Association of Polymorphisms in Inflammation Genes With the Prognosis of Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Impact of Interleukin-17 Receptor A Gene Variants on Asthma Susceptibility and Clinical Manifestations in Children and Adolescents

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in multiple interleukin receptor genes could be associated with asthma risk and/or phenotype. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) has been implicated in tissue inflammation and autoimmune diseases. As no previous studies have uncovered the potential role of IL17 receptor A (RA) gene variants in asthma risk, we aimed to explore the association of four IL17RA SNPs (i.e., rs4819554A/G, rs879577C/T, rs41323645G/A, and rs4819555C/T) with asthma susceptibility/phenotype in our region. TaqMan allelic discrimination analysis was used to genotype 192 individuals. We found that the rs4819554 G/G genotype significantly reduced disease risk in the codominant (OR = 0.15, 95%CI = 0.05-0.45, p < 0.001), dominant (OR = 0.49, 95%CI = 0.26-0.93, p = 0.028), and recessive (OR = 0.18, 95%CI = 0.07-0.52, p < 0.001) models. Similarly, rs879577 showed reduced disease risk associated with the T allele across all genetic models. However, the A allele of rs41323645 was associated with increased disease risk in all models. The G/A and A/A genotypes have higher ORs of 2.47 (95%CI = 1.19-5.14) and 3.86 (95%CI = 1.62-9.18), respectively. Similar trends are observed in the dominant 2.89 (95%CI = 1.47-5.68, p = 0.002) and recessive 2.34 (95%CI = 1.10-4.98, p = 0.025) models. For the rs4819555 variant, although there was no significant association identified under any models, carriers of the rs4819554*A demonstrated an association with a positive family history of asthma (71.4% in carriers vs. 27% in non-carriers; p = 0.025) and the use of relievers for >2 weeks (52.2% of carriers vs. 28.8% of non-carriers; p = 0.047). Meanwhile, the rs4819555*C carriers displayed a significant divergence in the asthma phenotype, specifically atopic asthma (83.3% vs. 61.1%; p = 0.007), showed a higher prevalence of chest tightness (88.9% vs. 61.5%; p = 0.029), and were more likely to report comorbidities (57.7% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.003). The most frequent haplotype in the asthma group was ACAC, with a frequency of 22.87% vs. 1.36% in the controls (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the studied IL17RA variants could be essential in asthma susceptibility and phenotype in children and adolescents.

Identification Of Endothelial Cell Immune-related Gene Signature for Lung Adenocarcinoma by Integrated Analysis of Single-cell and Bulk RNA Sequencing Data

Background: The role of endothelial cells in tumor progression is considerable, yet the effect of endothelial cell immune-related genes (EIRGs) is still unclear. This research aimed to scrutinize the prognostic value of EIRGs in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and provide further insights into the abovementioned uncertainties. Methods: After single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) samples were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, they were integrated with bulk RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Prognostic markers were determined and a prognostic model was developed. From this model, a nomogram was constructed. We analyzed the biological mechanism of the EIRGs in LUAD, including functional enrichment, tumor mutational burden (TMB), tumor microenvironment (TME) analyses and drug sensitivity. We validated the signature by validating the external cohort GSE31210 and RT-qPCR. Results: After analyzing the model constructed from eight EIRGs, we observed that high-risk group (HG) LUAD patients (a risk score exceeding 4.65) exhibited unfavorable outcomes according to Kaplan‒Meier survival curves. This outcome was confirmed by GSE31210. The nomogram based on the model demonstrated significant predictive value. HG was influenced primarily by steroid hormone biosynthesis and ECM receptor interactions. The TMB in HGs was greater than that in the LG. Analysis of drug sensitivity revealed the direction for individualized treatment for both risk cohorts. Variations in the expression of EIRGs have been confirmed via RT-qPCR in several LUAD cell lines. Conclusions: The prognostic model and nomogram above are valuable for determining the survival rate and treatment options for LUAD patients.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the mechanism of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway activation in lung adenocarcinoma by KRAS mutation

BACKGROUND

Aberrant activation of the phosphatidlinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway has been shown to play an important role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The effect of KRAS mutations, one of the important signatures of LUAD, on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in LUAD remains unclear.

METHODS

The Seurat package and principal component analysis were used for cell categorization of single-cell RNA sequencing data of LUAD. The AUCell score was used to assess the activity of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Meanwhile, using the gene expression profiles and mutation profiles in the The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset, LUAD patients were categorized into KRAS-mutant (KRAS-MT) and KRAS-wild-types (KRAS-WT), and the corresponding enrichment scores were calculated using gene set enrichment analysis analysis. Finally, the subpopulation of cells with the highest pathway activity was identified, the copy number variation profile of this subpopulation was inscribed using the inferCNV package and the CMap database was utilized to make predictions for drugs targeting this subpopulation.

RESULTS

There is higher PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activity in LUAD epithelial cells with KRAS mutations, and high expression of KRAS, PIK3CA, AKT1 and PDPK1. In particular, we found significantly higher levels of pathway activity and associated gene expression in KRAS-MT than in KRAS-WT. We identified the highest pathway activity on a subpopulation of GRB2+ epithelial cells and the presence of amplified genes within its pathway. Finally, drugs were able to target GRB2+ epithelial cell subpopulations, such as wortmannin, palbociclib and angiogenesis inhibitor.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides a basic theory for the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway as a result of KRAS mutations.