The Chemokine System in Oncogenic Pathways Driven by Viruses: Perspectives for Cancer Immunotherapy

Advances in adoptive T-cell therapy for metastatic melanoma

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) is a fast developing, niche area of immunotherapy (IO), which is revolutionising the therapeutic landscape of solid tumour oncology, especially metastatic melanoma (MM). Identifying tumour antigens (TAs) as potential targets, the ACT response is mediated by either Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) or genetically modified T cells with specific receptors - T cell receptors (TCRs) or chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) or more prospectively, natural killer (NK) cells. Clinical trials involving ACT in MM from 2006 to present have shown promising results. Yet it is not without its drawbacks which include significant auto-immune toxicity and need for pre-conditioning lymphodepletion. Although immune-modulation is underway using various combination therapies in the hope of enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity. Our review article explores the role of ACT in MM, including the various modalities - their safety, efficacy, risks and their development in the trial and the real world setting.

Deciphering the Relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and Cancer

Some viruses are known to be associated with the onset of specific cancers. These microorganisms, oncogenic viruses or oncoviruses, can convert normal cells into cancer cells by modulating the central metabolic pathways or hampering genomic integrity mechanisms, consequently inhibiting the apoptotic machinery and/or enhancing cell proliferation. Seven oncogenic viruses are known to promote tumorigenesis in humans: human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human T-cell leukemia virus 1 (HTLV-1), Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Recent research indicates that SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 progression may predispose recovered patients to cancer onset and accelerate cancer development. This hypothesis is based on the growing evidence regarding the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to modulate oncogenic pathways, promoting chronic low-grade inflammation and causing tissue damage. Herein, we summarize the main relationships known to date between virus infection and cancer, providing a summary of the proposed biochemical mechanisms behind the cellular transformation. Mechanistically, DNA viruses (such as HPV, HBV, EBV, and MCPyV) encode their virus oncogenes. In contrast, RNA viruses (like HCV, HTLV-1) may encode oncogenes or trigger host oncogenes through cis-/-trans activation leading to different types of cancer. As for SARS-CoV-2, its role as an oncogenic virus seems to occur through the inhibition of oncosuppressors or controlling the metabolic and autophagy pathways in the infected cells. However, these effects could be significant in particular scenarios like those linked to severe COVID-19 or long COVID. On the other hand, looking at the SARS-CoV-2─cancer relationship from an opposite perspective, oncolytic effects and anti-tumor immune response were triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection in some cases. In summary, our work aims to recall comprehensive attention from the scientific community to elucidate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 and, more in general, β-coronavirus infection on cancer susceptibility for cancer prevention or supporting therapeutic approaches.

RGS1 and related genes as potential targets for immunotherapy in cervical cancer: computational biology and experimental validation

Background

Effective treatment is needed for advanced, inoperable, or chemotherapy-resistant cervical cancer patients. Immunotherapy has become a new treatment modality for cervical cancer patients, and there is an urgent need to identify additional targets for cervical cancer immunotherapy.

Methods

In this study the core gene, RGS1, which affects immune status and the FIGO stage of cervical cancer patients was identified by WGCNA analysis and differential analysis using TCGA database. 10 related genes interacting with RGS1 were identified using PPI network, and the functional and immune correlations were analyzed. Based on the expression of RGS1 and related genes, the consensus clustering method was used to divide CESC patients into two groups (group 1, high expression of RGS1; group 2, low expression of RGS1). Then, the functional enrichment analysis was used to search for the functional differences in differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between group 1 and group 2. Immune infiltration analysis was performed using ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and ssGSEA, and the differences in expression of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targets were assessed between the two groups. We investigated the effect of RGS1 on the clinical relevance of CESC patients, and experimentally verified the differences in RGS1 expression between cervical cancer patient tissues and normal cervical tissues, the role of RGS1 in cell function, and the effect on tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice.

Results

We found that RGS1 was associated with CD4, GNAI3, RGS2, GNAO1, GNAI2, RGS20, GNAZ, GNAI1, HLA-DRA and HLA-DRB1, especially CD4 and RGS2. Functional enrichment of DEGs was associated with T cell activation. Compared with group 2, group 1 had stronger immune infiltration and higher ICI target expression. RGS1 had higher expression in cervical cancer tissues than normal tissues, especially in HPV-E6 positive cancer tissues. In cervical cancer cell lines, knockdown of RGS1 can inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth in nude mice and promoted apoptosis.

Conclusions

RGS1, as an oncogenic gene of cervical cancer, affects the immune microenvironment of patients with cervical cancer and may be a target of immunotherapy.

Emerging Roles of Chemokines in Cancer Immunotherapy

This series of 15 articles (4 original articles and 11 reviews) is presented by international leaders in chemokine research [...].