WNK3 promotes the invasiveness of glioma cell lines under hypoxia by inducing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

An update regarding the role of WNK kinases in cancer

Mammalian WNK kinases (WNKs) are serine/threonine kinases that contain four members, WNK1-4. They function to maintain ion homeostasis and regulate blood pressure in mammals. Recent studies have revealed that the dysregulation of WNKs contributes to tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis through complex mechanisms, especially through phosphorylating kinase substrates SPS1-related proline/alanine-rich kinase (SPAK) and oxidative stress-responsive kinase 1 (OSR1). Here, we review and discuss the relationships between WNKs and several key factors/biological processes in cancer, including ion channels, cation chloride cotransporters, sodium bicarbonate cotransporters, signaling pathways, angiogenesis, autophagy, and non-coding RNAs. In addition, the potential drugs for targeting WNK-SPAK/OSR1 signaling have also been discussed. This review summarizes and discusses knowledge of the roles of WNKs in cancer, which provides a comprehensive reference for future studies.

Identification of an Inflammatory Response-Related Gene Signature to Predict Survival and Immune Status in Glioma Patients

Background

Glioma is the most common primary brain tumor with high mortality and poor outcomes. As a hallmark of cancers, inflammatory responses are crucial for their progression. The present study is aimed at exploring the prognostic value of inflammatory response-related genes (IRRGs) and constructing a prognostic IRRG signature for gliomas.

Materials and Methods

We investigated the relationship between IRRGs and gliomas by integrating the transcriptomic data for gliomas from public databases. Differentially expressed IRRGs (DE-IRRGs) were identified in the GSE4290 cohort. Further, univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to construct an IRRG signature using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Gliomas from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) cohort were employed for independent validation. The performance of gene signature was assessed by survival and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. The differences in clinical correlations, immune infiltrate types, immunotherapeutic response predictions, and pathway enrichment among subgroups were investigated via bioinformatic algorithms.

Results

In total, 37 DE-IRRGs were determined, of which 31 were found to be associated with survival. Ultimately, eight genes were retained to construct an IRRG signature that further classified glioma patients into two groups; the high-risk group suffered a poorer outcome as compared to the low-risk group. Furthermore, the high-risk group was significantly correlated with several risk factors, including older age, higher tumor grade, IDH wild type, 1p19q noncodel, and MGMT unmethylation. The nomogram was constructed by integrating the risk scores and other independent clinical characteristics. Moreover, the high-risk group had a greater immune infiltration and was most likely to benefit from immunotherapy. Gene set enrichment analysis suggested that immune and oncogenic pathways were enriched in high-risk glioma patients.

Conclusion

We constructed a signature composed of eight IRRGs for gliomas, which could effectively predict survival and guide decision-making for treatment.