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Ajabnoor G, Alsubhi F, Shinawi T, Habhab W, Albaqami WF, Alqahtani HS, Nasief H, Bondagji N, Elango R, Shaik NA, Banaganapalli B. Computational approaches for discovering significant microRNAs, microRNA-mRNA regulatory pathways, and therapeutic protein targets in endometrial cancer. Front Genet 2023; 13:1105173. [PMID: 36704357 PMCID: PMC9872035 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1105173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Endometrial cancer (EC) is a urogenital cancer affecting millions of post-menopausal women, globally. This study aims to identify key miRNAs, target genes, and drug targets associated with EC metastasis. The global miRNA and mRNA expression datasets of endometrial tissue biopsies (24 tumors +3 healthy tissues for mRNA and 18 tumor +4 healthy tissues for miRNAs), were extensively analyzed by mapping of DEGs, DEMi, biological pathway enrichment, miRNA-mRNA networking, drug target identification, and survival curve output for differentially expressed genes. Our results reveal the dysregulated expression of 26 miRNAs and their 66 target genes involved in focal adhesions, p53 signaling pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, Hedgehog signaling pathway, fat digestion and absorption, glioma as well as retinol metabolism involved in cell growth, migration, and proliferation of endometrial cancer cells. The subsequent miRNA-mRNA network and expression status analysis have narrowed down to 2 hub miRNAs (hsa-mir-200a, hsa-mir-429) and 6 hub genes (PTCH1, FOSB, PDGFRA, CCND2, ABL1, ALDH1A1). Further investigations with different systems biology methods have prioritized ALDH1A1, ABL1 and CCND2 as potential genes involved in endometrial cancer metastasis owing to their high mutation load and expression status. Interestingly, overexpression of PTCH1, ABL1 and FOSB genes are reported to be associated with a low survival rate among cancer patients. The upregulated hsa-mir-200a-b is associated with the decreased expression of the PTCH1, CCND2, PDGFRA, FOSB and ABL1 genes in endometrial cancer tissue while hsa-mir-429 is correlated with the decreased expression of the ALDH1A1 gene, besides some antibodies, PROTACs and inhibitory molecules. In conclusion, this study identified key miRNAs (hsa-mir-200a, hsa-mir-429) and target genes ALDH1A1, ABL1 and CCND2 as potential biomarkers for metastatic endometrial cancers from large-scale gene expression data using systems biology approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghada Ajabnoor
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fai Alsubhi
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Thoraia Shinawi
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Wisam Habhab
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Walaa F. Albaqami
- Department of Science, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain S. Alqahtani
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hisham Nasief
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nabeel Bondagji
- Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ramu Elango
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Noor Ahmad Shaik
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,*Correspondence: Noor Ahmad Shaik, ; Babajan Banaganapalli,
| | - Babajan Banaganapalli
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,*Correspondence: Noor Ahmad Shaik, ; Babajan Banaganapalli,
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Wong SW, McCarroll J, Hsu K, Geczy CL, Tedla N. Intranasal Delivery of Recombinant S100A8 Protein Delays Lung Cancer Growth by Remodeling the Lung Immune Microenvironment. Front Immunol 2022; 13:826391. [PMID: 35655772 PMCID: PMC9152328 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.826391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Increasing evidence indicates a critical role for chronic inflammation in lung carcinogenesis. S100A8 is a protein with reported pro- and anti-inflammatory functions. It is highly expressed in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) that accumulate in the tumor microenvironment and abrogate effective anti-cancer immune responses. Mechanisms of MDSC-mediated immunosuppression include production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide, and depletion of L-arginine required for T cell function. Although S100A8 is expressed in MDSC, its role in the lung tumor microenvironment is largely unknown. To address this, mouse recombinant S100A8 was repeatedly administered intranasally to mice bearing orthotopic lung cancers. S100A8 treatment prolonged survival from 19 days to 28 days (p < 0.001). At midpoint of survival, whole lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected and relevant genes/proteins measured. We found that S100A8 significantly lowered expression of cytokine genes and proteins that promote expansion and activation of MDSC in lungs and BALF from cancer-bearing mice. Moreover, S100A8 enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes and suppressed production of nitrite to create a lung microenvironment conducive to cytotoxic lymphocyte expansion and function. In support of this, we found decreased MDSC numbers, and increased numbers of CD4+ T cells and natural killer T (NK-T) cells in lungs from cancer-bearing mice treated with S100A8. Ex-vivo treatment of splenocytes with S100A8 protein activated NK cells. Our results indicate that treatment with S100A8 may favourably modify the lung microenvironment to promote an effective immune response in lungs, thereby representing a new strategy that could complement current immunotherapies in lung cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sze Wing Wong
- School of Medical Sciences and the Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joshua McCarroll
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kenneth Hsu
- School of Medical Sciences and the Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Carolyn L Geczy
- School of Medical Sciences and the Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Nicodemus Tedla
- School of Medical Sciences and the Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Zhang Q, Xia T, Qi C, Du J, Ye C. High expression of S100A2 predicts poor prognosis in patients with endometrial carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:77. [PMID: 35042454 PMCID: PMC8764844 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09180-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background S100A2, a member of the S100 protein family, is abnormally expressed and plays a vital role in multiple cancers. However, little is known about the clinical significance of S100A2 in endometrial carcinoma. Methods Clinicopathological data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). First, the expression and prognostic value of different S100 family members in endometrial carcinoma were evaluated. Subsequently, the Kaplan–Meier plotter and Cox regression analysis were used to assess the prognostic significance of S100A2, while the association between S100A2 expression and clinical characteristics in endometrial carcinoma was also analyzed using logistic regression. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and a nomogram were constructed. The putative underlying cellular mechanisms were explored using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results Our results revealed that S100A2 expression was significantly higher in endometrial carcinoma tissue than in non-cancerous tissue at both the mRNA and protein levels. Analysis of Kaplan–Meier plotter data revealed that patients with high S100A2 expression had shorter overall survival (OS) and disease specific survival (DSS) compared with those of patients with low S100A2 expression. Multivariate Cox analysis further confirmed that high S100A2 expression was an independent risk factor for OS in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Other clinicopathologic features found to be related to worse prognosis in endometrial carcinoma included age, clinical stage, histologic grade, and tumor invasion. Importantly, ROC analysis also confirmed that S100A2 has a high diagnostic value in endometrial carcinoma. KEGG enrichment analysis and GSEA revealed that the estrogen and IL-17 signaling pathways were significantly upregulated in the high S100A2 expression group, in which estrogen response, JAK-STAT3, K-Ras, and TNFα/NF-κB were differentially enriched. Conclusions S100A2 plays an important role in endometrial carcinoma progression and may represent an independent diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for endometrial carcinoma. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09180-5.
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