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Wen X, Bai S, Fang Z, Zhu W. Integrated pan-cancer and scRNA-seq analyses identify a prognostic coagulation-related gene signature associated with tumor microenvironment in lower-grade glioma. Discov Oncol 2024; 15:256. [PMID: 38955935 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-024-01114-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated thrombosis is a significant complication in cancer patients, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The expression of coagulation/fibrinolysis genes, termed the "coagulome", plays a critical role in this process. Using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), we identified seven cancer types with significantly activated coagulation pathways, focusing on lower-grade glioma (LGG) and stomach adenocarcinoma due to their predictive value for overall survival. Through 1000 iterations of the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO), we selected prognostic genes and constructed effective Cox regression models, particularly for LGG. Incorporating clinical characteristics, we constructed a nomogram for LGG, achieving an impressive area under the curve (AUCs) of 0.79, 0.82, and 0.81 at 1, 3, and 5 years in the test dataset, indicating strong potential for clinical application. Functional enrichment analysis between high-risk and low-risk LGG groups revealed significant enrichment of genes involved in the inflammatory response, interferon-gamma response, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathways. Combined with CIBERSORT and single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of LGG, our results demonstrated that the interplay between coagulation and the tumor microenvironment, particularly involving gliomas and myeloid cells, significantly influences tumor progression and patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuehuan Wen
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Cangnan Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325800, Zhejiang, China
| | - Songjie Bai
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China
| | - Zuochun Fang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Longgang People's Hospital, Wenzhou, 325800, Zhejiang, China
| | - Weiguo Zhu
- Department of Cardiology, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, People's Republic of China.
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2
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Li Y, Fu L, Wu B, Guo X, Shi Y, Lv C, Yu Y, Zhang Y, Liang Z, Zhong C, Han S, Xu F, Tian Y. Angiogenesis modulated by CD93 and its natural ligands IGFBP7 and MMRN2: a new target to facilitate solid tumor therapy by vasculature normalization. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:189. [PMID: 37660019 PMCID: PMC10474740 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03044-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The tumor vasculature was different from the normal vasculature in both function and morphology, which caused hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Previous anti-angiogenesis therapy had led to a modest improvement in cancer immunotherapy. However, antiangiogenic therapy only benefitted a few patients and caused many side effects. Therefore, there was still a need to develop a new approach to affect tumor vasculature formation. The CD93 receptor expressed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and its natural ligands, MMRN2 and IGFBP7, were now considered potential targets in the antiangiogenic treatment because recent studies had reported that anti-CD93 could normalize the tumor vasculature without impacting normal blood vessels. Here, we reviewed recent studies on the role of CD93, IGFBP7, and MMRN2 in angiogenesis. We focused on revealing the interaction between IGFBP7-CD93 and MMRN2-CD93 and the signaling cascaded impacted by CD93, IGFBP7, and MMRN2 during the angiogenesis process. We also reviewed retrospective studies on CD93, IGFBP7, and MMRN2 expression and their relationship with clinical factors. In conclusion, CD93 was a promising target for normalizing the tumor vasculature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Lei Fu
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Baokang Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Xingqi Guo
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Yu Shi
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Chao Lv
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Yang Yu
- Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, 121001, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Yizhou Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Zhiyun Liang
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Chongli Zhong
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Shukun Han
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Feng Xu
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Yu Tian
- Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No.36.Sanhao stress, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning Province, China.
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Kałuzińska-Kołat Ż, Kołat D, Kośla K, Płuciennik E, Bednarek AK. Delineating the glioblastoma stemness by genes involved in cytoskeletal rearrangements and metabolic alterations. World J Stem Cells 2023; 15:302-322. [PMID: 37342224 PMCID: PMC10277965 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v15.i5.302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Literature data on glioblastoma ongoingly underline the link between metabolism and cancer stemness, the latter is one responsible for potentiating the resistance to treatment, inter alia due to increased invasiveness. In recent years, glioblastoma stemness research has bashfully introduced a key aspect of cytoskeletal rearrangements, whereas the impact of the cytoskeleton on invasiveness is well known. Although non-stem glioblastoma cells are less invasive than glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), these cells also acquire stemness with greater ease if characterized as invasive cells and not tumor core cells. This suggests that glioblastoma stemness should be further investigated for any phenomena related to the cytoskeleton and metabolism, as they may provide new invasion-related insights. Previously, we proved that interplay between metabolism and cytoskeleton existed in glioblastoma. Despite searching for cytoskeleton-related processes in which the investigated genes might have been involved, not only did we stumble across the relation to metabolism but also reported genes that were found to be implicated in stemness. Thus, dedicated research on these genes in GSCs seems justifiable and might reveal novel directions and/or biomarkers that could be utilized in the future. Herein, we review the previously identified cytoskeleton/metabolism-related genes through the prism of glioblastoma stemness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Żaneta Kałuzińska-Kołat
- Department of Experimental Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-136, Lodzkie, Poland
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-752, Lodzkie, Poland
| | - Damian Kołat
- Department of Experimental Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-136, Lodzkie, Poland
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-752, Lodzkie, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Kośla
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-752, Lodzkie, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Płuciennik
- Department of Functional Genomics, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-752, Lodzkie, Poland
| | - Andrzej K Bednarek
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz 90-752, Lodzkie, Poland
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Ucaryilmaz Metin C, Ozcan G. Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis reveals a cancer-associated fibroblast gene signature as a poor prognostic factor and potential therapeutic target in gastric cancer. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:692. [PMID: 35739492 PMCID: PMC9229147 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09736-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, currently available therapies have limited success. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are pivotal cells in the stroma of gastric tumors posing a great risk for progression and chemoresistance. The poor prognostic signature for CAFs is not clear in gastric cancer, and drugs that target CAFs are lacking in the clinic. In this study, we aim to identify a poor prognostic gene signature for CAFs, targeting which may increase the therapeutic success in gastric cancer. METHODS We analyzed four GEO datasets with a network-based approach and validated key CAF markers in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and The Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) cohorts. We implemented stepwise multivariate Cox regression guided by a pan-cancer analysis in TCGA to identify a poor prognostic gene signature for CAF infiltration in gastric cancer. Lastly, we conducted a database search for drugs targeting the signature genes. RESULTS Our study revealed the COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1, FN1, and SPARC as the key CAF markers in gastric cancer. Analysis of the TCGA and ACRG cohorts validated their upregulation and poor prognostic significance. The stepwise multivariate Cox regression elucidated COL1A1 and COL5A1, together with ITGA4, Emilin1, and TSPAN9 as poor prognostic signature genes for CAF infiltration. The search on drug databases revealed collagenase clostridium histolyticum, ocriplasmin, halofuginone, natalizumab, firategrast, and BIO-1211 as the potential drugs for further investigation. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrated the central role of extracellular matrix components secreted and remodeled by CAFs in gastric cancer. The gene signature we identified in this study carries high potential as a predictive tool for poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Elucidating the mechanisms by which the signature genes contribute to poor patient outcomes can lead to the discovery of more potent molecular-targeted agents and increase the therapeutic success in gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gulnihal Ozcan
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Koc University School of Medicine, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Multimerin-1 and cancer: a review. Biosci Rep 2022; 42:230760. [PMID: 35132992 PMCID: PMC8881648 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20211248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Multimerin-1 (MMRN1) is a platelet protein with a role in haemostasis and coagulation. It is also present in endothelial cells (ECs) and the extracellular matrix (ECM), where it may be involved in cell adhesion, but its molecular functions and protein–protein interactions in these cellular locations have not been studied in detail yet. In recent years, MMRN1 has been identified as a differentially expressed gene (DEG) in various cancers and it has been proposed as a possible cancer biomarker. Some evidence suggest that MMRN1 expression is regulated by methylation, protein interactions, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in different cancers. This raises the questions if a functional role of MMRN1 is being targeted during cancer development, and if MMRN1’s differential expression pattern correlates with cancer progression. As a result, it is timely to review the current state of what is known about MMRN1 to help inform future research into MMRN1’s molecular mechanisms in cancer.
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Kałuzińska Ż, Kołat D, Bednarek AK, Płuciennik E. PLEK2, RRM2, GCSH: A Novel WWOX-Dependent Biomarker Triad of Glioblastoma at the Crossroads of Cytoskeleton Reorganization and Metabolism Alterations. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13122955. [PMID: 34204789 PMCID: PMC8231639 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13122955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest human cancers. Its malignancy depends on cytoskeleton reorganization, which is related to, e.g., epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. The malignant phenotype of glioblastoma is also affected by the WWOX gene, which is lost in nearly a quarter of gliomas. Although the role of WWOX in the cytoskeleton rearrangement has been found in neural progenitor cells, its function as a modulator of cytoskeleton in gliomas was not investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of WWOX and its collaborators in cytoskeleton dynamics of glioblastoma. Methodology on RNA-seq data integrated the use of databases, bioinformatics tools, web-based platforms, and machine learning algorithm, and the obtained results were validated through microarray data. PLEK2, RRM2, and GCSH were the most relevant WWOX-dependent genes that could serve as novel biomarkers. Other genes important in the context of cytoskeleton (BMP4, CCL11, CUX2, DUSP7, FAM92B, GRIN2B, HOXA1, HOXA10, KIF20A, NF2, SPOCK1, TTR, UHRF1, and WT1), metabolism (MTHFD2), or correlation with WWOX (COL3A1, KIF20A, RNF141, and RXRG) were also discovered. For the first time, we propose that changes in WWOX expression dictate a myriad of alterations that affect both glioblastoma cytoskeleton and metabolism, rendering new therapeutic possibilities.
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Polano M, Fabbiani E, Adreuzzi E, Cintio FD, Bedon L, Gentilini D, Mongiat M, Ius T, Arcicasa M, Skrap M, Dal Bo M, Toffoli G. A New Epigenetic Model to Stratify Glioma Patients According to Their Immunosuppressive State. Cells 2021; 10:cells10030576. [PMID: 33807997 PMCID: PMC8001235 DOI: 10.3390/cells10030576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Gliomas are the most common primary neoplasm of the central nervous system. A promising frontier in the definition of glioma prognosis and treatment is represented by epigenetics. Furthermore, in this study, we developed a machine learning classification model based on epigenetic data (CpG probes) to separate patients according to their state of immunosuppression. We considered 573 cases of low-grade glioma (LGG) and glioblastoma (GBM) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). First, from gene expression data, we derived a novel binary indicator to flag patients with a favorable immune state. Then, based on previous studies, we selected the genes related to the immune state of tumor microenvironment. After, we improved the selection with a data-driven procedure, based on Boruta. Finally, we tuned, trained, and evaluated both random forest and neural network classifiers on the resulting dataset. We found that a multi-layer perceptron network fed by the 338 probes selected by applying both expert choice and Boruta results in the best performance, achieving an out-of-sample accuracy of 82.8%, a Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.657, and an area under the ROC curve of 0.9. Based on the proposed model, we provided a method to stratify glioma patients according to their epigenomic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Polano
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (F.D.C.); (L.B.); (M.D.B.); (G.T.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Emanuele Fabbiani
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Eva Adreuzzi
- Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Division of Molecular Oncology, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (E.A.); (M.M.)
| | - Federica Di Cintio
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (F.D.C.); (L.B.); (M.D.B.); (G.T.)
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Luca Bedon
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (F.D.C.); (L.B.); (M.D.B.); (G.T.)
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Davide Gentilini
- Bioinformatics and Statistical Genomics Unit, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, 20095 Cusano Milanino, Italy;
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Mongiat
- Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Division of Molecular Oncology, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (E.A.); (M.M.)
| | - Tamara Ius
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Santa Maria della Misericordia University Hospital, 33100 Udine, Italy; (T.I.); (M.S.)
| | - Mauro Arcicasa
- Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Department of Radiotherapy, 33081 Aviano, Italy;
| | - Miran Skrap
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Santa Maria della Misericordia University Hospital, 33100 Udine, Italy; (T.I.); (M.S.)
| | - Michele Dal Bo
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (F.D.C.); (L.B.); (M.D.B.); (G.T.)
| | - Giuseppe Toffoli
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy; (F.D.C.); (L.B.); (M.D.B.); (G.T.)
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