mRNA Expression In Tumor Tissues Research Articles

Pronecroptotic Therapy Using Ceramide Nanoliposomes Is Effective for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Regulated necrosis, termed necroptosis, represents a potential therapeutic target for refractory cancer. Ceramide nanoliposomes (CNLs), considered potential chemotherapeutic agents, induce necroptosis by targeting the activating protein mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL). In the present study, we examined the potential of pronecroptotic therapy using CNLs for refractory triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), for which there is a lack of definite and effective therapeutic targets among the various immunohistological subtypes of breast cancer. MLKL mRNA expression in tumor tissues was significantly higher in TNBC patients than in those with non-TNBC subtypes. Similarly, among the 50 breast cancer cell lines examined, MLKL expression was higher in TNBC-classified cell lines. TNBC cell lines were more susceptible to the therapeutic effects of CNLs than the non-TNBC subtypes of breast cancer cell lines. In TNBC-classified MDA-MB-231 cells, the knockdown of MLKL suppressed cell death induced by CNLs or the active substance short-chain C6-ceramide. Accordingly, TNBC cells were prone to CNL-evoked necroptotic cell death. These results will contribute to the development of CNL-based pronecroptotic therapy for TNBC.

Immunotherapy Enhancement by Targeting Extracellular Tumor pH in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Mouse Model.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), as one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, is characterized by a poor prognosis and a very low rate of disease-free and overall survival. In recent years, immunotherapeutic approaches targeting T cell checkpoint molecules, such as cytotoxic lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), programmed death1 (PD-1) or its ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), have shown great potential and have been used to treat various cancers as single therapies or in combination with other modalities. However, despite this remarkable progress, patients with TNBC have shown a low response rate to this approach, commonly developing resistance to immune checkpoint blockade, leading to treatment failure. Extracellular acidosis within the tumor microenvironment (also known as the Warburg effect) is one of the factors preventing immune cells from mounting effective responses and contributing to immunotherapy treatment failure. Therefore, reducing tumor acidity is important for increasing cancer immunotherapy effectiveness and this has yet to be realized in the TNBC environment. In this study, the oral administration of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) enhanced the antitumor effect of anti-PD-L1 antibody treatment, as demonstrated by generated antitumor immunity, tumor growth inhibition and enhanced survival in 4T1-Luc breast cancer model. Here, we show that NaHCO3 increased extracellular pH (pHe) in tumor tissues in vivo, an effect that was accompanied by an increase in T cell infiltration, T cell activation and IFN-γ, IL2 and IL12p40 mRNA expression in tumor tissues, as well as an increase in T cell activation in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Interestingly, these changes were further enhanced in response to combined NaHCO3 + anti-PD-L1 therapy. In addition, the acidic extracellular conditions caused a significant increase in PD-L1 expression in vitro. Taken together, these results indicate that alkalizing therapy holds potential as a new tumor microenvironment immunomodulator and we hypothesize that NaHCO3 can enhance the antitumor effects of anti-PD-L1 breast cancer therapy. The combination of these treatments may have an exceptional impact on future TNBC immunotherapeutic approaches by providing a powerful personalized medicine paradigm. Therefore, our findings have a great translational potential for improving outcomes in TNBC patients.

Down-regulation of ERAP1 mRNA expression in non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundERAP1 is a major aminopeptidase that serves as an editor of the peptide repertoire by trimming N-terminal residues of antigenic peptides, creating a pool of peptides with the optimal length for MHC-I binding. As an important component of the antigen processing and presenting machinery – APM, ERAP1 is frequently down-regulated in many cancers. Since ERAP1 expression has not yet been thoroughly investigated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we decided to analyze ERAP1 mRNA levels in tissues collected from NSCLC patients.MethodsUsing real-time qPCR, we evaluated ERAP1 mRNA expression in samples of tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissue (serving as control tissue) from 61 NSCLC patients.ResultsWe observed a significantly lower level of ERAP1 mRNA expression in tumor tissue (MedTumor = 0.75) in comparison to non-tumor tissue (MedNon-tumor = 1.1), p = 0.008. One of the five tested polymorphisms, namely rs26653, turned out to be significantly associated with ERAP1 expression in non-tumor tissue (difference [d] = 0.59 CI95% (0.14;1.05), p = 0.0086), but not in tumor tissue.The levels of ERAP1 mRNA expression did not affect the overall survival of NSCLC patients, either in the case of the tumor (p = 0.788) or in non-tumor (p = 0.298) tissue.We did not detect any association between mRNA ERAP1 expression level in normal tissue and: (i) age at diagnosis (p = 0.8386), (ii) patient’s sex (p = 0.3616), (iii) histological type of cancer (p = 0.7580) and (iv) clinical stage of NSCLC (p = 0.7549). Furthermore, in the case of tumor tissue none of the abovementioned clinical parameters were associated with ERAP1 expression (p = 0.76).ConclusionDown-regulation of ERAP1 mRNA observed in NSCLC tissue may be related to tumor immune evasion strategy. The rs26653 polymorphism can be considered an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) associated with ERAP1 expression in normal lung tissue.

Pan-cancer analysis reveals potential of FAM110A as a prognostic and immunological biomarker in human cancer.

Despite great success, immunotherapy still faces many challenges in practical applications. It was previously found that family with sequence similarity 110 member A (FAM110A) participate in the regulation of the cell cycle and plays an oncogenic role in pancreatic cancer. However, the prognostic value of FAM110A in pan-cancer and its involvement in immune response remain unclear. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database was used to detect the expression of FAM110A in human normal tissues, the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and TIMER 2.0 databases were used to explore the association of FAM110A expression with immune checkpoint genes and immune infiltration, and the Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA) database was used to explore the correlation between FAM110A expression and copy number variations (CNV) and methylation. The LinkedOmics database was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Statistical analysis and visualization of data from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) or the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases were performed using the R software (version 3.6.3). Clinical samples were validated using immunohistochemistry. FAM110A expression was elevated in most tumor tissues compared with that in normal tissues. CNV and methylation were associated with abnormal FAM110A mRNA expression in tumor tissues. FAM110A affected prognosis and was associated with the expression of multiple immune checkpoint genes and abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells across multiple types of cancer, especially in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). FAM110A-related genes were involved in multiple immune-related processes in LIHC. FAM110A participates in regulating the immune infiltration and affecting the prognosis of patients in multiple cancers, especially in LIHC. FAM110A may serve as a prognostic and immunological biomarker for human cancer.

A transcriptomics approach to expand therapeutic options and optimize clinical trials in oncology.

The current model of clinical drug development in oncology displays major limitations due to a high attrition rate in patient enrollment in early phase trials and a high failure rate of drugs in phase III studies. Integrating transcriptomics for selection of patients has the potential to achieve enhanced speed and efficacy of precision oncology trials for any targeted therapies or immunotherapies. Relative gene expression level in the metastasis and normal organ-matched tissues from the WINTHER database was used to estimate in silico the potential clinical benefit of specific treatments in a variety of metastatic solid tumors. As example, high mRNA expression in tumor tissue compared to analogous normal tissue of c-MET and its ligand HGF correlated in silico with shorter overall survival (OS; p < 0.0001) and may constitute an independent prognostic marker for outcome of patients with metastatic solid tumors, suggesting a strategy to identify patients most likely to benefit from MET-targeted treatments. The prognostic value of gene expression of several immune therapy targets (PD-L1, CTLA4, TIM3, TIGIT, LAG3, TLR4) was investigated in non-small-cell lung cancers and colorectal cancers (CRCs) and may be useful to optimize the development of their inhibitors, and opening new avenues such as use of anti-TLR4 in treatment of patients with metastatic CRC. This in silico approach is expected to dramatically decrease the attrition of patient enrollment and to simultaneously increase the speed and detection of early signs of efficacy. The model may significantly contribute to lower toxicities. Altogether, our model aims to overcome the limits of current approaches.

Abstract 1449: Intratumoral vitamin D signaling and lethal prostate cancer

Abstract Background: High plasma 25(OH)-vitamin D and vitamin D supplementation may be associated with lower rates of advanced and lethal prostate cancer. We previously found that intratumoral expression of one protein, the vitamin D receptor, was associated with better prognosis among men with prostate cancer. Little data exists about long-term outcomes according to a more comprehensive profile of intratumoral vitamin D signaling. Methods: We undertook a comprehensive assessment of intratumoral vitamin D-related gene expression among men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) and the Physicians’ Health Study (PHS) by creating a score based on gene expression. Of 11 literature-derived candidate genes, 6 genes had sufficient mRNA expression in tumor tissue to include in this study. The equally-weighted vitamin D pathway-related score captured genes that are upregulated (VDR, RXRA, CYP2R1, CYP27A1) and downregulated (DHCR7, CYP24A1) with activation of vitamin D signaling. Higher pathway-related scores reflected expression associated with increased vitamin D signaling. The association between the vitamin D score in prostate tumors and lethal disease (metastases/prostate cancer-specific death) vs. indolent disease (no metastases after &amp;gt;8 years of follow-up) was assessed using logistic regression. Results: Among 404 men with prostate cancer, there were 119 lethal events over up to 30 years of follow-up (median: 17 years). Correlations in expression between the six vitamin D-related genes were weak in both tumor tissue (Spearman |r|: 0.03–0.18) and tumor-adjacent histologically normal-appearing tissue (Spearman |r|: 0.00–0.24), consistent with their involvement in multiple signaling pathways. Vitamin D-related genes and the vitamin D pathway score were downregulated in tumor tissue compared to tumor-adjacent histologically normal-appearing tissue (mean difference for the score: -0.35, 95% confidence interval: -0.52 to -0.19). Higher intratumoral vitamin D signaling based on the pathway-related score was inversely associated with lethal prostate cancer even after adjusting for age at diagnosis and Gleason score (odds ratio for the highest vs. lowest quartile: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.86). This inverse association was similar in tumors with and without the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion as well as those with high or low vitamin D receptor protein expression. Conclusion: This study of prostate tissue vitamin D-related gene expression provides novel evidence in support of the hypothesis that more active intratumoral vitamin D signaling may lead to better prostate cancer outcomes. Citation Format: Jane Bailey Vaselkiv, Sydney T. Grob, Caroline Ericsson, Isabel Giovannucci, Irene Shui, Kathryn L. Penney, Lorelei A. Mucci, Konrad H. Stopsack. Intratumoral vitamin D signaling and lethal prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1449.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF), FGF receptor (FGFR), and cyclin D1 (CCND1) DNA methylation in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas is associated with transcriptional activity, gene amplification, human papillomavirus (HPV) status, and sensitivity to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

BackgroundDysregulation of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling pathway has been observed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and is a promising therapeutic target for selective tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Potential predictive biomarkers for response to FGFR-targeted therapies are urgently needed. Understanding the epigenetic regulation of FGF pathway related genes, i.e. FGFRs, FGFs, and CCND1, could enlighten the way towards biomarker-selected FGFR-targeted therapies.MethodsWe performed DNA methylation analysis of the encoding genes FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, FGFR4, FGF1-14, FGF16-23, and CCND1 at single CpG site resolution (840 CpG sites) employing The Cancer Genome Research Atlas (TCGA) HNSCC cohort comprising N = 530 tumor tissue and N = 50 normal adjacent tissue samples. We correlated DNA methylation to mRNA expression with regard to human papilloma virus (HPV) and gene amplification status. Moreover, we investigated the correlation of methylation with sensitivity to the selective FGFR inhibitors PD 173074 and AZD4547 in N = 40 HPV(−) HNSCC cell lines.ResultsWe found sequence-contextually nuanced CpG methylation patterns in concordance with epigenetically regulated genes. High methylation levels were predominantly found in the promoter flank and gene body region, while low methylation levels were present in the central promoter region for most of the analyzed CpG sites. FGFRs, FGFs, and CCND1 methylation differed significantly between tumor and normal adjacent tissue and was associated with HPV and gene amplification status. CCND1 promoter methylation correlated with CCND1 amplification. For most of the analyzed CpG sites, methylation levels correlated to mRNA expression in tumor tissue. Furthermore, we found significant correlations of DNA methylation of specific CpG sites with response to the FGFR1/3–selective inhibitors PD 173074 and AZD4547, predominantly within the transcription start site of CCND1.ConclusionsOur results suggest an epigenetic regulation of CCND1, FGFRs, and FGFs via DNA methylation in HNSCC and warrants further investigation of DNA methylation as a potential predictive biomarker for response to selective FGFR inhibitors in clinical trials.

Serum levels of cytoskeleton remodeling proteins and their mRNA expression in tumor tissue of metastatic laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers

Actin-binding proteins (ABPs) and various signaling systems are involved in the process of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and hypopharynx (SCCLH) metastasis. The clinical significance of these proteins has not yet been determined. We analyzed the relationship between the mRNA levels of cofilin 1 (CFL1), profilin 1 (PFN1), adenylyl cyclase-associated protein 1 (CAP1), SNAI1 and RND3 and SCCLH metastasis. The serum levels of the above ABPs were estimated and the relationship between them and their mRNA expressions was analyzed. The expression levels of ABP mRNAs were measured by real-time RT-PCR in paired tissue samples taken from 54 patients with SCCLH (T1-4N0-1M0). Expression analysis was performed using the 2-ΔΔCT method. The levels of ABPs in the blood serum were measured by ELISA. Statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS Statistica 20.0 software package. No significant difference in the mRNA gene expression in tumor tissue of patients with T1-3N0M0 SCCLH and patients with T2-4N1-2M0 SCCLH was found. High expression of RND3 mRNA was accompanied by an increase in mRNA expression of all studied ABPs. In the blood serum of T2-4N1-2M0 patients, the level of PFN1 was lower by 21% and the level of CAP1 was higher by 75% than those observed in T1-4N0M0 patients. The data obtained showed that RND3 is involved in the regulation of molecular cascades of SCCLH metastasis. PFN1 and CAP1 serum levels can be good classifiers of metastases in patients with SCCLH.

799 INTESTINAL RBM47 DELETION PROMOTES SPONTANOUS POLYPOSIS THROUGH UP-REGULATED EPITHELIAL PROLIFERATION, ALTERNATIVE SPLICING OF TJP1 BUT MITIGATES COLITIS-ASSOCAITED TUMORIGENESIS VIA ANTI-OXIDATIVE ADAPTATION AND REDUCED INFLAMMATION

Background RNA-binding motif protein 47 (RBM47) is a requisite cofactor in APOBEC1-dependent C-to-U RNA editing whose RNA targets are unknown. Aims Because Apobec-1 knockout mice are protected against polyposis in the ApcMin background, we asked if intestine-specific Rbm47 knockout mice (Rbm47IKO) exhibit altered tumor susceptibility, either spontaneously or in different murine cancer models. Results 86% (6/7) of 12-month old chow-fed Rbm47IKOmice developed spontaneous intestinal and colonic polyps (Fig 1A), compared to 10% (1/10) aged Rbm47floxcontrols. RNA-seq showed upregulated proliferation, glutathione metabolism, and anti-oxidative pathways in Rbm47 IKOintestine. QPCR revealed reduced abundance of the long Tjp1 mRNA isoform (Tjp1+) in Rbm47 IKOmice (Fig 1B), which was further reduced in polyp vs uninvolved tissue (11.8±0.2 vs 15.1±1.2, P=.03) in aged Rbm47 IKOmice. In support, we observed decreased Rbm47 mRNA (–DCT 0.97±2.79 vs 3.47±2.58, P Conclusion Rbm47IKOmice demonstrate spontaneous polyposis through upregulating proliferation and modifying Tjp1 alternative RNA splicing, with increased proximal intestinal polyposis in the ApcMin/+ background. By contrast, Rbm47IKOmice are protected against AOM-DSS-driven colitis-associated colon tumorogenesis by augmenting antioxidant capacity, over-expression of Il-33, and decreasing inflammatory activity. These contrasting phenotypes suggest that RBM47 exerts pathway-specific effects on intestinal tumorigenesis as a genetic modifier of growth, proliferation and inflammatory pathways. Download : Download high-res image (81KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 1 . A: dissecting microscope images (left) and hematoxylin and eosin staining sections (right) of spontaneous polypogenesis in small intestine and colon of 12-month old chowfed Rbm47 IKOmice. B: Relative abundance of long Tjp1 mRNA isoform (Tjp1+) by quantitative RT-PCR in young adult mice jejunum. C: Rbm47 mRNA expression and relative abundance of Tjp1+ isoform by quantitative RT-PCR in human colorectal cancer tissue vs paired normal tissue. D: Comparison of overall survival among colorectal cancer patients with different levels of Rbm47 mRNA expression in tumor tissue using the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database. Download : Download high-res image (71KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 2 . A: Macroscopic illustration of colitis-associated colon tumors in mice treated with AOM)-DSS. B: left; the HE stained microscopic sections illustrate abundance of crypt abscess formation (yellow arrowheads) within dysplastic lesions of colon in AOM-DSS treated mice. Middle; F4/80 immunohistochemical staining of dysplastic lesions of colon in AOM-DSS treated mice. Right: Relative mRNA expression of inflammatory genes by quantitative RTPCR in dysplastic lesions of AOM-DSS treated mice. C: Relative mRNA expression of genes related to interleukin 33 by quantitative RT-PCR in dysplastic lesions of AOM-DSS treated mice. D: Macroscopic illustration of proximal small intestine tumors in mice with Apc Min/+background.

Clinical implication of aquaporin 9 in non-small cell lung cancer patients: its expression and relationship with clinical features and prognosis.

Aquaporin 9 (AQP9) is recognized as a key regulator in several cancers, whereas little is known about its clinical implication in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thus, we aimed to explore AQP9 expression and its relationship with clinical features, prognosis in NSCLC patients. One hundred ninety-eight NSCLC patients who received resection were retrospectively enrolled. This study contained two cohorts: in cohort A, AQP9 protein expression (from formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumor and paired adjacent tissue specimens) in 198 patients was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). In cohort B, AQP9 mRNA expression (from fresh-frozen tumor and paired adjacent tissues) in 108 patients (out of 198 patients) was detected by RT-qPCR. In cohort A, increased AQP9 IHC score and greater proportion of AQP9 protein high expression cases were shown in tumor tissue than adjacent tissue (both P < 0.001). Tumor AQP9 protein high expression correlated with lymph node (LYN) metastasis (P = 0.002) and raised TNM stage (P = 0.012). Interestingly, tumor AQP9 protein high expression related to worse disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.002) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.026). In cohort B, AQP9 mRNA expression in tumor tissue was increased than adjacent tissue (P < 0.001), and tumor AQP9 mRNA high expression linked to LYN metastasis (P = 0.024) and increased TNM stage (P = 0.032) as well; tumor AQP9 mRNA high expression was related to shorter DFS (P = 0.009), and it presented with a trend to be correlated with worse OS (P = 0.054), but without statistical significance. AQP9 serves as a potential indicator for monitoring disease progression and prognostication in NSCLC patients.

Expression of TMEM16A in Colorectal Cancer and Its Correlation With Clinical and Pathological Parameters.

TMEM16A is a recently identified calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC) and its overexpression contributes to tumorigenesis and progression in several human malignancies. However, little is known about expression of TMEM16A and its clinical significance in colorectal cancer (CRC). TMEM16A mRNA expression was determined by quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) in 67 CRC tissues and 24 para-carcinoma tissues. TMEM16A protein expression was performed by immunohistochemistry in 80 CRC tissues. The correlation between TMEM16A expression and clinicopathological parameters, and known genes and proteins involved in CRC was analyzed. The results showed that TMEM16A mRNA expression was frequently detected in 51 CRC tissues (76%), whereas TMEM16A protein expression was determined at a relatively lower frequency (26%). TMEM16A mRNA expression in tumor tissues was higher than its expression in normal para-carcinoma tissues (P < 0.05). TMEM16A mRNA expression was significantly correlated with TNM stage (p = 0.039) and status of lymph node metastasis (p = 0.047). In addition, there was a strong positive correlation between TMEM16A mRNA expression and MSH2 protein. More importantly, TMEM16A protein expression was positively associated with KRAS mutation, and negatively correlated with mutant p53 protein. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that TMEM16A mRNA expression was an important independent predictive factor of lymph node metastasis (OR = 16.38, CI: 1.91–140.27, p = 0.01). TMEM16A mRNA and protein expression was not significantly related with patient survival. Our findings provide original evidence demonstrating TMEM16A mRNA expression can be a novel predictive marker of lymph node metastasis and TMEM16A protein expression may be an important regulator of tumor proliferation and metastasis in CRC.

Magnetically sensitive nanocomplex enhances antitumor efficacy of dendritic cell-based immunotherapy.

One of the major factors restricting in vivo efficacy of dendritic cells (DCs) based immunotherapy is the inefficient migration of these cells to the lymphoid tissue, wherein DCs activate antigen-specific T cells. A fundamentally new approach for the possibility of enhancing the antitumor effects of DC-based immunotherapy may be the use of magnetically sensitive nanocomplexes to increase the target delivery of DCs to the lymph nodes of the recipient. To study the antitumor and immunomodulatory effects of the DC-nanovaccine with magnetosensitive properties and its influence on the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in mice with sarcoma 37. The antitumor, antimetastatic and immunomodulatory effects of DCs loaded with magnetic nanocomplex under magnetic field (MF) control in mice with sarcoma 37have been investigated. Combined therapy contributed to a significant reduction in tumor volume and weight compared to the control group of mice and mice that received the DC vaccine without MF. Therapy with magnetically sensitive DC nanovaccine with and without the addition of the MF was accompanied by a significant down-regulation of the level of FoxP3, transforming growth factor β, interleukin (IL)-10and vascular endothelial growth factors, mRNA expression in tumor tissues. A significant increase in interferon-γ and IL-4mRNA expression was found in mice treated with the magnetically sensitive DC nanovaccine under MF control. A significant increase in the antitumor efficacy of the DC vaccine can be achieved using magnetosensitive nanocarriers of tumor antigens under MF control.

SiVEGF-loaded nanoparticle uptake by tumor-associated vascular endothelial cells for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: This study examined nanoparticle entry into tumor-associated vascular endothelial cellsduring transport to hepatocellular carcinomacells and tumors. Materials & methods: siVEGF was loaded into CS-SS-9R/BSA-cRGD nanoparticles (CBc NPs). The intracellular uptake, gene silencing efficiency, antiproliferation and antiangiogenic effect of the NPs were performed on EA.hy926 cells. In vivo antitumor and antiangiogenic effects were investigated in Bel-7402 tumor-bearing nude mice. Results: siVEGF-loaded CBc NPs entered EA.hy926 cells and suppressed their proliferation and capillary formation. The NPs also inhibited tumor proliferation and angiogenesis in tumor-bearing mice, which attributed to the downregulation of VEGF mRNA expression in tumor tissue. Conclusion: The uptake of siVEGF-loaded CBc NPs by tumor-associated vascular endothelial cells made important contributions in controlling the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Circulating PD-1 mRNA in Peripheral Blood is a Potential Biomarker for Predicting Survival of Breast Cancer Patients.

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors have shown significant therapeutic promise in various cancers. However, the clinical significance of PD-1 expression remains not fully understood. In this study, we evaluated the clinical and prognostic relevance of PD-1 expression in breast cancer (BC). First, we analyzed PD-1 mRNA expression in BC tissues and performed a survival analysis using a dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Next, we measured PD-1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood (PB) in BC patients by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. We performed a survival analysis and evaluated the association between PD-1 mRNA expression in PB and the clinicopathological features of 372 BC patients who underwent curative resection. Flow cytometry (FCM) analysis was performed to identify PD-1-expressing cells in PB. Finally, we determined whether there was a correlation of PD-1 mRNA expression in PB and tumor tissue. PD-1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in tumor tissues compared with normal tissues. Decreased PD-1 mRNA expression in tumor tissue was associated with poor overall survival (OS). PD-1 mRNA expression in PB of BC patients was higher than that of healthy volunteers, and increased PD-1 mRNA expression in PB was associated with poor OS. FCM revealed that PD-1 was mostly expressed on T cells in PB, predominantly in CD4+ T cells. PD-1 mRNA expression in PB was negatively correlated with PD-1 mRNA expression in tumor tissue. High expression of PD-1 mRNA in preoperative PB could serve as an effective biomarker that indicates poor prognosis in BC.

Prognostic value of kallikrein-related peptidase 12 (KLK12) mRNA expression in triple-negative breast cancer patients

BackgroundThe serine protease KLK12 belongs to the human fifteen-member family of kallikrein-related peptidases. Differential expression accompanied by either increased or decreased enzymatic activity has been linked to several diseases including cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a very aggressive subgroup of breast cancer with high tumor recurrence rates and poor patient prognosis. Here, we quantified the KLK12 mRNA expression levels in tumor tissue of TNBC patients and analyzed their prognostic value.MethodsIn the present study, KLK12 mRNA expression in tumor tissue of TNBC patients (n = 116) was determined by quantitative real-time PCR assay. The association of KLK12 mRNA levels with clinical parameters, and patients’ outcome was analyzed using Chi-square tests, Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.ResultsPositive, but low KLK12 mRNA levels were detected in about half of the cases (54 out of 116; 47%), the other samples were negative for KLK12 mRNA expression. No significant association was observed between KLK12 mRNA levels and clinicopathological variables (age, lymph node status, tumor size, and histological grade). In univariate Cox analyses, positive KLK12 mRNA expression was significantly associated with shortened disease-free survival (DFS; hazard ratio [HR] = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.19–3.78, p = 0.010) as well as overall survival (OS; HR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.04–3.50, p = 0.037). In multivariable Cox analysis, including all clinical parameters plus KLK12 mRNA, the latter - together with age - remained an independent unfavorable predictive marker for DFS (HR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.28–4.24, p = 0.006) and showed a trend towards significance in case of OS (HR = 1.80, 95% CI = 0.96–3.38, p = 0.066).ConclusionsPositive KLK12 expression is remarkably associated with shortened DFS and OS, suggesting that KLK12 plays a tumor-supporting role in TNBC.

Bioinformatics analysis of the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS/NOS2) in human glioma and its correlation with patients’ prognoses

Abstract Objective To evaluate the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS/NOS2) in human glioma and its correlation with patients’ prognoses. Methods IiNOS/NOS2 expression in tumor and corresponding normal tissues of glioma patients was analyzed using the TCGA database and the online analysis tool GEPIA. The mutation statuses of iNOS/NOS2 genes were also explored in the TCGA database using cBioPortal. Co-expressed genes relevant to iNOS/NOS2 were screened by LinkedOmics. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment for iNOS/NOS2 and co-expressed genes was performed using LinkedOmics. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) outcomes between iNOS/NOS2 mRNA high and low expression groups were compared using a log-rank test. Twenty-two glioma patients who underwent operation were included in the present work. A real-time PCR assay was used to detect iNOS/NOS2 mRNA expression in tumor tissue and normal brain tissue. Results There was no statistical difference in iNOS/NOS2 mRNA expression levelss between tumor and normal tissues of glioma. A real-time PCR assay indicated that iNOS/NOS2 mRNA expression in tumor tissue and normal brain tissues were not statistical difference (p&gt;0.05). A mutation rate of 0.8% for the iNOS/NOS2 gene was found using 1044 glioma patients from two datasets. The mutation types include deep deletion (0.4%), truncating (0.2%) and missense (0.2%). The top positive and negative co-expressed gene with iNOS/NOS2 were COL25A1 (rpearson=0.4734, p&lt;0.05) and ALCAM (rpearson=0.4734, p&lt;0.05), respectively. For KEGG pathway analysis, iNOS/NOS2 was mainly enriched in calcium signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, GnRH signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway and pathways in cancer. The overall survival (HR=2.0, p&lt;0.05) and disease-free survival (HR=1.6, p&lt;0.05) values were significantly different between iNOS/NOS2 high and low expression groups. Conclusion OS and DFS were significantly decreased in high iNOS/NOS2 mRNA expression groups. iNOS/NOS2 can be used as a poor prognostic biomarker for glioma.

Synergistic association of FOXP3+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes with CCL20 expressions with poor prognosis of primary breast cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

Studies have shown that forkhead/winged helix transcription factor P3 (FOXP3)+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are intimately associated with invasion and survival of many invasive tumors. The inflammatory chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) and its receptor CCR6 were found to be associated with tumor prognosis in some studies. Although increases in FOXP3+ TILs infiltration and CCL20 expression have been revealed in several malignancies, their correlation in human breast tumors is as yet unclear.Surgically resected samples from 156 patients with invasive breast cancer (BC) were assessed for the expression of FOXP3 and CCL20 by immunohistochemistry. Correlation between their expressions and the association with clinicopathological characteristics and patient's prognosis were studied. Forty pairs of fresh BC and their nontumor adjacent tissues (NATs) in BC were carried out by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) to evaluate the correlation between FOXP3 and CCL20 mRNA expression.CCL20 and FOXP3+ TILs mRNA expression in tumor tissue demonstrated a high correlation (rs = 0.359, P < .001) in this cohort of breast cancer patients. Both elevated CCL20 expression and FOXP3+ TILs infiltration were significantly correlated with high histological grade, positive human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), high Ki67 index, and axillary lymph node metastases. Tumors with concomitant high expressions of both markers had the worst prognosis. Multivariate analysis showed that these 2 markers were independent predictors of overall survival. The patients with axillary lymph node metastases with the concomitant CCL20 high expression and increased FOXP3+ TILs infiltration had the worst overall survival (OS) (P < .001), In lymph node-negative breast cancer patients, the status of CCL20 and FOXP3 was not related to OS (P = .22).The results suggest that CCL20 and FOXP3+ TILs may have synergistic effects, and their upregulated expressions may lead to immune evasion in breast cancer. Combinatorial immunotherapeutic approaches aiming at blocking CCL20 and depleting FOXP3 might improve therapeutic efficacy in breast cancer patients.

Huisheng Oral Solution exerts anti-tumor effects by downregulating tissue factor and inhibiting the expression of metastasis-related factors, CD44, MMP2, and VEGF.

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the anti-tumor effects of Huisheng Oral Solution (HSOS) on the promotion of blood circulation to dispel blood stasis, the inhibition of metastasis and inflammation, the pathogenesis of tumor progression, and to provide guidelines for using HSOS in clinical settings.MethodsEight-month-old Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC)-bearing C57BL/6 mice were orally administered HSOS (0.25 mL/d) for 21 d starting on day 2 of model generation. One hour after the final administration, their eyeballs were dissected out to collect serum to determine tissue factor (TF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels via ELISA. Blood was collected intracardially with an anticoagulant to determine fibrinogen levels, using an automated blood coagulation analyzer. The mice were euthanized via cervical dislocation and their thymi, spleens, and tumors were extracted for weight measurement and organ index calculation. CD44 and MMP2 expression and VEGF protein and mRNA expression in tumor tissues were detected using immunohistochemical (IHC) and RT-qPCR assays, respectively. Lastly, the effect of HSOS on the migration ability of A549 lung carcinoma cells was investigated using in vitro scratch assay.ResultsHSOS significantly downregulated TF and Fib in tumor-bearing mice. HSOS inhibited the overexpression of CD44, MMP2, and VEGF, and the migration ability of tumor cells. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) was significantly downregulated, but the thymic and splenic indices increased.ConclusionsHSOS might exert anti-tumor effects by improving hypercoagulability in tumor-bearing mice, inhibiting tumor cell metastasis, alleviating inflammatory responses, and enhancing immune function.

Abstract 1578: Cohesin complex-related genes in colorectal cancer

Abstract Backgrounds: One of the hallmarks of cancer is chromosomal instability and it leads to aneuploidy. Defective sister chromatid cohesion represents a major cause of chromosome instability in human cancers. Stromal antigen (STAG) encodes a subunit of the cohesin complex, which regulates cohesion and segregation of sister chromatids. STAG contains STAG1, STAG2 related to somatic division and STAG3 related to meiosis. We evaluated the relationship between STAG and colorectal cancer. Materials and methods: We examined STAG mRNA expression in tumor tissues by real-time qPCR. The samples were obtained from 172 colorectal cancer patients who underwent curative resection from November 2009 to December 2013 at the Osaka International Cancer Institute, Japan. STAG mRNA expression was evaluated by comparing with clinicopathological features and patients’ survival. Patients were classified into a high STAG expression and low STAG expression groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were evaluated using the log-rank test. The association with STAG expression and prognosis was analyzed by the Cox proportional regression model. Then, we utilized siRNA to knock down the expression of STAG3 and examined whether this altered proliferation in colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT116, RKO, HT29 and SW480). Results: STAG1 and STAG2 did not show no statistically significant differences in disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). In contrast, DFS rate was significantly lower in the high STAG3 expression group than the low STAG3 expression group (P = 0.032). A multivariate analysis showed that the high STAG3 mRNA expression was a significant independent risk factor for the recurrence (P = 0.006). In patients with adjuvant chemotherapy, the high STAG3 expression group was significantly worse for DFS (P = 0.043) and OS (P = 0.020), compared to the low STAG3 expression group. However, the proliferation assays evaluating the knockdown of STAG3 did not show any significant differences. Conclusions: Our study showed that STAG3 can be a novel prognostic biomarker and the high STAG3 mRNA expression was an independent risk factor for the recurrence, suggesting that it relates to the chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer. We perform some other assays to evaluate the biology (focusing on the cancer invasiveness, the drug sensitivity, etc.) which reveal the mechanism of STAG3 in colorectal cancer. Citation Format: Masaru Sasaki, Norikatsu Miyoshi, Kazuhiro Saso, Shiki Fujino, Hidekazu Takahashi, Naotsugu Haraguchi, Chu Matsuda, Taishi Hata, Hirofumi Yamamoto, Tsunekazu Mizushima, Masaki Mori, Yuichiro Doki. Cohesin complex-related genes in colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1578.

Characterization of kallikrein-related peptidase 4 (KLK4) mRNA expression in tumor tissue of advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients.

Overexpression of several members of the kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK) family, including KLK4, has been reported in ovarian cancer tissue, consistent with the fact that elevated levels of KLK protein are often also found in serum and in effusion fluids of ovarian cancer patients. In the present study, we quantitatively analyzed KLK4 tumor tissue mRNA expression levels in a homogeneous cohort including 138 patients of advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (FIGO stage III/IV). Age as well as ascites fluid volume were found to be significantly associated with KLK4 mRNA expression levels. In univariate Cox regression analysis, the clinical factors residual tumor mass and ascites fluid volume represented univariate predictors for both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Furthermore, elevated KLK4 mRNA expression levels were significantly linked with reduced OS (p = 0.001), but not with PFS. The results concerning the association of KLK4 mRNA expression with OS were validated in a publicly available Affymetrix-based mRNA data set from The Cancer Genome Atlas (n = 252) applying the Kaplan-Meier Plotter tool (p = 0.047). In multivariable analyses, elevated KLK4 mRNA values turned out as an additional, independent predictive marker for shortened OS (p = 0.006), whereas residual tumor mass, but not ascites fluid volume, remained an independent indicator for both OS and PFS (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). The results of the present study, obtained in a well-defined, homogenous cohort of patients afflicted with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer, are in line with previous reports describing high KLK4 levels as an unfavorable marker in ovarian cancer patients.