S100A8 facilitates the migration of colorectal cancer cells through regulating macrophages in the inflammatory microenvironment

From inflammation to metastasis: The central role of miR-155 in modulating NF-κB in cancer

Cancer is a multifaceted, complex disease characterized by unchecked cell growth, genetic mutations, and dysregulated signalling pathways. These factors eventually cause evasion of apoptosis, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion, and metastasis, which makes it difficult for targeted therapeutic interventions to be effective. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential gene expression regulators linked to several biological processes, including cancer and inflammation. The NF-κB signalling pathway, a critical regulator of inflammatory reactions and oncogenesis, has identified miR-155 as a significant participant in its modulation. An intricate network of transcription factors known as the NF-κB pathway regulates the expression of genes related to inflammation, cell survival, and immunological responses. The NF-κB pathway's dysregulation contributes to many cancer types' development, progression, and therapeutic resistance. In numerous cancer models, the well-studied miRNA miR-155 has been identified as a crucial regulator of NF-κB signalling. The p65 subunit and regulatory molecules like IκB are among the primary targets that miR-155 directly targets to alter NF-κB activity. The molecular processes by which miR-155 affects the NF-κB pathway are discussed in this paper. It also emphasizes the miR-155's direct and indirect interactions with important NF-κB cascade elements to control the expression of NF-κB subunits. We also investigate how miR-155 affects NF-κB downstream effectors in cancer, including inflammatory cytokines and anti-apoptotic proteins.

Single-cell and spatial transcriptome analyses revealed cell heterogeneity and immune environment alternations in metastatic axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Tumor heterogeneity plays essential roles in developing cancer therapies, including therapies for breast cancer (BC). In addition, it is also very important to understand the relationships between tumor microenvironments and the systematic immune environment.

METHODS

Here, we performed single-cell, VDJ sequencing and spatial transcriptome analyses on tumor and adjacent normal tissue as well as axillar lymph nodes (LNs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 8 BC patients.

RESULTS

We found that myeloid cells exhibited environment-dependent plasticity, where a group of macrophages with both M1 and M2 signatures possessed high tumor specificity spatially and was associated with worse patient survival. Cytotoxic T cells in tumor sites evolved in a separate path from those in the circulatory system. T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires in metastatic LNs showed significant higher consistency with TCRs in tumor than those in nonmetastatic LNs and PBMCs, suggesting the existence of common neo-antigens across metastatic LNs and primary tumor cites. In addition, the immune environment in metastatic LNs had transformed into a tumor-like status, where pro-inflammatory macrophages and exhausted T cells were upregulated, accompanied by a decrease in B cells and neutrophils. Finally, cell interactions showed that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contributed most to shaping the immune-suppressive microenvironment, while CD8⁺ cells were the most signal-responsive cells.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed the cell structures of both micro- and macroenvironments, revealed how different cells diverged in related contexts as well as their prognostic capacities, and displayed a landscape of cell interactions with spatial information.

Metaproteomic Profile of the Colonic Luminal Microbiota From Patients With Colon Cancer

Recent studies have provided evidence of interactions among the gut microbiota (GM), local host immune cells, and intestinal tissues in colon carcinogenesis. However, little is known regarding the functions exerted by the GM in colon cancer (CC), particularly with respect to tumor clinical classification and lymphocyte infiltration. In addition, stool, usually employed as a proxy of the GM, cannot fully represent the original complexity of CC microenvironment. Here, we present a pilot study aimed at characterizing the metaproteome of CC-associated colonic luminal contents and identifying its possible associations with CC clinicopathological features. Colonic luminal contents were collected from 24 CC tissue specimens immediately after surgery. Samples were analyzed by shotgun metaproteomics. Almost 30,000 microbial peptides were quantified in the samples, enabling the achievement of the taxonomic and functional profile of the tumor-associated colonic luminal metaproteome. Upon sample aggregation based on tumor stage, grade, or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), peptide sets enabling discrimination of sample groups were identified through discriminant analysis (DA). As a result, Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides fragilis were significantly enriched in high-stage and high-grade CC, respectively. Among metabolic functions, formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase was significantly associated with high-stage CC. Finally, based on the results of this pilot study, we assessed the optimal sample size for differential metaproteomic studies analyzing colonic luminal contents. In conclusion, we provide a detailed picture of the microbial and host components of the colonic luminal proteome and propose promising associations between GM taxonomic/functional features and CC clinicopathological features. Future studies will be needed to verify the prognostic value of these data and to fully exploit the potential of metaproteomics in enhancing our knowledge concerning CC progression.

Macrophages, as a Promising Strategy to Targeted Treatment for Colorectal Cancer Metastasis in Tumor Immune Microenvironment

The tumor immune microenvironment plays a vital role in the metastasis of colorectal cancer. As one of the most important immune cells, macrophages act as phagocytes, patrol the surroundings of tissues, and remove invading pathogens and cell debris to maintain tissue homeostasis. Significantly, macrophages have a characteristic of high plasticity and can be classified into different subtypes according to the different functions, which can undergo reciprocal phenotypic switching induced by different types of molecules and signaling pathways. Macrophages regulate the development and metastatic potential of colorectal cancer by changing the tumor immune microenvironment. In tumor tissues, the tumor-associated macrophages usually play a tumor-promoting role in the tumor immune microenvironment, and they are also associated with poor prognosis. This paper reviews the mechanisms and stimulating factors of macrophages in the process of colorectal cancer metastasis and intends to indicate that targeting macrophages may be a promising strategy in colorectal cancer treatment.

New Angiogenic Regulators Produced by TAMs: Perspective for Targeting Tumor Angiogenesis

Simple Summary

Since the targeting of a single pro-angiogenic factor fails to improve oncological disease outcome, significant efforts have been made to identify new pro-angiogenic factors that could compensate for the deficiency of current therapy or act independently as single drugs. Our review aims to present the state-of-the art for well-known and recently described factors produced by macrophages that induce and regulate angiogenesis. A number of positive and negative regulators of angiogenesis in the tumor microenvironment are produced by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Accumulating evidence has indicated that, apart from the well-known angiogenic factors, there are plenty of novel angiogenesis-regulating proteins that belong to different classes. We summarize the data regarding the direct or indirect mechanisms of the interaction of these factors with endothelial cells during angiogenesis. We highlight the recent findings that explain the limitations in the efficiency of current anti-angiogenic therapy approaches.

Abstract

Angiogenesis is crucial to the supply of a growing tumor with nutrition and oxygen. Inhibition of angiogenesis is one of the main treatment strategies for colorectal, lung, breast, renal, and other solid cancers. However, currently applied drugs that target VEGF or receptor tyrosine kinases have limited efficiency, which raises a question concerning the mechanism of patient resistance to the already developed drugs. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were identified in the animal tumor models as a key inducer of the angiogenic switch. TAMs represent a potent source not only for VEGF, but also for a number of other pro-angiogenic factors. Our review provides information about the activity of secreted regulators of angiogenesis produced by TAMs. They include members of SEMA and S100A families, chitinase-like proteins, osteopontin, and SPARC. The COX-2, Tie2, and other factors that control the pro-angiogenic activity of TAMs are also discussed. We highlight how these recent findings explain the limitations in the efficiency of current anti-angiogenic therapy. Additionally, we describe genetic and posttranscriptional mechanisms that control the expression of factors regulating angiogenesis. Finally, we present prospects for the complex targeting of the pro-angiogenic activity of TAMs.

Fusobacterium nucleatum Facilitates M2 Macrophage Polarization and Colorectal Carcinoma Progression by Activating TLR4/NF-κB/S100A9 Cascade

Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) has been considered as a significant contributor in promoting colorectal carcinoma (CRC) development by suppressing host anti-tumor immunity. Recent studies demonstrated that the aggregation of M2 macrophage (Mφ) was involved in CRC progress driven by Fn infection. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly characterized. Here, we investigated the role of Fn in Mφ polarization as well as its effect on CRC malignancy. Fn infection facilitated differentiation of Mφ into the M2-like Mφ phenotype by in vitro study. Histological observation from Fn-positive CRC tissues confirmed the abundance of tumor-infiltrating M2-like Mφ. Fn-induced M2-like Mφ polarization was weakened once inhibiting a highly expressed damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule S100A9 mainly derived from Fn-challenged Mφ and CRC cells. In addition, Fn-challenged M2-like Mφ conferred CRC cells a more malignant phenotype, showing stronger proliferation and migration characteristics in vitro and significantly enhanced tumor growth in vivo, all of which were partially inhibited when S100A9 was lost. Mechanistic studies further demonstrated that activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway mediated Fn-induced S100A9 expression and subsequent M2-like Mφ activation. Collectively, these findings indicate that elevated S100A9 in Fn-infected CRC microenvironment participates in M2-like Mφ polarization, thereby facilitating CRC malignancy. Furthermore, targeting TLR4/NF-κB/S100A9 cascade may serve as promising immunotherapeutic strategy for Fn-associated CRC.

S100A16 suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells in part via the JNK/p38 MAPK pathway

S100 calcium binding protein A16 (S100A16) is the most recent member of the S100 calcium-binding protein family. The function of S100A16 has been associated with various types of cancer; however, its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of S100A16 in CRC progression. The Oncomine dataset used in the current study revealed that the expression of S100A16 was decreased in CRC compared with normal colorectal tissues. Similar results were also determined via immunohistochemistry. In addition, a negative association was identified between S100A16 expression and the prognosis of patients with CRC. Further functional experiments revealed that S100A16 knockdown promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCT116 and SW480 cells, and vice versa in Lovo cells. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was promoted and the JNK/p38 MAPK pathway was activated in HCT116 cells following S100A16 knockdown, as determined via western blotting. Furthermore, S100A16 silencing promoted the migration and invasion of cells. EMT was also reversed when cells were treated with the JNK inhibitor (SP600125) or the p38 inhibitor (SB203580). In summary, the results of the present study demonstrated that S100A16 suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of CRC cells partially via the JNK/p38 MAPK signalling pathway and subsequent EMT mediation.

Roles of S100 family members in drug resistance in tumors: Status and prospects

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy can significantly improve survival rates in cancer, but multiple drug resistance (MDR) limits the efficacy of these approaches. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying MDR is crucial for improving drug efficacy and clinical outcomes of patients with cancer. S100 proteins belong to a family of calcium-binding proteins and have various functions in tumor development. Increasing evidence demonstrates that the dysregulation of various S100 proteins contributes to the development of drug resistance in tumors, providing a basis for the development of predictive and prognostic biomarkers in cancer. Therefore, a combination of biological inhibitors or sensitizers of dysregulated S100 proteins could enhance therapeutic responses. In this review, we provide a detailed overview of the mechanisms by which S100 family members influence resistance of tumors to cancer treatment, with a focus on the development of effective strategies for overcoming MDR.

Serum S100A6, S100A8, S100A9 and S100A11 proteins in colorectal neoplasia: results of a single centre prospective study

S100 proteins are involved in biological events related to colorectal carcinogenesis. Aim of this prospective study was to assess serum concentration of S100A6, A8, A9 and A11 proteins in patients with colorectal neoplasia. Eighty-four subjects were enrolled: 20 controls (average risk population with normal findings on colonoscopy; 7 men, 13 women, age 23-74, mean 55 ± 14), 20 patients with non-advanced colorectal adenoma (non-AA, 10 men, 10 women, age 41-82, mean 62 ± 11), 22 with advanced colorectal adenoma (AA, 15 men, 7 women, age 49-80, mean 64 ± 8) and 22 with colorectal cancer (CRC, 12 men, 10 women, age 49-86, mean 69 ± 10). Peripheral venous blood was obtained. Serum S100 proteins were investigated by enzyme immunoassay technique. Serum S100A6 was significantly lower in CRC (mean 8530 ± 4743 ng/L), p = .035 compared to controls (mean 11308 ± 2968 ng/L). Serum S100A8 was significantly higher in AA (median 11955 ng/L, IQR 2681-34756 ng/L), p = .009 and in CRC (median 27532 ng/L, IQR 6794-35092 ng/L), p < .001 compared to controls (median 2513 ng/L, IQR 2111-4881 ng/L). Serum S100A9 concentrations did not differ between any tested group and controls, p > .05. Serum concentration of S100A11 was significantly lower in non-AA (mean 3.5 ± 2.4 μg/L), p = .004 and in CRC (mean 3.4 ± 2.4 μg/L), p = .002 compared to controls (mean 5.9 ± 2.5 μg/L). Sensitivity and specificity for S100A8 protein in patients with CRC were 94% and 73%; positive predictive value 68% and negative predictive value 95%. Patients with colorectal neoplasia have significantly lower serum S100A6 and S100A11 levels, significantly higher S100A8 and unaltered serum S100A9 levels.

Multi-omics dataset to decipher the complexity of drug resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

The prognosis of patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unsatisfactory and, despite major advances in genomic studies, the biological mechanisms underlying chemoresistance are still poorly understood. We conducted for the first time a large-scale differential multi-omics investigation on DLBCL patient’s samples in order to identify new biomarkers that could early identify patients at risk of R/R disease and to identify new targets that could determine chemorefractoriness. We compared a well-characterized cohort of R/R versus chemosensitive DLBCL patients by combining label-free quantitative proteomics and targeted RNA sequencing performed on the same tissues samples. The cross-section of both data levels allowed extracting a sub-list of 22 transcripts/proteins pairs whose expression levels significantly differed between the two groups of patients. In particular, we identified significant targets related to tumor metabolism (Hexokinase 3), microenvironment (IDO1, CXCL13), cancer cells proliferation, migration and invasion (S100 proteins) or BCR signaling pathway (CD79B). Overall, this study revealed several extremely promising biomarker candidates related to DLBCL chemorefractoriness and highlighted some new potential therapeutic drug targets. The complete datasets have been made publically available and should constitute a valuable resource for the future research.

Liquid biopsy and multiparametric analysis in management of liver malignancies: new concepts of the patient stratification and prognostic approach

Background

The annually recorded incidence of primary hepatic carcinomas has significantly increased over the past two decades accounting for over 800 thousand of annual deaths caused by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) alone globally. Further, secondary liver malignancies are much more widespread compared to primary hepatic carcinomas: almost all solid malignancies are able to metastasise into the liver. The primary tumours most frequently metastasising to the liver are breast followed by colorectal carcinomas. Given the increased incidence of both primary and metastatic liver cancers, a new, revised approach is needed to advance medical care based on predictive diagnostics, innovative screening programmes, targeted preventive measures, and patient stratification for treatment algorithms tailored to individualised patient profile.

Advantages of the approach taken

The current pilot study took advantage of systemic alterations characteristic for liver malignancies, utilising liquid biopsy (blood samples) and specific biomarker patterns detected. Key molecular pathways relevant for pathomechanisms of liver cancers have been considered opening a perspective for both-individualised diagnostics and targeted treatment. Systemic alterations have been analysed prior to the therapy application avoiding molecular biological effects potentially diminishing predictive power of the biomarker-panel proposed. Multi-omics at DNA and protein (both expression and activity) levels has been applied. An established biomarker panel is considered as a powerful tool for individualised patient profiling and improved multi-level diagnostics-both predictive and prognostic ones.

Results and conclusions

Biomarker panels have been created for the patient stratification, prediction of a more optimal therapy and prognosis of survival based on the individualised patient profiling. Although there are some limitations of the pilot study performed, the results are encouraging, as it may be possible, through further research along these lines, to find a clinically and cost-effective means of stratifying liver cancer patients for personalised care and therapy. The benefits to the patient and society of accurate treatment stratification cannot be overemphasised.

HBx-induced S100A9 in NF-κB dependent manner promotes growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Myeloid-specific S100 proteins (S100s), namely, S100A8, S100A9 and S100A12, have been recently recognized as newly discovered damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that are correlated with progression in pathogen of infectious diseases. However, whether S100s are regulated by HBV and involved in HBV-related hepatocarcinogenesis are still unclear. Here, we found that all expression levels of myeloid-specific S100s (S100A8, S100A9 and S10012) were elevated in serum and tissue samples from HCC patients. Expression of S100A9 but not S100A8 and S10012 were also higher in blood serum and tissue samples from HBV-positive HCC patients than that in HBV-negative HCC patients. High levels of intracellular and extracellular S100A9 were also confirmed in HepG2 cells expressing 1.3-fold HBV genome or HBV-encoded X protein (HBx) as well as in a stable HBV-producing cell line HepG2.2.15. HBx was shown to facilitate translocation of NF-κB from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, and NF-κB bound to the promoter of S100A9 to enhance its transcription. Silencing S100A9 expression partially blocked HBx-induced growth and metastasis of HepG2 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further, serum S100A9 levels were found to correlate with TNM stage, extrahepatic metastasis status and HBV DNA load in HBV-related HCC and also had a better diagnostic value for identifying extrahepatic metastasis. Our these data demonstrate that S100A9 plays a pivotal role in HBx-induced growth and metastasis of HCC and may serve as a potential diagnostic marker for extrahepatic metastasis.