FGFR4: A promising therapeutic target for breast cancer and other solid tumors

Impact of FGFR4 Gene Polymorphism on the Progression of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a multifactorial malignancy, and its high incidence and mortality rate remain a global public health burden. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that has been shown to play a key role in cancer development and prognosis via the activation of its downstream oncogenic signaling pathways. The present study aimed to explore the impact of FGFR4 gene polymorphisms on the risk and progression of CRC. Three FGFR4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including rs1966265, rs351855, and rs7708357, were evaluated in 413 CRC cases and 413 gender- and age-matched cancer-free controls. We did not observe any significant association of three individual SNPs with the risk of CRC between the case and control group. However, while assessing the clinicopathological parameters, patients of rectal cancer possessing at least one minor allele of rs1966265 (AG and GG; AOR, 0.236; p = 0.046) or rs351855 (GA and AA; AOR, 0.191; p = 0.022) were found to develop less metastasis as compared to those who are homozygous for the major allele. Further analyses using the datasets from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Portal and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) revealed that rs351855 regulated FGFR4 expression in many human tissues, and increased FGFR4 levels were associated with the occurrence, advanced stage, and distal metastasis of colon adenocarcinoma. These data suggest that the amino acid change in combination with altered expression levels of FGFR4 due to genetic polymorphisms may affect CRC progression.

Role of Glycans on Key Cell Surface Receptors That Regulate Cell Proliferation and Cell Death

Cells undergo proliferation and apoptosis, migration and differentiation via a number of cell surface receptors, most of which are heavily glycosylated. This review discusses receptor glycosylation and the known roles of glycans on the functions of receptors expressed in diverse cell types. We included growth factor receptors that have an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain, growth factor receptors that have a serine/threonine kinase domain, and cell-death-inducing receptors. N- and O-glycans have a wide range of functions including roles in receptor conformation, ligand binding, oligomerization, and activation of signaling cascades. A better understanding of these functions will enable control of cell survival and cell death in diseases such as cancer and in immune responses.

Homeobox B5 promotes metastasis and poor prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma, via FGFR4 and CXCL1 upregulation

Background: Since metastasis remains the main reason for HCC-associated death, a better understanding of molecular mechanism underlying HCC metastasis is urgently needed. Here, we elucidated the role of Homeobox B5 (HOXB5), a member of the HOX transcriptional factor family, in promoting HCC metastasis.

Method: The expression of HOXB5 and its functional targets fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to measure the transcriptional regulation of target genes by HOXB5. The effects of FGFR4 and CXCL1 on HOXB5-mediated metastasis were analyzed by an orthotopic metastasis model.

Results: Elevated expression of HOXB5 had a positive correlation with poor tumour differentiation, higher TNM stage, and indicated unfavorable prognosis. Overexpression of HOXB5 promoted HCC metastasis through transactivating FGFR4 and CXCL1 expression, whereas knockdown of FGFR4 and CXCL1 decreased HOXB5-enhanced HCC metastasis. Moreover, HOXB5 overexpression in HCC cells promoted myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) infiltration through CXCL1/CXCR2 axis. Either depletion of MDSCs by anti-Gr1 or blocking CXCL1-CXCR2 axis by CXCR2 inhibitor impaired HOXB5-mediated HCC metastasis. In addition, fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) contributed to the HOXB5 upregulation through PI3K/AKT/HIF1α pathway. Overexpression of FGF15 (an analog of FGF19 in mouse) promoted HCC metastasis, whereas knockdown of HOXB5 significantly inhibited FGF15-enhanced HCC metastasis in immunocompetent mice. HOXB5 expression was positively associated with CXCL1 expression and intratumoral MDSCs accumulation in human HCC tissues. Patients who co-expressed HOXB5/CXCL1 or HOXB5/CD11b exhibited the worst prognosis. Furthermore, the combination of FGFR4 inhibitor BLU-554 and CXCR2 inhibitor SB265610 dramatically decreased HOXB5-mediated HCC metastasis.

Conclusion: HOXB5 was a potential prognostic biomarker in HCC patients and targeting this loop may provide a promising treatment strategy for the inhibition of HOXB5-mediated HCC metastasis.

Development of nomogram based on immune-related gene FGFR4 for advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors

INTRODUCTION

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become a frontier in the field of clinical technology for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Currently, the predictive biomarker of ICIs mainly including the expression of PD-L1, TMB, TIICs, MMR and MSI-H. However, there are no official biomarkers to guide the treatment of ICIs and to determine the prognosis. Therefore, it is essential to explore a systematic nomogram to predict the prognosis of ICIs treatment in NSCLC METHODS: In this work, we obtained gene expression and clinical data of NSCLC patients from the TCGA database. Immune-related genes (IRGs) were downloaded from the ImmPort database. The detailed clinical annotation and response data of 240 advanced NSCLC patients who received ICIs treatment were obtained from the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to perform survival analyses, and selected clinical variables to develop a novel nomogram. The prognostic significance of FGFR4 was validated by another cohort in cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics.

RESULTS

3% of the NSCLC patients harbored FGFR4 mutations. The mutation of FGFR4 were confirmed to be associated with PD-L1, and TMB. Patients harbored FGFR4 mutations were found to have a better prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) to ICIs treatment (FGFR4: P = 0.0209). Here, we built and verified a novel nomogram to predict the prognosis of ICIs treatment for NSCLC patients.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that FGFR4 could serve as novel biomarkers to predict the prognosis of ICIs treatment of advanced NSCLC. Our systematic prognostic nomogram showed a great potential to predict the prognosis of ICIs for advanced NSCLC patients.

The FGF/FGFR System in Breast Cancer: Oncogenic Features and Therapeutic Perspectives

One of the major challenges in the treatment of breast cancer is the heterogeneous nature of the disease. With multiple subtypes of breast cancer identified, there is an unmet clinical need for the development of therapies particularly for the less tractable subtypes. Several transduction mechanisms are involved in the progression of breast cancer, therefore making the assessment of the molecular landscape that characterizes each patient intricate. Over the last decade, numerous studies have focused on the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to target the main pathways dysregulated in breast cancer, however their effectiveness is often limited either by resistance to treatments or the appearance of adverse effects. In this context, the fibroblast growth factor/fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGF/FGFR) system represents an emerging transduction pathway and therapeutic target to be fully investigated among the diverse anti-cancer settings in breast cancer. Here, we have recapitulated previous studies dealing with FGFR molecular aberrations, such as the gene amplification, point mutations, and chromosomal translocations that occur in breast cancer. Furthermore, alterations in the FGF/FGFR signaling across the different subtypes of breast cancer have been described. Next, we discussed the functional interplay between the FGF/FGFR axis and important components of the breast tumor microenvironment. Lastly, we pointed out the therapeutic usefulness of FGF/FGFR inhibitors, as revealed by preclinical and clinical models of breast cancer.