Expression of interleukin-32 in bone marrow of patients with myeloma and its prognostic significance

Monoclonal Gammopathies and the Bone Marrow Microenvironment: From Bench to Bedside and Then Back Again

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematologic malignancy characterized by a multistep evolutionary pathway, with an initial phase called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), potentially evolving into the symptomatic disease, often preceded by an intermediate phase called "smoldering" MM (sMM). From a biological point of view, genomic alterations (translocations/deletions/mutations) are already present at the MGUS phase, thus rendering their role in disease evolution questionable. On the other hand, we currently know that changes in the bone marrow microenvironment (TME) could play a key role in MM evolution through a progressive shift towards a pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive shape, which may drive cancer progression as well as clonal plasma cells migration, proliferation, survival, and drug resistance. Along this line, the major advancement in MM patients' survival has been achieved by the introduction of microenvironment-oriented drugs (including immunomodulatory drugs and monoclonal antibodies). In this review, we summarized the role of the different components of the TME in MM evolution from MGUS as well as potential novel therapeutic targets/opportunities.

KDM2A Targets PFKFB3 for Ubiquitylation to Inhibit the Proliferation and Angiogenesis of Multiple Myeloma Cells

The lysine demethylase KDM2A (also known as JHDM1A or FBXL11) demethylates histone H3 at lysine K36 which lead to epigenetic regulation of cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. However, many biological processes are mediated by KDM2A independently by its histone demethylation activity. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the functional significance of KDM2A in multiple myeloma (MM) disease progression. Specifically, we defined that one of the key enzymes of glycolysis PFKFB3 (6-phosphofructo-2-kinase) is ubiquitylated by KDM2A which suppresses MM cell proliferation. Previous study showed that KDM2A and PFKFB3 promoted angiogenesis in various tumor cells. We further reveal that KDM2A targets PFKFB3 for ubiquitination and degradation to inhibit angiogenesis. Several angiogenic cytokines are also downregulated in MM. Clinically, MM patients with low KDM2A and high PFKFB3 levels have shown worse prognosis. These results reveal a novel function of KDM2A through ubiquitin ligase activity by targeting PFKFB3 to induce proliferation, glycolysis and angiogenesis in MM cells. The data provides a new potential mechanism and strategy for MM treatment.

Immunological Prognostic Factors in Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell neoplasm characterized by an abnormal proliferation of clonal, terminally differentiated B lymphocytes. Current approaches for the treatment of MM focus on developing new diagnostic techniques; however, the search for prognostic markers is also crucial. This enables the classification of patients into risk groups and, thus, the selection of the most optimal treatment method. Particular attention should be paid to the possible use of immune factors, as the immune system plays a key role in the formation and course of MM. In this review, we focus on characterizing the components of the immune system that are of prognostic value in MM patients, in order to facilitate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic directions.