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Nie H, Yu Y, Wang F, Huang X, Wang H, Wang J, Tao M, Ning Y, Zhou J, Zhao Q, Xu F, Fang J. Comprehensive analysis of the relationship between ubiquitin-specific protease 21 (USP21) and prognosis, tumor microenvironment infiltration, and therapy response in colorectal cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2024; 73:156. [PMID: 38834869 PMCID: PMC11150338 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-024-03731-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ubiquitin-specific proteases family is crucial to host immunity against pathogens. However, the correlations between USP21 and immunosurveillance and immunotherapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) have not been reported. METHODS The differential expression of USP21 between CRC tissues and normal tissues was analyzed using multiple public databases. Validation was carried out in clinical samples through qRT-PCR and IHC. The correlation between USP21 and the prognosis, as well as clinical pathological characteristics of CRC patients, was investigated. Moreover, cell models were established to assess the influence of USP21 on CRC growth and progression, employing CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, and wound-healing assays. Subsequently, gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was used to explore the potential biological functions of USP21 in CRC. The study also examined the impact of USP21 on cytokine levels and immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Finally, the effect of USP21 on the response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy in CRC was analyzed. RESULTS The expression of USP21 was significantly upregulated in CRC. High USP21 is correlated with poor prognosis in CRC patients and facilitates the proliferation and migration capacities of CRC cells. GSVA indicated an association between low USP21 and immune activation. Moreover, low USP21 was linked to an immune-activated TME, characterized by high immune cell infiltration. Importantly, CRC with low USP21 exhibited higher tumor mutational burden, high PD-L1 expression, and better responsiveness to immunotherapy and chemotherapeutic drugs. CONCLUSION This study revealed the role of USP21 in TME, response to therapy, and clinical prognosis in CRC, which provided novel insights for the therapeutic application in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haihang Nie
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yali Yu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Fan Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xing Huang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Haizhou Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Mi Tao
- Department of Nephrology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Yumei Ning
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - JingKai Zhou
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Qiu Zhao
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Fei Xu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Jun Fang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Department of General Medical, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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He M, Wang L, Yue Z, Feng C, Dai G, Jiang J, Huang H, Ji Q, Zhou M, Li D, Chai W. Development and validation of glycosyltransferase related-gene for the diagnosis and prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Aging (Albany NY) 2024; 16:1750-1766. [PMID: 38244579 PMCID: PMC10866440 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly heterogeneous cancer characterized by difficulties in early diagnosis and outcome prediction. Aberrant glycosylated structures produced by the aberrant expression of glycosyltransferases are prevalent in HNSCC. In this study, we aim to construct glycosyltransferase-related gene signatures with diagnostic and prognostic value to better stratify patients with HNSCC and improve their diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS Bioinformatic tools were used to process data of patients with HNSCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The prognostic model was formatted using univariate and multivariate Cox regression methods, while the diagnostic signature was constructed using support vector machine (SVM) and LASSO analysis. The results were verified using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) cohort. The tumor microenvironment and benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in subgroups defined by glycosyltransferase-related genes were analyzed. Molecular biology experiments, including western blotting, cell counting kit (CCK)-8, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays, were conducted to confirm the oncogenic function of beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase 3 (B4GALT3) in HNSCC. RESULTS We established a five-gene prognostic signature and a 15-gene diagnostic model. Based on the median risk score, patients with low risk had longer overall survival than those in the high-risk group, which was consistent with the results of the GEO cohort. The concrete results suggested that high-risk samples were related to a high tumor protein (TP)53 mutation rate, high infiltration of resting memory cluster of differentiation (CD)4 T cells, resting natural killer (NK) cells, and M0 macrophages, and benefited from ICI therapy. In contrast, the low-risk subgroup was associated with a low TP53 mutation rate; and high infiltration of naive B cells, plasma cells, CD8 T cells, and resting mast cells; and benefited less from ICI therapy. In addition, the diagnostic model had an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.997 and 0.978 in the training dataset and validation cohort, respectively, indicating the high diagnostic potential of the model. Ultimately, the depletion of B4GALT3 significantly hindered the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HNSCC cells. CONCLUSIONS We established two new biomarkers that could provide clinicians with diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment guidance for patients with HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao He
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Zihan Yue
- Second Clinical College, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, Hubei, China
| | - Chunbo Feng
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Guosheng Dai
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Jinsong Jiang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Hui Huang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Qingjun Ji
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Minglang Zhou
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Dapeng Li
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
| | - Wei Chai
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
- Scientific Research and Experiment Center, The People’s Hospital of Bozhou, Bozhou 236000, Anhui, China
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