1
|
James NE, Valenzuela AD, Emerson JB, Woodman M, Miller K, Hovanesian V, Ou J, Ribeiro JR. Intratumoral expression analysis reveals that OX40 and TIM-3 are prominently expressed and have variable associations with clinical outcomes in high grade serous ovarian cancer. Oncol Lett 2022; 23:188. [PMID: 35527785 PMCID: PMC9073576 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2022.13308] [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: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with ovarian cancer exhibit low response rates to anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) based therapies, despite ovarian tumors demonstrating measurable immune responses. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to comparatively examine expression of notable immune co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory receptors in order identify the most abundant receptors that could potentially serve as therapeutic targets to enhance immunotherapy response in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was employed to compare levels of various HGSOC and pan-cancer cohorts. To confirm these findings at the protein level, immunofluorescence of select receptors was performed in 29 HGSOC patient tissue samples. TCGA and Kaplan Meier analysis was employed to determine the association of highly expressed immune receptors with clinical outcomes. TIM-3 and OX40 exhibited the highest expression in HGSOC at both the gene and protein level, with TIM-3 demonstrating highest levels on both CD8+ and CD4+ T cell subsets. Pan-cancer analysis determined that TIM-3 and OX40 levels were similar to those in immunotherapy-responsive cancers, while PD-1 exhibited much lower expression in HGSOC. Finally, OX40 was most strongly associated with improved patient survival. Overall, the current study suggested that TIM-3 and OX40 are frequently expressed intratumoral immune receptors in HGSOC and thus represent promising immune targets. Furthermore, the present analysis strongly suggested that OX40 was significantly associated with a longer survival and could potentially be utilized as a prognostic factor for improved patient outcomes in HGSOC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E. James
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Ashley D. Valenzuela
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Jenna B. Emerson
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Morgan Woodman
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Katherine Miller
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Virginia Hovanesian
- Rhode Island Hospital, Core Research Laboratories, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Joyce Ou
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
- Department of Pathology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Jennifer R. Ribeiro
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Program in Women's Oncology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
James NE, Chichester C, Ribeiro JR. Beyond the Biomarker: Understanding the Diverse Roles of Human Epididymis Protein 4 in the Pathogenesis of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. Front Oncol 2018; 8:124. [PMID: 29740539 PMCID: PMC5928211 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2018.00124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is an important clinical biomarker used for the detection of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). While much is known about the predictive power of HE4 clinically, less has been reported regarding its molecular role in the progression of EOC. A deeper understanding of HE4’s mechanistic functions may help contribute to the development of novel targeted therapies. Thus far, it has been difficult to recommend HE4 as a therapeutic target owing to the fact that its role in the progression of EOC has not been extensively evaluated. This review summarizes what is collectively known about HE4 signaling and how it functions to promote tumorigenesis, chemoresistance, and metastasis in EOC, with the goal of providing valuable insights that will have the potential to aide in the development of new HE4-targeted therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E James
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Program in Women's Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, United States.,Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States
| | - Clinton Chichester
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States
| | - Jennifer R Ribeiro
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Program in Women's Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, United States
| |
Collapse
|