Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 mRNA expression in renal cell carcinoma

Biomarkers in Cancer Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis

Biomarkers are vital in healthcare as they provide valuable insights into disease diagnosis, prognosis, treatment response, and personalized medicine. They serve as objective indicators, enabling early detection and intervention, leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced costs. Biomarkers also guide treatment decisions by predicting disease outcomes and facilitating individualized treatment plans. They play a role in monitoring disease progression, adjusting treatments, and detecting early signs of recurrence. Furthermore, biomarkers enhance drug development and clinical trials by identifying suitable patients and accelerating the approval process. In this review paper, we described a variety of biomarkers applicable for cancer detection and diagnosis, such as imaging-based diagnosis (CT, SPECT, MRI, and PET), blood-based biomarkers (proteins, genes, mRNA, and peptides), cell imaging-based diagnosis (needle biopsy and CTC), tissue imaging-based diagnosis (IHC), and genetic-based biomarkers (RNAseq, scRNAseq, and spatial transcriptomics).

An Integrated Proteomics and Metabolomics Strategy for the Mechanism of Calcium Oxalate Crystal-Induced Kidney Injury

Renal fibrosis is the pathological repair reaction of the kidney to chronic injury, which is an important process of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progressing to end-stage renal failure. Nephrolithiasis is one of the most common renal diseases, with waist and abdomen pain, hematuria, urinary tract infection, and other clinical symptoms, which can increase the risk of renal fibrosis. Oxalate crystal-induced kidney injury is an early stage of nephrolithiasis; it is of great significance to explore the mechanism for the prevention and treatment of nephrolithiasis. A rodent model of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystal-induced kidney injury was used in the present study, and a network analysis method combining proteomics and metabolomics was conducted to reveal the mechanism of crystal kidney injury and to provide potential targets for the intervention of nephrolithiasis. Using the metabolomics method based on the UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS platform and the iTRAQ quantitative proteomics method, we screened a total of 244 metabolites and 886 proteins from the kidney tissues that had significant changes in the Crystal group compared with that in the Control group. Then, the ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) was applied to construct a protein-to-metabolic regulatory network by correlating and integrating differential metabolites and proteins. The results showed that CaOx crystals could induce inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress through Akt, ERK1/2, and P38 MAPK pathways and affect amino acid metabolism and fatty acid β-oxidation to result in kidney injury, thus providing an important direction for the early prevention and treatment of nephrolithiasis.

Galectin-1 Contributes to Vascular Remodeling and Blood Flow Recovery After Cerebral Ischemia in Mice

Galectin-1 is found in the vasculature and has been confirmed to promote angiogenesis in several cancer models. Furthermore, galectin-1 has been demonstrated to improve the recovery of cerebral ischemia. However, whether vascular remodeling contributes to this improvement is still unknown. In the present study, photochemical cerebral ischemia was induced in both galectin-1-treated (2 μg/day, i.c.v, 3 days) and galectin-1 knockout mice. Laser speckle imaging and immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that circulation and vascular remodeling in the ischemic cortex were improved by galectin-1 treatment but disrupted in galectin-1 knockout mice. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of matrix metallopeptidase-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was regulated by galectin-1 in vivo. To determine how galectin-1 influences endothelial cells, the expression of galectin-1 in bEnd.3 cells was increased by transfection with an expression plasmid and knocked down by siRNA. As demonstrated by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis, the expression of metallopeptidase-9, VEGF, and VEGF receptors was upregulated by galectin-1 overexpression but downregulated after galectin-1 knockdown. Flow cytometry, Transwell assay, and capillary-like tube formation assay were performed on cells after gene manipulation as well as cells treated by exogenous galectin-1 after anoxia. It demonstrated that galectin-1 potentiated the cell proliferation, migration capacity, and tube formation ability. Taken together, these data suggest that by targeting vascular remodeling, galectin-1 contributes to the restoration of blood flow, which promotes the recovery of mice after cerebral ischemic insults.

Hypoxia contributes to galectin-3 expression in renal carcinoma cells

Galectin-3 is supposed as a prognostic factor and therapeutic target for many cancers. In a previous study, we have reported that galectin-3 was related to the development of renal cell cancer and served a therapeutic target for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of galectin-3 in RCC are still not known. In this study, we detected the expression of galectin-3 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) α in RCC using immunohistochemistry, and then conducted in vitro experiments to verify the regulation of galectin-3 by hypoxia in RCC. Our results showed that the expression of galectin-3 and HIF-1α were remarkably high in RCC tissues compared with those in the paracancerous tissues. Interestingly, hypoxia significantly promoted cytoplasmic and nuclear HIF-1α and galectin-3 expression in renal carcinoma cell lines, but not in renal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2). Renal carcinoma cell line (Caki-1), but not HK-2 showed significant increase of luciferase reporter activity of galectin-3 encoding the fragment from the site of -845 to +50 upon hypoxic insult. Moreover, HIF-1α overexpression vector promoted, while HIF-1α silencing vector reduced luciferase reporter activity of galectin-3 in Caki-1 and HK-2 cells in both normal and hypoxia conditions. A direct interaction of HIF-1α with Gal-3 promoter was also verified by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Together, our data indicated that hypoxia was critical for galectin-3 expression in RCC in a HIF-1α-dependent manner.

miR-429-CRKL axis regulates clear cell renal cell carcinoma malignant progression through SOS1/MEK/ERK/MMP2/MMP9 pathway

The pathogenesis and tumorigenesis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remain unclear. The deregulations of miR-429, a member of miR-200 family, and v-crk sarcoma virus CT10 oncogene homologue (avian)-like (CRKL), an adaptor protein of CRK family, are involved in the development, metastasis and prognosis of various cancers. Current study aimed to demonstrate the differential expressions of miR-429 and CRKL with their correlationship and molecular regulation mechanism in ccRCC malignancy. miR-429 and CRKL separately showed suppressing and promoting effects in ccRCC. Lower miR-429 expression and higher CRKL expression were negatively correlated in surgical cancerous tissues by promoting the advance of ccRCC. By binding to the 3'-UTR of CRKL, miR-429 reversely regulated CRKL for its functionalities in ccRCC cells. CRKL knockdown and overexpression separately decreased and increased the in vitro migration and invasion of 786-O cells, which were consistent with the influences of miR-429 overexpression and knockdown on 786-O through respectively downregulating and upregulating CRKL via SOS1/MEK/ERK/MMP2/MMP9 pathway. The enhancements of CRKL expression, migration and invasion abilities and SOS1/MEK/ ERK/MMP2/MMP9 activation induced by TGF-β stimulation in 786-O cells could be antagonized by miR-429 overexpression. Exogenous re-expression of CRKL abrogated miR-429 suppression on the migration and invasion of 786-O cells. Collectively, miR-429 deficiency negatively correlated with CRKL overexpression promoted the aggressiveness of cancer cells and advanced the clinical progression of ccRCC patients. miR-429-CRKL axial regulation provides new clues to the fundamental research, diagnosis and treatment of ccRCC.

miR-4521-FAM129A axial regulation on ccRCC progression through TIMP-1/MMP2/MMP9 and MDM2/p53/Bcl2/Bax pathways

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most aggressive RCC subtype with high metastasis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy resistance, and poor prognosis. This study attempted to establish the deregulations of miR-4521 and FAM129A together with their correlation to and mechanism of regulation of ccRCC development and progression. FAM129A acted as tumor promotor and miR-4521 acted as a suppressor in ccRCC. As measured in surgical tumorous tissues from ccRCC patients, FAM129A overexpression and miR-4521 deficiency together contributed to ccRCC progression by promoting advances in patients' TNM stage and Fuhrman grade. Both the FAM129A knockdown and miR-4521 overexpression could reduce the in vitro migration and invasion abilities of renal cancer cells 786-O and ACHN, through the TIMP-1/MMP2/MMP9 pathway and could decrease their proliferation by promoting their apoptosis through the MDM2/p53/Bcl2/Bax pathway. By directly targeting the 3'-UTR domain of FAM129A, miR-4521 was negatively correlated with FAM129A/FAM129A levels in ccRCC progression and renal cancer cell malignancies. This work establishes the miR-4521-FAM129A axial regulation mechanism in ccRCC. Micro-4521 deficiency leads to FAM129A/FAM129A upregulation, which synergistically enhances the migration and invasion of renal cancer cells due to the induced decrease of TIMP-1 and increases of MMP2 and MMP9, and increases their growth through escaping apoptosis by suppressing p53 by way of upregulation of induced MDM2. The current work provides new clues to assist fundamental research into the diagnosis and treatment of ccRCC.

Expression of galectin-1 and galectin-3 in renal cell carcinoma; immunohistochemical study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Galectins comprise a large family of calcium independent lectins. Galectin-1 and galectin-3 contribute to neoplastic transformation, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis in some cancers. This study aimed at studying the immunohistochemical expression of both galectin-1 and galectin-3 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) variants and detecting the possible association of galectins with various clinicopathological parameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sections from 67 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of RCC variants were stained with galectin-1 and galectin-3. Expression was assessed in tumor tissue and adjacent renal parenchyma and was correlated with clinicopathological criteria.

RESULTS

In apparently normal renal parenchyma adjacent to tumor tissue, galectin-1 was expressed in 27 (40.2%) of specimens in renal tubules and glomeruli, while 34 (50.7%) of specimens showed galectin-3 expression in renal tubules sparing glomeruli. In tumor tissue, galectin-1 showed high expression in 47 (70.1%) and low expression in 20 (29.9%) of specimens. Galectin-3 had high expression in 15 (22.4%) and low expression in 52 (77.6%) of specimens. Significant association was detected between expression of galectin-1 and galectin-3 and the type of RCC (P = 0.032) and (P = 0.006), respectively. Significant inverse association was detected between the expression of galectin-3 and the presence of tumor haemorrhage and necrosis (P = 0.014) and (P = 0.039), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Galectin-1 and galectin-3 are overexpressed in RCC with different percentage in different subtypes. Galactin-1expression is more in tumor tissue than surrounding renal parenchyma suggesting that it has a carcinogenic role. Galectin-1 and galectin-3 overexpression in chromophobe RCC suggests that they may have diagnostic role.

Clinicopathological significance of galectin-1 expression and percentage of galectin-1-expressing T cells in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

This study investigates the clinical significance of galectin-1 expression in carcinoma tissues, plasma, and lymphocytes of patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

METHODS

Galectin-1 expression was investigated, using immunohistochemistry, in 91 clear-cell RCC tissue sections, five angioleiolipomas tissue sections, and three oncocytomas tissue sections. As controls, normal tissue sections adjacent to each tumour and six benign renal tumour sections were examined. Plasma galectin-1 levels as measured by ELISA were compared in 39 patients. Proportions of galectin-1 expressing CD4⁺ and galectin-1 expressing CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of these patients were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

The positive expression rate of galetin-1 in 91 clear-cell RCC tissues sections by immunohistochemistry was 87 (95.6%), with weak expression rate of 35.2 (32/91), moderate expression rate of 51.6% (47/91), and strong expression rate of 13.2% (12/91); whereas 25% (2/8) of renal benign tumour sections showed weak galectin-1 expression, 91.2% (83/91) of non-tumor tissues adjacent to carcinomas had negative expression of galectin-1, and another six (75%) renal benign tumour sections had negative galectin-1 expression. Plasma galectin-1 levels between patients with clear-cell RCC and with benign tumours were not significantly difference (p>0.05). In patients with clear-cell RCC, we found a significantly higher proportion of galectin-1-expressing CD4⁺ lymphocytes (p<0.05) and galectin-1-expressing CD8⁺ lymphocytes (p<0.05) than in patients with benign tumours. Moreover, the level of galectin-1 expression was positively associated with stage and Fuhrman grade of clear-cell RCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that high level of galectin-1 expression in clear-cell RCC tissues may be a useful marker for clear-cell RCC. Our findings also reveal a new clinical significance of galectin-1 - that high proportions of galectin-1-expressing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes were positively associated with poor clinicopathological features.

Galectin-3 as a novel biomarker for disease diagnosis and a target for therapy (Review)

Galectin-3 is a member of the galectin family, which are β‑galactoside‑binding lectins with ≥1 evolutionary conserved carbohydrate‑recognition domain. It binds proteins in a carbohydrate‑dependent and ‑independent manner. Galectin‑3 is predominantly located in the cytoplasm; however, it shuttles into the nucleus and is secreted onto the cell surface and into biological fluids including serum and urine. It serves important functions in numerous biological activities including cell growth, apoptosis, pre‑mRNA splicing, differentiation, transformation, angiogenesis, inflammation, fibrosis and host defense. Numerous previous studies have indicated that galectin‑3 may be used as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker for certain types of heart disease, kidney disease and cancer. With emerging evidence to support the function and application of galectin‑3, the current review aims to summarize the latest literature regarding the biomarker characteristics and potential therapeutic application of galectin‑3 in associated diseases.

Role of galectin-3 in autoimmune and non-autoimmune nephropathies

Galectins are evolutionary conserved β-galactoside binding proteins with a carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of approximately 130 amino acids. In mammals, 15 members of the galectin family have been identified and classified into three subtypes according to CRD organization: prototype, tandem repeat-type and chimera-type galectins. Galectin-3 (gal-3) is the only chimera type galectin in vertebrates containing one CRD linked to an unusual long N-terminal domain which displays non-lectin dependent activities. Although recent studies revealed unique, pleiotropic and context-dependent functions of gal-3 in both extracellular and intracellular space, gal-3 specific pathways and its ligands have not been clearly defined yet. In the kidney gal-3 is involved in later stages of nephrogenesis as well as in renal cell cancer. However, gal-3 has recently been associated with lupus glomerulonephritis, with Familial Mediterranean Fever-induced proteinuria and renal amyloidosis. Gal-3 has been studied in experimental acute kidney damage and in the subsequent regeneration phase as well as in several models of chronic kidney disease, including nephropathies induced by aging, ischemia, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, unilateral ureteral obstruction and chronic allograft injury. Because of the pivotal role of gal-3 in the modulation of immune system, wound repair, fibrosis and tumorigenesis, it is not surprising that gal-3 can be an intriguing prognostic biomarker as well as a promising therapeutic target in a great variety of diseases, including chronic kidney disease, chronic heart failure and cardio-renal syndrome. This review summarizes the functions of gal-3 in kidney pathophysiology focusing on the reported role of gal-3 in autoimmune diseases.

Antitumor effects of galectin-3 inhibition in human renal carcinoma cells

Galectins are thought to be prognosticators for survival in renal cell cancer. However, the biological activity of galectin-3 (Gal-3) in renal carcinoma cells is still debated. In this study, immunohistochemical staining confirmed a high expression of Gal-3 in tumor tissue from renal cell carcinoma. Critically, Gal-3 expression was related to tumor cell differentiation. Consistent with Gal-3 expression in renal cell cancer, strong expression of Gal-3 was also observed in several renal tumor cell lines but not in normal renal cells. A Gal-3 high-expression cell line Caki-1 was chosen to study the biological activity of Gal-3. Using short hairpin RNA method, Gal-3 expression in Caki-1 cells was knocked down. We evidenced that Gal-3 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and invasion, induced Caspase-3-dependent apoptosis and arrested cell cycle at G1 phase. Mechanically, Cyclin D1 expression decreased, but p27 increased after Gal-3 knockdown. Taken together, these results suggest that Gal-3 is related to the development of renal cell cancer and could serve as a target to therapy renal cell cancer.

3D tumor tissue analogs and their orthotopic implants for understanding tumor-targeting of microenvironment-responsive nanosized chemotherapy and radiation

An appropriate representation of the tumor microenvironment in tumor models can have a pronounced impact on directing combinatorial treatment strategies and cancer nanotherapeutics. The present study develops a novel 3D co-culture spheroid model (3D TNBC) incorporating tumor cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts as color-coded murine tumor tissue analogs (TTA) to better represent the tumor milieu of triple negative breast cancer in vitro. Implantation of TTA orthotopically in nude mice, resulted in enhanced growth and aggressive metastasis to ectopic sites. Subsequently, the utility of the model is demonstrated for preferential targeting of irradiated tumor endothelial cells via radiation-induced stromal enrichment of galectin-1 using anginex conjugated nanoparticles (nanobins) carrying arsenic trioxide and cisplatin. Demonstration of a multimodal nanotherapeutic system and inclusion of the biological response to radiation using an in vitro/in vivo tumor model incorporating characteristics of tumor microenvironment presents an advance in preclinical evaluation of existing and novel cancer nanotherapies.

FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR

Existing in-vivo tumor models are established by implanting tumor cells into nude mice. Here, the authors described their approach 3D spheres containing tumor cells, enodothelial cells and fibroblasts. This would mimic tumor micro-environment more realistically. This interesting 3D model should reflect more accurately tumor response to various drugs and would enable the design of new treatment modalities.

Small interfering RNA-induced silencing of galectin-3 inhibits the malignant phenotypes of osteosarcoma in vitro

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant tumor of bone. It has recently been demonstrated that galectin-3, a multifunctional β-galactoside-binding, is significantly upregulated in OS tissues, and is correlated with its progression and metastasis. However, the detailed role of galectin‑3 in the regulation of cellular biological processes in OS cells has remained to be elucidated. The present study reported that the mRNA and protein levels of galectin‑3 were significantly increased in OS tissues compared to those in their matched normal adjacent tissues. Furthermore, galectin‑3 was upregulated in three OS cell lines, Saos‑2, MG63 and U2OS, when compared with that in the human osteoblast cell line hFOB1.19. Knockdown of galectin‑3 by galectin‑3‑specific small interfering RNA markedly inhibited OS‑cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, silencing of galectin‑3 expression significantly inhibited OS cell migration and invasion, accompanied with a marked decrease in the protein expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and ‑9. Mechanistic investigation suggested that the mitogen‑activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal‑regulated protein kinase signaling pathway may be involved in the galectin‑3‑mediated OS cell invasion. In conclusion, the present study was the first to report that silencing of galectin‑3 inhibited the malignant phenotypes of osteosarcoma in vitro. Therefore, galectin-3 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for OS.

Galectin expression in cancer diagnosis and prognosis: A systematic review

Galectins are a family of proteins that bind to specific glycans thereby deciphering the information captured within the glycome. In the last two decades, several galectin family members have emerged as versatile modulators of tumor progression. This has initiated the development and preclinical assessment of galectin-targeting compounds. With the first compounds now entering clinical trials it is pivotal to gain insight in the diagnostic and prognostic value of galectins in cancer as this will allow a more rational selection of the patients that might benefit most from galectin-targeted therapies. Here, we present a systematic review of galectin expression in human cancer patients. Malignant transformation is frequently associated with altered galectin expression, most notably of galectin-1 and galectin-3. In most cancers, increased galectin-1 expression is associated with poor prognosis while elevated galectin-9 expression is emerging as a marker of favorable disease outcome. The prognostic value of galectin-3 appears to be tumor type dependent and the other galectins require further investigation. Regarding the latter, additional studies using larger patient cohorts are essential to fully unravel the diagnostic and prognostic value of galectin expression. Furthermore, to better compare different findings, consensus should be reached on how to assess galectin expression, not only with regard to localization within the tissue and within cellular compartments but also regarding alternative splicing and genomic variations. Finally, linking galectin expression and function to aberrant glycosylation in cancer cells will improve our understanding of how these versatile proteins can be exploited for diagnostic, prognostic and even therapeutic purposes in cancer patients.

Alternations of galectin levels after renal transplantation

OBJECTIVES

Galectins (gals), a growing family of β-galactoside-binding animal lectins, have been implicated in a variety of biological processes including fibrosis, angiogenesis, and immune activation, all of which are involved in hemodialysis (HD) and renal transplantation (RTx). In this study, we aimed to investigate serum gal levels in HD and RTx recipients.

DESIGN AND METHODS

41 normal subjects, 41 RTx recipients and 32 HD patients were recruited for this study. RTx recipients were evaluated before transplantation as well as 3 months afterwards. Serum gals-1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 were measured both at baseline and 3 months later in each group.

RESULTS

At baseline, there were no differences in gals-1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 between the RTx and HD groups. However, the levels of gals-1, 2, 3, 8, and 9 in the RTx and HD groups were higher than that of normal subjects. In paired analyses, gals-1, 2, and 3 were significantly decreased in RTx patients (P<0.0001) at 3 months, while there was no change in the HD group. However, levels of gals-4, 8, and 9 did not significantly change in either the HD or RTx group.

CONCLUSION

Gal-1, 2, and 3 levels were high in maintenance HD patients. Kidney transplantation improved gal-1, 2, and 3 levels.