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Su P, Yu T, Zhang Y, Huang H, Chen M, Cao C, Kang W, Liu Y, Yu J. Upregulation of MELK promotes chemoresistance and induces macrophage M2 polarization via CSF-1/JAK2/STAT3 pathway in gastric cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2024; 24:287. [PMID: 39135038 PMCID: PMC11320770 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-024-03453-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) stands out as one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting the digestive system, characterized by a substantial incidence rate and mortality. Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) has been implicated in the advancement of various cancer types and the modulation of the tumor microenvironment. This study aims to delve into the involvement of MELK in chemoresistance and the tumor microenvironment of GC. METHODS The MELK expression was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Lentiviral transfection was employed to establish stable cell lines with either overexpressed or silenced MELK. The impact of MELK on the chemoresistance of GC cells and the polarization of macrophages was investigated through in vitro and in vivo functional assays. Additionally, the correlation between MELK and the cytokines colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), as well as stromal macrophages, was analysed. The prognostic significance of MELK, CSF-1, and CD206 expression levels in clinical samples was further investigated. RESULTS MELK was found to be highly expressed in chemoresistant GC cells and tissues. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo assays indicated that MELK overexpression conferred chemoresistance in GC cells. Additionally, MELK overexpression was observed to induce M2 macrophage polarization via the CSF-1/JAK2/STAT3 pathway, thereby contributing to chemoresistance within the tumor microenvironment. The expression of MELK in GC tissues from neoadjuvant chemotherapy patients correlated positively with CSF-1 and CD206. Moreover, patients with higher expression levels of MELK, CSF-1, or CD206 exhibited significantly shorter OS and DFS rates. CONCLUSIONS Our investigation underscores the critical role of MELK in promoting chemoresistance and inducing M2 macrophage polarization in GC. It proposes novel targets and methods for the treatment of GC, as well as prognostic factors for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Su
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Tian Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Yingjing Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Hongyun Huang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Moxi Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Can Cao
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Weiming Kang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Yuqin Liu
- Department of Pathology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Jianchun Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China.
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Ma L, Wang X, Wu Y, Zhang Y, Yuan X, Mao J, Li Q, Gong S. Controlled release of manganese and magnesium ions by microsphere-encapsulated hydrogel enhances cancer immunotherapy. J Control Release 2024; 372:682-698. [PMID: 38950681 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.06.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
Despite the considerable potential of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy in treating various cancer types, it faces several challenges, of which the constrained objective response rate and relatively short duration of response observed in patients with cancer are the most important. This study introduces an injectable temperature-sensitive hydrogel, Pluronic F-127 (PF-127)@MnCl2/ alginate microspheres (ALG-MS)@MgCl2, that enhances the therapeutic efficacy of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in cancer cells. The hydrogel material used in this study facilitated the rapid release of a significant amount of manganese ions (Mn2+) and the gradual and sustained release of magnesium ions (Mg2+) within the tumor microenvironment. This staged release profile promotes an immune microenvironment conducive to the cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells, thereby enhancing the efficacy of ICB therapy. Furthermore, the PF-127@MnCl2/ALG-MS@MgCl2 composite hydrogel exhibits the ability to convert drug-resistant tumor ("cold tumor") with a low PD-L1 response to a "hot tumor" with a high PD-L1 response. In summary, the PF-127@MnCl2/ALG-MS@MgCl2 hydrogel manipulates the immune microenvironment through the precise discharge of Mg2+ and Mn2+, thus, augmenting the efficacy of ICB therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ma
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China
| | - Xiangyao Wang
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China
| | - Yaxin Wu
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China
| | - Yuxiao Zhang
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China
| | - Xianglin Yuan
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China
| | - Jing Mao
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China.
| | - Qilin Li
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China.
| | - Shiqiang Gong
- Department of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; School of Stomatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Development and Regeneration, Wuhan 430022, PR China.
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Wallen ZD, Ko H, Nesline MK, Hastings SB, Strickland KC, Previs RA, Zhang S, Pabla S, Conroy J, Jackson JB, Saini KS, Jensen TJ, Eisenberg M, Caveney B, Sathyan P, Severson EA, Ramkissoon SH. Real-world comprehensive genomic and immune profiling reveals distinct age- and sex-based genomic and immune landscapes in tumors of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1413956. [PMID: 38975340 PMCID: PMC11224431 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1413956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Younger patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (<50 years) represent a significant patient population with distinct clinicopathological features and enriched targetable genomic alterations compared to older patients. However, previous studies of younger NSCLC suffer from inconsistent findings, few studies have incorporated sex into their analyses, and studies targeting age-related differences in the tumor immune microenvironment are lacking. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 8,230 patients with NSCLC, comparing genomic alterations and immunogenic markers of younger and older patients while also considering differences between male and female patients. We defined older patients as those ≥65 years and used a 5-year sliding threshold from <45 to <65 years to define various groups of younger patients. Additionally, in an independent cohort of patients with NSCLC, we use our observations to inform testing of the combinatorial effect of age and sex on survival of patients given immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Results We observed distinct genomic and immune microenvironment profiles for tumors of younger patients compared to tumors of older patients. Younger patient tumors were enriched in clinically relevant genomic alterations and had gene expression patterns indicative of reduced immune system activation, which was most evident when analyzing male patients. Further, we found younger male patients treated with immunotherapy alone had significantly worse survival compared to male patients ≥65 years, while the addition of chemotherapy reduced this disparity. Contrarily, we found younger female patients had significantly better survival compared to female patients ≥65 years when treated with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, while treatment with immunotherapy alone resulted in similar outcomes. Discussion These results show the value of comprehensive genomic and immune profiling (CGIP) for informing clinical treatment of younger patients with NSCLC and provides support for broader coverage of CGIP for younger patients with advanced NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heidi Ko
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Mary K. Nesline
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | | | - Kyle C. Strickland
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Department of Pathology, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Rebecca A. Previs
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Shengle Zhang
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Sarabjot Pabla
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Jeffrey Conroy
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | | | - Kamal S. Saini
- Fortrea Inc, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
| | | | - Marcia Eisenberg
- Labcorp, Early Development Laboratories, Burlington, NC, United States
| | - Brian Caveney
- Labcorp, Early Development Laboratories, Burlington, NC, United States
| | | | | | - Shakti H. Ramkissoon
- Labcorp Oncology, Medical Oncology, Durham, NC, United States
- Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
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Chen Y, Li D, Sha K, Zhang X, Liu T. Human pan-cancer analysis of the predictive biomarker for the CDKN3. Eur J Med Res 2024; 29:272. [PMID: 38720365 PMCID: PMC11077798 DOI: 10.1186/s40001-024-01869-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cell cycle protein-dependent kinase inhibitor protein 3 (CDKN3), as a member of the protein kinase family, has been demonstrated to exhibit oncogenic properties in several tumors. However, there are no pan-carcinogenic analyses for CDKN3. METHODS Using bioinformatics tools such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the UCSC Xena database, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of CDKN3 was conducted. The inverstigation encompassed the examination of CDKN3 function actoss 33 different kinds of tumors, as well as the exploration of gene expressions, survival prognosis status, clinical significance, DNA methylation, immune infiltration, and associated signal pathways. RESULTS CDKN3 was significantly upregulated in most of tumors and correlated with overall survival (OS) of patients. Methylation levels of CDKN3 differed significantly between tumors and normal tissues. In addition, infiltration of CD4 + T cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, macrophages, and endothelial cells were associated with CDKN3 expression in various tumors. Mechanistically, CDKN3 was associated with P53, PI3K-AKT, cell cycle checkpoints, mitotic spindle checkpoint, and chromosome maintenance. CONCLUSION Our pan-cancer analysis conducted in the study provides a comprehensive understanding of the involvement of CDKN3 gene in tumorigenesis. The findings suggest that targeting CDKN3 may potentially lead to novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjun Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, 256600, Shandong, China
| | - Dai Li
- Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning, China
| | - Kaihui Sha
- Binzhou Medical University School of Nursing, Binzhou, 256600, Shandong, China
| | - Xuezhong Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo, 255000, Shandong, China.
| | - Tonggang Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, 256600, Shandong, China.
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Seager RJ, Ko H, Pabla S, Senosain MF, Kalinski P, Van Roey E, Gao S, Strickland KC, Previs RA, Nesline MK, Hastings S, Zhang S, Conroy JM, Jensen TJ, Eisenberg M, Caveney B, Severson EA, Ramkissoon S, Gandhi S. Immunologic Factors Associated with Differential Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. J Pers Med 2024; 14:481. [PMID: 38793063 PMCID: PMC11122407 DOI: 10.3390/jpm14050481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: KEYNOTE-522 resulted in FDA approval of the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with early-stage, high-risk, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Unfortunately, pembrolizumab is associated with several immune-related adverse events (irAEs). We aimed to identify potential tumor microenvironment (TME) biomarkers which could predict patients who may attain pathological complete response (pCR) with chemotherapy alone and be spared the use of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Methods: Comprehensive immune profiling, including RNA-seq gene expression assessment of 395 immune genes, was performed on matched FFPE tumor samples from 22 stage I-III TNBC patients (14 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone (NAC) and 8 treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab (NAC+I)). Results: Differential gene expression analysis revealed that in the NAC group, IL12B and IL13 were both significantly associated with pCR. In the NAC+I group, LCK and TP63 were significantly associated with pCR. Patients in both treatment groups exhibiting pCR tended to have greater tumor inflammation than non-pCR patients. In the NAC+I group, patients with pCR tended to have greater cell proliferation and higher PD-L1 expression, while in the NAC group, patients with pCR tended to have lower cancer testis antigen expression. Additionally, the NAC+I group trended toward a lower relative dose intensity averaged across all chemotherapy drugs, suggesting that more dose reductions or treatment delays occurred in the NAC+I group than the NAC group. Conclusions: A comprehensive understanding of immunologic factors could potentially predict pCR to chemotherapy alone, enabling the avoidance of the unnecessary treatment of these patients with checkpoint inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J. Seager
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Heidi Ko
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
| | - Sarabjot Pabla
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Maria-Fernanda Senosain
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Pawel Kalinski
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA;
| | - Erik Van Roey
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Shuang Gao
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Kyle C. Strickland
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Rebecca Ann Previs
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Mary K. Nesline
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
| | - Stephanie Hastings
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
| | - Shengle Zhang
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Jeffrey M. Conroy
- Labcorp Oncology, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (S.P.); (M.-F.S.); (E.V.R.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (J.M.C.)
| | - Taylor J. Jensen
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
| | | | | | - Eric A. Severson
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
| | - Shakti Ramkissoon
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC 27710, USA; (H.K.); (K.C.S.); (R.A.P.); (M.K.N.); (S.H.); (T.J.J.); (E.A.S.); (S.R.)
- Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27710, USA
| | - Shipra Gandhi
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA;
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Wang Q, Yu Q, Liu Y. E2F1-EP300 co-activator complex potentiates immune escape in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through the mediation of MELK. Histol Histopathol 2024; 39:511-523. [PMID: 37728155 DOI: 10.14670/hh-18-662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by a highly suppressive microenvironment that protects tumor cells against immune attack and facilitates tumor progression. MELK is upregulated in various tumors, whereas its function in the immune escape remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of MELK during immune escape in NPC. METHODS Differentially expressed genes were filtered using GEO datasets and PPI network analysis. NPC cell colony formation and motility were examined, and the impact of CD8⁺ T cells on NPC cells was evaluated. A xenograft model was constructed to detect the growth of tumor cells and the T-cell phenotype of tumor infiltration. ChIP-qPCR and dual-luciferase assays were used to verify the transcriptional regulation of MELK by EP300/E2F1. FINDINGS MELK was overexpressed in NPC, and sh-MELK suppressed the clonogenic ability, migration, and invasion of NPC cells and promoted the killing effects of CD8⁺ T cells. These in vitro findings were reproduced in vivo. EP300 synergized E2F1 to regulate the transcription of MELK in NPC cells. Loss of EP300 or E2F1 reverted the malignant phenotype of NPC cells and promoted the immune effect of CD8⁺ T cells. MELK further suppressed the immune effect of CD8⁺ T cells in the presence of sh-E2F1. INTERPRETATION EP300 coordinated with E2F1 to promote the transcription of MELK which promoted the growth of NPC cells and repressed the killing effect of CD8⁺ T cells. Blockage of MELK may be a potential way to suppress the immune escape of NPC cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Wang
- Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Center, Cancer Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Qi Yu
- Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Center, Cancer Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Yueyang Liu
- Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Center, Cancer Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
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Altorki NK, Bhinder B, Borczuk AC, Elemento O, Mittal V, McGraw TE. A signature of enhanced proliferation associated with response and survival to anti-PD-L1 therapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Cell Rep Med 2024; 5:101438. [PMID: 38401548 PMCID: PMC10982989 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
In early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, the combination of neoadjuvant anti-PD-L1 and subablative stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is associated with higher rates of major pathologic response compared to anti-PD-L1 alone. Here, we identify a 140-gene set, enriched in genes characteristic of highly proliferating cells, associated with response to the dual therapy. Analysis of on-treatment transcriptome data indicate roles for T and B cells in response. The 140-gene set is associated with disease-free survival when applied to the combined trial arms. This 140-gene set identifies a subclass of tumors in all 7 of The Cancer Genome Atlas tumor types examined. Worse survival is associated with the 140-gene signature in 5 of these tumor types. Collectively, our data support that this 140-gene set, discovered in association with response to combined anti-PD-L1 and SBRT, identifies a clinically aggressive subclass of solid tumors that may be more likely to respond to immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasser K Altorki
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Bhavneet Bhinder
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alain C Borczuk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Northwell Health, Greenvale, NY 10042, USA
| | - Olivier Elemento
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Vivek Mittal
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Timothy E McGraw
- Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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Jia K, Chen Y, Xie Y, Wang X, Hu Y, Sun Y, Cao Y, Zhang L, Wang Y, Wang Z, Lu Z, Li J, Zhang X, Shen L. Helicobacter pylori and immunotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer. Innovation (N Y) 2024; 5:100561. [PMID: 38379784 PMCID: PMC10878118 DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers; however, its impact on immunotherapy for GI cancers remains uncertain. In this study, we included 10,122 patients who underwent 13C-urea breath tests. Among 636 patients with Epstein-Barr virus-negative microsatellite-stable gastric cancer (GC) who were treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, H. pylori-positive patients exhibited significantly longer immune-related progression-free survival (irPFS) compared with H. pylori-negative patients (6.97 months versus 5.03 months, p < 0.001, hazard ratio [HR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62-0.95, p = 0.015). Moreover, the H. pylori-positive group demonstrated a trend of 4 months longer median immune-related overall survival (irOS) than the H. pylori-negative group. H. pylori-positive GC displayed higher densities of PD-L1+ cells and nonexhausted CD8+ T cells, indicative of a "hot" tumor microenvironment. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that H. pylori-positive GC shared molecular characteristics similar to those of immunotherapy-sensitive GC. However, H. pylori-positive patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal adenocarcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) had shorter irPFS compared with H. pylori-negative patients (16.13 months versus not reached, p = 0.042, HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.13-4.50, p = 0.021 and 5.57 months versus 6.97 months, p = 0.029, HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.14-2.23, p = 0.006, respectively). The difference in irOS between H. pylori-positive and -negative patients had the same trend as that between dMMR/MSI-H colorectal adenocarcinoma and ESCC patients. We also identified a trend of shorter irPFS and irOS in H. pylori-positive liver cancer and pancreatic cancer patients. In summary, our findings supported that H. pylori infection is a beneficial factor for GC immunotherapy by shaping hot tumor microenvironments. However, in dMMR/MSI-H colorectal adenocarcinoma and ESCC patients, H. pylori adversely affects the efficacy of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Jia
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yi Xie
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Xicheng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yajie Hu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yu Sun
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yanshuo Cao
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Liyan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yakun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Zhenghang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Zhihao Lu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Jian Li
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Xiaotian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Lin Shen
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
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Ren Y, Liang H, Huang Y, Miao Y, Li R, Qiang J, Wu L, Qi J, Li Y, Xia Y, Huang L, Wang S, Kong X, Zhou Y, Zhang Q, Zhu G. Key candidate genes and pathways in T lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma identified by bioinformatics and serological analyses. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1341255. [PMID: 38464517 PMCID: PMC10920334 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1341255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is an uncommon but highly aggressive hematological malignancy. It has high recurrence and mortality rates and is challenging to treat. This study conducted bioinformatics analyses, compared genetic expression profiles of healthy controls with patients having T-ALL/T-LBL, and verified the results through serological indicators. Data were acquired from the GSE48558 dataset from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). T-ALL patients and normal T cells-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were investigated using the online analysis tool GEO2R in GEO, identifying 78 upregulated and 130 downregulated genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses of the top 10 DEGs showed enrichment in pathways linked to abnormal mitotic cell cycles, chromosomal instability, dysfunction of inflammatory mediators, and functional defects in T-cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and immune checkpoints. The DEGs were then validated by examining blood indices in samples obtained from patients, comparing the T-ALL/T-LBL group with the control group. Significant differences were observed in the levels of various blood components between T-ALL and T-LBL patients. These components include neutrophils, lymphocyte percentage, hemoglobin (HGB), total protein, globulin, erythropoietin (EPO) levels, thrombin time (TT), D-dimer (DD), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Additionally, there were significant differences in peripheral blood leukocyte count, absolute lymphocyte count, creatinine, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, folate, and thrombin times. The genes and pathways associated with T-LBL/T-ALL were identified, and peripheral blood HGB, EPO, TT, DD, and CRP were key molecular markers. This will assist the diagnosis of T-ALL/T-LBL, with applications for differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yansong Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Haoyue Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Yali Huang
- Clinical Laboratory of Zhengning County People's Hospital, Qingyang, Gansu, China
| | - Yuyang Miao
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Ruihua Li
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Junlian Qiang
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Lihong Wu
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Jinfeng Qi
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Yonghui Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Lunhui Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Shoulei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiaodong Kong
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Department of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin Geriatrics Institute, Tianjin, China
| | - Guoqing Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
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10
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Seager RJ, Senosain MF, Van Roey E, Gao S, DePietro P, Nesline MK, Dash DP, Zhang S, Ko H, Hastings SB, Strickland KC, Previs RA, Jensen TJ, Eisenberg M, Caveney BJ, Severson EA, Ramkissoon S, Conroy JM, Pabla S. Cancer testis antigen burden (CTAB): a novel biomarker of tumor-associated antigens in lung cancer. J Transl Med 2024; 22:141. [PMID: 38326843 PMCID: PMC10851610 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-024-04918-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are tumor antigens that are normally expressed in the testes but are aberrantly expressed in several cancers. CTA overexpression drives the metastasis and progression of lung cancer, and is associated with poor prognosis. To improve lung cancer diagnosis, prognostic prediction, and drug discovery, robust CTA identification and quantitation is needed. In this study, we examined and quantified the co-expression of CTAs in lung cancer to derive cancer testis antigen burden (CTAB), a novel biomarker of immunotherapy response. METHODS Formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor samples in discovery cohort (n = 5250) and immunotherapy and combination therapy treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) retrospective (n = 250) cohorts were tested by comprehensive genomic and immune profiling (CGIP), including tumor mutational burden (TMB) and the mRNA expression of 17 CTAs. PD-L1 expression was evaluated by IHC. CTA expression was summed to derive the CTAB score. The median CTAB score for the discovery cohort of 170 was applied to the retrospective cohort as cutoff for CTAB "high" and "low". Biomarker and gene expression correlation was measured by Spearman correlation. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to detect overall survival (OS) differences, and objective response rate (ORR) based on RECIST criteria was compared using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS The CTAs were highly co-expressed (p < 0.05) in the discovery cohort. There was no correlation between CTAB and PD-L1 expression (R = 0.011, p = 0.45) but some correlation with TMB (R = 0.11, p = 9.2 × 10-14). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of the immunotherapy-treated NSCLC cohort revealed better OS for the pembrolizumab monotherapy treated patients with high CTAB (p = 0.027). The combination group demonstrated improved OS compared to pembrolizumab monotherapy group (p = 0.04). The pembrolizumab monotherapy patients with high CTAB had a greater ORR than the combination therapy group (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS CTA co-expression can be reliably measured using CGIP in solid tumors. As a biomarker, CTAB appears to be independent from PD-L1 expression, suggesting that CTAB represents aspects of tumor immunogenicity not measured by current standard of care testing. Improved OS and ORR for high CTAB NSCLC patients treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy suggests a unique underlying aspect of immune response to these tumor antigens that needs further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Seager
- OmniSeq (Labcorp Oncology), Buffalo, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Shuang Gao
- OmniSeq (Labcorp Oncology), Buffalo, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Heidi Ko
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Kyle C Strickland
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Rebecca A Previs
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Shakti Ramkissoon
- Labcorp Oncology, Durham, NC, USA
- Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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11
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Liu JS, Cai YX, He YZ, Xu J, Tian SF, Li ZQ. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of tumor immune microenvironment between primary tumor and brain metastases in NSCLC. BMC Cancer 2024; 24:123. [PMID: 38267913 PMCID: PMC10809508 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-11875-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: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brain metastasis is a common outcome in non-small cell lung cancer, and despite aggressive treatment, its clinical outcome is still frustrating. In recent years, immunotherapy has been developing rapidly, however, its therapeutic outcomes for primary lung cancer and brain metastases are not the same, suggesting that there may be differences in the immune microenvironment of primary lung cancer and brain metastases, however, we currently know little about these differences. METHODS Seventeen paired samples of NSCLC and their brain metastases and 45 other unpaired brain metastases samples were collected for the current study. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on all samples for the following markers: immune checkpoints CTLA-4, PD-1, PD-L1, B7-H3, B7-H4, IDO1, and EphA2; tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD20; tumor-associated microglia/macrophages (TAMs) CD68 and CD163; and tumor proliferation index Ki-67. The differences in expression of these markers were compared in 17 paired samples, and the effect of the expression level of these markers on the prognosis of patients was analyzed in lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases samples. Subsequently, multiplex immunofluorescence staining was performed in a typical lung-brain paired sample based on the aforementioned results. The multiplex immunofluorescence staining results revealed the difference in tumor immune microenvironment between primary NSCLC and brain metastases. RESULTS In 17 paired lesions, the infiltration of CTLA-4+ (P = 0.461), PD-1+ (P = 0.106), CD3+ (P = 0.045), CD4+ (P = 0.037), CD8+ (P = 0.008), and CD20+ (P = 0.029) TILs in brain metastases were significantly decreased compared with primary tumors. No statistically significant difference was observed in the CD68 (P = 0.954) and CD163 (P = 0.654) TAM infiltration between primary NSCLC and paired brain metastases. In all the brain metastases lesions, the expression of PD-L1 is related to the time interval of brain metastases in NSCLC. In addition, the Cox proportional hazards regression models showed high expression of B7-H4 (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.276, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.335-8.041, P = 0.010) and CD68 TAM infiltration (HR = 3.775, 95% CI 1.419-10.044, P = 0.008) were independent prognosis factors for lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases patients. CONCLUSIONS Both temporal and spatial heterogeneity is present between the primary tumor and brain metastases of NCSLC. Brain metastases lesions exhibit a more immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment. B7-H4 and CD68+ TAMs may have potential therapeutic value for lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Sheng Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China
| | - Yu-Xiang Cai
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China
| | - Yong-Ze He
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China
| | - Jian Xu
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China
| | - Su-Fang Tian
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China.
| | - Zhi-Qiang Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 430062, Wuhan, China.
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12
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Zhu S, Pang Y, Zhang X, Yang C, Gao J, Fang P, Zhang Y, Yao Y, Ju F, Ye F, Zhu H, Liao P, Yao L, Dai L, Xu J, Wu B, Pan J, Wu Y. Alteration of Thyroid Hormones in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging. Neuroendocrinology 2024; 114:411-422. [PMID: 38228117 DOI: 10.1159/000536089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Aging is characterized by the deterioration of a wide range of functions in tissues and organs, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment. Hypothyroidism occurs when there is insufficient production of thyroid hormones (THs) by the thyroid. The relationship between hypothyroidism and aging as well as AD is controversial at present. METHODS We established an animal model of AD (FAD4T) with mutations in the APP and PSEN1 genes, and we performed a thyroid function test and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of the thyroid from FAD4T and naturally aging mice. We also studied gene perturbation correlation in the FAD4T mouse thyroid, bone marrow, and brain by further single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of the bone marrow and brain. RESULTS In this study, we found alterations in THs in both AD and aging mice. RNA-seq data showed significant upregulation of T-cell infiltration- and cell proliferation-related genes in FAD4T mouse thyroid. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed that upregulated genes were enriched in the functional gene modules of activation of immune cells. Downregulated energy metabolism-related genes were prominent in aging thyroids, which reflected the reduction in THs. GSEA showed a similar enrichment tendency in both mouse thyroids, suggesting their analogous inflammation state. In addition, the regulation of leukocyte activation and migration was a common signature between the thyroid, brain, and bone marrow of FAD4T mice. CONCLUSIONS Our findings identified immune cell infiltration of the thyroid as the potential underlying mechanism of the alteration of THs in AD and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yidan Pang
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangwei Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Chunying Yang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Junjie Gao
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Microsurgery on Extremities, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Fang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yaohui Zhang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yunjin Yao
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fangyu Ju
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fang Ye
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongyi Zhu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Peng Liao
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Lufeng Yao
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ningbo No. 6 Hospital, Ningbo, China
| | - Lulu Dai
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Pan
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yijun Wu
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Bai X, Chen T, Li Y, Ge X, Qiu C, Gou H, Wei S, Liu T, Yang W, Yang L, Liang Y, Jia Z, Lv L, Li T. PD-L1 expression levels in mesenchymal stromal cells predict their therapeutic values for autoimmune hepatitis. Stem Cell Res Ther 2023; 14:370. [PMID: 38111045 PMCID: PMC10729378 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-023-03594-z] [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: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic inflammatory hepatic disorder with no effective treatment. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising treatment owing to their unique advantages. However, their heterogeneity is hampering use in clinical applications. METHODS Wharton's jelly derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs) were isolated from 58 human donors using current good manufacturing practice conditions. Gene expression profiles of the WJ-MSCs were analyzed by transcriptome and single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), and subsequent functional differences were assessed. Expression levels of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) were used as an indicator to screen WJ-MSCs with varied immunomodulation activities and assessed their corresponding therapeutic effects in a mouse model of concanavalin A-induced autoimmune hepatitis. RESULTS The 58 different donor-derived WJ-MSCs were grouped into six gene expression profile clusters. The gene in different clusters displayed obvious variations in cell proliferation, differentiation bias, trophic factor secretion, and immunoregulation. Data of scRNA-seq revealed four distinct WJ-MSCs subpopulations. Notably, the different immunosuppression capacities of WJ-MSCs were positively correlated with PD-L1 expression. WJ-MSCs with high expression of PD-L1 were therapeutically superior to WJ-MSCs with low PD-L1 expression in treating autoimmune hepatitis. CONCLUSION PD-L1 expression levels of WJ-MSCs could be regarded as an indicator to choose optimal MSCs for treating autoimmune disease. These findings provided novel insights into the quality control of MSCs and will inform improvements in the therapeutic benefits of MSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xilong Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, China
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
- Department of Hematology, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Tingwei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, China
| | - Yuqi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaofan Ge
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Caie Qiu
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Huili Gou
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Sili Wei
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Tingting Liu
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Yang
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Liting Yang
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yingmin Liang
- Department of Hematology, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhansheng Jia
- Department of Infection and Liver Disease, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Liangshan Lv
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Radiology, Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital, Xi'an, , 710075, Shaanxi, China
| | - Tianqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, China.
- Xi'an ChaoYue Stem Cell Co., Ltd, Xi'an, 710100, Shaanxi, China.
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14
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Gao C, Fan X, Liu Y, Han Y, Liu S, Li H, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Xue F. Comprehensive Analysis Reveals the Potential Roles of CDKN3 in Pancancer and Verification in Endometrial Cancer. Int J Gen Med 2023; 16:5817-5839. [PMID: 38106976 PMCID: PMC10723185 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s438479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 3 (CDKN3) has been studied in many cancers. However, the comprehensive and systematic pancancer analysis of CDKN3 genes is still lacking. Methods Data were downloaded from online databases. R was used for analysis of the differential expression and gene alteration of CDKN3 and of the associations between CDKN3 expression and survival, signaling pathways, and drug sensitivity. Clinical samples and in vitro experiments were selected for verification. Results CDKN3 expression was higher in most types of cancers, and this phenotype was significantly correlated with poor survival. CDKN3 showed gene alterations and copy number alterations in many cancers and associated with some immune-related pathways and factors. Drug sensitivity analysis elucidated that CDKN3 could be a useful marker for therapy selection. Clinical samples elucidated CDKN3 expressed high in endometrial cancer tissue. In vitro studies showed that CDKN3 induced pro-tumor effect in immune environment and facilitated endometrial cancer cell proliferation and G1/S phase transition. Conclusion CDKN3 has been shown to be highly expressed in most types of cancers and promoted cancer cell progression. CDKN3 may serve as a novel marker in clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Gao
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiangqin Fan
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zaozhuang Municipal Hospital, Shandong, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Liu
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Han
- Department of Pathology, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shiqi Liu
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huanrong Li
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiaoling Zhang
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yingmei Wang
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fengxia Xue
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
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15
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Li S, Xue P, Diao X, Fan QY, Ye K, Tang XM, Liu J, Huang ZY, Tang QH, Jia CY, Xin R, Lv ZW, Liu JB, Ma YS, Fu D. Identification and validation of functional roles for three MYC-associated genes in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Adv Res 2023; 54:133-146. [PMID: 36716957 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2023.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrations in MYC underlie a large proportion of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) cases; however, MYC is difficult to target because of its undruggable structure. We aimed to uncover MYC-associated molecular targets to provide new strategies for LIHC treatment. METHODS LIHC transcriptome datasets and clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A series of bioinformatics analyses were performed for 370 patients who were stratified based on the median MYC expression level (high-MYC group and low-MYC group). Correlation analysis was performed to determine relationships between the expression of key MYC-associated genes and prognosis, DNA promotor methylation, and immune cell infiltration. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway enrichment analyses were performed to elucidate the functions of these genes in LIHC. Their expression and functions in LIHC were further verified using transgenic mice overexpressing c-Myc under control of the hepatocyte-specific promoter (Alb-Cre). RESULTS AURKB, CCNB2, and CDKN3 were overexpressed in LIHC patients with high MYC expression and were associated with poor prognosis. Upregulation of these 3 genes was significantly correlated with hypomethylated promoter status, advanced T stage, metastasis, and immune cell infiltration in LIHC patients. Functional enrichment analyses indicated that these genes participate in the "p53 signaling pathway" and "cell cycle". Furthermore, RT-PCR and IHC analysis revealed that their mRNA and protein expression levels were upregulated in an Alb-Cre;cMYClsl/- mouse model. Drugs that target these 3 MYC-related genes were identified. CONCLUSION Taken together, our results identify biomarkers of potential utility for managing liver cancer therapy owing to their significance in tumorigenesis, proliferation, and tumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sha Li
- Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226631, Jiangsu Province, China; Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Central Laboratory, Hunan Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
| | - Pei Xue
- Division of Gastrointestinal and Colorectal Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Xun Diao
- Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226631, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Qi-Yu Fan
- Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226631, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Kun Ye
- Department of Urology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China; Uro-Oncology Institute of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China
| | - Xiao-Mei Tang
- General Surgery, Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Jia Liu
- General Surgery, Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Zhong-Yan Huang
- General Surgery, Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Qing-Hai Tang
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region and College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421008, Hunan Province, China
| | - Cheng-You Jia
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Rui Xin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Zhong-Wei Lv
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Ji-Bin Liu
- Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226631, Jiangsu Province, China.
| | - Yu-Shui Ma
- Cancer Institute, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Da Fu
- General Surgery, Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
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16
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Usaite I, Biswas D, Dijkstra K, Watkins TB, Pich O, Puttick C, Angelova M, Thakkar K, Hiley C, Birkbak N, Kok M, Zaccaria S, Wu Y, Litchfield K, Swanton C, Kanu N. Quantifying the impact of immunotherapy on RNA dynamics in cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e007870. [PMID: 37914385 PMCID: PMC10626770 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-007870] [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] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) immunotherapies have provided durable clinical responses across a range of solid tumor types for some patients with cancer. Nonetheless, response rates to CPI vary greatly between cancer types. Resolving intratumor transcriptomic changes induced by CPI may improve our understanding of the mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance. METHODS We assembled a cohort of longitudinal pre-therapy and on-therapy samples from 174 patients treated with CPI across six cancer types by leveraging transcriptomic sequencing data from five studies. RESULTS Meta-analyses of published RNA markers revealed an on-therapy pattern of immune reinvigoration in patients with breast cancer, which was not discernible pre-therapy, providing biological insight into the impact of CPI on the breast cancer immune microenvironment. We identified 98 breast cancer-specific correlates of CPI response, including 13 genes which are known IO targets, such as toll-like receptors TLR1, TLR4, and TLR8, that could hold potential as combination targets for patients with breast cancer receiving CPI treatment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a subset of response genes identified in breast cancer are already highly expressed pre-therapy in melanoma, and additionally we establish divergent RNA dynamics between breast cancer and melanoma following CPI treatment, which may suggest distinct immune microenvironments between the two cancer types. CONCLUSIONS Overall, delineating longitudinal RNA dynamics following CPI therapy sheds light on the mechanisms underlying diverging response trajectories, and identifies putative targets for combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ieva Usaite
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Dhruva Biswas
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Bill Lyons Informatics Centre, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
| | - Krijn Dijkstra
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Bk Watkins
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
| | - Oriol Pich
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Clare Puttick
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Mihaela Angelova
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Krupa Thakkar
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Tumour Immunogenomics and Immunosurveillance Laboratory, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
| | - Crispin Hiley
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Nicolai Birkbak
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marleen Kok
- Division of Tumor Biology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Simone Zaccaria
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Computational Cancer Genomics Research Group, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
| | - Yin Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology and Centre for Inflammation Biology and Cancer Immunology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Kevin Litchfield
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Tumour Immunogenomics and Immunosurveillance Laboratory, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
| | - Charles Swanton
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Nnennaya Kanu
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
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17
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Liu M, Wang W, Zhang H, Bi J, Zhang B, Shi T, Su G, Zheng Y, Fan S, Huang X, Chen B, Song Y, Zhao Z, Shi J, Li P, Lu W, Zhang L. Three-Dimensional Gene Regulation Network in Glioblastoma Ferroptosis. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14945. [PMID: 37834393 PMCID: PMC10574000 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914945] [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: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of cell death, which is reported to be associated with glioma progression and drug sensitivity. Targeting ferroptosis is a potential therapeutic approach for glioma. However, the molecular mechanism of glioma cell ferroptosis is not clear. In this study, we profile the change of 3D chromatin structure in glioblastoma ferroptosis by using HiChIP and study the 3D gene regulation network in glioblastoma ferroptosis. A combination of an analysis of HiChIP and RNA-seq data suggests that change of chromatin loops mediated by 3D chromatin structure regulates gene expressions in glioblastoma ferroptosis. Genes that are regulated by 3D chromatin structures include genes that were reported to function in ferroptosis, like HDM2 and TXNRD1. We propose a new regulatory mechanism governing glioblastoma cell ferroptosis by 3D chromatin structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Wange Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; (M.L.); (W.W.); (H.Z.); (J.B.); (B.Z.); (T.S.); (G.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.F.); (X.H.); (B.C.); (Y.S.); (Z.Z.); (J.S.); (P.L.)
| | - Lei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; (M.L.); (W.W.); (H.Z.); (J.B.); (B.Z.); (T.S.); (G.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.F.); (X.H.); (B.C.); (Y.S.); (Z.Z.); (J.S.); (P.L.)
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18
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Fortis SP, Batsaki P, Stokidis S, Moschandreou D, Grouzi E, Baxevanis CN, Gritzapis AD, Goulielmaki M. A Blood-Based Immune Gene Signature with Prognostic Significance in Localized Prostate Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3697. [PMID: 37509358 PMCID: PMC10377824 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common male cancers worldwide and one of the deadliest if unsuccessfully treated. Τhe need for reliable, easily accessible immune-related molecular biomarkers that could be combined with clinically defined criteria, including PSA and Gleason score, to accurately predict PCa patients' clinical outcomes is emerging. Herein, we describe for the first time a blood-identified immune-related gene signature comprising eight upregulated multi-functional genes associated with poor prognosis. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of PCa patients' peripheral blood samples revealed a more than three-fold upregulation of each of the eight genes as compared to samples originating from healthy donors. The construction of gene and protein interaction networks revealed different extents of the functional implications of these genes in the regulation of cell proliferation and immune responses. Analysis of the available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) regarding gene expression and survival of prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD) and pan-cancer (PANCAN) patients revealed that intra-tumoral upregulation of this eight-gene signature (8-GS) was associated with poor 5-year progression-free intervals in PCa patients, even in those with high Gleason scores, and also with an unfavorable prognosis for cancer patients irrespective of the cancer type and even in the early stages. These observations suggest that further investigation of the 8-GS prospectively in randomized clinical trials, in which clinical benefit in terms of evaluating time to disease progression can be assessed, is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sotirios P Fortis
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Panagiota Batsaki
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Savvas Stokidis
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitra Moschandreou
- Department of Transfusion Service and Clinical Hemostasis, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Elisavet Grouzi
- Department of Transfusion Service and Clinical Hemostasis, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Constantin N Baxevanis
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Angelos D Gritzapis
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Goulielmaki
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Cancer Research Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
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19
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Severson E, Achyut BR, Nesline M, Pabla S, Previs RA, Kannan G, Chenn A, Zhang S, Klein R, Conroy J, Sausen M, Sathyan P, Saini KS, Ghosh A, Jensen TJ, Reddy P, Ramkissoon SH. RNA Sequencing Identifies Novel NRG1 Fusions in Solid Tumors that Lack Co-Occurring Oncogenic Drivers. J Mol Diagn 2023; 25:454-466. [PMID: 37164276 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
NRG1 gene fusions are rare, therapeutically relevant, oncogenic drivers that occur across solid tumor types. To understand the landscape of NRG1 gene fusions, 4397 solid tumor formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples consecutively tested by comprehensive genomic and immune profiling during standard care were analyzed. Nineteen NRG1 fusions were found in 17 unique patients, across multiple tumor types, including non-small-cell lung (n = 7), breast (n = 2), colorectal (n = 3), esophageal (n = 2), ovarian (n = 1), pancreatic (n = 1), and unknown primary (n = 1) carcinomas, with a cumulative incidence of 0.38%. Fusions were identified with breakpoints across four NRG1 introns spanning 1.4 megabases, with a mixture of known (n = 8) and previously unreported (n = 11) fusion partners. Co-occurring driver alterations in tumors with NRG1 fusions were uncommon, except colorectal carcinoma, where concurrent alterations in APC, BRAF, and ERBB2 were present in a subset of cases. The overall lack of co-occurring drivers highlights the importance of identifying NRG1 gene fusions, as these patients are unlikely to harbor other targetable alterations. In addition, RNA sequencing is important to identify NRG1 gene fusions given the variety of fusion partners and large genomic areas where breakpoints can occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Severson
- Enterprise Oncology, Labcorp, Durham, North Carolina.
| | | | | | | | - Rebecca A Previs
- Enterprise Oncology, Labcorp, Durham, North Carolina; Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Anjen Chenn
- Enterprise Oncology, Labcorp, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | | | | | - Mark Sausen
- Personal Genome Diagnostics, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Kamal S Saini
- Enterprise Oncology, Labcorp, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | | | | | - Shakti H Ramkissoon
- Enterprise Oncology, Labcorp, Durham, North Carolina; Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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20
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Zhang W, Yu L, Xu C, Tang T, Cao J, Chen L, Pang X, Ren W. MRPL51 is a downstream target of FOXM1 in promoting the malignant behaviors of lung adenocarcinoma. Oncol Lett 2023; 26:298. [PMID: 37323822 PMCID: PMC10265367 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2023.13884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial ribosome protein L51 (MRPL51) is a 39S subunit protein of the mitochondrial ribosome. Its dysregulation may be involved in non-small cell lung cancer. The present study aimed to explore MRPL51 expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and normal lung tissues, as well as its regulatory effects on malignant LUAD behaviors. In addition, the role of forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) in MRPL51 transcription was studied. Bioinformatics analysis and subsequent in vitro experiments, including western blotting, immunofluorescent staining, Transwell invasion assay, dual-luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR were conducted. The results demonstrated that MRPL51 expression was upregulated at both the mRNA and protein levels in LUAD tissues compared with normal lung tissues. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis demonstrated that LUAD tissues with higher MRPL51 expression also had higher expression levels of genes enriched in multiple gene sets, including 'DNA_REPAIR', 'UNFOLDED_PROTEIN_RESPONSE', 'MYC_TARGETS_V1', 'OXIDATIVE_ PHOSPHORYLATION', 'MTORC1_SIGNALING', 'REACTIVE_OXYGEN_SPECIES_PATHWAY', 'MYC_ TARGETS_V2', 'E2F_TARGETS' and 'G2M_ CHECKPOINT'. MRPL51 expression was positively correlated with 'cell cycle', 'DNA damage', 'DNA repair', epithelial-mesenchymal transition ('EMT'), 'invasion' and 'proliferation' of LUAD cells at the single-cell level. Compared to the negative control, MRPL51 knockdown decreased N-cadherin and vimentin expression but increased E-cadherin expression in A549 and Calu-3 cells. MRPL51 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, induced G1 phase arrest and decreased cell invasion. Patients with LUAD and higher MRPL51 expression had a significantly shorter overall survival (OS). FOXM1 could bind to the MRPL51 gene promoter and activate its transcription. In conclusion, MRPL51 was transcriptionally activated by FOXM1 in LUAD and contributed to the malignant behaviors of tumor cells, including EMT, cell cycle progression and invasion. High MRPL51 expression may be a prognostic biomarker indicating poor OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqian Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Lei Yu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Cong Xu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Tian Tang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Jianguang Cao
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Lei Chen
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Xinya Pang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
| | - Weihao Ren
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing 100144, P.R. China
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21
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Leone GM, Candido S, Lavoro A, Vivarelli S, Gattuso G, Calina D, Libra M, Falzone L. Clinical Relevance of Targeted Therapy and Immune-Checkpoint Inhibition in Lung Cancer. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15041252. [PMID: 37111737 PMCID: PMC10142433 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15041252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer (LC) represents the second most diagnosed tumor and the malignancy with the highest mortality rate. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in the treatment of this tumor thanks to the discovery, testing, and clinical approval of novel therapeutic approaches. Firstly, targeted therapies aimed at inhibiting specific mutated tyrosine kinases or downstream factors were approved in clinical practice. Secondly, immunotherapy inducing the reactivation of the immune system to efficiently eliminate LC cells has been approved. This review describes in depth both current and ongoing clinical studies, which allowed the approval of targeted therapies and immune-checkpoint inhibitors as standard of care for LC. Moreover, the present advantages and pitfalls of new therapeutic approaches will be discussed. Finally, the acquired importance of human microbiota as a novel source of LC biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets to improve the efficacy of available therapies, was analyzed. Therapy against LC is increasingly becoming holistic, taking into consideration not only the genetic landscape of the tumor, but also the immune background and other individual variables, such as patient-specific gut microbial composition. On these bases, in the future, the research milestones reached will allow clinicians to treat LC patients with tailored approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Marco Leone
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Saverio Candido
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
- Research Center for Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Alessandro Lavoro
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Silvia Vivarelli
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Gattuso
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Daniela Calina
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
| | - Massimo Libra
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
- Research Center for Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Luca Falzone
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Fondazione G. Pascale", 80131 Naples, Italy
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22
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Mao Y, Xie H, Lv M, Yang Q, Shuang Z, Gao F, Li S, Zhu L, Wang W. The landscape of objective response rate of anti-PD-1/L1 monotherapy across 31 types of cancer: a system review and novel biomarker investigating. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2023:10.1007/s00262-023-03441-3. [PMID: 37022474 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-023-03441-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically changed the landscape of cancer treatment. However, only a few patients respond to ICI treatment. Thus, uncovering clinically accessible ICI biomarkers would help identify which patients will respond well to ICI treatment. A comprehensive objective response rate (ORR) data of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy in pan-cancer would offer the original data to explore the new biomarkers for ICIs. METHODS We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase for clinical trials on July 1, 2021, limited to the years 2017-2021, from which we obtained studies centering around anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. Finally, 121 out of 3099 publications and 143 ORR data were included. All of the 31 tumor types/subtypes can be found in the TCGA database. The gene expression profiles and mutation data were downloaded from TCGA. A comprehensive genome-wide screening of ORR highly correlated mutations among 31 cancers was conducted by Pearson correlation analysis based on the TCGA database. RESULTS According to the ORR, we classified 31 types of cancer into high, medium, and low response types. Further analysis uncovered that "high response" cancers had more T cell infiltration, more neoantigens, and less M2 macrophage infiltration. A panel of 28 biomarkers reviewed from recent articles were investigated with ORR. We also found the TMB as a traditional biomarker had a high correlation coefficient with ORR in pan-cancer, however, the correlation between ITH and ORR was low across pan-cancer. Moreover, we primarily identified 1044 ORR highly correlated mutations through a comprehensive screening of TCGA data, among which USH2A, ZFHX4 and PLCO mutations were found to be highly correlated to strengthened tumor immunogenicity and inflamed antitumor immunity, as well as improved outcomes for ICIs treatment among multiple immunotherapy cohorts. CONCLUSION Our study provides comprehensive data on ORR of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy across 31 tumor types/subtypes and an essential reference of ORR to explore new biomarkers. We also screened out a list of 1044 immune response related genes and we showed that USH2A, ZFHX4 and PLCO mutations may act as good biomarkers for predicting patient response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 ICIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yize Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Hui Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Department of Medical Imaging Center, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Minyi Lv
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Disease, Guangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Supported By National Key Clinical Discipline, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510655, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Qiuxia Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Department of Medical Imaging Center, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Zeyu Shuang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
- Department of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Disease, Guangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Supported By National Key Clinical Discipline, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510655, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Shengping Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
- Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
| | - Lina Zhu
- National Clinical Research Centre for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Haining People's Hospital, Jiaxing, China.
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23
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Tang BF, Yan RC, Wang SW, Zeng ZC, Du SS. Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase in tumor cell and tumor microenvironment: Emerging player and promising therapeutic opportunities. Cancer Lett 2023; 560:216126. [PMID: 36933780 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) is a member of the AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) protein family, which is widely and highly expressed in multiple cancer types. Through direct and indirect interactions with other proteins, it mediates various cascades of signal transduction processes and plays an important role in regulating tumor cell survival, growth, invasion and migration and other biological functions. Interestingly, MELK also plays an important role in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment, which can not only predict the responsiveness of immunotherapy, but also affect the function of immune cells to regulate tumor progression. In addition, more and more small molecule inhibitors have been developed for the target of MELK, which exert important anti-tumor effects and have achieved excellent results in a number of clinical trials. In this review, we outline the structural features, molecular biological functions, potential regulatory mechanisms and important roles of MELK in tumors and tumor microenvironment, as well as substances targeting MELK. Although many molecular mechanisms of MELK in the process of tumor regulation are still unknown, it is worth affirming that MELK is a potential tumor molecular therapeutic target, and its unique superiority and important role provide clues and confidence for subsequent basic research and scientific transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bu-Fu Tang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital, Fenglin Road 188, 200030, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruo-Chen Yan
- School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Si-Wei Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital, Fenglin Road 188, 200030, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhao-Chong Zeng
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital, Fenglin Road 188, 200030, Shanghai, China
| | - Shi-Suo Du
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital, Fenglin Road 188, 200030, Shanghai, China.
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Tilak T, Patel A, Kapoor A. Molecular basis and clinical application of targeted therapy in oncology. Med J Armed Forces India 2023; 79:128-135. [PMID: 36969115 PMCID: PMC10037059 DOI: 10.1016/j.mjafi.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted therapy and precision oncology aim to improve efficacy and minimize side effects by targeting specific molecules involved in cancer growth and spread. With the advancements in genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics with the accessible modalities such as next-generation sequencing, circulating tumor cells, and tumor Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), more number of patients are being offered the targeted therapy in form of monoclonal antibodies and various intracellular targets, specific for their tumor. The harnessing of host immunity against the cancer cells by utilizing immune-oncology agents and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy has further revolutionized the management of various cancers. These agents, however, have the challenge of managing the adverse effects that are peculiar to the class of drugs and very different from the conventional chemotherapy. This review article discusses the molecular basis, diagnostics, and use of targeted therapy in oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- T.V.S.V.G.K. Tilak
- Professor & Head, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
| | - Amol Patel
- Senior Advisor (Medicine) & Medical Oncologist, INHS Asvini, Colaba, Mumbai, India
| | - Amul Kapoor
- Consultant & Head, MDTC, Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi Cantt, India
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Decoding Single-cell Landscape and Intercellular Crosstalk in the Transplanted Liver. Transplantation 2022; 107:890-902. [PMID: 36413145 DOI: 10.1097/tp.0000000000004365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liver transplantation (LT) is the most effective treatment for various end-stage liver diseases. However, the cellular complexity and intercellular crosstalk of the transplanted liver have constrained analyses of graft reconstruction after LT. METHODS We established an immune-tolerated orthotopic LT mouse model to understand the physiological process of graft recovery and intercellular crosstalk. We employed single-cell RNA sequencing and cytometry by time-of-flight to comprehensively reveal the cellular landscape. RESULTS We identified an acute and stable phase during perioperative graft recovery. Using single-cell technology, we made detailed annotations of the cellular landscape of the transplanted liver and determined dynamic modifications of these cells during LT. We found that 96% of graft-derived immune cells were replaced by recipient-derived cells from the preoperative to the stable phase. However, CD206 + MerTK + macrophages and CD49a + CD49b - natural killer cells were composed of both graft and recipient sources even in the stable phase. Intriguingly, the transcriptional profiles of these populations exhibited tissue-resident characteristics, suggesting that recipient-derived macrophages and natural killer cells have the potential to differentiate into 'tissue-resident cells' after LT. Furthermore, we described the transcriptional characteristics of these populations and implicated their role in regulating the metabolic and immune remodeling of the transplanted liver. CONCLUSIONS In summary, this study delineated a cell atlas (type-proportion-source-time) of the transplanted liver and shed light on the physiological process of graft reconstruction and graft-recipient crosstalk.
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Brown LC, Zhu J, Desai K, Kinsey E, Kao C, Lee YH, Pabla S, Labriola MK, Tran J, Dragnev KH, Tafe LJ, Dayyani F, Gupta RT, McCall S, George DJ, Glenn ST, Nesline MK, George S, Zibelman M, Morrison C, Ornstein MC, Zhang T. Evaluation of tumor microenvironment and biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitor response in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-005249. [PMID: 36252996 PMCID: PMC9577926 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immunotherapy combinations including ipilimumab and nivolumab are now the standard of care for untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Biomarkers of response are lacking to predict patients who will have a favorable or unfavorable response to immunotherapy. This study aimed to use the OmniSeq transcriptome-based platform to develop biomarkers of response to immunotherapy. METHODS Two cohorts of patients were retrospectively collected. These included an investigational cohort of patients with mRCC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy from five institutions, and a subsequent validation cohort of patients with mRCC treated with combination ipilimumab and nivolumab from two institutions (Duke Cancer Institute and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center). Tissue-based RNA sequencing was performed using the OmniSeq Immune Report Card on banked specimens to identify gene signatures and immune checkpoints associated with differential clinical outcomes. A 5-gene expression panel was developed based on the investigational cohort and was subsequently evaluated in the validation cohort. Clinical outcomes including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were extracted by retrospective chart review. Objective response rate (ORR) was assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) V.1.1. RESULTS The initial investigation cohort identified 86 patients with mRCC who received nivolumab (80%, 69/86), ipilimumab/nivolumab (14%, 12/86), or pembrolizumab (6%, 5/86). A gene expression score was created using the top five genes found in responders versus non-responders (FOXP3, CCR4, KLRK1, ITK, TIGIT). The ORR in patients with high gene expression (GEhigh) on the 5-gene panel was 29% (14/48), compared with low gene expression (GElow) 3% (1/38, χ2 p=0.001). The validation cohort was comprised of 62 patients who received ipilimumab/nivolumab. There was no difference between GEhigh and GElow in terms of ORR (44% vs 38.5%), PFS (HR 1.5, 95% CI 0.58 to 3.89), or OS (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.51 to 1.83). Similarly, no differences in ORR, PFS or OS were observed when patients were stratified by tumor mutational burden (high=top 20%), PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) expression by immunohistochemistry or RNA expression, or CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocytes-associated protein 4) RNA expression. The International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) risk score was prognostic for OS but not PFS. CONCLUSION A 5-gene panel that was associated with improved ORR in a predominantly nivolumab monotherapy population of patients with mRCC was not predictive for radiographic response, PFS, or OS among patients with mRCC treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Landon C Brown
- Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA,Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jason Zhu
- Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA,Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kunal Desai
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Emily Kinsey
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Chester Kao
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | | | | | - Matthew K Labriola
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jennifer Tran
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Laura J Tafe
- Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Farshid Dayyani
- Department of Medicine, University of California-Irvine Health, Orange, California, USA
| | - Rajan T Gupta
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Shannon McCall
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel J George
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sean T Glenn
- Center for Personalized Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA,OmniSeq, Inc, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | | | - Saby George
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Matthew Zibelman
- Department of Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Moshe C Ornstein
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Tian Zhang
- Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA,Hematology and Oncology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
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Wang K, Dai X, Yu A, Feng C, Liu K, Huang L. Peptide-based PROTAC degrader of FOXM1 suppresses cancer and decreases GLUT1 and PD-L1 expression. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2022; 41:289. [PMID: 36171633 PMCID: PMC9520815 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-022-02483-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Peptide proteolysis-targeting chimeras (p-PROTACs) with advantages of high specificity and low toxicity have emerged as a powerful technology of targeted protein degradation for biomedical applications. FOXM1, a proliferation-associated transcription factor, is overexpressed in a variety of human tumors as a key driver of tumorigenesis and cancer progression, and is a potential anticancer therapeutic target. However, FOXM1-targeting p-PROTACs has not been researched. Methods Here, we first analyzed the expression of FOXM1, GLUT1 and PD-L1 in liver cancer through database and clinical samples of patients. FOXM1-targeting peptides, selected by screening phage display library, are verified its targeting effect by immunofluorescence and CCK-8 test. The novel p-PROTAC degrader of FOXM1 is chemically synthesis, named FOXM1-PROTAC, by linking a FOXM1-binding antagonistic peptide, with the E3 ubiquitin ligase recruitment ligand Pomalidomide and with the cell membrane penetrating peptide TAT. Its degradation effect on FOXM1 was detected by Western blotting, qPCR, and we verified its effect on the behavior of cancer cells by flow cytometry, scratch assay, and Transwell in vitro. The tumor xenografted mice model was used for evaluating FOXM1-PROTAC therapeutic response in vivo. Finally, we detected the expression of GLUT1 and PD-L1 after FOXM1-PROTAC degraded FOXM1 by using Western Blotting and hippocampal detectors and dual immunofluorescence. Results We found that the novel FOXM1-PROTAC efficiently entered cells and induced degradation of FOXM1 protein, which strongly inhibits viability as well as migration and invasion in various cancer cell lines, and suppressed tumor growth in HepG2 and MDA-MB-231 cells xenograft mouse models, without detected toxicity in normal tissues. Meanwhile, FOXM1-PROTAC decreased the cancer cells glucose metabolism via downregulating the protein expression levels of glucose transporter GLUT1 and the immune checkpoint PD-L1, which suggests involvement of FOXM1 in cancer cell metabolism and immune regulation. Conclusions Our results indicate that biologically targeted degradation of FOXM1 is an attractive therapeutic strategy, and antagonist peptide-containing FOXM1-PROTACs as both degrader and inhibitor of FOXM1 could be developed as a safe and promising drug for FOXM1-overexpressed cancer therapy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-022-02483-2.
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Song J, Ni C, Dong X, Sheng C, Qu Y, Zhu L. bub1 as a potential oncogene and a prognostic biomarker for neuroblastoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:988415. [PMID: 36237324 PMCID: PMC9552328 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.988415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundNeuroblastoma is the most common malignant extracranial tumor for children. Molecular mechanisms underpinning the pathogenesis of this disease are yet to be fully clarified. This study aimed to identify a novel oncogene that could be used as a biomarker informing the prognosis of neuroblastoma, and to predict its biological functions, using bioinformatics and molecular biology tools.MethodsThree data sets from the TARGET, GSE62564, and GSE85047 databases were used for analysis. Survivals of patients with high or low expression of bub1 were compared, using the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test. Immune infiltration was evaluated using ESTIMATE and MCP-counter algorithms. Synthetic small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) were employed to silence bub1 expression in neuroblastoma cell lines SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH, in order to characterize its biological functions. Gene enrichment analyses of bub1 were carried out, using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses.ResultsExpression of bub1 was found to significantly affect overall survival and event-free survival of patients with neuroblastoma, positively correlate with the expressions of tpx2 and the ASPM gene, and negatively correlate with host immune infiltration. Expression of bub1 was elevated in patients with neuroblastoma. Silencing bub1 expression using siRNAs in SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH resulted in decreased cell growth (p < 0.05), reduced migration (p < 0.05), and increased apoptosis (p < 0.05). Function analysis of bub1 revealed cancer-promoting effects, probably via regulating several important downstream molecules, including that related to the apoptosis process and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.ConclusionWe identified a potential tumor-promoting gene bub1 for neuroblastoma that could also serve as a prognostic biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Song
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Chao Ni
- Second Clinical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xubin Dong
- Department of Breast Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Chenang Sheng
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yue Qu
- Wenzhou Medical University-Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) Alliance in Clinical and Experimental Biomedicine, Wenzhou, China
| | - Libin Zhu
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Libin Zhu,
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High IGKC-Expressing Intratumoral Plasma Cells Predict Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23169124. [PMID: 36012390 PMCID: PMC9408876 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23169124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB) constitutes the current limiting factor for the optimal implementation of this novel therapy, which otherwise demonstrates durable responses with acceptable toxicity scores. This limitation is exacerbated by a lack of robust biomarkers. In this study, we have dissected the basal TME composition at the gene expression and cellular levels that predict response to Nivolumab and prognosis. BCR, TCR and HLA profiling were employed for further characterization of the molecular variables associated with response. The findings were validated using a single-cell RNA-seq data of metastatic melanoma patients treated with ICB, and by multispectral immunofluorescence. Finally, machine learning was employed to construct a prediction algorithm that was validated across eight metastatic melanoma cohorts treated with ICB. Using this strategy, we have unmasked a major role played by basal intratumoral Plasma cells expressing high levels of IGKC in efficacy. IGKC, differentially expressed in good responders, was also identified within the Top response-related BCR clonotypes, together with IGK variants. These results were validated at gene, cellular and protein levels; CD138+ Plasma-like and Plasma cells were more abundant in good responders and correlated with the same RNA-seq-defined fraction. Finally, we generated a 15-gene prediction model that outperformed the current reference score in eight ICB-treated metastatic melanoma cohorts. The evidenced major contribution of basal intratumoral IGKC and Plasma cells in good response and outcome in ICB in metastatic melanoma is a groundbreaking finding in the field beyond the role of T lymphocytes.
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Zhou B, Zang R, Zhang M, Song P, Liu L, Bie F, Peng Y, Bai G, Gao S. Identifying novel tumor-related antigens and immune phenotypes for developing mRNA vaccines in lung adenocarcinoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 109:108816. [PMID: 35504200 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.108816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The mRNA vaccines have been a novel strategy of immunotherapies for multiple cancers. Although several types of mRNA vaccines have been investigated and validated in some studies, their efficacy among patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains largely unknown. The number of tumor-associated antigens is not enough and no study focuses on stratifying the subgroup of LUAD patients suitable for vaccination. Based on the expression profiles of immune-related genes, consensus clustering was performed to identify the most appropriate phenotype for vaccination. The immune landscape of LUAD was shown via the graph learning-based dimensionality reduction analysis. We screened for five mutated and upregulated LUAD-related antigens (CCNB1, KIAA0101, PBK, OIP5 and PLEK2) that were highly correlated with immune infiltrating cells and unfavorable clinical outcomes. And three distinct immune phenotypes were identified in the TCGA and GSE72094 cohorts. Group S1 was an immunological "hot" cluster and related to a better prognosis, whereas Group S2&S3 was an immunological "cold" cluster and associated with a poorer prognosis. At last, the results revealed heterogeneity of LUAD patients in the immune landscape. We identified five potential cancer-related antigens for mRNA vaccines, and Group S2&S3 were the most suitable phenotypes for vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolun Zhou
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruochuan Zang
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Moyan Zhang
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Song
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Liu
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Fenglong Bie
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yue Peng
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangyu Bai
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Shugeng Gao
- Thoracic Surgery Department, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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Qi W, Bai Y, Wang Y, Liu L, Zhang Y, Yu Y, Chen H. BUB1 predicts poor prognosis and immune status in liver hepatocellular carcinoma. APMIS 2022; 130:371-382. [PMID: 35255180 DOI: 10.1111/apm.13219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Accurate assessment of the tumour immune microenvironment promotes individualized immunotherapy regimens and screens dominant populations suitable for immunotherapy. Therefore, potential molecular markers were investigated to make an overall assessment of the immune microenvironment status of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). In this study, a total of 121 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and DEGs were enriched in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, hypoxia, myogenesis, and p53 pathways. A total of 20 hub genes were selected and a strong correlation was identified between these hub genes and prognosis. The expression of budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1 (BUB1) was found to be upregulated in LIHC and was strongly related to immune cells and immune checkpoint molecule expression. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) indicated that BUB1 expression was higher in LIHC tissues than in normal liver tissues. BUB1 knockdown resulted in reduced proliferation and vertical migration ability of LIHC cells, and reduced the expression of phospho-SMAD family member 2 and phospho-SMAD family member 3 proteins. IHC showed that BUB1 expression was accompanied by immune cell infiltration into LIHC tissues. These results suggest that BUB1 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for LIHC and as an indicator of its immune status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbo Qi
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yuping Bai
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yiran Wang
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Le Liu
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yaqing Zhang
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yang Yu
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Oncology Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of the Digestive System Tumors of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
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An Integrated Mass Spectrometry-Based Glycomics-Driven Glycoproteomics Analytical Platform to Functionally Characterize Glycosylation Inhibitors. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27123834. [PMID: 35744954 PMCID: PMC9228227 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Cancer progression is linked to aberrant protein glycosylation due to the overexpression of several glycosylation enzymes. These enzymes are underexploited as potential anticancer drug targets and the development of rapid-screening methods and identification of glycosylation inhibitors are highly sought. An integrated bioinformatics and mass spectrometry-based glycomics-driven glycoproteomics analysis pipeline was performed to identify an N-glycan inhibitor against lung cancer cells. Combined network pharmacology and in silico screening approaches were used to identify a potential inhibitor, pictilisib, against several glycosylation-related proteins, such as Alpha1-6FucT, GlcNAcT-V, and Alpha2,6-ST-I. A glycomics assay of lung cancer cells treated with pictilisib showed a significant reduction in the fucosylation and sialylation of N-glycans, with an increase in high mannose-type glycans. Proteomics analysis and in vitro assays also showed significant upregulation of the proteins involved in apoptosis and cell adhesion, and the downregulation of proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, mRNA processing, and protein translation. Site-specific glycoproteomics analysis further showed that glycoproteins with reduced fucosylation and sialylation were involved in apoptosis, cell adhesion, DNA damage repair, and chemical response processes. To determine how the alterations in N-glycosylation impact glycoprotein dynamics, modeling of changes in glycan interactions of the ITGA5-ITGB1 (Integrin alpha 5-Integrin beta-1) complex revealed specific glycosites at the interface of these proteins that, when highly fucosylated and sialylated, such as in untreated A549 cells, form greater hydrogen bonding interactions compared to the high mannose-types in pictilisib-treated A549 cells. This study highlights the use of mass spectrometry to identify a potential glycosylation inhibitor and assessment of its impact on cell surface glycoprotein abundance and protein-protein interaction.
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Fucikova J, Hensler M, Kasikova L, Lanickova T, Pasulka J, Rakova J, Drozenova J, Fredriksen T, Hraska M, Hrnciarova T, Sochorova K, Rozkova D, Sojka L, Dundr P, Laco J, Brtnicky T, Praznovec I, Halaska MJ, Rob L, Ryska A, Coosemans A, Vergote I, Cibula D, Bartunkova J, Galon J, Galluzzi L, Spisek R. An autologous dendritic cell vaccine promotes anticancer immunity in ovarian cancer patients with low mutational burden and cold tumors. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:3053-3065. [PMID: 35536547 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-4413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The successful implementation of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the clinical management of various solid tumors has raised considerable expectations for patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). However, EOC is poorly responsive to ICIs due to immunological features including limited tumor mutational burden (TMB) and poor lymphocytic infiltration. An autologous dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine (DCVAC) has recently been shown to be safe and to significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) in a randomized Phase II clinical trial enrolling patients with EOC (SOV01, NCT02107937). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We harnessed sequencing, flow cytometry, multispectral immunofluorescence microscopy, immunohistochemistry to analyze (pre-treatment) tumor and (pre-treatment and post-treatment) peripheral blood samples from 82 patients enrolled in SOV01, with the aim of identifying immunological biomarkers that would improve the clinical management of patients with EOC treated with DCVAC. RESULTS Although higher-than-median TMB and abundant CD8+ T cell infiltration were associated with superior clinical benefits in patients with EOC receiving standard-of-care chemotherapy, the same did not hold true in women receiving DCVAC. Conversely, superior clinical responses to DCVAC were observed in patients with lower-than-median TMB and scarce CD8+ T cell infiltration. Such responses were accompanied by signs of improved effector functions and tumor-specific cytotoxicity in the peripheral blood. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that while patients with highly infiltrated, "hot" EOCs benefit from chemotherapy, women with "cold" EOCs may instead require DC-based vaccination to jumpstart clinically relevant anticancer immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lenka Kasikova
- Deparment of Immunology, 2nd Medical School, Charles University and Sotio, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ludek Sojka
- Charles University, 2nd Medical School, Praha 5, Czech Republic
| | | | - Jan Laco
- The Fingerland Department of Pathology, Charles University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Brtnicky
- Charles University, 1st Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Bulovka, Prague, Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Praznovec
- Charles University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
| | - Michael J Halaska
- 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lukas Rob
- Charles University, 3rd Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady, Prague, Czech Republic, Prague 10, Czech Republic
| | - Ales Ryska
- Charles University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Radek Spisek
- Sotio; Charles University, 2nd Medical School, Prague, Czech Republic
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Cristescu R, Nebozhyn M, Zhang C, Albright A, Kobie J, Huang L, Zhao Q, Wang A, Ma H, Alexander Cao Z, Morrissey M, Ribas A, Grivas P, Cescon DW, McClanahan TK, Snyder A, Ayers M, Lunceford J, Loboda A. Transcriptomic Determinants of Response to Pembrolizumab Monotherapy across Solid Tumor Types. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:1680-1689. [PMID: 34965943 PMCID: PMC9762333 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-3329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To explore relationships between biological gene expression signatures and pembrolizumab response. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN RNA-sequencing data on baseline tumor tissue from 1,188 patients across seven tumor types treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy in nine clinical trials were used. A total of 11 prespecified gene expression signatures [18-gene T-cell-inflamed gene expression profile (TcellinfGEP), angiogenesis, hypoxia, glycolysis, proliferation, MYC, RAS, granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cell (gMDSC), monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cell (mMDSC), stroma/epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)/TGFβ, and WNT] were evaluated for their relationship to objective response rate (per RECIST, version 1.1). Logistic regression analysis of response for consensus signatures was adjusted for tumor type, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and TcellinfGEP, an approach equivalent to evaluating the association between response and the residuals of consensus signatures after detrending them for their relationship with the TcellinfGEP (previously identified as a determinant of pembrolizumab response) and tumor type. Testing of the 10 prespecified non-TcellinfGEP consensus signatures for negative association [except proliferation (hypothesized positive association)] with response was adjusted for multiplicity. RESULTS Covariance patterns of the 11 signatures (including TcellinfGEP) identified in Merck-Moffitt and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets showed highly concordant coexpression patterns in the RNA-sequencing data from pembrolizumab trials. TcellinfGEP was positively associated with response; signatures for angiogenesis, mMDSC, and stroma/EMT/TGFβ were negatively associated with response to pembrolizumab monotherapy. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that features beyond IFNγ-related T-cell inflammation may be relevant to anti-programmed death 1 monotherapy response and may define other axes of tumor biology as candidates for pembrolizumab combinations. See related commentary by Cho et al., p. 1479.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Qing Zhao
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey
| | - Anran Wang
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey
| | - Hua Ma
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey
| | | | | | - Antoni Ribas
- Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Petros Grivas
- University of Washington Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - David W. Cescon
- UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Mark Ayers
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey
| | | | - Andrey Loboda
- Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey.,Corresponding Author: Andrey Loboda, Genetics and Pharmacogenomics, Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-835-7783; E-mail:
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Screening and Validation of Significant Genes with Poor Prognosis in Pathologic Stage-I Lung Adenocarcinoma. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2022; 2022:3794021. [PMID: 35444699 PMCID: PMC9015852 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3794021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background Although more pathologic stage-I lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) was diagnosed recently, some relapsed or distantly metastasized shortly after radical resection. The study aimed to identify biomarkers predicting prognosis in the pathologic stage-I LUAD and improve the understanding of the mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis. Methods We obtained the expression profiling data for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from the NCBI-GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between early-stage NSCLC and normal lung tissue were determined. After function enrichment analyses on DEGs, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was built and analyzed with the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) and Cytoscape. Overall survival (OS) and mRNA levels of genes were performed with Kaplan–Meier analysis and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). qPCR and western blot analysis of hub genes in stage-I LUAD patients validated the significant genes with poor prognosis. Results A total of 172 DEGs were identified, which were mainly enriched in terms related to management of extracellular matrix (ECM), receptor signaling pathway, cell adhesion, activity of endopeptidase, and receptor. The PPI network identified 11 upregulated hub genes that were significantly associated with OS in NSCLC and highly expressed in NSCLC tissues compared with normal tissues by GEPIA. Elevated expression of ANLN, EXO1, KIAA0101, RRM2, TOP2A, and UBE2T were identified as potential risk factors in pathologic stage-I LUAD. Except for ANLN and KIAA0101, the hub genes mRNA levels were higher in tumors compared with adjacent non-cancerous samples in the qPCR analysis. The hub genes protein levels were also overexpressed in tumors. In vitro experiments showed that knockdown of UBE2T in LUAD cell lines could inhibit cell proliferation and cycle progression. Conclusions The DEGs can probably be used as potential predictors for stage-I LUAD worse prognosis and UBE2T may be a potential tumor promoter and target for treatment.
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Xu Z, Wang S, Ren Z, Gao X, Xu L, Zhang S, Ren B. An integrated analysis of prognostic and immune infiltrates for hub genes as potential survival indicators in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. World J Surg Oncol 2022; 20:99. [PMID: 35354488 PMCID: PMC8966338 DOI: 10.1186/s12957-022-02543-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the major subtypes of lung cancer that is associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify useful biomarkers to enhance the treatment and diagnosis of LUAD.
Methods
GEO2R was used to identify common up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the GSE32863, GSE40791, and GSE75037 datasets. The DEGs were submitted to Metascape for gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis as well as construction of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, while the molecular complex detection (MCODE) plug-in was employed to filter important subnetworks. The expression levels of the hub genes and their prognostic values were evaluated using the UALCAN, GEPIA2, and Kaplan-Meier plotter databases. The timer algorithm was utilized to determine the correlation between immune cell infiltration and the expression levels of hub genes in LUAD tissues. In addition, the hub gene mutation landscape and the correlation analysis with tumor mutational burden (TMB) score were evaluated using maftools package and ggstatsplot package in R software, respectively.
Results
We identified 156 common up-regulated DEGs, with gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis indicating that they were mostly enriched in mitotic cell cycle process and cell cycle pathway. DEGs in the subnetwork with the largest number of genes were AURKB, CCNB2, CDC20, CDCA5, CDCA8, CENPF, and KNTC1. The seven hub genes were highly expressed in LUAD tissues and were associated with poor prognosis. These hub genes were negatively correlated with most immune cells. The somatic mutation landscape showed that AURKB, CDC20, CENPF, and KNTC1 had mutations and were positively correlated with TMB scores.
Conclusions
Our findings demonstrate that increased expression of seven hub genes is associated with poor prognosis for LUAD patients. Additionally, the TMB score indicates that the high expression of hub gene increases immune cell infiltration in patients with lung adenocarcinoma which may significantly improve response to immunotherapy.
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Comprehensive Characterization of Human Lung Large Cell Carcinoma Identifies Transcriptomic Signatures with Potential Implications in Response to Immunotherapy. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11061500. [PMID: 35329826 PMCID: PMC8953709 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11061500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being the most prevalent histology. While immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors has shown outstanding results in NSCLC, the precise identification of responders remains a major challenge. Most studies attempting to overcome this handicap have focused on adenocarcinomas or squamous cell carcinomas. Among NSCLC subtypes, the molecular and immune characteristics of lung large cell carcinoma (LCC), which represents 10% of NSCLC cases, are not well defined. We hypothesized that specific molecular aberrations may impact the immune microenvironment in LCC and, consequently, the response to immunotherapy. To that end, it is particularly relevant to thoroughly describe the molecular genotype-immunophenotype association in LCC-to identify robust predictive biomarkers and improve potential benefits from immunotherapy. We established a cohort of 18 early-stage, clinically annotated, LCC cases. Their molecular and immune features were comprehensively characterized by genomic and immune-targeted sequencing panels along with immunohistochemistry of immune cell populations. Unbiased clustering defined two novel subgroups of LCC. Pro-immunogenic tumors accumulated certain molecular alterations, showed higher immune infiltration and upregulated genes involved in potentiating immune responses when compared to pro-tumorigenic samples, which favored tumoral progression. This classification identified a set of biomarkers that could potentially predict response to immunotherapy. These results could improve patient selection and expand potential benefits from immunotherapy.
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Lin E, Zhu P, Ye C, Huang M, Liu X, Tian K, Tang Y, Zeng J, Cheng S, Liu J, Liu Y, Yu Y. Integrative Analysis of the Genomic and Immune Microenvironment Characteristics Associated With Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression: Implications for Prognosis and Immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2022; 13:830220. [PMID: 35677048 PMCID: PMC9168804 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.830220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Unlike early clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), locally advanced and metastatic ccRCC present poor treatment outcomes and prognosis. As immune checkpoint inhibitors have achieved favorable results in the adjuvant treatment of metastatic ccRCC, we aimed to investigate the immunogenomic landscape during ccRCC progression and its potential impact on immunotherapy and prognosis. Using multi-omics and immunotherapy ccRCC datasets, an integrated analysis was performed to identify genomic alterations, immune microenvironment features, and related biological processes during ccRCC progression and evaluate their relevance to immunotherapy response and prognosis. We found that aggressive and metastatic ccRCC had higher proportions of genomic alterations, including SETD2 mutations, Del(14q), Del(9p), and higher immunosuppressive cellular and molecular infiltration levels. Of these, the Del(14q) might mediate immune escape in ccRCC via the VEGFA-VEGFR2 signaling pathway. Furthermore, immune-related pathways associated with ccRCC progression did not affect the immunotherapeutic response to ccRCC. Conversely, cell cycle pathways not only affected ccRCC progression and prognosis, but also were related to ccRCC immunotherapeutic response resistance. Overall, we described the immunogenomic characteristics of ccRCC progression and their correlations with immunotherapeutic response and prognosis, providing new insights into their prediction and the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enyu Lin
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
| | - Ping Zhu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chujin Ye
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - ManLi Huang
- Department of Operating Room, Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
| | - Xuechao Liu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Kaiwen Tian
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanlin Tang
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
| | - Jiayi Zeng
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shouyu Cheng
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiumin Liu
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanjun Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuming Yu
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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Mukherjee S, Seager RJ, Lee YH, Conroy JM, Kalinski P, Pabla S. Tumor Inflammation, Obesity, and Proliferative Status as Biomarkers in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma. J Pers Med 2021; 11:1324. [PMID: 34945796 PMCID: PMC8708257 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11121324] [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: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent epidemiological studies have shown that obesity, typically measured by increased body mass index (BMI), is associated with an increased risk of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEAC), but the contributing molecular and immune mechanisms remain unknown. Since obesity is known to promote chronic inflammation, we hypothesized that obesity leads to inflammation-related immune dysfunction, which can be reversed by immune-modulating therapy. To test our hypothesis, we examined the clinical and molecular data from advanced GEAC patients. To this end, 46 GEAC tumors were evaluated for biomarkers representing tumor inflammation, cell proliferation, and PD-L1 expression. A CoxPH regression model with potential co-variates, followed by pairwise post hoc analysis, revealed that inflammation in the GEAC tumor microenvironment is associated with improved overall survival, regardless of BMI. We also observed a significant association between cell proliferation and progression-free survival in overweight individuals who received immune-modulating therapy. In conclusion, our data confirm the role of the immune system in the natural course of GEAC and its responses to immunotherapies, but do not support the role of BMI as an independent clinically relevant biomarker in this group of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarbajit Mukherjee
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Streets, New York, NY 14206, USA
| | - R. J. Seager
- Bioinformatics, OmniSeq, Inc., 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (R.J.S.); (Y.H.L.); (S.P.)
| | - Yong Hee Lee
- Bioinformatics, OmniSeq, Inc., 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (R.J.S.); (Y.H.L.); (S.P.)
| | - Jeffrey M. Conroy
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for Personalized Medicine, Elm and Carlton Streets, New York, NY 14206, USA;
- Research and Development, OmniSeq, Inc., 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Pawel Kalinski
- Department of Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Streets, New York, NY 14206, USA;
| | - Sarabjot Pabla
- Bioinformatics, OmniSeq, Inc., 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (R.J.S.); (Y.H.L.); (S.P.)
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Xia T, Meng L, Zhao Z, Li Y, Wen H, Sun H, Zhang T, Wei J, Li F, Liu C. Bioinformatics prediction and experimental verification identify MAD2L1 and CCNB2 as diagnostic biomarkers of rhabdomyosarcoma. Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:634. [PMID: 34838000 PMCID: PMC8626952 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02347-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant soft-tissue tumour. In recent years, the tumour microenvironment (TME) has been reported to be associated with the development of tumours. However, the relationship between the occurrence and development of RMS and TME is unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify potential tumor microenvironment-related biomarkers in rhabdomyosarcoma and analyze their molecular mechanisms, diagnostic and prognostic significance. Methods We first applied bioinformatics method to analyse the tumour samples of 125 patients with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). Differential genes (DEGs) that significantly correlate with TME and the clinical staging of tumors were extracted. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was applied to validate the expression of mitotic arrest deficient 2 like 1 (MAD2L1) and cyclin B2 (CCNB2) in RMS tissue. Then, we used cell function and molecular biology techniques to study the influence of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 expression levels on the progression of RMS. Results Bioinformatics results show that the RMS TME key genes were screened, and a TME-related tumour clinical staging model was constructed. The top 10 hub genes were screened through the establishment of a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, and then Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) was conducted to measure the overall survival (OS) of the 10 hub genes in the sarcoma cases in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Six DEGs of statistical significance were acquired. The relationship between these six differential genes and the clinical stage of RMS was analysed. Further analysis revealed that the OS of RMS patients with high expression of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 was worse and the expression of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 was related to the clinical stage of RMS patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that the genes in MAD2L1 and CCNB2 groups with high expression were mainly related to the mechanism of tumour metastasis and recurrence. In the low-expression MAD2L1 and CCNB2 groups, the genes were enriched in the metabolic and immune pathways. Immunohistochemical results also confirmed that the expression levels of MAD2L1 (30/33, 87.5%) and CCNB2 (33/33, 100%) were remarkably higher in RMS group than in normal control group (0/11, 0%). Moreover, the expression of CCNB2 was related to tumour size. Downregulation of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 suppressed the growth, invasion, migration, and cell cycling of RMS cells and promoted their apoptosis. The CIBERSORT immune cell fraction analysis indicated that the expression levels of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 affected the immune status in the TME. Conclusions The expression levels of MAD2L1 and CCNB2 are potential indicators of TME status changes in RMS, which may help guide the prognosis of patients with RMS and the clinical staging of tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Xia
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Lian Meng
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Zhijuan Zhao
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Yujun Li
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Hao Wen
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Hao Sun
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Tiantian Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Jingxian Wei
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China
| | - Feng Li
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China. .,Department of Pathology and Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China.
| | - Chunxia Liu
- Department of Pathology and Key Laboratory for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, 832002, China. .,Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510260, China.
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Davey MG, Hynes SO, Kerin MJ, Miller N, Lowery AJ. Ki-67 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Invasive Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:4455. [PMID: 34503265 PMCID: PMC8430879 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13174455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The advent of molecular medicine has transformed breast cancer management. Breast cancer is now recognised as a heterogenous disease with varied morphology, molecular features, tumour behaviour, and response to therapeutic strategies. These parameters are underpinned by a combination of genomic and immunohistochemical tumour factors, with estrogen receptor (ER) status, progesterone receptor (PgR) status, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status, Ki-67 proliferation indices, and multigene panels all playing a contributive role in the substratification, prognostication and personalization of treatment modalities for each case. The expression of Ki-67 is strongly linked to tumour cell proliferation and growth and is routinely evaluated as a proliferation marker. This review will discuss the clinical utility, current pitfalls, and promising strategies to augment Ki-67 proliferation indices in future breast oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G. Davey
- Discipline of Surgery, The Lambe Institute for Translational Research, National University of Ireland, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland; (M.J.K.); (N.M.); (A.J.L.)
- Department of Surgery, Galway University Hospitals, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland
| | - Sean O. Hynes
- Department of Histopathology, National University of Ireland, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland;
| | - Michael J. Kerin
- Discipline of Surgery, The Lambe Institute for Translational Research, National University of Ireland, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland; (M.J.K.); (N.M.); (A.J.L.)
| | - Nicola Miller
- Discipline of Surgery, The Lambe Institute for Translational Research, National University of Ireland, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland; (M.J.K.); (N.M.); (A.J.L.)
| | - Aoife J. Lowery
- Discipline of Surgery, The Lambe Institute for Translational Research, National University of Ireland, H91 YR71 Galway, Ireland; (M.J.K.); (N.M.); (A.J.L.)
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Hong B, Xia T, Ye CJ, Zhan Y, Yang R, Liu J, Li Y, Chen ZX, Yao W, Li K, Wang J, Dong KR, Dong R. Single-cell transcriptional profiling reveals the heterogeneity in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e26775. [PMID: 34397824 PMCID: PMC8341243 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000026775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is the most typical type of rhabdomyosarcoma. The heterogeneity, etiology, and origin of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma remain unknown.After obtaining the gene expression data of every cell in the tumor tissue by single-cell RNA sequencing, we used the Seurat package in R studio for quality control, analysis, and exploration of the data. All cells are divided into tumor cells and non-tumor cells, and we chose tumor cells by marker genes. Then, we repeated the process to cluster the tumor cells and divided the subgroups by their differentially expressed genes and gene ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis. Additionally, Monocle 2 was used for pseudo-time analysis to obtain the evolution trajectory of cells in tumor tissues.Tumor cells were divided into 5 subgroups according to their functions, which were characterized by high proliferation, sensing and adaptation to oxygen availability, enhanced epigenetic modification, enhanced nucleoside phosphonic acid metabolism, and ossification. Evolution trajectory of cells in tumor tissues is obtained.We used pseudo-time analysis to distinguish between mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblasts, proved that embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in the pelvic originated from skeletal muscle progenitor cells, showed the evolutionary trajectory of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, and improved the method of evaluating the degree of malignancy of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Hong
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Tian Xia
- Department of Orthopaedics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Chun-Jing Ye
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong Zhan
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Ran Yang
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhi-Xue Chen
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Yao
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Kai Li
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kui-Ran Dong
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
| | - Rui Dong
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Shanghai, China
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Pabla S, Seager RJ, Van Roey E, Gao S, Hoefer C, Nesline MK, DePietro P, Burgher B, Andreas J, Giamo V, Wang Y, Lenzo FL, Schoenborn M, Zhang S, Klein R, Glenn ST, Conroy JM. Integration of tumor inflammation, cell proliferation, and traditional biomarkers improves prediction of immunotherapy resistance and response. Biomark Res 2021; 9:56. [PMID: 34233760 PMCID: PMC8265007 DOI: 10.1186/s40364-021-00308-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Contemporary to the rapidly evolving landscape of cancer immunotherapy is the equally changing understanding of immune tumor microenvironments (TMEs) which is crucial to the success of these therapies. Their reliance on a robust host immune response necessitates clinical grade measurements of immune TMEs at diagnosis. In this study, we describe a stable tumor immunogenic profile describing immune TMEs in multiple tumor types with ability to predict clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). METHODS A tumor immunogenic signature (TIGS) was derived from targeted RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and gene expression analysis of 1323 clinical solid tumor cases spanning 35 histologies using unsupervised analysis. TIGS correlation with ICI response and survival was assessed in a retrospective cohort of NSCLC, melanoma and RCC tumor blocks, alone and combined with TMB, PD-L1 IHC and cell proliferation biomarkers. RESULTS Unsupervised clustering of RNA-seq profiles uncovered a 161 gene signature where T cell and B cell activation, IFNg, chemokine, cytokine and interleukin pathways are over-represented. Mean expression of these genes produced three distinct TIGS score categories: strong (n = 384/1323; 29.02%), moderate (n = 354/1323; 26.76%), and weak (n = 585/1323; 44.22%). Strong TIGS tumors presented an improved ICI response rate of 37% (30/81); with highest response rate advantage occurring in NSCLC (ORR = 36.6%; 16/44; p = 0.051). Similarly, overall survival for strong TIGS tumors trended upward (median = 25 months; p = 0.19). Integrating the TIGS score categories with neoplastic influence quantified via cell proliferation showed highly proliferative and strong TIGS tumors correlate with significantly higher ICI ORR than poorly proliferative and weak TIGS tumors [14.28%; p = 0.0006]. Importantly, we noted that strong TIGS and highly [median = not achieved; p = 0.025] or moderately [median = 16.2 months; p = 0.025] proliferative tumors had significantly better survival compared to weak TIGS, highly proliferative tumors [median = 7.03 months]. Importantly, TIGS discriminates subpopulations of potential ICI responders that were considered negative for response by TMB and PD-L1. CONCLUSIONS TIGS is a comprehensive and informative measurement of immune TME that effectively characterizes host immune response to ICIs in multiple tumors. The results indicate that when combined with PD-L1, TMB and cell proliferation, TIGS provides greater context of both immune and neoplastic influences on the TME for implementation into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarabjot Pabla
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - R J Seager
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Erik Van Roey
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Shuang Gao
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Carrie Hoefer
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Mary K Nesline
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Paul DePietro
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Blake Burgher
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | | | - Vincent Giamo
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Yirong Wang
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | | | | | - Shengle Zhang
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Roger Klein
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Sean T Glenn
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY, 14206, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Conroy
- OmniSeq, Inc, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY, 14206, USA.
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Visceral Obesity Promotes Lung Cancer Progression-Toward Resolution of the Obesity Paradox in Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2021; 16:1333-1348. [PMID: 34144926 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2021.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Although obesity is associated with adverse cancer outcomes in general, most retrospective clinical studies suggest a beneficial effect of obesity in NSCLC. METHODS Hypothesizing that this "obesity paradox" arises partly from the limitations of using body mass index (BMI) to measure obesity, we quantified adiposity using preoperative computed tomography images. This allowed the specific determination of central obesity as abdominal visceral fat area normalized to total fat area (visceral fat index [VFI]). In addition, owing to the previously reported salutary effect of metformin on high-BMI patients with lung cancer, metformin users were excluded. We then explored associations between visceral obesity and outcomes after surgical resection of stage I and II NSCLC. We also explored potential immunologic underpinnings of such association using complimentary analyses of tumor gene expression data from NSCLC tumors and the tumor transcriptome and immune microenvironment in an immunocompetent model of lung cancer with diet-induced obesity. RESULTS We found that in 513 patients with stage I and II NSCLC undergoing lobectomy, a high VFI is associated with decreased recurrence-free and overall survival. VFI was also inversely related to an inflammatory transcriptomic signature in NSCLC tumors, consistent with observations made in immunocompetent murine models wherein diet-induced obesity promoted cancer progression while exacerbating elements of immune suppression in the tumor niche. CONCLUSIONS In all, this study uses multiple lines of evidence to reveal the adverse effects of visceral obesity in patients with NSCLC, which align with those found in animal models. Thus, the obesity paradox may, at least in part, be secondary to the use of BMI as a measure of obesity and the confounding effects of metformin use.
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Jin W, Ye L. KIF4A knockdown suppresses ovarian cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by downregulating BUB1 expression. Mol Med Rep 2021; 24:516. [PMID: 34013367 PMCID: PMC8160479 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2021.12155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common lethal gynecological malignancies worldwide. Abnormal kinesin family member 4A (KIF4A) expression has been implicated in ovarian cancer progression; however, the potential mechanism underlying KIF4A in ovarian cancer is not completely understood. The present study aimed to clarify the molecular basis of KIF4A in ovarian cancer. KIF4A and budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1 (BUB1) expression levels were detected via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, wound healing, TUNEL and flow cytometry assays were performed to assess cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis and cell cycle distribution, respectively. Ki67 expression levels were detected by conducting immunofluorescence assays. The expression levels of migration- and apoptosis-related proteins were measured via western blotting. A co-immunoprecipitation assay was conducted to determine the association between KIF4A and BUB1. The results demonstrated that KIF4A was expressed at significantly higher levels in ovarian cancer cell lines compared with IOSE-80 cells. Compared with the short hairpin RNA-negative control group, KIF4A knockdown significantly inhibited cell viability, colony formation and migration, and markedly induced cell apoptosis. The results indicated that KIF4A could bind to BUB1 and regulate BUB1 expression. BUB1 overexpression weakened KIF4A knockdown-mediated effects on cell viability, colony formation, migration and apoptosis. Overall, the present study demonstrated that KIF4A knockdown suppressed ovarian cancer progression by regulating BUB1, and suggested the potential value of KIF4A and BUB1 as therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wumin Jin
- Reproductive Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, P.R. China
| | - Lianmin Ye
- Department of Intensive Care Unit, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, P.R. China
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Ectopic expression of MELK in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its correlation with epithelial mesenchymal transition. Aging (Albany NY) 2021; 13:13048-13060. [PMID: 33962400 PMCID: PMC8148453 DOI: 10.18632/aging.202986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is closely correlated to metastasis formation generation and maintenance of cancer stem cells, nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of maternal embryonic leucine-zipper kinase (MELK) in EMT regulation in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We found that there was overexpression of MELK in human OSCC tissues, and high MELK expression was correlated with lymphatic metastasis and led to poor prognosis in patients with OSCC. We also confirmed that MELK is closely correlated to the EMT process using a human OSCC tissue microarray. Additionally, MELK expression was observed to be regulated in several OSCC cell lines, and knockdown of MELK genes inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of OSCC cells in vitro. Furthermore, silencing of MELK suppressed tumour growth in vivo, and experimental research verified that MELK may augment OSCC development via mediating the Wnt/Notch signalling pathway. Our findings suggest that MELK serves as an oncogene to improve malignant development of OSCC via enhancing EMT, and MELK might be a potential target for anticancer therapeutic.
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Li T, Hu D, Gong Y. Identification of potential lncRNAs and co-expressed mRNAs in gestational diabetes mellitus by RNA sequencing. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2021; 35:5125-5139. [PMID: 33618585 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2021.1875432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
AIM Gestational diabetes mellitus is common during pregnancy, impacting maternal health and fetal development. The aim of this study was to identify potential long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs in gestational diabetes mellitus. METHODS The placenta tissues from four women patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and three healthy pregnant women were used for RNA sequencing. Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were obtained. Then, interaction networks of lncRNA-nearby targeted mRNA and lncRNA-co-expressed mRNA were constructed, followed by functional annotation of co-expressed mRNAs. Third, GSE51546 dataset was utilized to validate the expression of selected co-expressed mRNAs. In addition, in vitro experiment was applied to expression validation of lncRNAs and mRNAs. Finally, GSE70493 dataset was utilized for diagnostic analysis of selected co-expressed mRNAs. RESULTS A total of 78 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 647 differentially expressed mRNAs in gestational diabetes mellitus were obtained. Several interaction pairs of lncRNA-co-expressed mRNA including LINC01504-CASP8, FUT8-AS1-TLR5/GDF15, GATA2-AS1-PQLC3/KIAA2026, and EGFR-AS1-HLA-G were identified. Endocytosis (involved HLA-G) and toll-like receptor signaling pathway (involved TLR5 and CASP8) were remarkably enriched signaling pathways of co-expressed mRNAs. It is noted that CASP8, TLR5, and PQLC3 had a significant prognosis value for gestational diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified several differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs, and their interactions, especially co-expression, may be associated with gestational diabetes mellitus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Li
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
| | - Die Hu
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China.,Department of Outpatient, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
| | - Yunhui Gong
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
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Litchfield K, Reading JL, Puttick C, Thakkar K, Abbosh C, Bentham R, Watkins TBK, Rosenthal R, Biswas D, Rowan A, Lim E, Al Bakir M, Turati V, Guerra-Assunção JA, Conde L, Furness AJS, Saini SK, Hadrup SR, Herrero J, Lee SH, Van Loo P, Enver T, Larkin J, Hellmann MD, Turajlic S, Quezada SA, McGranahan N, Swanton C. Meta-analysis of tumor- and T cell-intrinsic mechanisms of sensitization to checkpoint inhibition. Cell 2021; 184:596-614.e14. [PMID: 33508232 PMCID: PMC7933824 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 450] [Impact Index Per Article: 150.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) augment adaptive immunity. Systematic pan-tumor analyses may reveal the relative importance of tumor-cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental features underpinning CPI sensitization. Here, we collated whole-exome and transcriptomic data for >1,000 CPI-treated patients across seven tumor types, utilizing standardized bioinformatics workflows and clinical outcome criteria to validate multivariable predictors of CPI sensitization. Clonal tumor mutation burden (TMB) was the strongest predictor of CPI response, followed by total TMB and CXCL9 expression. Subclonal TMB, somatic copy alteration burden, and histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) evolutionary divergence failed to attain pan-cancer significance. Dinucleotide variants were identified as a source of immunogenic epitopes associated with radical amino acid substitutions and enhanced peptide hydrophobicity/immunogenicity. Copy-number analysis revealed two additional determinants of CPI outcome supported by prior functional evidence: 9q34 (TRAF2) loss associated with response and CCND1 amplification associated with resistance. Finally, single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of clonal neoantigen-reactive CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), combined with bulk RNA-seq analysis of CPI-responding tumors, identified CCR5 and CXCL13 as T-cell-intrinsic markers of CPI sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Litchfield
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - James L Reading
- Cancer Immunology Unit, Research Department of Hematology, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Clare Puttick
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Krupa Thakkar
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Chris Abbosh
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Robert Bentham
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Thomas B K Watkins
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Rachel Rosenthal
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Dhruva Biswas
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Andrew Rowan
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Emilia Lim
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Maise Al Bakir
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Virginia Turati
- Stem Cell Group, Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - José Afonso Guerra-Assunção
- Bill Lyons Informatics Centre, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Lucia Conde
- Bill Lyons Informatics Centre, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Andrew J S Furness
- Renal and Skin Units, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London SW3 6JJ, UK
| | - Sunil Kumar Saini
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sine R Hadrup
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Javier Herrero
- Bill Lyons Informatics Centre, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Se-Hoon Lee
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Samsung Advanced Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea; Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Peter Van Loo
- Cancer Genomics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Tariq Enver
- Stem Cell Group, Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - James Larkin
- Renal and Skin Units, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London SW3 6JJ, UK
| | - Matthew D Hellmann
- Thoracic Oncology Service, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Parker Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, 885 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
| | - Samra Turajlic
- Renal and Skin Units, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London SW3 6JJ, UK; Cancer Dynamics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Sergio A Quezada
- Cancer Immunology Unit, Research Department of Hematology, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Nicholas McGranahan
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Charles Swanton
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK; Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
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Rocha D, García IA, González Montoro A, Llera A, Prato L, Girotti MR, Soria G, Fernández EA. Pan-Cancer Molecular Patterns and Biological Implications Associated with a Tumor-Specific Molecular Signature. Cells 2020; 10:E45. [PMID: 33396205 PMCID: PMC7823585 DOI: 10.3390/cells10010045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying tissue-independent components of cancer and defining pan-cancer subtypes could be addressed using tissue-specific molecular signatures if classification errors are controlled. Since PAM50 is a well-known, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and commercially available breast cancer signature, we applied it with uncertainty assessment to classify tumor samples from over 33 cancer types, discarded unassigned samples, and studied the emerging tumor-agnostic molecular patterns. The percentage of unassigned samples ranged between 55.5% and 86.9% in non-breast tissues, and gene set analysis suggested that the remaining samples could be grouped into two classes (named C1 and C2) regardless of the tissue. The C2 class was more dedifferentiated, more proliferative, with higher centrosome amplification, and potentially more TP53 and RB1 mutations. We identified 28 gene sets and 95 genes mainly associated with cell-cycle progression, cell-cycle checkpoints, and DNA damage that were consistently exacerbated in the C2 class. In some cancer types, the C1/C2 classification was associated with survival and drug sensitivity, and modulated the prognostic meaning of the immune infiltrate. Our results suggest that PAM50 could be repurposed for a pan-cancer context when paired with uncertainty assessment, resulting in two classes with molecular, biological, and clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darío Rocha
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina; (D.R.); (A.G.M.)
| | - Iris A. García
- Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Inmunología y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba X5016DHK, Argentina;
- Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina;
| | - Aldana González Montoro
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina; (D.R.); (A.G.M.)
- Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina
| | - Andrea Llera
- Laboratorio de Terapia Molecular y Celular—Genocan, Fundación Instituto Leloir, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1405BWE, Argentina;
| | - Laura Prato
- Instituto Académico Pedagógico de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Nacional de Villa María, Villa María, Córdoba X5900, Argentina;
| | - María R. Girotti
- Laboratorio de Inmuno Oncología Traslacional, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1428ADN, Argentina;
| | - Gastón Soria
- Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina;
- Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina
| | - Elmer A. Fernández
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina; (D.R.); (A.G.M.)
- Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Inmunología y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba X5016DHK, Argentina;
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Hu S, Zeng W, Zhang W, Xu J, Yu D, Peng J, Wei Y. KIAA0101 as a new diagnostic and prognostic marker, and its correlation with gene regulatory networks and immune infiltrates in lung adenocarcinoma. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 13:301-339. [PMID: 33231570 PMCID: PMC7835026 DOI: 10.18632/aging.104144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Proliferating cell nuclear antigen binding factor (encoded by KIAA0101/PCLAF) regulates DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression; however, whether the level of KIAA0101 mRNA in lung adenocarcinoma is related to prognosis and tumor immune infiltration is unknown. In patients with lung adenocarcinoma, the differential expression of KIAA0101 was analyzed using the Oncomine, GEPIA, and Ualcan databases. The prognosis of patients with different KIAA0101 expression levels was evaluated using databases such as Prognostan and GEPIA. Tumor immune infiltration associated with KIAA0101 was analyzed using TISIDB. Linkedmics was used to perform gene set enrichment analysis of KIAA0101. KIAA0101 expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissues was higher than that in normal lung tissues. Patients with lung adenocarcinoma with low KIAA0101 expression had a better prognosis than those with high KIAA0101 expression. We constructed the gene regulatory network of KIAA0101 in lung adenocarcinoma. KIAA0101 appeared to play an important role in the regulation of tumor immune infiltration and targeted therapy in lung adenocarcinoma. Thus, KIAA0101 mRNA levels correlated with the diagnosis, prognosis, immune infiltration, and targeted therapy in lung adenocarcinoma. These results provide new directions to develop diagnostic criteria, prognostic evaluation, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy for lung adenocarcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Hu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Weibiao Zeng
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wenxiong Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jianjun Xu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Dongliang Yu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jinhua Peng
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yiping Wei
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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