Development of a panel of serum IgG and IgA autoantibodies for early diagnosis of colon cancer

miR-107 Targets NSG1 to Regulate Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression through ERK Pathway

Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) is a kind of malignant tumor with a poor prognosis and low quality of life in the otolaryngology department. It has been found that microRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of various tumors. This study found that the expression level of miRNA-107 (miR-107) in HSCC was significantly reduced. Subsequently, we screened out the downstream direct target gene Neuronal Vesicle Trafficking Associated 1 (NSG1) related to miR-107 through bioinformatics analysis and found that the expression of NSG1 was increased in HSCC tissues. Following the overexpression of miR-107 in HSCC cells, it was observed that miR-107 directly suppressed NSG1 expression, leading to increased apoptosis, decreased proliferation, and reduced invasion capabilities of HSCC cells. Subsequent experiments involving the overexpression and knockdown of NSG1 in HSCC cells demonstrated that elevated NSG1 levels enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while the opposite effect was observed upon NSG1 knockdown. Further investigations revealed that changes in NSG1 levels in the HSCC cells were accompanied by alterations in ERK signaling pathway proteins, suggesting a potential regulatory role of NSG1 in HSCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through the ERK pathway. These findings highlight the significance of miR-107 and NSG1 in hypopharyngeal cancer metastasis, offering promising targets for therapeutic interventions and prognostic evaluations for HSCC.

Autoantibodies and Cancer Association: the Case of Systemic Sclerosis and Dermatomyositis

Several rheumatic diseases have a perplexing association with cancer. Unraveling this mysterious connection is likely to provide deeper understanding regarding mechanisms governing the onset of both autoimmunity and cancer immunity, in addition to providing clinicians much needed guidance around whom and when to screen for occult malignancy. Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) and dermatomyositis are two diseases in which the association with internal malignancy is well-described and can be considered as models from which to gain important insights that likely have broader applicability. The past 15 years have witnessed a striking acceleration in understanding how these two diseases are related to cancer emergence-an important crack in this inscrutable armor has been the discovery and characterization of disease-specific autoantigens that are closely tied with risk of cancer emergence. The best-described examples of this are antibodies against anti-RNA polymerase III (anti-POL3) and transcription intermediary factor 1-gamma (anti-TIF1γ). Patients with systemic sclerosis and cancer that are diagnosed within a short time interval of each other frequently have anti-POL3 antibodies. Antibodies against the minor spliceosome protein RNA-Binding Region Containing 3 (RNPC3) are also associated with increased cancer incidence in systemic sclerosis. Similarly, in the dermatomyositis spectrum, the majority of anti-TIF1γ-associated cancers are detected around the time of DM onset (most often within 1 year). Antibodies against Nuclear Matrix Protein 2 are also potentially associated with increased cancer emergence in dermatomyositis. The systemic sclerosis/anti-POL3 connection with close cancer onset led to the first experiments directly supporting the concept that rheumatic disease may in fact be a manifestation of cancer. It is now clear that studying these diseases through the lens of autoantibodies can reveal relationships and insights that would otherwise remain obscured. Extending these studies, new findings show that antibodies against RNA polymerase I large subunit are associated with protection against short interval cancers in anti-POL3-positive systemic sclerosis patients. These insights highlight the fact that autoantigen discovery related to cancer emergence remains an important priority; such new tools will enable the testing of specific hypotheses regarding mechanisms governing disease emergence and development of effective anti-tumor responses. Autoantibody phenotype will likely play an important role in the development of cancer screening guidelines that are critically needed by clinicians taking care of these patients. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the different ways in which autoantibodies are connected with systemic sclerosis/dermatomyositis and malignancy and highlight potential paths forward.

Novel six-gene prognostic signature based on colon adenocarcinoma immune-related genes

Background

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal tumors worldwide, and immunotherapy is one of the most promising treatments for it. Identifying immune genes involved in the development and maintenance of cancer is key to the use of tumor immunotherapy. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of immune genes in patients with COAD and to establish an immune-related gene signature. Differentially expressed genes, immune-related genes (DEIGs), and transcription factors (DETFs) were screened using the following databases: Cistrome, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Immunology Database and Analysis Portal, and InnateDB. We constructed a network showing the regulation of DEIGs by DETFs. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we prepared 5 co-expressed gene modules; 6 hub genes (CD1A, CD1B, FGF9, GRP, SERPINE1, and F2RL2) obtained using univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to construct a risk model. Patients from TCGA database were divided into high- and low-risk groups based on whether their risk score was greater or less than the mean; the public dataset GSE40967, which contains gene expression profiles of 566 colon cancer patients, was used for validation.

Results

Survival analysis, somatic gene mutations, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells differed significantly between the high- and low-risk groups.

Conclusions

This immune-related gene signature could play an important role in guiding treatment, making prognoses, and potentially developing future clinical applications.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-022-04909-2.

Glycosylation of immunoglobin G in tumors: Function, regulation and clinical implications

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the predominant component in humoral immunity and the major effector of neutralizing heterogeneous antigens. Glycosylation, as excessive posttranscriptional modification, can modulate IgG immune function. Glycosylated IgG has been reported to correlate with tumor progression, presenting several characteristic modifications, including the core fucose, galactose, sialic acid, and the bisect N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Meanwhile, IgG glycosylation regulates tumor immunity involved in tumor progression and is thus a potential target. Herein, we summarized the research progression to provide novel insight into the application of IgG glycosylation in tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Immunoglobulin A, an Active Liaison for Host-Microbiota Homeostasis

Mucosal surfaces in the gastrointestinal tract are continually exposed to native, commensal antigens and susceptible to foreign, infectious antigens. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) provides dual humoral responses that create a symbiotic environment for the resident gut microbiota and prevent the invasion of enteric pathogens. This review features recent immunological and microbial studies that elucidate the underlying IgA and microbiota-dependent mechanisms for mutualism at physiological conditions. IgA derailment and concurrent microbiota instability in pathological diseases are also discussed in detail. Highlights of this review underscore that the source of IgA and its structural form can dictate microbiota reactivity to sustain a diverse niche where both host and bacteria benefit. Other important studies emphasize IgA insufficiency can result in the bloom of opportunistic pathogens that encroach the intestinal epithelia and disseminate into circulation. The continual growth of knowledge in these subjects can lead to the development of therapeutics targeting IgA and/or the microbiota to treat life threatening diseases.

Development of a panel of autoantibody against NSG1 with CEA, CYFRA21-1, and SCC-Ag for the diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Development of a panel of serum autoantibody against Neuron specific gene family member 1 (NSG1) with traditional tumor biomarkers of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) to further improve the diagnostic efficiency for ESCC patients.

METHODS

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to detect the expression of NSG1 protein in 40 pairs of ESCC tissues and matched paracancerous tissues. Serum anti-NSG1 levels of 203 patients with early ESCC, 103 patients with advanced ESCC, 135 patients with esophageal benign lesion (EBL), and 155 healthy controls (HCs) were detected by ELISA. The diagnostic performances of all possible combinations of serum anti-NSG1with CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag were assessed to develop an optimal panel for ESCC diagnosis.

RESULTS

NSG1 protein expression in ESCC tissues was significantly higher than that in matched paracancerous tissues (p < 0.001). Serum anti-NSG1 expression in ESCC group was significantly higher than that in EBL group and HC group (p < 0.001). The AUC of serum anti-NSG1 for ESCC was 0.706, with 49.7% sensitivity at 93.5% specificity, superior to that of CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag. Of all possible combinations, serum anti-NSG1 combined with CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag showed the highest AUC of 0.758 and 67.3% sensitivity at 88.3% specificity for ESCC, with the highest NPV of 71.9% and the lowest NLR of 0.37.

CONCLUSION

Aberrant NSG1 protein expression in ESCC tissues might be responsible for massive releases of autoantibody anginst NSG1 in sera of ESCC. A panel of anti-NSG1 with CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag contributes to further improving the diagnostic efficiency for ESCC.