PSMC2 is overexpressed in glioma and promotes proliferation and anti-apoptosis of glioma cells

Prognostic Signature in Osteosarcoma Based on Amino Acid Metabolism-Associated Genes

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) is undeniably a formidable bone malignancy characterized by a scarcity of effective treatment options. Reprogramming of amino acid (AA) metabolism has been associated with OS development. The present study was designed to identify metabolism-associated genes (MAGs) that are differentially expressed in OS and to construct a MAG-based prognostic risk signature for this disease. Methods: Expression profiles and clinicopathological data were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and UCSC Xena databases. A set of AA MAGs was obtained from the MSigDB database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GEO dataset were identified using "limma." Prognostic MAGs from UCSC Xena database were determined through univariate Cox regression and used in the prognostic signature development. This signature was validated using another dataset from GEO database. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, single sample gene set enrichment analysis, and GDSC2 analyses were performed to explore the biological functions of the MAGs. A MAG-based nomogram was established to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the expression of MAGs in primary OS and paired adjacent normal tissues. Results: A total of 790 DEGs and 62 prognostic MAGs were identified. A MAG-based signature was constructed based on four MAGs: PIPOX, PSMC2, SMOX, and PSAT1. The prognostic value of this signature was successfully validated, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival of 0.714, 0.719, and 0.715, respectively. This MAG-based signature was correlated with the infiltration of CD56dim natural killer cells and resistance to several antiangiogenic agents. The nomogram was accurate in predictions, with a C-index of 0.77. The expression of MAGs verified by experiment was consistent with the trends observed in GEO database. Conclusion: Four AA MAGs were prognostic of survival in OS patients. This MAG-based signature has the potential to offer valuable insights into the development of treatments for OS.

PSMC2 promotes glioma progression by regulating immune microenvironment and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway

BACKGROUND

Glioma, the most frequent and malignant central nervous system (CNS) cancer, has a bad outcome. Proteasome 26S subunit ATPase 2 (PSMC2) is an essential part of the 26S proteasome and promotes the development of several tumors. However, the pathway and function of PSMC2 in glioma have not been unelucidated.

METHODS

This study analyzed PSMC2 expression in glioma tissues and its predictive significance for patients. We examined the link between PSMC2 and DNA methylation, immune cell infiltration, tumor immune cycle, immune cell homeostasis, and immune checkpoints. Subsequently, immunohistochemistry and in vitro trials were employed to validate the expression, prognostic potential, and function of PSMC2 in glioma. The mechanisms of PSMC2 in glioma were further explored.

RESULTS

Our study revealed that PSMC2 expression increased in glioma tissues contrasted with healthy tissues, and patients with high PSMC2 glioma exhibited poor overall survival (OS) compared to the low-PSMC2 group. Immune profile analysis revealed that PSMC2 was positively related to immunosuppressive cell infiltration and immune checkpoints and adversely related to the cancer immune cycle and immune cell homeostasis. In cell-based investigations, the inhibition of PSMC2 was found to effectively suppress the aggressiveness and proliferation of glioma cell lines while also enhancing cell cycle arrest and promoting cell death. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA), and in vitro experiments showed that PSMC2 promoted glioma development through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

PSMC2 was upregulated in glioma and promoted cancer progression by modulating the tumor immune microenvironment, cancer cell biological behavior, immune cell homeostasis, and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, providing a new option to treat glioma.

PSMC2 is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and Predicts Immunotherapeutic Responses: From Pancreatic Cancer to Pan-Cancer

Background

Proteasome 26S subunit ATPase 2 (PSMC2) is a part of the 19S regulatory complex, which catalyzes the unfolding and transport of substrates into the 20S proteasome. Our previous research demonstrated that PSMC2 participates in the tumorigenesis and progression of pancreatic cancer (PC). However, no systematic analysis has been conducted to conclude its expression pattern and correlation with tumor immunity.

Aim

To investigate the expression level of PSMC2 in PC, its prognostic value and its relationship with tumor immunity.

Methods

In numerous public and internal cohorts, the expression, prognostic significance, and immunological connections of PSMC2 in PC were investigated. Additionally, using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), a pan-cancer analysis was carried out to examine PSMC2's immunological assocaition, and the predictive power of PSMC2 for immunotherapy was also evaluated in numerous public cohorts.

Results

PSMC2 was overexpressed in tumor tissues and linked to unfavorable prognosis in PC. PSMC2 was not only positively correlated with TIICs, also positively correlated with immune checkpoints in PC. In addition to PC, PSMC2 was expected to be an indicator of high immunogenicity in most cancer types. Importantly, PSMC2 could predict the immunotherapeutic responses in various cancer types, including urothelial carcinoma and breast cancer.

Conclusion

From PC to pan-cancer analysis, we report that PSMC2 is a novel prognostic biomarker in multiple cancer types. PSMC2 is related to the immuno-hot phenotype and predicts the outcome of immunotherapy. Therefore, the current study emphasizes that cancer patients with high PMSC2 expression should actively receive immunotherapy to improve their prognosis.

PSME2 identifies immune-hot tumors in breast cancer and associates with well therapeutic response to immunotherapy

Breast cancer (BrCa) is a heterogeneous disease, which leads to unsatisfactory prognosis in females worldwide. Previous studies have proved that tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) plays crucial roles in oncogenesis, progression, and therapeutic resistance in Breast cancer. However, biomarkers related to TIME features have not been fully discovered. Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 (PSME2) is a member of proteasome activator subunit gene family, which is critical to protein degradation mediated by the proteasome. In the current research, we comprehensively analyzed the expression and immuno-correlations of Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 in Breast cancer. Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues but associated with well prognosis. In addition, Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 was overexpressed in HER2-positive Breast cancer but not related to other clinicopathological features. Interestingly, Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 was positively related to immune-related processes and identified immuno-hot TIME in Breast cancer. Specifically, Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 was positively correlated with immunomodulators, tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), immune checkpoints, and tumor mutation burden (TMB) levels. Moreover, the positive correlation between Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 and PD-L1 expression was confirmed in a tissue microarray (TMA) cohort. Furthermore, in an immunotherapy cohort of Breast cancer, patients with pathological complete response (pCR) expressed higher Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 compared with those with non-pathological complete response. In conclusion, Proteasome activator complex subunit 2 is upregulated in tumor tissues and correlated with the immuno-hot tumor immune microenvironment, which can be a novel biomarker for the recognition of tumor immune microenvironment features and immunotherapeutic response in Breast cancer.

Interfering with CALCRL expression inhibits glioma proliferation, promotes apoptosis, and predicts prognosis in low-grade gliomas

Background

CALCRL is involved in a variety of key biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. However, the role of CALCRL in glioma remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differential CALCRL expression on the malignant progression of glioma and its value in glioma prognosis.

Methods

Sequencing data from glioma and normal tissues were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, and the downloaded data were statistically analyzed using bioinformatics tools and the corresponding R package. The expression of CALCRL in normal brain tissue and different grades of glioma tissue was detected by pathological and immunohistochemical staining of clinical glioma specimens. The expression of CALCRL in different glioma cell lines was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the U87 cell line with high expression was selected to construct the CALCRL knockdown model by transfection with short hairpin (shRNA). The cell proliferation ability was detected by Celigo assay and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the ability of cell clone formation was detected by clone formation assay, and the level of apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.

Results

The expression of CALCRL in glioma was significantly upregulated compared with that of normal tissue, especially in low-grade glioma (LGG) compared to glioblastoma, and the differential expression of CALCRL correlated significantly with the prognosis of LGG. Clinical pathology and immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of CALCRL was related to the pathological grade of glioma, and the highest expression was found in World Health Organization (WHO) grade Ⅲ glioma. The results of qRT-PCR showed that CALCRL expression was highest in the U87 cell line. After knockdown of CALCRL expression, the proliferation and clonogenic ability of U87 cells were significantly decreased, and the apoptosis rate was significantly increased.

Conclusions

CALCRL is highly expressed in LGG. Interfering with CALCRL expression inhibits glioma cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis, and thus has potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target for the prognosis of those with LGGs.

19S Proteasome Subunits as Oncogenes and Prognostic Biomarkers in FLT3-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

26S proteasome non-ATPase subunits 1 (PSMD1) and 3 (PSMD3) were recently identified as prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and multiple solid tumors. In the present study, we analyzed the expression of 19S proteasome subunits in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with mutations in the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene and assessed their impact on overall survival (OS). High levels of PSMD3 but not PSMD1 expression correlated with a worse OS in FLT3-mutated AML. Consistent with an oncogenic role for PSMD3 in AML, shRNA-mediated PSMD3 knockdown impaired colony formation of FLT3+ AML cell lines, which correlated with increased OS in xenograft models. While PSMD3 regulated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) transcriptional activity in CML, we did not observe similar effects in FLT3+ AML cells. Rather, proteomics analyses suggested a role for PSMD3 in neutrophil degranulation and energy metabolism. Finally, we identified additional PSMD subunits that are upregulated in AML patients with mutated versus wild-type FLT3, which correlated with worse outcomes. These findings suggest that different components of the 19S regulatory complex of the 26S proteasome can have indications for OS and may serve as prognostic biomarkers in AML and other types of cancers.

Latest updates on cellular and molecular biomarkers of gliomas

Gliomas are the most common central nervous system malignancies, compromising almost 80% of all brain tumors and is associated with significant mortality. The classification of gliomas has shifted from basic histological perspective to one that is based on molecular biomarkers. Treatment of this type of tumors consists currently of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the past years, there was a limited development of effective glioma diagnostics and therapeutics due to multiple factors including the presence of blood-brain barrier and the heterogeneity of this type of tumors. Currently, it is necessary to highlight the advantage of molecular diagnosis of gliomas to develop patient targeted therapies based on multiple oncogenic pathway. In this review, we will evaluate the development of cellular and molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of gliomas and the impact of these diagnostic tools for better tailored and targeted therapies.

Evaluating the Prognostic and Therapeutic Potentials of the Proteasome 26S Subunit, ATPase (PSMC) Family of Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Database Mining Approach

This study explored the prognostic and therapeutic potentials of multiple Proteasome 26S Subunit, ATPase (PSMC) family of genes (PSMC1-5) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) diagnosis and treatment. All the PSMCs were found to be differentially expressed (upregulated) at the mRNA and protein levels in LUAD tissues. The promoter and multiple coding regions of PSMCs were reported to be differentially and distinctly methylated, which may serve in the methylation-sensitive diagnosis of LUAD patients. Multiple somatic mutations (alteration frequency: 0.6-2%) were observed along the PSMC coding regions in LUAD tissues that could assist in the high-throughput screening of LUAD patients. A significant association between the PSMC overexpression and LUAD patients' poor overall and relapse-free survival (p < 0.05; HR: >1.3) and individual cancer stages (p < 0.001) was discovered, which justifies PSMCs as the ideal targets for LUAD diagnosis. Multiple immune cells and modulators (i.e., CD274 and IDO1) were found to be associated with the expression levels of PSMCs in LUAD tissues that could aid in formulating PSMC-based diagnostic measures and therapeutic interventions for LUAD. Functional enrichment analysis of neighbor genes of PSMCs in LUAD tissues revealed different genes (i.e., SLIRP, PSMA2, and NUDSF3) previously known to be involved in oncogenic processes and metastasis are co-expressed with PSMCs, which could also be investigated further. Overall, this study recommends that PSMCs and their transcriptional and translational products are potential candidates for LUAD diagnostic and therapeutic measure discovery.