VUp-Regulation of VCAN Promotes the Proliferation, Invasion and Migration and Serves as a Biomarker in Gastric Cancer

VCAN in the extracellular matrix drives glioma recurrence by enhancing cell proliferation and migration

Introduction

Gliomas are the most prevalent primary malignant intracranial tumors, characterized by high rates of therapy resistance, recurrence, and mortality. A major factor contributing to the poor prognosis of gliomas is their ability to diffusely infiltrate surrounding and even distant brain tissues, rendering complete total resection almost impossible and leading to frequent recurrences. The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in the tumor microenvironment and may significantly influence glioma progression, recurrence, and therapeutic response.

Methods

In this study, we first identified the ECM and the Versican (VCAN), a key ECM protein, as critical contributors to glioma recurrence through a comprehensive analysis of transcriptomic data comparing recurrent and primary gliomas. Using single-cell sequencing, we revealed heterogeneous distribution patterns and extensive intercellular communication among ECM components. External sequencing and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining further validated that VCAN is significantly upregulated in recurrent gliomas and is associated with poor patient outcomes.

Results

Functional assays conducted in glioma cell lines overexpressing VCAN demonstrated that VCAN promotes cell proliferation and migration via the PI3K/Akt/AP-1 signaling pathway. Furthermore, inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway effectively blocked VCAN-mediated glioma progression.

Conclusion

These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying glioma recurrence and suggest that targeting both VCAN and the PI3K/Akt pathway could represent a promising therapeutic strategy for managing recurrent gliomas.

Matrisomics: Beyond the extracellular matrix for unveiling tumor microenvironment

The matrisome, a group of proteins constituting or interacting with the extracellular matrix (ECM), has garnered attention as a potent regulator of cancer progression. An increasing number of studies have focused on cancer matrisome utilizing diverse -omics approaches. Here, we present diverse patterns of matrisomal populations within cancer tissues, exploring recent -omics studies spanning different '-omics' levels (epigenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics), as well as newly developed sequencing techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. Some matrisome genes showed uniform patterns of upregulated or downregulated expression across various cancers, while others displayed different expression patterns according to the cancer types. This matrisomal dysregulation in cancer was further examined according to their originating cell type and spatial location in the tumor tissue. Experimental studies were also collected to demonstrate the identified roles of matrisome genes during cancer progression. Interestingly, many studies on cancer matrisome have suggested matrisome genes as effective biomarkers in cancer research. Although the specific mechanisms and clinical applications of cancer matrisome have not yet been fully elucidated, recent techniques and analyses on cancer matrisomics have emphasized their biological importance in cancer progression and their clinical implications in deciding the efficacy of cancer treatment.

Construction of a disulfidptosis-related glycolysis gene risk model to predict the prognosis and immune infiltration analysis of gastric adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

The pattern of cell death known as disulfidptosis was recently discovered. Disulfidptosis, which may affect the growth of tumor cells, represents a potential new approach to treating tumors. Glycolysis affects tumor proliferation, invasion, chemotherapy resistance, the tumor microenvironment (TME), and immune evasion. However, the efficacy and therapeutic significance of disulfidptosis-related glycolysis genes (DRGGs) in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) remain uncertain.

METHODS

STAD clinical data and RNA sequencing data were downloaded from the TCGA database. DRGGs were screened using Cox regression and Lasso regression analysis to construct a prognostic risk model. The accuracy of the model was verified using survival studies, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, column plots, and calibration curves. Additionally, our study investigated the relationships between the risk scores and immune cell infiltration, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and anticancer drug sensitivity.

RESULTS

We have successfully developed a prognosis risk model with 4 DRGGs (NT5E, ALG1, ANKZF1, and VCAN). The model showed excellent performance in predicting the overall survival of STAD patients. The DRGGs prognostic model significantly correlated with the TME, immune infiltrating cells, and treatment sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk model developed in this work has significant clinical value in predicting the impact of immunotherapy in STAD patients and assisting in the choice of chemotherapeutic medicines. It can correctly estimate the prognosis of STAD patients.

Splicing variants of versican in CD133+/CD44+ prostate cancer stem cells

A cancer mass is composed of a heterogeneous group of cells, a small part of which constitutes the cancer stem cells since they are less differentiated and have a high capacity to develop cancer. Versican is an extracellular matrix protein located in many human tissues. The mRNA of versican has been shown to have "splicing patterns" as detected by RT-PCR, northern blot analysis, and cDNA sequencing. Based on this knowledge this study aims to reveal the splice variants of versican molecules, which are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of the DU-145 human prostatic carcinoma cell line and prostatic cancer stem cells isolated from this cell line. In this study, RWPE-1 normal prostatic and DU-145 human prostate cancer cell lines have been used. Prostatic cancer stem cells and the remaining group of non-prostatic-cancer stem cells (bulk population) were isolated according to their CD133+/CD44+. RNA was isolated in all groups, and sequence analysis was accomplished for splicing variants by Illumina NextSeq 500 sequencing system. The results were analyzed by bioinformatic evaluation. As five isoforms of the versican gene in the differential transcript expression are analyzed, it was observed that a significant change was only found in the isoforms Versican 0 and Versican 1. In this study, we explored the function of this molecule which we think to be effective in cancer progression, and suggested that more valuable results can be obtained after the accomplishment of in vivo experiments.

Immunohistochemical staining of versican as a potential marker for predicting lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers and has a high mortality rate. Lymph node metastasis is a key determinant of prognosis, and an essential mechanism involved in metastasis is the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In this study, we aimed to assess the diagnostic role of versican (VCAN), a molecule participating in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, on the detection of metastatic cancer. The expression of VCAN was evaluated using immunohistochemistry, and its biological activity was examined using gastric cancer cell lines. In patients with lymph node metastasis, VCAN expression was more prominent at primary tumor sites. In addition, VCAN was found to promote cell migration in vitro, thus potentially facilitating the distribution of metastases. Overall, increased expression of VCAN at the primary site may signify the development of metastases in lymph nodes because this protein is recognized as contributing to the migration of cancer cells into lymph nodes.

Upregulation of CELSR1 expression promotes ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion

Cadherin epidermal growth factor and laminin-G seven-pass G-type receptor 1 (CELSR1) is a planar cell polarity protein involved in the transmission of directional cues to align either individual cells within an epithelial sheet or multicellular clusters. CELSR1 has been suggested to play a role in glioma, breast cancer, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia development; however, whether it has a role in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the role of CELSR1 in ovarian cancer and elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms. By analyzing gene expression data downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas database, we found that CELSR1 expression was upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues compared to that in normal ovarian tissues. High CELSR1 expression levels were associated with poor prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer. Cell proliferation, scratch, and transwell assays revealed that CELSR1 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ovarian cancer cells in vitro. In addition, transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that CELSR1 knockdown in T29H cells resulted in the dysregulation of the expression of 1320 genes. Further analysis revealed that genes involved in proliferation- and migration-associated signaling pathways were regulated by CELSR1. Our study demonstrates that CELSR1 is highly expressed in ovarian cancer cells and regulates their proliferation and migration, suggesting its potential as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target.

MiRNA-30a-5p/VCAN Arrests Tumor Metastasis via Modulating the Adhesion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Previous research indicated that the dysregulation of miRNA-30a-5p has a correlation with cell metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). But the study about the molecular regulatory mechanism of miRNA-30a-5p in LUAD cell metastasis is limited. Thus, we discussed the mechanism of miRNA-30a-5p and its biological function in LUAD cells. By utilizing bioinformatics analysis, how miRNA-30a-5p was expressed in LUAD tissue was determined and its downstream target genes were predicted. The signaling pathways where these target genes enriched were analyzed. Several in vitro experiments were applied for cell function detection: dual-luciferase assay for validating the targeting relationship between miRNA-30a-5p and its target gene; quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for testing the expression of miRNA-30a-5p and its target gene in LUAD cells; MTT, transwell, cell adhesion, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence assays for examining the capabilities of LUAD cells to proliferate, migrate, invade, adhere, apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) effect; Western blot for determining the expression of adhesion-related proteins and EMT-related proteins. Down-regulated miRNA-30a-5p was discovered in LUAD cells, but on the contrary, VCAN was upregulated. MiRNA-30a-5p overexpression notably repressed the virulent progression of LUAD cells. Besides, dual-luciferase assay validated the targeting relationship between miRNA-30a-5p and VCAN. MiRNA-30a-5p, by negatively regulating VCAN, was capable of hindering LUAD cell proliferation, migration, invasion, adhesion, viability and EMT. It was illustrated that miRNA-30a-5p could downregulate VCAN to retard the malignant progression of LUAD cells, which provides novel insights into LUAD pathogenesis, suggesting that miRNA-30a-5p/VCAN axis can be a promising anti-cancer target for LUAD.

Transcriptome sequencing identifies prognostic genes involved in gastric adenocarcinoma

Gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) is one of the world's most lethal malignant tumors. It has been established that the occurrence and progression of GAC are linked to molecular changes. However, the pathogenesis mechanism of GAC remains unclear. In this study, we sequenced 6 pairs of GAC tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues and collected GAC gene expression profile data from the TCGA database. Analysis of this data revealed 465 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 246 were upregulated and 219 were downregulated. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis demonstrated that DEGs were observably enriched in ECM-receptor interaction, protein digestion and absorption, and gastric acid secretion pathways. Six key genes (MATN3, COL1A1, COL5A2, P4HA3, SERPINE1 and VCAN) associated with poor GAC prognosis were screened from the protein‒protein interaction (PPI) network by survival analysis, and P4HA3 and MATN3 have rarely been reported to be associated with GAC. We further analyzed the function of P4HA3 in the GAC cell line SGC-7901 by RT‒qPCR, MTT, flow cytometry, colony formation, wound healing, Transwell and western blot assays. We found that P4HA3 was upregulated in the SGC-7901 cell line versus normal control cells. The outcomes of the loss-of-function assay illustrated that P4HA3 significantly enhanced the ability of GAC cells to proliferate and migrate. This study provides a new basis for the selection of prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for GAC.

Versican core protein aids in the diagnosis and grading of breast phyllodes tumor

Phyllodes tumors (PTs) are biphasic fibroepithelial lesions that occur in the breast. Diagnosing and grading PTs remains a challenge in a small proportion of cases, due to the lack of reliable specific biomarkers. We screened a potential marker versican core protein (VCAN) through microproteomics analysis, validated its role for the grading of PTs by immunohistochemistry, and analyzed the correlation between VCAN expression and clinicopathological characteristics. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for VCAN was identified in all benign PT samples, among which 40 (93.0 %) showed VCAN-positive staining in ≥50 % of tumor cells. Eight (21.6 %) borderline PT samples showed VCAN-positive staining in ≥50 % of the cells with weak to moderate staining intensity, whereas 29 samples (78.4 %) showed VCAN-positive staining in <50 % of the cells. In malignant PTs, 16 (84.2 %) and three (15.8 %) samples showed VCAN-positive staining in <5 % and 5-25 % of stromal cells, respectively. Fibroadenomas showed a similar expression pattern to benign PTs. Fisher's exact test showed that the percentages of positive cells (P < .001) and staining intensities (P < .001) of tumor cells were significantly different between the five groups. VCAN positivity was associated with tumor categories (P < .0001) and CD34 expression (P < .0001). The expression of VCAN gradually decreases as the tumor categories increases, following recurrence. To the best of our knowledge, our results are the first in the literature to reveal that VCAN is useful for diagnosing and grading PTs. The expression level of VCAN appeared to be negatively associated with PT categories, suggesting that dysregulation of VCAN may be involved in the tumor progression of PTs.

Pan-cancer analysis of the oncogenic role of the core osteosarcoma gene VCAN in human tumors

OBJECTIVE

Versican (VCAN), a member of the multifunctional glycoprotein family, is involved in various aspects of cancer progression. However, the role of VCAN in diverse cancers remains poorly defined. This research aimed to investigate the correlation between VCAN expression and the oncogenic role, as well as visualize its prognostic landscape in pan-cancer.

METHODS

Raw data in regard to VCAN expression in cancer patients were acquired from GEO GeneChip public database in NCBI. Besides, we selected microarray data GSE16088 for analysis. We retrieved the genes associated with osteosarcoma (OS) from the OMIM database and identified their intersection with the core module. VCAN was suggested to be a potential marker gene for OS. Subsequently, we conducted Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to explore gene functional enrichment. Moreover, we performed pan-cancer analysis on VCAN to gain a comprehensive understanding of its implications across various cancer types.

RESULTS

The VCAN expression in the tumor tissue was higher than that in normal tissue. Elevated expression of VCAN was associated with high the tumor stage and poor long-term survival. There was a significant positive correlation between VCAN and cancer fibroblasts in all pan cancers. Moreover, FBN1 was the intersection gene of VCAN-related genes and linker genes. ANTXR1, COL5A2, CSGALNACT2, and SPARC were the target genes of VCAN genes. GSEA analysis showed that VCAN was mainly enriched in the extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

VCAN can be used as a marker molecule for the early diagnosis of OS and holds significance as a molecule in cases of OS with distant metastasis. The ECM signaling pathway may be a core pathway in OS development and distant metastasis. These findings shed new light on therapeutics of cancers.

Identification of survival-associated biomarkers based on three datasets by bioinformatics analysis in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with poor prognosis in terms of advanced stage. However, the survival-associated biomarkers for GC remains unclear.

AIM

To investigate the potential biomarkers of the prognosis of patients with GC, so as to provide new methods and strategies for the treatment of GC.

METHODS

RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database of STAD tumors, and microarray data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE19826, GSE79973 and GSE29998) were obtained. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GC patients and health people were picked out using R software (x64 4.1.3). The intersections were underwent between the above obtained co-expression of differential genes (co-DEGs) and the DEGs of GC from Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis database, and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome (KEGG) pathway analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Protein-protein Interaction (PPI) analysis and Kaplan-Meier Plotter survival analysis were performed on these DEGs. Using Immunohistochemistry (IHC) database of Human Protein Atlas (HPA), we verified the candidate Hub genes.

RESULTS

With DEGs analysis, there were 334 co-DEGs, including 133 up-regulated genes and 201 down-regulated genes. GO enrichment analysis showed that the co-DEGs were involved in biological process, cell composition and molecular function pathways. KEGG enrichment analysis suggested the co-DEGs pathways were mainly enriched in ECM-receptor interaction, protein digestion and absorption pathways, etc. GSEA pathway analysis showed that co-DEGs mainly concentrated in cell cycle progression, mitotic cell cycle and cell cycle pathways, etc. PPI analysis showed 84 nodes and 654 edges for the co-DEGs. The survival analysis illustrated 11 Hub genes with notable significance for prognosis of patients were screened. Furtherly, using IHC database of HPA, we confirmed the above candidate Hub genes, and 10 Hub genes that associated with prognosis of GC were identified, namely BGN, CEP55, COL1A2, COL4A1, FZD2, MAOA, PDGFRB, SPARC, TIMP1 and VCAN.

CONCLUSION

The 10 Hub genes may be the potential biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of GC, which can provide new strategies and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of GC.

Cortactin contributes to the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer by activating ERK/MMP pathway

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor with high mortality and high incidence. This study aims to explore the function and molecular mechanism of Cortactin on gastric cancer progression in vitro and in vivo. A bioinformatics analysis from TCGA displayed that Cortactin was highly expressed in gastric cancer samples, and patients with a high Cortactin level had a worse survival rate. Subsequently, we investigated the specific mechanism of action of A in gastric cancer by collecting patient samples for immunohistochemistry, WB, qRT-PCR, cell transfection, cell invasion and metastasis, and constructing tumor xenografts in nude mice. Overexpression of Cortactin inhibited apoptosis and enhanced cellular proliferation and mobility in AGS cells, while those activities were reversed by the knockdown of MMP2 or MMP9. Conversely, the deletion of Cortactin induced apoptosis and suppressed cell growth and metastasis in SGC7901 cells, whereas those behaviors were inhibited by overexpression of MMP2 or MMP9. Additionally, the ERK pathway was activated by Cortactin upregulation. In vivo studies presented that overexpression of Cortactin promoted tumor growth, increased Ki67 expression, and reduced caspase 3 expression, which was reversed by ERK inhibitor treatment. In conclusion, Cortactin acted as an oncogene in gastric cancer and exerted its function by ERK/MMP2/MMP9 signaling pathway.

An integrated analysis of prognostic mRNA signature in early- and progressive-stage gastric adenocarcinoma

The pathogenesis and vital factors of early and progressive stages of stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) have not been fully elucidated. In order to discover novel and potential targets to guide effective treatment strategies, a comprehensive bioinformatics study was performed, and the representative results were then validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemical (IMC) staining in clinical samples. A total of 4,627, 4,715, and 3,465 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from overall-, early-, and progressive-stage STAD were identified, respectively. Prognostic models of 5-year OS were established for overall-, early-, and progressive-stage STAD, and ROC curves demonstrated AUC values for each model were 0.73, 0.87, and 0.92, respectively. Function analysis revealed that mRNAs of early-stage STAD were enriched in chemical stimulus-related pathways, whereas remarkable enrichment of mRNAs in progressive-stage STAD mainly lay in immune-related pathways. Both qPCR and IHC data confirmed the up-regulation of IGFBP1 in the early-stage and CHAF1A in progressive-stage STAD compared with their matched normal tissues, indicating that these two representative targets could be used to predict the prognostic status of the patients in these two distinct STAD stages, respectively. In addition, seven mRNAs (F2, GRID2, TF, APOB, KIF18B, INCENP, and GCG) could be potential novel biomarkers for STAD at different stages from this study. These results contributed to identifying STAD patients at high-risk, thus guiding targeted treatment with efficacy in these patients.

Significance of monocyte infiltration in patients with gastric cancer: A combined study based on single cell sequencing and TCGA

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is still one of the most lethal tumor diseases in the world. Despite some improvements, the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer is still not accurately predicted.

METHODS

Based on single cell sequencing data, we conducted a detailed analysis of gastric cancer patients and normal tissues to determine the role of monocytes in the progression of gastric cancer. WCGA facilitated our search for Grade-related genes in TCGA. Then, according to the marker genes and cell differentiation genes of monocytes, we determined the cancer-promoting genes of monocytes. Based on LASSO regression, we established a prognostic model using TCGA database. The accuracy of the model was verified by PCA, ROC curve, survival analysis and prognostic analysis. Finally, we evaluated the significance of the model in clinical diagnosis and treatment by observing drug sensitivity, immune microenvironment and immune checkpoint expression in patients with different risk groups.

RESULTS

Monocytes were poorly differentiated in tumor microenvironment. It mainly played a role in promoting cancer in two ways. One was to promote tumor progression indirectly by interacting with other tumor stromal cells. The other was to directly connect with tumor cells through the MIF and TNF pathway to play a tumor-promoting role. The former was more important in these two ways. A total of 292 monocyte tumor-promoting genes were obtained, and 12 genes were finally included in the construction of the prognosis model. A variety of validation methods showed that our model had an accurate prediction ability. Drug sensitivity analysis could provide guidance for clinical medication of patients. The results of immune microenvironment and immune checkpoint also indicated the reasons for poor prognosis of high-risk patients.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we provided a 12-gene risk score formula and nomogram for gastric cancer patients to assist clinical drug therapy and prognosis prediction. This model had good accuracy and clinical significance.

Thyroid Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals the Follicular Phase Differential Regulation of lncRNA and mRNA Related to Prolificacy in Small Tail Han Sheep with Two FecB Genotypes

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) accounts for a large proportion of RNA in animals. The thyroid gland has been established as an important gland involved in animal reproduction, however, little is known of its gene expression patterns and potential roles in the sheep. Herein, RNA-Seq was used to detect reproduction-related differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) and mRNAs (DEGs) in the follicular phase (FT) FecBBB (MM) and FecB++ (ww) genotypes of Small Tail Han (STH) sheep thyroids. Overall, 29 DELs and 448 DEGs in thyroid between MM and ww sheep were screened. Moreover, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that targets of DELs and DEGs were annotated in biological transitions, such as cell cycle, oocyte meiosis and methylation, which in turn affect reproductive performance in sheep. In addition, we constructed co-expression and networks of lncRNAs-mRNAs. Specifically, XLOC_075176 targeted MYB, XLOC_014695 targeted VCAN, 106991527 targeted CASR, XLOC_075176 targeted KIFC1, XLOC_360232 targeted BRCA2. All these differential lncRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in the thyroid provide a new resource for elucidating the regulatory mechanism underlying STH sheep prolificacy.

Proteomic profiling identifies novel diagnostic biomarkers and molecular subtypes for mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma of the kidney

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a relatively rare renal epithelial neoplasm resembling type 1 papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) morphologically and immunohistochemically. The accurate diagnosis of MTSCC remains a challenge. Here, by using proteomic profiling, we characterized MTSCC and PRCC to identify diagnostic biomarkers. We found that the MTSCC tumor proteome was significantly enriched in B‐cell‐mediated immunity when compared with the proteome of adjacent normal tissues of MTSCC or tumors of PRCC. Importantly, we identified MZB1, VCAN, and SOSTDC1 as diagnostic biomarkers to distinguish MTSCC from the solid variant of type 1 PRCC, with an AUC of 0.985 when combined. MZB1 was inversely correlated with tumor clinical stage and may play an anti‐tumor role by activating the complement system. Finally, unsupervised clustering revealed two molecular subtypes of MTSCC, displaying different morphology, expression signatures of oxidative phosphorylation, and aggravation. In summary, our analyses identified a three‐protein diagnostic panel and molecular subtypes for MTSCC. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Identification of glycolysis genes signature for predicting prognosis in malignant pleural mesothelioma by bioinformatics and machine learning

BACKGROUND

Glycolysis-related genes as prognostic markers in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is still unclear. We hope to explore the relationship between glycolytic pathway genes and MPM prognosis by constructing prognostic risk models through bioinformatics and machine learning.

METHODS

The authors screened the dataset GSE51024 from the GEO database for Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and performed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of glycolytic pathway gene sets. Then, Cox regression analysis was used to identify prognosis-associated glycolytic genes and establish a risk model. Further, the validity of the risk model was evaluated using the dataset GSE67487 in GEO database, and finally, a specimen classification model was constructed by support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) to further screen prognostic genes.

RESULTS

By DEGs, five glycolysis-related pathway gene sets (17 glycolytic genes) were identified to be highly expressed in MPM tumor tissues. Also 11 genes associated with MPM prognosis were identified in TCGA-MPM patients, and 6 (COL5A1, ALDH2, KIF20A, ADH1B, SDC1, VCAN) of them were included by Multi-factor COX analysis to construct a prognostic risk model for MPM patients, with Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.830. Further, dataset GSE67487 also confirmed the validity of the risk model, with a significant difference in overall survival (OS) between the low-risk and high-risk groups (P < 0.05). The final machine learning screened the five prognostic genes with the highest risk of MPM, in order of importance, were ALDH2, KIF20A, COL5A1, ADH1B and SDC1.

CONCLUSIONS

A risk model based on six glycolytic genes (ALDH2, KIF20A, COL5A1, ADH1B, SDC1, VCAN) can effectively predict the prognosis of MPM patients.

Novel CircRNAs in Hub ceRNA Axis Regulate Gastric Cancer Prognosis and Microenvironment

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies with an unfavorable survival rate. Immunotherapy may contribute to a better prognosis. However, several phase III trials failed. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel type of non-coding RNA, plays a vital role in the progression of tumors. The expression and function of circRNA in the GC immune microenvironment remain obscure. In this study, we utilized a bioinformatic analysis to construct a circRNA/microRNA (miRNA)/messenger RNA (mRNA) network involved in the progression and prognosis of GC. CircRNA DYRK1A_017, circRNA FLNA_118, miR-6512-3p, miR-6270-5p, and VCAN were identified as the key molecules in the hub regulatory axis. Dysregulation of this axis contributed to the cancer-associated signaling pathways (epithelial-mesenchymal transition [EMT], Nuclear factor kappa β-Tumor necrosis factor-α (NFκβ-TNFα) signaling, and angiogenesis) and aberrant immune microenvironment (infiltration by tumor associated macrophage, regulatory T cell, and mast cell). More importantly, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment may reveal the mechanism of novel circRNAs in tumors and serve as the target of immunotherapy.

Circular RNA Circ-0002570 Accelerates Cancer Progression by Regulating VCAN via MiR-587 in Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are closely associated with the occurrences and progress of gastric cancer (GC). We aimed to delve into the function and pathological mechanism of Circular RNA-0002570 (circ-0002570) in GC progression.

METHODS

CircRNAs differentially expressed in GC were screened using bioinformatics technology. The expression of circ-0002570 was detected in GC specimens and cells via qRT-PCR, and the prognostic values of circ-0002570 were determined. The functional roles of circ-0002570 on proliferation, migration, and invasion in GC cells were explored in vitro and in vivo. Interaction of circ-0002570, miR-587, and VCAN was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assays, Western blotting, and rescue experiments.

RESULTS

Circ-0002570 expression was distinctly increased in GC tissues compared to adjacent normal specimens, and GC patients with higher circ-0002570 expressions displayed a short survival. Functionally, knockdown of circ-0002570 resulted in the inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, miR-587 was sponged by circ-0002570. VCAN expression in NSCLC was directly inhibited by miR-587. Overexpression of circ-0002570 prevented VCAN from miR-587-mediated degradation and thus facilitated GC progression.

CONCLUSION

The circ-0002570-miR-587-VCAN regulatory pathway promoted the progression of GC. Our findings provided potential new targets for the diagnosis and therapy of GC.

Colonic Stent as Bridge to Surgery for Malignant Obstruction Induces Gene Expressional Changes Associated with a More Aggressive Tumor Phenotype

BACKGROUND

Colonic stent is recommended as a bridge to elective surgery for malignant obstruction to improve short-term clinical outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer. However, since the oncological outcomes remain controversial, this study aimed to investigate the impact of self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) on the tumor microenvironment.

METHODS

Patients treated with colonic stent as a bridge to surgery from 2010 to 2015 were identified from hospital records. Tumor biopsies and resected tumor samples of the eligible patients were retrieved retrospectively. Gene expression analysis was performed using the NanoString nCounter PanCancer IO 360 gene expression panel.

RESULTS

Of the 164 patients identified, this study included 21 who underwent colonic stent placement as a bridge to elective surgery. Gene expression analysis revealed 82 differentially expressed genes between pre- and post-intervention specimens, of which 72 were upregulated and 10 downregulated. Among the significantly upregulated genes, 46 are known to have protumor functions, of which 26 are specifically known to induce tumorigenic mechanisms such as proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and inflammation. In addition, ten differentially expressed genes were identified that are known to promote antitumor functions.

CONCLUSION

SEMS induces gene expressional changes in the tumor microenvironment that are associated with tumor progression in colorectal cancer and may potentiate a more aggressive phenotype. Future studies are warranted to establish optimal timing of surgery after SEMS insertion in patients with obstructive colorectal cancer.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed genes and immune cell infiltration characteristics in Esophageal Squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a life-threatening thoracic tumor with a poor prognosis. The role of molecular alterations and the immune microenvironment in ESCC development has not been fully elucidated. The present study aimed to elucidate key candidate genes and immune cell infiltration characteristics in ESCC by integrated bioinformatics analysis. Nine gene expression datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analysed to identify robust differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the robust rank aggregation (RRA) algorithm. Functional enrichment analyses showed that the 152 robust DEGs are involved in multiple processes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Immune cell infiltration analysis based on the 9 normalized GEO microarray datasets was conducted with the CIBERSORT algorithm. The changes in macrophages between ESCC and normal tissues were particularly obvious. In ESCC tissues, M0 and M1 macrophages were increased dramatically, while M2 macrophages were decreased. A robust DEG-based protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was used for hub gene selection with the CytoHubba plugin in Cytoscape. Nine hub genes (CDA, CXCL1, IGFBP3, MMP3, MMP11, PLAU, SERPINE1, SPP1 and VCAN) had high diagnostic efficiency for ESCC according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The expression of all hub genes except MMP3 and PLAU was significantly related to macrophage infiltration. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses showed that a 7-gene signature constructed from the robust DEGs was useful for predicting ESCC prognosis. Our results might facilitate the exploration of potential targeted TME therapies and prognostic evaluation in ESCC.

Overexpressed versican promoted cell multiplication, migration and invasion in gastric cancer

Versican (VCAN) is verified to promote development among many cancers, whose function on gastric cancer (GC) is less studied. This work explored the effect of VCNA on GC. The differentially expressed VCAN between tumor and normal samples, among different cancer stages and the overall survival of GC patients with high and low VCAN levels were predicted through Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 (GEPIA2). The association between VCAN and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed by clinical investigation. AGS and NCI-N87 cells were transfected with VCAN short hairpin RNA (shVCAN) and VCAN overexpression plasmid. The VCNA, Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, E-Cadherin, N-Cadherin and Vimentin expression was detected through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. Cell viability was assessed through MTT assay. Cell migration was measured by wound healing assay and cell invasion was evaluated through Transwell assay. Cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry assay. VCAN was upregulated in GC and its high expression related to advanced TNM stage, Lymph node metastasis, Depth of invasion and Grade. VCAN knockdown inhibited multiplication, migration, invasion, Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, N-Cadherin and Vimentin expression while induced cycle arrest and E-Cadherin level of GC cells, whereas overexpressed VCAN showed opposite results. VCAN had a potential to be a biomarker for GC and overexpressed VCAN promoted GC cell multiplication, migration and invasion.

INHBA promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells through the upregulation of VCAN

OBJECTIVE

Colon cancer has high morbidity and mortality rates, and proliferation, invasion and migration play an important role in colon cancer progression. Here, the effects of inhibin subunit beta A (INHBA) on cell proliferation, invasion and migration were investigated.

METHODS

The UALCAN database was used to assess INHBA expression in colon cancer tissues and predict the survival of patients with high and low INHBA expression. The relevant proteins were detected by RT-qPCR and western blot. Cell transfection was performed to overexpress or inhibit INHBA and versican (VCAN). The high correlation between INHBA and VCAN found through LinkedOmics and StarBase databases was verified by immunoprecipitation assays. Cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 and colony formation assays. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to assess migration and invasion.

RESULTS

INHBA expression was upregulated in colon cancer tissues and cells. INHBA inhibition impaired the proliferation, migration and invasion of these cells. In addition, we confirmed the correlation between INHBA and VCAN in colon cancer cells. Finally, we found that INHBA interference inhibited the aggressive behavior of colon cancer cells by downregulating VCAN.

CONCLUSION

INHBA promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells through the upregulation of VCAN.

Stromal Protein-Mediated Immune Regulation in Digestive Cancers

Simple Summary

Solid cancers are surrounded by a network of non-cancerous cells comprising different cell types, including fibroblasts, and acellular protein structures. This entire network is called the tumor microenvironment (TME) and it provides a physical barrier to the tumor shielding it from infiltrating immune cells, such as lymphocytes, or therapeutic agents. In addition, the TME has been shown to dampen efficient immune responses of infiltrated immune cells, which are key in eliminating cancer cells from the organism. In this review, we will discuss how TME proteins in particular are involved in this dampening effect, known as immunosuppression. We will focus on three different types of digestive cancers: pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer. Moreover, we will discuss current therapeutic approaches using TME proteins as targets to reverse their immunosuppressive effects.

Abstract

The stromal tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of immune cells, vascular and neural structures, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as well as extracellular matrix (ECM), and favors immune escape mechanisms promoting the initiation and progression of digestive cancers. Numerous ECM proteins released by stromal and tumor cells are crucial in providing physical rigidity to the TME, though they are also key regulators of the immune response against cancer cells by interacting directly with immune cells or engaging with immune regulatory molecules. Here, we discuss current knowledge of stromal proteins in digestive cancers including pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer, focusing on their functions in inhibiting tumor immunity and enabling drug resistance. Moreover, we will discuss the implication of stromal proteins as therapeutic targets to unleash efficient immunotherapy-based treatments.