CCR7 and CXCR4 Expression in Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas and Nodal Metastases – a Clinical and Immunohistochemical Study

MMP-9 and CCR7 as Possible Predictors of Lymph Node Metastasis in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background & Objective

The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) is significantly associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. Little is known regarding the potential of these markers in predicting cancer metastasis in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (LSCC). Therefore, this study aimed to dissect the potential of these markers in predicting the lymph node metastasis in LSCC patients.

Methods

Sixty tissue samples were obtained from the patients diagnosed pathologically with LSCC who underwent partial or total laryngectomy. The expression of MMP-9 and CCR7 was measured using the immunohistochemistry staining in the tissue samples of LSCC patients. The ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve was used to determine the most significant cut-off points of expression according to the highest sensitivity and specificity of both the markers to predict the lymph node metastasis in LSCC. Then, the relationship between the clinicopathology features and the expression of MMP-9 and CCR7 was evaluated.

Results

The expression of both MMP-9 and CCR7 was significantly correlated with the lymph node metastasis in LSCC (P<0.001). Furthermore, CCR7 expression exhibited the highest prediction accuracy (AUC 95.7%) and sensitivity (100%) in predicting the lymph node metastasis in LSCC compared to that of MMP-9 (AUC 92.9%, sensitivity 90%). We also found that patients with larger tumor size (> 4 cm) had significantly higher expression of MMP-9 and CCR7 (P<0.002 and P<0.001, respectively). The Elevated expression level of CCR7 statistically correlated with higher MMP-9 expression (P<0.001).

Conclusion

MMP-9 and CCR7 might be beneficial as predictors of lymph node metastasis in LSCC patients.

The Multi-Functional Roles of CCR7 in Human Immunology and as a Promising Therapeutic Target for Cancer Therapeutics

An important hallmark of the human immune system is to provide adaptive immunity against pathogens but tolerance toward self-antigens. The CC-chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) provides a significant contribution in guiding cells to and within lymphoid organs and is important for acquiring immunity and tolerance. The CCR7 holds great importance in establishing thymic architecture and function and naïve and regulatory T-cell homing in the lymph nodes. Similarly, the receptor is a key regulator in cancer cell migration and the movement of dendritic cells. This makes the CCR7 an important receptor as a drug and prognostic marker. In this review, we discussed several biological roles of the CCR7 and its importance as a drug and prognostic marker.

Inflammation-Related Gene Signature for Predicting the Prognosis of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose

The inflammatory response was associated with the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aimed to perform a novel prognostic signature based on inflammation-related genes (IRGs) for a better understanding of the prognosis of HNSCC.

Patients and Methods

IRGs were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Functional enrichment analysis was performed to explore potential pathways. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression as well as the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) were utilized to construct an IRGs-based prognostic model on TCGA database and the GEO database was utilized for outcome validation. The nomogram model was constructed based on independent prognostic factors after univariate and multivariate Cox regression. The immune cell infiltration level was analyzed via the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database.

Results

In this study, we confirmed that 60% IRGs were abnormally expressed in HNSCC samples, and these were associated with important oncobiology. Then, a prognostic signature comprising 7 hub genes was generated based on TCGA database. The results were validated in 97 patients from GSE41613. A nomogram comprising risk score, age, M stage and N stage was generated to improve the accuracy of prognosis evaluation. The immune cell infiltration analysis suggested that 5 hub genes (ADGRE1, OLR1, TIMP1, GPR132 and CCR7) were negatively correlated with tumor purity and positively correlated with the infiltration of immune cells.

Conclusion

Our study established a novel signature consisting of 7 hub genes for the prognostic prediction in patients with HNSCC.

Identification and verification of immune-related gene prognostic signature based on ssGSEA for breast cancer

Introduction

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide and has a high mortality rate. The fact that the tumor microenvironment affects clinical outcomes of all types of cancers underlines the involvement of various immune-related genes (IRGs). Therefore, this study aimed to establish an IRGs-based signature for the prognosis of BC patients.

Material and methods

In this study, 12 immune cell infiltrating degrees in 1,102 BC cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were assessed, and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data of these samples were analyzed by single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Based on the results, high, low, and middle immune infiltrating clusters were constructed. A total of 138 overlapped differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the high and low infiltrating clusters, as well as in normal and BC samples. Univariate Cox regression and LASSO analyses were also performed. Furthermore, GSEA suggested some highly enriched pathways in the different immune infiltrating clusters, leading to a better understanding of potential mechanisms of immune infiltration in BC.

Results

Finally, 19 immune-related genes were identified that could be utilized as a potential prognostic biomarker for BC. Kaplan-Meier plot and ROC curve, univariate as well as multivariate Cox analyses were carried out, which suggested that the 19-IRG-based signature is a significant prognosis factor independent of clinical features. Based on the analysis of protein-protein interactions (PPI), the three hub genes were identified.

Conclusions

These results provide a new method to predict the prognosis and survival of BC based on the three genes' features.

Contribution of Heparan Sulphate Binding in CCL21-Mediated Migration of Breast Cancer Cells

Simple Summary

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, predominantly caused by metastasis. Chemokine receptor CCR7 and its ligand CCL21 are implicated in the metastasis of breast cancer to the lymph nodes. Chemokine function is dependent upon binding to their specific chemokine receptors and negatively charged molecules on the cell surface (heparan sulphate). The role of heparan sulphate in CCR7-mediated lymph node metastasis was investigated by creating a non-heparan sulphate binding mutant chemokine CCL21. Mutant-CCL21 was tested in vitro in a range of assays, including cell migration, calcium flux and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Mutant-CCL21 induced leukocyte chemotaxis in diffusion gradients but did not stimulate trans-endothelial migration of breast cancer cells. A murine model was used to assess the potential of mutant-CCL21 to prevent lymph node metastasis in vivo. Lymph node metastasis was significantly reduced by the administration of mutant-CCL21 compared to the control. Targeting chemokine–heparan sulphate interactions may be a promising approach to inhibit chemokine activity and metastasis.

Abstract

Chemokine receptor CCR7 is implicated in the metastasis of breast cancer to the lymph nodes. Chemokine function is dependent upon their binding to both cell-surface heparan sulphate (HS) and to their specific receptors; thus, the role of HS in CCR7-mediated lymph node metastasis was investigated by creating a non-HS binding chemokine CCL21 (mut-CCL21). Mut-CCL21 (Δ103–134) induced leukocyte chemotaxis in diffusion gradients but did not stimulate trans-endothelial migration of PBMCs (p < 0.001) and 4T1-Luc cells (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the effect of heparin and HS on the chemotactic properties of wild-type (WT) and mut-CCL21 was examined. Interestingly, heparin and HS completely inhibit the chemotaxis mediated by WT-CCL21 at 250 and 500 µg/mL, whereas minimal effect was seen with mut-CCL21. This difference could potentially be attributed to reduced HS binding, as surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy showed that mut-CCL21 did not significantly bind HS compared to WT-CCL21. A murine model was used to assess the potential of mut-CCL21 to prevent lymph node metastasis in vivo. Mice were injected with 4T1-Luc cells in the mammary fat pad and treated daily for a week with 20 µg mut-CCL21. Mice were imaged weekly with IVIS and sacrificed on day 18. Luciferase expression was significantly reduced in lymph nodes from mice that had been treated with mut-CCL21 compared to the control (p = 0.0148), suggesting the potential to target chemokine binding to HS as a therapeutic option.

Identification of a Gene Prognostic Signature for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by RNA Sequencing and Bioinformatics

Objectives

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral cancer and has a poor prognosis. We aimed to identify new biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets for OSCC.

Materials and Methods

Four pairs of tumor and adjacent normal tissues were collected from OSCC patients, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened via high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were used to analyze the DEGs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established with the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database and Cytoscape, and two significant clusters were found. Candidate genes were screened by analyzing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). A DEG-based risk model was established to predict the overall survival (OS) of OSCC patients via Kaplan-Meier analysis and the log-rank test. Furthermore, univariate Cox regression analysis was applied to assess associations between potential biomarkers and the overall survival rate.

Results

Of 720 total DEGs, fifty-two DEGs in the two subclusters of the PPI network analysis were selected. A risk model was established, and five candidate genes (SPRR2E, ICOS, CTLA4, HTR1D, and CCR4) were identified as biomarkers of OS in OSCC patients.

Conclusions

We successfully constructed a prognostic signature to predict prognosis and identified five candidate genes associated with the OS of OSCC patients that are potential tumor biomarkers and targets in OSCC.

The Role of CCL21/CCR7 Chemokine Axis in Breast Cancer Progression

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, predominantly caused by metastasis. It is generally accepted that the pattern of breast cancer metastasis is largely determined by the interaction between the chemokine receptors on cancer cells and the chemokines expressed at the sites of metastatic disease. Chemokine receptors belong to the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) family that appear to be implicated in inflammatory diseases, tumor growth and metastasis. One of its members, C-C Chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7), binds chemokines CCL19 and CCL21, which are important for tissue homeostasis, immune surveillance and tumorigenesis. These receptors have been shown to induce the pathobiology of breast cancer due to their ability to induce cellular proliferation and migration upon the binding of the cognate chemokine receptors. The underlying signaling pathways and exact cellular interactions within this biological system are not fully understood and need further insights. Thus, in this review, we summarize the essential roles of CCR7 and its receptors in breast cancer progression. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanisms of regulation that may lead to novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Despite the enormous advances in our knowledge of the nature of the chemokines in breast cancer metastasis, research about the involvement of CCR7 in cancer progression is still limited. Therefore, further studies are essential to illustrate the distinct roles of CCR7 in cancer progression and validate its potential as a preventive bio-factor for human breast cancer metastasis by targeting chemokine receptor genes.