CCL23 in Balancing the Act of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Antitumor Immunity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Exploring Causal Relationships between Circulating Inflammatory Proteins and Thromboangiitis Obliterans: A Mendelian Randomization Study

BACKGROUND

 Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is a vascular condition characterized by poor prognosis and an unclear etiology. This study employs Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal impact of circulating inflammatory proteins on TAO.

METHODS

 In this MR analysis, summary statistics from a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of 91 inflammation-related proteins were integrated with independently sourced TAO data from the FinnGen consortium's R10 release. Methods such as inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger regression, weighted median approaches, MR-PRESSO, and multivariable MR (MVMR) analysis were utilized.

RESULTS

 The analysis indicated an association between higher levels of C-C motif chemokine 4 and a reduced risk of TAO, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.44 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29-0.67; p = 1.4 × 10-4; adjusted p = 0.013). Similarly, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor exhibited a suggestively protective effect against TAO (OR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22-0.81; p = 0.010; adjusted p = 0.218). Conversely, higher levels of C-C motif chemokine 23 were suggestively linked to an increased risk of TAO (OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.21-2.93; p = 0.005; adjusted p = 0.218). The sensitivity analysis and MVMR revealed no evidence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy.

CONCLUSION

 This study identifies C-C motif chemokine 4 and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor as potential protective biomarkers for TAO, whereas C-C motif chemokine 23 emerges as a suggestive risk marker. These findings elucidate potential causal relationships and highlight the significance of these proteins in the pathogenesis and prospective therapeutic strategies for TAO.

The Value of Chemokine and Chemokine Receptors in Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

Chemokines and chemokine receptors (CCRs) are involved in a variety of anti-tumour and pro-tumour immune processes in vivo, such as angiogenesis, metastasis, proliferation and invasiveness, and influence patient prognosis and response to therapy.

Methods

CCRs differentially expressed in HCC and associated with prognosis were extracted from TCGA and GEO databases, and the obtained CCRs were then used to construct signature genes, and the signature gene were selected for expression validation as well as functional experiments to explore the role of CCRs in the treatment and prognosis of HCC.

Results

We constructed a prognostic model including five CCRs (CCL20, CCL23, CCR3, CCR10, and CXCR3) and validated the expression of signature genes. The model's risk score is an independent prognostic factor for HCC. We have also developed prognostic model nomograms for clinical use. In addition, we validated that CCR3 expression is associated with poor prognosis in HCC, and the proliferation and migration ability of HCC cells was significantly inhibited after interfering with the expression of CCR3 in MHCC-LM3. We also looked at differences in pathway enrichment, immune infiltration and immune checkpoints. Finally, we found that risk scores were also correlated with drug sensitivity, the high-risk group had a better sensitivity to sorafenib.

Conclusion

The CCRs-related gene signature may better assess HCC prognosis and response to immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sorafenib in HCC, providing prospective solutions for diagnosis and treatment.

ER stress signaling at the interphase between MASH and HCC

HCC is the most frequent primary liver cancer with an extremely poor prognosis and often develops on preset of chronic liver diseases. Major risk factors for HCC include metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a complex multifactorial condition associated with abnormal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis. To cope with ER stress, the unfolded protein response engages adaptive reactions to restore the secretory capacity of the cell. Recent advances revealed that ER stress signaling plays a critical role in HCC progression. Here, we propose that chronic ER stress is a common transversal factor contributing to the transition from liver disease (risk factor) to HCC. Interventional strategies to target the unfolded protein response in HCC, such as cancer therapy, are also discussed.

Targeting serine/glycine metabolism improves radiotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer, and 85% of cases are classified as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Metabolic rewiring is a cancer hallmark that causes treatment resistance, and lacks insights into serine/glycine pathway adaptations upon radiotherapy.

METHODS

We analyzed radiotherapy responses using mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics in NSCLC patient's plasma and cell lines. Efficacy of serine/glycine conversion inhibitor sertraline with radiotherapy was investigated by proliferation, clonogenic and spheroid assays, and in vivo using a serine/glycine dependent NSCLC mouse model by assessment of tumor growth, metabolite and cytokine levels, and immune signatures.

RESULTS

Serine/glycine pathway metabolites were significantly consumed in response to radiotherapy in NSCLC patients and cell models. Combining sertraline with radiotherapy impaired NSCLC proliferation, clonogenicity and stem cell self-renewal capacity. In vivo, NSCLC tumor growth was reduced solely in the sertraline plus radiotherapy combination treatment group. Tumor weights linked to systemic serine/glycine pathway metabolite levels, and were inhibited in the combination therapy group. Interestingly, combination therapy reshaped the tumor microenvironment via cytokines associated with natural killer cells, supported by eradication of immune checkpoint galectin-1 and elevated granzyme B levels.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight that targeting serine/glycine metabolism using sertraline restricts cancer cell recovery from radiotherapy and provides tumor control through immunomodulation in NSCLC.

Inflammation and Neurodegeneration in Glaucoma: Isolated Eye Disease or a Part of a Systemic Disorder? - Serum Proteomic Analysis

Introduction

Glaucoma is the most common optic neuropathy and the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, which affects 3.54% of the population aged 40-80 years. Despite numerous published studies, some aspects of glaucoma pathogenesis, serum biomarkers, and their potential link with other diseases remain unclear. Recent articles have proposed that autoimmune, oxidative stress and inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.

Methods

We investigated the serum expression of 92 inflammatory and neurotrophic factors in glaucoma patients. The study group consisted of 26 glaucoma patients and 192 healthy subjects based on digital fundography.

Results

Patients with glaucoma had significantly lower serum expression of IL-2Rβ, TWEAK, CX3CL1, CD6, CD5, LAP TGF-beta1, LIF-R, TRAIL, NT-3, and CCL23 and significantly higher expression of IL-22Rα1.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that patients with glaucoma tend to have lower levels of neuroprotective proteins and higher levels of neuroinflammatory proteins, similar to those observed in psychiatric, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, indicating a potential link between these conditions and glaucoma pathogenesis.

Racial differences in serum chemokines in prostate cancer patients

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to understand the differential levels of inflammatory chemokines in association with higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality in African American (AA) men than in Caucasians (CA).

METHODS

The authors used a chemokine assay to simultaneously measure 40 chemokines and cytokines levels in the serum of preoperative prostate cancer patients and healthy controls of AA and CA races. Selected chemokines (CXCL2, CXCL5, and CCL23) serum level was validated in 211 serum samples from prostate cancer patients and healthy controls. Differential expression of CXCL5 and CCL23 was analyzed using immunohistochemistry in a representative cohort of prostate tumor tissues of AA and CA races.

RESULTS

Race-specific comparisons from 211 serum samples showed significantly higher levels of CXCL2 (control: 3104.0 pg/mL vs. cancer: 2451.0 pg/mL) and CXCL5 (control: 5189.0 pg/mL vs. cancer: 5459.0 pg/mL) in AA men than in CAs (CXCL2; control: 1155.0 pg/mL vs. cancer: 889.3 pg/mL, and CXCL5; control: 1183.0 pg/mL vs. cancer: 977.5 pg/mL). CCL23 differed significantly within and between the races with a lower level in AA cancer cases (454.5 vs. 966.6 pg/mL) than healthy controls (740.5 vs. 1263.0 pg/mL). Patient age, prostate-specific antigen, or Gleason scores were not significantly associated with these chemokines. Immunostaining for CXCL5 and CCL23 in a representative cohort of archival prostate tissues displayed significantly higher CXCL5 in prostate tumors than in adjacent benign tissues, whereas CCL23 was nondetectable in most of the analyzed tumor tissues.

CONCLUSION

Lower levels of CCL23 in AA prostate cancer patient sera and tumor tissues and high CXCL2 and CXCL5 may contribute to aggressive prostate cancer, as often seen in AA men. The disproportionate levels of serum chemokines associated with race warrant further exploration to improve equitability in precision oncology to benefit prostate cancer patients.