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Jacob S, Balonov I, Jurinovic V, Heiliger C, Tschaidse T, Kumbrink J, Kirchner T, Werner J, Angele MK, Michl M, Neumann J. TGFβ signalling pathway impacts brain metastases profiles in locally advanced colorectal cancer. Clin Exp Metastasis 2024:10.1007/s10585-024-10277-3. [PMID: 38498101 DOI: 10.1007/s10585-024-10277-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Colorectal Cancer (CRC) represents the third most common type of cancer in Germany and the second most common cancer-related cause of death worldwide. Distant metastases are still the main limit for patient survival. While liver metastases as well as peritoneal carcinomatosis can often either be resected or treated with systemic therapy, little options remain for brain metastases. Additionally, a number of studies has already investigated hepatic, peritoneal, pulmonary as well as continuing distant metastases in colorectal cancer. Yet, with respect to tumor biology and brain metastases, little is known so far. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two cohorts, M0 without distant spread and BRA with brain metastases were build. RNA was isolated from paraffin embedded specimen. Gene expression was performed by an RNA NanoString-Analysis using the nCounter® PanCancer Progression Panel by NanoString-Technologies (Hamburg, Germany). Results were analysed by principal component analysis, gene expression and pathway analysis using commonly available databases such as KEGG as benchmark for comparison. RESULTS We were able to determine a gene signature that provides a sophisticated group separation between M0 and BRA using principal component analysis. All genes with strong loading characteristics on principal component 1 were cross-referenced with the subsequently performed accurate gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The GSEA revealed a clear dysregulation of the TGFβ pathway in compared cohorts M0 and BRA. Interestingly, the targeted pathways analysis of the identified genes confirmed that in fact almost all strong loading genes of PC1 play a role in the TGFβ pathway. CONCLUSION Our results suggest the TGFβ pathway as a crucial player in the development of brain metastases in primary CRC. In some types of colorectal cancer, downregulation of the TGFβ pathway might hinder primary colorectal cancer to metastasize to the nervous system. While the paradoxical functioning of the TGFβ pathway is still not fully understood, these shed light on yet another clinical implication of this complex pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Jacob
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ilja Balonov
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Vindi Jurinovic
- The Institute for Medical Information Processing, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Biometry, and Epidemiology, Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Heiliger
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tengis Tschaidse
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jörg Kumbrink
- Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Jens Werner
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin K Angele
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marlies Michl
- Department of Medicine III, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jens Neumann
- Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.
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Dey DK, Krause D, Rai R, Choudhary S, Dockery LE, Chandra V. The role and participation of immune cells in the endometrial tumor microenvironment. Pharmacol Ther 2023; 251:108526. [PMID: 37690483 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2023.108526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment is surrounded by blood vessels and consists of malignant, non-malignant, and immune cells, as well as signalling molecules, which primarily affect the therapeutic response and curative effects of drugs in clinical studies. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells participate in tumor progression, impact anticancer therapy, and eventually lead to the development of immune tolerance. Immunotherapy is evolving as a promising therapeutic intervention to stimulate and activate the immune system to suppress cancer cell growth. Endometrial cancer (EC) is an immunogenic disease, and in recent years, immunotherapy has shown benefit in the treatment of recurrent and advanced EC. This review discusses the key molecular pathways associated with the intra-tumoral immune response and the involvement of circulatory signalling molecules. Specific immunologic signatures in EC which offer targets for immunomodulating agents, are also discussed. We have summarized the available literature in support of using immunotherapy in EC. Lastly, we have also discussed ongoing clinical trials that may offer additional promising immunotherapy options in the future. The manuscript also explored innovative approaches for screening and identifying effective drugs, and to reduce the financial burdens for the development of personalized treatment strategies. Collectively, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of the role of immune cells and the tumor microenvironment in the development, progression, and treatment of EC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debasish Kumar Dey
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Danielle Krause
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Rajani Rai
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Swati Choudhary
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Lauren E Dockery
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Vishal Chandra
- Gynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
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Zeng X, Li L, Hu Z, Peng D. Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis Identified PTPRG and CHL1 as Key Regulators of Immunophenotypes in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma(ccRCC). Front Oncol 2022; 12:832027. [PMID: 35433461 PMCID: PMC9005830 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.832027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the increasing importance and status of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms determining the target clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) population. In this study, we screened out 6 immune cells strongly correlated with expression levels of PD-L1 and IFN-γ based on the ccRCC samples extracted from GSE and TCGA data sets. By performing unsupervised clustering and lasso regression analysis, we grouped the ccRCC into 4 clusters and selected the two most distinct sub-clusters for further investigation-cluster A1 and B1. Next, we compared the two clusters in terms of mRNA, somatic mutations, copy number variations, DNA methylation, miRNA, lncRNA and constructed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) hub by combing together the previous results at levels of DNA methylation, miRNA, and lncRNA. PTPRG and CHL1 were identified as key nodes in the regulation hub of immunophenotypes in ccRCC patients. Finally, we established the prognosis model by using Lasso-Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis, recognizing WNT2, C17orf66, and PAEP as independent significant risk factors while IRF4 as an independent protective factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Zeng
- Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Le Li
- Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhiquan Hu
- Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Dan Peng
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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Jiang H, Yu D, Yang P, Guo R, Kong M, Gao Y, Yu X, Lu X, Fan X. Revealing the transcriptional heterogeneity of organ-specific metastasis in human gastric cancer using single-cell RNA Sequencing. Clin Transl Med 2022; 12:e730. [PMID: 35184420 PMCID: PMC8858624 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deciphering intra- and inter-tumoural heterogeneity is essential for understanding the biology of gastric cancer (GC) and its metastasis and identifying effective therapeutic targets. However, the characteristics of different organ-tropism metastases of GC are largely unknown. METHODS Ten fresh human tissue samples from six patients, including primary tumour and adjacent non-tumoural samples and six metastases from different organs or tissues (liver, peritoneum, ovary, lymph node) were evaluated using single-cell RNA sequencing. Validation experiments were performed using histological assays and bulk transcriptomic datasets. RESULTS Malignant epithelial subclusters associated with invasion features, intraperitoneal metastasis propensity, epithelial-mesenchymal transition-induced tumour stem cell phenotypes, or dormancy-like characteristics were discovered. High expression of the first three subcluster-associated genes displayed worse overall survival than those with low expression in a GC cohort containing 407 samples. Immune and stromal cells exhibited cellular heterogeneity and created a pro-tumoural and immunosuppressive microenvironment. Furthermore, a 20-gene signature of lymph node-derived exhausted CD8+ T cells was acquired to forecast lymph node metastasis and validated in GC cohorts. Additionally, although anti-NKG2A (KLRC1) antibody have not been used to treat GC patients even in clinical trials, we uncovered not only malignant tumour cells but one endothelial subcluster, mucosal-associated invariant T cells, T cell-like B cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, macrophages, monocytes, and neutrophils may contribute to HLA-E-KLRC1/KLRC2 interaction with cytotoxic/exhausted CD8+ T cells and/or natural killer (NK) cells, suggesting novel clinical therapeutic opportunities in GC. Additionally, our findings suggested that PD-1 expression in CD8+ T cells might predict clinical responses to PD-1 blockade therapy in GC. CONCLUSIONS This study provided insights into heterogeneous microenvironment of GC primary tumours and organ-specific metastases and provide support for precise diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiping Jiang
- Department of Medical OncologyThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Dingyi Yu
- Pharmaceutical Informatics InstituteCollege of Pharmaceutical SciencesZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Penghui Yang
- Pharmaceutical Informatics InstituteCollege of Pharmaceutical SciencesZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Rongfang Guo
- Pharmaceutical Informatics InstituteCollege of Pharmaceutical SciencesZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Mei Kong
- Department of PathologyThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Yuan Gao
- Department of Gastro‐Intestinal SurgeryThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Xiongfei Yu
- Department of Surgical OncologyThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Xiaoyan Lu
- Pharmaceutical Informatics InstituteCollege of Pharmaceutical SciencesZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- State Key Laboratory of Component‐Based Chinese MedicineInnovation Center in Zhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Xiaohui Fan
- Pharmaceutical Informatics InstituteCollege of Pharmaceutical SciencesZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- State Key Laboratory of Component‐Based Chinese MedicineInnovation Center in Zhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and BiomedicineHangzhouChina
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Song F, Zhang Y, Pan Z, Hu X, Yi Y, Zheng X, Wei H, Huang P. Identification of novel key genes associated with the metastasis of prostate cancer based on bioinformatics prediction and validation. Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:559. [PMID: 34696780 PMCID: PMC8547030 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02258-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is a lethal tumor. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying PCa progression have not been fully elucidated. Methods Transcriptome expression profiling and clinical information on primary and metastatic PCa samples were obtained from TCGA. R software was used to screen the DEGs, and LASSO logistical regression method was utilized to identify the pivotal PCa metastasis-related DEGs. The transcriptional expression levels of the key genes were analyzed using the UALCAN database, and the corresponding protein expression were validated by Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Survival analysis of the key genes was performed using the GEPIA database. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were conducted to determine whether knockdown of the key genes influence the migration and invasion abilities of PCa cells (22Rv1 and PC3). GSEA was performed to predict key genes-mediated signaling pathways for the development of PCa. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression changes of E-cadherin, Twist1, and Vimentin in PCa cells with the key genes silencing. An in vivo mouse metastatic model for PCa was also generated to verify the important role of ISG15 and CST2 in PCa metastasis. Results A comparison between primary and metastatic PCa tissues was conducted, and 19 DEGs were screened. Among these, three key genes were identified that might be closely associated with PCa progression according to the LASSO logistical analysis, namely ISG15, DNAH8, and CST2. Further functional experiments revealed that knockdown of ISG15 and CST2 suppressed wound healing, migration, and invasion of PCa cells. To explore the molecular mechanism of ISG15 and CST2 in the development of PCa, GSEA was performed, and it was found that both genes play crucial roles in cell adhesion molecules, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, and focal adhesion. Western blotting results exhibited that inhibiting ISG15 and CST2 led to increase the expression of E-cadherin and decrease the expression of Twist1 and Vimentin. Additionally, the metastatic in vivo study demonstrated that both PC3 and 22Rv1 cells expressing with luciferase-shISG15 and luciferase-shCST2 had significantly lower detectable bioluminescence than that in the control PCa cells. Conclusion ISG15 and CST2 may participate in PCa metastasis by regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling pathway. These findings may help to better understand the pathogenetic mechanisms governing PCa and provide promising therapeutic targets for metastatic PCa therapy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02258-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifeng Song
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yiwen Zhang
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zongfu Pan
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yaodong Yi
- Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Xiaochun Zheng
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Haibin Wei
- Department of Urology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ping Huang
- Clinical Pharmacy Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China. .,Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, China.
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The association of immunosurveillance and distant metastases in colorectal cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2021; 147:3333-3341. [PMID: 34476575 PMCID: PMC8484134 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-021-03753-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy worldwide, but the key driver to distant metastases is still unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the link between immunosurveillance and organotropism of metastases in CRC by evaluating different gene signatures and pathways. Material and methods CRC patients undergoing surgery at the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery at the Ludwig-Maximilian University Hospital Munich (Munich, Germany) were screened and categorized into M0 (no distant metastases), HEP (liver metastases) and PER (peritoneal carcinomatosis) after a 5-year follow-up. Six patients of each group were randomly selected to conduct a NanoString analysis, which includes 770 genes. Subsequently, all genes were further analyzed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) based on seven main cancer-associated databases. Results Comparing HEP vs. M0, the gene set associated with the Toll-like receptor (TLR) cascade defined by the Reactome database was significantly overrepresented in HEP. HSP90B1, MAPKAPK3, PPP2CB, PPP2R1A were identified as the core enrichment genes. The immunologic signature pathway GSE6875_TCONV_VS_FOXP3_KO_TREG_DN with FOXP3 as downstream target was significantly overexpressed in M0. RB1, TMEM 100, CFP, ZKSCAN5, DDX50 were the core enrichment genes. Comparing PER vs. M0 no significantly differentially expressed gene signatures were identified. Conclusion Chronic inflammation might enhance local tumor growth. This is the first study identifying immune related gene sets differentially expressed between patients with either liver or peritoneal metastases. The present findings suggest that the formation of liver metastases might be associated with TLR-associated pathways. In M0, a high expression of FOXP3 + tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) seemed to prevent at least in part metastases. Thus, these correlative findings lay the cornerstone to further studies elucidating the underlying mechanisms of organotropism of metastases.
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