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Bartkeviciene A, Jasukaitiene A, Zievyte I, Stukas D, Ivanauskiene S, Urboniene D, Maimets T, Jaudzems K, Vitkauskiene A, Matthews J, Dambrauskas Z, Gulbinas A. Association between AHR Expression and Immune Dysregulation in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Insights from Comprehensive Immune Profiling of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4639. [PMID: 37760608 PMCID: PMC10526859 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15184639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), has an immune suppressive environment that allows tumour cells to evade the immune system. The aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a transcription factor that can be activated by certain exo/endo ligands, including kynurenine (KYN) and other tryptophan metabolites. Once activated, AHR regulates the expression of various genes involved in immune responses and inflammation. Previous studies have shown that AHR activation in PDAC can have both pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic effects, depending on the context. It can promote tumour growth and immune evasion by suppressing anti-tumour immune responses or induce anti-tumour effects by enhancing immune cell function. In this study involving 30 PDAC patients and 30 healthy individuals, peripheral blood samples were analysed. PDAC patients were categorized into Low (12 patients) and High/Medium (18 patients) AHR groups based on gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The Low AHR group showed distinct immune characteristics, including increased levels of immune-suppressive proteins such as PDL1, as well as alterations in lymphocyte and monocyte subtypes. Functional assays demonstrated changes in phagocytosis, nitric oxide production, and the expression of cytokines IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10. These findings indicate that AHR's expression level has a crucial role in immune dysregulation in PDAC and could be a potential target for early diagnostics and personalised therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arenida Bartkeviciene
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Aldona Jasukaitiene
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Inga Zievyte
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Darius Stukas
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Sandra Ivanauskiene
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Daiva Urboniene
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (D.U.); (A.V.)
| | - Toivo Maimets
- Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Riia 23, 51010 Tartu, Estonia;
| | - Kristaps Jaudzems
- Department of Physical Organic Chemistry, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Aizkraukles 21, LV-1006 Riga, Latvia;
| | - Astra Vitkauskiene
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (D.U.); (A.V.)
| | - Jason Matthews
- Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 1046 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway;
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Zilvinas Dambrauskas
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
| | - Antanas Gulbinas
- Laboratory of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu 4, 50103 Kaunas, Lithuania; (A.J.); (I.Z.); (D.S.); (S.I.); (Z.D.); (A.G.)
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