu J, Zhou A, Ma J. A phase I trial of autologous RAK cell immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2024; 73:107. [PMID: 38642109 PMCID: PMC11032301 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-024-03680-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) remains a challenge worldwide. Here, we introduced a phase I trial of autologous RAK cell therapy in patients with mRCC whose cancers progressed after prior systemic therapy. Although RAK cells have been used in clinic for many years, there has been no dose-escalation study to demonstrate its safety and efficacy. METHODS We conducted a phase I trial with a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design to investigate the dose-related safety and efficacy of RAK cells in patients with mRCC whose cancers have failed to response to systemic therapy (ChiCTR1900021334). RESULTS Autologous RAK cells, primarily composed of CD8+ T and NKT cells, were infused intravenously to patients at a dose of 5 × 109, 1 × 1010 or 1.5 × 1010 cells every 28 days per cycle. Our study demonstrated general safety of RAK cells in a total of 12 patients. Four patients (33.3%) showed tumor shrinkage, two of them achieved durable partial responses. Peripheral blood analysis showed a significant increase in absolute counts of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells after infusion, with a greater fold change observed in naive CD8+ T cells (CD8+CD45RA+). Higher peak values of IL-2 and IFN-γ were observed in responders after RAK infusion. CONCLUSION This study suggests that autologous RAK cell immunotherapy is safe and has clinical activity in previously treated mRCC patients. The improvement in peripheral blood immune profiling after RAK cell infusion highlights its potential as a cancer treatment. Further investigation is necessary to understand its clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Xu
- Center of Biotherapy, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinlian Tong
- Center of Biotherapy, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Caixia Liu
- Center of Biotherapy, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Qiaohui Zhang
- Clinical Department, Everbright Cell Medical Biotech Inc., Beijing, 100061, People's Republic of China
| | - Liren Cao
- Clinical Department, Everbright Cell Medical Biotech Inc., Beijing, 100061, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiangyong Yu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Aiping Zhou
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jie Ma
- Center of Biotherapy, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
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Xu Y, Hua J, Que H, Zeng T, Li Q, Deng J, Xie J. Identification of PANoptosis-related signature reveals immune infiltration characteristics and immunotherapy responses for renal cell carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2024; 24:292. [PMID: 38439022 PMCID: PMC10913266 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-12067-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
PANoptosis is a specific type of inflammatory programmed cell death (PCD) modality that can be involved in three key modes of cellular programmed cell death-pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis. We analyzed PANoptosis activity in three common renal cell carcinoma subtypes (Clear cell renal cell carcinoma, Papillary renal cell carcinoma, and Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma) separately and constructed a new PANoptosis immunity index (PANII). In three renal cell carcinomas, we found that PANII was an effective predictor of immunotherapy efficacy in KIRC, KIRP and KICH, and the high PANII group was characterized by high immune infiltration and sensitivity to immunotherapy, while the low PANII group was prone to immune escape and immunotherapy resistance. We performed molecular docking prediction of each core protein comprising PANII and identified natural small molecule compounds with the highest affinity to target proteins. In addition, we found that down-regulation of PYCARD inhibited the proliferation and migration of renal clear cell carcinoma cells by in vitro functional assays, suggesting that PYCARD could be a novel target for renal clear cell carcinoma therapy. Our findings that the PANoptosis characterization-based index (PANII) helps to elucidate the tumor microenvironmental features of three common renal cell carcinoma subtypes and identify patient populations that will benefit from immunotherapy, providing a new tool for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with intermediate- and advanced-stage renal cell carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Xu
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Jingqi Hua
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China
| | - Hongliang Que
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China
| | - Tengyue Zeng
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China
| | - Quan Li
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China
| | - Junpeng Deng
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China.
| | - Jianjun Xie
- Department of Urology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, 215001, China.
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Lyskjær I, Iisager L, Axelsen CT, Nielsen TK, Dyrskjøt L, Fristrup N. Management of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Promising Biomarkers and the Challenges to Reach the Clinic. Clin Cancer Res 2024; 30:663-672. [PMID: 37874628 PMCID: PMC10870122 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-1892] [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: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing worldwide, yet research within this field is lagging behind other cancers. Despite increased detection of early disease as a consequence of the widespread use of diagnostic CT scans, 25% of patients have disseminated disease at diagnosis. Similarly, around 25% progress to metastatic disease following curatively intended surgery. Surgery is the cornerstone in the treatment of RCC; however, when the disease is disseminated, immunotherapy or immunotherapy in combination with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor is the patient's best option. Immunotherapy is a potent treatment, with durable treatment responses and potential to cure the patient, but only half of the patients benefit from the administered treatment, and there are currently no methods that can identify which patients will respond to immunotherapy. Moreover, there is a need to identify the patients in greatest risk of relapsing after surgery for localized disease and direct adjuvant treatment there. Even though several molecular biomarkers have been published to date, we are still lacking routinely used biomarkers to guide optimal clinical management. The purpose of this review is to highlight some of the most promising biomarkers, discuss the efforts made within this field to date, and describe the barriers needed to be overcome to have reliable and robust predictive and prognostic biomarkers in the clinic for renal cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iben Lyskjær
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Laura Iisager
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | | | - Lars Dyrskjøt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Niels Fristrup
- Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
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A New Signature That Predicts Progression-Free Survival of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma with Anti-PD-1 Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065332. [PMID: 36982415 PMCID: PMC10049491 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has greatly improved the survival time and quality of life of patients with renal cell carcinoma, but the benefits are limited to a small portion of patients. There are too few new biomarkers that can be used to identify molecular subtypes of renal clear cell carcinoma and predict survival time with anti-PD-1 treatment. Single-cell RNA data of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) treated with anti-PD-1 were obtained from public databases, then 27,707 high-quality CD4 + T and CD8 + T cells were obtained for subsequent analysis. Firstly, genes set variation analysis and CellChat algorithm were used to explore potential molecular pathway differences and intercellular communication between the responder and non-responder groups. Additionally, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the responder and non-responder groups were obtained using the “edgeR” package, and ccRCC samples from TCGA-KIRC (n = 533) and ICGA-KIRC (n = 91) were analyzed by the unsupervised clustering algorithm to recognize molecular subtypes with different immune characteristics. Finally, using univariate Cox analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression, and multivariate Cox regression, the prognosis model of immunotherapy was established and verified to predict the progression-free survival of ccRCC patients treated with anti-PD-1. At the single cell level, there are different signal pathways and cell communication between the immunotherapy responder and non-responder groups. In addition, our research also confirms that the expression level of PDCD1/PD-1 is not an effective marker for predicting the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The new prognostic immune signature (PIS) enabled the classification of ccRCC patients with anti-PD-1 therapy into high- and low-risk groups, and the progression-free survival times (PFS) and immunotherapy responses were significantly different between these two groups. In the training group, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting 1-, 2- and 3-year progression-free survival was 0.940 (95% CI: 0.894–0.985), 0.981 (95% CI: 0.960–1.000), and 0.969 (95% CI: 0.937–1.000), respectively. Validation sets confirm the robustness of the signature. This study revealed the heterogeneity between the anti-PD-1 responder and non-responder groups from different angles and established a robust PIS to predict the progression-free survival of ccRCC patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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Identification and Validation of the Prognostic Panel in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Based on Resting Mast Cells for Prediction of Distant Metastasis and Immunotherapy Response. Cells 2023; 12:cells12010180. [PMID: 36611973 PMCID: PMC9818872 DOI: 10.3390/cells12010180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has a high metastatic rate, and its incidence and mortality are still rising. The aim of this study was to identify the key tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) affecting the distant metastasis and prognosis of patients with ccRCC and to construct a relevant prognostic panel to predict immunotherapy response. Based on ccRCC bulk RNA sequencing data, resting mast cells (RMCs) were screened and verified using the CIBERSORT algorithm, survival analysis, and expression analysis. Distant metastasis-associated genes were identified using single-cell RNA sequencing data. Subsequently, a three-gene (CFB, PPP1R18, and TOM1L1) panel with superior distant metastatic and prognostic performance was established and validated, which stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups. The high-risk group exhibited lower infiltration of RMCs, higher tumor mutation burden (TMB), and worse prognosis. Therapeutically, the high-risk group was more sensitive to anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapy, whereas the low-risk group displayed a better response to anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. Furthermore, two immune clusters revealing distinct immune, clinical, and prognosis heterogeneity were distinguished. Immunohistochemistry of ccRCC samples verified the expression patterns of the three key genes. Collectively, the prognostic panel based on RMCs is able to predict distant metastasis and immunotherapy response in patients with ccRCC, providing new insight for the treatment of advanced ccRCC.
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Chu B, Hong Z, Zheng X. The core genes of cuproptosis assists in discerning prognostic and immunological traits of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:925411. [PMID: 36212447 PMCID: PMC9533068 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.925411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Cuproptosis, a nascent and unique pattern of cell death, is poised to spark a new rush of biological research. Yet, the subsumed mechanism of cuproptosis in carcinoma is not wholly clarified. The exclusive aim of this work is to define a novel classification algorithm and risk-prognosis scoring framework based on the expression modalities of cuproptosis genes to monitor clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients’ prognosis and immunotherapeutic response. Methods We pooled ccRCC data from three large-scale databases as the training subset and gathered a panel of clinical queues, termed the Taizhou cohort, which served as the validation setup. Wilcox test was conducted for comparison of expression variation, while the cox analysis and KM curves were utilized to visualize prognosis. Unsupervised clustering analysis was used to identify cuproptosis phenotypes in ccRCC. Concurrently, LASSO regression-based computational scoring model. A step further, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to check potential biological processes and the “CIBERSORT” R package was used to estimate the proportion of immune cells. To last, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were carried out for the assay of critical genes for cuproptosis. Results Here, we glimpse the prognostic power of cuproptosis genes in pan-cancer by investigating 33 cancers with multi-omics data to map their genetic heterogeneity landscape. In parallel, we devoted extra attention to their strategic potential role in ccRCC, identifying two phenotypes of cuproptosis with different immune microenvironmental characteristics by pooling ccRCC data from three large-scale databases. Additionally, we compiled a cuproptosis scoring system for clinicians to determine the prognosis, immunotherapy response, and chemosensitivity of ccRCC patients. Notably, we assembled a clinical cohort sample to validate the pivotal gene for cuproptosis, FDX1, to supply more clues to translate the biological significance of cuproptosis in ccRCC. Conclusion In all, our investigations highlight that cuproptosis is involved in various components of ccRCC and assists in the formation of the tumor immune microenvironment. These results provide partial insights to further comprehend the molecular mechanisms of cuproptosis in ccRCC and could be helpful for the development of personalized therapeutic strategies targeting copper or cuproptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binxiang Chu
- Departmentof Orthopedic, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, China
| | - Zhenghua Hong
- Departmentof Orthopedic, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaohe Zheng, ; Zhenghua Hong,
| | - Xiaohe Zheng
- Department of Pathology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaohe Zheng, ; Zhenghua Hong,
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