Cathepsin V is correlated with the prognosis and tumor microenvironment in liver cancer

Recent studies have shown that high cell cycle activity negatively correlates with antitumor immunity in certain cancer types. However, a similar correlation has not been proven in liver cancer. We downloaded transcriptomic profiles of the cancer genome atlas-liver hepatocellular carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) and assessed the cell cycle distribution of samples using single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), termed the cell cycle score (CCS). We obtained cell cycle-related differentially expressed prognostic genes and identified CENPA, CDC20, and CTSV using LASSO regression. We studied the effect of CTSV on clinical features and immune alterations in liver cancer based on TCGA-LIHC data. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to validate the role of CTSV in liver cancer using liver cancer cell lines and tissues. We found that the CCS closely correlated with the clinical features and prognosis of patients in TCGA-LIHC. Analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), univariate Cox regression, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression identified cathepsin V (CTSV) with prognostic significance in LIHC. Importantly, single-gene survival analysis of CTSV using microarray and sequencing data indicated that high levels of CTSV expression correlated with an unfavorable prognosis in various cancers. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that high CTSV expression closely correlated with decreased expression of metabolic genes and increased expression of cell cycle genes. Furthermore, difference and correlation analyses of the relationship between CTSV expression and immune infiltrates, determined using CIBERSORT and TIMER algorithms, revealed that CTSV expression correlated with macrophages and CD4+ T cells. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that knockdown of CTSV inhibited liver cancer cells proliferation. Immunohistochemical staining showed that high CTSV expression correlated with macrophage infiltration in liver cancer tissues, predicted a poor prognosis, and is associated with the effectiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. In couclusion, CTSV is a novel cell cycle-associated gene with clinical significance in HCC.

Cathepsin V drives lung cancer progression by shaping the immunosuppressive environment and adhesion molecules cleavage

Cathepsin V (CTSV) is a cysteine cathepsin protease that plays a crucial role in extracellular matrix degradation. CTSV is correlated with poor prognosis in various cancers, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we observed that CSTV is upregulated in lung cancer and is a poor prognosis factor for lung cancer. CTSV acts as a driver in the metastasis of lung cancer both in vitro and in vivo. CTSV promotes lung cancer metastasis by downregulating adhesion molecules, including fibronectin, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin. Our data revealed that CTSV functions by mediating the fragmentation of fibronectin, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin in cleavage, remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM). The rationally designed antibody targeting CTSV blocks its cleaving ability towards fibronectin, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin, suppressing migration and invasion. Furthermore, we found that CTSV expression is negatively correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune scores and inhibits T cell activity. Targeting CTSV with specific antibodies effectively suppressed lung cancer metastasis in a mouse model. Our study demonstrates the critical role of CTSV in the immunity and metastasis of lung cancer, suggesting that the CTSV-targeting approach is a promising strategy for lung cancer.

Critical Role of Cathepsin L/V in Regulating Endothelial Cell Senescence

The senescence of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) is characterized as a hallmark of vascular aging, which leads to the initiation, progress, and advancement of cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism of the ECs senescence remains elusive. In this study, thoracic aortas were separated from young (8-week-old) and aged (18-month-old) mice. Decreased Ctsl expression and increased vascular remodeling were observed in senescent aorta. H₂O₂ was used to induce human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) senescence, as shown by increased SA-β-gal positive cells and upregulated p21 level. CTSV significantly decreased after H₂O₂ treatment, while over-expression of CTSV by adenovirus reduced cellular senescence. RNA sequencing analysis was conducted subsequently, and ALDH1A2 was observed to significantly increased in H₂O₂ group and decreased after over-expression of CTSV. This result was further confirmed by RT-PCR and WB. Moreover, over-expression of CTSV reduced the increase of ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation induced by H₂O₂. Additionally, retinoic acid (RA), the major production of ALDH1A2, was added to CTSV over-expressed senescent HUVECs. Administration of RA activated AKT and ERK1/2, induced the expression of p21, and enhanced SA-β-gal positive cells, while not affecting the expression of CTSV and ALDH1A2. These results were further confirmed in doxorubicin (DOX)-induced senescent ECs. In conclude, we have identified that Ctsl/CTSV plays a key role in ECs senescence by regulating ALDH1A2 to activate AKT/ ERK1/2-P21 pathway. Therefore, targeting Ctsl/CTSV may be a potential therapeutic strategy in EC senescence.

Glycosylated Cathepsin V Serves as a Prognostic Marker in Lung Cancer

Dysregulation of cysteine cathepsin protease activity is pivotal in tumorigenic transformation. However, the role of cathepsin protease in lung cancer remains unknown. Here, we analyzed GEO database and found that lung cancer presented high expression of cathepsin V (CTSV). We then performed immunohistochemistry assay in 73 paired lung cancer tissues and normal lung tissues and confirmed that CTSV is overexpressed in lung cancer and correlates with poor prognosis. The mass spectrometry experiment showed that the N-glycosylation locus of CTSV are N221 and N292, glycosylated CTSV (band 43 kDa) was particularly expressed in lung cancer samples and correlated with lymph node metastasis. Mechanistic studies showed that only glycosylated CTSV (43-kDa band) are secreted to extracellular matrix (ECM) and promoted the metastasis of lung cancer. Importantly, the Elisa detection in serum of 12 lung cancer patients and 12 healthy donors showed that the level of CTSV in serum distinguished lung cancer patients from healthy donors. Together, our findings reveal the clinical relevance of CTSV glycosylation and CTSV drives the metastasis of lung cancer, suggesting that the glycosylated CTSV in serum is a promising biomarker for lung cancer.

CTSV (cathepsin V) promotes bladder cancer progression by increasing NF-κB activity

Chronic inflammation is positively associated with the development of urinary bladder cancer. However, its detailed regulatory mechanism remains elusive. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure mRNA levels of relative genes. The protein levels were monitored by western blotting. Cell proliferation and viability were evaluated by the cell counting Kit 8 (CCK8) and colony formation assays, respectively. The dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to assay the transcriptional activity. In vivo experiments were implemented in nude mice as well. The TCGA database analysis suggested that the aberrant expression of cathepsin V (CTSV) was related to a poor outcome in bladder cancer patients. CTSV boosted the inflammation reaction, which facilitated the development of bladder cancer. The overexpression of CTSV increased the proliferation and viability of bladder cancer cells. On the contrary, the deletion of CTSV significantly inhibited the proliferation and viability of bladder cancer cells. The tumor repression resulting from CTSV deficiency in vitro was also verified in vivo. Moreover, multiple cancer-associated luciferase screening showed that the overexpression of CTSV triggered the inflammatory signaling pathway, which could be restored by introducing the NF-κB inhibitor. CTSV is upregulated and promotes proliferation through the NF-κB pathway in bladder cancer and may be a potential target in inflammation-associated bladder cancer.

Praeruptorin B Mitigates the Metastatic Ability of Human Renal Carcinoma Cells through Targeting CTSC and CTSV Expression

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common adult kidney cancer, and accounts for 85% of all cases of kidney cancers worldwide. Praeruptorin B (Pra-B) is a bioactive constituent of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn and exhibits several pharmacological activities, including potent antitumor effects. However, the anti-RCC effects of Pra-B and their underlying mechanisms are unclear; therefore, we explored the effects of Pra-B on RCC cells in this study. We found that Pra-B nonsignificantly influenced the cell viability of human RCC cell lines 786-O and ACHN at a dose of less than 30 μM for 24 h treatment. Further study revealed that Pra-B potently inhibited the migration and invasion of 786-O and ACHN cells, as well as downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of cathepsin C (CTSC) and cathepsin V (CTSV) of 786-O and ACHN cells. Mechanistically, Pra-B also reduced the protein levels of phospho (p)-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p-mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK), and p-extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) in RCC cells. In addition, Pra-B treatment inhibited the effect of EGF on the upregulation of EGFR–MEK–ERK, CTSC and CTSV expression, cellular migration, and invasion of 786-O cells. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that Pra-B can reduce the migration and invasion ability of human RCC cells through suppressing the EGFR-MEK-ERK signaling pathway and subsequently downregulating CTSC and CTSV. This evidence suggests that Pra-B can be developed as an effective antimetastatic agent for the treatment of RCC.

Prognostic significance of cathepsin V (CTSV/CTSL2) in breast ductal carcinoma in situ

AIMS

Cathepsin V (CTSV/CTSL2) is a lysosomal cysteine proteinase and plays a role in extracellular matrix degradation. It is associated with poor prognosis in invasive breast cancer (IBC), but its role in breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of CTSV in DCIS.

METHODS

CTSV protein expression was immunohistochemically assessed in a well-characterised and annotated cohort of DCIS comprising pure DCIS (n=776) and DCIS coexisting with IBC (n=239). CTSV expression was analysed in tumour cells and surrounding stroma, including its association with clinicopathological parameters and outcome.

RESULTS

In pure DCIS, high CTSV expression was observed in 29% of epithelial tumour cells and 20% of surrounding stroma. High expression in both components was associated with features of poor prognosis including higher nuclear grade, hormone receptor negativity and HER2 positivity. In addition, stromal CTSV expression was associated with larger DCIS size, comedo-type necrosis and high proliferation index. DCIS associated with IBC showed higher CTSV expression than pure DCIS either within the epithelial tumour cells or surrounding stroma (p<0.0001 and p=0.001, respectively). In DCIS/IBC, CTSV expression was higher in the invasive component than DCIS component either in tumour cells or surrounding stroma (both p<0.0001). CTSV stromal expression was associated with invasive recurrence independent of other prognostic factors in patients treated with breast conserving surgery (HR=3.0, p=0.005).

CONCLUSION

High expression of CTSV is associated with poor outcome in DCIS and is a potential marker to predict DCIS progression to invasive disease.

Cell and genetic predictors of human blastocyst hatching success in assisted reproduction

The aim was to identify cell and genetic predictors of human blastocyst hatching success in assisted reproduction programmes via a prospective case-control study. Blastocysts, donated by couples in assisted reproduction programmes were used. Hatching success assessment was performed after 144-146 h post-fertilization. The mRNA expression levels of cathepsin V (CTSV), GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3) and human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit 3, 5, 7 and 8 (CGB) genes were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The odds ratio (OR) of hatching due to zona pellucida (ZP) thickness, oocyte and sperm quality, embryo quality and mRNA expression of CTSV, GATA3 and CGB genes in blastocysts was determined. From 62 blastocysts included in the study, 47 (75.8%) were unable to hatch spontaneously. The ZP thickening, and oocyte and sperm quality did not affect human blastocyst ability to hatch, except the combination of cytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic oocyte dysmorphisms (OR = 1.25; 95% confidence interval = 1.08, 1.45). Hatching-capable blastocysts had higher Gardner scale grade and mRNA expression of CTSV, GATA3 and CGB genes than hatching-incapable blastocysts. The human blastocyst hatching success depends on the blastocyst Gardner grade, but not on ZP and gamete quality. Blastocyst development was regulated by CTSV, GATA3 and CGB gene expression.