The expression of CCL18 in diffuse large B cell lymphoma and its mechanism research

Integrated analysis of 14 lymphoma datasets revealed high expression of CXCL14 promotes cell migration in mantle cell lymphoma

Lymphoma is accompanied by the impairment of multiple immune functions. Cytokines play an important role in a variety of immune-related functions and affect the tumor microenvironment. However, the exact regulatory mechanisms between them remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the cytokines expression and function in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We performed a transcriptome integration analysis of 14 lymphoma datasets including 240 Hodgkin's lymphoma, 891 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 216 mantle cell lymphoma, and 64 health samples. The results showed that multiple immune functions and signal pathway damage were shared by all three types of lymphoma, and these functions were related to cytokines. Furthermore, through co-expression network and functional interaction network analysis, we identified CXCL14 as a key regulator and it affects cell chemotaxis and migration functions. The functional experiment showed that CXCL14 knockdown inhibited cell migration in MCL cell lines. This study suggested that high expression of CXCL14 may aggravate MCL via promoting cell migration. Our findings provide novel insights into the biology of this disease and would be helpful for the pathogenesis study and drug discovery of lymphomas.

Methylation silencing CDH23 is a poor prognostic marker in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Cadherin-23(CDH23) mediates homotypic and heterotypic cell-cell adhesions in cancer cells. However, the epigenetic regulation, the biological functions, the mechanisms and the prognostic value of CDH23 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are still unclear. The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were employed to analyze the CDH23 expression level in DLBCL. The correlation of CDH23 expression and methylation was analyzed by LinkedOmics database. The prognostic value was analyzed via GEPIA. Correlated genes, target kinase, target miRNA, target transcription factor and biological functions were identified by LinkedOmics and GeneMANIA database. The relationship between CDH23 and the immune cell infiltration was explored by the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER). The expression of CDH23 was reduced by DNA methylation significantly in DLBCL tissue. Reduction of CDH23 represented poor outcome of DLBCL patients. Functional enrichment analysis showed that CDH23 mainly enriched in cancer cell growth, cell metastasis, cell adhesion, cell cycle, drug catabolic process, leukocyte mediated immunity and DNA repair by some cancer related kinases, miRNAs and transcription factors. These results indicated that methylated reduction of CDH23 represented poor outcome of DLBCL. CDH23 is associated with essential biological functions and key molecules in DLBCL. CDH23 may play crucial roles in DLBCL tumorigenesis. Our results lay a foundation for further investigation of the role of CDH23 in DLBCL tumorigenesis.

CCL18 in the Progression of Cancer

A neoplastic tumor consists of cancer cells that interact with each other and non-cancerous cells that support the development of the cancer. One such cell are tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). These cells secrete many chemokines into the tumor microenvironment, including especially a large amount of CCL18. This chemokine is a marker of the M2 macrophage subset; this is the reason why an increase in the production of CCL18 is associated with the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment and an important element of cancer immune evasion. Consequently, elevated levels of CCL18 in the serum and the tumor are connected with a worse prognosis for the patient. This paper shows the importance of CCL18 in neoplastic processes. It includes a description of the signal transduction from PITPNM3 in CCL18-dependent migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) cancer cells. The importance of CCL18 in angiogenesis has also been described. The paper also describes the effect of CCL18 on the recruitment to the cancer niche and the functioning of cells such as TAMs, regulatory T cells (T_reg), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and tumor-associated dendritic cells (TADCs). The last part of the paper describes the possibility of using CCL18 as a therapeutic target during anti-cancer therapy.

CC Chemokines in a Tumor: A Review of Pro-Cancer and Anti-Cancer Properties of Receptors CCR5, CCR6, CCR7, CCR8, CCR9, and CCR10 Ligands

CC chemokines (or β-chemokines) are 28 chemotactic cytokines with an N-terminal CC domain that play an important role in immune system cells, such as CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes, dendritic cells, eosinophils, macrophages, monocytes, and NK cells, as well in neoplasia. In this review, we discuss human CC motif chemokine ligands: CCL1, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL18, CCL19, CCL20, CCL21, CCL25, CCL27, and CCL28 (CC motif chemokine receptor CCR5, CCR6, CCR7, CCR8, CCR9, and CCR10 ligands). We present their functioning in human physiology and in neoplasia, including their role in the proliferation, apoptosis resistance, drug resistance, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. We discuss the significance of chemokine receptors in organ-specific metastasis, as well as the influence of each chemokine on the recruitment of various cells to the tumor niche, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), Kupffer cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), osteoclasts, tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), and regulatory T cells (T_reg). Finally, we show how the effect of the chemokines on vascular endothelial cells and lymphatic endothelial cells leads to angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.

A prognostic gene model of immune cell infiltration in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Background

Immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are an important prognostic indicator in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, information on the heterogeneity and risk stratification of these cells is limited. We sought to develop a novel immune model to evaluate the prognostic intra-tumoral immune landscape of patients with DLBCL.

Methods

The ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms were used to estimate the numbers of 22 infiltrating immune cells based on the gene expression profiles of 229 patients with DLBCL who were recruited from a public database. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) penalized regression analyses and nomogram model were used to construct and evaluate the prognostic immunoscore (PIS) model for overall survival prediction. An immune gene prognostic score (IGPS) was generated by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Cox regression analysis was and validated in an independent NCBI GEO dataset (GSE10846).

Results

A higher proportion of activated natural killer cells was associated with a poor outcome. A total of five immune cells were selected in the Lasso model and DLBCL patients with high PIS showed a poor prognosis (hazard ratio (HR) 2.16; 95% CI [1.33-3.50]; P = 0.002). Differences in immunoscores and their related outcomes were attributed to eight specific immune genes involved in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and chemokine signaling pathways. The IGPS based on a weighted formula of eight genes is an independent prognostic factor (HR: 2.14, 95% CI [1.40-3.28]), with high specificity and sensitivity in the validation dataset.

Conclusions

Our findings showed that a PIS model based on immune cells is associated with the prognosis of DLBCL. We developed a novel immune-related gene-signature model associated with the PIS model and enhanced the prognostic functionality for the prediction of overall survival in patients with DLBCL.

Epigenetic regulation of miR-518a-5p-CCR6 feedback loop promotes both proliferation and invasion in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

To investigate the detailed functions and underlying mechanisms of miR-518a-5p/CCR6 in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is needed. In this study, CCR6 expression levels were tested both in DLBCL cell lines and specimens. Through bioinformatics analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) validation, CCR6's targeted miRNA was obtained. Dual luciferase assay was used to verify their targeted relationship. Futhermore, using qRT-PCR, western blot, CCK8, Transwell assays, flow cytometry, pyrosequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and azacitidine/C646 treatment, the detailed functions and underlying mechanisms of CCR6 and its targeted miRNA in DLBCL were detected. We found that negative correlation existed between CCR6 and miR-518a-5p in DLBCL. Both up-regulated miR-518a-5p and down-regulated CCR6 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Experiment then verified the regulatory relationship between miR-518a-5p and CCR6. JAK2 and STAT6 levels were reduced in DLBCL cells transfected with miR-518a-5p mimic or CCR6 small interfering RNA. Interestingly, we showed for the first time that a hyper-methylated condition existed at the promoter region of miR-518a-5p and azacitidine changed levels of miR-518a-5p in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Finally, we found an enriched histone H3 on lysine 27 acetylation existed in the promoter of CCR6, whose expression could also be changed via C646 in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The above results suggest that miR-518a-5p-CCR6 feedback loop plays a critical role in DLBCL development. The overexpression of CCR6 is mainly mediated by epigenetic modification through transcriptional and post-transcriptional activation, which provides new directions for DLBCL treatment.

An integrated prognosis model of pharmacogenomic gene signature and clinical information for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients following CHOP-like chemotherapy

Background

As the most common form of lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a clinical highly heterogeneous disease with variability in therapeutic outcomes and biological features. It is a challenge to identify of clinically meaningful tools for outcome prediction. In this study, we developed a prognosis model fused clinical characteristics with drug resistance pharmacogenomic signature to identify DLBCL prognostic subgroups for CHOP-based treatment.

Methods

The expression microarray data and clinical characteristics of 791 DLBCL patients from two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used to establish and validate this model. By using univariate Cox regression, eight clinical or genetic signatures were analyzed. The elastic net-regulated Cox regression analysis was used to select the best prognosis related factors into the predictive model. To estimate the prognostic capability of the model, Kaplan–Meier curve and the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were performed.

Results

A predictive model comprising 4 clinical factors and 2 pharmacogenomic gene signatures was established after 1000 times cross validation in the training dataset. The AUC of the comprehensive risk model was 0.78, whereas AUC value was lower for the clinical only model (0.68) or the gene only model (0.67). Compared with low-risk patients, the overall survival (OS) of DLBCL patients with high-risk scores was significantly decreased (HR = 4.55, 95% CI 3.14–6.59, log-rank p value = 1.06 × 10⁻¹⁵). The signature also enables to predict prognosis within different molecular subtypes of DLBCL. The reliability of the integrated model was confirmed by independent validation dataset (HR = 3.47, 95% CI 2.42–4.97, log rank p value = 1.53 × 10⁻¹¹).

Conclusions

This integrated model has a better predictive capability to ascertain the prognosis of DLBCL patients prior to CHOP-like treatment, which may improve the clinical management of DLBCL patients and provide theoretical basis for individualized treatment.

The significance of chemokines in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a systematic review and future insights

Despite the progress made in molecular and clinical research, patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) still have a bad prognosis. Recently, chemokines/chemokine receptors have become the subject of interest in relation to DLBCL. Studies have demonstrated the important role of chemokines/chemokine receptors in the communication between DLBCL cells and tumor microenvironment. Studies have also reported the ability of chemokines/chemokine receptors in promoting the proliferation and invasion of DLBCL cells. Here, we summarize the data on mechanisms of DLBCL supporting the involvement of chemokine/chemokine receptor changes. We focus on the available evidence regarding chemokines/chemokine receptors as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for DLBCL.

Gene expression profiles analysis identifies a novel two-gene signature to predict overall survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common hematologic malignancy, however, specific tumor-associated genes and signaling pathways are yet to be deciphered. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were computed based on gene expression profiles from GSE32018, GSE56315, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) DLBC. Overlapping DEGs were then evaluated for gene ontology (GO), pathways enrichment, DNA methylation, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis as well as survival analysis. Seventy-four up-regulated and 79 down-regulated DEGs were identified. From PPI network analysis, majority of the DEGs were involved in cell cycle, oocyte meiosis, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathways. Six hub genes including CDC20, MELK, PBK, prostaglandin D2 synthase (PTGDS), PCNA, and CDK1 were selected using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE). CDC20 and PTGDS were able to predict overall survival (OS) in TCGA DLBC and in an additional independent cohort GSE31312. Furthermore, CDC20 DNA methylation negatively regulated CDC20 expression and was able to predict OS in DLBCL. A two-gene panel consisting of CDC20 and PTGDS had a better prognostic value compared with CDC20 or PTGDS alone in the TCGA cohort (P=0.026 and 0.039). Overall, the present study identified a set of novel genes and pathways that may play a significant role in the initiation and progression of DLBCL. In addition, CDC20 and PTGDS will provide useful guidance for therapeutic applications.

Dysregulation of CCL18/CCR8 axis predicts poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer

Increasing data have shown that the dysregulation of C-C motif chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) and C-C motif chemokine receptor (CCR8) is involved in the development and progression of multiple malignancies. However, the clinical significance of CCL18/CCR8 axis in gastric cancer (GC) was still undocumented. In this study, the expression levels of CCL18 and its receptor CCR8 and their correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with GC were analyzed by TCGA RNA sequencing data. Cox proportional hazard regression model was performed to assess the association between CCL18/CCR8 expression and overall survival (OS) and tumor recurrence in patients with GC. As a consequence, we found that the expression of CCL18 was markedly elevated in GC samples as compared with the adjacent normal tissues and acted as an independent prognostic factor of tumor recurrence in patients with GC. Subsequently, Pearson correlation analysis revealed that CCL18 possessed a positive correlation with CCR8 expression in GC samples. CCR8 expression was upregulated in GC tissues and exhibited the association with poor survival in patients with GC. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that the dysregulation of CCL18/CCR8 axis could predict the poor prognosis in patients with GC and provide a potential antitumor target for the treatment of GC.