Identification of a novel six autophagy-related genes signature for the prognostic and a miRNA-related autophagy predictor for anti-PD-1 therapy responses in prostate cancer

Endoplasmic reticulum stress regulators exhibit different prognostic, therapeutic and immune landscapes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and unfolded protein response are the critical processes of tumour biology. However, the roles of ERS regulatory genes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remain elusive. A novel ERS-related risk signature was constructed using the Lasso regression analysis. Its prognostic value, immune effect, metabolic influence, mutational feature and therapeutic correlation were comprehensively analysed through multiple bioinformatic approaches. The biofunctions of KDELR3 and YWHAZ in pancreatic cancer (PC) cells were also investigated through colony formation, Transwell assays, flow cytometric detection and a xenograft model. The upstream miRNA regulatory mechanism of KDELR3 was predicted and validated. ERS risk score was identified as an independent prognostic factor and could improve traditional prognostic model. Meanwhile, it was closely associated with metabolic reprogramming and tumour immune. High ERS risk enhanced glycolysis process and nucleotide metabolism, but was unfavourable for anti-tumour immune response. Moreover, ERS risk score could act as a potential biomarker for predicting the efficacy of ICBs. Overexpression of KDELR3 and YWHAZ stimulated the proliferation, migration and invasion of SW1990 and BxPC-3 cells. Silencing KDELR3 suppressed tumour growth in a xenograft model. miR-137 could weaken the malignant potentials of PC cells through inhibiting KDELR3 (5'-AGCAAUAA-3'). ERS risk score greatly contributed to PAAD clinical assessment. KDELR3 and YWHAZ possessed cancer-promoting capacities, showing promise as a novel treatment target.

Systematic review and integrated analysis of prognostic gene signatures for prostate cancer patients

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common cancers in men and becoming the second leading cause of cancer fatalities. At present, the lack of effective strategies for prognosis of PC patients is still a problem to be solved. Therefore, it is significant to identify potential gene signatures for PC patients' prognosis. Here, we summarized 71 different prognostic gene signatures for PC and concluded 3 strategies for signature construction after extensive investigation. In addition, 14 genes frequently appeared in 71 different gene signatures, which enriched in mitotic and cell cycle. This review provides extensive understanding and integrated analysis of current prognostic signatures of PC, which may help researchers to construct gene signatures of PC and guide future clinical treatment.

Multiplex protein analysis and ensemble machine learning methods of fine needle aspirates from prostate cancer patients reveal potential diagnostic signatures associated with tumour grade

BACKGROUND

Improved molecular diagnosis is needed in prostate cancer (PC). Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a minimally invasive biopsy technique, less traumatic compared to core needle biopsy, and could be useful for diagnosis of PC. Molecular biomarkers (BMs) in FNA-samples can be assessed for prediction, eg of immunotherapy efficacy before treatment as well as at treatment decision time points during disease progression.

METHODS

In the present pilot study, the expression levels of 151 BM proteins were analysed by proximity extension assay in FNA-samples from 16 patients, including benign prostate lesions (n = 3) and cancers (n = 13). An ensemble data analysis strategy was applied using several machine learning models.

RESULTS

Twelve potentially predictive BM proteins correlating with International Society of Urological Pathology grade groups were identified, among them vimentin, tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2, and integrin beta-5. The validity of the results was supported by network analysis that showed functional associations between most of the identified putative BMs. We also showed that multiple immune checkpoint targets can be assessed (eg PD-L1, CD137, and Galectin-9), which may support the selection of immunotherapy in advanced PC. Results are promising but need further validation in a larger cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Our pilot study represents a "proof of concept" and shows that multiplex profiling of potential diagnostic and predictive BM proteins is feasible on tumour material obtained by FNA sampling of prostate cancer. Moreover, our results demonstrate that an ensemble data analysis strategy may facilitate the identification of BM signatures in pilot studies when the patient cohort is limited.

Non-coding RNAs: emerging roles in the characterization of immune microenvironment and immunotherapy of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common tumor among men. Although the prognosis for early-stage prostate cancer is good, patients with advanced disease often progress to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which usually leads to death owing to resistance to existing treatments and lack of long-term effective therapy. In recent years, immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has made great progress in the treatment of various solid tumors, including prostate cancer. However, the ICIs have only shown modest outcomes in mCRPC compared with other tumors. Previous studies have suggested that the suppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of prostate cancer leads to poor anti-tumor immune response and tumor resistance to immunotherapy. It has been reported that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are capable of regulating upstream signaling at the transcriptional level, leading to a "cascade of changes" in downstream molecules. As a result, ncRNAs have been identified as an ideal class of molecules for cancer treatment. The discovery of ncRNAs provides a new perspective on TIME regulation in prostate cancer. ncRNAs have been associated with establishing an immunosuppressive microenvironment in prostate cancer through multiple pathways to modulate the immune escape of tumor cells which can promote resistance of prostate cancer to immunotherapy. Targeting these related ncRNAs presents an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in this patient population.

Plasticity of cancer invasion and energy metabolism

Energy deprivation is a frequent adverse event in tumors that is caused by mutations, malperfusion, hypoxia, and nutrition deficit. The resulting bioenergetic stress leads to signaling and metabolic adaptation responses in tumor cells, secures survival, and adjusts migration activity. The kinetic responses of cancer cells to energy deficit were recently identified, including a switch of invasive cancer cells to energy-conservative amoeboid migration and an enhanced capability for distant metastasis. We review the energy programs employed by different cancer invasion modes including collective, mesenchymal, and amoeboid migration, as well as their interconversion in response to energy deprivation, and we discuss the consequences for metastatic escape. Understanding the energy requirements of amoeboid and other dissemination strategies offers rationales for improving therapeutic targeting of metastatic cancer progression.

An autophagy-related gene prognostic index predicting biochemical recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance for prostate cancer

Given the dual role of autophagy presenting in tumorigenesis and inhibition, we established an autophagy-related gene prognostic index (ARGPI) with validation to well predict the biochemical recurrence (BCR), metastasis, as well as chemoresistance for patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent radical radiotherapy or prostatectomy. Then, Lasso and COX regression was used to develop the ARGPI. We performed the whole analyses through R packages (version 3.6.3). Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), single-minded 2 (SIM2), serine protease inhibitor b5 (SERPINB5), aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), and acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain 3 (ACSL3) were eventually used to establish the ARGPI score. Patients were divided into two different-risk groups based on the median ARGPI score, high-risk patients with a higher risk of BCR than low-risk patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.23-9.24). The risk of metastasis of high-risk patients was higher than low-risk patients (HR: 11.31, 95% CI: 4.89-26.12). In The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, we observed similar prognostic value of ARGPI in terms of BCR-free survival (HR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.07-2.99) and metastasis-free survival (HR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.16-2.78). ARGPI score showed a diagnostic accuracy of 0.703 for drug resistance. Analysis of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) indicated that patients in the high-risk group were significantly positively related to interleukin (IL)-18 signaling pathway. Moreover, ARGPI score was significantly related to cancer-related fibroblasts (CAFs; r = 0.36), macrophages (r = 0.28), stromal score (r = 0.38), immune score (r = 0.35), estimate score (r = 0.39), as well as tumor purity (r = -0.39; all P < 0.05). Drug analysis showed that PI-103 was the common sensitive drug and cell line analysis indicated that PC3 was the common cell line of PI-103 and the definitive gene. In conclusion, we found that ARGPI could predict BCR, metastasis, and chemoresistance in PCa patients who underwent radical radiotherapy or prostatectomy.

microRNA-205 in prostate cancer: Overview to clinical translation

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is the most common type of cancer among men in the United States. The metastatic and advanced PrCa develops drug resistance to current regimens which accounts for the poor management. microRNAs (miRNAs) have been well-documented for their diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic roles in various human cancers. Recent literature confirmed that microRNA-205 (miR-205) has been established as one of the tumor suppressors in PrCa. miR-205 regulates number of cellular functions, such as proliferation, invasion, migration/metastasis, and apoptosis. It is also evident that miR-205 can serve as a key biomarker in diagnostic, prognostic, and therapy of PrCa. Therefore, in this review, we will provide an overview of tumor suppressive role of miR-205 in PrCa. This work also outlines miR-205's specific role in targeted mechanisms for chemosensitization and radiosensitization in PrCa. A facile approach of delivery paths for successful clinical translation is documented. Together, all these studies provide a novel insight of miR-205 as an adjuvant agent for reducing the widening gaps in clinical outcome of PrCa patients.

Targeting autophagy in prostate cancer: preclinical and clinical evidence for therapeutic response

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and new estimates revealed prostate cancer as the leading cause of death in men in 2021. Therefore, new strategies are pertinent in the treatment of this malignant disease. Macroautophagy/autophagy is a “self-degradation” mechanism capable of facilitating the turnover of long-lived and toxic macromolecules and organelles. Recently, attention has been drawn towards the role of autophagy in cancer and how its modulation provides effective cancer therapy. In the present review, we provide a mechanistic discussion of autophagy in prostate cancer. Autophagy can promote/inhibit proliferation and survival of prostate cancer cells. Besides, metastasis of prostate cancer cells is affected (via induction and inhibition) by autophagy. Autophagy can affect the response of prostate cancer cells to therapy such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, given the close association between autophagy and apoptosis. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that upstream mediators such as AMPK, non-coding RNAs, KLF5, MTOR and others regulate autophagy in prostate cancer. Anti-tumor compounds, for instance phytochemicals, dually inhibit or induce autophagy in prostate cancer therapy. For improving prostate cancer therapy, nanotherapeutics such as chitosan nanoparticles have been developed. With respect to the context-dependent role of autophagy in prostate cancer, genetic tools such as siRNA and CRISPR-Cas9 can be utilized for targeting autophagic genes. Finally, these findings can be translated into preclinical and clinical studies to improve survival and prognosis of prostate cancer patients.

• Prostate cancer is among the leading causes of death in men where targeting autophagy is of importance in treatment;

• Autophagy governs proliferation and metastasis capacity of prostate cancer cells;

• Autophagy modulation is of interest in improving the therapeutic response of prostate cancer cells;

• Molecular pathways, especially involving non-coding RNAs, regulate autophagy in prostate cancer;

• Autophagy possesses both diagnostic and prognostic roles in prostate cancer, with promises for clinical application.